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Ecuadoooooooooooooooor

goodbye cuenca

Hello again. its been a while. glad to see you are all still here and attentive.
we have moved south since the last post and are now in a small town called Villcabamba a few hours north of the Peruvian border.
On our way south we passed through Latacunga and the Quilotoa loop (which Erica will elaborate on in the few days), made an enjoyable stop in Baños (soon to be written by Amy) and then on to Cuenca. I am going to write about the unmitigated disaster that is Cuenca (to the best of my memory). Here we go.
We arrived in Cuenca, a relativly nice colonial city, (Lots of churches. Cobblestone roads. Markets.) at about dusk on sunday. and, as luck would have it, everything was closed. But, we were hungry, so on the advice of the Hostal we set off to find a restaurant around the corner. It was a small Colombian chicken restaurant that didnt seem much different from the hundreds of other pollerias we had seen. The choices on the menu were rice and some meat, rice and stuff, rice and some other stuff, or some stuff kind of mixed with other stuff. That, or you could choose 1/8 of a chicken (listed on the menu) and see what comes with it. we all opted for that. after 25minutes of waiting we were served a...lets call it... soup with what we hope were chicken feet and other parts. That was followed by a leg or breast of roasted chicken with rice and salad and fries. (not bad.) That was followed, at about 2am, by violent vomiting. first by Amy, and then Erica. All together, 9x. good job girls! i ate the most out of all of us and miraculously escaped unscathed. for the time.
so, the next day the girls were in bed all day, save for a brief 10min stretch where we crossed the street to chanbge hostals. they looked miserable and i did my best to comfort them as best as possible. while they slept, i managed to explore the city a bit and get some air. nothing of major interest. The next day, i figured they were feeling better enough that i could explore a bit more so i set off to the ancient Inca fortress of Ingapirca which i found out. upon arrival, was closed. the local indiginous villages want a portion of the money earned on entrance fees by the govt. fair play. so, without telling us it was closed, the bus dropped us off (me and a dutch couple and an 24yr old english girl) and told us it was a 15min walk to the site. wrong. about an hour. and then when we got there, we were informed, if we crossed the piket line, there could be shooting. we stayed well away. (the locals were actually very polite and explained everything clearly, but they were firm that we could not enter.) the bus that was supposed to come pick us up didnt, so we had to take another bus into Cañar to get the bus back to Cuenca. getting off this bus, i proved that my head was not as strong as my stomach. i stood up, hit my head on a corner of the ceiling and gave myself a concusion. in short, felt VERY shaky, fainted in the kitchen of small chicken restaurant, and brought the cumulative group vomit total to 10. well done group!
i went to the dr. and he took care of me and said to take it very slow. i went back to cuenca, spent the rest of the day in bed, the next day mostly in bed, and then we decided to get the hell out of cuenca.

ps. we are all well on the way to recovery.

¿Donde estan los Baños?

On Monday we arrived in the picturesque little town of Baños (so named for its thermal baths) which is basically a valley surrounded by mountains and a volcano which forced out all the inhabitants only being allowed to return sometime in the 80s (I think!). As luck would have it we picked a great hostel run by a very friendly British guy and his Ecuadorian wife, also a spider fanatic, a hobby which fortunately was contained to his living area. Within our first few hours we wandered the streets, met a psycho gringo who owned a small cafe with a book exchange and made it quite clear that our books would not be up to the supreme quality of her collection if we so wished to exchange them and tried the teeth breaking local speciality toffee-I forget the name-oh and visited the church which is famous for its traffic accident-themed artwork. Interesting if not slightly morbid. We also cooked our first meal of the trip and shock horror it was a success (vegetable stir fry and flour tortillas-could hardly go wrong and if it had, the well chosen Chilean wine would have taken our minds off it!!) On Tuesday we set off with some mountain bikes from our hostal on the road to Puyo which is the jump off point for the Oriente and the Ecuatorian jungle. It is about 65km in all and I´m pretty sure we almost made it until it started raining pretty badly so we gave up. Not because we were tired or anything.... Anyway the scenery was stunning and we saw a couple of nice waterfalls-one in particular named "The Devil´s Cauldron" and got to traverse them in a basket thingy hanging off a cable. Sounds safe right? Well it was-we saw them taping up the cable just before we left. Oh and Baños has the softest bread we have seen so far so with Ari´s very smart purchase of a bottle of mustard we were sorted for lunch for a few days.
Wednesday we took it easy because it was hot (not because we were sore from the bike ride) and hiked (mustard in tow) up to Bellavista-Baños´ own mirador where it becomes clear just how isolated Baños really is. As we pondered our descent a woman came around the corner holding a medium sized dog and began spinning it around in circles. After a few enquiries we discovered that the people from the neighbouring hacienda had given him rat poison and she was attempting to make him vomit. We tried to help as she force-fed him oil, warm milk and then spun him round (a week later we realised that if only there had been a Polleria nearby we would have been sorted!) but generally felt helpless. Eventually a taxi arrived and they went off to the vet. We chose to believe the dog survived as I sincerely hope he did-I tried to find out exactly where the evil neighbours lived (my anti-malarial induced aggression was still in full flow) but failed. Two more successful meals and a wild night out in Baños later (well as wild as they get!) we said our goodbyes.

loop-de-loop

so after an slight electronical absence, we are back. and from reading that one anonymous post left in our absence, i can tell you all missed us dearly. (thanks anonymous poster, we love you too!) but anyway, after some distribution of work, i have been assigned to enlighten you all on the trails and tribulations up in the ecuadorian highlands. and this is where the quilatoa loop comes in. the loop travels through, well, mostly nothing... but that's the point. it's a wonderful chance to get up into the highlands, do some hiking, and see some amazing views. yeah, well, on the down side, it does involve a number of bumpy bus rides that bring you a bit too close to a rocky death.. and yes, there was the one time we had to catch the 3am bus out of town, but ehh, that's part of the fun. so yes, the loop. we left lacatunga on tuesday morning, happy to get out of out dusty construction-filled hostel and took the three hour trip up into the hills. the trip was beautiful and we arrived around noon at quilatoa laguna. we checked into our hostel, a cozy place with winding rooms filled with cots and wood heaters, and then headed up to the main attraction, the caldera lake. at this point we were at the top of the ring of mountains that surround the greenish-bluish-blackish lake, and so after taking about 20 pictures (that is, after i took 18 and amy took 2), the three us us started to walk around the winding path that cut through the top of the mountains... to our left was the steep decline to the lake, and to our right we passed llamas and grassy plains and horses and small children. basically, there is not much else to do there aside from appreciate the lagune, so we spent the rest of the evening bonding with other travelers and forcing them to play cards with us and take part in our "word-of-the-day bonding" (it was "controversial teachers" that day, fyi). they all loved us. after warming ourselves with countless cups of tea, a home cooked meal, and wood stove fires, we climbed under our five blankets and went to sleep. the next day we hiked down to the lake to see it from another angle. and yep, still breathtaking. that morning was another reminder that hiking down crap is pretty fun, but hiking back up is not so much. but definitely worth it. that afternoon we caught the one bus to a town an hour or so down the road... a place known it´s hiking trails. we immediately went to check out one of the recommended hostels, but the woman who ran the place was too shrewd a business woman for us. after refusing to change the price, she told us to go down the road ("what are you doing here? it's only 5 dollars down there") so we took her advice and stayed at the lovely cloud forest hostel. well, stayed is just a relative term. after wandering around and forcing more card games and stories on unsuspecting tourist (this time, fire stories), we had to turn in early since we were waking up at 2.30 am to catch the only bus out of there. our last stop on the loop was three or four hours away to see the thursday market at yet another town i can´t remember the name of. it was interesting, yes... but we were sleepy and cold and by the time the mid morning rush hit, we were already on the bus back to the start of the loop, lacatunga. we gathered our bags, headed for the station, the made our way to the lovely baños...

There and back again, again

I´d like to start this one out, for all me Ali G fans out there in the getto and Staines, to report some infomation which I has forgotten. Da name of da bus company in Belize, is none other than Batty Brothers Bus Co. Me thoughts this was well inappropriate but me and the julies rode anyways.

And now, back to your regular english update. Friday afternoon we left quito and headed north to a town called otavallo with the hope of attending the best market in ecuador. we arrived after a long but beautiful ride to find out that the hostel we had planned on staying at was booked and the other ones we walked by were as well. so, when in doubt, stop for lunch. we ate at the pie place, though, no pie, this time. and then headed off to find a hostel. found a nice room with no lock and half a door nob and a window view into the hallway a few blocks away. the beds were comfortable and the staff nice, so no worries. after checking in, we wandered around town for a while. ther fruit and veggie market was fantastic. mounds upons mounds of fruits and veggies. avocados, pineapples, oranges and peppers, grapes and watermelons. after japan, it is nice to see fruits and vegetables that arent worth thier weight in gold. did a bit of shopping, saw lots of street performances, and enjoyed the small town atmosphere.
that night, we went back to the pie place and had a big dinner, and, yes, pie. apparently the place is famous for its pies. critically acclaimed would be more apt. but, i wont turn down pie, so...
the ladies, tuckered out after a long day of, um, doing stuff, decided to turn in, whilst i wandered the streets. far from alone though. seems like half the town was out on the streets and there were concerts in the bus station parking lot and in the main square. rhamba and modern latin music. trumpet and guitar type stuff. excellent. real fun.
the next day, we woke up at the crack of mid morning and stumbnled outside to see that the market had completly enveloped the whole town. what once was naked store fronts was now covered with stalls selling blanets, wall hangings, hammocks, all sorts of wovens and clothing, and most importantly, sunglasses and finger puppets. we all bought shades because we were sorely lacking (2/3 of which are still intact at the moment). and then we all bought small finger puppets, because i saw no reason not to. i have a new finger lion, amy a panda, and erica a monkey (with a banana.)
after many hours of succesful shopping or abstaining, we packed it in and decided to move, to a similarly small and quaint town named Ibarra. we stayed in this beautiful hostel which must have been a mansion at some point. the rooms were all surrounding a big courtyard. they were big and clean and the stff was so friendly. in ibarra we wandered around and saw yet more churches. went to a relativly chic place for dinner and then began the walk home before amy had a karaoke craving which was only put off by a few games of pool. erica won both games (but refused to play the drunk men downstairs who had called winners). we scooted out and somehow agreed on karaoke which clearly was destined to be nothing like japan. and it wasnt. there were about 10 people in the bar, and they were pathetic. to be polite. the only guy who was decent was the one who sang the song of the mariachi. (maybe i just liked him cause i like the song). then came amy and my turn. we didnt have much of a selection. there was a travolta-newton john duet named "Grease Me" which i had a hard time of convincing amy to sing. so we settled for, according to the book, Elton Johns version of Gangstas Paradise. (which went incredibly simialr to the original rap!) i rapped and amy sang. and let me tell you, despite what the score on the karaoke machine said, we kicked ass.
then we went to bed.
the next day we wke up at 6 so we could be at the train station at 7 so we could buy tickets for a train. but the office didnt open until about 8 and the train didnt leave till clsoe to 9. but, we didnt get seats in the train. we got seats on the roof. the very front of the roof. (which was our plan all along. its a tourist train and the best views are from the roof). so, there we are, first chugging through town clinging to the roof and then out into the mountains along cliffs over not so sturdy looking bridges and through numerous cow fields. just beautiful scenery. fresh air. adreneline every time we entered a tunnel that had no visible ending. fun fun fun.
when the train stopped, hiked back up the tracks to the road, flagged down a bus back to ibarra, got our bags, ate lunch, and got a bus back to quito which left us about 200 miles (exaggeration) from where we asked. so we hiked across town and now we are back in quito. again.

i have a new spanish phrase book. (much to amys dismay). it has some choice phrases which i have been told i am no longer alowed to say in public. we also learned that while amy has been asking where to catch the bus in castillian spanish, in south american slang she has been asking where can i "bonk" the bus. good times.

South side is da best

Well I never thought I would be able to say that I visited 2 equators in one day. The first was at the city of "Mitad del Mundo¨-The centre of the world. We spent a good amount of time jumping, sleeping, taking pictures and doing various other things on the equator. Or so we thought. We then went about half a kilometre north to the Solar Museum where we were told that actually this was the real equator. To be fair the second was calculated using GPS, the first using only the sun. Not a bad error margin really! Anyway, good times were had at both equators-on the second they showed us various experiments that can apparently only be performed on the equator such as how it is easier to balance an egg on a nail and how water swirls in different directions on both sides and on the line doesn´t really swirl at all. We also got to shoot a cactus using a blowgun which was cool. We also saw reconstructions of indigenous houses and they told us that back in the day they would keep guinea pigs inside and use the reaction of the guinea pigs to detect bad vibes when people entered a house. Judging by the amount of squeaking they certainly seemed to manage to pick out the bad eggs in our group.

The South American Spanish is coming along slowly-have succumbed to pronouncing c as s and using ustedes instead of vosotros which still feels weird and way too formal but what can you do. Was kind of disturbed to read in Ari´s phrase book yesterday that the innocent verb "coger" which in Spain means to catch (as in buses etc) has a very different meaning over here. From now on we will probably just wont be asking anyone where to catch the bus.

De Guatemala a Guatemejor....

sayonara guatemala!

our last few days in guatemala were wonderful... a nice peaceful + fitting end to our time in guatemala. sunday we headed off to lake atitlán, a caldera lake surrounded by tall volcanoes and dotted with small towns. we took a boat tour around the lake, and when the heat got to be too much, ari and i took a spontaneous swim in the clear, bluish-green waters. it truly was idyllic (well, aside from the drunk local who seemed insistent on freaking amy out as she guarded our stuff. i am sure i would have been a bit upset by him as well, if i understood a word of what he was saying). the town where we were staying was named panajachel... it's a laid back, fairly hippyish town filled with people who visited way back when and couldn't find it in their hearts to leave. so we had some lovely vegetarian food for dinner and some yummy roadside desserts. the next day we attempted to hike around part of the lake to santa catalina (or somewhere), but we didn't quite make it as we trespassed onto many private estates. however, the scenery was breathtaking and i, of course, took another hundred pictures. monday afternoon brought us back to antigua. that night we met up with my friend jadyn´s cousin, gaby, and four of her friends. it was a great way to spend our last night in guatemala.

and now, here we are in equador--- and the south america part of this south american trip has begun. we woke up 3.20 for our 6 am flight. after a stop in nicaragua (or was it somewhere else?) and a transfer in panama, we arrived in quito. the descent into the city was amazing. we flew right over the mountains surrounding quito, and got a great view of the hundreds of thousands of houses that cover the valley and creep up the hillsides. but i will leave quito for another day, for there is plenty to be said about that... (the next post should hopefully include pickpocket attempts and jumping back and forth between the northern and southern hemispheres. oo, cliffhanger.)

A great day

Saturday was a great day! we got up late, and then went to this little place called the Rainbow Cafe for breakfast. Delicious. And if you buy food, you get some free internet time. score. after breakfast, we did some laundry, or more precisly, gave our dirty smelly laundry to a laundromat and hoped they not only returned all of it, but also cleaned it as well. then, at 2.30, the fun started. Guatemala vs. Trinidad in a world cup qualifier. if guatemala won, they would move on. if they lost, they have to beat the US on WEdnesday and then play in a playoff game. The game started well for Guatemala and the whole town cheered and booed at good attempts and hard fouls. The first half ended 1-1 though I think Trinidad was outplaying the locals and they had a goal called back because of dubious offsides. Straight out of the gate, 2nd half, guatemala scored another goal and most of the men in the bar left to go back to work. little did they realize that in the last 10minutes, Trinidad would score 2. winning the game and suddenly make the beer prices go up. not a happy day for guatemala. (during the time that i was watching the game, amy and erica were somewhere and i think they did something interesting. though this is as of yet unconfirmed) after the first game, there was a brief respite and time for a bagel and laundry pik up. then off to another pub for the US-Mexico game! USA 2 Mexico 0. It was never even in doubt. And, the ladies joined to watch the second half of the game.
All in all a good day. and met lots of itneresting people. A british guy and german girl (uni students) studying spanish in guatemala, an albino mexican with german parents, a man named Salvador from Guatemala who lived in Wisconsin for 14 years and now is moving to Italy, and the list goes on.}

Can I just add, i love the futbol culture. in antigua, an hour before the game, EVERYBODY was out on the streets in the national uniform with horns, flags draped on buildings and cars, bars had the doors wide open and excitement was in the air. when a goal was scored, the whole town cheered. and when a goal was conceded....silence. absolutly awesome.

On the Rocks

So far Guatemala has definitely surpassed my expectations. From all that I read beforehand I didn't expect that I would feel so safe (touch wood) and at times I feel like we may as well be in the South of Spain from the architecture, atmosphere etc. (well except for the staple diet of beans and rice!) One strange thing that we noticed is that every evening there are suddenly huge queues outside all the banks. No idea why but it does look as though they are giving away free cake with every withdrawal or something! As Erica said, yesterday we went up to Pacaya which is the closest active volcano to Antigua. It was about a 2 hour hike up to the top of the volcano which consists of 2 cones-one that is active and fortunately one that is not. The summit is the closest you get to the active crater and you can see the rocks glowing red as every few minutes it spits lava up into the air. At the very top the sulphur levels were pretty suffocating and you could feel the warmth of the rocky sand as it slid from under you. The volcano is one of the places where bandits are supposed to target tourists so we apparently had a security guard with us although I didn't actually see him! Our guide decided to take us down via the short cut which essentially involved running down a steep incline of soft volcanic sand. All good fun and the views were better on the way down when the morning mist had cleared. We are taking it easy today (and apparently there is some important football game on sometime this afternoon.... !!) and then going over to the lakes tomorrow for a few days.

near death experiences + shopping

gah, too much to write about, and its been what, three days? i just conned ari into writing about today's lil trip up a very active volcano, so that leaves me with two days to catch up on. let's see. i think amy left off with tikal (which, apparently means "city of the sound of the voices of evil." though i am a lil skeptical that such a small lil word can meet that much). so that tuesday night we were to take a night bus down to antigua when a huge thunderstorm came and parked itself right over the city of flores (where we were staying). the lightning was flashing about every 2 seconds, but it wasn't raining so we decided to go out and grab a bite to eat for dinner. we set off down the street just as the storm really started to pick up and lightning crashed to the ground right near us (i swear i felt the heat on my legs). this sent the whole town into darkness and us running (literally) back to our guesthouse. was very eventful, but fortunately our guesthouse had a strong affinity to candles and the storm died out before our bus departed. the trip down to antigua was uneventful. no bandits or robberies or anything of note aside from a bad night of rest. around 6.30 am we arrived in the beautiful city of antigua. the cobblestone streets are lined with old spanish style colonial houses and filled with old churches. and i must say, the random gun-totting guards in the doorway of some restaurants and stores does lend the town a unique charm. in short, it's a great place to wander around, and so that's just what we did wednesday. yesterday we caught the bus (or rather, buses) to the town of chichicastenango. we were determined to use local public transport... the so-called "chicken buses." the buses are actually old American-style school buses. some still boast the traditional school-bus yellow, but most have been painted psychedelic colors and finished off with designs such as stars, crosses, and flames. most the time the buses were filled, but not too, too packed, though at one point we were on a lil mini-shuttle which amazingly was able to squeeze about 30 people into a 13 person (max) car. but we enjoyed getting up close and personal with the locals, and everyone was really friendly about pointing us in the right direction when the time to transfer came. so finally, two and a half hours later, we arrived. chichi hosts an amazing market every thursday and sunday, and the market was indeed fabulous. we all bought many cloth items of varying uses and colors and good times were had by all.