jungle!

HOLA!

Right so we have spent nearly a week in the jungle. The lodge we stayed in was lovely! It was all very open with no glass but netting across the windows. We had a balcony looking out on to the river. The food was amazing and there was a nice fire with chairs or sofas around it where you could sit in the evening to chat to other guests or play cards or just relax. There was no electricity so after dark it was quite hard to do anything. We had head torches so we could read in bed and they gave us oil lamps and candles too.

The activities we did in the jungle were amazing. We were given wellies and some very attractive ponchos. One boy found a poisonous spider in his boot. It would have given him 5 days of pain. After that we were all very careful to check our shoes before putting them on! We did lots of different activities and most of them at least had the option of swimming in the river. On the first day we walked to a waterfall and then got to swim in it. We hiked back to the river and then got to go tubing down the river back to the lodge. Tubing was so much fun. You basically just sit in a big rubber ring and float down the river. In the afternoon we went for another hike in the jungle. We walked back down a river and because I had shoter boots on than everyone else the guide carried me on his back but because I weighed him down the water went over the top of his boots, oops! It was really interesting, as we were going along in the jungle the guide would point out interesting wildlife such as an ant that was about 2cm long a poisonous. He also showed us how to make things out of the materials. We got crowns, glasses, a manicure and a bag. It was very clever!

The other activities we did included going to visit 2 local tribes. This was great becasue we saw a bit about how they live. We were shown how they make their local beer (and then tried some), we were shown how they make the pottery and had a go at blowing an arrow out of a pipe, aiming for a parrot on a strick. I was ribbish and never even managed to hit the stick never mind the parrot. With the other tribe we were given some kind of ritual by a man who was 100 years old and also shown the local dancing. We were made to join in the dancing, we had a go but were not very good! We also went to an animal rescue farm and a butterfly farm. These had lots of intersting animals in and the butterflies were really pretty and colourful! We also did lots of swimming in the river. Once we crossed the river to get to a tarzan swing that then dropped you in the river. It was OK to cross the river becasue the tarzan swing was down stream of where we had stopped to eat lunch but swimming back upstream was really hard work. It was worth it though because the tarzan swing was fun. We also jumped in off many different rocks. The lodge alsways used the river as a mode of transport. We would always get to the tribes, animal centres etc in a canoe. It was really nice to be able to see more of the jungle from the river.

We finished at the lodge yesterday morning but managed to organize to go white water rafting through the lodge but with a company in Tena. It was only on grade 3 rapids but it was so much fun! Lizzy was the only one on our raft who managed to fall in accdentily! We did manage to (on purpose) tip the raft upsdie down by flipping it over backwards. We got very wet and now have some lovely soggy clothes that need washing but it was definately worth it!

Last night straight after rafting we manage to get a bus to Banos. We then got a bus to Riobamba and then a bus on to Cuenca. We were told we would get in at 7.40am to Cuenca but helpfully got in at 4.30 this morning. Anyway we mamanged to find somewhere to stay tonight and left our big bags in our room. We have been looking round Cuenca today and are looking forward to an early night before heading off on another bus to Guayquil tomorrow. We are then hopeing to be over on the coast ofr a couple of days before and then get back to Quito on Thursday so that we can have a few days htere before we are off volunteering.

So that was my jungle experience and it was fab!
I will update you again about the rest of Ecuador soon!

Adios xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Banos

Hola!
Just another quick update before we head off to the jungle!
So Lizzy got here on Friday evening and we went to pick her up from the airport. I didn´t get to bed until about 2 and then my alarm went off at 5.55 the next morning! We got a bus to Banos which took about 4 hours. We were then given lunch at the grandmothers house (which is where we are staying) and then we were shown some of the waterfalls. They are very impressive! There was one that had a cable car going across the river to the top of the waterfall. The views were amazing! In the evening we went out to a bar place that had a dance floor. It was really good fun. The music is very different to the music that is played in British clubs. Adri was trying to teach us to dance salsa. It is really hard but we tried!
On Sunday we rented bikes and cycled to a massive waterfall. It took a couple of hours. There were some uphill bits that were effort but the downhill bits were good fun. There was a mini waterfall that we went completely under on the way and we also got soaked in the big waterfall too. The rest of the family were following us in the car and taking pictures of us out of the window! We could have cycled back but we decided to go in a lorry that took our bikes as well. In the evening we went to the thermal baths. Some were really hot and then another one was really cold. We went in the hot and then the cold and then ran back in to the hot again! Although it did feel too hot at first if you had just been in the cold.
The rest of the family left this morning so Lizzy and I took a taxi up to the top of a hill where there is a cafe. The views were stunning and we could see the top of a volcano. We had lunch in the cafe and then walked down. It was a nice walk down although it was fairly steep. We are thinking of going back to the thermal baths tonight for a last bit of relaxation before the jungle!
Adios! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Quito

Hola!
So I have spent this week in Quito. I have been staying with a lovely Ecuadorian family. They have taken me around Quito. I have seen many churches and some museams.
Of course it is very hilly here so you can drive up into the mountains and get amazing views of Quito! It is not the safest place to be but I have always been with someone so I have been fine!
I have been on a cable car 4,100m up a vlocano. The views of Quito on the way up where amazing. By the time we got to the top we were in cloud so we could not see Quito but we occasionally got a good view of the tops of the volcanoes. It was very impressive! I have also been to the centre of the world! There is a small city built on the equator that we went to. There are lots of stalls there and cafes and there is a big monument. This monument has four sides, facing north, east, south and west and it is right on the equator. Inside there is a museam that we went in to. The top floor is a viewing balcony with lovely views of Quito and the surounding mountains. The museam gives you a history about Ecuador, it was really interesting!
On Wednesday evening we went to an opera. Andrew (the eldest child) is playing the double bass in the orchestra and this was a practice performance. It was really good! The actors and actresses were very impressive, particualrly the lead female - she reached all the high notes. I could not understand most of it but it was very bright and chearful and I could follow most of what was happening just by the actions.
The driving is insane. People go and stop randomally and change lanes all the time. I am very careful when crossing the road because not only is the driving mad but they also drive on the wrong side of the road - confusing!
The family are all lovely and I get on well with the three children. They are very good at English, particularly compared with my pathetic spanish!
Lizzy is coming out this evening :) we are going to go and pick her up from the airport soon! This weekend we are going with the family to Banos and then we are off to the jungle!
xxxx

cruise :)

wow, the galapagos islands really are amazing!

So I have just finished an 8 day cruise round lots of different islands. Most of the islands that we went to where not inhabited. This made it even more special. It was amazing, all of the wildlife was so close and not scared of humans. This is because they do not have any reason to be scared and have no real preditors. Sometimes the sea lions got a little aggressive but apart from that all the animals where very calm. A mockingbiird did decide to peck at my toes once, I assume they looked like worms or something!

I went snorkelkling 8 times and saw amazing things. There were sharks, rays, turtles, sea lions, sea bears and lots of fish. It really was amazing. The water was cold but it was definately worth it!

The cabin I shared with a lovely girl from Singapore. We got on well which was nice and all the other people on the cruise were also lovely. The cabin was small but fine. The beds were perfectly comfortable and there were hot showers, definately necessary after a snorkel! The weather was ok. There were only a couple of days when it was actually sunny, the rest of the time it was misty with drizzle. A cardigan was definately necessary when walking around the islands. It was probably warmer in england so I am sure that you all have much more of a tan then me! Why is it always sunny when I am abroad!

There were tons of birds and they all nested on the ground right by the trails. It was brilliant. We saw boobies, frigates, gulls, mocking birds, tropic birds just to name a few!

We had some rocky nights on the boat. We did most of the moving in the night, the longest trip was 7 hours. To begin with we all found in very difficult to sleep when we were moving, there was one morning when everyone was rather tired! After a while most people got used to it! The food on the boat was relly good. We were given 3 cooked meal a day! Our excuse was that we did lots of swimming and walking ;)

An added bonus that I had not thought of was that on the 2 nights it was clear we sould all go up on to the top deck and look at the stars. It was amazing how much you could see. It was completely clear and there was very little artifical light and no moon. We also saw some shooting stars but we didn´t stay out there too long because it was rather chilly!

Just before I started the crusie I had one day on Santa Cruz and happened to meet one of the other volunteers from Jatun Sacha so we spent the day together. We walked a 2.5km route along a lovely paved path to a magnificant beach. It was really pretty with lovely fine, soft sand.

Anyway that concludes my Galapagos adventure. I am now back in Quito and it is rather chilly! I will update you again soon!

Adios

xxxxxxxxxxx

end of galapagos volunteering

hola!
I have now done my second and last week of conservation volunteering in the Galapagos. It has been such fun and I will miss all the people I made friends with, particularly the people I have been sharing a room with this week. On the other hand it will be nice to have hot showers and be able to actually get things dry. It had been very damp this week so once something got wet it was very hard to dry it again.
We went back up last Monday but before that we went to a lovely beach. It was a nice sandy beach and had sea turtles and seas lions swimming in the water. We got really close to both of them. I borrowed a snorkel and mask off someone and saw them underwater. The turtle was eating and the sea lions were rubbing themselves agains the rocks. They were so cute! We are all silly and failed to put suncream on because it was raining when we set off but then it became sunny (well sunny spells) so we did manage to get a bit burnt. You would think that between 8 of us we would manage to notice but no!
On Monday I moved rooms again so I was sharing with 3 other girls (nellie who is 19 from america, becky who is 27 from america and sophie who is 22 from London). We all get on really well, which is nice. On Tuesday I went and picked some poison apple seeds and planted egg plants. We also squished some berries to get the seeds out. This is so that the seeds can be planted in the nursery. We went to the bar on Tuesday night and some people had a bit too much to drink. They were funny to watch but felt bad on wednesday morning. They all came in to our room at about 1 and then Alex ate all of Sophies pringles and then she got annoyed, it was amusing. Apart from I had to get up at 5.40 for breakfast duty the next morning! On Wednesday I worked in the nursery for the first time. We filled some bags woth soil and then mixed it in with chopped up banana tree stumps and compost. On Thursday morning we worked with the people from the national park. We went to thier nursery (a bit like a massive greenhouse). There we jsut filled bags with soil so that seeds could be planted in them. Right next to this is a tourist area. We got to go there once we had done our work. It was really interesting reading all the information boards and then we got to walk round the trail and saw lots of tortoises. They ranged from really cute ones that were only a few mothns old to ones that were really big and about 80 years old. We saw them eating and they were really funny!
I have made some fab friends in the last two weeks and it has been really interesting talking to people of all different ages and from all over the world.
I am now in port again and I have to be somewhere at 6.30 tomorrow morning to get a boat over to a different island. I am starting my 8 day cruise on Sunday so I the next time I update you will probably be the middle of july when I am back in Quito.
Adios! xxxxx