Posts tagged Ecuador

GET A ROOM: ABODE OF THE WEEK

Since my mind has been a little Ecuador-oriented lately with our season of Jet Set Zero’s Webby nomination, I thought I’d share one of my favorite places to stay in Ecuador. The moment we pulled up to this place (riding in the back of a truck, no less), I knew I wouldn’t want to leave.

Chilcabamba was a romantic, rustic paradise that appeared out of nowhere as we bumped along a dirt road circling the base of Cotopaxi volcano. With stunning views of the volcano, cozy fireplaces in our room, and mouth-watering meals, it was the perfect weekend getaway. The thatched roof and earth tones blended with charming details like wool ponchos provided for extra warmth and a saddle perched high on a beam in one room. A telescope offered incredible glimpses of trekkers who were climbing the volcano. How can you not love a place that has a baby horse in the front yard and an alpaca roaming the grounds?

The crisp air sharpened our senses as my friend Amy and I rode horses into Cotopaxi national park one afternoon. We rode alongside a cliff that dropped into a deep gorge below, spotted wild horses in the park, and felt like the only people in the world.

In the evening, the caretaker Diomedus (yes, he’s part Greek) prepared us a hearty meal of locally-sourced pork chops, chicken, and trout, topped by the most incredible dessert. It was like eating a cloud with the subtle flavor of naranjilla, a fruit native to Ecuador with a citrusy orange flavor. My friend Freddie is a fast eater and usually devours his food before anyone else finishes, but this time, Freddie lingered over the naranjilla mousse longer than any of us, relishing every morsel of flavor.

Which is exactly how I felt about Chilcabamba overall - I wanted to linger as long as possible and savor every moment of it.

Photos by Amy Cao

4 notes

#chilcabamba

#ecuador

#travel

#quito

#getaway

#weekend

#hacienda

#hosteria

#cotopaxi

#horseback riding

#tambopaxi
Date

1 year ago

Story of a startup: pinching pennies but plenty of passion.

This is my tireless producer and cameraman who was there with us in Quito every step of the way. From bumpy dirt roads in the back of a truck to climbing mountains and ducking under waterfalls, he did everything we did- walking backward with a video camera.

All of that footage became Jet Set Zero’s Season 6: Quito. And now we’re nominated for a Webby award! Voting ends in 2 days so hurry up and get your vote on.

2 notes

#ecuador

#jet set zero

#quito

#startup

#travel

#webby

#webbys
Date

1 year ago

We are up for a Webby! My season of Jet Set Zero in Quito is nominated for a Webby Award - Best Travel and Adventure show in the Online Film/Video category.

Want to know how to quit your job and live abroad? We’ll show you. Climbing mountains, shamans in the jungle, salsa dancing, eating guinea pig, getting robbed - it’s all here.  

If you like what you see, lend your support and vote for us here.

#jet set zero

#quito

#ecuador

#webby

#travel
Date

1 year ago

SHAMANISM IN SOUTH AMERICA New post on Jet Set Zero about ayahuasca and vomiting snakes: Ayahuasca is an ancient Amazonian plant that imparts visions and healing to those who work with it. A single ayahuasca ceremony can be so powerful that it can equate to years of self-development in terms of the issues you can work through and the new perspectives you can reach.  Not everyone drinks ayahuasca because they seek healing, though it is hard not to feel that you have been healed afterward.  Simply look around to observe how much healing our world needs.  Symptoms of our Western malaise are evident: a mass mentality of material accumulation; a society that would rather type an email than knock on their neighbor’s door; an entire generation who doesn’t know what to do with their lives. Ayahuasca holds the space for undertaking a journey deep within your psyche and has the potential to shatter all the beliefs you hold about how the world works.  It can be hard to feel that you are the same person afterward. Read the whole post here: Vomiting Snakes: The Truth About Ayahuasca

SHAMANISM IN SOUTH AMERICA

New post on Jet Set Zero about ayahuasca and vomiting snakes:

Ayahuasca is an ancient Amazonian plant that imparts visions and healing to those who work with it.

A single ayahuasca ceremony can be so powerful that it can equate to years of self-development in terms of the issues you can work through and the new perspectives you can reach. 

Not everyone drinks ayahuasca because they seek healing, though it is hard not to feel that you have been healed afterward.  Simply look around to observe how much healing our world needs. 

Symptoms of our Western malaise are evident: a mass mentality of material accumulation; a society that would rather type an email than knock on their neighbor’s door; an entire generation who doesn’t know what to do with their lives.

Ayahuasca holds the space for undertaking a journey deep within your psyche and has the potential to shatter all the beliefs you hold about how the world works.  It can be hard to feel that you are the same person afterward.

Read the whole post here: Vomiting Snakes: The Truth About Ayahuasca

7 notes

#ayahuasca

#peru

#ecuador

#jungle

#amazon

#south america

#healing

#shaman

#shamanism
Date

1 year ago

Episode 6 of Jet Set Zero’s season in Quito, Ecuador finally released!

Each cast member explores their own version of spirituality on the road. From colonial churches to jungle shamanism, we find what we need to feel grounded and learn to navigate a world larger than ourselves.

If you like what you see, please recommend JetSetMeister in the travel directory today!

#travel

#south america

#ecuador

#spirituality

#religion

#jetsetzero
Date

1 year ago

“All good things are wild, and free.” -Henry David Thoreau Cotopaxi National Park, Ecuador Photo by Amy Cao

“All good things are wild, and free.”

-Henry David Thoreau


Cotopaxi National Park, Ecuador

Photo by Amy Cao

2 notes

#travel

#south america

#ecuador

#cotopaxi

#thoreau quote

#jet s

#jet set zero

#Amy Blogs Chow
Date

1 year ago

3 months in Ecuador and my visa runs out. What to do? Why go to Peru, of course.

3 months in Ecuador and my visa runs out.

What to do? Why go to Peru, of course.

3 notes

#Ecuador

#Peru

#border

#bus
Date

1 year ago

Last few days with the Jet Set Zero cast. Whale watching in the Pacific Ocean, hiking all over the ‘Poor Man’s Galapagos’ (it’s Jet Set ZERO, remember?), and gazing over the red roofs of Cuenca, Ecuador’s loveliest city. 

Last few days with the Jet Set Zero cast. Whale watching in the Pacific Ocean, hiking all over the ‘Poor Man’s Galapagos’ (it’s Jet Set ZERO, remember?), and gazing over the red roofs of Cuenca, Ecuador’s loveliest city. 

1 note

#cuenca

#ecuador
Date

1 year ago

Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars… and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful.  Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - for no reason.  It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are.  ~Osho Mindo, Ecuador

Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars… and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. 

Everything is simply happy.

Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance.

Look at the flowers - for no reason.  It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are. 

~Osho

Mindo, Ecuador

#mindo

#ecuador

#cloudforest

#trees

#quote
Date

1 year ago

One of the thousands of varieties of orchids that call Ecuador home. Found in the tiny village of Mindo, a cloud forest less than 2 hours from Quito by bus, but a world away in all other respects. Stroll through butterfly farms, spot the famous cock-of-the-rock (it’s a bird!), go tubing on the river, or ziplining for $10.

One of the thousands of varieties of orchids that call Ecuador home. Found in the tiny village of Mindo, a cloud forest less than 2 hours from Quito by bus, but a world away in all other respects. Stroll through butterfly farms, spot the famous cock-of-the-rock (it’s a bird!), go tubing on the river, or ziplining for $10.

1 note

#mindo

#ecuador

#orchid

#orchids

#flowers

#cloudforest
Date

1 year ago

Hand-painted gourds Latacunga market, Ecuador

Hand-painted gourds

Latacunga market, Ecuador

#latacunga

#ecuador

#market

#gourds
Date

1 year ago

Sunny and colorful: La Luna hostal, situated in the green hills of Otavalo, home to Ecuador’s famous indigenous market. Otavalo, Ecuador

Sunny and colorful: La Luna hostal, situated in the green hills of Otavalo, home to Ecuador’s famous indigenous market.

Otavalo, Ecuador

1 note

#ecuador

#la luna

#otavalo
Date

1 year ago

In the sky an infinitude of hope, a canvas of glory all possibilities mine. -Terri Guillemets Lagunas de Mojanda, Ecuador Photo by Amy Cao

In the sky
an infinitude of hope,
a canvas of glory
all possibilities mine.
-Terri Guillemets

Lagunas de Mojanda, Ecuador

Photo by Amy Cao

5 notes

#ecuador

#laguna

#mojanda

#otavalo

#la luna
Date

1 year ago

This is when I walk out the door and the sun starts smiling at me and says, ‘Oh Ryan you’re gonna have a great day.’ And the flowers start waving and say, ‘Oh you’re gonna have a great day, Ryan!’ And then I walk down the street and someone’s getting mugged and they just say, ‘Oh you’re gonna have a great day Ryan’ and they give me their money. And people are getting in car accidents and they’re like, Yeahh and even though they’re getting hurt, they’re like, ‘Oh do you need a ride?’ And girls just chase me and I’m like,’ Oh not right now’,and they’re like, ‘Oh its all right.’ And I just moonwalk out of there and everyone’s like Yeaaahhh. And I picture my shoes like roller skates and they have ball bearings on the bottom and everyone else is walking, and I’m just rolling down the street like, yeaaahhhh… .Ryan Preciado

This is when I walk out the door and the sun starts smiling at me and says, ‘Oh Ryan you’re gonna have a great day.’ And the flowers start waving and say, ‘Oh you’re gonna have a great day, Ryan!’ And then I walk down the street and someone’s getting mugged and they just say, ‘Oh you’re gonna have a great day Ryan’ and they give me their money. And people are getting in car accidents and they’re like, Yeahh and even though they’re getting hurt, they’re like, ‘Oh do you need a ride?’ And girls just chase me and I’m like,’ Oh not right now’,and they’re like, ‘Oh its all right.’ And I just moonwalk out of there and everyone’s like Yeaaahhh. And I picture my shoes like roller skates and they have ball bearings on the bottom and everyone else is walking, and I’m just rolling down the street like, yeaaahhhh… .

Ryan Preciado

#remption

#Ecuador

#Laguna Cuicocha

#Cuicocha

#Cotacachi

#Otavalo
Date

1 year ago

Cotacachi, Ecuador

Cotacachi, Ecuador

1 note

#Ecuador

#Cotacachi

#Travel

#South America
Date

1 year ago