Oh the places you will go!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.

 You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
--Dr. Seuss

This is me holding a sloth...... A SLOTH! How amazing is that? This was at a port on the river on one leg of our seemingly never-ending journey to the Amazon Rainforest. We took a bus, to a plane, to a bus, to a boat, to a safari bus, to a canoe with an outboard motor...all in all it was about ten to twelve hours of traveling. It was well worth it though, to see nature truly untouched. I really don't have the words to describe it. This makes me even more excited to leave for the Galapagos on Monday. I'm not quite sure what the journey there entails. I'm not sure I want to know.......There will be of course, a long bus ride and a stop at a banana plantation. We spend one day in Guayaquil and we are off to the Galapagos Islands somehow! This, I believe, is what I've been looking forward to the most, and it is a well positioned break in the daily routine of school every morning. I cannot wait to snorkel in the ocean!!!! I've never been snorkeling. I'm a little bit scared of the dangerous species in the ocean; especially with my lifelong habit of being a walking example of Murphy's law. I did survive the Amazon though so maybe the sharks, rays, and jellyfish will leave me alone......

It really is difficult to comprehend just how far away from home we are. We are too busy soaking in the extraordinary surroundings here. I'm dreaming of snorkeling with sea lions, and at home in Ohio there is a possibility it's snowing! When we are so far removed from home, doing crazy things like traveling by canoe through the rainforest, who could possibly think about winter boots or mittens? I'm starting to wonder how I will feel when the high of a once-in-a-lifetime experience wears off. All of this excitement has to wear off at some point, but for now it's off to the Galapagos!! We can travel by plane, or bus, or car, or train; I don't care. I'm ready!