traveling band

After some painless convincing, Ryan and I, along with two Israelis, a gigantic Dutch guy and an amazing French Canadian, left Baños late Tuesday night and headed to Riobamba... The plan was to head to Riobamba and wake up early Wednesday morning to hike up the tallest mountain in Ecuador, Chimborazo. We got into to Riobamba and stayed at the Hotel Imperial for $5 a night.It was pretty grimy but we went to bed early and woke up the next morning at 6:30 for the hike. A driver came at 8 to drive us to breakfast and then he drove up the hour and half it took to get to the beggining of the treck.

The mountain is actually an extinct volcano and supposedly the peak of Cimborazo is the furthest point from the center of the earth.So the drive up the lower parts of the mountain is beautiful; there are many small villages and waterfalls.But at one point, the entire landscape changes because you get to a point above the treeline.Mud and giant lava rocks cover the ground and the sky was completely grey the day we did it, so there was an incredible eery feeling.The driver dropped us off at this wooden cabin, where we sat and played cards and drank coca tea for about an hour to get used to the altitude, 4800 meters.If you dont have a guide or hiking equipment, you are supposed to hike from this first wooden cabin, or refuge as they call it, to the next one about 200 meters up.It seems like a short distance but the second I started hiking, I could feel this immense pressure in my chest cavity.We filled up on waters and chocolate to help along the way, but even with all of this I constantly felt the altitude. We must have stopped every ten minutes or so to catch our breath and relax our hearts.After 40 minutes we reached the second summit and sat in front of a small fire to warm up, since it was freezing - and I was wearing almost everything I had in my backpack. we played some more cards (Taki - an Israeli card game similar to Uno) and tried to figure out the route to go higher.Snow was mostly at the highest peaks, so we figured that we would try to get to the snow and head back down.

After the second refuge, there was not much of a trail and the mountain was much steeper.It started snowing right after we left refuge and the mountain was completely encompassed in these pale grey clouds.I turned around a bit after we had left and realized that you could not see the cabin anymore, the mountain was just come completely isolated and mysterious.Eventually, though, I was overwhelmed by the altitude and everyone sat on one of the cliffs to take Chimborazo in before we turned back.The walk back was easy and by the time we got the bottom where the car was, it was 4 and we were all exhuasted.

When we got back to Riobamba, Ryan and I wanted to figure out our plans, since we had previously arranged to stay with this girl in Guayaquil who we had found on couchsurfing.com - a website that helps connect people who are traveling and/or want to share their own town or city with others. It is amazing. Check it out.It is truly a safe and smart way to travel.Anyway, Ryan and I were supposed to go to stay in Guayaquil, but the rest of our 'traveling band' were heading straight to Montañita, the beach town with great surf. So Ryan and I talked to Kahyda, our host from Guayaquil and decided to go along with the others to Montañita.

After four long bus rides, we all got to Montañita late thursday night and headed straight for the hostel.Veronica, the French Canadian, was here some weeks back so she took us to where she stayed when she was here before. Its called Centro del Mundo and we are all staying on the third floor, its completely open except for the roof of course, but it is right on the beach and a block from the center of town, which is both good and bad..We sleep on the mattresses on the floor and wake up to the sound of the ocean - a bit of paradise with the additive of loud music and heavy drinking.On the weekends, this is like a smaller version of Costa Rica or Cabo San Lucas but more like like a hippie colony with non-stop partying and tons of Israelis.People walk around barefoot and most everyone is here for the surf, partying, or to enjoy the carefree life.The town is congested between a few streets and the real pueblo lies just around those streets.The beach is vast and clean.It was probably once a very serene place.But we've been told its getting built up fast and the tourism has just been growing.On the weekends here it is packed and this is the low season, the high season is from January on.It is somewhat surreal here and I can see why so many people stay - its a beach town where you can live on $2,000 a year. So many people come as a tourist and never leave...

Its amazing how Montañita is this haven for Israelis.The main restaurant in town is owned by Israelis and the first morning we were here, the owner invited us to his house for Shabbat dinner.He came here about five years ago and it seems like he has been investing in it ever since.He has a hostel and a restaurant, with plans for a newspaper and a gym and his employees are really taken care of...Either way, the dinner was beautiful.The men prayed first and then some 40 of us sat down at a long table to welcome shabbat and eat.I hadn't eaten a meal so appetizing since Ive been in Ecuador. There was an enormous amount of food, which was all delicious.After dinner, the electricity in the house was turned off, I think from the concert that was about to start next door.So we all sat around in a candlelit circle while some of the guys played guitar.Eventually the electricity came back and the concert of three Ecuadorian bands, began, so we headed out to watch it from Tomer's property. (Tomer is the owner of the restaurant and hostel.) He has a beautiful home with tons of land, cabanas in the back, direct access to the beach, and plenty of space for guests.

Since the dinner, we have have not been doing much.The town of Montañita is pretty small and if the weather is bad there is not much to do but sit around.So Saturday was a lazy day, but finally yesterday we got some sun, which is abnormal for this time of year, so we all headed to the beach.The water is fairly warm here, even if the sun is not out, and the waves aren't too large unless the tide comes in super strong.I played a bit of soccer on the beach and then attempted some surfing unsuccessfully.

And otherwise, Ive mostly done a lot of lounging - lounging in a hammock, lounging on the beach, lounging in a restaurant, lounging in the hostel, lounging in someone elses hostel.Its strange since mostly everyone here is at the end of their trips, since they came from Brazil and went down to Argentina and up to Ecuador. So they really want to be here and relax. But Ryan and I are at the beginning of our trip, so we juxtapose all of them.One guy told me that you will feel like you are in the beginning of your trip until you hit the half year mark and then your whole pespective changes. So I dont know, I guess Ill just have to wait and see.But its amazing to think what Ryan and I have ahead of us.

And it looks like we may leave tomorrow along with the rest of our little group even though I was somewhat offered a job here.But Im sure many more jobs and opportunities will come, and I'm not sure how I would fare in a party city that never sleeps. So we will go to Guayaquil and finally check out the largest city in Ecuador for a few days and probably on to Cuenca and someday Peru....

Un beso muy fuerte a todos.xoxo

P.S. Mom- you would be so proud, Ive even praticed a little of my Hebrew.

cellular

here is my phone number in case you need to reach me while I am in Ecuador. The country code is 593 and my numbed is 98158726. It is easy to buy a $5 calling card online to call from the US to a cell phone in Ecuador. Hope to hear from you.

Also, sorry for all the mispellings, the keyboards here are a bit funky.

Al principio

So I am definitely sorry that it has taken me so long to get started on this.I have sat down before at many a computer and not been able to start the blog, but since it is a rainy and cold day in Baños and we have free internet, I can´t really pass up the opportunity....

Ryan and I got into to Quito in the afternoon of the 10th, and it was surprisingly sunny since weather.com had informed us that it was going to rain all week there. We got in and easily hopped into a taxi and went to the Secret Garden Hostel.The hostel was in the old part of town, the centro histórico, which is the area with most of the churches, plazas, federal buildings and or course El Panecillo.
The first day, Ryan and I settled into our cozy little room of the hostel and then took a walk around to get a bit more oriented.They have these communal dinners on the terrace roof at the hostel that Ryan and I joined in on that first, but I got a headache from the altitude and had to sleep. No worries though, I told Ryan to make some friends at dinner and of course, he made many.He said the food was good and that we had been invited to see the Basilica del Voto Nacional the following day.
The hostel made it incredibly easy to meet people; some from the US, a lot of Aussies, a lot of Brits, and some Germans and Dutch.Other than that first day, Ryan and I traveled in these giant Gringo packs with a bunch of kids traveling like ourselves.The Ecuadorians on the streets definitely stared, but I´m not sure what they thought was more bizarre - the giant gringo pack or the three blondes that were with us.Either way, people stare.Less in some parts than others, but in Quito I always felt like I was being watched.Never specifically harassed, but they know we are different.
We did mostly sightseeing/touristy stuff in Quito. We hiked up the gothis towers in the Basilica del Voto Nacional.It has amazing views of the vast city of Quito, but it was unbelievably scary to climb.There are mostly ladders that go to the top and there are these pieces of chicken wire behind the steps, but somehow the chicken wire never felt like it was any kind of security as you climb.Although, that is extremely common here.There are no railings and no real sense of security when it comes to doing something like that.It is your choice to hike up to the top, so therefore it is your responsibility to take care of yourself as you do it.There was an open ledge at the top of the tower and you can crawl through a tiny window and risk sitting on this ledge to view the city.Let me just say that I usually consider myself pretty gutsy when it comes to that kind of stuff and I refused to even go close to the window.But no one died or got robbed, so it was a good day for us tourists.
While we were in Quito we also spent some time at the Museo Guayasamín which houses his hude collection of extremely religious pre-Colombian art, which seemed to be many variations on the crucifix.The guide then took us through the vast difference between European art and Latin American art from the 16th Century up to 18th Century.She explained that the art in South America heavily relies on the re-interpretation of European ideals and how the is a combination of Europe and the mestizo.The Museum is also home to his own paintings - Oswaldo Guayasamín, who is world famous for his images that have been likened to that of Picasso.
A friend, Morgan and I went up to El Panecillo, which is this beautiful Angel standing on top of a serpent on top of globe.She is the Virgen de Quito and she is atop a beautiful hill to the South of the Old Town.We went up and were there to catch the end of the sunset.Quito is unbelievably vast.These rectangular shaped houses and small apartment buildings, all with box-like windows, color the Andes Mountains and the surrounding volcanoes.The streets seem to magically weave in and out with just enough room for a car in each direction - there is none to spare.But the views are amazing and for being a city of a little over 1 million, you would never know it because from the mountains, the city seems to go on endlessly.But unlike New York, Quito is built out and not up.
On our way down, our driver asked me my opinion of the political situation in America.He was curious who I was going to vote for and once I said Obama, he was shocked.He asked me about the racism in the States and if we had ever had a black President before.It was amazing to learn how much Ecuadorians follow American politics.But being here, it seems obvious.They use American currency and so their entire economy relies on the States.Ecuadorians themselves are in a crucial time in their lives.On September 28th, the people are to vote yes or no on weather they consitution should be re-written.It is obligatory to vote here - after the 28th, if you want to buy anything in a store or supermarket you have to show your ID and also a voucher that says you have voted.It seems that because it is obligated, many have strayed from the entire political system.But everyone I talked to in Quito, is hoping for change.They want the constitution to change to lessen the corruption that currently exists in the government and it seems like the current President has been better in helping the poor and indigenous.And theday is ever approaching, so hopefully Ryan and I will get to see some of a change in Ecuador while we are here.
Otherwise, Quito, was quite a big city, so Ryan and I were somewhat eager to leave.It is always harder to get a sense of culture in the bigger cities, people are colder and things are more expensive - like our hostel (for $8 a night).
So Saturday we left for the day with a gringo pack again and headed 2.5 hours away to Otavalo, known for its massive market on Saturdays.All the Otavaleños wear traditional dress and stand under a tent selling everything from bags, to gloves, to panama hats, to traditional cuisines, to all kinds of clothes.The market dates back to pre-Inca time and is the largest craft-market in all of South America.But I can only take so much shopping and standing around so we only stayed for a couple of hours.Luckily we left when we did since we had to race back to Quito to get our packs to get on a four hour bus to Baños.
It was an extremely long day by the time we arrived in Baños, but it was cheaper to sleep here a night than stay in Quito for anymore time.Plus I have a friend of my cousin´s here, Eyal, who lived in Quito for the past three months through an engineering internship and it was his last few days in Ecuador so we thought we would head down to meet him.He set Ryan, me, and two others - Morgan and Jay, in a hostel down the street from him.Eyal is here with about ten others, some from his program, some visiting from Philly, and some hes met along the way.We all partied Saturday night and wokr up bright and early Sunday to go Canyoning.
Canyoning - which is incredible, is basically cascading down waterfalls. There were 13 of us and there are three guides that take you up to a part in the jungle and they give you a wetsuit and some $2 tennis shoes and some kind of harness and helmut.There are five waterfalls, the first one is 8 meters so we can all practice and then they range and get all the way up to 45 meters.There is nothing comparable to this.I stopped in the middle going down the biggest one and looked around.Its just gorgeous.The water gushes down over you and you cant hear anything else.Im not sure how safe it was and the water was almost unbearbly freezing, since it was raining and the sun was not out, but it was definitely worth it.Its an incredible adrenaline rush and totally worth the $20 splurge. (Ryan and I could probably eat like 10 meals on that amount) After the canyoning some of us headed to the thermal baths, which is what Baños is famous for. They funnel the water from the volcanoes into these baths; they have different temperatures and at night its beautiful because you are right under these waterfalls, watching them come down while relaxing in the hot baths.I think it was probably good for my muscles after shivering all day, but it definitely wasn´t as hygienic as it would have been if it was in the States.

And today Ryan and I slept in finally and caught up on our sleep and relaxed.We are thinking about heading to Riobamba, then Guayaquil, then hole up for a couple weeks in the beach town of Montañita so we can rent surf boards and chill out for a bit before heading to our first farm.But of course, none of this is really planned out, I´m sure we´ll decide the day of and just head somewhere.
Otherwise, were doing well and staying healthy and I think Ryan is in heaven because he is finally not the shortest guy around.All the natives seem to be even shorter than the both of us. :)
I miss you all and think about you constantly. Adios para ahora.