Chalk + harness + shoes + Ecuador = happiness

I want to preface this post by giving a big shout-out of thanks to Matt Axling and Bob Warner.  They were the guys that taught me to climb, belay, set and clean routes, lead climb and lead belay, and without them I wouldn't be here today, climbing with people I've just met in a foreign country.  I've paused more than once while climbing on my own to think how lucky I am to have been given the skill set needed for it.  So thanks Matt and Bob, this one's for you.

And now for the main event.

Before heading to Ecuador, I did a little research on the internet to see if there was any rock climbing in the area.  While info was a little scarce, I did find a climbing gym in Quito, and enough about other places nearby that I figured it'd be worth my while to bring my shoes and chalk, and get a harness.  It has been sooo worth it.  Because what looked kind of cool online, turned out to be this:

Yes, it really is as epic as it looks.

This is the Rocodromo, an outdoor gym with an entrance fee of only $3.  It has bouldering and sport climbing.  There is a bouldering area, as well as what I think of as 'the ruins' seen in the front of the picture above, which is a structure made of cemented together rocks.  It has bars at the top to set top-ropes, but I prefer to boulder around the base of it.  Anna and I have the goal of completing the traverse before we leave Ecuador, a goal set the first day we were there.  I think I've got about 75% of it, but there are some problem spots.  It tears up your hands in a good way.

The bouldering area, no routes marked.

View through the center of the ruins

Anna working on the traverse around the ruins

Since neither of us have a rope or draws, but both wanted to get out to real rocks outside the city, we had to make friends.  We found a group of four, Matt (Ecuador and Ohio), Cody (Vancouver, BC), Liv (Australia) and Ale (Ecuador) on our second time there.  Matt knew how to lead belay, so with a (slightly sketchy) rented rope from the gym I did some lead climbing.  My favorite route is on the corner of the pinnacle, and involves a legit head-jam, then a hard pull-down to get past an overhang.

The bottom of the route included some wall-hugging on occasion if there were no holds handy.  Matt is belaying me.

Legit head-jam.

All upper-body to get past the overhang.  I kinda felt like a boss.

So we've been going to the Rocodromo in the mornings about once a week so far.  Then over Carnaval in a bar in Baños, I happened to meet a couple rock climbers who lived in Quito.  An exchange of numbers happened, and this week Anna and I went with my friend Fernando 15 minutes walking outside of Quito, where we found this, Las Canteras de Cumbayá.

The guy climbing was nuts, free-climbing like a monkey.

We spent all morning bouldering and top roping on some pretty sweet chunks of rock.  It also had a spec-tac-ular view of Quito.  I saw La Iglesia de Guapulo from the other side (previously seen in this post) with a river and green type things in the foreground and the skyscrapers of Quito in the background on the hill.  Cumbayá was visible to the East.

The view back towards Quito

 I toasted my shoulders a little (right before heading off to the beach...), but it was worth it.  It was so much fun to get out of the city and climb some real rocks with some good friends.

Anna on one of the crack climbs, soloing like a boss.

Really, can you imagine anything more relaxing than this?  Rocks to climb and to sunbathe on top of?

Fernando, Anna, and I.  Self-timers are awesome, even if they are hard to balance sometimes.

Oh, also.  This is part of the super-sketchy ladder we had to climb down and then back up to get to the Canteras.  Those are kind of steps you are looking at, there used to be more boards I think...  There was one part where you had to step over where the step used to be, but has since ceased to exist.  Viva Ecuador.

And now after pressing 'post' for this blog, I'm off to climb one last time.  The traverse is going down.  This girl isn't taking no for an answer.

Sun, Salt, and Sand

This weekend I remembered what utter contentment feels like.

I also remembered what sunburn feels like.

Thus was my weekend at the beach at Atacames and Sua.

Getting there was an adventure involving no bus tickets anywhere in the city on Thursday night, sleeping in the bus terminal (cold bus terminal) until 5 am when some guy had a bus to somewhere, so we hopped on it.  Ended up getting to Atacames by way of Santo Domingo, Esmeraldas, and Sua.  So 3 buses and a taxi ride later, (and about 14 hours from first arriving in the Quito bus terminal) we got to the beach.

View of Atacames from the play at Sua

Atacames is a lovely town full of seafood, three wheeled taxis made out of motorcycles, and music during the wee hours of the morning.  It's also got a beach, and the town of Sua a 10 minute bus ride up the hill.

Sua, it doesn't get prettier than this

Sua is kind of the same, just a lot more tranquil.  We made friends our first night in Atacames who lived in Sua, and went with two of them, Bernardo (Ecuadorean) and Jessica (from Wisconsin) on Saturday to Estero de Plátano, a beach somewhere between an hour and a half and two and a half hours away, depending on the availability of a truck to hitch hike in.  We took a bus about an hour away, and then waited on the corner for a truck heading down our road to hop in the back of.  Eventually one happened along, and with the addition of our 6 people, I think there was somewhere around 23 people in the back of the truck.  I couldn't really do a good count since people were blocking people.

Although you can't tell it, there were about 18 more people surrounding us.

We had a bunch of lazy hours on the beach, I spent a couple of them enjoying the not-warm-but-nowhere-near-Puget-Sound-cold waters of the Pacific.  The waves were the perfect kind of tepid to just lounge in, and try to not get any more salty water than strictly necessary in your mouth or eyes (which stung).

Julia, Cheryl, Jessica, Bernardo, me, and Michelle after a lovely day at playa Esterno de Plátano.

I took a nap in the shade under a tree, Julia, Michelle and I went and got some ceviche (cold shrimp soup type dish with cilantro, onions, and tomatoes), rice, and fried bananas for lunch along with a pina colada milkshake (all for $6) then we reversed the process to get home, hopping in the back of another pickup heading back up the road.  They were headed all the way back to Atacames, so we skipped the bus portion of the trip.

The ride back into town, sitting in the back of a pickup

That evening after jumping in the water again at the Atacames beach, I showered and headed up to the roof balcony of our hotel.  Just at the right time too, since the sun was just going down over the rooftops of the city.  With the sun painting the sky full of colors, a warm, soft breeze from the ocean, and the distant sounds of techno and reggeton music as the city woke up for the night, I once again remembered what utter contentment felt like.

Contentment.  Utter contentment.

With nothing to do, nowhere to be, I could just enjoy the beauty of the city in front of me and realize how wonderful it is to be in Ecuador.  I'm learning so much, and having so much fun, and also getting to visit spectacular places like this.  I'm taking a step away from the busy, hurried, always planned culture of the United States, and realizing that sometimes you just have to stop worrying and live in the moment.  That's so much easier here, since Ecuadoreans have little concept of time, which is the perfect segue into the story of our next day.

In short, the four of us took a boat ride with our Ecuadorean friends to a beach, watched said boat leave, and then went surfing.

The boat ride out around the island, to the beach.  This island had albatross flying around the top, and I think blue-footed boobies nesting on it.

Those that taught me to surf, left to right is Giovanni, Jonathan, and Jerry.

We had plans to be back in town by 1:00 to shower, change, and head to the bus terminal for the 7 hour ride home.  Somewhere around noon we realized that our friends didn't actually have a plan for getting us home.  There were some scenes that should have been in a movie, watching guys running and hollering on the beach, waving t-shirts and surfboards above their heads trying to flag down a boat to take us back to Sua, all that was missing was the signal fire.  That was to no avail, so we embarked on an epic trek via feet.

It was an ish-hour long trek up a path (since the beach was ringed by cliffs, said cliffs sticking into the water on either side of the beach preventing us from walking back to Sua) through a cow pasture (containing cows) through some fences and a forest, across a river, and along a road until we made it back to town.

The south end of our stuck-beach had some fantastic geology going on.  Yes, there were ripple marks, I checked.  Also some sweet micro-faulting.

A bus ride later we were in Atacames, and went to the terminal to change our tickets or get new ones, since we had called them when we knew we wouldn't make the bus, and once we managed to find tickets for that evening (though it was difficult) we showered the salt and dirt off at our hostel, run by very nice people, and of all things, headed back to Sua with the guys.

No big, there's just fresh fish being chopped in the background, since we're going to have a fish fry in Ecuador.

We ended up having the most authentic meal yet in Ecuador at the house of one of the guys: fresh fish caught today that they bought straight from the boat in Atacames, two kinds of bananas bought from the market, and juice squeezed from the lemons on the tree in the back yard.  After dinner we caught a bus back into Atacames, gathered our things, and hopped on the bus after buying some pastries from our favorite panadería in town.  6 hours later, we arrived at Quitumbre terminal in Quito at 4 am, caught the trolley back north to where our houses are, and once home I sat down to do my homework.

This is definitely a story of all's well that ends well, and we had fun along the way.  Now I can add getting stranded on a beach and missing my bus back home to the list of 'That One Time in Ecuador' stories.  Next weekend is going to Montañita, another beach town, where we hope to take a trip to an island where blue-footed boobies live, for a taste of Los Galápagos without quite such an expense.

As always, stay tuned.

p.s I did this.  It didn't get it's own blog post, but it involved riding bareback for the first time, and galloping on a horse for the first time, all at once.  This was in Cumbayá, 20 minutes out of Quito when we visited some friends, and they just happened to have another friend with horses.  Viva Ecuador!

That's me galloping bareback on a horse in Ecuador.  Yep, I can't believe it either.

I've been told I should go join the Ecuadorean circus too.  We'll see.

10 more things I've learned while living in Ecuador

List number two for your enjoyment:

10. People in Seattle (and probably most of the States, though I can't necessarily speak from personal experience) have no idea what a crowded bus is ACTUALLY like.  When the doors closing push people into the bus, and it is impossible to fall down because there are people pressing against you from all sides, then it's crowded.

9.  Phone calls in different languages can be difficult.  Wrong numbers doubly so.  Because then they have no idea that you don't speak Spanish perfectly, and they don't make sure to speak clearly and a bit slower.  And then when you answer in English, they are doubly confused, and it only makes the situation more difficult.  Usually I solve the problem by hanging up.

8.  Avocado is really good in soup.  I know there are some out there who would disagree with me simply because it's avocado (you know who you are...) but I find the flavors go well together, and the cool inside of the avocado slice makes a nice contrast with the hot soup.  It also goes good in different types of soup, I've had both a tomato base and a chicken-type potato and rice soup.  Both delicious with avocado.

7.  Having internet things cut off because your IP address is from a different country is no fun.

6.  Walking around with a scarf/sweater/newspaper/blanket/etc on your head is a perfectly acceptable way to keep the sun off.

5.  Always carry toilet paper.

4.  There is nothing quite like being serenaded by a live music while you eat dinner.

3.  If you don't know how to ride a bike when you visit Ecuador, learn.

2.  I speak Spanish 'bastante bien'.  Bien means 'good', bastante means 'enough', but with connotations.  Lo suficiente is 'just enough', demasiado is 'way more than enough' and bastante is 'enough' but the kind of enough that if you say that when you are being served food, they will give you some more.

1.  Sometimes you just have to stop worrying and rely on the kindness of strangers.

!Viva el Carnaval!

Carnaval.  This translates to one of the biggest holidays down here in Ecuador.  It also translates to crazy fun like I've never seen before, and getting sprayed in the face with foam by random strangers as you walk down the street.  Yes, you read that right.  I'll explain more a little later.

For Carnaval we had 5 days off over the weekend, since we finished the first cycle of classes.  I took off with 4 other gals from the program to Baños, a little town nestled beneath one of Ecuador's most active volcanoes, Tungurahua.  Baños is surrounded by waterfalls, has hotsprings, and as many extreme sports as you could want.  (Note: this post is going to focus on Carnaval activities, there will be another one about the rest of the weekend, including said waterfalls and extreme sports.)  Every night was a party in the streets with live music, reggeton blasting from the bars and discotecas, and foam fights galore.

Center park of Baños, seen from a balcony of the church.  The waterfall on the left is right above the hotsprings.

On Sunday we headed on a day trip to Ambato, another city about an hour away from Baños, to watch the parade.

It really was a good spot to watch the action.  We could see better than a lot of people in front of us.

We ended up sitting on a dumpster since that was just about the only place left with a view of the parade, which was a spectacle of color, music, dancing, and floats made of flowers.

Flowers of flowers.  Every float had it's princess too.

These guys were some of my favorites out of the parade.  Their dancing combined with the costumes made it fun to watch.

This was another of my favorite groups, I loved the costumes.

We spent 2 hours watching the parade, and made some friends while sitting on our dumpster.  The two brothers who became our new friends showed us around the city for the remainder of the day, introduced us to some new fruits, and took us to some of the events happening in Ambato, including a presentation of traditional dances from Ecuador and surrounding countries.  It was so nice to have some local guides and not have to worry about where we were, where we were going, or if we were lost.

Here we are eating empanadas with Bolivar

Historically Carnaval included throwing water on people, now the majority of the battles happen with cans of foam (think shaving cream but 3 times as big) that have a range of about 8 feet.  I have no idea what the foam was made of, but it wasn't soap, and disappeared fairly quickly.  Some of it was colored though, and that stained if you weren't careful.

Cue segue into this photo:

The aftermath of a battle.  Esteban is on the left, he's our friend we brought with us from Baños.  The other two guys were locals that retaliated and ended up in a war.

We went Monday to Guaranda, another small town which was about 2 hours out of Ambato, and watched the parade there too.  This time it was raining.  Everyone was in love with their umbrella, which made it hard to see sometimes (and we didn't manage to find a handy dumpster to sit on) but it was still fun, and when the rain subsided we could see a bit better.  During a break in the parade, we got into a massive foam/flour/confetti/water balloon fight with ourselves and a couple other locals.  Combine that with the rain, and you have a big mess on your hands.  I'm surprised they let us on the buses back to Ambato and Baños in our unbaked-cake state.

Viva el Carnaval!

(Historically there are also eggs and oil thrown during Carnaval, luckily we escaped that.  One of our friends in Baños did come across some cousins of his though, and we watched him get eggs cracked all over his head.  After we left on the bus he was headed back to get some revenge.)

Basically, Carnaval was awesome.  It was crazy for me, as a nice American girl, to watch random strangers spray each other with foam, get sprayed myself (and not always only a little bit) and just go with it.  The small children were especially dangerous.

One of the few action shots I got, they happened quickly.  Kids as young as 3ish had cans of foam, and knew how to use them.

There was no avoiding getting sprayed, and no point in getting mad when it did happen.  It was an exercise in enjoying life and going with it, and I had a blast, even when covered in foam for the umpteenth time during the day, just when I had gotten the last bit of foam cleaned off.  I made some good friends in the 5 days we were in Baños, and continue to be astounded by the beautiful places waiting to be found down here.

Stay tuned for the next post which will have pictures of the rest of Baños, waterfalls and all!

I swear I'm actually going to school here...

Since I've gotten a couple inquiries about the state of my studies (and if they actually exist since all these posts have been about the fantastic places I've visited) I decided it was time to write about school.

This is ACLAS (Andean Center for Latin American Studies)

The entrance to ACLAS.  The door is locked and guarded 24/7, we have a couple different guards who work there who let us in.  Pictured is Mario, who is always cheerful.

It is a ~10 minute walk away from my house (5 minutes running).  For the first half of the program I had class from 2:30-6:00, this second half we have another hour of class every day, so we start at 1:30.  Classes are an hour long, with a break in between.  First half we had 3 classes with 15 minutes in between, now we have 4 hours with 10 minute breaks.

This is my classroom at ACLAS:

The left wall is about where the doorjam is.  It's a very small classroom.  There really isn't a good way to photograph it though...  Also, the TV has had a movie stuck in it since we arrived.  It still makes me giggle.

I have a whopping 3 people (including myself) in my class, so we get a lot of attention.  On the flip side, there is no option to not participate, or kind of not do your homework, but slide by anyway.  This does mean that I have zero problems with my participation portion of the grade.

The ACLAS building is beautiful, light, and open feeling.  We have a computer lab, an eating type hang out spot with a microwave, water cooler, hot water, and things for tea and coffee.  There is a courtyard area in the back with tables to sit at when it's not raining.  One week when things were really hot, we had my literature class out there in the sun and breeze.

Living room (kind of) area.  The courtyard is behind the camera.

Courtyard.  On sunny days there are umbrellas above the tables.

To the left is the computer lab, this is where the tea and coffee is.  To the right is my classroom and the courtyard.

I also volunteer (as part of the ACLAS program) at a senior center about 30 minutes from school, called Hogar Corazón de María.  (Hogar translates to 'home', Corazón de María is 'heart of María')

The entrance to Corazón de María

Inside Corazón de María.  It's a very open, light feeling area, the ceiling of the atrium is all windows.  Around the perimeter are the ladies' rooms, therapy rooms, dining room, etc.

I go two mornings a week for a couple hours, and myself and 2 other amigas work with the elderly people there.  We mostly stay in the occupational therapy room where they draw, paint, make collages, and do other art projects.  Wednesday is BINGO day, so we help them find the right numbers on their cards.  It is so much fun working with the ladies there, they are delightful and it feels amazing to see their faces light up when we walk in.  Many of the men and women who live there have no families, or their families can't afford to take care of them, so they lead kind of lonely lives, and it's so much fun to bring some happiness with us when we visit.

We helped paint flowers made out of egg cartons.  This is Alegría, she is one of the sweetest, most fun ladies I've meet at Corazón de María.

And now that I've proven I am actually taking classes here, I can get started on putting together a couple posts about this last weekend.  After the first cycle of classes ended, we took off for a long weekend of fun.  It was Carnaval, one of the biggest celebrations in Ecuador, and I spent the weekend dancing, jumping off waterfalls, watching parades (one of them from on top of a dumpster), having flour, water balloon, foam, and confetti fights, and learning to avoid cars driving by with their windows down for fear of a drive-by foaming.

Stay tuned.

Where have all the flowers gone?

I went yesterday to the botanical garden in La Carolina.  They have a wonderful garden there with flora representative of all the different regions of Ecuador.  I took lots of pictures, and was very happy with how they turned out.  The rest of this post is just pretty pictures for you to look at.  Enjoy!

I saw this guy in the garden with a couple of his friends.  There weren't as many hummingbirds as usual though because rain was looming on the horizon, and occasionally making wet dots on my coat.

I thought these ones looked like butterflies

 

They have giant leaves in Ecuador.  It's pretty fun.

I think it's off-season for roses right now, but when they're in full bloom the rose garden would be spectacular.

I got a little artistic, so sue me.

Real life pitcher plants!

 

All carnivorous plants in this picture.

 

These guys looked like air plants from back home.

There was two whole green houses of different orchid species, unfortunately 87% of the orchids in Ecuador are some sort of endangered

 

Cactus!  Or cabbage?

Here's a *hug*  for you if you stuck around all the way to the end!