Baños de Agua Santa

About a week ago we left Quito for good and headed south to Banos, a small town popular for its thermal pools and countless spas that proffer every sort of self-indulgence you could imagine (they also conduct intestinal cleansing, if one is inclined or in need of such a thing). The setting is gorgeous, as you can see below. The town is perched on the banks of a river surrounded by steep slopes of the Andes. The weather is much nicer than that of Quito and the town has a decidedly laid-back feel to it, which we welcomed after our few days back in the chaos of Ecuador's capital. 

View of Baños de Agua Santa from across the river.

Having neglected to write down the address of our hostal, we asked a local policeman for directions and set out based on his guidance. We ended up a few blocks short but a pharmacist was happy to point us in the right direction. The hostal was really nice and even had a pool! And, of course, a plethora of aesthetic treatments and massage options were available onsite. We had a great view from our balcony and could even see the small waterfall behind the hostal, near La Virgen hot springs.

The day we arrived just happened to be St. Patrick's Day, which just happens to be one of my favorite "holidays" of the year. We'd originally planned to be in Quito but our early return from the Galapagos put us in Banos instead. I was a little concerned about finding a proper venue in which to celebrate, but my fears were assuaged after Jill did a quick google search at home and discovered an establishment called "Leprechaun Bar" located a hop, skip and a jump away from our hostal. How lucky, I thought!  ............... we left our hostal ready for fun night of beer and all things "Irish" only to discover that Leprechaun Bar was closed. As in, NOT open. On a Saturday. On St. Patty's Day!!!!! What?? We couldn't help but laugh at the absolute irony, commenting on how all the pubs at home would've had line-ups outside them by 10am and been busy all day.

 

View from our balcony at Hostal Chimenea in Banos. 

Fortunately, I'd made a back-up plan just in case something like this happened (which it does a lot in Ecuador...). We rerouted ourselves to Jack's Rock and were encouraged by the loud music audible from far down the street. Upon entering the bar, we found only the bar man crouched at a computer behind the bar and a lone cat, curled up on a speaker under the stairs. Not a four-leaf-clover or pot of gold in sight. We decided to have a beer anyway and see if things picked up after a while. In the meantime, Chris tried unsuccessfully to befriend the cat and we surveyed the vast array of band posters including Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, and Nirvana. Wait, what? Yep, Nirvana is now a classic rock band. Apparently. 

When things didn't pick up at Jack's (and we'd had our fill of Metallica), we wandered around Banos in search of another establishment that might satisfy our desire to celebrate St. Patty's Day. We found another bar that had more people in it and settled onto some stools overlooking the busy street. It wasn't long before we started seeing other gringos prowling around, wearing something green in the spirit of the holiday, looking thirsty and keen to party. And then increasingly confused when they couldn't find somewhere to unleash their inner leprechaun. 

We watched one couple walk in the direction of Leprechauns only to return a few minutes later. They saw us from the street and ended up joining us in the bar where we commiserated about the lack of St. Patty's Day cheer. They told us that Leprechauns had opened but was empty. Haha. We played a game of pool and then walked over to see if the atmosphere had improved. The bar was very busy but it was the farthest thing from an Irish pub that I can fathom. It was several floors of strobe and flashing colored lights, pumping dance music loud enough that I'm sure it could be heard in all the nearby indigenous villages. And then there was the giant bonfire centered on the patio in the rear of the bar. It seemed rather out of place considering the rest of the scene. And a rather dangerous furnishing for a drinking establishment. I guess people drink around campfires all the time though... We ended up getting a table close to the fire and enjoyed a few beers with our new friends (who were from New Zealand; she a family doctor, he a physical trainer) and another couple from Chile who had remarkably good English. Despite not being the most Irish St. Patrick's Day I've ever had, it ended up being a pretty fun night! 

The next day we wandered down to the river where we watched daring tourists bungee jump off the bridge. It cost less than $20, which immediately got my spidey senses tingling... After crossing the pedestrian suspension bridge and taking note of the numerous missing panels and others that were in bad need of replacement, I was certain I didn't trust the local safety standards enough to throw myself off a bridge with only their equipment to protect me... All four of the people we watched jump came away unscathed though.

After lunch we treated ourselves to an afternoon at the spa. First, pedicures (yes, even for Chris, though he opted not to get polish), then herbal facials and full body massages. It was SOOOOOOOO nice. The facial was very different from what I expected from past experiences. There were no harsh exfoliating treatments or close inspections of every flaw and spot on my face followed by a long list of products that could help restore/improve/turn me into a beauty queen... Nope, just homemade masks of honey, chocolate, beans, avocado, mint, cardamom, clay and lots of other ingredients I couldn't detect (or translate from Spanish). They felt nice but I'm pretty sure they didn't do too much in terms of rejuvenating or purifying my skin. Oh well. It was a treat. The massage was really good, however. Not nearly as good as the ones I get at home (love you M.J.), but very relaxing and thoroughly enjoyed after >3 months of deprivation!

We'd planned to rent bikes in Banos to bike a portion of the Routa de las cascadas (route of the waterfalls), also known as the hi-way to Puyo, but the weather was pretty crummy the first day we were there (hence the spa day...). The weather was better on our last day so we decided to ruin all the good done by our facials and massages and head out on a ride. Although the route is mostly downhill from Banos, the wind was in our faces, making pedaling necessary more than we'd hoped (haha) but it felt good to get some exercise. And the views were spectacular!! Riding on the virtually shoulderless hi-way was pretty nerve-wracking as the kamikaze buses and transport trucks whipped past us at ridiculous speeds, but it was all part of the adventure. The route has a few long dark tunnels that are really unsafe for cyclists. Fortunately, the province has built paths around the tunnels so cyclists can avoid being hit in the dark narrowness. Unfortunately, a major rockslide blocked the path not far from the start of the first detour. It looked like it had happened quite some time ago but, perhaps not surprisingly, the bike rental shop neglected to warn us about this fairly significant obstacle before we set out on the route. Undeterred, we very carefully "portaged" our bikes over the heap, acutely aware of the deep gorge immediately beside us, and continued on our way. 

After biking about 20 km we made it to the small town of Rio Verde where the trailhead for La Cascada el Pailon del Diablo can be found. It's a 2.5 km hike down to the viewing platforms and the trek was well worth it. The falls are spectacular, pounding down into a deep rocky gorge from 80 meters above, and the platforms allow you to get really up close and personal (i.e. drenched). If you're brave enough to crawl under a rock outcropping "braced" with some wood supports, you can make your way up to a closer platform and even go behind the falls! Chris went up to the viewing platform and touched the water but didn't go behind - it looked sketchy. Shocking. Surprisingly not sketchy was the suspension bridge spanning the gorge. The other side offered a nice view of the falls from a distance and the opportunity to dry off after getting soaked by the spray. After hiking back up to the town, we rode to the hi-way and caught a bus back to Banos. It was a great excursion and, although the spa experience was pretty awesome, I'd say it was the highlight of our trip to Banos.

At Cascada El Pailon del Diablo near Banos, Ecuador.

From Banos we headed to Riobamba to spend one night at a super cute hostal (Oasis) before busing to Alausi to ride La Nariz del Diablo (the Devil's Nose), a famous portion of the Ecuadorian railway. Chris hasn't had a chance to edit the photos so I'll leave that experience for the next post, which should wrap up our time in Ecuador!

Galapagos

So. The Galapagos. Wow. Our trip was positively amazing. The islands are truly remarkable; and very different from what I'd imagined, even after reading about them in our guide and various internet resources. The landscapes are magnificent and the wildlife is abundant and unique. I really can't do it justice in text so I'll let the photos Chris took tell the story and add in a few anecdotes of interest about our experience. But I think to really appreciate how awesome the Galapagos is you have to visit yourself.

---- Our day began with a free ride to the airport courtesy of the travel agency we used to book our cruise (CarpeDM - highly recommend!). After checking in we went to the waiting area with a Dutch couple and Swiss girl that also booked their cruise with CarpeDM but were going on a different boat than us. We'd each received a pin with the name of our boat, which we promptly pocketed because we were far too cool to wear them! We noticed that most of the other people in the waiting area had donned their pins (some people got stickers - they must've been going on economy boats... chumps) and immediately began surveying the crowd for our shipmates, praying that we wouldn't get stuck with anyone too old or unfit for the various activities/hikes. Or with a bunch of obnoxious kids. Or with a whole boatload of hoity-toity folks... we weren't being picky at all...

We arrived at the stiflingly hot airport on Baltra and were greeted by our Naturalist Guide, Tatiana, who ushered us to a gathering point where we finally got to see our shipmates. There was a complete mix of ages and groupings, including some couples, a trio of young aussie guys, and a small family. A short bus trip, ferry ride to Santa Cruz, and a panga ride from Puerto Ayora took us to the Odyssey, the luxury boat we would spend the next few days on. We were shocked by how big the room was. And the bathroom was enormous too! Definite luxury. The entire boat was fancy-schmancy.

Before leaving Santa Cruz, we visited the Darwin Research station and got to see the giant tortoises for which the Galapagos islands are named. They were so big!! It is possible to see these guys in the wild but our tour itinerary didn't include hikes to where they are found. So we were happy to have the chance to see them at the station.

Our next few days were spent taking day trips to Isla Isabela, the largest of the Galapagos Islands. We did several hikes and there were many opportunities to snorkel. I wasn't able to overcome my lifelong aversion to snorkelling but Chris really enjoyed swimming with all the fish, sharks, turtles, sea lions and other marine life. Most of the snorkelling excursions were done from the pangas but one was from a gorgeous sandy beach. I braved a quick dip before settling onto a piece of driftwood to watch the ghost grabs haggle over beachfront property. A little bird got curious enough to try landing on my hat but chickened out at the last minute.

The terrain at our first landing site on Isabela - lava rocks with white lichen. It looked like we were on another planet!

We also visited Fernandina, Santiago and a few of the smaller islands around Isabela, hiking over lava rocks to see hundreds of marine iguanas soaking up the sunshine in the blistering heat. We saw galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, great blue herons, pelicans, pink flamingos, frigates, and, of course, the infamous blue-footed boobies. One highlight for us was visiting the Sierra Negra crater - it's the largest active volcano crater in the world, measuring 11 km in diameter. And let me tell you, it was breathtaking. I also really enjoyed our tour through the mangroves, though I would've preferred to do it by canoe or kayak. The drivers did paddle the pangas a bit but it still would've been fun to explore the mangroves in our own vessels.

Blue-footed booby.

Great Blue Heron hunting.

Booby, flightless cormorant (drying its wings), and sea lion. Relaxing in harmony on a small rocky island

View from the edge of the Sierra Negra crater. 

One hilarious moment on the boat occurred on the birthday of one of the passengers; Arthur (pronounce AH-ther), from Boston, turned 69. During the nightly briefing session the lights went out unexpectedly and then the boat crew burst in wearing ridiculous costumes made from tin foil and assorted medical/kitchen gear. They proceeded to act out a scene that had something to do with us crossing the equator and having to answer to King Neptune to pay for our passage. One of the couples on the boat was dragged into the play and forced to submit to an impromptu marriage ceremony. The lucky couple was then permitted to force another passenger to simulate the behavior of any Galapagos creature they wished. They chose Arthur and commanded that he act like a sea lion. His attempt was far more chicken-esque than sea lion... It was bizarre and hilarious. The best part was when we found out a few days later that the whole thing was Arthur's idea! We'd assumed it was a silly ritual of the boat crew. I can't believe Arthur convinced them to participate!

At Darwin's Lake - it was SO hot!!

One of many piles of marine iguanas. 

This sea lion was making eyes at me. Oh how I wanted to pet it!

Yellow sea turtle (yep, they all look orange, despite the name).

Our cruise ended on Isla San Cristobal and we'd planned to spend a few extra days there to unwind from the boat and see a few more sites on the island. Oh, I forgot to mention that Chris did really well on the boat! He barely suffered any motion sickness and was able to mitigate it with medication. Yay! I found the motion at night made it hard to sleep but didn't get sick either. Anyway, we were initially looking forward to a few more days on the island but quickly decided that the extreme heat and slooooooooow pace of the town were not really to our liking. We ended up changing our flight to an earlier date and stayed for only 2 nights in the town. We still managed to have a few adventures in that short timespan though.. The first day we went to a restaurant near our hostal and ordered the set lunch. I was starving after walking around town searching for a hostal so when the soup arrived I was eager to dig in. Until Chris lifted up his spoon to show me what was lurking in the murky broth... chicken feet! Blech!!!!! Chris managed a few spoonfuls but I couldn't do it. Not that into typical food I guess!

We went for a stroll along the waterfront, which is a favorite napping spot for sealions. They are seriously everywhere. And they are stinky! There was a little park set up on the shoreline that becomes partly submerged during high tide. We watched as the local children played along with baby sea lions who thought the enclosed area was just perfect for their games too!

Distracted by the sea lions we accidently forgot Chris's kindle on a bench after taking a break from our stroll. When we realized it, we ran back and our kindle was still there! LUCKY. That definitely wouldn't have happened in Quito...

One of the couples from our cruise (actually, the same couple that got "married" on Arthur's birthday) was also in town for a few nights so we had dinner with them. They've been travelling for about 4 months and are doing sort of the opposite itinerary that we have planned. We got some good tips from them about places to visit and things to avoid. Really looking forward to Bolivia and Lake Titicaca after their reviews!!

They are just so cute!

All in all it was an amazing adventure, worth every penny. I really can't put the experience into words and there are too many great photos to post here. Check out our Flickr site for the rest!! They will be up as soon as I relinquish the computer to Chris so he can edit/add descriptions. Note that you have open a Flickr account and add us as a friend in order to see all of the photos (it's free and quick - we just like our privacy).

GO TO THE GALAPAGOS!

A tale of two volcanoes

WE LEAVE FOR THE GALAPAGOS TOMORROW!!!

Okay, that's not what this blog is about. But that's why I'm blogging now because after galapagos I'm only going to want to write about that place and will neglect documenting our last week in the Quito area.

We moved back in with our homestay family on Monday morning last week. There was a new houseguest: Zina, from Germany. She was also studying at Quito Antiguo Spanish School. What we didn't find out until almost the end of the week was that our return meant she was moved out of the dorm room for our benefit. Ooops. That's not the worst of it though... She was moved into Lucas's room (the homestay family's son) and he was moved to some other part of the house, probably sleeping on a couch or something. We sort of felt like jerks but I guess they could've just told us it was a fairly significant inconvenience for us to come back... Oh well.

Our homestay family: Beatriz, Lucas, and Danilo.

Our Spanish teacher, Christian.

As per the plan, we wrapped up our Spanish lessons, completing the basic/introductory level, which included how to conjugate verbs in present, active, reflexive, past and future tenses as well as a wealth of practical vocabulary that should come in handy for the rest of our travels (provided we retain any of this knowledge...). During our final class, the other professors and students burst into our classroom with an enormous cake to, presumably, celebrate our "graduation". They'd also learned an Ecuadorian folk song, which they recited as one of the professors played guitar and pipe-flute. That part was sort of awkward. It was also awkward when one of the new students repeatedly tried to ask me how old I was because she'd misunderstood the reason for the cake, and thought it had to be one of our birthdays. The most awkward part was after the completion of the song when we all sat/stood around eating cake, not talking because we all speak different languages and didn't really know eachother. The cake was good though.

On the next weekend we left Quito with Christa for a tour of Volcan Cotopaxi and Laguna Quilotoa, both located south of the city. Our first stop was Hosteria PapaGayo where we picked up bikes - our mode of transportation down from Cotopaxi. We then began the ascent to the parking lot adjacent to the trailhead for the Cotopaxi Refuge. It wasn't long before we were absorbed by the cloud-cover and felt a noticeable drop in the temperature. We reached the parking lot and got out of the van in the midst of a gale force wind, complete with ice crystals but lacking the "fell voice on the air" a la the pass of Caradhras (Lord of the Rings). Oh I listened for it alright. But I'm no elf.

Puffing up our Canadian chests, we refused to be stymied by a bit of nasty weather and set out on the path up to the refuge. And I do mean "up". It was only a 300-m gain in elevation but over a linear distance of just ~1 km. Still not impressed? Well, I should mention that the ascent begins at 4500 m above sea-level. That is some serious altitude, amigos. I felt like I was 100 years old. Each step required an unreasonable amount of effort and I was out of breath in no time. It didn't help that the path was loose volcanic rock. With the wind and the cold and the lack of oxygen I honestly wasn't sure that I'd make it to the refuge. But I did. And I totally treated myself to a $2 hot chocolate, thank you very much. Christa and I decided not to make the additional ascent to the glacier after the guide took one look at our ankle socks and made a face that I easily interpreted to mean we'd be crazy to try it. Apparently there was a fresh "dusting" of 10+ cm of snow that we would've had to trek through; something no one thought to warn us about before we dressed for the day. Chris hiked up and took photos so it's like we were there anyway.

We returned to the parking lot (significantly easier than the hike up) and prepared for our bike ride down the remainder of the volcano's slope. Initially, I was very excited about biking down because I imagined an effortless cruise while admiring the scenic terrain of the Andes. In fact, I found it really difficult. Not because you had to pedal at all; quite the contrary, actually. You had to brake almost incessantly to avoid careening recklessly down the surprisingly steep road! My hands fatigued from strain and cold not far from the parking lot but I had no choice other than to press on. Or speed on, as the case was. The road was also really bumpy, making for a whole lot of jiggling and jarring. My arms felt very peculiar after a few kms... The drop in altitude took its toll too. I had to stop at one point for fear of passing out. Not sure what the physiological reason was but I definitely wasn't feeling too well. Once we'd dropped to a low enough altitude that I began to warm up, and the road flattened somewhat, I did enjoy the remainder of the ride. Christa and I had left Chris far behind as he stopped to take some great photos of the scenery. Good thing he did because I wasn't really paying attention while I held on for dear life! Ah well, it was an adventure. On a nicer day, it probably would've been much more fun.

We returned to Hosteria PapaGayo where we enjoyed some fresh chocolate cake, followed by some wine while we waited for the staff to prepare the jacuzzi. We then enjoyed a thorough soak and it occurred to me that that was the first "bath" I'd had in 2 months! Normally, at this frigid time of year, I take baths almost nightly to warm up before bed! Could've used a nice bath for the coldness of Quito... We had a reasonably good dinner and then dragged our tired selves to bed early.

The next morning we were picked up by the tour van and headed further south and west towards Quilotoa. We wound through some pretty rugged terrain but Chris did really well. I think the small passenger vans may be our ticket to travelling on the windier roads of South America.

Our first stop was at a market where we tried a hot drink made with mora (blackberry) and some quesadillas. Our tour guides took donations to purchase some food for an indigenous family whose home was the next stop on our tour. It was pretty neat but also sort of sad to see people living in such poor conditions. The guide told us that they used to just give the family money but stopped when the little girl told them her dad spent all the money on booze and would get rough with her mom when he was liquored up.  :S   Tragic.

It was another 2 hours to the town where we were able to access a trailhead for Laguna Quilotoa. As we walked past a row of market stalls and emerged onto a hill we were absolutely blown away by the stunning view. The trailhead is about 400 m above the lake and we were able to stand right on the edge of the crater rim before beginning our descent. The going was much easier than our experience at the volcano of the previous day. For one thing, the weather was far more civilized and, moreover, the starting altitude was a mere 3900 m above sea level. It wasn't easy but the views were breathtaking and we were actually able to visit along the way instead of gasping for air with every tiny step.

It was possible to hire a mule to take you back up but a bit of chiding from Chris quickly erased any inclinations I had towards exercising that alternative.... Okay, he didn't really chide me; he just suggested it would be good training for the Inca Trail and even though I didn't totally agree, my competitive nature kicked in so I had to do it. It was actually a really nice hike! A good workout, earning us another piece of PapaGayo's chocolate cake before we drove back to Quito.

We've spent the past few days in Quito resting and preparing for our upcoming trip to the Galapagos. Part of this preparation involved getting haircuts! You can get a haircut for $4 in Quito. And not a crappy haircut either! I was first to test these waters and am quite happy with the result although I did have to argue with the stylist regarding the minimum length of layers I was willing to accept... A few hours later, Chris decided to join the club and we found a barbershop. For only $18 he got the supreme treatment, even enjoying a massage with a strange, hand-held vibrating machine. Sorry folks, but the hobo beard is gone. Chris figured it was for the best, considering we are about to take a luxury cruise through the Galapagos Islands and then attempt to cross the border into Peru. I think he looks very handsome, though I'm not against the beard (within reason). We also caught The Artist playing at the Quito cinema and really enjoyed it. 

Now we are packed and ready to leave for our adventure in the Galapagos. We managed to get a good deal through a tour agency called CarpeDM, which is actually owned by a guy who grew up in Canada! Anyway, we are really excited and know that this will be a worthwhile splurge! Stay tuned for the photos... We're back March 17. 

Otavalo and The Amazon Jungle

Our first excursion from Quito was to Otavalo, a small city nestled in an Andean valley ~2 hours north of Quito. Heeding warnings from our host family and Spanish teacher, we attempted to pre-purchase bus tickets for Saturday on Thursday afternoon. Our teacher accompanied us to facilitate the process (navigating Quito by public transit has proven exceedingly difficult, primarily due to the lack of hard copy or internet-based information about routes).

After a 40-minute bus trip, we arrived at Terminal Ophelia only to learn that buses for Otavalo now depart from another station, Terminal Carcelen, further to the north. Another bus brought us to Carcelen in about 20 minutes where our teacher ascertained that it was not possible to reserve tickets for a future day. Le sigh. Mildly perturbed, we thanked our teacher for at least trying to help us out and made our way to La Mariscal in search of Quito's main post office. Earlier in the week we'd attempted to send a parcel to Canada via the small post office in Old Town but, to our surprise, it did not stock packaging materials. We were directed to an office supply store in La Mariscal that had what we wanted. I almost felt like I should inform the post office that they were missing out on a very lucrative part of the postal service but whatever. They'll figure it out eventually.

Friday evening marked our last dinner with our homestay family. We gave them a bottle of wine as a thank-you gift and they elected to share it with us that night. The family had also welcomed two new guests: a couple of German girls, one of whom was there for work and the other to travel. I didn't realize our host family had so many rooms! Actually, Beatriz told me they are planning to renovate their house into a hostal over the next year or two. Que chévere!

In the hopes of beating the crowds, we left for the bus station very early on Saturday morning, picking up Christa en route. The line-up for Otavalo tickets wasn't overwhelmingly long and we reached the front pretty quickly. Chris and I bought our tickets and then waited while Christa got hers. Only when she rejoined us did we realize our folly; they put Christa on a different bus than us in order to fill up the single seats remaining on an earlier departure! We tried to explain that we wanted to travel together but had no luck. So we waved goodbye to Christa and hoped we'd see her at the hostel in Otavalo. As it turned out, our issues with the bus system were not quite finished. Not a major fiasco, but, when we boarded our bus and made our way to our assigned seats, #s 40 and 41, we discovered that the bus contained only 38 seats. The driver directed us to two seats near the back where we remained despite a few other travellers eyeing us with confusion as they inspected their own tickets, also bearing seat #s in the 40s. In fact, we overheard one woman state that she had been assigned the exact same seat numbers as us. I guess you can expect a certain amount of error when the bus companies write out their tickets by hand and bus capacities vary or one bus replaces another at the last minute. Regardless, we were granted seats and made it to Otavalo without incident. Entirely without incident, no less; Chris wasn't sick at all!

Otavalo turned out to be bigger than we'd expected but it was only a short taxi ride to Hostal Chasqui where we reconvened with Christa. She and I ventured out in search of coffee while Chris took a nap, presumably still feeling the effects of the Gravol he'd taken prior to the bus ride. I found walking around Otavalo considerably less sketchy than in Quito. Christa and I found a restaurant and sat down to breakfast, grumbling in unison when we realized the coffee was instant versus brewed, as we'd hoped. After a few minutes of Christa picking at her undercooked eggs and me apprehensively probing the mystery meat on my plate, we left unsated but, fortunately, only a few dollars lighter in the wallet. We retrieved Chris and headed for the market areas of town. Wow. Hundreds upon hundreds of stalls adorned with a cornucopia of textiles and artisan wares (allegedly) manufactured by local indigenous people. For a while we just wandered and "window-shopped" but eventually we bolstered the nerve to try our hand at bartering for a few items. I tried on a few chompas (zip-up sweaters) while Chris snapped photos so I could see how they looked (no full-length mirrors in the market!). After considering Chris and Christa's votes, I chose one and it was time to barter. Fortuitously, I'd managed to eavesdrop on the merchant's earlier exchange with another group of travellers and knew he'd refused to drop his price below $25. We haggled back and forth from either end of the twenties, settling on $25, as I'd surmised. Meanwhile, Chris launched an enthusiastic campaign in support of the local economy, selecting and bartering for some neat artwork and handicrafts. Although I teased him that he wanted to buy everything and, of course, seized the opportunity to point out the counter-gender-stereotypical behaviour, I was actually glad that he picked out some things for us because I am notoriously inept when it comes to shopping for art/household accessories. I know I'll be glad to have those artefacts when we are settled somewhere in the future, reminiscing about this year.

During our hours wandering the blocks and blocks of the market, we frequently fell victim to the regional Carnival tradition of surprise assaults with "Spuma de Carnival": aerosol spray-foam. To us, it appeared that this activity was reserved for combat between los niños (children) with one blatant exception: tourists are fair game. We never saw another adult get sprayed aside from being collateral damage in the prepubescent mock warfare constantly erupting around them. The three of us, along with other tourists we encountered, were certainly not spared from the mayhem. In truth, it was a only mild nuisance because the foam dried within minutes, leaving no visible residue on our clothes and only a bit of extra sheen in our hair. The foam actually smelled pretty good too.

After spending the night in Otavalo, we hired a taxi to take us up to Parque Condor, a Dutch-owned bird-of-prey reserve that overlooks Otavalo and the surrounding farmlands. We arrived in time to watch the interactive show but were disadvantaged by our limited Spanish comprehension. Nonetheless, we got to see some pretty cool birds in action, including a bald eagle, various falcons, hawks, and owls. All the birds were rescue animals or donated to the refuge for rehabilitation. At least that's what they said... They seemed well-cared for in any event.

When we'd finished exploring the refuge, we hovered around the entrance for a few minutes before conceding that we were unlikely to find a taxi this far from town. We began walking, decidedly happy to get some exercise and be able to enjoy the views from the road. And then one of the passing cars "spuma'd" us. Haha. We weren't safe anywhere! Eventually we made it back to Otavalo where we grabbed a quick lunch and then walked to the terminal to catch a bus back to Quito, this time ensuring that we bought our tickets together.

Chris and I had left our big packs in Christa's dorm so we returned to her place to reorganize our stuff and prepare for our impending bus trip to the jungle - we'd arranged with our teacher to take an overnight bus to Rio Cuyabeno on Sunday in order to spend the next week at a lodge in la selva (the Amazon jungle). We were told the trip would take between 8 and 10 hours, depending on traffic and weather, etc. Needless to say we were really excited about that...

It was far FAR worse than we'd imagined. Seriously. I thought I'd had scary bus rides before. Nope. This one was positively terrifying. It didn't help that I felt sick just before getting on the bus. Not nauseous... the, errm, other sort of affliction... Miraculously, I held it together (ahem) for the first half of our journey, despite being tossed and bounced around for hours (after yet another incident of overbooking the bus, we were shunted to the back seats even though we'd purchased seats near the front). At about 3 am our bus became stranded at a bridge gridlocked with traffic. After surveying the chaos of transport trucks, buses, and angry travellers  for what seemed like an hour and weighing my discomfort against all conceivable risks of disembarking, I finally succumbed to the (harpy-esque) call of nature and ventured into the blackness to find a "bathroom". In my stupor I'd managed to forget to bring toilet paper with me but was saved by our Spanish teacher, who'd (prudently) followed me from the bus to ensure my safe return. I'm sure that's a bit TMI, but, I felt it was pertinent in order to really convey the ordeal.  However, my torment seemed a delight in comparison to how Chris fared throughout the trip. Yes, he was struck with motion sickness again. Severely. And who could blame him!?! Blech. It was an awful awful bus ride. And it lasted for 9 hours. Enough said.

Finally, a few hours after daybreak, we were dropped off at a bridge - we'd reached the Rio Cuyabeno, the launch point for the remainder of our journey. A group of about 10 other travellers was already assembled at the launch area and we endured a few of their inquiries before pleading exhaustion from our trip. Shortly afterwards, we found out that we were not going to the lodge we'd been told about (Yarina) but would be joining the group and heading to nearby Cuyabeno River Lodge. Fine. Whatever. We were happy as long as wherever we ended up had beds. Twenty minutes travel by motorized canoe and we arrived at the aforementioned lodge, which consisted of cabañas branching off a raised boardwalk that ran the length of the riverfront property and a larger central building with a kitchen, dining area, and office. Immediately after reaching the top of the stairs from the water, we were served a hot breakfast (it was almost 10 am but I guess they take their 3 meals/day very seriously). 

Young boy who was adopted by the lodge owner after being abandoned
there as a baby. We fancied he looked and acted just like Mowgli from
the Jungle Book.  :P

Next we were shown to our "matrimonial" accommodations, once our teacher rectified a miscommunication that had lead to all three of us being booked to share a "group" cabaña. It was a fairly rustic hut, primarily constructed using wood panels made from deadfall, but it did have a private bathroom with running water and the grass/palm frond roof appeared to be wholly intact.  Harkening the incessant chorus of insect and bird calls from the jungle, we eyed the bug net hanging over our bed, nervously noting the pony-walls and widely spaced floorboards that left our abode open to the surrounding wilderness. Fortunately, the lodge's summoning bell distracted us from further contemplation of the matter.

Unwilling to resign their guests to potential boredom (rest!), the staff had arranged a hike through the jungle to precede lunch. Although extremely weary, we indulged them and joined the rest of the group for the rainy trek. It was pretty cool to take a moment and realize that we were actually in the Amazon rainforest. We saw many butterflies, a few birds and our guide pointed out a some plants of significance to the indigenous people. After lunch we forced ourselves to take a 2 hour Spanish lesson before finally retiring for a short nap before dinner.

Our 8-legged roommate... The light color wood panel
to the left and behind was 4 inches wide, for scale. Yah.

When we were leaving our cabaña to head to the dining room, I turned back to get something from the room and as I reached over to open the gate (=the door) I saw 4 long, spindly legs dart down around the post. I leaped back in terror, sputtering to Chris that I'd seen a big spider. Big. Massive!!! I persuaded Chris to peer around the post and he confirmed that an enormous spider was indeed trying to hide in the corner joint between our pony-wall and the middle of the door post. Chris removed his sandal and I thought he was going to try to whack the spider with it. All I could imagine was the epic failure of such an endeavour, complete with our 8-legged guest (or were we the guests?) running wounded up my leg to bite the suspected perpetrator of its injuries. Yah, no thanks. In actuality Chris was simply planning to use the sandal as an invulnerable extension of his hand in order to open the gate. This I gladly permitted, standing as far back as I felt I could get away with while still appearing to support my valiant man. Once the gate was opened, we mustered our courage and ran through the entryway, about-facing to reconfirm the location of the spider. It was still there. And it was still huge. Approximately the size of my hand. /GULP. Well, welcome to the Amazon I guess. Definitely the biggest living spider I have ever seen without a pane of glass separating us. At that moment I developed serious concerns regarding the integrity and effectiveness of our bug net...

With great trepidation, we snuck back out the door and joined the others in the dining area for dinner. By the time we returned, the spider had retreated to the rafters (yes, we actually took pains to locate it with our headlamp - also found 3 more large spiders lurking above...) and was no longer an immediate threat. But we had a new roommate to contend with. Several new roommates, in fact. Cockroaches. Yep. I am more grossed out by cockroaches than terrified. Typically. But in the dim light of our cabaña, every little insect appears more menacing. Heck, every knot in the wood panels or shadow in the corner appears menacing! It was actually pretty comical how on edge we became as soon as the sun set. Justifiably so, but it still made me feel a little ridiculous to jump three feet whenever a moth inadvertently flew into my head. The first night I was admittedly pretty freaked out but fatigue from our night on the bus got the better of me and I slept rather soundly. The bug net did its job.

One of many precarious crossings during a hike in 

the Cuyabeno reserve.

The remainder of our days at the lodge were spent hiking through the jungle and taking boat trips to the nearby laguna and an indigenous community. The hiking was not too strenuous apart from some very precarious crossings of Cuyabeno's tributaries... We had an opportunity to fish, bating our hooks with some sort of red meat. There are many types of fish in the river but I think we were fishing for piranhas. At least I was imagining piranhas when I felt the spastic "nibbles" on the end of the line. I donated several morsels to the fiends beneath the surface but didn't catch anything. One of the other girls caught a little fish and the kitchen staff cooked it up for her when we got back to the lodge!

Mist on the Rio Cuyabeno

Speaking of the kitchen staff... a rather amusing thing happened involving the guy that served us our meals. One rainy afternoon I'd slipped on the walkway en route back to our cabaña and snapped the toe-strap of a flip-flop. They were only a $5 pair from Canadian Tire and I reckoned they'd served me well enough during our stay in Costa Rica so I tossed them in the garbage in our bathroom. The next day I happened to glimpse the server's feet and noticed he was wearing my discarded sandals! They were a bit too small for him but the broken strap appeared to have been repaired. I guess this perfectly exemplifies the idiom "one man's trash is another man's treasure"!

Chris helping in the kitchen.

During our long journey by boat to the laguna we saw four species of monkeys and glimpsed a freshwater dolphin. We also saw several Amazonian green kingfishers, various herons, anhingas, vultures, a wild turkey, and lots of other birds that I can't recall the names of or which we weren't given the English name of. Our visit to an indigenous community was a less interesting than I'd hoped. The guide didn't give much info about them or show us around aside from taking us out to the area where they grow coffee and yucca. We watched as an indigenous girl prepared pan de yucca from freshly-harvested yucca. Chris actually helped shred the root. It was surprisingly tasty despite not having anything in it besides yucca.

Baby monkey at the indigenous village.

The main lodge at dusk.

When we were at the lodge we found out that it was possible to catch a flight back to Quito from one of the nearby towns. Chris was eager to investigate this opportunity to avoid another horrific bus trip and, with the help of our teacher, we arranged for one of the lodge staff to purchase us plane tickets. Unfortunately, it turned out that the airplane was grounded for repairs until the following week. Our teacher managed to find another  alternative - a private van that could reduce the trip to 6 hours. Even though it meant taking the same route back we figured it was a better option than the bus. We were correct. It was actually a beautiful drive in the daylight. The Andes are spectacular and we even caught a glimpse of an active volcano a few hours before we reached Quito.

All in all it was a cool excursion and we also met some nice people, including two Argentinian sisters that we hope to reconnect with when we make our way further south in a few months. However, recognizing that we spent the majority of our time enjoying the jungle and not taking our Spanish lessons, we re-evaluated our plans to study-and-travel next week. We've decided to just study in Quito for another week in the hopes that we will actually learn a bit more Spanish before we head off to other parts of the country. AND, we are moving back in with our former homestay family! Hurray for REAL coffee again (the jungle lodge only provided instant coffee, which really doesn't deserve to be called coffee). We're not ecstatic about moving back into our mini-dorm but all the other perks will make it worth it!

Yo soy Ange.

Yo soy soltera, pero tengo nobio. El llamo Chris. Nosotros estamos apprediendo espanol en Quito.

Hola amigos! No, I am not going to be super annoying and insert random spanish word/phrases throughout the rest of this blog. Well, I might. But it's my blog so deal with it! We have been in Quito for almost 2 weeks now and are about halfway through our planned Spanish classes. Our teacher is a young chico named Cristian and, fortunately for us, he is incredibly patient. I'm finding that the French courses I took in junior high and high school are both helping and hindering my progress. Many words have similar roots so I feel like I'm picking up vocabulary fairly quickly. Sentence structure and conjugation rules are also similar. I get into trouble with pronunciation though... It's coming slowly but I do feel like I've learned a lot in just a few classes. And living with our host family has greatly enhanced the learning process.

Our host family consists of a couple, Beatriz y Danilo, and their 22-year-old son, Lucas. They live in a colonial style house not far from the hostel we stayed at when we first arrived. The family inhabits a suite on the third floor of the building; Chris and I have a dormitoricio on the lower floor. It's sort of a funny room.... I like to pretend it has character so that it feels more homey and less odd. Let me explain: each storey in a colonial building is typically about 12 feet high. In our habitation, presumably, to make the most efficient use of the room, a loft was constructed to create a "bedroom" above a small living space that also contains a bathroom. Now, if you do the math, bisecting a room with 12-foot ceilings renders two psuedo-storeys of <6 feet each (the new floor eats up some of that 12 feet). You can imagine these living conditions are not only claustrophobia-inducing, but also present considerable risk to our heads, especially in Chris's case. I've managed to avoid injury thus far by slouching around the place but Chris hasn't escaped unscathed. He's only smoked his head a few times but those wooden beams don't have much give! Not fun. A few of the room's other quirks include a bathroom door that doesn't fit into the door frame and an electric shower head controlled by a lever-style valve that delivers a nasty shock if you dare to adjust the flow after stepping into the stall. We've solved the former by jamming paper between the door and the floor to hold the door shut and instating an "earmuffs!" routine when either of us requires some privacy (i.e. headphones and music). The latter can't really be circumvented so we either suffer a lukewarm shower or suffer a shock to reduce the flow rate, thereby increasing the water temperature. Sometimes it feels like being in a pysch experiment...

Anyway, the room is fine for a stay of only 2 weeks. Moreover, it's shortcomings are definitely compensated by the awesomeness of our family. Beatriz is a fabulous cook, spoiling us with delicious meals, three times a day - we even got chocolate cake for Valentine's Day - and the guys are good-natured and patient with our pathetic attempts at making conversation in spanish. Danilo has formal training as an interior designer but has found his passion elsewhere - he roasts organic coffee beans in another suite of the house that has been converted into a processing plant. It's incredible! The coffee, I mean. And it's so neat that this scenario perfectly exemplifies what we're contemplating doing ourselves. Successfully exemplifies, I might emphasize. Danilo has supplier contracts with numerous hotels and restaurants in Ecuador with interest from buyers outside the country as well.

There are several other occupants of the house/building, not the quietest of whom are Tommy and Gringo, dos perros (two dogs) whose territory overlaps the shortest route up to our meals. Gringo is a small weiner-dog, more skittish than a wild rabbit, whereas Tommy is a large mutt, more offended by Chris's burgeoning beard than the average Quitonian (and they are pretty offended, I can attest). Tommy and Gringo relish glaring down at us from their balcony overlooking the courtyard outside our door and, despite the fact that we possess keys to the dorm, both beasts belt out a chorus of warning barks every time we arrive home. More recently, Chris and Tommy have made peace following repeated efforts on Chris's part to befriend the brute, winning him over with a few good scratches behind the ears and soothing words. On monday our family grew to include Don, an American guy here on exchange to study for about 5 months. He's studying PoliSci in the US but will just take some electives here. Don is fluent in Spanish, having studied throughout school and at University. It remains to be seen whether his presence will augment or interfere with our progress as it's now easier to slip into a conversation in English or to rely on Don to translate on our behalf.

Aside from school and struggling to communicate with our homestay family (in other words, consistently entertaining them with our linguistic or contextual blunders), we've managed to see a bit more of Quito. On Monday, we watched the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace in La Plaza Grande. It was all very impressive but what really blew me away was when our teacher (this was a school excursion) pointed out President Correa, who was watching the exhibition from his balcony a few hundred feet from us. The President. Of Ecuador. Right there in front of us! Pretty crazy that we could be so close to the leader of a country. That's something that would never happen in Canada or the US. I ran into former Premier Ed Stelmach while visiting my grampa in the UofA hospital. But, really, that's not very big potatoes. So yah, seeing the President = pretty cool. On another school excursion we visited the central market. That's where all the indigenous people, who comprise the majority of Ecuador's farmers, gather to sell their goods. It was a huge market, stocked with every fruit you could imagine, nuts, grains, and a menagerie of animals for sale, living or dead. The fish market was something else. We also saw a rat but it wasn't for sale... overall, the sanitary conditions of the market left much to be desired. Not sure I would be a frequent customer.... it also feels a bit unsafe, requiring near-constant vigilance to protect your belongings. Frankly, shopping is stressful enough without having to worry about thieves! But it was really cool to see the market... in a large group.

We've met up with our friend Christa (from Canada) a few times over the past weeks. On one occasion we attempted to meet for dinner at a restaurant in La Mariscal but, evidently, it had closed down since the last edition of Lonely Planet. We chanced another place (also in the LP but not as highly recommended) and were not terribly impressed. We were served a tasty "traditional drink" while we pondered the menu, but our experience went down-hill once our actual meals arrived. Christa was justifiably malcontent after receiving a side of fries and salad when she'd tried to order lentils and rice with her chicken. Although our server claimed to speak English, we soon suspected otherwise.

We also went up the Quito Tram (aka TeleferiQo) with Christa. Chris and I got two-for-one tickets on account of it being "the month of love" and us being a couple. Regular price is $8.50, which is still ridiculously cheap when you consider the Jasper Tram charges almost $30. The views from the top were amazing; words won't do it justice. Chris is still editing the photos but we will post some soon!! It's possible to hike the summit of Pichincha but we were utterly breathless simply climbing the stairs and path to the closest viewpoints. Somehow I don't think 3.5 km of trekking at that altitude would be very pleasant. Although, we've booked our Inca Trail trek so I guess I'd better be prepared for exerting myself at even higher altitudes! On another excursion with Christa we visited the Capilla del Hombres. It's a gallery of Guayasamin's work - he's a famous Ecuadorian painter, recognized for capturing the emotional trials and tribulations of cultures throughout the world in a style often compared to that of Picasso. We really liked his stuff and got a lot out of the tour (it was in English).

One other exciting event was an earth tremor that occurred in the early morning last week. I was awake, felt the movement, but thought I was having a flashback to our bungalow in Costa Rica (the bungalow was on stilts and tended to sway whenever people walked around; we would notice it most when we were still in bed in the mornings after Modest was up with Lauren). Chris slept through it. So maybe it wasn't that exciting.

This post is notably devoid of photos but we promise to upload some soon! (i.e. as soon as I surrender the computer to Chris so that he can edit, edit, edit).

With our heads in the clouds...

We are in Quito!! Waaaaayyyyyy up in the Andes. We already miss Jill, Modest, and Lauren - our beach buddies for most of January. Several Laurenisms will likely remain with us for at least a few more weeks of travel ("Poot" = pooped; "milka-milk" = I'm ready for bed; "Done-done" and various other word-doublings for emphasis; "both!" = the response after Lauren learned that was the third option when posed with a "this or that" question). We will also miss all of Modest's language lapses on account of his "BSL". Allow me to explain: Modest loves to blame both failed attempts at humor and instances where his humor crosses certain lines of social appropriateness on the fact that English is his second language (ESL). After a few too many of these ESL moments, I suggested that perhaps BSL was a more accurate descriptor... I know. I'm so clever.  I'd love to poke fun at Jill too but she didn't really give me much material to work with. I guess we'll probably continue to use the "bhhhjjjjuhhh" onomatopoeia whenever an unidentified fluff invades our personal space.... Get Modest to reenact this for you if you know him.

Our flight here from Costa Rica was on a nearly empty, nearly brand new airplane. It literally took us 10 minutes from the time we arrived at the gate at Quito airport to get our baggage, clear customs, and hire a taxi to our hostel. Crazy!

The first thing you notice about this city is how much of it you can see. Quito is spread over the slopes of the surrounding mountains, making for great views every way you look. The colonial-style architecture is also immediately apparent. We are staying in the Old Town (Centro Historico) in a hostel named (simply and aptly) "Colonial House". Our room is on the third floor and we have a pretty sweet view from our balcony (see photo; actually, the photo doesn't do it justice so you'll just have to trust me). The hostel itself is quite nice and the owner, Ornelia, is really sweet despite not having the best grasp of English. Luckily, she does not suffer from the BSL that afflicts Modest.

We spent our first afternoon wandering the streets of old town, admiring the buildings and unabashedly people-watching in the Plaza Grande. The temperature is considerably cooler than it was at the beach in Costa Rica - average highs are around 18 degrees and so far the days have been mostly cloudy with a few smatterings of rain. Honestly, it's a welcome reprieve from the heat we enjoyed in Costa Rica. Deep down I'm still Canadian, born and bred, meaning I thrive in more temperate conditions although I do enjoy hot days at the beach now and then! Our first meal in Quito was at a cafe with tables looking into an interior courtyard. This style is common with colonial buildings, which is sort of sad because typically the courtyards are beautiful, often boasting ornamental gardens, fountains, and large balconies overlooking cafe patios.

The second thing we noticed about this city is the abundant police presence. They are everywhere! Walking solo or in groups, riding motorcycles, driving in trucks, and guarding the entrances to the more prestigious shops, hotels, and eateries. This is comforting and yet also disconcerting.... I suppose I'd rather see too many cops and be left wondering why they're necessary than find myself alone on a street wondering why there are no cops to help me while I'm getting mugged. Yah.

The third thing we noticed is the excessive honking by drivers. Don't imagine that this phenomenon is comparable to the behaviour typical of crowded New York streets where gridlock is a daily occurrence and drivers honk to (presumably) vent their frustrations. No, drivers honk here because most streets in the old town don't have signage for traffic controls and with 3+ storey buildings constructed such that their exterior walls effectively meld with the curbsides, you really can't see cars coming from intersecting streets. So, drivers have evolved to honk as a way of alerting others that they are coming through! Forget about yielding at every intersection - you'd get nowhere fast. Honking seems to work just fine. So far.

The fourth thing we noticed was the altitude. Or, to be more accurate, the effects of the altitude. Quito is at least 2800 m above sea-level with some neighborhoods reaching upwards of 4000 m. For comparison, Banff is at about 1400 m and Jasper is about 1000 m. Most of Edmonton lies at about 700 m, so it's not a huge jump to visit the Rockies. We came from sea level in Costa Rica, so probably felt an even greater impact than if we'd flown here directly from home. Our symptoms, which didn't really manifest until day 2, were light-headedness, shortness of breath during periods of exertion, loss of appetite, and some achiness in our joints. Normal. Fortunately this only lasted about 2 days. Oh, I also have to confess that I am no longer part of the sickness-free club. Yep. I guess the food quality/cleanliness standards here are a little lower than in Costa Rica.  :S

One highlight of our time here thus far has been a restaurant called Cafe Mosaico. The view from their patio is spectacular, the food is good and reasonably priced (especially when you consider the epic view), and we had the place entirely to ourselves. Surely that wouldn't be the case all the time, but it was a nice treat and escape from the bustling streets of old town proper. Note the bull-fighting arena in the center of the photo. We actually saw a matador de toros practicing sin toro but with the stereotypical red cape! Maybe we'll check out a bullfight during our stay here... maybe.

While in Costa Rica we did some research into Spanish lessons and made one major change to our planned itinerary: originally were going to leave after a few days and head to Cuenca to take Spanish classes. We've now decided to take a couple weeks of lessons here because it's a bit cheaper than in other locations and it will be easier to travel to other places once we've picked up some basics. I guess that's the fifth thing we've noticed - very few people speak English. We are getting by but my sentiments are that our experiences will be all the more richer if we invest some time learning the language. So, after a minor setback resulting from the internets swallowing my email to the school, we will begin our lessons tomorrow! We are also moving in with an Ecuadorian family for the next 2 weeks. I feel slightly apprehensive about this but am confident it's the best way to force ourselves to practice what we are learning each day. Plus, it should be a great opportunity to learn first-hand about the culture and customs here.

Creepy mannequin in an old town market.

After the two weeks of studying in Quito we are going to travel-and-study - the school offers lessons at other locations in Ecuador. We have chosen a lodge in the Amazon that is only accessible by river and a beachside town where we will be housed in beach-front huts. This travel-and-study option appealed to us because it will allow us to see more of Ecuador while improving our language skills. I sort of think we'll be over the big city after a few more weeks too. Though we're looking forward to meeting up with our friend Christa who is volunteering in Quito for a couple of months! Hurray for a serendipitous overlap in our visits!


Aside from sorting out our Spanish lessons we've spent some time researching and sketching out the rest of our year in South America. ATTENTION THOSE THINKING ABOUT MEETING UP WITH US ALONG THE WAY! Tentative plans are to spend the rest of February in Ecuador, taking our Spanish lessons as mentioned above. There are a few more places near Quito that we want to visit in early March and then we are going to try to book a Galapagos tour for about the second week of March, probably looking to do a 5-day boat trip with a few days spent on the islands after the formal tour (want to come??). Then we'll make our way through the south of Ecuador towards Peru. We are thinking of signing up for the Inca Trail hike at the end of April (27th or 28th are the only dates still available), so will spend most of April around the north of Peru, aiming to arrive in Cuzco in time for a few days of acclimation before we do the trail to Machu Picchu. Anyone up for this adventure??? After Machu Picchu we will make our way to Bolivia. We are still thinking about our route after Bolivia. We may go to Paraguay, then Brazil, then Argentina or we may to to Chile and then Argentina. Anyway, just a tentative sketch of countries FYI!