Gone to Ecuador for a couple of weeks. Even if there are internet cafes in the Amazon rainforest or the Galapagos, I hope I have the courage to abstain. Be kind to one another. -John
So first you fly 11 or 12 hours to Quito, then a short flight over the Andes in a tiny prop plane (Icarus Airlines, I kid you not), then a 3 hour trip in a motorized canoe into the Amazon rainforest to Yachana Lodge, a remarkable ecotourism project that has built, just downriver, the only high school for 100 miles around, and primarily for the benefit of the local Quichua teens, they hae a cybercafe. No electricity. Solar powered and satellite uplink and two laptops for 50 cents an hour. So yes, Bruce, I´m sure that when the Chinese complete that 4-lane Interstate to the top of Everest in time for the Olympics, they will have a cybercafe for us all. Marina is right here, Gina . . . so even if those two attractive young British girls in our party turn out in bikins on our Galapagos boat tomorrow, I shall only ogle tortoises and blue-footed boobies. John
Hola. Blue-footed booby mating dance. What a treat (especially if you're a booby). http://tinyurl.com/yoxdox And in matters of education . . . wonderfully sensible thing they are doing in Ecuador -- perhaps elsewhere, but new to me: Each new school building that is built (and there are many) is designed to operate as an elementary school (K-8) from 7 am to 1 pm, as a high school from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., and as an adult or vocational school on into the evening. Wonderful efficiencies in cost, time, land use, equipment sharing, etc.