Running from Tourists in Guapulo
Surfing in Canoa
Hanging with the laundry in Mindo
Sleeping on the Stairs in Mindo
Guarding the Gate in Peguche
Sunday services
Monday, May 10, 2010
Los Animales de Ecuador
Running from Tourists in Guapulo
Surfing in Canoa
Hanging with the laundry in Mindo
Sleeping on the Stairs in Mindo
Guarding the Gate in Peguche
Ziplining Through Cloud Forests in Mindo
The road to Mindo from Quito winds through the northern parts of the city and then through dry mountainous cliffs and then finally verdant dense forests until you reach the tiny town. Full of charming bed and breakfasts and backyards that have been transformed into small orchid gardens, the town’s main industry is clearly tourism and the locals don’t waste any opportunity to offer their knowledge about the unique cloud forest climate in which they live. In addition to visiting the myriad of local orchid gardens and the butterfly garden, visitors can also hike outside of town in pretty much any direction for a spectacular day hike.
Our group went to the ziplines outside of town which were AWESOME and only $10 per person. I thought I would be slightly terrified as zooming along a large expanse of small cable suspended above a cloud forest sounds like something that might make me cry a little bit, but it was much less scary than I imagined and the views were much better.
The zip lining itself is very easy and there are just two things to avoid: Don’t put your hand in front of you on the wire as you will cut off or crush your own hand from the momentum, and do not brake while in the middle of a zipline as you will then either have to drag yourself across to the other side with your hands or a guide will have to fetch you by wrapping his legs around your torso and dragging your sorry ass across.
The most difficult thing was hiking up to the zipline platforms. There are ten ziplines and you do have to hike up hills to reach them and I was sweating and panting. Although you should keep in mind that I have a bum leg and could hardly walk for a year and have had two surgeries. In other words, I think most people could do it no problem.
The guides offered for me to go in tandem with them to try “the butterfly” and “the superman.” While performing “the butterfly” you face your guide, jump up on to him so your legs are wrapped around his waist, and then throw your torso backwards so you are upside down and then zoom across the cloud forest like that. I declined that one and went for “the superman,” which is actually more awkward if you can believe it, but so worth it.
You stand in front of your guide facing the same way as him, hold on to the wire and swing your legs backward so your legs are wrapped around his waist and you are more or less crotch to crotch, then you drop your torso so you are hanging forward and down, arch your back, spread your arms, and then when you zoom across you feel like you are flying. We tipped our guides at the end because they were so much fun and did things that felt dangerous like bounce the wires while we zoomed across so we bounced up and down about 20 feet.
I highly recommend visiting Mindo, but like most places in Ecuador Mindo is small, rural and beautiful with plenty of daytime outdoors activities, but not very much night life to keep you busy after dark. There is something called the frog garden which is a just after sunset walk where a guide shows you the animals that glow in the dark or fill the wet air with their various forms of music. We saw one pool hall filled with locals and there is a disco which was closed when we were there. I suggest going for an overnight or maybe two nights.
We stayed at a hotel called Caskaffesu which was really charming, with a great interior courtyard, delicious restaurant, and helpful owners. It was a little pricy at $15 per person, but we really enjoyed our stay. Try the homemade plantain chips as a snack and they also sell organic coffee from Mindo which is really quite good.
Tips for Mindo:
Bring bugspray and use it. We walked to the butterfly garden from town (really cool by the way) and I got bit up badly by giant sand flies. Really painful and the bites itched and swelled and didn’t go away for weeks.
Bring cash. There is no ATM in Mindo and the closest town with an ATM is an $8, hour-long roundtrip cab ride and when we got there our cards didn’t work. Bummer.
I feel I should pass this along although I can’t verify whether or not it’s true and I don’t want to negatively affect tourism in Mindo, so heed the warning and do what you think is best. We were all set one morning to go tubing down the river, which is a really popular thing to do in Mindo. We were strongly advised against it and warned that five people had died doing this in the last two years. So we opted not to do the tubing and went for a hike instead.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Photos of Mancora, an Idyllic Beach Town in Peru
We were only going to stay in Mancora for one month, but we ended up staying for two. These pictures will show you why.
These are taken from our deck. The best way to find long-term housing is not the viva mancora website, but rather through word of mouth. Ask the locals in cafes, hotels, and boutiques if they know of anything available. There is a place called Kom Tiki that has cute bungalows on top of a giant hill with spectacular views that run around $200 per month. Our house, right on the beach was $325 and we think we got an incredible deal.
The pathway from our house down to the beach.
Our kitchen.
Looking up at the house from the beach.
The cute guy and the puppy are not included in the price unfortunately.
A random cement wall along the route from our house to the main beach.
July 15th through August 15th Mancora is full of wealthy vacationers from Lima. It makes the beach a little too crowded for my taste, but...
with the bad comes the good.
The blue building is The Bird House and the upstairs is a restaurant called Green Eggs and Ham with the best breakfast in town by far. You can get eggs, bacon, home fries and coffee for 15 soles, and they also have delicious pancakes, waffles, and fruit salad.
This is the mexican place called Aji. It's very good, but know that the beans are incredibly sweet. They are practically caramelized. If you are not a fan of that, stay away from the giant burritos and try the tacos or enchiladas instead.
Hotel Casablanca - best deal in town. Tv, wifi, mini fridge, 40 soles per night for a couple. The convenience store right next to it is called Zoom and has the best selection of food besides Marlon, the grocery store.
Downtown Mancora. That's it!
Massages on the beach, horse back riding, and a kite-surfer in the background.
Along the path to Mancora Chico and right near our house.
These are taken from our deck. The best way to find long-term housing is not the viva mancora website, but rather through word of mouth. Ask the locals in cafes, hotels, and boutiques if they know of anything available. There is a place called Kom Tiki that has cute bungalows on top of a giant hill with spectacular views that run around $200 per month. Our house, right on the beach was $325 and we think we got an incredible deal.
The pathway from our house down to the beach.
Our kitchen.
Looking up at the house from the beach.
The cute guy and the puppy are not included in the price unfortunately.
A random cement wall along the route from our house to the main beach.
July 15th through August 15th Mancora is full of wealthy vacationers from Lima. It makes the beach a little too crowded for my taste, but...
with the bad comes the good.
The blue building is The Bird House and the upstairs is a restaurant called Green Eggs and Ham with the best breakfast in town by far. You can get eggs, bacon, home fries and coffee for 15 soles, and they also have delicious pancakes, waffles, and fruit salad. 
This is the mexican place called Aji. It's very good, but know that the beans are incredibly sweet. They are practically caramelized. If you are not a fan of that, stay away from the giant burritos and try the tacos or enchiladas instead.
Hotel Casablanca - best deal in town. Tv, wifi, mini fridge, 40 soles per night for a couple. The convenience store right next to it is called Zoom and has the best selection of food besides Marlon, the grocery store.
Downtown Mancora. That's it!
Massages on the beach, horse back riding, and a kite-surfer in the background.
Along the path to Mancora Chico and right near our house.
Quito Spice Market
After living here in Quito for four months the main thing my boyfriend and I missed from home was red pepper flakes. Don’t they have spices in Ecuador, you ask? Yes, they do. But no red pepper flakes. We tried the local markets, the supermarkets, the supermaxis, the mega maxi, the specialty food stores near Santa Clara trolley stop and the only trace we found of them was one lone flake in a giant empty glass jar. We asked the sales girl when she would be getting more in. She shrugged and continued eating her sandwich. After about 30 seconds, when she realized we were red pepper flake crazed and had no intention of leaving without an answer she slowly swallowed her food and said, “I don’t know. Sometime. Maybe.”We were just about to give up when we heard word of a spice market way up North in the city a few blocks from the Y trolley stop. Desperate for culinary heat, we headed up that way and indeed found a large market two blocks East of the Y trolley stop. It doesn’t look like much from outside, but oh the beauty of the interior.
Gorgeous bright fruit and vegetables, tons of locally grown fresh spices, fish, meat, baskets, everything you could want. However we didn’t see any red pepper flakes…until we did.
And oh the joy of seeing their crushed, red, flaky, flakes of spicy yumminess. We bought a lot. We also bought curry, saffron, cinnamon, black pepper, chili peppers and all the spices we could dream of.
For you Korean, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine lovers there is also an Asian Market right next to the large market which carries seaweed, vermicelli noodles, all sorts of ramen, Korean sauces and Japanese sweets. Enjoy!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Otavalo Shopping Extravaganza
If you like shopping, you must go to Otavalo. Even if you don’t, there is no better place to find high-quality inexpensive presents. It’s only two hours from Quito by bus and has all the artisan crafts you could possibly want. For those of you living in Ecuador with a meager wardrobe, you will be pleased to know that it also has a larger selection of stylish clothes in general than most other cities.
I was expecting Otavalo to be a small, quiet, old-fashioned village because it is known as a thriving indigenous community. It is nothing of the sort. It is a pretty, fairly modern city with stunning scenery, a nice collection of good restaurants, and tons of cool stores. The best thing of all is that it IS a thriving indigenous community and the locals seem affluent and comfortable which is nice to see. Women and men in traditional dress wander by teens in skinny jeans and ballet flats or puffy sneakers. Shops full of embroidered blouses share walls with American fashion stores and somehow this all makes sense and seems harmonious.
The large market day is on Saturdays, but there are a few small towns nearby that specialize in creating certain crafts like textiles and leather so we decided to head up North a few days before to explore the area. We took the bus from Quito to Otavalo around 12:30 on Thursday. The bus only took two hours and was a beautiful ride, so I was told, as I slept the entire time.
We stayed in Hotel Carazo, a large, modern hotel which has comfortable beds, carpeted floors, television, large closets, and spacious showers for $16 per person per night including breakfast.
They have rooms with mountain views that overlook the street, as well as quieter rooms in the back with partial views and they offer wifi for $2 per day. The breakfast is the usual coffee, eggs with ham, bread and juice. We did however see a few roaches, although not in our rooms. And there were creepy mannequins in the hallway.
On our first afternoon, we walked around the daily artisan market in Plaza de Ponchos, and then had dinner at an upstairs restaurant called Buena Vista right on the square. They have aerial views of the market below and pretty good food for the price. Two of us had filet mignon which was very tasty besides lacking the bacon that should have surrounded the steak, and I had spinach rice with vegetables which was actually quite good. They have happy hour from 7 to 8 and an adequate cocktail menu.
On Friday we went to Cotacachi, a smaller town, but by no means small, abut 20 minutes by bus from Otavalo. Cotacachi is famous for it’s leather stores spread out primarily along calle 10 de Agosto. They have stylish, chic handbags, bomber and motorcycle jackets, trench coats and blazers, belts, shoes, wallets and coin purses. My favorite were the bomber jackets for around $90, something you would easily pay about $250 for in the states, and the handbags and wallets which would easily retail for three times as much. My sister and I went crazy here and bought a total of 7 purses and three wallets. Great deals! They are all handmade, many of that soft, buttery leather that I love so much, and you can actually watch the artists make the handbags in their shops. These are just a few of our purchases.
We had lunch at Hotel El Meson de las Flores, which was in a charming, colonial courtyard and is the perfect place to relax for an hour after a shopping frenzy. We came back to Otavalo and had dinner at a restaurant on Sucre about a block from Plaza de Ponchos that had low hanging palm frond mats that made it feel cozy and enclosed although it was actually outdoors. It was Carina’s birthday so after dinner we had a delicious blackberry pie for $10 from the Shenandoah Pie Shop located in Plaza de Ponchos and some vanilla ice cream from Tia on Sucre near Calderon.
On Saturday w
e woke up early and went to the Animal market at around 7:00 and were pleased to see that we were the first tourists there. The animal market is huge and full of pigs, sheep, goats, cows, rabbits, chickens, guinea pig, ducks, geese, dogs and the people trying to sell them.
What really impressed me is how well the animals behaved. For such a chaotic environment there were really very few animals acting up and it felt very safe. People just weave in and out of cows, step over piglets , hop over taught rope tying sheep together, etc. For those of you who are worried you will find it disturbing because of the treatment of animals, you might, but most of the animals seemed very healthy - in fact only a few that I saw seemed lethargic, and it actually seems more humane than what we do to animals in the States. These are animals that are raised from birth by families and then sold here which is a lot better for the animals than being raised at a dairy for example. However, at one point we did see a family purchase a pig and put it in the trunk of a taxi to take it home, so proceed with caution.
While we were there an old lady started talking to us and tried to sell us some of her little woven belts. I bought one for $2 because I liked her smile. As we walked back towards town around 8:00 to hit up the ATM we passed tons of tourists walking towards the animal market and were glad we got up when we did. As we were walking we saw a man selling chorangos and my father found one that had an armadillo back, which was very cool.
When we were walking through the square we saw some ladies selling this homespun wool that my stepmother had wanted so we bought that and then went back to our hotel for breakfast.
As soon as we finished we hit
the market again. The Saturday market takes over most of the town and is really a site to see. It is much larger than I imagined and all sorts of things are sold here.
I bought a little purse to hold my camera and money, three leather bracelets, and three beaded necklaces.
Zach bought two alpaca scarves, and peacock earrings.
Carina bought a wooden bowl, four scarves, two blankets, and the same little money purse as me, some gray beads, and two gorgeous hand painted trays.
Here is some of what we ended up with.
And we could have bought so much more!
For dinner we went to a brand new crepe restaurant that just opened in Plaza Bolivar. It has an interesting, eclectic décor with metal sculpture bar stools with breasts attached, a sideways bicycle installed on a wall, and metal cables coming down from the ceiling. We all had the chicken and mushroom crepe which was rich, covered in parmesan alfredo sauce and overall ridiculously delicious and fattening. The owner was charming and gave us little nuts and beans to munch on while he prepared our meals.
On Sunday we took the bus to Peguche, a small village about 20 minutes by bus which is known for their textiles. Most of the stores were closed because it was Sunday, but the largest one on the main plaza, El Gran Condor, was open and I bought a g
orgeous sparkly scarf in my favorite colors. After that we hopped on another bus to Agato. Unfortunately nothing was open on Sunday and we got stranded there for about half an hour while we waited for a bus.
I was expecting Otavalo to be a small, quiet, old-fashioned village because it is known as a thriving indigenous community. It is nothing of the sort. It is a pretty, fairly modern city with stunning scenery, a nice collection of good restaurants, and tons of cool stores. The best thing of all is that it IS a thriving indigenous community and the locals seem affluent and comfortable which is nice to see. Women and men in traditional dress wander by teens in skinny jeans and ballet flats or puffy sneakers. Shops full of embroidered blouses share walls with American fashion stores and somehow this all makes sense and seems harmonious.
The large market day is on Saturdays, but there are a few small towns nearby that specialize in creating certain crafts like textiles and leather so we decided to head up North a few days before to explore the area. We took the bus from Quito to Otavalo around 12:30 on Thursday. The bus only took two hours and was a beautiful ride, so I was told, as I slept the entire time.
We stayed in Hotel Carazo, a large, modern hotel which has comfortable beds, carpeted floors, television, large closets, and spacious showers for $16 per person per night including breakfast.
They have rooms with mountain views that overlook the street, as well as quieter rooms in the back with partial views and they offer wifi for $2 per day. The breakfast is the usual coffee, eggs with ham, bread and juice. We did however see a few roaches, although not in our rooms. And there were creepy mannequins in the hallway.
On our first afternoon, we walked around the daily artisan market in Plaza de Ponchos, and then had dinner at an upstairs restaurant called Buena Vista right on the square. They have aerial views of the market below and pretty good food for the price. Two of us had filet mignon which was very tasty besides lacking the bacon that should have surrounded the steak, and I had spinach rice with vegetables which was actually quite good. They have happy hour from 7 to 8 and an adequate cocktail menu.
On Friday we went to Cotacachi, a smaller town, but by no means small, abut 20 minutes by bus from Otavalo. Cotacachi is famous for it’s leather stores spread out primarily along calle 10 de Agosto. They have stylish, chic handbags, bomber and motorcycle jackets, trench coats and blazers, belts, shoes, wallets and coin purses. My favorite were the bomber jackets for around $90, something you would easily pay about $250 for in the states, and the handbags and wallets which would easily retail for three times as much. My sister and I went crazy here and bought a total of 7 purses and three wallets. Great deals! They are all handmade, many of that soft, buttery leather that I love so much, and you can actually watch the artists make the handbags in their shops. These are just a few of our purchases.
We had lunch at Hotel El Meson de las Flores, which was in a charming, colonial courtyard and is the perfect place to relax for an hour after a shopping frenzy. We came back to Otavalo and had dinner at a restaurant on Sucre about a block from Plaza de Ponchos that had low hanging palm frond mats that made it feel cozy and enclosed although it was actually outdoors. It was Carina’s birthday so after dinner we had a delicious blackberry pie for $10 from the Shenandoah Pie Shop located in Plaza de Ponchos and some vanilla ice cream from Tia on Sucre near Calderon.
On Saturday w
e woke up early and went to the Animal market at around 7:00 and were pleased to see that we were the first tourists there. The animal market is huge and full of pigs, sheep, goats, cows, rabbits, chickens, guinea pig, ducks, geese, dogs and the people trying to sell them.
What really impressed me is how well the animals behaved. For such a chaotic environment there were really very few animals acting up and it felt very safe. People just weave in and out of cows, step over piglets , hop over taught rope tying sheep together, etc. For those of you who are worried you will find it disturbing because of the treatment of animals, you might, but most of the animals seemed very healthy - in fact only a few that I saw seemed lethargic, and it actually seems more humane than what we do to animals in the States. These are animals that are raised from birth by families and then sold here which is a lot better for the animals than being raised at a dairy for example. However, at one point we did see a family purchase a pig and put it in the trunk of a taxi to take it home, so proceed with caution.
While we were there an old lady started talking to us and tried to sell us some of her little woven belts. I bought one for $2 because I liked her smile. As we walked back towards town around 8:00 to hit up the ATM we passed tons of tourists walking towards the animal market and were glad we got up when we did. As we were walking we saw a man selling chorangos and my father found one that had an armadillo back, which was very cool.
When we were walking through the square we saw some ladies selling this homespun wool that my stepmother had wanted so we bought that and then went back to our hotel for breakfast.
As soon as we finished we hit
the market again. The Saturday market takes over most of the town and is really a site to see. It is much larger than I imagined and all sorts of things are sold here.I bought a little purse to hold my camera and money, three leather bracelets, and three beaded necklaces.
Zach bought two alpaca scarves, and peacock earrings.
Carina bought a wooden bowl, four scarves, two blankets, and the same little money purse as me, some gray beads, and two gorgeous hand painted trays.
Here is some of what we ended up with.
And we could have bought so much more!
For dinner we went to a brand new crepe restaurant that just opened in Plaza Bolivar. It has an interesting, eclectic décor with metal sculpture bar stools with breasts attached, a sideways bicycle installed on a wall, and metal cables coming down from the ceiling. We all had the chicken and mushroom crepe which was rich, covered in parmesan alfredo sauce and overall ridiculously delicious and fattening. The owner was charming and gave us little nuts and beans to munch on while he prepared our meals.
On Sunday we took the bus to Peguche, a small village about 20 minutes by bus which is known for their textiles. Most of the stores were closed because it was Sunday, but the largest one on the main plaza, El Gran Condor, was open and I bought a g
orgeous sparkly scarf in my favorite colors. After that we hopped on another bus to Agato. Unfortunately nothing was open on Sunday and we got stranded there for about half an hour while we waited for a bus.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Living in Quito: Top Ten Things You Should Know
10. Dish soap is solidified and comes in plastic tubs
Weird, right? But so much better, I swear it!
9. Milk comes in a bag
In a plastic bag. Don’t try to just cut one corner and use some and then roll it down and close it with a clothes pin. Don’t do it! It will spill in your fridge and you will be sad. Instead, buy a plastic pitcher with a sealable lid and pour it in that. Problem solved.
8. All movies are sold in large video stores comprised entirely of bootleg cds for $1
This is awesome! Just enjoy. (Yes, that is Conan The Barbarian and I don't want to hear a word about it!)
7. Wine in a box
That’s right, I drink wine in a box. What’s it to ya?
6. There are no emissions laws
Oh, there must be some, you say. No, no there’s not. Buses shoot something out of their exhaust pipe that can only be compared to what happens to tourists who eat at the local food stalls. It’s a pure black endless stream that lingers in the air for 20 minutes and will kill you eventually.
5. Panama hats are from Ecuador and you can buy a nice one for $15 dollars that will make you look really cool when you get back home.
If you wear them while in Ecuador you look like a stupid gringo. I learned this the hard way.
4. You can only use small bills and coins
If you try to pay for something that costs $4 with a $5 bill they will look at you like you just did something as horrible and ostentatious as showing a paraplegic beggar a $100 bill and saying you really want to give him a dollar and you will if only, does he possibly have change?
3. All those Sacajawea coins are down here and people use them!
I'm not going to go into why I think they were unpopular in the United States and why I think they are so popular down here, but think about it.
2. This country is gorgeous.
You can climb Andean volcanoes, sunbathe at the beach, sail the Galapagos, explore the Amazon, visit indigenous villages, zipline above cloud forests, sample delicious new foods, and generally do what you do all in Ecuador without breaking the bank.
1. All is fair in love and war and apparently while riding the trolley.
The same people who just walked you 25 minutes out of their way to show you where the cigar shop is, will trample you, your mother, your blind child, and everyone else without batting an eye while on the trolley. If you are trying to get off the trolley, God help you, because as soon as those doors open the 10,000 people on the platform will rush you without allowing any passengers, especially a foreigner like you, off. If you happen to have a seat and kindly stand up and aside so that the man who looks close to 175 can sit down, both you and he will be trampled by every other single person on the trolley clamoring to get your seat. My advice is to take an old sweatshirt and sew spikes and nails to the outside.
Weird, right? But so much better, I swear it!
9. Milk comes in a bag
In a plastic bag. Don’t try to just cut one corner and use some and then roll it down and close it with a clothes pin. Don’t do it! It will spill in your fridge and you will be sad. Instead, buy a plastic pitcher with a sealable lid and pour it in that. Problem solved.
8. All movies are sold in large video stores comprised entirely of bootleg cds for $1
This is awesome! Just enjoy. (Yes, that is Conan The Barbarian and I don't want to hear a word about it!)
7. Wine in a box
That’s right, I drink wine in a box. What’s it to ya?
6. There are no emissions laws
Oh, there must be some, you say. No, no there’s not. Buses shoot something out of their exhaust pipe that can only be compared to what happens to tourists who eat at the local food stalls. It’s a pure black endless stream that lingers in the air for 20 minutes and will kill you eventually.
5. Panama hats are from Ecuador and you can buy a nice one for $15 dollars that will make you look really cool when you get back home.
If you wear them while in Ecuador you look like a stupid gringo. I learned this the hard way.
4. You can only use small bills and coins
If you try to pay for something that costs $4 with a $5 bill they will look at you like you just did something as horrible and ostentatious as showing a paraplegic beggar a $100 bill and saying you really want to give him a dollar and you will if only, does he possibly have change?
3. All those Sacajawea coins are down here and people use them!
I'm not going to go into why I think they were unpopular in the United States and why I think they are so popular down here, but think about it.
2. This country is gorgeous.
You can climb Andean volcanoes, sunbathe at the beach, sail the Galapagos, explore the Amazon, visit indigenous villages, zipline above cloud forests, sample delicious new foods, and generally do what you do all in Ecuador without breaking the bank.
1. All is fair in love and war and apparently while riding the trolley.
The same people who just walked you 25 minutes out of their way to show you where the cigar shop is, will trample you, your mother, your blind child, and everyone else without batting an eye while on the trolley. If you are trying to get off the trolley, God help you, because as soon as those doors open the 10,000 people on the platform will rush you without allowing any passengers, especially a foreigner like you, off. If you happen to have a seat and kindly stand up and aside so that the man who looks close to 175 can sit down, both you and he will be trampled by every other single person on the trolley clamoring to get your seat. My advice is to take an old sweatshirt and sew spikes and nails to the outside.
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