Amanda Kingsmith

yoga teacher. world traveler. writer. podcast host.

Ecuador

Brazil Bound

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Ryan and booked our flight from Quito to São Paulo months ago… without consideration of when the Olympics would be taking place. As it turned out, the men’s hockey gold metal game was taking place right as we were embarking on our journey to Brazil. While we were up at the ungodly hour of 4am to catch our flight, my friends and family back home were awake to cheer on team Canada in our quest for gold. Based on how much fun my friends and I had during the 2010 gold metal game, I felt pretty homesick missing another epic Canadian event. Nevertheless, life could be worse; I was off to Brazil! [Read more…] about Brazil Bound

Otavalo & the last of Quito

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My parents last day in Quito was a beautiful, sunny day (not entirely common for Quito), perfect for relaxing. My mom and I attended a yoga class in the morning, which consisted of long holds and a lot of stretching. It was the perfect class for both of us, as my ankle is still healing, and it had been a while since my mom had done yoga. It was also good, considering the class was once again in spanish. This wasn’t overly challenging for me, but I caught my mom’s puzzled eye more than once in the mirror. [Read more…] about Otavalo & the last of Quito

Mitad del Mundo & Cotopaxi National Park

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Arriving back in Quito has proven to be less than terrible. Our first full day back, we set off on a half day tour of the Mitad del Mundo, or the middle of the world. As it turns out, Ecuador translates to “equator”, and the equator or middle of the world runs right through the country. The equator crosses through over 15 countries in the world; however, Ecuador is considered the middle of the world because it is the highest point that the equator crosses through. [Read more…] about Mitad del Mundo & Cotopaxi National Park

Colonial Cuenca

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We spent one more morning ocean-side, watching the pelicans fish and the sea lions laze around before we were whisked across Santa Cruz and back over to the desert island of Baltra to catch our flight out of the Galapagos. We had a quick flight to Guayaquil, where we touched down without leaving the plane, before heading onwards to Quito. In Quito, we changed planes to go onwards to Cuenca. If you were to look at a map, this travel route would make very little sense, but apparently that’s how they do it here. [Read more…] about Colonial Cuenca

The Galápagos Islands Part 2

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Before I dive into the details of the final 3 days spent in the Galapagos, I must back up and tell you about the group that we spent our time with while there. It was made up of the 4 of us, a lovely newly engaged Canadian couple from Toronto, and 2 Russian couples. We first met the Russians while enjoying our ocean-side lunch within the first hour of arriving. I was rudely disrupted from my chips and guacamole by a clapping sound, followed by an angry bark that was coming from the sea lion resting area. As it turns out, one of the Russian men was disrupting the sea lions from their nap by clapping in their faces, hoping to get a good photo of them. [Read more…] about The Galápagos Islands Part 2