A Day in the Life

 Lead-Adventures, Ecuador offers a three week immersion program volunteering in the Galapagos.  It’s designed for the tribal traveller that wants to experience the Galapagos from a different perspective while taking an adventure that includes oversea journeys between Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, and Isabella! 

 Fruit and vegetables- The new dawn of pirates in the Galapagos

As a result of a lack of fruit and vegetable production on the Galapagos Islands, boats from the Ecuadorian mainland unload fruits and vegetables to hotels, restaurants, and markets on a daily basis. Quarantine regulations are consistently ignored and at least two exotic and/or invasive plant or faunal species enter the islands each day. The Biological Station has worked to develop reforestation, habitat reconstruction, and agro forestry activities utilizing native species for the last 18 years throughout Ecuador.

 Volunteers will work on both the habitat restoration and agricultural components while at the reserve. In addition foundation staff will lead volunteers on various destination hikes to a nearby lagoon, native forests, beaches, and local villages to explain the ecological and human dynamic of Galapagos. Opportunities to work on group research and monitoring projects are available.

    For the Adventurist…… 

The Three weeks is split between exploring the Islands and volunteering.  The first week is designed so that your first three days are spent exploring the beaches and wildlife on the islands.  At the end of the week you volunteer for two days on Santa Cruz and then have a day off to dive, kayak, and find other activities such as biking and hiking.                                            

 The second week is spent on Santa Cruz volunteering at The Jutan Sacha Biological Reserve.  You will stay in Safari like accommodations in the reserves group accommodation.  The reserve is a community and other volunteers will join you while your days are split between morning and afternoon shifts eliminating foreign threats to native species of plants and repoplulating plants choked out by these threats!  

Relax and enjoy Isabella 

After working hard and volunteering on San Cristobal, the last week is spent exploring and soaking up the sights and sounds of Isabella.  Three days of tours to the Tourise Breeding Center, the Wall of tears, and the nearby Volcano are followed by two days off to spend at your leisure. 

For information and details about the program, dates, costs, and other options such as diving, snorkeling, and say trips, contact me through savvytravellergalapagos@gmail.com 

You can also sign up to follow the newest trip going in August here!

http://globetrooper.com/three-week-volunteer-adventure-trip-to-the-galapagos-2010

Through working at the Secret Garden Hostel in Quito I learned a lot about the people who make up the places and activities that Ecuador has to offer.  The Galapagos is the bread winner for those who try and make a living while keeping a healthy perspective about the way they are living.

The learning curve for travellers is steep.  Hostels vary in quality and commitment to those staying there.  The Secret Garden is a very well regarded hostel because the owners are hands on and make the effort to treat their guests like they would want to be treated.  Because of this a lot of people in the hostel business respect and aspire to create simular places.  At the Garden, we try and find those people who have like minded philosophy’s when in comes to treating thier guests. No small amount of time is spent trying to find honest, helpful people who are passionate about their guests experiencing the best of Ecuador.

Enter Katrien from Hostel Tiana and Llullu LLama.  Along with her friends, contacts, and partners who make up the two hostels in the Latacunga loop She is a great person to know if your interested in a great experience.   I found her through a campaign to find someone who knew their way around the Quilatoa Loop and were good at giving baclpackers options for thier budget that doesn´t include being regulated to next on the list behind those who want to buy expensive tours.

Katrien is one of those passionate souls that moved to Ecuador and learned the ropes in Quito working in a travel agency and as a guide.  She´s got a hip way of helping people and is just good at what she does. Her hostels include a trekking business,  A very thought out Galapagos discount site, and options for jungle and climbing opportunities that give people the answers and choices that they look for but often don’t find before catching a flight to South America.

She does what she does because she loves doing it.  Her hostels are small and they are known for their laid back, comfortable ambiance.  Her guests want the experience of rural Ecuador.  She provides this through volunteer programs, guided tours of the loop, and backpacking options to tours.

When I sat down with her she astounded me with her expertise and helpfulness.  She´s smart where others are pencil pushers.  This counts a lot when it comes to tours, cruises, and generally travelling here.   The Savvy that She exhibits is what sets her apart from the normal tour operators and makes it apparent that sometimes in Ecuador we get too used to the run of the mill slogans, procedures, and paraphernalia that litters the streets in Quito.  She offers complete packages for any kind of traveller one is prone to meet when travelling the gringo trail and gives them the chance for personal, custom designed tours of the Galapagos, the jungle, and the Andes. here

Usually the discounts she offers on cruises in the Galapagos are up to a hundred dollars less that those in Quito.  She has a partner in Quito that can meet people and can be reached by phone.  References  are readily available to ease peoples worries.  If you are reading this and want to contact her, email her at savvytravellergalapagos@gmail.comand it will be forwarded to her direct email.  This is a precaution against spam and those who want to contact her for less than honorable reasons.

“Notions of chance and fate are the preoccupation of men engaged in rash undertakings” –Cormac Mccarthy  I recently met three people travelling from Columbia that came to Ecuador with a mission.  To buy a bus! After meeting them at the Secret Garden Hostal i was a little skeptical at first.  They had just come from Columbia after working the season in Colorado as bartenders.  They met the third in thier party in a hostel in Columbia and had hatched thier plan to buy a bus and travel around Ecuador until August and then travel down to Peru and whatever leads thier way next.After hearing about thier adventures so far, scouring Quito for a suitable vechicle and finding the right people to help them with paerwork and mechanics, I was soon aboard at least in spirit and started mentally trying to list friends that have been in Ecuador long enough to help them with thier quest.Sure enough a few days later I met them again while taking a break from a hectic schedule and they were in possesion of a twenty person bus aptly named the Gypsie Train.  The next step in the plan was to get in roadworthy with all the bells and whilstles needed for travelling the country in comfort.Alex, Alaena, Hannah, and Jack are now on thier maiden voyage with thier final destination being Montanita on this trip.  They have a blog and are looking for passengers to join them.  They plan to travel around Ecuador till August so if you are headed this way email me and I can let you know where they are and how you can connect with them on their trips. They plan on charging fellow adventurures a small amount to cover gas and costs.  They also just went all in to pay for the bus and anyone adventurous enough to help them keep the dream alive would be most welcome.. Email me at savvytrallerecuador@gmail.com for information as I am in contact with them and helping them find people to hop on the bus in Quito!

We here in Quito and trying to keep in touch with all those people that we have met at The Secret Garden Hostel, Finn McCool’s and Uncle Ho’s in the Mariscal, and Lead-Adventures, Hostel Tiana, and The Surf Shak.. Working with those travelling around South America is great but it gets to be a drag when you don’t here from people after they leave. So we are trying this as a test to see if people respond to it and if we get enough of a response from all the adventurous travellers in South America at the moment we are going to start an official postcard campaign for all of the places above.. Our walls are looking a little too clean and we think it would be cool to fill them with postcards of other people travelling with tips for others headed your way next. So if you have been to Ecuador, are coming here, or are just on the road travelling around, go to the link below and leave a tip about a great place you’ve been, cool place to stay, or something that you think others would appreciate checking out! If you want to hear more about the postcard campaign in the future keep checking back as I am going to be working on the details based on the responses we get!

Jet Set Zero // How to Find Work Abroad

A few weeks ago I met a woman named Jenna who is from Los Angeles and in town for three months working for an online tv show about living and working in Quito with her three roomates. The Show, Jet Set Zero, has had five other seasons in , Seattle,USA , Saigon, Vietnam (I), Tokyo, Japan, Seoul, South Korea, Istanbul, Turkey, and Saigon,Vietnam(II).

Jenna found out about the program form an airline magazine and decided that despite having a good life in the States, her passion for travel had reared it´s head and it was time for a new chapter in her life. Enter Quito and the more than ample challenges that face people living and working here.

I´ve found that when travelling there are moments that just fall into place and you find yourself experiencing new oputunities and meeting the right people that are doing things that you are passionate about and have a common interest and character that immediately turns to a new friendship. This blog is about those people and the place and amazing things that they are doing. Jenna is no exception.

She contacted me through couchsurfing, which I am very active on and the week before foud someone a place to live and job when She needed to relocate from Peru.

Jenna was looking for information about Ecuador and saw that I have a very close network of friends and contacts here in Ecuador from living and working here for over two years. Through my jobs at The Secret Garden Hostel and a few travellers bars and restaurants I have made friends that have worked and lived here for years in the travel field. I have used these contacts to point people looking for adventure towards the best options I know that have proven themselves to be reliable and trustworthy.

After She contacted me, we arranged to meet at a restaurant called Uncle Ho´s in the Mariscal, where I have been involved in hosting weekly travellers meetings on Monday nights that coincides with a weekly movie night. She was friendly and relaxed despite just arriving here and in the space of an hour had made friends with the usual group of local ex-pats sitting at the bar talking to the Irishman who owns the joint.

Having made an impression and needing to get home for an interview as a magiciasn´s assistant for the tv program, We exchanged contact information and called it a night.

Jet Set Zero // Arrested kinda via kwoutet

Since then the show has been eventlful! The crews camaera got stolen on the way back from Banos, a few of the people participating have had the beginner travelers luck of finding themselves relieved of phones or hasstled by some of the not so friendly minority that livesw in Quito, and one of the Jet Set Zero cast was temporaily put in a rolling immagration jail when he forgot to bring copies of his passport when exploring Old town.

Despite these setbacks the cast and show are making an appearance and finding thier way to the sought out destinations that can be reached within a few hours of Quito.

As for Jenna, She made an imoression on the owner of Uncle Ho´s and has forgone the assistant job and oppurtunities to teach English for a job working in the restaurant talking to locals and travllers about how they spend thier time while in this widely diverse country. Keep your eyes on the Jet Set Zero site and this blog for further develoments.

A good friend of mine moved to a few months ago to realize a dream.  She started a surf and yoga camp for woman that´s meant to bring out your inner badass. 

Betty Surf & Yoga Camp

Patrica White started in Quito after coming from Colorado and Texas roots to work for an organization that leads groups of student volunteer to various projects around the country.  She worked in this field for two years and was responsible for creating the projects and making the logistics work.  She finally realized that despite the good she was accomplishing, she had her own vision to fulfill and made her way to Canoa on the coast of Ecuador.

Ladies, it’s time to pull up your skirts and catch some waves! Betty Surf & Yoga now serves up the Zen of surfing on the pristine beaches of Ecuador, presenting a 9 day Yoga, Meditation and Surf itinerary packed with all the gear needed for an adventure sports playground on the beach. This women’s retreat is a place to reconnect with all the Betties out there looking for their dream getaway, honing beginner surf skills while treating your mind and body to the holism of the surf experience. Travel to a sweet spot on the planet with a chick crew amped to Surf, practice Yoga and Meditate the day away.

Jet Set Zero.tv Quito

 I´ve heard great things about this and the guy who runs it.. The real jungle experience!

Wachimak is an indigenous community of the Kichwas in the Amazon jungle, located in the province of Napo in eastern Ecuador. We need the help of volunteers, teaching children as well as adults, helping out with reforestation and construction work. Please bear in mind that this is a very raw community project and volunteers therefore need to know how to work independently and on own initiative.

We can also use the help of engineers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, doctors, dentists and people educated in agriculture. We also accept journalists and travel writers if you wish to write about our community.

http://wachimak.com/

                                                    There´s a new company that takes the hastle out of bus travel by offering pre bought routes through out the country on thier busses.  Check out their site for tickets, times that busses are where, and get a feel for what they do as opposed to travel from major bus depots.

http://www.hoponecuador.com/inicio_in.html

If your interested in the beach and want to bypass the fun but full on party scene, give Canoa a shot.  Pete at www.canoathrills.com came to Ecuador with his wife and never left the beach!  They bought a bar called the Surf Shak and now have contacts and are property managers, have a outdoor recreation business, and can give you information about surfing, volunteering, and living in Canoa.  They also take volunteers at the bar from time to time if you want to spend your time there living rent free for a few shifts a week behind the bar!  Really good people from Colorado!http://www.canoathrills.com/

Read the rest of this entry »

I have been working and volunteering at the Secret garden, Quito on and off since I got to Quito two years ago.  It´s a really good place to stay and meet others that are travelling in South America.  The staff are all volunteers that usually stay for a month.

I created the facebook page mainly for the volunteers as they come and go and when a new group starts, it´s tough to figure out answers to the guests questions about Quito.  On the discussion page there are lists of answers to questions about volunteering, busses, things to do, bike rentals, The Secret Garden, Cotopaxi, Police and Embassies, and every other question that someone has asked me.  It´s a work in progress and I am concentrating on this space for those things I hear about weekly.  If you have questions about that´s not on the list, email me at GringoinQuito@gmail.com or leave a comment with a way to contact you and I will get you relevant information!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Quito-Ecuador/The-Secret-Garden-Quito/147097705488?v=app_2373072738&ref=ts