Trip to the Equador (Mitad Del Mundo)

Ecuador got its name because of its location on the equator and  Mitad Del Mundo is actually the place  where the measurements for the equatorial line were originally done. This location was used because it has the highest elevation, so it is technically the closest place in the world to the sun. Which helps explain how my brother and I manage to get sunburned when its cloudy and rainy outside.

Monument at the fake line

Mitad Del Mundo is located about an 1.5 hours from Quito by public bus, so one day after class we decided to attempt the Quito bus system to visit. We had to take two buses to get there and thanks to directions from our Canadian classmates and some strangers along the way, we managed to find it.

The big attraction in Mital Del Mundo is the "official" monument which we paid $2.00 to see. On weekends it is a big tourist destination with live salsa bands in the square. We however came on a Wednesday afternoon so there was nothing but the monument and some tourist shops. The biggest catch with the monument is that it's not located on the true 0.00 latitude line, the true line lies 300m away.

The real line

Our teacher had advised us to visit the the Museo de Sitio Intinan located outside the park right next door. As we went on the museum tour we soon learned that this was actually where the true equator line was located.  The museum actually ended up being the true highlight of our trip to Mital Del Mundo. To help show the difference in the equator line they would actually do experiments like showing how the water could drain straight on the equator line, drain right on the south side and left on the north side. The also had us doing experiments to show how your gravity and strength is through off on the equator line (trying walking a straight line on the equator...not as easy as it sounds...we all looked drunk).

We found out that the monument was built where they had officially though the equator line lied however as camera and cell phone GPS became more popular, people started noticing that it didn't match up and would keep walking until it said 0.00 and then take there picture.  They then brought in the military with all their satellites again to test and determined that the monument wasn't actually on the line but since the Ecuadorian government had already invested in created the monument they decided they would still use it as the equator mark and built a wall, so people couldn't use their GPS to find the real one. The Museum which had always existed on the true equator was allowed to stay open but isn't allow to advertise since they want people to think the monument is the true line.

Real shrunken head of 12 year old boy

The museum in addition to having the true equator line also provided us with a ton of information on the wildlife and the Amazon natives. We got to see a real shrunken head and hear how and why they were created. We also found out that the official natives still live in remote parts of the jungle and have been know to kill people who try to enter their community. My brother actually said this was the most interesting museum he has ever been to, so if you visit Mitad Del Mundo make sure to hit this museum.

School in Quito

Our teacher Christina

For the last three weeks we have been attending Simon Bolivar Spanish School in Quito with Friday being our last day. We've been doing  lessons together however in hindsight we probably would have learned more with our own teachers since we both tune out whenever the teacher isn't directing a question to us. And each of us is stronger in different areas so we have to wait patiently while the other is mastering something we already understand.

I'm actually pretty good at reading Spanish however I struggle to understand what they're saying, especially when they speak so quickly. When the teacher would ask me a question I would give her a blank stare until she would write it down and then I would know exactly what she was asking. Unfortunately understand what they stay will be crucial.  We have a pretty good basic vocab for communicating however I think our biggest struggle will be understanding what they are saying in response.

We have learned quite a bit in a short period of time with 20 hours of class a week (8:30-12:30). I think our biggest issue however is that we haven't really been speaking that much English outside of school. All of our friends from school speak English, so outside of class we always speak English and whenever we go out, the person with the best Spanish usually takes responsibility for any Spanish communication. So aside from speaking Spanish with our host family, we haven't really put our Spanish knowledge to use. However this will change in Columbia, where they don't speak much English and Trevor and I will be on our own again. 

One of the things I really liked about our Spanish school was that they had daily activities. Everyone Tuesday and Thursday they had Merengue and Salsa lessons, on Friday futball, they also had cooking classes, cocktail lessons, movie nights, etc. We also went on some of the weekend excursions like Banos and all these activities really helped us to get to know the other students in the school and make new friends. This then lead to us spending our afternoon hangout together and evenings dancing  at the discos.

Weekend in Mindo

Propelling down the mountain

This weekend we decided to head to Mindo, which is 2.5 hours away from Quito, located in the cloud forest. After we arrived we heading off on a 2 hour scenic hike to a waterfall. On the hike, the one thing I was most grateful for was my hiking boots. Since it was raining the ground was all muddy and I was really impressed by how great they were in the mud. Especially compared to our friends that were slipping  in their running shoes. They were also really great when we needed to propelling down a steep slope of the muddy mountain with nothing but  a rope.

At the end of our hike we ended up at the waterfall which we were told was safe to jump off us. It was actually quite an intimidating jump and both my brother and I were questioning whether we were going to do it. For this jump you don't just jump over the falls it into a pool of water at the bottom but rather you jump into the waterfall with a strong rapid at the bottom. A couple of the guys did it, followed by our friend Sam, with Trevor planning to go next. However just before Trevor did it, we found out that something had happened to Sam which stopping everyone else from jumping. It was actually quite a scary thing to watch because we didn't know what had happened to him except that he wasn't able to walk and the guys had to carry him out of the water. We all just sat above in the rain watching as all the action took place below. Eventually they told us to head back to the hotel (a 2 hour hike back) while six of the guys below carried Sam back to the road on a stretcher, which could not have been fun because walking the muddy path on your own was quite treacherous, never mind carrying a stretcher.

 Once they got him to the road they transported him to a local doctor who stitched up one of his feet but the other needed to be looked at by a hospital. Unfortunately the nearest hospital was in Quito and Sam insisted on staying, so they wrapped up his legs. He actually ended up at the bar with us, drinking away his pain that night. However since both his feet where injured he wasn't able to move at all by himself, so the guys had to help carry him everywhere and Trevor was his roommate, so he really had to help him around. They next morning they insisted on taking him back to Quito to go to the hospital, where we later found out that he had broken the ankle on one of his leg and fractured the toe on the other. So he now has casts on both and can only get around by wheelchair. Which really sucks for him since he has only been in Ecuador 1.5 weeks and was suppose to be here for a 4 month project and will need to go home this week.

The accident kind of ruined the mood of our trip however we continued on with our activities the next day.  Come Sunday we were all pretty tired and all our clothes were still soaking wet from the day before. So the idea of putting on a wet bathing suit under our dry clothes was not all that appealing. But we all got ready and went for a 1 hour hike up the mountain to go zip-lining. This actually turned out to be more fun then I had expected. I'd been zip-lining a couple times before but what was cool about this time was they let you go down in different ways. So we got to down upside down, superman, butterfly, and attached to one another which was fun.

Ecuadorian taxi

After the zip-lining we then went tubing. And to get from the canopying to tubing site, we got to take an Ecuadorian style taxis which means piling everyone into the back of a pick-up truck for the ride down the mountain. In Ecuador it's common to see pickup trucks packed with people in the back, on the highway. The tubing was unlike anything I have ever done before. They take 8 or so tubes and tie them all in a circular format. They then pile you all in, however you don't sit in the tube, but rather on it and for good reason because the river is quite rocky and you would end up getting hit quite a bit. My brother and I actually found this a lot scarier than whitewater rafting because the rapids are quite fast and its really rocky. You're also not that secure in the tube, only holding on by the ropes that hold the tubes together. But the really scary part is if one of the tubes pop, which I think happens quite frequently. My brother and I were both on different rafts and both of our rafts had one of the tubes pop. When this happens you end up with the person on the popped tub scrabbling to get into someone elses tube and the balance of your raft thrown off, all the while still maneuvering through the rapids. Once we got through the rapids they tried to fix the circular form by tying the remaining tubes together and moved us around to try and fit the extra person in.

Coco bean plantation

Once those activities were over we then headed back to the hotel to dry off and eat lunch. We then went on a tour of a chocolate plantation where we got to see how chocolate is made. We also got to taste 100% coco which let me tell you does not taste very good without the sugar. After that active day we then headed back home to Quito.

Volcan Pichincha

View of Quito from atop the mountain

Quito, the city where we are going to school, is located high in the Andres (2850m) and surrounded by a beautiful mountain landscape. So after class, a couple of us decided to take the TeleferiQo skytram up Volcan Pichincha to enjoy the spectacular view from above.

 The only problem was once we got up there the view was completely covered with clouds. But we didn`t let this deter us and instead we decided to continue climbing up and came across some horses for rent. We decided to rent the horses and let them do the work of taking us further up the mountain. I hadn`t ridden a horse since I was 12 so it took a while for me to remember how to control it but we soon got the handle of things. We ending up taking them around the mountains and as we were riding the clouds started to clear up to provide us with a beautiful view of the city. We were all quite impressed with how large the city of Quito actually spans. We could also see the summit of the Volcano Ruru Pichincha, which is about a 3 hour hike from where we where, but we are leaving that hike till later this week.

Surround by clouds when we first arrived

Our Horses

Weekend In Banos

Arriving at our hotel in Banos

Last weekend we went with 17 students from our school to Banos. It's located approximately 4 hours away from Quito with a landscape of lush green mountains covered in waterfalls. Its definitely a town that survives on tourism with lots of outdoor activities.

Guinea pig anyone?

 

Making taffy

We started our day by walking around town where we saw them making the town's famous melcocha (taffy) and cooking cuy (guinea pig). Then after lunch we had the options of whitewater rafting, canyoning, hiking, horseback riding or the visiting the spa. My brother and I debated between whitewater rafting and canyoning but ended up decided to go rafting with the majority of other students.There were 9 of us, so we got split into two group and lucked out with the young guide whose goal was to get us thrown into the water as much possible.  He even has us standing on the edge of the raft to see who would fall out first.

Enjoying our hot Canelazo

Quad-runner

After rafting we all met back at the hotel where we had a popular Ecuadorian alcoholic drink called Canelazo which tastes like hot cider and is really good. We then got changed and headed for dinner. In town my brother had noticed people driving quad-runner around town so of course he wanted to drive one. So a couple of us rented them for an hour and drove them around town. It was a bit nerve racking because they don't give you any instructions except "gas, brake, no reverse, no hand brake and one-way streets". Just driving in South America is crazy because they don't seem to follow normal road rules and people cross wherever they want with cars honking to warn pedestrians to get out of their way. Of all four of us driving, Trevor was the only one with his full license. Our other two friends were from the UK, so they weren't even use to driving on the right side of the road. So we got some pretty dirty look from people, particularly when driving the wrong way on a one way streets....damn gringos. 

Hot Springs

After our driving adventure we ended up meeting up with the rest of the group at the disco for some drinks and dancing. Most of us didn't end up staying out too late (1:00am)  because the plan for the next morning was to hit the hot springs at 5:30am, before they got too busy.  I have to admit the hot springs weren't quite what I was expecting. It was literally two swimming pools filled with hot yellow water and  tons of people, including little kids. We had some concerns over how clean the water actually was. We preferred the really  hot pool, which had no kids, however the water was so hot you could only stay in it for 15 minutes at a time and came out with your body all red.  The scenery was beautiful  however, with a waterfall behind us on the mountain and the sun rising.


After the hot springs and breakfast, we went walking around town again before picking up our mountain bikes for a day of mountain biking through the valleys.  We biked from approximately 11-3pm with breaks at various scenic or activity centres. At one of the stops they had a superman zip line above a waterfall which Trevor and a couple other students did.  At another stop they had a bridge bungee jump which both my brother and I ended up doing. It was definitely one of the scariest things I have ever done, especially as you climb onto the edge of the bridge and contemplate jumping off.

The weather had been sunny and really great up to this point. However during the last 15-20 minutes of our bike ride it starts pouring rain, so by the time we are done and ready to go home, we are all soaked. But with most of us lacking sleep from the night before we all pretty much passed out on the bus ride back to Quito.

Overall an awesome weekend where we got to make a bunch of new friends and are now looking forward to our trip to Mindo this weekend!

Cost of Living

One of the good thinks about starting in Ecuador is that their currency is US dollars, so the conversions are really straight forward. It also makes it really obvious how much cheaper the cost of living is. A bottle of coke is roughly $0.45,  bottle of water $0.25 and a beer $0.80.  The buses cost $0.25 while a taxi usually costs $1 or $5 if you are going from one end of the city to the other. The most expensive houses in Quito, are in a closed community and cost roughly $200K.

We found out the average income is $275 a month. So when they ask how much our flight cost, what we pay in rent and what the minimum wages is in Canada they automatically say we must be rich, but I guess by their standards we are which is a strange dynamic.

Language Barrier

Getting by with just English is very difficult in Ecuador. If you try to speak in English you just get blank stares. When we first arrived we met Nancy and Elsa who spoke almost no English, so communicating was very difficult with our limited Spanish. Our communication became charades and random English and Spanish words. My brother and I felt really awkward during meals because we didn't want to be rude and speak English to each other but didn't  have enough Spanish to carry on a real conversation so we would  just ask what the Spanish words were for everything we ate or touched.  When the daughters returned a couple days later it was a bit easier because they spokes some English and could help translate.

For me the language barrier is my biggest struggle, it's really frustrating when you don't know what someone is saying or how to communicate something.  We arrived four days before we started school and actually wished we had started right away so we could communicate better.  My brother is one of the most outgoing people I know and not being able to talk to anyone is especially hard for him. Once he learned "Hola" and "Buenos Dias" he would walk down the street saying it to everyone he met. Although if they say anything back, he'd just give them a confused look. 

We started school three days ago and what a difference it has made to what we can understand and say. I  took some Spanish classes before coming but I can't believe how much quicker I'm picking up the language through classes and living here.  My brother and I have unconsciously  started speaking Spanglish. When talking with each other or even friends and family on Skype we will intermix English words with Spanish words. We definitely have a long way to go but at least we're starting to understand some of the conversations.

Host Family

The host family has been really great and made us feel like part of their family. I'm really glad we decided to stay with a family over a hostel because you really do get to experience how they live and it's nice to have a home base.  By Ecuadorian standards the family we are staying with is well off and once we entered their house we realized it was quite similar to ours. They have the entire first floor of the apartment building  which includes  a living room, dinning room, family room, kitchen, four bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The mother Nancy is separated, which is actually quite uncommon in Ecuador, but her ex husband comes around quite a bit. They have  two daughters Kayla (20) and Mar Jos (14) who live here. They also have a housekeeper, Elsa who lives at the house as well. So it's a house full of girls but if you know my brother... you'll know he doesn't mind being the only male.

New Years in Ecuador

Coming to Ecuador we didn't have any particular expectations for New Years and thought it would be fairly similar to Canada, with lots of eating, drinking and dancing. We soon learned Ecuador has a lot of their own traditions.

On our first day walking around we noticed a stuffed scarecrow at a construction site and thought that was kind of interesting but as we walked further we noticed most of the stores also had these "stuffed people" sitting outside their stores and many had them tied to the front of their cars, including public buses. There were also people selling them on the street.  After doing some research we found out that the masks placed on the "puppets" were of their politicians and at midnight on New Years everyone burns the life size "puppets".

That's not where their tradition ended however. One New Years eve we went exploring the Old City in Quito, which was packed with people. There we found  people selling masks, wigs and costume pieces. They don't celebrate Halloween and it appears that New Years is a bit of a costume party for them.  So of course we followed the local custom and bought our own New Years masks.

Puppets seen everywhere

Puppet burning at midnight

One of the most amusing thing however was all the men dressed up as women. As we were walking around my brother had one of them hit on him which was quite amusing, especially since he wasn't quite sure how to react and thought they might be pickpocketing. Apparently on New Years eve its tradition for the young men to dress up as women and tie a skipping rope across the street to stop cars. The "he-shes" then does a dance for each car and goes to the window for a small donation before letting you drive on.  Driving around on New Years eve you see them everywhere so the locals stock up on pennies and give a penny to each because even on a short drive you can easily give away 20 pennies.

He-she's dancing in front of the cars

In the evening, most of the celebration takes place in the streets. People park their cars on the streets and  blast their car stereos as loud as possible while drinking, dancing and socializing. And this isn't just the young people, it's everyone!

Prior to midnight we were given 12 grapes, with each grape representing one month of the year and just before 12:00 we were told to eat the grapes and make one wish for each grape we ate. When we told them we usually make a New Years resolution in Canada, they thought we got ripped off, only getting one "wish".

Fireworks are also a big deal here and you can buy some really good ones. Come midnight they set the life size "puppets" on fire in the streets and the fireworks begin. We had about 20 of our own  fireworks which we set off but the sky was just filled with them - you didn't know where to look.

They do the usual  "Feliz anos" and hugs at midnight. Then some of them run around the block with a heavy bag for good luck in the New Year.  Then they start passing around a shot glass that they fill with liquor, you take the shot then they fill it again and pass it onto the next person. So people you don't even know are giving you shots. And it's at this point that the dancing is in full swing...at least by the girls.  Most of the guys just sat back and watched, although Trevor got into it showing off his break dance moves. 
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Overall one of the best New Years I've ever had and one that my brother and I won't forget!

Ps - Anyone who spent New Years with me last year...no sidewalks talking Espanol ;)

Our South American Adventure

For anyone that's not aware my brother and I are spending the next 4-6 months travelling around South America. We are starting our trip in Ecuador, where we are doing 4 weeks of language school to attain some basic Spanish and staying with a local family, so we can really experience the culture and force ourselves to speak Spanish. After that we are planning to backpack around Peru, Bolivia and Argentina with the possibility of adding Columbia and Chile, if time allows.

I've been to Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Venezuela so I have some sense of what to expect but my brothers has never been outside of North America, so this is a completely new experience for him.

At the airport