46 posts from 2007

As of 10:40pm tonight I am Canada bound!

However the Quito airport is to small for international flights to go out of (the run way is about half the size of what it should legally be) and so my flight is apparently going to Guayaquil first before heading to Atlanta. As long as this doesn´t fuck up my connecting flight to Buffalo and as long as Buffalo doesn´t have a crazy ass snow storm (what are the chances of that happening?), then I will be back in the True North Strong and Free at 10am tomorrow morning.

In other news,

I spent yesterday laying in bed, watched 2 movies then went out for a goodbye dinner and to Finns to proceed to get pretty wasted. Because I am family through default of Alison working there I got to stay for the lock in and from 3 to 6:30 after everyone left we continued to get shitfaced and managed to break the hammock off the wall.

Hopefully Alisons camera will turn up because shes the only one with pictures and a camera is very much needed to asist in the remembering of last nights events.

Going to pack...watch a another movie and get my ass home.

Adios Ecuador, era un tiempo muy bonito y loco tambien!

I have been wandering aimlessly around Cuenca all day yesterday and today. Not going to museums, not really doing a hell of a lot.

Yesterday I spent 3 hours in a clinic with Sara, who they believe has salomella and has to spend 2 nights there. Oh the joys of Ecudorian cusine.

I am tired and just want it to be 830 so I can sleep on my bus back to Quito. Getting close...

After 5 months of traveling in South America one thing I still have not grasped is how, how oh how, chicken, beef and random other meat and cheese products can be left outside hanging in the open air or sitting on top of tables in the 35degree weather of the coast.

Sure in the highlands (Cusco, etc) it kind of makes sense because it is so so bloody cold. But when I was walking around Atacames a few weeks ago and saw whole chickens and wheels of cheese just sitting on a table, no cloth, no ice I began to wonder. Yes I have seen basically an entire slaughtered cow traveling in the backs of taxis numerous times (just laying on the lovely seats that my ass has graced). I have seen meat laying on the ground at the market, usually on newspaper, the odd time not. The flies hovering everything no longer phase me, but when it is literally so hot that you could cook an egg on the sidewalk, why, why Ecuador do you not put your fucking chicken into the freezer that is sitting beside your table of sun baked death chicken.

Chicken on a stick remains my favourite on a stick variety to eat in Ecuador.

Things I will Miss about Ecuador

• Alison
• The adventures of Cougar and Lion Cub (recently turned cougar ·2)
• accents...oh the many hot accents
• Finn´s where everyone knows your name
• street food = meat on a stick, banaño and queso, onion and tomato and lime delishiousness
• LLAPINGACHOS (still food but deserves its own point)
• suday market in the park
• cheap movies and movie days
  
• weekend getaways
• fruity drinks
  
• ridicuously cheap stuf in general
• cool jewellery
• spanish!
• walking around Quito and running into people i know
• the beach
• the andes
• the oriente
• having all my laundry done for $3
• my freedom!
• new places, new people, new experiences
• doing stupid shit and saying its ok because Im travelling, its allowed
  

• pollution
• the ¨ch ch ch¨ sound the guys make
• bugs in my shit (clothes, bed, me, etc)
• parasites
• the Solano hill
• the Ecovia
• Correa and his dictating bullshiut
• spanish grammar
• 10 hour bus rides and cramped buses where my knees start to ache like an 80year old and they play HORRIBLE movies ridiculously loud or blast reggeaton at 5am
• walking around Quito feeling like I´m going to get mugged all the time
• street dogs with boners
• street dogs banging all over the place (100s of times I have had to witness this)
• cars honking at anything and everything
• cold showers
• saggy matresses
• freezing rooms
• living out of my backpack
• getting hit on by creepy men (the worst of which happened today, he flowed me in his ar down the street making kissy faces and telling me to get in his car, there is a difference between easy and a hooker buddy!)

• lay in my bed under my lovely duvet!
• put on my comfy sweats and all my sweaters I have missed
• wear my sweats and green scarf and url up in the family rooom with the fireplace and cup of tea/good coffee in one of my beautiul mugs from Peru ad acth up on TV and movies
• unpack all my gifts and wonder what the hell Im going to do with everything
• put on my boots ad go frolick in the snow
• go tobaggoning with a thermas of hot chocolate and baileys
• go to Timmys, just because its Canadian and donuts are wonderful
• atch up on new music
• look at all my pictures and random things Ive collected, wonder why I came home and make a scrapbook
• eat lots of Christmas cookies
• go grocery shopping and be excited to buy all the food Ive missed and sad I cant find I love from here
• cook, a lot
• go to Nonnas and get all the gnocchi I can handle...and lat noodles, papa cheese, cooked peppers and proscutto (its been 8 years I cant wait to bring it back in my life!)
• make the biggest salad with lots of olives and cheese
• eat: spicy olive goodness, feta, asiago, dill pickle chips, orange juice, maple cookies and real milk, cottage cxheese
• marvel at my beautiful mugs and hold them each
  
• get a good nights sleep in my omy bed
• visit all my friends
• get a job...sad face
• plan next big adventure (hopefully one that includes and paying job!)
  

Just got back into Tena from Misahualli. I love the jungle. There is nothing else to it. I love the jungle and I want to move there. Not for life just a year is good.

Yesterday hiked to a waterfall. swam, tanned on the rocks got covered in mud.
Today layed on the beach by the river, tanned, fell in love with the river and Misahualli.

And thats all folks.
Taking a 3pm bus to Riobamba...possibly seeing a bull fight tomorrow. Life is good my friends. Life is good.

However life will be drastically changing exactly a week today and Im not sure how I feel about that.

Quick week update before I head off again...

Wednesday got to Mompiche. After waiting for the bus for awhile and being told numerous different times of arrival we decided to take up an offer to get dropped off at the entrance and walk in. Liars. People are liars.We got dropped off where to road goes to the coast for Mompiche. I asked the guy how long it was, he said 30mins. After 25mins of walking NOTHING was in site. A cop came by on his tiny tiny motorcycle and said he would come back for us. We didn't think he was serious. He was. 10 mins later he comes up and tells me and Alison to get on...3 people and 2 backpacks on a tiny moto...we were prepared to die. Luckily for my bodys sake after about 30 seconds of him trying to drive us down the dirt potholed road a guy came up in an SUV and offered to take us in. The walk would have easily been over 2 hours.

Mompiche is the chillest village I have yet been too.Probably because there is nothing there. Nothing. The weather wasnt fantastic but what made the time was Byron. We found this really cute restuarant with amazing food.  A bit more expensive than the others but since we werent buying anything else except food it was totally worth it. Bryon cooked all our meals and was adorable. I think we funded their renovations for their house for the next two months.

Saturday we went back up to Atacames for the day. The weather was perfect. Tons of sun and I got rocked hard by the waves. Those things were intense!

Monday night back in Quito met up with Sarah and randomly ran into Emily on the street. Very exciting. A group of us went out that night for some goodbyes and I apparently was more drunk than I thought I was because the next morning was not so hot.

Tuesday went to the Thermas de Papallacta with Sarah.Really nice hot springs in the mountains. Relaxing perfect day for the hangover.

Now Im on my way to get some stuff oraganized and travel for my last week here before getting back to Quito next wednesday and home next friday. Yikes! Cant believe thats true!

Back in Quito now.

Finished at the farm on friday and came back saturday night. Could write lots about the farm but I´ll do this instead.

-woke up at 530 every morning for rutinas (chanchos, caballos, cuyes, cocina, pollos = pollos was my fav...couldnt do caballos because of the allergies and chanchos was good for just 4 days - the piglets are cute but scooping all that poo is not so fun)

-my fever and on and off sickness limited me to some jobs and working at all sometimes. I filled a lot of fundas with dirt, weeded a lot and was priveledged enough to NOT have to prepare any beds.

-carried sacks of rocks uphill a couple days then followed that with transporting 250 pumpkins on our backs in sacks one day

-painting became my project (though giving it to me the end of my second last week wasnt the brightest of ideas), the other project was supposed to be to redesign a part of the garden...started that, gave them my ideas they need to follow through

-did plenty of partying in Canoa every weekend. The boat bar on the beach was def my fav, however stay away from the creepy free shot they give you (the bottom of the bottle has scorpions and other unidentifiable sketchy objects)

-learnt a lot about permaculture and organic agriculture and just the food and seed industry in general which was really interesting and also depressing at the same time, going to make some changes when i get home

-made lots of good and bad and debatable decisions

Wednesday the 7 people from the course left the farm and although it was sad to say goodbye to them, it was a lot nicer being on there with only a few people - more chill and less dishes to do!

Friday got to Bahía at 7, met up with the Planet Drum people, went for dinner then to the mbus station where the bus to Quito was full! So had to do a bit of a detour - but made it Saturday morning.

* Lovin the new Timbaland song...maybe weird that I know it, being in Ecuador and all, but Alison has it on her laptop and its playing in the internet cafe right now...also maybe its not even new? Im out of the loop big time people. *

Machetes are one of the joys of being in latin america. I dont know why they have a bad wrap. I think the rest of the world needs to embrace the machete...it just has so many uses. Here are some...

1. cutting pasture
2.cleaning guinea pig poop out of cages
3. cutting sugar cane
4. opening coconuts for drinking and eating
5. making mate spoons and bowls
6. opening cans (of all kinds and sizes)
7. scraping fungus off of fences
8. digging and preparing bed for planting
9. harvesting carrots
10. cutting your lawn
11. transplanting seedlings
12. weeding
13. killing chickens
14. cooking with
15. chopping...everything, anything
16. injurying yourself
17. a marking post in the ground
18. drawing in the grounds
19. as a stir stick
20. cutting things, no matter how big or small
21. making yourself feel fucking cool for using a machete

Im sure this list could increase very easily, if anyone knows of other uses please please let me know.
Also, there is nothing wrong with an 8 year old using a machete...parents of north america need to accept this logic.

Oh dear, slacking on the posts and really don´t know where to begin. Here it goes.

I successfully received my laundry and that night went to Atacames with Alison and Carys. The bus ride was absolutely ridic with the bus stopping nearly every hour for extended periods of time, at one point I looked out the window to see a MASSIVE pile of dirt and trees across the road and we proceeded to go do a steep bumpy hill, it was a night bus and couldn´t see out of the front of the window so not really positive what happened there. We got breakfast and a hostel and went straight to the beach. Vendors would not leave us alone, hair braids, henna, jugo, frutas, jewellery, todo, so aggrivating! We just wanted to relax, and since they wouldn´t take not responding for an answer I wrote NO GRACIAS in the sand above our heads. For the most part it was successful. They would say one thing then walk away. Maybe a bit brash but it got the point across.

Even though I was told I have parasites and should therefore NOT eat or drink off the street I am not one to learn a lesson quickly. I was thirsty and the jugo de coco they kept walking up and down the beach with looked delish, and it was, up until the next morning when I was ill once again and confind to our room watching bad television all day instead of enjoying the perfect sunny beach day I was holding out for! I did manage to go out for a few drinks. We asked for a drink that had a lot of fruit in a coconut and with lots of alcohol. After a 40minute process we recieved our drinks (do i really need to explain how amazing they were?) AND for the love of Ecuador they were still only $3.50! Sometimes I wonder why I am leaving this country.

The bad news was that apparently Atacames DOES NOT have buses to Bahía de Caraquez so I had to take an 7 hour bus back to Quito, wait there for 4 hours then take another 8 hour night bus BACK to the coast. Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with this country...

Monday morning met with some of the other volunteers and had a little tour of the city before going over to the farm. (I think I forgot to mention that I am not volunteering at Alandaluz anymore - poor weather and lack on their part of letting me know what it is I would be doing along with requesting a cover letter made me change me mind, I am now outside of Canoa at an organic farm Rio Muchacho, volunteering for the month as well as taking some classes on organic farming practices...yes Kristin is farming and learning about and making composts...weirder things have happened - possibly). Anyway life at the farm is actually really cool. Im one of the only people that really knows NOTHING about farming or organic practices but its cool cuz I really am learning a lot, and its very important information, buy organic people, recycle, make and use composts, throw out all your chemicals...you dont have to switch to composting toliets like we use but seriously very very important things that could change the world for the better. Yes its a pain at first to make said changes but get over it, its 100% crucial that we do so. Ive watched some really interesting videos and I am now 100% a supporter of this, yes its more expensive but so so so important. Really can´t stress it often. Don´t mean to be preachy but really look into stuff for yourself. Moving on...

I am NOT a farm person. I enjoy the work but I am just not born to live on a farm what with the animal allergies and all. Thats challenging and to make matters worse I have been sick another 2 times in the 2 weeks I´ve been there. The parasites are still there and not happy little amigos. Last week it was just a day thing but this week monday and tuesday I had a fever and chills again and only ended up working thursday and half of friday. But good and bad thing - I am now coming home the 20th, well the 21st really. Good because I think I need to get away from the dirty water and to a clean hospital and finally clear everything out of my system but bad because I really don´t want to go home. Gotta do what you gotta do though.

Canoa is the closest beach town from the farm where we all go on the weekends and is amazing. So many travellers go and then end up staying for weeks, months, years and I can understand why. I mean I don´t surf and therefore have no realy appreciation for the waves but its just such a cool laidback atmosphere I totally understand why people get sucked in. Loving it. Just needs a bit more sun though. Decemeber is when the coast gets really hot so Im going to make the most of it before heading home to the cold.

Also the food at the farm is amazing. So healthy it kind of makes me sick. We shared 4 pizzas last night and Ive pretty sure all that congealled cheese and the beers balanced it out.

So while the rest of you people were all dressed up and celebrating Halloween, the wonderful president of Ecuador, Correa, decided to ban it. What a fantastic man he is! Something about it being more American or something but also because it was some Ecuadorian holiday (Soldier Day? i really dont know) and he wanted people to think about that instead. The police said they were supporting his decision and would arrest people caught celebrating so unfortunately Finn´s had to cancel its He/She, She/He themed party. But fuck Correa, I just went to Finn´s and got completely trashed in my normal clothes. I will not go into further details of the night, just say it was eventful as ever and I am feeling like death this morning.

Other than that I decided to not pick up my laundry yesteday because it would have involved another 2 trips on the bus to go downtown and back and then just go back downtown again for the night. Stupid decision because now for no apparent reason the laundry is closed. Fucking country. It would be fine except for the fact that I am supposed to be leaving on a 11pm bus to Atacames tonight and not coming back to Quito for a month, therefore kinda need my clothes! They are usually open til 730 so hopefully it will magically be open when I go back in a few minutes. Otherwise I will be spending another night in Quito and taking a bus tomorrow by myself. But SHIT friday is a holiday and they might not be open then either. Shit shit. This sucks. Fingers crossed!

Starting sunday afternoon of last week I had a very bad week.

Had the chills so went home. That quickly got worse and then became a fever that I had until monday night. Tuesday morning I woke up fine and actually made it to go volunteer (only day last week). After class found Garrett and Jon, had a beer, went to their hostel played pool, relaxed, spoke english. It was fantastic. But then I started to get a headache which just kept getting worse and worse. Wednesday and thursday I was in agony. This town makes so much fucking noise and it seemed that no amount of drugs I took I had my raging headache. I basically started freaking out and got very very close to saying fuck it and going back to Quito and back home, I just couldn´t take it. Thankfully friday they stopped. However, Friday I was told 100% that I have parasites in my stomach. Wonderful.

I mean I pretty much figured I did but its for sure and I have my pills so hopefully they are dying as we speak. The doctor seemed impressed that I was more sick than I was, apparently I have a very strong stomach and a high tolerance for parasites. Good to know. After 3 months, I have know idea where the parasites came from so everyone is joking about the zoo I have in my stomach (a bit of Peru, the jungle and different parts of Ecuador, all hanging out inside!). At breakfast I asked if there were extra seats for my parasites. During Spanish class, Freddy´s example include sentences explaining my parasites. We´ve all become very close.

At the doctors I layed down on his doctor bed thing and he began to massage my stomach and then it started making all these noises. It felt like it was just gas moving around but according to him, no  no thats the parasites, they move from right to left. The gross part was when he made a noise and face pretending to be an insect. He asked if I felt them. NO! I thought they are supposed to be microscoptic! How big are they, did I feel them? Jesus!

So when I get home I was told to go to the doctor and get lots of drugs to just kill everything in my stomach and clean it all out. I have 2 months to go, I´m pretty sure my 3 days of medicine will not be the end of my little amigos!