Este Ecuador

Updates from Turkey

2010-04-20T05:23:00.003-05:00

Those of you who are of the traveling mind might enjoy the new posts we have up about Turkey. Turkey is a fascinating country, really stuck in the middle between two worlds.

Check out www.nargileistan.blogspot.com for some new posts on Turkish Skiing.

and check www.erintheturkeytrotter.blogspot.com for some posts about rock climbing in Greece.

Cheers,
Tim

Photo Essay: Underdogs at the 2010 Winter Olympics | Foreign Policy

2010-02-18T02:31:00.000-05:00

Photo Essay: Underdogs at the 2010 Winter Olympics | Foreign Policy

Shark Attack in Papallacta

2010-02-12T09:02:00.000-05:00

Ecuador's president: Smile turns to frown | The Economist

2010-01-21T01:31:00.000-05:00

Not a great article from the Economist for Mr. Correa.

Apparently, as an interesting aside, his was the most burned effigy, this New Year's. The effigy burning is a raucous event in Ecuador that I had the privilege of experiencing first hand as the clock struck the Midnight hour on December 31, 2009.

I didn't burn Correa.

Ecuador's president: Smile turns to frown | The Economist

Oh, silly translators

2010-01-13T14:27:00.002-05:00

The sign at Papallacta hot springs always cracks me up.

Ecuador Officials Linked to Colombia Rebels

2009-12-17T01:53:00.000-05:00

So, Correa's government is linked to the FARC. As the article below says, Correa, himself has not been linked, nor has any current government officials. Now, how likely is it, that the commission investigating this was truly independent? They were appointed by Correa himself.

Time notes that this may very well be the first signs of Ecuador's descent into a "Narco Democracy"

Ecuador Officials Linked to Colombia Rebels

Andres Hidalgo

2009-12-11T09:07:00.003-05:00

Andres is a friend of mine living in Quito. We rented an apartment from him, and ended up becoming great friends with his whole family. The Hidalgo clan brought us a lot of joy in Ecuador, and if you are going to be spending some time in South America, I highly recommend that you get away from the hostel scene and try to go live with a family.

Andres, sadly, was robbed outside of our old apartment today. I sure hope he didn't have his camera on him, because the guy takes some amazing photos.

Check out his flickr galleries, and get in touch if you like his work, maybe he needs to sell some of it in order to recoup his recent robbery expenses. The photo at the top of this link is one he took of Erin and I after a crazy trip we took with his brother to Quillatoa.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27957891@N05/sets/72157622094885847/detail/

Lazy

2009-12-10T09:06:00.002-05:00

Well, here I am in Turkey, with a Turkish blog current and up and running, and I'm getting double the number of hits on my old Ecuadorian Blog. It's strange, yet, it impels me to continue to post something over here.

Today, I'm feeling lazy, and I'm just going to link you to an interesting blog going on right now, http://where-is-g.blogspot.com/

I met the creator of this blog, Justin Kleiter, 5 years ago in Nicaragua. We were both from Colorado, and an instant friendship budded. Since then we've kept in touch a bunch, and right now he is riding his dirt bike to the tip of South America. Pretty cool. Check out his adventures.

The Measure of a Country

2009-11-12T16:32:00.003-05:00

This post is from my blog that I will, I promise, one day be moving fully to. www.nargileistan.blogspot.com

As I'm still getting lots of hits here at www.esteecuador.blogspot.com, I've decided to write a few posts that apply to both blogs. Additionally, when moving from one country to the other, it's inevitable that comparisons (justified, or not) will be made.

Which brings me to this months dual post, and the conclusion, that, the measure of a country can really be found, in it's barbers.

Really.

It's something we all need. Whether it be a simple, try-to-make-it-look-like-I-have-hair cut like I get. Or, whether it's a full blown Paris Hilton coiffure; we all have to go in and get a trim every once in while, just to keep down the Chewbaca waiting to explode off the tops of our heads.

So, when you move to a foreign country, one thing you usually find yourself doing in the first month, is thinking, "Okay, self, that hair is looking a bit like the fur on that street dog outside. Now where can I go and get a decent cut, without it looking like the guy used a fucking chainsaw."

In Ecuador, the answer to that question, was Tijeras Locas, or Crazy Scissors. Great haircut, my friend, Brett, said. The only thing is, well, most of the stylists are, umm, Colombian transvestites. I was aghast when he told me that this was the place to go get a haircut. I thought, okay, this is some sort of weird teacher-hazing thing. He assured me it wasn't, and told me to go down and look how popular it was--with both sexes.

Indeed, I walked down to Amazonas Avenue and easily found the store, there are two within a block of each other they are so popular, and sure enough, it was full. I had to wait twenty minutes. Inside I went through the standard game of charades, showing how long I wanted my hair, and my stylist ran his/her hands through my hair nodding patiently. She/he seemed very concerned, and proceeded to carefully cut every single hair on my head. Now, I know I don't have much hair left, but because of the methodical nature of his/her style, I was at the barber for an hour! These girls new something about hair!

I subsequently returned to Tijeras Locas many times over my two years in Quito. Once I took the opportunity to get a shave, and not only did they shave my beard, but they trimmed my ear hair, nose hair, and eyebrows! The cost? Five dollars. I don't know anyone I can pay five dollars to, who will go anywhere near my nose. Now, I realize my introductory photo that I stole off the internet is pretty blatant, but I'm here to tell you, that there were times when both my wife and I had a hard time convincing ourselves that my barber was really a man from afar. But, the minute they throw that cape around you, and the scissors come within two inches of your nose, one look at the hands, and you realize--man hands, definitely, man hands.

Of course, the barbers here in Turkey also know their stuff (On the subject of stuff, in Turkey, you can also be fairly sure that, their stuff--is, well the type of stuff that you would assume it to be. That is to say, there are no Tijeras Locas here). But, that doesn't mean they don't do a bang-up job. Here in Turkey, the land of black mustaches and hair as thick as motor oil, hair management is a huge priority. According to squidoo.com, the job of hair-cutter is taken so seriously that foreigners are not allowed to do it, and men spend months apprenticing and training for the job.

First, you step in to the salon and drink some chai tea, waiting for a spot to become open. Once you are at the chair, the stylist spends 20 minutes or so shaping the edges of your hair with various combs and clippers. When it comes to the actual cut, you'll think Edward Scissorhands has sprung to life, as the man continuously moves his chopping scissors around your head with the flair of a crazed violinist. Next comes the shave, with plenty of hot shaving cream brushed on, and a straight razor perfect finish. After bending forwards to the sink, and getting a wash, the barber comes around for the final polish. Tweezing nose hairs and any other protruding strays, he slowly builds to the climax of the cut....the flaming cotton ball. Before you can say otherwise, the barber dips a cotton ball into denatured alcohol, lights it, and dabs it into your ears, singing the offending hairs from existence.

Cost? Ten dollars. Trip to the bathroom to clean your pants? Free.

Two Years

2009-10-27T15:26:00.004-05:00

Well, here we are at the two year anniversary of this blog. On October 31, 2007, I started tracking the numbers of visitors to esteeucador with clustermaps. Since then, the site has been visited 5,567 times. Now, that's pretty cool. The map for this year looks like this:

That's a bunch of dots, in a ton of diverse places. I'm flattered. I have to say that the word probably got out because of the Ecuador Reporter, and I would like to thank Tom and Kathleen for their support of "The Blue Footed Booby."

As I've said before, this blog will be slowing down in the next months. I'm living in Turkey now, and it seemed best to start a new blog about my experiences in the Middle East. We thought about calling it este-pavo, but I settled on nargileistan. Nargile is the Turkish name for the ever-present water pipes here in Turkey. And, istan, I believe, means country of men with beards. Anyway, it works. Please visit, bookmark, or subscribe to the new blog. www.nargileistan.blogspot.com

Maybe one day the list of visitors to that blog can look as cool as the people who have visited this one:

United States (US)	1,382
Ecuador (EC)	342
Australia (AU)	58
Canada (CA)	56
United Kingdom (GB)	54
Turkey (TR)	50
Colombia (CO)	40
Venezuela (VE)	37
Germany (DE)	30
Italy (IT)	24
Peru (PE)	23
Spain (ES)	17
Netherlands (NL)	16
Malaysia (MY)	14
Thailand (TH)	12
Philippines (PH)	11
Saudi Arabia (SA)	11
Bolivia (BO)	10
Panama (PA)	10
Korea, Republic of (KR)	10
Bulgaria (BG)	9
Indonesia (ID)	9
Mexico (MX)	9
Honduras (HN)	9
France (FR)	9
Iran, Islamic Republic of (IR)	9
Pakistan (PK)	8
Romania (RO)	8
China (CN)	8
Chile (CL)	8
United Arab Emirates (AE)	8
Dominican Republic (DO)	8
Belgium (BE)	7
Japan (JP)	7
India (IN)	7
Vietnam (VN)	7
Norway (NO)	6
Argentina (AR)	6
New Zealand (NZ)	5
Kuwait (KW)	5
Brazil (BR)	5
Georgia (GE)	5
South Africa (ZA)	5
Finland (FI)	4
Uruguay (UY)	4
Greece (GR)	4
Trinidad and Tobago (TT)	4
Russian Federation (RU)	4
Nicaragua (NI)	4
Bhutan (BT)	4
Costa Rica (CR)	4
Sweden (SE)	4
Poland (PL)	3
Austria (AT)	3
Brunei Darussalam (BN)	3
Sri Lanka (LK)	3
Hong Kong (HK)	3
Oman (OM)	3
Algeria (DZ)	3
Switzerland (CH)	3
Serbia (RS)	2
Montenegro (ME)	2
Slovakia (SK)	2
Qatar (QA)	2
Lithuania (LT)	2
Jamaica (JM)	2
Netherlands Antilles (AN)	2
Jordan (JO)	2
Hungary (HU)	2
Morocco (MA)	2
Portugal (PT)	2
Cyprus (CY)	2
Mongolia (MN)	1
Estonia (EE)	1
Denmark (DK)	1
Ukraine (UA)	1
Czech Republic (CZ)	1
Ireland (IE)	1
Israel (IL)	1
Guatemala (GT)	1
Puerto Rico (PR)	1
Cayman Islands (KY)	1
Senegal (SN)	1
Madagascar (MG)	1
Zambia (ZM)	1
Singapore (SG)	1
Togo (TG)	1
Namibia (NA)	1
Egypt (EG)	1
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA)	1
Croatia (HR)	1
Europe (EU)	1
Albania (AL)	1
Syrian Arab Republic (SY)	1
Lebanon (LB)	1
Malta (MT)	1
Liechtenstein (LI)	1

The last BFB article

2009-10-25T14:33:00.002-05:00

Here is a reprint of the last article I wrote for the Ecuador Reporter. Does anyone know if it is still being printed in Quito? I hope so.

Also, I still have WAY more people checking this blog, than checking my new blog about Turkey. Maybe more folks are traveling to Ecuador, but, eventually, this page will stop getting updates and everything will shift to

www.nargileistan.blogspot.com

Until then,

The BFB…slows it down

I’ve been in Ecuador for two years now. In those two years, I’ve been to Otavalo once, I’ve never been to a beach besides Canoa, and I’ve never set foot in the jungle. I leave Ecuador in 25 days and have no regrets about any of this.

There are many tourists who come to Ecuador for two weeks and manage to see more than what I have seen in two years. But do they really? I remember a course I took in college, called “Traveling the world, from Gulliver to Kerouac.” In it, we studied travel, travel literature, and our own travel habits. One of the more salient points of the course was that travelers move with purpose; they have a specific destination or goal in mind for their escapades. Travelers also move slower, and spend more time getting to know the areas and communities they visit. It’s actually a movement now in the travel community—slow travel. The philosophy revolves around less use of the guidebook and passport, and more use of language and observation.

Three years ago my wife and I decided to embrace this philosophy in a six week trip to Nicaragua. Instead of spending our six weeks collecting passport stamps in Central America, we opted to stay in one town for our entire trip. In San Juan Del Sur we fell into a routine. Every morning we would catch a dawn patrol of surfing with our new friends. In the afternoons we would take Spanish lessons. Every night we would go to the same restaurants where we would sit and get to know the owners and locals—marveling at their stories and their sentiments. When the ocean swells were low we volunteered at the local library, taking books to kids who lived deep in the Nicaraguan jungle. On our last night, we danced till sunrise in the local club. It seemed that we knew everyone there. We may not have seen every corner of Nicaragua, but the corner we did see was one to remember.

As I look back at my time here in Ecuador, I realize that I have been lucky enough to travel through it slowly. As a climber, I was immediately enveloped into a community from the first day I arrived. Through my climbing community, I’ve traveled through Ecuador. We’ve stayed at flea-ridden cheap hotels, we’ve summited snowy mountains, and we’ve soaked in hot springs after a long day of climbing. I’ve hosted Polish-climber students from Yale at my house, I’ve traveled to Colombia and stayed with friends of friends at the foot of an amazing three-mile cliff, and I’ve learned every single filthy word in the Spanish language from the “juevons” at the local climbing gym. These are the experiences I will take from Ecuador; not the time I got an indigenous woman in Otavalo to drop her price 50 cents on an alpaca blanket or the time I took my photo on the equator.

Of course, divorcing yourself from Lonely Planet and buying a climbing harness isn’t necessary to travel slowly. The first step is to take a hard look at your vacation itinerary. Will you be spending more time on busses than in towns and villages? Where are you staying when you travel? Are you staying in a hostel with a bunch of other gringos surfing facebook—or are you staying with a family in a homestay or couch-surfing with a local? Finally, and most importantly, what’s the purpose for your trip? Finding purpose is often what tips the scales from tourist to traveler. The ultimate slow-travelers I met in Ecuador are a group of mountain bikers who are sloooowwwwlllly (without ever using paved roads) mountain biking from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Their purpose is to travel the length of two continents under their own power, and on their own schedule; reaping the intrinsic rewards of slow travel along the way. It would be nice if we could all take three years off and slowly ride down the continents, but it doesn’t matter if your purpose is a mission trip or a mountain bike adventure. The key is to have one, and then follow it passionately…and slowly.

This is the BFB’s last column for the Ecuador Reporter. He is moving to Turkey where he hopes to find his purpose in whirling dervishes and hookah pipes. His blog is at www.esteecuador.blogspot.com

The BFB, plays Ecuadorian Frogger

2009-10-10T07:44:00.002-05:00

I missed posting a few BFB articles, so here is one that never made it to the blog. Check it out, and don't forget that I am eventually only going to be posting on my new Turkey blog, www.nargileistan.blogspot.com

The BFB, plays Ecuadorian Frogger

Running in Quito is a bit like playing Frogger. Frogger, if you recall, was one of the first popular video games from the 80’s in which you had to maneuver your frog across a busy street without meeting an untimely, and very flat, death. Luckily, I don’t have to date myself by accepting credit for this moniker; my friend Andrew coined it as I took him on a running tour of the streets of Quito last year. Narrowly avoiding a collision with a lane changing taxi, Andrew yelled out, “Shit, this is like playing Ecuadorian Frogger!”

To be sure, running in the streets of Quito is not for the faint of heart. The lack of oxygen makes any endurance sport at 10,000 feet difficult. The smog quadruples it. The cars speed, shift lanes, and seem to be of the general viewpoint that any piece of pavement is a driving space reserved for their exclusive use. Street dogs rejoice in chasing runners, and men revel in hissing at female ones. So why do it? For the challenge. For the authenticity. For the bitter-sweet taste of adventure that running in the suburbs lacks.

Quito is rugged, gritty, dirty, and yet it’s surrounded by majestic Andean mountains. Running in the city puts you in touch with the smells, the sounds--the potholes, and the pollution. And, when you start looking at the features of the city less as obstacles, and more as a jungle gym, endless opportunities come to light. Run through the narrow streets and squares of old town. Try your hand at the steep stairs of Guapulo. Join in the collective fun of running through Parque Carolina as you stop to bounce off some sculptures, crank out a few pull-ups, or join in the weekend morning outdoor group-aerobics class. If you need some motivation, check out the 5,000 hit-popular YouTube video, Quito Soul, where my friends Brett and Bennett demonstrate their free-style running skills. Ecuador isn’t meant to be seen from a taxi or a tour bus, it’s meant to be seen from the pavement and from the tops of mountains.

I know running through lanes of moving traffic isn’t for everybody, and my wife would reprimand me if I made it seem like that was your only option for enjoying a run in Quito. Up above the Batan Alto neighborhood is the relatively safe, quiet, and beautiful Parque Metropolitano. In Metropolitano you can run through miles of dirt trails hinged by groves of Eucaliptus trees. The park is up out of the valley, and so the pollution isn’t quite as much of a challenge. Usually the only dogs you encounter are monitored by owners, and there are still lots of jungle gyms, sculptures, and exercise stations to cross train with as you run.

Finally, Ecuador hosts some excellent road races. It’s a different experience running a race in Quito; nobody lines up by pace, water is passed out in plastic bags instead of cups, and race packets come with items like hot-dog coupons and bottles of ketchup instead of Powerbars; but the races are well organized, safe, and fun. Coming up in June is the popular Ultimas Noticias 15K, which runs through Old Town and ends with half a lap around the Olympic Stadium. Then, in October is the Ruta de las Iglesias, which runs at night through the beautifully lit-up churches. Finally, in November, my favorite race is the half-marathon to the middle of the world, where the finish line is literally, the equator. Just look both ways before you cross it.

Info Box:

Running Website:

Race Information/Registration: http://www.vidactiva.com.ec

Running Stores:

Yes! You can get GU, Powerbars, Gait Analysis, Sports Bras, Polar Watches, and more:

Silvio Guerra Sports. Centro Comercial Caracol Locales 9, 10, and 11 (Across from Tony Roma’s on Amazonas and Nacionas Unidas) - Phone (02) 2258 027

Podium Sports Store. Luxemburgo N34-340 y Poturgal, Edf. Braganza T (Near Mr. Bagel): (02) 3331509

Running Safety:

Try not to run alone

Always tell someone where you are going, and when you plan on returning

Do not run at dawn, dusk, or night in the parks

Don’t run with an i-pod

Carry Pepper Spray (available at Kiwi) for dogs, and other “pests”

Don’t repeat your running routes/times…thieves look for patterns

In Metropolitano, try to stay on the main trails unless it is a weekend

Pack a little TP, and a dollar coin for some water at the end of your run

The BFB is training for the return of Brett and Bennett to Quito this June, keep an eye out on the streets for some frogger action, and check out www.esteecuador.blogspot.com for their excellent videos.

WTF?

2009-09-25T12:21:00.001-05:00

Where have I been? Good question. At the end of June, Erin and I left Ecuador. It was the end of our contract with Colegio Americano, and it was time to return to Boulder.

The ending of our time in Ecuador was harsh. We were robbed, and a colleague at our school passed away. It was a crazy June, and I don't feel comfortable writing about the events on the blog just yet. Maybe one day.

But, thanks to my good friend, Tibi, we had a cleansing (limpia) by a local Amazonian Jungle woman, and our luck has turned. I don't know if it was the cigarette smoke she blew on me, or the eggs and peppers she rubbed on us and then cooked, or, maybe, the local fire-water she spit on us; but our hard patch in Ecuador was followed by an excellent Colorado summer, and now we are loving our life in Turkey!

I'll be back to esteecuador to post some of the adventures that composed our spring, but, I've also started a new blog at
www.nargileistan.blogspot.com

Keep your eyes on both, because there was lots of good stuff I didn't get around to writing about in Ecuador, and Turkey is a whole new ballgame/blog-game!

Thanks for your patience while I processed, but I'm back, good as new!

Tim

Classic--sneaking over the wall to the girls school

2009-05-19T16:57:00.000-05:00

This is great. I've been watching these boys for the past week as they have been flirting with the girls at this girls school next door to us. Today they took it a step forward: they jumped the wall and stormed the grounds. Check them out in the bottom left corner, I think they would do well on the "wall" activity on most ropes courses.

Garage Sale

2009-05-19T11:51:00.001-05:00

Hello Friends,
We've posted our little collection of for sale items on flickr. It's a real mix of items, from the practical (cleaning supplies) to the frivolous (art, framed posters). Not that I'm calling art frivolous--just sayin' Anyways, we can work out payment to be sent to our home in Boulder this summer, and we can leave the items in our current apartment over the summer for you. One of the new teachers will be living here next year, and she will be happy to distribute your items to you. Everything is priced at 50% off and is one or two years old. Figure in the 12% sales tax, and the constant upward momentum of prices in Ecuador, and that's checking in at 65% off. So, check out the flickr page, and let us know what we can put your name on!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38521515@N05/sets/72157618445885250/

Cheers,
Tim and Erin

A few of the items we are selling:

Sheets
Towels, etc.
Pillows
Art/Photos
Plants
Table Lamp
Nice skillet
Nice griddle
Baking pan
Baskets for fruit etc.
Cork Message Boards
Coffee Thermos
Collander
Cleaning Supplies
Vases
Umbrella
Bathroom toothbrush, soap dispenser, etc. set
Grab-bag of DVD's

Table Tree

2009-05-18T16:37:00.001-05:00

Table Tree, I'm not sure what kind of Bonsai he is, but he's doing well

Home and Gardens

2009-05-18T16:36:00.001-05:00

See the plane?

National Soccer Stadium

Kitchen

Home Alone

2009-05-18T16:35:00.000-05:00

Home

2009-05-18T16:31:00.001-05:00

The bedroom

The Desk

The Shitter

The Boob Tube

What Would Darwin Do?

2009-05-16T15:36:00.005-05:00

He wouldn't pay for over-priced cruises in the Galapagos when you can do it on your own.

Over spring break we managed to squeeze in two really great trips. One was to Bogota, where we met up with some friends from Venezuela for a week of rock climbing. More on that later. Our second trip was to those little islands of biological diversity, the Galapagos. The Galapagos, of course, is one of those places you must go if you spend any amount of time in Ecuador. The problems is, they are incredibly expensive. It's a $400 dollar flight from Quito, a $100 entry-fee to the islands, and then anywhere from $800 to $3000 dollars for a cruise around the islands. Pretty inaccessible for the likes of us. In fact, most of the folks on those cruises are retirees who are busy ticking off their "I always wanted to see ________" list.

But here's a fact nobody in Quito (at least the tour vendors) will tell you.

You don't have to go on a tour to see the Galapagos.

Erin and I spent five days on two islands and saw everything we could possibly want to see. Granted, it wasn't in the perfect wilderness setting that a boat can take you to, and we did miss some of the more esoteric fauna, but for about $70 a night in hotels, $40 a day in meals, and $40 a day in local tours, we were able to:

Swim with sea lions
Play with baby sea lions
Saw those silly flightless Penguin-birds
Swim with marine turtles
Mountain bike to secluded coves, beaches, and old prisons
Swim with 10+ sharks
Relax on white-sand beaches
Swim with eagle rays
Observe blue footed boobys
Enjoy happy hours at sunset
Ride a horse up to one of the biggest volcanic craters on the earth
See a Galapagos hawk

The issue with the Galapagos is that, often, you are charged a premium price for, well to be frank, Ecuadorian quality service. I love Ecuador, but not when I'm paying $13 for a plate of six breaded shrimp and rice. Of course, this problem is the same whether you are on a boat, or, doing it on your own on land--so why pay for the boat? Unless you can afford a premium boat, my advice is to just do the Galapagos as cheap as you can, then you won't be frustrated with the inevitable service hick-ups along the way.

An example:

Some friends paid for a first class boat tour, and found their rooms to smell of Gasoline every night, and the boat broke down several times along the way. Kind of frustrating at $200/day.

We paid to be taken out to a local snorkeling spot on Isabela by a local operator. They drove us to the dock, put us on a boat, and then took us around to a free snorkeling spot that we had walked to the previous day! We protested, and they finally took us to a better spot in the bay that we could not walk to (where we saw the baby sea lion), but it took a fight to get there. Upon the return, the operator did not send a truck to pick us up. We had to walk back to town. When I arrived and protested, the owner looked at me like I was crazy for wanting a ride back--she said, "we never send a car to pick you back up, you're soaking wet stupid gringo." Yeah, like the back of their pick-up would be hurt by my wet ass.

The point is, both trips are frustrating, but ours cost $10.

So, if you are interested in doing it on your own, here is our itinerary, complete with phone numbers and suggested guide-free activities.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=plR-sWt7EqMly9yDmFqTgaQ

And, though the LCD on my viewfinder-less "waterproof-shockproof-freezeproof" camera decided to cease functioning on our first day in the islands, here are my best attempts at photography without being able to see what I'm composing. It's kind of a monster slide show, at 60 photos, but that's down from the 500 we took.

Quito Soul

2009-05-13T07:46:00.002-05:00

I think I´ve posted these videos before, but, Brett and Bennett are returning to Quito this June, and I mentioned them in my last BFB article...so here´s a re-release of the famous Quito Soul videos.

Caldo de Pata, Foot Soup

2009-05-04T22:13:00.002-05:00

Crazy spring here in Ecuador.

Between flying back to the states for job fairs, finding work in Turkey, flying back to Ecuador to teach, flying back to the states for weddings, coming back to Ecuador for spring break, flying to Colombia for rock climbing, coming back for a night, and flying to the Galapagos to swim with sea lions and sharks; I'm exhausted! This weekend I think I'll try to summit Cotopaxi again just to get a little break from everything.

Last month my editor for the Ecuador Reporter either skipped town, or absentmindedly neglected to get his visa renewed before leaving for Canada. Depends on who you talk to, and how much money he owed them. Regardless, the paper is now in a bit of a flux, but they have continued publishing, just not online.

So, here's the simple text version of the latest BFB column. Next month will be my last column. Que pena!

The BFB…makes caldo de pata (foot soup)

Pata, or foot, makes a damn fine soup here in Ecuador. I was once slurping away greedily at a chicken soup served to me for lunch, marveling at its flavor when I spooned up a foot. I suppose the nails of the foot add flavor, not unlike the black eyed-peas and hog jaw that’s a tradition for those who live in the Southern U.S. However, the caldo de pata I’m talking about this month doesn’t come in a soup bowl, it comes in a swimming pool.
Living in a country nestled among active volcanoes, Ecuadorians are able to enjoy the silver lining to the constant threat of eruptions: an abundance of hot springs. These hot springs provide a place to relax, a place to absorb healthy minerals, a place (of course) to do your laundry, and a place to make your own gigantic batch of communal foot soup. As with so many things in life, the hot springs of Ecuador run the gamut, from pure opulence, to pure caldo de pata. The choice is yours.
The most well-known hot springs in the country are in the town that gives them away with its name, Bath. In Banos, the town revolves around hot tub culture. Hotels offer spa packages. Vendors sell swimsuits and blow-up floaties instead of alpaca scarves and blankets. Men offer to take Polaroids of you and your novia as you exit the springs, sucking in your Pilsner-gut. Best of all, the hot springs are as cheap as they come. Unfortunately, they are as caldo de pata as they come too. The pools are emptied every day, but their popularity should probably justify emptying them every hour. Get there early unless you want to spend most of your soaking time avoiding the floating back-hair from the guy in the Speedo next to you.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, is the posh Termas De Papallacta. This fancy resort, found an hour and a half outside of Quito, trades some “authenticity,” for a less “soupy” experience. The hot springs are as well tended as the gardens that surround them, and though the price is nearly triple that of Banos, the selection of pools, temperatures, and cleanliness trumps the price hike for most. If you really want to splurge, you can pay extra for the spa, where waterfalls, jets, and complimentary towels will make you feel as if you won the lottery. Of course, if Antisana peaks its snow covered face out from the jungle above the springs, you won’t need the spa to make you feel like the luckiest person on earth.
Finally, in-between the two on the pata scale, but winning big on the “off the beaten path” scale is Oyacachi. Oyacachi may be my favorite of the hot springs. It’s the little town that could; and does! Oyacachi is nestled in the remote valleys between Papallacta and Cayambe. Getting there requires an hour of travel on dirt roads, but the remoteness is what makes these springs so great. The springs themselves are surprisingly well made, and well kept. The sculpted rock walkways, waterfalls, and lilly gardens remind me of Pappallacta, but the price reminds me of Banos. The termas are run by the townspeople, who obviously see the hot springs as a means for the town as a whole to benefit. Artisans sell their woodcarvings, and lunch-spots have sprung up around the entrance to the springs. If you’re looking for luxury though, this is not your place. There is only one basic hotel in town, and the single restaurant serves trout and chicken, fried or roasted. But for those of us who prefer camping to down comforters, and fresh trout to chicken cordon-blue; then Oyacachi is our place. And try the chicken soup, just, try to ignore the floating foot.

Mid-Spring Break

2009-04-13T22:12:00.003-05:00

It's 10 PM and we're getting ready for an early flight out to the Galapagos tomorrow morning. I couldn't resist staying up just for a bit to post these recent tibdbits about Ecuador that have cropped up in the news.

First, our favorite local chocolate was profiled on NBC. Funny, I just stuck a bar of it in a wedding present for my cousin...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Next, and this is a bit late in the "news" cycle, but Guapulo (our former neighborhood) has had a string of bad luck. First, while we were in Washington at a wedding, a military plane flew into the neighborhood. Sadly, seven people died, but it fortunately narrowly missed many of our friends who live not a football field away from the crash site. Wow.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7954186.stm

Then, a week later, a retaining wall that was quickly built in response to the rapidly disintegrating hillsides of Guapulo collapsed one block in-between our friends houses and the airplane crash.

Shit, I'm kinda glad we got out of there!

Here's a friend of ours bravely standing with her child where a street (and I believe a couple of cars) used to exist. Our friends John and Tasha used to live in the building in the background, a sobering picture for them, I'm sure. Thankfully, nothing more than some civil engineers egos were harmed during this particular catastrophe.

Finally, as I said, tomorrow we are off to the Galapagos. Having just returned from the VERY safe and secure feeling oasis of Colombia (seriously, fantastic country--more later on it), I wasn't super keen to return to what has felt to be an increasingly insecure Quito. But, I knew we were doing a quick turnaround to the idyllic islands of the Galapagos. With scenes of swimming with dolphins, tanning with sea lions, laying on safe and sunny beaches, and relishing fresh seafood every night, I googled the Galapagos to check on the weather and what not. This, is what I found.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Damn it. I can't win.

Well, except for that little victory by UNC last week....

Photographer Friends

2009-03-26T15:40:00.005-05:00

Probably one of the most enjoyable experience of living overseas, is meeting those people who have chosen to bust out of the box of routine that is so easy to live in while residing in the states. I've met hangliding pilots building houses, Colorado kayayers buying bars, English prep-school kids starting newspapers, and, maybe most interesting, three amazing photogaphers.

Our friends Karla and Ivan http://tothetip.wordpress.com/ are currently traveling to the tip of South American on a photographic odyssey. They used to be our neighbors in Guapalo, that was, when they weren't traveling the globe working for any number of magazines on assignment.

And our friend Caroline Bennett http://bop.nppa.org/2009/still_photography/winners/index.php?cat=UES&place=2nd just won an award from the National Press Photographers association for here story on children being raised in Mexican prisons by their incarcerated mothers. Caroline recently took my students on a field trip to the World Press Photo Exhibit. It was a great experience for them to spend some time digesting press photography with a true professional.

Inspiring.

Not my cat, nor my fridge, just a funny picture

2009-03-13T13:43:00.000-05:00

Iron Maiden, not only are they alive, but they are in Quito!

2009-03-11T13:16:00.002-05:00

Yes, even in Quito, the tradition of painting some rocks white and spelling out the name of your favorite team, artist, religious figure is popular....

To celebrate IRON MAIDEN's first-ever appearance in Ecuador, several local IRON MAIDEN fans have created a sign spelling out the word "MAIDEN" and placed it in the Pichincha mountain, just above the country's capital, Quito. Check out a photo below.

IRON MAIDEN will play at the 30,000-capacity Aucas Stadium in Quito, Ecuador on Tuesday, March 10.

Loaded up with a full complement of band, crew and twelve tons of stage set and equipment, the band's customized Boeing 757, christened Ed Force One by the fans and flown again by Astraeus Airlines captain and MAIDEN vocalist Bruce Dickinson, is once again circumnavigating 80,000 km around the planet for concerts in 20 cities in 13 countries, making it a staggering 39 countries in total visited on this tour, playing to almost two million fans.

A Touch of Class...

2009-03-06T08:38:00.002-05:00

Last night, my Spanish teacher invited us to a performance by the Ecuadorian Symphony. Our friends, Graham and Tia, accompanied us downtown to the Centro Historico. The unique thing about this particular concert, was that it was held in the most famous church here in Quito, La Compania. La Compania is universally known as being the 'church of gold,' and that made quite a backdrop to the concert. It´s said that the church is covered in some 7 tons of gold leaf....

On another classy note, I recently reached a milestone in 'adult' life. I´ve bought a tuxedo. You see, my cousin is having a black-tie wedding in two weeks in Washington D.C. I checked in on rental prices ($100-$200 depending if you want something nice or something a senior in high-school did god-knows what it the previous prom weekend), and then I checked in on a custom tailor here in Quito. For $200 bucks, I took him a photo of a Calvin-Klein tux, he took all my measurements, we discussed some custom options, and now I´m a tuxedo owner. If you´re traveling in Quito, don´t miss the chance to have some custom tailored clothes made for prices that define class in my book...

Postscript to the BFB article below

2009-02-27T18:47:00.018-05:00

So, I actually wrote the article pasted below before attending this year's Carnaval Death-Fest. Here are a couple of addendums that happened after this year's festivities:

First, Carnival is spelled Carnaval in Spanish, woops. Should have caught that before the paper went to press. Screw it, it's an English paper.
Next, if the police catch you after you have sprayed them with water, they DO actually throw you in jail. Just ask Franz at the Surf Shack in Canoa.
A 20 lb. Mahi Mahi that will feed 30 people costs 30 dollars.

Phosphorescence in the ocean at night is one of the most FUCKING COOL THINGS you will ever see.
Pina Coladas are best made with fresh coconuts, fresh pineapples, and copious amounts of rum. The rum does not have to be fresh.

A dixie-horn attached to an F250 Lariatt Edition with dual-exhaust headers attracts plenty of attention as it is driven through the countryside of Ecuador.
And, when hiring a launch to take 20 gallons of diesel out to a stranded yacht from Panama, it's best if said F250 has a winch with which to pull the boat down to the beach during low tide.

I will GREATLY miss my friends in Canoa when we move to Turkey

It is much more styleee to arrive at your beach house after being picked up (by said missed friends) in a de-roofed 1974 Land Rover driven on the beach, than by taxi on the road.

I like Yonder Mountain String Band at loud volumes much more than I like Reggaton at loud volumes.
Plane tickets for Carnaval should be bought well-in-advance
And, below, the movies I promised in the article...

Pyrotechnic Prowess at the Fiestas De Guapalo:

Roof-top Chiva action during the Fiestas De Quito:

As I said, for fear of legal repercussions, there are no movies of squirting police officers with water, but here's a photo of the infamous "espuma" or foam of Carnaval.

The BFB...avoids catastrophe

2009-02-27T18:34:00.001-05:00

Dangerous situations are not hard to find in Ecuador. From landing on a runway shrouded in fog, to sleeping in a hostel below an active volcano, to snorkeling in the shark-infested waters of Isabela Island; there is no shortage of precarious situations for one to enjoy. But for the best in near-death and dismemberment jubilation, nothing beats a good Ecuadorian fiesta.

The foundation of the Ecuadorian fiesta lies in two things: alcohol and an agent of death….though in some cases, the alcohol is, of course, that agent. I’m pretty sure there is a certification agency that checks to make sure that both are present at anything claiming the label of “fiesta.”

Take, for instance, the Fiestas De Guapalo. These fiestas occur in a tiny barrio down the backside of the hill behind Hotel Quito every September after the sugar-cane crop is harvested. The sugar provides Guapalenos with their drink du-jour for the fiesta, cane-lazo. Cane-lazo is a type of hot mulled-sugar-cane-liquor-cider. Between the price tag of 5 bucks a bottle, the heat, and the sugar, the stuff goes right to your head. The bands that play concerts during the fiesta encourage the drinking. That way they can take breaks in the middle of their songs without the audience realizing that the whole time, they’ve just been pantomiming to a CD. The cane-lazo also fuels the fun when the fireworks come out. Whether it’s the burning paper-mache bull bucking through the crowd, or the three-story bamboo rocket launcher showering the crowd with napalm; you hardly notice the smell of burning skin and hair over the rich aroma of the cane-lazo. I’m not convinced that the fireworks really count as an agent of death, but, at the last fiestas, as the stray rockets whizzed by my head, I was glad I had a bottle of cane-lazo in my hand…I’m pretty sure it could put out a small hair or clothing fire.

Of course, if explosives won’t do the trick, there’s always velocity. During the Fiestas De Quito, it is commonplace, after drinking copious amounts of Pilsner and watching bulls die, to jump on a chiva. The chiva, in its simplicity, is a beautiful agent of death. All you have to do is take a bus too old to be considered safe for transport, rip off the doors, slap a dance-floor on the roof, hire a band, and strap on a tank of more cane-lazo. Then you charge two bucks a head, pack the bus full of drunk patrons, fire up the band, and drive around the city looking for low-hanging wires and overpasses. You can see the fun directions in which this is heading. Occasionally the chiva may stop to pick up additional passengers, to allow its passengers to dance in random town squares, or, maybe, to pick up someone who has fallen off the roof.

Decapitation by telephone line happens so quick though, where’s the fun in that? Better to drink so heavily and with such zeal that you black-out, do something incredibly stupid, and end up in an Ecuadorian jail. That’s probably the kind of place which would have you wishing for the rapid exit of a swan dive off the back of a moving bus. Carnival, of course, is perhaps your best opportunity to land yourself in jail. That preamble to lent, when the Catholic world lets its hair down before 40 days of devout reflection, is the penultimate in hedonism. Here in Ecuador, Carnival is celebrated throughout the country with a variety of local traditions and pageantry. There are two universals though; alcohol and the throwing of water on others. I know, I know, it seems harmless enough, but when the two mix, it’s amazing what can escalate. Water turns to squirt guns, squirt guns evolve into water balloons, water balloons get lobbed at passer-bys…and then, before you know it, your friend has tossed a water balloon in to the vehicle of a policeman, where it promptly exploded, soaking his crotch, and probably ruining whatever was in his pockets, but you don’t care because you’re cowering in a corner praying to God that he can’t tell which drunk Carnivalian threw it because you REALLY do not want to go to jail in Ecuador.

So, from everyone here at the Ecuador Reporter, we hope you had a great Carnival fiesta.

The Blue Footed Booby has posted videos of near-death fiesta experiences (except for the water balloon—that evidence has been destroyed) on his blog, www.esteecuador.blogspot.com

I´m back

2009-02-20T08:58:00.004-05:00

I have been neglecting this blog since December, and I´m sorry for that. A good blogger is a regular blogger, and I aim to return to that. My wife and I have been searching for a new job, in a new country, and that has been all-consuming. We´ve now made a decision, and come August I will be starting a new blog with insights and tongue-in-cheek wit about...Turkey! I can´t wait to see what comes out of my mouth from the land of hookah´s, flying carpets, belly-dancers, and genies. That, and there´s lots of non-stereotypes that I might choose to comment on as well:)

For now, my concentration is back to Ecuador...at least until the summer.

Here´s an amusing graphic, I hope you aren´t trying to get from the beach to the mountains, because, well, you can´t. All of the roads have been closed by landslides and sinkholes.

The latest editorial from my column...

2008-12-16T11:49:00.005-05:00

Blogger is finally allowing me to post articles from the Ecuador Reporter directly to the blog.

The latest edition of my ranting and raving from the paper:

When I first arrived in Ecuador, I was immediately smitten with Pilsner. It’s cold, cheap, fresh from the factory, and they serve it by the glass-boot-full in the Ghoz Bar. Within weeks I had bought my own haba, a crate of 12 empty, liter-sized bottles, and I was recharging them for less than I’d pay for two pints back in beer-snob-Boulder. Then a friend offered me a Budweiser, and I uttered words I thought would never exit my mouth: wow, now, this is some good beer!

You see, as cheap and cold as Pilsner is, it really isn’t anywhere near being classified as good beer. And drinking too much of it may have you forgetting that fact. What’s more, Pilsner and its close cousins, Club and Brahma, are our only options in Ecuador. I recently counted 13 different flavors, sizes, and types of marshmallows in a small corner-store near my house. But the beer selection? Well, let’s just say I didn’t need a calculator to add up the offering.

The problem, of course, is import laws. Ecuador, with good reason, wants to protect its local industries, and certainly Pilsner has some political capital to keep it that way. El Griego and El Espanol both have a small selection of European import beers; but the real gold mine is at Santa Espuma. This Ecuadorian enterprise has ripped the carpet from underneath Pilsner and Club. The owner, Andres, learned his craft in Australia, and his methods are meticulous. His brewery is spotlessly clean, and his ingredients are imported from Europe. His selection always involves a Scottish Strong, a Golden Ale, and a Porter. Additionally, he rotates in seasonal specialties such as an Oktoberfest or a Stout for St. Patty’s Day. So far, the only method to get his beers out of the door is in a pony-keg, but after recently purchasing a six pack of Ukranian beer as my only alternative to Pilsner, I think it might be time to start pricing kegerators.

In truth, I’m not sure if I really dislike Pilsner, or am just tired of having it as my only option. But there is one thing I know for sure: Ecuadorian wine is truly horrible. It sells for around $1.50 to $2.00 a bottle, and I’m not quite sure who buys it. Every guidebook spends at least three sentences trashing it, and so it was with great reluctance that I accepted the idea that the Ecuador Reporter should go tour a vineyard last weekend. First of all, I wasn’t sure if we could all get up early enough to catch the bus (I was right.) However, by 11AM we were happily cruising along in the back of a pick-up, drinking Pilsner of course, heading towards Chaupi Estancia Vineyards. The owner wasn’t available for our tour, but his long-time assistant vintner, Jorge, graciously opened the 6 hectares of grapes to our motley crew. Jorge led us through fields of grapes, explaining the varieties, and their methods of harvesting. The grapes are extremely sensitive, and must be harvested during precise times of sun, water, and temperature. They are then brought to a fermentation room, where the bottles are meticulously produced—six at a time. The winery has been producing commercially since 2002, and has won an award for its distinctive Palomino Fino.

All of this was great information, but honestly, Jorge had us at the word wine. We were eager to crack a bottle and get to the real test of any good wine: how many bottles could we drink before someone started rolling down the freshly mowed hill outside the wine cellar? Our new writer, Yancey, won that game, and as we laughed at his antics, we all came to the conclusion that a day spent at a Chapui Estancia was a day well invested. Next time though, I think we’ll bring some cheese…then again, maybe we shouldn’t get me started on Queso Fresco.

The Blue Footed Booby is soliciting care packages of Colorado Micro-Brews at www.esteecuador.blogspot.com

The Blue Footed Booby’s Alcohol Gift Guide:

Chaupi Estancia Wine can be found at Mega Maxi
Santa Espuma will sell you a pony keg for about $100, Whymper and Orellana
Chicha, fermented jungle root spit is widely available in The Oriente
Punta, fermented sugar cane liquor is under the counter at every Banos sugar cane stand
Zhumir, widely available, comes in lovely flavors like Peach and Chocolate
Finally, The Spirit of Ecuador, which tastes like it is straight out of Willy Wonka’s factory, can be found in overpriced commemorative Mitad Del Mundo bottles as you leave the country

Ecuador takes a cue from the U.S.

2008-12-16T09:26:00.002-05:00

Hmmm, it seems as if Ecuador has decided to take a cue from U.S. homeowners and stop paying the interest on its loans.

What happens when you foreclose on a country? This can´t be good.

Ecuador defaults on its loans here.

Costa Rica, How, well...Rica!

2008-11-24T18:52:00.010-05:00

The rich coast really did apply to me last month when Colegio Americano treated me to a week-long conference in San Jose, Costa Rica. Teachers where I come from in Colorado aren't really used to this kind of treatment; it kind of seemed more like something fancy suit-types would go to rather than geeky teachers, but why not!

We arrived in San Jose after a short flight from Quito, and were greeted with a room at the very fancy Intercontinental Hotel. Here's something I never knew growing up sleeping in sleeping bags and the dirty floors of camping tents--an amazing bed filled with down above and below you and with soft-soft-soft sheets REALLY does help you sleep! I hit that bed at night and didn't roll, toss, or turn until my alarm woke me up with whatever songs from my i-pod I had synced it with the previous night!

The conference was an annual gathering of international schools from Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. We attended a pre-conference on a new online assessment we are administering this year in Quito; mostly I was excited that this fact allowed me to milk the lap of luxury for three extra nights! Our Director General generously treated us to steak and lobster dinners, sushi-bars, and the breakfast every morning, which was, well, a bit ridiculous. That plate in the lower corner is all salmon, yes, all of it. My breakfast special was a bottom layer of gallo pinto and Lizano (rice and beans and Costa Rican salsa), with two friend eggs, and salsa ranchero, cheese, and sausage on top. Maybe with a waffle and some fresh fruit as well. Yes, Costa Rica is quite appropriate.

Breakfast was only the beginning, the whole facility embraced this kind of opulence. The pools had this great design, where the water cascaded over the top of the pool, only to fall into a crack a foot back from the stone-work. Just the kind of thing for some kid to get his foot stuck in and sue in the states, but in Costa Rica it was just good architecture. The exercise gym was filled with full circuit machines, and a waiter who brought you a ginger towel and cucumber/lime water while you ran on the treadmills (equipped with personal TV's, which would accept your i-pod if nothing good was on TV). Speaking of TV, I was watching my flat-screen TV one morning, drinking Britt coffee when I realized I was watching Channel 9 Denver News. Funny, the local U.S. TV station in Costa Rica is Denver--looked like they had some black ice on Kippling that morning, I hope Glen's commute to work was okay.

But, really, there were two highlights of the trip. One, was the great people I met at the conference. International educators are my kind of people--and we had a great time, working hard during the day, and playing (read--drinking) hard in the evenings. One night--mid conference--several us from Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Ecuador ended up at a World-Cup Haiti V.S. Costa Rica soccer match. The game was awkward, they don't serve beer in the stadium, and Costa Rica is embarrassingly critical of their own team, but as we wandered the bars late at night after the game, I realized this was my zone. My friend Ray actually did a workshop one year on how to balance working out V.S. working at these kinds of events. All I know is the gym was full every morning at 5 AM with teachers that I had been partying with mere hours before.

The second highlight was pretty simple. Across the street from the hotel was a grocery store; stocked with Guiness and Red Seal (California) beers. As I've bemoaned before on this blog, Ecuador is bereft of good beer, and so this was a god-send. The Ben and Jerry's and Quizno's subs were just icing on the cake....

LLamas are funny

2008-11-22T21:57:00.000-05:00

These are some wild llamas Erin and I hung out with a couple of weeks ago up on Cotachachi. Funny-lookin' ain't they?

Quilindaña--the other side of Cotopaxi

2008-11-18T14:55:00.010-05:00

Finally, a new post. Last weekend my friend Jeff invited me to join a trip to Quilindaña which was being organized by Mark Thurbur. Mark is pretty well known around town; he´s been climbing around Ecuador long enough to still own a Chouinard ice-axe, be kidnapped by Achuar Indians and held for a 2 million dollar ransom, and write the climbing guidebook to Ecuador. So, minus the whole kidnapping thing, he seemed like a good/safe guy to hit the mountains with. In addition, Jeff is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines and a DEA agent, so I generally feel pretty good about his presence on any expedition that takes us far off the beaten path (the bullet-proof windows in his jeep helps).

And Quilindaña is way way way off the path.

My local guide friend, Pepinico, says that the mountain probably gets climbed once a year. Hearing our plans for this rarely climbed jewel, three new friends also decided to join us.

Mario--A strong climber who attended the same university as I did, ASU, and knew my father-in-law as his mechanic in Boone!
Patricia--A Fort Collins girl who works with Mario, and loves O´dells brewery almost as much as we do.
and
Caroline--Mario´s girlfriend and an amazing photographer. (The pictures on this post are...well, they ain´t mine that´s for sure)

Upon entering the gates to Cotopaxi National Park, it´s still two hours of four wheeling and five hours of hard backpacking to get to the basecamp. The mountain itself is not that hard, but it is a royal bitch-in-the-ass to get there. Several river crossings and a locked gate that required Mark´s promise to not kill any cows to facilitate its opening landed us at the remote and beautiful Hacienda El Tambo. From this Hacienda we trekked over two passes, and through several wet sections of Andean Paramo grassland before arriving at a small alpine lake nestled at the base of the mountain. Our weather was the typical mix of Scottish/Ecuadorian mush that we have become accustomed to. Luckily, our evening was dry, and the morning dawned clear and relatively warm for 4600 meters. Within the first hour of climbing we discovered what the clouds of the previous day were hiding on the mountain--lots of snow. We needed crampons. Unfortunately, the last time Mark was on the mountain he climbed it in rubber galoshes--jungle boots, and he just couldn´t fathom the thought that we would encounter lots of hard snow. We putzed around for a bit, looking for a way around the hard packed snow, but it soon became obvious that we would need to turn around.

The hike out was much quicker than the way in, though again, we were soaked by the constant rain. Arriving back in Quito in enough time for sushi night with my wife, I was pleased with the new friends made. Mario and I spent the trip trading NC climbing stories. Patricia and I tortured each other with thoughts of Colorado beer. Jeff and I swapped analysis of the latest tent designs. Caroline and I traded journalism stories, and Mark and I spoke about the remodel of his bosses house in Boulder that my best friend Glen worked on. What a small world the climbing community is, and what a pleasure it is to be a member of it.

If you would like to see all of Caroline's gorgeous photos from the trip, they are here. When I first looked at these, I wondered if she was on the same trip as me...I don't remember these kinds of views...I just remember clouds and rain! Also, her website is at www.carolinebennett.com

Happy Birthday, Ecuador Reporter

2008-10-02T16:41:00.003-05:00

The newest issue of the Ecuador Reporter has hit the stands, and it's the one year anniversary issue. I've really enjoyed writing for the paper; mostly because the editor allows me to write about whatever I want! It's been a good place to reflect more deeply on the experiences here, and my latest entry has some serious reflection. After finding ourselves this summer in many instances of negotiations, I finally had to write an editorial on the art of arguing in Latin America. Enjoy, it's a pretty funny one.

Overseas Voting Questions and Answers

2008-09-30T13:44:00.000-05:00

I just got this email from OVF:

Be Prepared: Read the Answers to these Top 5 Ballot Questions

What if my ballot is late?
How can I get my ballot back in time?
Is my ballot on the way to me now?
Can I still request my ballot?
Where can I get more information?

Ballot Question #1: What if my ballot is late?

If you don’t have your ballot by mid-October, OVF can provide you with one.

OVF’s new Vote-Print-Mail Ballot system automates the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) process. Dynamically-generated candidate lists allow you to point, click, vote, and then PRINT your ballot and send it to your election office.

Watch the Video: take 3 minutes to learn about the new Vote-Print-Mail Ballot system from OVF and you’ll have your back-up ballot plan in place.

Note: The following states: AZ, IA, MT, ND, NE, OR, SC, and WA will accept the FWAB as a simultaneous voter registration application and voted ballot; or have no voter registration requirement.

Ballot Question #2: How can I get my ballot back in time?

Express Your Vote – OVF’s new ballot delivery solution supported by FedEx® Express will get your ballot back in time to be counted. Highly-discounted rates or even free shipping for overseas and military ballots - brought to you by Overseas Vote Foundation.

 Express delivery service, low rates, ballot tracking and automatic confirmation of ballot delivery are key benefits of this special program. Available now. Visit: www.overseasvotefoundation.org/expressyourvote.

Ballot Question #3: Is my ballot on the way to me now?

Your election office sends your ballots. To confirm the status of your ballot request, please look up your election official in the OVF Election Official Directory. Contact them directly to confirm that you are on the voting rolls and when your ballot will be sent.

If your ballot is still not with you by mid-October, refer to Questions #1 and #2.

Ballot Question #4: Can I still send in a ballot request?

Check the OVFState-specific Voter Information Directory for the filing deadlines in your state and get going! Remember you must PRINT and send in the Registration/Ballot Request Form that you generate from the site.

Ballot Question #5: Where can I get more information?

The OVF Voter Help Desk provides instant answers to your questions. Check out the updated Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot section today.

Time to look for your ballot!

2008-09-29T22:25:00.003-05:00

Hey, you, American overseas voter. Remember that country you're from? Well, you should be receiving your absentee ballot very soon; and you should turn that baby around quick! Can't get it counted if it doesn't get there in time! Check with your embassy, will they send you ballot home via the much more reliable embassy mail? Do you live in a country where Fed-ex will send (AND TRACK) it back home for free? Is the ballot not showing up and you need to use the emergency Federal Write in Ballot?

Check on all of these things, plus, find the phone number of your local polling station to call and ask questions at the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Quito Fest

2008-09-26T18:56:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we made our way out to Quito Fest in Parque Ichimbia. The concert is exceptionally well run, safe, good volume, tent full of CD's and t-shirts, and great bands. It happens every year, so keep your eyes peeled next year. Friday night was thrash metal, Saturday was rock, and Sunday, my favorite, funk, and hip hop. Que chevre!

Osprey Packs

2008-09-24T21:57:00.000-05:00

Look for us in an Osprey catalog or add coming soon to a gear store near you.

Chainsaw

2008-09-24T21:55:00.000-05:00

What's the old rule about chainsaw length and safety? It shouldn't come above your hip...or, was it your neck? Shit, I forget.

Pig on a Leash

2008-09-24T21:19:00.000-05:00

Pig in a blanket? Nope, pig on a leash.

Flowers and Voting

2008-09-21T13:13:00.003-05:00

Here's a little slideshow from some photos I took while hiking in Cajas National Park this summer with Luke and Erin. Cajas is one of the treasures of Ecuador, as is the town that borders it, Cuenca. Unfortunately, rain was the norm this summer, but that just gives you a better chance to take some pictures of the vegetation without the equatorial sun bleaching out the pictures. Our new Olympus 1030 SW camera also has a handy led light that provides just enough light for a macro shot, without the intensity of a flash. Cool huh?

Also, the new Ecuador Reporter is out, with an article on voting overseas. It's not really typical stuff for my column, but if you live overseas and are trying to register to vote you should check it out here. What can I say, I've felt moved this year. If you just want the quick link to the Overseas Vote Foundation, you can check them out here.

The many faces of Justin "G" Kleiter

2008-09-14T11:28:00.012-05:00

We met Justin in Nicaragua several years ago. Since then, "G" has joined us on several adventures. Most recently, he and his girlfriend, Leila, visited us in Ecuador for a month. Justin is a great guy, with a gregarious personality that suits itself well to the camera (and playing with his food)...witness:

Drinks at Uncle Ho's
Shrimp head at Noe Sushi (yes, he ate it):

New T-Shirt, at, of course, Uncle Ho's:

Riding on top of the truck, four-wheelin' outside of Quito:

Clubbing at Aguijon in Quito:

Underwater at Papallacta Hot Springs:

Devouring a meat platter with Luke Stollings(whose blog you should check) in Cuenca:

I think we'll end it on that note. See ya, from the beautiful town of Cuenca!

You can put lipstick on a pig...

2008-09-14T11:15:00.003-05:00

...but that still doesn't change the fact that while you were busy talking about beauty products for a pig, both Venezuela and Bolivia cut off diplomatic relations with the United States, kicking out ambassadors, and creating something near a crisis in the barn right next door to this funny farm. No big deal? Venezuela is American's fourth largest supplier of crude oil.

Foreign Policy Blog

2008-09-12T13:56:00.002-05:00

My sister introduced me to the FP Blog, one of the best, quick, pieces of reading I do every day. Today there was a note on interesting research being done on the albedo, or reflectivity, potential of white roofs in off-setting CO2 emissions. From the blog:

Stop the climate negotiations. There's a better answer. Two words: white roofs.

If stats from a paper by Hashem Akbari of the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory are correct, re-roofing 100 global cities could stop 44 metric gigatons from entering the atmosphere -- more than all the countries in the world combined emit now.

A white-out never looked so cool.

Close Encounters

2008-09-09T21:22:00.007-05:00

I remember, when we first moved to Boulder, we were immediately star-struck. All the skiers, climbers, riders, and for that matter, places themselves that we had been reading and dreaming about for years while sequestered in the rainy South East were suddenly a reality. When we first got to Boulder, Erin, within a month had already nearly sealed the deal on an internship with Freeskier ski magazine; and was out rubbing shoulders with Glen Plake and the like in downtown Denver. (If I can dig up the picture of little Erin and mohawked Glen, I'll post it later) For my part, my job at Chilis was not as glamorous, but just going to the climbing gym or Eldorado Canyon and hanging out with the hero's of my high-school-climbing-mag-romanticism was enough to make me feel a bit of the red carpet.

It's one of the things I truly love about the climbing world. If I was a basketball player of average ability, there is no way I would ever find myself eating breakfast with Michael Jordan...but, even though I'll surely never grace the cover of Climbing or Rock and Ice magazines, I have managed to climb, befriend, and even dine with at least 6 people who have! (Our own Katie Girl Blue is one, and my long-time friend John Heisel is another.) But what happens when you move away from Colorado, the Hollywood of the outdoor world? Well, you still meet amazing people.

This summer, an Ecuadorian climbing partner of mine called me up to attend a party for Ivan Vallejo. We went to the local sports bar and gobbled up free wings and beer while Ivan spoke about his recent conquest of all 14 8,000 meter peaks. Being only the seventh person to climb all 8,000 meter peaks without supplementary oxygen, Ivan also did so without any of the media glory and sponsors (Rolex!?!) that climbers like Ed Viesturs are lucky enough to have. It was humbling just to be invited to attend his party.

Another Ivan, Ivan Kashinsky used to be our neighbor when we lived in the bohemian Quito neighborhood of Guapulo. Ivan is a modest guy, a surfer and photographer who just finished shooting a full spread article for National Geographic on the female wrestlers of Bolivia. He and his wife, Karla, are now planning a photography tour to the southern tip of South America. Grab a National Geo and check it out!

Finally, we come to my favorite kind of celebrity...the cooking kind. Ever since my trip to Peru in 2004, my mouth has been watering for both the Cordillera Blanca Mountains and the Thai food prepared at Siam De Los Andes by owner and chef Naresuan. As the guidebook says, it's acclaimed across the country as the best Thai in Peru; and this is no exaggeration. While back in Peru this summer, Erin and I found time to visit Naresuan and his family, and it was just as I remembered it...fresh, spicy, balanced, rich, and perfect. But the real treat? Last week Naresuan was in Quito, on his way to his summer home in Columbia. He stopped over at a friends house to stay the night, and to blow our minds with a Thai feast beyond description. That night, devouring my third dish of red-thai-curry, I looked around the table of amazing people gathered for Naesuan's gift of food and realized that you don't have to be in Boulder to meet great people, you can be starstruck wherever you go.

Naraseuan and me at our friends' house cooking up some down-home Thai.

Back "home"

2008-08-22T09:46:00.005-05:00

For the past two weeks we've been traveling around Southern Ecuador and Northern Peru, trying to get out of the city for a break before school starts. We're back in Quito now, and I'll post some pics and a short story about our trip soon, but until then, here is the latest dispatch from the Blue Footed Booby. I think it's a good one, though (for now) the pictures online don't quite match the article...I wish I looked that good in a bikini!

The Blue Footed Booby...swallows his pride.

And, also, a link to a facebook photo gallery of our trip to Peru.

A Short Trip to Peru

In a Catholic country? For Real?

2008-08-02T10:34:00.002-05:00

Well, Ecuador's new constitution has been written...and lo' and behold, there is a bit of controversy. I imagine we'll be getting some "political unrest" days out of this when the voting commences in September. Those are kinda like snow days, but, with road blockades and tear gas instead of snow drifts and frostbitten appendages.

Particularly interesting for a Catholic country, is the inclusion of same-sex marriage rights, and an ambiguously worded clause about abortion that is not definitively pro-life. The Ecuadorian Archbishop has got his habit in a wad over all of this.

Also, finally, indigenous languages are officially recognized...and some traditional phrases have actually been woven into the wording of the new constitution. Finally, the US Air-Force base in Manta will not be allowed to renew it's 10 year lease on the land. But hey, given the trend in the states, they were probably going in to foreclosure anyways:)

Read more here.

New Camera and Old Friends

2008-07-23T10:57:00.002-05:00

Our friends Jess and John E. Johnson recently spend a month with us. It was great to see them, and we are continually impressed with the number of visitors who make the trip to Ecuador. We'll have to write more about their trip soon, but along with six cans of Dale's Pale Ale, they also brought us a new camera we had ordered. It's pretty cool--waterproof, freezeproof, shockproof...in short, every proofing I need for something delicate. We had a bunch of fun rappelling down waterfalls with it, and swimming out and taking surfing shots while they were here...

New BFB

2008-07-15T11:43:00.003-05:00

Though our mighty editor was off gallivanting around England all month, we still managed to put together a new edition of the Ecuador Reporter. This month has an interesting article on volunterism in Ecuador, eating guinea pigs, a spread on the butterfly capital of Mindo, a production of the Vagina Monologues, and several other good articles for travelers and locals alike.

Tomorrow, refreshed from his vacation, our editor sets off for a meeting with the Ministry of Tourism! Anyway, my new article in the paper reflects on the myriad of difference in pre and post race schwag between races in the states and races here. You can read it here.

Splurge

2008-07-14T09:43:00.003-05:00

The end of June marked several occasions. One, our third anniversary on June 25. Two, Erin's successful completion of her first year teaching. Third, the successful completion of a long goal of mine to teach in international schools. Clearly, it was time to celebrate. I was racking my brain for something unique to do, something else than climbing mountains or surfing waves and camping, something we would never ever do normally. Then it came to me...spend money, we never do that!

Leafing through the now well-worn Lonely Planet, I happened upon a Hacienda-Ranch-Hotel near Cotopaxi. This place had everything Erin and I would never ever pay for ourselves...gourmet meals provided, llamas walking around the ranch, luxurious acomodations (fireplaces in both bathroom and bedroom, cotton robes, down comforters, hot water bottles in the beds, etc.) Not to mention that the whole place is built around Incan Ruins from a guardhouse that sat along the Incan highway from Cuzco to Quito! Truly, your head rested against a 15th Century Incan wall while you slept, you ate in an Incan Dining room, and, although the mix with Christianity is kinda weird, you could get married in a chapel made from Incan Walls.

We went for it, we stayed a night and maxed out our credit card at the Hacienda San Augustin De Callo; but what the hell, when do you get to sleep in an Incan House that also housed Alexandar Von Humbolt and Edward Whymper?

If you've got some cash, I highly recommend this place, when you include the meals for two people, and tours, it's not much more than a fancy hotel in the city...and it has so much more to offer. While we were there, Rob and Lisa Howard were photographing the place for an upcoming article in Conde Nast Travler, so keep your eyes peeled.

Interesting side notes:

The photographer we met, Rob Howard, who, besides being an extremely amiable guy, also has made some amazing trips. He's been taking pictures forever, and now works for all the big names, Men's Health, National Geographic, Conde Nast, etc. He's been in the Columbian jungle with the FARC, been held up by Kurdish rebels, and has taken photos of most of my climbing and skiing heroes. We had a great time with he and his wife.

The owner of the Hacienda, Mignon Plaza, is the aunt of one of my students. He and his family own the private (and rumored Incan burial grounds) Hacienda next door to hers. The Plaza family is very influential, Mignon's Grandfather was President of Ecuador in the early part of the century; and the current Plaza's continue to do many things for the people of Ecuador. On the bus out of town, I met a gentleman who confirmed this "The Plazas are good people, they help everyone from the churches to the schools, to the farmers."

Pirato

2008-06-26T10:30:00.002-05:00

Pirated CD´s and DVD´s are a way of life outside the borders of the U.S. Like it or not, there is no stopping the pirating of electronic products. Like a Starbucks on every corner in the states, you can´t walk a block without finding a DVD shop in Ecuador hawking your favorite Alf episodes or the most recent Hollywood release filmed (usually surprisingly well) in the back of the theater. Don´t want to fight the crowds at that Sex and the City premier? Go buy the DVD for a buck fifty from your local neighborhood capitalist.

Strangely, though, it´s mostly DVD´s that are sold, and it is difficult to find music. (Though there are plenty of music DVD´s). That is, until I found the Russian Mob. My friend Carl turned me on to an MP3 store run by a Spanish speaking Russian ¨family.¨ They sell their CD´s for 4 dollars, and each one contains between 10 to 15 albums, bootlegs, rare-cuts, and live concerts of your favorite artist. From Willie Nelson, to Jethro Tull, to Miles Davis, this is truly impressive. For 40 dollars, I just transfered 6 gigs, 1411 songs, and 3.2 days worth of music to my computer...including (John Newkirk and Rhett Baker) the entire Bad Religion collection. It almost makes me forget that the only beer I can get is a cheap lager.

WNCW

2008-06-13T18:39:00.003-05:00

God bless the internet. Because of those little gerbils running around inside my computer, I can download and listen to the best radio station on the planet...88.7 WNCW out of Asheville, NC. When my family first moved to South Carolina we stumbled upon this little NPR gem muddling through it's first year on the air. We've been devout fans ever since. In fact, I would say that listening to WNCW gave our family a lot of direction, in a way it gave my parents a whole new set of friends, and it gave my sister and I something to hold on to from our Appalachian Roots. Through its music diversity, the station has further connected my family. Each of us listens to the station every day, and I suggest you do too. Download the web-stream here.

I keep track of my favorite songs that I hear while at work, and at the end of the school year I've rewarded myself with the purchase of these songs on itunes. Here is is, my list from the

WNCW listen at the desk while grading papers in Ecuador 2007-2008 Best of....

Song Time Album Artist
Southern Suggestions 5:00 Southern Son Michael Reno Harrell
Dangerous Times 4:48 Color Came One Day Chuck Brodsky
How Will You Shine? 5:11 Noble Creatures The Gourds
Wagon Wheel 3:52 O.C.M.S. Old Crow Medicine Show
After Midnight 4:52 After Midnight The Seldom Scene
From Now On 3:23 Secrets Sierra Hull
City That Care Forgot 5:36 City That Care Forgot Dr. John with Eric Clapton
and Ani Difranco
Summertime 3:08 Honey Songs Jim Lauderdale
Floo-id 3:57 Daydream Turbo Pro Project
Steam Powered Aereoplane 4:16 Leftover Salmon Live Leftover Salmon
Falling for It 2:54 Airstream David Wilcox
This Is My Life 3:42 The Golden Hour Firewater
Wine 3:35 Mission Door Peter Cooper
Twenty-Four Hours a Day 3:18 Elana James Elana James
Hard Livin' 4:55 Amen Corner Railroad Earth
King Ebeneezer 6:34 Mountain Tracks, Vol. 5 Yonder Mountain String Band

I also REALLY wanted this Peter Cooper song, comparing Pearl Jam and Nirvana...but alas, it's not on itunes.

http://www2.jsonline.com/multimedia/multiplayer.asp?id=11787

I've Been Tagged!

2008-06-10T09:23:00.005-05:00

I was tagged by dear Katie out in Salt Lake City (a possible location for our back-to-the-States retirement), and I must admit, it's the first time I've been tagged. This is a cute, fun way to learn more about people, so I'm answering the call, tagging others, and also using this post to shamelessly plug my new blog. But you're going to have to read through the "ME" game before you learn about my newest internet ramblings.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
Oh my, the "dark time." I had just finished my first year of college at UNCG where I was studying Psychology and English, but mostly that year revolved around a completely unhealthy and dysfunctional situation with my Cross Country and Track teams. No need to go into specifics. It was bad enough the first time around!

2. What are 5 non-work things on my to-do list today?
Email my bank info to Tie-Care so I can get my health insurance reimbursement.
Order some new trail runners
Get a shopping list together for our July visitors: Jess and John E. Johnson
Squish Bali--and do a family squeeze with Tim too.
Figure out what time the open mic fundraiser begins tonight at Cafe Libre.

3. What snacks do you enjoy?
I'm having a hard time remembering what I used to snack on regularly in the States. Here's what I snack on currently:
Pan de yucca (bread made from yucca flour and bit of cheese)
Dark, jungle chocolate
Bananas
Tim's fresh fruit and yogurt smoothies (he is the master)
Chiefles (plantain chips)
Can coffee be considered a snack?

4. What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Tim and I were just talking about Bali would do if she were a millionaire, and there were some pretty cool things she'd do, so first, I would make Bali a millionaire.
Invest/save lots
Lavishly retire our parents
Give much to friends and charities I appreciate
Send Tim to get his PhD in whatever educational field he chooses--or all, if he so chose
Buy my brother a house and set up a trust fund for the college education of his future children, of which I'm sure there will be several.
Travel the world!
But I would still want to do this international teaching thing for awhile. This job rocks and would so even more if we didn't have to worry about money and how much we're making.

5. Where have you lived?
Boone, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Boulder, Colorado
Quito, Ecuador

6. What jobs have you had?
Ski Instructor at French Swiss
Logistics at NC Outward Bound
Coffee/Counter Manager at Spruce Confections
Executive Assistant/News Editor at the AAC
Education Coordinator at LNT
Full-time Graduate Student and Substitute Teacher
Teacher--Psychology and Theory Of Knowledge in Ecuador

Well, that was fun. I tag: Amanda, Karen, and Jessica to help her get started on her new foray into the blog world (Jess, it's okay to post twice in one week--or one day, for that matter).

Speaking of the new foray (shameless plug! shameless plug!), Jess is going to be an author on my new blog, which Tim will have to add to our friends' list here. Beyond doing a race here and there, keeping up the mileage in the summer and hibernating in the winter, I have not run regularly or with a major goal in mind since college. But next summer I turn 30, and I wanted a major running goal. I've always said I never wanted to do a marathon because of various injuries and what-not. Now I want to try. But not only do I want to try a marathon, I want to try an ultra marathon next July. I guess I just want to know if I can do it. I love trail-running and think it's something I could do all day long. The problem is that I don't really have regular running partners here, so it can be hard to motivate when it's such a solitary pursuit. I created the blog so I could make what I'm doing public, to hold myself accountable for a training schedule, and also to try to entice others to join me--if not in my distance, then at least in some goal of their own so that we could support each other via the web. It is my greatest wish to grow it, so that many women are posting, commenting, getting the advice they seek, and feeling good about supporting friends in reaching their goals.

So consider this your official invitation. If this sounds like something you want to join me in, if you have some running goal that you're struggling to meet or if you want to start on one and think the help of other chicks in the same boat would be a benefit, please drop me a line. You can comment here or there. We'd love to have you. In fact, we need you. I have room for 95 more authors. http://www.friendsrunningforum.blogspot.com/.

Cafe Velez

2008-06-10T07:53:00.003-05:00

My summer employer, Outward Bound, runs trips in Ecuador during the fall and spring seasons. Of course, with my teaching schedule, I´m unable to work any of these trips; but better than working a course down here, my boss at OB introduced me to Jose Niccolas Velez. Jose, or Peppinico as he is known down here, is a mountain guide working for everyone from the Colorado Mountain School to the American Alpine Institute...and of course, Outward Bound. Lately though, Jose has been trading in his crampons and ice axe for jungle boots and a machette. You see, Jose has begun roasting, distributing, and farming the best organic coffee here in Ecuador. Historically, Ecuador has not been well known for producing good coffee. It´s a huge export, but it mostly goes towards McDonalds and Folgers, not Starbucks or Whole Foods. Jose is changing that. He works with local producers to increase quality control, and then he takes the beans home and roasts them in his Ferrari of coffee roasters, imported directly from Idaho!?!

I facilitate ordering coffee for our teachers at school, and what started as a grocery bag of coffee delivered once a month to school has grown into a box of 20 bags distributed every two weeks! Two weeks ago, Erin and I visited a farm Jose just bought. He´s making the next step...farming his own beans.

Enjoy the slideshow, this is where your morning addiction starts....

(remember, you cam click on the slideshow to view it full size)

More Ecuador Reporter

2008-06-05T08:20:00.006-05:00

My third article (this one on coffee and sugar cane production) has just appeared in The Ecuador Reporter, and I´ve been told I might even be getting a fancy business card....que rico!

Even better, my editor is actually getting me assignments that involve drinking!

Dear Sir, We are currently writing a monthly newspaper here in Quito for tourists and travellers that come to Ecuador. Would it be possible to write a column on the vineyard there in Yaraqui? I'm looking to send a journalist there in the coming weeks so as to get the story in there for the July edition.

Best wishes,
Tom Nicolson Editor,
The Ecuador Reporter

We´ve also had some nice complements lately on the paper, the Ministry of Tourism complemented my column directly, and this email came in from a CBS News Producer:

Hi Tom,

I am a CBS News co-producer and news writer who happened to pick up a copy of your newspaper in a restaurant called "The G Spot" last night. I wanted to let you know that I think you and your staff are doing a wonderful job! Keep up the good work. As I´m sure you´re aware, there´s no other media like it down here.

Now if I could just figure out how to get paid....

Bird Watching and Mindo, a Moon guidebook "pick"

2008-05-31T19:17:00.024-05:00

Last month we finally made our way down to the hamlet of Mindo. Mindo is known for being a quaint little get-away, close to Quito, with the above said birdwatching galore. To here birdwatchers tell it, I couldn't wait to find ostriches wandering the streets, parrots streaking though restaurants, and hummingbirds sipping at my white russians. However, though the birds would be a nice icing on the cake, Erin and I were primarily drawn to Mindo for a wedding celebration of two fellow teachers, Daniel and Tanya. We had a a day off on Friday, and so we made a two night stay of it.

A teacher at school and his wife own the newest hostel in town, The Hummingbird; but the wedding celebration brought quite the crew of teachers out to his hostel so we found ourselves at the equally nice Caskaffesu.

Arriving on Friday, we found, of course, rain. That's been the soup du jour lately, but it feels kind of appropriate in a cloud/rain forest. After the rain passed, Erin and I decided to venture out and find the birds. Strangely, there were none at the hostel...even though it was named The Hummingbird. We found a nice trail behind the hostel, and we walked it's length, taking in flowers, dogs, a river, kids playing, but no birds. Damn, you must need to get up earlier for those things...that's what the pros say, anyway. We made plans for a 5Am wake up the following morning. Hey, if that's what you have to do to see flocks of Eagles and Macaws, so be it.

The next morning came plenty early, but to see the sky blackened by the wings of 1000's of colored birds was going to be worth it. We walked through the sleeping village, and towards some waterfalls that would supplement the experience of a parrot landing on my shoulder. We walked. And walked. We passed two professional birders, noting their binoculars. We walked. We stopped and ate our breakfast. We walked. We looked at trees through squinted eyes. We walked. We found a dog who followed us up the road and named him Pancho. We asked him where the birds were. He had no answer. We listened, we looked, we walked. Finally, we arrived at the entrance to the waterfalls...and their they were, soaring across the jungle, six parrots. They were...oh, how can you put it into words, well, they were six green birds flying in the air.

But hey, we saw them, and that was good enough.

I'm pretty sure there are some amazing birds in this photo, really spectacular.

With the bird show all wrapped up, we finally took in our "trailhead." The actual start to the trail was on the other side of a massively deep jungle ravine, and more impressive than the six small green birds, was this contraption which would take us there.

The term: Cable Car really does apply well here, because there is only one cable for support, and, it's powered by a Nissan car engine.

Yes, that thing has a gear shifter, gas pedal, clutch, brake; and yes, I mentioned to him that Toyota was a better motor. He agreed as I nervously boarded the car. Anyway, Erin and I had a calming ride across (the car goes surprisingly fast, he definitely shifted into another gear when we were in the middle of the ravine), and we had a good time wandering around looking at the waterfalls and playing Tarzan in, not of, the jungle.

Having had all the bird watching, vine swinging, and waterfall excitement one can handle in a day, we hitched a ride back to Mindo in time for the wedding celebration. Of course, it rained, but Todd and his wife have a beautiful hostel, the white russians were flowing, we found gnnochi for lunch, and a raucous game of frisbee was being introduced to the town kids, who truly do play in the street. Tanya and Daniel treated us all to a great dinner, and we partied into the evening, somehow waking up at 6:30 for the bus ride home.

Illiniza Norte: Conquered!!

2008-05-23T20:51:00.012-05:00

This past Sunday, May 18th, and my dear mother's birthday to be exact, Tim and I climbed Illiniza Norte with a friend from another American school. Tim climbed this mountain in December with Andrew, back when I was sitting out with head colds. So this was my first go of it. The weather was, well, the same as it's always been any time I've tried to climb a mountain here. Norte also had quite a bit of snow, making for fun and mildly technical climbing at times. We hiked from the trailhead at about 8 am and returned to the mighty "Lando" at about 5 pm. All in all---GREAT day, even if I was a little slow. Norte's summit is at 5,126 meters (just shy of 17,000 feet). While we climbed higher than this on Cotopaxi, Norte is now my tallest summit, and therefore, something I'm proud of.

The sun came out for a couple minutes so Tim had to snap off a few shots of the uncharacteristically nice weather.

We crossed paths with some Swedes (well, they may have been German) pulling a full-on Ed Whymper revival. That dude wore his smoking jacket, cotton pants and Panama hat on the climb. You can see how bundled up we were.

Cold and snowy on the summit, and much unlike Tim's first climb here where you could see Cotopaxi all the way across the valley.

And here's Brian with his mighty Land Cruiser which we had to push out of a muddy ditch that very morning:

And the parting shot--Ecuadorian car wash:

Wednesday

2008-05-21T20:54:00.018-05:00

So, it's Wednesday night in Quito, and in honor of, well, Wednesday, I thought I'd show you a bit of what my Wednesdays look like (not to be confused with Windsday, of course).

Wednesdays are special days for me because I get to do something here that I never felt I had the financial resources to do regularly in the States: yoga. A lovely British woman here teaches a private class to about 8 of us on Mondays (I teach an extra class after school and wasn't able to get in on this class) and Wednesdays.

So here's how the day-to-day looks:

I get up at about 6:20 to start the coffee cookin' and the bagels toastin' or the oatmeal boilin'. . .

I start begging Tim to get up at about 6:35. It usually only takes him about another 5 to roll outta bed. We are out the door at 6:54 to catch the "Teacher Bus" a block up the road. Understand that since our move to the new apartment, our morning walk is now only 3 minutes and we're not sweaty and tired when we get on the bus. Big plus for me!

Wednesdays at school mean an extra hour in the morning with no kiddos. So we arrive to quiet, birds chirping here and there, and smiles all around. Wednesday mornings = professional development.

I begin my day in my classroom where I greet Dr. Freud, who is always there waiting for me.

I teach a total of 4 classes: 11th and 12th grade IB psychology (sooooo fun!!) and 11th and 12th grade theory of knowledge (TOK--soooooo confusing!!) But the 12th graders have already taken IB exams, so I only have two classes which means I am only teaching one or two classes out of the entire day. I think I probably have the easiest job in the entire school.

Most days, Tim and I eat lunch together. If he's out of bed by 6:39, he has time to fix a hasty salad for us to share. Sometimes we eat in Tim's room and have lunch with Megan, my sister in law, over Skype. Today, we ate in the teacher's lounge. Yes, the TV is super-grande, but it's rarely on.

After lunch, I resist the urge to surf the web and actually have time to dream up some pretty alright lesson plans.

After school, we take the sardine-can teacher bus out to our old stomping grounds: Guapulo. The new Shakti Center boasts an Organic Farmers Market on Wednesdays (morning :-p) and Saturdays, Korean massage tables, children's art classes, and our yoga studio.

They even sell spirulina in case we decide we need some.

After browsing the Organic wares and handmade soaps, we meander up to our "studio."

Somehow, we manage to fit 8 students and one instructor into this space. While it's not the most mod space you've ever seen and has no mirrors, it certainly comes with a certain charm and character and we've all become quite attached to it.

However, the weather is turning around lately and we'll have half days in June, so I think I'm going to abandon yoga class until September rolls around again. I figure I've done enough that I can lead myself through the beneficial poses I've come to depend on, and I would totally have the power to avoid Hero pose, Camel pose, Half-frog, or anything else that requires severe pain in my knees. But of course, isn't half the point of taking yoga classes to teach yourself how to be okay with your body and level of expertise in any pose? I'm not necessarily convinced. I think June = running!

After yoga, I catch a cab home where Tim will make some sort of scrumptious dinner--or we'll have sushi delivered. Tonight: steak fajitas and mango margarittas!!

And while cooking, eating and cleaning, we do one of the following:

--Watch the news online (States news)

--Watch news video podcasts

--Watch episodes of Arrested Development (OMG--soooo funny!)

--Watch episodes of My Name is Earl (Again, funny beyond belief)

--or engage in stimulating conversation about life, politics, or where we want to live after Ecuador. Oh yes, we already have list. . .

Tonight? It was MSNBC online.

After that, pretty much every night, no matter what else is going on, I spend the rest of my time playing with, squishing, and snuggling this little princess right here:

And that's about as typical as Wednesdays get around here. Maybe not glamorous and overtly multi-cultural, but I love it just the same.

Current nightly obsession: Getting through the second Harry Potter in Spanish before I have to give the book back for the summer.

New Article

2008-05-09T09:54:00.003-05:00

I have a new article in the Ecuador Reporter. The topic is Rainy-Day Rock Climbing. The ER is coming into its own, and you should check it out for a variety of articles on Ecuadorian tourism, politics, art, etc. The article can be found here.

Personal Safety in Ecuador

2008-04-27T08:25:00.006-05:00

I have avoided this entry.
Well, it was inevitable that this topic would eventually grace my blog. Fact is, violent crime is on the rise in Ecuador. Yes, the vast majority of criminal acts are non-violent crimes of opportunity; but unfortunately we've been hearing more and more of crimes involving weapons and assaults on women. Last month, our car was stolen from in front of our house...on a busy street, with a multi-lock security device in place. Our families hate hearing this, but I know there are readers of this blog who may be traveling to Ecuador; and those people should know the real deal when it comes to crime. This is a long entry, but if you are traveling to Ecuador; or any other place with the potential for crime, you really should read on...

Where are the crime spots?
First of all, where are the places that have seen criminal acts in Quito? The Mariscal is obvious, it's where all the tourists are, and is a blatant gold mine. Late at night and slow Sunday's are the times when you should take a cab even for one block directly to your destination. The teleferi-Q is not so obvious...but crime has become rampant on the slopes of Pichincha. NOBODY SHOULD ATTEMPT TO CLIMB RUCCU PICHINCHA. There have been violent attacks on groups as large as 8 people reported to us by the Embassy. Even the tourist gondola that goes to the top should be avoided, it's going bankrupt and is basically a dangerous ghost town. Other locations to note are the Panacilla and Old Town Quito. Both are tourist destinations, but you should avoid traveling far from the crowded areas around these spots.

Taxi Cabs
Another in-obvious location for crime is in taxi-cabs. Females, especially, should avoid cab rides by themselves; you are, after-all now in a moving car which is very difficult to exit. NEVER get in a cab when there is another person inside other than the driver. Of course, only use cabs that are yellow and display their credentials on the side of the cab. There are legitimate incognito executive cabs in town, and these are less of a target for a carjacking as they are unlabeled, but it's hard to tell who is an executive cab and who is a criminal when hiring one off the street. If a unmarked cab shows up after a restaurant or hotel has called one for you, then this is fine, if not a bit better than a yellow cab! Finally, I'm always wary of a cab, or any other car, pulling up next to me...this is perfect set-up for a robbery and get-away car combo.

Awareness
Speaking of wary, what are the best ways to avoid being victimized? Number one: awareness. Almost everyone who is attacked was surprised by it; they were zoning out, walking along, and then, all of the sudden.... When walking in Quito I am always looking around me, to my side, and behind my back. I look at people in the eyes to let them know that I have seen them and am noting their actions.

Hints you have never heard of...
Walking with authority, purpose, and awareness is the best way to avoid crime. However, I also have some other unique tips. If I need to carry important documentation or a sum of money greater than 10 bucks, I carry two wallets. One is a fake, and has copies of my license, some left over Subway meal cards, a library card, and 10 bucks or so. The decoy hasn't been needed yet, but if I do need it, at least I'm only out 10 dollars. Secondly, if I'm going out and I need to carry something, I put it in a Supermaxi grocery bag. The messenger bags and backpacks gringos wear are walking advertisements. Better to slip that camera in a grocery sack! Next, I don't smoke, but I carry cigarettes. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between aggressive panhandling, and someone who is getting ready to try and rob you. Either way, offering them a smoke instead of money is a quick, easy, situation-diffusing tactic that has worked for me multiple times. Finally, pepper spray can be bought at our local hardware stores...Kywi. The pepper spay is a double-edged sword, it could be used against you (as with any weapon) and some criminals have been known to train and build immunity to it. That said, if your life is in danger, pepper spay could be the ticket for buying yourself enough time to run and start shouting "ladron!" (thief). It's also a necessity for runners or bikers and run-ins with dogs....rabies shots are the opposite of fun.

Buy a cheap phone!
Finally, buy a phone. A Movistar phone can be bought for $40, and comes with minutes included. Once bought, immediately, look up important emergency numbers, and program them into your contacts. Include your embassy, the red cross, police, your hotel, and reliable taxi cab companies...you can even call internationally if you needed to (though the price of that could be considered a crime itself!) At the end of your trip, hand the phone off to someone getting off the plane and reap the Karmic benefits.

Erin and I, for the most part, have felt very safe in Ecuador. The only crime we have been victims of has been our car theft, which was totally non-violent. Watching the news from America still makes me more concerned with the violence there, than the crime we have here. My hesitance to write this blog entry lies in the risk of characterizing the people and country of Ecuador as dangerous, they are NOT. In their debrief to us at our schools orientation, the American Embassy representatives said, and I quote, "given the opportunity, any Ecuadorian will steal from you." This is racist bullshit. Some of my best friendships I have developed here are with Ecuadorians. So, please, take this article with the grain-of-awareness and nothing else-salt that it is intended, Ecuador is a beautiful country.

What would you miss?

2008-04-23T20:49:00.002-05:00

Sorry I haven't been on the blog in a bit, it's been hectic around here since our Spring Break trip to the States....a story in it's own right.

But here's a short one, what would you miss if you weren't living in your home country? While home, Erin and I went on a bit of a shopping spree. We don't have any solid plans to return home for another year, so this was our chance to nab everything we had forgotten, miscalculated for, or had used up since my sister came bearing gifts in December. Number one, was, as usual, Irish Whiskey. Number two, something I didn't expect...seasoning packets without preservatives and MSG. Though the meats and vegetables here are great, we really missed those easy to prepare-Whole Foods-sloppy joe mixes and the such. Who would have thought of that? So, what consumer item would you miss the most?

The Ecuador Reporter

2008-04-05T18:33:00.005-05:00

We've got a new English newspaper in town, The Ecuador Reporter. My friend Jon Dinner is the sports editor, and he convinced me to start a column on my own bumbling adventures. The first one is on Paragliding, I don't know where it will go from there....but it' s worth checking out.

http://www.ecuadorreporter.com

Traffic

2008-04-01T12:14:00.002-05:00

Some might wonder (like me) why one road closure would affect a school that serves a city of 3 million people and a vast transportation network.

Our roomate Dave took this picture from our patio last week, and I think it explains the answer to that question. Because this is how traffic is handled when the road are perfectly fine....

Apparently it took them about 20 minutes to sort this mess out...

Sinkhole Day!

2008-03-31T22:14:00.005-05:00

I just got a call from my boss, and school is canceled for the next two days. The cause? Nope, not four feet of snow, but a nice big sinkhole! I guess this happened next to a major road, and the buses cannot complete their intended routes. Que rado, how weird!

Loss

2008-03-10T15:37:00.002-05:00

This weekend we learned that my grandmother had passed away. Grandma Henkels led an amazing life, from driving a Model-T to riding the Concord, and so I look forward to celebrating her this weekend in Florida. Erin and I will be leaving to the states earlier than we had originally planned, and it is now unlikely that we will be spending much time in Florida at the end of our trip. (Besides the bluegrass show Chopper!) So, the calendar is changing again, but, for the good, as we will now have a little more time to spend in Asheville and Atlanta...two places who were getting the proverbial shaft previously.

Oh, our new truck was stolen as well. It is now likely in the jungle of Colombia. Yeah, bummer of a week.

What to do after you've soared with Condors (Pelicans)

2008-02-28T21:37:00.018-05:00

How do you top paragliding across the placid beaches of Ecuador? Well, really, you don't...but we did tick a couple more items of Megan's "Ecuador To-Do List" while she was here.

#1) Visit the equator. Good, now, where exactly is it? This looks impressive, must be the middle of the world:

There's an E, and an impressively think line, AND, what's that? A sign saying 0 lat/long???

Well, we made it, there's only one thing left to do:

Except, it's not the equator, not even close. The world famous Mitad Del Mundo is 240 metes off, but what the hell, it sure looks good!

#2) Visit Otavalo, the world's most impressive Andean arts bazaar.

Okay, but here's the thing. While it may be fun for tourists to haggle, as they've been told to do, over 25 cents, what I wonder, is, where are the people who make this stuff...and what's their cut? Because, come on, how come every single stall sells the exact same thing, no variations, no ingenuity, replica after replica. My theory? Because someone is getting paid less than the busboy at the Golden Corral Buffet to mass produce these crafts in a warehouse somewhere.

But, you gotta admit, those sure are some nice finger puppets.....

#3) Ramble around in the Andes. Easy enough, Megan and I just zipped up the Teliferi-Q, a ski lift mounted on the side of an active volcano, and there we were. Can't fake nature, well, except for the access to it:)

Cotapaxi was looking particularly nice across the valley....

And #4) Soak in a volcanic hot spring while gazing at the snowy Andes. Volcanic hot springs at Papallacata, check.

Views of snowy Andean peaks? Not a chance in the rainy season, but, damn those baths were good....

Finally, I just have to ask, does our new roommate Dave look like a tourist in this picture? Go ahead, he can take it....:)

Thanks for coming down Megan, it was great to see you!!!!!!!! Now, who's next? Jessica?

Homecoming Email

2008-02-27T19:06:00.003-05:00

(A Copy of the email I sent to everyone I could think of from my address book, I'm sure I left some people out, cause I'm forgetful like that....read on if you didn't get it, and check back for any changes)

Hey Friends and Family,

Erin and I will be traveling your way the last two weeks of March, and wanted to let you know in case we can catch a bite, a climb,a surf, a ski????, or maybe just a well deserved micro-brew (lager is all you get down here, as many of you know!). Coming back to NC and SC is always like a homecoming for us, and that's because of all you! I know all our lives are super complicated and busy (esp. for you crazy childbearers!), and I know it's hard to see every ex-caroliner when they come rolling into town; but here's the schedule in case we have the luck to catch up....

Oh, and we obviously gave up our phones when we moved to Ecuador....and I wasn't smart enough to print our phonebooks out, so, please, if you can send us your phone number, that'll make catching the climb or beer, or both, that much easier!

(Colorado Friends, I copied you on this mainly so you can convince Niccolai to fly you out for some BBQ, climbing, and moonshine...DO IT)

Arrive Saturday, March 15 in Miami
Evening of March 15 to Morning of March 17 in Jacksonville
Leave to Charlotte Morning March 17
Charlotte afternoon/evening of March 17

Leave for Boone morning of March 18
Stay in Boone March 18 to Morning of March 22 (hopefully with a trip to A-ville)
Leave for Greenville, SC morning of March 22 (stop in A-ville?????)
Stay in Greenville afternoon of March 22 to afternoon of March 25 (last chance for an A-ville Trip if we haven't made it yet)
Leave for Atlanta afternoon of March 25
Evening of March 25 in Atlanta
Leave for St. Augustine morning of March 26
Arrive in St. Augustine late afternoon of March 26
Evening of March 26 to Evening of March 28 in St. Augustine
March 28 Suwanee Bluegrass SpringFest Concert in Lake City Florida (come to the concert!!, Acoustic Syndicate, Donna The Buffalo, Guy Clark, Peter Rowan, Larry Keel, Hot Buttered Rum, Railroad Earth, David Grisman, Steep Canyon Rangers, etc. etc. etc.!)
Leave for Miami morning of March 29
Depart for Quito March 29 @ 5:30

That's it for now. If we make any changes to this schedule, I'll probably just update it on the blog instead of flooding your inboxes again. Sorry we aren't hitting Asheville itself specifically, but it may still happen, and I'm sure we'll visit while we are in Boone or Greenville. Also, I'm sure we will throw a party in Boone or Greenville, and I'll let you all know if and when that might happen! Hope everyone is doing well, can't wait to come home and catch up!

Tim, Rookie, Bones.

With Friends Like This, Who Needs...

2008-02-25T23:30:00.003-05:00

To ski Arapahoe Basin's new terrain

To climb the 1st Flatiron in an hour

To see the new babies grow

To sink into a Grand Marnier and a hot spring after a winter day of ice in Ouray

To watch the desert swallow the sun from atop a sandstone tower

...because when your friends send you a care package all the way from Colorado, with a brand spankin' new Sexy Mutha Trucka PBR hat, it's like you're almost there.

Thanks to the Love Household, tonight that name seems particularly fitting.

Blogger Play

2008-02-25T08:25:00.003-05:00

Isn´t that the truth? Public service ads sure have come a long way from the days of Nancy Reagan haven´t they!

I got this picture off of Blogger Play, which is a hillarious addition to your desktop, it runs through all the photos currently being uploaded to blogs...interested in seeing more of a photo? Just click on it and go to the blog.

Apparently the folks at Blogger just have it running on a projector in their office all day long.

Floods

2008-02-22T11:16:00.004-05:00

So far there are 12 reported deaths resulting from the insatiable rains here in Ecuador. The President has declared a state of emergency in five provinces. Thousands have lost their homes, and this is the worst flooding Ecuador has seen in recent history. Our thoughts are with the many families who have suffered.

Though we´ve had lots of rain in Quito, we have been relatively spared compared to the communities along the coast.

Photo from the El Comercio newspaper.

Video of the flooding is available at CNN.

Maker's Mark, My Sister, and a Man Named Greg

2008-02-21T17:35:00.027-05:00

(Note, I've added links in this story...the highlighted blue words. Clicking on these might be especially useful for those travelers visiting Canoa.)

It isn't what is sounds like. I just liked the alliteration of the title, and, well, what's not to like in the picture? Entonces (so), my sister, Megan, was down here visiting us last month from Washington D.C., and there is a bit of a story to go along with the bottle of Maker's Mark bourbon she brought down with her.

As I've mentioned before, Ecuador has a great selection of consumer items from most parts of the world. But when it comes to making a list of items that are missing, somehow, things like Guiness, Sierra Nevada, Maker's Mark Bourbon and the such get elevated much higher than lunchables and squeeze cheese. God, look what happened to Erin and I when our friend Brett's brother came down with a sixer of Sierra Nevada....we had one sip each...

Or, look at the bliss dripping from our eyes as we discover a brand new microbrewery in Quito with my sister...

So, suffice it to say, lots of us are willing to negotiate heavily when it comes to obtaining items which are simply impossible to obtain here in Ecuador. Which brings us to our friend Greg in the beach town of Canoa. We first met Greg back in Christmas with Andrew Clinkingbeard. Greg the "le-rougue-neck" Gilliam is a good-ole Kentucky boy with a passion for three things, his gorgeous family, Maker's Mark, and Paragliding. Coincidently, Megan's mantra for Ecuador was "All I wanna' do is fly like a condor." I put eight and five together, and quickly called Greg.

I think the conversation went something like this:

Me "Hey Greg, my sister is coming down and want's to fly"

Greg "Yeah man, we cun prolly do that"

Me "Yeah, I thought so, listen she's going to bring down some Mak-"

Greg "Maker's Mark!" "Shit man, why didn't you say, what does she need? Can I send a car to pick her up? Do you need a place to stay? we'll fly as much as she wants to. How soon can she get here? What time? Don't worry about a thing, I'll take care of it all....."

So, it was settled, Megan was on her way to bond with the condors. And, actually, Greg is such a top notch individual, he would have said the same things whether I mentioned the Maker's or not...

Arriving in Canoa is a bit of a chore, and so we chose to simplify and expedite things by skipping the 9 hour bus portion of the trip in favor of a thirty minute flight. Problem was, our (Aerogal) plane was delayed in Columbia for the entire day....typical South American travel whining. We weren't the only ones complaining though, and by the afternoon we were in route, with free beers, free lunch, and free Grand Marnier in hand. For travelers reading this blog, I've since learned Icaro is the ONLY way to fly in Ecuador.

We managed to find our baggage carrier and fight off the throngs of crowds around the massive Manta, Ecuador airport terminal....

...and by the next day Megan was off soaring with the Condors (actually, I think she was with Pelicans, but who's counting?) Megan had my camera in the air, and I had hers on the ground, I'll post the pics from her camera later. The first picture is of where she took off from....

I was proud of my sister as I watched her up in the air; she didn't think twice about it, and in paragliding you pretty much just jump off a cliff! I think I was more nervous watching her than she was doing it. Landing back on the beach near Canoa, Megan, Erin and I proceded to engulf ourselves in the beach life of Canoa: sunsets, cold beers on the beach, fresh fruit juice (watermellon (sandia) and blackberry (mora)), shrimp, shrimp, spicy shrimp!, beach bars with Perception kayaks!?! and of course, eggs benedict at the Coco Loco.

Oh, and did I mention it was Carnival?...........

Yeah, that's another story, but suffice it to say that Greg discovered that you can throw a water-balloon into the car of and onto the lap of a cop during carnival and NOT get in trouble over it.

We had many more adventures with my sister, which I'll need to write about in another posting soon. The lesson for today though: bring Maker's Mark and you'll go far :)

Now playing: Flogging Molly - Black Friday Rule (live)
via FoxyTunes

We upped our footprint

2008-02-11T10:18:00.000-05:00

I didn´t really think we would do it. I was really enjoying the good feelings and enviro-karmic rewards of not owning a car, not contributing to CO2 emissions, utilizing public transportation, leaving a tiny carbon footprint....all that hippy B.S. that we probably ought to start paying attention too.

But it just isn´t practical for us, I´m going stir-crazy in this city, I need to get out. For a climber, a car is a necessity. We´ll still ride the bus to school, use the big busses for long trips, we don´t heat or cool our house, 90% of our food is produced locally, and let´s not forget, we´re still not a two car family! But for the weekends, to get to remote areas around Quito, we simply had to buy the Landcruiser. Now, how come I still feel guilty?

The car? 1986 FJ70, never available in the states. By the 80´s we were demanding more refined vehicles. It has an inline 6 cylinder engine, and in four low, if I close my eyes, I can imagine I´m actually driving my Dad´s tractor. It´s beefy, no coil springs, just leaf springs for suspension. No carpet, vinyl all the way. There´s a video on youtube of one of these suckers pulling a stuck hummer out of the sand somewhere in the middle east! It was expensive, not much cheaper than what I sold my 2000 Tacoma for, but as long as nothing huge goes wrong with it, we should be able to sell if for about the same price as we bought it for. This is what I call, an investment in my sanity. Stock market sucks right now anyways, right?

Oh, and I found the youtube video...

Better News

2008-02-08T11:18:00.000-05:00

In a much less intimidating news article than the scary volcano below, my father-in-law, friend, and mechanic of more years than I care to count made the local Boone paper. Many of you know Steve Byerly, and like me, have known him for a long long time (I knew Steve for five years before I even met, and later married his wonderful daughter!). In his classic modest nature, Steve didn´t even mention this article last night when we are on the phone with him...those who know him wouldn´t be surprised.

http://www.highcountrypress.com/buz_spotlight/buz_spot_08/index.htm

Tungurahua

2008-02-08T10:57:00.000-05:00

(Toon-gu-ra-hu), the locally infamous throat of fire has really started looking pissed off lately.

This volcano has been off an on for the past 10 years, but over the last month activity has increased so much that villages are being evacuated, and there are even unconfirmed reports of associated deaths. Quito is not in any danger, nor, supposedly is the popular resort town of Banos...though it lies directly below the volcano. I can´t figure out how Banos wouldn´t be threatened, but the town has yet to be officially evacuated. We´re certainly not planning a trip there any time soon, though the two National Geographic photographers who live above us immediately set out to snap some shots of the spectacle. There are reports of up to 4,000 people being evacuated, though many villagers do not want to leave because of the potential for thieves to come in and rob their unprotected homes....as legitimate a threat as the volcano! Another little reported fact is the effect the falling ash will have on glacial retreat. The glaciers, source of water for so many, are looking thinner than my hair as it is. Now, with a layer of dark ash covering places like Chimborazo, the heat will be absorbed at an even faster pace...a scary proposition.

For now, we just have to hope that the evacuations go well, and that the local population finds a way to resettle....scientists warn that this may just be the beginning.

For more pictures, check the bbc at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/5184258.stm

The Mountain Gazette

2008-01-26T16:55:00.000-05:00

As I'm sure readers of this blog will be surprised to learn, someone out there is actually willing to pay me for this dribble.

I'm not kidding.

My third article was published this fall in the Mountain Gazette, a magazine with a colorful history dating back to the likes of Ed. Abbey and George Silbey in the 70's. I've always been a fan of the MG, and was flattered last year when they published an article by myself and Glen Griscom chronicalling the life and times of Jonny Love...a present for his 40th birthday. On the plane to Ecuador, as I was sadly thumbing through my last MG for what I knew would be a long while, I noticed they were soliciting article for the "Bar Issue." Well, if there is one group with plenty of material for something like that, it would be Team Hideous, my group of climbing buddies. The link that follows is the result of a cathartic explosion of prose on the airplane to Ecuador, and in the first few days of living here.

Thanks to Jonny Love for sending me four copies of the mag all the way to Ecuador, and thanks to my editor, M.J. Fayhee for actually appreciating this shit.

http://mountaingazette.earthbound.com/article/785

And a bit about the magazine, from Summit County's Summit Daily News:

Defining A Magazine

Fayhee cultivated the Mountain Gazette's following by transcending the way many people look at mountain country. Instead of a quick recreational fix or, “How can we make some money here?” he aimed for an honest publication. His understanding of the West and its issues, inflicted with his good-natured and often dead-serious crankiness, quickly generated fans.

Staff surveys show readers to be Baby Boomers or Gen Y’ers — either 40-plus or in their 20s. There's a perception it is “a beer drinking, ball scratching publication,” as Fayhee puts it, but 44 percent of fans are women.

The simplest practices done blindly in mainstream magazines are turned on their ear in the Gazette. Quotes and photographs on the contents page make a reader stop and think. Advertisers run quirky ads that make sense only to people who live in the mountains. House ads — those in the magazine advertising itself — make fun of consumerism or light of cultural norms. Even the standard note about recycled paper content is changed each issue to a laugh-out-loud funny statement about recent news events.

For those who know him, the magazine is a true reflection of its editor. Reading it is like sitting at a bar with the man, after he's had a few beers but not before he's had too many.

Like his understanding of the mountain West, choosing stories for the magazine is visceral for Fayhee. He doesn't solicit submissions and instead of picking one story at a time, plans an issue as an “organic entity,” with each piece being part of a whole.

“I just go with my gut feeling,” he said, recounting a story about ravens chosen for a recent issue. “As soon as I read the first five paragraphs I said, 'OK, this is a Gazette story'.” But he didn't explain why.

Ironically, the Gazette started as a hard-core recreationists' magazine. Called the Skiers' Gazette in the early 1970s, it ran interviews with famous skiers and stories on technique. Then it got into climbing, and then it evolved into a counter-cultural lifestyle publication. By 1974, it changed to its tabloid size and became known among writers as a place to experiment with their style.

“Writers knew they could get away with almost anything,” Fayhee said of the mid-'70s. It died in 1979, at a time when many writers jumped ship to work for the better-paying and up-and-coming Outside and Backpacker magazines.

Today, the magazine's content and readership naturally reflect a combination of its history and how it has evolved. There are writers from the old days, who Fayhee committed to publish at the onset as long as their stories remained relevant, and readers who remember the old product and were happy beyond belief to see it once again on shelves. Then there are the new writers, like Michelle Murray and Brad Frank, who were “discovered” in the pages of the Gazette.

“We keep finding writers out there who seem to be Gazette writers,” Fayhee said. “Seems like every year we get another two out of the blue ... And that's been the cool thing.”

What is even better, according to the 50-year-old editor, is the crop of 20-somethings reading the new Gazette who weren't exposed to the old one because they're too young.

Cars, autos, coches, it´s becoming an obsession

2008-01-21T11:28:00.001-05:00

After posting some pictures of cars on the 4X4-geek discussion board ¨I-H8-MUD¨ I became a bit intimidated in the buying process. Replies to my posting included:

I don´t believe those turn signals or seats are original...
Everything down there is a bondo-buggy...
Looks too shiny, what are they trying to cover-up?
It´s missing emblems, big warning sign...

There are simply too many cars I don´t know of, on top of a market I am unfamiliar with.

I think I´ve found the solution. Our friend, and boss, Susan has a brother-in-law who buys and sells used cars. For 100 dollars he will help us look, check-out, and (hopefully!) negotiate for a car. Seems like a wise investment.

In the meantime, check out some of the new options. Some of these cars are amazing, and were never imported into the states! Too rugged for our collective refined tastes I guess...

Nissan ¨Patrol

Land Rover Defender

Landcruiser FJ73

Landcruiser FJ70

Landcruiser FJ75...WOW

Landcruiser FJ40, tricked out!

And for my Dad, a 16 valve, Alfa Romeo...

Happy Birthday MOM!

2008-01-13T15:13:00.000-05:00

Love You!

Closer to the Cumbre (Summit)

2008-01-13T14:24:00.000-05:00

After the hedonism of an all-u-can-eat Christmas Eve buffet, a week at the beach, and more than a couple New Year's Eve cocktails, Erin and I decided to repent with five days on nearby Cotapoxi.

I had been on Cotapoxi earlier in December with Andrew Clinkingbeard, but his leather boots became too cold, and we turned around fairly early into the summit day. I was determined to get closer to the summit this time...

While not technically hard, Cotapoxi's 19,000 feet is demanding. Lots of people climb Cotapoxi every year with guides. $300 bucks, physical stamina, a mild penchant for suffering, and some good weather will get you to the top of this, one of the tallest active volcanoes in the world. We spent a couple nights in the park acclimatizing on nearby Rhuminaui, and then went for it Saturday night at midnight.

Most of the folks we started with turned around within an hour, the weather was truly horrible. It wasn't really raining, but the moisture from the clouds kept condensing on us, and freezing in the 40mph wind. But, you never know, the weather could get better. We pushed on, following a friend of mine who was guiding a large group. Two other climbers joined Erin and I, and it was nice to have some company on the mountain with Blaze and Dominic, two Polish students from Yale ignoring their dissertations and climbing instead!

At about 18,000 ft. we threw in the towel. Even if we made it, there would be no view from the top, and the weather was getting worse, nearing a white-out. I still haven't heard from my friend who was guiding, he pushed on with his clients toward the summit. I hope he's okay.

Some brief observations for my climber friends:

Not a bad climb, never more than 40 degrees, though I hear it nears 50 at the top
Normal time is 6-7 up and 2-3 down
The refugio is at 15,400, so it's a big day to the summit
Most of the bridges were well covered, it was sometimes really hard to tell where the crevasses were
Saw a "guide" with a poncho on, yeah, like the orange ones you wear to a football game
Many guides do not have helmets for their clients, seems odd
Bad accident the day before our climb: guide and client were glissading with crampons on! They went for about 300 meters out of control, and, the client broke her ankle. Luckily some SOLO guys from VT were there, and did a good job of splinting and evacing her. Glissading with crampons!?!
Most people don't acclimatize, but there are tons of great peaks around Cot. to do so on!
The refugio is expensive, and full of clients suffering from AMS, not very pretty
Much better is to stay at Hacienda Tambopaxi at 12,000 feet until your summit evening. 6 Dollar camping, amazing dinners, and hot showers!

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Now playing: Morphine - Thursday
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Would you buy this?

2008-01-07T12:22:00.000-05:00

1978 Toyota FJ Landcruiser.

You see, the thing is, if you´re vacationing in Ecuador, you really don´t need a car. Public transportation will, eventually, get you anywhere you need. But, if you´re a climber, wishing to visit remote regions, with only a weekend to do so, public transport begins to wear on you.

So, do we risk buying a car almost as old as ourselves, but known to be as solid as a tank? Asking price, $5,800. What would you do?

Oh, and as I´m researching these vehicles, this nifty shot popped up on wikipedia, just imagine the fun we could have...

Nothing says New Years...

2008-01-01T22:38:00.000-05:00

like dinner with friends...

fireworks

cross dressing as a widow and begging for money from cars...

and, of course, beating and burning effigies of political figures

You know how the saying goes, "in with the new, and beat the shit out of and burn the old." I gotta admit, it sure is better than Champagne and Dick Clark.

Hope you had a great New Years! Erin and I are off for another shot at climbing Cotapaxi before we return to work next week, hope you too are having some adventures and having a great time.

Cheers,
Tim

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Now playing: The Jesus Lizard - The Best Parts
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Goodbye to Anddrew, Rick, and Katie

2007-12-23T20:41:00.000-05:00

For the past month we were glad to host three friends escaping the -6 temps from Boulder.

Andrew Clinkingbeard was here for a month, and friends Katie and Rick joined him for two of those four weeks. It was great to see these familiar faces, again reassuring us that we indeed have NOT dropped off the face of the earth. I can't possibly list all the highlights of the time these three spent with us; with experiences ranging from climbing snowy volcanoes, to motor-biking through the jungle, to sushi-night at our house; we had a blast. Here's to you guys for making it happen and coming down here! It meant more than you know!!!!!!!!!! (and I'm talking about more than the imported Bushmills!) You guys rule!

Now, who's next? Bueller....Bueller....

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Now playing: Agent Orange - Living In Darkness
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The Invasion

2007-12-07T17:32:00.000-05:00

I had a request to invade "Tim's" blog. So here you go, G. I thought it appropriate to go ahead and post since I am at home nursing a head-cold while Tim and our Boulder friend, Andrew Clinkingbeard (no, he's not a pirate--that's really his name) are up in the mountains. After a successful acclimatization climb up Illiniza Norte, the boys have moved on and will attempt Cotopaxi, Ecuador's third tallest and very aesthetically pleasing conical shaped volcano. Wish them good weather thoughts. I am positively bummed to not be with them right now and am full-on facing the reality of the sinus surgery my kindly, slow-English-speaking doctor claims I need now so I'll quit getting sick.

Things have otherwise been going well. Perhaps when the boys return, Andrew can do a guest posting on the bull fight he attended while we were at work earlier this week. This past week and a half, all of Quito has been celebrating Fiestas de Quito, the culmination of which was Wednesday and Thursday. Part of the traditional celebration is daily full-on Spanish-style bullfights. Thanks to the bullfights, our classes have been half full for the last week. This made my psychology 11 class particularly difficult as I only have six students when everyone is present. But Quitenos are fiercely proud of Quito and their traditions and there's not much we can do about that. Parents get mad at our principal for suggesting that perhaps education is more important than bull fights, but what do we know? Maybe it's not.

I do want to tell everyone about an incident we had at school that has really been weighing heavily on me. Last Tuesday morning, one of our 8th grade students was kidnapped by two armed men while waiting for the bus. This was horribly devastating and continues to be so as the boy still has not been returned. Everything we hear is rumor, but last we heard, the family is negotiating with the captors who are asking for some crazy sum of money that the family probably does have. Upon asking my students about this, they say taking a child is very uncommon. Usually, captors take an uncle or the father--the man of the house. Indeed, several of my students' uncles have been kidnapped before and one had a dad who narrowly escaped capture. I think that day I experienced my first depression-related culture-shock. This had never happened to a kid at our school before and I didn't understand my students when they said this was something they were afraid of. In a Theory of Knowledge class, we were brainstorming how to decrease our ecological footprints and some kids of course mentioned they could walk or ride a bike, but were quickly cut-off by others who said they would all get kidnapped if they did this. I told them they weren't going to get kidnapped. I had no idea.
I've since made my mild peace with this because I've realized that kids face violence everywhere. One thing we don't have to worry about here is school shootings, which was a worry that always occupied the back of my mind while teaching in Colorado--home of some of the worst school violence in history. It hurts to know my students have to live with this fear. But I don't suppose it's any worse than anything they would face somewhere else. I must say, it was a different sort of wake-up call.

A trip to the chapel

2007-11-25T18:23:00.000-05:00

La Capilla del Hombre, or the Chapel of the Man, is an astounding museum envisioned by the now deceased Oswaldo Guayasimin. Guayasimin is, arguably, Ecuador's most famous artist. In his Chapel of the Man, Oswaldo, has honored the indigenous people of Latin America through tortured paintings, intricate sculptures, and an eternal flame drifting towards a ceiling mosaic of spirits from a mining tragedy in Bolivia.

I found this museum to be one of the most powerful places I have been in many years. I'm on a bit of a Latin American socialist kick right now, reading Eduardo Galeano and being moved by Guayasamin. Of course, there is no easy answer to the racism, bigotry, and indecency handed to the indigenous people of any country, America included, but knowledge must be the first step.

I'll take the readers of this blog on a short tour of the Capilla, but really, you must come here and see this amazing place with your own eyes.

The Capilla was finished after Guayasimin's death in 1999. The pyramid you can see here on top of the Chapel houses his mosaic to the workers of the Bolivian mine.

The Capilla is located directly below his house (shown below, and yes, there is some controversy over the wealth Guayasimin accumulated "fighting" for the poorest of the poor).

You can actually see the Capilla if you look very carefully, from our porch. However, much more interesting for us, was looking at our home, from HIS front porch.

The Long View: (Remember, you can click on these and blow them up if you really want to see what will fall down on top of us in an earthquake....)

And, the short view. Our house is marked by a red circle at the bottom of the photograph. The red line represents the reason I am tired every morning by the time we are done walking to the bus! And the Blue Circle? The mansion set off from the hotel only twice it's size to the right of it? Surrounded by amazing forest in an ocean of cement called Quito?
That's the American Ambassador's House.

But, back to Guayasamin. I'll need to go back and take the tour (which is offered in English) a couple of more times before I can comment on these paintings. I was so taken aback, most of the guides words floated in one ear, and out the other. But truly, this is a place I could go again, and again, and again....

Below is the famous Andean Condor and the Spanish Bull, symbolizing the struggle of the indigenous people and Spain. In front of it, the eternal flame, reaching up to the ceiling mosaic.... For a size reference, don't miss the people sitting to the right.

Finally, my favorite painting in the Capilla, a tribute to the people of Chile, particularly those who suffered under the dictatorship of Pinochet.

Though his monetary intentions have been criticized, the trickle-down-effect of Guayasimin to the native Quechua people of Ecuador today is undeniably symbolized in any native artisan market. Though they may not have swimming pools overlooking Quito, his legacy has left them with plenty of opportunity to pirate a few paintings off to enamored gringos! Mine was 12 dollars.

The Weekly News

2007-11-19T11:06:00.000-05:00

Some observations from this week:

* My wife climbed her first 15,000 foot peak this week.
* I published my third article in the October issue of the Mountain Gazette
* Our friend Bryan made the 5th descent of a local Ecuadorian whitewater run
* Our friend Paul ran Gorilla, one of the SE´s most fearsome rapids
* Pictures and videos of our crazy paddler friends are at
http://www.astralbuoyancy.com/02/news/
* Ecuadorian pencil sharpeners are superior to North American ones
* Bali now has a custom-made, three floor, kitty condo
* It didn´t rain this weekend
* Ecuador can´t win at soccer
* Our walls are getting painted
* We now have Emergen-C thanks to Bryan and Karen
* Acoustic Syndicate plays in Asheville this weekend at the Orange Peel
* WNCW´s web-cast rules almost as much as the Syndicate´s reunion
* Jonny Love t-boned a cop last month, totaled his girlfriends truck, and is now friends with
the cop?
* Items left in cabs, like new cell phones, are not easily retrieved
* Erin and I will be traveling throughout the Southeast for the last two weeks of March
* Guildens brown mustard is now available in Ecuador
* My cousin Steve is acting in Pride and Prejudice in Denver for the next month
* I had my second hair-cut by Columbian Transvestites, they do a nice job
* My friend Colin is having a baby; he has lots of tatoos, Colin, not the fetus
* My sister is NOT working for the CIA, she just has a job in D.C. which involves travel to ¨conferences¨ and selling ¨voting¨ software
* As many of you approach winter, the temperature here has not changed at all, it´s odd
* My parents start moving into their new house this week of Thanksgiving vacation
* My sister is staying in a trailer while they do so...or so she claims...
* Across the street is the snake filled attic of my cousin and Rhett:
www.virginrenovator.blogspot.com
* The blueberries in Ecuador have lots of stems, and are small
* Our friend, Justin, who broke his hip being stupid and skiing out of bounds in Vail two years ago, has finally got clearance to ski this winter from his doctor
* Colorado has no snow.

Erin, I´m trying to SLEEP!

2007-11-16T10:23:00.000-05:00

¨Erin, stop shaking the bed.¨ ¨Really, I´m tired, I`m trying to sleep, okay...¨
¨Tim, I´m not moving.¨
¨Bali, then.... Stop shaking the damn bed!¨
¨Meow.¨

And with that meow, we realized that nobody was shaking the bed except mother nature herself. The earthquake is the first one I have ever experienced, and it was an interesting sensation. I know I know, Californians don´t even notice them, but like so many firsts in life, it was a little surreal for me. Here´s what the AP had to say:

Powerful Quake on Peru-Ecuador Border

QUITO, Ecuador - A powerful earthquake shook the border region of Ecuador and Peru late Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage.

Local media said the magnitude 6.7 quake was felt strongly in the Ecuadorean cities of Guayaquil and Manta.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor struck at 10:12 p.m. and was centered about 150 miles south of Guayaquil, the Andean nation's largest city and main port.

The quake came after a magnitude-7.7 tremor shook northern Chile on Wednesday, killing two people, injuring more than 150 and leaving 15,000 homeless.

Strong aftershocks continued to rattle Chile on Thursday, with one tremor measuring magnitude 6.2 and another magnitude 6.8, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Chile's, Peru's and Ecuador's Pacific coastlines all lie along the intersection of the Nazca and South American tectonic plates, one of the world's most seismically active regions.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)

Finally, speaking of getting shaken, my friend from Outward Bound was recently shaken given some hard news from his doctors after a climbing accident this summer. I´ve linked his website, please visit if you can, and give him whatever support you can consider. He´s a great guy....

www.rockthehealing.org

Generator

2007-11-10T19:58:00.000-05:00

At a party a few months ago, I made an unexpected discovery. In a country known more for Salsa and Reggaton, I stumbled into an Ecuadorian with a Rancid shirt on. Rancid is one of my favorite punk bands from California, and though they are relatively well known, even in the states fellow Rancid fans give each other a knowing nod of the head....cause there aren't that many of us...

So, I was especially astounded to find a Rancid fan in my first month of living in Quito. It turned out that we had more than Rancid in common, we immediately ran down a list of punk bands, nodding in affirmation of each others taste.

David, as my new found amigo is known as, also introduced me to his brother, Mario, as one of the best drummer's in Quito. Turns out these guys, unlike me, walk there talk. They play in a punk band called Edicion Limitado. David and Mario are rabid punk rock fans. When David was in school in the states, he and his brother followed the Warped Tour as if they were the Grateful Dead, they drove 8 hours here in Ecuador for a rare treat, a NOFX show in the coastal town of Guayaquil....and their CD and DVD collection is as rare as Swiss Cheese here in Ecuador.

They played a show last week at the pizza joint/bar next door to us. They don't have a bass player, can't keep one, not enough punk rock interest in this town of Salsa-Swinin'-Hips. As they intro'ed with a song just for me, Generator by Bad Religion, I thought to myself, is this finally time to pick up a four stringed instrument again? It would set me up perfectly for one of those stories for the Grandkids when I'm 80 and drooling on myself in my lazy-boy:

"Did I ever tell you little know-it-all shits the time Grandpa played bass in an Ecuadorian punk band?"

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Now playing: Pennywise - God Save The USA
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Now playing: Bad Religion - Positive Aspect Of Negative Thinking
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Now playing: Fugazi - Forensic Scene
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Now playing: Rancid - Brad Logan
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What should a climbing trip cost?

2007-11-05T22:39:00.000-05:00

Well, about $25 dollars in Ecuador.

This weekend I went with the owner of the local climbing shop to a cliff he is developing in the rainforest. What do you spend on a trip when you have a local haggling for you?

2 hour bus ride to Cauyuja and back: $5.50
Cookies and chips for lunch: $2.00
Churrasco for dinner (Steak and Eggs): $3.00
Liter of Beer, Pilsener Brand: $1.50
Room in the back of house, dry, and mostly flea-free bed: $4.00
Breakfast of fresh cow's milk and instant coffee, fresh eggs, and fresh cheese from said cow: $1.00
2nd lunch of cookies, chips, and Ecuadorian Red Bull: $2.00

Rubber Boots for the approach: At $6.75, the most expensive portion of the trip, but, truly, truly priceless.

Bring your mud-boots Bryan!

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Now playing: Abstract Rude & Tribe Unique - Headcase
via FoxyTunes

Dia de Muertas, Day of the Dead

2007-11-01T16:01:00.000-05:00

As much as I tried, Erin just wasn't feelin' Halloween this year. No fall leaves (Aspen or otherwise), no Halloween candy, trick-or-treaters, or pumpkin bread. Not a big deal though, the stores are already decked out in Christmas attire...and you thought it came earlier and earlier every year in the States!

They do celebrate Halloween and Day of the Dead here, and tonight the kids are having a big dance with the customary lascivious high-school "costumes," and I'm sure, a little spike for the punch. We'll do our best to confiscate, of course.

Day of the Dead is a bit more serious, honoring all the souls floating around this sometimes spooky old city. There'll be lots of grave visits, and of course, Guagua Pan and Colada Morada...Girl Bread and a Purple-Gelatin-Fruit Punch. These are traditional foods unique to Ecuador at this time of year, and are apparently customs handed down from their indigenous history. That being said, the obvious correlation between bread and purple drink and a certain Christian tradition has to be made. In reality, the pan and colada are probably, like most things here, a bit mestizo, or mixed. Any way you cut it, Erin still looks great with that thar' girl bread.

Hope you didn't find a razor blade in your candy this year....I think my Mom just used to use that excuse to get us to throw away three quarters of our stash:) Happy Halloween!

Luke´s Blog

2007-10-31T08:32:00.000-05:00

Check out our friend Luke´s blog, he has some MUCH better pictures from our trip to Banos...

Luke´s Blog

The Colegio

2007-10-30T22:25:00.000-05:00

Well, as we have spent most of our time at this place, it seemed about time to drag the camera to school and waste a planning period roaming around snapping some pics. So here it is, the pics are narrated at the bottom....remember, the best way to view this is to click on it, and open the slideshow in a bigger window.

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Now playing: Royal Crown Revue - Salt Peanuts
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Taking a bath

2007-10-28T20:18:00.000-05:00

Aww, you cheeky thing, you saw this post and thought you might catch me in me skivies, or maybe even less! Naughty naughty. Sorry to disappoint you, instead, this is a little ditty about the abundance of hot springs here in Ecualand. While the constant threat of volcanic activity does lead to some sleepless nights perched here on this hill with skyscrapers above us....it also gives way to some mighty fine hot springs. (Don't worry Mom, the river valleys are much worse to live in).

Here's smoke from a guy who recently went to an orange alert from the local geologists who spend their time watching geologic activity, a hobby only slightly more exciting than watching paint dry.

This volcano, Tungurahua has been threatening the resort town of Banos for the past eternity, and has recently been a bit of a nuisance. In 1999 it became particularly restless, forcing the evacuation of the town, a bit of a drop in tourism (what with the mud and ice slides), and it's still expanding. According to our Moon Guidebook, the crater is now "five times wider than it was when it began to erupt." Bummer.

Regardless, the town is charming and we spent a long weekend here wondering how we survived the bus ride down, climbing, and doing our best to avoid the poo-colored and hair filled local baths.

We had the good fortune to hook up with a local climber, Willy Navarette, who besides owning and running a charming bed and breakfast, likes to spend his 56th year on this planet putting climbers like me to shame. This guy could climb! We spent some time at his local climbing wall, and then on to the local (SLICK) basalt crags. We would have climbed more routes, but a couple of the bolts had been flattened by the last flood of volcanic ash and lava that poured down the valley, ummmm, okay?!? Don't worry said Willy, the Volcano is very tame right now (then why was the cliff covered in ash I mused to myself?)

Now, let me answer a few inevitable questions.

1) Yes, in addition to being twenty years my senior, he is 2 feet my shorter.
2) Yes, his belay hand is entirely off the rope.
3) Yes, the waterfall's are beautiful, they're also direct sewage from the city.
4) The flattened bolt was the third bolt up the cliff, fully 35 feet off the valley floor, some flood huh?
5) Finally, yes, that is a cable car and zip line going across the top of the cliff, and hell no, I didn't ride it, did you miss Willy's belay hand??????????? Safety isn't a real priority here...

After two full days of hard climbing, Erin and I couldn't resist relaxing with a nice ATV ride up above town, and some freshly pressed sugar cane juice, what else do you do after climbing?

So, I'm sure you are also wondering, if Banos is filled with nasty tubs of brown water, and god knows what else, then WHERE are those pools of impeccable blue serenity pictured at the beginning of this blog? One hour from our doorstep, amazingly. In the opposite direction of Banos, Papallacata is the local resort where Quitenos go for a dip on the weekend. We celebrated our friend Aviva's birthday with a luxurious weekend at these springs, which, were blessedly hot and hair-free. Settled at 10,000 feet, in a cloud forest at the tip of the Amazon jungle, these, were, truly, the best hot springs I have ever set my red hot bum in.

In fact, I have to run, I think it's time to head back to the springs. Cheers!

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Now playing: Beau Jocque & The Zydeco Hi-Rollers - Give Him Cornbread
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Health Food

2007-10-19T22:56:00.000-05:00

The food is great here. The supermarkets are new and modern, and, cheap! There is an abundance of wholesome food available, and at prices that would make a Whole Foods employee blush. Organic lettuce is .50 cents, organic sugar: $1.00 for two pounds, lean (I'm sure free range) beef fillet mignon is $8.00 for 6 fillets. We've found real organic peanut butter, all fruit jelly, roasted banana chips, and more fruits and vegetables than you can shake a granadilla at...or for that matter, a guanabana...if you know what I mean! The yogurts are amazing, they are thinned down variations that come in a quaffable jug similar to the yogurt smoothies my Mom used to make, and they have all the tropical flavors your mouth lusts for. The local power bars are called Battery, which makes sense. Very similar to Cliff Bars, but less sweet. Quinoa is the local power grain, declared a U.N. Superfood and popular among Boulderites looking to augment their status inducing Matte Latte's...but here, it's as ubiquitous as diesel smoke in the air. Hell, even the local Bagel shop makes a Quinoa bagel. So, as you can see, we've made quite the switch to healthy alternatives, and are feeling great for it. Here's to smart eating!

The classroom...

2007-10-19T11:35:00.000-05:00

Here´s a quick one, mainly for my Grandma who I skyped with last night. She was asking about my classroom. Amazing, experience texting with someone who grew up in the early 1900´s. Gotta love technology! Thanks again Grandma, it was great talking with you!

The Mall

2007-10-10T23:13:00.000-05:00

We have three very nice malls here in Quito. We've spent some time wandering around them. This is something I would be embarrassed to admit in previous travels (or, for that matter, doing in the states!), but when you are living here, your perspective changes, and that taste of home becomes so nice. I mean, who can't resist thumbing through the latest Abercrombie and Fitch fashions at the "World is Yours," or admiring a new pair of gaffas at the "Sunglass HOT?" Really, who?

Andy

2007-10-10T23:00:00.000-05:00

The Cultura Metropolitano museum in Old Town is hosting an Andy Warhol exhibit this month. Erin and I just finished Factory Girl, a recent film about Andy and his muse, before leaving Boulder. How appropriate to come down here and find this little nugget of a showcase. I thought they did a great job, including some interactive exhibits, some classic soup cans, an "interesting movie...hmmm, Ellie?", and a recreation of "The Factory." All for the ripe price of one dollar. The exhibit featured well known, and, well, as you can see from my slides, some lesser known, but no less interesting, works of Warhol. My favorite was a series of recipes.

Here's the quote from Roast Iguana Andulisian "Since this reptile is not met with on the American Market and is only found in the better gourmet shops on the Galapagos Islands it is superfluous to give recipes concerning its preparation. Let it suffice to say they are prepared like the Burmese lizard." Only Andy could get away with speaking about grilling up endangered species.

Elections

2007-10-02T14:37:00.001-05:00

Ecuadorians vote for a constituent assembly this weekend. Pretty interesting stuff if you are interested in the socialist turn of South America. If President Rafael Correa's people win a majority in the election this weekend, he will be asking them to re-write the Constitution and do away with the (he says, corrupt) Congress and its political parties. Some worry this is too close to a move made by his inflammatory friend in the North, Hugo Chavez. Rafael insists that Chavez is a simply a friend, not necessarily a mentor, and that his (Rafael's) intentions are honest. We'll see! Until then, we've pulled our money out of the local banks, and stocked up on groceries, this could get interesting. Check out the BBC link for more interesting information, including some of the intriguing possibilities of assembly candidates! Because Ecuadorians are required by law to vote, some of these folks will probably actually get some votes!

BBC Article on Ecuador Elections

Banff

2007-10-02T10:02:00.001-05:00

Erin and I have reflected, that in the month and a half we have been living in Ecuador, we have been surprised by the number of comforts available in this city. Really, besides some Emergen-C and a spot of Irish Whisky, we are not want for anything.

As testament to that, this week, along comes the Banff Film festival on its world tour. I remember when ASU Outdoor Programs first brought Banff to Boone so many years ago, and now Rich Campbell sells out the auditorium every year. This is also a huge event at the Boulder Theater, though at 20 bucks a night, I couldn't afford to attend for more than one evening. Here, out local art-house cinema is hosting Banff for a week, and our friend Jose Velez is the director of the festival. Four bucks gets you in the door, what else do you need?

When should you visit?

2007-09-23T15:35:00.000-05:00

Many folks have asked us when the best time to visit is. Well, anytime is great, and even if we are busy working, you are welcome to our house! The weather here is great year round, with the dry season in the mountains lasting from June to September and in December for some reason? The wettest month is April. The temps stay the same year round, "eternal spring."

I've also included our school calendar, including our days off. We're not sure what we are doing this summer yet...

Andrew Clinkingbeard and our favorite bartender from Hapa Sushi, Rick, are joining us in December. We'll be climbing with Andrew at the beginning of December, he and Rick will be creating all sorts of mayhem during the middle of the month when we return to work, and then we'll be either climbing more or sufing to welcome Christmas 2007. Anyone else want to join us?

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Now playing: The Gourds - Gin And Juice
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