Butterflies and Four-Wheelers

Last week could easily be summarized by itchy legs and swollen ankles. Even after getting about a 100 mosquito bites in Mindo (a small town near the edge of the Ecuadorian jungle) my memories of visiting a butterfly reserve, riding four-wheelers through the muddy cloud-forest, hiking to several waterfalls, and swinging across green canyons on zip-lines weren’t in the least bit tainted. Mindo was a great escape for me. I went with a fun group and we all were determined to fit as much as possible into the short weekend.

As mentioned above, the following week was a little rough due to my bites, which created an allergic reaction and turned my legs into useless stumps for several days. My ankles gradually improved after tons of aloe, lotion and several medications, but the road to recovery was not a pleasant one to say the least. 

Last weekend was the beginning of “Semana Santa” (Holy Week). Having an extra day off of work on Friday, I decided to take another trip to the coast with some friends. We headed to an island called Muisne in the north of Ecuador. Although the setting was incredible, with the longest beach in the country (around 10 kilometers), the town was completely dead, and after a huge thunderstorm on Friday night and flooded streets in the morning, we decided it was time for a change of scenery. Atacames was the natural choice. Known for always being packed and having the best nightlife on the coast, we knew that boredom would be unlikely.

We danced; we people-watched and we enjoyed our last moments of the beach before returning to Quito on Sunday morning. Sleeping on the bus wasn’t hard considering the loud rooster that had been crowing all night outside the window of our hostel. My assumption that roosters only make noise at 5:00 AM was shattered when it started at around 2:00 AM and didn’t stop until noon. 

Returning to CARE with no serious illnesses or other physical problems was nice for a change. It was a busy Monday at the office and is shaping up to be a pretty eventful week. If things work out as planned, I might be able to take a trip to one of CARE’s projects on Thursday or Friday. I’m really excited to see the tangible work that all these contracts and this crazy bureaucracy eventually help to create. 

Aside from work, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my friend Michelle who just finished an internship in Quito and goes home to Oregon on Wednesday. I hope that this post will assure everyone that I’m safe, happy and secure. Anyone who has read the news lately on Ecuador would probably think that I've been either up to my waist in flood-water or huddled in my home, praying to God that President Rafael Correa doesn’t make a horrible, stupid and insane decision by, o say... invading Colombia! Honestly though, things in Quito have been pretty normal. Just a little more rain than usual and a little more conflict along the borders between Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. As for the flooding, it’s been primarily occurring along the southern coast and there are several humanitarian organizations working there now (including CARE) to provide emergency relief to the displaced.

To be honest, I’ve been so preoccupied with the U.S. primaries that it’s been hard to focus on anything else! Oregon might even matter for once this time around (for democrats at least). I was so excited that Barack came to Eugene, but so sad that I couldn’t be there! I find it quite surprising that wherever I go in Ecuador, people always seem to be curious about the U.S. elections and they all love Obama! It’s crazy that they even know who he is. Only a couple months until the Oregon Primary! 

I also can’t believe that it’s already March 24th! I just have April before heading off to Peru in early May. My friend Maureen and I are leaving on the 12th for Lima and then to Machu Picchu. From there we’ll meet some more friends in Lima on the 19th and explore the Nazca lines along the southern coast. 

I guess that’s all for today. Hope that all is well and that you all had a wonderful Easter! ¡Un abrazo bien grande! 

“Carnaval” in Ecuador = Water, Foam, Mosquitoes and Transportation Conflict... but I love it.

Sadly, I have no photos from my long weekend in Canoa, but I’ll try to describe the mayhem to the best of my ability. We (the Guápulo crew) departed from Quito on Saturday morning (the 2nd) and arrived eight hours later in Manta that evening. Dark clouds and dirty streets welcomed us as we slumped around town with our heavy bags in search of a hostel. I was pretty disappointed with Manta on many levels. First off, we had all been expecting a packed city with a beautiful, accessible beach; but instead found a run down port with a military base and the smell of dead fish lingering in the air. Luckily, our stay there was short because we had to depart the next morning for Canoa. The highlight of Manta was attacking little kids with water bottles who were poised to strike back with foam as soon as we made our move. 

I’m actually at work right now. It’s been a while since Carnaval and quite some time since I wrote the above paragraph. It’s hard to remember all the details of our trip, but I’m sure most everything will come back to me as I write. Before I go on any further, however, I should probably explain what Carnaval is and why it’s such a big deal in Latin America. People all over the world celebrate Carnaval, as it is a time of craziness and indulgence before Lent. Because the majority of South Americans are Catholics, the people have been celebrating Carnaval for over a century and have gained worldwide recognition for their wild parties sometime between early February and early March (depending on the year). Although Brazil’s Carnaval is the most famous, I’ve found that Ecuadorians also know how to party and they add their own little twist to the fun. For example, as mentioned above, it’s very common to find little kids ominously hanging out on street corners with huge water guns, cans of dyed foam and buckets of dirty water contaminated with God only knows what. We discovered pretty quickly that one of their favorite targets includes passing buses with the windows wide open and innocently sleeping gringos inside. 

Returning to my adventures... from Manta we took a bus to Bahía de Caraquez, a short boat ride to San Vicente, and then another 20-minute bus to Canoa. What is normally an almost deserted beach, reserved for surfer bums and young explorers, inevitably turned into a madhouse of Carnaval clichés for the three days that we spent there. Trash flooded the streets, loud techno boomed from every restaurant and the beach itself was almost impossible to navigate with so many pitched tents, umbrellas and bodies competing for every last plot of sand. By the time we arrived, all the hotels and tent rentals had been booked, so we ended up having to sleep in an office that was in the process of being remodeled. Although it wasn’t the most private of lodgings and we didn’t have a key for the room, we did have our own bathroom (that guests thought was public and were constantly trying to use) and a mosquito net too! Overall, I had an absolutely wonderful time in Canoa despite the dirty chaos. I soaked up the sun, ate delicious sea-food and completely forgot about my cold-highland home. 

That’s not to say that I wasn’t excited to get back. Anxious is probably a better word, considering that all of the buses were completely full on Tuesday and we were all a little panicked that it would be impossible to find anything that would get us back for class and work by Wednesday. Long story short, we eventually made it back to Quito after several bus rides, and about three hours spent in a run-down little city called Tosagua, where we picked up some lunch and had a wonderful time teaching local kids how to play the card game called “BS” (which we translated to “mentira” or “lie” in English). Great weekend, great fun and I can’t wait to get out of Quito again for my long awaited trip to Vilcabamba in March. I hope that you all have a wonderful day of love tomorrow and I’ll try to write again in the near future! ¡Te amo mucho!

Friends : )

Another boring Wednesday and I’m sitting at home, staring at the rain. It’s been raining a lot lately in Quito and there are times when it’s almost as though I’m back in Eugene. The past couple of weeks have been so scheduled and routine that I’m starting to feel like a robot. Here’s my life: wake up, get ready, work from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday-Friday, go home, go to bed, spend the entire weekend sleeping, partying or hanging out in Guápulo. Guápulo, by the way, is a hilly, old and beautiful neighborhood on the eastern side of Quito, where a bunch of my friends are living this semester. 

In addition to having an amazing view of the valley of Cumbaya (where USFQ is located), they are also within just a couple steps of some of the most trendy and laid-back cafés in Quito. I spent a very enjoyable night in Guápulo last Sunday as we sat around, ate fajitas and apple pie (I LOVE having friends who can cook!!!!), and chatted about everything from the upcoming elections to organic gardens in Cuba. I’ll also note that we never eat dinner without burning candles and competing over which of us can melt the most wax over the wine bottles that they awkwardly stick out from.

The pattern of late has been that the weeks go slow and the weekends end far too abruptly. Work, however, is getting much better as time goes on. Two nights ago, for example, was really cool because I got to go to a presentation on sustainable development in Quito. I was thrilled to finally do something outside of the office and to learn more about a topic that interests me. The abundance of 'beverages' and appetizers, I must admit, were also somewhat of a draw. The first month of working with CARE has been filled with a lot of bureaucracy and trying to get things under way. Thankfully, we’re getting very close to having everything approved and actually STARTING a project. I’m excited to do some serious work and hopefully having enough of it to keep me occupied throughout the entire day. 

Regarding the coming weekend, I have two days off on Monday and Tuesday because of “Carnaval”, so I’m hoping to travel somewhere far outside of Quito just to break the routine for a couple of days. The pictures I’ve posted include random nights from Guápulo and silliness. ¡Hasta Pronto!

MUCHO!

What a crazy month/months in Ecuador (apologies for not writing in FOREVER) and what an insane amount to catch up on! I’ll just jump right in with getting back from Galápagos and only having about a week to say goodbye to a bunch of my close friends who were either leaving Ecuador permanently to go back to their schools, or just heading home for the holidays. It was all a little overwhelming emotionally because on top of getting together with people for the last time and celebrating the end of the semester, I was also getting ready for the arrival of my parents and “planning” their trip. 

Also, with my parents coming in on the 18th of December, I only had three or four days to find a furnished apartment in a good location! Luckily, my Ecuadorian friend Pablo helped Sam (my roommate) and me for an entire day until we found the perfect place that was also within our price range. It worked out great because when my family arrived the following Tuesday, they had a private place to stay that was close to my host family’s apartment. It was also helpful because I was able to move in gradually throughout their stay instead of moving everything over at once in humongous suitcases. 

Planning the trip for my family was an absolute failure from the start. After growing so accustomed to figuring out where I was going to travel the day I left and hopping on the first bus that passed by, my scheduling abilities had diminished to nothing. I hadn’t considered the fact that my parents were only going to be in Ecuador for two weeks and probably wouldn’t want to spend 100 hours on buses during that time. Therefore, after spending the first couple days of their visit being stressed and arguing about where to go and how to get there, we eventually decided on Same as our first destination. About eight hours from Quito by bus, Same is a beautiful little village on the northern coast of Ecuador. Although we only spent a couple days there soaking up the sun and relaxing in hammocks, it was a great way to start the trip and actually made it feel like we were on vacation.

My parents had planned in advance to stay in a colonial city called Cuenca for Christmas Eve and Christmas, so after getting back from the coast we took an immediate flight south to Cuenca, and it turned out to be the best decision we could have made. Ecuador is a dominantly Catholic country and Cuenca is known as being the most Catholic city in Ecuador so Christmas there was crazy amazing. There were lights strung across every main street, fireworks, beautiful churches and a seven-hour parade on Christmas Eve, which I enjoyed for roughly three hours. After that, I was mainly shocked and amused at my mother’s ability to maintain her enthusiasm as she forced me to the window of our hotel over and over to watch yet another horse or roasted pig pass by.

From Cuenca, we returned briefly to Quito before departing again to Baños. I must admit that going there put me a little on edge when considering that the huge Volcano that sits above the town, Tungurahua, was active and spewing ash and lava on a regular basis. Aside from that minor disturbance, we enjoyed our stay amongst the tremendous scenery, and Fekerte and I managed to find time for some massages and facials while our parents hiked up about five huge hills to get a view of the volcano that was perpetually covered by dense clouds. From Baños, we went from Quito to Otavalo and spent a few precious hours in the market searching for paintings, jewelry, hats, scarves and whatever else we could find. Skipping back to Quito, we spent an afternoon at Mitad del Mundo ("middle of the world"), which my dad had been obsessing about the whole trip. We also got together with our old neighbors, Christine, Larry, Robin and Ben Fong. Ben and his wife Paty live near Quito. We had quite an adventure with the four of us crammed into the back of their VW beetle, which broke down en route to lunch. We were especially excited for a New Year's eve party with my host family and were NOT DISAPPOINTED. For example, some of the New Year's traditions in Ecuador include burning effigies in the streets and jumping over them, men cross-dressing and begging for money from passing cars, beautiful music all over the place and absolutely no laws or regulations regarding fireworks. My host family prepared a delicious meal and we sang and danced the New Year's eve away with glee.

The day after my family left was really weird because none of my friends were in Quito and I was completely lonely and felt trapped, in my first apartment ever. I spent the entire day chilling around and not being able to find an excuse to leave the house. Finally, I worked up the energy to do some grocery shopping (even though my refrigerator wasn’t working at that point). Unfortunately, I was followed around the store by an employee who was determined to either become my boyfriend, get my number or find out when I’d be coming back to get some more food. Needless to say, I wasn’t too enthused about going back for a while and had to spend some extra money on eating out. 

When Sam returned from his holiday trip to Oregon it was really nice to have another person in the house to talk to and cook with and just to have there, so I didn’t feel so paranoid from being alone. Once other friends started to get back into town everything really began to fall in place and I was ready to just settle down and start my internship. 

Speaking of which, my first couple days at CARE International were a little scary to say the least. Everyone was extremely friendly and encouraging, but I just didn’t see how I would be able to fit in, what I would be doing, or if I would even be of any help. I’m sure that everyone feels like that when starting an internship, but knowing that didn’t help ease my doubts. Now I'm more settled in and I’m really interested in what we're doing. I’m working in the democracy branch at CARE and our current project involves improving transparency between the municipality and the public. It’s a very worthwhile project because Ecuador has huge problems with corruption and making budgetary reports available to the public is essential in order to promote community involvement in political issues. So far my work has consisted primarily of doing whatever small things need to be done and keeping things around the office organized, but I’m hoping that with some time I’ll be able to do some planning of events and get out into the field.

I’ve really noticed a shift between this semester and the last, and it’s been wonderful. I am just starting to feel really at home in Quito and comfortable with my surroundings. Although there are still places where I really want to travel (i.e. Vilcabamba, Peru, Colombia), I’m feeling less of an urge to leave Quito. Instead, I have fun just hanging out with friends in our apartments, going out to dinner, discovering new bars or just reading a book. Everything is much more relaxed and I LOVE not having homework on the weekends. Five more months remain, but I’m scared that it will fly by way too fast. ¡Hasta Pronto Amigos! I’ll try to get back into a posting weekly routine!

Galápagos!

Never in my life have I had so many issues with time as I did during my week in the Galápagos. Because the islands are an hour behind the mainland, there were at least five mornings in which we woke up, got dressed and were ready to go an hour earlier or later than we were supposed to and it was hilarious. The best example was on the island, Isabela, when Quena, Averina, Michelle and I discovered our error while standing in the middle of a very dark and deserted road at 5:30 AM with all of our luggage and feeling completely disoriented. Despite these minor setbacks, Galápagos was hands down my most incredible trip thus far. We arrived in Santa Cruz on December 1st and returned the 8th, so there was plenty of time to explore the islands, see amazing wildlife and to soak up the “10+ EXTREME UV Rays” (according to the weather channel) that were beating down upon us.

We spent the first day of our trip on Santa Cruz, which is the most populous island of the Galápagos. There, we visited a tortoise reserve and took the rest of the day to shop around the port. My friend Katy and I were completely obsessed with the “I love booby” t-shirts with pictures of these adorable birds called boobies that look kind of like ducks, but have bright blue feet! Santa Cruz was fun, but the weather wasn’t great, so we were all excited when it was time to move to the next island. On Sunday morning we took a three-hour ride to Isabela on the most miserable boat I´ve ever experienced. Everyone got sick because there were horrible fumes pouring into the boat, but the transition to a new place was wonderful. The roads on Isabela were all covered with coral white sand and the sun was just setting over the water upon our arrival. The cherry on the cake was getting a beachfront cabin with kitchen, living room and hot water! 

One of the main attractions on Isabela is a volcano called Sierra Negra, which is home to the second biggest crater in the world. In order to get there, we had to take horses for the first hour and then hike an additional 45 minutes through various forms of cacti and fairly new lava flows. The scenery was beautiful and I loved the hike, but HATED the horse ride. It probably wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t accidentally been placed with the “advanced” group, which galloped the entire way! By the time we finally dismounted, I was terrified, exhausted and in pain from the metal trinkets on the saddle that had been digging into my thighs. Also, my face was caked in dirt after only ten minutes of riding due to the stampede in front of me. At least it was an experience and I must say that I formed somewhat of a bond with my horse, “Flaco” by the end.

Tuesday on Isabela was much more relaxing and definitely my best day of the trip (maybe one of the best days of my life)! After breakfast, we paid $8 each to take a small boat to an island nearby where there were TONS of animals and a great spot to swim as well. We saw iguanas, seals (including the angry “alpha-male”), boobies, other birds, turtles and sharks all in one place! The rest of the day was spent lying on the beach by our cabin and then indulging in a delicious $3 meal and ice cream to top it all off. Although it was a fabulous day and evening, we were all a little sad because our boat back to Santa Cruz (the same evil boat that took us to Isabela) was leaving really early in the morning so we could snorkel on Thursday.

Snorkeling, similar to horseback riding, was another one of those bittersweet experiences for me. Although it was phenomenal in some respects, i.e. being on a beautiful boat, seeing our first penguins and a huge stingray leaping out of the water, there were some downsides as well. Namely, my wetsuit was too big so it filled up with water and I was actually freezing the entire time and couldn’t really enjoy anything that I was seeing. It got so bad that my lips were turning bright blue (the color of my suit) and my right calf started cramping whenever I attempted to move my flipper. Needless to say, after Thursday I was over the snorkeling scene and was not looking forward to a second day of it on Friday for an extra 70 bucks. Instead, Katy and I ditched the group to chill on the famous “Tortuga Bay” beach with our Pingüino ice cream bars. It was the perfect way to end our vacation and we couldn’t help but feel a little validated in our decision when everyone else got back and told us about how the “best snorkeling spot in the world” (according to our professor), turned out to be a complete dud with nothing to see and currents so strong that some of them were pushed into the jagged rocks and forced to move to a different location.

Even though the trip was magnificent and glorious and all that other good stuff, I was ready to get back to Quito by Sunday. This is such an exciting time in my study abroad experience because I’ll be completely done with school after Tuesday and will have the entire month of December free to figure out where I’m going to live spring semester, to travel around with family (who are coming on the 18th!), and to get ready for my internship with CARE international that starts in January! It’s also a sad time, and I know that I’m going to completely break down one of these days in the near future, because pretty much all of my friends were only staying one semester and are heading back to the States in the next couple of weeks. Thus the first chapter ends and another is soon to begin. I’m looking forward see how it all will work out! ¡Hasta Pronto!

Robbed in the City

I feel depressed today. Not for any reason in particular. I just have this huge lump in my stomach, and I don’t feel like doing homework, reading, eating or even sleeping. I guess all of this could be partly attributed to my day yesterday. While sitting on the Trolleybus, on my way to the Quito History Museum, my wallet was robbed out of my purse. I discovered this when the man standing behind me, forced me around and shouted, “¡Estas Robando!” Unfortunately, my first reaction (instead of asking what the thief had looked like) was to jump up and chase the first person that I saw getting off the bus. Accusing a little old lady of stealing my wallet didn’t help to improve the situation. Although nothing too valuable was taken, it was just frustrating to finally feel comfortable with Ecuador, Quito and my surroundings, and then to have something like this happen. On the bright side, my trip to Quilotoa Lake was incredible.

Even the drive to get there made it all vale la pena (worth it)! Miles and miles of green, rolling hills and irrigation, transformed into deep canyons and sharp turns around them that were a little too close for comfort at times. The market at Saquisilí wasn’t amazing, but still fun. To be honest, the highlight for me was watching Mike break a bow because he stretched it out too much and then had to buy it. To get to the lake, Katie, Mike and I hiked down into the crater for about 45 minutes. We sat by the shore for a while and then trekked the hour to get back out.

The water was so astoundingly beautiful against the sharp gray cliffs and mountains in the background that I could have stood up there forever. Instead of doing the rest of the loop, as originally planned, we decided to head back to Quito on Friday night. It would have been nice to stay a few more days, but we opted to take two direct buses back to the city instead of a milk truck at three in the morning, followed by four or five additional buses to do the same thing. Waiting just one more day would have put us in that situation (though it would have been a cool adventure). Back to the present, as said before, I feel horrible. I suppose there will always be days like this and there’s no harm in having some time to just sit and think about school, family, friends or life in general. I hope you’re all doing well and getting excited for Thanksgiving this coming Thursday! An early Happy Birthday to my mom, Leslie! I LOVE YOU! ¡Hasta Lluego!

Just an update!

On Friday, my plan was to do homework all day with no interruptions or distractions. Unfortunately, after a long night of trivia in an Irish bar, dancing in the Mariscal and sleeping in too late, my plan changed rapidly. The next morning, I decided to chill in the bookstore by my house for a while, followed by an epic adventure to find all the best guacamole ingredients, and finally, movies from 6-10:00 PM. Oh! I can’t forget buying more POZO cards for my grandma. She almost won last time so there’s no doubt in my mind that this Sunday, when they draw the numbers on TV, will be her lucky day! I woke up this morning feeling rested and ready to do some serious homework ! My friend Katie and I are going to a mall with wireless so we can make progress before our trip next weekend. Katie and I and a few other people are leaving Wednesday night for the Quilotoa loop. I decided not to travel there this weekend because I had a big presentation on Thursday and too much other stuff to do . Speaking of homework, I better get started! I’ll write more next week once I’m back from hiking to the most volcanically active lake in Ecuador. Did I mention that that’s the final destination of our trip? ¡Ciao!

A Change of Plans...

On Thursday evening, Julie, Angela and I still hadn´t bought tickets to Loja (the connection city to Vilcabamba), even though our plan was to leave the bus terminal by 8:00 PM. Because we waited until the last minute and because pretty much everyone in Quito seemed to be leaving for vacations on Thursday night as well, all buses to Loja were sold out and our original plan for the weekend was dead. Even getting to the terminal turned out to be a hassle when our taxi driver didn’t want to take us all the way there. According to him, there was "too much traffic and too many dangerous people." We managed to convince him, however, on the grounds that he had a car to protect him while we were three gringas with bags carrying our few possessions. Instead of letting these minor setbacks get us down, we made a slight tweak in our schedule and decided to head for Montañita, which is a little surfing/hippie town on the coast about three hours west of Guayaquil. Our bus left at 10:00 PM from Quito, got into Guayaquil at 6:30 AM, and then we eventually took two more 1½-hour buses to arrive in a very gray, drizzly and muddy Montañita at close to 11:00 AM. Despite the weather, it was still a fantastic trip.

We spent the majority of the time listening to reggae music, lying around in hammocks, eating delicious food of all kinds, strolling along the beach, swimming in the ocean (which was surprisingly warm for this time of the year), and checking out various jewelry and clothes shops on the main road. A lot of other USFQ students happened to be there this weekend as well so it was nice to hang out in a big group and get to know each other better. The night before we left was insane. We stayed up until 1:00 AM, and then came back to a hostel with damp sheets, a toxic-smelling mosquito net, holes in the roof and crazy loud techno music from the club next door that was literally still going strong when our alarm went off at 4:15 AM, so we could catch our bus at 5:00 AM. It was necessary to leave this early, unfortunately, because it was the only direct bus to Guayaquil in the morning and we wanted to get home to Quito before nightfall. Although Saturday night was pretty uncomfortable (to say the least), it’s not going to stop me from wanting to return! I hear that the town really comes alive for New Years, when the weather is better and people come from all over Ecuador to take advantage of great waves and big celebrations. Julie and I have another trip planned for this Wed., so I’m going to be extremely busy in the next couple days if I want to make that happen. Sorry about the lack of good pictures this week! With all the rain and cold I didn’t feel like breaking out the camera too much and I didn’t think I could capture why Montañita is so amazing in such bad weather anyway. ¡Caio!