Ecuador!

Ok, really quick update! Jessie and I are at an internet cafe in Huaraz, Peru and we only want to spend an hour here so please excuse the grammar and spelling mistakes. Also, these keyboards are wierd and I´m, not going to spend time trying to figure out how to make certain buittons work.

Jan. 26thÑ Arrive in Quito, Ecuador around 8Ñ30am. Ricardo from the hostal we stayed at )the Secret Garden) picked us up from the airport. As Holly described it, the smell of deisel fuel and bread welcomed us to the country. The Secret Garden was definitely a backpacker´s place. The fifth floor was a bar-patiio with an amazing view of the city. We were warmly welcomed with a round of shots. Probably not the best idea while trying to acclimatize at 2800 meters. Though we did decline the offer to leave on the party bus with everyone else at 11pm that evening. I remember on the plane to Orlando listening to two small children on their way to Disney World¨¨We´re going to fly up to the night sky!¨ ¨Yeah, we´re going to hit the stars!¨And that´s exactly how I felt on that night overlooking Quito from the balcony. The lights from a million churches and houses lit the rolling mountainside.

We woke up early the next day to see Quito since Jessie and I were going to leave that night for Cuenca. Our first stop was the big statue of the Virgin Mary that sits at the top of one of the hillsides and looks over the city. I should try to remember the name of it, but I can´t be bothered. Anyway, we got there early so a lot of the Ecuadorians were still setting up the market and there weren´t any other tourists, which was nice. Then our cab driver dropped us off in Old Town so we could take a walking tour. We saw the President´s Palace, a really wonderful )and free!= art museum

)On a side note, The Virgen de Candelaria... I can´t find the freaking question mark on this keyboard!... festival is going on right outside of the cafe! Super cool!


Then we headed to the basilica, which I should also know the name for, which was one of my favorite parts. For one, it´s beautful, and we also got to climb all the way to the top of one of the spires and then on the other side, to the top of the clocktower. To get there, we had to climb about a billion spiral staircases, walk across a wooden plank suspended over a giant abyss, and climb a billion more ladders. It was exhausting but the view was amazing and our lunch right after only tasted that much better. On our way to the teleferiqo, we walked through several beautiful parks )the parks in Ecuador are so much nicer than in the States, and people actually hang out there). The teleferiqo was frightening, but promised a really awesome view of the city and Cotopaxi at the top. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, it was too late in the day and the fog had already set in. So instead of a gorgeous view, we got cold, rain, and grey on all sides. So we headed back down and watched the ominous sky darken and lightening strike far too close for comfort. But we made it down safe and had fun, regardless. Afterwards, Holly, Jessie, and I headed back to Secret Garden to meet Sam and Molly for dinner.

Then, a short 26h hours after arriving in Quito, Jessie and I were aboard a night bus for Cuenca. )Sorry Dad! Had to do it!) We were a bit apprehensive about our first night bus, but it turned out to be totally comfortable and safe. We were the only gringas aboard, but the rest were families and a church group who sang praise songs and prayed for a safe journey. We had hoped to sleep on the way, but the roads were so windy and bumpy that it was almost impossible.

Jan. 28: Cuenca
First impression: a wealthier and less crowded city than Quito, but just as touristy. Jessie and I arrived at 6am and set off walking down a street near el centro to find a hostal. We knocked on a few doors and wound up staying at a place we found because the owner called to us from her balcony. She is a wonderfully kind woman who told us just to rest for now and worry about paying her later. And rest we did. Two hours later, we headed out to explore the city. Cuenca is beautiful with its many churches, parks, and cobblestone streets lined with colorful buildings and balconies decorated with pink and red flowers. We saw a ton of markets with deliciously tempting fruits and vegetables, which, unfortunately, we couldn´t eat. We went to the Museo de Arte Moderno and El Prohibida Museo de Arte Extremo. That last one was recommended by Lonely Planet, but perhaps did not include enough information about what exactly that museum housed. Awkward. Especially because we had to ask several people how to find it. So Jessie and I looked around there for a bit and then sat inside on a coffin next to the bust of some sort of green demon with slobbery fangs and red eyes to enjoy our pan con queso.

Then we took a walk along the river, saw the university and the beautiful neighborhoods in that area. It was getting dark by that point so we decided to head back toward our hostal and stop at a the Wunderbar for dinner. We expected it to be filled with turistos, but it was convenient so we went anyway. Surprisingly, there were a lot of locals there and Jessie let me practice my Spanish on her. I asked for the check and our waitress understood me! Woohoo! EArlier that day we had walked past a kind of Indian area of town with a lot of hookah bars. We decided that if we had time we would stop in one that night. But by the time we had finished our dinner at Wunderbar, we were exhausted and ready to be in bed by 8Ñ30. As an excuse, we decided that if there was a hookah bar right next door, we would go, but since there´s not, we should just go back and get in bed. However , when we walked out, we saw one on the corner and therefore had no choice but to go inside. We didn´t stay long, though, because we were once again the only gringas and spent the whole time being stared at by Cuencan men. Uncomfortable.

The next morning we slept through our alarm but were out the door by 10:30. Many of our plans failed that day, but it turned out to be ok because even though we had only been awake for 2 or 3 hours, we were super tired and decided to grab a taxi to the bus station and head on to Loja to meet Holly. Unfortunately, our first taxi driver convinced us that he knew of a smaller bus for six people that was much faster and cheaper that the regular buses. Turns out, there wasn´t room for us on that bus and it wasn´t cheaper and he charged us way too much to take us there. But we grabbed another taxi, got on a legitimate bus, and were on our way to Loja only slightly behind schedule. The bus system here in interesting. They tell you that the bus goes directly to your destination, but our definitions of direct must be different, becuase they always stop along the way and let more people on who stand in the aisle for hours on roads so rough that even I have trouble staying in my seat. I don´t know how they do it. Also, there must have been something appealing about the aisle right next to me because I spend the entire ride with someone´s butt or crotch in my face. But I couldn´t even be bothered by it because of the gorgeous countryside out the window on the way. Mountains and valleys lush with green, green grass, trees, and crops. Herds o f every kind: cows, llamas, sheep, pigs, chickens, all grazing peacefully on the steepest hillsides. Bright, colorful homes dotted the langscape with no particular organization. It seems as though they just pick a spot on the mountain and make their home there, and then traverse the plains and their distant neighbor´s farms to get there. As I watched the indigenous women in their tall hats, bright sweaters, stocking, and full skirts carrying their infants or crops in large slings on their backs, I kept trying to imagine what it must be like to live like them, but it´s so different. All I could think was, I wonder if they know that they´re living in a painting.

We reached Loja around 7 and met Holly and the Powells, a missionary family that Holly stayed with who have an adorable little one and a half year old girl named Anika. They were so kind and generous to us, arranging a hostal for us to stay in and letting us hang out at their house and use their internet. That night we had a calm evening of eating typical Lojanan food and eating fruit at the Powells! Fresh pineapple, strawberries, apricots, passionfruit, and a bunch of other stuff that I don´t know the name of or have time to describe. That was such a treat... I miss fruits and vegetables more than I ever thought I could. My diet so far has consisted of carbohydrates, cheese, and more carbohydrates.

Exciting news! I made Ecuadorian friends! OK, technically, they´re Holly´s friends that we hung out with while in Loja, but still! They showed us around Loja, we went to church with them, ate with them, and then went to the most amazing park that night to play basketball. Then the next morning we all had breakfast together and spent our last remaining hours at a coffee shop playing card games, talking, playing music, and singing together. It was a fantastically tranquilo couple of days, a much needed break.

Loja was probably my favorite but most challenging stop. Because we were spending so much time with locals who speak little English, my Spanish was put to the test. I was already physically exhausted from so many days of travelling, and now concentrating and thinking so hard all day at trying to understand and communicate in another language was taking its toll on me mentally. At one point, I broke down in tears in the back of a taxi. Whoops. But I have the most patient, loving friends with me who are helping me learn and comforting me when it gets to be too much. I knew this was going to be difficult, but I never expected it to be so tiring. When I lay down at night on rock hard hostal mattresses, I´m more excited to be able to stop thinking for a while than to rest my aching legs.

I have so much to tell you about the 27 hour bus trip to Huaraz, but I think it will have to wait until next time. Jessie and I are spending the rest of today gathering supplies for the Santa Cruz trek through the Cordillera Blanca, which we´ll leave for at 6 am tomorrow morning, and relaxing in the nearby hotsprings. I´m really having the best time here and can hardly believe how blessed I am. I´ll try and upload pictures as soon as I am in a place with wifi.