New Year, Otavalo, and Baños

As I mentioned in my last post, I returned to Quito for the New Year celebration. Unfortunately, I was sick and stayed awake just long enough to ring in the New Year, then returned home to get some much needed sleep. However, I was able to enjoy the different traditions of the Quiteños before my early departure to my bed. One such tradition is the burning of muñecos. During the week preceding the last day of the year, the people of Ecuador are busy preparing wooden and paper dummies of presidents, politicians, and famous celebrities from around the world. On the 31st of December, there are parades, music, plenty of food, and everyone floods the streets to celebrate the close of the old year. At midnight, the muñecos are set on fire in the streets and bystanders can wander through town witnessing hundreds of small bonfires burning symbolic figures while fireworks explode in the sky. It is quite a site and it occured to me while I strolled the streets how illegal this practice would be in the US. The other tradition of interest, but with less rationality, is what I term the transexual tradition. Every nuevo año men dress up as women and prevent passing cars from crossing their path unless the driver pays a small fee. I don't understand the reasioning behind this, but everyone seems to go along with the tradition and quietly pays the fee as they pass.



On the first of January I headed to Otavalo, a small market driven town 2 hours north of Quito, to enjoy the weekend in the beautiful northern mountains of Ecuador. Every Saturday in Otavalo hundreds of vendors flood into town to sell their goods to locals and foreigners in one of the biggest markets in Ecuador. You can buy anything from wool sweaters made from Alpaca to instruments, blankets, fruit, and numerous trinkets. It is quite a spectacle and entertaining if only to stroll the aisles and make small talk with the vendors. After experiencing the market, we were able to hire a taxi for the 45 minute journey to a nearby alpine lake called Laguno Mojando. From there, I summited a peak called Fuya Fuya, which is just under 14K feet. I felt it took much less effort than a 14K foot mountain normally would in Colorado, which is probably due to my acclimitization in Quito. The area was gorgeous and a perfect way for me to ring in the New Year in South America!



Now I am in Baños, another mountain town known for its outdoor sports and thermal baths (from the active volcano of Tungarahua). My first day I rented a mountain bike for $5 for the whole day and rode downhill for 20 kilometers to view 5 different waterfalls. It was an amazing trip and we stopped off in a small town for a wonderful lunch of freshly caught trout and rice. Yesterday we rented bikes again, hired a truck to drive us up to the base of Tungarahua, and hiked 4 hours to the refuge at 3,800 meters (the refuge lies at the base of the active volcano of Tungarahua). Unfortunately, it was raining and cloudy the whole time so we could not see the lava spewing from the top, but we could hear the consistent rumble of volcanic activity. It was a surreal experience, especially being able to hear the sound so close. After our descent, we rode our bikes down a steep dirt track back to Baños. It has been raining for three days, but I have still managed to do some great hikes and activities here. On to the next place!

Some Pictures from the Jungle

These are just a few of the pictures from the Jungle. The internet connection is slow, and thus the minimal amount of pictures, but I will try to post more soon.

La Selva, La Costa, y Navidad

My apologies for not posting in quite some time; I have been very busy traveling to different places in Ecuador. Two weekends ago I went on a 2 night weekend trip to the jungle with some friends. It was about 6 hours in a bus from Quito to a small jungle town called Tena, where we spent one night. The next morning we traveled by bus to Misahualli, a small village on the banks of the Rio Napo. The trip was set up through my school and they arranged a stay with an indigenous community in the heart of the jungle close to Misahualli. We arrived in the community to find numerous different animals I had never seen nor heard of before. Monkeys climbed up to greet us, while Toucans relaxed close by. We learned about all the plants the community uses in the absence of traditional doctors. Instead of a medical professional, each tribe has a Shaman who knows all the plants and their medicinal uses. If you need anything you visit the Shaman. It was fascinating to learn about a civilization that for many years existed without any contact from the outside world. Many of these tribes and their customs are only beginning to be discovered. Obviously there is a good side and a bad side to this. The positive aspect is our ability to learn massive amounts of information from these cultures, but the negative aspect is that the depth and mystery of these native cultures is slowly decaying because of their contact with the outside world and our many luxuries. I feel blessed at having the opportunity to experience this and can only hope the money I spent will go towards preserving the culture and not eroding it.

The following week, after only two days of classes, I jumped aboard another bus headed for the beach!! It took around 7 hours to arrive in a small town called Bahia de Caraquez, from where we took a small boat to San Vicente, and another bus to an amazing secluded beach town called Canoa. We found a perfect hostel on the beach and settled in for 5 glorious days. The main activity each day was to relax, but I was able to ride a horse on the beach one day and attempt to surf. It was a beautiful spot where all the locals surf by day and party on the beach by night. I spent Christmas in Canoa and the hostel even made a traditional turkey feast for the guests. It was my first Christmas on the beach, and although I missed my family and friends back home, I was happy to spend Christmas in such a beautiful place. By the end of my time in Canoa I had become accustomed to the slower pace of life and didn't want to leave.

Tonight is the celebration of the Old Year here (instead of celebrating the New Year, they celebrate the Año Viejo) in Quito and I am looking forward to witnessing the many traditions of the Quiteños. I will write soon about the celebrations and post pictures when I have some time.

Mitad del Mundo, Mindo, and more...

I couldn't come all the way to Ecuador and miss going to the spot that marks the line dividing the northern and southern hemispheres... thus, I made the short bus ride to Mitad del Mundo (the center of the world). There is a museum set up for visitors to explain many different aspects of the famous line.

According to the ancient civilization of the Incas the line dividing the two hemispheres is a very important and spiritual place. We learned how the ancient Incas lived, the rituals they practiced, and saw some of their inventions. The Incas believed this unique spot in Ecuador was situated perfectly in reference to the rotation of the Earth and positioning of the sun (although other spots around the world mark the equator). The intelligence of the Incas is transmitted through their inventions, while the evidence of their evolution is apparant in some of their barbaric activities (such as cutting off and shrinking the heads of their enemies).


In addition, the museum had many experiments to "prove" that certain phenomenon only exist at the equator, but upon further research I learned these experiments are solely to add to the mystique and are staged for tourists. Overall, the museum was very interesting and well worth the trip.


Over the weekend I traveled to Mindo, a small town located in the cloud forest and famous for it's numerous different bird species. Although I didn't participate in any birdwatching tours due to lack of money, it was the perfect spot to relax and breath the fresh air of the mountains. I went with my friend from the Czech Republic and we hiked to 6 different waterfalls, visited the butterfly museum, and enjoyed the break from the city. The highlight of the trip was meeting two amazing locals (Victor and Kerry) who own a coffee shop in town. They also own a small piece of land and practice organic and sustainable farming. We talked about farming, ate wonderful food, and even jammed on Victor's guitar.

Below are some pictures from the beautiful scenery in Mindo...




And finally... during class we periodically research and give a small presentation on local fruit or food. Today were some presentations about local foods of Ecuador followed by tastings. Below is a picture of the delectable items.

More Pictures...

Parade in Quito celebrating the founding 475 years ago.

Unique Floats for the Parade

Parque Alameda

Steep Climb to Parque Itchimbia

A great view from Parque Itchimbia

Hot dogs??

Espumilla

Best view in the City- Parque Itchimbia

Festivals in Quito

It has been a very exciting time to be in Quito. The city just celebrated its 475th anniversary on Sunday. Last week and weekend there were parties, music everywhere, crowds, and celebration.
Music is played everywhere. It is the lifeblood that pumps through the veins of Latin America. Shops blast salsa, merengue, and cumba into the streets. Double decker party buses called las chivas stroll the streets while live bands perform on top and people dance and celebrate below. National ensembles play music in the park. Marching bands and drummers stroll the streets.

The weekend was full of festivities consisting of music, local Ecuadorian food, costumes, and a parade last night to cap it off. I spent the last 4 or 5 days exploring the city, enjoying the music and local food, and attending a few local fiestas and the parade last night. In addition, last Wednesday was the South American soccer final between Quito (Liga) and a Brazilian team (Fluminense). Unfortunately, it was in Brazil so I couldn´t go to the game, but I watched it in a bar with Quiteños. Liga won, prompting songs, celebration, and people pouring out into the streets.

Below are a few pictures from sites in the city. Festival pictures to come...

Homestay and Spanish Classes

I have now been in Quito almost 4 days and am starting to learn my way around and slowly beginning to understand Spanish, or as the locals say... "poco a poco" (little by little). The hardest part is not being able to express my thoughts because I don't have the words I need.

The school is about a 20 to 30 minute walk from my house. It takes longer in the morning because I have to cross 3 busy streets and during traffic that is not an easy task. The primary reason is that Ecuadorian drivers don't always obey traffic signs and signals. Also, Quito is currently in a draught and their power is primarily hydro-electric. Therefore, to save water and energy, the city turns the power off in certain sections of the city at different times during the day. This means that when I walk to school some of the traffic lights are bound to be off, which increases the difficulty of crossing.

So far, most of the day is lived in Spanish, which I assume is the best way to learn the language. The family I am staying with only speaks Spanish, the school only teaches in Spanish, and to get around I need to use Spanish. It has been difficult, but is necessary to learn. I have been very focused on school and learning so far, and have yet to explore outside Quito, but plan to very soon. The city is very polluted and I can't wait to get into the fresh mountain air of the Andes. I will keep everyone posted.

Thanks for reading and hasta luego!