When worlds collide

My political world and my actual world, that is.

Ecuador, one year in

This Sunday, I will hit my one-year anniversary in Ecuador. Our second year volunteers have arrived, our first year volunteers have already begun to trickle out. It´s all a bit surreal.

For those of you not on our update list, MPIE sends out a monthly update, which we also post on our blog. If you´d like to see pictures and hear stories, let me know and I´ll add you to the list!

More indecipherable news from Ecuador

The government of Ecuador seized two television channels and 200 other businesses yesterday, in what they called an effort to recover debts owed by failed Ecuadorian banks that are somehow related to the television stations. You can read more about it here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7497030.stm

As seems so often to be the case, this bit of Ecuadorian politicking is clear as mud.

Where not to go when traveling in Ecuador

I've made two trips recently to Tena, Ecuador, a tourist-friendly town in the Amazon jungle. Some tips:

DO NOT go to:

Amarongachi Tours. They will charge you an arm and a leg, and if my sources are accurate, work pretty hard to keep a monopoly on tourism in Tena so that they can keep it that way.

DO go to:

Amarongachi Lodge, some of the local folks that get stiffed by Amarongachi Tours. They'll charge you a third as much, give you the same jungle experience, and actually benefit from your having come. Eduardo is the guy you want to talk to. Let me know if you'd like his number.