Short Story

Getting Ourselves Into Hot Water In Ecuador

I got back from the third and final day of my whitewater kayaking course around 6 PM. After a combined eighteen hours cramped into a tiny plastic river coffin, my bones, joints and muscles were aching in a way they hadn’t ached before. This is what it…

Trekking The Quilotoa Loop: Part 3

Unlike kids who grew up in the Midwest and the East Coast, kids who grew up in Southern California…

Hiking Ecuador’s Quilatoa Loop: Part One

We set off to hike Ecuador’s famed Quilatoa Loop with our friend Chuck. You can do the hike in about a million different ways depending on how hard or easy you want to make it. We chose to do a three-day, 25 mile section of the Loop, hiking from Sigchos to…

Happy Happy

At the hostel we stayed at in Montanita there was a little man named Juanito. Standing about five feet tall with dark black hair and…

The Makings of a Born Again Gearhead

Everyone has that friend who is into gear. For me, this is my friend, Ned.

My Best Attempt at Describing Colombian Food

A friend asked me the other day what the food is like in Colombia.

Donde Comen Dos, Comen Tres

Every morning in our Spanish immersion program, we start off the day by learning two or three Spanish idioms.

The Adventure is Always in the Transportation , Not the Destination

Telling Poop Jokes in Spanish

Two days ago I wrote about how we made our first Spanish joke and it felt like a big deal.

Technically, it was Brittany who made the joke and I just took half credit for it. And I’ll be honest with you. I was a little jealous. I wanted to make Spanish…