Hope it's been a good couple months since I saw you! I am finally back in Santiago after some time at home in Charlotte and some traveling in Colombia and Ecuador with my friend Laura. I'd love to share some photos with you and answer any questions you might have about these two countries I visited.
Laura and I flew from New York to Cartagena Colombia at the beginning of February. We spent ten days on the northern coast of Colombia - hiking, learning new cities, and relaxing on the beach. The people of Colombia were some of the kindest and friendliest I have ever met. It is a beautiful, happy place!
Me in front of the entrance to Cartagena "Old Town," the colonial part of the city.
On a hike in Tayrona National Park
One of the beaches in Tayrona:
Colombians on a street in Baranquilla during Carnaval:
Playa Blanca (which means "White Beach") in Colombia:
Another shot of Playa Blanca:
Two men on the street of Cartagena:
A typical colonial structure in Cartagena. This city is beautiful!
In Ecuador, we spent all of our time in the mountains! It was much cooler and I nice change of pace from steaming hot Colombia. The indigenous people in the mountains of Ecuador are much more timid than the outgoing people we met in the Colombian coast, but they were equally as kind. Their traditional farming methods that we observed amongst the hillsides in Ecuadorian Sierra was very neat - one of my favorite experiences.
Children coming home from school in a village near Quilatoa:
People on the street near Quito, the capital:
Typical indigenous dress:
Me looking out over a lake in Quilatoa:
In a crafts market in Quito:
One of the many gorgeous views in Vilcabamba, Ecuador:
A friend we met along our hike in Chugchilan:
Picture from the bus window on the way to Chugchilan:
The inside of a cathedral in Quito:
Laura and me in Quito:
I was delayed in returning to Chile because of the huge earthquake that occurred on February 27. It was very scary. Although I was not there, I was quite worried about all of my friends in Chile. The hardest part was not being able to get in touch with people for several days because electricity and phone lines in Chile were all out. Thankfully, all my friends and their families are safe. The devastation in the South of the country, however, is terrible and there is still a great deal of need. I'm glad to be back where I can help in the cleanup and assistance efforts.
Hope you are all well!
-Shepard
More comments from students;
ReplyDelete2nd period
Frankie: Were there parades and floats at Carnaval?
wesley: What kind of wildlife did you see while hiking?
Eli: Were there condos at the beach in Colombia?
4th period questions:
ReplyDeleteDo children ride school busses to school. If they walk, how far do they have to walk? Jacob
How did you participate in Carnaval in Colombia? What things did you do? Allison
What exactly was Carnaval? What were they celebrating? MaryAnn
How old was the cathedral in Quito? Jennifer
What kinds of things were sold in the open market that you went to? Was it mostly hand made traditional things? Alicia
We saw several folks in Ecuador wearing these dark hats. Is that kind of hat common for wearing in Ecuador? For men and women? Joe
How are people recovering from the earthquake in Chile? Are they getting enough food? Westley
Do you do a lot of hiking, generally? I'm wondering because the hills and mountains in Ecuador looked very steep and hard to hike. Matt
Do you think that education in Ecuador and Colombia is similar to that of the US? And Chile? Elizabeth
Alyssa wonders if you found any caves while hiking?
Would you say that the market you went to is similar to our flea markets? Wyatt
Were items very expensive in the market? Warren
Austin R. wants to know what you bought?
5th period questions:
ReplyDeleteDid you see anyone surfing at the beach in Colombia? Did you try any surfing? Don't the rocks make that dangerous? Samone
How did you first hear about the earthquake in Chile? Seth J.
Did you find the hiking difficult? What did you take with you on your hiking trips? Logan
Did you do any celebrating at Carnaval? Makalla
What was your favorite thing about travelling in Eduador? And in Colombia? Noah P
Meghan wonders if the schools are small village type schools, or are they big schools like ours? And do they teach English in their schools?
Did you fill up over the holidsys on tacos and Mexican foods? Is there anything else you have missed about food while living in Chile? Drew R.
Austin D. wonders if school children take field trips like we do in the US. You may not know this. That's ok.
How did you travel from place to place while you were visiting Ecuador and Colombia? GH
How are the roads there? Are they paved? GH
We noticed that some streets in Cartegena were very narrow. Do automobiles travel on those narrow streets? class
7th period questions:
ReplyDeleteThe ocean at Playa Blanca looked so clear blue, Eric wonders if you could see fish?
Do you know about the education system in Ecuador? Robin wonders if the children have a good education.
Hannah wants to hear more about the hiking that you did...things you saw, were others hiking too...how hard was it?
What was the highest elevation that you hiked to or went to in Ecuador? Jacob P.
We noticed that folks in Ecuador wore coats in the pictures. In the summer time, it is that cold?
What was the favorite part of your trip--the travelling itself or getting there? Sara
What did you take with you on your trip? How did you carry all of your clothes? MacKenzie
What kind of game animals did they have in Ecuador and Colombia? Harrison
Would it be possible for you to send pictures of Chile after the earthquake...how it looks now? Nicole Crisp
Have you seen lots of people coming in to help after the earthquake? Abby
Did you try different foods in Ecuador and Colombia? Autumn
Have you found a way to help folks that lost things in the earthquake? Sara