the tourist (only without Johnny Depp!)

wohoo for internet! For the last week all the internet cafes have banned me from my blog-so annoying! As you will have, hopefully, guessed my mum and Julia arrived safely. Tired but ok. As for me, the last few hours of waiting were awful!Mummy and Julia arrived 1am Thursday morning, the poor things were a bit zombie like and even I was a bit tired by that time.

   Thursday we pottered around and booked some tours etc. I got Julia and mum to experiment with local food! It´s funny but seeing how surprised they are by all sorts of things which are normal for me makes me realise how used I am to Ecuadorian life. I feel almost native in comparision!

    Friday we did a city tour and wow did we pack it in. Turned out our tour was personal so it was just us 3 in a lovely comfy car with a guide. We went to a volcanoe national park-was a thick mist so didn´t see much so instead we went to an Indian Sun Temple. Was a unique experience! The temple was officially closed so we had the place to ourselves. The guide there did all sorts of fun experiments to show us the Equator line inc balancing an egg on it´s side and making us walk along the line(your natural balance goes out and you fall over!) We explored the native aromatherapy cave, saw paintings and sculptures and finished off with a native dance with the guide all dressed up in costume!! The dance was a very powerful and quite eerie. This solitary man whirling around whilst surrounded by mountains.

Next we went to the centre of the world! This is where the line of the Equator runs. We were VERY touristy and took loads of photos of us straddling the line-one foot in each hemisphere. Very silly but fun. We then moved on to a zoo where we saw giant tortoises and South American Condors :) After that we went up the teleferiquo which is a cable car which takes you up to a mountain above Quito. The view was fascinating. Quito is narrow but long (45k long) so the higher we went the more we saw!! After that (very long day!) we went to see the angel statue that overlooks the city and then got a tour around the beautiful old town. Had a fabulous day!

 
   Saturday we went to a native market Otovalo. Full of people and all the stall holders in their native dress. A whole town full of carved wooden statues, stone carvings, hand made musical instruments, jewellery and sooo many blankets, woven bags, shawls etc it dazzled you. Everything is rainbow coloured and it quite takes your breath away! Everyone calling you friend and the terrifying experience of haggling! The native women with their babies tied on their backs with a shawl and little children sitting under the tables and peering out at us. I only wish I could describe it properly.

Sunday we climbed up Cotopaxi. This is the biggest active volcanoe in the country and the 2nd biggest in the whole world! We walked (scrambled up) up to 5,000metres (18,000 ft) which was exhausting. The lack of oxygen was so tiring plus we got caught in a snow storm whilst climbing. Was scary at the time but soo exciting!!! There are pictures of us just seconds apart where one moment everything is fine and the next we are in a fog and it´s snowing.

  Yesterday we flew to Cuenca;an old colonial town in the south. The flight was the most relaxed travelling experience I´ve ever had. The check in desk opened an hour late so we all just had to wait until the staff decided to turn up. Security didn´t bother to look at all our passports-2 out of 3 is enough.The security x ray man didn´t bother to look at his screen when the bags passed. Quite calming really!

  Cuenca is a lovely old town, one of the oldest in Ecuador. Full of Spanish colonial buildings with metalwork balconies and a park full of palm trees. Today we went to Ingapirca which is the biggest Inca ruins in the country. On the way we visited the sanctuary of the Virgin of the Morning Dew. A beautiful high up church built into a cliff in a tiny village. The altar is cut directly our of the cliff face and is the only one in all of North&South America!

Was a weird moment when Juan, our guide, told us that this tiny village in the middle of nowhere grieved because they had lost 6 men in the 9/11 bombing. They had been working as window cleaners in the Twin towers. Who would have thought that this isolated spot could have been connected with the bombings? Was a weird moment of conecting 2 cultures.

The shape of the Ingapirca settlement is a puma. The Incas have 3 sacred animals; puma, Condor and snake. Most of the ruins were built by the Cañari (local Indians) and they lived their with the Incas for 5 years.

 After that there was a north v south civil war spanning over all 6 latino countries. Sadly the Cañari backed the losing side and were all massacred. It was so sad to see these beautiful ruins and yet hear dreadful stories of the Spanish conquerors (I do hope the Spanish tourist was´t sensitive!

The eagle has landed

Tomorrow my mum arrives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am soooo excited. You'd think being a "grown up" would make me a bit more mature about this wouldn't you? Evidently not!


I want my mum (and Julia-family friend) to have a good time.
I want us to be safe while we travel around the country.
I want my Spanish to magically improve so I can look after/book things properly.
I want everyone to stop changing their plans which means I have to re-organise everything YET AGAIN.




I want to be all mature and not cry at the airport when my mum leaves.

I never knew that!

Random facts that I've just found out

A couple of months ago my glasses case broke and so it's now holding on (barely) whilst stuck together with sellotape. I asked my mum if she could bring me a new case and she obligingly said yes but...apparently British shops don't sell glasses in September because they are "summer wear"!


The last 3 days have brought me in contact with 2 HUGE spiders. Latino arachnids are super tough and need to be hit at least 3 times with a shovel before they take the hint and die!


Cockroaches get everywhere!!! Including a tub of baking powder and my lunchtime plate of pasta :(


  Telling a food loving Ecuadorian that you don't like fish will make them cry (yes I have reduced someone to tears with this information!)


Refusing to get out of the taxi and arguing (politely!) with a cheating taxi driver is quite acceptable/normal over here.

brown paper packages tied up in string

Brown paper packages tied up in string, these are a few of my favourite things.

Highlight of the week-getting a parcel on Friday!!
     
   Amy and I walked to the Post Office to check the mail. This is a bi-weekly event which sorely tests our friendship. When you get a letter it's wonderful but you have to try hard not to look loved,glowingly happy or sickeningly smug! If your friend gets a letter (and you don't) then you have to work even harder to not look unloved, jealous and bitter!
   
   This week neither of us was tested since we both got big parcels! Naturally we couldn't wait to get home and open them so we popped into the shopping centre for a rest and parcel opening session. We politely queued up for our yoghurt drink and yuka bread and then got bored of waiting and starting untying string and brown paper at the counter. Poor little man serving us looked quite confused! Yet another "crazy white girls" moment for us. Amy got a big shoe box filled with goodies from her small group and I got  books (wohoo) from the lovely Eileen.


   Cries of delight, gloating over surprises and comparing gifts, it was like Christmas but just a bit earlier...and hotter!

Cumbaya

Last weekend I and all the other missionaries in Ecuador (all 9 of us!) went away for the weekend. We went to Cumbaya (yes, just saying Cumbaya does make me want to pull out a guitar,sing and sway!)

Sheltered porticoes wild garden.

Rustling trees and singing birds,

Dripping font and gentle rain.

God's salvation, eternal love.

Son's sacrifice and second birth,

Pains of earth turned into joy.

Open roof, pebbled courtyard.

Burning sun and tall pine trees,

setting sun, warm blankets.

White stone walls, thick wooden beams.

Red tiled floors and warming food,

Laughter, songs and cosy rooms.

Wash feet in love, prayers aloud.

Bible in hand and listening ear,

God in me and I in Christ.

John 14:20

girls weekend

Last weekend Amy and I went away on one of our mini adventures! Wanted some sun and beach so off we went on the bus to our closest beach; Pedernales. On the way ee were naughty and did something banned (we bought and ate food off a street vendor!) This is massively banned since it makes you ill but since I've been immunised, had various stomach upsets and Typhoid I reckoned my system is pretty hardened. We got to Pedernales and found a hotel and booked a room. I demanded to see the potential rooms before making a choice and refused the first room because it was on the ground floor and right by the entrance. We were soo pleased with our powerful negotiating and "we are not tourists" kick ass attitude that we rather rashly got carried away with the excitement and immediatly took the 2nd room. Room was clean and had a bathroom and running water (yay) but we didn't realise until too late that there were no insect nets so we couldn't open the windows and the bathroom.. well..the bathroom was clean but basic. Shower didn't even pretend to have hot water-there was only 1 tap! It had a window but the window open into the bedroom and had no glass or anything so basically it meant there was a 3ft hole/gap into our room-showering and going to the loo was a public event!!! Lets just say it cemented our friendship ;) Mind you it only cost us £7 in total for both of us.

       Went out for lunch and pottered around then hit the beach. Weather was really cloudy but warm. Bathing in the Pacific is great-the sea was actually warm!!!!! Makes a heck of a change from the Channel or North sea! Tide was incredibly strong, we couldn't swim but just let the MASSIVE waves knock us over or just went with the tide. The bad thing is we got a lot of attraction. it's a small town with no white people in it so everywhere we were we got whistles, calls, greetings or hissing! Hissing is a Latino version of a wolf whistle but it's really off-putting! I feel like a panto baddie! Amy and I had to spend the time talking in loud English to each other over the shouts and pretending we didn't understand a word of Spanish. The men are soo keen here that if you look at them even in passing it's a come on, I've never stared so hard at a book before! Whilst walking along the sea (before bathing) we sat on a log and watched the sea. a beautiful and restful moment until...the tide suddenly turned and swept away our log! I was so surprised that I didn't react quickly enough and landed fully dressed in the sea! (once again I fail to show the Brits in a dignified way!)
        
      After the beach we went for a drink then went to the supermarket for some food so we could eat and relax in our room. On our (motorbike) taxi ride back there was a town wide power cut! Everything was pitch black! Had to find our way upstairs to our room by the hotel guy flashing his mobile phone light. We managed to prop up our mobile phones in the bathroom and shower etc from that light. After a bit our lovely hotel guy brough us up a candle and we spent the evening in candle light. 


     Sunday was a bit more relaxing. Breakfast on the beach and then backon the beach for some relaxing. That was our plan and then we saw the banana boat! You know the kind of thing-motor boat pulls a big  rubber float thing along behind with people sitting on the float. The aim is to knock everyone off the float. Amy and I couldn't resist and so off we went. Apart from the fact once in the sea it's impossible to climb back up without a couple of men heaving you up (not at all big on dignity) and once a lady fell on top of my head we had a great time! Bit more bathing and some souvenir shopping and then we were homeward bound.


      Came back hugely sunburnt but had a great time. As always, in Ecuador, things didn't go to plan but we didn't stop laughing the whole time. Was fun :)