Mindo Cloud Forest

We went to the Mindo Cloud forest this weekend to get out of Quito for a while.  It was beautiful and incredibly relaxing and an easy 2+ hour bus ride out of the city.  We WILL be going back again!  Here are some photos.

One of the first things we did was take this cable car 500 meters across a canopy.  Not the safest thing we've ever done, but it was pretty!

 

  

 

I took this video of the ride:

On the other side we walk down a steep path to a waterfall:

 

 

We stayed in a hotel that consisted of three independent cabins with three rooms each nestled into the woods.  Each room looked onto the river nearby and you could hear the rushing water all night.  It was quite a change from the chorus of dogs and car alarms we hear at home. Here's our little cabin and the river.

 

I loved the river:

We also visited a Butterfly Sanctuary that houses and breeds some of the 3,000 species found in Ecuador.

  

  

Cool flowers:

  

Random shots of Spencer:

  

It was a great weekend and we can't want to go back!

An Ecuadorian Adventure (Part 2)

The adventure continued on the trip back from Saquisili. We hopped on the bus in town and waited to get moving. While we waited the bus filled to capacity with people and their goods from the market including a few armfuls of leaks and a bucket of fish (again, no ice or cover) so we knew we were in for a ripe ride. Eventually we headed out.

When the bus hit the main highway it was diverted due to some road work to a one lane dirt side road. I didn't even notice the switch until we got stuck, literally. Our bus tried to pass a semi truck on this thin little road.  Both drivers thought they could slip by, but they couldn't. It got a little scary when the top of the bus and the truck leaned towards each other and almost collided so most of us quickly disembarked to await a solution from the gathering crowd. Here's a photo:

Eventually, both vehicles backed up and the bus pulled into a farm while the semi passed. Then we all got back on as the bus tried to do a 15 point turn to get back onto the little road. The most exciting part of the trip came when another truck tried to pass us from behind while we were getting back on the road. At that point, our bus full of frustrated Ecuadorians with many children were not having it and started leaning out the window yelling and waving at the rude truck driver. I thought a riot was going to break out, but luckily the driver heeded their fiery outburst and backed off. 

After 3.5 hours we were back in our neighborhood in Quito. We took 8 buses throughout the day, so I feel like I definitely got my wish to learn and ride the public transit system. In fact, Spencer and I are headed out today on a bus to the Mindo Cloud Forest for an overnight adventure.  More pictures to come!

PS. I forgot to include these pictures of Cotopaxi, the 19,000 foot snow capped volcano near the city. It's just beautiful and majestic, no matter when you see it. I took this first one from the bus station:

I took this picture while driving, it's too bad the cloud rolled in and perched right on top of the peak:

An Ecuadorian Adventure (Part 1)

Yesterday I headed out for another adventure with my spanish tutor, Zayra.  This was the third of 4 outings that we've scheduled to date. As a native New Yorker, I've always had a fondness for public transit systems, so I had expressed to her that I wanted to learn the bus system in and around Quito.  Well, she certainly delivered on that!

Zayra took us on the public buses to the southern most point in Quito to Quitumbe Terminal, which is the gateway by bus to much of the country.  It took us nearly 2 hours and 3 buses just to get to that station from my house. Next we hopped on a bus headed for a local town that holds a central indigenous market called Saquisili. I had no idea what we were in for and after travelling nearly four hours by public bus I was ready to explore.

But, before I describe the market, I need to discribe the bus from Quitumbe. Once it left the terminal and headed out of the city there were no official stops. People just stand on the side of the road and hail the bus to get on. The driver rarely came to a full stop to let people on or off, really just slowing to a roll and people went for it - old, young, holding small children, holding bags whatever.  Run for it! And, every few miles someone would hop on and try to sell an item to the passengers. Everything from chips, grilled meat, fresh cut watermelon, english/spanish translation books etc. One woman even got on and gave a 10 minute lesson on dental hygene while selling her toothbrushes and floss! Eventually it was our time to get off the bus (in the middle of nowhere) and I specifically asked the driver to come to a FULL stop for me, because as we all know, I am prone to accidents. But, all was not safe as I realized we got off one bus and had to run for another in the middle of the road.  Luckily, Zayra got there and asked them to hold still for me to limp over.

Anyway, when we finally arrived in Saquisili, I was intrigued to discover that we were seemingly the only tourists in town. This was not a tourist attraction but a weekly market that drew people from all over the highlands to sell their items and get what they needed. As these are people that never make their way to a major city to hit up a Target type store, literally ANYTHING you can imagine was for sale and was crazy cheap. We walked around for a long time hitting stall after stall of item including food, clothes, kitchen supplies, car parts, furniture etc.

The first section we hit was food, of course. We came across the best thing I have eaten since arriving in Ecuador, these amazing fresh corn tortillas. These were 6 for $1. We got these on the way in AND out:

Some other pics from this section:

 

I did not try the pig this time.

 

Note the pig being walked on a leash in the distance. I wondered if he was on his way to the roaster.

 

We tried this fruit (I don't remember the name).  It was like nothing I've ever tasted. The fruit inside was in sections the size of a marshmellow.  It was oddly cold tasting and furry like cotton candy with a large black shiny pit in the middle. Strange but good.

   

Kate has a love of super hot peppers and was thrilled to find this lady selling some Ahi.

Next we headed to a section that was not covered and this is where we discovered the guys selling fresh fish (huh?).  No ice in sight. Needless to say, I will not be buying my fish here.

  

Unfortunately, we stumbled upon the live animal section - puppies, bunnies, guinea pigs, chickens, pigs etc. I quickly diverted us out of the section telling Zayra that it as "too indigenous for me!"

But, I did get a few shots:

  

  

 

These purple and orange things were live crabs and were all attached to a central string so the guy could walk around with them. One of many wow moments in the day.

Overall it was a fascinating market. I'm not sure I'd ever go back, but I am glad I got to see it once.  Stay tuned for part 2 - the ride home!

Knee Update

It was four weeks ago today that I made the fateful mistake that sprained my knee so I thought I would provide a little update. My knee is feeling much better overall since that day but I am not completely healed. I have seen a great Argentinian Physical Therapist 3 times and she has been a huge help. I didn't get an MRI or x-ray but she feels that I did not tear the ligaments. The remaining pain and  frustrating lack of mobility is coming from the meniscus that is STILL swollen.  It is rather annoying, but she feels that it will continue to get better and I should be walking fully normally in just a few more weeks. Unfortunately, I am confident that someday, in a decade or so, I am going to need some serious surgery on both knees! I'm so happy it wont be considered a pre-existing condition.

Spraining my knee just 2 weeks into this adventure definitely tempered my spirits for a while as I felt so limited in what I could do and where I could go. Each outing accompanied by fear, uncertainty, and pain. But, now that it is feeling better and stronger each day, I feel like I am ready to gear up for some amazing times once again! This week I am determined to learn the public bus system so I can travel all over the city for just $.25.

This weekend I was able to hike back to the spot of the initial incident and grabbed a photo of the location where it all happened. This is the item I decided to cross (quite well) and jumped off the higher end (quite badly):

Photos of our Home

For those who are interested in our apartment, here are some pictures. Maia was very curious about what I was doing so she made some cameos. This is our main living area. It's a combined living, dining and kitchen space.  You can see our front / main patio in the distance.  It is from that spot that I took the photos of our view last week.

 

 

Here is our back balcony. It's huge and runs the length of the apartment in the back. That white tile thing is an old fashioned washer basin.  

But we use these newer models:

The blue cans are our gas.  One for hot water, one for the stove and an extra. They cost about $3.00 each and last for about 3 weeks.  Guys drive around daily with refills in their trucks.  So, when we need a replacement, we just bring the empty down to our guard and he gets it for us.

I was very excited to get this bookshelf last weekend, so now I have somewhere to put our photos! The hall leads down to the bedrooms: 

 

The second bedroom is on the left, A.K.A. Spencer's 'office' and our bedroom on the right.

 

The master and a shot of our floor to ceiling built in closets. 

And finally, our third balcony directly across from the bedrooms.  We are seriously on the hunt for some outdoor furniture these days because it will double our living space as you can see!

It's a cute place with great floors, in a great location for a great price.  We are content, for now. Stay tuned!