I'm back from Carnaval, and it was a blast...for the most part.
On Saturday we took a five hour bus ride to Guaranda. There was a parade going on, so we wandered around the city looking for our hostal, while getting sprayed with carioca, foam spray a bit like silly string, and squirt guns. That's carnaval for you. It really wasn't that big of a deal. We got to our hostal, had lunch in the restaurant down stairs and went to explore the city, during which we got foamed and sprayed a lot of course. Then, we took a taxi up to a monument, enjoyed the view of the city, and pet a donkey. After that, we took a taxi back to our hostal, napped, and ate dinner. After dinner, we went to a parade, met some gringos there, and went with them to a dance, which was super fun.
On Sunday, we went to Guaranda's big Carnaval parade. Little did we know it would run on Ecuadorian time, so we were standing around waiting for the parade to start and there was nothing better for the locals to do than to have carioca fights. So, we all got completely covered in foam, including in my eyes. To top it all off, it started to rain, and we all got really cold. So, after the parade, we headed back to the hostal, grabbed some lunch, and tried to find the bus to Ambato, which was quite the adventure. The buses couldn't get to the terminal because of all the festival traffic, so we just and to stand on the street that went out of town and hope the right bus would pass us. While we were wandering around looking for the bus, a bunch of guys sprayed us with a hose, completely soaking us. By that point we were all more than ready to get the you-know-what out of Guaranda. Once we got to Ambato, we basically hung out in our over priced hotel because we were all cold, wet, and tired.
On Monday, we went to a market in Ambato, up to another monument to see views of the city and the surrounding volcanoes, to a fair/expo, and then back to our hotel. During that time we did not get sprayed at all. Afterward, we went to Ambato's big Carnaval parade, which was very pretty and civilized. At the end of the parade, people started busting out the carioca, but it was definitely not as bad as Guaranda. After the parade, we headed back to our hotel and conked out.
Today, we took a bus back to Quito. And that's how my first Carnaval in Latin America went.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Carnaval--Parte 1
Carnaval has been quite the experience so far. Even though the famed pre-Lent festival is technically just this weekend (through Tuesday), there have been plenty of shenanigans the whole month. For example, someone threw a water balloon at me from a bus when I was walking home. Nico, my five-year-old host nephew, threatened to shoot me with his water gun until Meche told him, "No hagas carnaval a la Patricia." And today, I was riding in a taxi with the window down, and someone in a passing car sprayed this pink foam stuff at me. Such actions are supposed to be illegal and thus have calmed down in recent years, but they definitely still go on. Apparently they target gringos, and I can't really blend in, so this weekend might be an adventure. I'm going to two cities famous for their Carnaval celebrations: Guaranda and Ambato. I've been told that people get eggs thrown at them in Guaranda, so I'll try to be careful. More on that when I get back...
Monday, February 16, 2009
The Adventure that was Puerto Lopez
I went to Puerto Loopez this weekend on the west coast of Ecuador in the province of Manabí. The bus ride was supposed to take 11 hours each way. Our plan was to leave Quito at 7pm, get to Puerto Lopez early Saturday morning. I was going to SCUBA dive all day Saturday and part of Sunday. My friends were going to snorkel, take a tour of the national park Isla de La Plata, and enjoy the beach. We were going to leave Puerto Lopez late Sunday afternoon, get home early Monday morning in time to go to class, tired of course, but that was okay with us. The weekend did not go as planned.
First, Kelsey and I miscalculated the traffic in Quito on a Friday night and almost missed our bus. We had given ourselves a 40 minute cushion to find the bus terminal and whatnot; we ended up arriving 25 minutes after the bus was supposed to leave. Luckily, our friends were already there, and they stalled the bus for us.
Then, around 9pm, we heard, "No hay paso a Santo Domingo," which means that the bus couldn't get to Santo Domingo, the next destination on the route. About a half an hour later we got to a big line of trucks and buses. The driver then informed us that we would be spending the night on the bus...in the middle of the highway. When I woke up that morning, we found out that there had been a landslide.
We tried to convince our bus driver to go back to Quito, but he had to get the bus to Puerto Lopez eventually, and it was cheaper for him to wait out the repairs than to go back to Quito. After waiting a total of twenty hours, we finally crossed the landslide. It was definitely not safe to cross--probably one of the scariest moments of my life.
About 9 hours later (around 5am), we arrived in Puerto Lopez, checked into our hostal and got 2 hours of sleep.
Sunday during the day, Kelsey and I continued with our plans. The other two girls went home, and I don't blame them. It had been a lot to handle already. Anyway, at 8:00am, Kelsey and I went to the SCUBA shop. I found out that I couldn't do all four dives necessary for open water certification in one day, so I was going to have to settle for plain old scuba diver certification. That means I would do all my skills in two dives and have to do two "pleasure dives" with an instructor to get open water certified. That was fine with me, I was just glad I was going to be able to dive. Kelsey went on a guided hiking/snorkeling tour of Isla de la Plata while I went diving.
The day was amazing. On the boat ride over to Isla de la Plata, I saw two groups of dolphins. There had to have been at least a hundred of them. The captain slowed down the boat and we sat out on the bow and watched the dolphins swim along side the boat. It was breath taking. I was so close that I got splashed in the face when one of them came up for air.
The dives were also really sweet. We did one dive down to 10 meters and one to 6. I saw a whole bunch of fish: angelfish, blue angelfish, a fish that looked like a mud skipper, some kind of bright yellow fish, a puffer fish, a few eels, starfish, and a few manta rays. This was all among massive brain coral formations. It was amazing!
After the dives, I went back and got my logbook all filled out. Then, Kelsey and I got dinner, ran back to our hostal to grab our stuff, and ran to the bus station just in time. The bus ride was just fine, and I fell asleep. When I woke up around 7am, we were stopped and Kelsey informed me that there were four landslides on our route. We were explaining to some women on the bus what happened on our way there, and Kelsey wanted to show them pictures of the first landslide only to find that her camera was gone. Apparently, someone had stolen it while she was sleeping, even though it was in her backpack under her feet. We searched the entire bus and even got the bus driver to go through everyone's luggage, but it was gone. Someone must have taken it and left before we realized it was gone. She lost all her pictures of Isla de la Plata.
In the end, we waited 7 hours for them to clear the four landslides, none of which were as massive as the one we had to traverse on the way there. So, we got home around 3pm, when we had intended to get home around 5 or 6am.
So, that's 5 landslides, 54 hours on a bus, 2 hours of sleep in a bed, 1 robbery, and 2 SCUBA dives. What a weekend!
First, Kelsey and I miscalculated the traffic in Quito on a Friday night and almost missed our bus. We had given ourselves a 40 minute cushion to find the bus terminal and whatnot; we ended up arriving 25 minutes after the bus was supposed to leave. Luckily, our friends were already there, and they stalled the bus for us.
Then, around 9pm, we heard, "No hay paso a Santo Domingo," which means that the bus couldn't get to Santo Domingo, the next destination on the route. About a half an hour later we got to a big line of trucks and buses. The driver then informed us that we would be spending the night on the bus...in the middle of the highway. When I woke up that morning, we found out that there had been a landslide.
We tried to convince our bus driver to go back to Quito, but he had to get the bus to Puerto Lopez eventually, and it was cheaper for him to wait out the repairs than to go back to Quito. After waiting a total of twenty hours, we finally crossed the landslide. It was definitely not safe to cross--probably one of the scariest moments of my life.
About 9 hours later (around 5am), we arrived in Puerto Lopez, checked into our hostal and got 2 hours of sleep.
Sunday during the day, Kelsey and I continued with our plans. The other two girls went home, and I don't blame them. It had been a lot to handle already. Anyway, at 8:00am, Kelsey and I went to the SCUBA shop. I found out that I couldn't do all four dives necessary for open water certification in one day, so I was going to have to settle for plain old scuba diver certification. That means I would do all my skills in two dives and have to do two "pleasure dives" with an instructor to get open water certified. That was fine with me, I was just glad I was going to be able to dive. Kelsey went on a guided hiking/snorkeling tour of Isla de la Plata while I went diving.
The day was amazing. On the boat ride over to Isla de la Plata, I saw two groups of dolphins. There had to have been at least a hundred of them. The captain slowed down the boat and we sat out on the bow and watched the dolphins swim along side the boat. It was breath taking. I was so close that I got splashed in the face when one of them came up for air.
The dives were also really sweet. We did one dive down to 10 meters and one to 6. I saw a whole bunch of fish: angelfish, blue angelfish, a fish that looked like a mud skipper, some kind of bright yellow fish, a puffer fish, a few eels, starfish, and a few manta rays. This was all among massive brain coral formations. It was amazing!
After the dives, I went back and got my logbook all filled out. Then, Kelsey and I got dinner, ran back to our hostal to grab our stuff, and ran to the bus station just in time. The bus ride was just fine, and I fell asleep. When I woke up around 7am, we were stopped and Kelsey informed me that there were four landslides on our route. We were explaining to some women on the bus what happened on our way there, and Kelsey wanted to show them pictures of the first landslide only to find that her camera was gone. Apparently, someone had stolen it while she was sleeping, even though it was in her backpack under her feet. We searched the entire bus and even got the bus driver to go through everyone's luggage, but it was gone. Someone must have taken it and left before we realized it was gone. She lost all her pictures of Isla de la Plata.
In the end, we waited 7 hours for them to clear the four landslides, none of which were as massive as the one we had to traverse on the way there. So, we got home around 3pm, when we had intended to get home around 5 or 6am.
So, that's 5 landslides, 54 hours on a bus, 2 hours of sleep in a bed, 1 robbery, and 2 SCUBA dives. What a weekend!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Otavalo
Last Saturday, I went to an artisan market in Otavalo. I had to wake up at 5:30am to catch the first bus out at 7:15. It felt like we were going to miss the bus because everyone in the group arrived at different times and we had to find each other in the bus station. But in true Ecuadorian style, the bus didn't leave on time, so we were fine.
The market was overwhelming in a good way. There were easily a thousand booths there. I bought a blanket, a sweater, a skirt, a scarf, two bags, a soccer jersey, two necklaces, and a few gifts for my family. Needless to say, I spent a lot of money. Nevertheless, I want to go back and buy a few more things.
The market was overwhelming in a good way. There were easily a thousand booths there. I bought a blanket, a sweater, a skirt, a scarf, two bags, a soccer jersey, two necklaces, and a few gifts for my family. Needless to say, I spent a lot of money. Nevertheless, I want to go back and buy a few more things.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Centro Histórico
On Saturday, I went to the centro histórico (historical center) of Quito. It has some original Inca buildings, a bunch of churches, and some museums. To get there, we took the Trole and then walked a bit. The Trole was super crowded, and someone managed to steal my camera. :( Then, after we had been at the centro histórico for maybe a half an hour, it started raining, and then it started pouring. So, we wound up cutting the day a bit short and heading home via taxi. So, the day kinda sucked.
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