Epic Adventure 2.0

I realize I'm about 4.5 months late in posting this, but hey, better late than never!!! ;)

Over my big break this year, my parents came for a couple of weeks (see last post), I then rested in Asuncion for a couple of weeks, and then it was off to Colombia and Ecuador to explore, explore, explore! I didn't really start taking notes until we got to Quito, Ecuador, but will try and go back and fill in the gaps as I remember it! Enjoy!!! xo, m

Bogota = touring my new school (CNG), penthouse apartment with Eric and Lisa and the fam!, exploring my new stomping grounds, touring various apartments, cyclovia, excitement building for moving to a new city!!!

CNG -- my new school come July




Cyclovia -- an entire main avenue is shut down every Sunday so people can walk, bike, and explore the city! love it!!


Chocolate Santaferena -- yep, that's hot chocolate with cheese!!! que extrano!


La Candelaria neighborhood in Bogota -- the green people watch over the "city"


Cartagena = HOT, HOT, HOT!, massages on the beach, cute and super colorful old-town, flowers poking out through barricaded windows, carriage rides!, Playa Blanca, sleeping in hammocks on the beach, breath-taking sunset, candle pictures, crazy couples and lady that looked like a rooster?, super sketchy boat-ride back to Cartagena, clothes drying on the patio, spooky light fixture in the second hotel, yummy yummy thai fusion restaurant!, multiple textured purse that I envision using with all white and flowers poking out ;), another carriage ride, sunset at the corner bar/restaurant in my new dress, MUD VOLCANO!!!

Walking to the beach on Day 1


Playa Blanca!


So relaxing...:)


Sunset at Playa Blanca


On the city tour of Cartagena


At the fort...


Loved this Hostel (even though I didn't even stay there!)...if you go, stay there!!!


On our way to the...


Mud Volcano!!!!


Views from the carriage ride around town...








Us!


Sunset at Cafe del Mar


Quito = otavalo market and buying too much, Caitlin and Alex, zao restaurant, Mexican food, happy gringo travel agency, churches, beautiful view from their apt, almost losing my scarf

Touring Quito






Climbing up the bell tower!


Day-trip to Otavalo -- did a lot of damage here!! ;) ;)


Lunch??? ;) ;)


Chillin' in the city center park :)


Music at our actual lunch spot...loved it!


Banos = lovely hostel/b&b (la casa verde), Rebecca and Doug and baby John, rio verde, family of five room, walk to see volcano, falling and scraping knee, spiritual journey walk, banos de cajon (steam boxes), candle ear wax treatment, early evening in, organic breakfast, garden, last minute day trip of biking and rafting, craziest bus ride ever around mountain ridge with no guard rail, massages and colonics, thermal baths...love!, the good bar with Chris, Karen from London, bill from Canada and their three hours of happy hour, early 90s rap, karoake at la abuela, Karen getting very sick, ditching out and Chris and I barhopping more, Russian tourists dancing, one last bar and salsa dancing, walking home with a Jamaican, sleeping on the top bunk, walking around town, crazy earrings that look like hubcaps of a car, Chelsea handler book on bus and feeling nauseous, man selling videos of math and physics on bus, crazy turns on bus back to Quito

Driving into Banos


Walking around town... :)


Walking into THE spa! Lots of stories from here!!!


The gals on our spiritual journey! ;)


Approaching the end of the spiritual journey


Beautiful!


Bike tour before rafting!!!


Thermal Springs!!!


Church in Banos


Galapagos = MS Encantada, first day at Darwin station, sea turtle project, different kinds of sand, getting totally soaked with no umbrella or anything!, hanging around Santa Cruz, scared about the size of the boat, Andrew, Joan, Matt, mark, Maria, ralf, karoake on the mainland, captain belting out the ballads, $75 Bacardi bottles, rain, Emily and I skipping in the rain, first night on the boat, waking up to go cave swimming and "mail" postcards, snorkeling at devils crown, sharks, Emily with no flippers, hiking on day three on volcanic rock to see birds, hawks, marine iguanas, blow hole, blue footed bobbies, hike on another part of the island to see one lone flamingo and a beautiful beach, hermit crabs, sea lions under cool tree, disco dance music on the back of the boat, prostitute, fights, and art convos, sitting at the front of the boat and watching a white bird cruise along with us, stars at night, early wake up to lobos island to see baby sea lions and boobies and frigates, breakfast on board, sitting on top of the boat typing this, snorkeling another time with an eagle Ray, sharks, countless fish, bright blue tiny fish, 7 ft shark, sea lions, jumping off the roof of the boat, tanning on top of the boat, cactus forest, iguana molting, cutest sea lion pup with half sandy face, mom coming after us, dolphins swimming along side the boat on the last night, last morning walk, managing to pack every last thing!

Landing in the Galapagos!!! Can't believe I actually went there!!!


First view of the Galapagos


Crazy cactus trees!!!


Different variations in the sand at the Galapagos Islands


Sea Turtles!


They were huge!!!


Our first excursion...Floreana Island & Post Office Bay!


Our guide, Juan, showing us the "Post Office"


Ralf and Joan checking for mail!


Down into the unknown!!!


Exploring the underwater cave!


And we're off to the Devil's Crown!


Intense snorkeling happened here!


About to rest... ;)


A tranquil moment on the boat.


Second land excursion!


Sea Lions sleeping under the tree :)


So cute!


View on the other side of the island


Crabs were everywhere!



Looking out over the bay...


Next day of land excursions! (p.s. camera wasn't working quite right that day :/)




Baby sea lion!


View on the other side of the island


Blue-footed Boobies!!!


Hiking along the island...


Back on the boat for another land excursion...


Check this island out!!!


Sea Lion <3 ?!


Our boat, the MS Encantada (The Enchanted!)


More Blue-footed Boobies!!!


Sea Lions swimming right by us!


Sea Lion swimming right at us!!!


Spectacular scenery....


Baby Sea Lion!!!


These two are too cute!


Iguana!!! :P


Crazy cool cactus tree !


Sea gull


Sand-covered sea pup! Precious!!!


Seriously, sea lions were everywhere! Love it!!!


Matt and Emily out on the boat :)


Last Land Excursion


Frigates abound!


Last shot of the trip. So long Galapagos...soooooo fun!!! :)


Quito again = superbowl watch party with boatmates, Emily betting and losing, doing the macarena, photo with random people, and shots, equator adventure, water experiment, north=counter-clockwise, south=clockwise, equator=straight, balancing egg, finger pulling resistance, monument that was anti-climatic, backbends on the fake equator, holding up the world, art museum

Equator Experiment Park




Watching the water drain in different directions!


Emily trying to balance an egg!


Stretching out over both hemispheres!!!


ANNNNNDDDD, that's it! Hope you enjoyed the photos!!! xoxo, m

New News!!!

So last time I posted, I wasn't quite sure where I was gonna be next school year, but now it's official...I'll be in Bogota, Colombia next year! Whoop whoop!!! Super excited for this next adventure and super pumped I get to share it with seven awesome friends...whoop whoop WHOOP!!! Pack your bags and get ready to come visit ;) Check out this video to get inspired :) :)

And in other news...my parents just came to visit and we celebrated Christmas with a phenomenal trip around Asuncion, Mendoza, and Buenos Aires! It really was a phenomenal trip and am so happy they came to visit...thank you!!! Just wish it could have lasted a little bit longer (and that my sis and bro could have made it, too...) Here are a few pics of our adventure :)









































And, right now, I'm just chillin' in the 'guay for a couple of weeks before jetting off to Colombia and Ecuador. Super excited to chill and totally relax plus I can't wait to see my future home of Bogota, chill on the beaches of Cartagena, travel through Ecuador, and hopefully a Galapagos trip in there, too!!! man, life is gooooooood :)

much love everyone, much love <3

2nd Year in Asuncion

Hey hey! It's been a loooooooooong while since I've posted anything and I thought I'd start off with some pictures of my new digs. I moved at the end of last school year into an apartment complex everyone lovingly calls "Melrose." It's a great little place that conveniently located in the middle of everything, has a great little pool (you probably saw some pictures of me in it last year), a guard, and great neighbors. The best part about it, though, is the coziness. I was lucky enough to move in when Chaya's old roommate Shauna departed for the States and they did a GREAT job making it super homey. It was so nice to move into a place that already had furnishings taken care of plus lots of amenities. All-in-all it was a great move and I am SUPER lucky to have quite possibly the best roommate ever to boot! Here are some pictures to tide you over ;)












Let's see, in other news, I've been working super hard and getting really involved all while enjoying myself along the way. Cheerleading is under way again this year, but this time, I am actually taking a team to Rancho (a sports tournament in Brazil) where we get to perform....super exciting! It's been loads of work, but now that it has all come together, I'm super pumped! I'm sure I'll post more once they perform. I'm also lending my old dancing boots towards helping the High School musical this year. They are performing Grease at the end of the month. It's also been A LOT of work, but it's so fun to see it all come together. With both things, I kinda sorta feel like I'm living a real-life episode of GLEE which is, well, awesome! Other than that, I'm still teaching away...trying to balance preparing the AP kiddos in time for the exam all while have some fun, too. It's a lot of work, but to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way :)

And, let's see, on the traveling front, I went to Santiago in early October which was GREAT! It is such a great city to visit - very clean, friendly people, fresh air....ahhhh good times! And then in December, my parents are coming!!! They're gonna spend a few days here in Asuncion before we travel of to Mendoza and then Christmas in Buenos Aires...should be phenomenal! After that, I'll be in Asuncion for a couple of weeks before I head off to Columbia and Ecuador for what's sure to be an amazing adventure with amazing friends..very excited!!!

What can I say? Life is pretty great these days. No idea what I'm doing next year or where I'll end up, but enjoying the journey along the way...whoop whoop!!! :) much love to all...besos!

Los Estados Unidos y Mundial

The countdown is on!!! T-10 days til I'm back in the States...yay!!! I am beyond looking forward to just hanging out with my friends and fam, meeting my newest (and adorable!) nephew, and well, just relaxing. It is unbelievable to think I've been here for almost a year now and that I actually survived my first year of teaching!!! Can you believe it?! There were ups and downs, highs and lows, smiles, tears, and everything in between, but in the end, I can with 100% certainty say that I made the right decision :) How great is that?! Plus, who in the world would have ever thought that I would actually like watching soccer?!?! It takes quite a place to convince me of that ;) World Cup fever has taken over Paraguay and I must say, I'm not immune!!! haha, no, it really is fun and I absolutely love that sports are one of the few things in the world that have the power to unite everyone together..it's very, very inspiring.

So anyway, things are winding down down here...last day of classes tomorrow, finals and graduation next week, moving and packing ahead of me, and then I'm home! yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! much love to all and let me know if you'll be around at all..would love to see you! besos!