The Final Days: The End of An Epic

All epics -- no matter how great, how lengthy, or how perilous -- must come to an end; accordingly, so, too, must this story. I´m sorry to say that we have, after much hardship and adventure, come to that time. But wait, my friends! Put down your pitchforks and torches. Save your rioting for another day. For there remains yet one last adventure to tell before this tale of unparalleled greatness reaches its conclusion. Our hero has one last task to face, one final obstacle to overcome. It is the showdown between archenemies, the battle with the final big boss. Indeed, in the final days on his excursion, our hero faced his most daunting challenge, and was rewarded with the most remarkable experience of a lifetime.

When I last updated you on my trip, I had just left the Galapagos and was beginning to embark on my next adventure: an excursion to Peru to undergo a trek to Machu Picchu. Well to Peru I went, and trek I did. After my Galapagos cruise, I was feeling pretty wholly satisfied with my cross country adventure, thinking anything else would be hardpressed to even come close to such an extraordinary experience. Well, I`ll let you decide for yourselves which of the two adventures was the more fantastically life-altering. Suffice it to say that the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu, which I will subsequently describe for you, was -- without question -- the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. It was also unbelievably rewarding in every way imaginable.

And here is exactly how it happened.

Day One -- Cruzpata to Salkantaypampa
Starting elevation: 3,400m
Ending elevation: 4000m 
Highest altitude: 4000m
Walking distance: 14km (5-6 hours)

We started the day off bright and early. The SAS tourbus picked us up at our hotels/hostals between 5:30 and 6:00am. We drove for about 2 hours before stopping for breakfast at a small village. The breakfast was...disconcerting, to say the least. It consisted of little more than a unappealing ham and cheese sandwich on not-so-tasty bread. To put it simply, I was extremely disappointed, and very worried that the extra money I paid was not, in fact, going to get me more quality meals (there will be lots more to come on the topic, but essentially I was dead wrong and my trepidations were entirely misplaced. Thanks goodness). After breakfast, we transferred from bus to truck to drive another hour or so. But friends, let me tell you, this truck was not as you are currently picturing in your mind. It was an open back pickup (think transportation of livestock) into which 16 passengers, several crew members, and lots of luggage was crammed. We stood the entire way, holding on to the sides for dear life. We were, time and time again, assaulted by tree branches as the crazed driver rushed ever onwards to our destination. Oh yeah, and it was pouring down rain. Not the greatest start to an epic journey, eh?

But alas, we made it, we were alive (albeit wet), and ready to start our trekking. By the time we started walking, the raining had slowed quite a bit, but it was still very wet and dreary. Visibility was very poor. As we got higher, the weather improved, but the skies were still filled with clouds and fog, blocking our views of the scenary. All in all, it was not the weather one would hope for on a scenic trek through the mountains (though occasionally the cloud covered mountains would make for a cool, though difficult to photograph, image). Again disappointing (but again, only temporarily. Read on!). The hike started at Cruzpata (3400m). We walked for about 2.5 hours to Soraypampa, where we had our first lunch. Again, I`ll talk about the food in more detail later, but this was when I first realized how wrong I had been in my assumptions. During our lunch, we were met by a nice rock avalanche that nearly took out our food tent as we all sprinted to safety. Nice and calm, just the way I like my meals. We finished the afternoon by hiking the rest of the way up to our first campsite, Salkantaypampa (4000m), which took another 2 hours or so. Of note, this was by far the highest elevation that we camped at, and accordingly the coldest night. And by cold, I mean freezing. And by freezing, I mean -- well, ok, I guess that`s pretty much by definition what I mean. In fact, it was so cold, I awoke the next morning to find my brand new Kindle completely non-functional, destroyed by the frigid air. Anyway, with my new camping gear, along with layer upon layer of clothing, I managed to survive the night.

As a side note, Dad made me pack a sweatshirt before coming on this trip, which I had lugged around the entire time up until this point as extra weight. All along I had cursed him for making me bring it, but on this particular night, I was thanking his wisdom and foresight. Thanks, Dad!

Right before bed, the clouds parted for just an instant, giving us our first glimpse of the Salkantay peak (6264m). We were amazed not only by its sheer size and beauty, but by the fact that we were so close, and yet had no prior idea it was there. Darn clouds.

Day Two -- Salkantaypampa to Collpapampa
Starting elevation: 4000m
Ending elevation: 2800m
Highest altitude: 4600m
Walking distance: 18-20km (8 hours)

We were warned multiple times that the second day on the trek was by far the hardest (and that, in fact, the following days would be rather easy, gradual hikes). Like all days, we had a gentle wake up call around 6:00am, at which point they brought hot tea and water for washing to our tents. Upon exiting from our tents, we were very pleased to find clear, blue skies, along with an absolutely gorgeous view of Salkantay, the peak which had only just teasted us the night before. After a bit of jaw-dropping and picture taking, we had half an hour to pack things up and get ready for breakfast. After eating, we started the day`s trek around 7:00am (all of this was fairly standard procedure for the following days). Here was where we met our first real challenge. We hiked for about 3 hours from our camp in Salkantaypampa to Apacheta pass, which boasts an astounding altitude of 4600m. The point of this seemingly tortuous endeavor was the rewarding views of Salkantay mountain, which were --at that altitude, quite literally -- breathtaking. The climb was unbelivably difficult. It was incredibly hard to breath. Upon reaching the top, we were once again met with disappointment: there were clouds obscuring the view. But just as our fearless guide Rubin predicted, after finishing our complimentary tea and snacks, the clouds disappeared and the view was indescribable. I am literally without words. Snowcapped peaks and enormous glaciers surrounded us, utterly demanding our attention. It was hands down one of the most beautiful (and rewarding) sights I have ever witnessed.

After spending a significant amount of time trying to capture the perfect picture (I got some good ones, but no matter how good the shot or camera, no photo is truly going to do this place justice), we continued onward. The rest of the day was spent hiking downhill which, while a wonderful reprieve from our previous agonizing ascent, was also an arduous undertaking. This was especially true considering the sheer distance we continued to hike after our battle with the monstrous pass. By the end of the day, I was the sorest I had ever been in my life (save perhaps for the end of day 4). We started by walking about 2 hours down to Huayracmachay where we had lunch, and then continued onwards for another several hours to our second (thankfully much warmer) campsite at Collpapampa (2800m). During the descent, the scenary was continually changing, sometimes gradually, other times abruptly; the views were never disappointing. For parts of the trek down, we found ourselves hiking a path between two enormous peaks, Salkantay mountain on one side, and Pumasillo on the other. Throughout the entire day (and the entire rest of the trek, in fact), we were blessed with warm weather and perfectly clear, blue skies. I don`t think I could imagine better conditions.

Day Three -- Collpapampa to La Playa
Starting elevation: 2800m
Ending elevation: 2300m
Walking distance: 11km (4-5 hours)

The morning routine was just as described previously, albeit with significantly more leg cramps. I awoke feeling absolutely, unbelievably rested and relaxed. I had slept perhaps more heavily than ever before in my life. Thinking back over the night as I lie snug in my sleeping bag, utterly at peace, I realized that night had likely been the best night of sleep in my entire life. And we were camping, no less. If nothing else, perhaps this will help illustrate just how much turmoil my body had gone through over the course of the previous 24 hours. As Rubin would say, (and as I now plan to say as frequently as possible), I slept like an alpaca baby.

The entire third day was very short in duration, and entirely downhill. It was a wonderful break from the previous day, although I was still very sore throughout. We reached our next campsite with plenty of time to rest and relax, which was very much needed. We left our campsite at Collpapampa and started our hike downhill. We very quickly entered into the high jungle zone known as the Ceja de Selva. It was rather astounding how drastically the scenary had changed in such a short period of time. There were trees everywhere; they utterly engrossed the hill sides. Everything was a dark, lush green. We saw birds, flowers, waterfalls. We stopped for lunch partway through the afternoon, then continued onward to our 3rd (and final) official campsite, La Playa (2300m). Here there was electricity, an actual, fully functional bathroom. Up until this point, we had been using a portable camping toilet, one of the chemical ones, which was consistently disgusting due to the fact that so many people were experiencing traveler´s diarrhea. I`ll spare you further details. There was a nice river nearby with icy cold water; most people chose to go for a swim, though I elected to stay behind. I think I might have had a bit of heat stroke -- I felt like heat was radiating from my entire body, and I very quickly fell asleep in the shade. But after a quick rest, I was feeling much better, and I joined them at the river. I didn`t feel like changing clothes, so I only soaked my feet, but this alone felt fantastic on my poor, blistered feet.

Day Four -- La Playa to Aguas Calientes
Starting elevation: 2300m
Ending elevation: 2000m
Highest altitude: 2700m
Walking distance: 15km (6-7 hours)

I mentioned before that day two had been purported as the only truly difficult day. Well, this was a straight-up, old fashioned falsification. Day four was brutal -- in my opinion, as hard as it is to believe, more difficult than the second day. Though we didn`t have the altitude working against us, the sheer steepness of the inital climb was miserable. The morning trek took us from La Playa (2300m) to Llaqtapata (2700m), an agonizing 400m climb almost literally straight up. But, as always, it was certainly worth the effort. Our day started out as per usual, though this morning we were hiking not just any ol´ path, but on the remains of an actual Inca trail. After walking about 45 minutes to the trail, we climbed for a little over 2 hours (ultimately beating the record for reaching the pass, according to our guides). We rested briefly at some Incan ruins and enjoyed the astounding view, which happened to include our first glimpse of the far off Machu Picchu city. Afterwards, we continued down for another 2 hours to the Hydroelectric Plant (1870m), where we had our last lunch with the SAS foodstaff. Again, downhill, though somewhat relieving, was still exhausting and painful. After lunch, there was an option to either walk the rest of the distance for the day, or to take the train. Considering the sweltering heat of the midday sun, the guides recommended the train, so that`s what we did. The train ride wasn`t altogether pleasant, with the sun beating down on me the entire way, but we arrived in Aguas Calientes (2000m) 45 minutes later. As I mentioned previously, the previous night had been our last official campsite; much to our aching bodies` relief, we spent the fourth night in a comfortable SAS hostal called Hostal Viajeros. We had nice, warm beds and, more importantly, hot showers. Not just warm showers, HOT ones. I think this was the first time in about 4 weeks that I had gotten a truly hot shower. And boy did it feel good. There was the option to bathe in the town`s hotsprings, but nobody partook. We had a great dinner prepared by the hostal and called it a night.

Day Five -- Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu

This, our final day in the unbelievable journey that we had undertaken, was indeed a true reprieve from the previous four. We awoke earlier than usual, at 5:30am, in hopes to get an early start in order to catch the sunrise at Machu Picchu (an astounding sight, so I`ve heard). Unfortunately, as you may have gathered from my most recent (of many) parenthetical observation, we arrived just after the sun had peaked over the far off hills -- we missed it. I was extremely upset by this. In fact, this was really my only complaint for the entire trekking adventure. I believe this was an important enough event for us to have been sure to make it on time. But alas, we did not, and in the end, who am I to complain. I spent the day reveling in some of the most staggeringly magnificent, overwhelmingly stunning views in existence. I can`t even begin to put into words how impressive this day -- the culmination of so much sweat, agony and hardwork -- truly was. Nor can I begin to describe, or even imagine, how much these experiences meant to me, and how they have altered my life for the better.

We started off (after numerous photo ops, of course) with a 3 hour guided tour by none-other than our very own, fantastic guide, Rubin. He showed us around to the various sights, providing history along the way. The temple of the sun god. The temples of the puma, condor and snake. The navigational compass, aligned perfectly with the various mountains in the distance. The sacrificial table. The sundial. The rock quarry (Machu Picchu was, in fact, unfinished at the time when it was abandoned. It is estimated that they would have needed another 50 years to complete it, brining the total build time to 183 years). Time and time again, I was astonished and impressed by the sights, the views, the craftmanship and forethought, and the longstanding  history.

After the tour, we had free time for a few hours before needing to meet back in Aguas Calientes for our final lunch. There were a few choices for activities: one might spend some more time exploring the Incan ruins; climb up Huayna Picchu Mountain (though you had to book this in advance, and Jared was the only one who did), or maybe Machu Picchu mountain; or perhaps meander up to the Gate of the Sun, the official entrace to the area coming from the classic Incan trail. Rubin recommended the Sun Gate, as it gave the most impressive views of the city, so I started with this. From Machu Picchu, I walked quickly with several others up an Incan trail, mostly cobblestone and steps (I hate steps now, by the way), to a view which was indeed spectacular. I didn`t stick around for too long, however, because I also had high hopes of making it to the top of Machu Picchu mountain before having to call it a day. So after snapping some sweet photos, I hurried back down to the city to try my luck on a different trail. Unfortunately, in the end, I came to the conclusion that I wouldn`t have enough time to make the hike. In fact, I almost certainly would have, but there was just too much on the line to risk it. First of all, I didn`t want to arrive back late and miss lunch, having to suffer through a train ride home on a empty stomach. More importantly, if I missed the train, I would have had to stay overnight in Aguas Calientes, subsequently missing my flight the next day, and so on. So, in the end, to my extreme disappointment, I made the tough decision not to hike the mountain. Another time, perhaps?

I managed to meet up with some of the others before heading back to Aguas for lunch. We were all very reluctant to leave, and indeed spent several more minutes just staring at the beautiful city in all of its wonder. Eventually we were able to pull ourselves away, and we hiked back down to Aguas Calientes. We actually had the option to hike up this same trail in the morning rather than taking the bus, but I`m ultimately pretty glad that we did not. It was pretty steep and would have been an unpleasant way to start off the day. After lunch we essentially hopped on a train for about an hour and a half, then onto an official SAS busin Ollantaytambo, which took us the rest of the way back to Cusco (approx. another 1.5 hours). We arrived back around 6:30pm. I spent the evening walking around with my newfound companion Jared, a fellow trekker, browsing markets and picking up some last minute necessities. I ended up rooming with Jared--as well as someone he had met up with previously, also returning from a 5 day Salkantay trek--in a rather sketchy hostal. We elected to take the cheaper room, which was exactly the same in appearance as the more expensive one. When asked about this, the owner told us it was because of the noise -- apparently there was a discoteca located below. In retrospect, we probably should have payed the extra couple of dollars; it was looooud.

The next morning I woke up early and started on my long, ridiculously circuitous journey home. Because I initially booked a roundtrip ticket from Portland to Quito, I had to fly all the way back through Ecuador instead of flying straight home from Peru, which essentially added an entire day to my trip. At first I was very upset about this, and indeed tried in several ways to alter my itinerary; however, in the end, I was able to make some last minute purchases in Quito that I had foregone previously in Otovalo and regretted ever since. And now, I am sitting in my hostal, late at night -- much too late, in fact, for the early morning I have ahead of me -- trying desperately to get onto paper (or, at least, its electronic equivalent) all of the thoughts that have been filling my head for days. And at least, we have neared the end.

But first, some final words about the trek.

I am so glad that I ended up spending the extra money to go with SAS; everything about the company was absolutely perfect. Both of the guides, Rubin and Oscar, were incredible. The food, as I alluded to earlier, was amazing. No, it was beyond amazing. It was first-class, restaurant quality food. It was served buffet style, the problem being that every single plate was so tantalizingly appetizing that you simply had to try them all. We were blessed with variety in the dishes, each one wonderfully different from the last. Recipes ranged from typical, authentic Peruvian food to a new spin on an old favorite. Some examples include lomo saltado, ceviche de trucha, pepper relleno, stuffed yuca, veggie salads (lots of delectable, fresh avocados), dulce de leche, corn tortillas, pizza, fried potatoes, etc. The list goes on and on. Our chef was a worker of magic. And he did all of this in a tent, with food and supplies brought along on horseback from day one. Rather impressive, to say the least. Breakfasts weren`t nearly as spectacular as lunch and dinner, but were still nothing to complain about. We typically got pancakes, toast, porridge, and sometimes omelets. I stuffed myself over and over again, only to do it once more a few hours later.

While we are on the topic of food, I want to mention a few other Peruvian dishes that I got to try while in Cusco. Upon arriving in Cusco, one of the owners of a hostal I stayed in kindly showed me around town on one of my first nights. He introduced me to a local favorite, pollo a la brasa (chicken which is flame roasted, comes in orders of whole, 1/2, 1/4, or 1/8, typically served with french fries and a veggie salad -- I´ve often seen it around Peru and Ecuador). I also tried some local street food, such as papa relleno (a fried potato stuffed with veggies, egg, etc., served with various condiments -- it`s reminiscnet of a baked potato, except it`s an altogether different kind of spud, and, of course, fried rather than baked). Lastly, I tried, reluctantly, another local streetfood delicacy, a cow heart kebab (similar to the meat kebabs I have described in earlier posts). Jared talked me into trying this one, and it wasn`t at all as gross as it sounded. In fact, in terms of taste, it was incredible. As for appearance and texture, it was pretty much indistinguishable from any other type of beef. What can I say -- when else would I have tried it?

Ah yes, one other food side note. I learned that the cheese filled, tortilla/pancake things I have described so lovingly in the past, at least one variety of them, are known as llapingachos.

One other funny story. Before starting this journey, along with a couple of times along the way, I have had the occasion to laugh at my passport photograph, showing it to friends and family whilst professing how ridiculously different I look. The photo is from Junior year of highschool when I went to Spain, and I look pretty significantly different. However, nobody commented on this, or even gave the picture a second glance, throughout my entire trip. That is, until today. It occured as I was going through some sort of passport check (not exactly sure of its purpose, as they have like 30 of them and never really tell you what they are doing) in Guayaquil, Ecuador this afternoon. I walked up to the window and was met by an unfriendly looking man with a bald head, large forehead and dark face. He was behind very thick glass with a unreasonably small circle cut out to augment communicative capabilities. I couldn`t hear a word he was saying. He also seemed to refuse to repeat anything for me, and instead -- I suppose -- just came to his own conclusions when I was unable to answer his questions. Anyway, as I handed him my passport, the following conversation occured:

"This doesn`t look like you. Is this you?"
Um, yeah, that`s me.
*glances at photograph*
"You`re fat in the picture"
Oh, ok...
"But now you look skinny -- why?"
Um, because it was a long time in the past.
*Calls over coworker*
"He looks fat in the picture, but now he is skinny. Is this him?"
"Yeah, he has a fat neck. Also, his hair is long in the picture, but here he has short hair"
"Why is your hair longer in this picture, and you look different?"
...because sometimes people appear differently than in the past.
 "So this isn`t you in the picture then?"
What!? Yes, that´s me!

This is nearly exactly how it happened. I was in utter disbelief. On the one hand, I didn`t want to have to deal with going through any additional security if this persisted, but at the same time I couldn`t help but laugh when he asked me these questions. After a while, I was finally able to convince him. I just took the whole thing as a compliment. A big, hilarious, ridiculous compliment. And then this happened...

"Where do you come from?"
The United States -- Portland Oregon.
*Types on computer*
"Orlando?"
No, Oregon.
"Miami, yes? You`re from Miami?"
What?No. O-r-e-g-o-n.
*Looks confused. Calls over different coworker*
"You´re from Miami?"
No! from Oregon. 
"New York?"
No, the city of Portland, the state of Oregon.

Reading over the conversation now, as comical as it sounds, I still don`t think I`m doing the situation justice. The sheer ridiculousness of the whole experience was simply absurd. As I walked away, I couldn`t help but laugh at their ineptitude. And that`s the beauty of international travel: you never quite know when you might come across an absolutely unforgettable experience. Sometimes it happens while basking in the glory of one of the seven wonders of the world, and other times it occurs in line at the airport security check, trying to convince a grown man that people can lose weight and cut their hair.

With that, I believe this post -- and consequently, this epic -- must come to an end. I have overcome all the obstacles, bested all the baddies, and risen above all the challenges. I have learned a lot, and experienced even more. My life has been changed for the better in so many ways. As much as I regret saying goodbye to these wonderful countries, as well as to the unforgettable experiences they have provided, I am so very ready to return home. I know that there remains so much more for me to do here, not to mention in other as of yet unexplored realms. However, every hero must realize when it is time to set aside his sword, when it is time to heed the call to home. For me, that time is now. But the time for adventuring and exploring; for struggling and overcoming; and for traveling and learning will certainly come again. I look forward to that time with eagerness in my eyes and excitement in my heart. I sincerely hope -- when that time comes -- that you will join me once again. Who knows? Perhaps next time, rather than living vicariously as an innocent bystander, a faithful onlooker, a devout follower, you will be instead be right here by my side, an apprentice to my sword, a companion to my mind. And that, my friends, will be an epic of its own right, and an adventure for an entirely different story.

A Steep Price For An Even Steeper Climb

Another day, another country. This post is coming at ya from the beautiful city of Cusco, located in Southern Peru. In addition to being a delightful city in its own right, Cusco also happens to be the kickoff point for my final big adventure this summer -- my five day trek to Macchu Pichu. I arrived here yesterday afternoon after a long day of traveling: I left the Galapagos on the 1st and landed in Quito in the afternoon; next I flew from Quito to Guayaquil, Ecuador, arriving at 11pm; I had a 10 hour layover in Guayaquil, so I ended up sleeping on a couch in the airport (quite a bit more successfully than you might have imagined); finally, I woke up early on the morning of the 2nd and flew to Cusco, with a plane transfer in Lima, Peru. After arriving at the Cusco airport, I took a bus to the city center. There were taxi drivers assaulting me from all directions at the airport, insisting that it was impossible to get a bus to the city center. There prices ranged from 10-15 dollars. Little to my surprise, I was able to walk 15 feet away from the terminal and hop on a bus, which cost me a whopping 30 cents.

My fist task upon arrival was to final a hotel or hostel, preferrably a reasonably price one, so I could set down my heavy luggage. This was no easy task, as Cusco is packed full of places for tourists to stay, ranging from the luxurious to the barely livable. Fortunately I met a local who was nice enough to show me around -- for several hours -- and help me find a place. He was really great. I ran into him initially as he tried to sell me some of his artwork, which was probably his main motivation for showing me around. Nevertheless, he was very helpful, and an all-around nice guy. We managed, after about an hour and a half, to find a nice hostel at a reasonable price. I stayed there last night and will be there again tonight as well.

Next I needed to find a travel agency in order to book my hike. This was an even more daunting task. There are literally hundreds of agencies and tour groups available to choose from -- you can find them in pretty much every other shop you come across. The problem is that the range of quality and professionalism among the organizations is drastic. A good majority of the agencies are quite literally hole-in-the-wall operations, consisting of little more than a single desk and some posters in a small, dark recess along the main plaza. Many of them actually share the space with other agencies, or operate other businesses, such as gift shops, in the same locale. You can help but run into a dozen of them simply walking down the street, especially since their representatives will often stand outside in attempts to lure you in. With all of these choices, and little to go by other than my gut feeling and what I had heard from others, this task proved rather difficult. I spent pretty much the entire day trying to choose -- talking to different agencies, browsing the internet for reviews, and even talking to other tourists undergoing the same miserable process.

In the end, I found several options. My plan for the start was to go on the Salkantay trek, an alternative route to the famous Inca Trail (which gets booked several months in advance). After talking to a variety of agencies, I found that pretty much all of them offered the same services, but the prices were quite variable. There were a variety of the more dingy, less professional appearing places that boasted prices around $180.  I found a more reputable appearing company that would take me on for $225. I seriously considered this one for quite some time, since it appeared much more professional and didn´t cost too much more. However, in the end, I decided to go for a company that seemed even more professional; moreover, they also had several positive reviews from a variety of sources. This decision took significant deliberation, as the price for this company was painfully higher -- I ended up paying the rather steep price of $450. Although I´m still struggling with justifying the decision I made, I think it was the right one. More than anything else, I was swayed by the fact that two of the people on my Galapagos cruise had also recently done the Salkantay trek, and each of them claimed they had a miserable time (which they attributed to the company the booked with). They both payed under $200 for the trip. So, I ultimately decided that ensuring an excellent experience was worth the extra $200. Oh yeah, I also had the opportunity to look at the roster before booking the trek. I found that the majority of the people I`ll be hiking with (there will be 16 in total, along with two guides), are from the USA and are right around my age. This was definitely another contributing factor to my decision. Also the fact that we have two guides instead of just one should make it a much nicer experience.

More than anything else, I´m mostly just relieved that everything has fallen into place. Several companies I talked to didn´t have any treks leaving on the day that I need to go, which was quite worrisome. So I really am quite fortunate that everything worked out.

As I said before, I`ll be doing the Salkantay trek, which will take a total of 5 days and 4 nights. Three nights will be spent camping in tents; as for the fourth night, we will be staying at a hostel in Aguas Calientes, a town at the base of Macchu Pichu. The trek is scheduled for tomorrow morning (the 4th). They will pick me up at my hostel around 5:30 am and we will take a bus ride to the point from which we will begin hiking. I`ll be sure to give more details about the actual hike/route after I return. As for today, I´m just going to relax, check out some of the local markets, and continue to let my body acclimate to the altitude. So far it hasn´t really affected me too much. I was a little bit dizzy when I first got off the plane, but that passed pretty quickly. Climbing stairs feels a bit more challenging than usual, but nothing too severe.

Well, I think that´s enough for today. I`m going to go grab another cheese empanada from the panaderia near my hostel (I had one a little bit ago and it was deeeelish), and then go read for a while. Cusco is a really nice city. There are lots of shops to explore and interesting things to look at, including women dressed in traditional clothing carrying around baby alpacas, as well as a guide dressed as an Incan warrior who poses for photos with tourists. Oh yeah, and I`m definitely planning on getting a massage today. Funny story -- one of my companions from the Galapagos cruise I mentioned above informed me ahead of time that there are a tons of places to get really cheap massages in Cusco (he said approx. $5, on average). If anything, this was an understatement. Walking through the streets yesterday afternoon and evening, I was constantly bombarded with cries of "Masaje señor? Would you like a massage? Very cheap!". There are women on virtually every street trying to lure you in with brochures and offers of cheap massages. One of them even said to me "I`ll give you a very good price -- free!". While most of the time I was able to fend them off and continue on my way, this one actually stopped me in my tracks. I couldn`t help but laugh to myself, and respond blithely to her offer...

...Free? Wow...that is a good price.

Hopefully I can find her again today, now that I actually have the time to partake of such an outrageous offer. In fact, if I get like, 200 massages today, it might even make up for spending more than I intended on the Macchu Pichu trek. And who knows...if I barter hard enough, perhaps I can even talk her into paying me.

Galapagos Islands: Dreams Evolving Into Realities

Whew...it´s been a while, eh friends? I apologize for the lack of updates recently. I´ve been a bit busy having the time of my life island hopping through the Galapagos. That´s right -- it happened. And it was magnificent. I had to jump through quite a few hoops to make it happen, but boy was it worth it. I have so much that I could write about right now, but it would probably take me a whole week to do so. Thus, in the interest of time, I´m going to have to keep it brief. First, some of the issues I had to work through to get to where I am today. Let´s see. 1) In order to get here a day earlier, I waited all morning at the Quito airport for a last minute flight change to the Galapagos; 2) I had my passport detained...twice -- first at the Baltra airport because I didn´t have $100 cash to pay the park entrance fee (I expected them to have an ATM), and second as a deposit for my cruise (since I couldn´t pay in full at the time); 3) I lost my first cruise reservation due to bank issues (and, as I understand it, it was a phenomenally good price); and 4) I ultimately ended up booking my cruise literally minutes before I had to jump on a boat to leave. But alas, after significant effort and a number of worrisome uncertainties, I finally made it. And in the end, I couldn´t have asked for a more fantastic experience.

Ok. So here´s a basic rundown of the itinerary I followed during the course of my 8-day cruise through paradise, as well as some of the highlights for each of the respective locations.

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Sunday, 7/24: San Cristobal Island
AM: Santa Cruz --> San Cristobal (ferry)
PM: Interpretation center, sea lion beach, embark on journey of lifetime

Monday, 7/25: Española Island
AM: Punta Suarez
PM: Gardner Bay (snorkeling)
Highlights -- only island with albatross; geyser/blow hole

Tuesday, 7/26: Santa Maria Island
AM: "Post office", lava tubes, snorkeling from beach
PM: Corona del diablo (snorkeling)

Wednesday, 7/27: Santa Cruz Island
AM: Darwin Research Center, Los Gemelos (highland craters)
PM: Tortuga Bay (gorgeous white sand beach + lagoon)
Highlights -- giant tortoises at research center

--Switched passengers--

Thursday, 7/28
AM: Rabida Island
Highlights -- red ash beach, flamingos, snorkeling with sharks

PM: Santiago Island (Puerto Egas/James Bay), snorkeling
Highlights -- black ash beach, galapagos fur seals

Friday, 7/29
AM: Bartolome Island, snorkeling
Highlights -- hiked to top, absolutely incredible view/landscape; penguins; giant manta ray

PM: North Seymour Island
Highlights -- frigate birds and blue footed boobies breeding grounds

Saturday, 7/30
AM: South Plaza Island
Highlights -- one of the most colorful islands (gorgeous red, yellow, orange)

PM: Santa Fe Island, snorkeling
Highlights -- only island with C. palidus land iguana; dolphins on boat ride over

Sunday, 7/31: San Cristobal
AM: Sailed around Kicker Rock (aka Leon Dormido); disembarked in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

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And, well -- that´s that! What an incredible experience. So the cruise I ended up taking was on a 10-passenger catamaran called the Galapagos Vision. It was a tourist class ship (whereas I had originally hoped for a larger, first class or luxury class boat). However, I am so unbelievably happy that I ended up where I did. Being a smaller, less expensive boat, I ended up with a younger crowd of mostly single travelers, which made for a much better experience. I travelled with two different groups (since some people do 4 day cruises and other do 8 days, the arrivals/departures are staggered such that people switch out every 4 days). The first group could not have been better, and the second group was really good as well. In both cases, we only had 8 passengers rather than the possible 10, which made it even better. After having spent time on the smaller boat with less people, and after seeing other, larger groups on the islands, I realized that the smaller, more intimate cruise was certainly the way to go. We had two different guides; the first one switched out with the first group. Though I didn´t recognize it at the time, he was not a very good guide (though his constant marijuana smoking was pretty annoying). After we got our second guide, however, I realize how much of a different a good guide can make. He was perfect. Knowledgable, professional, friendly. As for the rest of the crew, the cook was also fantastic. All of our meals were really good, some of them absolutely delicious. He even made some delectable treats for the two birthdays that occured during the trip, in addiiton to preparing a wonderful feast for our final dinner together.

In general, our days were typically as follows: we would wake up early (6:30 or 7:00), have breakfast, and then set off on our activities for the day. This usually meant visiting an island and walking around for a bit to observe the wildlife. Each day we would usually visit two nearby islands, or two different parts of a single island. We generally returned to the boat around noonish for lunch and to sail to our next destination. We went snorkeling almost every day, and most days we did it twice, once at each island/location. After the days activities, we returned to the boat for dinner and to start our journey (usually overnight) to the following day´s destination. Some islands had unique features (animals, landscapes, etc.) some of which I pointed out above. Others were simply unique variations of the same theme. While some animals can only be found in a single location in the entire archipelago, others are common to virtually all of the islands (such as sea lions, iguanas, and many types of sea birds). We were actually extremely lucky in most all of our endeavors; in general, tourists are at the whim of mother nature in terms of what they will and will not encounter. Fortunately, we ended up seeing nearly everything the Galapagos has to offer. Everytime we would find a new animal, especially when it was one that I was particularly excited to see, I would cross it off my mental checklist. I´m very happy to say that -- like the amateur bingo player I am -- by the end of our journey nearly all my items had been checked, all my numbers called (darn elusive hammerhead sharks!)

Though the trip was the experience of a lifetime, it was not without its own frustrations. For example, one of our boat´s two engines broke the very first day of my cruise, meaning we were constantly behind schedule. Fortunately this didn´t end up affecting our itinerary too much -- it just meant longer nights of sailing to get to our morning destinations. Due to my unparalleled sleeping prowess, this proved to be hardly noticeable for me personally, though some of the others complained (understandably) that it was hard to sleep without ever getting a break from sailing. There were a few other small annoyances with the ship and cruise, but they are hardly worth mentioned. Here´s the take home message from the cruise: it was everything I had hoped for, and more. It was the culmination of an already fantastic travel experience. It was a dream come true, in more ways than one.

Well, I already find myself rambling more than I had intended. I think I´ll save most of the specifics for later, when I can tell the stories in person, face to face. But I would like to document some of the many, incredible species of animals that I witnessed throughout the journey. Though I can´t remember/name them all, here is a good start.

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Surf:
Parrotfish
Trumpet fish
Blow fish
Baracuda
Rays (sting, marbled, eagle, manta)
Lobsters
Sea stars (blue, red, black)
Marine iguanas
Sea turtles*
White-tipped sharks
Dolphins

Turf:
Land iguanas (C. palidus & C. subcristatus)
Galapagos snakes
Sally light-foot crabs
Rice rats
Sea lions
Galapagos fur seals (actually another type of sea lion)
Giant tortoises*
Lava lizards

Birds:
Swallow tailed gull
Galapagos dove
Finches
Yellow warbler 
Blue-footed boobies*
Nazca boobies
Frigate birds (great & magnificent)
Albatross
Nocturnal heron
Great heron
Galapagos hawk
Flamingo
Galapagos penguins*
Short-eared owl

*Personal favorite
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In terms of landscape, Bartolome island was hands down my favorite. The views from the top were breathtaking. I can´t even begin to describe it. Don´t worry -- I took pictures galore, so hopefully at least one of them will do it justice. As for colors, South Plaza island definitely took the cake. For snorkeling fans, I think I would have to recommend either Rabida island (where I saw the most sharks), or Bartolome (where we got to swim with the adorable penguins). And lastly, in terms of wildlife, I think I would have to go with Punta Suarez on Española as my favorite.


Well, I think that is enough about the cruise (well, actually not even close -- but I´ve got to stop somewhere. I am currently still in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal island. I´m staying in a hostel here overnight. I left the boat early this morning and had the whole afternoon to enjoy, so I decided to go on a day trip (back on land for less than a day and I was already ready to get back on a boat). I signed up to go with another group to some nearby locations: Isla Lobos and Kicker Rock. We did snorkeling at both. Isla Lobos wasn´t anything special, just things I had already seen many times. The real reason I went on the trip was to head back to Kicker Rock (which, like I mentioned in the itinerary, we sailed around this morning before we disembarked. I had heard many times that Kicker Rock was a great place for snorkeling and diving, especially if you wanted to see shark (which, as a matter of fact, I did!). The company I booked with even told me that people had been seeing lots of hammerheads over the last few days. But unfortunately, it seemed that I used up all of my good luck during the cruise -- no hammerheads for me. Loads of sea turtles, which is always a favorite of mine, but no sharks. Too bad. But I got to see literally everything else that I wanted this week, so I´m not complaining.

Ok. Summing up. My flight leaves from San Cristobal early tomorrow afternoon. I will arrive in Quito, and then catch another flight late that night down to Cuzco, Peru. Unfortunately this one has a long (10 hour) layover, but its during the night, so I´m planning to just find a cheap place to sleep. No biggie. After arriving in Cuzco, I´m going to book my hike for Macchu Pichu. I´m giving myself two days to acclimate to the altitude, and then I´ll hopefully be on my way. And after that, it´s back to Quito, and then home. Not sure when I´ll update again next -- probably once I get my hike booked -- but I obviously won´t be online during the hike itself. In any case, you can expect at least a couple more posts before the conclusion of my story. I mean, comon -- you can´t have an epic without some sort of resolution. And with that, I´m off.

Thrilled with what I´ve seen, ecstatic for what is to come, and also very excited to (finally) return home.

The Ants Go Marchin' While The Humans Be Trippin'

So I mentioned in a recent post that we were going to see a shaman on Thursday, which we totally did; however, I was fairly mistaken as to actual the contents of experience -- in fact, no cuy were harmed in the making of this ritual. The shaman that we saw was very different than the healers at Jambi Huasi. She is actually the host-mom that Michelle has been living with. She works both as a partera (midwife) and a traditional shaman. So much to my surprise, I had yet another opportunity to add a new and unusual experience to my repetoir.

And boy was it strange.

Michelle´s host family lives in Rucallacta, which is a very small, rural town just outside of Archidona. We headed first over to her house; Natalie and Chris were running late, so we didn´t get there until around 8pm. Their living conditions are even more simple and homely than the ones I have been enduring (though they are rather similar to what I experienced during my home stay in Costa Rica). They don´t have a front door, or any doors for that matter. The house is rather small -- very small, in fact -- with a little detached wooden building for the kitchen. The ritual was to take place in her "farmhouse", which Michelle told us was about a 5 minute walk away. In retrospect, the Shaman´s insistence on our usage of her many pairs of rubber boots should have been an obvious foreshadowing of the harrowing trek to come. It actually turned out to be more like a 15-20 minute hike through dense forest -- this was probably the most isolated I have felt throughout the entire trip. We were definitely in the jungle, the mighty jungle. But we eventually made it, and the so-called farmhouse was actually pretty impressive. It consisted of a series of wooden buildings open to the outside, which included an upstairs treehouse-esque addition. We all piled in to one of the buildings and took our seats on some wooden benches around the perimeter.

So remember the whole comment about it being strange? Well, here comes the beginning...

Upon entering the building, we were quickly faced with a rather surprising discovery: there were ants. Lots of them. No, no -- I don´t think you quite understand. There were an unbelievable number of ants. The room we was probably 12 feet in width -- the line of ants appeared as if from nowhere on one end of the room and stretched all the way across, disappearing underneath the bench (that I was unhappily perched upon) on the other side. And these weren´t your typical, everyday ants. They were big, they were mean, and when they bit you, it hurt (I would know; in fact, my bites still hurt). And this was no single file line that they had formed. Indeed, these guys were clearly not big fans of childhood songs, because they were certainly not marching one by one. The trail of ants was easily 6 inches from side to side. There were hundreds of them, probably easily over a thousand. I can´t even begin to describe the sight. Suffice it to say that it was by far the most ants I had ever seen in my entire life.

And then came more.

But before that, there was a bit of an interlude, during which the humans actually made some progress in the war against the insects (They're doing their part. Are you?).

Ah, but before that, I need to backtrack a bit and tell you about the purpose of this ritual. Essentially, what we were told beforehand was that we were going to take part in a ceremony involving the consumption of ayahuasca, an alcoholic, herbal tea with hallucinogenic properties; this ceremonial concoction is traditionally used by Shamans to induce visions of about their lives, the future, etc. Sounds pretty intense, eh? We were warned beforehand that we should avoid eating after noon, because the drink sometimes had the tendency to make people ill (but seeing as I had absolutely no intention whatsoever of drinking the stuff, while everyone else starved themselves, I pigged out on some delicious street food).

Ok, so moving forward. Or backward. Err -- continuing on. Where were we? Ah, the ants. I´m sure you´re all wondering what the heck happened with that whole deal. Well, the shaman informed us that, seeing as we were newcomers -- not to mention practitioners Western medicine -- the spirits and animals didn´t want us around and were thus trying to frighten us off (quite effectively, I might add). Well, she wasn´t going to let that stand in her way -- she had a quick answer in the form of spitting a liquid (what we assumed was, and later discovered to indeed be, ayahuasca -- it smelled unbelievably strongly of alcohol) on top of the ants in a very theatrical fashion. And as I mentioned above -- it worked. At least, at first. The ants seemed to really not like the stuff (for good reason, as you´ll soon see), and immediately started dispersing. The problem, however, is that now instead of going in a nice, uniform line from point A to B, they were instead spreading out across the entire floor. Well, once again, the shaman was not one to give up hope. Solution number two involved putting a burning piece of log next to the benches to try to smoke them out -- one of the oldest tricks in the book. Again, a valiant effort, but only a brief reprieve.

So here´s where it got really strange.

The ants went absolutely nuts. They started coming out of nowhere. They must have had a nest somewhere underneath the bench, because the hundreds, perhaps more than a thousand that I described previously was exponentially augmented to an astounding, terrifying degree. There...were...THOUSANDS. They were everywhere. At one point they tried collectively retreating up a pillar, and they literally covered the thing from top to bottom. It was unreal. Now, at this point, we were pretty much all ready to give up the whole experience and get the heck out of there while we still could. But we didn´t get the chance. Cue shaman technique #3: raging fireball attack. This tactic is actually a combination of the previous two -- she simply took another big swig of alcohol, and blew it directly onto the burning log sitting amongst the hoard of ants. And just like that, a burst of fire erupted toward the ceiling, and the ant´s army was reduced in size-- but not even nearly noticeably so. We were still vastly outnumbered. But, after continuing this for a number of minutes, chasing the hoard to various locations around the hut, we really did start to make a dent in their forces. I can´t even begin to explain the sheer magnitude of insecticide that was taking place. There were ant corpses strewn all about the floor. You could practically hear there tiny little screams. As much as I despise the use of semantic redundancy, there is really only one word that can adequately describe the situation: unreal.

After effectively decimating our adversaries reserves and finding they that still kept coming, we decided to take our ritual elsewhere -- namely, to the safety to of the second floor. So we relocated, and it was then finally time for the ceremony to begin.


And then, believe it or not, it got even stranger.

The shaman came out dressed in her traditional garb, which was really neat. She laid down some sort of leapord-like animal skin, a tortoise shell, and a variety of other strange items such as leaves and herbs. She then took her seat at the head of the circle (does that even work?). I had asked prior to coming to make sure that she wouldn´t be offended if I was merely an observer, and Michelle had insisted that she would not. So while I took my place as a mere onlooking, the others each in turn took part in the following series of rituals. She started the ceremony by rolling up a tobacco leaf cigarette, taking a few puffs and then passing it around. Next she took a long pipe and blew tobacco directly into the nostrils of those particpating. They were instructed not to breath the tobacco in through their nose, and immediately afterwards blew it out into a tissue. Those who experienced it said that it gave them a bit of a buzz, and was rather calming. After that, she gave everyone a shot of a strong sugarcane alcohol (mixed with some other plants, I believe), which is supposed to be taken before the hallucinogenic drink. And lastly, the moment everyone (even me) had been waiting for, she went around the circle with shots of the true object of everyone´s curiosity, the ayahuasca. Most everyone but myself participated in the various rituals, including taking shots of the drink; a few braves souls even went back for seconds. After everyone had had their share, she did a "cleansing" excercise, during which she cleaned us with a leafy brush, and also proceeded to spit more ayahuasca into the air (most of which seems to subsequently land on my face). She told us afterwards that there had been some bad spirits there that night, but they had appropriately been dealt with. Oh yeah, she also sang some traditional songs in Kichwa, which were really beautiful. She also invited us to sing some songs -- we mostly just sang silly ones, but Michelle did a really wonderful rendition of a Indian song from her childhood. Finally she turned off all the lights, used her brush tool to do a little seated dance, and basically allowed the drunks to trip out.

Now, while nobody had powerful visions of their future, it sounded like the purported effects of the ayahuasca were at least somewhat confirmed -- my companions claimed to have experienced everything from mild to profound, reporting strange feelings, visual hallucinations like lights and spots, and even feelings of half of their body spinning while the other half stayed still. Pretty wild. On the other hand, although the mental effects of the drink were quite variable, the purely physical ones were quite ubiquitous among all of the participants; nearly everyone who tried the drink ended up vomiting shortly afterwards, and many of them were also faced with the charming surprise of liquidy explosions from both ends. It was quite the sight to see, as everyone ran, one by one, down from the top of the farmhouse to take their turn in the bushes. 


Score one for abstinence.

And thus concluded yet another night of nearly unbelievable Ecuadorian antics. In fact, I´m sure quite a few of you are sitting there now, contemplating, if not openly professing, your incredulous disbelief of my wild assertations. Indeed, if I wasn´t there myself, I probably wouldn't believe them either. But trust me, I couldn´t even begin to make this stuff up.

Zac´s To Do List: More Checks Than A Box O´ Chex

I am happy to report that I have again managed to cross yet another once-in-a-lifetime opportunities off my to-do list. River rafting through an Amazonian rainforest? Check. Now that I have returned safe and sound, I will go ahead and provide some more details (even though it was absolutely safe, I didn´t want anybody to worry). Yesterday afternoon we had the phenomenal opportunity to go white-water rafting (Class III rapids) with a company called Agua Xtreme. It was a total blast. The weather was perfect -- we could not have chose a better day. The sun was shining, the skies were blue; we were surrounded by a lush green rainforest throughout the entire trip (total distance: 20km), with a beautiful mountain backdrop in the distance. It was gorgeous. The river was frigid, but refreshing. It actually could have been just a tad bit warmer outside -- toward the end of the expedition, as the sun started to go down, I started to get pretty dang cold. But this was hardly anything to complain about.

The whole experience is rather hard to describe. It was a rollercoaster of fear, amusment and pandemonium. At one of the less intense sections, we even got to hop into the river and ride the rapids out sans boat.
Our guides were fantastic. Professional, safe and fun. The one in my boat was hilarious. He had us play various games when the water was calm (which essentially amounted to him finding different ways to shove us in the river). He was a really nice guy. He was a bit more hardcore than the other boat operator, often making us backtrack over a huge rapid we had just covered for maximum chaos. We scaled huge rapids, got sucked into giant whirlpools, soared over enormous waves, and slid atop (and occasionally crashed into) colossal rocks. For the rest of my life, I will probably never forget the booming (and sometimes seemingly frightened) voice of our guide, bellowing out commands, saving us from an otherwise certain demise: "FORWARD! BACKWARD! STOP! IN! IN! IN! IN!" It was a positively unforgettable experience.

I was in a boat with Kate, Aaron and Jankie. The other boat had 5. Aaron and I manned the front of the raft, meaning we often took the biggest watery beatings. Everyone made bets who would be the first to fall in. It turned out it was me. Pretty early on in the adventure, we were faced with one of the bigger rapids of the day. My side of the boat was entirely encompassed by a wave, seemingly completely underwater. Time seemed to slow. I was leaning way back, secured only by the strap on my front foot. As the wave crashed over me, I first thought to myself, "hmm -- well this seems bad". But in that moment I actually still felt pretty secure. The strap was keeping me tightly secured to the raft, and I had stopped falling backwards; suddenly a second thought flitted through my mind, telling me that I was actually going to make it through without going under. And then, all of the sudden, as if a black hole had opened up beneath me, I was instantaneously pulled, suctioned, utterly vaccumed backwards out of my seat. There seemed to be absolutely no transition between raft and water -- one moment I was in it, the next I was out. At first when I tried to surface, I actually hit my head on the bottom of the raft. Once again, "hmm -- well this seems bad". But almost immediately after, I happily rose from the depths of the river, supported beautifully by my trusty life preserver. And though it was a pretty wild experience, it really wasn´t all that scary, and I was never really in any danger. Accompanied by my helmet, lifevest and experienced guides, I felt extremely safe throughout the entire voyage.

Speaking of experienced guides, Diego, the guy operating my raft, happens to be a professional kayaker in his free time, holding some record for kayaking over waterfalls. So yeah, I was definitely in good hands.

We took a break partway through the trip, pulling off to the side of the river and getting out on a rocky beach. The guides had us walk through some shallow water into a small crack in the rocky wall. It led to a narrow gorge, surrounded by trees with a light canopy cover overhead. Here, we had some more unexpected fun -- the guides found hunks of clay (one took brown and the other yellow) and proceeded to cover our faces in war paint. With our new savage guises, we were now ready to take on the remainder of the rapids. Well, some people look more ferocious than others; I had a pretty savage tiger-esque look, while they gave Taylor some manly polka dots, laughing all the while. The guides really had a great sense of humor, from telling us that the yellow clay was monkey poop to claiming that the warmer water was due to urine flowing from a nearby town.

In case anyone is interested in location, we started our rafting trip on a river called Jatunyacu, which means "big water" in Kichwa. Toward the end, the water merged with another river, and we ultimately ended up on Napo river. At the point where the rivers merged, the water changed instantly from frigid to pleasantly cool (our guide made sure to get us soaked right at that point). We were informed (after the urine joke) that this is because the water from the first river comes directly from the mountains. Pretty cool (indeed).

After we finished (we pulled out in the town of Puerto Napo), thinking the day couldn´t possibly get any better, they concluded the experience by treating us with some delectable banana bread sandwiches. I didn´t want to spoil my dinner but -- well, maybe just one.


To sum up: white-water rafting was a unbelievably thrilling experience. Doing it down an Amazonian tributary, through a lavish rainforest, on a bright, clear sunny day -- positively breathtaking.

No Monkey Business -- OK, Maybe A Little

Updates. Updates. Everybooody loves uuuupdates!

I.  The Pursuit of Medicine
Upon returning from my vacation down south, I once again started working daily in clinics and hospitals; although I´m getting a bit burnt out on the clinical aspect of the trip (I´m definitely a bit homesick, and very much ready to move on to the next part of my adventure), I definitely got to see and do some pretty neat stuff over the course of the last week. Last week in the Archidona hospital, I got to observe two surgeries: first, there was a woman with two ovarian cysts (one was the size of a golfball, the other larger than a baseball); and second, a kid with a compound fracture of his arm (the bone was sticking out at his wrist), along with a dislocated elbow). It was very interesting to note the differences as compared to what I have seen in the U.S., namely regarding sterile technique. For example, whereas pretty much everything in the States is disposable (gowns, equiptment covers), everything here is reusable. Also, at one point the surgeon dropped his gown on the ground, and then picked it up and used it anyway -- something that would never fly back home. Last but not least, I also had the opportunity to put a catheter in a patient in Archidona, another new experience for me.

Rather than working in a clinic or hospital on Monday, I spent the day at a place called Pedihabilidad, which is a physical therapy rehabilitation clinic for kids. It was started several years back by an American physical therapist. It is completely free, and pretty much the only one of its kind in this region. It is a really great program, and it was interesting to spend a day checking it out. Most of the kids have some sort of congenital condition or developmental disorder; I saw patients with cerebral palsy, hydrocephalis, artrogriposis, etc. This is the same place that is currently building a playground, to which we contributed a few days back.

II.  The Hunt for Adventure
On Saturday evening we spent another night on the town -- in Tena, that is. At first I wasn´t too excited about it, since bars and such aren´t really my scene. But in the end it turned out to be ok. We hung out for a while at a bar, playing a family game of Kate´s where you sit in a circle and one person, the headhunter, tries to make other people laugh. Whoever laughs first becomes the headhunter. There were some outrageous charades and hilarious sound effects throughout the night, and it was an all around good time. Later we went to a discoteca, which is a type of dance bar that is really popular in Latin America, and Spain as well. I really wasn´t looking forward to this, especially for fear that everyone would want to stay super late and I would get stuck there. But alas, it wasn´t so bad. If nothing else, it was definitely worth checking out for the experience alone.

The next morning, we slept in a bit and then got some breakfast from the midwives, as per usual. Then we all hopped in a taxi and headed over to do a waterfall hike near the town of Misahualli. Chris, Natalie and Michelle had done it previously, and it had been rainy and muddy; it was optimistic that this time around it would be better conditions, especially considering that it was nice and hot outside during the cab ride over. Unfortunately, it turned out that it was muddy nonetheless. Later it started to rain on us, and toward the end it started pouring. This was all fine and dandy. I had my trusty hiking boots on, which had thus far served me well (think Cajas). In fact, I even commented at one point on how they had such incredible traction (Hey Indi -- foreshadowing?). I managed to stay pretty dry and clean right up until, right at the end, with the waterfall in sight, I slipped on a rock (we had to make our way over a series of boulders to reach our destination) and banged my knee bad. I feel with my feet into the water, but couldn´t even get out for more than a minute because I couldn´t move my leg. So yeah -- that sucked. My biggest fear: that I banged it up so bad that I would have to forego Macchu Pichu. But worry not, my faithful companions! Unlike the mighty Goliath, it will take more than a mere rock to bring this hero down. My knee is much better already, albeit a little bruised. The waterfall was really beautiful, though I think it would have been more enjoyable had it not been raining so much. But still, definitely worth it. Everyone else went swimming around under the waterfall while I took pictures. Then, on the way back down, we encountered quite the interesting surprise: though the rain had stopped, the path we had walked up had itself turned into a mini flowing river. So, once again, what I thought was a simple day´s hike turned into a relentless thrashing of my precious shoes.

After our hike, we hopped (soaking wet) on a bus to the nearby town of Mishualli. Here we had lunch -- some at restaurants, other at food carts (see below) -- and then headed to see the main attraction for this town: the monkeys. That´s right, monkeys. Misahualli is known for them. In fact, there is little else there, other than some shops and vendors. Upon first glance, the town itself seems rather normal and quaint. It isn´t until you venture down to the beach that you find it´s true, hidden charm. It really is a very intersting dynamic -- down at the water´s edge, only right outside of the town proper, exists the strangest intermingling of monkey and man that you´ve ever seen. Right there next to the town, primate and...well...primate pass the afternoon together in harmony. And when I say harmony, this is to say that the two species are not directly harming eachother; this is not to say that it isn´t utter chaos. Indeed, the monkeys have a reputation of stealing backpacks, waterbottles -- really whatever they can get their hands on -- from unsuspecting passerbys. They jump from tree to tree over head. They steal food from children. They chase and taunt dogs, pulling their tails and hopping on the backs. It truly is a sight to see, both unbelievable and aboslutely hilarious. Taylor at one point tried giving a monkey some of his beer (he poured it into an empty plastic water bottle). The monkey didn´t really seem to like it, but did succeed in hitting Taylor on the head with the bottle when he least expected it. I think a sign I saw in the middle of the town pretty well sums up the whole experience. It read: take care, monkeys are a part of life.

III. The Quest for Gluttony
As always, I have continued my quest (really it´s a lifelong endeavor) to find the most delicious foods possible. After the last few days, I definitely have a few more foods to add to my list. In Misahualli, while most people ate at a restaurant, I partook of the local street vendors. I started off with a nice maduro con queso--a grilled ripe plantain filled with cheese (and typically mayonaisse, though I requested mine without), which is one of the more popular street foods in Ecuador. I´m not sure what cheese they use -- it looks a lot like feta or bleu cheese, but tastes more like a mozzarella. Next I found a guy selling some tortillas de choclo -- the incredibly delicious corn tortillas I first experienced in Riobamba; these ones weren´t quite as good, but definitely still tasty, and this time I know they had cheese melted inside. Finally, I found a guy selling tortillas de yuca (yuca is potato-like vegetable that, like plantains, is ubiquitous (yu-biquitous! ha ha ha) down here. According to wikipedia, it is apparently the third largest source of carbohydrates worldwide. Wowza. Down here, it´s used in soups, eaten fried or grilled, made into tortillas, breads, etc. Now, I had heard tell of an infamous yuca bread from Aaron and some of the other students; they had encountered it in Tena. At first I thought that´s what this was, and was suuuper excited as I had been long hoping to try it. Alas, it was not, though the tortilla was still pretty good. However, much to my later and greater satisfaction, I have since found the famed yuca bread myself (from the same street vendor in Tena), and boy is it FAN-FLIPPIN-TASTIC. The first thing that hits you is the smell -- it´s delectable. The bread itself looks like a little yellow roll, almost like a one of those bisquick ones. You buy them hot off the grill, four for a dollar. The outside is nice and crisp, while the inside is gooey, warm and delicious. I can´t even begin to describe the flavor. I´m drooling just thinking about them. Definitely up there as one of the best foods I´ve had the pleasure of meeting during my time in Ecuador.

IV. The Trek Through The Unknown
And finally, a few words about what is to come. Tomorrow, Wednesday, we are going to take a half day (as I chose to do today since, as I mentioned previously, I´m getting a bit burnt out). However, tomorrow´s half day has a greater purpose: we are going to go on a white-water rafting adventure with a local tour company. This should be a lot of fun. On Thursday we are working a full day, and then being visited by a traditional shaman in the evening. I think this will probably be a lot like what we saw at Jambi Huasi, possibly even with yet another cuy...experience? Extravaganza? Horror-fest? (see: Day 2: Parasites, Crafts and Disemboweled Rodents). The second group didn´t get the...opportunity to experience Jambi Huasi, so I think that´s the idea behind it. It should be another intersting evening. Then on Friday, we are doing a cultural exchange with several local midwives. It will be sort of like a little party -- 15 midwives are going to come to Amupakin, and 2 of them are going to be doing a presentation on various topics surrounding their practice of medicine. Afterwards, they have requested that we provide some more information regarding our profession, namely Western medicine. This is going to last until around lunch time, at which point we are going to hop on a bus up North. I´m going to head to Quito, and I think the others are going to go to Otavalo for the night. We might stop at a hotsprings along the way.

And lastly, you´ll be happy to hear that -- after significant struggle and deliberation -- I have finally booked my flights. ...Well, a part of them, at least. I purchased my ticket to the Galapagos; I´ll be flying out on the 24th. Unfortunately I couldn´t find a reasonably priced ticket for the 23rd (I waited waaaay too long to book the flight), which is the day I really should be leaving. However, my current plan is to head to the airport early Saturday morning to get my name on the waitlist with hopes to exchance my ticket for a same day flight. If not, I´ll just have to make due with what I have. Right now I have only scheduled a one-way ticket to the Galapagos. I´m thinking I might wait until I get there to schedule the rest. That way I´ll know exactly when my cruise will be over. The hardest part about scheduling all of this is the fact that there is still so much uncertainty -- I don´t know exactly when my cruise will leave, when it will get back, how many days I will need to hike Macchu Pichu, etc. But, the ball is rolling, and thankfully it´s finally picking up some momentum. Everything should work out fine. All I can say is that I am super excited. I just wish I had done one week less down here in the clinics; that way I wouldn´t have been so homesick heading out to the Galapagos. Then again, what better than a tropical cruise to cure a bit of homesickness...?

...Tortoise riding, perhaps?

Just wait, it´s totally happening.

Volcanoes, Taffy and Insufferably Haughty Heffers

Now, where were we? Ah, yes... We last left our hero in the beautiful city of Cuenca, recovering from his recent shenanigans at Cajas national park. He has since finished his five-day whirlwind tour through Southern Ecuador, and has returned to his homebase in Archidona. But fear not, faithful reader! There remains one more fantastical story to share which preceded the end of this particular adventure. The grand finale, if you will.

I awoke rested and refreshed on Monday, day four of my vacation. My plan had been to explore the city of Cuenca a bit more, but alas, it was a rather dreary day; nevertheless I walked around for several hours before hopping on a bus to my next and ultimate destination, the town of Baños. Now, this particular town is rather unique in its geographical location: it is located on the slope of Tungurahua, an active volcano. The town itself is quaint and beautiful, possibly my favorite of the three that I visited during this excursion. One of the most beautiful aspects of Baños is that fact that it is surrounded -- nay, utterly encapsulated -- by lush, rolling green hills. It is quite the sight to see. Moreover, it is a place of rest and relaxation. The town features mineral-rich thermal baths, where the hot water comes rushing from the earth, heated directly from the volcano to rather impressive temperatures. People come from all over to soak in the healing properties of the baths; they are the reason for which Baños is known (and after which it is named).

I arrived in Baños rather late Monday evening after a long 7 hour bus ride. I booked a hostel, and walked around the town a bit, grabbing some snacks along the way, including french fries (salchipapas, or french fries with hot dog chunks, are a very popular snack in Ecuador) and choclo mote (the corn, potatoe and meat snack I described previously, often sold at bus terminals -- one of my favorites).

After a full night´s rest, I awoke once again ready for adventure. I headed over to the thermal baths at 7:30 am. It´s really quite interesting the way the natives utilize these baths -- it is much different than the mentality that we have toward hot springs in the US. Even arriving at the rather early time that I did, there were already a good number of natives partaking of the energizing waters -- probably a good 40 of them. Furthermore, it isn´t exclusively adults, as I would have expected; a good number of kids also join in the fun, treating the hot springs much like a water park, bringing along various floaties and pool toys. Even the adults treat it like a day at the pool, swimming around the springs rather than just sitting and relaxing. It was a very interesting dynamic to observe.

There are three different hot springs in Baños. The one that I attended was located on the side of a hill, right underneath a beautiful waterfall. It provided an impressive view of the surrounding hills, and was really quite a beautiful location. There were three different pools: a cool one, much like a swimming pool; a warm one, though I use the term warm rather lightly, as it was really about the temperature of an American hot tub; and finally, the ridiculously hot one. I intially tried to go into the hottest one, but could hardly make it in past my ankles. I was soon informed that the proper technique was to spend some time in the warm one, then hop into the frigid water which was being diverted directly from the waterfall above. Then and only then would the hot pool be bearable. So, after spending some time relaxing in the warm one, I was indeed able to partake of the hot one, though only for a few minutes. I also asked to see the "ojo del agua" (eye of the water), where the blazing water comes rushing from the ground (and is subsequently diverted to the pools). The whole experience was lots of fun, and certainly very relaxing.

After a quick breakfast, I headed on my final outing for this weekend getaway: a four hour hike through the hills surrounding the city. Compared with my last "hike", the term is used much more appropriately in this circumstance -- however, that´s not at all to say this was a simple undertaking; it was haaaard. The trails were steep -- relentlessly so. And if the hard work wasn´t enough, it was also rather hot at times. Fortunately, I was blessed early on with a light rain along with a very welcome breeze; these gifts from nature, in combination with the canopy above (as much of the hike was under the cover of trees), resulted in a wonderful mist that helped me to endure. And endure I did -- despite the difficulty, I kept pushing on. In the end, I´m hoping that it helped prepare me for Machu Picchu, which will likely prove to be an equally daunting foe.

The trail led first to Bella Vista, a viewpoint featuring a big white cross offering gorgeous views of the city and surrouding landscape. It was breathtaking. In fact, the entire trail offered impressive views and wonderful photo ops. Based on the information in my guidebook, I was planning to hike all the way up to Runtun, a colony even higher up in the hills, which supposedly boasts its own outstanding views. After some more significant legwork, I did ultimately make it to Runtun; however, I never really found the "views" to which the book referred, which was rather unfortunate. I think I may have simply failed to go far enough, or missed a turn at the end; there were several downed signposts toward the top. Nevertheless, I still had a great time on the hike. Once I reached Runtun, I did find some signs pointing toward a different viewpoint for tourists, but it was quite a bit further yet. After having wandering around aimlessly looking for the original viewpoint for some time, I was pretty tired and wet. Nonetheless, I was determined. So I decided I would try to make it to this next viewpoint, which was still another 3km or more away. However, determined as I was, there were two uncompromising forces in direct opposition to my conviction. First, the weather had become rather dreary -- it was wet, windy, and foggy, so I figured the view would probably be less than desirable anyway. Secondly, it was getting late, I wasn´t sure exactly how long it would take (or how far I was from town, for that matter), and I needed to make it back in time to catch a bus to Tena to make it back for dinner. So, in the end, I decided to turn back early for these reasons. Oh yeah...so also, there was this giant freaking bull blocking my path, mooing angrily in my general direction. And as much as I wanted to make it to the top, I really would have preferred to do so without being gored. Besides, that was one angry looking bovine, and who honestly wants to risk getting mad cow disease?

After a long hike back to town, I had to hurry to catch a bus to try to make it for dinner. But not without picking up a few packs of melchoca, a flavorful taffy for which Baños is famous -- they blend the taffy, quite uniquely, by swinging it around on a wooden peg (quite the sight to see whilst walking through town). After that, I jumped on a bus -- well, after waiting for an hour and a half because it was so late. But that´s ok. We ended up making the purported 4 hour trip in just three hours -- which, in retrospect, is pretty dang scary considering the cliff sides we were driving on. I had my nose buried in a book, so it didn´t seem too crazy at the time, though I do recall thinking "wow, did we just catch some air?" on several occasions.

And that, my friends, is that! I arrived back just in time for dinner -- with all 8 members of the second group, I might add! They are all second-year students from Midwestern in Chicago, the same university as Danny and Chris. All 8 of them have now joined my in their own Cabanas at Amupakin; the place is now much more lively than it had been with just Danny and I. Yesterday was my first day back in the clinics -- I spent the morning at the Archidona hospital (where I will probably be working for the majority of my remaining time here, though I may do some more rotations through clinics), and then spent a few hours in the afternoon doing some good-ol´-fashioned manual labor -- that is, we spent some time helping to build a playground at a childrens physical therapy clinic attached to the hospital in Tena. It was a nice change of pace -- though it was unbearably hot outside, way hotter than it has been for the past few weeks (of course). But after several long hikes and a day of physical labor -- boy am I sore. And today I´m at the hospital again, currently taking a long lunch, waiting to watch a surgery (laparoscopic ovarian cyst removal) that should start -- rather soon. In fact, I should go. So with that, folks, I will leave you to ponder my wacky, wild adventures. As always, more insanity and hilarity to come.

Man vs. Nature: An Unforseen Struggle

Wow -- what a day. I decided to rearrange me plans a bit in order to fit everything in, so rather than exploring the city today, I instead decided to do some hiking. I woke up bright and early and took a cab over to the South bus terminal. I grabbed a couple empanadas and tried some morocho, a warm rice pudding drink -- it was fantastic! From there I caught the 7am bus to Cajas National Park. It was a rather dreary morning: it was dark, there were ominous clouds overhead, and it was raining (though only lightly). Nevertheless, I continued on my journey with my fingers crossed. Now, in retrospect, based on the cruddy weather, along with the fact that I ended up missing my stop -- because I couldn´t find a national park -- I really should have realized that something was awry. But alas, how was I to know that the very fates themselves were conspiring against me, doing everything in their power to bring my adventure to a screeching halt. Indeed, if there was ever a day in my life that was utterly destined for disappointment and preordained for failure, a day in which the calamitous outcome was indelibly and inexorably written in the stars, then today was that day.

And yet, here I stand before you, triumphant. Though they left me bruised, beaten and scarred, I overcame every challenge the fates threw my way; they spat in my path, and I simply laughed in their faces. What more would you expect from the protagonist of this very adventure story, the champion of this epic?

I have thought long and hard how best to depict today`s endeavor -- for it was certainly no day hike, as I had anticipated. In the end, I can only think to describe it as an all-out, multi-terrain battle, man vs. nature. And, in the end, while nature certainly threw some unexpected blows, catching me off guard more times than I`d like to admit -- I held my ground, and ultimately stood victorious.

In the end, there were several forces acting in concert to attempt to bring about my demise. The weather was certainly not the least of them. It was COLD. According to my guidebook, the name Cajas may either refer to the shape of the lakes (similar to boxes -- which is what the word means in Spanish), or it could come from the Kichwa word caxas, meaning cold. Frankly, I tend to put more faith in the latter. In addition to the sheer colditude of the expedition, it was windy and rainy as well. Now, fortunately, for a good portion of the day, the weather was actually very pleasant -- it was pretty much always foggy, making the views slightly less spectacular than if it had been clear blue skies, but I think that is simply the nature of this beast. The problem was when the wind and rain really got going: there were definitely some pretty miserable periods. But all in all, the weather wasn`t too big of an issue. The big problem was the terrain. First of all, it was muddy...like, ridiculously so. It wasn´t so much of a hike as...gosh, I really don´t know how to describe it -- suffice it to say, I suppose, that there were many times where I would have been better equipped with a snowboard than with hiking boots. I was slipping all over the place, sometimes doing more sliding that walking. By the end of the excursion, I was absolutely covered in mud. In addition to the mud, the expectations of the trails were rather unforgiving. I had to hop from rock to rock to cross streams. There were areas of rather steep rock walls that demanded the utmost caution. And most of all, there were huge sections of mud, lakes even, where a single wrong step could (and often did) lead to a sticky mess.

The other issue with the terrain was the park itself: the paths were so poorly marked that I probably spent more time off the trail than on it. I hiked two trails today, the first one took about an hour, the second one a little over two. On the first trail, I just could not stay on the path. I was scaling vertical walls both upwards and down only to find myself at a complete deadend. The second trail, fortunately, was much better demarcated: there were paint splotches interspersed on rocks and trees to guide the way, as well as the occasional signpost. Nevertheless, many of these waypoints were so discreet that if you blinked, you´d miss them. One time, after being rather lost for several minutes, I happened to find my way back onto the correct path only because I happened to see a bridge (that I had missed previously) when I oriented myself for a quick bathroom break.

With all of this said, the entire experience was an absolute, undeniable blast. Granted, there were definitely points where I had my regrets. Sure, there were a few hills I almost went tumbling down, a few rivers I nearly graced with my presence. Ok, so there was that one time where I mis-stepped, ending up knee-deep in mud. But even with all of these things, it was a phenomenal experience. Just being able to say that I did it feels oh-so-gratifying. I think it will be hard for me to adequately explain the whole ordeal -- I have tried my best to do it justice in these last few paragraphs -- but honestly, this was definitely one of the most intense things I have ever done. And the landscapes...oh, man. It was incredible. The hike traversed such a huge diversity of terrains -- hills, valleys, swamps, forests. There were lakes, rivers, streams and waterfalls. Even when the dense, suffocating fog descended down from above, utterly encompassing everything in its wake, the scenery was still breathtaking. I really hope I managed to capture some of its natural beauty with the (many) pictures that I took. I look forward to describing the experience in even more detail to anyone and everyone willing to listen.

Before I head out, I wanted to mention one final thing about yesterday evening. I´m not entirely sure what for, but there was some sort of celebration going on yesterday, I think for one of the saints. Earlier in the afternoon I saw some dancing/performances. And then later at night they had live music, some floats and an impressive fireworks show. They had constructed a tower piecewise earlier in the day, and bit by bit it became part of the display: starting from the bottom and slowly moving up over time, it was equipped with lots of different fireworks which added to the exhibition. There were quite a few people in attendance; the tower was in open area, and most of the people had gathered on a large staircase above the square. The most impressive part of the whole experience was the utter lack of precaution: throughout the show, the crowd was frequently showered with sparks. Even the occasional misguided rocket would land in the frenzy. The real surprise, however, came with the finale. Unbeknownst to us, or at least to me, the stairs were all lined the fireworks, which went off in unison at the end of the show. So basically, as the final part of the tower went up in smoke and sparks, so too did the crowd. It was quite the sight. Fortunately I don`t think anyone got hurt. All in all, the whole experience was rather reminiscent of the church burning I witnessed in Spain for the Dia de San Juan. But then again, the Spanish at least had the foresight and common decency to station a single, unapt guard in between the burning inferno and the thousands of rambunctious onlookers. I mean, comon Ecuador, get with the program.

Life´s Little Lessons: Wet Cobblestone Is Terribly Slick

Day two of my exploration of the Southern Highlands started off early and hasn´t let up. I woke up this morning, said my goodbyes to the wonderful Hostel Oasis, and promptly worked my way over to the Riobamba Saturday market (And, what´s this? It´s Saturday?! ...Man, my foresight is unmatched!). There are actually two markets, one for all your delicious culinary needs (fruit, veggies, whole boars, intestines -- and, ah yes, raw cuy of all sizes, specially skinned and flayed for your convenience). The food market was impressively large, and I was impressively hungry. I happened to come across an interesting doughy, pancake-esque creation grilling tantalizingly at one of the stands. Upon questioning its creator, I came to discover that it was a tortilla de maiz. Now, I´m sure you´re sitting there, in the comfort of your kitchen or bathroom or wherever you are, thinking -- "comon now Zac, a corn tortilla? Is that really something to rave about?" Well STOPPIT. You couldn´t be more wrong. This thing was heavenly. Not only was it fresh off the grill, making it wonderfully warm and delicious, but the inside was still doughy and gooey -- almost as if it had some heavenly filling (though I´m pretty sure it was all just maiz). It could possibly have had a hint of egg or cheese -- who am I to say? In any case, it was an absolute delight. I´m drooling now just thinking about it.

As for the craft market, it really wasn´t anything special. There were some handmade crafts, but it consisted largely of things you could buy at a store: nike shoes, brand-name tshirts, etc. So far, nothing has really held up to the wonder that is Otavalo (the huge street fair North of Quito that I visited earlier in the trip). I´m currently hoping to find some time to venture back there at the end of my trip for some last minute gift purchases.

As for the rest of my morning in Riobamba, my goal was to try to check out a museum of religious art before catching my bus, but due to scheduling conflicts this ultimately didn´t happen. The main reason I wanted to go was to see the 1 meter tall monument made of solid gold with a silver base, adorned with 1500 jewels of various types and weighing in at an impressive 360 kg. But, alas, I had to leave this golden opportunity behind in order to catch my bus. Oh well.

Next came a 6 hour bus ride to Cuenca. Not much to talk about here -- a little reading and lots of sleeping. And a bit of snacking. I tried these salted nuts, not sure what they were called: quite good. I even shared some with the elderly woman next to me. She seemed appreciative. For lunch I had a croissant and cheese empanada from a panaderia at one of our pit stops; both were rather uninspired.

And now, I have officially arrived in Cuenca. After roaming the city for a bit, I currently find myself typing away at a local internet cafe, conveniently located right next door to my newest habitation, a hostel called Turista del Mundo. This hostel also came with recommendations from Natalie and Chris, and so far it is definitely standing up to the praise they gave it. It is run by a wonderfully amiable woman, named Esperanza, and her son. My room is small but clean, equipped with a private bathroom and shower, pretty much everything I could ask for. Also, above and beyond what I might ask for, there is a balcony atop the building with an impressive view of the city. I have yet to spend much time up there, but anticipate it will make for some wonderful pictures (sunset, perhaps?). There is also a TV with movies upstairs, though I´m considering maybe heading to the actual movie theatre tomorrow for some fun in the afternoon.

As for the city of Cuenca, my guidebook describes it as Ecuador´s second my important and beautiful colonial city (after Quito). Though I was rather uninpressed as I first left the bus terminal and traveled through the downtown area, as I got a bit farther out a started to see its true charm. It really is a gorgeous city. Pretty much all of the streets are made of cobblestone, and the houses are all very quaint and similar in style. I´m looking forward to doing some more substantial exploring tomorrow. My guidebook also describes some so-called "hanging houses" on the cliff down by the river, which certainly sound intriguing. More to come on that front. For the rest of the evening, I´m planning to walk over to one of the restaurants mentioned in my guidebook called Guajibama for some delicious dinner. After that: who knows? The possibilities are endless in a city as wonderful as this. Speaking of which, when I was asking about available rooms, Esperanza asked me how long I would be staying. I told her one night, perhaps two. As she finished checking me in, she said something to the effect of "Oh, and by the way, you´re going to go ahead and want to stay two nights instead of just one. Cuenca is a great and beautiful city". Well Esperanza, my goal for tomorrow is to try desperately to prove you wrong and, with any luck, to fail horribly.

Exploration and Edible Enlightenment

Ah, what a fantastic start to my weekend adventure! I made it safely to Riobamba this afternoon; I spent several hours exploring (read: getting lost in) the city. My major goal for today was to find a spectacular view of the surrounding hills/valleys, as well as Chimborazo, an inactive volcano and the highest peak in Ecuador. Natalie and Chris had told me that the views from Riobamba were incredible, and that's pretty much the reason I came here. After some time, I finally found a suitable view from a viewpoint (go figure) in one of the city parks. It was fantastic. I really with I could have gotten closer/higher. I spent some time taking pictures, which I'm sure won't do it justice.

I wandered around for the rest of the afternoon looking for an even better view, but never really got one. I had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called Abuela Rosa's, which came recommended by my handy travel guide. The restaurant served up tasty Ecuadorian treats a la carte; I ordered three dishes, each of which was absolutely fantastic, including a chicken tamal (very tasty -- it was the second one I have tried so far in Ecuador; both were unique and flavorful), humitas de sal (similar to a tamal and made from corn -- savory and delicious, it was probably my favorite dish I have tried so far), and a quimbolito (a sweet pastry also made from corn). All three were wrapped in some sort of husk or leaf. Oh yeah, they also served me a really interesting appetizer consisting of these small, seasoned nuts (I think) that tastely remarkably similar to the ceareal Smack's (the one with the frog on the box -- I actually had to Google a list of breakfast cereals to remember the name). All in all, it was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I had been hoping to have a meal like this for a while now, actually. Like I mentioned before, the meals here are often very similar in type, though they do still manage to make them unique in their own ways. I never really get to choose what I want for breakfast or dinner, since it is cooked by the midwives. As for lunch, I'm always with the other students, so choosing for myself can be hard; we usually end up going to a place that serves "almuerzos" (this directly translates to lunch, but refers to the fact that they serve a single, set meal for lunch rather than having an a la carte menu -- the meal itself is as I described previously: soup, rice, meat, veggie. Tasty, but repetitive. Also, it is waaay too much food more me. However, the fact that almuerzos are super cheap and offer a lot of food is the big selling point for some of my compatriots). Long story short, I haven't had much opportunity to do much exploring in the way of local foods -- the foods they serve up at the street carts always catch my eye (and nose), and the few I have tried have been phenomenal -- or to get my hands on some of the local delicacies that come highly recommended from previous visitors of the wonderful land of culinary delights.

Ah yes, speaking of which, I also got to try something new on the bus ride over. I bought it from a stand at one of the bus stations (of which there are usually lots). I had seen this food before, but had yet to try it. They serve it in a little handheld plastic bag with a spoon. The one I got today had some sort of little corn-like kernels, potatoes, and a meat (beef?) that had an interesting crunch to it. They had sauces to top it off with, which made the whole dish quite delish.

After dinner I starting making my way to the hostel I had planned to stay at, which came recommended both by Natalie/Chris as well as my travel guide, known as Hostel Oasis. After a while it started to get dark, so I decided to play it safe and hopped in a cab for the rest of the way (I figured I could spare the $1). Right now I'm in the lounge using a laptop. The hostel is absolutely perfect; it is every traveler's dream. The rooms are centered around a little garden and located behind the owner's house. Just as I heard from the recommendations, she is a wonderful host. The rooms are small but wonderfully clean and tidy, and include a small TV and nice little bathroom. It is a super cute place that I would definitely recommend to anyone. It cost me $12 for the night.

One last thing before I sign off. I realized I forgot to talk about my 4th of July extravaganza in my previous posts. I wouldn't want you to miss out on even a minute of my wonderful Ecuadorian antics, so here it goes. Even though I was still recovering at the time, we decided to meet up with some other freedom-loving American's that Natalie knew for a good ol' fashioned BBQ. They work for a company here called Runa, which is run by American students, employees and interns. I still don't completely understand what they do, but I know that they work with a local tea known as Guayusa, which is really popular here, particularly among the Kichwa natives. Anyway, we went to their house in Tena. We were told to bring out our stuff to grill, so we started by buying some veggies and a pineapple. We were going to get some raw meat, too, but we ended up passing some street vendors selling precooked kebabs on the way, and we figured that would be a much easier (as well as much more seasoned, and thus more delicious) alternative. We were right on both accounts. I got a beef kebab and a mixed sausage one -- both were really good. I can't wait to (carefully) try my way around some more street food. The party itself was fun; we lit off some fireworks and had a generally good time celebrating liberty, justice, hamburgers, and all that jazz. Makes me miss home a bit -- I know by the end of my trip I will certainly be ready to return to the land of the family, friends and the familiar; as for now, let the adventure continue!