So I started this blog post weeks ago but it took a long time to get caught up so I decided to wait to post it until now. I know there will be tons of proofreading errors but I will fix those when I get home. Here is most of what happened in the last month:
Sunday, May 24 : fly from ORD to Quito with a layover in Panama. Take a taxi from airport to host family, have dinner and settle in
Monday, May 25 : class for 4 hours in the morning, 2 hours in the afternoon walking around neighborhood by Plaza Foche and getting juice with my teacher. Attend a lecture about history of Ecuador (in Spanish) then dinner and relax
Tuesday, May 26 : 4 hours of class, then walked to artisan market with teacher, then met up with Cara before salsa lessons at school. Dinner and relaxing at host family.
Wednesday, May 27 : 4 hours of class then took a taxi to Old City with professor to go up in the cathedral, then went to another church and toured the president's house. Went to cooking class at school then went out for coffee by myself to journal and met a new friend. Took new friend to meet up with friends from school for drinks then dancing.
Thursday, May 28 : 2 hours of class then morning teacher took us to local market for an amazing lunch of fried fish with a shrimp sauce on top. In the afternoon we went with both our teachers to the museum and home of the Ecuadorian painter, Guyasamin. Then dinner and early bed.
Friday, May 29 : 4 hours of class in the morning, then we took a taxi to Mitad de Mundo, the museum on the Equator . We learned about different traditional lifestyles in Ecuador and then got to do experiments on the Equator such as watching water drain, balancing an egg on a nail, and walking on the line with eyes closed. Took local buses back and the second bus crashed with a car. No one was hurt but the car looked kind of bad but it just drove off and the bus continued .
Saturday, May 30 : We left early to meet a group at school to take a 2-day tour. We stopped at 2 different markets, first for fruit, and then an indigenous market that had clothes and food. It was neat to people watch and see the fashion of the indigenous people. On the bus ride, we also saw indigenous families with their llamas, cows, and goats. We then arrived at Quilatao, a crater lake. We hiked down and then kayaked in the lake. Then, we took a 2 hour hike back up the mountain. It was hard because of altitude but nice. We then ate lunch at the top before getting back in the bus and driving a couple of hours to our lodge. There we ate dinner and went in the jacuzzi before bed.
Sunday, May 31: After breakfast at the lodge, we took the bus to Cotapaxi, the second tallest active volcano in the world. We picked up a couple of guides and drove part way up. It was really cloudy on the volcano, so unfortunately we could not see the top. Hiking then was a little crazy because it was rainy and really windy. It also started to snow a bit. But I loved it! It felt so epic! We did not hike all the way up but went to where a glacier starts (it is technical climbing after that). The path was really sandy but I thought it was a great hike. We then went back to the lodge for lunch and then back to Quito.
Monday, June 1: 4 hours of class in the morning, then our afternoon teacher tried to take us to the national museum but it was closed on Mondays. We ended up walking through a park and watching a comedy show, then walking to other neat parts of the neighborhood. Cara and I then went for coffee at this awesome place that had pour overs. We had dinner at our host family and just relaxed.
Tuesday, June 2 : We had our usual 4 hours of class in the morning, then in the afternoon we took a cable car up above the city with our teacher and another student. It was so beautiful as we could see a lot of the city! We played some word games in Spanish before heading back down. We then had salsa lessons at school, dinner at home, and then met friends for drinks.
Wednesday, June 3 : We had 2 hours of class and then our teacher took us to the market to try fruit that doesn't exist in the U.S. We probably tried 10 different kinds and it was so good! We ate lunch there again before going to the national museum with our afternoon teacher. The museum had a lot of Pre-Columbian art that I loved. We then went back to school and said goodbye to all our friends. We went and bought some local chocolate and then relaxed at a place called the Cheesecake Café. It was amazing cheesecake! We had our last dinner with our host mom in Quito and then packed all our stuff. We then got a ride to the bus station by the tour agent from our school and took an overnight bus to Lago Agrio, our meeting place for our jungle adventure.
Thursday, June 4 : after hanging out in a small cafe for hours, we finally board a bus for the jungle. 2 hour bus ride then 1 hour boat ride. Upon arrival to our lodge we eat lunch and our guide introduces himself and shows us around. After a shower I take a much needed nap on a hammock listening to the rain. In the late afternoon we get in a boat with another group to look for animals and then swim in the middle of a lagoon. After sunset we head back to the lodge for dinner and bedtime.
Friday, June 5 : After breakfast we take a boat to a place where we trek through part of the jungle learning about the plants . Then we get in a large canoe and paddle all the way back to the lodge for lunch. After nap time in the hammocks, we head back out to the lagoon. After sunset we head into the jungle to look for insects and spiders in the dark. Then dinner, conversation, cold shower by candlelight, and bed.
Saturday, June 6 : After breakfast we head out on the boat upstream to a local indigenous village. We make bread out of yuka root and then eat lunch there. After wandering around the village we go meet with a local shaman, an indigenous medicine man. We learn his process, ask questions, and then see a demonstration. We head back to the lodge shortly before heading to swim in the lagoon at sunset. After sunset we look for caymen (like alligators), then dinner and bed.
Sunday, June 7 : We get up for an early morning bird watching boat trip before breakfast. Then pack up, say goodbye, and take the hour boat ride then 2 hour bus ride, then 7 hour bus ride to Quito. In Quito we board an 8 hour night bus to Cuenca.
Monday, June 8 : We arrived in Cuenca at 6 am, took a taxi to the school, then walked around for 2 hours until the school opened. We met our new teacher and had four hours of lessons, then went to our new host family, had lunch, took a shower and headed back to school. A new afternoon teacher took us around town. I didn't like him at all as he spoke in English, was egocentric, and tried to get us to buy things from his friends. Combined with little sleep, I was in a terrible mood. But then Cara and I found a vegetarian restaurant with amazing juice. We then walked around, enjoyed a little of the Corpus Christi festival going on and then finally headed home to bed
Tuesday, June 9 : We had 4 hours of classes in the morning, lunch then nap, then met with a new afternoon teacher whom we loved! We toured a hat factory and walked more around town talking only in Spanish. We then went back to school for cooking class then got ice cream with a friend before chilling at home.
Wednesday, June 10 : 4 hours of class in the morning and then after lunch with host family our afternoon teacher took us to a good lookout of the city called Turi. We then took a taxi back to the school for dancing lessons. Then we went to our dance teacher's art studio to see his paintings and listen to his Austrailian student play the flute. We then got pizza for dinner and went home for the night.
Thursday, June 11 : 4 hours of classes in the morning then we went out with other students to try guinea pig for lunch. I actually really liked it. Then we went with our afternoon teacher first to the modern art museum, which sadly had no art (a new exhibit opens next week) and then climbed to the top of the old cathedral, had a tour of the museum in the old cathedral, then visited a small zoo and got to take a selfie with a llama. We then went back to school for salsa lessons and then went with 3 other students to watch Ecuador play Chile in soccer at a bar. We then watched a fireworks show at the main square as part of the Corpus Christi festival.
Friday, June 12 : We met our morning teacher at 7 at the bus station to go to the Incan ruins Ingapirca. It took a couple of hours and a couple buses to get there. It was rainy but we had a great time going around with our lovely teacher and learning about the Incas and other indigenous groups from long ago. We arrived back in Cuenca around 3 and then went on a final walk around town, buying some food, and finally saying goodbye to our host family and boarding a 10pm bus to Ambato, a transfer city. We arrived in Ambato at 4am then took an hour taxi ride to our hostel in Baños.
Saturday, June 13 : we slept for 4 hours before breakfast then went zip lining! It was so cool as we went over a river and into a canyon. We then went in a scary bridge, climbed up a cliff, and zip lined back to where we started. We did a little shopping, ate lunch, showered, then met up with our Swiss friend (whom we met at our school in Quito and then again in the jungle) for paragliding. We went up on the mountain and 3 people went at a time. I didn't go first and then it started to rain so I had to wait what seemed like forever (I got really impatient) but finally I got to fly. And it was amazing. So peaceful and amazing as I sat there and the pilot took us over fields, trees, cows and in front of mountains and a volcano. It was also super cold. After getting back to town, Cara and I went with our Swiss friend to a Swiss bistro and ate Swiss foundu. It tasted so good! We then went and changed before heading back into town to go salsa dancing.
Sunday, June 14 : After checking out and having breakfast at the hostel, we went canyoning, which is repelling down waterfalls. We practiced in town before heading to the mountains. Our guide was super fun and has so much passion for his job. He is actually moving in October to Colorado to be a white water rafting guide. But anyways, we hiked up and then repelled down 4 waterfalls. Some of them were really strong and I lost my footing, but our guide hung on so it was never dangerous. We then slid down the last two falls. We went back to the hostel, grabbed our stuff, grabbed some street food, and boarded a bus back to Quito. Once in Quito we took a taxi to a McDonalds where we met the Spanish teacher who would go to the coast with us. We then went to a different station and boarded an overnight bus to the coast.
Monday, June 15 : We arrived at our resort at 6 am. We were greeted by Ana amazing view of the ocean and a great hotel room and pool. We showered, took a walk on the beach, observed local fishermen, then had breakfast. At 10:30 we had Spanish class poolside for 4 hours. We really liked our professor and learned a lot. In the afternoon we went into town (a tiny town of only 500 people) for lunch and then layer poolside. After listening to an audiobook, Cara and I went for a short run then had dinner at the resort. We had a chill evening and went to bed early.
Tuesday, June 16 : We ate breakfast then had 4 hours of Spanish lessons with a pool break in between. Cara and I headed into town for lunch. Our teacher then met us and we walked for an hour to the next town then came back for a beer (it was really hot). We chilled the rest of the afternoon and evening with dinner somewhere in the mix.
Wednesday, June 17 : After an early breakfast, we traveled to a town an hour away, then walked across a very long bridge, then caught a bus to a poplar beach. Well it is supposedly popular on the weekends. But we swam in the ocean then got lunch and took 2 other buses to a mangrove island. We went around this island by boat and had a guide. It was interesting but I was exhausted and so it could have been better . We then waited for buses and eventually made it back to the resort. We had dinner and went to bed early.
Thursday, June 18 : We had breakfast and 4 hours of Spanish classes. Then we went to town for lunch and came back and laid in the sun for two hours listening to Amy Poehler's memoir on audiobook. After dinner, I was uploading pictures to Facebook and was interrupted by a Nigerian man and ended up talking with him for a while. There was a birthday party going on for a woman turning 80 and I was invited to join the dancing by her 23 year old grandson. It was so fun as I got to meet the family and join the festivities for a little while. Later, when I was once again uploading pictures, the grandma came by and I told her happy birthday and she gave me some of the leftover candy. Her 12 year old granddaughter then came and talked to me and it was so fun! She was so cute! It was a great ending to the week and good Spanish practice.
Friday, June 19 : We ate breakfast then had our 4 hours of class. Then we packed, had lunch, and hung out by the pool. I ended up talking with a couple of the hotel workers which was nice. I like meeting new people and learning about their lives. Then we checked out, walked into town with our stuff and took a bus tithe city where we would catch our bus to Quito. There, we bought our tickets, watched soccer, and ate dinner before getting on a 10:20 pm bus back to Quito
Saturday, June 20 : We arrived in Quito a little after 4 am and then took a taxi to a hostel, checked in, and fell back asleep for a few hours. After showers and a late breakfast we headed to the market to buy souvenirs. We had so much fun bartering for gifts for family, friends, and ourselves. We got lunch at some point and eventually made it back to drop off our stuff at the hostel before having coffee and talking with the cafe owner for over an hour. He is Canadian and has such interesting ideas about life. It was really fun. Then, we had dinner at a nearby bakery. It was mostly desert but so good! We then got juice at a cute restaurant to end our time in Ecuador.
Tomorrow Cara flies to Guatamala and I fly home. As you can see, it has been a full 4 weeks and I am exhausted. As much as I will miss this country, I am ready to go home.
