Breakfast at my hostal was lovely and only $3.50 at their outdoor dining area overlooking the river. There was a trellis overhead with orange flowers framing a peaceful view, a serene way to start the day. I made friends with a fellow Californian during breakfast too. (:
After breakfast it was time to jump start to my adrenaline, went zip lining in the cloud forest. The company has 3200 meters of zip lines, it was thrilling and a wee bit scary. I was putting my life in the hands of a wire! Literally.
Michael & I made friends with 2 Ecuadorans & a Swiss woman whilst awaiting our turns, what nice people they were. Through my broken Spanish I discovered that the Swiss woman is here in Ecuador studying Spanish for 3 months in a small village nearby. Of course they asked the requisite questions, marital status and age, one would think I am used to it by now, but it still surprises me.
During zip lining there were several poses one could do if they were feeling brave. "Superman" was with the tourist & a guide, with the tourist straddling the guides waist while facing down with their arms extended. "Mariposa" was when the tourist & guide would face each other, the guide would take the legs of the tourist & hang them upside down while swinging them back & forth like a rag doll. I opted out of both of those.
After risking our lives it was time for the butterfly garden. Our new friends joined us, and off we went. On the walk to I chatted with an Ecuadoran woman who is a school psychologist. Children with autism in Ecuador go to special schools and there are not many. The current president is pushing for inclusion but there is limited support for that. She also inquired as to whether she could come volunteer in the States with children with special needs. Suggestions anyone?
At the Jardin de Mariposas (butterfly garden) it was so beautiful flowers everywhere and butterflies of every shape & size. After putting banana on my finger I had a visit from the largest species, the owl butterfly, it was so cool. Sad to hear they only live for one month.
We ate lunch there, I had a falafel, it was such a nice change to not have rice! I may be going on a rice hiatus upon my return.
Post lunch it was off to the chocolate factory. YUM! Best brownies ever. Interesting facts were abound, for example did you know that the cocoa tree can only be grown 20 degrees north & 20 degrees south of the equator? Traditional cocoa trees take 7-8 years to bear fruit and only produce fruit for 20 years. More and more growers are going with a GMO tree that produces fruit within 2 years but the fruit it produces is mostly cocoa butter (80%) and therefore not the quality of traditional cocoa. During the tour we were offered to suck on one of the nibs fresh out of the fruit. The instructions "Pull it out of the placenta and suck on it." Once he said placenta I was a no way Jose.
We were able to try fresh unsweetened chocolate; yowza it was strong. It was then paired with sugar, ginger, & pepper. My favorite combo was sugar and ginger. I bought cocoa powder to make hot chocolate at home and remember this "alpine village."
Dinner was pizza out of a brick fired oven, it was fantastic. We ran into an English chap that had been on the chocolate tour & Michael got to be the majority for once. Over dinner we discussed the pronunciation & meaning of various words; it was grin inducing. Dinner=tea. How does one know the difference between having a cup of tea and having dinner? Obviously it was a "deep thoughts" dinner.
Although they told me that Americans are overly optimistic and have no sense of humor. Really? Last time I checked we were funny as hell. Okay maybe just a couple of us, but seriously I would rather have a stereotype of being overly optimistic than some of the other options.
Following dinner it was off to the bars in Mindo. That would be all two of them. Okay really there were probably 5, including a "California Discotheque." The bar we chose played music videos from the 80's & 90"s. I had to explain to Michael who Milli Vanilli was.
We ran into friends and enjoyed $1.50 beers while sharing stories of our lives. This is what I love about traveling solo. I meet so many interesting people who have lived such different lives, been to so many places, and always have stories to share. It is as if we kindred spirits find each other and make connections that hopefully will continue into the future. All in all it was a fantastic evening, maybe the best yet in Ecuador. (:
Sunday morning I awoke with a smile on my face and it was off to horseback riding. Or shall we say taking my life into my hands once again. No helmets here, nor instructions, just get on the horse and go! I was seriously scared. We rode with 4 other people, two of which were the handlers, and the horses seemed to know where they were going for the most part.
Hangover+ trotting horse= no good on the stomach. We also got to gallop, it was thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I heard the theme to "The Magnificent Seven" in my head as Michael and I tried to hang on for dear life as the horses galloped as if they were on a mission for something. I thought of people in the movies looking so graceful, how does that happen? One question: Why aren't saddles padded? Seriously. Renewed my interest in horseback riding lessons when I get home, but this lady will be rockin' a helmet for sure! Not sure if in the US they would throw ya on a horse and let it gallop away. lol.
That afternoon following a veggie burger (can you believe it?) it was time to head back to the reserve. I stocked up on snack food (see: potato chips of every flavor and one piece of every candy that was non-american) to tide me through the week.
Returned to the reserve Sunday afternoon, and was completely exhausted. Took a shower after dinner, a spider the size of a baby's hand crawled up one leg & jumped to my other leg while I was in the shower. Totally gave me the heeby jeebys.
Monday morning it was back to the garden with Luis who asked me first thing why I didn't water the plants over the weekend. I explained my trip via pantomime, I think I am ready for charades after all this pantomiming.
In the garden I planted three more beds, got into some discussions with Luis who thinks I do not hoe correctly. I shoveled, raked, and prepared a bed for seeds, he promptly followed behind me and re-did it all. He kept asking what kind of seeds they were, I said "picante" for peppers as I don't know what the Spanish translation is. Through explanation I called it an "experimento," he replied that when the founders visit he will tell them it was me. I had to laugh. Quote of the day from Luis " Vida es no perfecto." Isn't that the truth. I am actually enjoying working with him despite the fact that he refuses to use the actual toilet to go to the bathroom. Seriously.
Michael and I had lunch with the local manager Arsenio which was... you guessed it rice! During lunch I found out that Arsenio tried to come to the states twice to study orchids but the Ecuadorean embassy refused his exit visa. The exit visa to go to another country is $500-600. One of his sons is studying in Costa Rica right now and had to get a $500 visa just to visit for Christmas. Makes me once again appreciate that the United States will let you leave without charging or making you go through hoops. We really do have it quite good.
In addition I found out about Arsenio's family, he is married with five children, but two of them have passed away. The first was stillborn and the second was his little boy that died at the age of ten via a automobile accident. My heart broke for him. I said I was sorry, he replied "This is life" with tears in his eyes. Later Michael and I saw his copy of the New Testament in the office (he is the musical leader at his church), there was a picture of his diseased son in it. Michael realized that he is the same age that Arsenio's son would have been. Life is so fragile.
Afternoon was spent in the orchid garden, I think this will be the routine for the week. Am starting to wish I had a book on tape as I have a massive amount of mellow music on my Ipod that just makes me want a siesta. Trying to find zen moments in it but it is so difficult to not count the minutes.
We had tourists here Monday morning, but last night it was just Michael and I, the place is like a ghost town. Dinner was... rice again. Am enjoying the solitary moments but thinking of home often. Spoke with Grammy over the weekend who broke her wrist, thinking of her constantly and wishing I was there to help her. Much love to all.
1 comment:
I can't believe Michael didn't know Milli Vanilli! That boy is young!
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