It has been a whirlwind two weeks since I last blogged in the airport on my way to Ecuador. Since then, I have done some pretty incredible things, such as tubing down the Napo River in the Amazon Rainforest, and some pretty gross (yet still cool) things, such as eating ants that tasted like lemon-flavored Starburst. So, a quick recap of the past two weeks... I arrived in Quito, Ecuador, the evening of January 12. Going through customs was surprisingly easy and took maybe 30 minutes maximum. My suitcase arrived with me (thank goodness!) and I met most of the rest of the Spring Semester CEDEI group. We then proceeded to take a 1.5 hour bus ride to Hotel Quito, which (until I arrived in Cuenca) definitely had one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen (see above photo for proof). From Hotel Quito, the group headed to Otavalo for two days. Otavalo is a small town located north of the Equator. The main attraction for us was the outdoor market (see photo above). Recently, the market has begun to focus strongly on tourist trade, but thousands of indigenous people from surrounding communities still come to buy and sell their wares in Otavalo. While I was there, I purchased a pair of jungle pants and a blanket (yes, it does get cold here at night, somewhere around 50*F). We also went to an Andean music workshop and a weaving workshop, in which we watched how to make a small pan pipe/flute and we were able to try our hand at weaving (it's actually harder than it looks, depending on the technology being used). After Otavalo, we journeyed to El Mitad del Mundo, which translates as "the middle of the world." So of course, I did a cartwheel over the equator. And I danced. And I just sorta walked around looking at the view away from the gigantic sundial that marks the spot that, according to our guide, is actually considered the MIDDLE of the world because it is the only place in which the equator crosses topography that is conducive to actually seeing the sun rise and set on the line that marks the equator. There are also two other places in Ecuador that claim to be on the equator line (one is a museum, one is something else), but GPS and 21st-century technology has confirmed this line as the real equator. We went to the real one. Once we had finished being tourists at El Mitad del Mundo, we spent one more night at Hotel Quito before departing for the Amazon Rainforest. We stayed in huts at the Cotococha Lodge in the Napo province. During our three days in the most beautiful place on earth, we were able to take part in countless activities. We hiked a lot, swam in a waterfall in the jungle, visited a wildlife preserve in which only some of the animals live in captivity (mostly due to adaptation issues...several of the animals used to be illegal pets). For once in my life, I left my camera in the hut and just lived. There are so many images I wish I could have captured, but it was worth it to have a couple days free of worry (especially since we traveled down the river to get everywhere). Photos are from my friend Jacque's camera (it's waterproof!) that I sort of took control of for a day. I made homemade chocolate from the plant (it's super easy), tubed down the Napo River, ate ants, tried and failed to watch the sun rise, had my first legal drink (the drinking age is 18 here), ate some of the most delicious food ever (apparently I've been missing out for years...mushrooms are INCREDIBLE), and met some of the nicest and most helpful staff members in the world. If I could afford to go back to Cotococha, I would do it tomorrow. Google it if you don't believe me-- this is the most beautiful lodge in the history of lodges. Hacienda Leito, like everywhere else, is absolutely gorgeous. The view, if you get up before 6:30am, is incredible. After 6:30am, there is fog everywhere because it is in the mountains. The food was stupendous, and the hot shower (after a few days of cold/no showers in the jungle) was better than the best ever. After a few days in the jungle, we headed to Hacienda Leito for the night. HL is basically a super-swanky motel partway between the jungle and Cuenca. Though we were only there for about 15 hours (probably fewer), I still found time to walk around and take a few photos. We left Hacienda Leito around 8am on Jan 19, and arrived in Cuenca at about 4:30pm to meet our host families and to start settling into our life in Cuenca. The first week of my trip was one of the must culturally-rewarding weeks I have ever had, and I wish I had more time to spend everywhere we went. Now I'm living with a family near "el mercado 12 de abril" and they are nothing but kind and helpful, when we can understand each other (my Spanish is less fantastic than I thought). But more about them later -- that and my first week in Cuenca is another story for a later time.
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AuthorKate Hiller is a wannabe world traveler studying journalism and Spanish at Ohio University. This blog is about her experiences living abroad in Cuenca, Ecuador for a semester. (Spring 2014) Archives
May 2014
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