Andinismo trip!

For once in my life, I´m actually taking classes that are connected to my major... U.S. and Latin American Relations, Conflict and Resolution, Rural Sociology, Medical Anthropology, and Andinismo. Well, I guess Andinismo (mountain hiking and climbing) may not technically be related to International Studies, and I´m not exactly getting credit for it, but so far it is AWESOME!


Our first trip was last Saturday, September 8. Last Friday night I was pretty sick (figures that I get sick three weeks into my stay when you'd think that I'd be used to the food by now) and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to go on my trip the next day. However, I slept A LOT (come to think of it, I sleep a lot here anyway, but this was more than usual), and Saturday I woke up feeling pretty decent.

So I did a quick packing session and somehow managed to fit all my stuff into my bookbag, which for me and my lack of packing skills is quite the accomplishment. The nine students from my class who were going all met with my professor, Diego, and his friend, Ramiro, in a bus station in Quito. From there we took another bus to a bus station in southern Quito.

In the southern bus station, we got on another bus and rode two hours to Otavalo, the indigenous community that I had visited with the U of I group. We checked into a really cute hostal and then headed into the town for some lunch.

After lunch we went to the bike rental store where we each got our very own bike (which was good because I've never been talented at riding on people's handle bars) and our very own helmet (which was good because I have a tendency towards accidents even when I have my own bike).

From there we followed Ramiro biking. At first I didn't have time to adjust my way-too-short bike seat so I rode along like a circus clown with my knees pretty much coming to my chin. Finally, we came to a breaking point and I got to adjust my seat. After riding through the crowded Saturday market of Otavalo (which is much crazier than the bike paths of U of I) we headed to some old railroad tracks that led to Peguche, the smaller indigenous town, and rode on the tracks to Peguche. I thought that since I had been running, the bike riding wouldn't be too hard, but I was way off. We went up some crazy bumpy hills which were made even more exciting by no shocks and interesting brakes. One girl's bike tire popped so she had to ride Diego's bike as he tried to fix it.

So we kept riding and sometimes walking when a hill was too hard and eventually came to the waterfalls I had visited with the U of I group! We parked our bikes and hiked to the top of the large waterfall where there was a small cove and a smaller waterfall. Of course, even though the water was freezing, we couldn't resist standing underneath the waterfall. I mean, we had to shower somewhere!

After some quality swimming/getting pummled by the waterfall, we finally got out and got ready to do what we came for….repelling down the big waterfall!!!!

I love to rock climb and repel, but I've never repelled down a waterfall in Ecuador before. I didn't want to get my hiking boots wet, so I put on my trusty Teva sandals (actually, I think their Mom´s and I stole them from her), threw my stuff in some plastic bags, and hooked my harness up. Well, I had a lot of help getting into my harness and getting hooked up since my hands were so cold and I was a bit rusty on the exact way that crazy harness goes together.

Anyway, I was finally ready, and Diego says, "Lista?" and I'm like "Yeah!" He said, "No, you're supposed to say 'Lista.'" I guess there are climbing protocol commands in Spanish too. So I said, "Lista!" and started repelling down the waterfall.

I love repelling, and it was awesome getting sprayed with water as I descended, but it was definitely one of the trickiest repels that I've ever done, not that I've done a whole lot of hard ones. Okay, I've never repelled on any hard areas. I kept swinging and my feet kept slipping on the wet rock. And the flip-flops I thought were a good idea kept getting stuck in the mud wall, so I had to stop, grab them with my toe, and get them back on my foot. One time I actually let go of the rope that you're never supposed to let go of, but it was okay because a) the rope was really wet and was a pain to get sliding and b) Diego was at the top holding me up with a second rope.

When I got down to the bottom, Ramiro kept telling me he didn't like it when people repelled in flip-flops. Whoops. But you know what? My dry hiking boots were incredible and I didn't regret wearing flip-flops for a second.

It was pretty funny because as we each repelled down, a bunch of other tourists gathered around the waterfall to watch us and take pictures. I felt like I was some crazy outdoors woman, when really I was just taking a sports class for college.

So after we finally all got down the waterfall, it had gotten dark, so we rode our bikes back to Otavalo in pitch blackness. It was such a crazy ride because there were so many random dogs and kids that would come out to meet us. I had a hard time seeing (I forgot my night vision goggles) but riding at night makes you feel really fast so I felt like I was flying! When we got back to Otavalo, we returned our bikes (it was much easier riding through the streets of Otavalo with the market gone) and then headed back to the hostal to change into dry clothes.

Then we went out to dinner and then to the festivals of Otavalo, where there was a band and dancing in the street. Once again, people tried to teach me how to salsa dance (the popular thing here seems to be to try and teach the most incompetent gringa how to salsa dance) and once again I failed miserbly. I then tried to demonstrate some quality "American" dance moves like the lawn mower, but they didn´t realize how cool it was. Oh well, maybe one day Ecuador will learn the power of the Sprinkler and the Shopping Cart.

The next morning we ate a delicious breakfast at the hostal (that was included in our price of $8 per night per person!) and heading outside to a pickup truck.

So we all piled into the back of this pick-up truck, who's sides had been built up so we could stand. We rode to a pandería where we stocked up on bread for our hiking trip and then headed rode up the mountain.

While it was pretty warm at the base of the mountain, it got colder and colder as we rode up. About half-way up, the others started busting out warm jackets and hats and scarves, and that's when I found out that we had been told to bring warm clothes for the day. Dang, I wish I could understand Spanish! I wasn't very happy in my thin sweatshirt and T-shirt, but my friend brought an extra (Illni!) sweatshirt that I was very grateful for.

So we rode up the mountain which had absolutely incredible view. Indigenous people would walk past us or sometimes ride by on horses and there were the cutest kids. You gotta be tough to live in the Andeas though, because it was pretty chilly and definitely hilly (duh).

So we're riding slowly along, the pickup starting to sputter here and there when it finally gives out altogether and refuses to keep going up the hill. Our professors got out to try and help, and it turned out that the gasoline had been watered down too much and the truck couldn't make it up the mountain anymore.

So we all got out to help push it around (yeah, my Tijuana car-pushing skills coming in handy!) and the driver takes the truck down the mountain (I'm assuming he coasted). So our class is chilling on a mountain road in the Andeas and our professor tells us that we're hiking the additional hour up.

It was an absolutely gorgeous hike and on a stone road, so nothing technically challenging, but I was sucking wind like it was my job! However, after about an hour of hiking, we came to a huge lake that was made by the volcanoes. Though we didn't have time to hike to one of the mountain peaks, we hiked partway around the lake to a small forest. By the time we got back from the forest, the pickup truck had returned (apparently having made it up the entire mountain this time; I guess it got its gas changed). I was so cold and tired and glad to see it I almost bear-hugged the driver. But I refrained and simply said a big happy, "Hola!"

So we all piled in again and huddled together as we rode down the mountain, a much faster trip than riding up it. Go figure, gravity really does exist.

Then we hit up a pie shop and headed back to Quito!