Canyoning in Banos

This had to be one of the best adventures yet. Claire, Rachel and I went canyoning, which is basically rapelling down waterfalls. However, getting to the cascades was probably the worst part. Keeping in mind that we had already spent 4 hours horseback riding this morning, our climb to the first waterfall was a little tiring. We walked, okay...climbed for 25 minutes. This was no easy task as it was very steep, hard to walk... and the best part was that we had these sweet, less than Converse shoes on. Who says you need fancy stuff to do this? For a good laugh, just take a look at us!!! OMG!

Sunshine and Ranger keepin' things light

Rachel & Claire...lookin' good in fancy wetsuits!


Climbing...the worst part

Claire, Angel, y yo

Stopped for a few pictures, really we just needed to catch our breath. Angel was our guide, our ONLY guide. He was awesome....and cute too! We were a little nervous at first. His directions were, of course, in Spanish and even Rachel and Claire could hardly understand him. When we're supposed to attach our own ropes, know where to go....well, yeah, it might be a good idea to make sure we understand him. Nonetheless, we go on.

It was amazing how he was able to work the ropes by himself...and get the three of us down safe and sound. First cascade...20 meters. Second was 25m, third was 30m and the last was 18m. By the time we got to the last one, it was pretty much dark. It was 6PM and the canopy of trees made it especially dark. Too bad I didn't have my camera. We could only take one (Rachel's) because Angel took the pictures. The funniest pictures would have been of us being pushed down the last cascade. We didn't know what the heck was up. Angel gave each of us a little pep talk, told us to think of all the bad in our lives and by the time we got down, we'd be "cleansed". What we didn't know was that we were going to be pushed down, in the dark, and into a pool. Good thing we had our diapers on! Holy (*#$*& ! It was getting cold by now. And if that wasn't enough...there was one more drop off and yet one more pool to plop into. We all made a big splash, had great fun and if we weren't so darn tired we would have spent the night dancing with our guide and his friend.

Yet another day in Ecuador that I will never forget!

Survived the first two descents



2 of the 4 cascades

Look mom, no hands!
The third waterfall....it's getting dark
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Back to Banos 8/9-8/11 for Horseback Riding, Canyoning y Monos

Claire, Sarah, Michelle, Rachel and I headed back to Banos for a few days. We didn't have enough time the first time around to take in all that it had to offer and it rained. Well.....it rained again. Guess it goes with the territory...Banos does mean "bath"after all. We pretty much were wet the entire time we were there again. But this time around, it was much more adventurous and FUN!!!

Got there Sunday afternoon. Some wanted to sleep in (not me!) so we took our time getting there. This just happened to be the best day too, weather-wise. We went there without hostel reservations (what's that? ...like we'd actually do that anyway?) Banos is a huge tourist city and thought many people would be there due to Independence Day August 10 but it didn't end up being too bad. Found a hostel, had dinner, booked our excursions for Monday. Played card games, had a few warm, no-ice drinks (Sprite and a $3.00 bottle of peach rum) and Tangos upstairs at Plantas y Blanco where Rachel and Ann Marie were staying. Early to bed for these chicas considering we were getting up at the butt crack of dawn, 0430, to head to the baths for an early morning dip.

Yup, woke up to the RAIN but it had stopped by time we had left the hostel. Walked our sorry, sleepy butts to the thermal bath only to be joined by several other "loco" Ecuadorians...from little kids to oldie goldies. These baths were "pools" that were situated right under a huge cascade. It was very calming, enjoying the baths while listening to the waterfall. There were only two baths, one extremely hot and another. Nothing can compare, however, to Papallacta. It was still nice. We stayed there til it got light out. Headed back, took a little nap, ate at Plantas y Blanco. Delicious!!!! Headed out for 4 hours of horseback riding at 0900.

The horses were waiting for us right in the city. I saw one and fell for him. Bonito (handsome) was his name and we immediately bonded. We had to get through the city before heading up the mountain. Never before had I ridden on streets like that. Buses and cars stopped for us. HORSE CROSSING! We owned the road! Running in the streets was so cool. I love the sound of the clippity clop. Too bad Michelle (ah, yeah, I want to go horseback riding for 4 hours with you guys. Did I happen to mention that I've never been on one before??? UGH!) was inexperienced or we could have done more cantering. Stopped at our highest point and had to get off and walk the horses down. It was a little STEEP. The pictures don't do it justice. Another absolutely beautiful breath-taking view.

More to come...canyoning and more monkeys

Getty up, gringas!!!

Bonito es muy bonito

The view from our highest point

Looking over the edge

Don't lean right, you'll fall off the mountain!

Safety first!

Over the river and through the woods...

A snack and a beer at the hacienda in the middle of no where. Renee was our guide

It RAINED again!!

Two little helpers

Tough last couple days at school...8/3-8/7

What can I say? The week was great and extremely frustrating at the same time. How can that be? Obviously, my students are what made my teaching experience a great one. However, administration caused my last week to be less that what I desired. I had so many great things planned to do with my students but I was left with very little time to prepare (and update this blog) because our directors failed to communicate with us about the paperwork we had to do before classes ended. I hate to revisit the last three days but...Monday we went into the office to see what had to be done. Poor Claire got the brunt of everything. She took the punches for Carrie and I. We were first supposed to hand write out these ridiculous information sheets. Ok, did that. Then they decided that no, the information needed to be typed instead. So, imagine us trying to painstakingly type (forms were in Spanish too, so was Office 07. Try formatting when you don't know what it says. UGH!) in all our students info. I'm pretty savvy at typing and Excel but this was so time-consuming. I was up one night until midnight...fell asleep with my computer on my lap. All-in-all, I spent about 12 hours in 2.5 days on this paperwork. This was work that a secretary or young student could have done. WT knew about what we had to do too and didn't let us now. FRUSTRATING...but I kept saying to myself..."muy tranquilo, muy tranquilo" The directors were not supportive or helpful. This was the only drawback at my school. My students felt my pain because I was very tired, crabby, and I didn't end the class like I had wanted to. I got over it but it really left a sour taste in my mouth for a while.

Did I happen to mention that there was a shooting, stabbing, and robbery at my school on Saturday? YUP. On Monday, I had asked the guard to get me a TV and he couldn't because they were locked up and they didn't know where the keys were. This was because someone had come in, stole 22 computers, shot a guard in the leg and stabbed another one in the neck. No one died but were in the hospital. I hope it wasn't the one with the bad teeth. He was really cool. This was how we found out about the incident. You think that WT would have told us. Needless to say, the guards with big guns were out in full force all week. And we were supposed to inform our field directors if one of our students had a cough or high fever. H1N1 is serious, I get it, but somehow it pales in comparison with what happened at SECAP and no one told us. Errrrrr... I was soooo happy to be done with the administration but sooooo sad for my last day. :(

IT´s TIME TO COME HOME!!!

I have NOT been able to get to the internet to update. There has been sooo much going on.

Updates on the last week of school
2 days in Baños with monkeys again, canyoning (OMG!), and horseback riding
Getting Ecua-napped yesterday by my students´family for 6 hours
Becoming a godmother and celebrating Ecuadorian style til 12:30am last night
Off to Papallacta for the day to relax in the thermal baths

Final dinner with the group tonight
Trying to update more before I leave...

More later,
Chao!

The Last Week of Classes....

Single digit days until I return home. It will definitely be bittersweet considering the last few days I had with my students. I took my morning class out for breakfast on Wednesday. They are insane as evidenced in the pictures. This class was much younger in age than my night class. They were a great bunch though. We had a party yesterday and they brought empanadas, cola, and gifts! I received a pair of pantelones, a t-shirt, an Ecuadorian bag, finger puppets, and a beach dress...plus many hugs and kind words. The best, however, was a speech (toast) made by Eduardo. He is a captain in the Air Force and is one of my favorites. Only about half of his speech was captured on video but what he said brought me to tears.




When we were told that our students will be what we remember the most, they weren´t kidding. Not only did I have the opportunity to teach them, I have made friends and will forever have connections here in Ecuador.



big brother and sister

Eduardo

McDonald's at 0900 after our LAST class. Claire had to get a Tango McFlurry. I wasn't hungry, just thirsty...and it was one of my gifts!

Same holds true for my night class. I had more adults in this one. They were a goofy bunch as well and I will always remember how TARDY many of them were but we still had a lot of fun. For our despida, we went out for pizza. I´ve made many great friends in this class and was even asked to be the GODMOTHER of Evelyn. She is 14 and has never been baptized. Her dad, Walter, is in class, as is her sister. Walter, in his very poor but best English, asked if I would be a part of the ceremony. I´m not sure if it will really happen but tomorrow would be the mass. I don´t plan on signing any papers but if they want me there, I will. Funny thing is that Claire was also asked to be the godmother of her host family´s unborn child. We had a good laugh about it.

On the last night of class, they gave me a necklace and earrings that Hortensia had made. She is so talented! She beautiful beaded jewelry and also paints. I went over to her suite yesterday to see what she had for sale. OMG! The beads!!! What fun!

Tomas gave a speech and it was as touching as Eduardo's.

Andy, Katty, Tomas, Hortensia

Evelyn, my "goddaughter"

Maricela, Walter, Evelyn

Chop, chop, Walter!!

I will never forget my students. What a wonderful thing technology is. We exchanged emails and I hope to keep in touch with many of them. They have opened their hearts, minds and even their homes to me. They were my family here during this difficult time being away from my OWN family and friends. Trust me, I was well taken care of down here!

But....I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!

The Colors of Otavalo

Went to Otavalo again last weekend with Sarah. This time we found a hostel and stayed overnight. It is a very tranquilo town and the people are very friendly. We spent too much money...but only $8 on a hostel. We had a homemade ice cream bar that tasted delicious but was like licking a stick of butter/crisco....yeah, that thick n creamy, and found a restaurant that served NACHOS!!! OMG! What a treat! Pretty chill night and ended up going to bed early.

Snacks at the bus terminal. Oh, poor Wilbur!

r You can buy almost anything while waiting at the tolls

Soccer jerseys, and....

back-scratchers for $1!!

The many colors of Otavalo



so much color it almost makes your eyes hurt





Who needs cuy when you have rats?

I feel so tall in Ecuador. She´s about 3´6"and oh, so cute!