LDio

Went to Latacunga,it was nice. The hostel I stayed at had a self guided walking tour of the city so I got to see a bunch of things I wouldn´t have known about (what Riobumba needed). I met people who I did part of the Quilotoa Loop with. I highlyreccomend it. The 1st night we got a bus to the LuLu Llama hotel in a town whose name I don´t remember. We got a tour of a woodworkers studio. An Italian woodworkermoved to this TINY town and teaches locals the craft. They focus on church stuff, it is beautiful. From there we walked 4 hrs to another town (the name starts with a C I don´t feel like looking them up) Both places were beautiful Quechua communities, very high up in the mountains. I had trouble ... read more

Cuidad Perdida Day 1 got picked up just after 9 am the guide is old, overweight, has bad teeth and doesn't speak english. I was initally a bit worried. Our group for the next several days was me, Hils ( who I volunteered with at lost and found) who I then found out has bad knees a bad back and a sensitive stomach, a kiwi guy whos only backpack was a plastic grocery bag with two plastic straps he tied on, 2 spoiled rich guys from Belgium (in one's defense he didn't speak much English so he might have been nice, but the other was annoying enough for both). It was sunny and hot, we spent 2 hours walking up a mountain in midday. It nearly killed me, for most people it wasn't that bad. We ... read more

Went to Pedasi. It was a very cute little town. It has old spanish architecture and a few adobe houses. It is very quiet there. The only tourists go for surfing. We went because Nico has a frined in the Peace Corps there. In peace corps training newbies go visit volunteers at their site for a few days. So I also met 2 people who just joined. If they will make it, I could totally make it. One told a story about this amazing pumpkin soup she had, then when it got to the bottom she saw a bunch of ants. I asked if she kept eating, and she kind of gave me a weird look, the experienced volunteer told her she would get used to it. Today the 5 of us went to Isla Iguana... ... read more

I'm still volunteering at Lost and Found, still in Panama. What can I say living on a mountain in a cloud forest, making enough money to cover my costs is great. I will probably be leaving in the next 2 weeks, but who knows. I've been cooking a lot, it's pretty much all I do there. I think it annoys the owners that I never pay them, they always pay me. I like it. Ok, I check people in and out and carry things up the mountain once in a while, what a terrible life. One day while I was hiking I literally stumbled upon some bones. I was positive it was a raptor... but supposedly dinosaurs are extinct. Ends up it was a dog. I kept some of the bones and boiled the head, it ... read more

Really I haven't been doing much. My days have been consisting of carrying things up the mountain, checking people in, checking people out, hanging out, making food, talking, hiking and some drinking (mom don't read that). I am currently putting together a cookbook for future volunteers and guests of Lost and Found to have ideas of what to cook. I'm also making a feedback questionaire. They are trying to make a new treasure hunt (through the hiking trails) one clue will be written in fake petroglyphs in blacklight paint on the walls of a new building. When the building is ready I will be doing the painting. I'm keeping busy, but it's not the most adventurous part of my journey. I'll probably stay for around 3 more weeks. I'm staying in David for the night just ... read more