After our Amazon adventure, we spent a night in Quito before venturing north to the tiny town of Otavolo, known best for its massive indigenous craft market. We arrived at a gorgeous AirBnB just a twenty minute walk outside of town and found a llama named Pearlita, a wonderful hostess, and as much fresh fruit and avocados as we could pick. In addition, we were afforded 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. Since we arrived on a Friday, we decided to check out the ‘small’ version of the market, only taking up 4 city blocks. There were many beautiful crafts – woven shawls, alpaca blankets/ponchos/sweaters, wooden crafts, meticulously embroidered items – overflowing from all of the stalls. Unfortunately, each stall seemed to offer the same selection as the next, leading us to doubt the authenticity of the items. After perusing the wares we left with a plan to return in the morning to see how big this market actually got. On Saturday morning we were anticipating it to be a bit larger, and were shocked to find that it had exploded into a massive, wandering maze of stalls flowing through the majority of town, careening down side streets and into small alleys. It felt as if all of Ecuador had arrived at this epicenter of activity. Finally, after a few hours of browsing, looking for something that appeared both authentic and unique I found a beautiful handwoven table runner that will appear in our future home when we return to the states.
When we had our fill of navigating bustling bodies in narrow corridors we headed across the highway to the live animal market. As it came into view I steeled myself, preparing for any number of atrocities regarding animal well being. There were two main sections – one with large livestock up for auction, and another for the smaller animals. The small animals were so cute, pens of guinea pigs (locally called cuy), corrals of chicks of various sizes and species, quacking ducklings, and little bunnies. I wanted to jump in and snuggle with them all. It was heart wrenching to watch them be grabbed by handfuls and shoved into paper bags or cardboard boxes with hastily cut air holes. The most traumatizing of all was to see a full-size sow put into a bag with just her head sticking out. Knowing what I know about animal agriculture and feed lots in the US, I have to assume that all of these animals are off to live better lives or be slaughtered in a more humane way. The area of Ecuador we were in was surrounded by wide open farm land with lots of room for animals to graze. That afternoon we satiated our outdoor appetite by visiting nearby waterfalls. The first was heavily regulated and full of tourists so it was challenging to enjoy. The second was at the end of a short twenty minute walk through a small valley that we had all to ourselves. The most interesting part of both of these visits was hitchhiking back to town. From the first a woman pulled over and offered us a ride back to town, telling us all about her brother in law who spent a year studying abroad in Portland. The second trip was in the back of a pickup truck full of children playing games and giggling the whole way down poorly paved roads. Following three days in Otavolo we went straight to Mindo, a small adventure town tucked away in the cloud forest of northern Ecuador, known primarily for the ~550 endemic bird species that call this place home. For our one full day we started with a 10 cable zip lining tour across a wooded canyon. It was just us and two guides for the entirety of the tour. Some lines were fast, others “slow”, and a few we were able to ride superman style or mariposa (upside down) style, which I only braved once. Afterwards, Eric took part in the ‘Tarzan’ swing, twice. From here we hiked up the road to the waterfall valley which we had to access by cable car. We spent several hours hiking to five different waterfalls, taking several dips in the brisk water. Following our humid afternoon, we took showers to cool off and ate the best meal I have had since arriving – yucca soup, heart of palm ceviche, and garlic shrimp pasta. Having no plan, we went back to Quito to regroup and rest. And we are still here three days later trying to figure it out. Our time has been spent resting, vising the Guyasamin Museum (incredible) and the two equators. The equator with the giant monument is actually inaccurate as it was determined pre-GPS. The more accurate one, 500 meters north, is accompanied by a hokey science museum where you can watch water spin in different directions on each side of the equator and balance an egg on a nail. It was hokey but fun. After a day of rest and talking with all of the other travelers at our hostel, we decided spur of the moment to hop on a bus to Colombia and now here we are. Our plan is to stay for three weeks, but we are open to five or six or seven. Our only hard and fast ‘have-to-do’ is reach Buenos Aires for Christmas to meet our moms.
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Here are some things you should know about me. I hate snakes; they are one of my biggest fears in life. Also, insects are not my favorite, especially spiders. Now that you know this, I can tell you that I had pretty low expectations regarding my enjoyment of the Amazon Rainforest. I mustered the courage to go, knowing that this was an experience I would forever regret missing. And as a biologist and environmental scientist, it was something I needed to see, especially as this forest is quickly disappearing. Thankfully, I ended up enjoying the entire experience (with the exception of one wild bus ride) and it will forever go down as one of my favorite memories.
Before setting out, we did our homework to make sure we were going on a tour that offered both a good value and was respectful of the environment. After all was said and done we settled on Cuyabeno Lodge which is run by NeoTropic Tours. They work hard to minimize their impact on the land and have been one of the longest running operations in this protected area. I very much appreciated that once we arrived, our guide said, “Remember, if you find any insects or animals in your cabin, it is ok. We are guests in their home and should treat it as such.” To get to the Amazon we first had to take a 7 hour bus trip from Quito to the town of Lago Agrio in eastern Ecuador. The ride was mostly uneventful with the exception of me thinking my bag was getting stolen (apparently we were just switching buses), the bus dropping me off and leaving with Eric still on it, and our taxi driver driving around aimlessly for 20 minutes because he couldn’t find our hotel. In the end, it all worked out and we had a peaceful night sleep before heading off on our tour. Fun fact! Lago Agrio (meaning 'bitter lake' in Spanish) is named after a town in Texas that has been so polluted from oil contamination that the lake has become dead, or bitter. The same is taking place in this area due to the massive oil production taking place here. Instead of boring you with the blow by blow and all the minute details, I’ll provide an overview of the highlights.
Overall our trip was phenomenal. I got the best nights sleep I have had so far (even though I was scared a snake would get into my bed), we ate delicious meals, and saw extraordinary wildlife. I am so happy we had this experience. Our guide, Gilver, was one of the best parts of the trip. He was so knowledgeable and worked hard to minimize our impact and understand the ecology of the area we were exploring. It became a running joke that he was magical as he could spot a frog that was smaller than my pinky nail from a distance of 50 meters (maybe not quite but extremely impressive), and he found an owl using camouflage like a tree stump. The only drawback of the entire trip was the ride home. As my family knows, I get car sick very easily and struggle with windy roads. This particular ride to Quito back from Lago Agrio would best be described as a roller coaster. The bus driver was fearless, taking hairpin turns at 80 kph. The road was nothing but turns and changes in elevation, unrelentingly so for hours on end. Needless to say, after two hours with no reprieve, I lost my lunch – several times. Everyday I am thankful for Eric, and this was no exception. He is a pretty great guy. As for the blog title – our clothes never dried and our shoes are still wet four days later. We spent several days wearing damp clothes, smelling musty and sweaty the entire time. Oh well. I guess that’s why they call it the rain forest. Here are a few photos. Check Facebook for the full album! I am quickly realizing the life of privilege we all live in the US as we navigate the lifestyle of Quiteños here in Ecuador. There are many things I’ve realized after only four days – being able to put my toilet paper in the toilet, having hot water in every sink (not just the shower, and only for a short time), being able to brush my teeth without bottled water, knowing that I can get clean water anywhere without paying for it, people pronouncing my name correctly (there is apparently no TH sound), and most importantly, understanding the language. Now this is not me bashing on Ecuador, I have absolutely loved it here. I am just realizing the opportunities afforded to me in my everyday life as an American.
This first week in Quito we are taking a Spanish class and staying with a host family. Class is interesting and exhausting as we have to explain everything in a language we have not spoken - and never spoke very well - in over 10 years. We have so far learned how to describe everyday objects, conjugate some verbs, and ask simple questions. Our homework last night was to fill in the blank in simple sentences with common verbs such as hacer (to make), ir (to go), dar (to give), and conocer (to know). Though this looked easy at first, it took Eric and I at least an hour to complete 12 sentences and we still needed the help of our host family and the internet. Along with attempting to carry on dinner conversations with our family, it has been a challenge. Our limited vocabulary means that we are able to ask/answer simple questions….and stop there. No details, no follow up questions/answers, no explanations. This brief experience has given me a strong glimpse into what it must be like to be an English Language Learner. It is painful and requires so much effort to say the simplest thing at times. And whenever I hear someone speaking English I cling to them and feel comforted in being able to understand what they are saying. I cannot even imagine what it would be like to be a student in my science classes, having only been learning English for less than two years. Those students are champs. Sample interaction: “What did you both do today?” “We go on walk tour of city.” “Did you see the whole city or only one part? Where was your tour located?” “We see center history. It start at hostel.” “Ah, the historic district of Old Town, Quito. Did you enjoy it? What did you see? Where did they take you?” “Market and palace and square and church and another church and we ate candy. Also we drank juice.” “What kind of juice did you drink?” “Um, purple.” End of conversation. Though this took about 5 minutes to say, these conversations are so beneficial because they are allowing us to practice the language in a full immersive setting with extremely patient conversation partners. Our host mom, Lorene, frequently corrects our grammar and will rephrase sentences for us with proper vocabulary. Her daughter’s boyfriend, Jorge, knows a little English and can help us with word choice when we are at a loss. I could not ask for more patient and understanding people to learn from. This is the same with our teacher, Annabella. Her teaching style is to ask us questions and let us fumble from there. We ended up talking about the homeless problem in Portland, our love of food carts, and all of the waterfalls in the gorge. It was so encouraging to be able to converse about somewhat complex topics and current events. I am very hopeful that we will be more confident in our speaking within the next few weeks – as long as we stay immersed and continue to practice with each other. We are already defaulting to Spanish when we are alone together. My first instinct is to ask Eric something in Spanish. Even more interesting, when writing this post and writing in my journal, I started in Spanish. We will get there eventually. Outside of class and our family we have not done too much as we are getting used to the altitude and reminding ourselves to take it slow. This trip is a marathon, not a sprint. It is ok if we don’t see anything one day and sleep in a bit. We have just started and have 7 more months to go. It is also weird to think we don’t know what we are doing tomorrow, or Monday, or 3 weeks from now. I have never lived this way, and although it is terrifying, it is also freeing. As the locals say, “que chevré,” meaning “cool.” We are just a few days away from leaving on our journey to South America. Our first stop is Quito, Ecuador. The only plans we have are a plane ticket and a place to stay our first night there. After that, it's all about planning as we go, seeing where the wind takes us. Hearing this you would think, "Dang, these are some relaxed, confident people right here." WRONG! We are both two of the most Type A people (Kathleen especially) on the planet. A few years ago we backpacked through Europe for 8 weeks, planning every stop, place to sleep, mode of transportation between destinations, etc. for the entire trip. And while we got to see a lot of cool places...we ended up realizing that sort of travel did not work for us. There was no room for flexibility or spontaneity. If a place was recommended to us along the way, or if we fell in love with a spot, or conversely, stopped enjoying a stop, we were stuck with our itinerary. Yes, we could have made changes, but that is easier said than done when you have non-refundable deposits on the line. This time, we are letting the pendulum swing the other way, being nothing but flexible, following suggestions of others, and letting our desires guide the way. This is slightly terrifying but also incredibly exciting! Prep Work: This section is being included only because it is something we wish we had when we were doing all of our research. Yes, all of this information is out there but it was not organized in a place or a way that was easy for us to find and reference.
Visas - only need one for Bolivia, which we can get there. Immunizations - Yellow Fever, Typhoid, and Hepatitis A. We were able to get all of these at a pharmacy and did not need to go to a specific travel clinic. This will obviously vary by state. Credit Cards - We have Apartment - we ended the lease on our beautiful apartment at the end of June and have been vagabonds, crashing at our parent's houses since then. Cars - one will be sold and the other will just hang out until we get back. Jobs - we both resigned from our current positions. Travel Insurance - World Nomad's has the best coverage for the type of trip we are taking. Packing - now this is where we get the most questions. How can you possibly pack for 7 months? Short answer, you can't. There will always be situations you can't plan for and things you will run out of along the way. As travel guru Rick Steves always says (and I have to keep reminding my mom), "you can buy it there." While we are eco-concious and do not want to buy a ton of stuff, we do know that we will have to buy some things along the way. So what are we bringing? Packing light has been the hardest thing for me (Kathleen) as I love to plan for every possible scenario, and have options for each one. After lots of research, carrying around a too heavy pack in Europe, and some talking down, here is what I am bringing:
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AuthorJust two kids out exploring this big world of ours. Archives
September 2017
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