So here I am-4 ½ months after leaving the comfort and familiarity of Wisconsin for a foreign country that half my relatives thought was in Africa (in case you are still wondering, it’s in South America) reflecting on what a crazy ride it’s been. Looking back now I can honestly admit I was scared to death to come down here, live in a culture completely different from my own and be away from my family and friends for so long. Now that it is nearly over, however, I have absolutely no regrets. It seems so surreal that it really happened—and that I survived to tell the tale. Not only did I survive, but I thrived.
I did things I never imagined I could, saw things I never thought I would, and made some amazing friends along the way. I zip-lined through a cloud forest canopy and had a blast dancing the night away to salsa and reggaeton music in a discoteca (and if you know me, you know dancing is not really my thing). I swam with sea lions and rode a horse near an erupting volcano. I hiked until my legs couldn’t move any more just to reach that mystical place called Machu Picchu. I ate guinea pig, enough rice to feed a small African nation, way too much ice cream, and tested the stretchability of my jeans. I stayed with an indigenous tribe in the middle of the jungle and found out just how much mutant jungle mosquitoes hate me. I repelled down waterfalls, drank more varieties of fruit juice than I knew existed, and learned enough Ecuadorian curses to shock even my brother. I saw my fair share of telenovelas (Ecuadorian soap operas) and learned that Enrique Iglesias is apparently still pretty hot. I probably spent more time on a crazy bus praying that I would live to see my 21st birthday than actually studying and yet finally managed to read the pride and joy of Spanish literature, Don Quijote.
And all of these memories I shared with people that came to be some very dear friends. We laughed together about the latest host family happenings and complained about USFQ eliteness and not being able to breathe when walking down the street. We spent countless hours on busses and even more pouring over our Lonely Planet guides to find the cheapest hostels to stay at or the best restaurants to eat in. We danced together, shared a few glasses of wine and protected one another from creepy Ecuadorian guys. It’s crazy how close you can get to some people in so short a time. Maybe it was this crazy country on the equator that brought a bunch of like-minded people together to study and travel that made us bond so quickly. Maybe it was partly because we were all foreigners and were going through so many of the same things. Maybe it was the fact that sometimes only another American could truly understand your frustration with eating mounds of rice everyday or getting whistled and hooted at relentlessly. C.S. Lewis said, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You, too? Thought I was the only one." Whatever it was, it brought me some amazing new friends with whom I made some unforgettable new memories. I know that my experience here would have been a lot different, and probably would have sucked royally, without them and I’m so thankful that we shared these few months together.
We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend - Robert Louis Stevenson
Monday, May 19, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
"Cruising" the Galapagos
Oh mi gato, it’s been nearly a month since an update. Terribly sorry friends – it’s been crazy down here lately and my internet access has been pretty touch-and-go.
One of my friends canyoning in Baños - tons of fun
We spent four days cruising the seas and visiting various islands. “Cruise” would be a stretch for what we did, however. Being a group of poor college students we found the absolute cheapest boat we could, and we definitely got what we paid for. Quarters were cramped and hot, the boat was small, and our guide wasn’t that great. We had expected all of that, however, so we still had a really good time. The boat’s faults became jokes and memories that made the whole experience worthwhile. A few of the crew members were younger as well, so we managed to have a good time with them too throughout the trip. One night the barman even made us some special drinks (for free!) and we sat up on the top deck under the stars talking and sipping away. He told us he rarely makes free drinks for passengers and even more rarely drinks with them. We asked him if that meant we were “chevere” (cool). He laughed. I think that detracted from our cool factor a little bit. That night we ended up sleeping up on the top deck as well, which was pretty cool. The stars were gorgeous, the gentle rocking lulled us to sleep, and the cool breeze sure beat our hot rooms below deck. 
Me with my favorite blue-footed booby! They have this really cute dance they do as a mating ritual that shows off their blue feet.
I’m sure a ton has happened over the past few weeks that I’m forgetting about, but here are some of the highlights:
A few weekends ago I made another trip down to Baños with a big group of friends. Baños is definitely one of my favorite places in Ecuador. It’s small enough to walk around safely without getting lost, yet big enough that there is plenty to do. This time around we tried out canyoning—basically repelling down waterfalls in a way that would never in a million years be legal in the United States. Even one of my good friends that I was with, who does repelling in the states, said the way were doing it was not the way she had learned. That aside, it really was a lot of fun and I’m still alive so I guess it couldn’t have been too dangerous.
One of my friends canyoning in Baños - tons of funThe highlight of the past few weeks was hands down our trip to the Galápagos. Last Thursday I left Quito for Baltra Island, one of 16 main islands in the archipelago located about 600 miles off of Ecuador’s coast. Surprisingly about 40,000 people call the islands home, but only 4 are inhabited. The majority of the islands are free from human pests and full of gorgeous flora and fauna. I’ll let you read up on them more if you are interested, but most of you know they are famous for contributing to Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection and are home to a number of endemic species (species found only on the islands).
We spent four days cruising the seas and visiting various islands. “Cruise” would be a stretch for what we did, however. Being a group of poor college students we found the absolute cheapest boat we could, and we definitely got what we paid for. Quarters were cramped and hot, the boat was small, and our guide wasn’t that great. We had expected all of that, however, so we still had a really good time. The boat’s faults became jokes and memories that made the whole experience worthwhile. A few of the crew members were younger as well, so we managed to have a good time with them too throughout the trip. One night the barman even made us some special drinks (for free!) and we sat up on the top deck under the stars talking and sipping away. He told us he rarely makes free drinks for passengers and even more rarely drinks with them. We asked him if that meant we were “chevere” (cool). He laughed. I think that detracted from our cool factor a little bit. That night we ended up sleeping up on the top deck as well, which was pretty cool. The stars were gorgeous, the gentle rocking lulled us to sleep, and the cool breeze sure beat our hot rooms below deck.
Me with my favorite blue-footed booby! They have this really cute dance they do as a mating ritual that shows off their blue feet. Pretty much every day we would walk around for a little bit looking at the various animals and vegetation on an island followed by a couple hours of snorkeling. The water was amazing and we snorkeled with sea lions (which my friend told me later apparently eat penguins…good to know since one nearly took my head off when we were swimming), sharks (don’t worry, vegetarian sharks), penguins, sting rays and of course tons of fish. I think the snorkeling was my favorite part of the trip. We had perfect weather the whole time, but it did get quite hot at times, making the water all the more refreshing.
After our cruise we had one more day on the main island, Santa Cruz, before our flight on Monday. Our friends who had gone to the Galápagos over Spring Break told us to head to Tortuga Bay, which one of them described as paradise. They weren’t lying. It was one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen in my life. Pure white sand, gorgeous turquoise water, and very few people. Add in a full day of sunshine and it was the perfect way to end our stay in the Galápagos.
I’m getting near the end of my stay here—only eight more days. This means friends are starting to leave, and I’m trying to squeeze in all I want to do before I go. One of my good friends left last week, one leaves today, and the rest leave on Saturday. Since I don’t leave until next Thursday, I’ll probably be wallowing in my own bored depression for a few days next week, and will most likely provide a number of more reflective blog entries. So my friends, until then, you will have to sit in anxious anticipation of hearing my deepest thoughts and feelings. Or something like that. :)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Monkeys, mosquitoes and machetes
I think I took every possible mode of transportation this weekend to reach my final destination: the village of an indigenous tribe deep in the Amazonian jungle. One taxi, one city bus, one 5-hour bus, one camioneta (complete with cramming six of us and the luggage of 13 people in the bed for a two hour ride on bumpy jungle roads), and finally one canoe brought us to a small Huaorani village on the banks of a river right in the middle of the jungle.
The Huaorani have a pretty violent history, and if you’ve seen the movie End of the Spear or heard of Jim Elliot then you are probably familiar with it. Today, however, as long as you have a contact and permission, you can usually enter their territory relatively safely. The professor of the class I went with knows the grandson of one of the tribe’s leaders (the grandson was actually a student of his at USFQ—the first Huaorani to graduate from the university) so he escorted us to the village and stayed with us the whole weekend to ensure our safety.
Monkey sighting! This one was kind of a pet of the village and even when it wasn't tied up it wouldn't wander very far.
The village was very small—only about 15 people, and had just been started about two months ago. The Huaorani are hunters/gatherers so they move around a lot in search of food and rarely settle in one place for more than 5 or 10 years. While there, we ate their food (lots of bananas, yucca and fresh caught fish), literally bushwhacked through the jungle to see some monkeys and birds, swam in their river, slept on wood boards, learned how to use a blow gun and most importantly talked with them.
Learning how to use a blow gun--which some of the men still use to hunt monkeys and birds.
Most of them spoke at least a little Spanish, but were pretty shy so we talked mostly with Fernando, our contact and semi-guide. Since he grew up Huaorani yet studied at USFQ and has even traveled to the states he had a really interesting perspective on the state of his tribe. Apparently there are only about 2,000 Huaorani left, yet they occupy a huge territory in eastern Ecuador. One of the biggest threats to their way of life now is oil companies. It’s so interesting to be down here and hear that oil exploitation, not deforestation, is one of the biggest threats to the Amazon right now. In the states I feel like all we ever talk about is how bad it is that we are cutting down the rainforest, when in reality the oil companies pose just as much, if not more, of a threat than the lumber companies.
Just as we were about to go to sleep on Saturday, Fernando also casually mentioned that some people in his tribe had seen FARC camps in the jungle pretty close to where we were sleeping. He said we probably weren’t really in any danger, but it was another worry to add to the list including snakes, malaria, yellow fever, rabid monkeys and spears. How about that for a little bedtime story?
The Huaorani have a pretty violent history, and if you’ve seen the movie End of the Spear or heard of Jim Elliot then you are probably familiar with it. Today, however, as long as you have a contact and permission, you can usually enter their territory relatively safely. The professor of the class I went with knows the grandson of one of the tribe’s leaders (the grandson was actually a student of his at USFQ—the first Huaorani to graduate from the university) so he escorted us to the village and stayed with us the whole weekend to ensure our safety.
Monkey sighting! This one was kind of a pet of the village and even when it wasn't tied up it wouldn't wander very far.The village was very small—only about 15 people, and had just been started about two months ago. The Huaorani are hunters/gatherers so they move around a lot in search of food and rarely settle in one place for more than 5 or 10 years. While there, we ate their food (lots of bananas, yucca and fresh caught fish), literally bushwhacked through the jungle to see some monkeys and birds, swam in their river, slept on wood boards, learned how to use a blow gun and most importantly talked with them.
Learning how to use a blow gun--which some of the men still use to hunt monkeys and birds.Most of them spoke at least a little Spanish, but were pretty shy so we talked mostly with Fernando, our contact and semi-guide. Since he grew up Huaorani yet studied at USFQ and has even traveled to the states he had a really interesting perspective on the state of his tribe. Apparently there are only about 2,000 Huaorani left, yet they occupy a huge territory in eastern Ecuador. One of the biggest threats to their way of life now is oil companies. It’s so interesting to be down here and hear that oil exploitation, not deforestation, is one of the biggest threats to the Amazon right now. In the states I feel like all we ever talk about is how bad it is that we are cutting down the rainforest, when in reality the oil companies pose just as much, if not more, of a threat than the lumber companies.
Just as we were about to go to sleep on Saturday, Fernando also casually mentioned that some people in his tribe had seen FARC camps in the jungle pretty close to where we were sleeping. He said we probably weren’t really in any danger, but it was another worry to add to the list including snakes, malaria, yellow fever, rabid monkeys and spears. How about that for a little bedtime story?
Despite the danger, the experience was one in a million and completely worth the risk. Never again will I have such an opportunity, and I’m really glad I took it.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
You've got the jungie!
I have to do a double take every time I look at the calendar and realize it is April. Almost mid-April actually. In a little more than a month I’ll be back in Wisconsin. Craziness. Part of me is excited to go back and see my family and friends, sleep in my own bed, and eat some good old American food (oh Culver’s, how I pine for thee…), but part of me is starting to get sad to leave. This has been one of the most difficult yet most amazing experiences of my life, and I can definitely say that I’m going to be heading back with a whole new perspective on the world. Not to mention the ability to curse in Spanish. Haha, just kidding. Ok, not really, but I would never use such foul language. :)
Since Semana Santa…Last weekend I went to Tena with a few friends. Tena is about 5 hours from Quito, sits on the edge of the jungle, and is known as the rafting capitol of Ecuador. It would obviously be a sin, therefore, to go there and not raft. So on Saturday we hired ourselves a company and took to the jungle rivers for a full day of battling the rapids. The trip included lots of paddling, a decent amount of screaming, and even a little bit of swimming. At one point, in the middle of some rapids, our guide had us all stand up on the edge of the raft and grab hands. Somehow, by the grace of God alone, nobody fell out. Not long after, however, as we bruised our way through another set of rapids we turned around to realize our guide had fallen out. An entire day of rafting and he was the only one who ended up in the water unintentionally. That is poetic justice my friends.
Our guide purposely would lead us into giant rocks like this...all in good fun.
After an intense day on the river we thought it would be nice to have a classy dinner, instead of paying the usually 2 bucks at some tiny random restaurant. After searching our travel Bible (Lonely Planet) we found a great restaurant on the banks of the river that runs through town. The setting was gorgeous, the food was great (best tilapia I have ever had, and I’m not a big fan of fish usually), and a bottle of wine shared among friends made for a great evening and the perfect way to wrap up a great day in Tena.
This weekend I opted to stay put in good old Quito, and spent some quality time with friends and my host family. On Thursday I went out with my host sister (finally) to her favorite discoteca, which is apparently one of the best in Quito. Thursday is ladies’ night, which means all girls get in for free before 10:30. It also means there is a line at least an hour long to get into the club. Lucky for me my host sister has some serious connections and we walked right in without waiting at all. Somehow we also managed to get wristbands for the VIP lounge, which meant avoiding the extremely crowded/hot/stinky main dance floor. I actually had a really good time, and it was nice to hang out and get to know my sister better. I am still amazed at how she goes out every single Thursday, Friday and Saturday, though. We didn’t get home until 4 in the morning (I was ready to leave the club by like 1:30, but going home that early is unheard of here apparently), and I was absolutely exhausted. My sister then proceeded to make some pasta, which meant we didn’t make it to bed until around 5. One hour later she was up and getting ready for school and 12 hours later she was home getting ready to go out again. Insanity. Just watching her put on her make-up to go out again on Friday made me tired.
I opted for a more low-key Friday and invited a few friends over to my place hang out and relax. We got ourselves some delicious hot dogs, made some chocolate chip cookies, and had a nice girls’ night chatting away. Just a side note on how great my host mom is—I hadn’t even asked her if I could have friends over, and when she got home from work I was a little nervous that she might be upset we had taken over the kitchen. I have no idea why I was worried. She comes in, hugs my friends, tells them they are her hijas (daughters) and should make themselves at home. I even had a friend spend the night (taxis are such a hassle and sometimes not safe to take alone when it gets to be late), and in the morning she had our maid make us both breakfast and said my friend is welcome over any time. From some of the stories I have heard about other host families I feel really blessed to have the one I do.
Saturday my friend and I hit up one of the malls in Quito in search of a dress for her sister’s wedding. No success, but fun nonetheless. We then made our way to the movie theater to see Gone Baby Gone. There were slim pickings for movies, so it was either that or School of Scoundrels. The movie was pretty good, but it was set in a rough neighborhood in Boston so there was so much slang I didn’t know I sometimes had to actually read the subtitles to understand.
Today was a total family day at my house. My host mom loved the cookies I had made with my friends (and Mariapilar and her friends had devoured them when they got home from the discoteca on Friday), so she wanted to make some more with me. The batch we made together turned out even better than the ones I had made with my friends, and it was really nice to talk to her for a while. After dragging my host sister out of bed we hit up the mall (again) to look for shoes for Mariapilar’s prom dress. I also tried some empanadas de morocho (morocho is some type of corn apparently) for the first time. Oh fried goodness—they were amazing. Considering they came from a street vendor and had more grease than a super-sized order of McDonald’s fries, however, I’m shocked my stomach hasn’t returned them yet.
Good weekend in Quito—a little dancing, a little baking, a little bonding; all of which will make it a little harder to go home in a month.
Since Semana Santa…Last weekend I went to Tena with a few friends. Tena is about 5 hours from Quito, sits on the edge of the jungle, and is known as the rafting capitol of Ecuador. It would obviously be a sin, therefore, to go there and not raft. So on Saturday we hired ourselves a company and took to the jungle rivers for a full day of battling the rapids. The trip included lots of paddling, a decent amount of screaming, and even a little bit of swimming. At one point, in the middle of some rapids, our guide had us all stand up on the edge of the raft and grab hands. Somehow, by the grace of God alone, nobody fell out. Not long after, however, as we bruised our way through another set of rapids we turned around to realize our guide had fallen out. An entire day of rafting and he was the only one who ended up in the water unintentionally. That is poetic justice my friends.
Our guide purposely would lead us into giant rocks like this...all in good fun. After an intense day on the river we thought it would be nice to have a classy dinner, instead of paying the usually 2 bucks at some tiny random restaurant. After searching our travel Bible (Lonely Planet) we found a great restaurant on the banks of the river that runs through town. The setting was gorgeous, the food was great (best tilapia I have ever had, and I’m not a big fan of fish usually), and a bottle of wine shared among friends made for a great evening and the perfect way to wrap up a great day in Tena.
This weekend I opted to stay put in good old Quito, and spent some quality time with friends and my host family. On Thursday I went out with my host sister (finally) to her favorite discoteca, which is apparently one of the best in Quito. Thursday is ladies’ night, which means all girls get in for free before 10:30. It also means there is a line at least an hour long to get into the club. Lucky for me my host sister has some serious connections and we walked right in without waiting at all. Somehow we also managed to get wristbands for the VIP lounge, which meant avoiding the extremely crowded/hot/stinky main dance floor. I actually had a really good time, and it was nice to hang out and get to know my sister better. I am still amazed at how she goes out every single Thursday, Friday and Saturday, though. We didn’t get home until 4 in the morning (I was ready to leave the club by like 1:30, but going home that early is unheard of here apparently), and I was absolutely exhausted. My sister then proceeded to make some pasta, which meant we didn’t make it to bed until around 5. One hour later she was up and getting ready for school and 12 hours later she was home getting ready to go out again. Insanity. Just watching her put on her make-up to go out again on Friday made me tired.
I opted for a more low-key Friday and invited a few friends over to my place hang out and relax. We got ourselves some delicious hot dogs, made some chocolate chip cookies, and had a nice girls’ night chatting away. Just a side note on how great my host mom is—I hadn’t even asked her if I could have friends over, and when she got home from work I was a little nervous that she might be upset we had taken over the kitchen. I have no idea why I was worried. She comes in, hugs my friends, tells them they are her hijas (daughters) and should make themselves at home. I even had a friend spend the night (taxis are such a hassle and sometimes not safe to take alone when it gets to be late), and in the morning she had our maid make us both breakfast and said my friend is welcome over any time. From some of the stories I have heard about other host families I feel really blessed to have the one I do.
Saturday my friend and I hit up one of the malls in Quito in search of a dress for her sister’s wedding. No success, but fun nonetheless. We then made our way to the movie theater to see Gone Baby Gone. There were slim pickings for movies, so it was either that or School of Scoundrels. The movie was pretty good, but it was set in a rough neighborhood in Boston so there was so much slang I didn’t know I sometimes had to actually read the subtitles to understand.
Today was a total family day at my house. My host mom loved the cookies I had made with my friends (and Mariapilar and her friends had devoured them when they got home from the discoteca on Friday), so she wanted to make some more with me. The batch we made together turned out even better than the ones I had made with my friends, and it was really nice to talk to her for a while. After dragging my host sister out of bed we hit up the mall (again) to look for shoes for Mariapilar’s prom dress. I also tried some empanadas de morocho (morocho is some type of corn apparently) for the first time. Oh fried goodness—they were amazing. Considering they came from a street vendor and had more grease than a super-sized order of McDonald’s fries, however, I’m shocked my stomach hasn’t returned them yet.
Good weekend in Quito—a little dancing, a little baking, a little bonding; all of which will make it a little harder to go home in a month.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Is your mama a llama?
My mama is not a llama. A little loca, but not a llama. :)
Last week I saw, walked with, and smelled enough llamas to last me a lifetime. For Semana Santa I headed down to Peru for what turned out to be one of the best and most unique “vacations” I have ever been on.
We left Quito around 8 p.m. on Thursday (the 20th) for our ten-day journey in Peru. Our first flight brought us to Lima, Peru’s capital, around 10:30 p.m. Our flight to Cusco, however, didn’t leave until 6:50 the next morning. Give 5 poor college students the choice between spending at least $15 on a crappy hostel and taxi ride or sleeping for free and it’s not difficult to guess what we did. Yep, we stretched out on some chairs and spent the night in the Lima airport. There were actually a decent number of people who did the same thing as us, as most of the flights for Cusco leave early in the morning. I think we managed a couple hours of restless sleep before our morning flight took us to our final destination of Cusco, Peru, the capital of the Inca Empire and the gateway to Machu Picchu.
All of our bags made it to Cusco sin problemas as well (thank goodness) and a woman from our hostel was even there waiting to pick us up. The hostel turned out to be a good find—cheap (only $7 a night), free breakfast, internet, big screen TV with cable and movies, and we even managed to snag our own bunk room. We spent the rest of Friday catching up on sleep and exploring Cusco a bit.
I was under the impression the Incans were of the shorter variety, yet this doorway was over twice my height.
The trip back from the last ruin was certainly an interesting one. We had taken a taxi to the furthest ruin at the beginning of the day, and walked about an hour between the other two. The last one we visited, however, was still a decent distance from town and since it was getting late we decided to grab a “bus” back to our hostel. By bus I of course mean a 10 passenger van that at least 25 people miraculously managed to cram themselves into. Butts were in faces, feet were in stomachs, yet somehow we made it back to town in one piece. Ah, South American transportation. Never ceases to amaze me.
This is about the size of the van thirty people squeezed into. This one might actually be a bit larger than ours was.
Lares Llama Trek
Monday morning brought the beginning of our four day journey to Machu Picchu. Originally we had wanted to hike the Inca Trail, but because of its popularity you need to book months in advance. We didn’t even know for sure if we were going to Peru 2 months ago, much less if we would be hiking the Inca Trail, so we kind of missed that boat. No worries, though. The alternative trek we did was amazing, and our guide told us she actually preferred it to the Inca Trail because the scenery was more beautiful and it was so much less crowded.
Man was she right. I could go on for pages about the trek, but I’ll try and touch on the highlights to keep from boring you.
After getting picked up from our hostel at 6:30 a.m. by our guide (Cynthia) and our cook (Benigno) we made our way to the small village of Calca where we bought some Peruvian chocolate and coffee along with pencils and pens to give to kids we met along our trek. Another short stint in the van then brought us to Lares, where we soaked in some hot springs before beginning the hiking portion of the trek. A short 25 minute walk brought us to our lunch site, where the cook had an amazing meal waiting for us.
Each day we were fed breakfast, lunch, tea time, and dinner, and the food was better than what I can cook in the convenience of my home. Fresh fruit, vegetables, rice, chicken, soup, bread and even a cake are just some of the things we indulged in. I felt like we weren’t really camping, or like we were cheating or something. Then I found myself going to the bathroom behind a rock and decided the gourmet food was cancelled out by using nature as a bathroom.
Each meal was also followed by Peru’s specialty—Mate de Coca (coca tea). Yes, coca as in cocaine. No, what we drank was not a drug. The leaves we put in our tea are the same leaves used to make cocaine, but they are a far cry from the illegal substance. Chemicals are needed to make the drug, and the coca leaves themselves do little more than help with altitude sickness or cure a churning tummy.
Coca tea--with a bit of sugar it was the perfect way to wake up in the morning or finish a meal at night.
After lunch we hiked for about 2.5 hours to our first campsite—right next to a waterfall. Our guide said that hike normally takes over 3 hours, and was really impressed with us since only one out of the five of us had ever seriously trekked before. At our first campsite we also came across our first group of kids. As they saw us approaching the village they came racing out to meet us, in search of goodies. Cynthia told us a lot of trekkers like to give them candy, so they have come to expect it. She advices her groups not to give sweets out, however, since the kids don’t brush their teeth and the candy isn’t good for them. We were therefore ready with pens and pencils—much more practical gifts and still kindly received. We came across kids throughout our trek, and they usually came running down the mountain sides to greet us, all dressed up in their adorable colorful skirts and hats. Sometimes we would be hiking literally in the middle of nowhere—not even a house or llama in site—and they would pop up in front of us with those big brown eyes and rosy cheeks. Too cute and impossible to say no to.
Little kids looking for some presents met us on the way to our first campsite.
Speaking of llamas, I suppose I should mention why it is called the Lares Llama Trek. Llamas actually carried our bags for the majority of the trek. As we hiked we also came across countless numbers of llamas and alpacas roaming the mountainsides.
The crew with our llamas--they are really shy and spit when they are angry or nervous, so we didn't dare get any closer than this.
Day two was the most difficult of the trek. We hiked for about 3.5 hours in the morning, pretty much uphill most of the way. The first half of the day culminated at a 4,480 meter pass. Hard, but the views were indescribable. Trying to show you pictures of it is like trying to describe one of Motzart’s symphonies to a deaf person. You just have to experience it to fully understand.
The second half of the day was a nice 3 hour downhill hike to our second campsite, just outside a small community, between two mountains and on the banks of a quiet river. Another perfect day of weather meant a perfect night for stargazing. After sharing a bottle of wine our guide Cynthia surprised us with, we spent a while looking at the brightest stars I have ever seen in my life. The night sky was gorgeous. I wish I could have captured a picture of them, but I think God wants everyone to see his work for themselves and none of our cameras could capture their beauty.
Pondering life--and how the heck I made it up that mountain--in the Peruvian wilderness.
Our final day of hiking was for only about an hour, to a local village where we were able to see the Quechua way of life. To a globalised westerner their lives may seem simple and even backward, and might even draw the occasional “Oh, I feel so bad for them, they are so poor.” In reality, however, the people seemed more happy than most with their lives. They wore bright colored clothing, had food to eat, and of course had a soccer field that probably received more care than all of their houses and farms combined. Our guide also told us that they don’t really use money—if someone is in need, a neighbor helps them out under the assumption the same would be done for them. Crime simply doesn’t exist, and laughter far outnumbers yelling. I’m pretty sure that’s how God intended us to live, and I think we could all learn a thing or two from the Quechua.
We explored the Incan ruins of Ollantaytambo on Wednesday as well, and tried a little Cusqueña beer before catching the last train to Aguas Calientes, the small town the sits just below Machu Picchu. We spent the night in one of the nicest hostels I have stayed in in South America, and enjoyed a glorious shower to wash off four days of accumulated filth.
Thursday was D-day. Or MP-Day. The one and only Machu Picchu. We caught an early bus up and found the ruins nearly invisible—completely covered in morning clouds. Within an hour, however, the clouds had mostly cleared and revealed the Incan marvel. Perched among various Andean peaks, the Lost City of the Incas is everything it’s made out to be. Gorgeous scenery, history, and hiking. Our guide did crush my dreams a bit, however, when she mentioned that about 40% of the ruins are reconstructed, and insisted on pointing out the errors the archeologists had made in rebuilding the city. Nevertheless, it was awesome to explore the ruins and hear their history. After a couple hours of touring we decided we weren’t tired enough from three days of hiking and decided to make our way up Waynapicchu (Quechua for “Young Mountain”; Macchu Picchu is Quechua for “Old Mountain”). Waynapicchu is the tall pointy mountain you always see in pictures of Machu Picchu. Yep, we hiked up that bad boy. It was pretty much rocky stairs all the way up, and the views from the top were spectacular.
Finally made it to Machu Picchu! Post card-worthy picture right there. The tall mountain in the background is Waynapicchu. It only took us about 45 minutes to climb to the top.
The view of Machu Picchu from the top of Waynapicchu.
After finishing our hike and tour of Machu Picchu, we hung out in Aguas Calientes until our 5 p.m. train back to Cusco. In Cusco we said goodbye to our guide and hit our bunks for some much needed and well-deserved rest.
The last few days in Cusco were pretty uneventful—mostly shopping (spending way too much money), eating (tried some alpaca), and seeing some museums. All-in-all it was an amazing Semana Santa full of fun and challenging experiences and many, many memories made with some great friends.
Last week I saw, walked with, and smelled enough llamas to last me a lifetime. For Semana Santa I headed down to Peru for what turned out to be one of the best and most unique “vacations” I have ever been on.
We left Quito around 8 p.m. on Thursday (the 20th) for our ten-day journey in Peru. Our first flight brought us to Lima, Peru’s capital, around 10:30 p.m. Our flight to Cusco, however, didn’t leave until 6:50 the next morning. Give 5 poor college students the choice between spending at least $15 on a crappy hostel and taxi ride or sleeping for free and it’s not difficult to guess what we did. Yep, we stretched out on some chairs and spent the night in the Lima airport. There were actually a decent number of people who did the same thing as us, as most of the flights for Cusco leave early in the morning. I think we managed a couple hours of restless sleep before our morning flight took us to our final destination of Cusco, Peru, the capital of the Inca Empire and the gateway to Machu Picchu.
All of our bags made it to Cusco sin problemas as well (thank goodness) and a woman from our hostel was even there waiting to pick us up. The hostel turned out to be a good find—cheap (only $7 a night), free breakfast, internet, big screen TV with cable and movies, and we even managed to snag our own bunk room. We spent the rest of Friday catching up on sleep and exploring Cusco a bit.
Our little furry friend that followed us around the hostel all week.
Saturday was spent exploring Cusco a bit more, including the local artisanal markets. There are also a number of Incan ruins within 10 km of Cusco, so we bought a tourist’s ticket to visit nearly 16 different historical and cultural sites in and around Cusco (for just $12!). In our wonderings we spotted a statue of Christ on one of the mountains surrounding the city, so we decided an afternoon hike to Jesus was a must. Once we finally reached him (after huffing and puffing up a bajillion stairs and literally scrambling on hands and knees up the side of a mountain), there was a gorgeous rainbow visible right behind the statue. Too cool.
Who said you couldn't find treasure at the end of a rainbow??
Jesus happened to be right next to one of the largest ruins sites near Cusco, so we took a little time to explore while we were there. The site is called Saqsayhuaman (pronounced like “sexy woman”—despite being 20 I still giggled at that like a 13-year-old), and when Cusco is viewed from above the ruins form the head of a puma, while the city of Cusco forms the body.
That night we randomly stumbled across a cute little restaurant that gave all of its profits to poor children in Cusco. It was decorated like a child’s playroom and featured live music the night we were there. We joked it must have been “lonelied” (in the Lonely Planet Peru book—every traveler’s favorite book for finding good places to stay, eat and things to do) because it was pretty hopping for 9 p.m. and was full of foreigners.
Cusco's biggest church on the main plaza
On Easter Sunday I experienced my first Latin American mass in one of Cusco’s many gorgeous churches. We then spent the rest of the day exploring three other ruins near Cusco. Without a guide it wasn’t as culturally enriching as it could have been, but we are all cheapskates and it was fun trying to imagine for ourselves what the Incans used the various buildings for.
I was under the impression the Incans were of the shorter variety, yet this doorway was over twice my height.The trip back from the last ruin was certainly an interesting one. We had taken a taxi to the furthest ruin at the beginning of the day, and walked about an hour between the other two. The last one we visited, however, was still a decent distance from town and since it was getting late we decided to grab a “bus” back to our hostel. By bus I of course mean a 10 passenger van that at least 25 people miraculously managed to cram themselves into. Butts were in faces, feet were in stomachs, yet somehow we made it back to town in one piece. Ah, South American transportation. Never ceases to amaze me.
This is about the size of the van thirty people squeezed into. This one might actually be a bit larger than ours was.Lares Llama Trek
Monday morning brought the beginning of our four day journey to Machu Picchu. Originally we had wanted to hike the Inca Trail, but because of its popularity you need to book months in advance. We didn’t even know for sure if we were going to Peru 2 months ago, much less if we would be hiking the Inca Trail, so we kind of missed that boat. No worries, though. The alternative trek we did was amazing, and our guide told us she actually preferred it to the Inca Trail because the scenery was more beautiful and it was so much less crowded.
Man was she right. I could go on for pages about the trek, but I’ll try and touch on the highlights to keep from boring you.
After getting picked up from our hostel at 6:30 a.m. by our guide (Cynthia) and our cook (Benigno) we made our way to the small village of Calca where we bought some Peruvian chocolate and coffee along with pencils and pens to give to kids we met along our trek. Another short stint in the van then brought us to Lares, where we soaked in some hot springs before beginning the hiking portion of the trek. A short 25 minute walk brought us to our lunch site, where the cook had an amazing meal waiting for us.
Each day we were fed breakfast, lunch, tea time, and dinner, and the food was better than what I can cook in the convenience of my home. Fresh fruit, vegetables, rice, chicken, soup, bread and even a cake are just some of the things we indulged in. I felt like we weren’t really camping, or like we were cheating or something. Then I found myself going to the bathroom behind a rock and decided the gourmet food was cancelled out by using nature as a bathroom.
Each meal was also followed by Peru’s specialty—Mate de Coca (coca tea). Yes, coca as in cocaine. No, what we drank was not a drug. The leaves we put in our tea are the same leaves used to make cocaine, but they are a far cry from the illegal substance. Chemicals are needed to make the drug, and the coca leaves themselves do little more than help with altitude sickness or cure a churning tummy.
Coca tea--with a bit of sugar it was the perfect way to wake up in the morning or finish a meal at night.After lunch we hiked for about 2.5 hours to our first campsite—right next to a waterfall. Our guide said that hike normally takes over 3 hours, and was really impressed with us since only one out of the five of us had ever seriously trekked before. At our first campsite we also came across our first group of kids. As they saw us approaching the village they came racing out to meet us, in search of goodies. Cynthia told us a lot of trekkers like to give them candy, so they have come to expect it. She advices her groups not to give sweets out, however, since the kids don’t brush their teeth and the candy isn’t good for them. We were therefore ready with pens and pencils—much more practical gifts and still kindly received. We came across kids throughout our trek, and they usually came running down the mountain sides to greet us, all dressed up in their adorable colorful skirts and hats. Sometimes we would be hiking literally in the middle of nowhere—not even a house or llama in site—and they would pop up in front of us with those big brown eyes and rosy cheeks. Too cute and impossible to say no to.
Little kids looking for some presents met us on the way to our first campsite.Speaking of llamas, I suppose I should mention why it is called the Lares Llama Trek. Llamas actually carried our bags for the majority of the trek. As we hiked we also came across countless numbers of llamas and alpacas roaming the mountainsides.
The crew with our llamas--they are really shy and spit when they are angry or nervous, so we didn't dare get any closer than this.Day two was the most difficult of the trek. We hiked for about 3.5 hours in the morning, pretty much uphill most of the way. The first half of the day culminated at a 4,480 meter pass. Hard, but the views were indescribable. Trying to show you pictures of it is like trying to describe one of Motzart’s symphonies to a deaf person. You just have to experience it to fully understand.
The second half of the day was a nice 3 hour downhill hike to our second campsite, just outside a small community, between two mountains and on the banks of a quiet river. Another perfect day of weather meant a perfect night for stargazing. After sharing a bottle of wine our guide Cynthia surprised us with, we spent a while looking at the brightest stars I have ever seen in my life. The night sky was gorgeous. I wish I could have captured a picture of them, but I think God wants everyone to see his work for themselves and none of our cameras could capture their beauty.
Pondering life--and how the heck I made it up that mountain--in the Peruvian wilderness.Our final day of hiking was for only about an hour, to a local village where we were able to see the Quechua way of life. To a globalised westerner their lives may seem simple and even backward, and might even draw the occasional “Oh, I feel so bad for them, they are so poor.” In reality, however, the people seemed more happy than most with their lives. They wore bright colored clothing, had food to eat, and of course had a soccer field that probably received more care than all of their houses and farms combined. Our guide also told us that they don’t really use money—if someone is in need, a neighbor helps them out under the assumption the same would be done for them. Crime simply doesn’t exist, and laughter far outnumbers yelling. I’m pretty sure that’s how God intended us to live, and I think we could all learn a thing or two from the Quechua.
We explored the Incan ruins of Ollantaytambo on Wednesday as well, and tried a little Cusqueña beer before catching the last train to Aguas Calientes, the small town the sits just below Machu Picchu. We spent the night in one of the nicest hostels I have stayed in in South America, and enjoyed a glorious shower to wash off four days of accumulated filth.
Thursday was D-day. Or MP-Day. The one and only Machu Picchu. We caught an early bus up and found the ruins nearly invisible—completely covered in morning clouds. Within an hour, however, the clouds had mostly cleared and revealed the Incan marvel. Perched among various Andean peaks, the Lost City of the Incas is everything it’s made out to be. Gorgeous scenery, history, and hiking. Our guide did crush my dreams a bit, however, when she mentioned that about 40% of the ruins are reconstructed, and insisted on pointing out the errors the archeologists had made in rebuilding the city. Nevertheless, it was awesome to explore the ruins and hear their history. After a couple hours of touring we decided we weren’t tired enough from three days of hiking and decided to make our way up Waynapicchu (Quechua for “Young Mountain”; Macchu Picchu is Quechua for “Old Mountain”). Waynapicchu is the tall pointy mountain you always see in pictures of Machu Picchu. Yep, we hiked up that bad boy. It was pretty much rocky stairs all the way up, and the views from the top were spectacular.
Finally made it to Machu Picchu! Post card-worthy picture right there. The tall mountain in the background is Waynapicchu. It only took us about 45 minutes to climb to the top.The view of Machu Picchu from the top of Waynapicchu.After finishing our hike and tour of Machu Picchu, we hung out in Aguas Calientes until our 5 p.m. train back to Cusco. In Cusco we said goodbye to our guide and hit our bunks for some much needed and well-deserved rest.
The last few days in Cusco were pretty uneventful—mostly shopping (spending way too much money), eating (tried some alpaca), and seeing some museums. All-in-all it was an amazing Semana Santa full of fun and challenging experiences and many, many memories made with some great friends.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Hot dog!
Halfway already?
Indeed I am over halfway through my Ecuadorian journey, and it’s pretty hard to believe. Time has absolutely flown by, and with spring break next week the second half of my stay is undoubtedly going to go even faster.
Last weekend I laid low in Quito after a busy few weekends. On Friday a few friends came over, and we attempted to make brownies. Sadly, however, we couldn’t really figure out how to work the oven. After 4 hours of semi-baking they emerged burnt on top and goopy/funky tasting in the middle. We even asked my host sister how to work it (my host mom was still at work) and she had no idea. She had no idea how to work her own oven. I think that speaks to the amount of work she does around the house (nada). Brownies aside, we had a nice night of chatting, watching a movie, and eating the best hot dogs on this side of the equator. Right by my house there is this tiny little hot dog place that is seriously famous throughout Quito. It is only open after 4 pm, but is open into the wee hours of the morning and is ALWAYS busy. The dogs themselves aren’t really that great, but they pile on so much crap that they end up being the perfect fix for a late-night craving. I don’t even know all that they put on them –some combination of tomatoes, onions, ketchup, mustard, a special sauce (my friend’s host mom told us it was pineapple apparently) and to top it all off, potato chips. It’s amazingly bad for you and amazingly delicious all at once. I’m not even a big hot dog fan, but these things are irresistible. And best of all, you literally just stand on the sidewalk eating them with all the other hot-dog lovers.
Saturday we checked out this cute little movie theater near my house called “Ocho y media”. It’s really small and has this bohemian-Madisonian feel to it, so of course, all of us Badgers absolutely loved it. It has a cute little café and two small movie theaters, and shows both mainstream and indie films. It’s probably the first place I’ve been to in Quito that really made me miss Madison and all of its cafes and college campus feel.
School is picking up a bit, as all of my professors are trying to squeeze in exams and papers before Semana Santa (Holy Week—spring break). I had two papers due last week, and I have a test and a presentation coming up on Tuesday. Classes aren’t as difficult as Madison, but they aren’t a walk in the park either. I still have a ton of reading for all of them as well as tests and papers on a regular basis. Considering I’m not working down here, however, I feel like I have a lot more free time than in Madison. Last week I decided to get my lazy butt in gear and went to volunteer at the church I have been going to. They offer English lessons for people in the community for 25 cents, so I volunteered as a teacher. It was actually a lot of fun, and I’m hoping to make it more of a regular thing while I’m here.
I leave on Thursday for Peru (yikes!), so lots of preparing will certainly be happening this weekend. I’m going to be hiking and camping for four days with four other girls that I met down here, visiting Machu Picchu, and exploring Cusco for a few days. It should be a blast, and totally different than any vacation I have ever taken. Definitely pray for safety and strength, I’m certainly going to need both next week. J
Indeed I am over halfway through my Ecuadorian journey, and it’s pretty hard to believe. Time has absolutely flown by, and with spring break next week the second half of my stay is undoubtedly going to go even faster.
Last weekend I laid low in Quito after a busy few weekends. On Friday a few friends came over, and we attempted to make brownies. Sadly, however, we couldn’t really figure out how to work the oven. After 4 hours of semi-baking they emerged burnt on top and goopy/funky tasting in the middle. We even asked my host sister how to work it (my host mom was still at work) and she had no idea. She had no idea how to work her own oven. I think that speaks to the amount of work she does around the house (nada). Brownies aside, we had a nice night of chatting, watching a movie, and eating the best hot dogs on this side of the equator. Right by my house there is this tiny little hot dog place that is seriously famous throughout Quito. It is only open after 4 pm, but is open into the wee hours of the morning and is ALWAYS busy. The dogs themselves aren’t really that great, but they pile on so much crap that they end up being the perfect fix for a late-night craving. I don’t even know all that they put on them –some combination of tomatoes, onions, ketchup, mustard, a special sauce (my friend’s host mom told us it was pineapple apparently) and to top it all off, potato chips. It’s amazingly bad for you and amazingly delicious all at once. I’m not even a big hot dog fan, but these things are irresistible. And best of all, you literally just stand on the sidewalk eating them with all the other hot-dog lovers.
Saturday we checked out this cute little movie theater near my house called “Ocho y media”. It’s really small and has this bohemian-Madisonian feel to it, so of course, all of us Badgers absolutely loved it. It has a cute little café and two small movie theaters, and shows both mainstream and indie films. It’s probably the first place I’ve been to in Quito that really made me miss Madison and all of its cafes and college campus feel.
School is picking up a bit, as all of my professors are trying to squeeze in exams and papers before Semana Santa (Holy Week—spring break). I had two papers due last week, and I have a test and a presentation coming up on Tuesday. Classes aren’t as difficult as Madison, but they aren’t a walk in the park either. I still have a ton of reading for all of them as well as tests and papers on a regular basis. Considering I’m not working down here, however, I feel like I have a lot more free time than in Madison. Last week I decided to get my lazy butt in gear and went to volunteer at the church I have been going to. They offer English lessons for people in the community for 25 cents, so I volunteered as a teacher. It was actually a lot of fun, and I’m hoping to make it more of a regular thing while I’m here.
I leave on Thursday for Peru (yikes!), so lots of preparing will certainly be happening this weekend. I’m going to be hiking and camping for four days with four other girls that I met down here, visiting Machu Picchu, and exploring Cusco for a few days. It should be a blast, and totally different than any vacation I have ever taken. Definitely pray for safety and strength, I’m certainly going to need both next week. J
Monday, March 3, 2008
Moms and Mindo are super lindo!
Sorry for the lack of updates, it has been a crazy couple of weeks.
Two weeks ago my mom came to visit for a few days, and we had a great time exploring Quito and just spending time together. She got in late Wednesday night, so we pretty much went straight to the hotel and crashed. It had been raining in Quito for the past five
days, so I hoped the weekend would bring better weather. Not so much. It rained Thursday and Friday, as well as Saturday night. We did, however, still manage to do pretty much everything there is to do in Quito. We explored the beautiful old town—including eating the best fruit salad I have ever had, sipping a beer in a café on one of the plazas, and walking through a beautiful old church. In a brief moment of nice weather we went up Quito’s western volcano, Pinchincha, in the Teleferiqo (a covered ski lift type thing that takes you up the side of the mountain). The views from the top were absolutely gorgeous. We also walked through one of Quito’s biggest parks, La Carolina, and explored some botanical gardens. And of course, we did plenty of shopping. It was a great weekend.
The Teleferiqo-very touristy, but with views of the city that can't be beatThis past weekend I journeyed to Mindo with three friends. And while it wouldn’t be difficult to write an entire book about our three day excursion, I’ll try and squeeze it into a few paragraphs.
The adventure began Friday afternoon when we reached where we thought the bus station was, only to find it had been moved all the way to the north side of town a few months earlier. Our bus was scheduled to leave in 10 minutes, and there was no way we could make it there on time. We decided to go anyway, however, on the off chance that there was another bus to Mindo that night. Sadly, we had missed the last bus by about half an hour. When we reached the bus window, there was an Ecuadorian woman talking to the ticket agent about getting to Mindo. She had missed the bus as well and was trying to figure out another way to get there. After her little chat, she turned to us and asked us if we wanted to come with her to Mindo on this indirect route she found. She said she really didn’t want to go alone, but knew how to get there. What help she thought four gringas would be I have no idea, but the proposal was there nonetheless. Horror movies flashed through my mind as I pondered this woman’s proposal. She looked nice enough—like a mom, actually, so we threw our arms up and thought what the heck, let’s do it. We hopped on one bus that took us to a roundabout on the very outskirts of town, where we got off to hail another bus. The woman said we just needed to get on a bus headed for Los Bancos, a small town a little west of Mindo. Within 15 minutes a bus passed and we got on. Two hours later (by this time it was dark) the bus dropped us four girls, our new Ecuadorian
mom and a nun literally on the side of the road. Waiting there were a few camionetas (trucks). The two Ecuadorians got into the front of one while us four girls piled into the back. Yes, we literally rode in the back of a truck, hitchhiking style. It seemed a little more legit than hitchhiking, since the trucks were waiting there to take people down to Mindo. The nun also made us feel a little more comfortable. I mean, nobody would hurt a nun, right? We rode in the back of this truck for about half an hour and finally reached Mindo. It was crazy, probably pretty dangerous, but definitely an adventure. Mindo is tiny, really just one main road, so it wasn’t hard to find a hostal. One of our friends had gone to Mindo the past weekend and recommended we stay with a guy named Santiago. Turns out Santiago basically runs Mindo. We only had to ask one person and they immediately knew Santiago and his hostal, which sat at the end of the main road. The hostal was clean and super cheap, and Santiago basically took us under his wing for the weekend. He hooked us up with ziplining, tubing, hiking to a waterfall, and great food all at the rates Ecuadorians would pay (if we were alone in finding these excursions we probably would have paid a lot more than we did). He shuttled us around town and called us his “hijas” (daughters), and I swear everyone in town knew who he was. He also had this beautiful black lab called Negro that loyally followed him everywhere, and was definitely one of the healthiest looking dogs I have seen in Ecuador. Santiago told us that he was actually a vet, but since there wasn’t a high demand for his services in such a small town he was also certified as a guide. Guide, vet, basically mayor of Mindo by my estimations.
Ziplining through the canopy in Mindo-an awesome experience
While ziplining and tubing (and by tubing, I mean 8 giant black tubes tied together and thrown down a river with seriously Class 3 rapids—this was no lazy river my friends) were a blast, 
probably the biggest “adventure” of the weekend was our hike on Sunday. Santiago gave us directions to reach a waterfall, told us to eat a big breakfast, and sent us off on what turned out to be at least a 12 km hike. We literally hiked up one side of a mountain and down the other to reach this “waterfall” that really wasn’t all that impressive. The hike, however, was beautiful and it was nice to get some exercise. We even crossed a river on a device similar to the one in the picture. (The one in the picture was abandoned, and probably not really safe to use. Since it was a weekend of doing unsafe things, we thought we would go ahead and use it anyway.) On the way back, however, it began to rain pretty steadily. Most of our friends had told us that Mindo is pretty wet, but we had beautiful weather on Saturday so we didn’t really prepare for the downpour that Sunday afternoon brought. We walked for about 2 hours in the rain and finally reached our hostal, soaked to the bone. We had just enough time to change, grab some pizza from a great pizzeria in town, and jump on the bus (direct this time) back to Quito. Two hours later we were back on our home turf after one of the best weekend trips I have done so far. It’s a good thing someone is watching over us, however, as we never would have even made it to Mindo in the first place without a little blessing from above…
probably the biggest “adventure” of the weekend was our hike on Sunday. Santiago gave us directions to reach a waterfall, told us to eat a big breakfast, and sent us off on what turned out to be at least a 12 km hike. We literally hiked up one side of a mountain and down the other to reach this “waterfall” that really wasn’t all that impressive. The hike, however, was beautiful and it was nice to get some exercise. We even crossed a river on a device similar to the one in the picture. (The one in the picture was abandoned, and probably not really safe to use. Since it was a weekend of doing unsafe things, we thought we would go ahead and use it anyway.) On the way back, however, it began to rain pretty steadily. Most of our friends had told us that Mindo is pretty wet, but we had beautiful weather on Saturday so we didn’t really prepare for the downpour that Sunday afternoon brought. We walked for about 2 hours in the rain and finally reached our hostal, soaked to the bone. We had just enough time to change, grab some pizza from a great pizzeria in town, and jump on the bus (direct this time) back to Quito. Two hours later we were back on our home turf after one of the best weekend trips I have done so far. It’s a good thing someone is watching over us, however, as we never would have even made it to Mindo in the first place without a little blessing from above…Monday, February 18, 2008
9 hours, 2 buses, 1 beach
Last weekend I hung out in Quito—saw an Ecuadorian film (interesting…), had an “American” night (Domino’s and Ratatouille), found a great English church (yay!) and got some work done. This past weekend, therefore, called for a getaway. What better place to get away than the beach? It’s pretty sweet that in one weekend it’s possible to go from living in the mountains to swimming in the ocean, which is just what we did.
On Friday we disembarked for Canoa—a quieter beach on the central coast, about 8-9 hours from Quito (depending on the condition of the roads-which were pretty bad this weekend). Two of my friends had class on Friday, so they met my other friend and I at the bus station. And by “met” I mean literally caught the bus as it was pulling out the station… my friend and I had already bought their tickets and somehow managed to stall the bus for half an hour so they could make it. Talk about close calls.
The bus ride there was actually very comfortable. There weren’t many people were on the bus, it had air conditioning, was clean and comfortable. The views on the way down were absolutely gorgeous as well. Since we had to come out of the Andes, we passed through what is known as a cloud forest. It’s pretty much what it sounds like—the clouds are literally at the same level as the trees and create a mystical world of extremely green vegetation.
Our bus did not take us directly to Canoa, but rather to Bahía, a small town about 10 km south. To get to Canoa, you have to cross a river and take a short bus. We didn’t get into Bahía until late on Friday, so we set up shop in a little hostel (and had a room with 7 beds all to ourselves!) with plans of leaving early on Saturday, which we did. We got to Canoa about 8, and after breakfast and a little hotel shopping found a cute reasonably priced hotel called “La Vista”. La vista means the view, and ours had a beautiful one of the ocean.
On Friday we disembarked for Canoa—a quieter beach on the central coast, about 8-9 hours from Quito (depending on the condition of the roads-which were pretty bad this weekend). Two of my friends had class on Friday, so they met my other friend and I at the bus station. And by “met” I mean literally caught the bus as it was pulling out the station… my friend and I had already bought their tickets and somehow managed to stall the bus for half an hour so they could make it. Talk about close calls.
The bus ride there was actually very comfortable. There weren’t many people were on the bus, it had air conditioning, was clean and comfortable. The views on the way down were absolutely gorgeous as well. Since we had to come out of the Andes, we passed through what is known as a cloud forest. It’s pretty much what it sounds like—the clouds are literally at the same level as the trees and create a mystical world of extremely green vegetation.
Our bus did not take us directly to Canoa, but rather to Bahía, a small town about 10 km south. To get to Canoa, you have to cross a river and take a short bus. We didn’t get into Bahía until late on Friday, so we set up shop in a little hostel (and had a room with 7 beds all to ourselves!) with plans of leaving early on Saturday, which we did. We got to Canoa about 8, and after breakfast and a little hotel shopping found a cute reasonably priced hotel called “La Vista”. La vista means the view, and ours had a beautiful one of the ocean.
Life is rough on the beach... :)
After settling in, the heat led us to the beachfront and Canoa’s amazing waves. It is one of the best beaches in Ecuador for surfing, and it’s not hard to see why. The weather was fairly calm, but the waves were ginormous. Like little kids eager to play we grabbed some boogey boards and dove right in. The water was perfect—warm, but cool enough to still be refreshing. After battling the waves for a couple hours, and ensuring our swimsuits had returned to their appropriate positions, we returned our boards and fed our rumbling stomachs at a cute little café a few blocks off the beach. The hamburgers were like heaven on a plate, and were just what we needed after a tiring battle with Canoa’s olas.
Boogey boarding on some of Ecuador's best waves
With full stomachs and a second wind of energy, we hit up the beach once more to see where it would take us. To the north of Canoa sit absolutely breathtaking cliffs, which we walked along a nearly deserted beach to reach. It was tranquil, beautiful and a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Quito. It seemed surreal at the time that we could visit such a place in just one weekend.
After a nice seafood dinner and some tropical cocktails on Saturday night (pretty much obligatory when you are at the beach), we headed back to the hotel. Much to our amazement, however, the gates had been locked already. A quick glance at the watch confirmed it was only 10:15—surely too early to be locking the gates, right? Apparently not. The fence around the hotel was a bit of a joke, however, so one of my friends and I scaled it with no problem. One of our friends, however, was wearing a skirt and found it a bit difficult to maneuver herself over the bamboo. It didn’t take long, however, for a guard to be summoned, the gates to be opened, and all of us to be sleeping soundly under our mosquito nets.
Yes, mosquito nets. The bugs on the coast are quite the little pests, and there has been a lot of flooding lately creating even more areas for them to breed incessantly. For some reason they took a particular interest in my blood, and left me with more than a dozen bites while my friends escaped with just a few. Two of the mysterious bites have proceeded to swell up and are extremely red, leading me to believe I tangoed with more than just mosquitoes this weekend…wonderful. Despite the bugs, however, it truly was a great weekend.
Mama Louie comes to visit on Wednesday, so I’m sure I will have many tales to tell of the coming weekend as well. Until then, I leave you with just a sample of the beauty of Ecuador.
Friday, February 8, 2008
You've been spumed
espuma (pronounced e-spoo-ma): literally, “foam”
figuratively: do not leave your hotel without at least one can, a dark hooded sweatshirt, and maybe even some goggles.
Last weekend was Carnaval, an extended weekend celebration before Lent begins. We had Monday and Tuesday off of school, so it was a great weekend to take a nice long trip. A lot of people opted for the beach, but we heard it was usually crowded and crazy and were more in the mood for a relaxed vacation, so we headed to Baños.
Baños is about 3½ hours from Quito, and is a tiny town that sits in the valley in the mountains. It is also located near the famous Tungurahua volcano, which has been pretty active over the last ten years. We had heard it was rumbling a bit and the roads weren’t safe to travel, but after talking to a few Ecuadorians who said it was completely fine we decided to head down there. Looks like we made it just in time—when we got back, we received this message from the U.S. Consulate in Ecuador:
“This is to inform American citizens visiting or resident in Ecuador that Tungurahua volcano erupted in the early morning of February 6, 2008, after months of intense seismic activity. American citizens are advised to avoid and/or immediately evacuate the vicinity of Tungurahua volcano, including Baños.
The volcano is located approximately 140 kilometers south of Quito, near Baños. Pyroclastic flows occurred on the northeast flank of the volcano. The extent is not yet known. Two main pulses occurred and scientists predict ash activity will continue and is likely to increase. The government has declared a Code Red (highest level) alert for the surrounding area and closed schools in the immediate vicinity and in Baños. The road from Pelileo to Baños is officially closed. Residents of the highest-risk areas have already been evacuated, and more people were evacuated late in the evening on February 6. Satellite images show a disperse ash cloud moving to the east and southeast. Ambato and Riobamba are also affected, and road traffic is slow."
We left Baños on Feb. 5. Haha.
figuratively: do not leave your hotel without at least one can, a dark hooded sweatshirt, and maybe even some goggles.
Last weekend was Carnaval, an extended weekend celebration before Lent begins. We had Monday and Tuesday off of school, so it was a great weekend to take a nice long trip. A lot of people opted for the beach, but we heard it was usually crowded and crazy and were more in the mood for a relaxed vacation, so we headed to Baños.
Baños is about 3½ hours from Quito, and is a tiny town that sits in the valley in the mountains. It is also located near the famous Tungurahua volcano, which has been pretty active over the last ten years. We had heard it was rumbling a bit and the roads weren’t safe to travel, but after talking to a few Ecuadorians who said it was completely fine we decided to head down there. Looks like we made it just in time—when we got back, we received this message from the U.S. Consulate in Ecuador:
“This is to inform American citizens visiting or resident in Ecuador that Tungurahua volcano erupted in the early morning of February 6, 2008, after months of intense seismic activity. American citizens are advised to avoid and/or immediately evacuate the vicinity of Tungurahua volcano, including Baños.
The volcano is located approximately 140 kilometers south of Quito, near Baños. Pyroclastic flows occurred on the northeast flank of the volcano. The extent is not yet known. Two main pulses occurred and scientists predict ash activity will continue and is likely to increase. The government has declared a Code Red (highest level) alert for the surrounding area and closed schools in the immediate vicinity and in Baños. The road from Pelileo to Baños is officially closed. Residents of the highest-risk areas have already been evacuated, and more people were evacuated late in the evening on February 6. Satellite images show a disperse ash cloud moving to the east and southeast. Ambato and Riobamba are also affected, and road traffic is slow."
We left Baños on Feb. 5. Haha.
This is a picture I took of the volcano on the way to Ambato. You can see the smoke and ash rising out of it--probably not a good sign.While we were there, however, the volcano kept itself under control and we had an amazing time. After arriving early evening on Friday, we settled into a beautiful hotel on the quieter side of town. Our room was huge and we even had a view of a waterfall from our window. Saturday was a crazy day which began with renting go-karts. Apparently it was possible to go up some trails and see some waterfalls, but that meant literally driving on the highway to get to the trails, which we had no desire to do considering the driving styles of most Ecuadorians. Instead, we bumbled about town, went the wrong way on a busy one-way street, and finally found a small trail to zoom up and down until our hour was up. After the go-carts, we set up a 2 hour horseback ride with a guide our hotel recommended. The ride was amazing, and completely unlike anything you would be able to do in the states. It was just the four of us with the guide, who gave us a lot of freedom to ride as fast as we wanted. I rode Cabrón. I’ll let you look that one up to figure out what it means. We literally rode up through the mountains towards the volcano, and José (our guide) was extremely knowledgeable about the mountains, volcano and wildlife. Not to mention the breathtaking views.
Katrina riding Diablo, Cabron's brotherAfter the ride and a little grub, we set up shop on the street to watch Baños’ parade. It was a cute small town parade, with dancers, floats, and plenty of sequined costumes. That night we also made our way to the hot natural springs that give Baños its name (in English: “baths”). After a nice soak to ease our sore horseback riding butts, we hit up the town to see what kind of nightlife Baños offered. What we discovered was what Carnaval really meant in Baños: espuma.
Espuma, or carioca, is a cross between foam, shaving cream and silly string, and during Carnaval in Baños is everywhere. It is a tradition during Carnaval for espuma and water to be thrown on people. We really had no idea as to the extent of the spuming, however, until we went out Saturday night to find a little fun. We were looking for a discoteca, but ended up finding a street that was seriously spumification nation. Being gringas, we had extra big targets on our backs. We couldn’t walk two feet without someone literally sticking a can of espuma into our faces and letting loose. At one point I had so much spume all over my face and clothes I couldn’t even see. We tried to take refuge in a discoteca, only to be hit on by boys who probably couldn’t legally drive in the states. Our next safe haven (or so we thought) was a chiva bus—not really a bus, more like a train of cars that looks like it should be on a rollercoaster track at a carnival. We got on hoping to escape the relentless attacks, only to find ourselves sitting ducks. The driver loved having gringas onboard, and stopped dead in the middle of a busy street to facilitate an attack. After the chiva bus we were running low on ammo and energy, so we headed back to the hotel to recover from a crazy day and night.
Carnaval is serious business and calls for some Charlie's Angels' posesOur goal on Sunday was to head to Ambato, a city about an hour from Baños that is famous for their fruit and flower festival during Carnaval. While we did make it there, we missed the big morning parade and only caught the massive amount of garbage and people that were left over. Ambato is not a pretty city, and there really wasn’t much to do since we missed the parade, so we walked around for an hour or so and decided to head back to our beloved Baños. My friend lovingly described Ambato as the “underpit of Ecuador” and I can’t disagree. It is not somewhere I would return or recommend people go to.
Monday brought a little rain and a lazy day of shopping and wandering around Baños. In the afternoon it cleared up a bit, and we headed to Baños’ very own zoo. The zoo was seriously built into the mountains, with natural plant life making up the habitat for most of the animals. It was a decent sized zoo for such a small town, and it was fun to see some of the animals native to that area. We couldn’t help but laugh, however, when we passed the cage of a mapache (raccoon). I can’t see a zoo in the states ever putting raccoons on display.
It's hard to tell it's actually a zooOn Monday night we hit the streets again with our espuma—this time, however we vowed to go on the offensive and no longer be victims. While our first Rambo attempt failed, we did end up getting into a pretty intense spume battle with some teenage boys. At one point I turned to see myself cornered by three of them. As I charged, espuma can in hand, I covered my face and prayed to come out alive. Suddently, however, I looked up to see two of my friends charging at the boys from the opposite direction. In a triumphant display of the power of the gringa, we showed those boys we meant business. I think it would be fair to say we won that fight, and emptied our cans in the process. Quick side note on the mercilessness of spuming during Carnaval—as we walked down the street heading back to our hotel, we passed a husband and a wife holding a small baby. Clearly it would just be downright wrong to hit a family with a baby, so we allowed them to pass unharmed. Just as we turned our backs, however, the woman whipped out a can of spume and hit me directly in the face. I was shocked and a little disgusted that she would use her baby as protection and then without hesitation spumify me. All’s fair in love and Carnaval apparently.
Monday night Baños also launched some fireworks, and we had a perfect view from the roof of our hotel. It was a great way to end an amazing weekend and say goodbye to a beautiful city—at least before the volcano erupted.
Tomorrow is the five week mark for me. I can’t believe it has been over a month already—the last few weeks have flown by and I know the rest of the time will too. I heard Wisconsin had a major snowstorm on Wednesday—I spent the day reading on our patio in capris and a t-shirt. Haha. This is Ecuador.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Mime this
Three words: Ecuadorian Talent Show.
USFQ had a talent show Thursday night after school. It was a pretty typical talent show—singing, guitar playing, magic tricks, comedians, and a mime. Yes, a mime. An awkward semi-scary mime whose gender was not clearly defined until after the show. Turns out it was a man, and was actually the president of the university. A very strange man indeed. The rest of the show, however, was really good, and even included a trio of older men who sang a beautiful Ecuadorian song.
Friday night was an interesting one. A friend knew some Ecuadorians who were having a party at their apartment in La Mariscal, so we all met at the main plaza to head over there. The party turned out to be only about a dozen people sitting around, drinking wine from a carton, and talking in English. Not exactly what we had in mind. A few of us girls had heard of a free outdoor concert in the old town, so we ditched the party and went there. Just as we were leaving, however, it of course started raining. Curse you rainy season. By the time we got to the concert the rain had become steady. The concert also happened to feature an Ecuadorian punk band—not exactly our scene. So, back to La Mariscal we went. We were with one of my friend’s host sisters, and she took us to this bar/discoteca that was full of gringos or gringo-hunters. By that time we were soaked, tired and a little upset that the night hadn’t exactly gone as planned. We ended up having a little fun, but we were all ready to head home by 1 (which is early by Ecuadorian standards).
On Saturday the host brother of one of my friends had a barbecue in the courtyard of their apartment building. He seriously bought enough meat to feed the entire country of Andorra. It was really good though, and it was fun hanging out with some Ecuadorians too. A few of my friends went out again on Saturday, but after the assault of the meat on my stomach and a day in the sun I was ready for bed pretty early.
Sunday was supposed to be homework day, but at breakfast my host mom informed me there was a family baptism we were invited to and she really wanted me to go too. I wanted to meet some of the extended family and get out of town for a bit so I told her I would. It turned out to be a really nice afternoon. The service was at this super cute church in the country, and the reception was at my host mom’s brother’s house. The house was gorgeous and included an indoor swimming pool, basketball court and even a little clubhouse for the kids to play in. The food was delicious and it was nice to meet the rest of the family.
Last week I was talking pictures from our patio at the exact moment a plane was flying overhead. They are really loud and fly really low, as you can see from the picture, because of the location of the airport in the city. I think I’m finally getting used to hearing them all the time, kind of like the trains back home, but it is still weird to see them so close.
USFQ had a talent show Thursday night after school. It was a pretty typical talent show—singing, guitar playing, magic tricks, comedians, and a mime. Yes, a mime. An awkward semi-scary mime whose gender was not clearly defined until after the show. Turns out it was a man, and was actually the president of the university. A very strange man indeed. The rest of the show, however, was really good, and even included a trio of older men who sang a beautiful Ecuadorian song.
Friday night was an interesting one. A friend knew some Ecuadorians who were having a party at their apartment in La Mariscal, so we all met at the main plaza to head over there. The party turned out to be only about a dozen people sitting around, drinking wine from a carton, and talking in English. Not exactly what we had in mind. A few of us girls had heard of a free outdoor concert in the old town, so we ditched the party and went there. Just as we were leaving, however, it of course started raining. Curse you rainy season. By the time we got to the concert the rain had become steady. The concert also happened to feature an Ecuadorian punk band—not exactly our scene. So, back to La Mariscal we went. We were with one of my friend’s host sisters, and she took us to this bar/discoteca that was full of gringos or gringo-hunters. By that time we were soaked, tired and a little upset that the night hadn’t exactly gone as planned. We ended up having a little fun, but we were all ready to head home by 1 (which is early by Ecuadorian standards).
On Saturday the host brother of one of my friends had a barbecue in the courtyard of their apartment building. He seriously bought enough meat to feed the entire country of Andorra. It was really good though, and it was fun hanging out with some Ecuadorians too. A few of my friends went out again on Saturday, but after the assault of the meat on my stomach and a day in the sun I was ready for bed pretty early.
Sunday was supposed to be homework day, but at breakfast my host mom informed me there was a family baptism we were invited to and she really wanted me to go too. I wanted to meet some of the extended family and get out of town for a bit so I told her I would. It turned out to be a really nice afternoon. The service was at this super cute church in the country, and the reception was at my host mom’s brother’s house. The house was gorgeous and included an indoor swimming pool, basketball court and even a little clubhouse for the kids to play in. The food was delicious and it was nice to meet the rest of the family.
Last week I was talking pictures from our patio at the exact moment a plane was flying overhead. They are really loud and fly really low, as you can see from the picture, because of the location of the airport in the city. I think I’m finally getting used to hearing them all the time, kind of like the trains back home, but it is still weird to see them so close.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Otavalo Weekend
This weekend I journeyed to Otavalo with two friends. Otavalo is a small town about two and a half hours from Quito by bus. The bus ride there is quite an experience in itself. For about two bucks you get a true Six Flags experience in the form of a rickety bus careening through the mountains at speeds even Matt Kennseth would be jealous of. The bus ride back featured a few feathered friends as well—a man brought two roosters on the bus with him and they made their presence known more than once. Oh, Ecuador.
Otavalo itself is a really cute town, but like Ecuador as a whole is a city of contrasts. On the streets brand new Ford Explorers can be seen passing rundown buildings covered in spray paint. Abercrombie sweatshirts cover indigenous blouses. Vendors chat on cell phones while snacking on fried fish—scales and all.
We arrived in Otavalo (safely, praise the Lord) at about 5 on Friday and found ourselves a cute little hostel for $10. It was actually one of the more expensive hostels but we had our own bathroom, gorgeous rooftop views of the city, a common area with a fireplace, and breakfast was included as well. It was very clean and quant. Being the dork that I am I forgot my camera, but my friends took a lot of pictures and I will post some soon.
On Saturday we ventured out to practice our bartering skills in Otavalo’s market. Their market is one of the largest in South America and is what makes the city a popular tourist destination. From jewelry to blankets to sizzling skillets of potatoes and meat, the market had it all. After a few hours of perusing and purchasing, we decided to grab some food and head back to Quito. There isn’t much to do in Otavalo at night, except for a weekly cockfight that we were not too disappointed to miss. Apparently you can hike a bit around Otavalo too and see some waterfalls and stuff, but we were running low on money and energy and wanted to make it back to Quito before dark.
Sunday was a pretty lazy day, as usual. I’m still working on finding a church down here but have downloaded a few sermons from Elmbrook until I can. It works for now, but I really want to find some fellowship as well. After attempting a little homework I headed down to the Mariscal and met up with a few friends to watch the Packer game at a little sports bar. I was amazed at how many Packer fans there actually were. At least 25 of us cheered on the Pack from thousands of miles away. It was pretty quiet when the game ended and the bar cleared out quickly.
Carnaval is coming up in two weekends, so we are working on planning a pretty extensive trip. We have Monday and Tuesday off of school, which for me means I don’t have class for a week. Rumors of a trip to the beach and maybe Mindo have been floating around, but we shall see.
I hope everyone is surviving the cold! And for my fellow Badgers, have a great first day of class tomorrow!
Otavalo itself is a really cute town, but like Ecuador as a whole is a city of contrasts. On the streets brand new Ford Explorers can be seen passing rundown buildings covered in spray paint. Abercrombie sweatshirts cover indigenous blouses. Vendors chat on cell phones while snacking on fried fish—scales and all.
We arrived in Otavalo (safely, praise the Lord) at about 5 on Friday and found ourselves a cute little hostel for $10. It was actually one of the more expensive hostels but we had our own bathroom, gorgeous rooftop views of the city, a common area with a fireplace, and breakfast was included as well. It was very clean and quant. Being the dork that I am I forgot my camera, but my friends took a lot of pictures and I will post some soon.
On Saturday we ventured out to practice our bartering skills in Otavalo’s market. Their market is one of the largest in South America and is what makes the city a popular tourist destination. From jewelry to blankets to sizzling skillets of potatoes and meat, the market had it all. After a few hours of perusing and purchasing, we decided to grab some food and head back to Quito. There isn’t much to do in Otavalo at night, except for a weekly cockfight that we were not too disappointed to miss. Apparently you can hike a bit around Otavalo too and see some waterfalls and stuff, but we were running low on money and energy and wanted to make it back to Quito before dark.
Sunday was a pretty lazy day, as usual. I’m still working on finding a church down here but have downloaded a few sermons from Elmbrook until I can. It works for now, but I really want to find some fellowship as well. After attempting a little homework I headed down to the Mariscal and met up with a few friends to watch the Packer game at a little sports bar. I was amazed at how many Packer fans there actually were. At least 25 of us cheered on the Pack from thousands of miles away. It was pretty quiet when the game ended and the bar cleared out quickly.
Carnaval is coming up in two weekends, so we are working on planning a pretty extensive trip. We have Monday and Tuesday off of school, which for me means I don’t have class for a week. Rumors of a trip to the beach and maybe Mindo have been floating around, but we shall see.
I hope everyone is surviving the cold! And for my fellow Badgers, have a great first day of class tomorrow!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Mango anyone?
A ver…I can’t believe I have been here for almost two weeks already! All in all, it’s been really great so far. I figure it is about that time for a food update…always one of the first few questions I get about life here.
For breakfast, my abuelita usually makes me a grilled cheese and chocolate milk. She is so cute. Seriously, this woman is 90 years old and is up and about every morning making me breakfast. (Usually with a few “Que fría-How cold!”s thrown in there. I had to explain to her that 50 degrees is not cold. Negative 10 degrees is cold.) Sometimes when I have to leave early I have an empanada de viento. It is basically a light pastry filled with a little cheese and topped with sugar. Bread, good. Cheese, good. Sugar, goooood.
Lunch is the big meal for Ecuadorians. If I am home around lunch time (2 or 3), Pasiona, our maid, makes lunch for me. It usually starts out with some kind of soup, usually a chicken-type broth with potatoes and some spices. After soup comes the main course—typically rice, some kind of meat or eggs, little fried corn cakes filled with cheese, and avocado. Sometimes there is also fruit salad, and always some kind of new fruit juice to drink. They have a lot of amazing fruits here that we don’t have in the U.S., most notably one they call el tomate del arbol (a tree tomato). I’ve only had it in juice form, but it’s delicious. Mangos are also a favorite, but are different from the mangos we are used to. They are much smaller and you suck the juice out of them first, and then eat the fruit inside. Our maid also made a huge tub of ice cream out of a bunch of them, which usually follows the massive lunch meal. It’s at about this time I am ready to pass out, throw up, or loosen up the pants a bit. I can’t complain, though, because the food is usually really good and I don’t have to worry about going hungry. Sure beats pasta or pizza every day…
While that meal would most definitely sustain me for a least a week, super-abuelita zooms in at about 8:30 or 9 to make a little cafecita for me. And by cafecita, I mean warm milk with a spoonful of instant coffee. It’s basically like a really weak latte, and actually makes me more sleepy than awake. I was kind of disappointed to learn that a country that exports coffee beans really does not use them. I have yet to talk to somebody that has had real coffee while being down here. And of course, to accompany the cafecita, a grilled cheese sandwich. Man, I thought Wisconsinites loved their cheese. My family eats it with everything. Granted it is usually only in one variety—a mozzarella type—but it is nevertheless present at every meal.
At school if I get hungry I grab a little sandwich from one of the cafeterias or eat some mangos I brought from home. I usually try to pace myself, however, in preparation for the thanksgiving feast that awaits me every day when I come home. There are a lot of really cheap restaurants around the school too, and even a McDonald’s (one of my professors was telling us that is kind of a luxury and status symbol for people to go out to eat there).
Food summed up in a few words: potatoes, rice, cheese, avocado, fruit. Lots and lots of tasty fruit. I think that is one thing I will definitely miss back in the states. Crappy carton orange juice doesn’t stand a chance against fresh-squeezed mango or tree tomato juice.
For breakfast, my abuelita usually makes me a grilled cheese and chocolate milk. She is so cute. Seriously, this woman is 90 years old and is up and about every morning making me breakfast. (Usually with a few “Que fría-How cold!”s thrown in there. I had to explain to her that 50 degrees is not cold. Negative 10 degrees is cold.) Sometimes when I have to leave early I have an empanada de viento. It is basically a light pastry filled with a little cheese and topped with sugar. Bread, good. Cheese, good. Sugar, goooood.
Lunch is the big meal for Ecuadorians. If I am home around lunch time (2 or 3), Pasiona, our maid, makes lunch for me. It usually starts out with some kind of soup, usually a chicken-type broth with potatoes and some spices. After soup comes the main course—typically rice, some kind of meat or eggs, little fried corn cakes filled with cheese, and avocado. Sometimes there is also fruit salad, and always some kind of new fruit juice to drink. They have a lot of amazing fruits here that we don’t have in the U.S., most notably one they call el tomate del arbol (a tree tomato). I’ve only had it in juice form, but it’s delicious. Mangos are also a favorite, but are different from the mangos we are used to. They are much smaller and you suck the juice out of them first, and then eat the fruit inside. Our maid also made a huge tub of ice cream out of a bunch of them, which usually follows the massive lunch meal. It’s at about this time I am ready to pass out, throw up, or loosen up the pants a bit. I can’t complain, though, because the food is usually really good and I don’t have to worry about going hungry. Sure beats pasta or pizza every day…
While that meal would most definitely sustain me for a least a week, super-abuelita zooms in at about 8:30 or 9 to make a little cafecita for me. And by cafecita, I mean warm milk with a spoonful of instant coffee. It’s basically like a really weak latte, and actually makes me more sleepy than awake. I was kind of disappointed to learn that a country that exports coffee beans really does not use them. I have yet to talk to somebody that has had real coffee while being down here. And of course, to accompany the cafecita, a grilled cheese sandwich. Man, I thought Wisconsinites loved their cheese. My family eats it with everything. Granted it is usually only in one variety—a mozzarella type—but it is nevertheless present at every meal.
At school if I get hungry I grab a little sandwich from one of the cafeterias or eat some mangos I brought from home. I usually try to pace myself, however, in preparation for the thanksgiving feast that awaits me every day when I come home. There are a lot of really cheap restaurants around the school too, and even a McDonald’s (one of my professors was telling us that is kind of a luxury and status symbol for people to go out to eat there).
Food summed up in a few words: potatoes, rice, cheese, avocado, fruit. Lots and lots of tasty fruit. I think that is one thing I will definitely miss back in the states. Crappy carton orange juice doesn’t stand a chance against fresh-squeezed mango or tree tomato juice.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
The first week
Well it certainly has been an interesting, overwhelming and exciting week. I had my first round of classes on Thursday, and I think they are actually going to be fairly challenging. Probably not as hard as Madison, but definitely not as easy as I have heard some other people say. I am taking two literature classes—el Cuento Hispanoamericano and el Quijote, an advanced conversation class and either an Andean anthropology class or an Amazonian societies class. The anthropology class has a TON of reading for it, and considering I already have a lot of reading for my two lit classes I think I’m going to opt for the Amazonian class. Plus we get to visit a tribe in the jungle for that class and one of my good friends is in it. Although I was a little bored this week since I don’t really have any homework and only had one day of class, I think things should pick up once classes really get going. It’s really strange not having something to do all the time like in Madison, but it is a nice change.
Yesterday I explored la Mariscal a little with a friend. La Mariscal is a little district in town that a lot of my host sister calls “gringo landia” because foreigners like to hang out there. It is a really cute area with a ton of restaurants, internet cafes, bars and shops. It’s easy to see why Americans like it. Apparently it can be pretty dangerous at night, however, so it was good to explore during the day with a friend. We ate at a little café that was actually kind of expensive by Ecuadorian standards, but had some really good milkshakes.
Last night I also experienced my first discoteca. When I say discoteca, I literally mean thumping techno music and a giant disco ball. My host sister had wanted me to go with her to one originally, but I felt a little weird going with her and her friends, especially since I’m not really into that kind of thing. One of my friends from Wisconsin has a host brother that likes to go out, and had been bugging her all week to go. She isn’t really into the party scene either, so I told her I would tag along for moral support. We ended up meeting up with a few kids from Virginia Tech, and actually had a pretty good time. I even learned a few valuable lessons for surviving in Ecuador: 1. No matter what, if an Ecuadorian asks you if you have a boyfriend the answer is always yes. 2. Always have a big American boy on standby in case creepy 31-year-old Ecuadorian can’t take a hint. and 3. The YMCA just isn’t the same remixed as a techno song. I had fun, but don’t really have a desire to go back--which could be difficult considering my host sister pretty much goes out every Friday and Saturday and most Thursdays. My friends and I decided traveling will be a nice excuse to avoid the craziness that is Ecuadorian nightlife.
I think one of the most frustrating/hardest things so far has been just getting used to living in a city. While Quito is not really any more dangerous than a big city in the states, it still has its problems. Walking around or taking the bus after dark is really dangerous, especially for women, and gringos. Taxis, therefore, become the main means of transportation at night. In order to get a safe taxi it is much better to call for one. Those taxis, however, usually don’t have meters and are more expensive. They really take advantage of gringos too, so haggling over a price (in another language) is hard and was kind of scary at first. I miss safe ride…haha. Pickpockets also abound, especially on the busy busses during the day. I haven’t had any problems so far, and I think it is just a matter of being aware of your surroundings and not wearing or carrying anything expensive. If you are smart, it isn’t hard to be safe.
It will be nice to settle into a routine finally next week with classes and getting accustomed to living with a host family. Some people talked about going to Otovalo next weekend as well, which should be fun. It’s only about two hours away and has one of South America’s largest markets on Saturdays.
Yesterday I explored la Mariscal a little with a friend. La Mariscal is a little district in town that a lot of my host sister calls “gringo landia” because foreigners like to hang out there. It is a really cute area with a ton of restaurants, internet cafes, bars and shops. It’s easy to see why Americans like it. Apparently it can be pretty dangerous at night, however, so it was good to explore during the day with a friend. We ate at a little café that was actually kind of expensive by Ecuadorian standards, but had some really good milkshakes.
Last night I also experienced my first discoteca. When I say discoteca, I literally mean thumping techno music and a giant disco ball. My host sister had wanted me to go with her to one originally, but I felt a little weird going with her and her friends, especially since I’m not really into that kind of thing. One of my friends from Wisconsin has a host brother that likes to go out, and had been bugging her all week to go. She isn’t really into the party scene either, so I told her I would tag along for moral support. We ended up meeting up with a few kids from Virginia Tech, and actually had a pretty good time. I even learned a few valuable lessons for surviving in Ecuador: 1. No matter what, if an Ecuadorian asks you if you have a boyfriend the answer is always yes. 2. Always have a big American boy on standby in case creepy 31-year-old Ecuadorian can’t take a hint. and 3. The YMCA just isn’t the same remixed as a techno song. I had fun, but don’t really have a desire to go back--which could be difficult considering my host sister pretty much goes out every Friday and Saturday and most Thursdays. My friends and I decided traveling will be a nice excuse to avoid the craziness that is Ecuadorian nightlife.
I think one of the most frustrating/hardest things so far has been just getting used to living in a city. While Quito is not really any more dangerous than a big city in the states, it still has its problems. Walking around or taking the bus after dark is really dangerous, especially for women, and gringos. Taxis, therefore, become the main means of transportation at night. In order to get a safe taxi it is much better to call for one. Those taxis, however, usually don’t have meters and are more expensive. They really take advantage of gringos too, so haggling over a price (in another language) is hard and was kind of scary at first. I miss safe ride…haha. Pickpockets also abound, especially on the busy busses during the day. I haven’t had any problems so far, and I think it is just a matter of being aware of your surroundings and not wearing or carrying anything expensive. If you are smart, it isn’t hard to be safe.
It will be nice to settle into a routine finally next week with classes and getting accustomed to living with a host family. Some people talked about going to Otovalo next weekend as well, which should be fun. It’s only about two hours away and has one of South America’s largest markets on Saturdays.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Que vista! (What a view!)
Need I say more?
Since this is my first update since arriving, I think maybe I should. This is a picture of the view from my family’s patio. Absolutely breathtaking. The picture does not do it justice...especially when the clouds are rolling in and weaving their way through the mountains. My family's house sits on the side of the mountain and overlooks Cumbaya, the small city where my university is located. My room faces the same direction, so I have an amazing view to wake up to.
So far, so good. I arrived late Saturday, and after an hour long wait to get through customs, found my bags and my family waiting for me. My family is great—it is just a mom and her daughter, and this little abuelita (grandmother) that seriously pops out of nowhere. She wasn’t here when I arrived, but randomly appeared the next day. I have no idea where she sleeps, but she is here early in the morning and late at night in her cute little nightgown, so she must live here somewhere. It’s not like the house is big or anything, but my room and my host mom and sister’s rooms are all right next to each other on the same floor. The abuelita’s room—no idea. She doesn’t speak any English but is super cute and really sweet, and even made me breakfast this morning.
My host mom, Pilar, is really nice as well and told me I am her daughter now, and she will treat me as such. She works for the government, from what I can gather for the economics minister writing his speeches. Apparently she has the phone number of President Correa himself, so I think she is pretty important. Also judging from the fact that the family has a maid, a driver, a guard, owns a big house by Ecuadorian standards, and lives down the street from the head of the assembly, she is pretty high up in the government.
My host sister, Mariapilar, is really nice as well. She goes to an international school here, so she speaks almost perfect English. Her English is definitely way better than my Spanish, but they are required to speak Spanish with me unless I really don’t understand and it is something important. My mom speaks English as well, so it has been helpful when I don’t understand something.
Yesterday Pilar showed me how to get to the university by bus. It takes about 45 minutes, and I have to take two buses, but they come often and really only go in one direction. Some other students have to take three buses and it takes an hour or more for them to get to the school. Since I will probably only have class two days a week, I don’t mind.
Today we had orientation at the university. Kind of boring, and not really that helpful, but it was still good to get a feel for the campus and meet some other international students. A few of us from Madison also went out to lunch with a couple of the students from the university today. They were really nice and gave us a lot of helpful information about Ecuador.
My family’s driver drove me to the university yesterday, but I took the bus back. I think Pilar wanted me to call her when I needed a ride home, but she didn’t leave me her number when she left for work and I haven’t bought a cell phone yet. When I got home my host sister told me the driver went to pick me up but couldn’t find me…haha oops. One girl I have become friends with was heading back to Quito on the bus so I ended up just doing that and made it home just fine.
Classes start Wednesday. I am signed up for one that is Monday, Wednesday, Friday, but I think I am going to drop it because it is my only class on those days and I really don’t want to have class on Friday. Without that class, I have four—all on Tuesday and Thursday. Not bad at all. :)
So far, so good. I arrived late Saturday, and after an hour long wait to get through customs, found my bags and my family waiting for me. My family is great—it is just a mom and her daughter, and this little abuelita (grandmother) that seriously pops out of nowhere. She wasn’t here when I arrived, but randomly appeared the next day. I have no idea where she sleeps, but she is here early in the morning and late at night in her cute little nightgown, so she must live here somewhere. It’s not like the house is big or anything, but my room and my host mom and sister’s rooms are all right next to each other on the same floor. The abuelita’s room—no idea. She doesn’t speak any English but is super cute and really sweet, and even made me breakfast this morning.
My host mom, Pilar, is really nice as well and told me I am her daughter now, and she will treat me as such. She works for the government, from what I can gather for the economics minister writing his speeches. Apparently she has the phone number of President Correa himself, so I think she is pretty important. Also judging from the fact that the family has a maid, a driver, a guard, owns a big house by Ecuadorian standards, and lives down the street from the head of the assembly, she is pretty high up in the government.
My host sister, Mariapilar, is really nice as well. She goes to an international school here, so she speaks almost perfect English. Her English is definitely way better than my Spanish, but they are required to speak Spanish with me unless I really don’t understand and it is something important. My mom speaks English as well, so it has been helpful when I don’t understand something.
Yesterday Pilar showed me how to get to the university by bus. It takes about 45 minutes, and I have to take two buses, but they come often and really only go in one direction. Some other students have to take three buses and it takes an hour or more for them to get to the school. Since I will probably only have class two days a week, I don’t mind.
Today we had orientation at the university. Kind of boring, and not really that helpful, but it was still good to get a feel for the campus and meet some other international students. A few of us from Madison also went out to lunch with a couple of the students from the university today. They were really nice and gave us a lot of helpful information about Ecuador.
My family’s driver drove me to the university yesterday, but I took the bus back. I think Pilar wanted me to call her when I needed a ride home, but she didn’t leave me her number when she left for work and I haven’t bought a cell phone yet. When I got home my host sister told me the driver went to pick me up but couldn’t find me…haha oops. One girl I have become friends with was heading back to Quito on the bus so I ended up just doing that and made it home just fine.
Classes start Wednesday. I am signed up for one that is Monday, Wednesday, Friday, but I think I am going to drop it because it is my only class on those days and I really don’t want to have class on Friday. Without that class, I have four—all on Tuesday and Thursday. Not bad at all. :)
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