Spider Chester

We were wondering how our dog was getting out . . . now we know!

New Years in Ecuador

Okay, I have been in lots of other countries around New Years time but I think Ecuador takes the cake for it's tradition (and I have been in a New Years cake fight!). On December 31st at midnight, people take to burning papier mache dolls named "Old Year's Stooge". It's entirely built in effigy and is sometimes dressed in old clothes or simply has painted ones on. Burning it is considered a sort of lucky charm, a way to erase the bad energies of the past and to forget bad memories, or to take out any devils or any other negative impact of the year that's ending with what is popularly called a "clean". Many people take the opportunity to "burn" politicians as well as famous local characters or even dummies that look like their neighbors or doctors. We drove by one yesterday that appeared to be a doctor conducting a gynecologic appointment on a woman and one that looked like it was a real transport truck. So needless to say, last night at midnight, there were fires all over the city. They will also write what they call a "testament" which is also burned along with the dummy. The thing about Ecuadorians is they almost all have a small fire going on around their house everyday so we haven't heard about any casualties but I was out there to grab some photos!! They enjoy their noisemakers also and naturally tons of fireworks all over the city!! We live on a hill so we just had to look out the window to see all the craziness!!

Cuy = Guinea Pig

So yes it is true, in Ecuador cuy is a delicatessen. when you go to a restaurant you can order a half of a chicken with rice and beans for about $4US but a cuy will run you about $20. It is usually only eaten around special occasions because of the price however lots of people raise them in their houses and cook them themselves which naturally makes it a lot cheaper. I have tried them and personally it's not my favorite. When you get it, you get the head and all, plunk, right in front of you. The animal as you maybe can guess, has very little meat on it and the skin is very tough. They eat the heart, intestines and everything out of it, nothing goes to waste. I am attaching some photos but I am warning you, you may find them disturbing! I know when my mom was here she couldn't bare to look at them. And for some of you at home who have them for pets, well, you may want to skim over this blog, but hey, if times get tough, you also have a potentially tasty dinner at your fingertips! Enjoy!!

Cuenca - Guayaquil - Quito - Otavalo

So sadly it was becoming time for mom to head home so we started our journey back up to Quito. To take the bus from Loja to Quito is 12-16 hours so we decided to break it up by going to Cuenca first, then Guayaquil and then onto Quito. First stop Cuenca. Loja to Cuenca is 497km and it takes about 4.5 hours. The drive is gorgeous though so you don't mind a minute of it. There was almost non-stop rain though during our time in Cuenca but December 24th the clouds broke and it was a gorgeous day so we headed to the hot springs. Yep, we find hot springs everywhere we go, it's part of our mission statement. The hot springs in Cuenca are very different from the city of Banos near Ambato. We went to the private hot springs which was beautiful! December 25th we were up early and headed to Guayaquil. Cuenca to Guayaquil is 243km and we had a superb bus driver who got us there in 3 hours. There are two routes you can take to Guayaquil from Cuenca and we went through the Cajas (which is a National Park) which is the faster route and definitely the more scenic. It was absolutely gorgeous through there and although we had some dare devil bathroom experiences, we really enjoyed this ride. Guayaquil is on the coast and I was warned it's hot there but I was not expecting the humidity. Everyone kept telling us it wasn't that hot and I believe them but considering Loja has very low humidity and also because of the altitude is a bit cooler, Guayaquil felt unbearable. A lot of things weren't open the few days we were there but we wandered the Malecon 2000 which is basically a boardwalk that runs the entire length of downtown Guayaquil. They have areas for kids, shops, some restaurants and is very safe. Guayaquil isn't my favorite city in Ecuador and I found it very dodgy but the next day we visited the Bethel which was a highlight. We had lunch there and did the tour and at 4:40pm boarded a bus for Quito. Guayaquil to Quito is 500km and is 9 hours so yes, we arrived at 1:30am. We had a really comfortable bus though and were able to sleep most of the way. Of course Guayaquil being at sea level and Quito being at 2700m, you could also feel the temperature drop as you went up. We arrived at our hostel at 2am and were up at 7:30 the next morning. We were heading to Otavalo which is 95km from Quito and is about an hour and a half. We had to get on a bus that was headed for the Columbian border since Otavalo is only a few hours south of there. The landscape changes a lot going north of Quito and was much more rocky but was beautiful and as is every bus ride in Ecuador, very exciting! We arrived in Otavalo and headed for the artisan market. This is something my mom had been waiting for since she arrived so we spend several hours here shopping and seeing all the handicrafts. We arrived back in Quito around 8pm and basically went straight to bed. The next day we got on the bus (which I always call the TTC) and headed for the middle of the earth. The Spanish built a monument where they calculated the middle of the earth to be but they actually were not correct and the Incans (smart Incans!) figured it out years and years earlier and had built a little structure to mark it's location. All the tourist books though point you to the Spaniards monument and they have actually made a little city out of it and have information on all the different types of indigenous people in Ecuador, etc. Sadly though, after we headed back from the middle of the earth it was almost time to take my mom to the airport. I was sad to see her go but since she will be back in 4 weeks it made saying goodbye a little easier! Love you Momster!!