Parati or Paraty pronounced (Par-a-cheeeeee!)

(Disclaimer: We know this is really late, and we are actually home when writing this, and we may no longer have any readership anyway. But we humbly ask your forgiveness; there was NO place to successfully upload pictures in Rio, and then when we got home it was all a flurry of not finding cameras, not finding cords, and Christmas. Go figure. So just pretend it's a week ago! Shhhh...)

Paraty was the site of the one day of sun we got in Brazil. Although one out of six could be a tragedy, we were able to successfully capitalize. Even if we had known that the sun was only going to poke through the clouds one day, I still would have chosen to spend it in Paraty. Set on the coast five hours south of Rio de Janeiro (January River), this former Portuguese trading post is now a white-washed port town and launching point for day-long touring boat trips. The five hour trip we went on was easily was one of the best events in Brazil and an ideal way to bring our trip to a close. See for yourself:

The Streets of Paraty

A View from the Docks

Margaret on the Schooner in Paraty

Glare Warning!

Brian, Niamh, and Colm Swimming With the Fishies

In Paraty, we got to meet and hang out with a couple from Ireland (pictured poorly above), who had just moved back from seven years in Australia and were honeymooning for six months in South America. We effectively had a two-day-long double date with these people. The first day it was cloudy so we took a four hour bike ride to a couple waterfalls and a restaurant. Cold and tasty, respectively. The second day (the day of sun) we all went on the schooner ride. They were maybe the nicest people we met the whole trip.

All-in-all, Brazil was the right place to put at the end of the trip. It helped us re-acclimate ourselves to paying more than 5 dollars for things (what seems like the average price for everything in Argentina). Brazil was also just more easygoing (nearly everyone wears board shorts and sandles around town). You don't want to know what Brazilians wear on the beach. I'd show you, but this is a PG blog after all.

Stay tuned for the final blog post!

Don't even get me started on the cheesy bread.

Unbelievably, we somehow made it out of Buenos Aires, albeit a bit exhausted and loaded down with more bags than we had originally planned...it was hard to leave, but we were psyched about our last week of the trip, to be spent in Brazil!

But I can't tell you all about it yet, like I want to, until I can find an internet cafe that will let me upload a few photos. And no, I can't ask the guy in charge because my Portuguese is limited to "Bathroom? (eyebrows raised)" and "two mango juices please." So pictures of the first few days will maybe have to wait until tomorrow or so. Right now, however, we are in Rio. And I can tell you a little about that.

We arrived in pouring rain two nights ago, and the weather has been better, but cloudy and drizzly, ever since. Not exactly ideal for the ever-popular lazy day on Ipanema beach. Sooo, maybe we haven't had the opportunity to put on our way-too-modest-for-Brazil swimwear and blind the locals with our whiteness here in Rio. So maybe we don't "speak" Portuguese. So what? There is still plenty to do here my friends! And so far, beyond a little neighborhood exploring, running, and streetcar rides to historic Santa Teresa, the vast majority of our tour here has involved--what else?--searching out the fine culinary delights that Rio has to offer. Oh yes, the language of food is universal! And fortunately here, you usually don't have to even say anything to get it. First, the free breakfast at our hotel is amaaaazing. Tropical fruits, pastries, strong coffee...anyone who knows me knows that that is pretty much all I need to be in a great mood. And it's free and buffet style, so I didn't even have to talk to anyone to get it! Then there was sushi. In a land close to so much ocean and with a sizeable Japanese population, it's pretty great. Last night Brian managed to order, receive, and subsequently demolish an all-you-can-eat deal, just by checking off some random items on a piece of paper! Not bad. In addition, many of the restaurants here are known as "kilos," as in kilograms, as in you go around and put a bunch of food on a plate, and then they weigh it and charge you. Bam! Can you say easy? And this is no Old Country Buffet, folks. We are talking amazing food of all kinds for very little money. And finally, the one type of food I have learned the vocabulary for: juice. On every--and I mean every--corner, there is a juice bar selling fresh "suco" of every kind, made to your liking. Seriously, ask me any fruit name in Portuguese, I know it. I could even order you a blend if you want.

The weather forecast is a bit better for tomorrow, our last day in South America. But even if I don't sit under an umbrella continuously slathering myself with sunscreen, I still have plenty to keep me happy.

More pictures and Brazil details coming very soon!

Too bad I didn't capture him politely waiting his turn in line.

I don't know...

Los Dougherty

My family came to Buenos Aires and has since left. Bridget, Justin, Mom and Dad were here for ten days (finishing up two successful weeks of visitors), and I can honestly say it was on of the smoothest trips we've ever had. It would have been the perfect family vacation had Brittnye and Theo been here. Then, however, we would have had eight people in the smallest apartment ever, which would have required the construction of some kind of bunk bed to fit everyone.

We accomplished everything Margaret and I thought they needed to do and see to get a good feel for the city: the Recoleta Cemetery, La Boca, a bunch of other neighborhoods, Plaza de Mayo, way too many good restaurants, San Telmo, a tango show, and we even went to Colonia, a city on the Rio De La Plata in Uruguay, for Thanksgiving. I had a really good time. I'm glad they came and am already looking forward to the next random family vacation. Where to next guys?

Here are a few pictures of the trip:

La Boca, a neighborhood in Buenos Aires.


A Parilla (Steakhouse) in San Telmo.


My mom chillin' with some fruit. Don't ask.


Our Thanksgiving Dinner Table.

Bridget and I sitting by the Rio De La Plata in Uruguay.

We met a dog in Uruguay outside a random restaurant in Colonia. All in all, she did the best job of summing up my general feeling about the trip, which, as you can see, was relaxing.

Can't we stay?

It is true, our lives have been very easy and simple here, with very little obligation. However, for many reasons, things have become a lot more busy here in the last few weeks (in a good way).

Brian's family visited, which was a blast, and which he will write about soon enough. Because we want to include pictures, you know, we needed a few days to sort through the thousands of fabulous ones that were taken...

And, because this always happens the closer you get to leaving, we've just become more involved. We've met people and spent time with them, and we're into various activities. I, for one, have decided that this is a good time to focus on things that I've always wanted to do, and so I've been taking silkscreening classes (!) and continuing capoeira. And I've begun to work with a great youth arts organization, Proyectarte. Brian's Spanish is amazing (really, he's modest, but it is), because he goes to class five days a week. And now, of course, it seems like the time is going by too quickly!

More to come soon, we promise.

Mom and Buenos Aires: A perfect balance.

My mom came to visit! And although it seems that she brought a little Chicago weather with here (where did those 80 degree days go?), we still had a blast. It was the perfect opportunity to do a lot of sightseeing and restaurant touring-- I think we pretty much hit all of the "must see" spots. For some reason several times we either forgot to bring the camera or discovered that it wasn't charged, so I'll do my best with the pictures we do have.

I have to say, I think it was a particularly successful five days because of our ability to balance everything perfectly. We stuffed ourselves silly with steak and discovered the best Malbec ever, but we also walked and ran through the parks and botanical gardens. We did the touristy but charming La Boca and saw an intimate little tango show, and also got off the beaten track by meeting up with some local friends-of-friends.

Mom and the lovely purple "jacaranDAH" trees.

We saw old Buenos Aires through the antique fair in San Telmo and the astounding Recoleta cemetery, and we saw "new" Latin America at the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA).

Final resting place for anyone with power or influence in BA.
Also a fascinating architectural tour!

And of course, we balanced plenty of excellent coffee breaks (something my family has an uncanny ability for while traveling) with mom's first taste of yerba mate, Argentine-style. She didn't like it, but at least it was a new experience.

Mom: "I don't want to taste it-- it's ugly!"

Great balance-- we both wish you were still here mama!

De vuelta.

So after five years, I finally got to go back to Chile! The massive, gorgeous mountains are still there, surrounding Santiago on all sides, but the endless lines of sun-yellow, eternally speeding public buses are not! The view is still spectacular from on top of Cerro San Cristobal, and it includes views of new buildings and skyscrapers under construction. There is an underground highway and an underground museum at La Moneda, the presidential building. And although their lives have changed in lots of ways, the friends that I saw are still as charming and fun as ever.

Brian and I visited Santiago and Valparaiso-Vina del Mar last week, and I did my best to give him an idea of my time there. Along the way, we caught up with lots of people, sights, and transportation systems. We saw Ingrid, Carlos, Cristobal, and Cristian, my hilarious host family. They're doing well, were as welcoming as they always were, and the kids are three times as tall. They entertained the crap out of Brian, as they always did for me when I lived there...

Brian, Ingrid, Carlos, Margaret

We also hung out with my good friend Felipe, who took us out, showed us the sights and helped to bring back my Chilean Spanish.

La Marmota y Feliponcio

And we went to the coast, thankfully finding space in the coolest hostel ever after I sortofkindof forgot to make a reservation until the day we got there. We stayed up in the hills:

Hills (interior)

and took the ascensor (ancient rickety wooden elevator, capacity seven, that rumbles you to the top of a huge hill) to the top of a second hill where we had dinner overlooking the port.

Hills (exterior)

We went to the beach in Vina and got pooped on by a bird flying about 10,000 feet above us (imagine the velocity!).


We marveled at the beautiful, sunny weather. We took photos.

Back in Santiago, Felipe accompanied us on a sort of walking tour of the places where I spent the most time, and later we were driven at amazing speeds around the hills outside of Santiago by Brian's law school friend Rodrigo. We forgot to take a picture of him, sorry!

It was a whirlwind of course (revisiting a place you knew so well after five years has to be), but it was lovely. "Super," as the chilenos would say. And we came back just in time to get ready for my mom's visit! Yaaaay, mom!

A Little Place Called...Budweiser

At this very moment we are 5,598 miles from Chicago. Yet part of me feels like I never left. I came to South America to learn a new language and see a new thing or two. The new language is coming along nicely. Classes are good, and the instructor is wonderful. Seeing new things, however, has been a little harder than expected, at least here in Buenos Aires. Within walking distance from our apartment, probably within walking distance of all 13 million Porteños (remember a person from Buenos Aires), is a McDonalds or a McCafe (a chain of coffee shops owned by McDonalds). Right outside my apartment window is a giant Motorola Razor ad that says, in English mind you, "not a bitch, just the jeans."


It might be a jeans ad combined with a Motorola ad. But still, try to explain that one. Two blocks from us is a well-known place in Buenos Aires called Plaza Serrano, where a bunch of bars and restaurants surround the plaza. One of the most popular bars has a 20 foot-long, red neon sign on the facade that reads "Budweiser."


I don't know the name of the bar so I just call it "The Budweiser Bar" because of the sign and because everyone drinks forties of Budweiser. Fords almost hit me in the streets. Converse shoes are everywhere. The only product I see more of is pictures of Tiger Woods's face. Everyone smokes Marlboros. This is not to say that there aren't Argentine products here, or Chinese, or French products, because there are. But most of those are recognizable too. The point being, it's getting a little harder to have different experiences, even this far from home.

There are positives and negatives to being able to get a Coca-Cola every half a block. For example, you can get a Coke every half block. But really, the more common experiences people share could mean less to disagree over, which hopefully will then mean less to fight about. But yet, it's a little disappointing or even a little sad that the day may be approaching where the only differences Porteños and Chicagoans, people who live five and a half thousand miles apart, have to talk about is the fact that they call it "Coca Light" and we call it "Diet Coke."

Ya pues.

Okay, okay, okay. We've been receiving a little "feedback," and it seems like people think we don't update enough, or something. A lot of the diminished frequency has to do with the fact that we're not on the move every other day like we were before, and so often we just take long walks, or go to museums, or Brian goes to Spanish class and I walk or read in the park or find a new neighborhood that we haven't seen. We've also forgotten the camera (or neglected to charge it) several times, and it's just not as fun without pictures. But still, we promise to be better!

We have gone to several not-to-be-missed sites, but have also saved a lot for when our visitors come. We took a short little stroll through La Boca, just a Sunday evening preview; we'll be back for more time soon.

Me, strolling.

We went to the MALBA (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano Buenos Aires). It's a great museum. I don't have pictures, sorry. I do have pictures of our street though:

Nuestro departamento.

Oh, and a while ago we went to the a very, very cool underground tango club. It has the highest ceilings ever, crazy stuff on the walls, and an entrance that looks like nothing! It's so cool that our pictures are all dark and mysterious and full of candlelight and red wine!

I'd tell you where this is, but then I'd have to kill you.

We also (okay we've done a lot) took a little trip to Tigre this weekend, which everyone and their madre said was "liiiiiiindo" and shouldn't be missed. And it was, indeed, muy lindo! It's only 50 minutes on the train to get there, and it's a popular weekend destination for portenos (people from Buenos Aires) and foreigners alike. The whole town is centered around the river and has lovely architecture, walkways, and a huge market called the Mercado de Frutos. It was lovely to walk around, and it was actually really nice to be among a bunch of "tourists" that were majority Argentine instead of gringo. I also met with a rowing coach and looked into rowing on the river there out of their fancy-schmancy rowing club that functions like a country club (how fun would that be?), but alas, it looks like it's not going to be possible. Que lastima. But here is a picture of a boat in Tigre that is not powered by rowing:

For like a minute we talked about how the opposite bank
might be Uruguay, but then we decided it totally wasn't.

In other news, the national elections were yesterday. We saw very little evidence of the actual voting (where are the polling places anyway? And since voting is mandatory, wouldn't we see more?) except for the fact that Brian couldn't order a beer before 9pm. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (aka, "The Hillary of the South"), the current president's wife, won by like a million percentage points. No surprise there. It looks like people really want stability nowadays, also not such a surprise.

This week we're off to Santiago, Chile, my home for five months five years ago (holy crap)! Can't wait to see it...

Rodents Of Unusual Size

One of the sights here, that is not so far from us, is the city's botanical garden. It's a lovely big place full of interesting plants, beautiful sculptures, exhibitions, and cats. Yes, real cats, the alive kind. For some reason they live here (and also in the Recoleta cemetery, but that's another story) in abundance and seem to be quite well fed. We went there recently and had a lot of fun watching them wander around, completely unfazed by the presence of so many people.

But that's not the strange part. Just across the street from the garden is the zoo, which we decided to visit just the other day. We were excited to be getting out and seeing one of the "sights" that was so nearby, it was a beautiful day, and zoos are fun. We wandered, pointed, you know, met some friends.


I have to say, however, when my friend Susie later commented that foreign zoos can be kind of weird, I think she was right. Sometimes you can put your finger on why, and sometimes it's just a feeling, but this zoo was no exception. Don't get me wrong, it was a lovely place, laid out park-style a la Lincoln Park Zoo, with old buildings and lots of foliage and ponds. We had a great time wandering and learned a lot of animal names in Spanish. It was just...a little bit different from the kind of zoos we're used to. First of all, they sell food for the animals there, so unless it's a tiger or a hippo, you're allowed to feed all of them these little pellets. So we watched as countless (and sometimes enormous) animals came right up to the outstretched hands of three-year-olds and nibbled away. The whole food system is great in that, you know, baboons stick their hands out and catch the pellets, and you get to see some really crazy animals at extremely close range:


But something about it is also totally weird, no? Like there's very little emphasis on watching animals in their natural behavior, because they're all prancing about tripping over each other like "mmmmmpelletpelletpelletyumyumyumgimmepellet..." Also, the cages and pens and everything seemed a tad bit cramped in most cases, no where for the animals to hide. Again, fun for us as viewers, but maybe a little sad? I, of course, know nothing at all about zoology, so it's important to realize that I'm just going with my gut here.

But you know what I know is REALLY freaking weird? The fact that they let a WHOLE BUNCH of animals roam free in the zoo, and I'm not just talking about ducks and a couple of peacocks! We first realized this place was a little different when we saw these animals that looked like a cross between a deer and a rabbit (yes I know that makes no sense, but we still haven't figured out what they were) resting calmly on the lawns, enclosed in no way. And then, we met these guys:



And when I say "met," I mean I stood at a safe distance while Brian came close and then quickly backed away, while watching an old lady pet it. Ew. (That's my freaked-out laughing in the background, fyi.) If you don't know, these things are called nutria, and they're basically huge swimming rats whose hind feet are webbed. Awwww! I just want to cuddle it!

I like my goat buddies better.

A Street Performance in San Telmo

So far we've spent most of our time in Palermo and Palermo Viejo. Although they're wonderful neighborhoods, we've spent most of our time lately setting up our lives for the time we'll stay. We've had to find an apartment, grocery store, and a coffee shop, all laborious tasks that really take it out of you. We got the internet working (all Margaret, she's the only who can talk to our service provider's costumer service in Spanish), found a gym, and set up Spanish lessons (all me, I'm the only one who can't speak Spanish). So, handling business has been our lives for the last week or so in the city people call the Paris of South America. Now all I am really looking to do is walk around, eat, go out and drink Quilmes (the national beer) and coffee.

Soon enough, I'm sure.

Today, however, we got out of Palermo. We ventured to San Telmo, a neighborhood just south of La Casa Rosada (a pink version of our White House) and Plaza De Mayo. On our walk, we encountered these two gentlemen:



It's a little embarrassing that a little wooden man can dance better than I can.

The street performances ranged from tango shows to accordion players. But this puppeteer was probably one of the best I've ever seen. The only street performer I can think of that's better is the monkey on 3rd street in Santa Monica that grabs money out of the spectators' hand and pockets it, but that's a different story.

Good Airs...

Okay, we're back. In South America, that is! We arrived in Buenos Aires on Tuesday morning, and have been hard at "work" finding a place to live. It wasn't really all that difficult though, we found a great place within two days in Palermo Viejo, just a couple blocks from it's central square, Plaza Serrano:


The apartment was exactly what we were looking for: cheap, furnished, well-located, no commissions or hidden charges, and some huge, striped pillows:

Seems like we were pretty successful. Besides that, we've been exploring a bit, despite the rain, figured out the subway and bus (sort of), and of course, we've eaten quite well. We'll report more soon!

A Wedding in Chicago, A Hiatus from South America

Brittnye (my sister) and Theo (my new brother-in-law) got married on Saturday. As expected, it was elegant, personal, and fun. Planned entirely by Brittnye, the wedding was distinctly her, screaming with graceful style. The globe lamps hanging from the trees and the tent's ceiling, the shuffling ipod, the flowers arranged by Margaret, the Charlie Trotter's Catering and the company made for a ridiculous party and memorable wedding. The friends, my family, and the Pereiras (whom it was a pleasure to meet), and everyone else made it a wonderful time.

Set in my Aunt Nancy's large and beautiful home and yard in Naperville, the ceremony took place under the pergola on the deck:

And the party took place just feet away. There were about 130 people who fit comfortably under a tent and then on to the dance floor. The whole thing went off flawlessly, thanks in large part to the extended families, who played such an important role.

Special mention needs to be given to the flowers, some of which you can see on the deck/alter, because Margaret arranged them all. Being a former employee of Cattails on Division, Margaret is pretty handy with a vase and a knife when it comes to dahlia, purple basil, milkweed, eucalyptus, and stock (pictured above). Some say she has a black belt in flowers.

The setting and weather made the wedding a pleasure of the senses. Everything looked, smelled, and tasted so good. Weddings, in my opinion, should not be done any other way.


Congratulations. You two are wonderful people, good friends, and now the best family.

Tune in again for La Llave Grande: Argentina Edition!

A Quito, a quitoquitoquito!

We planned a Quito stop near the end of our trip, so we had lots of opportunity to ask other travelers about it while we were in other places. Most of them gave a noncommittal ¨meh,¨ and acted as if there wasn´t much to like about it. But we disagree, Quito is great! We arrived in the city from the Black Sheep Inn last week and spent a few days in the city. It's beautiful, with buildings climbing up the mountainsides. There's a part called the Old Town, which is full of lovely plazas and well-preserved buildings. The New Town is a lot like other cities, especially Latin American ones, with lots of high rise buildings, crazy buses, big parks, and international restaurants. Here´s the Plaza Grande, the main plaza in the Old Town. Around it are the cathedral, the cultural center, the municipal building, and the president´s house:


We found a nice hostel (Casa Bambu) fairly easily. We've strolled a ton and seen a nice mix of cultural things. We saw an Andy Warhol exhibit in the Centro Cultural Metropolitano, and the amazing Museo Guayasamín, the former home of Ecuador´s most famous artist. Here´s one of his most famous paintings, called ¨Maternidad.¨

It seems Sr. Guayasamín also had a great eye for colonial art, so we were able to not only see his paintings, but get to know a lot from his collection of items from the Quito and Cuzco schools of art, which were basically religious art-producing workshops in the colonial period, done by (now anonymous) indigenous and mestizo artists and used to instruct Latin Americans about Catholicism. The Quito school is known for hyper-realistic statues, using incredibly detailed paint techniques to realistically imitate flesh tone and gory crucifixes, and the faces of statues have startlingly realistic expressions.

And, because any trip I take seems to inevitably become a culinary tour, we´ve eaten a ton. Quito has all kinds of cuisine, so we've had our share of Italian and Thai and stuff like that, as well as some fantastic Ecuadorian food. I am now in love with something called morocho, which is kind of like hot rice milk, you know the kind that´s sort of sweet? Except it´s made with corn. Sounds like a strange combo, but it´s soooo yum. Beyond that, we´ve had every possible kind of empanada and humita (sort of like a tamale but softer and cheese-filled) there is. And I cannot fail to mention our favorite restaurante Quiteña: Frutería Monserrate! It´s a restaurant housed in a huge tall building with skylights and many floors. You can get mainly Ecuadorian fare here (and it´s where morocho first entered my life), but it´s really known for it´s huge bowls of fruit with whipped cream and raspberry sauce. We´ve been there three times already!

We've also been able to witness Ecuadorian politics firsthand, as the election for a new assembly (the body that will re-write the constitution) just took place on Sunday. The campaigns were everywhere, and right when we got to Quito we were swept up in several different frenetic parades and rallies, an interesting way to depart from the tourist experience.

So, Quito´s been good to us. We were here for a few days, then left for Otavalo (see previous post), and came back again. Tomorrow we leave for home, hard to believe!

The Market in Otavalo

We saved our shopping for the last weekend so we didn't have to cart our purchases all over Ecuador. We also wanted to wait for Otavalo, a city north of Quito, which was towards the end of our trip and the home to the largest market in South America. Booths, as far as the eye can see, sell everything from toothpaste to pigs to alpaca sweaters with little images of alpacas sown into them. For those of you who don't know, here's what an alpaca looks like:

Who knew something so fluffy existed in the wild. Next, notice the Alpaca sown in the front of the sweater made from of alpaca wool. Brillant. This may or may not have been the exact sweater I bought Bridget, my younger sister.

The purchase that was my personal favorite was the 17 finger puppets (if you know Margaret's job you'll understand), nearly one for each animal in the animal kingdom.

To accomodate all our purchases, we had to buy a separate bag, which after a little recommended negotiation, cost only 50 cents. We filled her to the brim. Here's an example of the chaos that forced us to shop for hours. This picture only shows about 1/100th of the merchants and goods in the lively market on any given Saturday.

Now we go back to Quito for a few more days, then again to Guayaquil to fly home for four days for my older sister´s wedding. Congrats Britt and Theo!

The Last Hike

Judging from our blog entries, it might appear that all we´ve really done is hike through the Andes. Well, it´s partly true. Rest assured, however, that this will be the last outdoor-sy post for a while because from here on out, we´ll be in Quito for a few days and then living in Buenos Aires until late December.

At the Black Sheep Inn, the eco-tourist destination I mentioned earlier, you don´t have much to do beside eat, hike, hangout with the other guests, and read. It´s a spectacular place three hours from any major city in Ecuador. It´s well isolated. Most guests have to ride in a back of a pick up truck to get there...which might have been the better option, given the four-hour, bumpy-ass bus ride we took! The trip is so worth it though.

On our third day here, we took a hike to an active volcano that erupts every 10,000 years. In the mean time, however, it doubles as a giant mountain lake. Don´t ask me how that works.

This will give you a better idea of what we saw.


A bit more to come on the Black Sheep Inn.

Salasaca.

So, from the tourist haven of Banos, we moved on to a decidedly non-tourist destination, Salasaca, the home of an indigenous community (the Salasaca), in the Central Highlands. There is a backstory here: over the summer I met Rosa Maria, the director and founder of a bilingual school in Salasaca, when she came to Chicago to work with my organization. She graciously invited us to visit her town and school and stay in her home when she heard we would be in Ecuador. So we did, and it was wonderful. Here's the view from the porch of her really cool house, which she has set up sort of like a hostel (though we got to be the only guests!):

But we spent most of our time there at Escuela Katitawa, Rosa's school. To be clear, the school is bilingual in Spanish and Quichua, the indigenous language of the Salasaca and many other Ecuadorian groups. It is not a public school, and thus does not receive government funding for its operations. It has 30 students, from the ages of 3 to 14, three classrooms and three teachers. Rosa is a fascinating person, extremely active in her community in terms of political issues, women's rights, and education. She is passionate about her indigenous identity and culture and preserving it for the children at the school, who are surrounded on all sides by towns where people speak only Spanish. Here's one of the school buildings and one of our youngest new buddies:

Just because she was the cutest little person ever and super funny, we had to add a face shot of her as well. Her name is Karina, and she's three. And she has some trouble keeping her soup in her mouth.

We spent about two and a half days there, working most of the time with the kids at the school (where the staff was not shy about thrusting us into leadership roles immediately!). The kids were pretty hilarious, and also not shy whatsoever. We played games, taught some English, and realized that kids are pretty much the same everywhere:

As for other Salasaca experiences, we were fed some excellent soup (almost exclusively soup, actually), we got to attend a political movie screening (Spanish, quite interesting) and town meeting (Quichua, not understandable to us, unfortunately), and we got very used to the noises that cows and donkeys make, which are actually quite different than the moos and hee-haws we usually imitate... All in all, it was a great few days, and a place we'd love to visit again.

Finally, a Volcano!

We're a little behind on posts for a couple reasons. First, we spent three days in an indigenous community called Salasaca (an worthwhile experience which Margaret will soon post on). Second, we arrived yesterday at the Black Sheep Inn, an eco-tourism destination, which is so isolated we have to use an old satellite dish to get Internet, which they admit isn't the fastest or the cheapest connection in the world. They want you to hike, horseback ride, and read. Whatever. But to finish up on Baños...

So we went to Baños partly because we wanted to see a volcano. We were literal in the shadow of Mount Tungurahua, yet we some how failed to see it even after three days and a hike to look for the damn thing. If you want to see how ridiculous it is that we couldn´t see the volcano from Banos, type in "Banos, Ecuador" into Google Maps and you can see the volcano puffing right over the city.

The second day, even after the ridiculous 40-mile bike ride, we took a steep hike up the mountain right outside town in search of the volcano. The views were amazing. We tried to hike up to a place that reportedly has a view of the volcano, but when we got as close as a couple hundred feet from the outlook site, we were thwarted by the fact that the path went right by someone´s home, and there were two sleeping dogs lying across it. Before you judge, Ecuadorian dogs are not American dogs. There often isn't a bowl of Pedigree waiting for the well groomed pup at home. They feast primarily on the fear of tourists. We decided not to tempt fate and dog bites and turned back instead. Not a huge deal, since you can´t actually see the top of the volcano above the clouds except in the early morning.

To say the least, I wanted to see a volcano. Luckily on a walk in Salasaca, I saw her, Mount Tungurahua. It was pretty amazing to see an active volcano so close. This picture does not do it justice.

Baños: done aaand done!

Okay, obviously there´s a hell of a lot more to do in Baños. But we really feel like we´ve taken advantage of as much as possible in the three days we´ve been here! Baños is pretty small, but it´s kind of the hub of adventure-y travel in this part of Ecuador, with all kinds of places offering biking, jungle tours, rafting, etc.

We arrived at night and didn`t take too much in; we stumbled to our hostel, which turned out to be the quietest, cleanest place ever. We were shown the charming rooftop terrace/restaurant by the hostel operator, and as she led us to the outdoor balcony, she pointed up. We both jumped and gasped-- literally right in front of us was an enormous mountain that we hadn´t been able to see in the dark, which went straight up at apparently no slant whatsoever. Coming out of it was a waterfall, which we later learned fed the nearby thermal baths that the town is named for.

This place is gorgeous, surrounded by massive green mountains on all sides and in the shadow of the active Tungurahua volcano, which we haven´t actually fully seen since it´s behind all those other peaks. Yesterday we did the 61km bike ride (we´re South American now, we only use the metric system) from Baños to Puyo, which is technically mostly downhill, but includes a surprising number of difficult climbs for a trip that drops 850 meters in altitude. It was an absolutely breathtaking ride; we went from being high up in the Andes and looking at waterfalls to essentially being in a tropical area at the beginning of Ecuador´s eastern rainforest territory. Here´s what it looked like at the beginning:

Notice Brian´s fanny pack and German soldier-style helmet.

Along the way we got a spectacular view of the Pailon del Diablo (Devil´s Cauldron) waterfall. We got really close to it, you might not be able to tell from the photo but the spray from it was soaking me at this point:

We also got to look at it from a precarious suspension bridge, whose capacity was just five (5!) people. I don´t really like heights though, so while I was on the bridge I mainly concentrated on not peeing my pants. The view, however, was amazing.

Oddly, we don´t have any shots of the end of the ride. I´m assuming that it´s because we wanted to die after five hours, and had no strength to look for or operate the camera. We were pretty hard core there for a while, but passed out as soon as we got on the bus back to Baños.

There is more to tell about Baños, but we´re on a bit of a time and technology crunch...more to come soon!

Thanks Parents!

So Margaret went to open her second book of the trip and was pulled to a random page somewhere in the middle. Placed in the book was this:


For those of you who haven´t met them, these are my parents. All I have to say is this: They would. I think they do stuff like put their picture in books before we travel so we´ll find it one day and suddenly remember how much we love them. Margaret and I both agree, however, that we need no reminder. That goes for Margaret´s parents too. Both the Doughertys and the Conway/Neafsey clan have always been amazing, especially in preparation for this trip. Whether it was letting us stay at their place for two weeks, helping clean our apartment, or coming to eat dinner with us and take the car home the night before we left, they were more than willing. They deserve thanks and their parenting deserves recognition. Thank you guys so much for everything. We love you!

An Ode to Buses

Buses are the way to travel in South America, mostly because they´re the only way to get around. So far Margaret and I have traveled about 300 miles by bus, which has taken a total of about 17 hours. Why do the buses on average only travel 15-20 miles per hour, you ask? Hairpin turns, hitchbacks, rockslides, goats, and many other obstacles the Andes present. But with this slow trek comes an experience worth mentioning. First of all, you have these views:

Clouds and towns below us at every turn.

Secondly, the buses are a scene themselves. Often standing room only, even for long trips, the buses are crowded. The bus drives along with the driver´s assistant hanging out the side of the bus yelling the destination to people waiting on the side of the road. If the people waiting happen to be looking for a bus, they jump on as we slowly roll past. The bus doesn´t stop because, I don`t know, I guess they`re in a hurry.

When we do stop to let people off, the vendors get on. Ecuadorians selling everything from warm banana bread to fruit salad to Ginseng place themselves strategically all over the countryside. They have one to two minutes to get on and off the bus before it leaves with them on it or not. I´ve seen one or two vendors hop off the moving bus. Margaret and I can see all of this of course because our heads, and no one else`s, stick above the seats made for people at least a foot shorter than we are.

So with the views, the food, and the entertainment, the rides just aren`t that bad. They`re even a bit fun.

Sangria and Inca Walls.

A few days ago we ascended slowly, slowly up the mountains to arrive at the city of Cuenca, Ecuador´s third largest. It´s a really charming and interesting place, definitely up there in terms of altitude (as evidenced by our rocking headaches on the bus), and full of cobblestone streets, universities, live music, big churches, and restaurants. We were greeted really warmly by our hosts at El Cafecito, the hostal...they were in the middle of a staff party, so they barely showed us our room before ladling out cups of sangria for us from a bucket. Yes, a big, red, festive bucket. The whole place is really lively, with all the rooms centered around a popular restaurant/bar, which makes for good eating and hanging out. We spent nearly all day yesterday seeing the sights and markets and walking all over the city, some intentional walking, some not so much...

Today we took a bus ride (with many others, including an amazing Frenchman with sweatpants tucked into his short, pointy, maroon boots) to the ruins of Ingapirca, even higher in the mountains. A great guide told us about how it first belonged to the Cañari, a matriarchal society who lived there 1100 years ago and worshipped the moon as their main goddess. Then the Inca took it over and made it all about the sun, their main deity (those Inca...soooo predictable!). There is evidence of both cultures there, including a tomb with a dead princess and her 10 drugged, buried-alive gal pals, circular foundations, rectangular foundations, aqueducts and water systems, and stones and temples that are placed so specifically that during the solstice and equinox, the sun shines directly into tiny little niches.

Here it is:

Tomorrow, on to Baños! And no, that doesn´t mean bathrooms...