Before leaving Quito we spend a day sightseeing. We hired a private driver (USD 110) for a full day and it was definitely worth it. The first factor was that Anaïs was still a bit sick from the travel and she was hardly adjusting to the elevation. The second factor was that we would have to spend a full day figuring out how to get to all the places.
So we got picked up one morning by the driver and off we went to see birds, butterflies and see the equator and the center of the world (Latitude zero, longitude zero).
We definitely loved the butterflies, we did not see much of the birds as they were all hiding deep in the forest after the new year’s eve fireworks.
I personally loved the equator. It is funny how water flows and how the movement of the earth impacts everything depending on where your location is. I have never realized that storms turn left or right depending on where they occur.
Tanja balanced an egg on a nail and got a certificate. I spare you all the details about the village and what we have learned about the culture like shrinking heads of warriors, eating caviar & totems. Guess you can read about it on many other blogs.
We had lunch in a very small village and it amazed me how simple but happy people are. It does not take much to be happy and if you live in an amazing place your perspective is changed – on life as a whole.
In Holland (and other European countries) the main aim of the last periods is to get as rich as possible. Make a career. The American dream for everybody. Here in Ecuador, many people do struggle but I just can imagine that the ambition of the people is to leave their country and earn a lot of money.
One of our inspirational stories to actually leave the rat race back at home is this one (proudly stolen without permission from bemorewithless.com):
“An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “only a little while. The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.” The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”“But what then?” Asked the Mexican. The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”
“Millions – then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
Every time I looked around in Ecuador I saw a lot of Mexican fisherman around me…
Did we achieve our goal to go travel with a lot less stuff? Not yet. We just have too much stuff we think we need to carry around especially for our princess Anaïs.
We got rid of as much stuff as possible and we have to dump more stuff soon. Dumping stuff means more freedom for us. We still carry around tons of stuff.