We have been outside Los Estados Unidos for for 4 weeks now, which is the longest that Gary has ever been away. And boy we are getting homesick. But I guess that is a sure way to really appreciate all the things we take for granted, from physical safety to reliable plumbing. The last time I was outside the U.S. for an extended period of time, I was 20. I definitely think it´s a young man´s game, when it´s easier to deal with discomfort and sometimes unpleasant surprises. I´m really happy we did not put off this type of travel outside the tourist bubble until some undetermined period of "retirement."

Two weeks from tomorrow, we will have a ten-day return to the tourist bubble. Our sailing trip around the Galapagos Islands will be a all-pampered, all-gringo affair. Until then, we will be leaving Quito for a river journey into Ecuador´s Amazonia, followed by visits to some other active volcanoes, of which Ecuador seems to have an endless supply. -- Rick

Large amounts of ash, gas and steam are spewing from the volcano Tungurahua above us. Yesterday, we climbed a mountain to get a view of the volcano over Baños, where we will be until Thursday. Turns out, this volcano is suprisingly active.

While we are in Baños, we been doing a lot of reading. To the right, Gary is reading ¨The Beak of the Finch,¨ which is a great book about the evolutionary biology of the Galapagos Islands, which we will be visting at the end of this month. On this archipelago lives many animal species found no where else on Earth. And since humans never settled on these volcanic islands, the animals there never developed a fear of us. Birds don´t fly away from you and sea lions are happy to swim in the ocean with you. These are the islands that Darwin visited at age 24, when he began developing the theory of Evolution.

Here is Gary looking at the volcano Tungurahua over Baños after a very steep climb.

(Additional note from March 8 -- while we are safely out of Ecuador, an email advisiory from March 7 has warned us that over the last 24 hours, six explosions out Tungurahua have formed columns of gas 2 km high).