Existing Member?

Taking the road less traveled Spending a year in five continents to embrace my "inner turtle", to live simply, and to avoid being shark bait!

Trip: On the equator

There are [12] stories from my trip: On the equator


Photos: Galapagos and rest of Ecuador

ECUADOR | Saturday, 1 Sep 2012 | Photo Gallery


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Wonders of Ecuador

ECUADOR | Saturday, 1 Sep 2012 | Views [5905]

How much fun can be packed in three weeks in Ecuador?  Enough to experience volcanoes and islands, urban and rural, ocean and mountain, and chills and warmth.  Yet there still isn't enough time for the Amazon!  What an amazing country it is. I traveled ... Read more >

Tags: boobies, cuenca, ecuador, galapagos, iguana, lonesome george, otavalo, papallacta, sea lion, white water rafting


Hasta la vista, Puerto Lopez!

ECUADOR | Saturday, 11 Aug 2012 | Views [2039]

I'm not entirely surprised by how quickly 2 months flew by in Puerto Lopez, but it still takes me by surprise when time came for me to pack up.  One of the things I enjoyed the most about this project, besides the work itself, is living in Puerto Lopez.... Read more >

Tags: bolon, calamari, corviche, empanada, jellyfish, miss list, puerto lopez, quaker, shark, turtle


The Poor Man's Galapagos

ECUADOR | Thursday, 2 Aug 2012 | Views [1373]

I've been eager to visit Isla de la Plata since arriving in Puerto Lopez.  I first learned about the island from Marine Megafauna Foundation, the org I worked with in Mozambique; they've been traveling there to tag and study the manta ray population ... Read more >

Tags: galapagos, isla de la plata, mora mora, scuba dive, sun fish, turtle capture


I "Trashed" the Ocean

ECUADOR | Monday, 23 Jul 2012 | Views [684]

Scuba diving isn't part of the "responsibilities" at my current volunteer project in Puerto Lopez, so I would need to book diving excursions on my own.  Luckily, the other two volunteers and the local coordinator, C, are all certified scuba ... Read more >

Tags: butterfly fish, isla ahorcados, isla salango, moray eel, puerto lopez, scorpion fish, scuba dive, surgeon, turtle, weight belt


Choose Life or Death?

ECUADOR | Sunday, 22 Jul 2012 | Views [1177]

Today was a day of extreme dichotomy, two polar opposites with a similar goal, yet the road could not be more different. The day started like most days with tiburones at the fish market.  Two volunteers had the early shift from 6:30 am to 7:30 am, ... Read more >

Tags: fishing, guayaquil, humpback whale, playita, profile, senor sushi, shark man, stingray, tourism, university


Cementerio de los tiburones

ECUADOR | Wednesday, 4 Jul 2012 | Views [1139]

If you read my previous story "My Grimmest Day in Tofo", you knew how heart wrenching and difficult it was to witness first hand the finning of sharks right on the beach. I would never forget the image of piles of sharks and rays at the ... Read more >

Tags: alopias pelagicus, equilibrio azul, fish market, hammerhead, pelagic thresher, shark fin, sphyrna zygaena


Yo quero tortugas, muerto o vivo!

ECUADOR | Wednesday, 27 Jun 2012 | Views [588]

One of the best transitions from my project in Tofo to the one here with Equilibrio Azul is continuing with the conservation of sea turtles.  Back at Tofo, I learned general knowledge plus the five species of turtles that reside there; luckily, four ... Read more >

Tags: beach patrol, green turtle, hawksbill, leatherback, los frailes, machalilla national park, olive ridley, turtle capture


Monkey Business

ECUADOR | Thursday, 21 Jun 2012 | Views [1128]

After two weeks in Quito, I headed to Puerto Lopez where my volunteer project is located.  It was a 12-hour bus ride from Quito to Puerto Lopez; Maria woke up at 4:30 AM to cook breakfast for me so I could be collected at 5:30 AM.  She also gave me a ... Read more >

Tags: forest, howler monkey, laura, pacoche, puerto lopez, turtle capture


Photos: Ecuador's La Costa

ECUADOR | Tuesday, 19 Jun 2012 | Photo Gallery

Along the coast of Ecuador
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Tags: fish market, los frailes, pacoche, puerto lopez, ray, shark finning, turtle


Living "High"

ECUADOR | Saturday, 16 Jun 2012 | Views [417]

Hola amigos!  I've been in Quito, Ecuador for almost two weeks, first trip to South America. I arrived Monday afternoon after flying on one of the most kids-filled flights ever.  The airport is literally smack in the middle of the city, so ... Read more >

Tags: cotopaxi, el centro histórico, equator, la mitad del mundo, maria, new town, old town, pichincha, quito, spanish lesson


Photos: Quito, Ecuador

ECUADOR | Sunday, 10 Jun 2012 | Photo Gallery


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