Baños and one of the most interesting Taxi rides yet!

Sunday we began our adventure to Baños, a small resort town at the base of an active Volcano, where most Ecuadorians and Estranjeros (foreigners) go to vacation.  Our adventure began with a most interesting Taxi ride from our hotel.  We were told by the Taxi driver that a new bus terminal (and by new, I mean 8 days new!) was located in the southern part of the city.  It was the Taxista´s first time driving to the terminal, yet he reassured us that he knew right where he was going. 

The sequence of events that followed were quite hilarious, and had J and I cracking up in the back seat, while Tedi was squished in the front.  We drove for around 20 minutes, when the Taxista admitted that he had no idea where the terminal was.  He rolled down Tedi´s window, and yelled out at the driver next to us (while he was driving) for directions to the la terminal nueva.  Ämigo, donde esta la terminal neuva?¨ This happened about five different times, as we drove around a round-about more times than I can count on one hand.  Finally, a very nice Ecuadorian in a pick-up truck motioned for our Taxista to follow him.  Apparently this is how getting directions works in Ecuador, first you yell out the window, drive helplessly around in circles for the next 10 minutes until some kind old soul decides to take pitty on you and have you follow them in your car… needless to say, a map here is a bit out of the question.

We followed the dude in the pick-up for as long as he wanted us to and then he yelled, ¨just go recto (straight).¨ Of course straight ahead, in about 30 feet really meant coming to a fork in the road and led our confused Taxista wondering and cursing in Spanish which way was the correct way to go.  This followed with numerous yellings out the window to random people, who all replied, ¨vas recto, amigo!¨ So recto we went, and came to constrution, which lead us to a detoir, where we got even more lost…

After about 40 minutes of driving and yelling for directions to la terminal nueva, we finally arrived at a beautifully modern building, of which reminded me of the Yurba Buena center in SF.  The terminal was fairly easy to navigate, we found the boletos (ticket vendors), looked for the lady who was yelling, ¨Baños express¨ out her little kiosk window (was it really that transparent that we were going to Baños??) and bought three tickets to Baños (each costing only $3.50).  We loaded the bus and realized that we, along with one family of three and a gringo dude, were the only ones on this brand new bus.  This was a bit contrary to the overnight bus experience to Coca in el Oriente. 

In the daylight, and much more awake, I quickly learned how the non-efficient, yet efficient bus system works.  The bus has two opperators, one who is the driver, and the other who leans out the door and yells the destination of the bus collecting passengers and fairs.  We stopped several times outside of Quito for over twenty vendors, who tried to sell us papitas (chips), aqua, frutas, jugos frescas, chicklettas (gum),  and the list went on and on.  We even had a few vendors who tried to sell us pirated DVDs… intriging yet no sale.  J and I bought some papitas for the 4 hour trip, since we hadn´t really eaten lunch, and Tedi bought himself a nice bottle of aqua.

We drove and drove, luckily it was a clar day and we were able to see almost every side of Cotopaxi, since we had to drive around it to go South to Ambato, and then a bit East to Baños. 

The drive in to Baños is on a dirt road for about an hour and is similar to driving along highway 1, where the road turns, dips, and every single time it turns, I could have sworn we would drive right off the cliff.  The view of the volcano was incredible!  J immediatly pointed out that it reminded him of Kauai, and I couldn´t have agreed more.  It was a very moist, green valley filled with waterfalls, and the most interesting town, where EVERY business takes credit card!  What a novelty!

We quickly found our Villa Santa Clara, which was far from anything similar to a Villa (this was also reflected in the price at $7 cada persona), and went out to find lunch, as we were famished at this point.

We were told that shopping in Baños was ¨spectacular!¨yet, it really consisted of over 50 little stores and vendors that sell the exact same thing for slightly similar prices- all items that were probably mostly made in China (at least it was cheap).

Upon leaving our Hostal for dinner, we asked the hotel currator if the town was safe at night, since we explained that we had just come from Quito.  He explained with great enthusiasm and animation, that unlike Quito (of which he held a gun-shaped finger up to his own neck to act-out how dangerous the loco citizens of Quito are) Baños is extremely safe!  ¨Stay up as late as you want, descansar (rest and relax), and walk home at whatever time of night, and you will be safe,¨ he said.  It´s amazing what a few words of security can do to calm the mind.  I could finally relax, after a strenuous day and a half in Quito.  Baños no tiene la gente loco!  Thank God!

We passed out early and found our way the next morning around 6am to the public baths (filled with healing minerals from the heat of the volcano).  It was quite an experience getting into the 118 degree F hot water in the therapeutic pool.  Against the crips morning air, and overlooking the georgous town and landscape, we soaked in the baths with the rest of the local Ecuadorians.  The public pools have three piscinas.  A cold pool, luke warm pool (which would be considered hot in US standards), and a super duper hot bath. 

Afterwards, we caught a taxi up to the Adventure Spa Luna Runtun, where we planned on relaxing for the rest of the day 6km above Baños, overlooking the town and staying in a private villa.  It was rainy and cold when we arrived, we quickly had lunch (which turned into a 2 hour affair) and J and I planned on hiking down the volcano to the town to rent bikes or do some form of activity while Tedi washed more of his underwear.

The hike was intersting, as half of it was on a road filled with blind curves and the rest was on a drainage trail, which was a bit tricky to navigate in the slippery mud.  The view however, was incredible and we could really feel the difference in altitude as we hiked down.  We got to the town and found an ATV rental for relatively cheap, we attempted to rent it but soon realized that we would need a passport, and of course, both our passports were at the top of the volcano at Luna Runtun.  The eager salesman suggested that we hale a cab and ¨pay $2 and come right back with our passports!¨ Little did he know that each Taxi ride costs around $5 one way! 

The rest of our afternoon included shopping and searching for unique items that were not made in China.  We were somewhat successful and at the end of a long afternoon, took a Taxi back up to Luna.

That evening we relaxed and enjoyed a cheap alcoholic shot of sugarcane liquor served with hot fruit tea as a chaser in the hot baths overlooking the town.  I kept looking up, waiting to see the top of the active volcano, but no such luck, as the top was covered in clouds and fog.

The following day consisted of a very long breakfast (meals took forever at Luna) and talking Tedi into joining us for an ATV ride in the mud for 3 hours.  We convinced him, put on our rain gear, and headed down the mountain after waiting for a Taxi for about 40 minutes (we were again, experiencing Ecuadorian time at its best).  We found a reliable looking place to rent 4-wheelers from, and we decided, since we were on a budget to rent 2 and share.  The man who rented them to us didn´t even bother to ask us if we knew how to drive!  But, he was kind enough to guide us through town on his moped to the road that lead to the south of town, where we would be able to drive on (with the rest of the truck, cars, and buses) to see many different waterfalls. 

Riding in a 4-wheeler in the mud and on Ecuadorian roads is very very interesting, and quite the adventure.  Since they only go around 30mph, we had to make sure to stay far over to the right to let sinky buses pass.  Needless to say, the locals must put up with these a lot, since no one seemed to mind or honk at us as we made our way out of Baños towards the waterfalls.  Most of the route consisted of alternative roades just for us and bikes whenever we got to a tunnel, however, there was one point, where J and I had to drive through a one-way tunnel without lights!  Needless to say, it was even more interesting on the way back because the tunnel curved, and there were a few seconds when we couldn´t even see the light at the end of the tunnel (normally this would be a good thing, but without headlights, it was extremely scary).  J kept saying, ¨you´re too close to the wall, turn to the left!¨

Off the main roads, the route was muddy, and we were splashed quite a bit because we were missing a fender.  Note to self, the next I rent a 4-wheeler in the rain, make sure there is a fender!

We made it all the way to a waterfall hiking spot about 1.5 hours out called the something of the Diablo.  We hiked down to a river, and then paid the dollar to enter to the balconies of the devil.  This consisted of several balconies that went down to the base of the waterfall.  This prompted Tedi to put on his bright yellow pancho (of which he slightly resembled Big Bird), and the three of us prepared to get soaked!

On the hike back, we crossed a rope bridge, and then encountered more Americans that were also staying at Luna.  Ecuador is such a small place!

The drive back was muddy and cold, by the end we were covered in mud and our pants were soaked through, but we had a blast on our 4-wheel drive in Baños.  I guess the next trip we´ll try a more extreme sport, like pendulum swinging from a bridge, or repelling from a waterfall.

The bus back to Quito was pretty eventless, minus the blasting tecno music the entire way (which made it impossible to sleep even though I took Dramamine!)  Upon entering Quito, we grabbed a Taxi back to the airport, where we would take a tiny prop plane to Manta, a small city in the central coast.  I will leave that story for another time, when I don´t have to go…

Until the next update, which will probably be when I´m back in the States…

Brother J. Joins Tedi & I… & the Ecuadorian Adventure Continues!

Last Friday, make that two Fridays ago, my brother J joined Tedi and I in Quito for a week of crazy adventuring, travel & a quick course in Español. 

After sleeping for several hours after returning from el Oriente, Tedi and I grabbed a cab to the aeropuerto in order to meet up with my brother around midnight.  With our body clocks completely thrown off after sleeping most of the day, Tedi and I ate a quick, yet expensive meal of nugets de pollo at the aeroport while we waited with the rest of the families to greet their loved ones.  It should be noted, that in Ecuador, the greeting of a loved one is a HUGE deal.  The airport is stocked with bouqets of roses, teddy bears, and balloons of which you can write, ¨Bienvenitos Juan!¨ while waiting with a huge sign behind glass windows, searching for your ever-so-sleepy and deranged loved one who is about to wait yet another hour to get through customs.  The greeting fever was so intense that Tedi and I almost bought a bienvenitos balloon for J, but then realized we wouldn´t be able to take it with us on the bus to Baños the following day, not to mention it was a bit caro (expensive).  Sorry J!

After a restless sleep in our tiny hotel room (restless mainly because of the disco party across the street where Maria Carie and Michael Jackson songs were blended together and were so loud, you felt as if the DJ was in your own hotel room… and the beats did not stop until 4am), we ventured out to Quito.  Through both of our guidebooks, we managed to pick a day of fun-filled activities in order to view the sites and sounds of Quito at its best (or so we thought).  We were told to be extra careful when walking in this city, over 80% of the students at the school in Quito had been mugged, according to one of our friends in Cuenca.  Great! 

We started with a taxi ride to the old city, filled with cobble-stone streets and very old, colonial-style buildings.  It reminded me of a dirtier Cuenca and after seeing a few churches, busting into a few free museums, we realized we were done with the old city. 

We hailed another Taxista and ventured our way up to the Virgen del Mirador (a white angel that overlooks the city of Quito and protects it from Volcanic erruptions and other catastrophies, so far she seems to be doing a good job).  We passed through many neighborhoods on the way to the top AND you know the area is bad when the Taxista points out that the area was muy muy peligroso (dangerous).  He told us that even Ecuadorians do not walk the stairs up to the top of the virgen, hence the reason we were glad to pay the $5 for a Taxi (overpriced, but well worth the sense of security associated with it). 

At the top, I got my first glimpse of the base of Cotopaxi (an almost 6,000 m volcano famous for its beauty and because only 25% of  it´s climbers only make it to the top due to weather and altitude issues).  We also were able to see the other four volcanos that surround the city and we were finally able to understand which way was north!  J and I payed the $1 entrance fee to go up in the Virgen (a smaller version of the Statue of Liberty) to see the great views from halfway up the tower.  It was magnificent!  It was their that we busted out the map and attempted to figure out which snow-covered volcanos were which.  We promplty planned our next  course of action and went down to meet Tedi. 

We took a cab back to the old town, attempted to find a recommended seafood restaurant, failed, and started the hike to a gothic looking cathedrale, called la Bascilica, where we were told that instead of gargoiles, water iguanas and tortugas overlook the incredible buttresses.  We walked, had a bag of chips and a coke for lunch (it was the fastest at this super slow cafe at the base of the basilica) and paid the entrance fee to climb the steeples before it closed at 5pm! 

The climb consisted of a covered stairway, which didn´t really phase me at all, given my slight fear of heights.  Then, the climb got interesting… we walked on wooden planks over the main part of the building in the ceiling, and attempted to climb a very very steep ladder at 90·.  It was a bit freaky.  We got to the top and realized that to get to the tippy top of the steeple we would need to climb two more ladders that were out in the open, overlooking the city.  This was too much for Tedi and I and we attempted, without shaking, to climb back down the perpendicularly steep ladder. 

J, however, managed to make it to the top and took some amazing photos!  He´s obvsiously the climber of the threesome.

Afterwards, we climbed the bell tower, which faced towards the Virgen and Cotopaxi to the South, and took several pictures before the museum currator elegantly kicked us out because they were closing.  This ended our days´adventures in Quito… as instructed, we cabbed everywhere at night and figured out how the bus would work for our next day´s trip to Baños.

Days 2- 5 in the Oriente!

Greetings from Baños, Ecuador!

I am currently staying in a gorgeous Adventure Spa on the side of a Volcano with nothing to do but write, read, and bath in hot mineral baths.  That said, I have a few hours to write about the rest of our Amazonian adventure… I believe I left off writing about our fantastic adventure in the Amazon rainforest, also known as el Oriente!  Our second day in the La Cena (jungle) consisted of breakfast promptly at 6:30 am (buenos dias Cena!) and then an excursion with our new guide, Rafael.  In order to hike in the jungle, it is necessary to tuck our pants into really tall rubber boots, wear long sleeves, hella deet, and mucho sunscreen.  Rafael first piled our group of 6 Gringos into one tiny canoe and then realized that the canoe was about to sink, as a result, he put Rob (also known as Texas Boy) and I in our own canoe, since we were children of families who summer on lakes in the Midwest and consequently understood how to “drive” a canoe.  So there I was, canoeing my way through a rio in the cena!  We saw amazingly HUGE blue butterflies flying overhead, squirl monkeys hopping from tree to tree, and frogs along the river bank.  We reached our destination, a small path after canoing for about an hour, and began our hike.

About five minutes into our hike, Rafael spotted a long snake (of agua and one that was not poisonous).  He managed to catch it on his second attempt (his first attempt, he was bitten by la serpenta).  Holly and Diane (mother and daughter from Alaska) began to FREAK out, while Texan Boy asked to hold it, while also holding a gigantic centipede (typical).  We hiked some more through lots of mud in a swamp and came to a HUGE vine.  Rafael explained (en Español por supesto) how to swing properly on the vine, “jump on, hold on, and hollar like Tarzan, then jump off and let go of the vine.”  Tedi was the first brave sole to give it a go… then Holly, Texan Boy, and finally me.  It was awesome, and “not at all peligroso” according to our brave guide, Rafael.

In the afternoon, after having lunch promptly at 12:30, we had five hours of class, then ate dinner, drank Pilsner (the Ecuadorian beer, and the only alcohol served in the jungle) and passed out at 10pm (since this is when the generator is turned off), listening to the sound of German women screaming in the dark due to visits from local Tarantulas and bats… awesome!

Day 3

Our third day in the Amazon consisted of breakfast, again at 6:30, and then five hours of class, this time in the morning.  In the afternoon Rafael took us to a different swamp, showed us what Emerald Turtles look like and then had us climb a huge bird-watching tower to see the entire lagoon.  We made it to the top just in time for an Amazonian downpoor and relaxed while Rafael ran around the lagoon to get the canoes.  It was hilarious watching him stand with one foot in each and paddle both of them over to us simulateously! Rafael and Texan Boy were then attacked by killer bees that grab on to hair and bite the scalp (luckily the rest of us were further behind from the madness).  We paddled around the lagoon and were told that later that evening we would return and look for Caiman (Caymen, or Amazonian aligators that have eyes that glow red at night).  We returned, relaxed, and played a game of footbol with the other guides.  It should be noted that I made a complete fool of myself, scored a goal on my own team, and when I finally managed to pass the ball correctly to one of the other guides, he replied in Spanish, “Finally!  Muchas Gracias  Señorita!”

In the evening, after dark, Texas Boy, Holly, and I ventured out with Rafael to look for Amazonian Crocodile.  Why?  When else would I get a chance to search for people-eating animals in the wild jungle??  (not to mention in the DARK)  We canoed back to the lagoon and used our flashlights to look for the red eyes.  The jungle at night is extremely enchanting.  Larvae glow in the dark all around the lagoon and fireflies helped us look for red-eyed creatures in our canoes.  We finally came across one and Rafael started to back-paddle his way to the creature, jumped out of the boat, and caught the baby Cayman with his bare-hands!  Once again, evidence that we had the awesomest guide in the jungle!  Upon returning back to the lodge, we found Tedi and Jake (dude from NYC) drunk and swinging on hammocks with the rest of the guides.  It was quite the spectacle before we went off to bed at 10pm.

Day 4

Our last excursion took place in the morning and Rafael took us on a hike up the mountain behind the lodge to another huge bird-watching tower.  Since the tower was so old and rotten, only three people were allowed at once on the tower.  Texan Boy, Tedi, and I waited at the bottom while the first three ventured to the top.  When we finally got a chance to make it to the top, I tried not to look down…  We had quite a view at the top, saw a few red-headed vultures and then climbed back down.  After a few minutes, we noticed that Rafael wasn´t with us, where did he go?  Instead of taking the steps, Rafael had decided to swing down the vines of the gigantic tree, just like Tarzan!  Once again, an attest to our awesome guide!

In the afternoon we had class and then went to visit an indigenous family further in the rainforest.  Of course, this particular family was used to having Gringos once a day, and most likely, they probably had some huge mansion behind their naturally-made shack where they probably lived a not-so-modest life (at least this was one of the theories proposed by a Denmarkian woman on our excursion).

Our last night in the Amazon consisted of consuming lots of Pilsners and joking around in Spanish with our guides (or companions, as they preferred us to call them).

Day 5

After eating breakfast at 6:30, we pack our bags, loaded the motorized canoe, and headed for Coca (about a 45 minute ride).  We caught a taxi to the airport (no more 10 hour long bus rides at night), took a 2 hour bus ride to a different airport (since the Coca airport was closed), and boarded a TAME flight back to Quito.  It always amazes me that a 10 hour bus ride really only takes about 30 minutes in a plane and only costs about $40 more!

Back in Quito, Tedi and I found our hotel in the Mariscal district (the tourist district filled primarily with Gringos and dubbed as the safe part of town, at least during the day) and slept for the rest of the day.  We woke at 11pm, just in time to catch a Taxista to the airport to meet J, where the second half of our adventure would begin!

The Essence of Ecuadorian Time (Day 1 in el Oriente)

Greetings from Quito, the capital of Ecuador!

Teddi and I arrived today after spending the week at a lodge in the Amazonian Jungle (known as el Oriente aqui en Ecuador).   I´ll attempt to make this entry short to sum up our first day, as our week was filled with many, many highlights.

Last Sunday, we took a plane from Cuenca to Quito.   We left our Ecuadorian Family in tears and thanked them for all they had done for us.  As it was Sunday, and there are always limited flights (good ol´Catholic country), we were only able to get a flight out at 11:30 in the morning and arrived promptly 35 minutes later at Quito´s crazy busy airport.  Consequently, as we are learning in Ecuador, everything here takes twice as long and our connecting bus to Coca (small pueblo at the edge of L´Oriente) was not supposed to depart until 8pm.  We were told by several students not to walk around Quito with our luggage even during the day, safety first!  So… we made Quito´s international terminal our home base for 8 hours Sunday afternoon.  Teddi and I like to vary our activites when spending long amounts of time at an airport, we immigrated slowly from the small, super expensive, strangly American-esk restaurant, to a Nescafe Coffee bar, to finally a small corner to read.  We played cards, read books, drank coffee, watched golf on TV, and attempted to used the internet (although it was waaaaaaay to expensive).  We got used to watching the families great loved ones at the airport, then leave, then more families would show up.  It was a fun people-watching game, well at least for an hour, but not for 8! 

¨Go to the McDonalds across from the Theatro and your teachers will meet you there.¨ These were our directions from the Escuela in Cuenca on where to meet our bus to the Amazon, ¨At a McDonalds?  OK! Vamanos!¨  Of course, the gringos with the backpacking backpacks were very easy to find at the McDo, and, of course, we ended up getting a cab from the McDo to the actual bus terminal. 

Once arriving at the terminal, we were told that the bus actually didn´t leave until 9pm!  We had one more hour to wait!  SO MUCH WAITING!  We made friends quickly with the five other Americans in our group:  Gabriel, a 16 year-old from Miami (who´s mother sent him here to study Spanish on his own so she could have some alone time), Diane and Holly (a mother and daughter from Alaska, later we would joke that Diane looked just like Bett Midler from Hocus Pocus due to her crazy curly, red hair), and Rob and Meridee (two friends traveling together from Houston).  None of the individuals spoke Spanish and, consequently, none knew exactly what we were going to be doing in the Amazon either… so there we were the 7 gringos traveling blindly into the Ecuadorian Jungle.

¨The bus ride to hell¨

Around 9:30 (because nothing runs on time), our bus departed Quito.  It was very similar to a Greyhound bus, however, with constant Mirangee music playing in the background.  The nine hours that followed were a bit of a blur… Teddi and I were given the very front seats on the bus, right behind the door where the driver sang to music the entire 9 hours in order to stay awake (this did not sound exactly like the lullaby I was hoping for).   The bus would stop every once in a while, once for fuses (because the VCR for the violent movie wasn´t working), another time for water for the driver, and several times for extra passengers along the way.  Every time the bus would turn with the road, I would slam into Teddi, waking us both up, then the bus would turn the other direction, and Teddi would slam into me.  For this reason, Teddi deemed this part of our adventure, ¨the bus ride to hell.¨

We arrived in Coca at 5am, just in time to see the sun rise (well, we would have if the river hadn´t been soaked in with fog).  Our teachers, who had never really introduced themselves yet, used hand gestures to get us to walk in the direction of the lodge´s launch point at the river, I wasn´t really in the mood to speak Español at 5am!   We met several dogs along the way, on our 15 minute walk… and that´s about it.  My first impression of Coca was that it was a ghost town. 

We were originally told that after taking an 8 hour bus ride, we would then transfer to a motorized canoe to get to the lodge.  After walking to the launch point, we were told that we would have to wait AGAIN!  Our canoe was not going to depart until 11:00am!  I was quickly learning the true meaning of Ecuadorian Time, such a wonderful thing!

Our profesores dropped us off at the most Gringo-esk looking restaurant in Coca for breakfast around 8 am.  They helped us get a table and then left to go eat at what I assumed was a non-gringo-esk eatery for breakfast.  After a quick hour of eating, our professors returend to help us buy bus tickets to get back to Quito on Friday.  The 7 gringos looked at each other and after realizing that the bus would be another night bus, we agreed that it would be, although less adventurous, much more efficient to fly back to Quito.  We spent quite a bit of time walking back and forth, back and forth, between the two airline company offices (LAN and TAME) to figure out which flights would work best given the lodge´schedule and our own.  We finally made our way back to the TAME office and booked the last seats on the plane.

Life lesson #1, when in the Oriente, make sure you have a sure way to get back to civilization.

I´m pretty sure I slept in a chair for the next three hours, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, while waiting for the motorized canoe.  It started to rain when the canoe (which was actually a long banana boat with two HUGE yamaha outboard engines on the back).  Even in the rain, I´m pretty sure I slept on that boat ride, as I hardly remember a thing.

The Yarina lodge  is on a smaller river that connects to el Rio Napo, it consists of cute cabañas made of bamboo and palm, and, miraculously, has running water and bathroom facilities in every cabin.  We arrived, ate lunch, and immediately our professors told us that we were going to have class on the deck of the lodge.  Vamanos, let´s learn Spanish so more!

So there we  were, Teddi, Diane, Holly, and I, stinky and exhausted attempting to learn the present tense in Spanish.  I quickly learned that, unlike my teacher in Cuenca who had a gift for teaching, my new teacher, PePe, did not.  He taught directly from the book, had us do exercises, and disregarded the benefits of conversational learning.  BOO!  After about an hour of class, he asked me, ¨Estas aburrida?¨ Translation:  ¨Are you boared?¨ SI!  Our class was originally supposed to be from 1-6pm, however, when we learned that the afternoon activity was pirana fishing, Teddi and I took advantage of ditching class so we could put raw meet on a hook and fish for piranas in the river.  YUMMY!

The rest of our first afternoon in the Amazon consisted of Pirana fishing in several different spots, without having any luck, showering with a drizzle of cold water (apparently they run very low on water in the afternoons), and sleeping in a hammock.  Teddi and I went to bed directly after dinner (7:30), I prayed that I would not get any visits from Tarantulas or scorpions, and passed out in my sheets that had been drenched in the humidity of the Amazonian Jungle.  Fully exhausted, I realized I had lived and learned the essence of Ecuadorian Time!

Bartering for the first time…

In celebration of my first day in Cuenca without altitude sickness or an afternoon where I´m taking Spanish lessons (yay for the weekend) and per request of my family, I have decided to venture into what I would like to call, ¨blog land.¨ Who knows how much this is going to cost me at this particularly up-to-date internet cafe, however, we shall see how much going high-tech comme ça is worth my time… and yours, for that matter.

Today, Teddi (as our host momma calls him, since the name Ted does not exist in Ecuadorian Español) and I were given three different maps drawn by Conchita (aka, momma) that offered different options of what we could do on this ¨magically sunny day.¨ (And yes, today is the first day the sun has shown itself for the entire day, so far…)  Conchita´s options for us today included…

1.  Taking  a short bus ride up to Baños (where we could take a swim in the super duper hot spas heated by molten lava). 

2.  Taking a taxi up to the look-out point of Turi in order to see the ¨lovely view on this magical day¨and visitng a ceramics shop.

3.  Walking along the river in order to walk up to la cuidad veija (i´m too lazy to get out my Spanish dicionary at the moment, so please excuse the typ-os) using a different route.

Over our cafe, fruit, and flower tea (all three of which we drink every morning for breakfast), Conchita drew maps of all three different options, each one on a different post-it note.  As usual, Teddi and I didn´t really commit to one particular activity, but instead agreed with Conchita that this ¨magical day¨was not to be wasted.

Consequently, after doing laundry for an hour after breakfast, Teddi and I decided to embark on a stairway walk (think old, yet charming cobblestones all the way up) along the river.  We ended up walking to the Plaza de San Francisco, where many different merchants sell all sorts of things, from rubber boots, to scarves to purses, to fruitas, etc…  It was there, in the Plaza de San Francisco, next to the Egleisa de San Francisco, that I attempted to barter for the first time, and in a foreign language no less!  What an experience, I was not really feeling the first two stalls, both sales-girls were around 14 years old, it seemed really hard to offer a lower price when their sad, pouty faces stared into mine.  However, the third stall, offered a young man around our age who wanted to sell me un bolso (sarf) made out of Alpacca wool.  This was exactly what I was looking for, for our trip to Cajas National park tomorrow (located at 14,000 feet, I´ve been told it gets really cold).  He offered me bolsos in multiple colores and sizes.  In addition, he wanted to sell me a pancho for $18!  I managed to create a look of shock on my face and we finally agreed on a price for both the bolso and the pancho… for a mere $20!  I probably could have bargained for both for $18, but that seemed like it would have been an insult to him.  I was more than happy to pay $20.