Friday, August 21, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Arequipa
Hey everybody. Moira and I are spending our first day here in Arequipa after completing our final overnight bus ride of this trip. We decided not to go to Lake Titicaca because we've both been pretty under the weather, and hauling all of our stuff from place to place didn't sound particularly ideal.
Anyway, believe everything positive you might have ever heard about Arequipa. We've only been here a few hours, but the weather is absolutely perfect. Tons of sunlight and blue skies, plus there are beautiful snow-capped mountains all around and palm trees in the Plaza de Armas. I'm glad I finally got the opportunity to come here. After having heard so many rave reviews, it's nice to take it all in for myself.
Tomorrow we're headed off for a two-day/one-night tour of Colca Canyon, where we'll get to see VICUÑAS and condors and such. Vicuña sightings are our top priority (they are the cutest EVER), so we had to choose a tour that would maximize our vicuña time. There's a reserve about an hour outside of Arequipa where we'll stop tomorrow morning to take pictures of/hopefully frolic with the vicuñas. Yay! We opted not to do a trek in the Canyon itself, simply because I have a terrible cough/we would have had to wake up SO EARLY. All in all I'm pleased with our decision. We'll get back Saturday evening with (fingers crossed) enough energy to enjoy the Arequipa nighttime scene, then we have all day Sunday to get our affairs in order before heading to Lima early Monday morning. Back in the States Tuesday night. Hard to believe, isn't it?
Love to all. See you very soon!
Anyway, believe everything positive you might have ever heard about Arequipa. We've only been here a few hours, but the weather is absolutely perfect. Tons of sunlight and blue skies, plus there are beautiful snow-capped mountains all around and palm trees in the Plaza de Armas. I'm glad I finally got the opportunity to come here. After having heard so many rave reviews, it's nice to take it all in for myself.
Tomorrow we're headed off for a two-day/one-night tour of Colca Canyon, where we'll get to see VICUÑAS and condors and such. Vicuña sightings are our top priority (they are the cutest EVER), so we had to choose a tour that would maximize our vicuña time. There's a reserve about an hour outside of Arequipa where we'll stop tomorrow morning to take pictures of/hopefully frolic with the vicuñas. Yay! We opted not to do a trek in the Canyon itself, simply because I have a terrible cough/we would have had to wake up SO EARLY. All in all I'm pleased with our decision. We'll get back Saturday evening with (fingers crossed) enough energy to enjoy the Arequipa nighttime scene, then we have all day Sunday to get our affairs in order before heading to Lima early Monday morning. Back in the States Tuesday night. Hard to believe, isn't it?
Love to all. See you very soon!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Machu Picchu
Okay, so those of you who know me relatively well could probably assume that I do not believe, and have never believed, in a heaven/hell dichotomy. I am perfectly comfortable saying that after having been to Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes twice, I am becoming more and more convinced that those two places exist in order to convince skeptics like me that, if nothing else, there exist Heaven and Hell on Earth.
I've been to a lot of unpleasant places (any number of gas-station bathrooms, for example), but nothing quite sends my blood to a boil like the horrible tourist Hellhole more benignly referred to as Aguas Calientes. Seriously, it is the worst. As soon as Moira and I got off the train on Friday night, we were swept into a horrible mob of crazed hostel employees trying to nab any tourist in sight, drag them up the hill to whatever hole-in-the-wall joint, then charge them an exorbitant amount of money to spend the night drenched in sweat and listening to the deafening noise rising from the street below. Everything there will cost you an arm and a leg, and there isn't anything to do except bury your head in your hotel pillow praying for dawn and an early check-out.
So come 3:30 am on Saturday morning, Moira and I were ready to get out of Hell on Earth, and head to Machu Picchu. Now, there are two ways of getting to the Lost City of the Incas from Aguas Calientes: you can either walk several kilometers up a steep grade of stone stairs pounded into the side of the mountain, or you can catch a few more hours of rest and doze for half an hour on a bus that will shuttle you to the top. Which one did we bright, young, and eager college students choose? The answer should of course be obvious--whichever one was cheaper.
For a whopping seven soles (which were used to buy a flashlight), Moira and I toughed it up and started the trek up the mountain along with about a hundred other crazed souls a good two hours before the sun even had the chance to think about rising. Neither of us had really eaten anything (I had a Larabar), but we figured that our tough Colorado blood would help us power through. After an hour and a half, well past the point when we started ignoring our nausea and the jelly that had replaced our knee joints, we made it to the entrance of the park. Only when we stopped moving did we realize how cold it was (made significantly worse by sweat, but we don't need to go there). We waited for an hour in line, bundled up as best as we could manage, until finally the gates opened up at 6:00 am and we all crammed through the checkpoints in a sleep-deprived daze.
It was just starting to get light out as we made our way across the ruins to the entrance of Wayna Picchu, the mountain that sits behind the city in all of the postcard photos of Machu Picchu. Only 400 people get to climb it a day, 200 between 7:00 and 8:00 am and the rest between 10:00 and 11:00 am, so you have to get in line fast before all the spots are taken. We were the 60th and 61st people in line for the 7 o'clock time slot, and once we had our tickets, we finally had the time to start walking around the ruins.
You know, as tired, hungry, and bitter as I was about having to ever go to Aguas Calientes in the first place, all of that just melts away as soon as the sun finally rises over those jagged Andean peaks and breaks through the morning fog, casting that beautiful gold, early-dawn light on the city's hill of terraces. If you ever get the chance to go, you'll see what I mean about Heaven on Earth.
So we sat by the Temple of Sun (how appropriate), and took our first moment of relaxation in a good several hours. It was so wonderful to just be able to sit there and take it all in before we embarked on yet another climb. We wandered around those expertly-built stone walls until 7:55, when we began our ascent up Wayna Picchu.
Maybe it was the fact that we had already climbed so much that morning, or maybe it was the hip-hop I had going on full blast, but getting to the top of Wayna Picchu was not nearly as grueling or tiresome as I remembered it being last year. No complaints about that, of course. We got to the top in a little under an hour, stopping to take photos along the way. It was incredibly crowded that day, but we got the chance to stay up there for an hour until the second group of people was let in.
I encourage any and all of you, if you are willing and able, to make it to Machu Picchu and undertake that climb. I know it may sound hokey, but it's no wonder the Incas were able to become such a strong and thriving civilization in such a relatively short amount of time. There's something about being in a place like that that makes you feel as though you're operating on an entirely different frequency than the rest of the world. It's pure, unchained natural energy at its most potent and beautiful. I wish we could've stayed up on that mountain for hours and hours, because it's rare to find peace like that anywhere in the world I'm used to inhabiting.
Anyway, after taking another hour or so to descend, Moira and I spent the next few hours wandering about, taking naps on the terraces, and just generally enjoying the atmosphere. The only damper on the whole situation was how little we had to eat (at that point, an energy bar and a half and two pieces of bread for each of us). We finally decided to leave around two o'clock, having been awake for eleven hours and having been on-site for eight.
Any reasonable folks probably would have sucked it up and paid the 21 soles for the bus ride back to Aguas Calientes, but not me and Moira. Oh no, we're cut from a stronger brood than that. We managed to take another hour in the descent, after having lost most of the feeling in our legs, and stumbled into Aguas Calientes two hours before our train's scheduled departure. We split a Gatorade, drained in about fifteen seconds, then went to find something to fill our tummies.
I know that those of you who read my blog last year are going to roll your eyes at this, but neither of us had enough cash to pay for any food (...or the bus rides). The ATMs in town were both lacking any plata when we got there, so we had to find someplace that accepted VISA. Anyway, we ended up going to one of the many ubiquitous pizza joints in town after haggling their prices down to something reasonable, and then each ate a pizza in approximately five minutes. Phew. Of course, when we went to pay, our waitress kindly informed us that their credit card reader was broken. Luckily I had 15 soles and two dollars with which to pay for the meal, but ugh. That town is just filled with bad experiences waiting to unleash themselves, so after our meal, we headed straight for the train station to get out as soon as possible.
We ate some banana bread as we waited, took an uncomfortable nap on the train, and arrived in Ollantaytambo around 7:30. From there, we took a taxi colectivo back to Cusco, where we rolled in exhausted, famished, and freezing. I should have mentioned that both Moira and I have been ill with head colds for the past few days, so after a good eighteen hours of being awake, we were ready to knock back a few Tylenol PM and drift into sweet, painless slumber.
So that was our weekend. We are now back in Cusco, better-fed and somewhat rested, and our sorting out of plans to go to Lake Titicaca and Arequipa to round out our South American excursion. See you soon!
I've been to a lot of unpleasant places (any number of gas-station bathrooms, for example), but nothing quite sends my blood to a boil like the horrible tourist Hellhole more benignly referred to as Aguas Calientes. Seriously, it is the worst. As soon as Moira and I got off the train on Friday night, we were swept into a horrible mob of crazed hostel employees trying to nab any tourist in sight, drag them up the hill to whatever hole-in-the-wall joint, then charge them an exorbitant amount of money to spend the night drenched in sweat and listening to the deafening noise rising from the street below. Everything there will cost you an arm and a leg, and there isn't anything to do except bury your head in your hotel pillow praying for dawn and an early check-out.
So come 3:30 am on Saturday morning, Moira and I were ready to get out of Hell on Earth, and head to Machu Picchu. Now, there are two ways of getting to the Lost City of the Incas from Aguas Calientes: you can either walk several kilometers up a steep grade of stone stairs pounded into the side of the mountain, or you can catch a few more hours of rest and doze for half an hour on a bus that will shuttle you to the top. Which one did we bright, young, and eager college students choose? The answer should of course be obvious--whichever one was cheaper.
For a whopping seven soles (which were used to buy a flashlight), Moira and I toughed it up and started the trek up the mountain along with about a hundred other crazed souls a good two hours before the sun even had the chance to think about rising. Neither of us had really eaten anything (I had a Larabar), but we figured that our tough Colorado blood would help us power through. After an hour and a half, well past the point when we started ignoring our nausea and the jelly that had replaced our knee joints, we made it to the entrance of the park. Only when we stopped moving did we realize how cold it was (made significantly worse by sweat, but we don't need to go there). We waited for an hour in line, bundled up as best as we could manage, until finally the gates opened up at 6:00 am and we all crammed through the checkpoints in a sleep-deprived daze.
It was just starting to get light out as we made our way across the ruins to the entrance of Wayna Picchu, the mountain that sits behind the city in all of the postcard photos of Machu Picchu. Only 400 people get to climb it a day, 200 between 7:00 and 8:00 am and the rest between 10:00 and 11:00 am, so you have to get in line fast before all the spots are taken. We were the 60th and 61st people in line for the 7 o'clock time slot, and once we had our tickets, we finally had the time to start walking around the ruins.
You know, as tired, hungry, and bitter as I was about having to ever go to Aguas Calientes in the first place, all of that just melts away as soon as the sun finally rises over those jagged Andean peaks and breaks through the morning fog, casting that beautiful gold, early-dawn light on the city's hill of terraces. If you ever get the chance to go, you'll see what I mean about Heaven on Earth.
So we sat by the Temple of Sun (how appropriate), and took our first moment of relaxation in a good several hours. It was so wonderful to just be able to sit there and take it all in before we embarked on yet another climb. We wandered around those expertly-built stone walls until 7:55, when we began our ascent up Wayna Picchu.
Maybe it was the fact that we had already climbed so much that morning, or maybe it was the hip-hop I had going on full blast, but getting to the top of Wayna Picchu was not nearly as grueling or tiresome as I remembered it being last year. No complaints about that, of course. We got to the top in a little under an hour, stopping to take photos along the way. It was incredibly crowded that day, but we got the chance to stay up there for an hour until the second group of people was let in.
I encourage any and all of you, if you are willing and able, to make it to Machu Picchu and undertake that climb. I know it may sound hokey, but it's no wonder the Incas were able to become such a strong and thriving civilization in such a relatively short amount of time. There's something about being in a place like that that makes you feel as though you're operating on an entirely different frequency than the rest of the world. It's pure, unchained natural energy at its most potent and beautiful. I wish we could've stayed up on that mountain for hours and hours, because it's rare to find peace like that anywhere in the world I'm used to inhabiting.
Anyway, after taking another hour or so to descend, Moira and I spent the next few hours wandering about, taking naps on the terraces, and just generally enjoying the atmosphere. The only damper on the whole situation was how little we had to eat (at that point, an energy bar and a half and two pieces of bread for each of us). We finally decided to leave around two o'clock, having been awake for eleven hours and having been on-site for eight.
Any reasonable folks probably would have sucked it up and paid the 21 soles for the bus ride back to Aguas Calientes, but not me and Moira. Oh no, we're cut from a stronger brood than that. We managed to take another hour in the descent, after having lost most of the feeling in our legs, and stumbled into Aguas Calientes two hours before our train's scheduled departure. We split a Gatorade, drained in about fifteen seconds, then went to find something to fill our tummies.
I know that those of you who read my blog last year are going to roll your eyes at this, but neither of us had enough cash to pay for any food (...or the bus rides). The ATMs in town were both lacking any plata when we got there, so we had to find someplace that accepted VISA. Anyway, we ended up going to one of the many ubiquitous pizza joints in town after haggling their prices down to something reasonable, and then each ate a pizza in approximately five minutes. Phew. Of course, when we went to pay, our waitress kindly informed us that their credit card reader was broken. Luckily I had 15 soles and two dollars with which to pay for the meal, but ugh. That town is just filled with bad experiences waiting to unleash themselves, so after our meal, we headed straight for the train station to get out as soon as possible.
We ate some banana bread as we waited, took an uncomfortable nap on the train, and arrived in Ollantaytambo around 7:30. From there, we took a taxi colectivo back to Cusco, where we rolled in exhausted, famished, and freezing. I should have mentioned that both Moira and I have been ill with head colds for the past few days, so after a good eighteen hours of being awake, we were ready to knock back a few Tylenol PM and drift into sweet, painless slumber.
So that was our weekend. We are now back in Cusco, better-fed and somewhat rested, and our sorting out of plans to go to Lake Titicaca and Arequipa to round out our South American excursion. See you soon!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Two weeks
Okay, time for an update on the Peruvian side of this adventure.
Moira and I are staying in a hostel in Cusco within walking distance of the Plaza de Armas. There are a bunch of fellow travelers there, for whom the common language is usually Spanish. Breakfast there is free and it has been wonderful eating communally with people from all over the world, speaking in Spanish the whole time. We also have kitchen access whenever we want it, so we've adopted the college student diet (i.e. rice and beans) for our time in Peru in order to save some money.
We went out Saturday and Sunday nights with an Italian guy, a Colombian guy, a Swiss woman, and a Chilean woman, all of whom are in their late twenties or early thirties. They're all really lovely folks, even if they are in an older crowd than we are. Last night the two of us went out to dinner and then called it an early night, since neither of us was feeling particularly up for braving the Cusco nighttime scene (which gets really crazy).
We did, before going to dinner, meet up with my friend from the orphanage and were planning on going on a hike with him today, but Moira woke up with a sore throat and we decided to call it off. I let her sleep in when I went to the orphanage this morning, but hopefully she'll feel up for coming with me tomorrow.
Being back at Maria Salome Ferro has been great, even if it's only for a few days. A lot of the boys from last summer aren't there anymore (a lot have gone to live with family members in other parts of Peru), but there are still quite a few familiar faces. I think they're all glad to see me and we've definitely been having a lot of fun. There are a ton of other volunteers there at the moment, so the energy level is generally incredibly high. I love it, and though I'm glad to be going to Arequipa next week, there is definitely a part of me that wishes I could stay longer. Oh well, so it goes.
Anyway, today Moira and I are going to solidify our Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca plans, so that should be great. A day of travel agents and spending money, what could be more fun?
Take care all. Back in two weeks.
Moira and I are staying in a hostel in Cusco within walking distance of the Plaza de Armas. There are a bunch of fellow travelers there, for whom the common language is usually Spanish. Breakfast there is free and it has been wonderful eating communally with people from all over the world, speaking in Spanish the whole time. We also have kitchen access whenever we want it, so we've adopted the college student diet (i.e. rice and beans) for our time in Peru in order to save some money.
We went out Saturday and Sunday nights with an Italian guy, a Colombian guy, a Swiss woman, and a Chilean woman, all of whom are in their late twenties or early thirties. They're all really lovely folks, even if they are in an older crowd than we are. Last night the two of us went out to dinner and then called it an early night, since neither of us was feeling particularly up for braving the Cusco nighttime scene (which gets really crazy).
We did, before going to dinner, meet up with my friend from the orphanage and were planning on going on a hike with him today, but Moira woke up with a sore throat and we decided to call it off. I let her sleep in when I went to the orphanage this morning, but hopefully she'll feel up for coming with me tomorrow.
Being back at Maria Salome Ferro has been great, even if it's only for a few days. A lot of the boys from last summer aren't there anymore (a lot have gone to live with family members in other parts of Peru), but there are still quite a few familiar faces. I think they're all glad to see me and we've definitely been having a lot of fun. There are a ton of other volunteers there at the moment, so the energy level is generally incredibly high. I love it, and though I'm glad to be going to Arequipa next week, there is definitely a part of me that wishes I could stay longer. Oh well, so it goes.
Anyway, today Moira and I are going to solidify our Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca plans, so that should be great. A day of travel agents and spending money, what could be more fun?
Take care all. Back in two weeks.
Friday, July 31, 2009
The Ecuador Saga comes to a close
Saludos a todos! Moira and I are currently in Cusco, Peru after leaving Quito this morning. I am absolutely elated to be back here, if only for a week. I was pleased at how well I remembered all of the streets today when we were wandering around the city. I can't wait to go back to the orphanage and the Spanish school and see my friends from last year! It's going to be great.
Our airport experience today was a little bit hectic, given that we booked our Lima-Cusco flight approximately one hour before take-off. Teníamos mucha prisa in order to get to our gate on time, but luckily everything went off without a hitch (except for how expensive the flight was, but we don't need to talk about that here). We also decided to fly to Lima on the 17th from Arequipa instead of Cusco and save ourselves yet another ten hour bus ride, so that's nice. Plus, it will give us an extra day in Arequipa to have tea with Moira's friend Alonso's grandmother. Should be great.
Well, Moira and I have been discussing the past few days making a Best of Ecuador list, in order to commemorate our time there. Here goes!
Best moment of triumph: Climbing Cotopaxi in inappropriate gear, then celebrating with a Clif bar and lots of Oreos. Although, capturing the escaped monkey is also up there.
Best way to eat a banana: For me, a tie between steamed maqueños in the peel, maduros con queso, or the classic banana chip.
Best trago: Canelazo, a mixture of cane liquor, jugo de naranjilla, and cinnamon, served warm. really, really excellent.
Best jungle cat: The ocelot. Period.
Best children's t-shirt slogan: Found in tienda Rose: "Pacific Ocean, the largest body of water on Earth," on a little boy's shirt accompanied by a picture of a giant sailboat.
Best sweet treat: The best chocolate brownie covered in ice cream, chocolate syrup, bananas, and strawberries at Kallari Coffee in Quito (this place also had the best coffee).
Best bar: La Casa de Cerveza in Quito, for playing Bon Jovi, Blind Melon, and Maná all in one night, and Guapulo in Quito, for having an adorable resident cat and the best canelazo in Ecuador.
Best fruit not commercially available in the USA: The granadilla, which on the inside looks like a sac of alien larvae or eyeballs or something, but is extremely delicious. Don't let appearances fool you.
Best instance of rural/urban overlap: Downtown Cuenca, where we saw a man walking a herd of goats selling goat milk directly from the goat.
Maybe I will add more as I think of things, but that's all for now! I have to go on a quest to find lúcuma ice cream, because it is the best ice cream in the universe and I've got a craving.
Love to all!
Our airport experience today was a little bit hectic, given that we booked our Lima-Cusco flight approximately one hour before take-off. Teníamos mucha prisa in order to get to our gate on time, but luckily everything went off without a hitch (except for how expensive the flight was, but we don't need to talk about that here). We also decided to fly to Lima on the 17th from Arequipa instead of Cusco and save ourselves yet another ten hour bus ride, so that's nice. Plus, it will give us an extra day in Arequipa to have tea with Moira's friend Alonso's grandmother. Should be great.
Well, Moira and I have been discussing the past few days making a Best of Ecuador list, in order to commemorate our time there. Here goes!
Best moment of triumph: Climbing Cotopaxi in inappropriate gear, then celebrating with a Clif bar and lots of Oreos. Although, capturing the escaped monkey is also up there.
Best way to eat a banana: For me, a tie between steamed maqueños in the peel, maduros con queso, or the classic banana chip.
Best trago: Canelazo, a mixture of cane liquor, jugo de naranjilla, and cinnamon, served warm. really, really excellent.
Best jungle cat: The ocelot. Period.
Best children's t-shirt slogan: Found in tienda Rose: "Pacific Ocean, the largest body of water on Earth," on a little boy's shirt accompanied by a picture of a giant sailboat.
Best sweet treat: The best chocolate brownie covered in ice cream, chocolate syrup, bananas, and strawberries at Kallari Coffee in Quito (this place also had the best coffee).
Best bar: La Casa de Cerveza in Quito, for playing Bon Jovi, Blind Melon, and Maná all in one night, and Guapulo in Quito, for having an adorable resident cat and the best canelazo in Ecuador.
Best fruit not commercially available in the USA: The granadilla, which on the inside looks like a sac of alien larvae or eyeballs or something, but is extremely delicious. Don't let appearances fool you.
Best instance of rural/urban overlap: Downtown Cuenca, where we saw a man walking a herd of goats selling goat milk directly from the goat.
Maybe I will add more as I think of things, but that's all for now! I have to go on a quest to find lúcuma ice cream, because it is the best ice cream in the universe and I've got a craving.
Love to all!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The Oriente and the Colonial South
So, on a whim yesterday, Moira and I decided to leave Puyo/Yana Cocha (don't worry, our time was up), and go to Riobamba. We got in around 7:30 that evening and stayed the night in this not-quite-finished hostel on the edge of town. It's a second branch of another hostel that we tried to go to, but there weren't any rooms available. Anyway, essentially it was like a big mansion with no furniture and would have been totally great to stay in had we not been exhausted. There was a really beautiful kitchen that I only got to use to make oatmeal at six o'clock this morning before Moira and I jumped on yet another bus to Alausí.
We got to Alausí around 9:30 this morning with the intention of taking the train through the Nariz del Diablo (Devil's Nose) loop. It's supposed to be one of the most spectacular sights in Ecuador, but we didn't make it in time for tickets. But, no matter, because we immediately hopped on a bus to Cuenca.
Initially, Moira and I thought we wouldn't have time to come here, but lo and behold, here we are! The bus ride from Alausí was about 4 or 5 hours, which means that we're in for a 10-hour ride on Wednesday night in order to get back to Quito. For those of you who don't know, Moira and I decided to spare ourselves even more hours of bus-riding in favor of flying to Peru. Flying out of Quito meant being able to leave some things at Toni and Rolf's which was incredibly nice of them (and convenient for us). So we fly into Lima on Friday morning. We still don't have tickets to Cuzco, but there are so many flights a day that we figure at worst we'll have to stay overnight in Lima. So that's that.
Anyway, Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador (after Quito and Guayaquil) and it's close to the largest Inca ruins in the country. It's got a really nice old colonial flair, and there's a river that runs along the south edge of town that is supposed to be really beautiful. We're going to spend tomorrow wandering around and going to churches and things (also, maybe, a Panama hat museum!), then head to the ruins at Ingapirca on Tuesday.
In other news, this week involved wholesome family activities such as: wrestling a caiman, capturing an escaped monkey (this was by far the most painful experience at Yana Cocha--that little jerk bit me something fierce...but he's still really cute), having a boa constrictor photo session (boas are the smelliest animals ever--who knew?), eating breakfast while sitting immediately next to a rabid kinkajou in a sack, catching poisonous snakes (we let Manuel take care of that one) and caterpillars, building an epic mud/rock wall next to the kinkajou cage so the little devils can't escape again, and spraying the ocelot with a hose and convincing her that the water was some sort of prey, then laughing at her when we turned the water off and she tried to follow the scent of whatever strange "animal" was taunting her. Ah yes, the joys of the Amazon.
Well, Moira and I are going to go scope out Cuenca for a place to eat on a Sunday night (harder than one might think), so I'll end this post here. Hope all of you are doing well and taking care--we're one half of the way through this adventure! Back in three weeks.
We got to Alausí around 9:30 this morning with the intention of taking the train through the Nariz del Diablo (Devil's Nose) loop. It's supposed to be one of the most spectacular sights in Ecuador, but we didn't make it in time for tickets. But, no matter, because we immediately hopped on a bus to Cuenca.
Initially, Moira and I thought we wouldn't have time to come here, but lo and behold, here we are! The bus ride from Alausí was about 4 or 5 hours, which means that we're in for a 10-hour ride on Wednesday night in order to get back to Quito. For those of you who don't know, Moira and I decided to spare ourselves even more hours of bus-riding in favor of flying to Peru. Flying out of Quito meant being able to leave some things at Toni and Rolf's which was incredibly nice of them (and convenient for us). So we fly into Lima on Friday morning. We still don't have tickets to Cuzco, but there are so many flights a day that we figure at worst we'll have to stay overnight in Lima. So that's that.
Anyway, Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador (after Quito and Guayaquil) and it's close to the largest Inca ruins in the country. It's got a really nice old colonial flair, and there's a river that runs along the south edge of town that is supposed to be really beautiful. We're going to spend tomorrow wandering around and going to churches and things (also, maybe, a Panama hat museum!), then head to the ruins at Ingapirca on Tuesday.
In other news, this week involved wholesome family activities such as: wrestling a caiman, capturing an escaped monkey (this was by far the most painful experience at Yana Cocha--that little jerk bit me something fierce...but he's still really cute), having a boa constrictor photo session (boas are the smelliest animals ever--who knew?), eating breakfast while sitting immediately next to a rabid kinkajou in a sack, catching poisonous snakes (we let Manuel take care of that one) and caterpillars, building an epic mud/rock wall next to the kinkajou cage so the little devils can't escape again, and spraying the ocelot with a hose and convincing her that the water was some sort of prey, then laughing at her when we turned the water off and she tried to follow the scent of whatever strange "animal" was taunting her. Ah yes, the joys of the Amazon.
Well, Moira and I are going to go scope out Cuenca for a place to eat on a Sunday night (harder than one might think), so I'll end this post here. Hope all of you are doing well and taking care--we're one half of the way through this adventure! Back in three weeks.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Here is a list of animals that Moira and I feed and play with while we're at the animal reserve in the Amazon:
Squirrel monkeys (these guys are crafty--they're not in cages, so when we're feeding the other animals out of buckets, sometimes we'll have two or three squirrel monkeys perched on our shoulders trying to steal bananas)
Capuchin monkeys (three different varieties)
Woolly monkeys (so cute, but they pull your hair pretty bad while trying to be affectionate)
Spider monkey (poor Manuel is all by himself)
Bearded tamarin (which is about a third the size of a house cat, but totally has a feline-like face, even though it's a primate)
Agoutis (smaller relative of the capybara)
Coatis (look these up--they are hilarious looking)
Tayras (relative of the mongoose--these guys have sharp claws but are generally pretty docile. I had one on my back yesterday while I was refilling their water pond)
Kinkajous (terribly vicious--Moira and I don't go in this cage)
Guantas (Also capybara-like)
Olingo (this is a noctural, lemur-like creature and he is so, so cute, if not difficult to see most of the time because he sleeps inside a log during the day)
Parrots and macaws
The largest pigeons I've ever seen
Tortoises! (so funny to feed because they often get disoriented and move so slowly, so usually I'll just pick them up and turn them around so that move toward the food)
Porcupine (I haven't actually seen it, but Moira says it looks like an evil sorceress)
Wild boar
And of course...a margay, a tigrillo, and an ocelot! No one can seem to tell us what the difference is between a tigrillo and an ocelot, so they might actually be the same thing? Anyway, we can't actually go in the cages with them (well we could...but probably won't), but the ocelot is an attention hog and comes right up to the cage and lets us pet her. The margay is terribly grumpy (probably because she's noctural but is often disturbed during the day), and the tigrillo is relatively underwhelming. Mostly we love the ocelot and spend our time doting on her. Also, yesterday there were in fact discussions among the folks who actually know what they're doing about capturing a jaguar that's loose somewhere near Puyo (which is the town that skirts the Amazon and is relatively close to the reserve). So maybe Moira and I will, in fact, get to see all three. Unlikely though.
Anyway, our daily activities range from capturing escaped baby chickens to holding giant boa constrictors (true story--we got delayed from leaving for town today because some people brought in a wounded boa, which lead to a big dog and pony show wherein the Eucadorian owner of the reserve had me, Moira, and two other volunteers take a photos with a full grown boa in our hands). Mostly we chop fruit and get covered head to toe in mud, so it's not particularly glamorous. Still, I'm having an absolutely wonderful time and I know Moira is too. The animals are just so dang cute.
Our commitment at Yana Cocha ends on Saturday night/Sunday morning, and we leave for Peru from Quito next Friday, so we're not entirely sure what we're going to do in the intermittent time. It looks like we won't be able to go to Cuenca, so we will probably end up spending those few days in Baños or Ambato, both of which are much closer to Quito than Cuenca is.
Maybe one of these days I'll try to figure out how to post photos. In the meantime, just imagine us in thick rubber boots covered in squirrel monkeys and I think you'll get the idea.
Squirrel monkeys (these guys are crafty--they're not in cages, so when we're feeding the other animals out of buckets, sometimes we'll have two or three squirrel monkeys perched on our shoulders trying to steal bananas)
Capuchin monkeys (three different varieties)
Woolly monkeys (so cute, but they pull your hair pretty bad while trying to be affectionate)
Spider monkey (poor Manuel is all by himself)
Bearded tamarin (which is about a third the size of a house cat, but totally has a feline-like face, even though it's a primate)
Agoutis (smaller relative of the capybara)
Coatis (look these up--they are hilarious looking)
Tayras (relative of the mongoose--these guys have sharp claws but are generally pretty docile. I had one on my back yesterday while I was refilling their water pond)
Kinkajous (terribly vicious--Moira and I don't go in this cage)
Guantas (Also capybara-like)
Olingo (this is a noctural, lemur-like creature and he is so, so cute, if not difficult to see most of the time because he sleeps inside a log during the day)
Parrots and macaws
The largest pigeons I've ever seen
Tortoises! (so funny to feed because they often get disoriented and move so slowly, so usually I'll just pick them up and turn them around so that move toward the food)
Porcupine (I haven't actually seen it, but Moira says it looks like an evil sorceress)
Wild boar
And of course...a margay, a tigrillo, and an ocelot! No one can seem to tell us what the difference is between a tigrillo and an ocelot, so they might actually be the same thing? Anyway, we can't actually go in the cages with them (well we could...but probably won't), but the ocelot is an attention hog and comes right up to the cage and lets us pet her. The margay is terribly grumpy (probably because she's noctural but is often disturbed during the day), and the tigrillo is relatively underwhelming. Mostly we love the ocelot and spend our time doting on her. Also, yesterday there were in fact discussions among the folks who actually know what they're doing about capturing a jaguar that's loose somewhere near Puyo (which is the town that skirts the Amazon and is relatively close to the reserve). So maybe Moira and I will, in fact, get to see all three. Unlikely though.
Anyway, our daily activities range from capturing escaped baby chickens to holding giant boa constrictors (true story--we got delayed from leaving for town today because some people brought in a wounded boa, which lead to a big dog and pony show wherein the Eucadorian owner of the reserve had me, Moira, and two other volunteers take a photos with a full grown boa in our hands). Mostly we chop fruit and get covered head to toe in mud, so it's not particularly glamorous. Still, I'm having an absolutely wonderful time and I know Moira is too. The animals are just so dang cute.
Our commitment at Yana Cocha ends on Saturday night/Sunday morning, and we leave for Peru from Quito next Friday, so we're not entirely sure what we're going to do in the intermittent time. It looks like we won't be able to go to Cuenca, so we will probably end up spending those few days in Baños or Ambato, both of which are much closer to Quito than Cuenca is.
Maybe one of these days I'll try to figure out how to post photos. In the meantime, just imagine us in thick rubber boots covered in squirrel monkeys and I think you'll get the idea.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
OH HI
I am blogging. CHECK IT OUT. I would just like to say that you should SIMPLEMENTE CHECK IT OUT.
But seriously, what I would really like to say is that I wish I had mosquito netting back in Chicago. It rules. There weren´t any sharks and I don´t think we got any sand parasites.
LA PLAYA
Greeting from Bahía! Moira and I are still on the coast of Ecuador, waiting for the night bus that will take us back to Quito.
Starting with Saturday, our excursion to Cotopaxi was great. We got to the base of the trail around 10:30 that morning (we left Quito at 7:00) and it took us about an hour to climb up to the little refuge just at the base of the snowline. The side of the mountain is red from all of the iron deposits and it looks incredible next to all of the greenery covering the surrounding mountains. Cotopaxi is an active volcano and supposedly erupts every 100 years (Last eruption? 1895. So looks like she´s due.) and apparently smokes and spurts from time to time. One of the problems visitors to Cotopaxi often face is dense fog, but it was completely clear during our entire hike. Anyway, once we arrived to the refuge, we rested for a moment then climbed for 45 more minutes up to the glaciers. I think the elevation there was something like 5000 meters, so Moira and I felt pretty tough. We showed up all of the other climbers in their North Face gear with our rugged Colorado dispositions, even though I forgot gloves and was wearing several pairs of socks on my hands instead. While I'm sure that does reflect somewhat on my poor planning skills, I would also like to think that it reveals what a tough lady I am.
When we got back to the parking lot, we were each assigned to different mountain bikes and had to bike down to a little laguna for sixteen kilometers. This was mostly terrible since all of the bikes were in an incredibly low gear, and were partially disassembled so as to be unable to shift. So it was really hard to maintain any stability on these things and we had to ride our brakes the whole way down, which is particularly unpleasant on an unpaved, bumpy incline on a mountain road. Oh well. The views were spectacular, so I can't complain too much.
Sunday, we left for Bahía around 1 in the afternoon and arrived at 9:30 that evening. We spent the night in some hotel that smelled kind of like drying paint and Clorox, took a sea taxi to San Vicente the next morning, and then a little commuter bus to Canoa. To be honest, not much to say about our time there. We spent the past three days taking naps on the beach for hours (no terrible sunburns to speak of on my end, although Moira is noticeably pinker in places), reading, and hanging out with some herpetologists who are working in refuges in northern and central Ecuador. One of said herpetologists, Paul, gave us a clue that there is a little shop in Canoa whose specialty is frozen bananas covered in chocolate, so we got a few of those before hopping on another bus back to Bahía.
Tonight, another 8-9 hour bus ride awaits us to get back to Quito. Our plans for my birthday include seeing Harry Potter 6 and eating cake, which is pretty much all it takes to please me. Hopefully we'll also figure out how we're getting to the Amazon, since we are presumably leaving for Yanacocha wildlife rescue on Saturday night. Fingers crossed for baby ocelots!
Take care all.
Starting with Saturday, our excursion to Cotopaxi was great. We got to the base of the trail around 10:30 that morning (we left Quito at 7:00) and it took us about an hour to climb up to the little refuge just at the base of the snowline. The side of the mountain is red from all of the iron deposits and it looks incredible next to all of the greenery covering the surrounding mountains. Cotopaxi is an active volcano and supposedly erupts every 100 years (Last eruption? 1895. So looks like she´s due.) and apparently smokes and spurts from time to time. One of the problems visitors to Cotopaxi often face is dense fog, but it was completely clear during our entire hike. Anyway, once we arrived to the refuge, we rested for a moment then climbed for 45 more minutes up to the glaciers. I think the elevation there was something like 5000 meters, so Moira and I felt pretty tough. We showed up all of the other climbers in their North Face gear with our rugged Colorado dispositions, even though I forgot gloves and was wearing several pairs of socks on my hands instead. While I'm sure that does reflect somewhat on my poor planning skills, I would also like to think that it reveals what a tough lady I am.
When we got back to the parking lot, we were each assigned to different mountain bikes and had to bike down to a little laguna for sixteen kilometers. This was mostly terrible since all of the bikes were in an incredibly low gear, and were partially disassembled so as to be unable to shift. So it was really hard to maintain any stability on these things and we had to ride our brakes the whole way down, which is particularly unpleasant on an unpaved, bumpy incline on a mountain road. Oh well. The views were spectacular, so I can't complain too much.
Sunday, we left for Bahía around 1 in the afternoon and arrived at 9:30 that evening. We spent the night in some hotel that smelled kind of like drying paint and Clorox, took a sea taxi to San Vicente the next morning, and then a little commuter bus to Canoa. To be honest, not much to say about our time there. We spent the past three days taking naps on the beach for hours (no terrible sunburns to speak of on my end, although Moira is noticeably pinker in places), reading, and hanging out with some herpetologists who are working in refuges in northern and central Ecuador. One of said herpetologists, Paul, gave us a clue that there is a little shop in Canoa whose specialty is frozen bananas covered in chocolate, so we got a few of those before hopping on another bus back to Bahía.
Tonight, another 8-9 hour bus ride awaits us to get back to Quito. Our plans for my birthday include seeing Harry Potter 6 and eating cake, which is pretty much all it takes to please me. Hopefully we'll also figure out how we're getting to the Amazon, since we are presumably leaving for Yanacocha wildlife rescue on Saturday night. Fingers crossed for baby ocelots!
Take care all.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Cotopaxi/Canoa
Today Moira and I climbed a volcano, then biked 16 km down it! Tomorrow we are going to Canoa, so I won't have any updates for you until we get back to Quito on Thursday (my 19th birthday!).
Also, we found out that we can spend a week in the Amazon working at a wildlife rehabilitation center, so baby ocelots here we come! More on that to come.
Chau. See you in a few days.
Also, we found out that we can spend a week in the Amazon working at a wildlife rehabilitation center, so baby ocelots here we come! More on that to come.
Chau. See you in a few days.
Friday, July 10, 2009
One of these days I'll get Moira to make a post, I swear.
Anyway, an update. Wednesday, Moira and I went to Otavalo which is a town about two hours north of Quito. The primary attraction is the mercado artesanal, with rows and rows of vendors selling everything from textiles to jewelry to clothes to pottery. We bought some pretty choice items, most notably a pair of orange overalls for me and a sweater for Moira embroidered with llamas, flowers, cacti, etc. The best part about both of those items is that you can find them everywhere, but only in children's sizes. Both of us were pretty convinced that we weren't going to find any adult sizes, so thank goodness for Otavalo's artisans and their understanding of our demand for child-appropriate clothing.
We had intended to stay the night in Otavalo because apparently there are some great hikes around the town with views of waterfalls and lakes. But, after a day of intense shopping and haggling, we decided to come back to Quito. However, we did make time to stop at a pie shop so Moira could eat pie de mora (ha). Mora means blackberry in Spanish and is an incredibly popular flavor here, and we never seem to get tired of making jokes about Moira eating mora. Jugo de mora, yogurt de mora, batido de mora. Really, it never gets old.
Yesterday, we took the teleferico (aerial tram) up Pinchincha, which is about 4300 meters in altitude. The last few vertical meters are left to hike, so we climbed up most of the way and got to see a beautiful view of Quito and the surrounding mountains. Quito has a strange layout for a city, in that it's something like 8 km wide and 80 km long. It's divided into the Old City in the south, where all of the cathedrals are, and the New City, where Moira and I are staying. The view was breathtaking and there was some incredible, unique vegetation all along the mountainside. Definitely a wonderful little day trip.
After our return to the city proper, Moira and I went to book our excursion to Cotopaxi. This was more of a hassle than it probably should have been, but ultimately it got sorted out. Cotopaxi is a national park and no one can enter without a certified guide. The problem is, a lot of questionable folks stand at the entrance to the park and try to charge ridiculous prices to unsuspecting tourists, then slip them into the park illegally. This can be avoided, but apparently there aren't many travel agencies that book legitimate tours. Luckily we finally found one, so we're going for the day on Saturday. Apparently our excursion involves hiking up to some glaciers, biking 16 km down the volcano, and eating chocolate cake. Sounds pretty okay to me.
After that, Moira and I roamed around La Foch trying to find this great antique/handicraft store that we went to last week with Toni. I think it took us about and hour to find it, but in the meantime, we bought these strange fruits called tunas. They're about the size of an small egg and are bright red and covered with spines. When you open it, there is this strange, clear, jelly-like entity with a seed in the middle. Pretty flavorless, but worth the five cents just for the sheer bizarre factor.
Anyway, while we were still searching for this store, I ran into a fellow Reedie who was sitting in front of a cafe. Reed has a club called the Ecuador Service Project, and participants spend four weeks in rural Ecuador doing community development projects. Robin is the signator of this club and has been coming to Ecuador for years. She just graduated and is hanging out in Quito before the service work actually begins. She gave us her contact information so we can meet up before we all head our separate ways.
Sorry to cut this short, but we're leaving to go fruit shopping. Toni's son and his girlfriend arrived last night from North Carolina, so we're going together.
Chau!
Anyway, an update. Wednesday, Moira and I went to Otavalo which is a town about two hours north of Quito. The primary attraction is the mercado artesanal, with rows and rows of vendors selling everything from textiles to jewelry to clothes to pottery. We bought some pretty choice items, most notably a pair of orange overalls for me and a sweater for Moira embroidered with llamas, flowers, cacti, etc. The best part about both of those items is that you can find them everywhere, but only in children's sizes. Both of us were pretty convinced that we weren't going to find any adult sizes, so thank goodness for Otavalo's artisans and their understanding of our demand for child-appropriate clothing.
We had intended to stay the night in Otavalo because apparently there are some great hikes around the town with views of waterfalls and lakes. But, after a day of intense shopping and haggling, we decided to come back to Quito. However, we did make time to stop at a pie shop so Moira could eat pie de mora (ha). Mora means blackberry in Spanish and is an incredibly popular flavor here, and we never seem to get tired of making jokes about Moira eating mora. Jugo de mora, yogurt de mora, batido de mora. Really, it never gets old.
Yesterday, we took the teleferico (aerial tram) up Pinchincha, which is about 4300 meters in altitude. The last few vertical meters are left to hike, so we climbed up most of the way and got to see a beautiful view of Quito and the surrounding mountains. Quito has a strange layout for a city, in that it's something like 8 km wide and 80 km long. It's divided into the Old City in the south, where all of the cathedrals are, and the New City, where Moira and I are staying. The view was breathtaking and there was some incredible, unique vegetation all along the mountainside. Definitely a wonderful little day trip.
After our return to the city proper, Moira and I went to book our excursion to Cotopaxi. This was more of a hassle than it probably should have been, but ultimately it got sorted out. Cotopaxi is a national park and no one can enter without a certified guide. The problem is, a lot of questionable folks stand at the entrance to the park and try to charge ridiculous prices to unsuspecting tourists, then slip them into the park illegally. This can be avoided, but apparently there aren't many travel agencies that book legitimate tours. Luckily we finally found one, so we're going for the day on Saturday. Apparently our excursion involves hiking up to some glaciers, biking 16 km down the volcano, and eating chocolate cake. Sounds pretty okay to me.
After that, Moira and I roamed around La Foch trying to find this great antique/handicraft store that we went to last week with Toni. I think it took us about and hour to find it, but in the meantime, we bought these strange fruits called tunas. They're about the size of an small egg and are bright red and covered with spines. When you open it, there is this strange, clear, jelly-like entity with a seed in the middle. Pretty flavorless, but worth the five cents just for the sheer bizarre factor.
Anyway, while we were still searching for this store, I ran into a fellow Reedie who was sitting in front of a cafe. Reed has a club called the Ecuador Service Project, and participants spend four weeks in rural Ecuador doing community development projects. Robin is the signator of this club and has been coming to Ecuador for years. She just graduated and is hanging out in Quito before the service work actually begins. She gave us her contact information so we can meet up before we all head our separate ways.
Sorry to cut this short, but we're leaving to go fruit shopping. Toni's son and his girlfriend arrived last night from North Carolina, so we're going together.
Chau!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
La primera semana
Hola a todos!
Well, Moira and I are rounding out our first week in Quito. On Sunday, Toni and Rolf took us to la Mitad del Mundo to see the Equator. I think my level of enthusiasm for this event was much higher than it needed to be, but I got to be in both hemispheres! At the same time! I thought it was pretty exciting.
Yesterday we went to speak with a travel agent Toni knows since Moira and I have so many excursions planned for the upcoming weeks and need to figure out bus departure times etc. We found out that the train to Cotapaxi only leaves on Saturdays, the same day as the mercado artesenal in Otavalo. Luckily, there is another, slightly smaller version of the mercado tomorrow, so we're waking up at the crack of down and taking the bus to spend the day in Otavalo. I'm glad that everything worked out and that we get to go to both places. Cotapaxi should be great (it's a national park/forest) with lots of hiking. I'm really looking forward to getting out and doing something physical, because I have been pretty floja since our arrival.
Speaking of being floja, Moira and I finally went out last night for the first time. For the first few days, we kept promising one another that we would go to a discoteca or two, but we kept ending up falling asleep early. Sunday night, we were a punto de salir, but none of the taxi agencies picked up their phones, so we watched Romeo y Julieta, Baz Luhrmann edition, instead.
Last night, however, we were successful. We ducked into a little place for empanadas and pan de yuca (sidenote--I have eaten more dairy in the past week than in the previous four years and I think it might be taking its toll. I look forward to welcoming a mostly vegan diet back into my life upon my return to the States) before heading to La Plaza Foch.
There, we spent the night talking with two guys from Brussels, a woman from Calgary, and two guys from Quito. One of the Ecuadorian guys is going to be in Atacames next week when we're there, so we got his email to keep in touch (playing it safe, of course). An older customer in the cafe gave us some advice as well of how to disfrutarnos in Atacames, but I think that we'll be able to figure that out in a town known for it's beautiful wide beaches and its perpetually-open discotecas. Yeah, we'll be fine. I'm especially looking forward to spending my birthday there.
Take care all--I'll try to convince Moira to make a post at some point so you can know what's happening on her end.
Chau,
Adrien
Well, Moira and I are rounding out our first week in Quito. On Sunday, Toni and Rolf took us to la Mitad del Mundo to see the Equator. I think my level of enthusiasm for this event was much higher than it needed to be, but I got to be in both hemispheres! At the same time! I thought it was pretty exciting.
Yesterday we went to speak with a travel agent Toni knows since Moira and I have so many excursions planned for the upcoming weeks and need to figure out bus departure times etc. We found out that the train to Cotapaxi only leaves on Saturdays, the same day as the mercado artesenal in Otavalo. Luckily, there is another, slightly smaller version of the mercado tomorrow, so we're waking up at the crack of down and taking the bus to spend the day in Otavalo. I'm glad that everything worked out and that we get to go to both places. Cotapaxi should be great (it's a national park/forest) with lots of hiking. I'm really looking forward to getting out and doing something physical, because I have been pretty floja since our arrival.
Speaking of being floja, Moira and I finally went out last night for the first time. For the first few days, we kept promising one another that we would go to a discoteca or two, but we kept ending up falling asleep early. Sunday night, we were a punto de salir, but none of the taxi agencies picked up their phones, so we watched Romeo y Julieta, Baz Luhrmann edition, instead.
Last night, however, we were successful. We ducked into a little place for empanadas and pan de yuca (sidenote--I have eaten more dairy in the past week than in the previous four years and I think it might be taking its toll. I look forward to welcoming a mostly vegan diet back into my life upon my return to the States) before heading to La Plaza Foch.
There, we spent the night talking with two guys from Brussels, a woman from Calgary, and two guys from Quito. One of the Ecuadorian guys is going to be in Atacames next week when we're there, so we got his email to keep in touch (playing it safe, of course). An older customer in the cafe gave us some advice as well of how to disfrutarnos in Atacames, but I think that we'll be able to figure that out in a town known for it's beautiful wide beaches and its perpetually-open discotecas. Yeah, we'll be fine. I'm especially looking forward to spending my birthday there.
Take care all--I'll try to convince Moira to make a post at some point so you can know what's happening on her end.
Chau,
Adrien
Saturday, July 4, 2009
I wrote this on an iPod
Hola a todos!
Moira and I have arrived safely in Quito and are staying with her godmother Toni in the city. We have been working in Toni's cafe since Thursday, getting to know our coworkers and making food and coffee. Tomorrow our hosts are taking us to La Mitad del Mundo so that we can all be in two hemispheres at once! We're going to keep working next week, making excursions here and there to sights in and around the city. Next weekend, Toni's son is coming from the US with his girlfriend and the four of us are traveling to the market in Otovalo.
In the next couple of weeks, we're going to the beach and we're going to try to volunteer on an animal preserve in the Amazon. If we can't swim that though, we're still going to spend about four days exploring the jungle. We'll get to Peru at the beginning of August to go to Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, and Cusco. So excited to see the boys in Cusco!
I'll be back with updates soon.
Best,
Adrien
Moira and I have arrived safely in Quito and are staying with her godmother Toni in the city. We have been working in Toni's cafe since Thursday, getting to know our coworkers and making food and coffee. Tomorrow our hosts are taking us to La Mitad del Mundo so that we can all be in two hemispheres at once! We're going to keep working next week, making excursions here and there to sights in and around the city. Next weekend, Toni's son is coming from the US with his girlfriend and the four of us are traveling to the market in Otovalo.
In the next couple of weeks, we're going to the beach and we're going to try to volunteer on an animal preserve in the Amazon. If we can't swim that though, we're still going to spend about four days exploring the jungle. We'll get to Peru at the beginning of August to go to Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, and Cusco. So excited to see the boys in Cusco!
I'll be back with updates soon.
Best,
Adrien
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Attempt #2
Today was, if nothing else, a very, very important learning experience.
Upon arrival to the ticketing counter to check my bag, the airline attendant told me that my passport was not valid for travel to Ecuador, even though it expires in September. Apparently, the Ecuadorian government requires that foreign passports be valid for six months at the arrival date. So even though my passport didn't expire until after my return date, they couldn't check my bag through to Quito and I had to re-book it. This, of course, incurred exorbitant fees and required that I go to the Colorado Passport Agency to get a new expedited passport today. So while I am fortunately still going to South America, the trip is starting off on a very bittersweet note. I am trying to remain positive through this whole process while I attempt to figure out a way to lessen the financial blow my parents I got dealt as a result.
Anyway, now at least I know that "valid" is a relative term in regard to U.S. passports and will be much, much more careful next time in checking whatever policies my country of destination has in place. Today has been exhausting. I meet Moira tomorrow night in Quito around midnight, so here's hoping things go a little more smoothly tomorrow.
Best,
Adrien
A word about jungle cats...
At some point on our journey, Moira and I will be heading to the Amazon Rainforest with the goal of spotting some tropics-dwelling felines. The following live in Ecuador:
The ocelot...
Its smaller relative, the margay.
The menacing jaguar!
Here's hoping for the first two, and not the second!
See you in August.
Love,
Adrien
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