WANDERING MONKEY

05/09/2026

Over the past few weeks, Maquipucuna Reserve & Ecolodge has been hosting a Bear and Nature Workshop, run by Kenny Ure Wildlife 🦨 and Isabel Ontaneda bringing together members of the local community, guides and students.

The main focus has been on the Andean/spectacled bear and learning more about this incredible species, its behaviour, habitat and the challenges involved in protecting it. The workshops have also touched on the wider biodiversity of the Andean Chocó, including birding and the incredible variety of wildlife and ecosystems found throughout the region.

I’ve been lucky enough to help out by collecting some stock photographs and film from the workshops, capturing some of the people, faces, activities and moments along the way.

It’s been great to see everyone getting involved, sharing knowledge and spending time learning more about the wildlife and environment around Maquipucuna.

Here are a few favorites.

01/09/2026

Jungle life 🙌🏻

30/08/2026

I took more photos 😉 beautiful early morning walk on the swamp trail here at Maqui.

29/08/2026

I took photos 🙌🏻

27/08/2026

A little to hot in the rafters, so the little guy wanted to chill out outside with the cool breeze.

24/08/2026

Today I celebrate me—my day, my life, and my 46th lap around this beautiful planet.

How grateful I am for it all. For the friends who have come and gone, for the family members who influenced my life in the best ways, and for the abundance of people I have met along the road—some who stayed for years, others for only a moment, but each leaving something behind.

What a roller coaster these 46 laps have been. Trauma, self-sabotage, mistakes and hurt; followed by healing, growth, adventure, and eventually learning how to truly live. I have relocated again and again, crossed borders, started over more times than I can count, collected broken bones and scars, experienced incredible highs and some crushing lows, broken cycles I once thought would follow me forever, and continued becoming a better version of myself along the way.

And somehow, through all of it, I have built this extraordinary network of people around the world. Different countries, cultures, languages and walks of life—people I may not see for years, yet who remain part of my story. I am grateful for every conversation, every friendship, every lesson, every adventure, every goodbye, and every unexpected hello.

Most of all, I am grateful that I am still curious. Still dreaming. Still exploring. Still learning. Still willing to change. Still willing to throw myself into the unknown and see what waits on the other side.

At 46, I don’t look back wishing life had been easier. The scars, the wrong turns, the difficult years and the moments that nearly broke me are part of the same story as the mountains, oceans, jungles, friendships, laughter, freedom and experiences that made me feel completely alive.

So today isn’t simply about getting another year older. It’s about celebrating the fact that I’m still here, still moving, still growing, and still incredibly excited about what might be waiting around the next corner.

46 laps completed. And what a beautiful, fu***ng ride it has been. 🌍❤️

23/08/2026

What a beautiful girl. 🙌🏻

The Rainbow Forest-Racer (Dendrophidion clarkii) 🐍

21/08/2026

21/08/2026

The Ecuadorian cloud forest 🙌🏻

21/08/2026

Mindo sitting within Ecuador’s Chocó Andino, one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. Surrounded by cloud forest, mountains, rivers and waterfalls, it’s a beautiful part of Ecuador where nature still dominates the landscape.