En Ecuador, Summer 2011

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Monday, July 25, 2011

You know what I did last weekend...

Alright, mis queridos...one last weekend update to share with you some sights, some adventures, and a little bit more of Ecuador :)


An incomparable sunset over Quito with a view of Volcan Cotopaxi
Friday, we were all feeling the need that comes for celebration with the end of a TESOL course week. So, we headed - Brianna, Lindsay, John, Raed and myself - to the Mariscal for a real dinner of our choosing, and ended up at the Magic Bean, como siempre.

There are a few reliable things here, actually. The weather is not one of them. 
But the Magic Bean will always be the best choice for dinner in la Mariscal, 
TESOL will always be stressful (even right to the very end), 
the altitude will hit you every time you walk uphill, 
my sister and her boyfriend will get into at least one nonsensical fight every week, 
every other taxi cab driver will try to overcharge you, 
and the buses will always fill la Avenida America with the unavoidable stench of diesel fumes.

South Quito sunset

This mountain is visible only about once a week.





Friday night after dinner and this beautiful sunset, we stayed up late finishing our reflective essays (mine turned out to be 12 pages). The next morning, Lindsay and I were up before the dawn to catch a bus north for Otavalo. We arrived about nine in the morning for the bustling street market town. After browsing our choices, Lindsay assisted me in bartering (I'm just don't have the heart for it) and I made some economical choices, and some less than economical. We split a fresh passion fruit, which has seeds that look like watery fish eggs but taste amazing, in the street and went out to lunch in an upstairs cafe where a live band was serenading a roomful of gringos. I think most of the gringos in Ecuador are in Otavalo on any given weekend; I actually felt in the majority again, rather unfortunately.

We left Otavalo - without taking any pictures! - and headed for Cotocaxi, there to catch a cab for Cuicocha (the name meaning in Kichwa "guinea pig lake").

The shores of famous Lake/National Park Cuicocha


We walked around a bit :)


Lindsay and I

Looking out from the lake


A patch of THE greenest grass we'd ever seen


After Cuicocha, we took an extremely windy ride in the back of a rapidly speeding truck to Quiroga, where we could catch a bus to Ibarra. The idea of Ibarra is that, aside from being one of the sierra's more sprawling and 'metropolitan' cities, it is famous nationwide for its helado (ice cream).

Unfortunately, by the time we arrived in Ibarra, Lindsay made the judgment call to head quickly back to Quito before it got TOO late...so we got a view of the city through the bus windows that we boarded for Quito. If I get to come back to Ecuador with some free time, I'll hold to the goal of spending a few days' worth in Ibarra. Perhaps the late afternoon sun deceived me into a more beautiful view of the city than I should have had, but I deemed it worth knowing.

Later that night, we passed some after-dinner conversation and games at the house of the host family of some boys from our program. We called the night as early as we could, because we had an early morning appointment with Volcan Cotopaxi...

An hour up the mountain, but still not there

Our cloud-shrouded volcano, awaiting climbers

Warm-up hour-long hike around the "lake"


Like I said, it rarely clears off completely - but still breathtaking :)

These little purple and yellow flowers are ALL over the ground

Amazing the cars in this "parking lot" don't just blow right down the mountain in the crazy wind

Our path awaits!

We're not acting freezing, we ARE freezing.

Just a midway lookout point...over everything!

Made it!!! This first shelter, or refugio, translates to 15,000 feet!

The steep path up and down

You have no idea the sacrifice it was to take my hands out of my pockets!

Yay!

Up in the clouds, the Volcano looms...inviting multi-day hikers.

There ya go, I touched the snow of Cotopaxi :)

An idea of the view, and the incline.

I took all these pictures without unwrapping my fingers..


The picture's not crooked, the mountain is.

Taking a photo of John taking a photo of me.

It was scary standing even here in the 50 mph wind!

Celebratory dinner and dessert at Crepes and Waffles for Brianna and I :)

That banana split is as real as it gets.

That's right, la copa caramel is gone :)

Oh, yes I did.
The mountain climb was steep, extremely windy, and certainly a challenge despite it's relative brevity. We got to hike around a lower-altitude lake for an hour and enjoy the atmosphere. I had a good time chatting in Spanish with Fabian, our guide, and Lindsay's host dad. He was telling me what good shape I was in -- and I in turn warned him that the fast walker he was seeing was about to be crippled by the altitude of the volcano into the slowest.

Thankfully, Fabian was a very patient guide. I did move slowly up the Volcano with John, the climb affecting us each in different ways. Lindsay hikes the Andes somewhat regularly from her home in Peru, so she did well. Brianna did just as well climbing up, but her fear of heights grabbed her on the way down. I moved slowly up, my breathing improved from the teleferiqo, but experiencing the same problem of low oxygen circulation to my muscles. Once the climb started, my calf muscles contracted tightly and never once relaxed. Quite painful! Pero no soy quejona. I'm no complainer!


We made it to the first refugio and warmed up (partly) with some hot chocolate and sandwiches. We were offered the chance to continue the climb, but with each of us in less-than-favorable condition (for me, my legs were freezing and my feet, in leather sandals, were completely numb!), we decided to head back down from there. 


The thing about hiking Volcan Cotopaxi is that, despite the cold and debilitating wind, little hail-sized bits of ice are constantly whipped off the glacier in the wind, and they hit every exposed part of your skin like freezing rocks, making it hard to look up and see. We each got a good dose of windburn!


The car ride back, we uncomfortably passed the heck out. Around 4 pm and back in the warm sunshine of Quito, we took the most satisfying showers of the whole trip and Brianna and I walked out and down to el Jardin (the mall), where we took care of some, a-hem, shopping, and treated ourselves to an energy-filled meal.


Sunday night at home was my first chance to update y'all and do a little work...this week we continue to wrap up our last assignments (there's still a relatively impressive list of them) and prepare our final portfolios. My own teaching challenges are over, but I'm not immune to the struggles of my peers -- our busy weekend set Brianna back in her usual preparations and the stress hits hardest on Mondays. Much of tonight and tomorrow will be devoted to encouraging her in her lesson plans. It's easy to see how overwhelming the course can become just in the course of a day!


On that note, I think it's time for bed, don't you? I've got the tired eyes :)


Hugs to you all!
Nikki Jade

7 comments:

  1. Was that mountain Cayambe? And you went OTAVALO! And was that lake the one in the volcano? OMG I and JEALOUS! -Mary Froeba

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  2. Such breathtaking and amazing photos Sweetie! It looks like a surreal weekend. (and the sunset photos are just beautiful too!) hope you continue to have a great stay! Looking forward to reading more!

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  3. haha the mountain was Cotopaxi -- we also went to Turungahua when we went to Baños, but no Cayambe! 2 for 3. Cuicocha is the lake outside of Cotacaxi, about 15/20 min from Otavalo? :)
    Thanks for all your encouragement Christy!! Looks like I might beat Squirt home ;) (hope not!!!)

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  4. Hugs back. Have so enjoyed following your blog and living vicariously on the edge (well, for me anyway - lol) When do you head home? And will you continue your blog? Love you

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  5. Thank you for your blog Nikki. I've enjoyed it immensely. I am a Spanish & English teacher who got her MAT in Spanish at SIT and her TESOL at El INVU in Costa Rica. I was in Ecuador in 1996 - well, in the Andes - Quito, Otavalo , Baños. Ay, me encantan! I want to say to you, if you're interested in Arab cultures you should come to the Sultanate of Oman to teach. They need people like you. My husband and I have been teaching in Nizwa, Oman for almost 5 fabulous years. We came here for 2 and stayed thru this year. It's been one of the best, most blessed and growthful times of my life. I hope to go back to Quito, Ecuador and to Cuzco, Perú someday - to teach. The times I visited there I was interested in Andean Music and culture . . . I still am. I'd like to go back to stay and live and teach. All the best, Amanda

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  6. Almost 5 years - all of which have been fabulous!

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  7. Thanks for reading Amanda! It sounds like we have some similar passions - I'm hoping to continue with TESOL and continue improving my Spanish language and culture al mismo tiempo! What a great experience it sounds like you're having. I have always found Arab cultures fascinating! I want to responsibly finish my Spanish endeavors, but I have had a desire to learn Arab language and culture for a few years now. Best of continued luck to you and feel free to email anytime!

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