Adventures in Plate Tectonics

From San Pedro de Atacama, I made my way to Santiago to meet my lovely mother. More or less immediately upon our arrival, in true Peltz-family fashion, we passed on the opportunity to relax and instead jumped right on a hop-on-hop-off bus tour. Although Leigh fell asleep for the better part of the tour, it was a great way to get oriented and to see some of the city.

The next day, we did a day trip to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, small coastal cities about an hour outside of Santiago. I really liked Valparaiso because the houses are all painted different, vibrant colours and the city is built into a hillside. However, we were there on the day of the Chilean presidential elections, so a lot of stuff was closed. Vina del Mar was nice for walking by the water, but it did remind me a bit too much of Miami.

The next day, we flew to Pucon, which is in Chile's Lake District. The area was incredibly beautiful, with volcanos and mountains forming a striking backdrop for the lakes. Our hotel is really special because of the amazing gardens around it. It's built into a hillside and there are winding paths down to the lake and through the gardens, where they grow vegetables that are served in the hotel restaurant. It was an incredible spot, definitely one of my favourites so far.

On our first day in Pucon, we decided to do a hike in Huerquehue National Park. It turned out to be a fairly challenging, three hour walk up a mountain, but the three pristine lakes at the end were definitely worth the effort. The water was clear and green and each lake was surrounded by rocky cliffs and gigantic trees.

The next day, I ditched mom to climb up Volcan Villarrica. When I say "climb", I do mean climb...ice-picks were involved. The hike was about four hours one way, through the snow, until we reached the crater. The crater was incredible, massive and smoking and bubbling. Instead of walking back down, the thing to do is to slide on your butt. This was a lot of fun until I lost control on a steep part of the volcano. I ended up tumbling down part of the mountain, all the while thinking, "would it be worse to hit a rock or to impale myself on my ice-pick?", until two men on my tour managed to form a sort of human shield to stop me. A bit of an adventure, but definitely a lot of fun.

For our last day in Pucon, we decided to do something a bit more low-key and so went horseback riding in the mountains. We had a fantastic guide named Rodolfo, an authentic Chilean gaucho, who runs a riding school in the area. He took us to his farm where we had breakfast and met his family and then he took us riding around the area. The scenery was stunning and peaceful and we had a really great time. After the ride, we spent the rest of the day relaxing at our hotel.

The next day, we flew back to Santiago. We spent the following day walking around the city before mom had to go back home, which was very sad because we had had such a great time together. The next day, I checked out of our real-person hotel and moved to a dirty-traveler-person hostel, which is much more my style right now. I have the next few days to explore more of Santiago, before I make "the great schlep" to Mexico to be with the family.

Hasta luego!

Sarah

Bolivia Abridged

When we arrived in La Paz, the city was in a state of chaos in preparation for the upcoming presidential elections. The current Bolivian president (Evo Morales) is indigenous, so most indigenous citizens wanted to vote to keep in him office. Since most indigenous Bolivians live in the country and the voting takes place in La Paz, the city becomes completely overrun with people rushing in to vote. The traffic was unbelievable and I don´t think I have ever seen so many people in one place. Additionally, for some reason, La Paz officially goes alcohol-free for election weekends, which caused an uproar amongst some of my traveling companions. Luckily, they soon figured out that is possible to buy contraband rum in anti-freeze containers from certain variety stores.

Our first day in La Paz, I just walked around the city. We visited San Pedro Prison, one of the most notorious prisons in the world, where prisoners allegedly have to pay for their own cells and in which the vast majority of Bolivia´s cocaine is produced. Prisoners in San Pedro used to be able to give prison tours to tourists, but apparently those have been shut down recently. So we couldn´t get into the prison, but it was interesting to see. It is right in the middle of the city, just beside a lovely plaza, and it surrounded by police who try to prevent tourists from taking photos of it. While loitering outside, we met a South African woman who was visiting her husband who was jailed for drug trafficking. Interesting place.

We also visited the Witch´s Market, which sells some very weird stuff. For example, you can buy llama fetuses, which are supposed to be buried outside your home to keep out evil. It´s disgusting really, but worth seeing.

The next day definitely a trip highlight. We went mountain biking down Death Road, so named because it is, literally, the most dangerous road in the world. You bike for about 60km downhill on a winding, one-lane, gravel road. On one side, there is a mountain and on the other, there is a sheer drop. It is very scary and VERY fun. But don´t worry, nobody has died in a few years.

On our last day in La Paz, everything was closed for the election, so I did nothing of consequence. The next morning, we drove to a bushcamp for the night and then on to Uyuni the next morning.

When we arrived in Uyuni, it was time for me to leave the Oasis truck. Although I definitely miss the group, it was really nice to get out on my own and have a bit more freedom. From Uyuni, I joined a three day tour of the Salt Flats. On our first day, we visited the Isla de Pescado, which is a coral island in the middle of the flats and the Salar de Uyuni. The Salar is amazing, it´s the biggest salt flat in the world and it looks like an endless plain of pure white. That evening, we stayed in a small town called San Juan.

The next day, we visited a series of lagoons and volcanoes and saw flamingos. The lagoons are really cool because they contain sulfur and various other minerals, which makes them look very colourful. Laguna Colorada is bright red it looks spectacular against the backdrop of mountains and salt plains. We then drove through the Siloli desert at stayed at a small hostel for the night.

On my final day of the Salt Flats tour, we woke up at 4 30 am to drive to the Sol de Manana geysers. It was really an amazing sight, with steam shooting up from the ground and mud bubbling up everywhere. It makes for a very eerie sight, because the steam is so thick. Next, we drove through the Desierto de Dali, named for the unusual, Dali-esque rock formations, to Laguna Verde. There are no flamingos there because there is so much arsenic in the water, but it looks incredible, bright green water crusted with white salt. After that, we drove the Chilean border where I got on a bus to San Pedro de Atacama.

I am currently in San Pedro, enjoying the town and the surrounding desert and tomorrow, it´s upward and onward to Santiago.

Hasta luego!

Sarah

The ¨PachaMama¨ Machu Picchu Four-Day

I realize that I´m behind on this blog thing, but there is much to say so please forgive me and read on.

From Puno (you may remember Puno from waaayyy back in November), we headed to Cusco, the Inca capital. After a day of Inca Trail prep, we began our four day trek to Machu Picchu. I will break it down:
Day 1 - Walked....and walked...until we reached an altitude of 3000m and camped at Wayllabamba.
Day 2 - This was the most challenging day. We walked straight uphill for most of the day, walking right through the clouds and stopping at a few Inca ruins along the way. We reached our highest point at Dead Woman´s Pass (4200 m) and then had to walk all the way down to camp at Paqaymayu, which is at 3500 m.
Day 3 - This was also pretty tough because it was all downhill. This may sound easy, but they don´t call it ¨The Gringo Killer¨for nothing. We visited a series of massive stone terraces, which were amazing, and camped at Winay Wayna.
Day 4 - After a 4 am wake up, we walked to the Sun Gate to see Machu Picchu from above. It´s a really incredible sight and definitely makes the walk seem worth it. From there, we hiked down to Machu Picchu proper and had a tour inside. Lucky for us, despite it being the rainy season, we were blessed with a perfect, clear day. It was just beautiful and amazing...Machu Picchu is going on my list of spots that have completely lived up to my expectations, along with Petra and the Taj Mahal. After our tour of the ancient city, we took a train back to Cusco to celebrate and recover.
The entire experience was really wonderful. The porters and guides who walked with us were amazing and helpful and the food was unbelievable (obviously of the utmost importance to me). Everyone in my group had a great attitude and made the experience, although challenging, consistently fun and entertaining. Returning to Cusco felt like a great accomplishment at the end and we all celebrated with a big night out and the culmination of the 24 hour challenge. Pretty self-explanatory...we stayed up until 4 am the next night, could not tell you why.

After a day of doing nothing in Cusco, we headed out for La Paz with a bushcamp night along the way. That night, we ended up sleeping in the lobby of an Inca museum, definitely one of our more unusual campsites and the next day, we arrived in La Paz, Bolivia.

Arequipa, Colca Canyon, and Lake Titicaca

After the death-defying Nasca Lines flights, I was really looking forward to spending a few "tranquillo" days in Arequipa. I was not at all disappointed by the city, which was calm and beautiful and interesting. On our first morning, I visited the Museo Santuarios Andinos to see "Juanita the Ice Maiden". Juanita is the frozen body of an Inca girl who was sacrificed 500 years ago on a nearby mountain. Since her body froze immediately after she died, her internal organs are all completely intact. Very bizarre, but actually really cool.

In the afternoon, I did a really incredible "Reality Tour". We visited a stone quarry, where workers live in deplorable conditions, a cooperative day-care, and a common kitchen. Throughout the tour, we were told all about Peru's social and economic problems, the problems with corruption, and why cocaine is such an important part of the economy. Our guide, Miguel, was really amazing because every year he chooses a new day-care and kitchen to support for one year and help them get started. After a year, he leaves them completely self-sufficient and moves on to another. It was a really amazing tour and extremely interesting.

That evening, we drove to Chivay and spent the night there. In the morning, we went to visit Colca Canyon, which is one of the biggest canyons in the world, to see the flight of the Condors. I'm not that into birds, but they are pretty cool because they are gigantic (the heaviest flying bird in the world) and they don't flap their wings, they only glide. At Colca Canyon, we also learnt a lot about the local indigenous lifestyle. That afternoon, we drove to Puno, where I am now.

On our first morning in Puno, we took boat out onto Lake Titicaca, which is just incredible. It is the largest and highest navigable lake in the world and absolutely breathtaking. We visited a reed island, which is a man-made floating island where indigenous families continue to live a traditional lifestyle. We then took a boat over to Isla Amantani, where we spent the night with local families. The families live in very basic homes with no electricity or running water and they maintain a very traditional lifestyle. In the evening, we were dressed up in local costumes for a fiesta with the whole community. It was a really amazing experience and I absolutely loved my family. They had three small children, who were obsessed with asking us about country capitals. They also had a baby named Elvis, which I thought was hilarious.

Today, we took the boat back to Puno where we are staying the night. Tomorrow, we drive to Cusco to get ready for the Inca Trail. Really looking forward to that, although the altitude is making even the most basic physical activity feel like torture!

Love,

Sarah

Lima Bean

I made it safely to Peru and have finally found a free moment to update. The past week or so has been hectic and amazing.

After Cuenca, we had a long drive into Peru and arrived at Punta Sal, which is tiny beach town close to the larger town of Mancora. The beach was beautiful and nearly empty, so we camped on the beach instead of staying the hostel. On our first night, we met up with the other Oasis truck and had a party on the beach.

The next day, we went into Mancora in the morning to do some shopping. I was on cook group for dinner, so my group and I went into the fish markets to buy food. It was a very authentic experience and a lot of fun. In the afternoon, we all relaxed on the beach. In the evening, we celebrated a birthday for a girl on our truck with a "tribal" themed party. Not very PC, but a blast.

On Friday, we left Punta Sal and bushcamped just off the road for the night. On the way, we stopped at the Museo Tumbas Reales de Spain, which is excellent museum about the Sipan (sp) people, who lived in the Andes before the Incas. Everything was written in Spanish, which was great practice for me, although it is possible that my knowledge of the Sipans is now somewhat confused.

The next day, we had another long drive before stopping to bushcamp. We found an amazing spot to camp, on a cliff overlooking the ocean. On the way there, we stopped at the Chan Chan ruins, which is the largest adobe city in the world and was built by the Chimus, another pre-Incan Andean people.

Finally, we arrived in Lima. I was a bit apprehensive about the city because I hadn't heard great things, but I actually really enjoyed it. We spent two days just wandering around, eating, shopping, and enjoying the incredible colonial architecture in the main plazas. We went out dancing one night, which was tons of fun even though it was a Sunday and we were the only people in the bar.

After two days in Lima, we met up with nine new members of our group and drove to Huacachina, which is a tiny little oasis town in the desert near Ica. We were taken on a fantastic drive through the sand dunes and driven up to the top of the dunes to go sandboarding. It was absolutely incredible, scary, beautiful, and so much fun. After sandboarding, we camped in the desert and had a barbeque. No tents, just slept in the sand. I've never seen stars like what I saw that night and I finally got to see the Southern Cross. It was a really incredible day and night and a definite trip highlight.

Today, we drove to Nasca and went up to see the Nasca Lines. The lines themselves are pretty amazing, but I was in a tiny six-seater plane and was thoroughly nauseaus after a few minutes. But it was still worth it. Tomorrow, we drive to Areqipa and then on the Colca Canyon.

Still having an unbelievable time, but missing everyone!

Lots of love,

Sarah

Jungle Fever

Finally out of the jungle and back to civilization (read: internet).

Our last morning in Banos, I got a bit sick and was sort of ill for the first day in the jungle. But I did not let that stop me from participating in all the available activities, even in the sweltering heat.

From Banos, we drove to Tena, which is a small town in the Ecuadorian Amazon. We took a dugout canoe down the Napo River, an Amazon tributary, to a small lodge. The lodge was fantastic, very "Swiss Family Robinson". All of the rooms were in these raised cabins, like treehouses, and the dining area was on an open porch over the river. Finally, the lodge has its own pet monkey, Mona. She is amazing. She plays and jumps all over people and steals things...just wonderful. She was rescued after her mother was shot by a hunter and when she's a bit older, she'll be sent to a nearby animal reintroduction centre. The owner of the lodge, Tom, was a very interesting man from Nebraska. He was sent to Ecuador with the Peace Corps 20 years ago and never left. He also used to work as the head environmentalist at the Charles Darwin Research Station, which I thought was very cool.

On our first day, we visited Amazoonicas, the animal reintroduction/rehabilitation centre. We did a tour and saw a variety of monkeys, jaguars, ocelots, tucans...lots of stuff. Most of the animals are brought in by people who had kept them illegally and then got sick of them or couldn't handle them anymore, for whatever reason. They are kept in the centre forever or until they can be released back into the wild. Unfortunately, that's an unusual scenario because most wouldn't be able to handle living on their own. I learnt that, in Ecuador, the illegal animal trade ranks just behind the drug trade in terms of illegal markets. The centre is funded entirely by donations and volunteers and I thought it was really amazing.

In the afternoon, we floated down the river on inner tubes, which was fantastic because of the absolutely insane heat and humidity in the jungle. In the evening, we just relaxed, ate, played cards, and laughed at Mona.

The next day, we did a walk through the jungle. We talked a lot about medicinal plants and various types of insects and I ate a lemon ant. It tasted like lemon. The guide also explained a great deal about indigenous Amazonian cultures and practices, which I also found very interesting, particularly with regards to medicine. Indigenous tribes in the area rely mainly on a Shaman for medical care. A Shaman is kind of a spiritual doctor figure and he or she mixes traditional spiritual practices with medicinal plants from the jungle in order to treat people. A local Shaman came to visit the lodge while we were there and talked to us about what he does, how he treats people, how he became a Shaman, etc. Interestingly, even though he believes completely in his power, he said that for severe snake and insect bites, he will only stabilize people before sending them to a hospital. I really enjoyed learning about how traditional practices were fused with more modern ideas, without losing the important aspects of indigenous culture.

On our last day in the jungle, we began the drive to Cuenca. Since it's too far to do in one day, we had our first "bushcamp" on the way. This means stopping at the side of the road and putting up tents wherever you can find a flat patch of grass. Since we were at such a high altitude, it was aboslutely freezing. Even so, I found the whole experience hilarious.

The next morning, we drove to Cuenca, where I am now. We went to the Panama Hat factory in the morning, which was nice and somewhat interesting because I most definitely did not know much about Panama hats before arriving, and then walked around town for the rest of the day. Cuenca is a beautiful, colonial city and even though it's quite big, it's much safer and friendlier than Quito. Today was my last day in Ecuador, as tomorrow we drive to Punta Sal, Peru. Having a fantastic time, but definitely missing home!

Lots of love,

Sarah

First Days on Felicity

Hola! A quick update on the past week or so...

I had my final week of volunteering in Quito and it was a bit sad to leave my family and the kids that I have been working with. Still, I was very excited for a new scene. On Friday, I joined an overland tour driving from Quito to La Paz, on a giant yellow truck named Felicity. Right now, there are 13 other participants on the tour, plus a driver and a tour leader, but we pick up 10 more in Lima. So far, I´m having a great time with the group. Everyone is from either England or Australia, and it makes for a pretty fun-loving crowd. Most people are around my age or a bit older and everyone is getting along really well and having a great time together.

On our first day, we drove to Mitad del Mundo, the centre of the world, which is a small museum on the equator. Basically, they do a series of silly experiments that are meant to demonstrate the unique physical properties of the equator, like the slightly lessened gravitational pull. It was fun and silly and informative.

We spent our first night in Otovalo, a town that boasts the largest indigenous market in South America. It was absolutely massive, with beautiful handicrafts and weird food items. We stayed in Otovalo for two nights, just going out and getting know one another, and then drove to Rio Verde, where we are now.

Rio Verde just next to Banos, where I have already been. But it´s no problem, because I have done completely different things this time around. We are staying in a fantastic hostel/campgrounds just outside the town. It´s really beautiful and there are loads of hammocks overlooking the valleys and forests. On our first night, my cook group was assigned to make dinner. For those of you who know me, you probably know that cooking is not exactly my strong suit. However, I managed to pull off a decent vegetable stir fry. Again, you may know that this is one of 3 dishes in my personal repertoire.

On our first day in Rio Verde, we hiked to Pailon del Diablo, which is a massive waterfall. There are a series of viewing platforms that descend toward the river and a tunnel that you have to crawl through to get behind the waterfall. It was pretty cool, but packed because it was a long weekend in Ecuador.

The next day, we went rafting, which was really amazing. We shot class 4 and 5 rapids, which was both awsome and scary. My raft tipped twice and I fell out on my own once, which was somewhat terrifying because all of the rescue instructions had been delivered to us in very broken English. But we all survived and I had an amazing time.

Today, we took ATVs and motorbikes (ATV for me) for a drive through the mountains. You drive on dirt roads that drop off on one side into huge valleys, which is pretty cool. The scenery was incredible and it was a really fun way to see the surrounding areas. Currently, I am covered in mud and recovering from that experience.

Tonight is our last night in Rio Verde and tomorrow we leave for the jungle. I´m not sure what internet access will be like for me for the next few weeks, but I will try to update when I can. Hope everyone is doing well, please send me an email!

Love,

Sarah

Support the Theory of Evolution

I´ve just returned from 8 days in the Galapagos Islands and it was absolutely amazing!

On our first day, Katie and I arrived in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal Island and got on a boat. It was a 16-person Catamaran and we had a really great group of passengers with us. There was a group of German tourists, two British ladies, and three young couples, from Switzerland, Australia, and England, who we spent the most time with. On the first day, we went into town to visit the Introduction Centre, where you hear a brief explanation of the history of the region, evolutionary theory (which was not entirely accurate), and whatnot. We got back on the boat in the evening and, overnight, sailed to Espanola Island.

Friday, we got off the boat at Gardiner Bay, on Espanola, where we saw tons of sea lions just chilling on the beach. You can walk right up to them, although you´re not really supposed to, and they don´t get scared at all. You do have to watch out for the males though, because it´s mating season and they get a little touchy. Since it´s mating season, we got really lucky and saw a sea lion giving birth on the beach! It was very cool and also a little bit gross. The beach itself is also incredible, white sand and clear, torquise water. Next, we went snorkelling off the island and saw fish, sea lions, sting rays...lots of great stuff. Then we went back to the boat and sailed to Punta Suarez, which is also on Espanola. There, we did an amazing hike where we saw the best wildlife. We saw more sea lions, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, nasca boobies, albatrosses...I think that´s it...just incredible and the views were amazing as well because the hike follows a path along cliffs that look out over the ocean. After the hike, we got back on the boat and sailed to Floreana Island.

Saturday morning we arrived at Floreana and got of a Punta Cormorant. We did a short walk to a lagoon and saw tons of flamingos, probably the silliest looking animals. Then we walked to another beach where you can stand ankle-deep in the water and baby sting rays swim all around your feet. Next, we went snorkelling again and saw sea turtles and a sea lion that was so playful, she just swam around with us for awhile. After lunch, we went to another beach on Floreana and swam with sea turtles, sea lions, and penguins. We got back on the boat later in the afternoon and sailed to Santa Cruz. On the way, we saw a few whales and dolphins from the boat.

On Sunday, our last day on the boat, we got to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. We went to a tortoise breeding centre and saw the piece de resistance of the Galapagos, giant tortoises. They are so funny looking and massive, I loved them. We also explored a lava tube and visited the Darwin Research Station, which was a highlight for me. You may know that I have a small obsession with all things Darwinian, so I really loved it. We didn´t get to see Lonesome George (the last remaining tortoise of his species), but we saw more tortoises and land iguanas and learnt a lot about the conservation efforts that take place in the Galapagos.

Monday, Katie and I went to Tortuga Bay, which is an amazing beach outside of Puerto Ayora. It´s secluded by a peninsula, so the water is perfectly calm and clear and there was not a single other person there. After lunch, we took a boat to Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island, which is much smaller than Puerto Ayora but has amazing character. We just wandered around town for the evening and met up with a couple who had been on the cruise with us.

On Tuesday, we spent the day exploring Puerto Villamil. We went to Concha Perla Lagoon, which is supposed to be a great spot to swim with sea lions. It was beautiful, butafter seeing a GIGANTIC sting ray swimming around, I got scared. Instead, we went to the port and had a fisherman take us over to Las Grietas, which is a set of small islets where you can snorkel and see sharks. We saw a ton of sharks and by the time we went snorkelling, I was somewhat freaked out. But it was still a lot of fun. That night, we met a group of volunteers who work on the island and went out to bar with them. It was a lot of fun and we got to meet some really interesting people, which is always nice.

Wednesday, we got up very early to hike the Sierra Negra volcano. If I understood correctly, it´s the second largest volcano in the world and the largest basaltic caldera in the world. We saw incredible views, especially of the crater. It last erupted in 2007 I think, so you can clearly see the lava tracks through the crater. It was a really great hike, if somewhat challenging. That night, we visited another hostel where people tend to congregate and spent the night with other travellers and the long-term volunteers on the island. There was an Italian couple staying at the hostel and they decided to cook dinner for everyone, so they set up two family-style tables on the beach and about 30 of us had this amazing dinner together. It was so much fun and everyone was so nice and interesting to talk to. I heard some really great travelling stories and got some good ideas for places I would like to visit.

Thursday, our last day in Galapagos, Katie and I went back to Puerto Ayora where we just hung out and relaxed for the day. This morning, we flew back to Quito. I think that pretty much covers all the details of trip. It was a really unbelievable trip and I´m so glad I had the opportunity to go. Now, I have another week of volunteering in Quito before I leave for Peru on October 30.

Hasta luego!

Sarah

Atacames

This past weekend, I visited the beach town of Atacames with three volunteers (Katie, Sebastian, and Ameya) and Katie´s Ecuadorian boyfriend, Pablo. Friday was a holiday celebrating the independence of Guayaquil, so we left on Thursday night and arrived in Atacames early Friday morning.
Atacames is really just a party town with a great beach, which was kind of exactly what we were looking for. The weather was amazing and the beach is beautiful, so we did nothing but sit around, eat, drink, and swim. You can sit on the beach all day and buy buckets of fruit and bottles of beer from vendors, so there´s really no reason to move. We stayed in an absolutely terrifying hostel, but it´s all part of the experience right?
The town has a very Caribbean feel to it, very different from the big cities in Ecuador. The lifestyle is much more relaxed and casual and not nearly as religious and conservative as Quito. Apparently people from the coast think people from the mountains are stuffy and people from the mountains think people from the coast are wild. I can kind of see it...
The beach is lined with ¨bars¨, which are really just straw huts that serve alcohol, but they´re a lot of fun. Some only have hammocks for seating, which really adds to that ¨miles away from ordinary¨ sentiment. The food was especially wonderful. For $2.oo, you can get a gigantic plate of rice, vegetables, ¨menestra¨ (lentils and beans), fresh fish, and a drink. Delightul and economical.
Between the five of us, we managed to incur three jellyfish stings (none by me personally), one missing person alarm, and one malaria scare, over the course of two days. It was all very exciting, I must say.
On Saturday, Ecuador played Uruguay in the World Cup qualifier. Most of the bars brought out little TVs to show the game, so we watched on the beach with a massive crowd of Ecuadorians. Ecuador lost in overtime, which was quite sad because it looked like the town was gearing up for a huge celebration if they had won. The whole experience was very entertaining, lots of angry Spanish yelling.
On Sunday, we spent the whole day on the bus returning home. It was a great, relaxing weekend away from Quito, which I really enjoyed. Today I booked my trip to the Galapagos (!), so I´ll be leaving on Thursday for about eight days there. Can´t wait!

Lots of love!

Sarah

Quito the Old

The past week has been relatively uneventful, but I figured an update was in order anyway. Every weekday consists of either volunteer meetings or markets in the morning and Spanish class in the afternoon. Not bad at all, really. I´m becoming more accustomed to the markets, so I´m enjoying it more and more. The kids are a lot of fun, especially now that I can understand, more or less, what they´re saying. I´m also starting to see the long-term goals of the program, which is good. The Thursday market is my favourite, because it´s in a beautiful town called Sangolqui. The other markets are just outside Quito, so not as much fun to go to.
I spent the weekend in Quito, which was a lot of fun. Friday night all the volunteers went to a bar in the Mariscal where two of the volunteers have been working some weekends. We had a great time and I met a ton of interesting people, mostly Europeans and Australians who have recently moved to Ecuador. On Saturday, I explored the Quito´s Old City, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. I went to the Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus, which is a Jesuit church that is entirely covered in real gold. It´s really amazing, it looks like every element of Baroque art and architecture exploded, in gold, all over the inside. It´s completely over-the-top, but very impressive. Next, I went to the statue of the Virgin Mary overlooking the city, which gives a great view of the city. Finally, I went to the Museo Nacional, which is sort of the natural history museum of Ecuador. It houses a fantastic collection of Indigenous artifacts and Colonial artwork. Quite an exhausting day, but it was really nice to get to know the city a bit.
Sunday was a pretty lazy day. I met up with Katie, another volunteer, to buy groceries in the morning, because she was cooking lunch for her family. It turned out to be a big event, with the family and friends and neighbours. A lot of fun and great Spanish practice for me. By the afternoon I was pretty spent because attempting to answer questions about Judaism, in Spanish, is completely exhausting.
Monday, Tuesday, and today have been markets and Spanish class, with a little Salsa lesson thrown in for good measure. That was a blast, I love Latin dance. Tomorrow I am going to Atacames, which is a beach town, for the weekend with the other volunteers. It´s a long weekend and Ecaudor is playing Uruguay in the World Cup qualifiers on Saturday, so it should be a lot of fun!

Lots of love,

Sarah

Quito y Baños

Ola! I´ve been in Quito for almost a week now, so I guess it´s time for an update. My arrival here was somewhat shocking and rather frustrating, considering that I´m living in a house where nobody speaks a word of English. But my Spanish is improving at an incredible rate. My family is very nice and patient with me and they´ve been great with helping me practice Spanish.
The day after I arrived I left for Baños with two other volunteers from my program. It´s a small town outside of Quito, known for ¨eco-adventures¨, so we went canyoning down waterfalls and horseback riding in the mountains, which was a great time. We stayed in a fantastic hostel, where I met a lot of people who are travelling in the area. We came back Sunday night, but, unfortunately, not in time for Col Nidray (sp?).
On Monday, another volunteer (Katie) came with me on a mission to find Quito´s Jewish Community Centre. It is in a very shady area of town, but the centre itself is pretty amazing. Security was tight, and the guy who frisked me and checked my passport scoffed after asking me the name of my Rabbi in Toronto and discovering that she is a woman.
That afternoon, Katie and I met up with a few other volunteers and spent some time in the Mariscal, which is an area of Quito´s new city. It´s where most of the backpackers stay and it´s also encompasses the bar district. For Louis, I know how much you like streets, so I found a street that can be your Ecuadorian equivalent to Shenken Street in Tel Aviv. I also discovered, after speaking to the British proprietor of a bookstore, that the neighbourhood where I live (El Recreo) is the most dangerous part of Quito. But try not to worry, I just don´t go outside after sundown, which, incidentally, is at 6 pm. In all seriousness, it´s kind of ghetto and I don´t walk around at night, but it´s really not too bad because all the volunteers live in the neighbourhood.
Yesterday was my first day of volunteer work. I went to a market just outside the city and did activities with the kids whose parents work there. The kids are a blast, but I can´t help feeling that what we´re doing won´t make a lasting impact on them...we will see. Either way, it´s fun and it´s good Spanish practice. The markets themselves are insane. People work there 15 hours per day and the conditions are terrible. I was fairly freaked out by the beheading of chickens, which was taking place every few feet. In the afternoon I had Spanish class, which was great. I discovered that if you occasionally use French words, people will probably understand what you´re trying to say.
This morning, all the volunteers had a meeting to discuss improvements that can be made to the program. A big focus this month will be hygiene in the markets, because they´ve had some cases of H1N1, so we will be teaching some basic hygiene lessons and whatnot to the families who work in the markets.
Well, that is the long and short of it so far. I´m having a great adventure and most of the other volunteers are awsome. Please send me an email and pass this blog along to anyone who I may have forgotten. But no randoms.

Lots of love!