Cuenca, Cable Cars, and the South American Cup

Today marks the week countdown left in Ecuador. As this experience comes to a close, it’s hard for me to believe I’ve been here for almost four months.  I look forward to coming home and seeing those people whom I’ve missed for so long, but I’ll also be sad to detach from this way of life that has so amicably taken me in.

First, a few weekends ago our school had a 3K/6K walk and run for students, families, and staff.  My friends and I participated in walking the non-competitive 3K, and watched those more committed runners complete the 6K.  It was a fun day that started off the “juegos internos” or the intramural games for the high school.  

 The high school also had their "entradas" or entrances for juegos internos.  The seniors always go above and beyond every year, and this year was no different. They had chivas, or open-air busses drive them to the field and the came in with fire extinguishers filled with turquoise smoke (their chosen color for their class) with confetti and the whole shebang. It was fun to cheer them on as their student teacher.

 Last Thursday, my friends from Tiputini and I went to the Liga game.  Liga is the popular choice for Ecuadorian soccer fans - and they were getting far in the South American Cup. We watched them beat an Argentinian team 4 to 2! It was so fun to learn the chants and hear all of the Ecua-fans cheer on their team. It was rainy, but a necessary experience. 

The following weekend, Susan and I ventured off to Cuenca, a historical town 10 hours from Quito by bus, but we opted to fly for a modest price, which was worth it when we found ourselves tired and traveling back to Quito.  

 

 Cuenca is filled with beautiful churches and museums that Susan and I walked around appreciating on Friday and Saturday. We ate incredible food and had fun dancing to live music on Friday evening. 

The view from Turi, a viewpoint of Cuenca

Ingapirca ruins

 Sunday we took a bus 2 hours away to the Ingapirca ruins; one site of two Incan ruins left in Ecuador. It was impressive to see the ancient town set up and marked with crumbling walls.  Llamas grazed the site as we lounged in the grass and managed to get a nice, touristy sunburn before heading back into Cuenca.  Our flight left at 6:45pm, so we mosey-ed around Cuenca, ate more food, and waited at the airport for our flight to leave. 

Thanksgiving has come and gone – although without the change in weather and the lack of relatives running around, it didn’t really seem like the holiday to me.  Colegio Menor put on a nice Thanksgiving banquet/potluck for all of the teachers which stifled the nostalgia for home a little bit. I was able to Skype with my family from school as well – it was so nice to hear their voices and imagine my aunt’s house, filled with cousins, babies, and good food, as I talked with them for a short time. (Hi Grammy and Auntie Elaine!)  That evening, the girls on Gonzalez Suarez and I had a nice dinner of ceviche and champagne that was delicious.  We went around the table and tear-ily said what we were thankful for; I thanked all of them for their friendship and compassion, and that they’ve given me a feeling of family so far away from home.  They also had a more open dinner party at their house on Saturday (complete with Christmas music!) with all of the authentic Thanksgiving spread that comforted me and completely filled the holiday void.

Friday my students had a program for the upcoming Fiestas de Quito. Each grade level had been working on a skits and choreography for about three weeks to prepare for this performance. All my kids did great – it was fantastic to finally see what they’ve been working on so arduously for the past month!

Some of the beautiful senior girls before their performance

The studly senior boys with lots and lots of hair gel.

Sunday the census finally happened, so now I have my students back full time.  They all complained a little bit, but they had Monday off of school to recuperate, so I think they’ll be able to work hard this week to wrap up our unit. 

Because my students had yesterday off of school, I took the liberty to give myself a day off, too.  My friend Kristin and I met at 8:30 in the morning to go up the TeleferiQo, a cable-car gondola ride that takes tourists and Ecuadorians alike up the side of Pichincha volcano (it’s the same volcano that’s in all of the view of the city I have – I see it from the terrace in my apartment). We hit the volcano on the perfect morning.   

Up we go!

For three weeks we’ve had rainy season at it’s best – cloudy all afternoon with rain the majority of the late afternoon/evenings.  We got up there at about 9am and the view was clear – and no lines of people! Kristin and I ascended the side of the volcano and walked around at the top. There are some beautiful miradores (viewpoints) along the trails at the top. Patrons can take hiking trails that go on for hours, but be careful, it’s another 3,500 feet higher in elevation! I had to take it slow walking up the hills because of my slowly diminishing flu on top of the thinner air.  Kristin and I walked around and took pictures of ourselves and the view, and eventually made our way back down.  We were ready to say our last words when the cable car STOPPED for about 5 minutes on our way back down. I had read beforehand on an online review that stopping can happen at various points, but it was still a traumatic experience.  I videotaped our goodbyes, and I've uploaded it to YouTube because it didn't load here on the blog. Enjoy! It is quite the comical scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe93R38mN_M

My apartment is down there somewhere...

On the opposite side of Pichincha from Quito.

Well, everyone – seven days left! My kids have a test on Thursday, and an open work-day on Friday.  This weekend is Fiestas de Quito with bull fights and non-stop celebrations.  I’ll be packing soon so I don’t leave it all for my emotional last day in Quito.  Monday we have off from school, so Tuesday is my final day at Menor. Then it’s dinner, drinks, and goodbyes with friends, and off to the airport at 11:00pm that night! I hope to update you all before my final descent out of Quito. Hope everyone is keeping warm at home and it’s buried too far under the snow. Yet.

Besitos a todos.

It's a jungle out there...

Tessa and I at the beach.

I apologize for the delay between posts; school has been keeping me busy, and for a couple weeks I was living out of a suitcase!  October 29-November 3 was the Dia de Disfuntos break (Day of the Dead) for most of Latin America. With the days off of school, I went with my host brother, his girlfriend, my host-cousins, and my friend Tessa from school to the coastal town of Tonsupa. We spent the time on the beach (for the two days of sun we had), eating the best ceviche of my life, and playing cards.  Overall it was relaxing, save a traumatic experience or two, and we enjoyed our time out of the city.  

A little more noteworthy is my most recent adventure to the Amazonian jungle.  We drove back from the beach on Wednesday night, I went to school and taught on Thursday, and Friday morning I was enroute to the Tiputini Biodiversity Station.  I didn’t know any other students who were going, so I was apprehensive about how much fun this would be.  Boy, was I pleasantly surprised.

Friday morning, the 5^th, I arrived to the airport to take a 25 minute flight out of Quito to Coca, a small jungle town that is really about 10 hours from Quito if you drive through the mountains.  I chatted with some of the other students as they arrived; mostly bonding with one girl, Kristin, who is from Wisconsin.  We reminisced about Midwestern pleasantries and how we were loving Ecua, but were ready to see the comforts of home. Anyways, on our flight we pass magnificent views of the volcanoes surrounding Quito. Cotopaxi and Cayambe were at their prime.

You can see three volcanoes here... Cayambe front and center, Antisana to the left in the back, and Cotopaxi far away to the right. Magnifico!

We arrived in Coca to a bus that took us to a boat dock a few minutes away. The city was already substantially warmer than Quito, so we snacked on ice cream and played with the monkeys that entertain the patrons awaiting their boats. As soon as our boat arrived, we motored down the Napo river for two hours.  After docking at another station, we then hauled our backpacks and bags to another open-air bus. We ate lunch and tried to sleep on this bus for another two hours.  Arriving to a bridge over the Tiputini river, we descended the hill to another boat, and we sped along this winding river for another two and a half hours.  Needless to say, this place is remote.

Boat ride #2

We walked up the stairs to find a fantastic facility.  The TB station is about 15 years old, and is a collaborative effort between Universidad San Francisco de Quito (my university here) and Boston University.  This place is one-of-a-kind.  When the world went through its ice age millions of years ago, this section of the Amazon on the equator did not freeze. There are hundreds of species of trees per hectare, where in places like the US, you might find eight.  Over two hundred species of mammals inhabit the entire property of the station, 110 of which are species of bats.  

These are the cabins we stayed in. My roommates were Kristin from Wisconsin, Jacob from Virginia Tech, and Tom from Georgetown.  The station only has electricity from 10 to 1pm in the afternoon, and 6 to 930pm at night. The water is taken out of the river, filtered and cleaned, used, then cleaned again, and returned to the river.  They have their own biodegradable soap that is provided that we used to wash our hands, hair, and bodies with.  One afternoon it rained after our morning caminata (hike) and we all played in the rain outside of our cabins.  We washed our hair outside underneath the rainspouts that water off of the roof. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

Meyer

 

Meyer was our guide. I never asked how old he was, but he was swinging on vines and tiring us out each day we were with him.  He uses medicinal remedies from the jungle whenever he has an ailment or sickness.  His arthritis was cured by a type of tree bark that he took in a tea each morning for a month or two.  He showed us a tree that cured a friend’s prostate cancer. This man knows the jungle, and I think he could save diseases throughout the world with some of his natural concoctions.  He was precious – always wanting pictures of us with his camera too, after we’d ask him for a group shot of ourselves.  I hope we meet again someday.

Animals were everywhere. We saw a tapir (super rare), families of monkeys, tarantulas, caimans (small crocodiles), toucans, various species of spiders, insects, birds, bats, and not to mention the plethora of flora.  The 300 plus year old trees were some of my favorites to admire and photograph.

The Tower

We climbed countless terrifying stairs to the top of the tower that’s built into an impressive tree overlooks the canopy.  There’s a telescope up there that Meyer would magically find birds through and beckon us to see once he focused on them.  I took this picture through the telescope, and then was able to zoom and focus to take the second one.  Two of my favorite pictures ever!!

A similar tower a few hundred meters away brought us up to bridges connected by cables between trees that were higher than the canopy and overlooked the green horizon.  I had to remind myself not to be so terrified and to enjoy the view in front of me as I pushed my carabineer along the cable above my head.  The harnesses seemed secure, but I still couldn’t climb all the way to the top of the ladder onto the platform.  Getting to the top, looking around, and making my way back down was sufficient for me. There were flying, biting ants all around us the entire time that were also distracting.  Overall, incredible and unforgettable.

The group I went with ended up fitting fantastically.  We all got along amazingly well for none of us really knowing each other beforehand.  Some students were from the states, but some were exchange students from Canada, Germany, and Singapore. Meeting kids from around the world was great - even if government and politics did come up a few times. We were all agreeable and sensitive to opinions and learned a lot about one another. 

Monday morning we started our trek back to civilization at 8am, and I arrived back to my host-family's house by 5pm. I've had a lot of catching up to do, but Angela has helped out a lot by taking over most lessons for the week before I start up again tomorrow. 


This past week was spirit week at school, so the following post will show off my kids and their dress-up days. 


I hope the midwestern-ers are enjoying the snow! I heard you all had a rude wake-up call to winter. Stay safe and warm. :) Besos a todos.