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
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
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
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
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
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
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
In Spanish, the word baño means literally bath, though it's often used to mean bathroom as well. So you really have to wonder what the intent was in naming that unfortunate town in California Los Baños. There was clearly no malice, however, in naming the resort town in Ecuador. Even though everyone just calls it … Continue reading Baños de Agua Santa, Ecuador – First Impressions
Our third volunteer position on our tour was tutoring English at the South American Language Center in Ambato, Ecuador, for 3 weeks. This consisted of spending 25 hours a week (each) having conversations with students, just so they would have a chance to practice English with a native speaker. We could talk about pretty much … Continue reading Life as a Volunteer: Teaching English in Ambato, Ecuador
Let's face it, we've often gotten an image of Latin American countries as dangerous places. Such impressions are rooted in long outdated events like civil wars, or in the Hollywood staple of the drug trade -- which does indeed exist, but rarely has a violent impact on ordinary citizens. In regards to Guatemala, the capital … Continue reading Guatemala City to Quito, Ecuador
world travel with a theatrical flair 