Cordoba is not a particularly exciting city, but there are places to go near the city that are fun and relaxing. While there, the son of the hostal owner took just about everyone staying at the hostal (there were about 15-20 of us) to this really amazing swimming hole in a river about and hour and a half outside of Cordoba. We took the public bus and once we arrived in the town, bought some wine and snacks and headed to our destination. There were a couple of large boulders to jump off and a nice area to just sit in the water and cool off from the heat. In the evening we all came back and had a siesta for a couple hours. Around 9, Mama (the wife of the hostal owner, aka Martha) had made a Columbian feast for everyone. It was absolutely delicious!
The next day my friend Andrew and I headed out to another river with beaches. We were only able to spend a couple hours because we left so late and I had to get back to meet a friend from Peru and go to a Tango Show. The beach was not nearly as nice as California beaches (not sure what I expected as it was a RIVER). However, the water was clear and cool, and again, quite refreshing due to the heat in Cordoba.
I went to a Tango Show that night with my friend Alanna whom I had met in Peru, and a couple other people from my hostal. It was amazing. We saw about 4 tango dances and there were a couple of people that sang some beautiful song. The tango was beautiful. There was so much passion in all of the performers. There was an accordian player and guitarist to accompany, and let me tell you, I have NEVER seen someone play an accordian with such passion. And it was sooo good! It is a new appreciation for me.
I was sad to be leaving Cordoba as I made quite a few good friends there, but fortunately I didn't leave before Asado night at the hostal. More of Mama's cooking and some delicious Argentinian beef and chorizo made for a good night!
The next morning I was off to Puerto Iguazu. My bus was supposed to leave at 1 but left after 5. Because of the departure delay, all of our meals were delayed. We were served dinner at about 12:30...true Argentian style. I arrived in Puerto Iguazu and was supposed to meet my friend Logan at the hostal. He wasn't able to make it until the next morning, but he got there nice and early so we could head into Iguazu Falls. There are loads of different views from the Argentinian side. It was stunning. We took one of the boat rides they offer up to the face of the waterfall. I couldn't see anything because of the spray from the falls crashing down inches from the side of the boat. Needless to see we were drenched but smiling none the less at an awesome experience.
In the evening we caught an overnight bus to Buenos Aires. I'm getting quite used to the overnight buses, which really aren't so bad if you get a cama. (We'll see what I think after the 36 hour bus ride I am starting on new years day...) On our first full day we went to see a bookshop that is in a transformed old theater. The stage is now a cafe. Reminded me a lot of the Borders on University Ave (in Palo Alto) that is a transformed movie theater. Then we headed out to the cemetary (round 2 for me). That evening we regrouped with some of my friends from Parque Machia (the animal park I was at for 3 weeks).
On Christmas Eve we planned and shopped for our Christmas dinner. We went out for pizza and somehow managed to order the most gargantuous double layered pizza on the menu, plus two other hefty ones, for 5 people. We had an entire pizza left over, so we took it back to my friends apartment. We hung out there for the evening, and to our delighted surprise, there were fireworks as midnight off almost every roof top in the city. And we were on the 15th floor of an apartment building with an amazing view. It was a great Christmas Eve.
When I got home around 6:30am Logan was awake (he had left earlier in the evening), and reported to me that one of the guests in our room had broken into his locker and stole his laptop, mp3 player and all of his other electronics. The other girl in our room had also had her laptop stolen. By dumb luck (or maybe simply because I did not have a laptop), my locker remained untouched. So we spent Christmas morning at the police station obtaining a police report. The worst part is that even though the hostal has his full name and passport details, the police will not even go after the guy. It is as if stealing is accepted and they really don't care. Quite a damper on what otherwise could have been a great day. We only got about 2 hours sleep before heading out the my friends apartment to make Christmas dinner. We made beer can chicken, mashed potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes and broccoli. Drilly put together a mean strawberry apple crumble to top it off. The food was good and so was the company, it was great to spend the day with my South American family.
The next day Logan sorted out tickets to head back to Rio to get a new laptop and sort other things out. Then we went to a delicious lunch at La Cabrera, checked out La Boca's Caminito street and the San Telmo markets. I was sad to see Logan go, we had planned to hike in Patagonia together. But it was a good last day, and I was happy to show him around Buenos Aires.
The next day Kenny, Shannon, Drilly and I went for a walk around Palermo, in search of graffiti art. We found a little but it was overall pretty unsatisfactory. There is a tour you can take, but who wants to pay 70 pesos to have someone show you were the good graffiti is? There needs to be a tour online of locations to go to! In the evening we met up with the entire gang to go to Bomba del Tiempo, the well known drum show in BsAs. It was phenomenal. They had guests perform with them, including a group of 4 tap dancers, a singer and a guitarist. Every piece is improvised on the spot. The director has hand signals he gives to each section to let them know what they are about to do.
So for round two of Buenos Aires has been much more productive than the first round. I have seen and done almost everything I wanted to. So heading off to Patagonia on new years day will be well timed, and a nice detox!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Panama, Uruguay, Buenos Aires and more!
Ok, it´s been a while since I´ve updated where I have been and what I have been doing. I did indeed spend those three weeks walking Gato through the jungle everyday. And it truly was one of the best and most exciting experiences of my life. It went sooo quickly and I cannot wait to go back and volunteer at Parque Machia again.
Gato is an amazing puma. A few days we slept on the beach almost the entire day. A few days we walked 8-10k barely resting. While out in the jungle I carried a bottle of water with me, just for him. To find out if he was thirsty you could pull the bottle out of your backpack and if he wanted some he would look at the bottle of water until you bent down and poured some into your hand so he could lap it up. Truly amazing. He also has a brush that I used to brush him a few times since he never completely learned how to properly goom himself. Sometimes we hung out at the tourist mirador. My favorite times were being at the tourist mirador and the Spider Monkeys would come visit us. They were very curious about Gato and occasionally would slowly creep up to him and then brush their hand over his back quickly before running away. It was absolutely hilarious to watch. A couple times a monkey would climb on my head or sit in my lap. I loved it.
When it was time to leave the park, I had to spend 3 days on a bus to get to Santiago. Then I spent a day walking around Santiago before hopping on a plane to Panama to meet up with my family. First thing I did while I was in Panama was get a mani and a pedi, much needed after 3 weeks walking around in the jungle wearing wellies. The second thing I did was eat about 3 tamales, 5 empanadas, and a cup of ceviche. Yum!! We spent some time shopping in the giant mall. And then headed out to Corona to my Uncle´s beach house. We squeezed 15 people into a 3 bedroom house. It was great fun. One night was my cousin´s "family" bachelorette party, joint with her fiance. We rented a chivita (a party bus), and drove throughout Panama City, drinking and dancing to the live band. It was a night, worth remembering, even if I don´t. ;)
My last night in Panama was my cousins wedding. We got a second round of mani and pedi´s, hair made, makeup done, and I borrowed a beautiful dress from my cousin. The reception was at the Mariott and it was beautiful. The food was delicious, the music was good and the liquor was flowing. Around midnight traditional Panamanian dancers took over the floor for a show. A bit later carts of goodies were brought out - masks, flashing glasses, traditional hats, parasols, flashing cups, mardi gras beads, etc. It was time to party harder. At about 4am the dj called it quits (Buenos Aires would put the lateness factor to shame), but we kept drinking for another hour anyway. Around 5:30am we headed upstairs to bed. I had to get up at 8:15am to catch my flight to Uruguay.
I only had time to spend about 3 days in Uruguay as I needed to get to Buenos Aires to see a friend I had met in Ecuador before she went back to Europe for the holidays. I spent half a day exploring Montevideo, a beautiful city. Then headed to Colonia where I spent a day and a half lounging on the beach before taking the ferry through the delta to Tigre and a train onto Buenos Aires. And immediately, I was swept into the Buenos Aires night life. After 4 nights of going to bed no earlier than the sun, I took a day to rest and then did a little site seeing. I went to the feria de Mataderos, the Recoleta Cemetary (I saw Evita´s grave!), checked out all the old colonial style governement buildings, and went to a Boca Juniors football match. It was a little weird not being in the hostel all day, but I got over it and enjoyed beautiful Buenos Aires. Tonight I am heading out to Cordoba, it is time to escape the city and see what else is in Argentina!
Gato is an amazing puma. A few days we slept on the beach almost the entire day. A few days we walked 8-10k barely resting. While out in the jungle I carried a bottle of water with me, just for him. To find out if he was thirsty you could pull the bottle out of your backpack and if he wanted some he would look at the bottle of water until you bent down and poured some into your hand so he could lap it up. Truly amazing. He also has a brush that I used to brush him a few times since he never completely learned how to properly goom himself. Sometimes we hung out at the tourist mirador. My favorite times were being at the tourist mirador and the Spider Monkeys would come visit us. They were very curious about Gato and occasionally would slowly creep up to him and then brush their hand over his back quickly before running away. It was absolutely hilarious to watch. A couple times a monkey would climb on my head or sit in my lap. I loved it.
When it was time to leave the park, I had to spend 3 days on a bus to get to Santiago. Then I spent a day walking around Santiago before hopping on a plane to Panama to meet up with my family. First thing I did while I was in Panama was get a mani and a pedi, much needed after 3 weeks walking around in the jungle wearing wellies. The second thing I did was eat about 3 tamales, 5 empanadas, and a cup of ceviche. Yum!! We spent some time shopping in the giant mall. And then headed out to Corona to my Uncle´s beach house. We squeezed 15 people into a 3 bedroom house. It was great fun. One night was my cousin´s "family" bachelorette party, joint with her fiance. We rented a chivita (a party bus), and drove throughout Panama City, drinking and dancing to the live band. It was a night, worth remembering, even if I don´t. ;)
My last night in Panama was my cousins wedding. We got a second round of mani and pedi´s, hair made, makeup done, and I borrowed a beautiful dress from my cousin. The reception was at the Mariott and it was beautiful. The food was delicious, the music was good and the liquor was flowing. Around midnight traditional Panamanian dancers took over the floor for a show. A bit later carts of goodies were brought out - masks, flashing glasses, traditional hats, parasols, flashing cups, mardi gras beads, etc. It was time to party harder. At about 4am the dj called it quits (Buenos Aires would put the lateness factor to shame), but we kept drinking for another hour anyway. Around 5:30am we headed upstairs to bed. I had to get up at 8:15am to catch my flight to Uruguay.
I only had time to spend about 3 days in Uruguay as I needed to get to Buenos Aires to see a friend I had met in Ecuador before she went back to Europe for the holidays. I spent half a day exploring Montevideo, a beautiful city. Then headed to Colonia where I spent a day and a half lounging on the beach before taking the ferry through the delta to Tigre and a train onto Buenos Aires. And immediately, I was swept into the Buenos Aires night life. After 4 nights of going to bed no earlier than the sun, I took a day to rest and then did a little site seeing. I went to the feria de Mataderos, the Recoleta Cemetary (I saw Evita´s grave!), checked out all the old colonial style governement buildings, and went to a Boca Juniors football match. It was a little weird not being in the hostel all day, but I got over it and enjoyed beautiful Buenos Aires. Tonight I am heading out to Cordoba, it is time to escape the city and see what else is in Argentina!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
If you had said at any point in the last 26 years that I would be doing this, I would have said you were a crazy faced person.
This morning I woke up in my mosquito net, a few new bites on my legs, got dressed, packed my backpack and walked down the Bolivian road next to speeding semi-trucks, motorbikes and, well, jungle. I ate breakfast at the cafe and then headed into the jungle with an Aussie girl and 4 guys to act as security guards while we passed through monkey mirador. She was taking me to meet Gato, the 14 year old male puma I am going to work with for the next 3+ weeks.
Yes, you read correctly, I am working with a puma. Today, we cleaned its cage and then took it for a walk. Sometimes he runs, sometimes he walks, and sometimes he just sits there and chills out. Today we spent over 3 hours sitting in the shade with Gatito (I'm pretty sure it won't always be this easy). Often he needs a little encouragement to keep moving, but usually it's okay to let him just lay. It was absolutely AMAZING. As I learned more about him and his habits I realized it is going to be a tough 3 weeks, but I believe it will all be worth it to help this puma have a better life...and besides, I walked a freakin puma thru the jungle today.
And to top it off, on the walk back to the refuge after we had fed the puma chicken and meat, I had to pick up a tortoise and carry him 200m down the road to put him away in a shed so no locals will steal him. Then a monkey jumped on my friends back and proceeded to empty the contents of her backpack onto the jungle floor. When he was thru with her he jumped on my back, but somewhere along the line picked up some peanuts. So I just walked down the road with him on my back, eating a handful of peanuts.
So yeah, I walked a puma today. If someone had said to me, at any point in the last 26 years, that I would walk a puma through the jungle, I would have called them a crazy faced person. And now, guess what...this is my life.
Yes, you read correctly, I am working with a puma. Today, we cleaned its cage and then took it for a walk. Sometimes he runs, sometimes he walks, and sometimes he just sits there and chills out. Today we spent over 3 hours sitting in the shade with Gatito (I'm pretty sure it won't always be this easy). Often he needs a little encouragement to keep moving, but usually it's okay to let him just lay. It was absolutely AMAZING. As I learned more about him and his habits I realized it is going to be a tough 3 weeks, but I believe it will all be worth it to help this puma have a better life...and besides, I walked a freakin puma thru the jungle today.
And to top it off, on the walk back to the refuge after we had fed the puma chicken and meat, I had to pick up a tortoise and carry him 200m down the road to put him away in a shed so no locals will steal him. Then a monkey jumped on my friends back and proceeded to empty the contents of her backpack onto the jungle floor. When he was thru with her he jumped on my back, but somewhere along the line picked up some peanuts. So I just walked down the road with him on my back, eating a handful of peanuts.
So yeah, I walked a puma today. If someone had said to me, at any point in the last 26 years, that I would walk a puma through the jungle, I would have called them a crazy faced person. And now, guess what...this is my life.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Top 9 Things I've Done In the Last Month-ish
Ok, so its been a little over a month since I last sat down and took the time to post. And now I have to play a little catch up. So here it is (my best attempt at typing on an English keyboard set up to type Spanish...i.e. cant find the question mark and other things), a quick review of the last monthy-ish...hope I don't forget too much.
1. Salkatay Trek to Machu Picchu. While the first night was freezing cold, it was still absolutely gorgeous and the entire hike was worth all the work. Machu Picchu was wonderful, even if it rained. And the hike up to Wayna Picchu was probably one of the hardest things Ive ever done, coming off a 4 day hike. But again, beautiful and totally worth it.
2. Volcan Misti. Yes, I am as surprised as you that I made it to the top of a 5825m mountain. I think it might have been the hardest thing Ive ever done...then again, 8x400m is far in the past and that might have actually been the hardest thing Ive ever done...not entirely sure.
3. Colca Cañon. While I didnt get to hike into the canyon, it was probably a blessing as I was still recovering from the Salkantay trek. So thank you mom for keeping me from descending 1000m to the oasis, and instead viewing from the miradores near Cabanaconde. Also, the cruz del condor stop was fantastic with Andean Condors flying within meters of us...massive and (again) beautiful!!
4. Parque Nacional Manu. Wildlife besides birds were scarce, but the company made up for it. The birds we did see included the Cock of the Rock - the National bird of Peru. It was quite an amazing (and funny looking) bird. Also saw a few GIANT spiders, fotunately NOT in the lodge.
5. Scaling the hostal wall in Nazca. If nothing else goes to show how much I disliked Nazca, the fact that I scaled the wall of my hostal because I was locked out and risked missing my bus if I didnt find a way in should probably presnt my case nicely. Several things went wrong in Nazca including a crappy hostal and the flu. So when it came time to leaving, nothing was stopping me. I circled the building, let myself into a concrete football field. Upon entering the 20 or so Peruvian boys aging 6-15 stopped mid game and watch the gringa walk across the field, climb the bleachers and examine the fence and brick wall which stood in her way. I was offered help but in the end I didnt need any. I climbed up the fence and used the unfinished mortar of the brick wall to get up on top of the second story wall. I then shimmied my way around the courtyard area to where there was an uncovered second floor I could let myself down onto. I let my friend in, we grabbed our bags, I left money on the table and we took off for the bus station.
6. Sandboarding and dune buggy in Huacachina. In a giant dune buggy we were driven around the sand dunes of Huacachina, occasionally stopping to sandboard. We used what appeared to be old snowboards to hurl ourselves on our stomaches down massive sand dunes. It was AWESOME. At the end we went to watch the sunset over endless dunes and returned to Huacachina to party the night away for Wills birthday.
7. Pampas tour. I headed to Rurre, signed up for a tour, and had the fortune of being put in a group with 4 people I met in Quito and have seen a few times throughout my trip South. This time, there was tons of wild life...Alligators (everywhere you looked), Capybara (also everywhere you looked), Caimen (scary as shit), several different kinds of birds, a few dead anacondas and a live one, a green mamba (deadly and we walked within a couple feet of it hanging from a tree), and MONKEYS!
8. Worlds Most Dangerous Road. It is no longer the worlds most dangerous road since the constructed a new one for all the cars to go on. And yet, it was still really scary. Pretty much all down hill on a gravel road with massive 100+ meter cliffs on the left. The best part...traffic switches sides so that the drivers can see how close to the edge the are and dont drive off. That also meant that us bikers had to bike on the left side as well, right next to the cliff. And while I hung out towards the back of the pack, I let myself gain some confidence and really didnt go much slower than anyone else. But I lived to tell about!
9. Uros, the floating islands. I was amazed at how these people live...on islands...the made out of reeds. They also make their homes, boats, etc, out of reeds. And they eat them! It was very cool.
1. Salkatay Trek to Machu Picchu. While the first night was freezing cold, it was still absolutely gorgeous and the entire hike was worth all the work. Machu Picchu was wonderful, even if it rained. And the hike up to Wayna Picchu was probably one of the hardest things Ive ever done, coming off a 4 day hike. But again, beautiful and totally worth it.
2. Volcan Misti. Yes, I am as surprised as you that I made it to the top of a 5825m mountain. I think it might have been the hardest thing Ive ever done...then again, 8x400m is far in the past and that might have actually been the hardest thing Ive ever done...not entirely sure.
3. Colca Cañon. While I didnt get to hike into the canyon, it was probably a blessing as I was still recovering from the Salkantay trek. So thank you mom for keeping me from descending 1000m to the oasis, and instead viewing from the miradores near Cabanaconde. Also, the cruz del condor stop was fantastic with Andean Condors flying within meters of us...massive and (again) beautiful!!
4. Parque Nacional Manu. Wildlife besides birds were scarce, but the company made up for it. The birds we did see included the Cock of the Rock - the National bird of Peru. It was quite an amazing (and funny looking) bird. Also saw a few GIANT spiders, fotunately NOT in the lodge.
5. Scaling the hostal wall in Nazca. If nothing else goes to show how much I disliked Nazca, the fact that I scaled the wall of my hostal because I was locked out and risked missing my bus if I didnt find a way in should probably presnt my case nicely. Several things went wrong in Nazca including a crappy hostal and the flu. So when it came time to leaving, nothing was stopping me. I circled the building, let myself into a concrete football field. Upon entering the 20 or so Peruvian boys aging 6-15 stopped mid game and watch the gringa walk across the field, climb the bleachers and examine the fence and brick wall which stood in her way. I was offered help but in the end I didnt need any. I climbed up the fence and used the unfinished mortar of the brick wall to get up on top of the second story wall. I then shimmied my way around the courtyard area to where there was an uncovered second floor I could let myself down onto. I let my friend in, we grabbed our bags, I left money on the table and we took off for the bus station.
6. Sandboarding and dune buggy in Huacachina. In a giant dune buggy we were driven around the sand dunes of Huacachina, occasionally stopping to sandboard. We used what appeared to be old snowboards to hurl ourselves on our stomaches down massive sand dunes. It was AWESOME. At the end we went to watch the sunset over endless dunes and returned to Huacachina to party the night away for Wills birthday.
7. Pampas tour. I headed to Rurre, signed up for a tour, and had the fortune of being put in a group with 4 people I met in Quito and have seen a few times throughout my trip South. This time, there was tons of wild life...Alligators (everywhere you looked), Capybara (also everywhere you looked), Caimen (scary as shit), several different kinds of birds, a few dead anacondas and a live one, a green mamba (deadly and we walked within a couple feet of it hanging from a tree), and MONKEYS!
8. Worlds Most Dangerous Road. It is no longer the worlds most dangerous road since the constructed a new one for all the cars to go on. And yet, it was still really scary. Pretty much all down hill on a gravel road with massive 100+ meter cliffs on the left. The best part...traffic switches sides so that the drivers can see how close to the edge the are and dont drive off. That also meant that us bikers had to bike on the left side as well, right next to the cliff. And while I hung out towards the back of the pack, I let myself gain some confidence and really didnt go much slower than anyone else. But I lived to tell about!
9. Uros, the floating islands. I was amazed at how these people live...on islands...the made out of reeds. They also make their homes, boats, etc, out of reeds. And they eat them! It was very cool.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Why I Looove Buses
A. Bus touts - They sell pretty much any kind of fried food. And it´s cheap. Not to mention you can buy about a dozen apples/mandarins/limes for a dollar. And then of course there is the arroz con pollo that comes in a little plastic container that looks like a mini garbage can. My favorite - the fried tortilla thing with melted queso in it...duh!
B. Bus pushers - These guys get on the bus, pass out an item to everyone, give a little speech about how you would be helping by buying their candybar/cookies/etc. and then come around and ask you for money, or you have to give them their thing back.
C. La palabra de Dio - Yes, the word of God. I was lucky enough to have some guy get on the bus and sit down next to me and sing for a good 45 minutes, and then get up and preach to the entire bus about the word of God...it was very enlightening.
D. Crossing the border - The bus I caught from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Tumbes, Peru was jam packed at several points along the way...except for when it was me and one other lady crossing the border. Then it was just us and the bus driver and his ¨assistant¨ for lack of a better word. The best part aboutt he whole thing was that the assistant escorted us through getting our passport stamps, it was quite nice really...
E. 3 Nazi movies - Yes, I was lucky enough to watch not 1, not 2 but THREE movies about world war II back to back on my overnight bus from Mancora to Chimbote. The best part - they were all dubbed over in Spanish with no subtitles and the sound quality was TERRIBLE...so even if I could understand Spanish well enough to know what was going on, I couldn´t.
F. 2 Flat Tires - Yeah, at least the views were good. The bus I caught from Chimbote to Huaraz had a rough time but at least it wasn´t too hot and we were passing through a spectacular canyon that went from steep sides of skree I would have loved to ride down on a sled (to my death of course), to sheer rock that might have been nice to rock climb on. Not to mention the cordilleras blancas we could see in the distance. Absolutely stunning, even if it took an extra 3 hours.
G. Honking - Oh dear, please, just keep honking. Never mind that when you honk every 3 minutes it is JUST enough time for me to fall back asleep and be rattled awake by your unecessary honking. The only honking I approve of is when we're going thru a one lane tunnel or around a super narrow turn, and you want to warn anyone who might be coming the other way. (yes, there is a lot of that here as well.) But otherwise, keep your hands on the wheel and let the rest of us ride in peace!
B. Bus pushers - These guys get on the bus, pass out an item to everyone, give a little speech about how you would be helping by buying their candybar/cookies/etc. and then come around and ask you for money, or you have to give them their thing back.
C. La palabra de Dio - Yes, the word of God. I was lucky enough to have some guy get on the bus and sit down next to me and sing for a good 45 minutes, and then get up and preach to the entire bus about the word of God...it was very enlightening.
D. Crossing the border - The bus I caught from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Tumbes, Peru was jam packed at several points along the way...except for when it was me and one other lady crossing the border. Then it was just us and the bus driver and his ¨assistant¨ for lack of a better word. The best part aboutt he whole thing was that the assistant escorted us through getting our passport stamps, it was quite nice really...
E. 3 Nazi movies - Yes, I was lucky enough to watch not 1, not 2 but THREE movies about world war II back to back on my overnight bus from Mancora to Chimbote. The best part - they were all dubbed over in Spanish with no subtitles and the sound quality was TERRIBLE...so even if I could understand Spanish well enough to know what was going on, I couldn´t.
F. 2 Flat Tires - Yeah, at least the views were good. The bus I caught from Chimbote to Huaraz had a rough time but at least it wasn´t too hot and we were passing through a spectacular canyon that went from steep sides of skree I would have loved to ride down on a sled (to my death of course), to sheer rock that might have been nice to rock climb on. Not to mention the cordilleras blancas we could see in the distance. Absolutely stunning, even if it took an extra 3 hours.
G. Honking - Oh dear, please, just keep honking. Never mind that when you honk every 3 minutes it is JUST enough time for me to fall back asleep and be rattled awake by your unecessary honking. The only honking I approve of is when we're going thru a one lane tunnel or around a super narrow turn, and you want to warn anyone who might be coming the other way. (yes, there is a lot of that here as well.) But otherwise, keep your hands on the wheel and let the rest of us ride in peace!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Crazy Baños and McDonald´s French Fries
Oh wow, have I enjoyed Baños...the first night we all went out, and by we I mean Marie and Kym (the Belgian sisters), and Ben (the English bloke - haha). The four of us played Ring of Fire (better known to me as King´s Cup) in our room with Ron Abuelo (love my Panamanian Rum) and then headed out to the Leprechaun Bar. At the LB we talked and danced and I shook my ass. It was a fabulous night closing down the bar and eating, no wait - devouring, tacos from the stand next door. The next morning I had to get up pretty early and head out on the river for a little white water rafting on the lower Rio Pastaza. It was pretty good class IV/IV+ rafting and I enjoyed myself. A couple from Berkeley was with us as well as a Swiss guy.
That afternoon, we acquired a couple of new roommates - a hottie from Brazil, Antonio, and a crazy French girl, Natalie. Also, Ben´s friend Leila came to join us from Guayquil (they had met earlier in Argentina and now she is working in Guay). Leila is super friendly and loves to talk to everyone, so when she came down to meet us all for dinner, she naturally brought along two of her roommates - Ana (not sure where she was from) and sLogan. Our little party group had quickly grown from 4 to 9 - and it was Saturday night! A really long game of never have I ever got the group pretty disgustingly close and knowledgable about each others exploits and then off to the bar we went. Closing the LB down AGAIN and Marie and I eating about 3 extra dinners between taco bars, burrito bars and hamberguesas. It was a fantastic night out.
The next day we all rented dune buggy´s and headed down the road to Puyo to see some of the beautiful waterfalls and go swimming in the ¨jacuzzi¨which was cold and well...not actually a jacuzzi. It was a fab day and upon return Marie and I went to go eat some fantastic food from the market (btw, I will have to eventually write an entire blog on food since I have pretty much left that out so far). And when we got back to the hostel, Simon (crazy English guy biking down to the tip of Argentina), had just arrived! He was craving beer but unfortunately it was Sunday and they don´t serve beer on Sundays! :( Good for the rest of us though cause we were needing a break after 2-3 days of late night partying.
Monday rolled around and most of us took it pretty easy. Marie and I walked up part of a hike for a nice view of the Baños. Then we went and got facials and pedicures and I also got a full body massage - all for $45!! And it was fantastic! In the evening, being our last night all togehter, we played one last huge round (we gained about 6 more people but lost Leila who had to return to Guay for work) of Ring of Fire and then headed to the bar. Unfortunately there werent too many bars open, but we all went into one (insisting on a free shot if we went entered the bar), and partied hard, as always.
Tuesday I spent mostly napping and trying to recover from Baños and then Ben and I attempted to catch the 5:30 bus to Guayaquil. The bus was supposed to arrive at 11 but when we were heading down a random dirt road at 11:30 and the bus kept stopping for long periods of time, we new we were in it for the long haul. When the bus backed up 100m on a dirt road with a ditch on one side and then proceeded to make a 7 point turn in someones driveway, I was incredibly grateful for that part of the drivers test... EVENTUALLY, we arrived at 2:30am and tried to call Leila so that we could crash at her place. Unfotunately the cabinas are closed in the middle of the night, my cell phone wouldnt work and the cab driver didnt have one...so we ended up at a hotel around 3:30am. And thus the need for McDonald´s French Fries and an empanada for breakfast at the bus station while we wait for our bus to head to Puerto Lopez. And now I have to go catch it cause it leaves in 7 minutes!
That afternoon, we acquired a couple of new roommates - a hottie from Brazil, Antonio, and a crazy French girl, Natalie. Also, Ben´s friend Leila came to join us from Guayquil (they had met earlier in Argentina and now she is working in Guay). Leila is super friendly and loves to talk to everyone, so when she came down to meet us all for dinner, she naturally brought along two of her roommates - Ana (not sure where she was from) and sLogan. Our little party group had quickly grown from 4 to 9 - and it was Saturday night! A really long game of never have I ever got the group pretty disgustingly close and knowledgable about each others exploits and then off to the bar we went. Closing the LB down AGAIN and Marie and I eating about 3 extra dinners between taco bars, burrito bars and hamberguesas. It was a fantastic night out.
The next day we all rented dune buggy´s and headed down the road to Puyo to see some of the beautiful waterfalls and go swimming in the ¨jacuzzi¨which was cold and well...not actually a jacuzzi. It was a fab day and upon return Marie and I went to go eat some fantastic food from the market (btw, I will have to eventually write an entire blog on food since I have pretty much left that out so far). And when we got back to the hostel, Simon (crazy English guy biking down to the tip of Argentina), had just arrived! He was craving beer but unfortunately it was Sunday and they don´t serve beer on Sundays! :( Good for the rest of us though cause we were needing a break after 2-3 days of late night partying.
Monday rolled around and most of us took it pretty easy. Marie and I walked up part of a hike for a nice view of the Baños. Then we went and got facials and pedicures and I also got a full body massage - all for $45!! And it was fantastic! In the evening, being our last night all togehter, we played one last huge round (we gained about 6 more people but lost Leila who had to return to Guay for work) of Ring of Fire and then headed to the bar. Unfortunately there werent too many bars open, but we all went into one (insisting on a free shot if we went entered the bar), and partied hard, as always.
Tuesday I spent mostly napping and trying to recover from Baños and then Ben and I attempted to catch the 5:30 bus to Guayaquil. The bus was supposed to arrive at 11 but when we were heading down a random dirt road at 11:30 and the bus kept stopping for long periods of time, we new we were in it for the long haul. When the bus backed up 100m on a dirt road with a ditch on one side and then proceeded to make a 7 point turn in someones driveway, I was incredibly grateful for that part of the drivers test... EVENTUALLY, we arrived at 2:30am and tried to call Leila so that we could crash at her place. Unfotunately the cabinas are closed in the middle of the night, my cell phone wouldnt work and the cab driver didnt have one...so we ended up at a hotel around 3:30am. And thus the need for McDonald´s French Fries and an empanada for breakfast at the bus station while we wait for our bus to head to Puerto Lopez. And now I have to go catch it cause it leaves in 7 minutes!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Cotopaxi, party in Quito and now Baños!
The past couple days have been phenomenal. I came back from Mindo, had dinner on the terrace at the Secret Garden, and met a bunch of new people. In Mindo I went on the canopy tour over the cloud forest (hopefully pictures to come), and on the truck ride down I met a couple of sisters from Belgium - Marie and Kim. They happened to be hiking to the refuge on Cotopaxi tomorrow and I was able to jump on their tour which was quite fortunate since I hadn't had much luck (no tengo suerte) in finding a tour until then. So yesterday morning at the not too ungodly hour of 7am we hopped in the car and started the hour and a half drive to the base of Cotopaxi. Once there we picked up a local guide, bought our passes to the National Park, stopped at the museum and then drove up to the parking lot, which is surprisingly high on the Volcano. From the parking lot it is supposed to be a 45 minute walk up the volcano to the refuge. Well, it took us about an hour and 20 minutes. The altitude was really taking its toll on our heart and lungs so we stopped a lot and rested. It was quite the climb tho, and one of the most beautiful days for it. Our guide kept telling us that he has never seen the mountain so clearly. We were also able to see Chimborazo Volcan, which is about a 3.5 hour drive south of Quito. I think it is Ecuador's (maybe the worlds?) tallest inactive volcano at 6310 meters. Our hike was from 4300 meters to 4800 meters on Cotopaxi. It was astounding views of several volanoes.
Later in the evening after returning from our hike I had dinner on the terrace again. Reunited with the Texans that are travelling the world for 3 years, and then ended up hanging out with one of the girls I had met the night before - Danielle from Canada, and another girl, Paula from Columbia. It happened to be the last night of one of the girls that worked at the hostel, so there was clearly going to be a party. Three glasses of wine later and a mini dance party on the terrace (including some running man to the tunes of non other than MC Hammer), we were all feeling pretty good. They had ordered a party bus to take everyone to the Mariscal to go out. We all went to "No Bar", which was right next to "Yes Bar." Everyone danced the night away. It was funtabulous. (You know how I like to shake my booty.)
And then this morning it was up early to catch a 40 minute taxi ride to the bus terminal in the South, to catch a 3.5 hour bus ride down to Banos. I came down with Marie, Kim and Ben (English bloke from Grimsby, which is apparently very grim). I've organized a rafting trip for tomorrow and we might rent a 2 or 4 passenger off road quad sort of thing to go up to the waterfalls. And then there is also the option of some paragliding and a bike ride down to Puyos, and a bunch of other things...I could be here a while. Only time will tell!
Later in the evening after returning from our hike I had dinner on the terrace again. Reunited with the Texans that are travelling the world for 3 years, and then ended up hanging out with one of the girls I had met the night before - Danielle from Canada, and another girl, Paula from Columbia. It happened to be the last night of one of the girls that worked at the hostel, so there was clearly going to be a party. Three glasses of wine later and a mini dance party on the terrace (including some running man to the tunes of non other than MC Hammer), we were all feeling pretty good. They had ordered a party bus to take everyone to the Mariscal to go out. We all went to "No Bar", which was right next to "Yes Bar." Everyone danced the night away. It was funtabulous. (You know how I like to shake my booty.)
And then this morning it was up early to catch a 40 minute taxi ride to the bus terminal in the South, to catch a 3.5 hour bus ride down to Banos. I came down with Marie, Kim and Ben (English bloke from Grimsby, which is apparently very grim). I've organized a rafting trip for tomorrow and we might rent a 2 or 4 passenger off road quad sort of thing to go up to the waterfalls. And then there is also the option of some paragliding and a bike ride down to Puyos, and a bunch of other things...I could be here a while. Only time will tell!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Round 1, vs Pizza
Pizza? Really? Apparently my first bout of food related illness is due to the pizza I ate in Mindo. Had to skip bird watching the next morning and slept most of the following day. Walked down to Hotel Descando for a little bit to watch the hummingbirds. There I sat and chatted with William, a bird watcher that lives in Mindo. But I started to feel sick again after a little while and went back to my hostal to sleep. Today I felt a lot better and I hiked up to the ziplines over the canopy. Very cool! I´ve been ziplining before but never so high over the trees!! And I saw a toucan! Woohoo! Mindo is a beautiful town and I was sad to leave but there is so much more to see. Tomorrow I will hike part of the Cotopaxi Volcano and then on Friday I am off to Banos for some rafting, biking and relaxation. It should be a pretty chill place to relax for a few days. I heard the coast is cloudy right now and I think I might skip it and stay in Banos a little extra and then I will have a little bit longer to explore nothern Peru as well. Hasta luego!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Northern Ecuador
Well, obviously I'm having a great time and keeping busy if this is the first time I've sat down at a computer on my trip (aside from to email my parents to say I got here okay but my phone isn't working).
I arrived safely in Quito, a little late but I made it! I shared the ride to my hotel with an English guy, Simon, who is going to bike from Quito to Ushuaia, the most southern tip of Argentina! He might be a little crazy to do it, but I admire his courage and it is going to be an amazing trip.
I left the next morning for Otavalo, which ended up being a great decision. Thanks to Lonely Planet, I was pretty sure there was going to be a festival when I got there, and there was! Woohoo! PARTAY!! Festival del Yamur. The first day I wandered around, organized a couple trips out of the city for the next couple days and then I noticed that there were chairs being lined up along one of the main streets...hmmm...this looks just like Santa Barbara when there is going to be a parade. So I explored a little more, watched some street performers, and then the crowds started to form. And eventually, a parade celebrating all the different cultures of Ecuador started to proceed. There were lots of dancers wearing many different colorful costumes, bands, and some floats. There were even some dancing horses like in the Fiesta parade. So pretty much, I felt at home. ;) Although, in Otavalo, people were drinking in the streets, and drinking in the parade...why won't they let us do that in SB? Ah well, I guess you can't have everything.
The next day I went to the markets. Otavalo is famous in all of South America for its markets. There is a huge sprawling "crafts" market where they sell...crafts...AND clothes, toilet paper, fruit, veg, watches, shoes, cleaning supplies, cds...pretty much everything. I also went to the animal market. And that was quite the site....there are people selling animals...guinea pigs (bunches carried around in large bags), chickens, cats, dogs, cows, pigs, geese, and more! It was pretty crazy. Later in the day I went hiking around Lagunas Mojandas which was very beautiful in the Antiplano. A couple from Holland and a guy from New York (Josh) were on the hike with me. Later that night, Josh and I met up to go to the crowing of La Reina del Yamur. It ended up being sort of half concert, half beauty pagent. One of the performers was Fausto, a famous pop singer in Ecuador...and boy did the girls go crazy for him! Ha! The girls running for la reina were all between 16 and 20. Nathaly won.
The next day, (yesterday,) I went on a tour of indigenous communities. Josh came too, which ended up being really good because the guide only spoke Spanish and Josh is bilingual (he was actually born in Ecuador and moved to NY when he was 5). After the tour we went to the Condor Park and then to the bull fighting (part of the festival del Yamur). I then headed back to Quito. At the hostal I reunited with Simon and couple other travelers I had met my first night, as well as meeting several more backpackers (including 2 Israeli’s that had just arrived from working Jewish summer camps in the U.S. – one in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin!).
This morning I explored Quito. I went to La Compania de Jesus – a church that is plated with gold inside. I also saw the changing of the guards at the El Palacio del Gobierno - quite the event! I then went up to the Basilica and decided to risk my life climbing to the top of the tower. Oh my dear, it was just about as bad as bungy jumping. I had to walk across a wooden plank bridge and then climb several steep ladders. It was pretty scary but somehow I made it!
Now I am I Mindo (highly recommended by several people I have met so I decided to add it to my trip and spend less time in Quito). Tomorrow I have to get up at 5am to go birding. I think I will see many many colorful birds…including the world’s largest humming bird. Super excited!
I arrived safely in Quito, a little late but I made it! I shared the ride to my hotel with an English guy, Simon, who is going to bike from Quito to Ushuaia, the most southern tip of Argentina! He might be a little crazy to do it, but I admire his courage and it is going to be an amazing trip.
I left the next morning for Otavalo, which ended up being a great decision. Thanks to Lonely Planet, I was pretty sure there was going to be a festival when I got there, and there was! Woohoo! PARTAY!! Festival del Yamur. The first day I wandered around, organized a couple trips out of the city for the next couple days and then I noticed that there were chairs being lined up along one of the main streets...hmmm...this looks just like Santa Barbara when there is going to be a parade. So I explored a little more, watched some street performers, and then the crowds started to form. And eventually, a parade celebrating all the different cultures of Ecuador started to proceed. There were lots of dancers wearing many different colorful costumes, bands, and some floats. There were even some dancing horses like in the Fiesta parade. So pretty much, I felt at home. ;) Although, in Otavalo, people were drinking in the streets, and drinking in the parade...why won't they let us do that in SB? Ah well, I guess you can't have everything.
The next day I went to the markets. Otavalo is famous in all of South America for its markets. There is a huge sprawling "crafts" market where they sell...crafts...AND clothes, toilet paper, fruit, veg, watches, shoes, cleaning supplies, cds...pretty much everything. I also went to the animal market. And that was quite the site....there are people selling animals...guinea pigs (bunches carried around in large bags), chickens, cats, dogs, cows, pigs, geese, and more! It was pretty crazy. Later in the day I went hiking around Lagunas Mojandas which was very beautiful in the Antiplano. A couple from Holland and a guy from New York (Josh) were on the hike with me. Later that night, Josh and I met up to go to the crowing of La Reina del Yamur. It ended up being sort of half concert, half beauty pagent. One of the performers was Fausto, a famous pop singer in Ecuador...and boy did the girls go crazy for him! Ha! The girls running for la reina were all between 16 and 20. Nathaly won.
The next day, (yesterday,) I went on a tour of indigenous communities. Josh came too, which ended up being really good because the guide only spoke Spanish and Josh is bilingual (he was actually born in Ecuador and moved to NY when he was 5). After the tour we went to the Condor Park and then to the bull fighting (part of the festival del Yamur). I then headed back to Quito. At the hostal I reunited with Simon and couple other travelers I had met my first night, as well as meeting several more backpackers (including 2 Israeli’s that had just arrived from working Jewish summer camps in the U.S. – one in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin!).
This morning I explored Quito. I went to La Compania de Jesus – a church that is plated with gold inside. I also saw the changing of the guards at the El Palacio del Gobierno - quite the event! I then went up to the Basilica and decided to risk my life climbing to the top of the tower. Oh my dear, it was just about as bad as bungy jumping. I had to walk across a wooden plank bridge and then climb several steep ladders. It was pretty scary but somehow I made it!
Now I am I Mindo (highly recommended by several people I have met so I decided to add it to my trip and spend less time in Quito). Tomorrow I have to get up at 5am to go birding. I think I will see many many colorful birds…including the world’s largest humming bird. Super excited!
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