Frog and Toad on a Lark

Videos!

2010-01-15T22:33:00.009-05:00

Hello!

It has been over a year since we returned from Peru and Ecuador, and we've finally complied some clips from our favorite travel videos:

Boating on the Amazon

Crrrreepy

Market Wanderings

Back to Ecuador!

2008-12-18T11:53:00.002-05:00

On our final night in Cusco we had a last meal from a tiny balcony in the San Blas quarter. It offered a great view of this alpaca´s fuzzy back. We did everything we could to keep from hopping down onto it. Later that night we watched a beautiful sunset from the Plaza San Blas.

As we admired the sunset and our newly purchased alpaca sweaters, one of Cusco´s many street vendors approached us, incessantly trying to sell her own sweaters, hats, and gloves. We spent fifteen fun minutes politely trying to refuse, explaining that we had absolutely no money left. Willem offered to show her his empty wallet. By this point, most street vendors would have moved on. Finally, in playful frustration, Willem reached into his bag looking for something to "sell" to her, thinking that she might finally get the hint. When he pulled out his watch (purchased in Peru for under 2 dollars), her eyes lit up. "Does it work?" she asked. Willem launched into a sales pitch, setting the alarm and showing all the fancy functions (alarm! date! timer! blinky light!). She was sold. Completely enthralled with the offer, she let us choose a pair of gloves as a trade. One watch (no longer needed near the end of our journey) for one beautiful pair of handmade alpaca gloves. We would have felt uncomfortable with this transaction except for the fact that she was genuinely pleased with the barter.

The next day we flew back to Lima, where we spent two days with a couple from New Zealand. We met Janice and Roger in the rainforest, so it was fun to catch up and share our photos.

The next few shots were taken from the bus back to Ecuador. The first two are on the northern coast of Peru (even farther north than Huanchaco), and the third is outside of Guayaquil.

After the 27-hour bus ride to Guayaquil, we hopped on a 9-hour bus back to Quito.

Back in Quito!

Even though we are justifiabley sick of busses, we are about to make the 2-hour journey to Otavalo once again (this was the market town we visited our first week in Ecuador). This time, we will spend a few days at a backpacker´s resort (La Luna) in the northern hills. The air is cleaner, the views are better, and it´s cheaper than staying in the city!

Chinchero market, Salinas salt mines, and Paucartambo

2008-12-09T10:10:00.013-05:00

This past Sunday we took a bus to the town of Chinchero to visit its beautiful market. It certainly lived up to its reputation for having a great variety of quality goods. We found several bargains too good to pass by: a big wooden spoon, quena (andean flute), hand woven bag, natural dyes, chocolate ice cream and more.

After we passed through the market several times we went back to the main road to wait for a bus. Our plan was to take the bus to the intersection in the road to the town of Maras, from which we could walk to Salinas, the ancient Incan salt mines. We lucked out when a car full of people pulled up and a woman got out of the trunk. This was the perfect opportunity to jump in and hitch a cheap ride.

Finally at Maras, we began the hour hike down to the salt mines. We passed several people sheparding animals such as donkeys, goats, sheep, and cows. We even caught sight of an intersting local bird, the Ash-Breasted Tit-Tyrant. There were numerous amazing photo opportunities beacuse of the beautiful sacred valley in the background with a wall of snowy peaks behind. Most of the pictures were taken with film cameras, but here is a low-res frame from a video that is too big to load here.

As we descended towards the salt mines we could tell that we were going in the right direction because the earth became more and more rich in minerals.

The salt mines are an impressive example of Incan engineering. The way the water is diverted into pool systems is genious. When the first series of pools are full, the water is diverted to others while the first pools are left to evaporate in the intense sun. The salt is then scraped off using shovels and put into bags.

To escape Cusco for a few days, we hopped on a bus to Paucartambo, a town about four windy mountain hours away. This cliff-side bus ride was so scary that we almost considered just settling down in Paucartambo so we didn´t have to get back on the bus. Alas, there isn´t much to do there this time of year except walk around and enjoy the Andean scenery and marvel at the sense of community displayed in the town´s public spaces. Paucartambo is not often visited by tourists except for during the summertime when the tiny town hosts las festividades de la Virgen del Carmen. These statues (a little dark) in the main square represent some of the many costumes and dances used in the festival.

Carmen overlooks Paucartambo as she practices her new quena. She´s improving rapidly because she has an amazing instruction booklet called "Method for to Learn to Play Quena". This booklet reads: "We support the quena for medium part with finger index and tumb with chim closed hermetical intrance to quena. With upper lip we do a ´pico´that we trow a flow air weak to entrance of tipped as a ´tunnel´try play sound... That same the fingers not must, pressure the holes with finger tips more good a few more back at the sames."

This is a farmer harvesting potatoes on the edge of a cliff down to the river valley.

Cliff-side ruins on the bus back to Cusco

The following photos were taken on the cliff-hanging ride back to Cusco.

After the uncomfortable bus ride back to Cusco, we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner. We ended up eating creamy soup, grilled alpaca, and a pancake with fruit next to a cute little Christmas tree for $4 each. Below you can see some of the menu options we passed up. Translated into English, these meals sound more frighteningly hilarious than delicious. (Beefsteak to the poor thing? Loin to the iron? Padded German Nickel? Click the photos to enlarge.)

Lastly, here is a view of Ausangate, the Incan deity that has taken the form of a snowy mountain. Deep inside this mountain is the origin of all llamas and alpacas. Ausangate controls their health and fertility.

Tomorrow afternoon we fly back to Lima where we will visit the Kiwis we befriended in the jungle and find a bus back to Ecuador.

Photos of Ollantaytambo and the hike to Huilloc

2008-12-06T17:25:00.008-05:00

We each drank a ¨Machu Picchu¨ as we sampled various local dishes at a wonderful buffet dinner and show. We got to try cuy (guinea pig), trout, lomo saltado (stir-fried sirloin and fries), and our favorite, alpaca cooked in lemon juice. Rooftops are often adorned with two clay ¨toros¨. This is the hill we mentioned in our last blog, where we played in the rocks. Ollantaytambo ruins at 5:00 am The impressive snow covered ¨Victoria¨ mountain range peeking through the Ollantaytambo horizon. At the entrance to Ollantaytambo there is a large wall with steps made of large, flat, protruding rocks. Carmen had to climb up them, because they reminded her of a dorky computer game she used to play with her dad. On Wednesday, we took an 11 hour hike to and from Huilloc, a small village not often visited by tourists. The only other tourist we met there had not only just walked from Ollantaytambo, but also from Cuzco, a three day trek. In Huilloc there is a cooperative artisan market, where each item beared the price and the name of the crafter. As you can see, the display was quite impressive. On the walk back from Huilloc we took a side path that led us to a welcoming family who obliged us to take photos of them. They were eager to show us their work, including their beautiful ¨mantas¨(bright red square shawls) and their potato field. As it happened to be planting season, they showed us the tools and how they are used. They sent their son to guide us back to the road to Ollantaytambo. He took us trampling over corn and potato fields, and finally dropped us off at the this river. Just as it was getting dark and cold we had to take off our shoes and step into the water, which is deeper and swifter than it looks. This cow-pie-eating dog finally mustered up the courage to leap headlong into the river after us. It followed us all the way back to Ollantaytambo in the moonlight. We saw it poking around town the next morning. That evening, back in Cuzco we treated our sore bodies to an hour massage setting us back $5.00 each. A sleepy snorter near the road. A beautiful sunset from Ollantaytambo the night before returning to Cuzco. On the way back to Cuzco we passed by some of the most beautiful scenery. (M&DS, do you recognize this mountain?) A stunning maiz display in the Cuzco market. These cows were so fresh, they were still on their feet. This was interesting. We´re not quite sure what they are used for, but we think they are dried baby alpacas.

Ollantaytambo

2008-12-03T14:54:00.006-05:00

Yesterday we took a bus to Ollantaytambo, a small town in the Sacred Valley half-way between Cuzco and Machu Picchu. When you climb up the ruins overlooking the city, you can see that it is a living example of Inca city planning. The city is shaped like a trapazoid, with the town square situated at one end. Each street block is enclosed by an impressive stone wall with only one doorway. Surrounding the trapezoidal city walls are tall mountains with stone terraces and Incan city ruins. At the base of a mountain outside of town is a huge rockslide. Many rocks have pretty colors and crystals on them. We spent a good hour scrounging through and climbing over them. And trying to smash them open. This morning, we woke up at 4:30 and hiked around corn fields to the outer terraces of the Ollantetambo ruins. We saw a cow. We were able to enjoy the ruins without other tourists around until 7:00 when the entrance gate opened and people had to start paying to get in. We will put photos up soon. We were a little worried that we would have to pay when we exited, so we walked back the way we entered. We are both usually pretty honest people, so with our slightly guilty conscience from our sneaky/smart maneuver, we felt like all the security guards were trying to catch us. One slowly walked over to us just to say that tripods were not permitted on the site. With our minds set at ease after leaving the ruins the way we entered, we decided to find a local ¨menu¨ restaurant ($1.50 set menu). After we sat down, we noticed that the 10 men sitting at the table next to us were all wearing the uniform of the security guards at the ruins. Yikes! It was fine, though.

Giving Thanks

2008-11-30T19:15:00.013-05:00

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Our Thanksgiving dinner wasn´t particularly exciting because we had to rush to get on a nightbus to Lima with our friend Brad. Carmen ate a tamale and a mango; Willem didn´t have time for anything at all. However, we are still thankful for many things:

We´re thankful for our time living in Huanchaco. During our last couple weeks, fellow volunteer-friends Haley and Carmen (Yes! I finally met another Carmen!) led 6:30 AM yoga sessions. We'll miss surfing and watching the fishermen tend to their caballitos de totora.

Mending a net

Beachside relaxationOne evening, our artist-friends (painters, jewelry-makers, sculptors, and surf board designers) threw a huge party/art fair to sell their wares. A local restaurant (Mamacha) made delicious lomo saltado and aji a la gallina. The Mamacha band played traditional music late into the night. I (Carmen) made about fifty balloon animals for the event. Our artist-friend Joan Our friend Paul's artwork. Brad took a painting lesson with Paul, so his artwork is on the wall too! This woman has an amazing voice.

We frequented this stall at the Mercado Mayorista. They have the best olives and chocolate-covered raisins and peanuts. This photo is actually not an advertisement for cheese. Will had to hold the hanging bag out of the way when Carmen took the photo.

We´re thankful for the opportunity to volunteer. Teaching English and photography to kids has been one of the highlights of our trip. It's been really special to watch the students' skills improve and creativity flow.

At a final fiesta for Espaanglish, I taught the students how to make their own balloon animals.

For our last Fairmail class we all walked around Huanchaco one more time taking pictures so that a documentary could be filmed of us in action. I'm sure the film will be on the website soon.

And we´re thankful that we've moved on to Cusco! We took a flight from Lima to Cusco and this is the view from the plane:

Cusco is the most beautiful city we've seen so far. It's situated high in an Andean valley and surrounded by Incan ruins. The long, winding streets are full of artisan shops and people in beautiful traditional dress.

Yesterday we spend most of the day in Saqsaywaman, the most imressive Incan ruins in the immediate Cusco area. After the Spanish conquest in 1536, the conquistadors stole most of the stones to build their own houses in the city. However, the stones that are left are still impressive.

This rock is so smooth you can slide right down! But careful; when Willem slid down, he landed with his butt in a puddle!

Back in the city

Right in the Plaza de Armas of Cuzco there is an amazing shop with a basement full of century old weavings. These beautiful old pieces of artwork were dyed using the traditional, natural dyes, which is becoming a more popular practice once again.

November in Peru

2008-11-24T19:18:00.009-05:00

Beach crabs in Huanchaco

These are some reeds (totora) set out to dry. They will probably be used for building the reed fishing boats. House near Huanchaco (it was in the middle of the desert) On the pier..next three photos

Fish market in Trujillo

Amazing food at our friend´s restaurant (El Tramboyo) in Huanchaco.

Some photos from Lima, on my visit to pick Brad up at the airport.

Brad and I in a restaurant in central Lima.

Back in Huanchaco

The next three photos were taken in Milagro, one of the poorest suburbs of Trujillo. Many of the people in this part of town earn their money by picking through the city dump for recyclables. They sell the sorted material by the kilo to buyers at the edge of the dump. This material eventually makes its way to Lima to be re-cycled.

The Otra Cosa volunteer agency took a group of university students and several volunteers to see some of the projects they have been working on. This was one of the hardest stops on the trip. The second and third of these three photos show the ´houses´ where these people live. Most of my current students would be working here if they had not started working in Fairmail. Very sad indeed.

One of the most beautiful buildings in the Plaza de Armas of Trujillo.

Assorted updates

2008-11-23T19:14:00.005-05:00

Our friend Brad is here to visit! We had a bonfire on the beach and roasted fish on sticks. We went sandboarding, which is like snowboarding but on steep dunes in the desert.

There´s some sort of tax imposed on a building when it´s finished being constructed. So, most houses have metal rods sticking out the top so they're legally unfinished.

To let you know it´s coming, the garbage truck rings a bell as it goes down the streets. In Ecuador, the garbage collector played the music of U.S. ice cream trucks.

Willem and Jorge (Peruvian friend who plays guitar) rented a room with a drumset, microphones, amps, et cetera, to jam for a couple hours.

Jorge showed us a place in the Mercado Mayorista where you can choose material and get pants tailor-made. So Will has some sweet new plaid trousers.

Last week we planned and cooked a dinner for all the volunteers and our local friends. Menu: Chicha morada (drink made from corn), empanadas, fried rice pancakes, and pescado sudado ("sweaty fish").

The time is going so fast. On Thursday we will leave Huanchaco and continue on to Lima and Cusco.

Update on Carmen´s teaching

2008-11-11T19:27:00.000-05:00

Today began my second week teaching the 9, 10, and 11 year-olds. And wow, are they crazy! At this age they are still unabashedly silly and don´t display the self-consciousness and awkwardness of the 14-year-olds I´m used to working with in the States. Yet, they are mature enough to settle down and learn quickly. Today I asked the students if they would like to play a game at the end of class. They responded, ¨No, teacher, un examen, we want examen!¨ Ah, locitos. I´ll miss them. If it´s hard for me as a volunteer to leave the kids after a month, I can´t imagine what it´s like for them to have a new teacher month after month, especially at an age when they get so attached. (Of course, it´s better than not having an English class at all.)

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister Haley!!!

Chan Chan and around Huanchaco

2008-11-09T21:09:00.000-05:00

This week the Fairmail class went on an excursion to Chan-Chan, the ruins of the ancient capital city of the Chimu Empire. In Chimu "Chan" means Sun. Here are some detail photos from the walls of the temple.

Remains of an unlucky dog at Chan Chan

Here is a "Lobo marino" (sea wolf) that was rescued by the vets soon after this photo was taken. It was apparently sick and had been washed up onto the beach of Huanchaco.

Church overlooking Huanchaco at night. (maybe the second oldest in Peru)

Buggy Blues in Trujillo.

Four more photos of Mercado Mayorista

"Triunfo historico de Obama marca punto de quiebre en E.E.U.U."

2008-11-06T12:36:00.000-05:00

On the evening of the fourth, we nervously watched the election results at a local restaurant. We celebrated Obama´s victory with tears, beers, and chocolate fondue. I (Carmen) could spend hours reeling out my opinions of U.S. politics and the election, but as this is supposed to be a travel blog, I´ll stick to the theme. Peruvians (and basically every other country in the world, I gather) love Obama. He has been promoted in Peruvian press for months. On November 5th, all the major papers proclaimed his victory. The articles emphasized the historic significance of his election, mentioning in the very first paragraph that it has been 145 years since the abolition of slavery and that this marks the moral revendication of African Americans, marginalized for many years by North American society. Additionally, there was a lengthy article detailing the history of injustice against African Americans in the U.S. with photographs of Rosa Parks getting fingerprinted after her arrest and MLK Jr. giving a speech. Now, I admittedly did not look at many U.S. news sources on the fifth, so I don´t know if they also revealed such a historic scope. I would be more surprised, however, to see U.S. news mentioning the historic injustice against black people in the second sentence of every article. Peruvian media, with detachment from the specific issues in this U.S. election, interprets Obama´s victory most fundamentally as moral revendication for black people and the realization of MLK Jr.´s dream. Pretty neat. Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

Fire juggler on Halloweeeeeeeen

2008-11-02T17:56:00.000-05:00

Fotos

2008-11-02T17:08:00.000-05:00

Huanchaco sunset with our aforementioned friends from Lima

Clothing stores in the market area usually display as many mannequins as possible. They are clearly secondhand and most are suitable for a starring role in a horror movie. These are the BEST looking ones we could find.

Birthday dinner with our friend and housemate Laura, who left town last night to continue her travels. Bye Laura! Halloween night surf contest!

Our friend Martín and his baby cat

Elmer and Juan Carlos, Fairmail photographers

Our friend Joan, a local artist. Check out his work!

One of his older paintings that I (Will) love because it reminds me of my cousin Paul Buxman´s paintings.

Snacks

Our sweet bicicleta

We can do this

Fishers

Teaching, surfing, playing, eating

2008-10-26T20:05:00.000-04:00

We've been in Huanchaco now for almost two weeks, and it's starting to feel like home. Every morning, I (Carmencita) pack myself into a cumbi (carpool/taxi) and drive through the prehispanic ruins of Chan Chan into Trujillo to teach English. For the past week, the Espaanglish school has had plenty of volunteers so I am currently just assisting in a friend's class. This Thursday I will start going to the two afternoon classes which I will be teaching for the rest of my time here. These are apparently filled with lovely, yet rowdy 11-14 year olds! In a week from now, I will possibly also resume leading the evening conversation class and adult class. I'll also be helping out with the website. So I'll be busy, but there's always time enough for surfing. Willem and I both caught our first waves this week (without being assisted with a push). Yeaaa. Several days ago we played soccer on the beach with some guys from Lima. They were here along with 3,000 other business students for a conference in the city. However, instead of going to the conference they hung out with us for the week because we are much more fun than studying business. Not only were they awesome people, but their friendship (and patience) gave me a great opportunity to practice my Spanish. For the first time, I felt like I was successfully hanging out in Spanish, instead of just kind-of understanding the conversation. My conversation was even advanced enough that I got to explain the gender binary-- I know my friends from Mount Holyoke will appreciate that. On Friday night, these Lima friends snuck us into a huge party in an old racetrack: two thousand Peruvian business students, the two of us, and live Peruvian folkloric music! We DID end up buying a bike, which was a good decision. It takes about 15-20 minutes to walk across town, and having a bike makes it easier to be out and about. A friend purchased the bike for us at a dodgy market in the city. He didn't want us to come along because it was a dangerous area. And the bikes at the shop were apparently all stolen, which is too bad. And within an hour of owning the bike, the back tire exploded. But Willem fixed it up, so we still love it. We also purchased a Peruvian cookbook. Tonight we'll attempt papas rellenas, my favorite street food.

Huanchaco Photos

2008-10-25T17:27:00.000-04:00

Sorry for testing the attention span of all our faithful blog readers. Here, finally, are a few photos from Huanchaco. This is a typical sunset overlooking Huanchaco beach, where the "Caballitos de totoras" are left to dry in the sun. Caballitos de totoras (little reed horses) are relics of the pre-Inca fishing industry (dating back to 1000 B.C.). In the early morning (maybe as early as 5am) you supposedly can see the fishermen bobbing around on them in the waves. By mid-morning, however, the fishermen return to clean and sell the fish on the beach, and the boats are all lined up to dry. The only problem with this (for the surfers) is that there are prickly fish guts strewn all over the beach

Huanchaco´s next generation.

Looking down the beach in the other directon.....

Again, with the warf......

and the first direction once again...

Huanchaco is like a little oasis in the middle of a nearly arid region of Peru. Notice the lack of vegatation in the hills in the background.

This past week I introduced the technique of Photomontage to the Fairmail class. As it is much trickier than it may seem, I clearly still haven´t quite gotten the hang of it myself. Here is one of my examples demonstrating how important it is to keep track of which sections of the image you´ve already photographed. If only I could go back and have them put all the boats back where they were at the time.

Ciao!

Mercado Mayorista

2008-10-19T23:14:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we went into the city with some new friends to shop at el Mercado Mayorista. This a a HUGE covered market that sells basically everything, including kitchen sinks. Crooked rows of vending stalls create a crowded labyrinth that we were happy to get lost in for hours. There were many things (especially in the fruit and veggies section) that we´ve never seen before, so it was fun learning about the goods. There was one supposedly delicious fruit (hmm...we don´t remember the name of it) that smells like terrible, rotting sewage. A cheap tool that looked like an electric dog zapper turned out to be a cheese slicer. And we got a free anatomy lesson from all the bisected animals in the meat stands. We came home with new hats, new outfits, loads of cooking supplies, coca leaves for tea, and a Little Mermaid towel (Willem wanted the "Princesses" towel but some other guy bought it first). Tomorrow we may return for a flan dish and a bicycle.

First week in One-chaco...

2008-10-17T22:59:00.000-04:00

We are all moved in to the volunteer house now. For the past month or so, our housemates have been throwing a dinner party on Thursday for all the volunteers. So last night, about thirty people (many international volunteers and also a handfull of local people) came over and we got to know each other while delicious Peruvian food was being cooked. We´re going to buy a Peruvian cookbook and practice cooking a lot so that we can help to carry on the Thursday night tradition while we´re here. Also, a friend (Jorge) brought a guitar, and he and Willem kept the party rowdy with their playing and singing. It was most impressive. We saw a protest yesterday. We didn´t really catch the meaning behind it, but we think that a new company bought some land in the town, and tenants can´t pay the increased rent. The police were there trying to evict them (or collect fines) and the locals were demonstrating. We were a little sobered to see that behind the front line of women and girls, there were two big men with lead pipes. Thankfully, we don´t think they were used.

Huanchaco

2008-10-15T10:49:00.000-04:00

Hola! Carmen, here. Willem and I have begun settling into Huanchaco, where we will stay through the end of November. Huanchaco is a small surf town on the mid-northern coast of Peru. While we're here, Willem will be teaching photography to kids at a fair-trade postcard company called Fairmail. He's actually meeting with the director now. His first class is this afternoon! I'm teaching English at the Espaanglish school. During November I will be teaching kids, but for this week and maybe next I am running an evening conversation class and an adult basic English class. I started last night. It was fun! Later today we will move into our house, which we'll share with several other volunteers. This town seems like the perfect place to settle as a short-term volunteer. There are so many of us, so we can actually get to know people and form friendships that last longer than a couple days. AND, volunteers get discounts on long-term surfboard rentals. Willem and I have already been out on the waves for three of the past four days. I'm pretty terrible, but it's awesome. Will is better than me. So far.

Iquitos and the Amazon Jungle

2008-10-09T11:39:00.000-04:00

Hola amigos! We have just emerged from the jungle and are covered in little rainforest critters. Willem just pulled a millipede out of his ear. Our trip began with another ridiculous cliff-side bottleneck car ride to the port at Yurimaguas. We left at four in the morning to clear the pass before the road was closed for construction. After five hours of honking overloaded taxis trying to squeeze both ways on a one-lane road, we were happy to leave land and board our boat for Iquitos. We travelled down the Maranon river for two days with about 25 water buffalo, several thousand bananas, and 200 other people (each with a hammock to sleep in). The inner chamber of the boat was filled from top to bottom with overlapping rows of hammocks. The upper level, where we slept, was a bit more spacious (but still packed) and offered less protection from unfriendly weather. After a couple sweaty days of lounging, chatting, and dolphin-spotting, we arrived in the city of Iquitos. Iquitos is the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road. It is on the bank of the Amazon River in the middle of the rainforest. As such, it is the perfect spot to launch a jungle expedition. We chose an excursion at the Piranha Lodge of Cumaceba Amazonia Tours. Although it was one of the cheapest tours available. it was completely wonderful. For three days and two nights we stayed at this lodge, located on a lake near virgin rainforest just west of where the juction of the Ucayali and Marañon rivers forms the Amazon. Our guide, Luis. was a young (27) local who knew endless amounts of fascinating information about the plants, animals, people, and history of the forest. One of my favorite parts of the tour was our nature walks, where Luis would often stop to share some jungle knowledge. He peeled some inner bark from a tree and showed us how to squeeze out a red liquid that acts as an anti-diarreahal. It made my mouth completely dry, like eating cotton. I also rubbed a little green glob of snail eggs on my face to cure my acne. For a natural bug repellent, Luis broke open a bit of a termite nest. I let the buggers crawl over my hands and arms, then squished them all over me. They release an acid as part of their defense system. It smells a little like pine, and it kept the mosquitos away. When thirsty in the jungle, there is a tree that holds fresh water in it. Luis chipped away at both ends of a log and the water practicaly poured out when we tipped it. Here´s Willem quenching his thirst. As a biologist, Willem was going totally loco over all the amazing plants and animals we saw. I´ll let him take over from here: This interesting bunch of flowers was growing about 2 feet above the ground near the base of a tree. Sometimes evolution comes up with the wildest morphologies. Our guide Luis shows us a Ceiba tree, while his amigo swings on a vine. This frog looks so much like our New England wood frog, Rana sylvatica, although it was closer in size to a football (with huge muscular legs). Possibly some kind of Hylidae family. This tarantula was a daily visitor around dinner time. Dinner one night, by the way, looked and tasted much like smoked pork, however it turned out to be a large jungle rodent (I´ll find the name later.) Earlier that day I thought we were eating chicken for lunch, but that turned out to be alligator meat. We didn´t eat the tarantula. This bird is probably a ¨Pauraque¨ (Nyctidromus albicollis), which is a type of Nightjar. They can be seen mostly at night, sitting in a jar. The jar is glass which is clear, so you cannot see the jar. On the way to our lodge we passed by a small village. They had some very beautiful little parakeets milling about. These fish, caught in the nearby lagoon, were out drying in the sun. The were also salted as a preservative. These giant lily pads last about a week before they start to decompose. A week earlier there were some that were even bigger. Amazon swim team. a MONKEY! On our way back to the lodge, we passed under a swarm of squirrel monkeys (probably about 20.) This one came down out of the tops of the trees to get a better look at us. Neither of us knew which was the stranger Eutherian. Our second evening at Cumbaceba lodge we went on a nighttime walk though the jungle. We saw so many frogs, insects, spiders, an iguana, birds, etc. Cool suction cup finger frog! Toucan swing dancing! Piranha fishing! It was easy to get a bite, but HARD to get one hooked. Carmen and I caught 6 all together. This is the one (1) she caught.

Tonight we have a flight back to Tarapoto, where we will head over the Andes to the Pacific.

On to Peru

2008-10-02T14:23:00.000-04:00

We are now in Tarapoto, the gateway to the Amazonas of Peru. It is hot as a monkey, and humid as a salamander. While fanning our faces we are resting our fannies, which just underwent a series of tumultuous events; beginning with the 6.54 hour horseback gallop and ending with a 26 hour bus/car ride. Both of which were the fastest of their variety and over steep/pot hole´d/ flooded/ rugged paths. Amazonly, I mean amazingly (Carmen made me write that) the trip which we thought would take us about 3 days actually took just over one.

Carmen took these beauties of Mama Tungurahua (back in Baños)

Here, you can just make out the puff of fire on the top (slightly to the right of the zenith.)

Note: You should be able to enlarge the photo by clicking on it.

Hour 4 of 26

Hour 4.2987 of 26

Hour 4.2988 of 26 (The road was engineered to fit exactly 1 bus, the other one had to perch in the tree while we passed it.

During the 11th hour the car we were in picked up another passenger (a local woman) who had to share the passenger seat with me (Willem). The only way of fitting us both in was for her to sit on my right arm and leg, while I sat on the seatbelt buckle and the emergency brake. Don´t worry, it was very safe.

To Cuenca and Vilcabamba

2008-09-30T21:30:00.000-04:00

Our apologies go out to all those who were so desperately awaiting an update these past couple days. As you will read, we´ve been a little busy.... Mama Tungurahua (¨fire breathing giant¨-the volcano) was lovely. We saw her spark and glow a bit on the evening tour, and the following night we hiked up to the punta of a nearby hill and saw her from a much better vantage point. As we hiked back in the dark, we scared ourselves when we mistook a donkey for a puma. During this last day in Baños, we rented a go-kart (these things are really in style) and drove around the surrounding mountains and valleys. Then we decided the go-kart, stylish as it is, wasn´t fast enough so we traded for a motaneta (moped/scooter). This was the best way to see Baños and the mountains in all their glory at our own pace.

Early the next morning, we rode a bus past another volcano (the spouse of Tungurahua; they have a baby volcano near Quito) on our way to Cuenca. We arrived late and spent two nights at El Cafecito. We took some nice walks around the colonial-looking city but our big hike was an hour outside the city in Giron. Giron is a tiny mountain village with beautiful waterfalls. It can´t be found by reading any guidebook. Willem remembered hearing about it six years ago. We hiked along trout fisheries to the closest waterfall; on our way down a local gave us a lift in the back of his truck. We wanted a drink when we returned, but as the elections were this past Sunday, no alcohol was served. (At some point, I´ll write more about the election. -C) So instead, I ordered a ¨chocolate especial¨. Which is apparently hot chocolate with cheese in it. Yeah; big hunks of cheese! ¡Que rico! Another early bus brought us to Vilcabama, the famous town of agelessness where people live to be 120. When we got off the bus we were escorted to our resort, where for 8 dollars a night we get a private room, private bath, hot tub, swimming pool, hammocks, and breakfast. Today we took a 6.5 hour horseback ride through the mountains and to another waterfall. We´ve got sore bums, but it was worth the view. Tomorrow we´re catching a 6:30 bus to Peru, so goodnight! A couple old photos off Carmen´s camera (from Mindo): And some bus stop food:

From Mindo to Baños

2008-09-25T20:37:00.000-04:00

On our second day in Mindo, we enjoyed another walk among the clouds and birds while we waited for more tourists to arrive and go tubing with us (it´s only cheap when you go with a group.) Our tubing-mates turned out to be three women from the Bahamas and a man whom we presumed to be their guide. The women were decked out in gold jewelry, jeans and sneakers, while we were in our bathing suits. We all put on our helmets and were pushed out into the river by two rafting professionals, who steered us away from the biggest rocks during the trip. Note: no tubing company in the US would ever dare to bring people down the Rio Mindo, for fear of a lawsuit. The river was was filled with rocks and rapids. It was awesome. The Bahamians were screaming the whole time. ¨We don´t have no rivers in the Bahamas!¨ ¨We don´t have water this cold!¨ ¨You told me we were just gonna get a little sprinkle! I´m soaked!¨¨My bum! That was my bum!¨ One last scene from Mindo: After tubing, we ran to catch the last bus to Quito and from Quito we ran to catch the last bus to Baños. The town of Baños (Baths) is named for the hot mineral springs that flow from the bottom of the volcano Tungurahua. Baños is right at the foot of this active volcano, and tonight we will take a bus up to a vantage point to see the eruptions at night. Earlier today, we took a dip in the healing waters. This waterfall is part of the water system that feeds the cold bath. To the right of the falls are three pools: one cold, one warm, and one volcanically-powered HOT. The waterfall is also diverted into a series of stone washbasins where the woman in the picture has just washed her sheets. At the baths: This is the frog that fills up the pool with healthy green murky water. Despite its appearance, the water actually didn´t stink. After our soak we watched local merchants chopping sugar cane and sampled a bit of this tasty treat. Now weeeeee´re OFF to see the volcanooooo, the wonderful volcano of Baños.

Mindo

2008-09-23T19:50:00.000-04:00

Abstract:

Getting to Mindo was hard, but we finally made it, had a great time, and met a lot of helpful people.

Yesterday afternoon we were all set to take the bus from Quito to Mindo (which is right near Bellavista, in the cloud forest). Several guidebooks and online sources verified that there was a 3:45 bus leaving from the center of Quito. In fact, Willem remembers leaving on this bus to Mindo six years ago. Alas, that bus stop apparently no longer exists, and the last bus to Mindo left at 3:30 from a station that was 40 minutes away. Bummer.

We sat, frustrated, on the side of the road for a couple minutes, then decided to go to the bus station and see where the other busses were going. Maybe we´d go somewhere else? We didn´t know. We hopped on the metrobus during rush hour. The seven people pressed up against me (Carmen, here) seemed a little annoyed that I had a huge backpack at my feet when there was not even room for the people waiting to get on. Sorry! Apart from that, the metrobus was just as good and thrilling as some of the best roller coasters I´ve been on.

Finally at the bus station, we learned that there were no more busses to Mindo, but some helpful people there put us ¡n a taxi that brought us to a main intersection where busses head north. There, more locals helped us flag down the right bus heading to the ¨entrada de Mindo¨ (which was the closest any bus was going to get to Mindo that late at night.) From there, we planned on walking the 7 Km. However, as we got off the bus we saw a ¨camioneta¨ that was headed into Mindo. Riding a camioneta is sort of a cross between hitchhiking and taking a bus. Rather, it was like a group taxi. The owner of the camioneta (Daniel) hopped out and asked us if we wanted a ride to Mindo. Perfect! Daniel was the most helpful person we met that night. Not only did he drive us to Mindo, but he drove us around Mindo until he found us the owners of the best hostal in Mindo. They were out getting pizza. Then Daniel let us buy him a drink and we chatted for an hour or two. Missing the bus turned out to be the best indecision we ever made. Ever!

The next morning (this morning) we woke up to Mindo and its birdies! Tweet tweet!

We went on a 7 hour hike that began with a trip to the butterfly vivarium. A local guide escorted us from the village to this first stop. The guide, Guia, offered this service for free and was extremely pleasant company, albeit a bit strange. She often stopped to play with the stray dogs, and she waited patiently as we took photographs of the Rio Mindo. Once, she chased a dumptruck, yelling at the driver for some reason. A couple times she drank water right out of the puddles... it didn´t seem to bother her immune system. Thankfully, we have our UV light water purifier.

Here we are at the Mariposaria!

Mindo Lindo!

This is a Mot-mot, yay, bright colors!

The venter of a marvelous tucan!

Two delicious looking little baby butter birds.

Mushy mush-toppers in the woods.

Carmen and Guia.

Return from Otavolo

2008-09-21T18:02:00.000-04:00

We arrived back at the Quito Terminal Terrestre (the main bus station) this afternoon. Riding the bus is awesome. There aren´t necessarily bus stops, but the bus will pick you up if you wave it down. However, it won´t actually stop for you- you have to sort of jump on while it slows down. Thankfully, we managed to do this without losing a bag or a limb. We had a lovely time in Otavalo at the hostal, the market, wandering the streets, and chatting with the locals. This photo was taken from the bus in the outskirts of Quito. It was actually taken on our way out of the city.

Our post yesterday talked about our walk though Otavalo where we were drawn to a soccer game by whistles and cheers. Well, once again, we walked through town passing the same festively lit-up church, and sure enough, once again we heard the same cheering sounds. It turns out that games are played in that courtyard every Thursday-Saturday night.

Here are a few scenes from the Otavalo Market.

Just as we were leaving the hostal, a huge parade with music and dancing and horses and people in traditional (indigenous) dress passed through. The sign behind the woman in the foreground reads "FEDERACION DE LOS PUEBLOS KICHWAS DE LA SIERRA NORTE DEL ECUADOR."

Tonight we are staying at a lovely little hostal that Willem remembered from 6 years ago. He also remembered the name of the woman who works there (Rosa!) so she took a little liking to us and gave us what seems to be the nicest room available for a great price. We have a huge window and a private balcony overlooking the peaceful, tree-lined street. Tommorow we will most likely head to Bellavista, a cloud forest reserve. Willem claims this is the most beautiful place in the world, so pictures are sure to follow!

Otavalo

2008-09-20T16:36:00.000-04:00

Before leaving Quito we did some reasearch at the South American Explorers Club.

We arrived in Otavalo yesterday as the sun was setting, and walked in to town looking for a hostal. I (Willem) had the hostal in mind where I had ordered the best sandwich ever six years earlier. I had a vague idea of what the hostal looked like on the outside, and though it was somewhat ridiculous Carmen was ok with wandering around after sunset to find the hostal. I had a general idea of where it was in relation to the main square, and after walking in every direction around the square, Carmen finally noticed the beautiful stonework on the wall next to us and it happened to be the very hostal. We ordered two of the sandwiches, and sat in the courtyard which was filled with avocado trees, a fire pit, hammocks and orchids. Yum! After dark we wandered around town and followed the sounds of a cheering crowd to a lively soccer game.

Here we are at the hostal: Valle de Amanecer

We woke up early and went to the market to do some haggling.

We ate the avocado that we haggled down to $0.25 and apparently provided entertainment for two old men who couldn´t stop staring and giggling at us.

This is a sweet bike.

!Estamos en Quito!

2008-09-18T20:40:00.000-04:00

Hola amigos, Our visit with Grama was short but sweet. On Tuesday night, Grama reminded me (Carmen) how to play gin rummy while Willem crafted a lenscover for his medium format camera. Lucky for him, it also doubles as a stylish hat! Yesterday we had a long day of travelling. Grama escorted us back to the Tampa airport, where we picked up our rental car (an H2 Hummer of course) and drove across Alligator Alley to the Miami airport. Security was a breeze, and we were so busy playing gin rummy that we were in South America before we knew it. In the plane, I attempted to explain to Willem (in Spanish) the rules of gin rummy. The point of the game is to get 300 puntas, I told him. If you beat me, I give you my puntas. Right now, I have 102 puntas. Unfortunately for me and the families sitting around us, puntas does not mean points. It´s a derogatory slang term. (I wanted the word puntos.) The plane landed in Quito after dark so we got to see the lights of the city spreading throughout the valley and up the foothills of the looming volcano. I (Willem) twitched with excitement as the plane bounced to a halt on the Quito Mariscal Sucre airstrip. Six years of anticipating the view of the beautiful landscape surrounding the bowl in which Quito lies will give anybody the Andean twitchers. After spending the day without our cell phones we realized how dependant we were on them to tell time, so we set off to find a cheap watch with an alarm. As we walked around the streets of Quito for the afternoon and breathed in the polluted air, Carmen said she wished she had inherited more of her dad´s nose hairs. It was all ok though because we ended the walk with one of the best meals in Quito...or maybe even the world...two chicken shwarmas hot off the spittle. I bet that made you all salivate (minus the vegetarians). Tomorrow we plan to make our way up to the famous artisan market town Otavalo, where we will spend the night and then wake up early to get all the early bird deals before the flock of gawking tourists infest the market place. We, of course, will not gawk nor infest. After this our agenda includes a stay at La Posada del Maple, a beautiful hostal in Quito, a trip to Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve in Mindo, and then we will re·allign our bearings for Trujullo where the real fun (and work) will begin. Adios por ahora...

First Stop: Grama!

2008-09-15T17:23:00.000-04:00

After a long night of packing (we got about 2 hours of sleep...) we flew into Tampa, FL and Carmen's Grama met us at the airport! We're really happy that we could plan this trip to include a visit with Grama Knight before and after the Miami-Quito flight. Here we are!

Tea minus six hours ;0)

2008-09-14T23:20:00.000-04:00

Welcome! Willem and Carmen have created this blog to document their travels to Ecuador and Peru. We fly out tomorrow morning at 6AM!!!!!!! Meanwhile, we still have some packing to do.... Check back later for updates!