Well what can I say other than tonight is a rather meloncoly. We had a fantastic day today and yet tomorrow morning Amber and I begin our long day of flights home; Quito to Miami to Dallas to Seattle to Spokane. Its hard to know that such an exciting trip has come to an end but I know that we have enjoyed it throughally. I know how lucky I have been to share this trip with such a great friend. I'm not sure I would have made it nine weeks with anyone other than Amber. (We've decided the EXTREME closeness must stop when we get back home...no more bathroom talk for sure!!)
Over the last nine weeks, my heart has soared to new heights. I love traveling and that my friends and family call me a 'world travelor'. I can only begin to think where my next adventure in life will take me. What I will be able to experience and all the new places I will see.
While we were at Machu Picchu, we saw a 70-year-old lady fall on the steps in front of us. As others scrambled to help get her to her feet, a woman next to us said "can you believe the 90 year old women in our tour group? Shouldn't they just be dead already??!"
This world travelor vows never to be the latter, but the 90-year-old woman who is conquering new feats through every stage of life.
As we journey home tomorrow, I think it will be difficult for both of us, but this journey has been a long, yet great one. Today I have thought a lot about one of my favorite poems (below)which speaks of a journey inside ourselves to experience those things which we know not of.
Until the States,
Katie
MAR ADENTRO
Mar adentro, mar adentro,
y en la ingravidez del fondo
donde se cumplen los sueños,
se juntan dos voluntades
para cumplir un deseo.
Un beso enciende la vida
con un relámpago y un trueno,
y en una metamorfosis mi cuerpo
no es ya mi cuerpo;
es como penetrar al centro, del universo:
el abrazo más pueril,
y el más puro de los besos,
hasta vernos reducidos en un único deseo:
tu mirada y mi mirada
como un eco repitiendo, sin palabras:
más adentro, más adentro,
hasta el más allá del todo
por la sangre y por los huesos.
Pero me despierto siempre
y siempre quiero estar muerto
para seguir con mi boca
enredada en tus cabellos
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Quito, our last big stop...
Hello everyone, I apologize for not posting a blog sooner. We arrived to Quito exhausted and slept right away. Since a friend of mine is studying abroad here, we decided to meet up with her and hang out, let her show us the ropes. We woke up and ate a fantastic lunch at this little cafe, then headed her place and chatted for a while. Eventually, we all came to our hostel and they ate sushi and we chatted. It was nice having other people around that can add to our conversation. After they ate Katie and I were really hungry, and sushi sounded good, we headed to a different resturant for the food. Don't worry Moscow Mom, we are still craving Bonsai for lunch friday.
The day ended really well and we fell asleep on our nice and comfortable beds. A large improvement from the rocks at our other hostel. And we have great breakfasts and showers!!! On Saturday, we headed to the market. Oh the market, it was incredible!!
Cari and her boyfriend Chris went with us which was great because the whole bus situation was crazy!!! But we arrived in Otavalo around 11 and the market was in full swing, it was huge. We headed to eat first as none of us got breakfast. Cari took us to the pie shop which was incredible, they have a bunch of different types of pie including apple, banana, lemon, chocolate, strawberry, and then some with Ecuadorian fruit. After eating warm pie, we split up and shopped. The market was extravagant. The was a main square area with streets of booths pouring out at every direction. We tried to stay on the main street where the pie shop was, this street went on for at least ten blocks, it was incredible.
As we found more and more booths we got off the beaten path and found ourselves lost in the mass of booths. We found our way eventually but not after stopping to bargain for a few gifts here and there. It was a great day full of people in traditional dress and men and women yelling for food. The products were fantastic and fun and the food fantastic too. After finally finding our way back to the pie shop, we found Cari and Chris ready to eat lunch.
We opted for a mexican resturant which was good and simple. Then we made our way back to the pie shop, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take some with us back to Quito. About three hours later we found ourselves back at our hostel, exhausted from the day. We ate our pie and slept.
Sunday we slept in and it was wonderful. As most things are closed we went to lunch, then headed to the mall. It was huge and a ton of fun to shop around. I really enjoy Quito's Spanish. I can understand them really well and they understand me. When in one store, they needed me to give them a cell phone number or my passport; I recited my passport number in spanish as if it was the language I always speak. We spent a bit and had a blast finding last minute gifts. Then we ended the evening with a celebration tapas dinner and some wine and getting sad about our departure but excited for the next adventure.
Quito's been warm but breezy, it's not hot by any means. We definitely need a light jacket at times but our faces are getting a bit more color. Well, it's getting more freckles if anything.
We'll post more as we see more of Quito. Tomorrow we are headed to the middle of the world, where we will stand on the equator. Then we have our last day in the city and fly our early morning on Thursday.
As the days wind down, we will keep you as informed as possible!!
Love you all,
Amber
The day ended really well and we fell asleep on our nice and comfortable beds. A large improvement from the rocks at our other hostel. And we have great breakfasts and showers!!! On Saturday, we headed to the market. Oh the market, it was incredible!!
Cari and her boyfriend Chris went with us which was great because the whole bus situation was crazy!!! But we arrived in Otavalo around 11 and the market was in full swing, it was huge. We headed to eat first as none of us got breakfast. Cari took us to the pie shop which was incredible, they have a bunch of different types of pie including apple, banana, lemon, chocolate, strawberry, and then some with Ecuadorian fruit. After eating warm pie, we split up and shopped. The market was extravagant. The was a main square area with streets of booths pouring out at every direction. We tried to stay on the main street where the pie shop was, this street went on for at least ten blocks, it was incredible.
As we found more and more booths we got off the beaten path and found ourselves lost in the mass of booths. We found our way eventually but not after stopping to bargain for a few gifts here and there. It was a great day full of people in traditional dress and men and women yelling for food. The products were fantastic and fun and the food fantastic too. After finally finding our way back to the pie shop, we found Cari and Chris ready to eat lunch.
We opted for a mexican resturant which was good and simple. Then we made our way back to the pie shop, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take some with us back to Quito. About three hours later we found ourselves back at our hostel, exhausted from the day. We ate our pie and slept.
Sunday we slept in and it was wonderful. As most things are closed we went to lunch, then headed to the mall. It was huge and a ton of fun to shop around. I really enjoy Quito's Spanish. I can understand them really well and they understand me. When in one store, they needed me to give them a cell phone number or my passport; I recited my passport number in spanish as if it was the language I always speak. We spent a bit and had a blast finding last minute gifts. Then we ended the evening with a celebration tapas dinner and some wine and getting sad about our departure but excited for the next adventure.
Quito's been warm but breezy, it's not hot by any means. We definitely need a light jacket at times but our faces are getting a bit more color. Well, it's getting more freckles if anything.
We'll post more as we see more of Quito. Tomorrow we are headed to the middle of the world, where we will stand on the equator. Then we have our last day in the city and fly our early morning on Thursday.
As the days wind down, we will keep you as informed as possible!!
Love you all,
Amber
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Environmentally Friendly
Through out any adventure, such as this one, you have a lot of time on your hands to think. To think about everything. Who you are. What you want to be. What the future may hold. I think a lot of this adventure has made me realize who I am and what I want.
Part of who I am, I've realized, is a very environmentally friendly person. The green movement is so fantastic to me and I am so happy to see others finally catching on. The otherday Amber read me an online article about how Seattle has just passed a law for $0.20 be added to every plastic bag that is used from a store. It also passed a law banning resturants from using styrofoam containers. With the city of Seattle using over 320 MILLION plastic bags a year, this seems like such a proactive step towards global consciousness. In Buenos Aires, we met an Irish woman named Shivonne who said that all of Ireland charges for the use of plastic bags.
When we were in Cuzco a few weeks ago, we were having a snack and I realized that my recycled, glass bottle of Sprite was made in 1995. How many plastic bottles have not been added to the world's landfills by reusing that bottle hundreds of times over? (Not only Perù, but most of Europe and many other countries reuse their glass bottles as they can be disinfected and reused an infinite amount of times...after all glass is a product that never deteriorates like only being able to recycle paper 7 times.)
While arriving here in Ecuador, I was saddened to watch the woman in front of me throw sytrofoam and plastic bottles out the window of the bus as we drove through the gorgeous landscape of Ecuador.
Its hard for me to realize that there are so many people in the world who take it all for granted. One day our world will deplenish and we will be left to deal with the consequences of our indulgent past.
Part of who I am, I've realized, is a very environmentally friendly person. The green movement is so fantastic to me and I am so happy to see others finally catching on. The otherday Amber read me an online article about how Seattle has just passed a law for $0.20 be added to every plastic bag that is used from a store. It also passed a law banning resturants from using styrofoam containers. With the city of Seattle using over 320 MILLION plastic bags a year, this seems like such a proactive step towards global consciousness. In Buenos Aires, we met an Irish woman named Shivonne who said that all of Ireland charges for the use of plastic bags.
When we were in Cuzco a few weeks ago, we were having a snack and I realized that my recycled, glass bottle of Sprite was made in 1995. How many plastic bottles have not been added to the world's landfills by reusing that bottle hundreds of times over? (Not only Perù, but most of Europe and many other countries reuse their glass bottles as they can be disinfected and reused an infinite amount of times...after all glass is a product that never deteriorates like only being able to recycle paper 7 times.)
While arriving here in Ecuador, I was saddened to watch the woman in front of me throw sytrofoam and plastic bottles out the window of the bus as we drove through the gorgeous landscape of Ecuador.
Its hard for me to realize that there are so many people in the world who take it all for granted. One day our world will deplenish and we will be left to deal with the consequences of our indulgent past.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
17 buses later...
We're finally here. Safe and sound in Ecuador. And I don't want to get on another long distance bus. Good thing we only have one more to Quito!
We actually didn't have too much of a problem for our bus rides. The buses in Peru were quite nice because of the company we went through. When we arrove in Tumbes it was so hot and muggy, even at 9am. We were glad to not stay in that city but to take a taxi to the border and take us into the city. The cab driver insisted we lock our doors because the border crossing was so unsafe. I think for the first, and hopefully only, time on this trip I felt rather scared and unsafe. The cab driver told us about how the day before the border was closed because the cuidanos were on protest against the government. We felt lucky to be crossing but eventually had to leave our cab and hike the backstreets of the city to get over the border, into a Ecuadorian taxi, and then have our papers processed (the actual border wasn't used because our taxi driver told us it was more dangerous to walk over the official crossing -- where they try to charge you to enter Ecuador). So without too much hassle, we made it into Ecuador but our taxi driver charged us a "safety" fee on our bus ticket and I think we ended up wasting a lot of money on it. We could have done it ourselves but at that time it was difficult to imagine going through all of that after being on a bus for two days. We just needed to cross the border and be on our way to Cuenca so that we could feel more secure, and have a good night's sleep.
Speaking of which, our hotel we are staying at is $11 a night for each of us (and as our taxi driver told us, Cuenca is the most expensive city in Ecuador). We have a hot shower (I can't remember the last one we had...was in Potosì, 3 weeks ago) and a rock for a bed. Amber actually compared it to the Salar Hotel which was a bed that was on bricks of salt. SOOOOOOOO hard. However, we tried looking at multiple hotels and hostels in town for a little more and a little less money, but the ammenities were the same. So we'll stay in our hard bed hotel and enjoy the location and the fantastic shower. We enjoyed the shower so much we each showered last night and again this morning. I miss the hot water. The water pressure sucks here, so we're looking forward to coming home and having a hot shower with water pressure (something that is unheard of in south america apperantly)!
This city, Cuenca, is one of our favorites so far. Its another city, like Salta, Argentina, that is a large city but has a small city feel. We enjoy the ambiance of the city and the colonial buildings. Our hotel is only a few blocks from the city center and there's lots of fun botiques and stores. Moscow Mom, there's even a flower market here...I plan to take photos for you tomorrow!
As for everything else we are enjoying our last week, well 8 days, here in Ecuador and enjoying the bananas (we haven't had any yet but that'll soon change)! We had an amazing breakfast this morning. We are very much looking forward to coming home though. We both need massages as our necks and backs are at their limits. Hopefully the next week wont be too rough.
Can't wait for Sushi and Batman,
Katie Beth
P.S. There was a woman on our bus to Cuenca that had about 200 pounds worth of garlic with her. I'm not sure if you've ever seen that much garlic but it was ridiculous. I'm sure it made our bus ride go that much slower :P
We actually didn't have too much of a problem for our bus rides. The buses in Peru were quite nice because of the company we went through. When we arrove in Tumbes it was so hot and muggy, even at 9am. We were glad to not stay in that city but to take a taxi to the border and take us into the city. The cab driver insisted we lock our doors because the border crossing was so unsafe. I think for the first, and hopefully only, time on this trip I felt rather scared and unsafe. The cab driver told us about how the day before the border was closed because the cuidanos were on protest against the government. We felt lucky to be crossing but eventually had to leave our cab and hike the backstreets of the city to get over the border, into a Ecuadorian taxi, and then have our papers processed (the actual border wasn't used because our taxi driver told us it was more dangerous to walk over the official crossing -- where they try to charge you to enter Ecuador). So without too much hassle, we made it into Ecuador but our taxi driver charged us a "safety" fee on our bus ticket and I think we ended up wasting a lot of money on it. We could have done it ourselves but at that time it was difficult to imagine going through all of that after being on a bus for two days. We just needed to cross the border and be on our way to Cuenca so that we could feel more secure, and have a good night's sleep.
Speaking of which, our hotel we are staying at is $11 a night for each of us (and as our taxi driver told us, Cuenca is the most expensive city in Ecuador). We have a hot shower (I can't remember the last one we had...was in Potosì, 3 weeks ago) and a rock for a bed. Amber actually compared it to the Salar Hotel which was a bed that was on bricks of salt. SOOOOOOOO hard. However, we tried looking at multiple hotels and hostels in town for a little more and a little less money, but the ammenities were the same. So we'll stay in our hard bed hotel and enjoy the location and the fantastic shower. We enjoyed the shower so much we each showered last night and again this morning. I miss the hot water. The water pressure sucks here, so we're looking forward to coming home and having a hot shower with water pressure (something that is unheard of in south america apperantly)!
This city, Cuenca, is one of our favorites so far. Its another city, like Salta, Argentina, that is a large city but has a small city feel. We enjoy the ambiance of the city and the colonial buildings. Our hotel is only a few blocks from the city center and there's lots of fun botiques and stores. Moscow Mom, there's even a flower market here...I plan to take photos for you tomorrow!
As for everything else we are enjoying our last week, well 8 days, here in Ecuador and enjoying the bananas (we haven't had any yet but that'll soon change)! We had an amazing breakfast this morning. We are very much looking forward to coming home though. We both need massages as our necks and backs are at their limits. Hopefully the next week wont be too rough.
Can't wait for Sushi and Batman,
Katie Beth
P.S. There was a woman on our bus to Cuenca that had about 200 pounds worth of garlic with her. I'm not sure if you've ever seen that much garlic but it was ridiculous. I'm sure it made our bus ride go that much slower :P
Saturday, July 26, 2008
12 days and counting...
We are FINALLY leaving Arequipa. Don't get me wrong, its a perfectly nice city...but only for the 2-3 days that we wanted to stay here in the first place. We met some great people, but we're tired of being here. Especially now since we have a smoker in our room. Last night when we came home from dinner, our room stunk like cigarette smoke really badly and we asked our new roommate if he was smoking in the room. He just smiles and says "sí", like it wasn't a big deal.
I know what you must be thinking: ewww, in south america they let people smoke in the dorm rooms??! Well, no, they don't. The guy was just rude. He also slept in until noon which made our packing in the dark very difficult and long this morning.
As much as I feel I haven't bought enough gifts for family and/or friends, I feel as if my bag seems to be getting heavier. I guess I need to stop buying things for me! Last night before dinner, Amber and I stopped into the greatest little shop and bought a fantastic black and white pottery vase. It was only $20 too! Its fantastic. Hopefully we'll find some great stuff in Ecuador too!
Well we are off tonight for a 13 hour bus ride to Lima and arrive at 11am. Then we get onto another bus at 3pm and arrive in Tumbes, very northern Peru, at 9am...18 hours later. Then we hope to find a bus directly to Cuenca, which we assume is about 6 hours away. Otherwise we will take a bus from Tumbes to Machala (2 hours) and then a bus to Cuenca (4 hours). Uffff. We're not crazy, just running out of time after being stuck in Arequipa for soooooo long.
Well this delicious city, filled with the best cake in the country, is calling our name one last time. Well at least the cake is.
Until Ecuador!!!
K&A
I know what you must be thinking: ewww, in south america they let people smoke in the dorm rooms??! Well, no, they don't. The guy was just rude. He also slept in until noon which made our packing in the dark very difficult and long this morning.
As much as I feel I haven't bought enough gifts for family and/or friends, I feel as if my bag seems to be getting heavier. I guess I need to stop buying things for me! Last night before dinner, Amber and I stopped into the greatest little shop and bought a fantastic black and white pottery vase. It was only $20 too! Its fantastic. Hopefully we'll find some great stuff in Ecuador too!
Well we are off tonight for a 13 hour bus ride to Lima and arrive at 11am. Then we get onto another bus at 3pm and arrive in Tumbes, very northern Peru, at 9am...18 hours later. Then we hope to find a bus directly to Cuenca, which we assume is about 6 hours away. Otherwise we will take a bus from Tumbes to Machala (2 hours) and then a bus to Cuenca (4 hours). Uffff. We're not crazy, just running out of time after being stuck in Arequipa for soooooo long.
Well this delicious city, filled with the best cake in the country, is calling our name one last time. Well at least the cake is.
Until Ecuador!!!
K&A
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