The Rough Road To La Paz

It has been 48 hours since I left Quito and I have just arrived at my final destination. It has been a rough 48 hours...to say the least.

I wont get into all of the details bc I am at an internet cafe with little time left. But I will start with the over night bus. I arrived at the bus station on Saturday night and was the only female on the bus and the only white person. I was so nervous about the 11 hour drive I had ahead of me that my stomach felt like it was in knots. We made several stops right off the bat...picking up more people at each stop. I had the window seat next to a very large Ecuadorian man. After we were on the highway and making some ground I tried my best to fall asleep. My passport and wallet were sucure in my sports bra. My phone, ipod and camera were all tucked in my pants. My bag was looped around my legs. The most common theft on overnight buses is that the person in front of you or behind will slit your bag open and steal your stuff.

At about 130am I was really tired but both legs were asleep and I knew there was no chance I was going to get any sleep in this seat. I decided to take a walk to the back of the bus to see if there were any other open seats. I was pleased to see that the back seat was wide open. It was next to the bathroom so did not have the most pleasant scent. When I sat down i noticed another nasty smell...vomit. I got out my phone and looked on and around the seats and all i could see was a pile of something on the floor covered in newspaper. I considered my options and thought that if there was any chance at all of me getting sleep i need to stay in this seat, despite the horrible smell that made me dry heave. I was able to fall asleep fairly quickly bc i could spead out on the 2 seats. We stopped at various places on the way and it seemed like we were constantly going through very poor towns and drove mostly on dirt roads, not sure why we werent on the PanAmericana.

I woke up as the sun was coming up around 6am. As soon as my eyes were open i looked around me and could see what i had been smelling all night. The seat i had been sleeping on was covered in vomit. That´s right, I had been sleeping in someone elses voimit for 4 hours. It was all over my pants, coat and bag. I had no way of cleaning myself off, soon we arrived at the border. We pulled over on the side of the road and were told to get off the bus. That was all the direction we were given. Right awy the dozen or so men that line the streets start asking if you are going to peru and if you want a ride. I ignored everyone and held onto my belongings tight. I spotted a shack across the road which was where I had to go to get my Ecuadorian exit stamp. After getting this I crossed back over the street and found the most offical taxi i could find. I told him i wanted to go the peru imigration office. we went through town until we came acorss some baracaded roads. apparently there was some military demonstration going on which closed pretty much every road in town. This meant i had to get out of the taxi and walk. Problem was I had to idea where to walk. I was the only tourist aka white person with huge backpack in town and people kept pointing in the direction where i should walk. There was some sort of ceremony going on and the whole miliary was out in the street saying chants. I have no idea what was going on and wish I could have taken a picture but was afraid to get out a camera.

The next challenge was getting past the hundreds of mototaxi´s. These rickshaws with motors are everwhere offereing rides. I was determined not to get in one bc i heard they were not safe. However, a police office stopped me and insisted i get in one bc other wise i would get robbed if i tried to walk all the way. It was a good thing i got in this 3 wheeled motorcycle bc it was a long way to the immigration office. Once I arrived at the Peru immigration I filled out a bunch of paper work then the same mototaxi driver tried to convince me that he would take me to the airport. I knew not to fall for that bc it was 30km away. I insisted on waiting for a taxi and it took a while. I was sitting on a dirst road for about 15 minutes until a taxi came by. Then he drove me to the airport )all along the way we saw broken down mototaxi´s) but when we arrived there were huge gates up and the guard said the first flight out was at 3pm and the did not open until then. I tried to get the taxi driver to take me to a bus terminal but he did not understand and instead took me to LAN´s office in town. however, it was before 9am on Sunday so everything was closed.
Driving in to downtown Tumbes was like driving through a scene of a movie. the dirt roads were lined with huts and all the locals seemed to be sitting outside selling something. I had the name of a restaurant in town so got the taxi man to take me there. Although it looked closed after going up 4 flights of stairs there was indeed a restuarant and there were some people in there cleaning. I figured i could camp out here and figure out what to do next.

A very nice boy named Gaston came to sit with me. He lives in Tumbes and is trying to learn english so he can go to school to be a tourist officer. he was very helpful and got me the yellow pages and we tried calling all the airlines. It seemed as though the only flight out would be with LAN at 9pm. That meant 12 more hours being stuck in Tumbes, covered in vomit. I stayed at the restaurant until about 1 and at that point Gaston and his cousin started acting a little funny, trying to sell me tours of Tumbes and of the mangroves that surround the town. I told him I wanted to go to the airport just incase there was an earlier flight I could get. He called me a taxi and I arrived back to the airport.
To be continued.....

Otavalo Market

Otavalo is a predominantly indigenous town about 2 hours from Quito. The town is surrounded by volcano's so the drive there is absolutely breathtaking. I went with Pablo (my host) and my friend Sandy (who I met through Pablo the first night here). We stopped at a little tourist stop on the way and took some amazing pictures with little kids in traditional dress and llama's...of course!

The town itself is transformed into one of the largest and most famous markets in South America every Saturday. The indigenous Otavalenos are known for their weaving of textiles. They make gorgeous scarves, hats and sweaters out of bright textiles. The market seems never ending as you walk through the streets there appears to be no end in sight. I didn't plan to buy anything because I have absolutely no room in my backpack, but the energy you feel once you enter the market makes it hard to resist making at least a few purchases. One of the great things about the market is that both locals and tourists alike are shopping the streets. It actually felt as though the locals out numbered the backpack toting, sneaker wearing tourists. It was not nearly as crowded as other markets I have been to, like Portobello Rd. Market, so was much easier to browse what the hundreds of vendors were selling. Luckily I had Sandy and her fluent Spanish to help me barter with the sellers!

Aside from the market one of the reasons many people travel to Otavalo is to see the natives in their traditional dress. Like those men and women that were on the plane over to Quito with me, the traditional dress is gorgeous with embroidered blouses and unique shoes. I purchased a layered gold necklace just like the ones the Otavalenos wear!

After the market we had lunch at one of the many restaurants in town and then drove up the mountain a bit to check out the Casa Del Sol, a peaceful retreat just above the town. Here you can stay in a comfortable and clean room for $25 a night. We were just there to enjoy the views, tranquility and take advantage of their wireless signal!

Tonight I am headed to Peru via overnight bus!

Avenue of Volcanoes

For those of you who don't know, Cotopaxi is a picture perfect snow caped cone that is the 2nd highest peak in Ecuador and the highest active volcano on earth. It is on of the few equitorial glaciers in the world (the glacier starts at 16,400 ft.). Today, I got to climb Cotopaxi!

The day trip started at 6:30am at Coffee and Toffee where I got a free hot chocolate and met the others who would be joining me on this adventure. My group was fantastic, a couple from San Francisco who are traveling S.A. for 6 months, a British couple on their honeymoon to the Galapagos Islands, a Swiss guy who has been traveling for 4 months and an older Austrian guy. As we ventured out of Quito it did not take long before the beautiful peak of Cotopaxi came into view. It seems to appear out of nowhere and looked fake because of the volcanos perfect cone shape. After an hour drive we stopped at a Hosteleria called PapaGayo. This was an adorable hacienda with nicely furnished rooms and perfect grounds. There were about 10 dogs lounging in every corner of sunshine they could fine. Here our guide, Marcela, loaded the mountain bikes onto the top of our van and then we were off to finish our journey to Cotopaxi. After a quick stop in a tiny little grocery store (which was actually someone's house, all the fruits and veggies came right from her backyard) to get our lunch supplies we arrived at the entrance of Parque Nacional Cotopaxi. Here we went in the parks museum and learned about the wildlife and just what an impressive mountain Cotopaxi is.

There is no road to Cotopaxi, after about an hour of extreme bumps, river crossings and phenomenal views we arrived at the base of the volcano. We could see the refugee camp up in the distance but it really did not look that far away. However, it is important to remember that we would be climbing to 4850 meters (15,748 feet!). And it was straight vertical. The climb was honestly the hardest thing I can ever remember doing. The altitude caused severe pressure in my head and ears making me feel like I couldn't breath or see straight. Every few steps I would get extremely breathless and light headed. The refugee camp (base camp) seemed to get further away rather than closer. The weather worsened as we climbed turning from cold to heavy hail. But after about an hour I arrived at base camp. What a feeling of accomplishment! After a few minutes rest our guide informed us we were going to attempt to ascend further up the mountain. After a few minutes of climbing through about a foot of snow (in sneakers and yoga pants!) the hail was so heavy that we lost all visibility and had to turn back to base camp. However, on our way back we were able to see a Andean fox, what a treat!

After an amazing meal of fresh guacamole, tuna salad, croissants, noodle and potato soup and hot chocolate we began our journey down the other side. The trip down was much more pleasant, especially since the hail had changed to snow! Once we arrived to the van we hopped on our mountain bikes and began a hour and a half mountain bike ride down to the Laguna de Limpiopungo. I took it slow and steady on the bike taking in the amazing scenery, there were hundreds of wild horses in the vast plains at the base of Cotopaxi. Even though we were primarily biking down hill, you could still feel the altitude, breathlessness and dizziness were a feeling I got used to!

Once we all made it back to the van it was time to head back to PapaGayo where warm fudge brownies and mint tea were waiting for us. I cannot think of a better way to end an amazing day!

It is possible to reach summit of Cotopaxi. This involves the hike I just described then taking a nap at base campy before departing at 11pm to climb all night long in order to reach summit (19,347 ft) at dawn. The trek can only be done in the middle of the night bc the risk of avalanches and extreme weather. While we were at base camp there was a group of grad students from the Wharton School of Business who had just returned from summit. Over the half the group was extremely ill due to the altitude and many had to turn around before reaching the top. The tour was lead by Earth Treks, right in Timonium!

**Pictures coming as soon as I can load them onto a computer!!!

Welcome to Quito, can I have your purse?

Today did not start out on the most positive note. After doing some online flight research it looked as though there are no flights to Bolivia for less than $600. Pablo and I walked to his travel agent who confirmed, that is seems impossible to fly to La Paz for a reasonable price. It looks like I will need to take an overnight 11 hr bus from Quito to Tumbes, Peru. Then I will cross the boarder and take a taxi to the airport in hopes that they will have a cheap domestic flight to Cuzco, Peru where I would then take another bus to meet Nikki and Anna in Copacabana, Bolivia. I have bought the bus ticket so now just need to do some research on how to cross the boarder, making sure this will be a safe undertaking.

After all of this I decided to take a bus to Old Town, here in Quito. The public buses in Ecuador are much different then any other buses I have been on. Just the bus stops and ticket system was a challenge to figure out. Once on the bus they are so full that I could see how easy it would be to get pick-pocketed. After getting off in Old Town I started to wander. I had a map but did not have any sort of destination, just wanted to see the sites of this old city built centuries ago by indigenous artisans and laborers. The town is bustling, it appears as though no one in Quito works because the streets were packed. Street vendors were present at every turn yelling about the very random items they were selling (toothbrushes, homemade pop siclkles, batteries and q-tips to name a few) and I was impressed by the number of police officers that were stationed at every corner blowing their whistles. Another impressive site is the number of shoe-shinners. It was unbelievable. Small kids wander the streets trying to convince you your shoes need a polish while shoe-shine stations line every street.

As I wandered around taking pictures and people watching I suddenly saw the guardian angle of Quito appear in the skyline. This huge statue of an angle overlooking the city seemed like a perfect photo opp so I wandered down the street to get a better view. I had my eyes set on the guardian angle and did not notice that I was getting further from the bustling streets and further from those whistling police officers. Next thing I know I turn around and a teenage boy had grabbed my arm and was yanking my camera out of my hand. I shoved him off of me and gave him a good whack as I yelled and made a run for it. It was a close call but I made it out with my camera and my purse. After that little run in I was more careful than ever with my purse and was ready to get the heck out of Old Town.

feliz fiesta de fin de año

Last night was the first Wednesday in January, do you know what that means? The first Wednesday night Salsa night of the year. According to my couch surfing host, Pablo, in order to start the new year off on the "right" foot we had to move our feet to the Salsa rhythm!

I arrived in the Quito airport at 1:45 pm and Pablo was there waiting for me, along with a friend from NYC who works for a volunteer organization here in Ecuador called ProEcuador. She was at the airport picking up Michael (who just so happened to be sitting next to me on the flight). Michael is a NYU student here doing volunteer work for 2 weeks during his break. After an adventurous ride through Quito to the bus stop where we would leave Kate and Michael we arrived at Pablo's casa. A nice 2 bedroom apartment right in the center of New Town, I was excited to learn that I would have a room to myself rather than the couch!

After a much needed nap Pablo's friends started arriving for the fiesta. As soon as I woke up I started feeling the affects of the high altitude (Quito is almost 10,000 feet above sea level) and I knew I needed to drink lots of water. Snacks and rum and coke (alternating with a glass of water between each drink) was a great way to get ready for a full night of dancing.

The bustling streets of New Town are just a few footsteps away from Pablo's door. Since he is a regular at this particular salsa club (Aguijon) we were able to skip the line and get right to the dance floor. I really felt like I had walked straight onto a movie scene...Dirty Dancing Havana Nights possibly...

The dancing was insane and a few minutes after arriving Pablo introduced me to his friend who is conveniently a salsa teacher as well. Miraculously he was able to quickly teach me a few basic moves. Each dance partner i had throughout the night would teach me a few more until i felt like an expert, although a simple glance around the room made me realize that i looked like a complete fool and was far from an expert (the fact that i was wearing jeans and tennis shoes did not help the situation! BUT, the locals insisted I did to prevent my feet from getting stomped on in my sandals!).

After 3 straight hours of salsa we moved on to an American bar across the street called Bungalow. Here we danced to more familiar songs with a few salsa classics thrown in the mix. Everyone I met was very friendly and I could not have wished for a better welcome to South America!

Up in the Air

4:30 am wake up call.

5 minute quick change into yesterdays clothes (I didnt want to unpack backpack!).

30 minute drive to Miami International Airport.

1 hour standing in the wrong Copa Airline check in line.

3 hour flight to Panama.

And here I am sitting in the Panama City Airport surrounding by a much too familiar smell- a smell that made me loath going to Greetings & Readings when I was a kid, a smell that causes me to go out of the way to get my morning Starbucks in Baltimore- the smell of Subway!

Besides this familiar smell I feel pretty far removed from home and from my comfort zone. This feeling started before I even left the States, in the Miami airport I was the only native English speaker in the Copa Airline check in line. While standing in that line I realized I better get used to being surrounded by an unfamiliar language. But now as I sit in Panama I feel a little bit further from home, now English is not the second language spoken, it is the only language spoken.

I am camped out at gate 19 next to a snoring man whose feet keep getting closer and closer to my lap. Across from me is a native Andean family in traditional dress. The men have long pony tails of black hair, calf-length white pants, rope sandals, navy blue poncho's and dark felt top hats. The women have beautifully wrinkled skin, embroidered blouses, folded head scarves, long black skirts, layered beads around their necks and red string bracelets line their wrists. These are just the type of people I have read about in my guide book and that I hoped to see when I visit Otavalo.

Time to board the flight, let the adventure begin!

Being Europe??

You may be wondering where we disappeared to and why the heck we never finished our 100 things list. Well, this little thing called summer seemed to sneak up on us. Before we knew it our European vacation had arrived and we were whisked away from our 100 things list to Portugal and England. But we are back in action!

As nice as it is to get out of town in the summer, there is also plenty to do in Baltimore during June, July and August. Outdoor movies pop up across town from Federal Hill to Little Italy, the harbor becomes clustered with boat parties, Ram's Head heats up with free outdoor concerts, the music of the Counting Crows and Beach Boys echo across the harbor from Pier 6 and crowds fill Baltimore's newest summer craze- the Tiki Barge. Michelle and I plan to take part in all Baltimore's favorite summer activities and from now until labor day and we promise to fill you in all along the way!