At the time, we didn’t realize it, but we were so lucky that this trip was actually able to happen! As I’m writing this, we’re on day 12 of nationwide protests in Ecuador. Probably, you haven’t heard about this because the international news coverage has been strikingly thin. In short, CONAIE, the organization representing allContinue reading “BFF Ecuadorian Adventures, Part 1: Quito & Mitad del Mundo”
Category Archives: Travel
Tena, Ecuador: Arahuana Jungle Resort & Spa
Sometimes I forget that Tena is actually a city surrounded by nature…rainforest nature. A mere 2.6 km outside Tena is this beautiful resort tucked away in the forest. We first heard about Arahuana from Shane’s work colleague, who described this magical Resort del Dia (resort for the day) package. So, a few weeks ago, whenContinue reading “Tena, Ecuador: Arahuana Jungle Resort & Spa”
A Baños (Ecuador) Birthday Bash!
That’ll technically be Baños de Agua Santa since you may know that baños also means toilets. However, throw that “de aqua” behind it, and you’re talking about a water bath, for which the town is named. Baños de Agua Santa is near the Tungurahua volcano, thus named for the natural hot springs in the area!Continue reading “A Baños (Ecuador) Birthday Bash!”
Hiking Cerro Mandango in Vilcabamba, Ecuador
Cerro Mandango, also known as “the sleeping Inca,” isn’t the only attraction in Vilcabamba, but it’s certainly one of the main ones. It felt wrong to leave without checking it out. So, when we found ourselves without plans on the last morning of our butterfly collecting trip, we hit the trail! This was quite easyContinue reading “Hiking Cerro Mandango in Vilcabamba, Ecuador”
Butterfly Collecting 101: Balsas & Vilcabamba, Ecuador
Guys, I’m a field biologist now! Ok, not really, but I did go on my first trip to the field with Shane, and I don’t think I did half bad! Shane has been to the field a few times now. He went to Tanzania for his PhD project and joined a group in Corsica betweenContinue reading “Butterfly Collecting 101: Balsas & Vilcabamba, Ecuador”
Quito, Ecuador – A Walking Tour of the Historic Center
Quito is a big city. Like, far-as-the-eye-can-see big. Now that we’ve settled into life here in Tena, we need long-term visas, which we can only apply for in Quito. Long story short, we are visa-less, but that’s still in motion, so it’s a story for another day. We planned for a long weekend in Quito,Continue reading “Quito, Ecuador – A Walking Tour of the Historic Center”
Greetings from Tena, Ecuador!
I’ve been slacking on the blog front. We’ve been here for two weeks, and I’m not quite sure how that happened so quickly. It feels like we’ve been going non-stop since we arrived. The trip from Germany was surprisingly uneventful. We left Munich at ~6:30 am, had a short layover in Amsterdam, then it wasContinue reading “Greetings from Tena, Ecuador!”
America Trip Part 2: Chicago
The first and only ever time I was in Chicago was with Shane back in 2014, just before we moved to the Netherlands. We were there for our friend Brian’s 30th birthday, and the only thing I really remember is that the famous Bean was right next to our hotel. That, and we all wentContinue reading “America Trip Part 2: Chicago”
The Shwits 