Showering in the waterfall post-cave

Well, after our caving adventure, we were all extremely dirty. Fortunately, there was another waterfall along the rest of our hike. Murph had brought Head & Shoulders so we all hopped into the waterfall and took a nice shower. The water was a bit chilly, but the water pressure was wonderful! Plus it was a great way to get some of our clothes clean at the same time.

When we finally got back to the village, we changed into clean, warm clothes, and I got a chance to interview some of the village kids for an Medical Anthropology paper I had to write for Monday.

DINNER

Then the village cooked a delicious traditional meal for us, that we ate on leaf plates. They've been using disposable dishes way before Europeans thought of it! Also, we got to try a delicacy...grubs. Actually, they were pretty good. There was a bit of an initial crunch as you bit through the shell, and then the inside was tender and juicy. Haha, I feel like I'm describing a steak (except for the whole shell part). But seriously, they were pretty good.

Chowin' down, check out the leaves for a tablecloth and dishes

DANCE PARTY

After dinner, the shaman performed a ceremony for us, and then some of the village kids showed us a traditional dance. Then all of us students got up and danced with all of the kids. The poor kids didn't want to dance too long, though they were impressed with the worm dance move.

SWEET DREAMS TAKE 2

After dinner, Megan and I went to check out our tent to find that we had left the window open... Thanks to the rain (well, we were in the rain forest) the floor of our tent was nice and wet, so we decided to push two benches together in the school house and crash there with most of the other students. Haha, it made my miss my cot in Tijuana!

Megan and me on our bed for the night... Towels make good blankets!

SURFING USA...ECUADOR STYLE

The next morning we woke up, slightly sore and chilly, but excited. The village cooked us a traditional breakfast which was very filling, and then we hopped on the bus and headed to Misahuali. There we got onto two boats filled with intertubes and headed down the Rio Napo. After about 20 minutes of motoring, we all got out and hopped onto intertubes...two people to a tube lying on our stomachs. Megan and I shared a tube and we had a good time checking out the jungle from the river. There were even some small rapids that added some excitement to the trip!

Of course, most of us thought that we would be lying on our backs in the tubes so we put sunscreen on the front of our bodies. (Well, okay, I just put sunscreen on my face and shoulders because I'm lazy). However, as I said, we were lying on our stomachs floating down the river for 1 1/2 hours. On the equinox. On the equator. At noon. Haha, the backs of our legs were extremely red by the end of our trip, and it was a bit of a painful bus ride home. You could tell who had gone on the trip at school the next day by the way we literally waddled down the hallways.

Heading out to go tubing, pre-sunburn; we're just very orange thanks to the canopy

Stray monkey and her kid in Misahualli...Tijuana has stray dogs, Misahualli has stray monkeys

WRAPPING UP

After our tubing adventure, we ate lunch in Misahuali, got some ice cream (YES!) and hopped on the bus back to Quito.

I was pretty tired, so my bright idea of doing homework back in Quito didn't last long, and I went to bed early. I want to go back to the Oriente soon!!!!

More Andinsimo pics

EXTRA EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT

I finally figured out to add text with pictures!!!!!

yep, that´s the newsflash

A view from the pick-up as we rode up the mountain

chillin´in the back of the pick-up; most of us ended up standing because we could see more

can´t drive up anymore thanks to watered-down gasoline

Time to turn that pick-up around, Flinstone-style

Look what we found after our hike!

Pictures from Andinismo trip

From top to bottom: Raluka, Megan, and me on the bus to Otavalo, me repelling down the waterfall, me repelling down the waterfall, taking a break on our night ride from Peguche to Otavalo, at the festivals of Otavalo

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!

Photos from Ruta de las Iglesias

Pictures: Megan and me after a good pizza dinner post-race; some of the goodies we got after finishing

¡Vamos! ¡Corre, ¡Corre!

I expected to have to take a break from racing during my semester in Ecuador. However, the first week I was here, some of the other U of I kids told me that they had signed up for La Ruta de las Iglesias, (The Route of the Churches), a 10 K race that began at 7 p.m. on September 1 and went through the El Centro, the Historic District of Quito.

With the help of my host mom, I found a TVentas store and registered. It was a really good thing that Patricia was with me, because she understood that I had to go on a separate day to get my timing chip and racing number.

I completely took off running the first week I was here. However, by the second week, I realized that my new running shoes smelled way too good, and I needed to put them to use. So nearly everyday, I try to take the Ecovia bus to Carolina Park, a huge park in the north part of Quito with a bike path about 2 miles long surrounding it. There are lots of walkers and runners in the mornings and there are lots of walkers, bikers, and soccer games in the afternoon!

Running at this high altitude is definitely different than running in the oxygen-saturated air of Illinois, and I trudge along, gasping for air as runners that have lived here all their lives easily do laps around the park.

I was a little nervous for the race because it was at a high altitude and I heard it had a lot of hills, but I had heard it was a gorgeous route and we all just wanted to run it for fun.

So September 1 rolled around, and at 5:30 I took a taxi to the race’s start and met up with Pedro, Malorey, Megan, and Megan’s Ecuador sister-in-law, Veronica. Usually I hate the time right before a race because I feel so nervous, but waiting for this race to start was pretty fun. The 4,500 runners were all crammed into an area behind the starting line, and there was a live band playing.

Nearly all of us runners were jumping up and down and flailing around trying to stay loose, and we all looked like we were trying to do some weird dance. It was pretty cool, because I realized that no matter the country, runners have the same habits and mannerisms right before races. Everyone is slightly giddy, excited, and nervous. There are runners with the highest-tech running gear, and there are also runners in crazy costumes. Each race is like a giant party for people with no fashion sense (unless spandex is coming back in style). If it wasn’t for the Spanish everyone spoke around me, I might have thought I was about the race the Turkey Trot.

So anyway, 6:55 p.m. rolled around and the band broke out into an Ecuadorian song that all the runners joined in and sang. Well, most of the runners. I had no idea what the words were, so I just kinda continued dancing around and enjoying the music.

Finally, the clock hit 7 p.m. and we were off. It was kind of funny, because a lot of the runners put their finger tips on the backs of the runners in front of them as if to give a tiny push. However, there were so many of us, that none of us were going anywhere very fast. After about 2 and a half minutes of a funky shuffle, we crossed the starting line!

The first part of the race was absolutely packed with runners as we headed through the narrow streets of Historic Quito. The historic district is filled with gorgeous old churches that are incredible in the daytime, and look amazing at night when they were all lit up. Even though there were some ridiculous hills, there was tons of stuff to see, from the awesome architecture to the hoards of people lining the race and cheering for us.

Usually I’m used to hearing, “Let’s go!”, “You can do it!”, “You go, girl!” during races. During this race I got to hear “¡Vamos chica!”, “¡Corre!”, “¡Si, se puede!” (Yes! We got the same cheer the Ecuadorian soccer team gets!) It was also different because instead of mile marks, there were marks every kilometer. I thought this might be discouraging because after 1 kilometer I would still have 9 to go (as opposed to after the first mile I’d only have 5.2 more to go), but the kilometers went by really fast.

It was by far one of the most fun races I’ve run. I got separated from the people I started with, but all the spectators were lively and the runners were in good spirits. I almost took a couple of quality faceplants as I tried to avoid bricks, holes, people, and other obstacles, but that just added another level of excitement to the race. I’ve never run with the bulls in Spain, but I think that La Ruta de las Iglesias might feel kind of like that because you’re surrounded by people running and you couldn’t really slow down or speed up if you wanted to.

After about half-way through the race, the streets widened and the runners spread out. By this time we were out of the Historic District and into the main streets of Quito. It kind of weird running down some of the busiest streets of Quito, but in some ways it wasn’t weird at all since I have to run across the streets quite a bit, trying to dodge cars.

Every few kilometers they handed out Gatorade and water. However, instead of water being in cups like they do in races in the States, the water was in little plastic bags. This actually worked incredibly well, because runners could just take a bite out of the bag and squirt as much as they like either into their mouth or over their head.

The finish line came up pretty quickly, and we all were ushered through and given Gatorade. Then I trade in my chip for the best race goody bag that I’ve ever gotten- it was a draw-string bag filled with a race T-shirt, a medal, an apple, pear, and orange, a Gatorade water bottle, a running shawl thing, and a sticker. Actually useful stuff!

Then I wandered around like a clueless maniac, trying to figure out whether I should look for the other U of I kids or get my bag to use my cell phone to call them. As I wandered, all of the sudden Veronica, Megan’s sister-in-law, came up to me, so we started looking for her family. Mom and Dad called from Hilton Head, and I got to talk with them!

I’m still not very good at Spanish so I didn’t really know what was going on, but somehow I ended up riding with Veronica and her family to a pizza place. Poor Megan was searching the streets of Quito looking for her family after being given the wrong directions by a police officer, but eventually they found her as well.

So somehow I got to join Megan and her extended host family for pizza at an “American” pizza place. It was all decked out like a diner and blasting American ‘80’s music (“Uptown Girl” is still in my head). The pizza was absolutely delicious, though it didn’t exactly taste like the “American” pizza I’m used to; it had an Ecuadorian twist of flavor, but I don’t know what. The food here definitely has distinctive tastes, but it’s all good. (Except papaya juice; I’m not really a fan of that).

Pictures from Peguche and Otavalo

Pictures from top to bottom: Some kids we passed along our hike, haning out in the river after getting soaked in the waterfall, Ñunche, Esteban, and Patricio on the boat in the Scotland-like lagoon, eating breakfast in the indigenous community house, the instrument-maker