The Montecristi

FINAL POST

The panama hat is actually called a Montecristi and is from Ecuador not Panama!! Just a fun fact for dinner parties haha.

Chau!!

La Playa

Hola, this may or may not be my last post of this Ecuador trip so hope you have enjoyed some of my rants and raves of what Ecuador has to offer. This past week was maybe the most fun I have had in my life. Our group took a trip to Montanita and Puerto Lopez on the Ecuador coast. Only 2 days of 10 hour bus rides through the morning darkness were required for this trip - but it was well worth it. Our first two days were spent relaxing, lounging on the beach, eating ceviche on the beach, getting sunburned, swimming for hours with some very big waves and riptides, and wandering the streets where Bohemians and extranjeros have set up shop in this bustling surf town. Very relaxed vibe and quite the place to relax and enjoy the last of our trip. Got to watch most of the semifinals of Copa de Sur America and see Uruguay and Paraguay take down the juggernauts of Argentina and Brazil. Unfortunately, also got to see the US womens team lose to Japan in the World Cup which was no bueno. Our third day was spent going to Isla de la Plata where the following things happened: 1) saw multiple groups of humpback whales surfacing and spouting; 2) went on a 1.5 hour boat ride each way and did not get sick, 3) saw blue-footed boobies and frigate birds; 4) went snorkeling for the first time which was incredible because I saw starfish, a pufferfish, one mahi mahi, sea turtles, and many other fish and a few types of coral; and 5) capping the night with banana juice and cake. Hard to beat any of that. Our hostals were phenomenal and cheap and actually quite the digs for hostals. Finally our last day was spent at Los Frailles beach in Machalilla (sp.??) National Park. This was a secluded park with some fun tide pools, lots of tiny crabs scampering everywhere, and very mellow waves to relax in. When all of our activities were over we had quite the bus trip back to Loja. The first bus back to Guayaquil was extremely crowded, had one guy playing a moracca for some unknown reason, had a ticket officer strung out on some kind of drug, and made random stops just about everywehere. Needless to say not the safest 5 hour ride, especially for Guayquil which has a reputation for being not the kindest to foreign travelers. The next bus taken (going to Loja) just happened to be stopped by the Ecuadorian military and everyone on board was lined up and searched outside the bus with random assualt rifles, shotguns, and pistols aimed and at the ready. Like I said, Guayquil, not the safest place especially when it comes to drug trafficking and everything else. Finally, 8 hours later, we arrived in Loja and this is my last day in the office. Hard to say goodbye to Ecuador, especially after this weekend, but am looking forward to being stateside again. Hasta luego

Last 2 weeks

Only two weeks left for our group here in Ecuador. I know that I will miss this place a lot and am kind of sad to leave but it will be nice to get back to the states and have those long summer nights to enjoy. Just had a 4th of July celebration, sin fuegos artificiales, with our entire group and about 20-30 more of our new Ecuadorian amigos. Quite the night with lots of beer, baked beans, hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, pineapple salsa, guacamole and more. We have recently planned a trip to the coast for an extended weekend on the 17-19 of May so I will be lounging around Mantenita and Isla de la Plata (poor mans Galapagos) for a few days. Very excited about the trip and seeing blue-footed boobies, tons of other birds, attempting to get a tan, and relaxing. I have figured out that I will be working for 20 days straight to finish out my campaign here so a break will be well deserved and necessary. Pictures attached are of a llama, the ruins at Ingapirca, and a random flower found in the paramo last week. Hope everyone had a good holiday and look forward to seeing people soon.

Weekend Ramblings

No pictures this time but hopefully still entertaining. This week has been a hurry up and wait type of week and there has been rain, rain, and more rain so work has been slightly postponed. This weekend a few of our group traveled to Saraguro for their Sunday market, a town named after the Saruguro people of Ecuador. Saraguros are mountain people and have a very unique style and culture which they still keep strong ties with. The typical attire for men is long black shorts with a collared shirt, and for women the attire is typically a white blouse with a very brightly colored skirt. All wear black poncho type shawls for the rain and have the same material for hats, and all have long black hair that is in a single braid. The market had just about every fruit and vegetable available in Ecuador and was quite the experience. Many pigs saw their last days and were roasting on spits scattered throughout the market. After taking our picture with a giant statue of a piece of corn we made our way back to Loja for the afternoon. The taxi ride back was also an experience as our one handed driver decided to give us random tours through random towns, stop and chat with people on the street, and try and put random strangers in our small cab when we were already full with 4 people. After returning from the market we made an authentic Ecuadorian soup with all of the goodies acquired from the market and it was AMAZING - and I also made my first pie which turned out to be a great success. Only about 3 weeks left here - time has gone by so fast!

Cuenca

Hello everybody,

What a fun and exciting weekend our group had in Cuenca, a UNESCO world heritage site a few hours north of Loja. After an exciting and harrowing bus ride we spent an afternoon ziplining and browsing around local crafts and goods markets surrounding the hostel we stayed at. My first experience ziplining was quite the trip as the lines went through cool forest and over some large expanses. Our hostel was located in historical downtown and we had great views of some of the surrounding buildings and markets. Cuenca is most notable for its colonial architecture from the Spanish occupation of the city and is nothing less than spectacular. Many churches of grand proportions dot the city, as well as a number of museums. On Sunday we visited Ingapirca, one of the remaining Incan ruin sites in Ecuador. It does not have the scale of Machu Picchu but was still interesting and a fun trip and there were llamas. Pictures attached are of a few of the churches, and the picture with the Ecuadorian flag was from our hostel.

Ecuador sites

I do not have a lot to say in this blog except to provide a few more pictures of the sites and sounds in Loja. Loja, and especially the Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja (UTPL - where I work), has great artwork and architecture. These pictures show "La puerta de la ciudad" (gate to the city), and of the "Gran Libertador" (Simon Bolivar). Most cities in Ecuador have a Sucre street, Simon Bolivar street, and a few more of the more famous persons of Ecuador and South America. If you are into some cool art you should check out Eduardo Kingman who was born in Loja and lived mostly in Quito. He has some pretty spectacular paintings that are very unique and I enjoy his work a lot. Our group is visiting Cuenca this weekend so I will have some cool pics soon after.

diet and exercise

For anyone confused about the picture with feet and a red line - the red line is supposed to be the equator. So I had feet in both hemispheres for the picture! I am one of only a few members left of our group not to get sick yet and I attribute that to eating everything put in front of me. Generally speaking there are a few rules to live by here: 1) do not eat the lettuce; 2) street meat is probably not the best choice; and 3) the hot yellow drink (canelazo) gives wicked hangovers - probably because it is made from fermented sugarcane. Other than that everything is fair game. My diet consists strongly of a few basic food groups including meat (lomos, carne asada, pollo, etc.), rice, potatoes, bread, and fruit. A full meal of most of the above that will even fill me up is usually only $4. I also look forward to getting the opportunity of trying chicha whenever I get the chance. How to counteract this barage of good food and drink? Plenty of exercise. I have been enjoying the mile walk to and after school as well as the steady climb of working in the steep paramo ecosystem. Most of the walk includes climbing up steep ridges, wading through chest high schrubs, slopping through mud, following rivers found in previous landslides downhill to the road for fun, and battling through alleys of foliage that can be up to 15 feet high. But once you hit the ridges and the wind battles the foliage down to knee height (similar to krummholz in the alpine USA) there are great views of the surrounding valleys and mountain ranges. So I guess the steady regimin of calf exercises balances out the high carb and protein diet I have come to love. Attached are a few new picks. One is from my first study site at night prior to running down the mountain because nobody had lights, and the second shows some of the typical plants found within this area.