January 12, 2016 - Mixed Emotions: Sadness, Happiness, and Resentment (towards the Galapagos shark)
We left North Seymour Hotel to be greeted with flight itinerary issues at the Baltra airport. We should have just taken the cue and stayed in the Galapagos one more day. After Tait finally resolved the issue we all boarded a plane back to Guayaquil, leading us to Quito, finally landing in Cuenca where we actually wanted to be. After a full day of city hopping without actually leaving any airports, we were pleasantly surprised with a haunted hotel named Morenica del Rosario Hotel (probably haunted by nuns).
Shortly after our arrival, Paul, an old friend of Tait's whom had just moved to Cuenca, came to say hello and gave us a mini tour of the Cuenca streets at night. He led us to a really cool bar/restaurant with artifacts such as license plates, engraved phrases, and photos from all over the world, appropriately tying in with the wonderful and cheap food.
Shortly after our arrival, Paul, an old friend of Tait's whom had just moved to Cuenca, came to say hello and gave us a mini tour of the Cuenca streets at night. He led us to a really cool bar/restaurant with artifacts such as license plates, engraved phrases, and photos from all over the world, appropriately tying in with the wonderful and cheap food.
January 13, 2016 - Cajas National Park and the Panama Hat factory (no, we did not travel to Panama)
This was one of the most memorable days of the trip for me because of my interest in herbal healing and the indigenous people. At first I was afraid to go on this hike because of the extremely high altitude, higher than we've ever been. The last time we were reaching extremely high altitudes was on top of Pichincha and I was beginning to have trouble breathing which scared me because of my recent hospitalization due to chest pains caused by pneumothorax. I flipped my lucky coin to make a decision for me regarding my participation in the hike through the Cajas National park or to chill and just enjoy the views. The coin told me to take the hike and I am so glad I did. I learned the most this day than any other day, most importantly because the topics that Diego, our tour guide was discussing, were topics I had the most interest in.
Diego discussed the indigenous tribes of the Canaries and the Incas, and their battle against each other. Diego also stopped to teach us the healing benefits of every plant or flower we passed, which is a great alternative to our pharmaceutical industry today.
Here are some really interesting facts that I learned from Diego:
- 160 species of birds in the Park
- The only wetland in the world that's in highlands
- 70% of Cuenca water comes from Cajas
- Cajas fishing mouse is one of the 2 special mammals in Cajas. Mice created membranes to help the fishing industry in Cuenca.
- The grass along the river was introduced in the 1950's from Africa
- In1850 the eucalyptus tree was introduced to the local people in order for the locals to extract timber and send it back to the government as an export.
- Name of the national park - came from Term "chicuas" (Inca language); "Bamba" means valley; and Cajas means gateway to the snow
-Alpacas were a mixture of llamas and another bred from the incas
- A tree that comes from the rose family (poly (plenty) lepes (layers)) are the only ones growing in the highlands
- At 13,700 meters (tres cruces) is where the continental divide meets. The north water goes to the pacific and the south to the Atlantic
- Chuciruaga, a medicinal plant, is a flower that kills typhoid fever. The flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds.
- Valium came from the plant balarium
- There are 47 species of moss
- Liking (sp?) plants came from pacific ocean, one of the first plants that adapted to Andes
- Rigid plantains intakes oxygen from salt. The llamas use the plants to clean their mouths
- Mansana plant (borachera) - hallucinations that make you feel drunk
- When plants are in the lakes, it means incas used that lake and grass for specific reasons (type of bamboo that only grows in water)
- Lupinos (chocho) - made into beans full of calcium
- Globito (sara shima - painted corn) - endemic to Ecuador.
After this extremely informative hike and no chest pains thankfully! We continued our journey to the Panama Hat Factory and saw first hand how panama hats are made and learned why some hats are more expensive than others (Panama hats range from $30-$2,000!). Hats don't really fit my face so I moseyed on over to the jewelry section and bought a beautiful pendant with a blue stone and etchings in the silver surroundings of Inca Civilization.
This evening Paul gave us an insight on his decision to move to Cuenca and what factors led him to this decision.
By the way, Cuenca is also known as "Gringoland".
P.S. Check out http://www.gringopost.com.
Diego discussed the indigenous tribes of the Canaries and the Incas, and their battle against each other. Diego also stopped to teach us the healing benefits of every plant or flower we passed, which is a great alternative to our pharmaceutical industry today.
Here are some really interesting facts that I learned from Diego:
- 160 species of birds in the Park
- The only wetland in the world that's in highlands
- 70% of Cuenca water comes from Cajas
- Cajas fishing mouse is one of the 2 special mammals in Cajas. Mice created membranes to help the fishing industry in Cuenca.
- The grass along the river was introduced in the 1950's from Africa
- In1850 the eucalyptus tree was introduced to the local people in order for the locals to extract timber and send it back to the government as an export.
- Name of the national park - came from Term "chicuas" (Inca language); "Bamba" means valley; and Cajas means gateway to the snow
-Alpacas were a mixture of llamas and another bred from the incas
- A tree that comes from the rose family (poly (plenty) lepes (layers)) are the only ones growing in the highlands
- At 13,700 meters (tres cruces) is where the continental divide meets. The north water goes to the pacific and the south to the Atlantic
- Chuciruaga, a medicinal plant, is a flower that kills typhoid fever. The flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds.
- Valium came from the plant balarium
- There are 47 species of moss
- Liking (sp?) plants came from pacific ocean, one of the first plants that adapted to Andes
- Rigid plantains intakes oxygen from salt. The llamas use the plants to clean their mouths
- Mansana plant (borachera) - hallucinations that make you feel drunk
- When plants are in the lakes, it means incas used that lake and grass for specific reasons (type of bamboo that only grows in water)
- Lupinos (chocho) - made into beans full of calcium
- Globito (sara shima - painted corn) - endemic to Ecuador.
After this extremely informative hike and no chest pains thankfully! We continued our journey to the Panama Hat Factory and saw first hand how panama hats are made and learned why some hats are more expensive than others (Panama hats range from $30-$2,000!). Hats don't really fit my face so I moseyed on over to the jewelry section and bought a beautiful pendant with a blue stone and etchings in the silver surroundings of Inca Civilization.
This evening Paul gave us an insight on his decision to move to Cuenca and what factors led him to this decision.
By the way, Cuenca is also known as "Gringoland".
P.S. Check out http://www.gringopost.com.
January 14, 2016 - Ingapirca
This day was a great follow up after learning about the Canari civilization the previous day. Inca civilization and their lifestyles is extremely interesting because of their advances skills without the use common tools or any binding materials to keep their structures stable. Along with their infrastructure skills, the Incas created their own form holes in rocks that align with the constellation and they also had the ability to monitor the solstice and moon cycle in general. Many parts of Ingapirca were closed due to reconstruction? But we did get the opportunity to walk along a little trail engaging with community members along the way to the back side of Ingapirca. As we looked behind us towards the ruins, there was a massive face carved into the rocks representing an Inca member. After another informative session with Diego we were off to celebrate Steve's birthday!
After the celebrations and a long journey home, Diego led us to a church in walking distance to our hotel. This church represented every major religion in Ecuador, unifying all religions and allowing prayers to different Gods and higher beings in one safe sanctity.
After the celebrations and a long journey home, Diego led us to a church in walking distance to our hotel. This church represented every major religion in Ecuador, unifying all religions and allowing prayers to different Gods and higher beings in one safe sanctity.
January 15, 2016 - Tears: From getting my first tattoo or because I am leaving Ecuador?
The final day. I woke up extremely excited because I was finally getting my first tattoo! I was so happy to have my friends willing to do the same. I decided to go with a design completely different than the classic "Ama La Vida" that my friends got. I got an outline of "I love You" in American Sign Language with a heart through the palm of the hand placed behind my ear. My father is deaf and sign language is my passion, it could be any more fitting.
After the tattoo we had a few hours before our flight to explore Cuenca during the day. The girls of the trip walked down the streets bustling with tables full of souvenirs. We even strolled upon the river and found serenity for a few minutes. Even after all of the plane rides every few days I was still not over my motion sickness. What did alleviate my anxiety though was Eddie the photographer/tour guide's slideshow of pictures he had taken throughout his days with us. It brought back some great memories and left us all with a feeling of nostalgia and unforgettable moments and friendships.
After the tattoo we had a few hours before our flight to explore Cuenca during the day. The girls of the trip walked down the streets bustling with tables full of souvenirs. We even strolled upon the river and found serenity for a few minutes. Even after all of the plane rides every few days I was still not over my motion sickness. What did alleviate my anxiety though was Eddie the photographer/tour guide's slideshow of pictures he had taken throughout his days with us. It brought back some great memories and left us all with a feeling of nostalgia and unforgettable moments and friendships.
January 16, 2016 - Home cooked meals and My bed in New Jersey
For some reason my return home was problematic for not only Ecuadorian customs in Quito, but an unreadable passport when trying to leave JFK. Last evening I was called down to the customs office in the Quito airport because of suspicious materials in my luggage... As I stood in a line of five (This is a very strict plane - Annie voice from Bridesmaids) expecting a very thorough check of my luggage, I noticed the agents barely checking any of the luggage! When it was my turn the agent simply ran her hand around the inside perimeter of my bag and let me go. What if I actually did have something illegal in my luggage? DISCLAIMER* - Do not let this anecdote lead you to believe you'll get away with illegal materials in your luggage at the Quito airport.
The next morning when I am just trying to hug my dad, eat my mom's food, and sleep in my comfy queen sized bed, my passport became unreadable when trying to exit. Luckily enough there was a chipper employee willing to help me even though I had a sour look on my face, otherwise known as a bad case of CBF. He definitely did turn my frown upside down.
Finally! We all stand around the baggage claim saying our good byes and best wishes to one another leaving one by one. My dad is already outside TAME arrival waiting to embrace me, and all I could think about was "does he notice my tattoo?" Still to this day I am unsure whether he knew about my tattoo before I even got a chance to tell him. Who ratted me out? I kept dozing off during the 2 hour car ride from JFK back home, but was pleasantly greeted with wonderful smells emitting from the kitchen. I scarfed down home cooked food as if I starved for the 16 days I was away and napped so hard. The trip was over.
But my new journey is just beginning as of January 20th where I embark on a brand new internship with an economic fund though The Washington Center located in Washington D.C. I can't wait for my Ecuafam to visit me in D.C.!
The next morning when I am just trying to hug my dad, eat my mom's food, and sleep in my comfy queen sized bed, my passport became unreadable when trying to exit. Luckily enough there was a chipper employee willing to help me even though I had a sour look on my face, otherwise known as a bad case of CBF. He definitely did turn my frown upside down.
Finally! We all stand around the baggage claim saying our good byes and best wishes to one another leaving one by one. My dad is already outside TAME arrival waiting to embrace me, and all I could think about was "does he notice my tattoo?" Still to this day I am unsure whether he knew about my tattoo before I even got a chance to tell him. Who ratted me out? I kept dozing off during the 2 hour car ride from JFK back home, but was pleasantly greeted with wonderful smells emitting from the kitchen. I scarfed down home cooked food as if I starved for the 16 days I was away and napped so hard. The trip was over.
But my new journey is just beginning as of January 20th where I embark on a brand new internship with an economic fund though The Washington Center located in Washington D.C. I can't wait for my Ecuafam to visit me in D.C.!