Guinea Pig in the City
August 25, 2001

When I was a kid, spending my summers in Michigan, my cousins had a guinea pig. A big, fat thing with stiff brown-and-white fur and curious whiskers, always stinking up the basement with its black pellet poops and the cedar... more

When Sarah Met the Postcard Vendors
August 24, 2001

Only one week traveling, and I have already lost track. I can't remember where I slept two nights ago -- was it in Ecuador or Peru? Was I in a hostel or on a bus? I can't keep track of... more

The Best Shower in South America
August 21, 2001

We arrive in Vilcabamba at sunrise. Only the birds and the good Catholics are awake. We have been on a bus all night. Every one else slept on the way here, but I started with every swerve of the bus.... more

The Accident
August 19, 2001

It seems like every bus in Ecuador has a cracked windshield. Sometimes they are small -- a little fissure in the corner, a pebble kicked up from the gravel road. Sometimes the cracks snake across the whole windshield, making spiderweb... more

Very Small World Tour
August 16, 2001

Aug 16 LA ISLA DE LA PLATA (aka "The Poor People's Galapagos") Aug 18 CUENCA, ECUADOR Aug 19 VILCABAMBA, ECUADOR Aug 20-25 Winding through Peru. Bumpy roads and long bus rides. Aug 26 SARAH turns 27. Please celebrate by looking... more

Si Se Puede!
August 16, 2001

We watch the Ecuador vs. Argentina soccer game at a neighborhood bar. The tickets sold out too quickly, and none of us can afford the $30 scalpers fee. It's an important game for Ecuador -- they've played better than they... more

Where Am I Going, Where Will I Be?
August 15, 2001

Today is my last day in Quito. Tomorrow I leave for the coast of Ecuador and then make my way south into Peru and Bolivia. I am traveling with my friend Kim, who I met in my first week here,... more

Eruptions
August 14, 2001

Baños is a four-hour bus ride from Quito, popular with locals and with tourists because of the mineral springs and waterfalls and volcanoes like Tungurahua, which has been dormant for a century. Except last Wednesday, the volcano erupted. There's no... more

Sunday Walk
August 09, 2001

The city is growing on me. On Sundays, I walk through the parks near my house. It seems like there's a park on every other block. During the week, they're empty. But on Sundays, the families are out, the little... more

Rumble in the Jungle, Part Two
August 07, 2001

... continued from yesterday So I jump. And I don't make it all the way. Of course. My hands grab hold of the rock, but my body is wriggling in the air, pulling me downward. I grapple with the rock... more

Rumble in the Jungle
August 05, 2001

The story below occurred two weeks ago, on my first weekend in Ecuador. The bus to the jungle is running late, because this is South America, and buses are almost always running late. It's not their fault -- mudslides have... more