For the last ten days we have been living in Achupallas. Achuapallas is a rural village located about 40 minutes from Otavallo. Many of the people there speak Keshwa, the indigenious language, but much of the younger generations now speak spanish. The people who live there are mostly subsistance farmers, and much of our diet while there consisted of potatoe and rice soup.
We spent our days doing work in… Read More
Ian: As the first to write a blog entry I want to say ¨¡Hola Ecuador!¨ We are currently staying in a small town called Mindo in an absolutely lovely hostel called Cabaños Bambus. Our journey here was pleasant if a little tiring and long. On the flight to Ecaudor I was able to practice my Spanish with a Colombian girl which was very nice. Flying into Quito through the low-hanging… Read More
¡Hola! ¿Que mas?
Estoy en ecuador, ensenando espanol mas con mis amigos. El pais de ecuador es muy bonita y la comida muy rico. En todo, es muy bueno… Anyway, I´m done speaking spanish right now, I tried so that´s what matters. This is an amazing country and it is breathtakingly beautiful.
-Cole Pfautz
South America 2012
… Read More
We just wanted to let all of the South America blog followers know that the group landed safe and sound yesterday in Ecuador. They were picked up by Cabanas Bambu and have been enjoying settling in and orienting to the program, Ecuador, and one another. They will be updating the blog themselves shortly and sharing their journey as they move forward.
All the best,
Heather Diamond
Program Director
Carpe Diem… Read More
Hey Everyone!
After a long day for some of the crew in LA, everyone met up at 10:30 PM amidst lots of hugs, handshakes, smiles, and laughter. After a quick circle outside the LACSA kiosk playing some get to know you games and making a giant pile of bags, they proceeded through security to begin their journey to Quito.
We are sending lots of love to our South America crew… Read More
Welcome to the beginning! T-minus 13 days and the action begins.
Dear readers, get ready for some epic tales of adventure brought to you via SAM 2012. Robbie and Michelle here in beautiful Portland, Oregon, spending 2 weeks readying ourselves at the Carpe Diem Headquarters.
A few things we are looking forward to: landscapes, rice, learning together, crazy bus rides, llamas, and more! Stay tuned & please check in often,… Read More
Hello from Cuzco!! We have just arrived back to the Incan Capitol last night after an amazing (and completely exhausting) 5 day trek to Machu Picchu. It all started on Thursday night when our tour guide, the legendary Antonio walked in the door of our hostel to give us an overview for the next couple days and a warning to be ready at 6:00 am the next morning. So there … Read More
Hello from Cusco otra vez! We’ve survived the jungle! After returning to our hostel in Puerto Maldonado from Robin’s jungle abode, we all parted ways to drop off our pretty foul-smelling laundry and to find some food. We finally reunited with Lizzy and Meghan (think “chariots of fire”), who had prepared everybody some pretty bomb iced lemonade. That night we all went out to one last group dinner with Robin… Read More
We have just returned from an amazing four night stay in the forest. Not just the forest—the Amazon Jungle. It was incredible. Everything is so much richer there: the air, the smells, the soil, the life. It truly was a sensory overload; and not everything we felt, heard and smelt was totally positive: the mosquitoes, bees and flies buzzing incessantly in our ears, the constant need to scratch our legs,… Read More
Ayyo Ayyo what up what up once again!
After finishing the last week of spanish school with a Samana Santa grub festival, mostly fish (almost traumatic), but also delicious ceviche with our spanish teachers. Teaching all of the group, teachers included the game el hombre lobo (werewolf?) or Mafia was definitely an experience. Each time i stay in a homestay or just sit down with someone new, different color of… Read More
Hello friends and family!
We’ve just returned to Cusco after our week of free travel. After weeks of discussing and some planning, we chose to take the 10 hour overnight bus to Arequipa, and have the city be our home base for the week. We spent the first couple days hanging around the city, going to museums, markets, and eating far too much gelato.
Our second stop was the small… Read More
Hello from Cusco! Or Cuzco, depending on how you spell it. Today is our last day in the city before heading off to Arequipa and the beach for our week of free travel. Our week in Cusco has been incredible! On Monday we met our respective host families and began our Spanish classes at FairPlay language school. The school employs single mothers in an effort to break the cycle of… Read More
Another week has gone by and we have reached the half way point! After leaving Achupallas with a tearful goodbye, we arrived back in Otavalo for some hot showers and retail therapy! We were really successful, especially Kai who is now the proud owner of 2 hammocks and a hammock chair. The next day we took about a 2 hour bus ride and arrived in Quito to explore the city… Read More
It´s been a while since the last blog post. We spent ten days without any internet in Achupallas- a very rural community in the mountains above Otavalo. Otavalo famous town with one of largest outdoor markets in the world. They sell everything– blankets, jackets, instruments, jewelry, food, hammocks, hats, etc. After the time we spent there before and after our rural homsetays, the twelve of us could probably open up… Read More
What up what up!
Hello as well as goodbye from yours truly Cade, this past week has been a journey nonetheless. From Switching schools for volunteering to one of the best ego building experiences of my life.. futbol with the kids at the new school. Being a gringo ( such a surprise i know right?) i feel as if i was underestimated, and my the end of the recess my… Read More
Tomorrow morning we are all powering through a 4 AM bus ride as we say goodbye to Banos, leave our host families, and head to Otovalo and then the Tundanga Foundation for a little over a week of volunteering in a tree nursery. New host families, new adventures, and new fun times lie ahead!
But today it´s hard to say goodbye. Kai and I recieved homemade bracelets and a huge… Read More
I am blogging from the popular internet cafe in the center of the small town in Ecudaor where we currently reside, Banos. We have been here for 10 days, long enough for us to already have our favorite cafe´s and hangout spots. When we are not playing Spanish Scrabble, hangingout, and eating with our homestay families, we all love to get together at Cafe Hood, this cute, warmly lit cafe… Read More
Hello to everyone back home, from Cali to South Cackalacky. It’s hard believe that it has been almost two weeks since we first arrived in Ecuador. It seems as though we have been here for months and also like we just arrived yesterday. We are now in our third location: Baños, and it is simply beautiful. The town is a bit touristy with outdoor sports companies and currently with Carnival,… Read More
Hello everyone in cyberworld. I and my only fellow Southerner, Lizzy, are on a scavenger hunt in downtown Guayaquil. We have been practicing are rusty Spanish with the local people, often being corrected and hopefully not being rude. Guayaquil is a great city on the coast with a lot to offer. Unfortunately, I have yet to try the seafood, but it will happen.
Anyhoo, we´re off to win the scavenger… Read More
So we´ve arrived in Guayaquil! Such a beautiful place it is, and the people so welcoming. It´s incredible to see the relatibility of humans even beyond simple communication. Conversing with others traveling through the hostel has been insightful as to occurrences and precautions in other countries and areas of the continent, but even moreso just incredible to sit in communion with people unkown to yourself to share and learn WITH… Read More
