The last few weeks...
I guess I have a lot of catching up to do…So the mindo excursion was awesome, despite the rain, we managed to have a blast. Of course the first time it rains in Ecuador is for our excursion to the cloud forests. We took our van (without maria this time) to Mindo where the butterfly and hummingbirds come right up to you. It’s this small town without electricity- well actually the electricity was out because of the rain- and we all stayed at this little hostel in the forest. All the guys got to stay in the loft part- which I was jealous about because I love sleeping up high. But there was another lofted part with hammocks that we hung out at later. It was pouring and we were starving but we didn’t want that to stop us from anything. So we went white water rafting anyways. It was so fun, when I pictured white water rafting I pictured a raft and paddles and helmets, etc. However this “raft” was really just 6 inter-tubes tied together in a flower pattern with one tube in the middle and they had duck tape on them and each person sat in one while two guides swerved in and out of the tubes sticking their feet in the ground and guiding the “raft” It was great. I think I liked it more than real rafting. Everyone couldn’t help but giggle and scream the whole time because we were always narrowly missing these huge boulders and tipping in and out and I wish it would have gone on for another hour, but it was pouring at the same time so we were all freezing. Scantly clad in our bathing suits we went to the restaurant soaking and built a fire in the fire pit and warmed our buns to the flames- thank you dad for teaching me how to correctly build a fire- and then that’s when all the power went out. We went back and all took naps and walks until dinner. I think it was my best nap here so far because the huge rain droplets were plunking on the roof and all the windows were open.. then 3 hours later I woke up.. just in time for dinner. Perfect.
It was like a ghost town because all the power was out, but that never stops the Ecuadorians from just sitting on the streets and their porches and just sitting.. and staring.. and sitting. People here could just sit forever. It’s so strange to see how differently Americans and Ecuadorians spend their time. I don’t know if it’s not in our nature to do what they do, I love deserved relaxation time, but I think we are programmed to always be doing something and working towards something. While that’s good, it can also be stressful. That’s one of the great things I’m learning here, is that you should just do what you want when you want (within reason of course). I think I’ll come home with a good mix of American and Ecuadorian mentalities. One of the biggest subjects on my mind here is how Americans live beyond our means. We are already so self-sufficient that it’s hard to imagine we need more, that we work so hard to obtain things we could do without and that don’t really make us happy. While here, they work to sustain a simple lifestyle, and I believe that the majority of the people here are considerably happier.
Anyways we ate dinner by candle light and were disappointed that we couldn’t go into the discoteca to jam after dinner. Yes. There is a discoteca. Sweet. Instead we got some bottles of wine and a deck of cards and headed back to the hostel for some candlelit conversation and card games. Then I returned to Lauren and I’s little love nest we shared and climbed into my almost outdoor haven. I wish I could sleep outside all the time- that is if the most evil and determined bugs in the entire world hadn’t eaten me alive. The next morning I almost missed breakfast because I could not get out of bed and then we headed into town for our canopy tour and waterfall hike. It took us about 40 minutes in the back of a truck to get to the zip lines, but it was worth it. I was reminded of Costa Rica as we turned topsy turvy up all these mountain roads and the view was incredible. The zip line course was amazing and their were ten long lines that kept getting higher and higher. I tried all the different positions like superman and mariposa and double and hanging upside down. It was thrilling. And it helped me get over my previous fear. Little did we know that everyone in the group was getting eaten alive until I looked down at everyone’s legs and we were all bleeding from the bug bites. Next we headed to the waterfall. I will never get tired of waterfalls. There was a huge slide there and beautiful trails and when we got to the main waterfall a few of us got up the courage to jump off this ledge cliff thing. The whole way down my voice was caught in my throat but as soon as I hit the water I couldn’t stop giggling. The worst part was how fast the current swept you under, because if you didn’t catch the safety rope in time then you were going to be taken for a ride down another waterfall that was not safe. After making it through all that, I took one step onto shore, slipped on a rock, and totally bit it. Haha.. oh well. We also got to swing on this tree rope, which was sweet.
The hike back up was def. more challenging than the one down and everyone was exhausted and not thrilled about the 40 minute uphill hike back to town. Fortunately we caught this bus that had illegal seating on the top of it- two benches nailed to the top. All 15 of us hopped on, and I don’t think I have feared more for my life than at that moment. Multiple times branches hit our faces and we had to dodge trees and we were turning down sharp tiny roads down the mountain. I have never been happier to step on solid ground. Before we left we had delicious pizza made in these huge old-fashioned ovens for us, an then homeward bound.
Before I go any further, I have to apologize for my English. Since I’ve been here my English and grammar have gotten considerable worse. Apparently now I cannot speak Spanish or English. I am a language nomad….
The next week was pretty much crazy in anticipation for Carnival. Carnival is the equivalent of Marti Gras anywhere else. Except better. People got nuts. Water, foam, and anything else is fair game to be thrown at you. At first it’s cute, and then little devil children attack you, the key is to not make eye contact. If you make eye contact- you’re screwed. Kiss that cute white tanktop goodbye- soon you will be covered head to foot in blue foam, and before you can even open your mouth or eyes to yell or identify the culprit, all you can see is a little girl maliciously shaking her hips and taunting you with “no se puede, no se puede”.. sorry I am a little bitter… Anyways the night before we were to leave for Atecames (the coast- about 5 hours away) lauren and I were determined to get our nails done (only 5 dollars), however, we ran into our friend, and about 3 hours later had already drank a pitcher and were on our way to an italian restaurant with the best red wine I’ve ever had in my life. And I don’t even like red wine, next we headed to our spot- our one and only bar in Cumbaya where our friend the barowner hooked us up. Our group included me, Lauren, a sweed, and a European. One thing led to another and we decided to head into Quito, however since Lauren and I were still in our workout clothes we had to change first. The taxi said he would wait for us, but then Lauren let out the dogs when she tried to open the gate and they went bounding out the door. The rest of the night was spent drunkenly chasing her dogs around the neighborhood and the sweed accidentally spraying mace everywhere. Before we knew it, it was 2 in the morning and I still had to pack, write a paper, and be on a bus the next morning at 8 a.m. for Atecames. I wrote my paper a little bit more happier than I had wanted to- but I think it was probably my finest work- well I’m still waiting for that grade back from my teacher, so we’ll see.
Somehow I made it onto the van and off we went. Apparently my ipod only breaks when I need it for long trips and vacations. 6 hours later we pulled into our private hotel- previously negotiated to cram 8 people into a 5 bedroom room. The hotel was beautiful and safe with guards, etc. Which is pretty much a necessity if you are gringos, girls, and traveling alone. We had our own pool and beach and were only a 25/30 minute walk along the shore into the craziness/nightlife/live bands/restaurants/carnival madness that is the dirtiness, sweatiness, and fiestaness of Atecames. Eager to hit the beach and see the culture of carnival we put on our bathing suits and made the trek down the beach. Soon, we approached a sea of people. I couldn’t even see where the beach started and began. The coast was lined with tiki bars and we immediately bar hopped and sampled the drinks. All of them were made right in front of us with fresh fruit.
