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!