Baños de Agua Santa

Alrighty folks, I finished up my eight weeks of school in Ecuador and have time to update ya on my crazy but amazing adventures. For our final weekend in Cuenca, Caitlin and I decided to go to Baños de Agua Santa (also known as Baños). Baños is famous for its thermal mineral pools and tons of outdoor adventure activities. It's located south of Quito and is near an active volcano, Tungurahua.

Caitlin and I didn't want to travel at night, so we decided to meet at the bus station at 7:30 am on Saturday, June 29. We didn't have any reservations or tickets, but had been told we could just catch a bus at the terminal and head over. We left at 8:30 am, stopped for lunch, got off the bus in a different town, took a taxi to a different bus terminal, boarded a different bus, and then finally made it to Baños at about 5 pm. We went straight to our hotel, Hotel Transilvania, to check in. Afterwards, we wandered over the small town to take pictures and eat supper.

A clock tower that didn't work

 

At about 9 pm we went back to the hotel to be picked up for a trip to the nearby volcano. A guide walked us over to a nearby party bus, complete with lights, music, and benches without seatbelts. We rode for about fifteen minutes with about twenty other people to the nearby volcano. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), the volcano wasn't spewing hot lava, so it wasn't too exciting. The guide offered us some alcohol-free canelazos and allowed us to explore the touristy area, complete with cheap food and entertainers. As Caitlin and I looked around, we realized that there were only about three other people there that could have been from the U.S. or Europe. At that point, we truly realized how popular Baños was with the Ecuadorians and that it wasn't just for foreigners.

Baños at night

When Caitlin and I got back to our hotel, it was about 11 pm and we were exhausted. Traveling all day and scrambling to make everything work out was extremely tiring. On Sunday, Caitlin and I left the hotel around 7 and walked over to Baños de la Virgen, which was about 10 minutes away from the hotel. After paying, we found out that we needed to wear plastic shower caps in order to prevent hair from getting into the pools. Baños de la Virgen had three baths, one extremely hot bath, one mild bath, and one cool bath. The baths were a dirty yellow color due to the minerals found in the water, not because the water wasn't clean. Although it was about 7:30 am on a Sunday morning, the place was incredibly busy. A bunch of kids and their families were playing in the mild pool and many adults were soaking in the hot bath. I could not have imagined what it would have been like at a later time or on a different day.

Cascada de la Virgen

 

Caitlin and I spent our time relaxing in the hot bath and had a beautiful view of the nearby waterfall, Cascada de la Virgen. It was so relaxing to just sit in the hot bath and take in the beautiful mountain views around us. We soaked for about an hour, chatted (in Spanish!) with a guy from Loja, and then went back to the hotel for our free breakfast of eggs, fruit, and bread. After breakfast, we got a taxi and went to Canopy, which is Ecuador's version of zip lining.

Quite frankly, I'm shocked I wanted to do this. For as long as I can remember, I have had a fear of heights and haven't particularly enjoyed being extremely high above things. With ziplining, it was just me, a harness, and a cable suspended hundreds of feet in the air. Regardless, I was excited as Caitlin and I arrived at Puntzan Canopy and met our two guides. We suited up in our harnesses and traveled the 6 circuit course that had over 2000 meters (about 1.25 miles) of wire.

The view

 

As the female guide hooked me up to the wire and pushed me off into the canopy, waves of excitement and anxiety washed over me. I saw the treetops flying by me as I traveled toward the platform where Catilin and the male guide were waiting. When I landed at the platform, I couldn't wait to try it again. On the second circuit, Caitlin and I had the option of ziplining in the Superman position. This was my favorite as I truly felt like I was flying over the green trees and mountains below me. The rush of adrenaline combined with the beautiful views was something I'll never forget.

While we were ziplining, two of the female guide's kids joined us. The little boy was two years old and the girl was eleven. The girl knew how to do everything and the little boy didn't see to be afraid at all. This was also reassuring, because if a two year old could fly through the trees, then I was certain that I would be able to as well.

Like all fun things, our time at Canopy came to an end. After we paid, we waited a bit, and then rode back into town with some of the people who lived near Canopy. At the hotel, Caitlin and I threw our stuff into our bags, paid our whopping $7.40/person/night bill, grabbed some travel food, and just barely made it on a noon bus. We traveled for a while, got off in a different town, and then boarded a different bus for Cuenca. After several hours of traveling, we made it back to Cuenca at about 8:15 pm.

A Weekend in Vilcabamba

Alrighty folks, since I haven't written in a while and had a big weekend, here's a small novel for ya. Get comfortable. :)

Since we had a three day weekend, five of my friends and I decided to venture south to Vilcabamba for a few days. Vilcabamba is known for the longevity of its citizens, spas, and "magical" water, which is supposed to help individuals live longer. We left town in the early evening on Thursday, May 23, by a small, private bus. The ride itself was pretty scary; our driver was going roughly 70 mph in the mountains and didn't slow down much to go around the curves. We also almost got into an accident several times because in Ecuador, it's perfectly acceptable to pass one, two, even three cars at a time in a no passing zone. It's also common to drive in the lane of oncoming traffic. Basically, all of the rules we have in the U.S. regarding how to drive go out the window down here. One nice part of the drive was that the roads were usually wide and in pretty good shape. Regardless of our super fast trip, we arrived safely at our resort, Madre Tierra, at about 10:30 pm.

A view from our resort

 

On Friday, we enjoyed a delicious, fresh breakfast of eggs, coffee, tea, fruit, "magical" water and AMAZING homemade bread. Us five girls decided it would be a wonderful idea to horseback ride for four hours that day while our friend, Benjamin, hiked up Mandango. Shortly after we made the reservation, our horses arrived with our guide and we began our journey. Although most of us had only some experience riding horses, we began trotting and even galloping down the streets of Vilcabamba. At first, this was a terrifying experience as I prayed that I wouldn't fall off my horse, especially since I (nor anyone else) was not wearing a helmet. Eventually, I just accepted the fact that the faster speeds were going to occur and I had a much better experience. In order to get to our trail, we crossed a small stream a couple times, which was an amazing experience. Being in the middle of a stream on a horse in the middle of the gorgeous, green Andes is one memory I will never forget.

Mandango

 

We then began our hike up the mountains. The beginning of our hike consisted of a mostly uphill trek on a path that was fairly steep, small, or had loose rock or mud. We crossed more streams, galloped--yes galloped- through straight, narrow paths, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. At one point in the beginning, we reached an open area of land and were able to see the gorgeous, green mountains around us. I literally felt like I was in the Sound of Music, and although I am by no means a singer, I felt like belting out "The Hills are Alive". However, after taking into consideration the importance of the sanity of my friends and guide, I decided against the idea.

I felt like singing at this moment. Everything was beautiful. 

 

Panoramic view! The picture does not do it justice, however.

 

We continued on our journey and eventually reached a point where we were to get off our horses and hike down an incredibly steep mountainside to reach a beautiful waterfall. As I was hiking down the mountain, I couldn't help but be thankful I had already had experience at Cajas to prepare me for the descent. After reaching the waterfall, we took pictures, enjoyed the cooler temperatures, and took a nice break. My friend, Sophia, even decided to take a dip into the water. When we were ready to leave, going back up the mountain proved to be a bit difficult. The high altitude combined with the steepness of the hill gave us a great workout, but we all managed to get back up and head back to the resort.

The waterfall!

 

In several ways, descending the mountain on horseback was much scarier than the ascent. At times, it felt like I was going to fall forward off  my horse while we climbed down rocky slopes. Other times, it was scary to watch others descend and hang on tight to their horses. I have a fear of heights and being on a horse on a mountain was a pretty frightening experience. I had to learn to give up my need of being in control and just trust my horse to keep me safe.

Although it was a frightening experience at times, I really enjoyed horseback riding for four hours. We climbed the mountain much faster than we could have ever gone on foot and just riding a horse again was fun.

When we arrived back at the resort and began to walk around again, all five of us girls felt incredibly sore and tired, so we decided to sign up for some massages. Our resort had a wonderful spa that visitors loved to use. After a delicious lunch and some showers, Caitlin and I had a half hour back massage, which was a first for the both of us. After our massages, we dipped our feet in the pool, and then slowly made our way back to our cabin. (Side note: at the resort, all 6 of us shared one room. There was a queen sized bed and two sets of bunkbeds in the very large, open room. We also had our own bathroom.)

When we arrived at our cabin, I attempted to unlock the door with our key, but had difficulty doing so. I tried to push open the door, and turn the doorknob, but I couldn't get either to move. Next, Caitlin tried to open the door, but couldn't either. We were pretty sure that one of our friends was in the room and was holding the door. At first, I thought it was slightly amusing, but annoying at the same time. As I tried the door again, I could sort of get it to move, as if the door was unlocked but there was a chair or a person behind the door holding it. My little sister and I have slammed plenty of doors on each other, so I have plenty of experience of knowing what it feels like for a door to be unlocked, but has something blocking it on the other side.

At this point, Caitlin and I were getting really upset because we just wanted to get into our room. I went and got a staff person to help unlock the door, which she did with no problem. When the door opened, Caitlin and I were shocked to find that the cabin was empty. I even checked the bathroom and shower to make sure nobody was hiding from us. We both truly believed someone was in the cabin.

A short while later, I noticed that one of our window screens was wide open, which was odd because there was absolutely no point in it being open. After a quick survey of what was underneath it, I noticed how incredibly easy it would have been for someone to climb from the ground onto the small roof below the window and then into our room. I pointed this out to Caitlin as well, but we didn't think much of it.

As we waited for the others to finish up their activities, Benjamin, Caitlin, and I walked over to a nearby farm that was operated by the resort owner's brother. After living in the U.S. for 18 years, he (sorry, I forgot his name) moved to Switzerland, started a family, and came over to Vilcabamba about two years ago to help out his brother and give farming a shot. His son was actually Benjamin's tour guide up Mandango earlier in the day.

As we entered the farm, one of the first things I noticed was the smell I associate with home. Hog poop. In addition to a bunch of chickens, banana trees, and sweet potato plants, the farm had one older pig named Arnie, a few other pigs, and about twenty or so piglets. As many of my close friends know, I love pigs and got extremely excited to see the munchkins running all over the place. It was such a unique experience to literally walk around the area where the chickens and piglets were running amok and observe their feeding, the beautiful Andes mountains that were around us, and the modest living that their owners experienced.

Arnie!

 

Later Friday evening, all six of us went out to dinner at a small, cheap restaurant in Vilcabamba. As we were paying the bill, Caitlin noticed that she was missing about $130 from her purse. We figured that it was probably just at the resort and tried not to stress too much over it. Afterwards, we ventured to a bar that was playing live music and enjoyed that atmosphere for a while. That evening taught us that Vilcabamba has a massive amount of former North American hippies that, for one reason or another, made their way to this tiny little town and brought their views, clothing styles, and music choices with them.

After enjoying the live band, we went back to the resort, and settled down for the evening. Caitlin tried to look for her money, but came up short. We tried to reassure her that we'd probably find it in the morning. However, after searching high and low Saturday morning, we never did find Caitlin's $130. We immediately concluded that on Friday when Caitlin and I tried to get into the room, there was in fact someone in there holding the door. We believed that they hadn't taken more of our stuff because they didn't have time to do more searching.

Since Caitlin was out of extra money and most of the girls were sore from horseback riding, we decided that we were going to take it easy on Saturday. My friends Olivia and Hanna signed up for a three hour massage and Caitlin and I spent some time near the pool. Unfortunately, the hot tub heater didn't work and the sun wasn't really out. Regardless, Caitlin and I both jumped into the cold, but tolerable pool and laid out in the sunny/cloudy weather.

In the afternoon, Caitlin and I got a pedicure, relaxed, and waited for the others to finish up their activities. After another delicious meal at the resort, Hanna, Sophia, Benjamin, and I ventured into town to watch the festivities that were happening that night in the town's square. We enjoyed the music by the live band was playing for about an hour or so and then wandered back to the bar we had gone to the previous night, as they also had live music.

The next morning, we packed  up and headed back to our homes in Cuenca. Our drive back was much more relaxed and calm than what we had experienced on the way to Vilcabamba. After about five hours of travel, we arrived safely in Cuenca.

It was a rough weekend.

A Weekend of Hiking

Howdy y'all. Things got a bit busy down here with school and other activities so I couldn't update the blog. However, since my professoras were super nice this weekend and didn't give me homework, I finally have the time. :)

On Saturday, May 18, the school offered us students to go on an excursion to Aguarongo, a forest reserve just outside of Cuenca. About 6 students and one profesora went with a guide to walk for a couple hours around the park. Getting to the reserve felt like it took forever; the mostly gravel road wound around the mountain and provided us with a complimentary feeling of claustrophobia when we were surrounded by thick brush just before entering the reserve. Once there, however, we found ourselves to be in a large clearing with large views of the surrounding mountains. We were also the only people at the park other than the groundskeeper and her son.

During the hike, the reserve was very peaceful and had an abundance of plant life for us to appreciate. However, we did get ridiculously muddy while observing the medicinal plants throughout the reserve. Word to the wise: when hiking in the mountains, make sure your pants and hiking boots are dark colors; you'll thank yourself when you have to wash everything later.

 

Checking out the view from the nature reserve.

 

Dogs are literally EVERYWHERE in Ecuador. In people's houses, in the streets, and even in some restaurants. This one was at the reserve and acted as our guide throughout the entire hike. At times, she would run off to explore something, but always came back to us and led us around.

 

 

A tree at the park that's over 400 years old.

 

A little creek in the park.



On Sunday, May 19, three of my friends and I went to Cajas National Park for the day to do even more hiking and exploring. This was my friend Elena's last official Sunday in Ecuador and she wanted to return to the park one more time. Us four girls took a bus to Cajas, checked in at the station, and began our adventure. (Side note: Traveling in Ecuador by public bus is usually very reasonable, generally it's about $1-2 per hour of travel. The buses can get a little bit sketchy though, so it's advised that you keep a close eye on your stuff.)

When we first got to Cajas, I knew the views were going to be breathtaking. At some points, the clouds were literally in the mountains and created a sense of mystery and awe. We first began our hike excited for the journey. Elena had already been to Cajas with the school and knew what path we should take, so we didn't bother to find a guide.

For several hours, we hiked on trails that were only wide enough to go single file on and probably wouldn't pass any regulations in the U.S. I spent the majority of the hike looking at the path because one wrong step could have sent me sailing down the mountain side. Nonetheless, it was very exciting, and was extremely physically challenging.

At one point during the hike, we were to descend the mountain into a little forest. Somehow, we managed to lose the trail and were stuck in the forest near a lake for about 15-20 minutes. After a small lunch break, we regained our energy and pressed on in the direction that seemed the most logical. By the grace of God, we managed to find the path again and continued on our journey.

One eerie thing about Cajas is that they have crosses along the path in memory of hikers who have died in the park. Some fell to their deaths and others died due to health reasons, such as heart attacks or strokes. We passed by several of these wooden crosses on our way, which caused me to be very thankful for the success of our hiking group.

After we climbed hills, thought we were going to die, trekked across streams, and observed the beautiful views, it started to rain. Nonetheless, most of us were prepared with our rain jackets and tried to embrace the rain. After a bit more hiking, we finally made it to the end marker of our trail. Although we had reached the end of our trail, we were still in the middle of nowhere. Seeing as we had little choice, the three other girls and I continued on a trail towards the highway and finally caught a bus back home.

This hike was probably the most challenging hike of my life, both physically and mentally, but I don't regret it for a second. My friends and I made a ton of memories on this hike and successfully made it out of Cajas accident free.

 

One of the many lakes in Cajas.

 

Hiking

 

A forest in Cajas.

 

Beautiful Cajas

Cuencan Life

With almost 500,000 people, Cuenca is a busy city. There is a constant flow of people moving in every direction along the cobblestone streets and sidewalks. Many women choose to wear high heels when walking, which, I've decided, must be a talent passed down through the generations. Simply walking in Keen's without tripping in the random dips and grooves that many of the streets have is hard enough, let alone in heels. (Side note: Keen's are AWESOME. I'm incredibly happy with mine and feel they were most certainly worth the investment.)

As for the weather, it's almost always beautiful. It's usually in the upper 60's or lower 70's so it's incredibly easy to pick out the day's clothes. It does rain on occasion, but it doesn't last long and it usually isn't very much. While many people carry an umbrella, most use it to block out the sun, which, at about 2350 meters above sea level, is a bit intense, to say the least.

Looking at the city

A church on my walk to school.

A street in Cuenca





 

One dish that's considered a delicacy here is called cuy, or guinea pig. A few of my friends and I went out on Tuesday to try this favorite dish among Ecuadorians. If you're a vegetarian or don't like to see pictures of dead animals, stop reading here. You've been warned. :)

 

After catching the guinea pig, it's roasted over a grill until it's crispy and dark.

Cuy cooking.

 

Cuy ready to eat!

 

After cooking, cuy is the cut up into smaller pieces so it's easier to eat. I had the portion that included a foot. Fun fact: a lot of meat can be found when you scoop it out of the leg. :) Cuy doesn't have a lot of meat on it and is pretty greasy. Nonetheless, it's actually decent and it's definitely worth trying, especially if you find yourself in Ecuador.

 





A portion of cuy and some awesome Chilean merlot.

 

 



Getting to Cuenca

On Sunday, Caitlin and I explored Quito a bit and walked around searching for Parque Metropolitano, a beautiful park with lots of bike trails, recreational space, and plenty of opportunities to view the gorgeous Andes mountains. But, after realizing that very few streets in our area were properly marked, we decided to get a taxi. Taxi's are super cheap in Ecuador-our ride to the park (which ended up being about a 45 minute walk) was only $2. We arrived at the park and explored for a while. The park was very peaceful and calm despite the many families enjoying the atmosphere.

 Los Andes

The park was very popular among families and cyclists.

 

My $2.50 delicious lunch.



 

 

After lunch, we decided to head back to the hotel and attempt to figure out when we would get picked up to leave for the airport. Our drivers the night before did not know what time we were to leave and neither did the hotel staff. Although we were told someone would be at the hotel to pick us up and hand us our plane tickets, nobody seemed to know anything about that. After waiting several hours, we were told at about 4 pm that we were to get on the bus with some students from Rhodes University to go to Cuenca. We scrambled to board the bus, as all of the other students were already on it.

 

When we arrived at the Quito airport, we didn't have tickets, so Caitlin and I had to wait 10-15 minutes while the kind airport staff handwrote each of our tickets. We both felt bad because we were holding up line, which was growing by the minute. After sorting out that mess, we ventured on into the airport. When it was time to board, we took a bus from the gate onto the tarmac. After stopping near our plane, we got off the bus and literally walked on the tarmac to climb the stairs leading to our plane's entrance. The flight to Cuenca was quick and dark, as the sun sets everyday by 6:30 pm.

 

When we arrived in Cuenca, we were again to walk on the tarmac into the building to pick up our luggage. This was actually a really neat experience, as large airports in the United States rarely let their passengers venture onto the tarmac. Caitlin and I both grabbed our luggage, found our host families, and departed for the evening.

 

My host family consists of Maria, a special education teacher, and her son Mateo. Mateo hasn't been around much because he lives mostly with his dad. I'm also living with Sophia, a college student from New Jersey. She was a blessing to have the first night, as she explained to me the household procedures and what to expect. Sophia also attends my school and is in my two classes. Overall, our house is very peaceful and welcoming. Maria is a very kind woman who really truly cares about our happiness.

 

 



¡Estoy en Ecuador!

I made it! After leaving the house at 3:30 am, two flights, and a long lay over, I arrived at the Quito airport around 6:30 pm. I would like to thank mis padres, God, the kind airport staff, and my driver Eric, who patiently listened to my awful Spanish, for allowing me to get where I am. Since I had a good deal of time by myself today, I realized a few things:

1. Your first trip by yourself is probably the scariest, most lonely experience you'll ever have.  After getting over the initial shock of figuring out the normal procedures at airports, the desire to share the experience with someone else creeps up; but, as you're traveling solo, there isn't much you can do about it. When you arrive at your destination and reflect on your experiences (yes, fellow Honors students, I'm WILLINGLY reflecting!) you realize how much you've been able to accomplish. That feeling somehow makes the lonely feelings seem not so bad in the end.

2. People watching is a blast. Seriously. It's so much fun to guess where people are from or where they are going just based on what they are wearing. I lost count of the floral shirts many men wore down in Miami and chuckled to myself as I saw them board flights to Caribbean islands. Earlier today when I boarded my first flight, I saw a gentleman wearing a Panama hat and wondered if he was also going to Ecuador. I never did find out, but I did see several other gentleman wearing these beautiful hats near my gate at Miami. Seeing them there helped me feel confident I was in the right place.

3. Driving here is insane. The quote from Pirates of the Caribbean regarding rules being more like guidelines definitely applies down here. Rarely do people use turn signals and straddling the two lanes going in the same direction is perfectly acceptable. I've never seen more people cutting others off, butting into traffic, or speeding by pedestrians in my entire life. Nonetheless, riding with a skilled driver is really entertaining, especially in a manual.

4. The earth here is so beautifully green. As I flew into the new Quito airport (which is very nice, by the way), the first thing I noticed was how green everything was. The rich greens welcome onlookers and reminded me of what I did not have back home: luscious green grass.

5. The altitude doesn't bother me (yet). At 9350 feet, I thought I would for sure notice a change in the air. Actually, it took me about a half hour during the car ride to the hotel to even think about the air here. I literally had to consciously think about the air before physically noticing it. But, I haven't pushed myself too vigorously yet, so that could change. :)

Well, that's about it for now. I think I'll go watch some t.v. while I wait for my friend, Caitlin, to arrive. She is also from my school and will be in Ecuador studying for the same time that I will be. ¡Adiós!

Countdown to Cuenca: T-minus 5 days!

Well, the day in which I can finally count down on one hand to my adventure in Cuenca is finally here. Whether I'm ready or not, I leave in less than five days. These five days are going to pass like crazy, especially as I still need to finish packing, take three finals, and say many goodbyes. Leaving right at the end of the semester is bittersweet; I will be finally finished with the semester, but I won't be able to see many of my friends graduate or celebrate their successes with them. Nonetheless, leaving the day after my last final brings me closer to what was simply a dream a year ago: studying abroad in Cuenca, Ecuador. I have wanted to immerse myself in a Spanish-speaking culture for many years, and until last year, it was simply a dream that I never knew I would truly experience. As I continue my adventure, I will try to update this blog with my adventures and experiences as often as I can. Stay tuned for more! :)