The Journey of a Friendly Giant

There’s something strange that happens when you get out of your comfort zone and explore a different country and culture. Travelling is a fantastic way to blow your own mind enough to change your perspective about many things in life.  As you may know, this blog originated as a travel blog. Though my life has changed tremendously since my time in South America, I still enjoy travelling quite a bit. " Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime ."  Mark Twain is a wise man! And that is one of my favorite quotes of all time because I couldn't agree more. If you’ve never felt like an absolute alien in a new environment where people ask you on a regular basis why you choose to do what you do, wear what you wear, and say what you say; then I high...

During the week, Paúl, from work, told me about his weekend in Puerto Lopez and how amazing it was. He  described it as simply  Magical and I was immediately convinced. I quickly packed my bags, then a few friends and I were off to Puerto Lopez, filled with wonder and excitement about what had yet to come. Puerto Lopez is a small fishing village set in the Pacific coast of the Ecuadorian province of Manabí. It has a population of about 16000 and its main industries include fishing, eco tourism and jewelry making. It is known for its beautiful white sanded beaches, great seafood and the Machalilla national park that offers fantastic whale watching. A small island nearby named Isla de la Plata, also holds the nickname “poor man’s Galapagos” because it shares many unique seabirds with the enchanting Galapagos Islands. As a lover of nature and its many wonders, I personally couldn’t wait to learn more about the interesting biodiversity of the sea life. Puerto Lopez is located abo...

My new girl status is finally beginning to wear off, and it seems like most of the employees are warming up to my presence at work. YESSSSSSSSSS ! My job here is strongly related to ecotourism development. Keeping that in mind, and also out of pure curiosity, I always ask if they have an opinion of a location in Ecuador that has mastered their tourism sector. My love for travel makes me happy that each employee that I speak with has their own opinion a location that I simply  must visit in Ecuador. This week Andrés, a tour guide, suggested I visit the city of Baños, (pronounced banios ). Baños is a small city with a population if 18000 people. Located about 7 hours away from Guayaquil, a pillow for the travelling bus is a good idea. Baños is very picturesque and located in the middle of  valley surrounded by the Sierra, and next to the Tungarahua volcano that is 5015 meters tall. The active Volcano allows Baños to have several hydrothermo hotsprings ,or naturall...