Getting Ready!

I am getting ready for the trip! I have to make sure I have my passport, proper clothing and gifts for the school we are going to visit. I purchased a bunch of Spanish books to take with me to give to the Sinamune Disabled Children's Orchestra School. Books such as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie will be enjoyed in the Amazon Rainforest by school children. This is an effort to give back to the world we travel.
I have started packing and the first items I put in were insect repellent and sun screen! I will see how much I use. I am limited to 44 pounds, which sounds like a lot but when you are packing for 2 weeks far away from Walgreens, and you are carrying 7 pounds of books and 7 pounds of antibiotics, shampoo, hand wipes, and bandaids, 44 pounds is pretty limiting.
We will be hiking at least 3 miles per day and frequently at high altitudes so I need to pack comfortable and waterproof shoes.
Traveling:
Aside from hiking much of the time we will be taking a 2 1/2 hour trip via canoe into the Amazon Rainforest to Yarina Amazon Jungle Lodge. The lodge is actually 10 thatched roofed cabins with shaded terraces. The cabins have screened in porches and have a ceiling fan with solar energy for most of their electricity. Their is 110 volt electricity provided from 6 pm to 10 pm at night. Have you thought about a life without electricity? That is something as Americans we definitely take for granted.
We will also be traveling on small cruise ships around the Galapagos Islands. We will travel at night and then be able to land either dry landing or wet landing on small boats called pangas during the day. THe islands are strictly governed by the National Park officials so we can only land twice a day; once in the morning and once in the afternoon. We will get to swim and snorkel with the Galapagos wildlife!
We will also be taking busses and of course flying!
Does this sound like an exciting adventure you would like to go on? I would love for you to come along with me.
At least you can follow virtually as I post my experiences and pictures on this site.
Buenos dias!

Where in the world are the Galapagos Islands?

Here is a map of the trip we are taking.

Day 1) Fly from U.S.to Quito stay at Reina Isabel Hotel
Day 2) Explore Quito
Day 3) Fly to Coca in the Amazon Rainforest- we will travel by Canoe to Lodge : Yachana Lodge or Yarina Lodge
Day 4-5) Explore Amazon Basin : Yachana Lodge or Yarina Lodge
Day 6) Travel by Canoe to Coca then we Fly to Quito where we will
cruise the Galapagos Islands
Day 7-9) Fly to Galápagos/Cruise Galápagos
Day 10) Fly to Quito/Explore Quito
Day 11) Return to U.S.
Day 12-14) Stay in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

If you care to travel virtually with me... look up on GoogleEarth Galapagos Islands, Quito and Amazon Rainforest. Take a virtual tour of the sites I will be showing you pictures of on this blog.

Galapagos

To help teachers in preparing students for their virtual tour, I have discovered some links to the Rainforest and the Galapogos Islands. I will add links as I find them in my research.

The wildlife images are incredible. I can't wait to post my own images of frigates, blue-footed boobies, fur seals, tortoises and more.

Galapagos & the Amazon Rainforest

Well, here I am a veteran teacher of 25 years preparing for an adventure! Of course, I continue to think like a teacher and want to share my experience with students.
Therefore, sit back, relax and join me for a virtual tour of the rainforest and Darwin's treasure.....

I am so excited to prepare for a trip to the Galapagos Island and the Amazon Rainforest the first of December. As an educator, I have spent years teaching about these delicate, fascinating and diverse biome. I never imaged I would get the opportunity to actually venture to this area.
I will post my itinerary, educational links, and information I learn along the way as I prepare for my trip. I will also post to this blog before during and after my trip to allow students and teachers to follow along on a virtual field trip.