Week 5
4th - 10th October 2011
Buenos dias chicas! Our last week of spanish has been a most enjoyable time. For our last session we went for breakfast together at an indigenous organic chocolate caffe and then for a walk around parque metropolitano. During the week, thanks to Nina's impeccable spanish teaching skills, I have learnt vital words such as 'caca' (poo), 'busta' (boobs) and the phrase 'yo te lamo Robin' (I lick Robin). All incredibly useful in ones day to day discussions! Nina is a fantastic teacher and when trying to teach me phrases to do with illness went on to act out a patient and doctor scene where she promptly diagnosed my imminent death within a month (apparently with the symptoms I gave her the signs were not good).
Whilst out on our day trip it turned into a compteition with us 3 brits against the Ecuadorians. The scores where as follows:
1 to the Ecuadorian Spanish teachers for winning the arm wrestles against us Brits. Lizzi vs Nina ( Lizzi won), myself vs Zulma (Zulma won), Robin vs Alex ( Alex ......a girl.....won)!
1 to the Brits who managed to polish off their pancakes, pineapple, and hot chocolate whilst the Ecuadorian team failed leaving Robin much delighted at the prospect of left overs.
1 to the Brits as myself and nina competed in a fast walk/ run down the street after she complained about walking for 20 minutes to the park (this is the first day I haven't seen her wear heels). I won!
1 to the Ecuadorians: my one endearing feature my child size hands were beaten in their tinyness by Nina and Zulma whose hands were ultra small. Robin then classified us all as umpa lumpas making himself willy wonka.
In the cafe I tried hot chocolate con queso (with cheese) and have to say I think in future I will stick to the ususal hot chocolate as it was like finding random lumps of un-melted mozzarella in my drink. Whilst in the park we had great fun in the children's play area which had a slide in the shape of an elephant with a barrel for its body I stuck my head out of the barrel and to my delight was promptly called 'Elefante caca' (i knew that word would come in useful)!
On a more spiritual note we also had our Latin link conference in Cumbaya this weekend and it was great to meet the rest of the team and hear about all of their different projects. It deffinitly sounds as though there is a lot of potential areas to get stuck in and help out at in Santo Domingo with our own teaching project, the compassion project, Orph Aids (an orphanage for children whose parents died of Aids), a disabled school and a womens refuge. We were given talks by Pastor Galo which were really refreshing and encouraging and he welcomed us into Ecuador by washing our feet as a symbolism of Jesus washing the disciples feet and welcoming them. In the afternoons we went for walks and spent time together as a group. One particularly bonding walk was when the sun was so hot the roads were melting (leaving our foot prints in the tarmac) on this walk we got potentially attacked by some geese and deffinitly attacked by a dog which cut half our party off leaving Amy, victoria and Lizzi fearing for their lives. The food was delicious but every meal consisted of the usual 3 carbs diet of potato, rice and pasta! It was a fantastic time of bonding and laughter.
Other moments which have tickled our laughter boxes this week:
- How to send post, Ecuador style. Getting up at 3:45am to give some postcards to a chap who was heading back to England to post for us as post out here is a tad unreliable.
-Looking out the window of the apartment to see two men hanging out there washing absoloutly starkers from the waist down! I've always said the apartment has a great view!
-Getting smacked over the head repeatedly by wet bags and umbrellas whilst travelling on a packed bus.
-Seeing a ecuadorian chocolate sign which read 'snickers can suck on our cacao'. Very clever.
- The shop called 'doggy style'
-The fantastic son of one of the missionaries out here who at 4 years old unashamedly pulled his trousers down and went for a wee with the loo door open allowing all the group a view of his bottom whilst we were being preached to.
- The accomodation at the conference center consisted of simple rooms with single beds so on our 6 month wedding anniversary we slept in seperate beds........ surely not a good sign.
If we could again request your prayers for our accomodation as we have had to post pone our move to Santo Domingo for a week due to lack of accomodation but we have some deffinite leads so hopefully come friday/ Saturday we should be down there.
Mucho amor de Ecuador xxxxx
Look at this weeks photos by clicking on this LINK
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Monday, 3 October 2011
Mindo mania!
Week 4
28th- 3rd October 2011
Tuesday to thursday has been a relatively quiet week as we are settled into our routine in Quito. I have managed to make a grown man cry on the bus by accidentally standing on his foot (a bit over the top perhaps it was his latin american flair........ or it could have been the fact that his toes bore the full weight of my body as I am yet to master a bus journey without smacking into someone). On the same bus journey I later managed to sit on a random woman´s lap when I spotted a free chair....... i blame the altitiude.
I was ecstatic this week as I got to make a collage in my spanish lesson of all the things I liked from magazines it brought me back to my school years as I sat there stating ´A mi me gusta el peliqula harry potter y Narnia´. In spanish i am unfortunatly learning irregular verbs and it seems like there are more irregular than regular ones! Robin and Lizi are learning their reflective verbs so there are lots of 'doing' words being flung around our house. On friday our little troup of spanish teachers and learners (Robin, lizi and myself) headed out for our once a week out of the class trip. We went to the Banco Central museum in Quito again we managed to magically go on a trip on a auspicious day. The 30th September is a day of rememberance for the president as last year on that day there was a huge protest with the police and military demanding more pay. The police then captured the president and held him hostage in the Police hospital. In retaliation the military decided it was on the side of the president and his supporters and bust him out of the hospital. Later the president allowed the police and military a pay rise! This year to commemorate his supporters rescuing him he made the museum free to enter and held a big protest filled mainly with idigenous people shouting their support for him (some say they were paid to do it..... who knows)! The museum was highly interesting and there were many interesting artefacts but perhaps the best, in my opinion, was the fertility statues where the male genitalia was nearly twice the size of the person! There were also lots of stories of death rituals in the old tribal days and these amazing jars which where in the shape of different animals. They would pour water into the jar and swing it from side to side to allow the air to blow over the top and it would create the sound of that animal an amazing tool for capturing animals.
The weekend was when the fun really started! After spanish on friday we headed off to Mindo a tiny city 2 hours away from Quito. Mindo is in the middle of the cloud forest so the temperature is a lot hotter and apparently a lot wetter! We got off the bus and waited to get a taxi in to Mindo central in a torential down pour I had clearly been mistaken in my choice of clothing with white trousers and white shorts in my bag. We stayed in Hostel Cecilia which was right next to a rio and in the morning it was so beautiful with bright floweers and banana trees. We had our breakfast in the open dining area next to the rio where tonnes of humingbirds and other brightly coloured birds where also having their breakfast ( Sprite and a banana). We saw lots of blue grey tangaras and yellow rumped tangaras which are completely black with a belly the colour of a yellow highlighter and a orange bird which we dont know the name of. Mindo is famous for its orchids, butterflies and birds. We started the day of with a bit of canopying (zip linning across the canopy) taking in the full extent of the cloud forest. Whilst zipping across you can see lots of flowers and we even spotted a few vultures (they clearly knew that the tiny harness and clip which supports your entire body weight to a thin cable was bound to end in food at some point). The first zip across was scary with the huge plunge to your death gap beneath you and the floor but the rest where great. We even started to venture out a bit doing the butterfly and superman position (the butterfly involves you going completely upside down with all your limbs spread out and the superman involves you intimately wrapping your legs around the constructers body and leaning forward in a superman pose).
After the adrenaline pumped zip lining we took the tarabita (cable car) across to the other side of the canyon where we walked through the cloud forest to five different waterfalls. I felt like Steve Irwin trapsing through the jungle with nothing but my back pack filled with oreos and crisps to survive on. We waded into the waterfalls which were colder than expected and quite fast flowing getting completely soaked. It started to chuck it down with rain so Robin transforming into Ray Mears started snapping the massive leaves (which where bigger than the length of my body) off the plant and using it as a umbrella........ (so much for take nothing but photos leave nothing but foot prints)! The final waterfall Nambillo had a bigger swimming area so I decided here was my chance for a proper swim, there was no one around except us so i stripped off into my bickini and coyly began my descent into the freezing water when a huge group of tourists came along taking multiple rictures of the waterfall with my big white derriere in all of them! Robin was the first one in but it was hard to swim properly as the current was quite strong and the rocks below looked a tad daunting. Finally exhausted and really quite wet we headed back to the cable car to head home. On the road home we expected to find a taxi or a car to a grab a lift in but alas no we had to walk in the torrential rain for an hour down to the bottom of the mountain before we nabbed a lift.
The afternoon was spent touring round a chocolate factory which had the most fantastic chocloate brownies ever! The chocolate itself was a bit to strong for my likeing at 80% Coco. The sad fact is nothing can beat good old cadbury´s in my mind which is probably 20% coco and 80% sugar. Whilst on the chocolate factory tour we met this great irish couple on their honey moon who kept asking where the chocolate rivers and umper lumpers where!
Now you may be aware of robin´s love of relaxing and lie in´s and we are normally always late for everything but not so on sunday morning! Robin was up at 4am!! What could possibly get robin out of bed at this time in the morning pray tell?? The cock of the rock! Yes, a fantastic red crested bird one of the most famous in Ecuador! We got a taxi up to the mountain and at 5am in the pitch dark with nothing but Robin´s piddly wind up 'eco' torch we headed out into the complete blackness of the cloud forest. Thankfully the taxi driver took pity on us and lent us his head torch. Michaels where are you when we need you! We started down the track of the bird reserve to the lek where the andean cock of the rock does it´s display at 6am. To say it was an easy journey would be a lie with thick thigh deep mud, land slides, sheer cliff drops and the inability to see more than 2 feet in front of you! I got stuck in the mud more times than I can count and had to get yanked free as my foot was so deeply immersed. I also managed to slip in the mud and land my bottom in the friendly squelchy mud which delighted in dirtying my pristine white trousers ( as I said earlier I did not pack the right things for Mindo). Finally the sun started to come out and we could see where we were going. With the clouds and mist resting on the tree topped canopy. The final stint up to the lek was incredibly hard as we were racing to get there in time with a steep mountain to climb covered in slippery mud. I was drenched in sweat! Robin raced ahead whilst Lizz and I trailed behind stripping off as many layers as possible. Whilst Robin was racing ahead he disturbed a monkey in a tree which went racing off as soon as he clapped eyes on Robin. Finally at the lek we could see the cock of the rock doing its display ( a lot of jumping around) and calling to each other. Unfortuantly our camera was not good enough to take a picture of them through the foliage. It looks like this:
Was it worth it? Absoloutly it was amazing to watch! On our way back we went for a little de- tour into the forest and saw loads of different vibrant coloured butterflies and at the reseve headquarters there were numerous types of hummingbirds going crazy for their breakfast sprite! We stopped at a rio for a refreshing dip ( Robin went in whilst I enjoyed wading in my hired wellies) before starting our long trek back. All this before breakfast at 9am. Whilst waiting for the taxi to arrive a bird watcher spotted a toucan in one of the near by trees and we got to have a look through her telescope to see this amazing bird. One of these:
We were over the moon! After brunch we headed back to Quito bitten to death by mosquitos but happy!
Other hilarious things:
-Funny spanish words which are rude in english such as 'toser' (to cough).
- Funny signs such as 'snob' a food label. For example 'snob jam'.
-The garage called 'the pits'.
- The sandwich shop which in english means 'sandwiches of the colon'.
-Lizzi trying somehow managing to order a taco milkshake!
We are entering into the last stint in Quito and will be moving after this weekend to Santo Domingo. Still no idea about accomodation! Please pray that they find something suitable for a married couple.
Love from Ecuador!
To see our pictures of our fun time in Mindo click on this LINK and this LINK and this LINK (perhaps I should take less pictures!)
28th- 3rd October 2011
Tuesday to thursday has been a relatively quiet week as we are settled into our routine in Quito. I have managed to make a grown man cry on the bus by accidentally standing on his foot (a bit over the top perhaps it was his latin american flair........ or it could have been the fact that his toes bore the full weight of my body as I am yet to master a bus journey without smacking into someone). On the same bus journey I later managed to sit on a random woman´s lap when I spotted a free chair....... i blame the altitiude.
I was ecstatic this week as I got to make a collage in my spanish lesson of all the things I liked from magazines it brought me back to my school years as I sat there stating ´A mi me gusta el peliqula harry potter y Narnia´. In spanish i am unfortunatly learning irregular verbs and it seems like there are more irregular than regular ones! Robin and Lizi are learning their reflective verbs so there are lots of 'doing' words being flung around our house. On friday our little troup of spanish teachers and learners (Robin, lizi and myself) headed out for our once a week out of the class trip. We went to the Banco Central museum in Quito again we managed to magically go on a trip on a auspicious day. The 30th September is a day of rememberance for the president as last year on that day there was a huge protest with the police and military demanding more pay. The police then captured the president and held him hostage in the Police hospital. In retaliation the military decided it was on the side of the president and his supporters and bust him out of the hospital. Later the president allowed the police and military a pay rise! This year to commemorate his supporters rescuing him he made the museum free to enter and held a big protest filled mainly with idigenous people shouting their support for him (some say they were paid to do it..... who knows)! The museum was highly interesting and there were many interesting artefacts but perhaps the best, in my opinion, was the fertility statues where the male genitalia was nearly twice the size of the person! There were also lots of stories of death rituals in the old tribal days and these amazing jars which where in the shape of different animals. They would pour water into the jar and swing it from side to side to allow the air to blow over the top and it would create the sound of that animal an amazing tool for capturing animals.
The weekend was when the fun really started! After spanish on friday we headed off to Mindo a tiny city 2 hours away from Quito. Mindo is in the middle of the cloud forest so the temperature is a lot hotter and apparently a lot wetter! We got off the bus and waited to get a taxi in to Mindo central in a torential down pour I had clearly been mistaken in my choice of clothing with white trousers and white shorts in my bag. We stayed in Hostel Cecilia which was right next to a rio and in the morning it was so beautiful with bright floweers and banana trees. We had our breakfast in the open dining area next to the rio where tonnes of humingbirds and other brightly coloured birds where also having their breakfast ( Sprite and a banana). We saw lots of blue grey tangaras and yellow rumped tangaras which are completely black with a belly the colour of a yellow highlighter and a orange bird which we dont know the name of. Mindo is famous for its orchids, butterflies and birds. We started the day of with a bit of canopying (zip linning across the canopy) taking in the full extent of the cloud forest. Whilst zipping across you can see lots of flowers and we even spotted a few vultures (they clearly knew that the tiny harness and clip which supports your entire body weight to a thin cable was bound to end in food at some point). The first zip across was scary with the huge plunge to your death gap beneath you and the floor but the rest where great. We even started to venture out a bit doing the butterfly and superman position (the butterfly involves you going completely upside down with all your limbs spread out and the superman involves you intimately wrapping your legs around the constructers body and leaning forward in a superman pose).
After the adrenaline pumped zip lining we took the tarabita (cable car) across to the other side of the canyon where we walked through the cloud forest to five different waterfalls. I felt like Steve Irwin trapsing through the jungle with nothing but my back pack filled with oreos and crisps to survive on. We waded into the waterfalls which were colder than expected and quite fast flowing getting completely soaked. It started to chuck it down with rain so Robin transforming into Ray Mears started snapping the massive leaves (which where bigger than the length of my body) off the plant and using it as a umbrella........ (so much for take nothing but photos leave nothing but foot prints)! The final waterfall Nambillo had a bigger swimming area so I decided here was my chance for a proper swim, there was no one around except us so i stripped off into my bickini and coyly began my descent into the freezing water when a huge group of tourists came along taking multiple rictures of the waterfall with my big white derriere in all of them! Robin was the first one in but it was hard to swim properly as the current was quite strong and the rocks below looked a tad daunting. Finally exhausted and really quite wet we headed back to the cable car to head home. On the road home we expected to find a taxi or a car to a grab a lift in but alas no we had to walk in the torrential rain for an hour down to the bottom of the mountain before we nabbed a lift.
The afternoon was spent touring round a chocolate factory which had the most fantastic chocloate brownies ever! The chocolate itself was a bit to strong for my likeing at 80% Coco. The sad fact is nothing can beat good old cadbury´s in my mind which is probably 20% coco and 80% sugar. Whilst on the chocolate factory tour we met this great irish couple on their honey moon who kept asking where the chocolate rivers and umper lumpers where!
Now you may be aware of robin´s love of relaxing and lie in´s and we are normally always late for everything but not so on sunday morning! Robin was up at 4am!! What could possibly get robin out of bed at this time in the morning pray tell?? The cock of the rock! Yes, a fantastic red crested bird one of the most famous in Ecuador! We got a taxi up to the mountain and at 5am in the pitch dark with nothing but Robin´s piddly wind up 'eco' torch we headed out into the complete blackness of the cloud forest. Thankfully the taxi driver took pity on us and lent us his head torch. Michaels where are you when we need you! We started down the track of the bird reserve to the lek where the andean cock of the rock does it´s display at 6am. To say it was an easy journey would be a lie with thick thigh deep mud, land slides, sheer cliff drops and the inability to see more than 2 feet in front of you! I got stuck in the mud more times than I can count and had to get yanked free as my foot was so deeply immersed. I also managed to slip in the mud and land my bottom in the friendly squelchy mud which delighted in dirtying my pristine white trousers ( as I said earlier I did not pack the right things for Mindo). Finally the sun started to come out and we could see where we were going. With the clouds and mist resting on the tree topped canopy. The final stint up to the lek was incredibly hard as we were racing to get there in time with a steep mountain to climb covered in slippery mud. I was drenched in sweat! Robin raced ahead whilst Lizz and I trailed behind stripping off as many layers as possible. Whilst Robin was racing ahead he disturbed a monkey in a tree which went racing off as soon as he clapped eyes on Robin. Finally at the lek we could see the cock of the rock doing its display ( a lot of jumping around) and calling to each other. Unfortuantly our camera was not good enough to take a picture of them through the foliage. It looks like this:
Was it worth it? Absoloutly it was amazing to watch! On our way back we went for a little de- tour into the forest and saw loads of different vibrant coloured butterflies and at the reseve headquarters there were numerous types of hummingbirds going crazy for their breakfast sprite! We stopped at a rio for a refreshing dip ( Robin went in whilst I enjoyed wading in my hired wellies) before starting our long trek back. All this before breakfast at 9am. Whilst waiting for the taxi to arrive a bird watcher spotted a toucan in one of the near by trees and we got to have a look through her telescope to see this amazing bird. One of these:
We were over the moon! After brunch we headed back to Quito bitten to death by mosquitos but happy!
Other hilarious things:
-Funny spanish words which are rude in english such as 'toser' (to cough).
- Funny signs such as 'snob' a food label. For example 'snob jam'.
-The garage called 'the pits'.
- The sandwich shop which in english means 'sandwiches of the colon'.
-Lizzi trying somehow managing to order a taco milkshake!
We are entering into the last stint in Quito and will be moving after this weekend to Santo Domingo. Still no idea about accomodation! Please pray that they find something suitable for a married couple.
Love from Ecuador!
To see our pictures of our fun time in Mindo click on this LINK and this LINK and this LINK (perhaps I should take less pictures!)
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Photos!!
Check out our photos of our first week in Quito by clicking on this LINK and LINK
Check out our photos of our second week in Quito by clicking on this LINK
Check out our photos of our third week in Quito visiting the basillica and Mital del Mundo by clicking on this LINK
Check out our photos of our third week in Quito visiting Quilatoa by clicking on this LINK
Check out our photos of our third week in Quito visiting Cotopaxi by clicking on this LINK
Check out our photos of our second week in Quito by clicking on this LINK
Check out our photos of our third week in Quito visiting the basillica and Mital del Mundo by clicking on this LINK
Check out our photos of our third week in Quito visiting Quilatoa by clicking on this LINK
Check out our photos of our third week in Quito visiting Cotopaxi by clicking on this LINK
Monday, 26 September 2011
Dragging a granny up a mountain!
Week 3
21st September - 27th September
It has been a busy week for us over here in Ecuador. We have been to the basillica (risking life and limb on the insane ladders), visited the middle of the earth 'Mitel del Mundo', kayaked in a volcanic lake and climbed up a 5897 meter high mountain to 4800meters!
The Basillica in the old town of Quito is very beautiful (but not as stunning as Salisbury Cathedral). We climbed up to the bell tower via the rickety spiral staircase and finally up a thin metal ladder which when wearing flip flops was not the safest option but not to fear as a lady managed to climb up in massive killer heels (the extremes of Ecuadorian fashion). You could then walk on a rickety bridge across the length of the Basillica to the central tower where you had to climb up a very thin ladder. For those who are insane enough (Lizi, Robin and I) you could then climb on a ladder which leans out of the building so you are literally climbing on thin air. I then proceeded to panic at the top as to get down you had to put your feet out into the sky of Quito to find the first rung of the ladder. Thankfully Lizzi managed to coax me down. Legs wabbling from the fear and andrenaline I was delighted to touch the ground again. We also went to visit La Compañia a Jesuit church which is covered in 7 tonnes of gold. Quite the sight! Although you have to wonder if the gold would have been better spent elsewhere.
I have attained my first mosquito/ fly bite and after an intial panic that I had manged to pick up a tick in La Carolina park (only to find out it was dried blood) it is now very itchy and red. Spanish lessons continue in their usual manner with many many mistakes! For our spanish class on friday the 23rd of September we went on a trip to the middle of the earth 'Mital del Mundo'. Unbelievably we managed to visit the middle of the equator on the equinox when the sun follows the exact equator line which only happens twice a year (on the 23rd of September and 21st March). Unlike the rest of the year on these two days there are 24 hours in a day usually it´s actually 23 hours and 59 minutes! Therefore at 12 midday for the first time in my life I lost my shadow as the sun was directly above us. This also meant the sun was extremely powerful and it was very hot. The museum had three great tests to prove the power of the equator. The water test when you fill a sink full of water and pull the plug out when the sink sits directly on the middle of the equator the water falls straight out without swirling, if you move the sink to the north or south of the line the water flows out swirling in one direction and another for the south. The egg balancing on a nail test (the name says it all) apparently there is less graviational pull in the middle of the equator so you should be able to balance an egg on a nail. The strength test if you stand to the south of the middle of the equator and get someone to push down on your arms it is harder than when you stand in the middle of the equator again due to gravity. Also rather joyously you also loose 1kg in weight just by stepping onto the middle of the equator. Unfortunatly you do gain it back when you step of it! Due to the weaker amount of gravity at the middle of the equator you balance is effected. When asked to perform a alcohol test (putting one foot infront of the other head back and eyes shut) no one managed to walk in a straight line except Nina one of the spanish teachers who was lunging her way forward. Nina had been 'accidentally' pushed into a cactus earlier by Robin and got a cactus thorn stuck in her arm! Have we mentioned what a great impression we have made on our teachers so far!
We were also shown the delightful process of shrinking heads to be worn around the neck as a necklace! Due to the equinox there was also a music and dance performance by the indigenous people which was great to watch.
If that was not enough we then went to lake Quilatoa and Cotopaxi mountain at the weekend! We started early at 5am and began our journey to Quilatoa a beautiful luminous blue lake which sits in a dormant volcanoe at 3821 meters up. Our journey to the lake involved steep winding roads up the mountains, spotting several lamas, seeing tones of stray dogs and even a few piglets out sunbathing as well as the amazing mountains surrounding us as we travelled in the valley of the volcanoes. We stopped at Zumbahu where the indigenous Quechuan people run a market every saturday I purchased a set of alpaca gloves and hat for $4 in preparation for the cold mountainous heights. Arriving at the top of lake Quilatoa is breathtaking its the most exquisit colour´s of blue and completely surrounded by the walls of the volcano. Robin and I climbed down the mountain to the lake below and took a kayak out onto the tranquil lake which looks green up close. Robin later went for a dip in the lake (a very brave move as it was as cold as the english sea in january)! What had been a gloriously sunny day suddenly turned dark and cloudy and it began to rain/ hail. Down at the bottom of the lake our the local people trying to entice visitors to get a mule back up the mountain. I decided to take an old lady up on the offer. Big mistake in my naivety I assumed when she had saddled up two mules I would get on one and she would get on the other. Apparently not! As I traveled on the mule the old lady deffinitly old enough to be my gran walked up the mountain dragging the mule behind her! I was fine if a bit wet from the rain but this old granny was panting and clutching her chest, I thought I was potentially killing her! Somehow I had managed to drag a granny up a mountain. The mule I was on didn´t help matters, acting as a 'donkey on the edge' always preffering to walk on the edges of the sandy (sheer cliff) path and whenever it spotted some shrubbery just off the verge it would lean over to try and eat it! Three times I let out a terrified wimper as it lent over the edge to eat!
The next day we visited Cotopaxi standing at 5897 meters we can normally see it's white capped summit from our apartment in Quito but today it was totally covered in thick white clouds. We stopped to drink some matte coco tea which apparently helps with altitude. It must of worked as neither Robin or I got headache´s or got dizzy. The road up to the car park at 4500meters was more like a dirt track and was incredibly bumpy and the poor minibus had to cross two rivers/ fords as well. Cotopaxi national park is also stunning with no towns in sight for miles nothing but the mountainous valleys and lakes. When we arrived at the car park, which was scattered with snow, we began our ascent up the mountain to the refuge which is 300 meters higher than the car park at 4800meters. It took us an hour to climb up to the refuge using the zig zag technique to help us rather than attempting to go straight up. I needed to stop every few minutes to catch my breath back. I could hear my heart pounding and as oxygen is pretty thin on mountains it made the task even harder but Robin helped me and together we made it to the top! When at the refuge we spotted a pack of mountain foxes. Robin went over to take a picture of four of them not realising there was one on a rock right behind him looking down at him. We then went across to the glaciers where those wanting to climb cotopaxi to the summit go and practice. As we traveled to the glaciers we walked through snow that was up to my knees (Bindi´s shin´s). We climbed back down cotopaxi to the car park where we got on mountain bikes and cycled 20km down the mountain to the restaurant for lunch. My bike´s breaks didn´t work which I luckily noticed just before the hairy descent. The bike ride was fantastic! An exhilerating cycle down was very bumpy and we were on our breaks the whole time expecially at the top where it was exceptioanlly. The views were great and Bindi manged to get back to the restaurant first! I of course came last out of our minibus clan. Exhausting but a fantastic weekend even though the clouds never shifted so we could see the summit!!
We are hoping for a more relaxed week this week and will be focusing hard on our spanish lessons!
Please continue to pray for us to be able to pick up the language quickly!
With lots of love from Ecuador xxx
p.s I am hoping to put some pictures up soon!
21st September - 27th September
It has been a busy week for us over here in Ecuador. We have been to the basillica (risking life and limb on the insane ladders), visited the middle of the earth 'Mitel del Mundo', kayaked in a volcanic lake and climbed up a 5897 meter high mountain to 4800meters!
The Basillica in the old town of Quito is very beautiful (but not as stunning as Salisbury Cathedral). We climbed up to the bell tower via the rickety spiral staircase and finally up a thin metal ladder which when wearing flip flops was not the safest option but not to fear as a lady managed to climb up in massive killer heels (the extremes of Ecuadorian fashion). You could then walk on a rickety bridge across the length of the Basillica to the central tower where you had to climb up a very thin ladder. For those who are insane enough (Lizi, Robin and I) you could then climb on a ladder which leans out of the building so you are literally climbing on thin air. I then proceeded to panic at the top as to get down you had to put your feet out into the sky of Quito to find the first rung of the ladder. Thankfully Lizzi managed to coax me down. Legs wabbling from the fear and andrenaline I was delighted to touch the ground again. We also went to visit La Compañia a Jesuit church which is covered in 7 tonnes of gold. Quite the sight! Although you have to wonder if the gold would have been better spent elsewhere.
I have attained my first mosquito/ fly bite and after an intial panic that I had manged to pick up a tick in La Carolina park (only to find out it was dried blood) it is now very itchy and red. Spanish lessons continue in their usual manner with many many mistakes! For our spanish class on friday the 23rd of September we went on a trip to the middle of the earth 'Mital del Mundo'. Unbelievably we managed to visit the middle of the equator on the equinox when the sun follows the exact equator line which only happens twice a year (on the 23rd of September and 21st March). Unlike the rest of the year on these two days there are 24 hours in a day usually it´s actually 23 hours and 59 minutes! Therefore at 12 midday for the first time in my life I lost my shadow as the sun was directly above us. This also meant the sun was extremely powerful and it was very hot. The museum had three great tests to prove the power of the equator. The water test when you fill a sink full of water and pull the plug out when the sink sits directly on the middle of the equator the water falls straight out without swirling, if you move the sink to the north or south of the line the water flows out swirling in one direction and another for the south. The egg balancing on a nail test (the name says it all) apparently there is less graviational pull in the middle of the equator so you should be able to balance an egg on a nail. The strength test if you stand to the south of the middle of the equator and get someone to push down on your arms it is harder than when you stand in the middle of the equator again due to gravity. Also rather joyously you also loose 1kg in weight just by stepping onto the middle of the equator. Unfortunatly you do gain it back when you step of it! Due to the weaker amount of gravity at the middle of the equator you balance is effected. When asked to perform a alcohol test (putting one foot infront of the other head back and eyes shut) no one managed to walk in a straight line except Nina one of the spanish teachers who was lunging her way forward. Nina had been 'accidentally' pushed into a cactus earlier by Robin and got a cactus thorn stuck in her arm! Have we mentioned what a great impression we have made on our teachers so far!
We were also shown the delightful process of shrinking heads to be worn around the neck as a necklace! Due to the equinox there was also a music and dance performance by the indigenous people which was great to watch.
If that was not enough we then went to lake Quilatoa and Cotopaxi mountain at the weekend! We started early at 5am and began our journey to Quilatoa a beautiful luminous blue lake which sits in a dormant volcanoe at 3821 meters up. Our journey to the lake involved steep winding roads up the mountains, spotting several lamas, seeing tones of stray dogs and even a few piglets out sunbathing as well as the amazing mountains surrounding us as we travelled in the valley of the volcanoes. We stopped at Zumbahu where the indigenous Quechuan people run a market every saturday I purchased a set of alpaca gloves and hat for $4 in preparation for the cold mountainous heights. Arriving at the top of lake Quilatoa is breathtaking its the most exquisit colour´s of blue and completely surrounded by the walls of the volcano. Robin and I climbed down the mountain to the lake below and took a kayak out onto the tranquil lake which looks green up close. Robin later went for a dip in the lake (a very brave move as it was as cold as the english sea in january)! What had been a gloriously sunny day suddenly turned dark and cloudy and it began to rain/ hail. Down at the bottom of the lake our the local people trying to entice visitors to get a mule back up the mountain. I decided to take an old lady up on the offer. Big mistake in my naivety I assumed when she had saddled up two mules I would get on one and she would get on the other. Apparently not! As I traveled on the mule the old lady deffinitly old enough to be my gran walked up the mountain dragging the mule behind her! I was fine if a bit wet from the rain but this old granny was panting and clutching her chest, I thought I was potentially killing her! Somehow I had managed to drag a granny up a mountain. The mule I was on didn´t help matters, acting as a 'donkey on the edge' always preffering to walk on the edges of the sandy (sheer cliff) path and whenever it spotted some shrubbery just off the verge it would lean over to try and eat it! Three times I let out a terrified wimper as it lent over the edge to eat!
The next day we visited Cotopaxi standing at 5897 meters we can normally see it's white capped summit from our apartment in Quito but today it was totally covered in thick white clouds. We stopped to drink some matte coco tea which apparently helps with altitude. It must of worked as neither Robin or I got headache´s or got dizzy. The road up to the car park at 4500meters was more like a dirt track and was incredibly bumpy and the poor minibus had to cross two rivers/ fords as well. Cotopaxi national park is also stunning with no towns in sight for miles nothing but the mountainous valleys and lakes. When we arrived at the car park, which was scattered with snow, we began our ascent up the mountain to the refuge which is 300 meters higher than the car park at 4800meters. It took us an hour to climb up to the refuge using the zig zag technique to help us rather than attempting to go straight up. I needed to stop every few minutes to catch my breath back. I could hear my heart pounding and as oxygen is pretty thin on mountains it made the task even harder but Robin helped me and together we made it to the top! When at the refuge we spotted a pack of mountain foxes. Robin went over to take a picture of four of them not realising there was one on a rock right behind him looking down at him. We then went across to the glaciers where those wanting to climb cotopaxi to the summit go and practice. As we traveled to the glaciers we walked through snow that was up to my knees (Bindi´s shin´s). We climbed back down cotopaxi to the car park where we got on mountain bikes and cycled 20km down the mountain to the restaurant for lunch. My bike´s breaks didn´t work which I luckily noticed just before the hairy descent. The bike ride was fantastic! An exhilerating cycle down was very bumpy and we were on our breaks the whole time expecially at the top where it was exceptioanlly. The views were great and Bindi manged to get back to the restaurant first! I of course came last out of our minibus clan. Exhausting but a fantastic weekend even though the clouds never shifted so we could see the summit!!
We are hoping for a more relaxed week this week and will be focusing hard on our spanish lessons!
Please continue to pray for us to be able to pick up the language quickly!
With lots of love from Ecuador xxx
p.s I am hoping to put some pictures up soon!
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Nina es feo....... no!! Nina es frio!
Week 2
14th - 20th September
We are getting into the swing of our spanish lessons with many hilarious mistakes occuring along the way! Robin has managed to call his tutor fat twice by accident, Lizzi has managed to call her tutor old and I have managed to call Nina (Lizzi's tutor) ugly when attempting to say cold. Im sure they love us! We have been on a class excursion to the old town of Quito to Plaza Independencia which is surrounded by La Cathedral and the presidents palace. We even got to go on a tour inside the palace and see the Ecuadorian version of the house of commons.
We have also visited Ottavalo market which is the biggest Latin American market and sells loads of local produce at a reasonable haggling price. The produce is mainly alpaca scalves, blankets, jumpers and ponchos along with lots of beautifully weaved tapestrys full of vibrant colours. There are also some pretty awesome hammocks and hammock chairs! It was our first proper journey out of Quito since we got here and we managed it quite well only getting lost once. On the bus to Ottavalo was the usual human beings plus a ginger kitten and a bull dog puppy in a pink t-shirt. Whilst the market was full of beautiful goods there was also lots of very poor old beggars with barely any teeth asking for money. It seemed so unjust that 'gringos' (foreigners) come to this market with more money in their pockets than these people earn in numerous years whilst these poor old people had to beg for food and clothing. They were so small in stature that the women often reminded me of my momonashraf (my iranian gran).
Whilst at the market we did try are hand at a bit of haggling........... often failing badly at trying to be convincing in our pleas that we only had $10 whilst Robin got his wallet out infront of the vendor clearly showing we had a $20 note. But it did help me practice my spanish asking ¿Caunto cuesta esto? Es ist moi caro! (how much is that? and that is very expensive). We did in the end purchase a few alpaca items and a brightly woven throw for our hideous sofa back home knocking between 25%- 50% off the original vendor price. A succesful day............... although we had to get Lizzi to pay for our bus fair home!
We have also attended our first Latin Link prayer meeting at a fellow latin link missioanries home. There were 11 of us and it was great to meet some of the extended members of latin link in Ecuador. Especially making new friends with three people who are living in Santo domingo de los Colorados where we will be for the next 5 months doing teaching and church work.
On sunday we went to a baptist church which is just down the road from where we are staying. The service was an epic 3 hours with 2 and a half hours of it spent on a sermon! It started well with lots of kissing and greeting and then moved into the worship leader crooning a love song to his wife in front of the whole congregation to celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary!
Other random highlights are:
-Seeing a green humming bird right in front of our faces.
- Seeing a massive (almost trantula-esc) dead spider on the pavement. (which means they are out there somewhere, lurking!)
-watching a man juggle machetes whilst balancing a ball on his head.
- seeing a man breath/ eat fire at a traffic light.
- After 2 failed attemtps last week to find the Quito ultimate frisbee team we have sucesfully tracked them down and Lizzi and Robin played a game with them on tuesday night in la Carolina park. (As i cant catch and care more about my nails breaking, i stayed on the side lines silently cheering)! Lizzi then proceeded to get cramp in the taxi home which made the taxi driver crack up in hysterics.
We are all feeling much better now so thank you for any prayers said! Please can you pray that we manage to pick up spanish quickly so that we can communicate better with the Ecuadorian people.
With love from Ecuador xxxx
14th - 20th September
We are getting into the swing of our spanish lessons with many hilarious mistakes occuring along the way! Robin has managed to call his tutor fat twice by accident, Lizzi has managed to call her tutor old and I have managed to call Nina (Lizzi's tutor) ugly when attempting to say cold. Im sure they love us! We have been on a class excursion to the old town of Quito to Plaza Independencia which is surrounded by La Cathedral and the presidents palace. We even got to go on a tour inside the palace and see the Ecuadorian version of the house of commons.
We have also visited Ottavalo market which is the biggest Latin American market and sells loads of local produce at a reasonable haggling price. The produce is mainly alpaca scalves, blankets, jumpers and ponchos along with lots of beautifully weaved tapestrys full of vibrant colours. There are also some pretty awesome hammocks and hammock chairs! It was our first proper journey out of Quito since we got here and we managed it quite well only getting lost once. On the bus to Ottavalo was the usual human beings plus a ginger kitten and a bull dog puppy in a pink t-shirt. Whilst the market was full of beautiful goods there was also lots of very poor old beggars with barely any teeth asking for money. It seemed so unjust that 'gringos' (foreigners) come to this market with more money in their pockets than these people earn in numerous years whilst these poor old people had to beg for food and clothing. They were so small in stature that the women often reminded me of my momonashraf (my iranian gran).
Whilst at the market we did try are hand at a bit of haggling........... often failing badly at trying to be convincing in our pleas that we only had $10 whilst Robin got his wallet out infront of the vendor clearly showing we had a $20 note. But it did help me practice my spanish asking ¿Caunto cuesta esto? Es ist moi caro! (how much is that? and that is very expensive). We did in the end purchase a few alpaca items and a brightly woven throw for our hideous sofa back home knocking between 25%- 50% off the original vendor price. A succesful day............... although we had to get Lizzi to pay for our bus fair home!
We have also attended our first Latin Link prayer meeting at a fellow latin link missioanries home. There were 11 of us and it was great to meet some of the extended members of latin link in Ecuador. Especially making new friends with three people who are living in Santo domingo de los Colorados where we will be for the next 5 months doing teaching and church work.
On sunday we went to a baptist church which is just down the road from where we are staying. The service was an epic 3 hours with 2 and a half hours of it spent on a sermon! It started well with lots of kissing and greeting and then moved into the worship leader crooning a love song to his wife in front of the whole congregation to celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary!
Other random highlights are:
-Seeing a green humming bird right in front of our faces.
- Seeing a massive (almost trantula-esc) dead spider on the pavement. (which means they are out there somewhere, lurking!)
-watching a man juggle machetes whilst balancing a ball on his head.
- seeing a man breath/ eat fire at a traffic light.
- After 2 failed attemtps last week to find the Quito ultimate frisbee team we have sucesfully tracked them down and Lizzi and Robin played a game with them on tuesday night in la Carolina park. (As i cant catch and care more about my nails breaking, i stayed on the side lines silently cheering)! Lizzi then proceeded to get cramp in the taxi home which made the taxi driver crack up in hysterics.
We are all feeling much better now so thank you for any prayers said! Please can you pray that we manage to pick up spanish quickly so that we can communicate better with the Ecuadorian people.
With love from Ecuador xxxx
Monday, 19 September 2011
Hola mi nombre es Emma!
Week 1
6th- 13th September
The spanish language study has begun!! I can now offically say what my name is, where I live, how I feel and how old I am as well as the spanish alphabet! Which is pretty much identical to the english alphabet except it has four extra consenants. Robin on the other hand is happily chatting away to taxi drivers and can understanding what things are in a supermarket (which is very useful).
Over the course of our first week in Quito we have expereinced a lot!
- Bus rides on which you must cling for dear life and limb, to a bar or be thrown against the thronging mass of people to keep you upright.
- Women who take high heels very seriously and who have been spotted wearing stilletos whilst walking up mount pichincha which is a vlocano and stands at 4050meters (she was at 3050 meters up).
- An amazing artists fayre at El Ejido park in La Mariscal where there was a mass of young children and a lovely old woman in the middle of the park guarding her sweet stall with a rifle gun.
- A man juggling machetes at some traffic lights.
-A clothes shop specifically designed for dogs.
- Seeing numerous dogs dressed in pink dresses, tutu's and t-shirts.
- Hilarious shop names such as 'the athletes foot', 'A beer and a fight makes a good british night' and 'horny pan' (pan translated is bread).
and many other hilarious anicdotes! Quito is deffinitoly a city in which you can never guess what's going to happen next. Take a leisurely stroll in the La Carolina park for instance, we were just ambling along enjoying the soft grass when a man dressed like a woman with balloons down his top and by his bottom walked past (for a brief second Robin stood still stunned at possibly seeing the largest breasts ever only to realise that the woman was a man and the breasts balloons.... i fear he may of been somewhat dissapointed).
Although there have been numerous hilarious moments in the first week we have also been busy settling into and finding our way around Quito. After queing on three seperate occasions at the Ministry of toursim we finally managed to get out our tourism visas stamped and our Ecuadorian id cards. We have also been enjoying the local food especially the 'almuerzo del dias' (the lunch of the day) which is a 3 course meal consisting of soup, a rice dish with some form of meat, a often random dessert (Ecuador doesn't do desserts) and a drink of fruit juice all for the grand total of $2 the english equivalent of 1.50. Not bad!
We have also gone up the Teleferiqo to Mount Pichincha and attempted to climb up the rest of the volacno. Lizzi and Robin did well but the altitude was to much for me and spotting a rent a horse place catched a lift up the volcano for half an hour on a much needed four legged friend. When I dismounted both Robin and Lizi were tired and dizzy but I surprisingly felt fine! The view from the top of Mount Pochincha onto Quito is stunning the city is literally surrounded by the Andean mountains. When we look out of our apartment windows we can see three snow capped mountains, cotopaxi which stands at 5898m, cayambe which stands at 5700m and papallacta. On saturdays in El Ejido park there is a beautiful artisania market which sells Ecuadorian pieces of art, alpaca scalves, ponchos, throws, hammocks, bags, purse and jewellery. They are all brightly coloured and most are intricately woven.
On Sunday we experienced our first taste of church Ecuadorian style and it was a shock to the system. We went to IEVI a mega church which has 4 services in the morning each lasting a hour and a quarter with a fifteen minute turn around time. As one congregation leave the other comes barging in. The members must make it in within the 15 min turn around otherwise the doors shut. The church itself is very high tech with their own news channel for notices. The worship was loud and funky and people were jumping up and down and clapping. (I felt incredibly british as I clapt conservatively along to the songs). The congregation for each mass is roughly 500 people and it seems pets are welcome to as the man in front of us brought a very adorable puppy along with him. It was a youth service and was actually very informative, although I couldn't undersatand any spanish as they spoke so fast, I did learn from the slides that Quito's population is made up of 45% 0-25 year olds. A massive amount of young people! When walking around you can not fail to notice the huge amount of babies and children there are here compared to England. The service also included a group of break dancers ....... perhaps this should be included in fun church Simon?
All in all we are settling in well and enjoying the quirks of Ecuador. Please pray for our health as we have all been hit with dodgy stomach's due to the different food out here. I shall hopefully be uploading some photos on here and facebook soon.
Much love to you all from Ecuador xxx
6th- 13th September
The spanish language study has begun!! I can now offically say what my name is, where I live, how I feel and how old I am as well as the spanish alphabet! Which is pretty much identical to the english alphabet except it has four extra consenants. Robin on the other hand is happily chatting away to taxi drivers and can understanding what things are in a supermarket (which is very useful).
Over the course of our first week in Quito we have expereinced a lot!
- Bus rides on which you must cling for dear life and limb, to a bar or be thrown against the thronging mass of people to keep you upright.
- Women who take high heels very seriously and who have been spotted wearing stilletos whilst walking up mount pichincha which is a vlocano and stands at 4050meters (she was at 3050 meters up).
- An amazing artists fayre at El Ejido park in La Mariscal where there was a mass of young children and a lovely old woman in the middle of the park guarding her sweet stall with a rifle gun.
- A man juggling machetes at some traffic lights.
-A clothes shop specifically designed for dogs.
- Seeing numerous dogs dressed in pink dresses, tutu's and t-shirts.
- Hilarious shop names such as 'the athletes foot', 'A beer and a fight makes a good british night' and 'horny pan' (pan translated is bread).
and many other hilarious anicdotes! Quito is deffinitoly a city in which you can never guess what's going to happen next. Take a leisurely stroll in the La Carolina park for instance, we were just ambling along enjoying the soft grass when a man dressed like a woman with balloons down his top and by his bottom walked past (for a brief second Robin stood still stunned at possibly seeing the largest breasts ever only to realise that the woman was a man and the breasts balloons.... i fear he may of been somewhat dissapointed).
Although there have been numerous hilarious moments in the first week we have also been busy settling into and finding our way around Quito. After queing on three seperate occasions at the Ministry of toursim we finally managed to get out our tourism visas stamped and our Ecuadorian id cards. We have also been enjoying the local food especially the 'almuerzo del dias' (the lunch of the day) which is a 3 course meal consisting of soup, a rice dish with some form of meat, a often random dessert (Ecuador doesn't do desserts) and a drink of fruit juice all for the grand total of $2 the english equivalent of 1.50. Not bad!
We have also gone up the Teleferiqo to Mount Pichincha and attempted to climb up the rest of the volacno. Lizzi and Robin did well but the altitude was to much for me and spotting a rent a horse place catched a lift up the volcano for half an hour on a much needed four legged friend. When I dismounted both Robin and Lizi were tired and dizzy but I surprisingly felt fine! The view from the top of Mount Pochincha onto Quito is stunning the city is literally surrounded by the Andean mountains. When we look out of our apartment windows we can see three snow capped mountains, cotopaxi which stands at 5898m, cayambe which stands at 5700m and papallacta. On saturdays in El Ejido park there is a beautiful artisania market which sells Ecuadorian pieces of art, alpaca scalves, ponchos, throws, hammocks, bags, purse and jewellery. They are all brightly coloured and most are intricately woven.
On Sunday we experienced our first taste of church Ecuadorian style and it was a shock to the system. We went to IEVI a mega church which has 4 services in the morning each lasting a hour and a quarter with a fifteen minute turn around time. As one congregation leave the other comes barging in. The members must make it in within the 15 min turn around otherwise the doors shut. The church itself is very high tech with their own news channel for notices. The worship was loud and funky and people were jumping up and down and clapping. (I felt incredibly british as I clapt conservatively along to the songs). The congregation for each mass is roughly 500 people and it seems pets are welcome to as the man in front of us brought a very adorable puppy along with him. It was a youth service and was actually very informative, although I couldn't undersatand any spanish as they spoke so fast, I did learn from the slides that Quito's population is made up of 45% 0-25 year olds. A massive amount of young people! When walking around you can not fail to notice the huge amount of babies and children there are here compared to England. The service also included a group of break dancers ....... perhaps this should be included in fun church Simon?
All in all we are settling in well and enjoying the quirks of Ecuador. Please pray for our health as we have all been hit with dodgy stomach's due to the different food out here. I shall hopefully be uploading some photos on here and facebook soon.
Much love to you all from Ecuador xxx
Sunday, 11 September 2011
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