Isla de la Plata

Isla de la Plata is an island about an hour by boat off the coast of Ecuador, near Puerto Lopez. A few days ago, a group of international travelers and I hired a guide to take us on a day trip to this wildlife refuge. If I were to choose a place to set up a tent anywhere in Ecuador, it would be there...

This time of year this island is the habitat of various tropical birds, including the Blue Footed Boobie (pata azul, en español), the Frigata, and the star hummingbird. The patas azules were actually in various stages of nesting. Their nests, which are simply indentations in the dirt, were right next to the path we were hiking on, and thus, we could study the eggs, chicks, and parents quite closely. The chicks were adorable scrawny bits of white fluff stretching their tiny necks out for a bit of digested fish from their parents. The eccentric-looking, slow moving adults took turns sitting or standing on the nests, protecting their young from the glaring sun, while making noises sounding like air through a bottle. I fell in love with them instantly.

After not enough time bird watching, we hiked back down to the shore for some amazing snorkeling. With our heads under the surface of the tepid water, a whole secret world of coral and brightly colored fish was revealed. There were looong blue, yellow, and white fish with tails that looked like their noses, tiny neon orange fish, and schools of silvery shimmering fish. Sea urchins poked their maroon spines out from pockets in the coral.

Thanksgiving...Planet Drum style!

Thursday was el dia de gracias, and being full of fiesta-loving, holiday-missing gringos, the Planet Drum house had to celebrate. We invited all of our neighborhood friends over for our Thankgiving feast. Those of us from the states helped to brainstorm our favorite Thanksgiving dishes and we each chose something to prepare.

That morning, we all woke up surprisingly early, due to our excitement, and went to the market to try to find ingredients. We quickly discovered that this was to be no simple task. The boys found a turkey, but had to settle for a chicken because the former was so expensive. As for spices, no one in town could tell us where to find sage, rosemary, or thyme. At least I found nutmeg and cinnamon for the squash (no pumpkin) pie.

After a quick morning at work, we eagerly began the epic and chaotic preperation of dinner. In addition to there being 8 cooks in our tiny kitchen trying to do our best with an oven with no thermometer, no running water, and 4 little stovetop burners, there was also the frequent loitering of our jolly and inebriated friends, earnestly contributing cooking tips and taking up space.

Four gallons of sangria, 6 hours, and many burned dishes later, the 20 of us feasted. It was delicious!

Friends practicing poi (without fire)

This is Darlene, Aaron, and Marcus practicing poi on the beach in Bahia.

Seeds, words, and tidepools

Friday morning I planted the slimiest, smelliest seeds imaginable.

Friday afternoon, Ramon the teacher, two high school students, Lillian and I chilled on the grass in the park instead of having class. We shared the most essential words we could think of in Spanish and English (ecology terms, basic grammar, and cuss words), practiced poi, and ate sesame seeds.

Friday night we boated to Canoa for lattes, dancing, and a break from Bahia.

Saturday we biked from Canoa to Rio Muchacho, the organic farm that some of our friends work at. We never arrived at the farm, but we did encounter vociferous tropical birds, a herd of skinny cows, bike-chasing dogs, muddy streams, and a beautiful orange flower.

After arriving back in Canoa, we met up with our gringo and Ecuadorian surfer friends for laughs and drinks. I do not recommend a notorious drink called uña. It is a potion of nasty things made into an even nastier tasting alcoholic beverage, often consumed as proof of virility. However, I do recommend eating a brunch of empanadas and exploring the tidepools of Canoa on a Sunday afternoon after body surfing. The crabs are amazing, as are the billions of tiny cone-shaped mollusks.

Poi, Surfing, Digging holes

Today I (along with my compadres, Clay, Jaime, and Aaron) dug a bunch of holes and lugged some huge posts up an impossibly steep hill to deliniate the boundaries of a new reforestation site.

Yesterday I tried surfing for the first time. The ocean tossed me around like a little twig. I must have swallowed at least a gallon of salt water. My stomach hurts too much from the board rash to go out today again, but I´ll try again tomorrow.

My poi skills are getting better. I can do a few ¨trucos¨(tricks) without fire. This weekend I´ll try it with fire, if the practice session with Rafael and his brother go well this afternoon.



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Bahia de Caraquez

Today is the second day I have been at Bahia de Caraquez and a part of the Planet Drum community. Bahia is a formerly booming city on the coast of Ecuador. It was hit three times by natural disasters (el Niño, an earthquake, and a marine virus which crippled the local shrimping industry), resulting in a decrease in population by roughly half, and a high unemployment rate. In the city´s rebuilding stage, people were excited to make a new start with a new environmental focus, and with the backing of the mayor, declared Bahia an ´¨eco-city¨. Schools formed eco-clubs, human powered taxis lined the streets, and a new waste collection system was set up in which trash would be separated into organic waste, recyclable waste, and refuse. However, time has passed, the funds ran out, and Bahia today is an eco-city mostly in name. The eco-taxies still remain, but trash is no longer separated. Mainly, Bahia can be characterized as a lively and friendly small town with nice beaches and lots of run-down habitations.

More on what I´m actually doing here will come later...

Quito, ah Quito!

Yestereday Lillian and I walked to Old Town and were caught by surprise in an amazing hail-lightning-thunder storm. The storm left old town a grey and chilly place with not many people. We walked around and found a few treasures. We ducked inside an ornate and forboding stone church with gothic spires and stained glass windows, then went off in pursuit of dinner. We found a tiny place with bananas everywhere. We were served by a friendly family and had some excellent plantains. Eventually we caught a bus back to our hostel and slept for 12 hours.

This morning we found a hospital so Lil could get her yellow fever vaccine. It was wonderfully easy and inexpensive to obtain. We found the best public park in the world...running paths, soccer fields, tennis courts, botanical gardens with awesome orchids, and the best part of all....a catepillar train that was blasting reggaeton music and fishtailing around the park for 50 cents a ride. That catepillar is the coolest thing i have seen and ridden on in my entire life!

Quito...estamos aquí!!!

We have arrived in Quito, Ecuador after a nerve-wracking departure from the Bay, a short flight to LA, the best lay-over in history*, and an 8 hour flight to Colombia. We sucessfully navigated the bus (which was playing regaetton music, resulting in instant euphoria) to New Town and found the cutest hostel ever. We´re about to leave this traveler´s village, as it is appropriately refered to, and are headed over to Old Town to see the sights. Stay posted for some photos of the breathtaking mountains around here...


*We had 4 hours in LA to burn before our flight to South America, so we went exploring. We found a rose garden, a hot tub, and a swimming pool. Who knew LA could be so enjoyable?!