So the weekend of January 29th and 30th a giant group decided to go to Baños, a town known for the healing thermal baths that are naturally heated.
We got there at around midday on friday, and immediately after finding an awesome hostel, we signed up to go "puenting" (Which literally means bridge-ing) It's a form of bungee jumping, but the cord isn't stretchy, so you don't bounce back up, you end up swinging. It was so much fun!! The bridge we jumped off was 90 meters tall, and it was an awesome experience. I don't know if I've ever felt so alive as I did those few seconds in free fall haha. I was so proud of everyone in our group! Everyone went, even though we have two girls that are absolutely terrified of heights. One of the girls, Shanshan, ended up jumping incorrectly which was so scary!! You're supposed to dive head first off the bridge so that your body will automatically make an arc in the air, which minimizes the shock of hitting the end of the rope. But Shanshan was so scared about jumping, that her body wouldn't let her jump correctly and she ended up pencil diving off the platform. Thank goodness she was ok except for some minor pain in her neck! honestly I was far more scared watching Shanshan try to jump than I was to jump.
After the bridge jumping, we all went to the thermal baths, which were kind of a disappointment really. Even though the water was all naturally heated, it ended up being in these man-made pools, not exactly the esthetic that we were expecting.
The next day, we got up early to go Canyoning. We ended repelling down five different waterfalls with a guide far more legitimate than in Mindo. We had wetsuits and helmets and we actually signed something for the first time here in Ecuador (crazy!) It was a really fun experience, and we all were exhausted by the end. However, we managed to rent atvs when we got back to town (after a short lunch intermission). We took these atvs the the top of the surrounding mountains, to a cafe called Cafe del Cielo (cafe of the sky). There I believe I had the best mocha I've ever tried in my life, and enjoyed it with a view of all of Baños. It was so beautiful! The scary part was going back down the mountain and realized the brakes on the atv I was riding weren't exactly up to stopping me while going down hill. I don't think I've ever been more terrified haha. Those were some of the fastest curves I've ever taken, all while riding an atv for the first time.
After the adventures of the day, we all went out and had dinner and enjoyed the night life of Baños. It was a really fun weekend!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Otavalo
Hey all,
It's been crazy busy for a while now, so sorry about not writing in so long!
So the weekend of January 22 and 23rd the whole program took us to a small city called Otavalo which is know for it's absolutely giant market. There, a lot of the native Ecuadorian people sell textiles and things of the like. There is a lot of Alpaca, flutes, and scarves. An interesting (and difficult) part of this trip was having to bargain with everyone. It's not that bargaining is actually difficult, I get the logistics of it. But when someone offers you two dollars for a beautifully hand woven scarf, it's hard to scoff in their face and insist that it's only worth one.
So the first day we were in Otavalo, we all did silly tourist activities in the market like asking the native people to translate certain basic phrases from spanish into Quichwan. It was difficult to say the least. Plus, everyone was really irritable because all we wanted to do was go look at the things in the market, and buy everyone we know and their mother gifts, but they had us doing ridiculous gringo activities all day. Oh well right? hahaha It was still an amazing trip and everyone still bought a ton of gifts there.
after visiting the market, we all went up to this lake that sits in the bowl of a volcanoe. The lake is called Cuicocha, and it is breathtakingly beautiful. After eating lunch at a restaurant overlooking the lake, a portion of the group took a boat tour, and the others (including me) hiked partway around the lake.
The last thing we did before leaving the area that Otavalo is in, is we visited a curandero. A curandero is a healer that specializes in banishing the bad spirits from someone. So, on the way they asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to do this, and my friend Zang volunteered. What ended up happening, was this healer guy ended up spitting a bunch of liqueur onto these leaves, then light hitting Zang all over her body several times with the leaves. Then, he took two eggs, and shook them around her body. This is the most important step, because if you can hear the water in the egg moving around, that means there are bad spirits within the person that need banishing. So, since he could hear the water moving, he decided to chew flowers, then drink a little wine, and spit the concoction all over Zang. Literally all over. Then, he drank more liqueur and spit fireballs at her. All in all, it was a lot of liqueur, all over Zang. Kind of a hilarious end to the weekend for sure.
It's been crazy busy for a while now, so sorry about not writing in so long!
So the weekend of January 22 and 23rd the whole program took us to a small city called Otavalo which is know for it's absolutely giant market. There, a lot of the native Ecuadorian people sell textiles and things of the like. There is a lot of Alpaca, flutes, and scarves. An interesting (and difficult) part of this trip was having to bargain with everyone. It's not that bargaining is actually difficult, I get the logistics of it. But when someone offers you two dollars for a beautifully hand woven scarf, it's hard to scoff in their face and insist that it's only worth one.
So the first day we were in Otavalo, we all did silly tourist activities in the market like asking the native people to translate certain basic phrases from spanish into Quichwan. It was difficult to say the least. Plus, everyone was really irritable because all we wanted to do was go look at the things in the market, and buy everyone we know and their mother gifts, but they had us doing ridiculous gringo activities all day. Oh well right? hahaha It was still an amazing trip and everyone still bought a ton of gifts there.
after visiting the market, we all went up to this lake that sits in the bowl of a volcanoe. The lake is called Cuicocha, and it is breathtakingly beautiful. After eating lunch at a restaurant overlooking the lake, a portion of the group took a boat tour, and the others (including me) hiked partway around the lake.
The last thing we did before leaving the area that Otavalo is in, is we visited a curandero. A curandero is a healer that specializes in banishing the bad spirits from someone. So, on the way they asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to do this, and my friend Zang volunteered. What ended up happening, was this healer guy ended up spitting a bunch of liqueur onto these leaves, then light hitting Zang all over her body several times with the leaves. Then, he took two eggs, and shook them around her body. This is the most important step, because if you can hear the water in the egg moving around, that means there are bad spirits within the person that need banishing. So, since he could hear the water moving, he decided to chew flowers, then drink a little wine, and spit the concoction all over Zang. Literally all over. Then, he drank more liqueur and spit fireballs at her. All in all, it was a lot of liqueur, all over Zang. Kind of a hilarious end to the weekend for sure.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Mindo!
Ok everyone,
So this last weekend I went to a small village near the jungle called Mindo with a group of 12 people. (It was only two hours and 4$ away)
On our bus ride down, a portion of our group happened to meet an person from the U.S., who does freelance guide-ing in Mindo, which means we got very lucky. He instantly became our friend and proceeded to save us time and money everywhere we went. We ended up staying in a very nice Hostel for six dollars a night (that came with hot showers and breakfast each morning..)
The first thing we did after we arrived was go zip-lining. It was fantastic! There were 13 different lines and it took over two hours to do them all (costing us a whopping 13 dollars per person) and it was amazing. The jungle was so pretty and the ziplines where so amazingly fast and fun. Then we went and listened to the frog concert, which is at an area that is preserved in order to foster the most frog species possible.We wrapped up the night by getting pizza and going dancing. (pizza here is so much better than at home by the way)
The next day we got up early and immediately went tubing down the river, through rapids haha. It was amazing, these guides just strap 7 tubes together and then help you not die (they're very good at it). after that, we ate at this fantastic little market, and then went canyoning. We took a gondola thing really far into the jungle, hiked through the jungle while it was pouring rain, and then repelled down the side of a waterfall! That all took a while, so when we got back, we had dinner and met up with another group of white people to go dancing again.
The only thing we did on the last day was tour the Chocolate factory in Mindo, where they make their own chocolate and also roast their own coffee beans. I swear that was the best brownie I've ever had.
Next weekend is Otavollo, a city of weavers, talk to you then!
So this last weekend I went to a small village near the jungle called Mindo with a group of 12 people. (It was only two hours and 4$ away)
On our bus ride down, a portion of our group happened to meet an person from the U.S., who does freelance guide-ing in Mindo, which means we got very lucky. He instantly became our friend and proceeded to save us time and money everywhere we went. We ended up staying in a very nice Hostel for six dollars a night (that came with hot showers and breakfast each morning..)
The first thing we did after we arrived was go zip-lining. It was fantastic! There were 13 different lines and it took over two hours to do them all (costing us a whopping 13 dollars per person) and it was amazing. The jungle was so pretty and the ziplines where so amazingly fast and fun. Then we went and listened to the frog concert, which is at an area that is preserved in order to foster the most frog species possible.We wrapped up the night by getting pizza and going dancing. (pizza here is so much better than at home by the way)
The next day we got up early and immediately went tubing down the river, through rapids haha. It was amazing, these guides just strap 7 tubes together and then help you not die (they're very good at it). after that, we ate at this fantastic little market, and then went canyoning. We took a gondola thing really far into the jungle, hiked through the jungle while it was pouring rain, and then repelled down the side of a waterfall! That all took a while, so when we got back, we had dinner and met up with another group of white people to go dancing again.
The only thing we did on the last day was tour the Chocolate factory in Mindo, where they make their own chocolate and also roast their own coffee beans. I swear that was the best brownie I've ever had.
Next weekend is Otavollo, a city of weavers, talk to you then!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Ecuador is amazing..
Hey Guys!
Sorry for the long time since my last update, my family doesn't keep their internet on all the time and it's usually off and everyone's asleep when I am home and want it. ( they keep the wireless thing in one of the sister's rooms, so when she goes to sleep, the internet is off.)
So in the three days of school we've had so far, they told us customs and safety tips on the first day, showed us the equator and the historic part of Quito on the second day, and finally had class on the third. I'm not complaining, we don't have class till 1:30 in the afternoon and we get fridays off! One thing I've noticed though is they aren't fully telling the truth all the time. Like the fact that I see people wearing tanktops, flip flops, and shorts every day, (Something they said only "gringos" wear). And they way down played the danger from robbery till we were all over here. Before we left, they said the worst we'd have to deal with are pick pockets. Now once we're here they tell us it's not really pick pockets we have to be worried about, it's armed robbery! One of the guys who works for ACLAS (our school) has been robbed with either a gun, a knife, or by a large group of people SIX TIMES in the last year! WHAT? yeah. I wasn't too thrilled to learn I pretty much wouldn't be able to take my camera outside..
Anyway, I'm trying to pretty much not spend a weekend here in quito ( I figure I'll explore on the four days a week that I'm here) so a bunch of people and I are going to a city called Mindo this weekend, where hopefully we'll all water raft! and possibly bungee jump if it doesn't look to sketchy..
anyway, here's a list of things I've learned so far.
1. Don't touch any paper people give you on the streets because it might have a date rape drug on it.
2. Taxis only cost about 2 to 3 dollars to go anywhere in the entire city.
3. "Gringolandia" (the gringo district of the city) is probably one of the safest places to be at night, simply because I think that's where all the police are.
4. Ecuadorians are never in a hurry, except when they get in a car. When walking or taking the bus, they mosey around like they have all the time in the world. In cars? They are maniacs.
5. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way. EVER. evereverever. you step in front of a car, and it will hit you.
6. You can't throw toilet paper in the toilet. awkward.
7. Get off the bus fast, because it will leave approximately 5 seconds after it stops.
8. The sun is so intense here that I got burned from the 15 minute trip to school yesterday morning.
9. Ecuadorians don't know the meaning of the word "no" when it comes to food. A typical conversation toward the end of a meal goes like this. "do you want more food?" -No, I'm fine thank you very much, it was delicious. "are you sure? you should eat more" -No, really, I'm full. "Eat? food? do you understand what I'm saying?" -yes, i under- "Great you want more food! Eat!" -fine.....
Well, I gotta get ready to go to school, so I'll talk to you all later!
Sorry for the long time since my last update, my family doesn't keep their internet on all the time and it's usually off and everyone's asleep when I am home and want it. ( they keep the wireless thing in one of the sister's rooms, so when she goes to sleep, the internet is off.)
So in the three days of school we've had so far, they told us customs and safety tips on the first day, showed us the equator and the historic part of Quito on the second day, and finally had class on the third. I'm not complaining, we don't have class till 1:30 in the afternoon and we get fridays off! One thing I've noticed though is they aren't fully telling the truth all the time. Like the fact that I see people wearing tanktops, flip flops, and shorts every day, (Something they said only "gringos" wear). And they way down played the danger from robbery till we were all over here. Before we left, they said the worst we'd have to deal with are pick pockets. Now once we're here they tell us it's not really pick pockets we have to be worried about, it's armed robbery! One of the guys who works for ACLAS (our school) has been robbed with either a gun, a knife, or by a large group of people SIX TIMES in the last year! WHAT? yeah. I wasn't too thrilled to learn I pretty much wouldn't be able to take my camera outside..
Anyway, I'm trying to pretty much not spend a weekend here in quito ( I figure I'll explore on the four days a week that I'm here) so a bunch of people and I are going to a city called Mindo this weekend, where hopefully we'll all water raft! and possibly bungee jump if it doesn't look to sketchy..
anyway, here's a list of things I've learned so far.
1. Don't touch any paper people give you on the streets because it might have a date rape drug on it.
2. Taxis only cost about 2 to 3 dollars to go anywhere in the entire city.
3. "Gringolandia" (the gringo district of the city) is probably one of the safest places to be at night, simply because I think that's where all the police are.
4. Ecuadorians are never in a hurry, except when they get in a car. When walking or taking the bus, they mosey around like they have all the time in the world. In cars? They are maniacs.
5. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way. EVER. evereverever. you step in front of a car, and it will hit you.
6. You can't throw toilet paper in the toilet. awkward.
7. Get off the bus fast, because it will leave approximately 5 seconds after it stops.
8. The sun is so intense here that I got burned from the 15 minute trip to school yesterday morning.
9. Ecuadorians don't know the meaning of the word "no" when it comes to food. A typical conversation toward the end of a meal goes like this. "do you want more food?" -No, I'm fine thank you very much, it was delicious. "are you sure? you should eat more" -No, really, I'm full. "Eat? food? do you understand what I'm saying?" -yes, i under- "Great you want more food! Eat!" -fine.....
Well, I gotta get ready to go to school, so I'll talk to you all later!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
First Update
Hey Everyone!
So I just got here last night, and I've already been out dancing with my sister Gabby and all her friends! The apartment we live in is really nice, I have my own room, and they have the Internet! (WOOOO!) I just wanted to let you know I'm alive, and I'll post something longer later. I have to go to a party with my whole family! Love you all, and I'll update soon.
Selena
So I just got here last night, and I've already been out dancing with my sister Gabby and all her friends! The apartment we live in is really nice, I have my own room, and they have the Internet! (WOOOO!) I just wanted to let you know I'm alive, and I'll post something longer later. I have to go to a party with my whole family! Love you all, and I'll update soon.
Selena
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Hey everyone!
Ok, so I got so many requests from people who wanted me to keep in touch while I was away, that I decided to start a little blog to mass update people, in a much less time consuming way than writing individual letters :). So, this is where I'll send updates while I'm away in Ecuador! I apologize prematurely for the lack of great writing, but I'll do my best to be articulate, and timely. Next update should be up as soon as I find an internet connection in Ecuador!
Thanks for following,
Selena
Thanks for following,
Selena
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