Some photos (See below for New Blog....)

Mindo and and the Amazon

As usual this blog is coming out the wrong way up.... read "new president" entry below first. Anyway in a brief update of the last few weeks... I have spent a weekend in Mindo which a beautiful area of cloud forest several hours north of Quito with some of my school friends. We stayed in a small wooden house on the edge of the village and the lady who owned it made us huge all-you-can-eat breakfasts every day, which we needed because we walked for miles. The area is renowned for its amazing array of butterflies and orchids as well as some spectacular natural cascades so we spent the days exploring and the evenings playing Ecuador´s favourite card game Cuarenta. Oh and I did a sort of cable abseiling thing through the clouds which was both terrifying and amazing. Everyone got on brilliantly but we had to head back to Quito much earlier than we would have liked because we had tickets to see Ecuador play Sweden in a friendly. It was of course necessary to get fully kitted out! (see above) Final score 1-1 and most of the match spent trying to explain to the American´s why real football is so much better than their "football". On this occasion the Aussies and the Brits were on the same side. The only other thing to add is my brilliant week in the jungle. Mornings spent in Spanish lessons with my new teacher (another Santiago) who is so laid back, until you get him in a game of Cuarenta and then he turns into some kind of monster. Anyway had a fab week sharing a log cabin with my fellow-student Katie and a hairy eight-legged friend. The worst thing was not knowing exactly where the tarantula had crawled to while you were out hiking through the jungle for hours. Although it was not the deep deep Amazon we were surrounded by monkeys, toucans, parrots, caymen, spiders as I said, and any kind of bug, mosquito, biting thing you can name. We had a great time and you get used the intense humidity and the fact that all your clothes are permanently damp once you´ve been there a few days.

New President

Oh dear I can´t believe it´s been such a long time since I´ve updated this. Since then Ecuador has inaugurated a new president and I have survived a week in the jungle. The new president Correa has been received very positively so far - no mass demonstrations, riots or anything like that. He´s young and left wing, and there seems to be a general feeling that his policies will be positive for the country, although my host father (who works for a minister) is a little more pesimistic. He says he´s heard this so many times before. Ecuador has had 7 presidents in the last 10 years. But it was an excuse for a national holiday, and we went to the Parliament square to see some of the dignitaries arriving for the ceremony which on television looked and sounded like a party - clapping and cheering throughout. Definitely more vibrant that the restrained grumblings of the House of Commons. Going to the jungle, and also visiting several indigenous markets has made me realise what luxury I have had living in Quito. I wouldn´t say my family are very well off but there´s no comparison to the rural communities who often trade goods rather than with money, and not always by choice. That is the tradition of the indigenous people though and we visited a market where guinea pigs were being swapped for maize and struggling chickens were dropped into brown paper bags soon to become lunch. Sorry, it would have been an opportunity missed so I did try some of the guinea pig - but never again! It is Ecuador´s national dish after all. It´s not only really difficult to eat because the meat is a much tougher version of chicken, but it´s very difficult to remove from the skin and the bone. Not to mention the fact that it is smiling at you while you try and eat it. Next time I´ll stick to the pink bananas they sell here (one of about 20 banana varieties).

Last few days in Quito

Intestinos

Hola from my family in Quito. They have been incredibly hospitable and enthusiastic about showing me around their city, although sometimes it is a little overwhelming (and expensive! the way it works here.. if you go to visit somewhere with your family you pay for all of them!) But I wouldn´t want to be staying anywhere else. Not much women´s lib here though - Mariana does everything while the men of the house are waited on hand and foot! It will be interesting to see if it´s the same when I stay with a different family in Cuenca. Quito has been fascinating though and there are so many things to do and see here - have just taken a cable car to the top of one of the nearer (inactive) volcanos and the view over the city is spectacular - it is actually so much bigger than it feels when you are actually living here. We have also been to the authentic site of the Equator where I successfuly balanced an egg on the head of a nail (photo opportunity) and was tutored in how to prepare the Eduadorian speciality dish of guinea pig or ´cuy´. Haven´t tried it yet but it has to be done. The barbecued cow´s intestines actually weren´t bad! Another Quichua speciality - photo above. Next week I am spending a week in the jungle, several hours´ boat ride down the Amazon from Coca, so will almost certainly not be updating the blog. More soon x

one of the family....

Yes ok ok have had a few people asking about said handsome chap that I happen to be staying with at the moment, but fear I have been building him up too much. Due to technical issues at this end the much-requested photo will have to wait until tomorrow but suffice to say that he´s 28 going on 10. In all the time I have been there he has not left his mother´s side, which I know will be disappointing for some. But not for me, as I have a new best friend Pablo who booked my Galapagos trip for me and has shared his life story. Very friendly yes, but thankfully not yet asking that I share his life aswell. Not much time to write but in brief.... Great week with my new family - they have taken me everywhere. Volcanoes (not active), the REAL ecuator this time, and every single church in Quito (at least it feels like it). They are really kind and (sometimes a bit too) keen to show me all that the city has to offer. It has been great for my Spanish, but I have decided that my trip to the Opera on Thursday to see Manuela y Bolivar will be without Pepe, Mariana and Santiago, and instead with school friends. They even want me to stay with the brother when I go to Cuenca... it may soon be time to make a clean break. Got to go now as schooltime has ended but more en la manana.

Gua Gua Pichincha (conquerered)

A new family

Right I don´t really have that many new photos to show (except for the one to the left of me stuffing my face with watermelon at fantastic artisan market - very restrained with the shopping so far but not for long) so instead I thought I´d impress everyone with a picture of the volcano I climbed last week (above). I was really hoping for another eruption while I am here - fortunately it´s far enough away from the city for Quito not to have to be evacuated and it would be amazing to see. If all else fails I´ll head to Banos which is where the volcano there erupted just last september... Since I last wrote I have a new family! I am staying with Mariano, Pepe and their handsome 28 year old son Santiago (photos will follow) and they haven´t stopped feeding me since I arrived. Every meal is three courses - usually a soup made from grain (surprisingly creamy and much more delicious than it sounds) followed by the main course - platanas (which look like but don´t taste like bananas - very sweet) are a speciality, with rice, salad and a couple of fried eggs perched on top. And then for dessert the obligatory ecuadorian icecream (well it would be rude not to...) And all day every day I am speaking Spanish. My school is a short walk down the road and although La Mariscal is not as pretty as the Colonial area (where I was staying before) it was definitely the right move because I can´t cheat and my Spanish is improving fast. The school also organises trips into the jungle where you can continue your lessons whilst learning about the indigenous tribes who live there and the natural habitat, so I am planning a five day trip in a couple of weeks, then hopefully hopefully fingers crossed a visit to the Galapagos islands! (if i haven´t run out of money). So much to do so little time.... That´s all for now I have a class so signing off. Adios x

Beautiful Quito

Stupid Blog! You have to read from the bottom of the page upwards

The Secret Garden

Home sweet home

More beautiful Quito

Struggling a little to work out this blog as all my online instructions are in Spanish. Hopefully some of these picture will work.... This has taken me hours so I may be gone now for some time....

Friday was definitely supposed to be a day of rest, particularly since after yesterday's exertions I can hardly move my legs. But after my four hour Spanish lesson in the morning, we decided on a trip to the Mitad Del Mundo (the Equator). Somehow the pre-Inca settlers worked out exactly where the Meridian line crossed the equator - think i have this right? - and now a whole village has grown up around the area. Unfortunately our little group weren't quite so clever and it took us nearly an hour just to find the right bus. But the journey was worth it - I got to practice some of my Spanish asking for directions, and even understood the answer (once the guy had pointed). The bus ride was a couple of hours and even though I'm growing used to the spectacular landscape it is still an incredible feling to be surrounded by so many volcanos. Chimborazo is the tallest and its summit is the highest point from the centre of the earth. So of course we got there really late, with only the chance to stand astride the line, and then to find out that the actual centre according to those spoilsports who invented GPS is actually about a mile up the road! I am definitely going to go back now I know the right way to get there so I can say I really was at exactly 0 degrees 0'0".

Volcano!

Haven't quite figured out how to make this Blog work properly so all the postings are coming out in the wrong order... sorry about that. Anyway, much more importantly I have conquered my first active volcano!!!! Somehow or other after several ecuadorian beers some NBFs talked me into climbing Gua Gua Pichincha, one of the volcanos that looks down on Quito. It last erupted in 1999 so is apparently due for another about now but after hearing everyone else's stories it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss. At 15,681.68 feet, 12 hours later I didn't feel quite the same... The climb was amazing, exhilarating, terrifying and literally breathtaking all at the same time. We drove up to the base, a seismic measuring hut (all clear for the climb) and started to climb, but even the first few steps were exhausting because the air was so thin. It probably took almost three hours to navigate the rocks and steep slippery narrow paths and all the time the clouds were rolling in so you couldn't see more than a few metres infront. Then the freezing wind started blowing! I don't mind saying, it was pretty terrifying standing on a steep rocky surface only a metre wide when you are struggling for breath with sheer drops on either side. My heart was pumping like mad, but not hard enough to get the oxygen to my legs.. But hey, can't come all the way to the Andes and not make it to the top!

New Best Friends

There are so many people here travelling alone so inevitably you end up getting together with other people heading the same way. Most of my first morning was spent exploring the old city of Quito with two American girls, Grace and Lauren. It really is the most beautiful city - street after street of pastel coloured colonial houses, the sun always shines, it's about 20 degrees most days - but the altitude does affect you more than you realise. We climbed about 50 steps to a park over looking the city and it took about half an hour! We were all gasping by the time we reached the top. Also I realised how much quicker you burn at altitude, just a little too late. Fortunately my new friends are both fluent in Spanish, so after they ordered our three course lunch of soup, jelly and fruit juice for 1 dollar 50 it was time for Spanish lesson number one. My teacher Santiago is lovely and so patient with me. The way they teach here is by talking to you in Spanish ALL the time and teaching you phrases rather than the usual grammar, verb conjugation etc. But I like the theory (surely not) - so I found it really hard at first just repeating rather than actually knowing what I was saying. Poor Santiago... four hours with me must have killed him... but he has come back for more since then, and I think, I think I am improving. But if I have to talk about my family and pets one more time...

Hola

¡Hola from Quito! Sorry it's taken me so long to write anything on this Blog but I don't seem to have stopped since I got here in Tuesday night. I admit to being just a little nervous when I arrived, after being told there would be hundreds of people swarming the airport trying to steal all my stuff, but it wasn't like that at all! Slightly perilous landing (no kidding the the runway is just one narrow strip right in the middle of the city, and that's after you've avoided the numerous volcanos and buildings that seemed to be just inches below). Our pilot got a deserved round of applause, mostly out of relief I think that we had survived! Then a crazy cab journey, which included an impromptu Spanish lesson from my driver Fernando, to the hostel. Don't want to brag but this is the view from the terrace of where I'm staying, 'The Secret Garden' (above). Everyone eats together at a candlelit table on the roof terrace which has the most spectacular view over the city and the surrounding volcanos, and once I had got talking to other people staying here, all nerves had disappeared. Luckily they mostly speak English, so I have a few days to settle in before the Spanish starts in earnest.