Weekend Adventures: Cotopaxi and Papallacta

After catching the "travel bug"  while my parents and Hannah were here, I have decided to use my final months here visiting the final places on my Ecuador bucketlist.   

Two weekends ago, I visited Cotopaxi National Park, the home of the Cotopaxi volcano, the second highest volcano in Ecuador and one of the tallest, most active in the world.  The park is about an hour and half bus ride from Quito, so a friend and I planned for a day visit.  After waking up before the buses were even running, we arrived at the park around 8 in the morning, just as the gates were opening.  We rented a 4x4 truck to drive us around the park for the day.  Our first stop was the refuge, a small hut at 4,800m and about a 45 minute hike up the volcano.  This is the farthest point that people can hike without official guides, as after this point the climb gets very technical and full of glaciers.  Our next stop was a beautiful lagoon, where we did a nice easy hour hike.  Before leaving, we did one final hike along the valleys formed by the lava flow and eroded from storms.  Overall, it was great to get out of the city for some fresh mountain air.  

This past weekend, I visited Papallacta, thermal volcanic hot springs.  After palm sunday mass, a few friends and I headed off to the springs for a day filled with relaxation.  The springs are far up in the mountains.  The resort we visited had about 15 different pools, all different sizes and temperatures.  Plus, a river ran right through the resort, so if you were very brave, you could hop into the freezing water as a little refresher before getting back into the spas.  

Now, I just need to visit Mindo, a cloud forest reserve, and Banos, an adventure town at the base of volcano Tungurahua (the one that has been erupting for the past 2 months now) in order to finish my Ecuador bucketlist!  

Cotopaxi Peak

The lagoon

Hitchhiking home!  Kidding - we were just getting a bus :)

The Eberts Visit Ecuador: Part 2

Hannah arrived one week after my parents and more adventures followed, thus Part 2: Hannah's Visit.

After arriving at 6am on Saturday morning, we headed to Otavalo(the artesian market) for a day full of shopping.  We ended up buying about 10 different textiles - I guess that's what happens when you bring an art major to the market.  We spent Sunday exploring Quito's old town, visiting millions of museums, and eating lots of street food and ice cream! 

Monday morning, we headed off to the galapagos (yes - I've now visited the galapagos twice).  Upon arriving, we took a 2-hr boat ride over to Isabela island, the largest island of the galapagos.  There, we spent 3 days biking, visiting turtles and flamingoes, snorkeling through lava tunnels, and tanning on the many beaches.  On Thursday morning, we took the 2-hr boat ride back to Santa Cruz, the most populated island and where I stayed with my parents.  Here, we visited Tortuga Bay, snorkeled with lots of sea-life and fishes, and visited Las Grietas (look it up - it's a beautiful place).  

We left the galapagos saturday morning, and instead of returning to Quito, we headed to Guayaquil (Ecuador's largest city, about 2 hours from the coast).  We spent about 3 hours in the city and were more than ready to leave, so we got on a bus and headed to Olon, a small fishing town right on the coast.  We spent 3 days here, tanning (or more appropriately burning) on the beach and drinking lots and lots of fruit milkshakes.  One day, we went to Los Frailes, one of Ecuador's most beautiful beaches.   On Tuesday, we headed further up the coast to Canoa, another small fishing coastal town.  We spent another two days here before heading back to Quito, nice and fried from all the sun.  

We spent Hannah's last day in Quito, relaxing in the parks and getting $5 haircuts!  For her final night, we went to the same jazz restaurant that I took my parents for one last typical Ecuadorean meal.  She left early Friday morning.  

Now it's time for me to get out of vacation-mode and back to volunteering-mode.  I have 2 months left in Quito and I plan to make the very best of all my time left here!

Textiles at Otavalo Market

The Eberts Visit Ecuador: Part 1

I've spent the last month spending time with my parents and Hannah, exploring the Galapagos, all about Quito, the coast, and Santo Domingo.  So here it goes - part 1 of the adventures: my parents' visit.

My parents visited for two weeks in total - we spent the first week doing "touristy" things in Quito and the Galapagos and the second week in Santo Domingo working with Timmy Global Health on a medical brigade.  

Week 1:  Matele, my host mom, threw my parents a welcome dinner for their first night in Ecuador.  My parents were able to meet my "Ecuador family", and lucky for me, they all speak English except for Matele.  We spent the next day wandering throughout Quito's Old District, checking out the many beautiful churches.  Monday morning, we headed off bright and early for the GALAPAGOS!!!!  We spent the next four days in the Galapagos.  We kayaked at the beautiful Tortuga Bay, visited the giant tortoise reserve, and snorkeled with sea lions, sea turtles, sharks, manta rays, and many tropical fish.  We had a fantastic time, just wished we had more days to continue exploring the islands.  Thursday, we returned to Quito and spent the evening at local restaurant listening to live jazz music - possibly one of our favorite meals the whole trip!  Friday was used for exploring more of Quito - we rode the teleferiQo up to the top of Volcano Pichincha (too bad it was quite foggy), followed by a visit to Museo Guayasamin (an Ecuadorean artist - look him up, we really enjoyed his work).  Saturday, we took the 2-hr beautiful trip through the Andes to Otavalo, the enormous outdoor market.  This trip marked the end of our "vacation", it was now time to start to work. 

Week 2:  Saturday evening, we met up with the rest of the volunteers for the medical brigade.  In total, there were 3 family physicians (including my parents), 1 dentist, 2 women's health pa's, about 10 student volunteers, and 3-4 translators (including myself).  Sunday morning, we headed down to Santo Domingo.  In spirit of Carnaval, after lunch and before getting down to serious brigade business, we had our own water-balloon and silly string battle.  After that, it was all business :)  We held medical clinics Monday through Friday at different sites throughout the clinic.  I LOVED translating for my parents.  It was cool to see them "in action".  Plus, it was pretty great to relax with my parents after a long day at the clinic! 

Overall, it was a wonderful two weeks with my parents.  I loved showing them bits of my life here in Quito - hopefully they enjoyed the time as much as I did!

Overlooking Quito

The beautiful Tortuga Bay

Check out my facebook for LOTS more photos from my parents' visit! 

Just enjoying life!

Everything is wonderful here - absolutely wonderful!  With my move and change of schedule, I have had much more time to spend with friends, explore Quito, and do the things that make me happy.  That being said, while I haven't taken any big trips in the past few weeks, I have had some wonderful times here in Quito - taking a day trip to Mitad del Mundo, hiking and mountain biking in Parque Metropolitano (the HUGE park right by my house), trying out many new restaurants throughout Quito, going to several birthday parties of my new family members, moon-light rock climbing, and even beginning to train for a half-marathon in May in Peru!!  Plus, my parents come in 10 days!!!!  Things could not be any better!

New Year, New House, New Work, New Experiences

I know it's way past the start of the new year, but as I have experienced a lot of changes over the past month, I thought now would be an appropriate time for this post.  Compared to a month ago, I would say I now have a completely new life.

I'll start with my housing.  As many of you know, I was searching for a new place for quite awhile, mainly because Carcelen is so far outside of central Quito.  Well, about 2 weeks ago, I left Carcelen, or "the boonies" as it is referred to by many, and moved into a new apartment with Matele, a single mid-aged woman who has experience hosting exchange students.  I already love it!  Matele is so sweet and the perfect host mom.  Whether it's eating dinner or watching the Office together, I love the company and the extra spanish practice.  The apartment is also in the perfect location - easy access to many buses to get to work and see friends, close to two of the biggest parks in Quito, about 4 blocks from the main grocery store, and in walking distance from about anything I need!  While I'm still keeping an eye out for an Ecuadorian family with the possibility of moving another time, I'm very content in my new home and the idea of staying here for rest of my time in Quito.  (Thanks mom for the advice to be open to all options - if it wasn't for you, I may have passed up this wonderful situation!)

Along with my changes in living situations, I made a big change in my work schedule.  Now, instead of working mainly with one foundation, I am working with four!  I continue to work at the ACF shelter Mondays and Wednesdays.  As the work at the shelter can be pretty tough and emotionally draining, I've found this lighter schedule helps to keep my energy and spirits high.  On Tuesdays, I am now working in a school for children with disabilities.  Along with a friend, I teach a photography class in the afternoons.  I've found this work to also be challenging, but I love seeing the kids' faces light up at the simplest things, like learning to turn on a camera.  I'm excited to see how the class develops, as both my friend and I have little experience with photography and even less with teaching.  I'm still working with Nacion Urku on Thursdays, and I'm still loving it!  Starting in a few weeks, we will start teaching the kids swimming.  I can't wait to get back in the water, even if it's just to teach lessons for a few hours a week!  And finally, since the Timmy Santo Domingo Brigade, I have taken a great interest in working with Timmy Global Health, signing up for every translating opportunity I can from now until when I leave.

These changes will bring new experiences, all of which I am very excited for!

My First Timmy Global Health Brigade

Upon arriving back from Colombia, I had one week in Quito before heading off again, this time to Santo Domingo to help out with a medical brigade as a translator.  The brigade was part of Timmy Global Health (http://www.timmyglobalhealth.org), a foundation that brings doctors and nurses from the states to provide medical care to various communities in Ecuador, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.  I left early Sunday morning to meet up with rest of the group.  There were 4 doctors (2 ER doctors, a cardiologist, and a pediatrician), 1 pharmacist, 3 RNs, and about 15 nursing students from Manchester Community College, along with 3 other translators.

After a 3 hour bus ride, we arrived at an old BEAUTIFUL convent, which would serve as our housing for the week.  After getting settled, we headed to our first clinic site to get a community tour.  It was pretty shocking, as most people were basically living in shacks.  After the community tour, we returned to the convent to sort out medicine and prepare for the start of clinic.

We held a clinic Monday thru Friday, each day serving a new community.  Clinics were held in various locations: a local health center, community centers, and on the last day, huts outside in an indigenous community.  In the clinics, I worked as a translator.  For the first days, I worked in the history station.  I translated for a nursing student as we questioned patients about past medical issues and current problems.  On the fourth day of clinic, I got the confidence to translate with a doctor and, to my surprise, was fine!  I loved being in the consult room, as I was able to see how the doctors were treating all the problems that I had heard the patients complaining of in the history station.  And I even learned a few things myself (I can tell you the albendazole dose needed for any patient to treat parasites)!

Overall, it was an amazing week.  I can't wait to return to the communities in 5 weeks, but this time, with my parents as doctors!

Our housing for the week!

A look at one community

The makeshift consult rooms

Our nightly duties - pill counting

Our final clinic site

FInal day at clinic - Translating for Dr. Joe

The whole group!

10 Days At Caseteja

Happy New Year!  Bare with me as I try to make up for my lack of posts over this past month.

I'll start with Colombia.  I spent the final days of 2013 and the start of the 2014 in Colombia with Pablo (the nephew of Cristina, one of my mom's co-workers) and his fiancé, Paola, and had a wonderful time!  We stayed at Paola's parent's house (and I use the word house loosely) with her dad, step-mom, two younger brothers, and grandfather.  The house was in the middle of nowhere, just off the only road that connected the few small towns close by, and was surrounded by what seemed a bit like a jungle.  It's pretty difficult to describe the house itself, as it was like nothing I've ever stayed in before.  There were 4 different little detached buildings that made up the house: the kitchen and living room, the master bedroom and 1 kid's bedroom, 3 guest bedrooms, and the bakery.  The "living room" walls were trees and the floor was gravel.  The main light source was natural light.  Both bathrooms in the house were outdoor bathrooms, maybe one of my favorite parts of the house!  My bathroom was absolutely wonderful, with live plants, little birds on one wall, and even a parrot that would whistle at you when you were showering :)  Even a simple shower could be a fun experience!  The family had 6 rabbits, 3 parrots, multiple birds, 1 monkey, 3 dogs, and a large fish pond with over 100 fish.  And the bakery, Paola's family runs Caseteja, which is a bakery type of rest-stop.  All the sweets were made right there at the house, meaning there was always something to help with and always treats to be tasted.

Our days were spent relaxing at the house, helping out in the bakery, playing with Paola's younger brothers, reading in the hammock, and occasionally, taking day trips to local towns.  Our daily excursions included trips to the local river, Curiti (a touristy town right along a river), and Paola's grandmother's house (where we needed to take a detour to the local hospital due to a cat bite).

One of my favorite parts of the vacation was New Year's Eve, which we celebrated a bit differently than I am accustomed to.  First, we started off the evening by making our "Ano Viejo" (Old Year).  It's basically a scarecrow representing your regrets from the year that you burn at midnight.   The whole night was spent dancing and enjoying the time together with family.  While dancing isn't my favorite activity, I definitely improved my salsa skills :)  At midnight, after burning the Ano Viejo, we ate a huge dinner together, and then headed off to bed.  It was a great way to bring in the new year!

Pablo, Paola and I at the airport before heading off

The living room, where we spent New Year's Eve

The bridge, over the pond, leading to the house

The outdoor shower (the picture doesn't do it justice)

Dancing on New Year's Eve

Our ano viejo

Juanda (Paola's youngest brother), Pablo, Fernando (Paola's grandfather), our ano viejo, and myself

Helping out in the bakery

River adventures!