Day 1!
Today was the start of an amazing adventure! After sitting in the airport and traveling on a plane for six hours it still did not feel real! It was not until the plane started to descend that the excitement started to set in. The clouds started to clear and I could see the city below me. It was so surreal! When we finally got outside of the airport the mountains looked like a scenic postcard. I had never seen anything so beautiful. When driving to the airport you could see things we had read about. The bus stations, the slum ares, and Cotopaxi (from afar of course). After getting settled into the hotel we all went out to eat for our first dinner in Ecuador! We went to Foch Plaza and got to watch the sunset and the night life began! The food was amazing! At that point I could have eaten anything I was so hungry. I am so excited to see what the rest of the trip has in store for us and for the many, many pictures and memories I will be making here.
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Day 2!
Today was a fun filled day with so much to learn! After breakfast we met our tour guide Gabriella and started venturing towards the middle of the world, Mitad del Mundo! Quito means middle of the world which is where it got its name. (Qui=middle, to=city) Gabriella told us a little about the history of the city and the people that once inhabited the surrounding forest and mountains. She went on to explain the way of making shrunken heads because at the place we were going to there would be a real shrunken head that is 170 years old. The process starts by beheading your enemy. From there the skull is removed so only the skin is left which is them cleaned out with hot stones, and boiled in a pot with plants. After being cleaned out, the head is put on a stick and left in the sun to shrink. The mouth is sowed shut so that the soul cannot escape and seek revenge on the one who killed him. The most important member of the community is the one who wears the shrunken head around his neck; it shows his status. We got to do some fun experiments here such as balancing an egg on a nail, (which I did! I was so proud of myself) walking on the equator and a few others. Much to our dismay, we found out later that the experiments are rigged. For the sink experiment which shows the Coriolis effect, the theory is that on either side of the equator line the ground is slightly tilted/not sitting perfectly still which makes the water go one way or another. This is the theory because the effect would not be as strong so close to the middle of the world (Getting Centered at the Equator in Ecuador, n.d.). But regardless, at the time we were having so much fun it didn't matter to us. After Mitad del Mundo we made our way to Pululahua which is a botanical reserve inside a volcano. Unfortunately it was too cloudy for us to be able to walk around but at some points the fog would clear and you could see into the basin below. Gabriella told us that the soil was so rich in this area which made farming plentiful. These tribes were either wiped out from the five explosions the volcanoes had, or they left because of the volcanic activity. The next stop was TeleferiQo. For me this was very scary. I do not likes heights and the cable car ride up to the top was beyond scary for me. Once at the top the view was absolutely beautiful. I was 13,287 feet above sea level! It was still cloudy but every so often there would be break in the cloud and you could see the entire city. On the way back down, it started to rain. We went for lunch then walked around the city for a little bit and saw the Compania de Jesus. This church was beautiful. The inside altar was made of gold. We were not really able to look around too much because mass was occurring but none the less it was still beautiful to see. Later Nick's cousin Daniel, gave an awesome presentation on the geology of Quito and its volcanos. His family was so nice! they went out to dinner with us and showed us around to see the city at night.
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Day 3!
I cannot believe we have only been here for three days! We have done so much in such a short period of time I feel as though we have been here forever! Today we went to Mindo which is a cloud forest and Gabriella was our tour guide for the day again. The name comes from the stop indigenous merchants used as they traveled to Quito. Mindo Nambillo Cloud Forest Reserve is a protected reserve made up of 48,267 acres of land (Hernandez, n.d). Habitat fragmentation and loss are two of the biggest threats to this type of forest. Many species need large areas to roam and when their paths are cut short, their populations can be at stake. Climate change is another big threat to a cloud forest. For a cloud forest to form there has to be altitude, temperature, trade winds and humidity. Future changes in temperature and rainfall may lead to a change in the ecosystem. The cloud forest may change into a typical lower altitude forest because clouds will not be forming amongst the trees (Bubb, et. al, 2004).
When we first got there we stopped at a place to go zip lining. I wimped out of this because of my fear of heights. I got up to the platform and once I looked at where I would have to go I thought I was going to have an anxiety attack so I thought it was best not to go through with it. I walked around the grounds and waited for everyone to finish their four lines. When I watched them all come back I saw how far and high they were going, I definitely thought I made the best decision for myself not to go. After that, we stopped at Rio Mindo on the way out to lunch. It was so pretty. I fell trying to get down to the river side but I didn't get hurt. We went to the Dragon Fly Inn for lunch and I had Fajitas de Pollo. They were so delicious and the guacamole was just as yummy. After lunch I walked around the restaurant and saw bananas on trees and hummingbirds were all over! They were bigger than I expected because the ones I helped rehab in the summer were so tiny. Then we went to the bird trail to start our hike into the cloud forest. In the cloud forest there are 3,000 species or orchids, and 3,000 species of butterflies. We hiked 1.5 miles up the mountain in the high altitude. I started feeling light headed but I was okay. Once we made it up to the top it was so rainy everything was soaked! But I would't have wanted the experience any other way. On the way back down, I fell twice. I am having such bad luck! Professor Tait found me a walking stick and I safely made it down the mountain. Today was so much fun and tomorrow we are supposed to be going to the market and I am so excited! |
Day 4!
Today we got to walk around and see everyday life of an Ecuadorian living in Quito. We went to the market which was so much fun! I got a really cute alpaca poncho and a few t-shirts. I wish we had more time there because there were so many vendors to look at. I could have spent all day there. For lunch, you could get fresh juice, soup and an entree for only $3.80! To me that is insane. All the food, activities we have done, and items we have purchased have been so cheap its unbelievable. After lunch we took the bus into Centro Historico. This was quite an experience. I can honestly say other than a school bus I have never been on a public bus before. It was very crowded but we got to our destination in no time. First we went to see Basillica del Voto Nacional. This was a beautiful gothic style church. This church is so different because the gargoyles are not your typical gargoyle. These ones are the different animals on the Galapagos Islands. Half of our groups took a tour of the towers and upper levels of the church while the rest of us took a tour of the church inside. It was so beautiful. There is something so moving about being inside a church even though I am not that religious. Later we went up to El Panecillo which means small bread. It is called this because from afar the mountains look like bread, little bread. You could see the whole city from up here. There was a giant statue made out of steal, the largest steal statue in the world. It is called Virgen de Quito. There were some vendors behind the statue which were selling smilier things to the market we were at earlier in the day. We all went to to dinner to the La Mariachi Taco Factory for our last meal in Quito. Tomorrow we are leaving very early in the morning to get to the airport.
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Sources :
Bubb, P., May, I., Miles, L., & Sayer, J. (2004). Cloud Forest Agenda. UNEP.
Getting Centered at the Equator in Ecuador | GypsyNester | Celebrating Life After Kids ™. (n.d.).
Hernandez, R. (n.d.). Mindo tours - Mindo information - Private Tours Mindo Tripadvisor.
Bubb, P., May, I., Miles, L., & Sayer, J. (2004). Cloud Forest Agenda. UNEP.
Getting Centered at the Equator in Ecuador | GypsyNester | Celebrating Life After Kids ™. (n.d.).
Hernandez, R. (n.d.). Mindo tours - Mindo information - Private Tours Mindo Tripadvisor.