Yo,all! Yang again with a quick update. We´ve had a great time. Arriving on Wednesday we thought the marketplace (fabrics, leather, musical instruments, clothing, weaving, art, music CDs, all hand-made from the area ... OK, maybe not the CDs) was pretty full. But today, Saturday, saw virtually every street closed for more vendors. And this in a town of 50,000. We´ve made some friends of the locals and took a small tour of the area on Friday (Hope & I being the only ones in the tour). Saw a Condor Park and bird recovery sanctuary, a lake in a volcano cone, a musical instrument ´factory´ where pan flutes and other flutes of various kinds are made by hand, a sacred waterfall (sacred back to the Incas), much beautiful scenery, and a town that supplies leather goods mostly to the US (that $300-$400 jacket you want? ... $45 here ... same one).
We´ve learned a couple of things: first is that gringos don´t know how to sell. Everyone here in Otovalo is an expert. Second, we´re wondering if now that we´ve gotten in a habit of asking for a discount or making a counter offer whether we´ll be able to control ourselves and not make a counter offer to the cashier at the grocery store.
We´ll be back on the boat tomorrow night (Sunday). Hope has lots of pictures to organize and she´ll be getting to you about that later this week. And sometime we´ll let you know where we´re going.
nuff for now, love from us both.
yang
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Saturday, September 23, 2006
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
All the news that ´s ...
typable. OK, this is a Spanish keyboard that´s acting like
a Spanish keyboard. Except that the spacebar only works with
the attached hammer (most of the time) and half the keys
have their letter label worn off. Not fun for us non-touch
typists.
OK, from the typhoid patient, the only downside to our trip.
We woke up one morning (the day we were going to Mindo & the
rain forests) and went to get some coffee before leaving for
the bus terminal. We thought we were very lucky in that the
street was deserted and there was no traffic in sight. You
need to understand that cars ABSOLUTELY have the right of
way. Even pedestrians in a crosswalk with the light have no
rights. We only had 100 meters to walk from our hostal to
the coffee shop. About 20 feet from the door of the coffee
shop two guys came around the corner. One approached me with
a hand out (I thought was begging), then grabbed my jacket
and said, "Money!" Then I noticed the knife/spike in his
other hand. The second guy went to Hope and tried to grab
her purse. She twisted down into a ball and started shouting
for help. I grabbed the wrist holding the knife. Then two
employees came out of the coffee shop and the one with a
broom hit the guy entangled with me and then both banditos
ran away.
We were so enjoying the empty street that we stopped being
aware. All´s well, we were blessed, we recognized the
outcome as a form of abundance. After this event, the stay
in Mindo was even ´mas tranquillo´.
Hope related my question on the history of the attitude of
the Catholic Church to women. The best endowed and
maintained church in Quito (even better that the bishop´s
cathedral) was one owned by the Jesuits who were quite proud
of how their altar included the founders of other
brotherhoods in the Church. And quite proud that EVERY
surface was covered with gold leaf. Being immersed in the
Spanish colonization of the new world for the last three
years and having read some fictionalized histories of the
new world, I´ve become quite interested in finding a
history of the church from apolitical perspective.
It´s also election time in Ecuador. Everyone we´ve
talked to looks at their decision as who do they want to rip
off the country for the next 5 years. No platforms matter,
no improvements expected. Decision: who do you want to get
rich at the country´s expense? Much like our own system,
just more up-front I think.
Note to my son Adam: Lots of VERY old Datsun pickup trucks,
but not a single 510. New Nissans, of course. A number of
original Minis running about and lots of old Ladas, the
Russian car that at a glance and a distance might be
mistaken for a 510 (to the uninformed).
Note to my son Tieg: Ran into an Aussie couple who said that
3-year work permits are relatively easy to come by now.
Might check out the Aussie embassy website if you still have
that dream.
Today we´re leaving for Otovalo, the best know artisan
market in Ecuador. Then back to Quito but only for the bus
back to ceilidh. Enough struggling with this keyboard. Love
to all!
_________________________________________
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Tuesday, September 19, 2006
I need to brush up on my computer whiz skills
I have all these wonderful photos to upload. Visited 2 different internet cafes today and am stumpted as to how to rotate the photos prior to posting. Grrrrr. OK. I have now let that go and yet do wish to blog my Mindo visit while it is fresh in my mind and being. Tried a new approach to the visit. On the bus to Mindo I concentrated on the desire to connect with a soul sister who would direct me to the exact experiences I would seek out if I had all the time in the world. Having only 4 days that is quite a tall order. As we exited the bus a lovely lady named Claudia met us and asked if we had a place to stay. With a negative answer to that question she offered to show us her hostel. Traveling via foot down a dirt road and chatting as if we had known each other forever we soon arrived at her hosted. It is a three story rambling, eclectic structure with hammock hung everywhere. She has plants, dogs, friends, love and warmth filling all 4 floors.
On arrival we were the only guests but by nightfall the hostal was full. After dropping our backpacks she suggested we follow her friend, Margarita, down the road a mile or so to her restaurant for a meal of truncha (trout) and view the huge number of humming birds that visit the feeders set just off the outdoor eating platform. Lunch was delicious and I had no clue there were that many different sizes and colours of humming birds.
Early in the morning we started the day with a wonderful breakfast of fruit, eggs and toast. Thus fueled we set off on foot for the sanctuary of waterfalls. About an hour and 1/2 brought us to a small cable car spanning a canyon. On the other side are trails you can choose from to visit the various fall. We saw 3 that day and would have continued if only the legs were willing. It started pouring rain as we took the cable car back across. A pickup truck kindly stopped and offered us a ride back. Very welcome it was indeed.
The next day we were off again - this time on a tractor - to visit an area of protected forest. The trip there was about 2 hours and along paths that no normal vehicle could travel. We hiked in the jungle, saw birds and so many different types of plants that I was hyperventalating and then ended up at the wilderness lodge for a delicious lunch. After some interesting conversations it was back to the hostel bumpity bump. Our last morning in Mindo we visited a butterfly sanctuary. Wait till you see the photos. They have to be seen to be believed. So, ok, we are having a wonderful time. Tomorrow morning we are leaving to visit Otavalo and the small villages that surround it. So more blogs in the works soon. I have missed out large parts of the adventure but I´m sure Rich will pitch in with his bit. All for now. My beer is finished and time to catch a small siesta before dinner.
Love to allfrom the yin side
On arrival we were the only guests but by nightfall the hostal was full. After dropping our backpacks she suggested we follow her friend, Margarita, down the road a mile or so to her restaurant for a meal of truncha (trout) and view the huge number of humming birds that visit the feeders set just off the outdoor eating platform. Lunch was delicious and I had no clue there were that many different sizes and colours of humming birds.
Early in the morning we started the day with a wonderful breakfast of fruit, eggs and toast. Thus fueled we set off on foot for the sanctuary of waterfalls. About an hour and 1/2 brought us to a small cable car spanning a canyon. On the other side are trails you can choose from to visit the various fall. We saw 3 that day and would have continued if only the legs were willing. It started pouring rain as we took the cable car back across. A pickup truck kindly stopped and offered us a ride back. Very welcome it was indeed.
The next day we were off again - this time on a tractor - to visit an area of protected forest. The trip there was about 2 hours and along paths that no normal vehicle could travel. We hiked in the jungle, saw birds and so many different types of plants that I was hyperventalating and then ended up at the wilderness lodge for a delicious lunch. After some interesting conversations it was back to the hostel bumpity bump. Our last morning in Mindo we visited a butterfly sanctuary. Wait till you see the photos. They have to be seen to be believed. So, ok, we are having a wonderful time. Tomorrow morning we are leaving to visit Otavalo and the small villages that surround it. So more blogs in the works soon. I have missed out large parts of the adventure but I´m sure Rich will pitch in with his bit. All for now. My beer is finished and time to catch a small siesta before dinner.
Love to allfrom the yin side
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Doing a blog with spanish prompts
is really difficult. Would you know that Crear means to create? Well, it does. Didn´t know what I was missing by doing all my posts via my onboat email. Still in Quito and I just read Rich´s post. He summed up our bus trip to Quito very well. I´ll add that the rapidly running mountain streams and huge varriety of vegetation made me ever so happy. Can´t imagine a nicer trip. My eyes were jammed up against the window the entire 8 hours-a true feast.
In the last 3 days we saw fantastic art and interesting history descriptions as well as viewing amazingly preserved artifacts dating as early as 1000 b.c. That was day one. Day two we visited a variaty of churches. Some so well preserved that they glittered with the original gold leaf applied in the 1800´s and others so dismally maintained that we are not sure how much longer they´ll be standing. Rich had a very interesting observation. Everywhere we looked there were paintings and statues of the Virgin Mary and other women indoctrinated into sainthood. His question was "how could the catholic church rever women on one hand and then treat the general populace of the same sex as lesser and subservient beings?" Hummm. Very interesting.
Today, day 3, we took the TeleferiQo to the top of Rucu Pichincha to the altitude of 4,200 m. Photos will follow soon. After taking the tram to the top we then spent 2 hours walking further up the mountain. What a rush. At that altitude we both had to take many breaks but so enjoyed the views. We stopped and chatted with a South African couple who are on the way to Galapogos and then Peru before heading back home.
Tomorrow we are off to Mindo. From what we hear it is a small town in the middle of beautiful country side. The highlights are bird and butterfly viewing and playing in waterfalls. I´ll write more after our visit. Land travel is so different than our cruising in Ceilidh. I am enjoying this trip and have to admit I´ll look forward to going "home". Well, all for now and love to you all.
from the yin side
In the last 3 days we saw fantastic art and interesting history descriptions as well as viewing amazingly preserved artifacts dating as early as 1000 b.c. That was day one. Day two we visited a variaty of churches. Some so well preserved that they glittered with the original gold leaf applied in the 1800´s and others so dismally maintained that we are not sure how much longer they´ll be standing. Rich had a very interesting observation. Everywhere we looked there were paintings and statues of the Virgin Mary and other women indoctrinated into sainthood. His question was "how could the catholic church rever women on one hand and then treat the general populace of the same sex as lesser and subservient beings?" Hummm. Very interesting.
Today, day 3, we took the TeleferiQo to the top of Rucu Pichincha to the altitude of 4,200 m. Photos will follow soon. After taking the tram to the top we then spent 2 hours walking further up the mountain. What a rush. At that altitude we both had to take many breaks but so enjoyed the views. We stopped and chatted with a South African couple who are on the way to Galapogos and then Peru before heading back home.
Tomorrow we are off to Mindo. From what we hear it is a small town in the middle of beautiful country side. The highlights are bird and butterfly viewing and playing in waterfalls. I´ll write more after our visit. Land travel is so different than our cruising in Ceilidh. I am enjoying this trip and have to admit I´ll look forward to going "home". Well, all for now and love to you all.
from the yin side
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Cruising doldrums and ...
Quito!
Hello all. We will have to go back and change the subtitle from ...a feminine view of cruising. (I am having problems here in this internet cafe because it has a non-US keyboard with some of the Sapnish keys activated when I type, but some of the other weird types actually on the keyboard activated as well.
Hope and I were talking about being in Bahia for so long. No water sports, same people (some of whom we want to avoid in general). We have gotten most of the projects done and we have read quite a bit. I have finished the 20 book series by Patrick O´Brian on the British Intelligence service during the Napoleonic Wars. Most people think it is about the Royal Navy, but the Navy takes a minor role compared to the spy characters. Interesting, but I would only give it a qualified recommendation.
So to combat the crusing doldrums we are currently sitting in an internet cafe in Quito. We have taken care of our passport renewals at the consulate. We toured the Banco de Central Museo de Cultura which covers all of Ecuadorian history from the first migracions during the ice ages to the present. Most is on the pre-columbian cultures and the Spanish era. The Incas had conquered the Ecuadorian area just shortly before the Spanish arrived and they had not the time to consolidate the language, culture, and so on. Tomorrow is old town with the cathedrals dating from the 1500s. Later will be overnight trips outside of town.
We have a nice room with a double bed (and bunk beds) with a private bath in the tourist section of town for US$22 per night. Two pizzas and 3 beers (large Japanese size) for US$10 last night. Did I ever mention that Ecuador is one of a few countries that use the American dollar as the official currency? Panama is another we have been in.
The bus ride here is spectacular. We are currently at about 3000 meters (just under 10 000 feet) but Quito is in a valley between two sets of Andean peaks. And we had to go over one of those passes. Almost over the clouds. Rain forest jungle. Bamboo up to 80 feet growing wild. (Bamboo is a big construction material here, both for scaffolding and interior decoration).
OK enough again. Hope is taking pictures. love to all.
yang
Stay in the know. Pulse on the new Yahoo.com. Check it out.
Hello all. We will have to go back and change the subtitle from ...a feminine view of cruising. (I am having problems here in this internet cafe because it has a non-US keyboard with some of the Sapnish keys activated when I type, but some of the other weird types actually on the keyboard activated as well.
Hope and I were talking about being in Bahia for so long. No water sports, same people (some of whom we want to avoid in general). We have gotten most of the projects done and we have read quite a bit. I have finished the 20 book series by Patrick O´Brian on the British Intelligence service during the Napoleonic Wars. Most people think it is about the Royal Navy, but the Navy takes a minor role compared to the spy characters. Interesting, but I would only give it a qualified recommendation.
So to combat the crusing doldrums we are currently sitting in an internet cafe in Quito. We have taken care of our passport renewals at the consulate. We toured the Banco de Central Museo de Cultura which covers all of Ecuadorian history from the first migracions during the ice ages to the present. Most is on the pre-columbian cultures and the Spanish era. The Incas had conquered the Ecuadorian area just shortly before the Spanish arrived and they had not the time to consolidate the language, culture, and so on. Tomorrow is old town with the cathedrals dating from the 1500s. Later will be overnight trips outside of town.
We have a nice room with a double bed (and bunk beds) with a private bath in the tourist section of town for US$22 per night. Two pizzas and 3 beers (large Japanese size) for US$10 last night. Did I ever mention that Ecuador is one of a few countries that use the American dollar as the official currency? Panama is another we have been in.
The bus ride here is spectacular. We are currently at about 3000 meters (just under 10 000 feet) but Quito is in a valley between two sets of Andean peaks. And we had to go over one of those passes. Almost over the clouds. Rain forest jungle. Bamboo up to 80 feet growing wild. (Bamboo is a big construction material here, both for scaffolding and interior decoration).
OK enough again. Hope is taking pictures. love to all.
yang
Stay in the know. Pulse on the new Yahoo.com. Check it out.
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