“Twenty Minutes”; and No Bathrooms on the Bus – Getting from Ecuador to Colombia

May 6, 2022May 7, 2022 ~ Activated Adventurers ~ 1 Comment

Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito, Ecuador is a relatively new facility, having opened in 2013. It replaced the former airport of the same name, which became obsolete when it could not be expanded any further because of the surrounding mountainous terrain. But it was at least conveniently located, near the heart of town. This … Continue reading “Twenty Minutes”; and No Bathrooms on the Bus – Getting from Ecuador to Colombia

Ode to Ecuador’s Circus Trash Cans

April 20, 2022July 6, 2022 ~ Activated Adventurers ~ 1 Comment

In cities of central Ecuador, you may have a surprise in store when it's time to discard some trash: you can do it with real panache. The cans for throwing things away are not olive green or gun-metal gray but decked with images of a circus almost to the point they irk us. Clowns and … Continue reading Ode to Ecuador’s Circus Trash Cans

Straddling the Equator at Mitad del Mundo

Finding our wat at the Equator in Ecuador

April 13, 2022July 6, 2022 ~ Activated Adventurers ~ Leave a comment

Ecuador, of course, is named after the equator, which passes more or less through the middle of it. So there was no way we could visit Quito, the closest major city to the equator, without paying our respects to this imaginary line that splits the globe in half. And that meant visiting Mitad del Mundo … Continue reading Straddling the Equator at Mitad del Mundo

Adios, Ambato; and Hola Again, Quito

April 10, 2022July 6, 2022 ~ Activated Adventurers ~ Leave a comment

During our final week volunteering in Ambato, Ecuador, we found ourselves tangled up in some of the notorious Ecuadorian red tape that some of our students have alluded to. As we've mentioned before somewhere, our preparations for this journey when we were back in the States included the purchase of a Steripen, a nifty little … Continue reading Adios, Ambato; and Hola Again, Quito

Monkeying Around in Puyo

April 7, 2022July 6, 2022 ~ Activated Adventurers ~ Leave a comment

Puyo, Ecuador turned out to be a bit of a disappointment -- at least as far as the city itself. We didn't see why anyone would recommend going there except for nearby attractions. Like the Amazon -- Puyo is the closest jumping off place to tour the jungle; even the tours leaving from Baños go through … Continue reading Monkeying Around in Puyo

Baños to Puyo

March 28, 2022July 6, 2022 ~ Activated Adventurers ~ 1 Comment

After our session of Performing and Poetry in the park, we jumped in an Uber and headed over to the bus terminal on the east side of Ambato. Destination: Return to Baños de Agua Santa Sunrise in Ambato, Volcan Tungurahua in the distance Our return trip to Baños involved two little lessons about the importance … Continue reading Baños to Puyo

Showtime in Ambato, Ecuador

February 26, 2022February 28, 2022 ~ Activated Adventurers ~ 1 Comment

Hard to believe that two years have gone by since our last performance of one of our theatrical programs in front of a live audience. That occurred in January of 2020 at the Charleston Museum in Charleston, SC, and we had no idea at the time that it was going to be our theatre company's … Continue reading Showtime in Ambato, Ecuador

Pailon del Diablo, Ecuador

February 24, 2022July 6, 2022 ~ Activated Adventurers ~ 1 Comment

Wrapping up our two-night stay in the resort town of Baños, we decided that the one thing we really wanted to do before heading back "home" to Ambato was to tour Pailon del Diablo (The Devil's Cauldron), a reputedly awe-inspiring waterfall a few miles out of town that many of our students had mentioned was … Continue reading Pailon del Diablo, Ecuador