Andrea had been talking about New Years since we arrived. It's a very big deal in Ecuador which translates directly into Big Party. The plan was for us to go to Jama a town about 20 minutes south of Tabuga and attend a party with a local family that Andrea has become close with. But of course, first we have to dress up for the occasion! While we didn't exactly put on our finest we did take it up a (small) notch from the dirty clothes we had been wearing and - as is expected in Latin America - made sure to have on plenty of makeup!

Assured by Andrea that we were appropriately dressed and that we would have a good time we got in the car and drove down to Jama. Our first stop was the home where Andrea spends most of her time when in Jama. Her good friend Juan Carlos lives there with his mother Isabel, his dad, his 22 year old brother and his 10 year old sister also named Isabel. Dinner with Juan Carlos' family was quite an adventure. We sat at a formal table with big plastic cups of Coke and ate some interesting things. Isabel made pork which was actually very tasty. She also makes the best plantains in Ecuador (or that we had at least) which Mom and Alex eagerly ate up. And of course there was rice! So at least I had something to eat ;)

After dinner it was time to go to the plaza in Jama where the New Years celebration was taking place. Walking through the streets of Jama was one of the weirdest experiences I have had - we were so on display! The people were openly staring at us while we walked with Juan Carlos' family. They loved it! Little Isabel decided instantly that she and I would be best friends and that she wanted to parade me around town since I was such a novelty. And parade me she did! I spent a good hour walking hand in hand with Isabel as she introduced me to everyone she knew (which was pretty much everyone since it's not a big city). Isabel also decided that she should be the photographer for the event so she also commandeered my camera. Note - all the New Years photos in Jama were taken by the lovely Isabel.

When we got to the plaza our group rented a table and plastic chairs that some men put out for us. And there we sat while drinking beer and watching the people arrive. Juan Carlos' family is well known in the community for a variety of reasons. He claims to have been a pro football player for a time (this is actually true) so everyone thinks they know him. Plus, his dad is extremely active in the religious community and Isabel senior is the local seamstress. Since everyone knew them we they would come over to say hello which involves at least a hug if not a kiss on the cheek. I don't know how may people I kissed on the cheek that night but it was a lot!

Another funny thing about Ecuador is how the women throw their daughters at Alex. All of the ladies were very excited to see him and to meet him. He, of course, provided the obligatory kiss on the cheek to each and every one of them! My favorite story of the night involves a beautiful girl that said she was interested in Alex. So at midnight we told Alex to go over to her and kiss her since it is the custom in Ecuador. Alex got up the nerve to walk across the plaza, tap her on the shoulder, wish her Happy New Years and then kiss her on the cheek. Too bad it was the wrong girl! That's right, he kissed the wrong girl and the "right" girl must have been unimpressed as she was only about 20 feet away. Hilarious.

Let me tell you about drinking in groups while in Ecuador. Again it was the Pilseners which we bought two at a time for our table of 8, over and over again. Two beers gets split among 8 people easily when you only have two glasses. Did I say glasses? I meant small plastic cups. The process is for whoever bought the beer to fill a cup with beer and pass it to the person next to them. When you get the cup it's your job to drink the beer - no sipping here, hurry up! - and give the empty glass back to the person so they can fill it for the next person. It's a little weird to get use to at first but pretty soon I was chugging plastic cups of beer with the best of them.

It was chugging all of those cups of beer that got me dancing in the middle of the plaza in front of hundreds of Ecuadorians all staring at the white girls dancing! Andrea and Juan Carlos party together all of the time and therefore, are great dancers together. They are funny with their dance moves, it almost looked like they were trying out for Dancing With the Stars! Dancing with Juan Carlos' friend was fun and showed me the steps, but it was terribly embarrassing and I still can't believe I did it. See the pictures, there's proof.

When midnight came it was time to burn the effigies. In Andrea's part of Ecuador the people make effigies of people that have had bad years or that need good luck in the coming year. They burn them at midnight to bring the good luck. However, when we talked about New Years with the Kings they said that they burned effigies of people they wanted to have BAD luck in Puyo. Interesting that there was such a difference. Isabel walked me around town some more then to make sure I saw all of the different burnings.

At around 1am we called it a night in Jama and headed back to Tabuga. Mom and I were ready for bed but Andrea asked us to drop her and Alex off in Tabuga proper to see if there were any parties still going on. There certainly must have been! Those two came crawling into bed at around 4am! But that's their story to tell.....

It's time for me to get this story finished. For all of you that keep asking what happened after arriving in Tabuga - now you'll know!

So we awoke in Tabuga on New Year's Eve ready to learn more about where Andrea lives and the people of Tabuga. We woke up pretty late after driving the whole day before and not getting in until after 1am. Alessandro and his family fixed us an amazing breakfast with fresh fruit, bread and Italian meats. I watched them pick a GIANT papaya right from the tree and then cut it up for us. It was awesome.

Alessandro's ranch is a great eco-tourism place. We had our own house complete with kitchen, dining room and two beds. The only not cool thing - tons of spiders. I mean tons of them. Andrea says they're wood spiders and that they wouldn't touch us but I was freaked. If I hadn't been so exhausted the night before I'm not sure I would have been able to sleep. But she was right, the spiders never bothered us.

The people and animals there are fantastic. Alessandro is helped by his girlfriend Cleopatra (Cleo) who is very progressive Ecuadorian woman. She hosts a radio show on Sunday mornings and is involved in the community. In addition, Alessandro's mother was visiting from Italy while we were there. She was a riot and spoke to us in rapid Italian that we (of course) didn't really understand. The farm also has a dog family that lives there and we played with the dogs quite a bit (look at the albums to see Blanco and Flea/Negrito playing with Toni and Ang). Like all dogs in Ecuador these dogs are filthy and aren't cared for in the traditional American sense. They're all matted and aren't allowed inside. One of the dogs is a little black puppy that was the cutest thing ever if you could look past his gooey eyes, crusty face and slight smell. The family appropriately called him Flea (but in spanish). We called him the Little Black One or Negrito. Too cute.

After fueling up for the day with some breakfast we hopped into the car to go to Tabuga and meet Andrea's "family". Tabuga is a beautiful village filled with some of the friendliest people I have ever met. It is an extremely poor area with a population of about 400 people. See Andrea's blog for a better description. The people where all excited about our arrival and many were waving to us from their windows or yard as we drove to Andrea's house.

When we got to Andrea's we met her parents, two teenage brothers and her younger brother Angel. Here is where we got our first taste of Ecuadorian manners and customs. Even though the house living room was completely empty minus a TV and some chairs, they pulled out the chairs and made us sit there while they stood around us and stared. Very funny. Andrea's mom gave us yogurt as it is custom to offer some sort of food or beverage when a guest comes over.

Andrea had asked Mom to bring gifts down for everyone in her family so we got to see her mom receive plastic oven mitts - she thought they were hilarious! Angel got a cool Tonka truck and he liked it so much he didn't want to take it out of the package. Really cute.

We also got to see Andrea's room for the first time. It's funny how much it resembles a typical American dorm room. Andrea has lots of decorations and has used every inch of her room to maximize space. She even has a hammock that she pulls down and when she sits in it she sort of hovers over her kitchen table. Look for a shot of her in the photo albums. It was really nice to see just where she lives and that her place is safe. Plus her family is extremely nice and they take care of her.

The family has a really nice house by Tabuga standards. We only saw the first floor (I assume the bedrooms were upstairs) but their kitchen is large and set up with (fairly) modern cooking equipment. They also have a "real" toilet in an outhouse-like bathroom. In fact, they just rebuilt their bathroom prior to our arrival and it is now concrete and not wood - fancy! In the backyard the family has a large birdcage with a bird of prey in it. So cool to see up close (again look at the photo albums). Andrea did say that the bird is endangered in Ecuador though and so the family isn't really suppose to have it. I hope I haven't blown their cover by posting it here ;)

We brought a few Frisbees down to Ecuador so Alex decided to teach the children of Tabuga his favorite sport. Alex, Angel and another local boy played for a while. The other boy, Richard, was a natural. Angel, not so much. There was plenty of chasing the Frisbee around as it was thrown into bushes, gardens and rock piles. It was adorable to watch though and the kids loved Alex - I guess I should say they love Alex since he is still there!

After playing in Tabuga and meeting people it was time to head back to Alessandro's for some rest and to get ready for New Year's. We wasted our afternoon away lazily swinging in hammocks and reading. Does it get better than that?

After a great Italian late lunch of shrimp and pasta we started getting ready for our trip to Jama for New Year's Eve. We had a Crosby Family Photo Shoot thanks to Alessandro and Cleo (they liked seeing us "dressed up") and then jumped into the car for the 20 minute drive to Jama.

Wanna know what we did on New Year's? - You'll have to wait for the next post. That adventure deserves it's own entry!

That’s what the sign says in the Peace Corps Lounge in Quito. Now we didn’t get to meet each every one of the volunteers, but I can say without any bias that the sign is true when it comes to Omnibus 97. The volunteers that we met while in Ecuador truly are amazing people. Their kindness, generosity and willingness to be part of a greater good are all attributes the rest of us only aspire to – these guys live and breathe it daily.

Thank you to the Kings, the “other” Susan, Jason, Katie and of course, Jeff. Our trip wouldn’t have been the same without you all there!

Warning - I stopped taking detailed notes each day so from now on, it's up to my memory to provide the details. They'll be sketchy at best!

After Monkey Palace it was time to drop our new brother A-Jeff off in Tena and head to Puyo for some Jungle Adventures. We had been warned by A-Jeff that the road to Puyo was terrible. Susan and Jeremy (Volunteers that live in Puyo) had told him that it was the worst part of the drive to their site. They did NOT exaggerate! Toni was literally off-roading where the roads were washed out and the landslides had covered entire roads. There's no real way to describe the conditions - you wouldn't believe it.

We drove into Puyo on the hunt for El Jardin, a hostel that Jeremy and Susan recommended. Just past the city limits we find it - it's paradise! Literally it is paradise tucked away into the corner of the city. We crossed a foot bridge over a (beautiful yet dirty) river and into an amazing garden surrounded by two stories of lodging that looked like it came right out of the Garden of Eden. Even more amazing? We had our own beds! And HOT showers and the internet. El Jardin certainly lives up to its name and has beautiful flowers everywhere. Add the 3 resident parrots and it doesn't get much better.

El Jardin is also an amazing restaurant so Andrea called Susan and Jeremy and asked them to come join us for dinner. They came over a little while later with another volunteer also named Susan. We had a blast! I know I've mentioned Toni's blog-stalking but here is where it becomes even more obvious. She had a present for Susan! Since Susan has a list of books she wants to read Toni headed right over to Boarders to buy a book of the list. So funny! Susan, Jeremy and Susan are so nice. We had an excellent meal and then all settled into the hostel's "TV Hut" where we were joined by yet another volunteer (don't these guys work?) Katie and sat down to watch "Super Bad". Many Pilseners later, we were off to bed ready to join up with the King Family (Susan and Jeremy), the other Susan for some birding in the morning.

After an amazing breakfast we met up with the Volunteers and a man named Chris Canady who is an Ex-Pat now living in Puyo. Chris is the director of an Ecobotanical reserve called Omaere adjacent to the hostel. When I get back to the states and have all of my information I'll be sure to post the reserve website and information as the place is amazing. The Kings had been birding with Chris before so they knew he was the right man to show Toni all of the birds she had been waiting to see while here in Ecuador. Sadly the birds weren't cooperating that day as it was threatening to rain. So while we didn't see very many birds we did have a fantastic time walking through the jungle.

Chris is extremely knowledgeable on the plants within the jungle and even had us all eagerly eating a plant stalk of sorts that's suppose to be good for your kidneys and digestion. He just cut the stalk right off and started slicing bite-size pieces off for us. It was bitter at first but quite thirst-quenching and was a welcome treat when walking through the jungle. The week prior to our arrival there had been some serious flooding at the reserve so the trail that we were taken was one that nobody had been on in quite some time. There were some interesting moments - like when Alex was leading the way and then "lost" the trail since there was none! Or, when suddenly there were wasps everywhere and Chris says "I think we may have disturbed a hive" and Andrea yells to Toni "Run Mom. I mean it!" Toni and I literally started running through the jungle. So funny and weird!

After our jungle time we left the reserve and went into the city so that Toni could go to the Waorani store that Toni had read about in "Savages" and that Susan is working with the tribal community on. Bad news - it was closed! Susan was not impressed as she has been trying to explain to the tribe that being open on Saturdays is a good thing and that tourists come on the weekend. Oh well, their loss! Instead we had some lunch and then went back to El Jardin for some rest and relaxation with a promise to meet up with the Kings and Susan at La Casa de Kings for our introduction into Speed Scrabble. Speed Scrabble is coming to Concord - look out because Toni is a natural! We had some beverages and played a few rounds of Speed Scrabble. The Kings live in a great apartment and have most of the amenities of home. It's funny - Andrea's room in Tabuga would literally fit into their living room twice, possible three times. The difference between sites is incredible. Plus, Andrea lives in an extremely poor section of the world.

After drinks and scrabble it was off to El Jardin for the night and some much needed sleep.

Wake up Ang - it's your birthday! And you are officially old. I start my day off with some blogging (see previous post) and then the Crosby Clans packed up to meet the Kings and Susan in an effort to see if the Waorani store is open. I'm thinking there's no way since it's a Sunday morning and they didn't open on Saturday. Sure enough, closed! Susan was very unimpressed now as it was the second day in a row. However, she "gifted" be a beautiful Waorani bracelet for my birthday and meeting up gave Andrea and Jeremy some time to go over some Environmental Education booklets that he had and Andrea is borrowing.

Wait a minute.....did someone just see a Waorani woman walk down the street? Susan pounced on her and asked if the store was opening. The answer? The always present Ya Mismo! If I haven't mentioned it yet here's a good time to explain this phrase and way of life here. One of the volunteers (I apologize for not remembering who) explained it very well by saying it's just like the American phrase ASAP but without the P. So, if someone says Ya Mismo to you know that they'll do what you're asking them to do just on their own timeline. Armed now with the knowledge that a woman was coming to open the store we waited curbside.

When the woman arrived we spent the next 20 minutes or so going through all of the amazing crafts and weapons that they had on display. Susan's work with the women within the tribe has helped to organize these amazing artists so that they get proceeds based on the crafts they sell. Thanks to Toni the women all get quite a nice windfall this month!

With our purchases made we bid our Puyo guides farewell and started the journey to Baños where we planned to have a great meal and meet up with a tattoo artist. Baños is an extremely touristy town with lots of gringos. It was almost overwhelming. After a fantastic lunch we headed down the street to the artist's shop. He was in and Toni, Andrea and I were ready for our crescent moon tattoos (Please see the Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley) that we have been planning for years. The problem? It was already almost 3pm as we got a late start in the morning due to our shopping and we still had an 8 hour drive to Tabuga to complete. So we decided against the tattoos. Sad, now that it's the end of our trip (I am writing this part of the blog only 4 hours before leaving Ecuador) and we didn't get the ink but a good decision in the end because our 8 hour drive ended up being almost 11.

The drive was the worst experience ever. It started with us driving in the clouds at night down 10,000 feet in just 2 hours. In order to get that low, that fast, the roads are crazy with twists and the drivers are even crazier. I don't even like writing about it because it was so terrible. The buses fly past cars and trucks while driving around BLIND turns. It is not okay and several times we came very close to being hit head-on as buses came driving at us in both lanes. From the mountains it only got worse as the road from El Carmen to Perdenales (the biggest city near Andrea) is so ridden with pot holes that you have to drive on both sides of the road weaving in out of potholes that would bottom-out any car. It was awful. Truly miserable. Thank god Mom is a quick study and she got very good at driving on all sides of the road, in the middle of the night AND in the middle of nowhere. Nice work Mom!

We finally arrived at La Pepperoconi at almost 2am. What a crazy birthday!

I would have to blog several times a day to come close to capturing everything we have experiencecd. There is no way to do it. So here is all that I have to say right this second. I promise to add to it when I have more time and a head that isn´t full of EVERYTHING!

12.26.07

We wake up in Quito to a (typical) cloudy day and a desire to see the city. A short taxi ride to the tourist district and we arrive at the Magic Bean. A fantastic place for breakfast. Three Huervos Rancheros and an ¨Egg McSandwich¨ were fantastic. It was also our first experience with the fresh juice that is rampant in Ecuador. Does it really get better than fresh juice? Not in Quito (read that as their food is no good). The best part of the Magic Bean? They were playing Blues Travelers' ¨Sweet Pain¨. Pretty Cool to me.

Peace Corps offices - see previous post.

Andrea then decided that she should pick up the package that Tom had sent to her. Apparently picking up a package is a serious process for her. It literally involves going to the Post Office, then the bank and then back to the Post Office after paying the decided value of the package. Note to all of Andrea´s loved ones - NEVER declare a value when you send her something. Ecuador has some crazy rules - it´s okay for them to charge her up to $300 for a package. Weird and wrong. Luckily, Andrea has a canny ability to talk the Ecuadorians into anything. She wears them out. Honestly, she sometimes wears me out! By the way, when she dealt with the package (which she LOVED Tom!) she dropped us off at a large fruit market (see pictures when we post them).

So the REAL adventure starts here - the Teleferico in Quito. Think the gondola at Loon but way less secure and no snow to cover the jagged mountainside and no Dad to talk Mom out of her extreme fear of heights. The ride was so amazing - I´ve never been at 10,000 feet before - and you could see the entire Northern part of Quito.

So when we got to the top and stepped out Toni declared that she would never step foot in the Teleferico again and that there must be another way down. Andreita went into action. She spotted a service truck and asked the men whether or not they could drive us down the mountain. They were so confused by the statement and asked if Toni needed a medic. She tried to explain that Mom wasn´t sick but that there was no way she was riding down the mountain again. A couple of beers (see my eventual ode to Pilsener) and some ¨sandwiches¨ later, and we hopped into the old truck with two locals and headed down the mountain.

Andrea will tell you - the trip was amazing! Hundreds of dogs happily ran beside us as we bumped along the mountain rode and drove through the town of 80 in a Fantastic Voyage. We saw so much and the driver put up with all of my broken Spanish questions.

Dinner at an all-you-can-eat Tapas and Vino restaurant in the ¨tourist¨ section of town. The best part? Alex saying this: ¨When do the all you can eat tacos start?¨ Funny. By the way - the tapas are nasty.

The day ends there - we go back to the hotel and pass out. Well, Mom and I passed out and Alex and Andrea went to the Casino. By the way - I got my first sun burn on the first day. It was a sweet v-neck burn. And, it was cloudy.

12.27.07

Taxi ride to the airport - we have started passing out Starbursts as tips (with our tips) and they LOVE it! Rented a car - terrible Hertz experience. I will not expand now but ask a Crosby before you rent a car in Ecuador. We´ll give you the down and dirty of the rental car experience!

A trip to the Super Maxi...Get your mind out of the gutter - it´s a grocery store. We stocked up on water and snacks.

Drive to Tena through crazy Mountains and Parámus - tons of horses and cows. Beautiful. Then it turned to landslides and fog. So weird to be driving through. Did I mention that Andreita grabbed a bus in Quito for us to follow out to Tena? A hilarious and great idea. The bus driver was fantastic and even used his turn signals to let us know what was happening.

We stopped for lunch and a drink in Baeza where we also met up with A-Jeff Dynamite.

Enough said for now....I will finish with that cliff hanger later because there is a poor guy begging to use the free Internet here at the best Hostel ever. You´ll have to wait to learn more - we didn´t get here until 12.28.07 and I have so much more to say.

Catch up with you at the next free internet place!

When A-Jeff got to Baeza and all of the introductions were done, the newly expanded Crosby family hoped back into the car. A few quick words on my new brother A-Jeff. He is a hilarious Peace Corps volunteer from Washington State and looks a lot like a cross between Alex and Napoleon Dynamite. In addition, he claims he´s completely cool with being compared to Napoleon Dynamite and that he´s heard it all before. He must be okay with that because he was totally cool with us renaming him A-Jeff so that he could have an A name like all the other Crosby kids!

So the road to Tena......still scary! And also still beautiful. What made this portion of the drive even more odd was being stopped by la policiá in the middle of a mountain rode. The police here have slightly larger guns than our cops. And by slightly larger I mean automatic weapons :) Long story short - the guy wanted to see Mom´s license and demanded to know who gave her (an American) the right to drive in Ecuador? The poor guy didn´t know what he was getting into when he dared question Mom. Andreita to the rescue again! She explained rapidly that the ¨Company Hertz¨, which of course he has never heard of, gives her the right to drive. She went on and on so that finally the cop just waved at her to shut up and said it was all okay. If I hadn´t already accepted A-Jeff into the family by that point, he sealed the deal when he came up with this brilliant question to Andrea - ¨Is that how you get what you want? Just don´t stop talking until they give in?¨

After a couple of hours filled with more pot holes, landslides, animals in the road and a car thick with sarcasm, we arrived in Tena to our first hostel - Yustoz II. It´s a fantastic place right on the river in the jungle. We had two rooms (boys and girls) and both had private bathrooms and you get a full hot breakfast in the morning. It´s a little pricey for the area at a whopping $10 a person but we felt it was worth it :) Our balcony overlooked the river and the view was amazing.

Also staying at the Hostel was the family of another Peace Corps Volunteer Jason who lives in Tena. His family was having Christmas in the Jungle (say that to the tune of GNR´s Welcome to the Jungle) and had been with Jason since 12.14. Jason meeting Mom was the first time it became evident that Toni is a Blog Stalker. She knows way too much about these guys and I think they´re a little weirded out. Wouldn´t you be if someone asked you about your new hammock (that you really did buy) but that you hadn´t mentioned? He looked at her like ¨why does she know this?¨ It´s because she is an Ecuadorian Peace Corps Volunteer blogs stalker. No big deal.

We all went and had cocktails at Jason´s favorite bar where we ran into some other Americans. Tena is popular for it´s kayaking and we met up with a Dartmouth student (can you say small world?) who had just come down on her own for few months to kayak. It´s pretty normal here for all of the Americans to offer assistance and a place to visit to others when they meet. However, here is where A-Jeff went a little wrong. Instead of introducing himself or saying hello first he comes out with something like this: ¨I live in (name of town known for kayaking). You can come stay with me if you want.¨ Weird A-Jeff! Mom tried to explain that even though Anna (the kayaker) was pretty, it´s not okay for the first thing you to say to a woman to be ´wanna come stay over´. Funny guy.

After drinks it was time for dinner. Jason´s family recommended the local pizza place so we went. Have I mentioned that by this point I really haven´t eaten yet? I had the flu right before coming and my stomach is still not 100%. Add the new (and weird) foods to it and there is nothing good that will happen. So I watched the family eat some pizza and we drank some beers. The beers were being brought over by one of the most beautiful girls we had seen yet. Of course, we do think it´s odd that a girl of about 7 was serving beers to gringos at 9pm but that´s fine. I asked her permission to take her picture ( I will post photos when possible) and she loved it. When she walked away Mom comes out with ¨Wanna come home with us to the States? I´ll send you to college.¨ This won´t read as funny as it was. Just know it´s hysterical to see Mom trying to bribe the local children to come home with her by offering them the ability to read and possibly go to school.

From dinner to bed for Toni and Angela. To the bars of Tena for A-Jeff, Andrea and Alex. Silly kids.

12.28.07

Breakfast is fantastic since I am still surviving on fresh juice and beer and there is plenty of fresh juice. The eggs looked so promising until I realized they smelled like fish. Alex will back me up on this - they really did smell like fish. We got directions from Jason to Misahualli which is a town just south where you can play with monkeys. I like to call it either Monkey Hawaii (if the town is correctly pronounced it sounds like Hawaii a bit) or Monkey Palace.

30 minutes later we pull up to a small town square and park. We get out of the car and are a little disappointed as we only see a couple of monkeys and people were telling us that this place was awesome and to be careful because the monos (spanish for monkey and what the coastal Ecuadorians are called so Andreita es una mona) can swarm you and will try and steal your stuff. All it took was a few minutes of us trying to engage the two monkeys we saw for more and more to jump out of nowhere. There were tons of monos and they were so fun! Alex had a big one jump right up onto his shoulder and a baby was playing with my legs trying to get into my cargo pockets. Then a monkey jumped on my head which was awesome and everyone was snapping photos. I had no idea the little mono was playing Oliver Twist and really was causing a diversion so he could go through my purse! The little brat took my pack of cigarettes. I know I shouldn´t have them and I know it´s my fault for not having a zippered bag but it was also hilarious! He ran up into the tree with a half pack of Marlboro Menthol Lights and started ripping all of the filters off and throwing them down to the ground. What a brat!

At the square we hooked up with a covered canoe ride down the jungle river to a local animal and medicinal plant reserve. The canoe ride was awesome and the man drove us right to the stairs cut into the muddy banks. At the reserve we had an amazing woman walk us around and show us all of the animals and explain the culture to us. The only bummer was that she spoke no English at all and Andrea is sometimes a space cadet so we didn´t get all that much back in English. The guide would speak for about two minutes explaining a traditional trap, how it´s used, what it´s made of, etc. and then Andrea would turn to Mom and say something like ¨It´s a trap for a fish¨. At the reserve was saw: Monkeys (which we held), an animal that is like an ant eater, crocodiles (we touched the baby one), a giant water turtle (that they keep tied to a rope they have drilled through his shell and they pull him up onto the bank to show people), small turtles that we held and a beautiful Ocelot. In addition, we learned about lots of plants, indigenous housing and tools. It was very cool.

We canoed back to the plaza - did I mention it was a canoe with a motor? Fantastic. We played with the monos some more and then we had lunch in a great restaurant on the edge of the plaza. The monos where even there! While waiting for our lunch a monkey came right into the restaurant, ran up to the door of the kitchen and stole a bag of bread they had. The (very) little old lady came running out and called them thieves. Hilarious.

More to come. I must run and have my Birthday breakfast. Did I mention I´m even older today?

We are officially in Quito! To be more specific, we are at the Peace Corps offices using their "high-speed" Internet to post our first Ecuadorian blog.

We arrived last night after circling Quito for an hour - apparently you can't land in the middle of the mountains when the whole area is covered in fog! Luckily, our pilot landed perfectly - and we clapped! No joke, the Latinas love to clap when the plan lands. And Alex and I were happy it landed!

We arrived to find Andreita waiting for us just outside of customs - perfect! After a harrowing taxi ride through the deserted streets of Quito - we made it to the Hilton Colon. Here's an example of just how scary the taxi ride was:

"Does red mean stop here?" - Toni

Not according to the taxi driver. The good news is that the drivers today have been much better! They don't drive like insane people when there are others around.

So we have had breakfast - Huevos Rancheros of course and FRESH juice - so good! Now we have stopped here at the offices and we're off to a market and possible tram ride up the foggy mountains. Who cares what we do? It's all so new and fun! She could tell us that we were going to a funeral next and we'd think it's cool!

Andrea looks happy and healthy. She is covered in freckles but that's to be expected when you sleep next to the sun! We would like to point out that she can't speak English very well anymore - perhaps that's why her blogs are hard to read :)

We're off! We'll post again when we're next near a computer!

By the best gift ever I am not referring to the Dominos pizza I am about to go eat in celebration of Christmas. I am referring to my family arriving tonight. I just got to Quito from Tabuga via a night bus. I have mastered the bus sleeping even though I often wake up with bruises on my knees because these 34" inseem legs just don't fit on Ecua-buses. I was worried about my family and the bus situation so I convinced Toni to rent a car. After 11 months at the mercy of bus drivers I am so incredibly excited to be with my family and have the freedom to do what we want. We can stop when we want pictures of waterfalls or when said 'travelers diarrhea' hits too hard. Following is the rough itinerary of the Crosbys in Ecuador adventure. I hope this country is ready for us all together!

Tuesday December 25th - 9:45pm Toni, Angela and Alex arrive

Wednesday December 26th - Spend the day in Quito, visit the Peace Corps office

Thursday December 27th - Rent a car and head to the jungle, Tena

Friday, Saturday December 28th and 29th - Meet up with Susan and Jeremy King in Puyo

Sunday December 30th - Happy Birthday Angela - Celebrating by driving to the coast

Monday - Friday January 4th - Tabuga time and lots of fun different adventures

Friday January 4th - Head back to Quito

Saturday January 5th - Head to Otavalo - the big famous market in Ecuador

Sunday January 6th - Spend the day together before Toni, Angel and Alex head state side

Well, it's time for me to treat myself to some pizza. Merry Christmas from Ecuador!

We're not kidding. The Beaver Meadow 3rd graders don't mess around when it comes to their Service Project - They take it Global!

When the Beaver Meadow students heard that their favorite librarian Mrs. Crosby was going to Ecuador over Christmas to visit their favorite Peace Corps. Volunteer Andrea Crosby, they decided to include the students of Ecuador into their annual Service Project. One month later, through the generosity of the entire Beaver Meadow Community, there are 3 large bags full of school supplies, games and toys for the students of Tabuga packed and ready to travel with us to Tabuga!

Andrea is no stranger to Beaver Meadow and its students. She spent a day in January talking to the them and answering their questions about the Peace Corps. and the people of Ecuador. Since leaving in February, she has been in regular contact with the students via emails with Toni. The students send questions about what Andrea's doing and she, in turn, writes back on a (fairly) regular basis to answer them.

This year the 3rd grade took their Service Project up a notch and went global. Since they had been learning so much about Tabuga and the students there, they decided to donate needed supplies. Students like Jon and Lillian (photo above) from Barbara Willis' 3rd grade class donated school supplies like markers, pens, pencils and other fun things. The Jump Rope Club even got involved and donated 50 new jump ropes. How generous!

The Service Project was such as success we're not sure we're going to be able to carry it all! However, I'm sure we'll find a way to manage :)

We're spending the day today eating a big family dinner (even Alex just showed up!) and packing everything up. Toni has managed to get all of the gifts for Tabuga into the bags. Now we just need to figure out just what we're going to pack and find a way to fit it into the bags we have left. I can't believe we're less than two days away. We're all very excited. Andrea, if you're reading this get ready, we're coming!

Most of you know I'm not the most athletic of the Crosbys. That being said, I've watched enough sports to know that Yellow Cards are not good. However, there is a yellow card that you want - it's to show the World Health Organization that you are not a carrier for some sort of crazy disease. I don't know if any of you have seen I am Legend, but after seeing that flick, I want every vaccine out there :)

Do you know how many diseases there are in Ecuador? Lots is the answer according to the Center for Disease Control. I thought I had paid a lot of attention to Andrea right before she left. I know she went to the doctor's a few times, had some fiasco with the dentist paperwork and that she agonized over how to pack for the next two years. How did I miss the immunization process? I had no idea there was so much involved in a simple trip to South America!

First you have to get an appointment with a Travel Clinic. This in itself can be an arduous task. Mom and Alex were able to get an appointment together at Dartmouth Hitchcock and I traveled to the Infectious Disease clinic in Nashua. Apparently there is a shortage of appointments available and doctors willing to provide the shots! I was told that DH only provides travel clinic appointments on Thursdays from 1-5. Lame. The good news is that the two clinics said we needed the same vaccines. The sad news is that intramuscular shots hurt!

So now we have been appropriately vaccinated against Typhoid, Yellow Fever and Hepatitis. In addition, we're all carrying prescriptions for antibiotics such as Cipro and drugs to help with things like altitude sickness and "travelers diarrhea" which is somehow different from regular diarrhea!

It's becoming "crunch" time. Just 7 days until we meet up with Andrea! Time for us to get our lists finalized and our bags packed. I'll update you all on the Chaos that is our planning process shortly!

We're off to Ecuador in less than three weeks - it's hard to believe. I have been planning this trip since almost the day Andrea left and now it really is almost here. Crazy!

Toni and I have been bouncing around the idea of starting a blog to record our adventures and finally I have taken the plunge. We want everyone to see all of the amazing things Andrea has already done in Ecuador and the things she is helping her community to achieve. Plus, we want to be able to record our amazing adventure as Toni, Andrea, Alex and I travel throughout the country of Ecuador.

I also want to make sure we highlight the wonderful contributions that the students at Beaver Meadow Elementary School are making to the children of Ecuador. More specifically, providing games, toys and school supplies to the children of Tabuga which is Andrea's tribe in Ecuador. Toni has been sharing Andrea's Peace Corps. experience with the Beaver Meadow students and they in turn, have been learning and studying about the Country of Ecuador and its people.

I'll be uploading photos soon and promise to get our itinerary published. There is lots to see and do in Ecuador and Andrea has made a lot of good friends there. We promise to show you all that we can!