Ecuador, what to say about Ecuador. Well first, did you know it's on the equator? Seriously, if you didn't know that I sincerely think you need to enroll in a geography class or just a smart person class since Ecuador sounds like equator, it's pretty basic. A fun fact about Ecuador is that it has the highest point on the equator, which is why the French thought it was so great. I say this because obviously there are other towns and cities on the equator, but Ecuador gets the sweet name because it has the highest point on the equator! Cool beans huh? So we obviously went to the equator, Eric is a science nerd so he was LOVING it. I mean I love it too, I'm pretty nerdy myself, but he is one of those "doesn't believe it 'til he sees it" sort of guys, Santa must've been tough on him. Anyway, so we watched all of the equator experiments like watching water get flushed down a sink and how it doesn't spin either way (thanks physics)! We also went and took silly pictures leaping from hemisphere to hemisphere. I don't know why Mandy Moore didn't go to the equator to be in two places at once in A Walk to Remember, that would've been far more romantic. The journey to get to the Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world) was far from fun though. We took an hour and a half city bus all around town until thankfully we actually made it to the equator, but seriously we thought we were in a different country at this point. Also the extremely rude bus collecting money man, ripped us off. This really upset me because I mean, I have a deep love for Ecuador ever since my summer here and I would like to believe that people aren't mean and wouldn't do that, but in fact, he did. Our experience was saved a bit by the three extremely kind women who tried to stick up for us gringos, but alas we got ripped off nonetheless. Rude.
We also rode the teleferico up the Pichincha Volcano to see incredible views of Quito. Quito is massive so seeing it from above is rather helpful. Plus, the last time I was on the teleferico it was very cloudy and freezing and I could barely get glimpses of the city through the clouds. The day we went it was perfect. It was barely cold and you could see the entire city plus four volcanos, don't mind. Seriously Ecuador has I want to say something like 75 volcanos, WHAT. Now this is scary for me because, have you ever seen Dante's Peak? Let's talk about how I was far too young to watch that movie when I did and I will never watch it again. The grandma has to get left behind in the acid lake?! AN ACID LAKE?! Who wouldn't have nightmares about that? So living in the shadow of Mount Rainier is hard enough for a girl who has an intense fear of volcanos, but then to travel to the land of 75 volcanos?! That's madness. Also sorry, spoiler alert! I might've just ruined the ending to Dante's Peak for you. Go rent it, Pierce Brosnan is the main character so I mean that's a perk, but don't expect to sleep for months.
After spending two days in Quito exploring both Quito's colonial/historical side and its nature side, we hopped on a bus to the town of Otavalo. Otavalo is a 30 minute bus ride South of Cotacachi so it was the perfect place for us to post up for three nights. Not to mention our hostel in Otavalo was freaking adorable. It was on a hill so we got a rooftop view of the whole town. ADORABLE! Our first day there we were recommended to go to this restaurant called, wait for it...Taco Bello. TACO BELLO. Anna Hawryluk are you reading this? You love Taco Bell! Anyway, it wasn't Taco Bell, but it was this restaurant owned by a man who was from California (hands down the best state in the nation, duh) and he moved to Otavalo and so what did he have? Real, California Mexican food. I mean not really, but he tried his best. I ate guacamole if that's what you're wondering, and it was damn good.
The next two days we spent nonstop time with the incredible people of Cotacachi. It was literally the perfect time to visit because my brother Benji, was home for just this week from Aviation School! My Ecuadorian brother, the pilot! So proud. Anyway, so I introduced Eric to the whole family! My Ecuadorian mom made a delicious lunch and then we wandered around the streets of Cotacachi, pointing out various sites, things that have changed, where my favorite empanada lady is, where the internet cafe is that I emailed him from when I was there last, etc. Afterwards we ended up at the church where it just so happened that EVERYONE that I knew was there! So hugs all around and me trying to muster up my best Spanish to hold longer conversations. It was the best. The next day my two brothers, Jhona and Benji took us for a hike around Lake Cuicocha, a gorgeous lake that is in a crater of that's right, another damn volcano (Volcano Cotacachi). We hiked around on a perfect day, snapping pictures of Cotacachi, Otavalo, and Ibarra down below. Then we went to have lunch at Alfonso and Surley's house (this is the home that I spent the most time at when I lived in Cotacachi) and it was quite the party! They had invited over Alfonso's sister and her husband (who by the way we have the same hair, seriously we do!) and Benji and Jhona, and then their kids and Jimmy, and it was just a whole shindig. It was such a blast and I just felt so honored that these people care so much about me and were as excited to see me as I was to see them. Not to mention Surley is basically the best chef in town. She made us an authentic Ecuadorian feast and even remembered that I am a vegetarian! We sat outside and ate and talked and laughed about all sorts of things and just had the best time catching up, I miss everyone already. We ended the day with an evening at the church for youth group. Here we played games, sang Spanish worship songs (Eric naturally, loved this... Keeks, Allyss, and Santiago, we sang Todopodoroso! Do you remember when we sang that?!), and ate pizza. All in all, a magical Ecuadorian day.
We ended our time in Ecuador at the artisan market in Otavalo, where we wandered the streets and made fun of tourists in full-blown alpaca suits. Seriously, I'm not sure if tourists realize how ridiculous they look. Unfortunately, our backpacks are so small that we withheld from purchasing hoards of souvenirs and our own alpaca suits. There's always next time!
I will miss Ecuador dearly, once again having to part with the most gorgeous and green place I have ever been, but I will definitely be back if only to eat an empanada and see my family. In other news, we made it safely to Cusco, Peru and are leaving on a 5 day/4 night trek to Machu Picchu tomorrow! EEK! This is our final week on the South American Sweep so we're sure going to make it count!
Happy birthday America, this year you have a lot to celebrate, like reading our emails, this blog, and my Facebook...le sigh. Too bad we couldn't hang out with Snowdy (our nickname for Snowden) while we were in Quito since he's stuck in Russia! Our last blog post will be coming to you from Seattle. In the meantime, we'll be eating lots of churros (literally the best food on the planet that just so happens to be abundant in Peru), lots of chocolate (Peru is the 13th largest exporter of chocolate, om nom nom), and maybe some healthy food in there too!
Lastly, a photo for your enjoyment! Thankfully, my camera didn't get stolen this time so I actually have a picture of us at the equator! Phew.
xoxo,
Mandi & Eric
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