Galapagos, here I come

This isn't a post as much as an announcement that I won't be posting for a while. Tomorrow I head for San Cristobal island in the Galapagos for my 4 weeks of habitat restoration and island exploring. I'll be volunteering with the Jatun Sacha Foundation, which has a project site on San Cristobal where they are attempting to return the area to original native vegetation. From what I've been told, my work will consist of removing non-native plants (blackberry bushes especially), planting native vegetation, working with local farmers on agricultural projects, fencing, and fixing up the project buildings. Maybe not as glamorous as spotting whale sharks from the deck of a boat in the Maldives, but I'm looking forward to the experience. However, I won't have much internet access, so I probably won't be putting much on the blog in March. If you're really interested in what I'm likely getting up to, you can check out this flyer (http://www.jatunsacha.org/wp-content/descargas/san-cristobal-biological-reserve-en.pdf)

Old town Quito

Clouds over Cuenca

As far as the mainland of Ecuador goes, I've been here a little over 3 weeks now, from the cities to the jungle to the Andes, and it's been a great time. I don't have a lot of photos to share because I'm sad to report that my camera stopped working. This meant that I spent a lot of time frantically trying to find a reasonable replacement before leaving for Galapagos (I did) instead of taking photos this month, but the trips around this country have been really interesting. There are a lot of different cultural influences in Ecuador, especially in the jungle regions and the Andes, which make for intriguing talks with people, and the scenic and natural resources of the country are among the top in the world. Taking bus trips through the Andes, I saw some of the most beautiful scenery of the whole trip, and the jungles of Ecuador can hold their own with any of the Amazonian countries. To top it off, the people are friendly, it's easy to travel around, and one of the most inexpensive countries I've been to.

The river next to the city of Banos

Overlooking Quito's old town

Just a few of the activities/sights I've experienced while in Ecuador:

• Found a tarantula on the walkway to my room in the jungle
• Mountain biked at 15,000 ft next to a volcano
• Ate roasted guinea pig
• Swung on a vine in the jungle
• Walked through Spanish colonial ruins, built over the top of Inca ruins, built over the top of Canari ruins (locals the Inca took over)
• Fished for (but didn't catch) piranha 
• Saw 4 kinds of monkeys, dozens of kinds of birds, two kinds of giant rodents, and more insects that I could count

And best of all, this was all before I left for the highlight of the country: The Galapagos!