El Desierto de Jubones

Yes it is true, there is a desert in the middle of the mountains in Ecuador. I did not believe it until I got there and saw it for myself. How is the possible you might ask? I do not know, but it is true. And even though it is in the mountains, and still at about 6000 feet elevation, it is hot like the desert. It only rains there rarely. There is a river that runs through it, Rio Jubones, the water comes from when it rains in the mountains. On this particular day the river was very dirty because it had recently rained in the mountains so all the dirt was washed into the river.


We started by hiking up the mountain to the left of the river on a path that was anywhere from 6 inches to 2 feet wide with a cliff down into the river on one side. The higher we climbed, the more forceful the wind became. Once we got to the top of the mountain, it was difficult to walk because the wind was blowing us, luckily it was going with us, not against us. I was wearing a backpack and at times it was under my left arm because the wind had brought it forward.

There were some cacti and a few other types of vegetation, but as you can see, not much. We saw one small (about 5 inches) lizard, he ran from us very fast, I don't think anyone got a picture, though some tried.

One thing I realize over and over again when I am hiking here in Ecuador is, there really are no standards for safety. You can do what ever you want to at your own risk. Like hiking up the side of this mountain with nothing to keep us from falling down to the river if the wind had gotten just a tad bit stonger. At times I am grateful there are not safety standards, because some of the things I have seen and done, I probably would not have been able to. But other times, I wish there were, because maybe the hike today could have been made safer. Again, inspite of the wind and the slight feeling of fear, I had fun.

Cangrejos for dinner

For Carnaval, my family decided we were going to eat Crab. She went out in the morning and bought 36 live crabs and brought them home to clean them. I got out of bed just in time to watch a part of the cleaning. It was amusing. There was a bucket of already cleaned crabs crawling on each other. Then there were those in the water waiting to be cleaned. Trying to escape from all directions, and they were fast. She explained to me that she removed the stomachs with the poop in them so that when it was time to eat, you could eat every part because it was all cleaned.

When we got ready to eat, I asked how we do this. The table was covered with newspaper, everyone was given a wooden cutting board and a wooden mallet. But for the most part we just used out teeth to break the shell. And the mom actually ate part of the shell too. They didn't crack to many legs open, they just broke them at the joints and sucked the meat and juice out. I had a hard time with that part. I ate 2 crabs (just the legs because I had a hard time with the head too), others in the family ate 8. It was an eventful meal.

Bowling in Ecuador

Well, I have been wanting to go bowling since I got here and we finally went tonight. I went with Andrea , Mauricio, and Rene. We had a blast. The game is the exact same game as in the states (10 pin or big ball for my New England friends). Before we started, we had to pick our ball. Well, I looked for the heaviest ball (I bowl with a 15 lb ball in the states). This guy who works there, came up to me and said, the number on the ball is equal to the pounds, I said, I know. He then said, that one is 14 lbs, that is heavy. I said, I know. Anyway, I used that one because it was the heaviest one they had. Typical, he sees a woman and thinks I can't handle a 14 lb ball. Well, I did just fine with that 14 lb ball. I got a 179 the first game. The second game was not so good, Mauricio beat me with a 141. He thinks I let him win, but I didn't, he really beat me. But like I said, we had a good time.

Afterwards, we went to the Flavor of the Burger again. This is the same place that I don't like, where the burgers are very flat and chewy. I did not eat a burger this time, I learned my lesson the last time.

I got lost

Many may have heard me say in the past that I never get lost because I can always get back to where I came from. Well, this was still true the day I "got lost" in Cuenca. I take spanish classes in the morning at a school and I also take classes a few afternoons a week at a lady's house. Well, this particular day, I was walking to her house for the first time. I had gotten directions I understood from my family here. But I was in a different spot when it was time to walk there so I asked another friend for directions. I set out on my walk and I was to go past Supermaxi and continue walking straight until I came to a main road and I would turn left. Well, I passed Supermaxi and came to what I considered a dead end. There was an alley like road ahead of me, but that to me was not a road so I turned left. The next instruction was I would cross 10 de agosto (this is a main road in Cuenca). I never came to that road so I called Loli (the lady whose house I was going to) and told her I was walking and I did not know where I was (of course they were doing construction on the corner, so there were no street names posted. I was standing next to a new building that was big with blue glass windows and orange walls. I wanted her to tell me which direction to walk to get to her house, but she said "I know where you are, wait for me there", so I did. About 20 minutes later, I was thinking about calling her again because I knew I should not have been 20 minutes from her house on foot, let alone by vehicle. I then received a call from my family here asking me where I was. Loli had called her and told her I was lost and that something happened at Loli's house and she couldn't have class that afternoon anyway. So I described where I was to her on the phone and she found me about 15 minutes later.
The whole time I was standing on the corner (which was about 40 minutes or so), it was lightning and thundering. I thought for sure I was going to get poured on. And, of course, I had to go to the bathroom as well.
Everything turned out fine, and now I do know how to walk to her house so this won't happen again. They do make fun of me a little though.

Feria Libre

Feria Libre is the large market in Cuenca. I went there today to get some photos and to buy fruit. There are many sections to the market. There is the section where they have clothes and shoes and other miscellanous stuff (this is only open on Wednesdays). There is the section where they have live animals. The photo to the left is of Cuyes (Guinea Pigs). Yes, they eat these (I have tried it, see my post "Cuy" from October 26). They also sell baby chicks, rabbits, turkey, chickens (all are sold as food). Then there is a part where they sell dogs (these are not for eating), there are always many different kinds of puppies.

The next part I walked through was the fish market. It starts with Cangrejo (crabs). They are bundled in packs of 12 and they are still alive. They can't move because they are all tied to other crabs. Then they have shrimp (these are not alive). Then you get to the part with fish. There are whole fish, fish already cut up but still with skin and heads, and fish filets without skin or heads. In the photo below, there are trout and the large body on the top of the table already cut up is shark. The best part about this table was the dog underneath. He was licking up the juice from the fish on the ground.

Next comes the fruit market. This part is beautiful, there are many colors. The bad part is it is right next to the fish market so that is all you smell.

There is also a part with other meats (whole pigs, guinea pigs, beef) The sell every part of the animal that has been slaughtered. The tongue, the eyes, the intestines, the stomach, the hooves (they make soup with this ??). I did not visit this part today (the fish market was enough for one day).

My trip was successful, I bought some very good fruit (apples, bananas, granadillas).

The First Ecuadorian Haircut

I got my hair cut in September, before I left Massachusetts. Now it is December and I had frizzy, dead ends. I knew I could wait another 3 weeks until I was back in the states for a hair cut and pay $30+ or I could get my hair cut here and pay $3. I am going to have to get my hair cut in Ecuador eventually so why not start now, right?

So I decided to do it. I asked the lady I live with where she goes and if she would recommend it. She did recommend the place she goes and told me how to get there. I was a little worried, because no matter how hard I try to explain to the person cutting my hair, I always get bad hair cuts. So I asked at school, how do I explain in spanish how I want my hair cut. One of my professors told me exactly what to say. To say I wanted capas (layers) and only las puntas (the ends) cut off.

So I went to the peluqueria (salon) and explained exactly what I wanted and showed her how much I wanted cut off (only about 1 cm). She said she understood and she began to wet my hair. She then picked up the top part and made her first cut, about 3 inches off the top. My eyes got really big as I now realized she would have to cut the rest just as short to make it all flow. She thought she was doing a great job. And in reality she gave me a good hair cut it just is not what I wanted.

I think it looks fine, but I don't like it because I worked for over a year to get my hair to an easy style for Ecuador. I could go to bed with wet hair, straighten the front in the morning (about 3 minutes) and that was it. And if it didn't look good, I could pull it all up into a clip on the back of my head. Now, forget it, I can't even put the front behind my ear it is so short. Because I have curly hair, I can't leave it alone now because when my hair is short, my curls are not pretty. So now I have to straighten all of my hair except the back and I can not put it in a clip if I don't have time.

It is amazing how quickly someone can ruin something that I have worked so hard on for so long. But the reality is in about 6 months it will be back to the way it was and I will be laughing at this "bad hair cut". So I am a little annoyed about the whole thing, but I know it will grow, so oh well.

The best part is when I got home from the salon, I told the lady I live with that I don't like it. That I told her one thing and she did a completely different thing. She said they always do that to her too. So now I am wondering why she told me to go there. As for the first cut being in the front, I talked with a couple other women here who said everyone who cuts hair here does it that way. And they also told me that they never get their hair cut the way they want it either. So it appears to be the Ecuadorian way. I guess I have this to look forward to everytime I get a hair cut. Yipee!!

The photos are of my bad hair cut, one with it curly (how it would look if I didn't have time to fix it) and one after I have had time to fix it. Of course with it fixed, it looks fine (not much different than before). The tie dye shirt is a tribute to my good friend Karen!

Thanksgiving Reflections

This year I spent Thanksgiving in Ecuador with the Aviles family (pictured left). We had such a great time. It was kind of last minute. I was invited to the house of a missionary couple here, but at the last minute (about one week before) they found out the had to leave town. I talked with the family I am staying with and asked them if they would like to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal with me. They agreed.

I was going to make the stuffing and mashed potatoes and a cake. And Pachi (the mom) was going to buy some turkey. You see they don't eat a lot of turkey here, so she had never made turkey but knew a man who made turkey and she could buy some from him. On Thanksgiving day, I had class in the morning (because it is not a holiday here), I returned from class around 11:30 am. We had to eat around 2 pm because work began again around 3 pm. When I got home, I asked Pachi how she was doing, she said she was doing very badly. She said she went to buy the turkey and he didn't have any. So she want to Supermaxi (the grocery store) and bought a turkey breast but it was frozen solid. We had about 3 hours cook this frozen turkey breast.

I started making the stuffing and potatoes, she put the turkey in the microwave to try to defrost it. Eventually we decided to cut it into pieces to speed up this process a little. So we did and believe it or not, the turkey was ready to eat at 2:20 pm. So we had turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and cake. Everyone enjoyed the meal. The stuffing and cranberry sauce were thngs they had never eaten before. They especially loved the cranberry sauce.

I am so grateful for this family I am staying with. This meal was strange for them, but they willingly ate it with me because they knew how much it meant to me. They have gone out of their way to make me feel at home. I feel like I belong in the family.

I am also very grateful for my family at home in the states. They have supported me in my decisions (as crazy as they may have seemed to them) over the last several years. I know they love me very much and I know they are praying for me while I am away.

I am also grateful for my friends in the states. I know that I will not make it in Ecuador without the prayers and love from my friends. And I know that my friends are praying for me all the time.

Most importantly, I am grateful for my God! He has carried me and continues to carry me through struggles. I feel his presence and his love with me at all times. I know things will not always be easy here in Ecuador, but I also know that he will never leave me or forsake me because he said so.

Navidad

Many of you know how much I love Christmas and decorating for Christmas. The lady that I am staying with found out that I make wreaths. She asked me if I could make a center piece for her table. We went to the "Salon de Navidad" to get the stuff. They have a limited selection of things to make wreaths with, but I found some good stuff.

I made a center piece (pictured right) and a wreath for the door (below). She asked me if I could make two small wreaths for her husbands office as well.

I feel so at home now because this is something I love to do. She helped me some and we had a good time. They also have a christmas tree in the house so it really feels like Christmas. And I bought some Ecuadorian Christmas music.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which is not a holiday here. So it is kind of like I skipped Thanksgiving and moved right into Christmas season. I learned that normally they put up their Christmas decorations on November 10, I am not sure why. So most of the people here are all ready for Christmas.

As for New Years, they don't celebrate New Years, they celebrate "ano viejo" or old year on Dec 31. The parties last until 4 or 5 am and New Year's day is just a day for sleeping. So in a way it is the same as far as the parties are on Dec 31, but the focus is different. We in the States celebrate the year that is coming, they celebrate the year that has past.

The Earthquake

For those of you who have been asking, here is my spanish entry. The english translation follows.

Era jueves, a las 10:13 in la noche. Estaba durmiendo. Me desperte porque oi un ruido alto. Pude ver la ventana moviendose. Pense que alguien en the casa estaba corriendo. Oi al padre gritar "bajen todos" pero, no desperte totalmente. No entendi porque alguien estaba corriendo en la casa en la noche. Cuando me desperte en la manana, olvide lo sucedido, hasta que la madre me pregunto si he sentido el temblor. Entonces me acorde. No pude entender porque el hijo fue abajo dejandome en mi cuarto??

It was Thursday at 10:13 pm. I was sleeping. I woke up because I heard a loud noise. I could see the window shaking. I thought someone was running in the house. I heard the father yell "everyone downstairs" (my room is on the 3rd floor), but I was not really awake so I did not understand what he was yelling. I did not understand why someone was running in the house or why the father was yelling so late at night (you see I thought it was midnight). When I woke up in the morning, I forgot what had happened until the mother asked me if I felt the tremor. Then I remembered. I could not understand why the son had gone downstairs but left me in my room "asleep"??

The Earthquake epicenter here in Ecuador was in the jungle. We just got a tremor and no damage was done in Cuenca. There was also an Earthquake the same night in Chile that did a lot of damage. I do not know all the details about either one (or if they were really the same one). I wish I had been fully awake to appreciate, I hear it was pretty impressive. It lasted about 25 seconds.

Bus Experience

I am now living with a different family, and I get to take the bus. Taking the bus in Ecuador is an experience. I have done this before, but today was the first time I did it by myself.

First off, the maximum capacity of a city bus here is 50 people. There are 39 seats (mas or menos) and the rest of the people (supposedly only 11) get to stand. I believe at times there are probably 30 people standing. You see, there are 2 people working on each bus, one drives, the other collects the fare and yells out the window what the destination is trying to get more people on the bus. These 2 people, more or less, own the bus. Every fare is pure profit so they want to get as many people as possible on their bus. They never believe the bus is full, there is always room for one more.

There are bus stops, but you can wait anywhere on the bus route and when the bus comes just wave and the driver will stop for you, even if you are not at a designated stop. The same is true for when you want to get off. There is a string or at times a button and you pull the string or push the button when you want to get off. The problem is there may be 20+ people standing in the aisle and you have to try to get past them to get off.

My first bus ride today, I got a seat which is a good thing during the ride, but bad when I was ready to get off. I got up in what I thought was plenty of time to wiggle my way past the people in the aisle, pull the string, and get to the door. Well, there were no people on the side of the road wanting to get on so the driver was going about 40 mph (try wiggling through people at 40 mph). I pulled the string, the bus stopped very suddenly, so everyone standing, including me, jerked forward then backward. Then I had about 4 more people to get by before the door. The driver only stops for a couple seconds. Needless to say, I made it off, but I think he may have started driving again before my back foot was off the step (this is also common). If there is a line of people to get on, the last person will usually have to get on a moving bus because he starts going before everyone is on, yet another tactic to getting more people, always in a hurry.

My second bus ride was slightly more eventful. Again, I got a seat, again not a good idea for when you want to get off. When we were getting close to my stop, I pulled the string but nothing happened. In this bus, there was a button and the string was disabled. So I moved toward the button and the bus stopped suddenly, I almost fell. Some teenage boys smirked. I pushed the button, the bus stopped but the door did not open. You see, I was at the back of the bus and apparently either the back door was not working, or the driver chose not to open it. So now I had to make my way to the front of the bus. Luckily I always try to get off a little before my road, so we hadn't passed it yet. I got to the front of the bus and pulled the string but again nothing happened. Then I realized there is no button in the front of the bus. So I said "quiero salir" ("I want to leave"), nothing happened. Then suddenly the bus stopped. Right in front of my street there were some people who wanted to get on. So I was able to get off.

So, this is what I get to look forward to everyday. I am thinking it will get easier as I get used to it, but I don't know. At least I don't have to walk, that would be over an hour each way.

Cajas National Park

Today I went on an excursion with the school to Cajas National Park. This park is up in the Andes at 11,000 feet elevation. The temperature was about 45 degrees and it rained all day.

For Americans (especially those who live at sea level) it is difficult to breathe up there. We did a lot of hiking (about 4 hours) and walking through water (because it was raining) and mud. I think I fell in the mud 3 times.

We ate lunch in a cave because it was raining. I didn't see any spiders and believe me, I looked.

There is a special type of tree that grows in Cajas (this is the only place in the world where it grows). It is called Polylepiz. These trees were very important to us today as we were hiking in the mud and many times when I thought I was going to fall, I would grab onto the tree.

When I got home, I was soaking wet and full of mud. I had to throw my socks away and my clothes, shoes, and jacket went straight into the wash. Inspite of all this, it was a good day.

Cajas is a great place to enjoy God's creation, it is beautiful and complex.