Ecuador is one of the most diverse regions in the world, with its many topographical changes and unique blend of culture, history and altitudes. They refer to the area just north of the country's capitol Quito, as the center of the earth because it is located at 0- degrees latitude by 0 -degrees longitude. My time in Ecuador was brief but my experience will be with me for a lifetime. People always ask me, out of all the countries I have visited which one is my favorite? I tell them that they are all my favorite, each one holds its own special characteristics and beauty. I would, and will return to every last one of them (someday). But for now, there is a laundry list of other places I would love to go to and share my love and compassion for life and the appreciation for this moment in time.....NOW.

My updates pretty much sum up my experience in Ecuador, although there is one story left that I would like to share with you.

The day before I was to fly back home to the USA, I spent a lot of time wandering the streets of Quito visiting people and places possibly for the last time. This is something that I usually do before leaving each country as it helps me bring the experience to a clearer understanding. I went to such places as the shops and cafes where I had been to previously. Many of the people there knew me and were sad to see me go, not because I spent any amount of money there but because of the attitude, ideas and sense of warmth and sincerity I carry with me always. They tell me I am not like many Americans they have met before, that I am different, I am open and understanding and that I care about all people not just myself. I try to explain that this is only an attitude held by a minority in the United States and there are many people in my country who care a great deal about the problems of this earth and its people . For some people, I may have been the first foreigner they have ever met, not just the first American. In this I feel I have given my country a sense of pride that we are caring compassionate people and our one flaw is that some are only ignorant to the many problems of the world. This is where my purpose lies, I am not just a world traveling volunteer but I am an ambassador of peace representing the United States of America and it is my purpose to help the world as well as share everything I have seen and done with those from my own country so they may have a better understanding of what life is like outside the great metaphorical walls of the USA.

One of the last places I visited the evening before I left Ecuador was Eglasia de San Francisco. Before going inside the church, I walked around the square watching the people go about their daily activities. There are a bunch of children who are always hanging outside the church doors begging to shine the shoes of the tourists for $0.50, most of these children are homeless. The day before, I was followed by some of these kids but I did not want to be bothered. But on this day, I took one of them by surprise and asked him please, please will you shine my shoes, he was confused. So I sat on the edge of the stone wall as this young boy began to shine my boots. I started to have a conversation with him ( in Spanish ) asking him many personal questions. He told me his name was Alex, he was 10 years old and he lives on the street with his mother. He was dressed in dirty torn clothing and his hands were filthy from all the shoe shines. He had polish smudged on his face and he was missing a tooth. After meeting me, he had a look of wonderment in his eyes. He spoke no English, and I explained to him how powerful this could be for him if he did. The tourists would be more receptive to him if they could understand him. After about 10 minutes he was done and he said it was $0.50 and I leaned over and put my left hand on his shoulder and shook his right hand out of respect and appreciation. As I did, I gave him $5.00. It was at this moment that the little English Alex knew came out, he said "Thank you" with such a tone of surprise. A tear ran down my cheek as I thought about this one child who's life I had affected if only for a moment and the sadness that filled my heart as I thought about the countless number of others that needed help that I could do nothing for except CARE. I hope that will be enough, but I doubt it.

So ends my experience in Ecuador, ending like so many other visits to other countries with a deep sadness in my heart that I wish I could have done more and so continues my inspiration to travel the world giving of myself, my time, my money, my energy and more importantly my love. I am blessed to be alive and my love belongs to everyone and I will die sharing it with the World.......this is my purpose.

4-6-2007

Today is good friday and I am in the capitol city of Quito in Ecuador. In Ecuador, most people are Catholic, so I went with my new friend Cesar to the center of the city. We stood out side the main church called the Basila and watched as thousands of people walked from way down this hillside from a church called San Fransico. Hundreds of them were dressed as Jesus wearing a crown of thorns, chains around their ankles and carrying this enormous cross cut from a telephone pole while being whipped by men dressed as Romans. All of this was in a rain storm and of course I was filming and photographing. It was a beautiful thing to witness and is part of the reason I came here when I did. I am staying with an Ecuadorian family in their guest house. It is very nice, even better than my place. Spanish is no problem because I speak a little. Most people I have met speak no English, but it all works out.

I wish to say thank you to all of my freinds and family who are very supportive of the things I do, when I leave on a mission such as this. I am thinking of all of you, all I can say is "I wish you were here".

Here is a brief summery of events since my departure from cincinnati:

My acoustic guitar made it here safely. Since they speak little to no english, they love my music. I am not at poular as I was in India, but that is fine by me. I try to stay subdued.

When I arrived in Quito I was greeted by a young man who spoke about five words in english. It was at this time that I found out if this was all a scam (it was not). He took me to his house to his family, they are the organizers of the volunteers. They fed me while they got drunk on whiskey and then they made me play my guitar until 1:00 am.

The next morning he drove me to the host family to drop off my bags and then put me on a bus up the hill to the school where I would be working. This school is for children with disabilities. There are about 20 students all with various afflictions from 3 to 21 years old. Nobody spoke English, but it all workied out. I helped with the childern the way I know how, with my heart and my hands. By the end of the day, the people that work at the school realized my compassion for everyone and my intention to help anyone in need.

After my first day I had a mild sunburn. I bought an aloe plant, cut its leaf and applied some of the gel from inside.

There are many dogs here, some as pets, but most just wondering around. Today I saw one completely flatened on road, it was fresh.

The next day I walked to the school, 45 minutes all up hill. I could take the bus for $0.25 but it costs more if you want the bus to stop or slow down for you to jump off. My second and third days at the school were great. The people are really getting used to me, both the workers and the students. I am pleased to say that after 5 days of being here I have aquired zero wives (unlike india).

On the 5th, my friend Cesar picked me up on his motorcycle and drove me up into the mountains to the city and took me to his house to meet his wife and daughter. They are all very nice and by the end of tthe day all three were laughing so hard that ther were in tears. It was mostly from my poor spanish, I think I am cussing alot in spanish and don't even realize it.

The view of the city from Cesar's house is beautiful. His house is crammed on a hillside with many others and it looks down into the city. On the other side are three live volcanoes, five years ago one of them erupted and some lava came down but not to the city.

Tomorrow, I will go with Cesar to one of the highest mountains in the world "Chimbarazo".

This week in Quito is Holy Week. On sunday, I will find a church to go to in the city and spend Easter here far away from the chocolate and the eggs and the demonic rabbit.

As always, when I travel to places such as these I feel the same every time. The counrty is beautiful the people are very kind and poor (to our standards), but this is ok. I am having a wonderful time experiencing yet another part of the world and a culture. I hope that I can do more for these people than I can imagine. I know that I have left a lasting impression on the people I have met.

Please be safe and love one another.

Your amigo,
Roberto

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4-10-2007

On saturday the 7th, I was seated on a bench in a park when a lizard jumped up upon my left arm. At first, I was a bit startled but it was very calm and seemed to enjoy my warmth. It was some sort of gecko looking lizard about five inches long and had varying black and white stripes. As i got up to leave, it stayed resting on my arm so I brought him with me the rest of the day everywhere I went. He is now mi amigo and I have named him Nueve.

There are other volunteers here from different places, USA and UK. On the weekends they go to various places of tourism. I enjoy just wondering the streets and getting to know the people and trying to understand the culture. I would truely enjoy to see all those beautiful places, but it costs money and I would much rather spend my time and money with the people.

On sunday the 11th, it was Easter and I thought I might enjoy some long drawn out Catholic Sunday mass, nope.  Instead, I went with Cesar on his motorcycle to this park where about forty people arrived and he gave a two hour aerobics class. I had no idea. Later, we rode around the city looking at differnt places.

Cesar is also physical therapist and we went to the home of this very poor family where he visits a few days a week to help with this three year old girl. She was a victim of physical abuse from her mother and some strange man. Now she is mentally retraded and crippled. Her grandmother cares for her as well as four other children ages 2 to 12. The children were very excited to have me in their house and I was helping them learn english. It was a beautiful experience for me and I thanked the grandmother for having me.

Almost every afternoon, it rains for about an hour. It was at this time, I was with Cesar in his motorcycle going up and down these various 45 degree angled streets that joined from different directions. His bike is a dirt bike type of motorcycle and many people use them as transportation. Later, we went to his house to see his wife and daughter and his sister-in-law and brother. I brought a gift for his daughter, Jossolyn. She is 8 years old. I had for her a bracelet that I braided for her from string made of 6 different colors. I told her that the diferent colors represent all the different people and when braided we are all brought together for the same purpose.

Next, I gave her a book called "Santa Biblia" or Holy Bible and what a gift to have on Easter. This was a special bible, each page was divided in half, one colum was in Spanish and the other in English. I told her she can study and practice the bible and English. Cesar was very pleased with me for the thoughfulness I had given his family. I asked Jossolyn if she would ever wish to go to the USA, she said no. I asked her why and her response was no money, so I told her money is important but should not be thet reason to hold us back from our dreams. I told her if she believes in something in her mind and holds it strong in her heart then she will be able to have anything in the entire world. For me, to be able to inspire an 8 year child in a somewhat poor country made this the best Easter ever.

Let me tell you a little about the children at the school where I work, it is privatly funded and very poor. They have a few fold-up wheelchairs, but to move around from different parts of the building or from the van\bus we have to carry them. There are mant diffrent issues with the children and we sometimes are not enough to handle them all. We have the higher funtioning ones or other children to help. Every day is a challange, but with love as the foundation we can overcome.

Yesterday I spoke to Cesar and had him explain to the other teachers that a friend of mine had started a non-profit working with people with disabilities doing arts and crafts www.creativequarters.com. When she heard about the work I would be doing in Ecuador she managed to donate $200.00. When I told them to make a list of suppies and Cesar and that I would go and get as much as we could with the money, they were shocked and amazed. This was so much money, and I know I will spend at least that much of my own money doing ther same. For example, to go to the Galopogas Islands it would cost me 250.00 for a weekend. Icould have a good time for me OR I could take that money and spend it on materials for the school and the children so they might be able to learn and excell. To me this would be great and much more important.

Every morning, I walk about fifteen minutes to the bus stop and I choose not to take the bus. Instead, I walk another fory-five minutes up hill on the side of the highway stepping over dangerous crevaces with buses whizzing past me on one side and a very steep cliff on the other side. I do this not because I cannot afford the $.25 it would cost me to ride the bus, but because so many poeple have no choice but to travel this way. So, instead of wondering what it must be like, I feel it for myself. For those of you who know me you understand that I DO NOT  like heights and I force myself to cross these narrow cable bridges over these deep valleys, and when I look down my head spins and my eyes roll back. WOW!

Time for me to go, but please keep your focus and do the right thing.

Sincerely yours,
Roberto

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4-11-2007

Today, after my work at the school, I took a bus into the center of the city and I went into this enormous beautiful church called Iglesia De San Fransisco. It is filled with so much gold and symbolica I was touched. It is the largest church in all of Quito and is where the Good Friday precsion had started . When I came out I walked down this street and I came across this small body of water with many types of trees around it and a fabulous view of the mountains in the background. In the center of the water were two lonely flowers floating gently beside one another.

As I stood there and watched, a calm wind came down  and caused the two flowers to become entangled into one another , almost like dancing, it was beautiful it was full of purpose, it was DIOS.

Soon after this, I wandered the streets and I came across this tiende (shop) that had many acoustic guitars and I saw one that I could not believe, it was beautiful. I went in and set it free. It is this incredible shade of azul (blue) and it sounded like harps being played by the angels-it was something I had never experienced before, it was El Guapo.

My only regret is that it would have been fabulous to hear this music from the heavens as I watched the dance of the Flores----the sun and the moon.

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4-13-2007

Today, after my work at the school I was taken to the top of the city Pichincha,  a massive somewhat dormant volcano. It was beautiful, I could see the entire city. I was at the top just at sunrise so it became dark very quickly and the clouds drifted  in beneath my feet "wow".

The next day after school I was taken to this  city to this huge market where the indigenous people bring their crafts to sell as income. I saw this beautiful lake there with  many types of trees surrounding it and the mountains in the background. A man beautiful flowers was gently floating on the surface of the water, it reminded me of what I had experienced only a couple of days ago.

Did I mention how close this city is to the border of Columbia?¿?¿?¿

It is!

I was kind of having a bad day and it wasn't until later that evening that I realized that it was FRIDAY THE 13TH

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4-14-2007

Today no school, so I traveled with some friends to the south about four hours by bus $3.00 to one of the highest mountains in the world "Chimbarazo".  it was fantastic, the clouds gently rested on its peak and I could see the snow covered tips, I regret that I had very little time to spend here. we went into town called Riobamba, it was very interesting, it reminded me of when I was in Bangkok.

The ride home in the dark was fun. We were going up and down these dangerous curves where some of the road is covered with rocks and dirt from previous land slides with mucho steep cliffs on both sides and a Rio running along side it. It made me think of those stories one reads on CNN about the autobus losing control going off a Cliff into the river, I try not to worry about it.

Let me explain what working at the school is like, I would compare it to being in an insane asylum . When all the students are there it is absolutely madness, there are so many of them and few of us. They are constantly hitting each other and trying to destroy things and having serious behaviors. I have worked in this population for many years and I really enjoy, but these people do not have the same opportunities as do the people in the USA. I want so much to give them everything we have, but there are so many people with so many needs, so as you can imagine my days can be very stressful.

Now let me tell you how dangerous the city is with 1.5 million people.

VERY!

Half of my stress is  making sure I do not find myself in a a place or a situation  that is dangerous, it does not matter day or night, many people are mugged in different places, even on the buses. SO I try not to travel alone anywhere----no thanks.

I was robbed of $400.00

I went to an ATM a couple of days ago and tried to take out $400.00 half of which was to go to the school for supplies and the other half for  various other things for the next 2 weeks. The ATM did not give me any money, i find out it only dispenses $200.00 at a time. I went to a different one and  got $100.00.

The next day at the Internet cafe, I checked my bank account, it showed a a withdrawal of $400.00----but this was a LIE. I wrote an email to the bank PNC and explained the situation. I will be surprised if I ever see that money. I still have more funds as well as the donation money but I will not be able to help these people here  as I had hoped----we shall see.

Today is Sunday April 15th ( did you do your taxes? )

Here in Quito is some sort of major election, not the presidential thank  goodness. There  are many policia and military everywhere and who do i see¿¿¿¿

George W.

That man keeps following me everywhere, he came to Bangkok only days before I departed, he is always coming to Cincinnati----- whats his plan? A good one I hope.

Well I'm off to go somewhere, where ever the wind blows me since I have lost at least ten pounds. Everyone "please take care of one another", (Jerry springer)

sianara
Roberto aka   "Malo"

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4-16-2007

Many of you may be aware that I was working three jobs to be able to afford to come here. Since I have been here I have been doing my volunteer work during the day at the foundation working with the children and young adults with various mental and physical disabilities. In the late afternoon for the first two weeks  I had been working  about four hours a night at this store across from a school helping sell different types of school supplies and some food and beverages. During this time I also have been teaching English to the owner as well as to many of the students that came there. Last week I stopped working there (no $$$) and I started working for this family in the city (also no $$$) helping make  real natural homemade soy milk, then we would walk the streets\ hills to various gymnasiums to sell it. In addition to selling various types of vitamins, this is how this family earns their living. They say I make an excellent burro (mule \ donkey). So basically, that is what I had been doing for the past week or so after school until late at night, here that is 10pm.

My Spanish has improved considerably especially since I lost my phrase book on one of the many autobuses I rode on (sardines). No problems with language. Everyone her has been so nice and they are interested to hear about the USA, I try to tell them about all the good stuff and leave the bad stuff to Hollywood.

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4-21-2007

How many people enjoy a good theme park with a super scary roller coaster¿¿¿ How much do you pay to get in ? $40.00 Well I only paid  $10.00 and the roller coaster went non-stop for 4 hours. The only difference was it was a bus on a road going through the hills and valleys of the Andes mountains with curves at times 180º and we were flying, passing semis, other buses at rates of speed you would not believe, children  and adults were getting sick, I was hanging onto my friend's daughter, she was so scared and crying,  8 years old, and many times as the driver would pass someone on a curve another vehicle was heading right for us in the same lane. This to me was one of the scariest moments ever, because as we drove this winding road all I could see out my window was a cliff that dropped forever and one wrong move would put us there and we all would surely die.

Does anyone remember reading on CNN about a bus full of people going off a Cliff in one of these countries? Well the problem with this long bus ride  down these dangerous roads was that just as we began to enter the valley of death we passed a bus that had went off a cliff and rolled down a hill for about the Length of a football field, and if you were to see how cramped these bussed are with people and children it would  make you cringe. I am not certain how many people died but I'm sure there were some.

So my destination was the Esmeraldas in the north wets of Ecuador near the border of Columbia (again). I was at the coast of the Pacific ocean. When we arrived it was raining and we had to find hotel rooms $10.00 then we walked the beach, it was one giant part with outdoor  night clubs in the sand  and alcohol everywhere (I don't drink) and different types of Latino music screams from the sound systems. Also there were every type of craft made from shells and many types of clothes and crafts , I bought nothing except a huge plate of rice and veggies for $1.00--mmmm!

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4-22-2007

This morning, I got up at 7:00 and we hit the beach. My friend's daughter had never seen the ocean and she was amazed. I took her out to water up past my waist which was deep enough because when the waves came in  it was way over my head. She was loving it and she was scared at the same time, but she trusts me and knew nothing wold happen to her.

After a while I went out farther on my own and as the time went by the tide rose and I was body surfing for a couple of hours. This was fine until I was stung by a small jelly fish on my right leg, but that didn't stop me.

We left this small outer town of the Esmeraldas and went to the main beach, it was not the same, there were 3-4 soccer games happening on the beach at the same time and many people were drunk. I did not feel as safe and neither did my friends, so we left and 3 buses later we were in Santo Domingo (holey,saint--Sunday) there we ate some quick Chinese prepared by Ecuadoreans $2.00 then onto our bus to Quito. The problem was it was 7:00 pm and dark and we had a 5 hour bus ride (detour) instead of 3 hours on the roller coaster. It seems there had been a land slide this day on that route so we had to go around. To me, that is an omen if I every saw one.

Once in the city, at midnight, in one of the most dangerous parts of the city, taxi was the quickest way to vamous---so we did.

This is my last week here and I still have much work ahead of me in my last seven days and I plan on making the most of my time while still here. I hope all of you are safe and well and I look forward  to seeing you all very soon.

mucho amore Roberto

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4-23-2007

I skipped school today and spent the entire day alone, walking from different shops spending all of the money that was given to me to buy supplies for the School. The money was donated by a non-profit organization called Creative Quarters, it is a group that works with people with various disabilities doing arts and crafts. When my Friends heard of the volunteer work I would be doing in Ecuador with these children, they had no problem in donating the money needed to buy the necessary supplies for the school.

You would not believe the amount of stuff I was able to buy here in Quito with the money. It took me a few trips to get it all back to my room, it was very heavy.

Tuesday and Wednesday were the same as always, work in the school during the day and peddle my soy milk at night, I really like it here and I think here likes me.

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4-26-2007

Today is the day that I gave all the supplies to the teachers and the children of the school. They could not believe all the things I had bought for them, they kept thanking me. I explained that it was not my money, I only played a small role in getting it to them. As I had mentioned before, from my experiences from other countries, it is amazing how far $1.00 will go and if you put it next to another $1.00 even farther. I will share the list of items with you later. the staff was so pleased to receive the much needed items to help them with the students it brought tears to their eyes.

Later that day, I found out that in the morning at about 9am my Friend was seated at the bus stop when a man grabbed her bag and forced it from her along with the English/Spanish dictionary that I had given to her. I have since bought her a new one, in which I wrote: "if you stole this book may you die a painful death and rot in hell, love Roberto"

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4-27-2007

This was my last day at the school and I never like saying goodbye. It was a pretty lazy day mostly socialization. I played the guitar that I donated to the school for about an hour, they love the musical stimulation, and I loved that guitar, but I don't mind. Today, I also spent some time with some of my favorite children, a girl about 7 years old who has no control over her arms, legs, head and neck. When I came to the school, I watched as they fed her lunch, just holding her in their arms (barely)  as they tried to hold her head up pouring thin milk into her mouth causing her to aspirate (choke). I have great experience with these types of children so over the span of a couple weeks  I managed to work with the staff in positioning her in a special chair we came up with and I created a type of collar for her to wear to support and stabilize her head.  in doing this  the young girl was upright and a semi-tilted  90º angle with proper neck and spine alignment. She also requires thickened liquids, so I bought some instant jello and we added some to her milk. She was no longer choking on her meal and the staff noticed what a difference all of this made. I was very pleased to see the staff so receptive to my input and ideas and I feel they truly understood the reason why. I think to myself  that if the only reason I am here is to help this one little girl then it was worth it and I would do it all over again.

At the end of the day I held this child in my arms wondering what she thought of me and was she curious how and why her life had changed so much since my arrival. Soon after, one of the staff told this young girl that I was to leave in a couple of days and would not be returning to the school. She went from the brightest smile to the most horrible cry as tears rolled down her cheeks. This was more than I could handle, already feeling in an emotional state, together we cried as I held her tightly in my arms.

The school day had ended and we loaded all the children into the van an as we did I kissed them all on the forehead and said goodbye. Then I thanked the teachers and staff for all their kindness and I told them that I would never forget them and how they all touched my life.

Later, I went into the center of the city to look around for a while. As I was crossing a street I glanced over my left shoulder and saw a car coming at me. As it hit me, I pushed of the hood with my left hand jumping high up and away. Had I not noticed, I would have been seriously injured and spending a little more time here. needless to say my heart works just fine at 200 BPM.

I walked around talking to strangers and just taking in as much as I could. As I mentioned before how dangerous it is in the city I find it difficult to take photos when I want to, but this day I managed a few, but in doing so I attracted a couple of guys who followed me for a few blocks ,but I pulled a quick one and lost them.

Later I went into Eglasia de San Francisco for almost 3 hours just watching people and feeling the energy that was inside this massive church. I stood and watched the massive protest that I had been seeing all week outside the house\office of the president of Ecuador. It seems the people are not pleased with the head of state and are protesting to remove him from office. I think it is working.

At the end of the day (7pm), it's time to go because the people  are few, the police are fewer and the danger increases. So I fight the crowds at La Marin to get onto a bus for 15 minutes or 4 miles to the tiny ubarrio I am staying at called Armenia. I think not staying in the city it is safer. To the house of the host family I go.  My stay there was arranged by the organization that recruits volunteers and they pays the family a portion of the money that I had to pay them. The family was very welcoming to me making sure I had all that I needed, including 3 meals a day (which I don't get in my own house). They were very accommodating to the fact that I am a strict vegetarian and the food was the same as if I were to go out to a restaurant. The father of the house is a helicopter pilot in the military here at a base in Quito. and they have 2 young boys 15 and 16 both very nice.

Earlier this week the family dog, a great black chow had become very ill and had to be put down. I returned one night to  find out shortly after it had happened. There the dog lay limp and lifeless after spending the past month with it barking at me and jumping on me and listening to me play my guitar on the porch. I was saddened by this event. The mother of the house and one of the boys carried the dog to the back yard under a tree. I quickly jumped to help dig the hole. in the dark , in the rain for about an hour  we all took turns digging this 4 ft deep by 5 ft long hole in the ground. We were all covered with dirt and the memory of this dog named Ci Ci. I made it a cross out of two branches and some twine, made a border of the grave with pieces of broken clay pots and placed a silk rose that I had in my room in the center. Lastly, I made a cover for protection for the candle and incense that I burned . I did all this not only for the dog but out of respect to the family for my appreciation for them taking me in as a part of the family.

I guess this will be all for now. Please wait for my final report shortly after I return to the USA. It has been a great experience and I advise anyone with the time, the money and the willingness to help anywhere the world cries out to please do so.

There will be photos  on the website after my return. Please be safe and share your love, to not do so is a waste and unnecessary.

Love,
Roberto

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4-30-2007

My last 2 days here were very sad and lonely. My friends were all going about their days  as I spent most of my time walking around talking with people for the last time and looking at places again. It is always very sad for me to leave. I don't like to think that I will never see these people or this place ever again, but that is the nature of life and our existence. We need to appreciate the good things we have right now, not dwell on what we used to have and wish we could have again. We should not put too much energy into a future that may never come. I thought this before when I was clipped by that car, I was reminded of how fragile life is.

As my final days in Ecuador grow closer my friends there were sad to think of me leaving. I told them not to be sad for a moment that may never come.  I told them that I could easily be flattened by one of the auto buses and would never see the day that I would leave to go home to the USA. To be sad about a time in the future that may never happen is a misdirection of focus and energy. One is better off looking at (ahora) now and appreciating all that they have at that very moment. All the love and happiness that others have to offer to you right now is of greater importance. Now is always changing, one moment you are there. The next moment, now is part of the past. So try not to cling to tightly to a moment in time, instead grasp hold of the essence of that moment and absorb all the love and kindness it has to offer and convert that experience into compassion and share it with everyone and everything NOW!

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5-1-2007

The airport in Quito was a little confusing , not as bad as Moscow, but I found only one very long line in the international departure section, and after waiting my turn (30 minutes) I found out it was KLM not American Airlines. I finally asked a baggage guy to find someone from American Airlines. When I found it, the woman was mad at me, telling me I that needed to be here 3 hours early. I tried to explain to her but it was no use. She told me my bags would be held up at Interpol and I said that was fine. I had a 7 hour layover in Miami.

As the plane began to cruise down the runway I thought of the same thing I always do, that my life is perfect and life is beautiful and I am content beyond imagination. I placed in my mind thoughts of all that I have to be grateful for including my time in Ecuador. If this were to be my final moment that would be okay because I have lived an incredible life and I would die happy and full of love. These are thoughts I carry with me always, not just when I fly, it has much to do with the moment of now I spoke of and is the foundation of my beliefs and convictions. With this in my mind and in my heart, I believe that I can do anything with my hands, my website is proof of that. Sometimes I look at it and read what I have written and I am amazed with my own accomplishments and I feel fortunate to have had these opportunities and I feel truly blessed to be alive.

Back to the plane, my flight was perfect I was able to get some beautiful photos of Cuba as we flew over it. I also took pictures of marathon island and Miami. Upon arrival, I went through immigration then to baggage claim.WOW there was my large green army duffel bag and soon after I found El Guapo. I was excited.

Next was the dreaded customs inspection where they tear through your stuff and make you feel like a terrorist or some kind of drug and weapons cartel leader. They were kind to me, the officer looked at my passport, my papers and sent me on my way. How terrible I felt being such a pessimist when I am usually optimistic.

Spending 7 hours in the Miami airport was great. I was hanging out with all the rich American business types on their way to the Bahamas on one side of me and all the rest of the people going home to Haiti with their thick accents speaking Pigeon English.

I flew into Cincinnati with no problems. I went home to lock myself in and stare at the reality I left behind on May 1st. I looked at the remnants of the dream I had just awaken from which was my beautiful experience in ECUADOR.