Hacienda La Banda Imbabura

... equality in Ecuador versus the USA... it was entertaining to listen to at the very least and I am happy to say that I could understand approximatly half of the conversation.

After lunch and another bus, we walked around a nearby lake - Lago San Pablo and went to visit Peguche waterfall. They were somewhat interesting tourist attractions but I have nothing more to say about these.

We caught the end of the soccer (Ecuador lost) in a food shop in a ...

... the first person we asked for directions sent us right to our destination. We pulled up in front, unloaded our bags, paid the driver and prepared to wish him "bueno viaje" when we discoverd the door to the hostal was locked and no amount of knocking, pounding, cursing, etc., brought forth a response. Fortunately, the lovely restaurant next door was open and serving lunch, so when I went in and asked the nice lady if she knew where everyone was she immediately called ...

... of sugar plantations and I wonder whether this is a legacy of previous times when African slaves were brought in by the Spanish ruling classes to work on the land. The towns, though, did seem rather down at heel, half finished, dirty and with unmade, dirt roads running through them. The women I spoke to when trying to find the panaderia seemed cheery enough, asking me where I was from and how I was travelling, flashing their gold teeth whenever they ...

... in Quito to get settled, get my visa registered, etc. and the next day took a bus north, to Otavalo. Iīve been here twice before so I didnīt take the time to go to its well known market, but I did walk around a bit to pick up some gifts for my next destination, Cuellaje. This is a town several hours west of Otavalo, into the mountains, where I lived for a month completing my independent study project (2 years ago). I had lost the phone number of my host ...

... to take him up on his offer. The man was friendly, and told us that we can ask him anything and for any favor. I have become a little wary of overly nice people, given my recent, previous experience. However, I decided to humor him along the way and asked questions about the town and the laguna. Later, he offered to wait for us as we toured the laguna in boats. We agreed we would be back in 45 minutes. We were back in an hour and a half. He was still ...

... a footstep full of mud twice. I did once, and then later slipped and landed flat on my butt. Andy was beginning to gain our perspective on bushwacking-it occasionally is needed to get you where you want to go. After tromping through the marsh forever the land climbed back up and out of the muck. We hit grasslands, and then Eric spotted a trail, which we eagerly jumped on. This led us back to the point where the taxi dropped us off-except on the other side of a narrow ...

... the majority of indigenous Ecuadorians and stand out like a sore thumb). Dina led us to the front of the church, where Tania stood in a line of girls, all dressed up and waiting to enter for their first communion. Unfortunately, as we stood admiring Taniaīs beautiful outfit and proud smile, a young and foolish girl decided to try to drive her large pickup truck through the mass of people. The truck crept through the crowd so silently that I didnīt notice it ...

... Otavalo ist recht klein und nicht
so spektakulaer wie ich dachte. Das besondere ist der Indigomarkt, der
jeden Tag stattfindet, wo von Ponchos ueber sonstwas alles verkauft
wird. Am Samstag, also heute, ist er dann ueber die ganze Stadt
verteilt, alle Strassen, ein Spektakel.
Vor allen die Leute zu beobachten macht irrsinnig Spass.
Ausserdem
bin ich heute morgen zu einer ...

... main room, where all the kids joined my mother in singing a very cute rendition of "The Wheels on the Bus" and other songs that she has translated into Spanish. Today we will head back to Quito, and then hop on a bus to the cloud forest in Mindo. Iīm excited to explore some new sites in Ecuador, but also very happy to have come back to this familiar place and all these familiar faces. More to come (and pictures too, when I can figure out how to upload them properly!)

... t eat. We stayed there for about a 1/2 hour and finished up some gift buying for dear friends, like a creepy green devil mask for Eggerdings and 15 thread bracelets for students. Next stop was hiking around a crater lake. It was beautiful and felt great! We didn't cover much ground - about 2 km, but were at 11,000 ft and ascended about a km. I was really pleased that the altitude didn't knock me flat. Then we ...