An Overdue Update

Sorry to have kept my loyal readers in suspense for so long - firstly I had a visitor for twelve days, and then the internet at my house died unexpectedly. I have spent the last several days sitting on my roof with my computer and dish antenna, trying to get connected to the rest of the world, and it just isn't happening. Right now I'm in a café with Liz, who also has no internet at her house.

Anyway, Craig got here on April 9th, three days earlier than he had originally planned. Since he was quitting his old job, his boss didn’t feel like flying him to the coference, so he told him he could stop working a week early and would still be paid. So he came down here on Wednesday instead of Saturday.

Craig's lunch on his first full day here:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1984.jpg

An unexpected hailstorm as we were leaving for Baños:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1985.jpg

The first weekend he was here, we went to Baños with Marie and Liz. Just getting there was an adventure. We grabbed a cab on Amazonas, and when I said “Terminal Terrestre, por favor,” the poor cabbie put his head in his hands and gave me a look that said, “Is that really necessary? Why me, God?” I saw why when we had to drive half way around the city, and then through a foot and a half of moving water in a flooded tunnel, and then over a washed-out road that had lost half its pavement. It was a $15 ride, where most rides within the city are $2 or $3. Once we were at the station, it was a four-hour bus ride…that turned into a six-and-a-half-hour bus ride when part of Tungurahua fell into the road. This is Ecuador: there’s no such thing as getting somewhere in a hurry. We got so bored sitting in the stopped bus that we started goofing around, climbing over each other, leaning out the windows, laughing at stuff that really wasn’t funny, and all the other wonderful stuff that comes from being trapped in a tin can in the dark for an undisclosed amount of time.

When we finally got there, we grabbed the first hostel we found, which turned out be unfortunate. It was inexpensive, but there was a mysterious puddle of muddy water in the bathroom, an open window between our bedroom and Marie and Liz’s bathroom, and apparently noise in the hall all night. Us three girls slept through it all, but when I woke up, I encountered an exceedingly grumpy Craig who hadn’t slept all night due to drunk yelling and rolling gas canisters. While sleeping through fire alarms may be dangerous, there are times when I’m extremely grateful to sleep as heavily as I do.

Anyway, that night we took a chiva (bus with a place to sit on the roof) halfway up the mountain. We thought it would take us all the way up, but apparently not; I guess it’s too dangerous for them to be dragging tourists up there. We stopped in a place that had grilled kebabs and people juggling fire, then went back down to the hostel. Tired from the stupid bus ride, we crashed early.

Cat on the hill:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/Pix%20from%20Liz/CT018.jpg

City from the mountain:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/Pix%20from%20Liz/CT008.jpg

Random grafitti:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/Pix%20from%20Liz/CT001.jpg

The next day we had breakfast in another hostel with a café, then wandered through town, what little there was of it. We took pictures off a bridge on one side of town, then found a small park with pretty trees and a friendly cat. Craig bought swim shorts and sandals in town, and Liz bought a bathing suit, and then we set about finding the thermal baths. After all, the town is named Baños for a reason.

Craig and I in the park:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/Pix%20from%20Liz/CT056.jpg

Flowers in the park:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/Pix%20from%20Liz/CT054.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/Pix%20from%20Liz/CT053.jpg

Can you get inappropriate with a poster? Craig finds a way:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/Pix%20from%20Liz/CT046.jpg

The scariest trash can I've ever seen:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/Pix%20from%20Liz/CT045.jpg

Advice for your safety: if the volcano explodes, hike!
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/Pix%20from%20Liz/CT043.jpg

Craig and I on the bridge:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/Pix%20from%20Liz/CT039.jpg

We found the most popular bath and dragged all our stuff upstairs to the changing rooms. Unfortunately Craig’s new shorts were too small, so he sat and watched our stuff while the three of us went in the pools. We weren’t there long, although it was nice. After we had changed back into our clothes, we walked back to a place we had passed along the way that was renting ATVs and motorcycles. We rented a pair of dune buggies for three hours and took off, following a very badly-drawn map to a mysterious waterfall. After a couple of wrong turns and turn-arounds, we found the waterfall and stopped to eat lunch. I spilled most of my lunch on the ground and had to eat my chicken with a spoon, but it was still fun. After we ate we took it in turns to watch the backpacks while going on a little gondola-type-thing over the river to the other side, where the waterfall was. It was probably a 400-foot drop from the little metal people-basket to the bottom of the gorge, but remarkably I didn’t find it scary.

I got to drive the dune buggy back into town, which was the highlight of the day for me; I haven’t driven so much as a bicycle since I’ve been here, and it’s one of the things I miss most. I’m considering renting a motorcycle for a day before I leave, if I can save up the money. Anyway, we bought some taffy, something Baños is known for, stopped for lunch (again) in a café, and then found the bus back home. We were lucky and got to the station just in time to catch the last bus of the day back to Quito. There were no landslides or other disasters, and we made it back to the city in four hours. There was a gorgeous view of the volcano Cotopaxi on the way, as the sun was setting – the color of the horizon blended into the color of the base of the mountain, making it look like the peak was floating.

The Ecovía questioning your religion?
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1988.jpg

Quito, the City of Miscellaneous Holes:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1990.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1998.jpg

...and of Frightening Electrical Wiring Jobs:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_1997.jpg

Sometime during the week we wandered into south Quito and found the Panecillo. I had been there before, on my first trip four years ago, but I didn’t remember the incredible view of the city. We climbed inside the statue, took pictures of the view, and then tried to find a cab to take us back down. There was one driver who asked us where we wanted to go, and then ignored us in favor of someone else. There was only one other cab on the hill, and when I asked him if he would take us to La Marín, he said something unintelligible and then told us to wait. He wandered off, returned five minutes later and said he was looking for someone, then wandered off again. While we waited, I bought a popsicle and sat down to eat it while Craig wandered around taking more picures. The cab driver came back again ten minutes later and said, “Ok, let’s go.” We got in the car and took off, and the two of us exchanged the same look when we were overcome by the smell of pot in the cab. “Oh well,” I shrugged. “It’s not like they drive well here anyway.”

We made it to La Marin just fine, though, and wandered around in the south district for a little while before heading back to the north. It wasn’t that same day, but a different afternoon that we headed into La Marin to wander around. We found a mall that seemed to consist entirely of vendors of stolen electronics, and being the pair of geeks we are, I think we must have spent two hours there. Craig found a two-way handheld and had me ask how much it was. The vendor told me $60, and I translated while Craig bargained the guy down to $50. When we walked away, radio in hand and a huge grin on his face, I asked him what was so special about it. “See this?” he asked, pointing to white letters inscribed on the front that said LAPD. I nodded. “This is a Motorola Saber Astro, from the LAPD. I can sell this on eBay for $400.”

“Are you serious?!” He nodded and kept grinning. "Leave it to you to take a vacation and find a way to make money." We left the radio at my house so it would be safe, and by the end of the week, he had decided to sell his own radio and keep the new one for himself.

It was around that same time that the internet at my house went down. We did everything we could think of to fix it, but nothing worked, and by the time he left I still had no connection. We had been planning to spend the second weekend in Otavalo, but we woke up at 9am on Saturday morning…and then 10am…and then 11am. At that point I poked him and said, “I don’t know how late the buses leave from Otavalo.” “And I don’t care,” he said, and rolled over and went back to sleep. He said later that he was letting me sleep because I was sick, but I think he just wanted to sleep. Not that I objected – I’ve already seen Otavalo, and I do like my sleep.

Friday night we went to Nobar. Marie and Liz have been there several times, but it was the first time I had been back since the first unfortunate incident our second weekend in Quito. We had a good time dancing and trying to get Liz to dance with some guy who spoke neither Spanish nor English and couldn't understand a word we were saying.

Craig at Nobar:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_2002.jpg

Braulio at Nobar:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_2004.jpg

Craig and I with the owner of our favorite restaurant, an Argentinian steakhouse:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/100_2005.jpg

So as I said in the beginning, I’ve spent the last several days sitting on the roof with my computer, geeking out and tweaking my technology in the hope of find the civilized world. I’ve had minimal success, and today is not a good day to continue, as it’s raining. We had a little party at my place last night, and when my friends arrived, I was sitting on the roof-peak, wrapped in wires and having a conversation with my computer. (Well, I was actually having a conversation with Craig, but it appeared I was talking to my computer because I wasn’t wearing a headset.) I threw down the keys so Marie could let them all in, and then climbed down to the balcony, where we hung out for hours drinking, eating popcorn, taking pictures and laughing at each other.

I'm sure I've left a lot out of this entry, but at least you all know I'm still alive. I'll think of the rest later and post it another time. I also have more pictures, but have been unable to upload the largest ones due to the fact that Ecuador seems to have very little bandwidth anywhere.