Ecuador Adventure Begins

Hi again!  So I am quite a bit behind on my blogging and I do apologize.  Life just got really crazy the days leading up to the farm, and once we were on the farm its an hour and half hike just to get down the mountain.  Life is wonderful right now.  I spend my days gardening, taking care of 12 chickens, 2 cats, a dog, and a goat, learning about herbs and natural medication and nutrition.  We cook everyday the most fantastic vegetarian meals ever.  I do not even miss meat and am learning so many fabulous new recipes.  Potlucks are going to be taken up a noch.  I spend the rest of my time practicing yoga and poi and getting lost in the beautiful view.  But I will post more about the farm next time so I can put pictures up and give you full details.  This post needs to be dedicated to Quito and my first week in Ecuador.

 So this is Quito.  It is a huge sprawling city surrounded by mountains and a volcano.  We took a cable car up a mountain and then continued hiking up towards the volcano.  The elevation change was a bit intense.  It just gets harder to breath, and each step seems to go so slow but all you are doing is simply walking.  I tried Coca leaves for the first and only time on this hike.  It helps with the elevation sickness.  The process is, you take a handful of coca leaves, and put a small pile of baking soda on top and fold the leaves over it so when you eat it you do not taste the baking soda right away.  The baking soda activates it.  You then process to chew on the leaves for about 30 minutes with them slowly dissolving in your mouth.  It makes you mouth tingle and a slightly euphoric feeling takes over your body.  It helps reduce nausea and makes breathing more comfortable.  They also sell this in candies and teas, but it is illegal to bring into the states because through a more chemical process it can be turned into cocaine.  However in ecuador,  you will see people vending the plant everywhere, and after this test try, I did find it quite useful in releiving altitude sickness.

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 Quito happens to lie right along the equator so obviously I went to see the center of the world.  It was super cool.  The museum we went to had all sorts of experiments to participate in, like balancing an egg on a nail on the equator, and pouring water through a faucet to see which way it turned.  On the the precise equator the water just goes straight to the ground with no spinning in either direction.  So that is me up top, on the center of the world with a hand in each hemisphere.  Another fun fact about Quito:  it is the only place along the equator with a mountain range.  This means, due to the way the Earth bulges slightly on the equator, when you are up in the mountains, you are the closest you could possibly get to the sky, the stars, the moon and the sun without actually leaving the ground.  The stars here look so close, you could almost touch them.  One day, I hope to return and hike the highest mountain around Quito and really reach for the stars.

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 This was part of the museum at the center of the world, and I just thought you would all appreciate a lesson in how the indigenous like to scalp their enemies.  If you need more explanation than these pictures, please feel free to ask.

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 Quito is considered the cultural capital of the world.  It has some absolutely beautiful architecture in the center of town.  Mostly churches but also some other old buildings.  The bulk of Quito that I saw is like your average Latin American city, fairly dirty, tons of people everywhere, lots of venders, and somewhat dangerous, particularly for getting robbed.  The buses in Quito are quite nerve racking actually.  The city buses are only 25 cents to get anywhere but the people are packed on, at all times of day.  You can very easily get robbed, stepped on, or shoved on one of the buses, but at least its super cheap.  Quito has tons of musuems, parks, historical sites and hiking all around it that I feel it is a worthwhile place to spend some time if you can handle spending time in a big city.

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I believe this is a bank in the historical part of Quito, if I remember correctly.  I just liked the architecture.  Its always fun seeing the funky old buildings next to the more modern recent buildings.

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After Quito I took a night bus down to Guayaquil to meet up with Cassie.  It was my first directo bus to actually be direct.  Fun little fact, when in South America, you will go to the bus station and ask for a ticket for a direct bus to whichever town or city you are going to.  The man or woman selling the ticket will tell you Si! Si, es directo.  This should mean the bus should not step to pick people up or drop them off.  However, they all do.  This is what often makes the buses dangerous for getting bags or other personal belonging stolen, as well as a couple of scary machete stories I have heard from other travelers.  Luckily, despite the frequent stops my buses usually make, myself and my belongings have arrived safely to all my destinations.  I also found it really fascinating on my one bus that was actually direct, the driver went around with a video camera to all the seats and videotaped all our faces with the seat numbers.  We all also had assigned seats.  It was the safest bus I have taken so far, and is a company that has been in existence for over 50 years.  

Cassie came!  =)  <3  Travelling with a friend is quite different travel than by yourself.  It was a pleasant change to say the least.  We could not stop chatting the whole first day she arrived, and it has been so nice having someone to share experiences with and bounces ideas off of for how to spend our days.  We spent the night she arrived in Guayaquil, checking out the downtown area and the boardwalk.  We then went to Baños, a fabulous place I will have to post pictures of.  The town is right next to another volcano and here are wonderful hot springs to relax in.  We did the hot springs at night after renting bicycles for the afternoon.  We rode our bikes on a winding road along a river with amazing waterfalls along it.  We lost count of how many waterfalls we saw, but ended the bike trip by hiking down to the largest waterfall in the area, el diablo.  It was huge and awe inspiring.  

We then spent the entire next day bussing down to Vilcabamba to start our volunteer work at Sacred Sueños.  It is difficult to put into words how happy I am with this experience.  Everyday I wake up to the most beautiful view with the sun rising.  Everyday I stop my chores or put down my book to get lost in the most beautiful sunset, of which no two are ever the same.  I have so much to share about the farm, but as usual, I would prefer to do it with pictures and lots of stories so that will be my next blogpost!  I would like to send my love out to my Father!  I hope you had a wonderful Fathers day and know how much you are appreciated.  I would also like to send out birthday wishes to my handsome man James Abisamurai!  And of course birthday wishes to my little man Ollie and my kitty PennyLane!  <3<3<3<3  So many birthdays.  =)  Lots of love to everyone, and until next time....

Pura vida!

Hasta Leugo Colombia

 Hello again!  I am separating this into two posts because I do not think it would be fair to combine my last days in Colombia with my first days in Ecuador.  I spent quite a lot of my time in Colombia based out of Santa Marta due to my volunteer work and extended illness.  (I am healthy now! YAY!)  This means I did not get to do quite as many of the tourist spots as I would have liked but it does add to my list of reasons of why I should come back to Colombia in the future, the main one being, to do more work with the Mariposas. 

 This is the pizza guy, a man after my heart.  He spends all night whipping pizza after pizza out of the two part oven.  You can request your toppings, anything from chorizo to veggies to pineapple and ham or salami.  A slice is about $1.35 and I only need two if I am really feeling hungry.  I also found it pretty funny that his cart says Good Pizza instead of Bueno Pizza.  

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 I have also spent a large part of my time in Colombia with the lovely girl pictured above.  Lauren from Northern Ireland.  In fact, I spent so much time with her I was starting to pick up an Irish lilt.  Whenever I told people I was from Boston they thought I was from Southie.  She and I volunteered together and lived at the Dreamer Hostel together and I am already missing her!  One of the best and worst things about travelling, the wonderful friends you make but eventually you have to say goodbye.  However Boston, watch out for St Pattys day, I am trying really hard to get her to come up and visit.

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 This picture says it all.  I am working with Abraham, a fiesty little 4 year old who can be the most adorable thing in the world sometimes, and others a little bull.  This was my last day of teaching, and boy he did not want to learn.  Raphael is sitting across from me with Lauren making her work just as hard to get him to focus as Abraham is with me.  This is one of the biggest challenges with volunteering with the Mariposas, working through all the times the kids dont want to focus while sweat is dripping down your brow.  The great thing is I really felt like I saw improvement in the kids even in the short month I was there.  Progress!  May more volunteers continue this great task!

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 My last day.  =(  Hard to say goodbye, but I treated the kids to ice cream as a farewell gift.  I have always participated with various volunteer programs, enjoying the experience and the ability to help kids.  This is the first time I have become so attached to a specific program and really feel the desire to do more beyond the time and effort I have already given.  I hated saying goodbye.  Goodbyes are something these kids really have to get used to, because in this program volunteers constantly come and go.  I really want to be a volunteer that comes back into their lives time and time again, helping the program grow, and the kids grow.  The exciting thing is, my ability to communicate with the kids will grow too, enabling me to make that much more of an impact and stronger connection with the kids.  If you, my readers have any desire to volunteer or donate, please go to Fundacion Mariposas Amarillas.  You can also buy T-Shirts to represent the Mariposas around the world.  The profits go directly to the organization.  So I guess its not really goodbye, its hasta leugo (see you later) because I will return.

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 I spent some of my last days in Colombia in Cartagena, one day of which we went to Playa Blanca.  I am pretending to be the Little Mermaid here.  A pretty good rock to do it on I would say.  Luckily I still have my off key voice and managed not to hurt myself getting on or off this rock.

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 Cartagena is quite a beautiful city, particularly the old city.  It is a lot of funky architecture with lots of bright colors, balconies, and often times plants.  The city is extremely hot and humid, pretty much every day, year round (so I have been told).  My three days there were no different.  We walked around a lot and just absorbed the city vibe.

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Dad, this picture is for you, and I think you know why.  Miss you lots!

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So I have mostly finished Colombia at this point.  I say mostly finished because I am ending my trip there by flying out of Bogota on August 21st.  I am hoping to have about a week to play in Colombia before I leave but we shall see.  I really liked Colombia (minus the getting sick part) and feel like there is so much more to see and do.  Luckily, depending on the time of year, roundtrip tickets can be pretty cheap, so I can be fairly positive of my returning.  Some final notes on the country?  The coast needs to work on the whole flooding issue.  It only takes about 5 minutes of rain for the water to be halfway up your calves in the street.  Its pretty gross, particularly as many of the poor areas do not have proper bathrooms, including the schools I taught at.  YUCK!  Love the dancing and music.  Everybody dances here and its more than the bob back and forth.  I think thats absolutely fabulous.  Colombia is not as dangerous as everyone in the states thinks it is.  I swear!  I mean, its still dangerous, but so are most places in the world.  You just have to keep a head on your shoulders, eyes open, and make wise decisions.  I am sure I have more comments on Colombia but I am hungry and want to eat dinner before catching my bus to Gauyaquil.  Updates about Ecuador soon!

Pura Vida!