Living The Good Life

Banos. I go virtually speechless when I think about the weekend Dave and I recently spent at this small town that is located on the base of the mountains as well as a hop, skip, and jump away from the jungles of Ecuador. It was incredible, the kind of weekend that makes you stop and gaze around in absolute wonder, saying "I can't believe I am in Ecuador!" Teaching at an American Academy in a different country has all sorts of perks, one of them being that you are given days off for American holidays as well as for Ecuadorian holidays. This past weekend our small little school celebrated Thanksgiving while the rest of the country of Ecuador did not. It is a perfect time to travel because the rest of the country is working and you have your destination of choice almost entirely to yourself. So was the case with Banos. The trip did not start out as one would hope. Twelve teachers and loved ones loaded up into the school van for the eight hour drive to Banos. About hour thre

I know, I know--it has been quite awhile since I have posted. This is partly due to life being crazy on the Richert Ranch, but also because life in Ecuador seems more and more normal each day and that is definitely limiting my blog material. I am not entirely sure how I feel about being totally comfortable with seeing a family of five zipping around Guayaquil on the back of a motorcycle, or of seeing the boy painted in gold doing back flips in front of cars stopped at one of the busiest intersections in the city. But there you have it--part of everyday life here in beautiful Ecuador. Christmas vacation is coming up soon (just three more weeks) and Dave and I will be headed back to the states to visit family and friends. Talking about our encroaching visit, we realized that we will probably experience a bit of a culture shock when we step off the plane in the states. Taxis will seem overpriced, as well as food (what? meals are going to cost more than $3.00?), the air will smell differe

This past weekend, Dave and I travelled to Ecuador's premiere surf beach with a group of friends. It was the first three-day weekend we have had for awhile, and we were all looking forward to lounging on the beach and playing in the warm water. Alas, it was not to be...it never stopped raining the entire time we were there. But no worries, we still had a wonderful time in the muddy (and I mean muddy) streets of Montanita. We stayed in this wonderful hostel, Charro's, that was right on the beach. The rooms were clean and actually had hot water, something Dave and I are lacking in our apartment right now. Our room faced the beach and had a hammock on the patio that looked over the ocean. We were able to go to sleep to the sound of crashing waves outside our window. Well, the first night we got crashing waves; the second night there was a party going on next door until the wee hours of the morning so we went to sleep with the sound of the thumping bass from all the greatest 80'