2011 has been very busy for me, but when the opportunity to visit Leah came up, I didn’t waste a minute. The interesting part about my trip is that I planned the dates, booked my flights and landed in Ecuador...and Leah had no idea about any of it. That’s right folks…. I surprised her!!!
I reached out to Lindsay, a near and dear PCV to Leah, and coordinated my trip dates, devised a cover story to get Leah & Lindsay into Quito (the city I flew into) and learned enough Spanish so I could tell the taxi driver at the airport to take me to the Plaza de las Americas (a mall/movie theater in Quito). Lindsay came through big time by convincing Leah that they needed to go see a movie on the same night I flew in. When the girls got to Plaza de las Americas, I was secretly waiting for them to arrive. I watched Leah walk in (in fact, she walked right by me... I felt like a super, sneaky spy as I hide behind a sign and waited for the right moment. Then I walked up, tapped Leah on the shoulder, handed her a card that she made last Christmas and said hello. (I planned 3 or 4 clever surprises, but when I saw her I got so excited that I kind of ran/walked over to her. HAHAHA) Leah turned around and looked at me, then at the card, then to Lindsay, then to me again, then the card again and then her eyes finally settled on me. After 3 or 4 seconds (which felt like an eternity) she threw her arms me and gave me a super sized hug. Leah was in complete disbelief and speechless for the next 20 minutes. It wasn’t until we all sat down for dinner that it really hit her because she couldn’t stop smiling and giggling. It was great.
We packed a lot into my 10 day trip. We spent the first few days at her site where I met the craziest little cat in the Southern hemisphere named Mooshoo (hi...Leah here...her name is really Nena, but the Quichwa word for cat is Mishee...Steve turned that into Mooshoo...if we get another cat, he wants to name it Pork...here's Steve again). I saw the irrigation tank and walked the canal with her local team. After hearing so much about it, it was cool to see the scope of the project and walk the difficult terrain. They have their work cut out for them! We took a day trip to Salinas where I climbed over 1000 steps (ouch), saw my first salt mine, ate chocolate fresh from a chocolate factory and shopped at Ecuadorian style homeopathic store. Leah actually bought skin cream made from snails slime. No thanks and YUCK!
We spent another day with Rafael and his wonderful family. They took us to a beautiful church called the Sanctuary of the Virgen of Guayco that is a replicate of a cathedral in Rome. The cathedral was built low in a valley and is surrounded by rolling hills and thick foliage. The workmanship that went into this cathedral was amazing.
Later we enjoyed a scenic drive through their nearby towns on roads meant only for 4x4 vehicles. After smacking my head against the roof of the truck several times, I thought this is nuts… but then I realized that this normal here. It was kind of fun. We ended the evening with coffee and panini sandwiches at their house. These cheese filled snacks were so delicious that I could have eaten 7 of them! Rafael and Conchita were excellent hosts and truly made me feel at home.
My next stop was the Cotopaxi national park where we hiked to the top on a dormant volcano named Ruminahui (Roo-men-yow-ee). The scenery was beautiful, the trail was steep and the air was thin. At over 15,000 ft, it was a hard climb for a guy who lives in Chicago… i.e. extremely flat and only 600 ft above sea level. Leah on the other hand attacked the trail and set the pace. It was a humbling experience. The summit view was breathtaking. Literally. Then the clouds rolled in fast, the temperature dropped and then the sky opened up and dumped jelly bean sized hail on us. It all happened in a blink of eye. That was our cue to make our descent. That day went fast, but the experience will last forever.
My final stop was Quito where we met up with other PCVs before their mid-service training. It was nice to see some old friends while making some new friends. We ate out, went dancing, enjoyed some coffee and live music and even went bowling. I swear the elevation affected my bowling skills because I didn’t even break 100. Unacceptable! We hit the open air market and I picked up a few gifts for the family. Luckily Leah was there to haggle the price down for me. I tried to, but somehow the price went up!
We tried to make it to the beach, but an 11 hour bus ride was too much for my short trip. Maybe next time? I had a fantastic trip and it was great to surprise Leah. I don’t know who enjoyed it more! She is really loving her PCV experience and taking full advantage of living abroad. The only thing I would change about this trip is to make it twice as long.
A few take aways
-Leah’s Spanish is awesome. She’s learned so much Spanish that she is actually forgetting her English.
-Aji sauce, almuerzos (The Lunch meal for $2.00) and Zucaritas (hi...Leah again...these are the exact same as Frosted Flakes...tiger and everything) are my favorite Ecuadorian foods.
-A taxi’s fare can fluctuate between $5 and $20 for the same ride. This truly made me angry.
- A landslide’s power is scary and its aftermath horrible.
- Leah’s fellow PCVs really look out for each other. They’re a family away from family. They sometimes even bicker like family too.
-I appreciate the Chicago Transit Authority much more. Chicago has it’s problems, but they got the buses and trains right. Clean, on time and safe.
-Ecuadorians love Ecuadorian music, but strangely I think they love Lady GaGa even more.
-The designers Tommy Hilfiger, Guess and Holister are often worn by teenage Ecuadorians. It’s a common there as it is here.
-Ecuador has the most delicious blended fruit drinks I’ve ever tasted. And they only cost $1.50!
1 comments:
Great post! Thanks for sharing. It sounds like you had a fabulous time!
Cynthia
Post a Comment