I went to historical Old Town in Quito and felt like I had stepped through a portal into an old time Spanish city. The architecture was so amazing, very old and interesting, as well as the stores and the energy of the people living in this part of the city. I feel in love with the old time charm and charisma of the cobblestone streets and the pure gold interior churches. I ventured to Old Town with one of my Ecuadorian hermanas (sisters), Candelaria, and saw the real Quito via the trolley.
The thing that interested me the most in Old Town are these button-like medallions. They are gold plated and have different types of symbols and images traditional to Ecuador stamped onto the metal surface. The family selling these medallions had been making them for years. You can also custom make your own with computer images and words, so Candelaria and I decided we should come up with a really raw design and have some made for us!

The landscape is breathtaking!

The natural environment in Ecuador is breathtaking and refreshing, lush, and rich, with buildings mixed with a gorgeous urban jungle. In Ecuador right now, it is the rainy season, so the earth around me is very dense, vivid and full of life. Quito is at a very high elevation in the Andes Mountains so the air pressure is different and more likely to rain. I live in a lush valley outside of central Quito, a suburb of sorts with awesome plant and animal life.
Each day I drive or take the bus into Quito, sometimes more than one roundtrip, and I am always overwhelmed with the nature and cityscapes around me. I love the nature here; it takes my breath away with its luscious beauty!

I'm in Ecuador

I am in Ecuador. The real Ecuador. I am staying with the Umana family in their beautiful house in Cumbaya. Cumbaya is a suburb of sorts to Quito, about fifteen minutes to and from. It is so pretty here. We live below a beautiful volcano and in a jungle valley. I love the house I am staying in, I have my own room and have the cutest kitten ever as a roommate, I love it!

I have been having a great time enjoying the environment and life here, except I have something that is prohibiting some of my fun: a wicked rash. I am not trying to scare anyone, or sprout fear in people about the dangers of traveling and the effects of the developing world. I am just trying to tell my real story, the good and the ugly. Even if it involves talking about the itchy subjects.

When I reached Quito I looked in a mirror in my new home and screamed. My face was all red and puffy, kind of like chicken pox except swollen and turning purple. I had no clue what could have caused this rash. I had traveled halfway across the world, but besides that, I had done everything else normally. I later found out, after visiting with several doctors in a local hospital, that I was having an allergic reaction to my malaria pills. I need to take malaria pills for when I travel to Panama and adventure in the southern Ecuadorian jungle, but the side effects are gnarly. The doctors gave me several shots and pills I must take for ten days, to stop the reaction. I feel like I am a freak, and am embarrassed to go outside because of how bad I look. But I need to get over my fear and live!

I am recovering slowly but surely. Today, even though I’m still marked by this rash, I plan to leave my sheltered cocoon and explore my new home!

Waiting, waiting, waiting at the airport... Excitement!

I am writing, squatting on the floor, at gate D45 of the Miami International airport waiting for my connecting flight to Quito, Ecuador. I am so excited! I arrived at San Francisco Airport this morning at 4:30 am, and flew to Miami on the first leg of my journey. I have a four hour layover here, and I’ve been wandering the airport and waiting at my departure gate ever since.

I like being in airports, especially Miami’s airport. It is big and kind of funky, with truly enjoyable art and decorations. I have been here a couple of times as a transit point for other foreign adventures, so I am semi-familiar with this airport’s layout.

I stayed up to the wee hours of the night last night packing and organizing for my trip and got less then three hours of sleep. So I slept on my first leg and I plan to do the same all the way to Ecuador! If my plane takes off and on time I should be in Quito around 10 pm Ecuador time. I can’t wait!

On my journey...

Hello World!
My name is Carmel Marie Snow Barron Dunlap Clearwater, but its simply easier if you just call me Carmel. I am a seventeen year old going to be senior at Berkeley High School (Berkeley, CA) in the Arts and Humanities Academy (AHA). I am a Bay Area Nomad, with travel in my blood and I am taking my first solo adventure exploring, discovering, and living in Central and South America for the next nine weeks.

When I am not traveling the globe I love creating art with fabric, metal, wood and other random and exciting found materials. Last summer I went to CSSSA, California State Summer School for the Arts, which inspired me to intertwine and weave art of all kinds into every aspect of my life. I want to change our world, through art, environmental justice and leadership. Through these three passions I decided to create and host two fashion shows and a workshop as well as participating in other events at the Rock Paper Scissors Collective, RPS, (Oakland, CA) and the Bioneers Conferences (Marin, CA). I also further my leadership and creative skills with programs like the Future Leadership Institute (FLI), the Black Rock Arts Foundation (BRAF) and The Mosaic Project. All these organizations, communities and individuals have inspired me to get out in the world and make a difference. Besides planning and organizing events, workshops, shows, and trips I love to go on black and white film adventures, climb tree houses / buildings, collage paper creatures, re-craft old clothes, go nature runs, and most of all travel and explore the crevices and volcanoes of the world.

This summer I am traveling to Ecuador and Panama. I am not going with a school program or an organization; I am going on my own self crafted adventure. My adventure is a remix of ideas and dreams including working with indigenous peoples to better the planet, earth friendly education, creating and respecting art of the indigenous peoples, learning the Spanish language and just living and immersing my self in another culture. I am leaving on Friday for Quito, the capital of Ecuador, where I will be staying near by in a city called Cumbaya. I am ridiculously excited for my endeavor! I have been planning, scheduling and networking with my various communities for months and finally my trip is beginning only hours from now!!! I will be updating my blog with interesting and real tid bits of my life to whoever cares to know. I want to bring my experiences to the world and share all the beauty, amazement, and flaws of the world as I experience it.

I am bringing many things like clothes, gifts and a lot of silly yet necessary little things all squeezed in one small suitcase and my rocket ship backpack which will come everywhere I go. I am almost packed and ready to fly away!

-carmel