Homecoming King

Well I never got to be the Homecoming King in High School, probably because I never attended a Homecoming Dance. Although for the record I must state that I think if I had really given it an effort I could have at least made it up to Homecoming Duke or something. But finally my talents have been recognized and I can say that in my own special way I am a Homecoming King.

It is going to be a difficult adjustment coming home after almost eight months in Ecuador. I will have to get used to things like throwing toilet paper in the toilet, not saying "gracias", and using a toothbrush that doesn't fold up. For the past month or so I've been very anxious to leave, not because I don't like Ecuador, but simply because I have been missing a lot of things from home. Now that I'm actually sitting in the airport, beyond the threshold, I have mixed feelings.

I am now realizing just how much I will miss this place. I've met so many amazing people on my travels, made new friends, gotten to know some of the most wonderful places in the world, and had so many extraordinary experiences. I just can't imagine going back to a normal life at this point. But at the same time I can't wait to get back and see all of my family and friends. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed, get woken up at 5AM by my dogs instead of a rooster, and be able to assume that I won't get typhoid from a glass of water.

It's quite the emotional blender over here right now, but they're calling my plane, so I suppose I should shut the computer and get ready for a long day of travel. See you all soon!

Food as Art

This post is mainly just about a few of my favorite pictures that I've taken here. No surprise that in a country with dramatic landscapes and otherworldly plant and animal life, the thing that I can't stop thinking about is food. It's just so wonderful to live in a place where you have access to just about any fruit the world can offer. Even after eight months here spent working on farms and living in the jungle, I was still learning about new fruits on my last few days in the country.

A close up of lemongrass sugar we made for use in our lemongrass chocolate.

Me playing around with our espresso machine.

My recent stint working in a restaurant/cafe/chocolate factory only got me more excited about the food here, as I had twelve hours a day to explore the offerings here. I am eagerly awaiting my return to the States, but one of the things I will sorely miss is access to fresh lychee, passion fruit, guava, dragonfruit, and countless other delicious fruits on a daily basis. But at least I have some of these beautiful photos to keep the memories alive!

A chocolate and blackberry cake I made for the restaurant.

These hairy little guys are called Achiotillos, I believe they are Lychee in English.

Yum!

Rumbo en Mindo

If you have been checking my blog recently you know that it has been dryer than an Aubrey Plaza character. The reason for that is not my usual excuse that I don't have Internet; in fact, I have Internet all day long. The fact of the matter is that I've just been working without stop for the past week and a half. I arrived in Mindo last Sunday, and Monday morning began work at El Quetzal, an artisan chocolate factory and restaurant. I work seven days a week, from eight in the morning until eight at night, and I'm loving it.

El Quetzal is probably one of the few places left in the world that ferments, dries, roasts, grinds, tempers, and molds their own chocolate all by hand.

My new place of work.

It's a really amazing establishment to work at. They are just so committed here to experimentation and the production of quality products. Their chocolate is outstanding, still made 100% by hand, and the best in Ecuador by my tastes. We make our own homemade ginger ale, caramelized ginger, and ginger syrup. For anyone who knows how much of a ginger fanatic I am, you can imagine how happy I must be working here.

My best attempt at latte art... I know it's pretty pathetic, but we use whole milk, which makes things pretty tough.

Aside from that I have a big fully equipped kitchen and espresso machine to play around with. I'm getting to practice a lot of things like my mayonnaise making skills, milk frothing, espresso making, and chocolate tempering. Working in a restaurant kitchen again is fantastic, and even more so at a place with such imagination and respect for food. Unfortunately I will be leaving in only a few more days and be "Rumbo a SC". Being in such a great place with such nice people makes me realize how much I am going to miss Ecuador, but I look forward to coming home all the same.

My first attempt at a "Latte Machiatto Caramelo"

Farewell, Amazon Style

Yesterday I left Sacha Yacu Animal Rescue Center, my home for the past month, and made my way to Quito. I am now in Mindo, getting started on my last hurrah here in Ecuador, working at an artisan chocolate factory in the cloud forest.

Of course, this most recent visit was not my first time in the Amazon, I had spent two months there earlier in my gap year. During that time I was told a story about something called the Botfly, which lays it's eggs inside of open wounds or mosquito bites, and then leave the larvae to mature inside of your flesh.

Of course I thought it was an interesting fact, but never considered the possibility of it happening to me. Well, for the past few weeks I have had several infected bug bites bothering me. I've had this problem before, where a mosquito bite becomes infected and forms a pus ball under your skin. It is extremely difficult to get rid of, and I still have a couple from about four months ago.

So back to my story, I was on the bus heading to Quito, when one of my infected bites began to itch. I scratched it, and noticed a little white thing pop up out of it. I figured it was just some pus coming out, which happens a lot, so I squeezed a little harder. A little cream colored tendril popped up out of the bite, and I started thinking that maybe this wasn't just any ordinary pus. So I squeezed this time with a lot of force, and out popped a little white worm, fully intact, and still moving.

Turns out that I was indeed the victim of the Human Botfly. It is still difficult even for me to believe that this actually happened, but I have a witness in my friend Barbara who was traveling with me. And we both agree it's probably the grossest thing that has ever happened to me. But I suppose that's just what I get as a farewell gift from the Amazon, reminding me that I must come back soon!

Signing Up

Short post, just catching up on some things I was unable to complete during my self inflicted confinement in the Amazon.

Me and Andrea, machetes in hand.

So a few weeks ago we decided it was finally time people knew where Sacha Yacu was, considering that it's basically just at the end of a path in the middle of the Jungle. So we painted some signs, and went out to the main access roads, machetes and shovels in hand, to put ourselves on the map.

I'm happy to say that thanks to our signage, if someone can figure out how to get on the bus to Arajuno, they can probably find Sacha Yacu, which is more than we could say before.

Up Close and Personal

This is the first day in a month that I have been away from Sacha Yacu Wild Animal Rescue Center, and I already miss it terribly. I miss the rain forest, even though I'm in the cloud forest; I miss my old friends, even though I'm surrounded by new ones; but most of all, I miss the animals.

This is our baby parrot, out of his cage for feeding time.

This is one of our Amazonian parrots... their talons hurt a lot.

 I'm only realizing now just how unique an experience it was to be so close to animals that are usually only seen in zoos. At Sacha Yacu we have the opportunity to really get up close and personal with our animals.

Me with Grumpy, my favorite monkey.

Every day I got to have birds fly over and climb up my arm, have monkeys delice me, or pet some of the cutest little coatis the world has ever seen.

I got to go in the cage with our two female Coatis and pet them. I want one...

This time around I really developed some special bonds with our animals, and it was even harder to say goodbye then last time. But I can leave knowing that perhaps I made a small difference in their lives, that they are well taken care of, and that maybe, just maybe, I will see them again someday.

This was the first time someone (me) got pictures of our Tigarillo outside of it's cage. That was a lucky night.

Learning to Fly

My life has been a constant battle with gravity; ever since I was a child I've dreamt of flying. It is the main reason that I spent 14 years as a competitive swimmer, since underwater is the only place I can feel weightless and have the sensation that I'm as free as an eagle.

I think I first realized my desire when watching Saturday morning cartoons, seeing Superman take off like a missile and go shooting through space with no hindrance. So like any 5 year old kid, I went outside, straightened my arms over my head, clenched my fists, and launched myself off of our back porch. Unfortunately gravity got the best of me on that day. But I was not discouraged; the failed attempt simply redoubled my hunger for flight. I strapped garbage can lids to my arms: too heavy; I cut out some wings from cardboard: too flimsy; I found some big discs made out of woven reeds, and for a mere fraction of a second, I felt the air resistance lift my arms, stretch the muscles in my armpits, and slow my decent. From that moment I was hooked.

Of course out of nostalgia I had to do it like a swimming start.

As I got older I realized the irrationality of my dream of flight. I laughed at how ridiculous I must have looked strapping anything large and flat I could find to my arms and flapping them like wings as I leaped off of our porch and landed with a splat, crumpled in a heap of broken wings and broken dreams. I saw the comparison to the mad turn of the century inventors that had died attempting the same that I was, and I promised myself that I would stick to the back porch, and not jump off of cliffs or into ravines with my makeshift flying apparatus, now at age 19 I have broken that promise.

Even as I got into my teens, I have not been able to escape the dreams of flight. I often wake up remembering myself soaring high above my house, feeling the wind rushing past my ears and drying my eyes. But dreams are a cruel substitute for the real thing; always giving me a taste of the sensation but never satisfying my appetite. In my dreams I am in the park outside of my house. I take a running start, and then leap, catching a draft of air and climbing up, up, up into the sky. I hover before assuming the superman position and speeding around in circles, passing low to the ground, performing loops and acrobatics. But as the dream progresses, my new found powers are sapped by the rising sun outside my window. I being to lose my speed and falter; it feels as if I am in a car that is running out of gas. As I pass lower to the ground my imaginary engine sputters and I scrape against the ground before momentarily regaining lift. But I can feel the inevitability of complete failure; and my fears land me back in the park, where I find myself on the ground, repeating the running start, leaping up, grasping for that indescribable feeling, trying to recapture just a taste of the magic that I had felt. I am unsuccessful. I have been grounded.

Despite my many letdowns I am determined to keep hope alive, and always search for that momentary exhilaration; the weightless feeling that takes the place of all worries, fears, and uncertainty, and leaves you unburdened. That was what gave me the motivation and courage to jump from a 100 meter bridge into a ravine, with nothing but a rope to hold me to the earth. It may have only been for two seconds, but in that short time you feel all that is profound, meaningful, and meaningless in life flash through your head and spread out to your extremities, like lightning striking a pond and spreading out to the shore. It may not be the same as flying, but it's a start.

Old Friends and New

I left Sacha Yacu about three months ago, since that time a lot has changed. New animals have arrived or been born, while others have escaped, died, or been set free, but it's not all different. I still had a welcome homecoming from several of my favorite animals in the center, and the new ones are really a joy to have around.

Me with my old friends Grumpy and Naughty.

It took about 15 minutes to get Grumpy to let go of me on this day.

Since my time away one of our tyras died, one monkey escaped and another died, one parrot escaped, one coati escaped, and one peccary escaped. Heaping all those things into one sentence really does not give a great impression of how things have been going at Sacha Yacu in my absence. But when you consider that... two boa constrictors were liberated, a coati was saved from near death, an alligator was liberated, a tortoise was cured of a nasty shell disease, a baby parrot was born, a baby peccary was born, two peccaries are currently pregnant, and that we were entrusted with the rehabilitation of a tigarillo ("tiger cat", a very close relative to the ocelot)... it really puts things in perspective.

This was the first thing I saw when I arrived for the second time at Sacha Yacu... pretty cool caterpillar.

This is our Tigarillo, what should I name him?

I feel so at home here that it makes me sad to think I only have two weeks left. But after that I have an exciting adventure in Mindo to look forward to, before my return home, which I have been anxiously awaiting for several weeks. I had a nice little chat with Marie Gingher and Andy Madore last night that made me feel very nostalgic about the good old days back in Happy Valley. See you soon SC!

Fun in the pool with my old friends, and plenty of new ones.

Highlands High

There's something in the air in the highlands of San Cristobal island that just makes you feel right. Or perhaps it's not in the air, but in the daily cup of joe we all have that gives you the energy to go cut Guava trees with machetes for four hours. I've now left the Galápagos, but I feel there is one thing I failed to mention; where I was living is one of the worlds best producers of gourmet coffee.

In fact, about 95% of the coffee grown on San Cristobal is bought by none other than the ubiquitous Starbucks corporation; one of their blends is almost entirely dependent on the coffee that we grow at the Hacienda I stayed at.

The peeled and dried coffee beans, before being roasted.

During my time at the Hacienda we picked coffee beans off the bushes, peeled them, dried them, roasted them, and finally ground the beans into what makes for a very strong, rich cup of coffee. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of the peeling or roasting process, as I was quite busy during that time. But I have to say that it is very surprising how good the coffee we made really was, given that it was roasted in a big iron pan over a campfire.

Our roasted coffee beans, being ground into a fine espresso grind.

Better than a $100 burr grinder!

I hope to post soon on my new adventures in an old place, Sacha Yacu Animal Rescue Center. But being at such an amazing place has it's downfalls, namely that I only get access to internet during weekends. But I will try my best to get those posts up!

Change of Plans

As some of you may know, I had originally planned to do one month of volunteering on the coast after my time in the Galápagos. Well, that plan has changed. I had heard some poor reviews of the project I was supposed to do in the coast, and I knew that part of my work--taking stock of dead sharks at the fishing docks each morning--would not be pleasant, so I had to make a change. I had my flight back to the mainland of Ecuador on the 24th of February, that same morning I made the spontaneous decision that I wanted to spend my last month in Ecuador in a place I knew, with people I love.

So after landing in Guayaquil, I caught a taxi to the bus terminal, and managed to make a giant scene out in front of the terminal when I had a shouting match with the taxi driver because he tried to rip me off. So after thoroughly embarrassing myself in front of a crowd of stunned onlookers, I heaved my backpack over my shoulder and trudged into the monumental Terminal Terrestre. This is by far the biggest bus station in Ecuador, and perhaps one of the largest in the world. It not only runs buses to every destination in Ecuador and South America, but it doubles as a shopping mall. There are about 300 different bus companies to choose from when buying your ticket, so I bumbled around looking very confused for a while, before a nice ticket hawker with a gold tooth ushered me up to a booth and essentially bought my ticket for me.

I ended up getting on the bus with no issues, when about halfway through my journey I started wondering if the bus was actually going to Baños. It turns out my spider sense was right, and the last stop was in fact Ambato. Luckily for me, Ecuadorians assume tourists with blond hair are all idiots. So while the bus was parked at a gas station in Ambato the conductor asked me if I was going to Baños, then quickly rushed me off the bus, handed me my backpack, pointed to another bus parked a block away, and told me to run. Everything worked out fine in the end, and after another shouting match with the fee collector on the new bus, trying to explain to him that I already paid for passage to Baños in Guayaquil (he told me "not my problem" and I ended up having to pay the 80 cents), I arrived safe and sound in Baños.

Tony Bennet may have left his heart in San Francisco, but I left mine in the Amazon. So later today, that is where I will be headed, and for the next month I will simply try to relax and let myself go where the wind takes me.

Hot Tips for Ecuador: The Galápagos

My time in the Galápagos islands is coming to a close, so I figured it was about time to post the next installment of my now world famous series, Hot Tips for Ecuador.

1.) Set your watch to "island time"
Things here in Galápagos move at a much slower pace. Ecuadorians in general are not well known for their punctuality, and that is only intensified by the island lifestyle. It really is a frustrating place to live, everyone is perpetually late by about 45 minutes, and you just have to get used to the fact that it can sometimes take a whole day just to accomplish a simple task like getting money out of the bank. The same goes for work ethic, that is to say, it doesn't exist here. Shops and businesses open and close on their own schedule. I have walked into a store here prepared to buy something, only to have the owner say to me "sorry, we're closing" and then seen him cross the street to sit and have drinks with a buddy. People often open up their stores in the morning, walk inside, and put up their "closed" sign. Weekends are a whole other story; you might think that in a touristy place, things like restaurants and tourist shops would be open, but sadly that is not the case. All day long Saturday and Sunday the entire town here shuts down, and there are probably no more than 10 places open, making it very difficult for those of us who work during the week. If you want to survive here, some good tips would be to simply plan about double the time you think you would need into your schedule, and always try to do things ahead of time, because it will probably take longer than you expect.

2.) Get up close and personal with the animals
I have a secret to tell... Galápagos does not have the "best" wildlife in Ecuador. In fact there are places that have much more diversity in fauna and flora, but there is one thing about Galápagos that makes the best place to view wildlife in Ecuador. That is the unique situation the animals here are in, in that they have no natural predators. This has led to an evolutionary pattern in which the animals here never developed a fear for large mammals. It is for this reason alone being in Galápagos is like no other place on earth. You can walk down the street here and trip over sea lions and marine iguanas if you're not careful, the finches will come land on your head, and you can approach within one meter of any of the animals here without having them flinch. It's really something else to be able to be surrounded by such amazing animals in a very intimate sense, so take advantage of it!

3.) Take the plunge
Galápagos has been rated by several scuba organizations as the best place the world to dive, and based on my experience, it doesn't disappoint. Whether you are a scuba diver, or you just choose to snorkel, exploring the underwater life in Galápagos is an absolute must. The islands are famous not for their amazing variety of tropical fish (of which there are plenty), but for their abundance of large marine animals. The waters here are full of sharks, rays, sea lions, and turtles. Just in my two scuba dives I managed to see hammerhead sharks, reef sharks, manta rays, sting rays, eagle rays, pacific green turtles, hawksbill turtles, and sea lions. The waters here are cold, but it's well worth the chill.

Fun in the... rain

For the past two weeks, we have been stalked by the rain. It is really just teasing us at this point, only stopping on the days we have to work, and coming right back out as soon as we have a day off. Now every day is a battle with the rain, to see who can get to the beach first. You can see the dark clouds brewing, following  you, and so far we have not had a rain free day for two straight weeks. 

El Junco, a crater lake, and the highest point on San Cristobal.

The storms are brewing

Of course, with such limited time here, we don’t let that get in our way of having fun. So far we’ve simply been testing our luck, dodging the rainstorms when possible, outrunning them in speeding taxis. And we’ve managed a bit of success. So far I’ve gotten to see several of the beautiful beaches on San Cristobal, some transport you to the Caribbean with turquoise waters and sand like powdered sugar. While others bring me back to my childhood with seaweed, dunes, and course sand, placing me back home at Cape Cod. 

Puerto Chino, a beautiful beach that could fool anyone into thinking they were in the Caribbean.

Nom nom nom.

Last weekend we even got to take advantage of a few hours of sun to visit a Giant Tortoise breeding center. And I’m trying to plan a dive to the famous Kicker Rock for next weekend, rain or shine. So if you’re sitting back in cold, rainy PA, no need to be jealous, and don’t forget to ¡aprovechar de su tiempo!

Life on the Hacienda

My day starts like any other in Ecuador, with the ubiquitous crow of a rooster. Of course, that's also how my day ends, since--as I've learned on the Hacienda--roosters do not only crow in the morning, but all day long.

Life here is fairly vanilla, in fact, if I were surrounded by Maple or Walnut trees instead of Guava, I may forget that I was even in the Galápagos. In many ways, living here is like living on any other farm you would find in the States or Europe. We rise early, milk the cows, saddle up the horses, and get to work.

Our work here is mostly clearing of invasive species and farming. Our ultimate goal is to restore the land to it's native state, hence creating a natural habitat for Giant Tortoises. This means that most of our work is trudging through Elephant Grass to fell Guava trees, hacking away at endless patches of Black Raspberry (the same one that rings our yard back home in PA), or digging holes and planting various endemic and native plants. We also run many gardens that supply food to the surrounding communities, educate the locals about conservation, and help local children with disabilities.

My days are long, filled with hard work, and close with an early bedtime. We cook our own food, and I spend my free time lounging in a hammock with my nose in a book, listening to the mooing cows or screaming donkeys. Before coming here I had no idea what a donkey actually sounds like... now I can say that it is not the old childhood "eeh, aww" we all learned, but more of a murderous, blood curdling scream. It really sounds like someone is torturing these poor animals 24/7. 

The next two days here are Carnaval, which includes a big parade in the street where people will run around throwing flour, water balloons, and rotten eggs at you. Unfortunately I will not be partaking in the festivities due to the nonstop rain. We are now in the 83rd hour of massive rainstorm here, where we have been in a complete deluge without more than 30 minutes of respite for the past few days.

Hopefully now that there are fewer people at the Hacienda I can get some pictures of our work and accomodations soon. Until that point, I bid you all farewell, and will be heading back to take care of the cows and chickens!

An Unexpected Arrival

My journey from laid back Santa Cruz to my next volunteer project in San Cristobal started off like any other day in Ecuador, standing on a crowded dock with hundreds of other people trying to catch boats and everyone screaming incoherent interjections at the controllers. When I eventually shoved my way through the mob of other travelers that resembled a barking sea lion colony, I hopped on the first boat I saw, and made my way to the next obstacle, my ferry to San Cristobal.

The boat I took had a capacity of 26 people... there were at least 30 adults, and about 10 children. This made for a less than comfortable two hour ride, squished in between a sweaty Dutch guy and an Ecuadorian woman with two kids piled on her lap. But I hunkered down and put my mind on my destination as we bounced along, baking in the high noon sun the whole time. When I hopped onto the dock at San Cristobal I was slathered with a nice mix of sweat, sunscreen, and salt. The coordinator of my program met me with a taxi to go food shopping and get back to the volunteer house so I could finally relax. Unfortunately it was Sunday, meaning that every food shop was closed. We ended up finding one where I managed to buy a couple of potatoes, some dry pasta, and two cans of tuna. With my pantry stocked, we headed back to the "Hacienda Tranquila" which I would soon learn was anything but "tranquil".

When I arrived I was greeted by more than twenty teenagers all chattering in thick British accents. I had unwittingly stepped into a group of "Organized Gap Year" people, which from the description, sounds just like a big group of people who travel for 10 weeks together doing some volunteer work along the way... not what I would call a Gap Year, but oh well, to each their own. I slouched down in a plastic chair out of the patio and stuffed my nose in a book. But with twenty 18-20 year olds (17 of which are girls) all flapping their lips, I managed to get through about two pages before I just gave up and retreated to the sanctuary of my bedroom, which I share with three other boys.

After a week of being here, I've gotten to know most of the group, and they're actually very nice people, the Hacienda is just not set up to accommodate such a large group. There are a few other solo travelers that, like me, are a little bewildered by living like bees in a hive, so we manage to find solidarity in each other.

I really am enjoying the work here, and I plan to write about our activities ASAP. Hasta Luego!

Scuba Steve!

I am now certified to breathe underwater; at least that’s the gist of it. You see, two weeks ago, I began my PADI Open Water Diver course. It was without a doubt, one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. 

The four day course began with theory and in pool exercises, pretty boring stuff to be honest. Although the feeling of breathing underwater is definitely worth the inconvenience of slapping a scuba tank on your back. But once we got these little requirements out of the way, it was time to move on to the real diving, open water. 

These Sea Stars come in all kinds of crazy colors.

The Galápagos is actually considered among experts to be the best place in the world for diving... it’s also one of the most difficult. The islands are affected by several strong ocean currents that make diving here difficult even for advanced divers. You have the Humbolt coming up from the south, the Cromwell Countercurrent from the West, and the Panamic Current coming from the north. All of these currents are changing on a daily basis, which means that visibility, temperature, and current strength can be different day to day. The benefit of having these currents is that they flood the Galápagos with tons of plankton, algae, and nutrient rich water, all of which attract large marine life. It is for this reason that the Galápagos is one of the best places in the world to see sharks, manta rays, turtles, and sea lions… and I saw plenty. 

Hey there!

Our open water dives began with the very humbling activity of struggling into a seven millimeter wetsuit. If there’s anything more revealing than a skin tight layer of neoprene I don’t know what it is. But putting all shame behind us, we suited up, clipped on our BCD’s (buoyancy control devices), strapped on our tanks, and took the plunge. At first it’s an odd feeling to breathe underwater, but that quickly goes away once you descend into the underwater world. Being down at 20 meters really does feel like being in another world. I’ve never been so surrounded by wildlife as when diving. At different points you’re swimming with schools of tropical fish, playing peek-a-boo with a moray eel, or being circled by hundreds of sharks. 

This Rock Scorpion Fish is quite the looker if I do say so myself.

I breezed through the practice, aced the tests, and before I knew it, was the proud owner of my diving certification. Along the way I had the privilege of meeting and diving with the executive coordinator of the Charles Darwin Station, who taught me countless things about the islands and what it’s like to live here. I also have to give a shout out to my amazing dive shop, who made it an unforgettable experience… thank you Scuba Iguana! 

Me, surrounded by sharks, grabbing onto the rocks to avoid being swept away by the very strong current.

These are all White Tipped Reef Sharks, but during our dives we also saw Black Tipped Sharks, and Hammerhead Sharks.