Note: this post was for last friday

"Michelle and I wouldn't let people book for only one night...you wouldn't stay in the Amazon for one night and you certainly wouldn't stay in the Galapagos for one night, so don't stay here for one night." Andres has his forehead creased with emotion as he tries to convey to all of us the same concept we all traveled here with. Tourists should not travel with the expectation of being endlessly pleased. We think that paying lump sums of money and making the effort to travel to distant places entitles us to drive by all of nature's wonders as if the world were just one big parade. I will miss the Black Sheep Inn and its owner and founders. Andres is very passionate about the environment.  He is not an Eco-freak or a stereotypical treehugger or a pretentious recycling snob, he just wants to set a humble but good example for the world by caring not only for the environment, but the people who live there.

The airport is a complete change of scenery from the peaceful slopes of Chugchilan. You can see Cotopaxi (a large and snow-covered volcano here) in the distance from here, and it reminds me of Mt. Rainier in a pleasant sort of way. Most of the conversation amongst our group concerns Spanish...I think the majority of us, myself included, are nervous to meet our host families...and excited too, of course. Only one more hour!

Yesterday we trekked to the Cloud Forest. Picture some kind of mysterious hybrid between the Amazon jungle and the forests you can find in the Pacific Northwest, then add a little more mist, and you have the right idea.  Out of the green float little pink globules that look almost like natural neon glow sticks.  Yellow and brown spotted flowers that look like they could give birth to banana slugs are nested near a small waterfall. The trees here have been bedecked time and time again with streamers of heavy moss, making it difficult to see the sky. Our guide for this trek, Miguel, is some kind of superhuman. Not only does he have an incredible awareness of direction throughout the Andes, but he has an inner motor that could inspire the Energizer Bunny. You could ask esta cansado? And he would just laugh at you.

And it's time to board...so ciao!