A stroll through the countryside

For the second half of my spring break during Semana Santa a group of girls – Hannah, Corinne, Sally and Dana – and I went to three beautiful Sierra towns: Alausí, Ingapirca, and Cuenca. We spent a lot of time in buses but we saw plenty of amazing things and it was well worth it.

Alausí: this town does not particularly have much to offer but it was tucked away in the Andes Mountains and had some breathtaking countryside. The attraction of this town is the train that takes you to La Nariz del Diablo (the Devil’s Nose). The town is heavily populated with indigenous people and I liked getting to see a bit of their traditional lifestyle with their food and clothes, but once we got to the train station we were surrounded by tourists!

The train ride was one and a half hours with an hour lunch break. It is considered the most difficult trains in the world because it has a zig-zag track down through the mountains so it has to move in reverse quite often, and it is slightly old. The countryside was simply stunning! The mountains are magnificent and had a river cutting through them. Everything was so green too! Once we reached the bottom we were supposed to be able to see the Devil’s Nose cut into a mountain side, but even the tour guide admitted that you have to use your imagination. It was really fun seeing a more remote part of Ecuador and sticking our heads out the windows to fully enjoy the view!

Ingapirca: this is the sight of Ecuador’s best kept Incan ruins. Now this place is no Machu Picchu but the ruins were still really neat to see. The ruins were all pretty worn down so it was hard to distinguish between certain “rooms” or “buildings” but there were a few bigger structures that stood out. We were allowed to walk amongst the ruins and climb on them. All of us girls had fun seeing them and playing around through the maze of ruins; it more or less turned into a crazy photo shoot of all us!

One of the neat things about the ruins is that the Incans were master builders because they sculpted and placed the rocks so perfectly that you cannot fit a piece of paper between them and they did not need any extra structural support. There were also llamas just casually grazing all over the ruins and they had no problem getting close to us.

Cuenca: this is a beautiful historic colonial town in Ecuador. The cobblestone streets were lined with gorgeous churches everywhere! I think they are 365 churches in the city, one for each day of the year.

We went into a few of the churches to see the beautiful stained-glass windows, alters, paintings and listen to music. We took a bus tour to see the city lit up at night, but unfortunately it rained on us. However, Dana, Corrine and I were determined to see everything so we sat up at the top level and got soaked in the rain, but we had a great view of everything! We spent our days just walking around the city and snapping photos of all the beautiful buildings, and exploring the local markets. Cuenca is known artisanally for its jewelry especially gold and silver. So of course all of us girls being together would have a blast shopping! And last but not least, the food was spectacular in Cuenca. We were constantly stuffing our faces with delicious food from all kinds of restaurants.

And we tried one of Ecuador’s most traditional dishes: cuy! For the uneducated that is your typical house pet, the guinea pig. However Ecuadorians do not keep them as house pets instead they eat them as a delicacy. We had the joy of watching our guinea pig roast slowly over coals and then it was served to us all chopped up into pieces. Don’t worry the cooks had the courtesy of leaving the head on the plate for us. We were those customers that played with their food before eating it and we all posed with the guinea pig before digging it! Surprisingly it was not that bad! It had a texture like chicken but tasted closest to pork. There wasn’t much meat on it so the hardest part was picking off all the meat, but it was indeed nasty!

We were huge tourists during our Semana Santa week, but we all had so much fun. Our cameras were out and ready for any moment, but that just means more memories for us! That was our last trip in Ecuador all together and we will surely miss it. Now after seeing all those places and eating cuy, I feel like I have had the full Ecuador experience!

I have found paradise

Over Semana Santa (Holy Week) we did not have any classes and where else would be better to take a vacation than the Galapagos Islands! My IES program had a four day/five night trip planned for everyone to the beautiful islands just off the coast of Ecuador. It was quite possibly the most magnificent trip I have ever been on and I will do my best to explain all of the greatness that we saw!

Day 1: We left Quito at 10am and flew through Guayaquil to get to our first stop on the island tour: San Cristobal Island. The ocean was absolutely gorgeous as we flew over it and into the airport! Everyone was practically squealing with excitement about the adventures that were awaiting us. We found our hotel and ate a delicious lunch (again, this girl ate and delighted in the sea food!). Then we walked to an Interpretation Center that was basically a museum that displayed the history of the Galapagos and learned a little bit about them. We hiked to cove where we jumped in the water for our first snorkel of the trip! The cove was absolutely beautiful (as was pretty much everywhere we went in the Galapagos and you will see) and we got to swim with turtles and sea lions!

This was some people’s first time snorkeling ever, can you imagine how awesome of a first time that was? It was unbelievably cool to have sea lions swimming and playing all around us! We also hiked to the top of the hill to the look-out and we were all surrounded by sheer beauty. We just kept talking about how we couldn’t believe where we were! And it was only the first day…

Day 2: Every morning we had to be up and ready for breakfast by 6am so our nights were always uneventful, unless you call showering and turning the lights out by 9pm an event. That morning it was raining as we got on the boat to cruise over to Floreana Island. The rain is key: we had been divided into two groups since there were so many students, and our bags were supposed to travel with us in our appropriate boats. However, because it was raining they were rushed when getting the suitcases on the boats and a lot of luggage got mixed up. Another important thing to remember for later: the night before our guides told us what to pack in our backpacks that we would need during the day, and bathing suits were not on the list. I even asked twice because I wanted to be sure we would not need them and I was told again that no, we would not our swimsuits (I bet you can see where this is going…).

Anyways, back to our boat ride. We got on the boats and headed out to the Pacific. The captain let everyone take turns throughout the weekend riding on the front of the boat and up top with him. About an hour into our ride we noticed dolphins appearing and swimming alongside our boat and playing in the wake!This was my favorite part of the whole trip. They followed us for a while and we couldn’t believe how close they were to us! Then our captain asked if we wanted to swim with the dolphins…

Did WE want to swim with the dolphins? Is that a serious question? Did he even have to ask or wait for an answer? Of course we did! Now, remember the swimsuit and bag situation? You guessed it! Half of us did not have our swimsuits with us in our backpacks nor could we get them out of our suitcases because they were on the other boat that was a ways behind us. But why would we pass up an opportunity to swim with dolphins in the wild? So half of us stripped down to our underwear and jumped right in! It was spectacular! The captain circled around us in the boat because they liked to follow the boat and they swam right by us! Shrieks could be heard from everyone’s snorkel tubes out of pure excitement! What an unbelievable experience.

After this amazing event we continued on our way to Floreana and Sally and I sat at top with the captain. I really liked sitting up there because he pointed out all the islands and rock formations to us so we really learned a lot. We drove around an aquatic mouth to a volcano called La Corona del Diablo (the Devil’s crown) where pirates used to hide and attack each other. There we saw the famous blue footed boobies and some mating fragatas with their big red bellies. We stopped two more times for more snorkeling with sea lions, turtles and penguins! The wildlife we saw was simply incredible! Then we landed at Floreana Island for lunch and some hiking. We hiked around old pirate hideouts and saw a few giant land tortoises. After this stop we got back on the boat to travel to Isabela Island where we would stay for the night.

On the way there Sally and I got to sit on the front of the boat and just fly over the waves. There I saw a few giant manta rays just resting at the surface of the water! It was really neat to see the ocean and the islands from the front of the boat and we thought the ride was a complete blast! But it got a little interesting once we passed through a small storm… the waves started getting really choppy so the boat would bounce over them which hurts our butts so much! We were sore for a few days afterwards. It also started raining which stung our faces and we noticed some rather terrifyingly large waves behind us. Don’t worry, we made it into the harbor safely, a little exhausted, but safe nonetheless. The boat hands came out to tie up the boat and told us that this particular port is one of the most dangerous in the Pacific to get into, especially during a storm. I am so glad someone told us after we got there and didn’t bother to get us off the front during the ride!

in the Galapagos Islands!

Day 3: Again we woke up bright and early to start our day. On the itinerary for that day was a 10 mile hike up and around a volcano. We had buses drive us up to the start of the trail to Volcán Chico. The hike took overall about 5 hours. We hiked around the crater at the top of the volcano and the lava fields down the hill. From the lava hills we could see the rest of Isabela Island, Darwin Lake, the Pacific Ocean,

and quite a few other islands. The hike was not very difficult, but everyone was tired just from walking for so long! The buffet lunch was entirely perfect and delicious.

For the afternoon we crossed the harbor to a small piece of land that was a marine reserve for some exciting animals.

We saw more penguins and blue footed boobies along the rocks; there were plenty of sea lions lying out in the sand or on boats just soaking up the sun; we saw white tip reef sharks swimming along with more turtles and sea lions; and we saw so many marine iguanas all over the island! We attempted snorkeling again to see if we could swim with any sharks or manta rays, but the water was extremely murky and we could not see a single thing. We ended our rather tiring day swimming in the beautiful sunset and loving our lives!

Day 4 (Easter!):

Today we were scheduled to take another boat ride over to Santa Cruz Island, and we did just that. Sadly this boat was not nearly exciting as the one from the first day because we did not stop to snorkel at all.

However, at one point we looked behind us and saw the most complete, bright and perfect rainbow I have ever seen stretching across the ocean with islands in the background! We were all speechless at that breathtaking image and I think it could not have been more perfect for Easter Sunday! Sally and I rode up top with the captain again and this time we saw lots of turtles swimming in the water and I saw a manta ray jump out of the water and splash back in! Once we got to the island we got on buses and went directly up to volcanic collapse craters. These were just massive holes on the Earth’s surface and little scary when we got close to the edges! We also walked through a lava tunnel which was basically a cave, a very muddy cave at that. Our guide made a point the night before to mention that we would not need sneakers to walk around and he highly recommended wearing sandals, which made the cave quite a spectacle with all of us slipping through it. Then we continued on to a tortoise farm where they protect turtle nests and eggs so that the babies are born safely. I was expecting to see more turtles but the few that we saw were cool!

Our afternoon activity was a hike to Turtle Bay and enjoying the beach. Unfortunately it took about an hour each way to hike to and from the beach so we didn’t get as much time on the beach as everyone would have liked, but the beach was absolutely gorgeous and we loved being there! Again the water was too murky to snorkel but the Bay was too beautiful for anyone to be annoyed. After a long day of hiking/walking again we were all pooped and didn’t stay out too late, but it was our last night on the islands. We did a little souvenir shopping and ice cream eating before we all passed out.

The morning of our departure: We dragged our tired bodies out of bed at 6am just one more time and made our way down to the Charles Darwin research center. There we got to see baby turtles, giant tortoises eating their breakfast, the famous Lonesome George looking so sad and lonely, and giant land iguanas! They were all really neat to see. After this small excursion we had to be on our way to the airport.

A bus took us to the other side of Santa Cruz where we caught a ferry that took us to the small island of Baltra. Sadly we had to say our goodbyes to the glorious Galapagos Islands and make our way back to rainy Quito. Like I said it was one of the most incredible trips and opportunities I have ever had in my life and I will remember every single one of our adventures! I think that everyone should put it on their list of places to go before they die and go experience the stunning beauty and marvelous fun of the Galapagos!

La Playa Hermosa

In honor of Spring Break I took a trip to the Coast of Ecuador this past weekend and spent four glorious days on the beach! Ok so it was not exactly ‘spring break’ for us here, but I couldn’t let everyone in the States have all the fun! We did have Wednesday off from classes for a professional development day so Sally, Dana and I took the opportunity to make our one day off into a long weekend and head to the beautiful city of Canoa.

We left at 11pm Tuesday night and took a direct bus to Canoa. The bus ride was six and a half hours so it dropped us off in Canoa at 5:30 in the morning. For a while we just sat there because we had no idea what to do! Once it started to get light out, we decided to walk around and find the ocean. We knew which hostel we wanted to stay at so we found it and then watched the sunrise on the beach. Finally at 8:30 the hostel opened up and gave us a room so we passed out until 11.

The hostel we stayed at was called Hotel Bambu; it was right on the beach and we had a nice room with three beds, a private bathroom, and a balcony. We spent all of Wednesday just bumming around, is there a better way to spend time on the beach? We looked at all the vendors and their goodies, and swam like little kids in the water! Thankfully the beach conveniently had tents lining the shore so my pale body could hide in the shade instead of roasting in the sunlight all day. My meals for this day were: a breakfast of eggs, cheese, crushed peanuts, and bread with pineapple juice; and a classic hamburger and French fries for dinner.

Thursday morning we woke up to rain… boo. We made friends with another group of US exchange students and played cards to pass the time. Once it stopped raining we hopped on a bus to a neighboring city, San Vicente, to check that out. Canoa does not have an ATM and Sally needed money so that was our main purpose for going, but we also thought since it was still cloudy we could see what kind of shopping they had and get some lunch there. The town is nothing more than a fisherman’s town so we pretty much got her money and returned. Finally the sun came out so we could enjoy the rest of our day!

Since it was already late afternoon, Sally and I swam right into the beautiful sunset while Dana played volleyball with some locals. How amazing it was to swim in the ocean while the sun was setting at the same time! For our nighttime adventures we were really excited to celebrate St. Patty’s day because my guide book said there was an Irish pub in town, and I was sure to be the only red head there! Sadly the bar had been bought and was no longer an Irish pub.Oh well. We still went out for a night of dancing because at midnight it was Sally’s birthday! My food for this day: I ate a banana and chocolate crepe for breakfast with papaya juice; lunch consisted of a shrimp ‘tortilla’ (which was more like an omelet because the tortilla was egg with onions and peppers), yes I ate shrimp!

Friday we were determined to do an activity. First we tried horseback riding but the hotel that runs the tours couldn't get a hold of the barn so they told us to come back tomorrow. Then we thought about doing a kayaking cave tour, but the swell was too big so they also told us to come back tomorrow.

Thus we settled on surfing! Two guys took us out to teach us how to surf. Since I have tried surfing before and snowboarding, I was just fine and got up on the first try, no big deal :) so the guys told me how to do it on my own and then let me go while they worked with Sally and Dana. Let me tell you how exhaustingly fun that was! It was so cool being able to get up and cruise on the waves! But the current was really strong that day so walking out into the ocean and paddling wore me out. Our instructors felt bad for me and helped me every once in a while but I was still pooped. Afterwards we wanted nothing else but to sit and refuel. What is more refreshing than fresh fruit? I got a fruit salad with orange juice, Sally got watermelon juice, and Dana got a blackberry smoothie. That is the best feeling just relaxing on the beach with fresh fruit in hand! We spent the rest of our day napping, swimming and playing more volleyball. Sally decided to leave that night so Dana and I went out with a group of travelers from Germany and Canada that we met. It was so much fun because we danced the night away on the beach and in the streets! The food I filled my belly with was: a traditional breakfast of eggs, pineapple, bread, hot chocolate, and watermelon juice; and homemade vegetarian and Hawaiian pizzas for lunch/dinner.

Saturday morning Dana and I made our way back to horseback riding. That was another neat experience! We started in the jungle and the rode all the out way to the beach. My horse was very relaxed and didn’t like going very fast, but there were a few moments of running. Once we got to the beach we actually ran a lot! It was hilarious watching Dana and I bounce up and down like dolls on these horses! But we still had fun even though we were both very sore and hot afterwards. The waves were really big again that day so we couldn’t go kayaking, but instead we rented boogie boards. We got rocked by those waves! We kept losing our bathing suits and being dragged across the sand.

It was funny but really exhausting too! Finally we gave up and decided to just relax on the beach some more. That day we ate the same traditional breakfast as the day before, but then for dinner we went to a local burrito shack. The other group of American students told us about the place and it was well worth it. It was not only the biggest burrito I have ever seen, but it was also the most delicious one I have ever eaten! Oh my gosh we were in heaven between being tired, hungry, and eating an amazing burrito! Our bus left at 10pm that night and we arrived back in Quito at 4 in the morning. Good thing we were so tired so we could sleep all the way home!

Our trip was amazing! I always love the beach and never have a bad time there, but this was just so nice. It was great to get away from Quito and classes for a few days and spend quality time together laughing and relaxing. I really liked Canoa because it was a small beach town that was not super developed yet; meaning things were still inexpensive and there were not a million tourists (in fact the locals knew who we all were by the end of the weekend!) crowding the beaches. All of the food was delicious and the sun was fantastic! Now I can’t wait to see what the Galapagos are like!

... the mighty Jungle

On Sunday our activities included hiking through the jungle and tubing. In the morning we did a three-four hour hike through the primary rainforest. So cool! Our guide was using his machete to make a path as we went. He pointed out an infinite number of trees and plants, poisonous things, huge spiders, animal tracks, and more disgusting bugs. We ate lemon ants! They were straight from the knot in a tree branch and sure enough, they taste just like lemons! We hit a huge tree that is used as means of communication; and we got to go inside a little bat cave. I am used to going in larger bat caves where the bats are a fair distance away, but this was much smaller and the bats were flying so close to our bodies! They scared me a little. We got to swing from vines and we slipped and slid through all the mud that we trudged through. The jungle always amazes me and I was really impressed with how much our guide knew about it! In the moment I learned a lot from him and it was all so fascinating.The rain forest is just such a giant place and it makes you feel so small, but I like being somewhere that hasn’t been changed by man yet.

In the afternoon it was our turn to tube down the river! Unfortunately the river was down so the canoe had to drop us off on one side of an island and pick us up on the other; we had to trek across this island which was basically one huge mud pit. People got their boots stuck in the mud, fell over in the mud, slipped in the mud, everyone was covered in mud. But it was hysterical walking across it, just part of the adventure! Tubing was more like a lazy river but it was super nice just to relax and float down the river. It felt

especially nice after sweating all day in the humid jungle! That night we had a big bon fire since it was our last night and our guides showed us where a tarantula family had been living nearby the whole time. What a trip!

The next day we loaded back up in the canoes and made our way back. We stopped along the way to hike to a waterfall. The funny part was that we all knew we were going to see a waterfall, but no one realized we would have to hike 40 minutes in the mud to get there. They also told us we could swim in the waterfall once we got there, but since no one knew we were hiking, many girls wore sandals and struggled immensely on that hike. They actually fell more on the way back down and I felt so bad for them, but at the same time couldn’t help from laughing at all the people falling down in all that mud! The waterfall was beautiful and the little pool it created was amazingly refreshing. It felt so nice to be out of the bus and relaxing in the chilly water! All that humidity really gets to you and makes you sweat profusely. In general the trip was very refreshing because we were out of polluted Quito in the fresh air and soothing water. Afterwards we continued on our way home and that was the end of our trip! The good news: we did not see one snake the whole trip.

It was an interesting trip with a lot of funny moments. It was hilarious to watch how people act when they are out of their element (including myself) but at least we could all laugh about it and keep going. It was nice to get away from all those bugs once I got home, but the trip was 100% worth it! I recommend seeing what such a diverse and vast jungle has to offer! Feliz vacaciones!

In the Jungle...

Last weekend all of South America celebrated Carnaval! It is kind of like Mardi Gras for South America because it coincides with Lent and everyone gets the weekend off to celebrate! In Ecuador, Carnaval is celebrated with one big water fight. Everyone on the streets has water balloons, bottles of water, hoses, or this spray foam that they attack with you. No one is safe! Thankfully I didn’t get bombed too much: our travel bus got hosed down a little on our way home and my brother emptied an entire can of blue foam on me (don’t worry, it’s washable!). But for our long weekend the IES program took us to the Amazon Rainforest!

We went to the Yacuma Ecolodge on the Napo River. We left Friday morning and it was about a 5 hour bus ride to Tena where we loaded up into three canoes and took a ride! Our first stop was at a rescue animal zoo that was full of wild jungle animals. We saw toucans, parrots, monkeys, capibaras, an anaconda, a turtle, and a cayman. There were a few other animals that we saw but I don’t remember their names because I could hardly understand, but there was also jaguar-ish cat, a hairy pig, and a giant ferret looking animal. Unfortunately we did not see any of these animals in the actual wild but they were still really cool to see and to be honest, I’m glad some of them were in cages! After our tour of the animal reserve we boarded our canoes again and were supposed to head back to the bus to pick up all our bags. Supposed to. Our canoe guide said the river was too dangerous to cross (don’t mind that we watched three other canoes cross the river) so he decided to wait for everyone to return.

Unlucky for his he decided to park the canoe in spider-infested plants along the shore. The spiders starting coming slowly and small at first, but before we knew it our boat starting filling with jumping spiders (that did not drown either) that got bigger and Bigger and BIGGER! I bet you can imagine everyone on the boat freaking out and trying to kill all those spiders! It was a riot to watch everyone twitch in fear from these things. Thankfully I was sitting next to a girl who had no fear and no problem squishing them; she made me feel brave because I never had to touch one. Finally after a good half an hour the other canoes returned and we could escape from that spider torture zone!

At the Yacuma Ecolodge we were put into cabanas: each cabana had two rooms with two people to each room. We had delightful hammocks on the porches and each bed came properly equipped with a bug net. Unfortunately my roommate got sick after lunch and proceeded to vomit after that lunch, dinner, and breakfast the next day so she didn’t really leave our room for the first two days. Like I said our beds had those convenient and appropriately placed bug nets. Each night we were graced with the presence of cockroaches! Some people were not very smart and left food out so they had more cockroaches, but they were inevitable and came through the cracks in the walls. Again I got lucky with yet another brave friend, and despite her condition, she had no problem smashing the cockroaches. One night I actually had one crawl out of my suitcase and I whimpered while trying to kill it; they are just too gross. We tried to keep our lights off as much as possible as to not attract any other critters. Then all through the night I could hear bugs hitting my net and little pitter patters on the wall behind my bed, monkeys in the jungle, and bats in our roof. But thankfully I never had anything join me in my bed!

On Saturday our adventures began! We painted our faces to mimic what the indigenous Quichua people would do when traveling between villages to represent friendliness. We did not paint anything too traditional – I had flowers on my face – but it was neat. Then we crossed the river with our indigenous guide as he took us through the jungle to his home. It was an easy walk and he showed us all kind of plants: papaya, coffee plant, cacoa (we actually ate the fruit part which I did not know was part of this chocolate-producing plant), yucca, bananas, ají, pineapple, termite colonies, cotton, herbs, and many tropical flowers! His wife taught us how she makes ceramics; I actually really liked this part because it was so quiet while everyone intently watched her delicately work away at forming her bowl. They showed us how you can put your hand in the termite nest, let it get covered with the little things, and then smush them and rub them all over your skin as bug repellent (I opted out of this activity). And they fed us fresh grapefruit from the tree! Then we crossed back over the river to go visit a medicine man and the local school. The medicine man, or shaman, practiced one of his traditional cleansing rituals on a girl and then gave us a tiny bit of one his drinks that makes him hallucinate for days (no, we did not hallucinate). Nobody was at the school since it was Saturday but we still got to go inside and see how the kids learn both Spanish and Quichua.

After lunch we continued learning about the indigenous and how they hunt: with blow dart guns! We got to practice shooting one! We had a little wooden bird to aim at and everyone took a couple of turns trying to hit it. It was really hard to hit because the gun was long and heavy, but it was funny watching everyone try! Only one girl hit the bird.

We finished our day with bird watching. The canoe took us to another part of the river where it was more dense jungle and he hiked into an open field to look for birds.Unfortunately we did not see many exotic birds. Of course I forget the names but we saw a lot of a certain black bird with a yellow tail and then we briefly saw this cool bird with a mohawk! Despite not seeing very many birds I loved being in the middle of this field and being completely surrounded by the jungle. It is such a magnificent thing! On our boat ride home we got to witness this absolutely breathtaking sunset. If you think it looks good in the picture, remember that pictures never do justice to the real thing so it was ten times more beautiful!

Quito Must-Dos

Both of these activities are what I would consider as must-dos in Quito, not just because I am a tourist but because they were two very unique ways to see Quito! Come see Quito in a new way with me:

Our first tour of Quito began at 6pm on a Friday night as my gringo friends and I boarded a Chiva! This is better known as a party bus.

You can rent one for 2 hours and fill it with up to 45 people, and then afterward it drops you off at a restaurant, bar or club. An Ecuadorian friend from my Italian class knew our group wanted to do a Chiva so he decided to organize one for us because he and his friends love them (this was also a bonus to meet more Ecuadorians). The bus is not your typical greyhound or school bus; it’s more like a truck with a roof over the bed… I know that does not exactly paint the best picture, but it is hard to describe. There are ropes hanging from the ceiling so you can hold on and not fall over (which is quite the challenge)! They give every person a whistle (can you imagine how annoying a bus full of drunk people each with their own whistles is?) and a cup necklace (just in case you might lose it).

The bus comes fully equipped with three huge jugs filled with Canelazo which is a traditional Ecuadorian drink that is mixed with cinnamon. I think the bus drivers actually apologized for there not being enough to drink… I did not think there could be a problem with that! The bus drives you all around Quito while blaring music and everyone dances. It was really cool to get to see Quito at night, especially all the neat popular places, without fearing being robbed. It was such a riot! I had a blast on the bus and we cannot wait for round two!

Our second sight-seeing adventure was up the Telefériqo. This is a cable car that takes you up to the top of one of the Pichincha Mountains and the view is spectacular! It is the same thing as the Gondola at Keystone, just without our skis. You can see all of Quito, and when I say all of Quito, I mean ALL of Quito. You really get a sense of how long Quito is; it is not necessarily that wide, but now I understand why it takes two hours to get from one end of the city to the other. We live in the North part of Quito and hardly make it to the South. We got lucky and went on a day when it was clear instead of cloudy so we could see everything. We saw not only Quito (and found where we each live) but Cumbaya (the city where our University is), the snowy peaks of Cayambe and Cotopaxi, and the beautiful landscape of Ecuador. Once at the top we walked around a little bit and saw a church and some llamas. Like I mentioned we had fun pointing out buildings (mainly the big ones like the soccer stadium and the bus station) we knew and trying to guess where we lived.

It was breathtaking and there were quite a few moments where we were all just sitting in complete silence staring at the marvelous view. It was also really nice to get out of the city and enjoy some fresh air up there. The Telefériqo is definitely a tourist thing to do, but completely worth it!

Baños

This last weekend Sally and I ventured to Baños with a group of Ecuadorian friends. “Baños” literally means “bathrooms” but before you think we went to a town named after toilets, it can also mean “baths” and Baños is known for their natural hot springs. Unlike the hot springs that I’m used to in Pagosa, the place we went to just had two big pools at different temperatures, but it was still very soothing and relaxing.

Sally, Fernando and I left Friday evening and took a three hour bus to Puyo. From there we hopped into a van that really only had room for two more people, not three people each with their bags, and it was filled with Ecuadorian men; the funny part was that the seats we sat in were facing the other direction so for the whole half an hour, Sally and I (the only gringas and girls in the van) got to stare at every man in that van and feel sufficiently awkward. We found a hostel for the night and went to a club to dance the night away! The rest of Fernando’s friends were going to join us Saturday morning… so we thought. This is my only complaint of the trip: waiting for his friends. Sally and I were up and ready to go by 9 in the morning so we got breakfast while Fernando kept sleeping. He joined us about an hour later and said his friends were supposed to be on the earliest bus and should arrive in about an hour. To pass the time we walked around the little local market. I had the privilege of trying “sanduche” which really means “sandwich” but it is also a local drink that is sugar cane juice – which I thought that was all that was in it, but I found out otherwise to my surprise – and a liquor called “puntas.” Despite the fact that was still morning, the smell of the alcohol was absolutely overwhelming so I barely had a sip and did not want anymore. Instead I enjoyed a cup of plain sugar cane juice! We also watched some people bungee jump off of the bridge and decided we were way too scared to try it, maybe some other trip!

At this point, Fernando called his friend to see where they were and they said they decided to drive instead of take the bus and they would be there at noon. So we walked around town to look at all the activities the tourist agencies had and to find the best price. Unfortunately every activity is outside of Baños so you have to have a solid two or three hour block to do anything which meant we couldn’t do anything while we waited because we thought everyone else would get there soon. We ended up waiting until 2pm for those guys to show up. There were four of them: Danilo, Roberto, Luis, and Joseph. Our day finally got to begin!

Our first adventure of the weekend was rafting. Out of the group of 7 of us, I was the only who had ever been rafting before, which made for an interesting trip. It also started pouring on us so everybody was soaked before even getting into the river. The guide laughed relentlessly at us because we could never coordinate our paddling and everyone was beyond out of sync. We even tried counting out loud to paddle together, but that only worked about half the time. It was even worse when one side was supposed to paddle backwards while the other side had to keep paddling forwards, we were just a mess. Thankfully no one fell in except when the guide made them fall in, but regardless we looked like a bunch of fools rafting and I couldn’t help but laugh either. We took turns getting out and floating down the river and like I said a few times the guide had us turn the raft really quickly which made some people fall into the water. Luckily I was on the same side as the guide and he didn’t want to get splashed or fall in, so whenever we hit big waves or he made people fall in, it was always on the other side. It was so much fun! We rafted for about two hours and were all tired, cold and hungry afterwards.

Our plan was to then go to the pools for a bit before dinner to warm up and relax but the pools were packed and we weren’t sure if we would all be let in so we bagged that idea. The pools actually open at 5 in the morning so the boys said we should just stay out all night at the clubs and then go swimming in the morning when they opened. We ate a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant and then took showers and naps before our grand night. I think you can guess that we did not successfully stay out until 5 in the morning and no one wanted to get up that early to go to the pools.

Sally and I got up at 8 and Fernando took us to the pools. We found ourselves in another awkward situation because we were the only gringos in that entire place; the pools were filled with Ecuadorians (about 80) and then the two of us floating in there too. And we’re not just gringos, we are both very fair skinned, basically glowingly white. Needless to say people were staring at us from all sides but we just laughed it off and relaxed. Fernando told us we had to rinse off in the showers every time we switched pools but that water was freezing! We felt like popsicles underneath those showers! So we drew more attention to ourselves because we freaked out when we felt the water and we also had a competition to see who could stay under the longest, I lost.

After the pools we got breakfast and then Sally and I went on a waterfall tour. The “tour bus” is called a “Chiva” which is also known as a party bus around here. We got to see three beautiful waterfalls and ride some Tarapitas. Those are like steal baskets that move on a wire to take you across valleys and over the river so you can get a closer look at the waterfall. A little bit scary but still fun! There was also the opportunity to do a zip line and bungee jump at a few stops but Sally and I didn’t do those. Some of the people on our Chiva got very drunk and started dancing and taking pictures of everyone, so we had fun laughing at/with them.

They were definitely entertaining! We stopped at a little restaurant and ate empañadas and lemonade for lunch. The tour ended up being four hours, which was a little too long for us, but we had a good time and loved the views. Once we got back the boys had been waiting for us – karma for making us wait so long for them the day before – and we all crammed into the car to go home. Two of the guys decided to sit in the bed of truck all the way home, which was a bad idea for them! It rained all the way back so they had to cover themselves with a tarp, and the drive ended up taking five hours because of the rain and traffic.

Baños is a little bit more expensive than most towns so I probably won’t go back, but I still had a really fun time and loved experiencing the famous ‘baños’!

Swinging through the Trees

Welcome back! Sorry it’s been so long! Nothing has really happened here in the last couple of weeks but I will do a quick summary:

Two weekends ago a few of us decided to make a trip to Mindo. Mindo is only two hours by bus and it is the most fantastic place out here! There are way too many fun things to do once you get there: rafting, tubing, kayaking, zip line/canopy tour, butterfly farm, bird watching, repel down a waterfall, plenty of hikes with beautiful waterfalls, and of course great food! We definitely had a full weekend ahead of us. Unfortunately, almost as soon as we got there on Saturday it started raining which turned into a down pour and ruined our plans. We did manage to find a really cool hostel with a wonderful owner who gave us lots of tips, but we didn’t stay the night like we planned to so we promised her we would see her soon and bring more friends/customers. We also did the canopy tour which I Loved! We took a taxi up to the place – which was actually us sitting in the bed of a truck bouncing around like crazy for 15 minutes. Once we got there we joined a group of European girls and began our adventure!

It was so much fun soaring through the tree tops like that, even in the rain. Plus we had the bonus of two really cute guides who liked to goof around with us. All of us had the chance to do a “Superman” or “Mariposa” (means ‘butterfly’) with one of the guides: Superman meant you just wrapped your legs around their waste and did the zip line horizontally instead of vertically; and Mariposa was when they flipped you upside down and you rode the line looking up at the sky. I did the Mariposa and had a complete blast! It was a super cool feeling. After the canopy tour our taxi driver took us to a little restaurant for some barbeque. Then we decided to catch the last bus home for the night because we were all soaking wet and freezing and didn’t want to waste Sunday in the rain either. We will be returning to this adventure paradise!

This past weekend we stayed here in Quito. Saturday a few of us went to the Ejido park to do a little shopping in the market. This market is not nearly as big as the one in Otavalo and it’s a little bit more expensive, but we still had fun walking around in the sun and shopping.

I bought a purse/shoulder bag so I don’t have to carry my big backpack with me whenever I want to go somewhere. Also my friend Sally and I bought big floppy sun hats because we look really cute in them and they’ll be great for our beach trips :) Sunday we all went to a Sports Bar to watch the Super Bowl. Go Packers! Luckily we got to watch the game in English so we didn’t have to translate “touchdown” or “quarterback” but because it was a Spanish broadcast we didn’t get to see any of the commercials. Apparently they weren’t even that good this year so we didn’t miss out on too much?

Since Sunday I have been sick. Not fun. At first it was a sore throat with a slight cough. Then it turned into an added stomach and head ache. I am very blessed though because my host mom has been taking good care of me! She has been making me interesting drink mixtures – like coca-cola with brown sugar, cinnamon, and lemon all heated up over the stove – to help calm my tummy and reduce my cough. Although she also is very good at making me feel 100% guilty for being sick because I took showers at the “wrong time” and made my condition worse. Even though I dried my hair and have been wearing an unnecessary amount of layers, my choice of shower time was my downfall. Who knows! I have spent a good majority of my days sleeping since then. Yesterday I felt much better but still had this awful cough, so this morning my mom sent me to our University’s health clinic to get some cough syrup. Quick side note: ever since bird flu and swine flu, cough syrup is no longer sold over the counter unless it’s a natural kind. The doctor gave me some wonderful cough syrup (not the taste but it sure is helping!) and wrote me a note to get me out of my classes today. I was surprised he wrote me the note because back at Hope you have to literally be on your death bed to be excused from class, but I’m not complaining!

Until next time mis amigos!

A little scare in Quito

This weekend was another a few days filled with adventure! Some good adventures and some… not so good. Before I scare you! Let me just warn you that I ended the weekend safely and was never hurt, and I learned some valuable lessons.

Friday afternoon we decided to go to La Ronda which is an old colonial street in the historic part of Quito. The street is filled with cafes and there are no cars so you mainly just walk around. The street comes alive at night with all the lights and live music! There were 7 of us there, but a friend, Sally, and I decided to leave before everyone else because we were tired and we saw basically everything there was to see. You have to climb a hill to get back to any main streets, so we went up to find a taxi. It was only 8:30 at night so the taxis should have their meters on instead of overcharging us for a ride home since we’re gringas. We asked two taxis and they said their meters were off and they were going to charge us a lot to get back. The third one we asked said he wasn’t even going to the North part of Quito, only the South. So we thought, oh, maybe we’re on the wrong street and decided to go up a block and find a taxi. As we were walking up the street and coming to the corner, I noticed a group of guys crossing the street, walking away from us, but one didn’t. Now, in hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best street for us to walk up but we were not paying attention since we were busy looking for taxis and talking to each other (Lesson #1). This guy looked at his friends and then nodded at Sally. Before I could get my arm around hers to pull her away, he grabbed her purse and tried to run with it. Thankfully, her purse was across her body instead of draped on her shoulder, so he couldn’t just take it. She struggled back and screamed really loudly to scare him so he pushed her over, cussed her out, and walked away. Needless to say we were terrified and jumped into the next empty, safe taxi despite the price.

When we got in, the driver said he knew where we lived and it would be $8. He lied. (Lesson #2, call a taxi company and have one sent to us to pick us up instead of trusting one off the streets.) He had no idea where we lived. We spent the next hour and a half in the taxi, with our map out, showing this man where to turn (it should have only taken 30minutes). We made many u-turns, stopped in the middle of streets to back up, etc. (Lesson #3, call my parents when I am lost and they will direct the clueless taxi driver.) Finally! we made it to Sally’s apartment and dropped her off. I don’t live far from her so that was nice, but once he dropped me off he told me it would now cost $18. Normally I would argue with him and not pay that, especially because it wouldn’t have even cost $8 to get home, but since I was alone in the taxi, and after our almost-robbery, I didn’t want any more problems so I just paid it and got out. He did wait until I got inside to leave. When I got home my mom and dad were waiting nervously for me and gave me huge hugs of relief. I now have no desire to go back to the Historic part of Quito at night because apparently it is really dangerous, even though we didn’t go far from La Ronda. I am still thanking God because overall it could have been worse! Like I said, we weren’t hurt, that guy didn’t succeed in robbing Sally (Lesson #4, memorize my parents’ phone number in case we are not so lucky next time!), and we both made it home safely. In fact, I am actually the robber because the guy dropped a pair of glasses (maybe out of his pocket?) when we grabbed Sally’s purse and I thought they were hers so I picked them up. But they weren’t! The robber got robbed, oops!

Saturday we decided to go to La Mitad del Mundo, aka the Equator! At first we didn’t really know how to get there, so that was another escapade of walking around (safely during the day!) trying to find the right bus. Once we got there, it was completely worth it. I saw my first cuy! I didn’t actually eat any guinea pig, I just looked at it roasting over the fire. We did get some lunch: I got some ice cream and a cheese empanada.

The park not only had the famous Equator line but it also had some traditional dancers, a few museums representing explorations from different European countries, and restaurants and small gift shops. It felt really cool to be on both the Southern and Northern Hemisphere at once! I am so worldly!

Sunday I went to church again with my family, except this time Balito and I rode bikes to church while the rest of my family took a taxi. Every Sunday, a major street in Quito has one side shut down for the majority of the afternoon to create a paseo de bicicletas. So many people go out for a bike ride or a run and just enjoy being outside on a beautiful day. Balito and I rode our bikes up and down this street for two hours after church. He showed me major parks and buildings in the Historic Downtown; we also stopped for ice cream and coconut juice! It was the perfect day to be outside and it was fun seeing Quito differently. However, the seats were less than cushioned and my butt hurt way too much afterwards.

I am now well into my second week of classes aka trying to learn in Spanish and make friends! There will be more to come about all my classes soon! Hasta pronto!