TWO Places At Once!!

I mentioned in my post about 24 hours in Quito that Kelsi and I took a trip to the equator, or as it is called in Ecuador, Mitad del Mundo. This was our first activity in Quito because we knew it was one thing we didn't want to miss.

After arriving in Quito, we got great directions from our hostel and set out to find the equator. Taking the Metrobus from the old part of town to the northernmost station, Ofelia, and then transferring to the Mitad del Mundo bus, we arrived an hour and a half later for only $0.40 each. LOVE Ecuador.

The Mitad del Mundo site is actually divided into two separate monuments. First we traveled to the more touristy of the two monuments. This is the place where, in 1736, Frenchman Chales/Marie de La Condamine made his measurements to show this was the equatorial line. His measurements helped to prove that the world is indeed round, but not a perfect sphere since it bulges at the middle. Here a large stone monument with a brass globe on top commemorates his hard work.

On the Metro to the equator!!

Arrived!

The middle of the earth is quite windy.

Kelsi and I at the first equator monument.

Standing in both hemispheres! (According to French dude.)

This particular site definitely had a tourist feel and seemed more like an amusement park than the equator, but I enjoyed seeing it. The Ecuadorians are clearly proud of this claim to fame! After the Mitad del Mundo site we headed down the road a few hundred meters to the "real" equator, as measured by GPS.

At Museo Solar Inti Nan, the quirky but informative displays and guides will show you all about the myths and truths associated with the equator. We took a tour to learn about indigenous people in Ecuador, looked at a sun clock, learned to balance an egg, and tried to walk in straight line on the equator.

Entrance to the Museo Solar.

The "real" equator!!

Here we are :)

Attempting to walk the line.

Handstand on the equator. I blame the equator for my balance issues.

Sun clock at about 2:35 PM.

Trying to balance the egg.

Success!

We finished the day with Mitad del Mundo stamps in our passports, both from the official site and the "real" equator. A great trip to the middle of the earth!!

It's official!

...and with that the Ecuador posts are over. Time to get back to the real world of blogging about the awesomely exciting life of an 8th grade math teacher.

24 Hours in Quito, Ecuador

We arrived in Quito at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport around 11:00 AM last Thursday and headed straight for our hostel, The Secret Garden. After dumping our bags, we headed straight for the Mitad del Mundo, or equator (see future post!).

After visiting the middle of the earth, we headed back into Quito on the Metro, one of Quito's three different public transportation lines. Starving for food we found ourselves wandering around the Old Town Quito near Plaza Grande. The old part of town has been named an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978 and it definitely lived up to its name! We had no trouble locating a cute pizza cafe (with sangria on the menu) to soothe our hunger pains. Exhausted from a day of traveling, we retired early to the sounds of trivia night happening on our hostel rooftop.

Plaza Grande by night.

This central plaza hosts Quito's cathedral, Governor's palace, a cultural center an several shops.

Up early the next day, and well rested, we started to ease the morning chill of Quito with some tea on the rooftop. Next up? A self-guided walking tour through the old town. First? A coffee break at El Cafeto to plan out the sites.

Morning tea.

Cool art on our hostel roof overlooking Quito.

Two coffees and map of Quito and we are ready to go!

Artwork on the wall of the coffee shop. We weren't loving it quite as much as this man...but pretty close :)

Caffeinated and ready to move, we wandered down the small, mostly one-way streets of Quito to see what the city had to offer. Here's what we found...

Basilica del Voto Nacional.

This can be seen from all over Quito because it really is as massive as it looks! The Gothic architecture was cool to look at and rather than traditional gargoyles adorning the sides, this church had turtles and iguanas. You can also climb to the top of those two big towers, however, this being out first day in Quito we opted to spare our lungs the added work at a new altitude.

Old men shooting the breeze in Plaza Grande.

I LOVE this photo!

Architecture + light pink = gorgeous.

A typical Trole stop, yet another form of public transportation in Quito.

Typical street in Quito. Looking up at El Panecillo (the little bread loaf) Hill we saw the Virgin of Quito statue.

Fair trade shop Tianguez right underneath San Francisco church. We invested in some artwork here as well as some Ecuadorian dark chocolate.

Exhausted from our walk, we followed a recommendation from friends to check out Cafe Mosaico, for the great view, and according to Lonely Planet, banana pancakes. Lonely Planet has been wrong before about banana pancakes, so I was hopeful, yet skeptical.

Turns out in order to get to the cafe with the great view, you have to go up a lot of steps to look at that view. We did not have a topographical map when we made the decision to walk there. Oops.

Rewards well earned! Scrambled eggs and banana nut pancakes!! WIN.

Finishing out our time in Quito with delicious food and a panoramic view.

Our 24 hour stint in Quito came to an end and we headed off to the bus station to make our way to Otavalo...

Otavalo Market: A Rainbow of Colors

Taking a break from the life of luxury at our lodge, Kelsi and I spent our Saturday in Ecuador at the outdoor market in Otavalo. As one of South America's largest markets, we had heard a lot of stories prior to our visit and we were excited for some great shopping and sights. Every Saturday people from Otavalo (Otavaleños) and the surrounding villages converge on the center of town for an animal market, food market and artisan craft market .

We started our day at the animal market, on the outskirts of town, where we took in the sights of cows, goats, chickens, pigs and pretty much any animal you can think of being sold. The crowds and the smells overwhelmed us, so we didn't stay long, just enough to snap a few pictures of the organized chaos.

Animal market - care for a cow?

The proper way to carry a live chicken.

Next we headed over to the food market. Based on the delicious fruit we were eating at the lodge, I knew this would be a sight to see! The fruits, vegetables, and grains were all so brightly colored and looking absolutely stunning. Also, seeing all the fruit that people bring to town every week was impressive. I cannot imagine bringing all that fruit and arranging it just so!

Fruits & veggies.

So much pineapple!

Finally, we ended at the Plaza de Ponchos for the artisan market. Mostly female vendors set up shop to sell blankets, pajamas, purses, jewelry, paintings, mugs, artwork, alpaca ponchos nad more. They are all pretty friendly and seemed happy to talk to us about their work as well as to bargain for prices. We ran into some friends at the market, shopped around, found a cute cafe for lunch and enjoyed the commotion of the plaza.

Jewelry for sale! Ecuadorian women wear a lot of red necklaces and bracelets to represent the red of the earth.

A variety of paintings and art. I bought something similar to these with a scene from a traditional town square set in brown, pink and green tones!

Art made from eucalyptus leaves.

For more information and more photos about the market check out this blog.

Horseback Riding in the Andean Highlands

I believe we all recall my fear of all the animals on this planet - yes? I mean at times I have been known to be friendly with a dog I have known for a very long time, but even that is pushing it. When our lodge stay in Ecuador included two hours of horseback riding I accepted...with great trepidation.

But then there we were in the Andean Highlands of Ecuador and everything was so gorgeous, picturesque, and I had already decided I loved our guide, Jose Maria. I wanted to give it a try - the horses looked capable enough, yet still docile enough not to kill me.

Porque no? (Why not?)

We met Jose Maria outside our lodge where he hooked us up with Blanca and Llora, our horses. I laughed aloud when he told me the name of Kelsi's horse was Llora, which means Cry in Spanish. Little did I know my horse would be the one practically inspiring tears...

All set to go!

So we set out on this nice adventure downhill, checking out the views of the surrounding mountainside. Then, one of my stirrups felt longer than the other. I asked Jose Maria to help me fix it. He got down from his horse to help me. Blanca took this moment to decide she was not having the ride, and took off, galloping uphill. With me grasping to hold on for dear life. With Llora falling into full out run beside us, Kelsi was holding on just as tight as our horses decided to choose their own adventure. Meanwhile, Jose Maria didn't make it back to his horse before it decided to bolt, so his horse is lost somewhere in the hills. Ten minutes into our horsebacking adventure and things have already gotten out of hand.

Post-galloping ridiculousness. Still trying to get Blanca under control.

Kelsi is still loving it. And chose this moment to mention "While I did go to horseback camp as a kid."

I am of course taking this as proof that animals don't like me either. And I will absolutely not be getting on a horse anytime soon. After Jose Maria retrieved his horse, the rest of the somewhat rainy ride was filled with gorgeous views. Views that I observed from the back of a terrifyingly fast horse. While it was being tugged along by our guide - who attached his horse to mine since he judged that either me or my horse could not be trusted.

Perfect.

Not so much "riding" as being taken for a ride.

Clearly she was the winner of the situation.

Oh the adventures of traveling... I remember at one point during the ride thinking to myself, "If nothing else, at least I am doing what I set out to do when I moved to Colombia - having unique adventures that push me outside my comfort zone." Mission accomplished.

Living the High Life in Otavalo, Ecuador

At about 8,360 feet above sea level, Otavalo, Ecuador is a town for the strong winded, literally. Kelsi and I arrived in Otavalo on Friday afternoon, after spending a bit of time in the capital city of Quito. After a three hour bus ride and a 20 minute taxi ride, we were not quite sure what to expect of the Ali Shungu Mountaintop Lodge.

Whatever our expectations were initially, they were quite quickly replaced with shock as we explored this gorgeous lodge where we would spend the next three days. I mean, first the smiling owner, Frank, greeted us at the front gates to the whole lodge. Along with him was Jose Maria, who would become our guide and master fire-builder for the duration of our stay.

As soon as we walked into the living room of our lodge we could hear the fireplace cracking and soft Andean Highland music on the stereo. Our kitchen was stocked with beverages, including Chilean red wine and purified water. Our bathroom was easily the size of my entire freshman dorm room. And then there was a guest room. In addition to our bedroom which had three beds in it...just in case we got bored with one? Basically we spent about the first 30 minutes exploring the lodge and wondering how we ended up in this magical place.

Nothing like a crackling fire to keep you warm!

Kitchen.

Guest room.

Our room.

Other side of our room. Note I am still taking pictures of the place while Kelsi has located the wine. We travel so well together.

Books, wine, and blankets - a good summary of our time spent indoors.

View from our front window looking down into the valley of Otavalo.

Awkward photo in front of our lodge.

Llama who planted himself about 50 feet from our door for three days straight.

The fabulous-ness continued with amazing three or four course (SO. MUCH. FOOD.) vegetarian meals for breakfast and dinner. As well as coffee and tea available all the time. Our meals were served in the main lodge by Paulina, Jose Maria's daugher, who was easily the most polite 8th grader I have met in my entire life.

One of the coolest things about Ali Shungu is that Frank and his wife Margaret created the Ali Shungu Foundation to assist and benefit the families of five small indigenous communities around Otavalo. Part of the proceeds from our stay will go to this foundation, which is doing great things in community, like starting up a computer center! Also, Frank and Margaret have been helping to send Paulina to one of the best school's in Otavalo, where she is fourth in her class. Pretty cool considering that her dad, Jose Maria, never attended a day of school in his life.

Looking up the path to the main lodge.

Flowers outside the lodge.

Mmmm breakfast.

French toast? Yes please.

Stuffed pepper, baled potato, green beans and beet salad.

Garden Salad and the best fresh wheat bread of my entire life.

Stay tuned for more on Ecuador, including a post about the Otavalo Market (one of the largest in South America), horseback riding in the Andes, Quito, and a trip to Mitad del Mundo (the equator)!