Mindo - Cloud Forest

This passed weekend Daniel and I spent some alone time in Mindo. It is a known spot for bird watchers. I was excited to see some hummingbirds and a few other species. We even caught a glimps of a female "Cock of the Rock". I wasn't able to take a picture though. There were also tons of beautiful butterflies.
We had a great time on the Zip lines (13 different lines). Flying over the canopy, I giggled and squeeled. Though I wasn't able to perform any aerial dance, I was so excited after that I told the guy I wanted to work there and he offered me a job. Mmmm....plans for next summer :)
We went tubing down the river and hiked to check out some waterfalls. On our last night we stayed at the Mindo Gardens which was beautiful. You stay in little cabins on the river. Your room looks out into the jungle and you fall asleep to crickets, frogs and the rushing of the river. I could have spent an extra day or two there.

Working trip to the Amazon

On Friday July 17th Daniel and I left with a few other people from his work for the amazon to survey communities without electricity. We were able to borrow a truck for the weekend and wouldn't have been able to get to half the places without it. Crossing rivers, driving over bridges barley as wide as the truck, up and down the sides of mountains on dirt roads.
What I find amazing is most of these people walk these distances, taking a whole day to walk to the next town or even just the main road for supplies.
Most of the weekend was spent talking with communities and driving from one place to the other. But at one place they took us for a hike through the jungle to see some waterfalls. The two guides in front machetted their way through and we followed, wading through streams, climbing up and down the slopes, sinking a foot deep into mud ( you wear rubber boots that go to your knees). The hike was fun, though I did need help crossing the stream once or twice. At least I didn't fall in like Malti did (a few times).
The jungle is amazing. Lush - so many varieties of plants, all clamoring for space, so much so that they cling to each other grabing any niche they can. The smell - moist earth and decay. The jungle is the ultimate compost pile. The ground is littered with leaves and plants decaying and suppling nutrients for new plants. The subdewed color of light - the light filters through so many plants it has a look of dawn or dusk all the time.
On our way back from the tiny waterfalls we passed some cacao plants, one of the fruits was ripe so we were able to taste the fruit that chocolate is made from. The fruit has a very thick section that hold the fruit and seed. Surounding the seed is small pulpy fruit that is very sweet and tasty. They also gave us fresh sugar cane to suck on.
We didn't get to see any animals since whenver we hike through the jungle we made so much noise but you could hear the varies birds and saw lots of butterflies.

Mitad del Mundo

Today I stepped foot on the North and South hemisphere. A few of us from the hostel went to Mitad del Mundo which is where there is a big monument of the world and a line showing the equator. Of course you pay to get in and there are shops selling crafts and other displays. It seemed kind of silly to go just so you can say you stood on two different hemispheres but how can you not go when it's only an hour away. And now I get to say I stepped on 2 different hemispheres at the same time.

So there's this big park for it but when GPS came along the equator was actually 300 meters over so there is this other site claiming to be the actual equator site. Which we visited as well. And we took pictures at both places. The other site has all these gimmicks like balancing an egg on a nail and water turning in different directions when it's moved a few feet over the equator line. Over all it was a fun day.

El Panecillo

On the southern end of the old city is a big hill with a 30 meter statue of the Virgin of Quito.
Mare and I took a taxi there and you can walk up to the top of the base and have a wonderful view of Quito.

Full Moon Over Quito

Grupo Game

The hostel/pension is a funky little place. The people that are here have been staying here for about a year. A few German guys are doing their year of service and Thibaut, french, works with Daniel. Two french girls just showed up and will be here for a month doing volunteer work.
The place has it's ups and downs. They have a sweet woman, Iness, who comes and cleans monday through friday so the place is really clean. Pato, is another helper that does repairs around the place and lets people in who are new, etc. Katy runs the place and she's pretty great, friendly, funny, crazy and wants everyone to have a good time and will go out of her way to make sure it happens.
The place has its quirks; the beautiful parque wood floor - which has loose boards and in some place sections missing. The on demand water heater - one bathroom for all and if your taking a shower and someone using the kitchen sink or washing machine it affects the temperature and flow strenght. There's nothing like getting in to take a nice hot shower and have the water go to a trickle of ice chunks. And in general one bathroom for 7 people can be a little frustrating in the morning. It took me a few days to get used to the little garbage by the toilet. I've experienced it before but forgot and for those of you who have been to other countries with bad plumbing you know of what I speak, for those who have not..... Cities that are old and don't have good plumbing can't take more then human waste down the pipes. :) You actually get used to it. At least the trash can gets cleaned out everyday.
Daniel and I are had a room with a lovely view, twin bed, little side table, some weird shelf thingy we put our cloths on and a bunk bed that we use to put random stuff on. The sun comes up at 6am and shines through a big window. It's either the sun that we rise to in the morning or our neighbors rooster. Which might make me a meat eater if he continues to crow at any time of night he feels like. We have the room to our selves in the upstairs area. There is a single room upstairs where Thibaut lives and another room next to ours where 2 german kids are staying. In the hallway upstairs is a long couch to hang out on and two computers on computer tables.
You go down stairs to the bathroom or kitchen. It took a few days before I didn't need a nap every time I went to the bathroom. But I did get a work out going downstairs for a glass of water, use the bathroom, something to eat, use the bathroom, clean my dishes, use the bathroom.
Downstairs is a big size kitchen with a patio off the back and a big living room/dining room. Of course the kitchen is where everyone hangs out. I think that is universal.
We were here for about a week when the people in the room next to use moved out. Anna, german, went home and Nick went with the other 2 german guys to the amazon and wasn't sure of his return. So when I noticed the room empty and the prize it offered I jumped. I ran down to Katy and asked her if Daniel and I could move into the other room. She said sure but it would have to be today because the french girls were coming tonight.
There were 2 sets of bunk beds in this other room and Katy insisted we move our bigger bed in. I figured we could just push the bunk beds together but Katy knew we would be here a long time and wanted us to be comfortable.
Well I'm not sure how they got all the beds into the rooms with narrow doors in the first place but it took Me, Katy, Iness and Fanny, my spanish teacher over an hour to attempt to fit them out the door, take partially apart, maneuver, exchange and put back together 2 beds. Then I had to move all our belongings overs.
Was it worth it you ask. Hell yes! Why you ask.
When something you are used to as convenient becomes inconvenient it then becomes the most wonderous of things.
We now have our own private bathroom. oh yes, there were a few oohs when people realized the room had been vacant and I snatched it in a heart beat with no remorse.
We now live in a room with the same lovely room, far enough away that I don't have to kill the rooster, our big bed, 2 dressers to put our cloths in, a love seat to chill in and a spare bunk bed to put stuff on. And oh yes the best part, our own bathroom; toilet, sink and shower. I've even figured out times of the day to have a long hot shower uninterrupted by temperature or pressure.
I'm sure Daniel and I could have found a better place with no quirks but I never would have meet or continue to meet so many nice and interesting people if we did. And not have as many interesting stories.
Life is made up of the crazy annoying things you later laugh at and tell funny stories about and things you once took for granted that you truly appreciate.
I think life would be very boring without loose parque floor boards and a group of people from different countries crammed in a kitchen on a different continent from their own, sharing a meal together.

Pinchincha

Sunday a bunch of us went on a hike up Pichincha. An extinct volcano.
You start by taking a teleferiqo, which is a cable car type gondola that takes you 4,050 meters up. Then you hike. and hike, and hike. It was a little cloudy that day so the view wasn't as great as it could be. On a clear day you can see the Andes.
At some point we turned back since it was starting to drizzle and stopped at a spot where they offer horseback riding along another trail. We didn't go horseback riding but the people also offered some food for a dollar so we stopped there to have lunch and avoid the rain in their lean too. There wasn't much for non meat eaters but there was amazing hot chocolate, which I had 2 cups of.
The extra height and altitude made it a nice work out. I only stopped a few time under the pretense I was taking a beautiful photographs.

Otavalo

Last weekend some people that I met here and I went to a town a few hours away called Otavalo.
It's a small town that is known for it's Saturday market. We didn't get up early enough to catch the animal market from 4am-9am but we did make the rest of the market.
The market fills the street of this town with canopied stalls selling everything from sneakers and everyday where to the traditional crafts of the people of the area. Some people say the market has gotten touristy, which is true when you see a bunch arrive on tour buses after 12 but the things that they sell are also used by the people here and is a way to sell food from their farms.
I had been excited to go and buy, buy, buy. But I had realized that Moroccan markets had kind of put me off to markets. The vendors were definitely not as aggressive but you did have to bargain. Which I am just no good at. I was lucky to have Nazli who had grown up in Iran and was used to bargaining, so I told her what I wanted and she got it for me.
For lunch we met up with a few other people. The restaurant had a balcony where I took my few stealth pictures from. Even though the women wear these beautiful cloths and I think can be quite beautiful themselves, they don't like their picture being taken by strangers. Which I can't say I blame them. So I didn't take to many pictures.
Daniel was unable to come with use because of work so one weekend we will go back. I am hoping to go for a day or two. Even though the big attraction is the Saturday market the surrounding area is beautiful with some mountains with good hiking and a huge lake, which supposedly a giant drowned in because it has no bottom.