The second half of our Galapagos adventure was spent on Isabela Island, which is larger in size but much smaller in population. For reference, the number of permanent residents on Santa Cruz Island, where we spend the first half of the trip, is ~15,000 versus ~2,000 on Isabela. If we had it to do overContinue reading “Las Islas Galápagos: Isla Isabela”
Category Archives: Travel
Las Islas Galápagos: Isla Santa Cruz
I think it’s safe to say that Ecuador is most famous for the Galapagos Islands. Finally, after nearly two years of living here, we checked off a major bucket-list item! I’ll be honest. When I started planning this trip, I was overwhelmed. To start, the archipelago comprises 13 main islands, of which only 4 areContinue reading “Las Islas Galápagos: Isla Santa Cruz”
Cuyabeno Reserve, Ecuador
I’ll jump right in. This place is pure magic! There are two main nature reserves in Ecuador’s Amazon region: Yasuní National Park and Cuyabeno Reserve. Yasuní National Park is arguably the more famous one; it’s the biggest and has one of the highest biodiversity rates per square meter in the world. However, Cuyabeno is justContinue reading “Cuyabeno Reserve, Ecuador”
Midad del Mundo, el Teleférico, & Other Ecuadorian Adventures
Can we talk about the fact that it’s July? How did that happen? Shane and I are just back from a glorious 10 days in the Galápagos Islands (!!), but before I get to that, I need to round out my family trip back in *gasp* April, when my mom visited for about 3 weeks.Continue reading “Midad del Mundo, el Teleférico, & Other Ecuadorian Adventures”
Otavalo & Lago Cuicocha: A Day Trip from Quito
Twice now, I’ve taken a scheduled day tour from Quito, the first time to Quilotoa and now to the market in Otavalo. Twice I’ve had nothing but a positive experience, so if you’re short on time or don’t want the hassle of figuring out the bus system, a scheduled day trip is absolutely worth theContinue reading “Otavalo & Lago Cuicocha: A Day Trip from Quito”
La Isla de la Plata (the Poor Man’s Galapagos), Ecuador
La Isla de La Plata (or the Island of Silver) is an uninhabited island about an hour by boat off the coast of Puerto López, making it an easy and popular day trip and a “must-do” on our trip. Based on what we saw, all tours are nearly the same. So, although we scheduled ourContinue reading “La Isla de la Plata (the Poor Man’s Galapagos), Ecuador”
Puerto López, Ecuador
Man, life has been busy lately! February and March were quiet, but then it was a month and a half of going nearly non-stop! My mom & cousin visited for three weeks; there was a week-long conference in Tena that Shane (and, therefore, I) participated in; we had some friends (and co-lab members) in TenaContinue reading “Puerto López, Ecuador”
Anaconda Lodge in the Amazon Rainforest, Napo, Ecuador
For the past year, I’ve been taking Spanish classes online. The people in your class change from day to day, so typically, the teachers start by having everyone briefly introduce themselves. Where are you from? Where do you live? Why are you learning Spanish? Consequently, one of the first phrases I learned was “Vivo enContinue reading “Anaconda Lodge in the Amazon Rainforest, Napo, Ecuador”
The Shwits 