Note on New Posts

Hello honeyhearts!

Currently, I am still in Ecuador. I just can not seem to leave this amazing country! Sadly, time on my visa is running out; otherwise, I would happily stay another month. I am totally in love with the town I am staying in right now, and will try to add a current blog about it tonight or tomorrow night. 

In the last few days I have published lots of new posts. Yay! Even though I just put them up, they are all dated in the past to reflect when I actually had these adventures. The newest ones are 01/12/11, 01/01/11, 12/28/10, and possibly more if I get really ambitious tonight and tomorrow. Also, I aim to add pictures to the blogs that currently have none. Hopefully that will happen soon.

Thanks for reading!

As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated - especially if you see anything that I could improve upon, such as writing style, types of things to omit or include, etc. etc. 

I LOVE YOU!!!
Bethany

Adventures in Riobamba, Ecuador

On the way to Riobamba by bus, traveling with my new dear friends, Clayann and Colin (of the state of Washington,) we coincidentally hooked up with their friend Chris (of New Zealand,) and when getting off at the bus terminal we added Becky to the troop. “A gaggle of gringos” we were, adorned with our backpacks, filing down the street to find a hostel. It was my first time, ever, traveling with other backpackers. Even though we were much more noticeable, I felt like much less of an eyesore than when hunting down a hostel alone. We secured a place to stay, unloaded our bags, and explored the city together.

The next day, the 3 “C”s and I went on a shortened version of the famous train ride. It was the touristiest thing any of us had done on this trip. The train tracks are still being repaired, so we were actually in a small bus that rides on the railway. It was hardly worth waking at 5am for, but I did enjoy the stops in two local pueblos. The people were very welcoming to us, giving us smiles and genuine greetings of welcome. Plus, as always, trains are good for seeing the underbelly or backsides of buildings and neighborhoods, things never seen from the road.

The next day, we four had an adventure that I shall never, ever forget. It was like nothing I have ever done in this life. The previous day we had shopped around and procured a mountain biking tour. The owner was meticulous . . . as a way to put it. He talked with us for at least an hour and a half about the tour options, giving us every detail we could have possibly wanted, whether we did or not. That in itself was an experience! We had not even agreed to do the tour yet! Of course we did though. How could we not??

The next morning we all awoke early, to be picked up by our two fantastic guides in a truck loaded with all of the biking equipment one could desire. This is where we were joined by Martin (of Germany) and Diego (of Spain.)  Thus, the 6 of us rode in the covered back of the truck on two comfortable benches all the way to the base of Chimborazo. Chimborazo is a snow-capped, inactive volcano, which has the highest peak in all of Ecuador at 6,310 meters, or 20,702 feet. Many say that it is the highest point in the world, relative to the Earth’s core. Once parked at the base of Chimborazo, next to the first of two refuges for climbers, we unloaded and hiked to the second refuge, arriving at 16,404 feet! Here there are glaciers and lots of snow. It was incredibly beautiful. After having some tea to help us adjust to the high altitude, we descended back to the first refuge and the truck, where our bikes were ready for us to ride.

We biked from 4,800 meters (15,748 feet) to 3,100 meters (10,170 feet.) This took us all day. We began our journey at 8:15am and it ended at 6:00pm, including the drive up. I was the only one in the group that was not an experienced mountain biker. In fact, this was my first try at it. We were told that the trails were good for beginners to advanced bikers. I beg to differ. This ride was indeed not for the faint of heart! For the first little while I was emitting a low scream on the outside, and a loud wail on the inside, as my hands gripped the handle bars for dear life, and I silently prayed that my front wheel would not hit one of the many, many large rocks and potholes on the path. Later, this silent wish repeated itself, replacing my simply not wanting to tumble head over ass, with my strong desire to avoid careening uncontrollably off of the mountain ledges directly to my right and my left.  Occasionally, we would have to stop suddenly and hoist our bikes across wide cracks in the earth’s surface, or a small river.

As I became more comfortable, and more daring, I was following the two lead bikers. At this point, I was having the time of my life, leaving all of my fearful forecasts of broken limbs in the dust. I was flying down the path, carefree, with the wind whipping around me and breathtaking views all around. It was incredible! I cannot emphasize enough how naturally high I felt. Unfortunately, my confidence exceeded my ability. We came to a part in the path, which had deep ruts on either side of a raised, 3 foot wide ridge of grassy dirt. Riding in the ruts was scaring me, because I felt that a slight wrong turn of my wheel would throw me off. The lead rider, at this time, hopped up onto the middle, raised ridge of earth. That looked much safer to ride on. The second risk-taking rider, Colin, followed suit. It looked easy enough. Thus, I tried it and wiped out grandly. I fell hard onto my left side, smashing my hip onto the hard ridge, but the top part of my body fortunately landed in the soft dirt. I almost jumped up and said, “I’m allright!” but Clayann rushed to my side and said, lay there for a minute. This was good advice. The pain shot through me, and I feared that I’d fractured my hip. After a few moments, the majority of the pain subsided, and I realized that I was fine, only scratches and possibly a big bruise to come. This was the beginning of my discovering how well my brakes worked, and definitely learning not following Colin’s nor Chris’ example! Ha ha! (As side note, this new philosophy also held true for crossing the busy streets of the city. Either of the guys would dart out quickly to cross, and one would be very wise not to follow without carefully checking for cars first. Pedestrians have absolutely zero right-of-way here, cross-walks be damned.)

This mountain bike ride was one of the most adventurous and crazy things I have ever done in my life. I maaaaay try it again one day when I am feeling invincible. I am grateful for the experience, as I never would have done it without my new friends. They were incredibly supportive and praised me for how well I did. Thank you!

Pictures to follow as soon as I have 3 or 4 hours and descent wifi to post them. Refer back to this post at a later date to view them.

Sign Language

I am in Riobamba, a much larger and busier town than I had imagined. From any high point, such as my hostel roof, you can look out, turn around in a complete circle, and have seen mountains and volcanoes throughout the entire 360 degrees. There are 5 volcanoes within sight of the city. Five!

Today was nice, as Chris (other random solo tourist) and I wandered around and explored the cities high points and searched for art in the parks and along walls. The best adventure was daring to enter one strikingly beautiful building upon the hill. It seemed to offer the best views in town. Turns out, that it is their Social Security office! The older and gentlemanly guard, who had been working there for longer than I have been alive, welcomed us. He got permission from his employer to let us go up several flights to have a look around. Inside, the building was receiving a fresh coat of paint. We had to be careful. Chris ended up with white sleeve from brushing up against something. The security guard was more than kind to us. After allowing us to take in the view of the city from different several rooms, he led us back down and outside, where he continued to show us his breathtaking city’s vista from all corners of the land lot. He pointed out each of the 5 volcanoes, and named many mountain peaks for us. He also showed us the different sectors of town that make up the whole. We could even see other towns and pueblos in the distance, from this vantage point, and he named many of them for us. It was special and unique, for moments like this are the reasons for traveling.

Later, we ended up in the main plaza. I ventured off to buy something from a street vendor. As I approached, I noticed that she was signing! I immediately began trying to communicate with her via sign language, but our country’s signs are different (of course.) Quickly I realized that she could hear. She had been signing with her deaf son, who by that time had wandered off somewhere. She and I excitedly talked for a few minutes.

You see, I have seen several deaf people in Ecuador. The first, was a young deaf man who happened to be sitting beside me at “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” a children’s play I attended with Cindy at an elementary school in Quito. He and I did communicate, but it was not easy, as Ecuadorian Sign Language and American Sign Language are all-together different languages. Another time, I passed a deaf woman at a bus station, but for all of my longing, I only smiled a genuine greeting as I passed by. The deaf person I most wished to talk to was in Baños. She was close to my age, and was signing away with a friend of hers. She appeared fluent in her language, and I urgently wanted to say hello, but fear kept me from it. “Who am I to interrupt, not knowing her language?” I feared that it would only be frustrating, and I did not want to be that person. You know the ones that barely know the alphabet, yet see a deaf person on the street and get all excited, run over and interrupt to say, “H-i! I-l-e-a-r-n-e-d-s-i-g-n-l-a-n-g-u-a-g-e-a-t-m-y-c-h-u-r-c-h!” No, I am a professional sign language interpreter. I am not that person. Consequently, my adverse ego prevented the experience.

As I was talking with the mother, running her portable tienda, her son came back. She introduced us to each other. I tried to explain that I am an interpreter in my country. He and I quickly switched to the use of pen and paper (only using it as an aid in the beginning.) When I expressed that I was from “The United States” he signed to me what looks like, “Really?” in American Sign Language (ASL.) So I replied, “Yes.” And this went back and forth until he began teaching me the Ecuadorian signs for the countries in South America, eventually coming to show me the sign for my country, which happens to look almost exactly like the ASL sign for “really?” except in Ecuadorian Sign Language it is with the pinky finger extended.

Though our languages are different, there are many signs that are quite similar, with only slight variations in production. The alphabet is identical except for S, T, and Ch. The numbers are very different. He showed me his numbers first, and when I asked if he wanted to learn mine, he said yes. I showed him, and he copied my hand shapes for each number. By the time we reached 20, he signed, “the signs are so different! So very different!” In that moment, I felt that we understood each other. He knew I was not that person.

We communicated for over twenty minutes, and the longer we did, the easier it became. He attends a school for the deaf right there in Riobamba. He said that there are around 150 students at his school, and that there is a much larger School for the Deaf in Quito.

Unfortunately, Chris had been patiently waiting for me this entire time. So I parted ways with my new friends. The next time I see a cool deaf person in South America, I will not shy away from saying hello, if the opportunity presents itself.

Río Negro

Back in Baños after spending 5 days in a small town of 500 people or so, called Río Negro. The lion was gone. Only a trace of his paws remained. Just weeks ago, having been startled by him, giving us all a hearty laugh, and then climbing him to pose for pictures made me miss his presence watching out over my favorite back yard in Ecuador.

Río Negro is a tiny town just outside of the jungle. Around 400 people reside there. I stayed at the Krishna Consciousness aka Hare Krishna Temple called Vrindavan. Vrindavan is a large reserve of land, nearly an hour’s walk from town.

As soon as I stepped off of the bus, arriving in Rio Negro, I saw two older-than-me gentlemen sitting outside of a local tienda. It reminded me of the old-time gas stations where you could always count on seeing the same groups of men sitting around “shooting the shit” as we call it in Tennessee. Thus, I asked if I might sit with them for a spell. So there we three sat, Olger, mid-fourties, Gonzalo, mid-seventies, and I, gringa, new-in-town. The conversation was delightful! After around 45 minutes had passed, they helped me flag down a “taxi” which was actually an ordinary truck. Somehow they are identifiable as taxis by people other than me. I hopped in and was off to Vrindavan!

The next day, I bathed in the river, had prasadam for lunch, and then leisurely walked the hour back to town. There, in the same place, sat Olger and Gonzalo. “Hola! Buenas tardes!” We had another happy chat, and made a date to play cards the next day. Thus, the following day, I again walked into town, only this time we moved into a local friend’s restaurant, where a felt cloth and cards were ready on the table. Four local hombres played the Ecuadorian version of Rummy for money with a gringa. Such a treat! Surely they thought I was easy prey. Since this was my first time playing Rummy by these rules, I was losing at first. However, Gonzalo passed his good luck on to me, and I ended up winning the most! I offered to buy them all a drink with my winnings, but they refused, saying, “Keep your money! You earned it! We shall have a chance to win it back the next go-round!” And with that, I headed back “home.”

By this hour, it was nearly dark, but that did not concern me at the time. After walking for mere 15 minutes it was closing in on pitch dark, the kind of dark where you cannot see your hand in front of your face, dark. As I began to wonder how many hours it would take for me to walk all the way back without being able to see, and what sort of creatures come out at night to feed on lone tourists at the jungle’s border, a truck stopped and offered me a ride. “Thank you so much for stopping!” He was a kind, young local, and he had been studying English for awhile. I willingly helped him practice, as we slowly made our way down the bumpy dirt road. “How much do I owe you?” “No charge!” I love this town.

Vrindavan was a special place, full of tranquility. Chanting gave me the grounding I had been seeking. Every night, I walked out into the road to star-gaze. The first time I did this, I saw 3 shooting stars in less than 6 minutes!  

Excerpt from my journal written in Río Negro:

Night reveals the glow head of an inch worm that only moves when you shine a light on it. Its’ head is like a glowing grain of sand. Today I saw a butterfly as big as a bird! Pitch dark. Stars blanket the sky. I am alone here in this place now, with only the sounds of the river on one side, and the cascade on the other. In bed, Shiva’s cascade at my head, the sonorous river at my feet. The former president of Quito’s temple is here, from Columbia, and an Italian Scorpio. My service of choice is dishwashing. The kitchen is open air. Like a rainbow kitchen, except with a real roof instead of tarps. The dishwashing station is fed from the river. My first day here I was served it as clean. I drank half the cup. Rats, bats and a cat. He thought there was a bat in his room, and I did not know that “murciélago” means “bat” in Spanish. A light went off in his mind and he excitedly proclaimed, “BATMAN!” Communication is the key, but oh that made me laugh so hard. I miss little Diego turning over in the next room, thus rocking the whole floor. It was comforting. Now I am here alone, surrounded by the breathing of the forest. 

This is where I bathed the first morning. Is the water cold? Yes, very!

View to the right

View to the left

This butterfly landed and began feeding on my towel.

It would not leave no matter what I tried!

Moths are messages

The insects are not bothered by people, and do not scatter for fear of them.

It is one big community of life!

Entering sacred ground

Shiva's waterfall

This is where I bathed for the next 4 mornings!

The waterfall is over 6 feet high, thus that rock is huge!

This day it was raining, so I hung my stuff up
inside of that dark space which is a cave.

This was my view out from under the waterfall.

Find the light switch.

The temple

Temple room

Hare Krishna!!!

See the triangular window on the right? That was my room.

The walk to town

Sometimes you've just got to scratch it!

Crossing the bridge into town

This is how I like to start off the New Year

The road up - it was around an hour and 20 minute drive

The view from where we launched was incredible!

Two volcanoes

more of the view

He kept us company while we waited 1.5 hours for the wind to calm down.

The awesome Edgar tests the wind and finally gives the go ahead.

Go, go, go, go!

This is Sean from Canada. He went before me, so I took pictures.

INCREDIBLE!

This might be the guy that crashed into a farm below. No injuries.

Two flew at a time.

Proof! See the town below? I am happy.

“Baños, when you just can’t cut it."

Being sick for 3 weeks while traveling alone was more than challenging, and honestly, just before Christmas, I considered flying home so my momma could take care of me. (Tickets were amazingly cheap, even on Christmas Eve.) Staying with the family in Quito, that incidentally I found through CraigsList, was a blessing, because on the days I didn’t feel like leaving my room, they fed me and shared lots of healthy, hot tea.  I am so grateful to Telmo, Diana, Cindy and Kevin for their kindness.

Two days before Christmas, I decided to leave the cold, rain and smog of Quito for the warm climate of Baños de Ambato, and vowed stay there until I was well. The first hostel I stayed in was located at a major intersection of activity in the town, and my room was on the 4^th (top) floor. This was good, because even when I was not feeling well enough to leave my room, I still felt like part of the action, being able to see children’s parades and lots of city life, peering out from the giant window at the head of my bed. Baños is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains and situated at the foot of a large, active volcano. There are evacuation route signs everywhere. This hostel I stayed in for the first 5 nights is called “Hostel Eruption!”

Christmas Eve is when I first met Clayann and Colin of Washington state. They were eating in my hostel’s restaurant. They kindly invited me to their hostel family’s Christmas Party, which unfortunately I was unable to attend. Christmas day, for me, was spent in bed. I only left to go to my favorite family owned restaurant right next door for some vegetable soup and then a sandwich to-go.

I consider Christmas Eve my Christmas this year. 

Excerpt from my journal:

What I really want to write about now is that it is Christmas Eve. I have been sick for nearly 3 weeks, and forced myself out of my hostel bed here in Baños, because I needed to eat. I walked into this candlelit restaurant (because they have some vegetarian food) and was asked, in Spanish of course, “One or two? Two?” with the unnecessarily added inflection of “of course two, no?”

“Just one,” I replied.

“All alone, really, on Christmas Eve?” said he.

“Sad, no?” said me. But really I am not that sad. I only want to feel better. I am splurging on a half vase of hot wine with cinnamon now. It is delicious! I wish I had a green Santa hat like of the girls working here.

This hot wine is yummy! . . . Chirstmas in BaNos!

Recipe for the hot wine:

Add wine, sugar and spices into a pot and boil it. Spices to add are clavo de olor, cinnamon, pimiento dulce and smashed anise.

“How many people work here?” I inquired.

“Five.”

“I would like to buy a liter of this hot wine for us all to share.”

We raised our glasses to the entire restaurant, “Salud! Feliz Navidad!”

Afterwards, my waiter and his wife invited me to a local bar and treated me to more hot wine and a game of foozball.

I spent all of Christmas Day in bed. Though I did end up with a green Santa Claus hat!

Note to You

Hello lovelies!
This is just a quick note to let you know that I just added 2 new posts, but the dates show as several weeks ago. I am publishing with altered dates to reflect when I was actually there, as opposed to the date I finally get around to posting. I hope this is not too confusing.
Also, in case you didn't know, you can click on individual pictures to see an enlarged view. Most of these pictures look much better when you click on them (I hope.)
Thank you so much for taking the time to look at my blog. My hope is that it will get better and better over time as I learn how to go about it. Feedback is welcome.
You are loved and appreciated my dear ones. Happy Holidays!
Shine on,
Bethany

Road Trip!

The ever-welcoming and wonderful Telmo and Diana invited me along on yet another vacation of theirs. This time we were joined by Jerry, a semi-retired gentleman from the U.S. now living in Ecuador. Telmo drove his car, and the four of us took a fun road trip from Quito, ending up in the jungle somewhere between Puyo and Tena. 

The first incredible thing we saw on our trip was the The Avenue of Volcanos. While driving, and often stopping for pictures, we could see many of Ecuador’s volcanos along this stretch of road. Among others, we could see Volcano Cotopaxi, Volcano Corozon, Volcano Illinizas and the active Volcano Tunguragua. This part of our road trip was breathtakingly beautiful! We watched smoke billow out of Tunguragua most of the day, as we were lucky that the normally clouded sky was clear.

Later, we stopped in Baños for the night, and coincidentally it was Canton Founding Day there! We were greeted by parades, and in the evening, from the main park, saw the most amazing fireworks display that I may have ever seen. The fireworks continued exploding, on and on and on, long after we were impressed. The four of us talked late into the night. They happily shared shots of scotch, as I only tried to, for I was still quite ill and didn’t feel up to it. Stories were exchanged and friendships formed, as I learned of their incredible lives. Did you know that Telmo was in the Special Forces? I didn’t either! He had jaw-dropping stories to share. 

The next day we drove La Ruta de Las Cascadas, “Highway of the Waterfalls” on the road from BaNos to Puyo, stopping in Salcero for a taste of this town famous for its’ homemade ice cream. This route was incredible, as we passed more than a dozen waterfalls along the way, stopping to enjoy many of them, including the hike to El Pailón del Diablo (The Devil’s Cauldron.) This waterfall is immense, and is so powerful that when the waterfall hits the river below, it creates a giant swirl in the river that one would be wise to not go near. At the top of this hike, one may continue by crouching into a wet cave, and somewhat crawling through the passage, arriving behind the dominant waterfall. Standing in this place, behind the falls, for only 30 seconds and you are wet! Of course I had to do it.

Jerry the photographer. Thank you Jerry for recording this trip. You are appreciated!

Soon, we were passing through Río Negro, a small town of less than 500 people, located in cloud forest, with beautiful, crystal-clear rivers. Driving through a side road, we discovered a big, empty house for sale. The house was made of all wood and was moist throughout. We explored this giant house, each taking a different path, accidentally imitating a typical episode of Scooby-Doo, opening and closing doors, meeting comically in different locales, over and over again. Behind, the house was lush with plant-life, and the most crystalline river I have ever seen. Suddenly, Diana portrayed a look of shock and quickly said to me, “Look!” As I turned my head I saw a large lion facing me, and nearly tumbled over a boulder from backing away so fast. The group howled with laughter, as it was in fact only a giant lion sculpted from concrete, hiding among the vegetation.

This same day, we made our way to the Jungle somewhere past Puyo but before Tena. We stayed at Al Centro Zanjarajuno, the owner being a friend of Telmo’s. This place is a sanctuary and rehabilitation center for wildlife, preserves jungle land, and also educates people. It was beautiful, and the owner is a kindred spirit. He even loaned me jungle boots, a requisite for exploring.

There was only thing that I did not enjoy one bit. It was the crazy, co-dependent monkey that jumped onto my head after dinner, and would not let go, even for the efforts of a group of 6. The two volunteers living at the center said that they have never seen this monkey be so stubborn, though he is often a problem. His parents died when he was very young, thus, he likes to cling to humans. He pulled and pulled my hair as we tried in vain to remove him. He even bit me a few times as I reached up to try to get him off of me. Luckily he is missing his front teeth, so he did not draw blood. Also, he may not have been biting very hard, but simply warning me that he had no intention of leaving his new, comfy, though entirely panicked home. Finally, after much freaking out, I stuck my head under a water faucet outside, and with three people pulling at the same time, he finally had to let go. This was a traumatic experience that I care never to repeat.

I am not as happy as I look

In the jungle I saw wildlife that I had never even heard of before. I was even able to feed some porcupine-looking pig animals, as this refuge rescues and rehabilitates jungle creatures.

either very full or very pregnant

one of many fuchsia dragonflies

a cutie in the road that we encouraged to save itself

My favorite part of the trip, was on the way back home to Quito. We stopped again at the old, wood house for sale in Río Negro. There, Telmo, Diana and I swam in the river behind the house. It was invigorating! Jerry, a professional photographer, snapped some pictures of us in the cold, mountain water. This was a reminder to renew my vow to swim in mountain rivers whenever possible. 

1, 2, 3 dunk!

Cold mountain water!

A big thanks to Jerry for these photos!

Floating down the river from the cascade

Swimming back up the river

So happy

Saving the Casa del Árbol (Tree House) story for last. Somewhere along the journey, we parked and hiked up to this place. There we found old equipment used for measuring volcanic activity, a refuge potentially for hikers, and a house in a tree! Tied to this tree was a swing from which I daringly swung. When swinging out, the ground dropped off suddenly and drastically. Had the swing or tree branch decided to break, there would have been no hope. (It reminded me of the swing I had when I was very little at my family’s house on the hill in Kingston, Tennessee.) At first, I was swinging facing away from the extreme drop-off, as Jerry kindly took pictures. After I turned around and faced the alarming height over which my body was precariously dangling with each swing out, my stomach lurched and simultaneously, my heart flew into my throat. Scary! Here are some pictures.

Here are some more photos that I did not fit within my story:

Río Verde

Telmo, smiling in the rain

I always have to touch the water

Subdivision being built in Río Negro