Baños

I arrived in Baños around 8:30pm with little incident after a three and a half hour bus ride from Quito.  I wandered until I found the Hostel Plantas y Blancas, got a room, then headed to the Casa Hood for some dinner.  I ordered a plate of beans, rice, and salad and while I ate and several different bands and singers came and went I began chatting with the woman at the table next to me.  She’s been traveling for quite some time, including having lived in Buenos Aires for a while.  As it was her birthday the next day she was celebrating and I joined her with a delicious brownie of my own.  Her friend joined us part way through and we all stayed chatting until the restaurant kicked us out at closing time.  I went back to meet my roommate for the night.

Nicolas, from Belgium, greeted me as I entered our room.  He had been traveling around South America but was on his way home for a family emergency.  We stayed up chatting until about early in the morning, then finally got some sleep.

I spent my Saturday morning on the roof top terrace of my hostel, enjoying a big breakfast and chatting with a variety of individuals, including an independent film maker.  In the afternoon I went for a walk on the trails, then returned to read, relax, and head to Casa Hood once more for dinner.  In the evening I was joined by a woman from Ireland in my room and we chatted then I headed to the Piscinas de la Virgen, the natural hotsprings, situated under a waterfall.  I was the only white individual there, which was very interesting, but also meant that I got to converse with a bunch of locals.  After an hour at the hotsprings I returned to the hostel and bed.

In the morning I went for a massage, facial, and pedicure then went to book Paragliding for the afternoon.  I checked out of my hostel then met up with Edgar and Isreal, as well as a girl from Isreal and we headed out of town to find some wind.  The flying was fantastic, I can see myself becoming a paragliding pilot in the future, its so freeing!  After I went I sat with Isreal and watched my companion fly.  Late in the afternoon we finally headed back down, stopping several times on the way to take photos of the volcano.  Once back in Baños, I exchanged contact info with the girl from Isreal then headed to the bus stop to catch a bus to Puyo, my home for the next three weeks.

Clinical and Lingual Experiences

Upon arrival at my host family’s house I was greeted by Rosita, the local coordinator and my host mom. She took me down to my room, introduced me to Davinder, then left me to unpack and sleep as I wished. I didn’t stay up too late, as we had our orientation in the morning at the spanish school. On Sunday we drove to the Amazing Andes Spanish School, got the lowdown on expectations during our stay, then Davinder, Raj and I went for some lunch at Gus. After lunch Davinder and I headed to el Mitad del Mundo, the equator. We visited the Indigenous museum there, enjoying the view from the top, then took some equator straddling photos to have some tourist shots, Davinder even planked across the equator.

We caught bus back that got us to El Centro and met a guy from Quebec as we got off. We joined him for coffee in the Plaza San Francisco and he told us stories about getting mugged twice, the first at knife point. Note to self: be smart about where I go at what time and with who…
We then headed back to Rosita’s house where we met the other two students, Kelsey and Courtney, ate dinner, then headed to bed excited for Spanish classes the next day. Monday and Tuesday were 7 hours each of Spanish, with a meeting with my Puyo medical director on Monday and salsa class on Tuesday after Spanish.

Wednesday was Davinder and my first clinical rotation at El Centro de Salud #1. We had a slow morning in the ER, only a couple of ulcers, kidney stones, strep throat, a dog bite, and a hook stuck in a foot. At one point a man with a gun passed us and there were calls to close all the doors (I’m still not sure what that was all about). Shortly there after an ambulance stopped by and a young woman was wheeled in. Turns out she was in labour so we followed along and watched a rather quick 20 minute birth of a beautiful baby girl. Once it was time to take mother and daughter back to the ward I got the honors of carrying the little girl… mom still hadn’t had the chance to hold her. After that Davinder and I ran upstairs to meet with Dra. Magdalena Castro to arrange our schedule for the next day then we headed to a Krishna restaurant for lunch before catching the trole back to our Spanish school for our afternoon class.

After class I headed back to my Tropical Dance class (today included Salsa, Merengue, Reggaeton, samba, and lambada). The lesson continues until 6:30, by which time I was very tires then I returned home for dinner then bed.

Thursday at the Hospital: Davinder and I found ourselves in El Plaza Grande for a free Influenza vaccination clinic, set up under a tent with the workers inviting anyone over 65, under 5, diabetics, and those with high blood pressure to get their influenza vaccination. Giving your name and age was all it took to get a vaccine. We ran out of vaccinations around 11am so we headed back to the hospital. The streets were rather full and there was an expectant air to the crowd. We found out why when we returned. Apparently the President of Iran had an imminent arrival in El Centro. We were advised to catch our trole before the whole centro got shut down for security reasons.

Class ended well, it was my last day with Jorge, and after my final Tropical dance class I returned home to get ready for a night in the Mariscal (aka Gringolandia). We ate dinner at a funky restaurant, had some volcano shots, then headed to a couple of different bars before settling on a club which was featuring Brahma (my favorite Brasilian beer). The music was quite mixed from electro to American pop hits, to reggaeton to salsa. We stayed until about 1 then the others hit up the taco bar before we caught a cab home.

In the morning we headed out on our tour of Quito which included a museum, a beautiful view of the city, the Panacilla, and La Basilica. We finally returned home, picked up our laundry, got packed, then I said goodbye to the others who were headed north for the weekend before catching a cab to the south terminal in Quito the catch a bus to Banos.

An Ecuadorian Beginning

I last left you with my arrival in Quito, Ecuador.  My first day in Ecuador I hopped on one of the trole buses and headed into El centro (Old Town) to check out the colonial architecture and culture.  I visited several museums and churches, as well as climbed the towers in the Basilica.  For lunch I found a Krishna restaurant and at 3 courses for $1.80 (absolutely wonderful food and people).  Before I left old town I heard some drumming from inside one of the churches.  I headed out to investigate only to find a parade taking over one of the main streets in El Centro.  In the evening I headed over to the Mariscal and at dinner at a place called the Magic Bean where a couple of American guys invited me to join them for dinner (they are in Ecuador with a guiding program to summit Cotopaxi).  After much talking and some delicious food I headed home for sleep.

The next morning I got packed up, left one of my backpacks at the hostel, then caught a taxi to Ophelia, the bus station at the north of Quito.  I missed the bus I wanted to take by about 3 minutes so had to wait two hours for the next one.  The bus took me north, across the equator, to Chavezpamba, a small town of about 200 nestled in the Andes.  After getting off at the stop ‘after the orange house and pink and green school’ I waited only a few minutes before Anna, my German sister, came strolling up the road.  After a happy reunion she took me back to her host family’s house, pointing out the school that she is teaching in on the way.  I got served a lovely lunch, then we headed out for a walk to get a better view of the area, and ended up doing a loop through one of the next villages over. Even with a light shower of rain I really enjoyed the view.  It was a strange mix of mountains, farms, and flower plantations in the valleys.  We got back in time to have some dinner, exchange photos of our adventures from the last couple of years, then head to bed with alarms set to 6:00am to wake us up in time to catch the bus to Otavalo.

In the morning we at a quick breakfast then headed down the hill to wait for the bus.  Once we hopped on it was about an hour ride to the junction (just back south of the equator) then we changed busses, heading back north and on to Otavalo.  The market at Otavalo was overwhelming, a riot of colours, sounds and smells.  I managed to buy a few gifts but will probably return on my last weekend here now that I have a better idea of what is available.  After a quick lunch (Anna and I shared a pineapple) we picked up a few more items before hopping on a bus for Quito.  We went out for dinner at an indian restaurant in the Mariscal then I said my goodbyes, headed back to the hostel to get my backpack, then caught a taxi to my host family’s house in Northern Quito.

Natal and Reveillon in Brasil

So this is take three (my computer deleted the last two attempts at this post before I could publish it).  I spent two weeks over Christmas and New Years back in Brasil with my host family again.  Christmas, a day after I arrived was once again filled with food, family, and fun, as well as a few glasses of sparkling wine and champagne.  Many of the days before new years were spent relaxing, sleeping, and planning for what is to come.  New years itself was once again a fantastic affair with everyone dressed in white, wishing for peace in the new year, and my host family once again all coming together to celebrate.  We enjoyed more great food, drinks, company, music, dancing, and of course fireworks.  In the morning I hopped on the 7:00 bus to Rio de Janeiro to visit one of my friends from GMUN.  She took me to her grandparents for lunch, then to the lake to see the huge Christmas tree and enjoy some Arabic food.  The next day we headed to the Botanical Gardens to look at the incredible flora of Brasil, then out for lunch for crepes before I caught my bus back to Pindamonhangaba.  I had one last day to spend with my host families before caught the 5:30am bus to the airport.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time and will greatly miss my families now that I am gone once again. 

I had several hours to kill at the Sao Paulo airport so I made sure I sent my postcards, exchanged my money, picked up some last second gifts, and made it through security in time to catch a plane to Panama City.  On the way I met a wonderful Brasilian family (on their way to Disney land) and chatted almost non stop to Panama about everything from Brasilian cuisine to the political climate in Canada.  After saying goodbye as we got off I went in search of some food (nothing gluten free and vegan on the 7 hour flight unfortunately) and had a hard time finding something that wasn’t strait out of the States.  The airport took me aback, especially since I had just come from Sao Paulo.  After finding some food I spent the next 30 minutes trying and finally succeeding at connecting to the free internet in order to book a hostel in Quito where I could spend a couple of nights.  I finally heard back from one just before boarding, mixed up my gates and had to run, then spent the next 2 hours sitting between two Canadians and speaking Spanish all the way to Quito.  I had met yet another Canadian in the line to board and we caught a cab together to our respective hostels once we had cleared customs and collected our baggage.  I finally arrived at my hostel at 12:30am, was led to my dorm, climbed the ladder to my bunk and fell asleep.

Bridging the Years

With all things Quest change is a constant. Since my last time posting we have not only undergone many transformations as a university but also added a different format for blogging at our Life@Quest page. For my journeys last year and this year check that page out. I will, however, also begin posting here this year as well since I shall be heading on another journey to South America on a program to learn about traditional and western medicine in the Amazon.

My classroom in May 2011

Back to Class

Tango on the Great Wall, Summer 2010

So the rest of the Spring and Summer semesters got eaten up in the midst of busyness teaching tango to the 10 visiting students from Hong Kong, studying hard, and sailing 12 hours a week and somehow blogging never really fit back in.  Well, its time to get started again!  We are officially back at it, two weeks in in fact, and I find myself busier than ever.  Class is going as well as a class can for a non-philosophy student, but I must say I truly am enjoying it!  On top of class there has been the arrival of all the new students to significantly improve the days.  The class of 2014 is amazing and I can’t wait for them to outdo everything we have already begun here at Quest.  All the dancers have gotten together this year to form the Dance group under which we are currently offering 9 different styles of dance and clubs for everything from Frisbee to food have gotten up an running.  Stay tuned for more coming soon!

Pampa Linda and Cerro Tronador

Our day began early, leaving my pack behind with all the unnecessary gear and food.  We met up with several others headed in the same direction just outside the Clube Andino Bariloche office, payed our dues and got into the van that would take us to Pampa Linda, our pack swaying with the rest from its perch on the

roof.  The two hour drive, with a beautiful view the whole way, took us along Lago Gutiérrez and Lago Mascardi stopping at the outflow of the second for a break, before continuing on to Pampa Linda.  We got our pack off the roof, checked in with the local rangers, then set out, chatting with a couple of Israelis along the way.  They soon got ahead and we were left to enjoy the beauty of the area, switching the pack every half hour.

We had our lunch break just before the steep climb of switchbacks which we took in stride, trading the backpack every 15 min. to make the going easier.  Finally we reached the top, took off the bag and briefly enjoyed the view before the monster sized horseflies drove us to continue. 

One of the many lizards

Our trail continued in the shortening scrub for a while longer before opening up to bare rock for the last hour or so.  The day was incredible with not a cloud in the sky!  We could see forever in every direction except behind the mammoth Tronador.  It felt so good to be back in the alpine, breathing in the fresh cool air, and enjoying the solitude of the mountains.  Each time I return to the mountains I am reminded of just how small I am, and how powerful nature truly is.  We finished our scramble over the rocks, following the same red dots that had led us off of Cerro Cathedral, filling up our water bottles each time we happened upon a creek running off of the glacier.  The water in the mountains is so incredible, refreshing, and pure.  I wish we hadn’t so blatantly destroyed our own water sources that once contained that same purity.  We finally reached Refugio Otto-Meiling, perched like a miniature cabin on the shoulder of the mountain, embraced by two hanging glaciers.  Ditching our pack and checking in were followed by an hour of just sitting alone and admiring the surrounding beauty.  I watched the flight of a couple condors, and the raw grace of pieces of glacier tumbling to their shattering a thousand meters below.  Eventually we got dinner cooking, and were accompanied by the same two Israelis for a meal beneath the setting sun and the rising moon.  I have never seen such a large moon in my life, rising like a giant orb of light from behind the surrounding peaks.  Its light was more than enough to see by, making headlamps useful but not completely necessary.  After hours of conversation beneath the moon we headed into the Refugio to continue with a beer in hand.  Finally it was off to bed in the loft, curling up on the mattresses provided.

I rose early, well kind of, at 6:30 am to watch the sun rise.  The golden light on the glacier was a beautiful sight and well worth the lost sleep.  having run out of fuel the night before (I forgot to pack the extra canister) we borrowed the Refugio’s kitchen stove to cook our quinoa breakfast, adding apples, dried fruit, and chocolate to the mix.  Thanks Heather for the excellent idea!  That was to be followed by some crazy carpeting on the Israelis sleeping pads down the glacier and over one small crevasse.  On our way back a snowball fight broke out and left us all refreshed and out of breath.  What better way to spend your spring break than in the Andes of Norther Patagonia, with two people from a different culture, having a snowball fight on a glacier in the middle of summer?  I can’t think of any answer better.  We then headed back to collect our gear and head back down to catch our van at 5:00pm.  It was another beautiful day and despite the bugs the hike went well.  We arrived back at Pampa Linda with time to spare and enjoyed it lounging in the shade of some trees.  All too soon we were bumping back along the gravel road to Bariloche, a magical two days in the mountains behind us.

Bariloche and Nahuel Huapi National Park

El Vegetariano!

Upon our return from Cerro Cathedral, Heather and I used our handy Lonely planet guide to find a hostel in Bariloche where we could nurse our blisters and take a shower.  We found on, Bariloche Backpacker’s Hostel, right near the downtown core of the town next to a kiosko with both internet and phone services.  We went in, got our beds, ditched our packs, and went in search of lunch.  Thanks to our guidebook, we found a great vegetarian restaurant called El Vegetariano, which offered a variety of dishes on their menu as well as the menu del dia which was a platter of five different dishes of the day.

Gull's flight following our boat

The food was excellent, if a bit pricey for Argentine standards, and by the time we had finished our complimentary cups of spiced chai we were both ready for a nap.  We headed back to the hostel, slept for a bit then went out on the town, finding dinner and heading to the old theater to watch Avatar.  The theater was great, the slightly decrepit seats with stuffing sticking out adding to the somewhat eerrie feeling of the place.  Couldn’t go wrong though, the price was right… cheaper than a rental in Canada.

One of the Myrtle trees

The next day we spent some time around town then decided to check out Isla Victoria and the Bosque Arrayanes (Myrtle forest).  To get to either of them we had to join a boat tour that stops at both.  Our first stop was at the Bosque, the only one with it’s species of trees in the world.  The trees were incredible, the rich cinnamon colour of their bark vivid in contrast to the surrounding foliage and undergrowth.  There was a short boardwalk that takes you through the forest, giving a variety of different aspects to the park.  Part way along a crackling in the forest turned out to be a group of cows, browsing on the scarce grass found in between the trees. After a few hundred photos we hopped back on the boat to our next stop, Isla Victoria.  I’m still not to sure what all the excitement about the island is referring to,

The... locals?

but we were able to go on an enjoyable stroll through a botanical forest containing trees from around the world and also slip through one of the small villages on the island past monkey puzzle trees and a few locals.  From there it was back on the boat to return to Llao Llao and finally our Hostel.  We grabbed some dinner, walked around town, and finally headed to bed with the plan of getting up early to catch the 8:30am bus to Pampa Linda to start the next leg of our adventure.

next installment soon to come!

El Bosque Arrayanes

The water of Lago Nahuel Huapi

Walk of the Giants- Isla Victoria

Isla Victoria and Lago Nahuel Huapi

Hiking in Patagonia- Spring Break 2010 (Refugio Frey and Cerro Cathedral)

With our final exam out of the way, both written and aural, it was time to relax from the classroom.

The foothills of the Andes in Northern Patagonia

Heather and I caught a bus the following day, leaving Buenos Aires behind, and traveling the 20 hours to the town of Bariloche in northern Patagonia.  We arrived, 50lbs packs on our backs, to a bluebird day midweek in Argentina’s little Switzerland.  Our fist stop was the grocery store and Montagne equipment to stock up on 7 days of groceries and my last minute missing items (gloves and a toque) which would come in handy in the days to come.  From there we made a quick stop at the local mountain club office for a bit of info, packed the food into our bags (now nearing 60lbs each) and finally caught a bus out to the base of Cerro Cathedral.

Heather, our fearless navigator.

Donning our packs we began the four hour (700m vertical) hike to Refugio Frey, a mountain hut dwarfed by Cerro Cathedral and Cerro Cathedral Sur.   The landscape that had looked so similar to Kamloops from a distance proved to be remarkable unique once in it.  The first part of our hike took us through the dead forest on one of the mountain sides, a graveyard of gray, brittle, branches and scarcely foliaged scrub.  Adorning the graves were mountain flowers of all sorts, adding a stark yet beautiful contrast to the barren trees.  Once we finished our traverse around the first hillside we began a gentle climb following the creek away from the lake below us.  When we had the chance we filled our water bottles, savoring the snow-chilled water.  The trail took us through a moister environment, through lush trees and fields of flowers then finally to the last steep climb up to the Refugio. The climb was… well lets just say it had been a while since either of us had seen a hill over 10m let alone climbed up one.  We took it slow and steady, stopping to enjoy the increasingly beautiful view with growing frequency.

Leaving Lago Gutirrez behind

We watched the hills golden and the line of light slowly climb.  The moon rose and added a beautiful counter point to the last light of the day.  Finally,  we arrived with the last ray of light around 9:00pm, set up our tent in the dark, cooked a quick dinner and went to sleep.

Excited about the day?

After a chilly night (we were definitely in the mountains) we awoke to the warmth of the sun heating up our tent.  Stepping outside we were greeted by blue skies, crisp air, and the feel of muscles wondering what on earth we were doing.  Soreness couldn’t dampen our spirits however and after a tasty breakfast we packed up and headed out.

Our break spot

Our path took us through a beautiful hanging valley along the shores of Laguna Tonchek to the base of its feeder creek.  We were both on cloud nine, and to be honest anyone would have been on such an incredible day.  We were finally free of the city, away from homework, and at long last back in the mountains.  Even the next 500m that took us practically strait up scrambling over rocks couldn’t put a dint in our elation.  Part way up we stopped for a snack (we had slept in quite a bit), and were caught up to by and Israeli couple.  After a quick singing of each of our national anthems, we continued the rest of the 200m up to the next hanging valley and Laguna Schmoll.  After a few hundred more photos from that viewpoint we started our last climb (another 200m) scrambling over rocks following the red circles.  Cresting the saddle we found ourselves in a world of the muted earth tones of rock which finally gave way to a view of the valley below and the peaks beyond.  We settled down in a patch of sun to eat some lunch, chatting with a couple other hikers, before deciding on our next leg.

The... trail?

We had two options, continue on to Refugio Jacob as we had originally planned (another 6ish hours) or head around the backside of Cerro Cathedral towards the ski hill and return to town to rethink our strategy.  After careful consideration and finally assessing our bodies’ conditions we decided to head back to town since the day was wasting and we would have to hike in the dark if we wanted to reach Jacob.  We set out, still following the red circles, on a pathless 5km traverse along a talus slope.  Partway along we began to realize that we were running low on water, hadn’t put on sunscreen, and were carrying heavy bags that the elation of the day had caused us to forget.

The ridge and the end of the traverse

With sore burnt faces we took a break, finally got out our hats, and drank a couple of sips of water before setting out again.  The traverse took the rest of the afternoon and by the time we finally crested the ridge that gave us a view back to Bariloche 6:00 had come and past and the chairlift down was closed.  We took a break to assess our now very interesting situation and decided to hike down the mountain, hopefully to reach the base that night.  By then we were out of water, suffering a bit of heat exhaustion, and just wanting to stop.  Our downward climb involved some roads, some skree skiing, a tumble or two, a bit of blood, full darkness, and a few hours of protesting feet before we finally decided to stop and set up camp.  We cooked another quick dinner in the dark then crawled into bed, resigned for another night of shivering cold.

Sunrise in the Andes

I got up early the next morning, tired of trying to stay warm and found a comfy piece of ground to watch the sun rise.  Heater joined me a little while later for a cold breakfast and a planning session for the days to come.  As we were talking a vehicle pulled up at the chairlift just below us but despite our fears of camping illegally they didn’t bother us.  A second vehicle joined them as we were packing up the tent and we were finally off to finish our descent of the mountain.  Not too much later we found ourselves walking through the ski village which we had left only a few days before and managed to time our arrival just right to catch the bus back to Bariloche.

Buenos Aires, Birds, and Butterflies.

What a block January was! I can’t believe that February, along with our second block in Buenos Aires, has started. The first block was a great overview of many of the verb tenses for me, 8 of them in fact, and an especially challenging chunk of knowledge for a non-speaker to chew. I managed, though not without some difficulty.

The sleeping arrangements on our bus to Iguazu.

I didn’t quite luck out with my host family unfortunately, though both my host parents are very kind people they seldom speak with me, leaving me without the greatest tool for learning a new language.  I guess its long past time that I take the initiative and find someone else to speak with that isn’t a Quester and doesn’t want to speak English.

Posada La Sorgente in Pto. do Iguazu.

On the bright side I am still able to communicate fairly readily thanks to my Portuguese.  Argentinians are particularly accustomed to hearing Portañol spoken as many Brasilians visit B.A.  What tends to confuse them is the part where they find out that I am in fact Canadian, not Brasilian.

For our block break I joined Heather at Cataratas do Iguazu in the north east corner of Argentina.  It was amazing!  I cannot do the falls justice in words, photos, or video.  All I can highly recommend is visiting them for yourselves.  Though I missed out on the wild animal center on the Argentinian side and the bird park on the Brasilian I still saw some of the local fauna.  Hundreds of butterflies surround you as you stroll along the metal boardwalks, Coaties search out unwary visitors lunch baskets, and various birds circle over head.  On one of the trails in the park we found countless large spiders, more butterflies, a snake, a couple types of woodpecker, and the highlight- monkeys.  The National park surrounding the falls provided the perfect natural break from the large city but all too soon it was time to return to the capital.

Block two is going well so far, I’m busy trying to learn the dreaded Subjunctive and continuing to greatly enjoy our history lectures that tell the tale of this unique and sometimes rather sketchy country.  Off to tango this afternoon!

One of the many birds of Iguazu National Park

Sunrise from the bus

1 of the 500 plus species of butterflies inhabiting the area.

One if the 275 falls at Iguazu National Park

Sunset on the bus ride back to Buenos Aires.

Another of the many butterflies.

One of the locals.

Coaties, the raccoon of the jungle.

Simply beauty.

Soaked by the falls, but oh so happy!