Under the Volcano and happy

Well folks, here we are in a marvelous and tranquil place called Baños. Here the climate is always spring-like. We found a fantastic hostel called Timara. It is run by an elderly ecuadorian fellow Carlos,and Susanne, his daughter and Paul, her british husband.
They have wonderful rooms with baños privado or not, and a cooking area if you want to cook. They have a fun dog called gringa ,with permission, she is quite willing to go on a hike with you or play fetch ... but she might not return the ball, oh well she will still play. Paul also has 3 parrots and a tortoise (he saved from a locals cook out), and a box turtle, there are also fish and flowers and orchids.
The kids got sick again and Paul (the token gringo owner) gave us some information about some meds for internal bugs. Dane saw the Doctor again, wonderful people there too. However if you know what you need, you can go right to the farmacia and buy what you like with or without the doctors approval. The medication is very cheap and works just great. I am thinking I will check out the price for meds for my mom, hers are very expensive. Both kids are taking these meds and it is doing its job. I talked with the co-owner of a gallery (of course) and she asked right away if the kids were using condiments, ie mayonaise or ketchup, she said those little human loving bugs like to live in there too. So if you are traveling remember her.
In Ecuador, it is easy to get off of some of your favorite foods. Since we are used to a certain way, in our stuffy canadian minds; chocolate, coffee and breads are easy to quit here because it just doesn´t taste the same. But you could become addicted to fresh fruits; like mangoes, papaya, coconut, babaco, passion fruit, and if you are on the coast, the fish.
Let´s talk about Baños for a moment. For those who are worried that we are near a semi active volcano, here´s the delio, the volcano stuff goes the other way. Yes, there were people evacuated but in Embato and that area but not here. The volcanic ash went asunder, ambling about but again to Embato. The area is on Yellow alert and has never been a real source of concern. Unfortunately, they have been on the brunt of some bad press and misinformation. Someone even got onto their turismo web site with bad info. So here we are safe and sound and very much in love with Baños which is nestled in much like Banf Alberta without the European flare and Japanese writing everywhere and low cost and lots of fresh and beautiful flowers. In an area normally filled with tourists and we are enjoying the quiet. Bad for businesses though. There are roughly 300 resturants and 150 hostels so you have alot of choices. They also have hot pools maybe we will go tonight. And they have 2 zoo´z Here´s the problem, for those of you who know me, I am a bit of an animal lover and I am sad to say the locals here just don´t get it about loving them. The Zoo ,St. Martin is also called animal prison even on the tourist map and I have talked with Paul about it and although I would love to see the animals, but I would probably try to do a free willy thing and get arrested. I will think about it more later, as to a possible solution. Ponder, ponder. They have more cats, and larger of the animals. Just thinking about it enrages me. The other Zoo is St. Vincent, the competition, nuff said (here´s a little gossip, the owner of St. Martin is the brother of the ministry of Abiente)Hmmmmm. Apparently, St. Vincents have parrots, flowers, monkeys etc. But the setting is better and kinder to the animals. I have yet to get there and when we come back I will have a camera again. Hopefully, one day people here will have true compassion, but it is hard for them to see beyond survival and not look into their future.
For those of you thinking of coming here, our family has found Baños as one of the top areas to visit. The people here are friendly and love to help people who at least try to speak their language. The next area, would have to be the coast. It is just great, love the sea, love the people but watch the juice venders (yikes more bugs), we have differences which we liked better next , but since I am writing their votes don´t count for as much as mine does. Next, would be Quito, then Cuenca and then Vilcabamba. Don´t get me wrong Loja and Vilcabamba were incredible but the choice is hard when you love it all.
I have some sad news though. We will not be able to come back to Ecuador for a total of 6 months (30 days to the months). This is a beurocratic thing and totally unavoidable. This means we will have to come back in almost October. Thats OK too because we will really sit out the winter here, nice and warm, and making lots of friends.
I am also very sad to say that we will be going back to Canada with in a week and I will be leaving a part on my heart here thank god we will be returning though. It will be easier doing taxes and other meanial jobs knowing that we will be returning. Rachelle and Dane have alot of school work to do and I have to paint. When I come back I think I will paint in the park or hang out with other artists when I can find them. And take spanish lessons till I am fluent and not longer dreaming in English.
Oh yeah, I have to go soon as Rachelle and I have hot rock massage shortly ($20) maybe Rob and the kids will go in the gondola and I can go have a massage tommorrow. Maybe in the morning before breakfast Rob and I can go and have a steam/turkish bath. Life is hell here.
God praise the local patron Saint.... Santa Maria de Agua and here miracles of life and love.

taking am unscheduled swim in Yambala river

Ok, everyone who knows me well, knows that I am afraid of heights. So what do I do infrequently, I try to over come it, but no more I promise. While in Vilcabamba, a lovely place, we stayed in The Yambala Cabinas, nice place on the side of the hill, run by 2 gringoes and their kids. They also organize horse riding trips. And all of you who know me, know that I love riding. Here´s the glitch... it was called horse treking.... to me, this means riding in the mountains... what I found out was, it was riding on top of the mountains on a 2 foot path, that went straight down. I thought that it was only going to be for a little bit, but we went for an 8 hour ride and 90% of the ride was on top of the mountain or on the narrow path on the side of the mountain. For Rob and Dane, it was a lovely trip,(Rachelle had loose bowels again and didn´t trust herself) for me, it was like living your worst nightmare for 8 hours. I was also put in front of the group, so I had nowhere to look but at the marvelous scenery, which I normally view from below,,,, comfortably. I flexed every muscle possible in my body including and especially the ones keeping me in the saddle, so much for Kiegle excercises. Some of the track was very downhill, just try and not shake and travel downward, guiding a horse with slippery Ecuadorian mud, fun. Now we finally get down to the bottom of the hill and we cross a river, no prob cause I am ground level.... next crossing, the horse and I decide it is time for a swim, unfortunately my camera didn´t much like the idea.

Please pause for a moment of silence for the passing of my dearly departed friend..........

(I have yet to give it a private burial, I am pretending that it will be ok when it dries out but after 3 days, there is still water in the lenses and the digital screen.) I am hoping the memory card is good. I think that it was the only place dry in the camera. There were very good photo´s, but Tokyo Robin might not be allowed to take anymore photos. So sad. But let´s put it this way, the current carried me down and I went under several times in high and fast water in rainy season over rock and brush and I thought I might not get out,,,, but I did and I have more to add to my adventure and I did it in a very exoticly named river. I kept saying to myself, in x number of hours this adventure will be over. And finally after dizzing heights, mud, and steep and slippery accends and decends, and an unscheduled dip in the river, our amazing surefooted friends got us safely back. I am still having nightmares of the mountains but I will continue to admire the people living on the sides and on the tops of the mountains tending their farms of corn and cattle, but I am no longer willing to do it from the tops of the mountains.
The previous day, we met some lovely people, named Isabel and Sharon, (met in Loja and again in Vilcabamba) these gals are wonderful people, who volunteer and help the various people that need their help. They showed us some food places and I admire Isabel for being able to be a vegitarian in such a carviverous country, go girl.
We walked from our hotel to town about 45 min taking photo´s (sigh... whimper) and found the Shanti resturant, very good food and a fun owner. We made jokes in Spanglish, especially about Rob´s need for hot foods. The owner brought out some hot peppers right off this bush, bright red and tiny. Of course, Rob ate one right away, and tearily smiled in relief of finally getting spice. Where upon, the owner sees what a real man Rob is and brings out the ¨Snake Water¨, 80 proof liquor served with lime and salt. Rachelle and I both had a sip and that was all it took, and Rob did the rest. I later found out it is really a snake in the water(alcohol) and my buddist side whimpered for the sacrifice. But to put it bluntly, That was powerful shit, man. That actually was a fun part, and even though I am camera-less it is still marvelous to be here.
We were in Zamora, getting into the Oriente (jungle), and are now in Guyalzimin. Cool names, eh. But here we are in the jungle and we want fresh fruit for breakfast, in the country where they grow it and they gave us canned fruit cocktail. Yuck. In Zamora, we ate frogs legs and here, in Guyalzimin, you can have them too. Not to bad really. To quote a famous disney movie, ¨Tastes just like Chicken¨. They also were serving a creature called ¨Wanta¨, but we couldn´t find it in the dictionary, and felt it might be kind of important to the ecosystem. I asked for a discription for Wanta, and the girl said it is meat for eating. Not good enough. The food here in Gualzimin is less than ok.
It was very sad in Vilcabamba, because they was not alot of wild life, we found out why this is and apparently, alot of hunting by the locals and they basicly ate the wildlife of all kind therefore there is none. It just shows me that our environment is very delicate and I am probably going to try raw foods again, and when we get back to Ecuador we will have our own kitchen and do the veggie thing. However, we have had to try what the locals are eating but I do it with guilt, and sorrow.
Rob is having bed issues, here in Ecuador they usually have very hard, hard, hard beds and the sheets never fit, and skinny malnurished pillows,,,, except in Vilcabama, where it turns out that Sarah, the owner, also has bed issues and therefore the beds there are soft and welcoming with full and lovely pillows and for god sakes, sheets that fit. ( because she made them).
As it turns out, the kids are great to travel with, and greatly add to that family interest from the locals. I guess we will keep them.
Everyone is only one stomach illness away from our goal weights. We have found the business needed to live here. We will bottle the local water, for dieters in North America, as a bowel cleanser and then when they hit their goal weight, we will send them the cure as a follow up vitamin and be very successful. Beleive me, it works. Though the cramps are not fun when they strike, Rob says this is a part of the conditioning to tighten up the stomach muscles for a firmer look. Its all good, win win. This is Rob´s idea for a business opportunity. We are looking for investors, who would like to get on the ground floor of this enterprize, so that we may do further research in Ecuador for viability. ´
Talk with you all later.
Robin

and for something different

Well, we left Cuenca, only to return again in a couple of weeks. Yes, Cuenca is like the Victoria of Ecuador. Yes, it is very expensive as compared to the rest of the country. It was nice and all, but it didn´t move my soul like some of the other parts of Ecuador have. It felt somehow hollow.
Rachelle and I did a bit of shopping, the fashions here are fantastic. Several women were there too, and gladly gave their oppinions and asked for ours too. They are very small people and Rachelle feels huge. Of course, since they are a foot and a bit shorter, this shows in their sizes. All the women wear spiked shoes to make up for the height. She is therefore, ok with her length of pants but they are sized differently. Rachelle being a complete if not taller 6 feet tall and quite slim.
Again, the people are great and so friendly, especially if you are trying to speak their language. They are very polite and although I know I make regular grammar and word mistakes they are too polite to correct me.
We are now in a place called Loha. It is quite a small town compared to Cuenca but it is lush and lovely, and very old. The building are well kept and stores are everywhere. The bus ride was again a bit treturous, but the countryside is fantastic, dotted with the andean peoples farms. These people must really be billy goats at heart for they build their houses on the steep sides of mountains and field their livestock in large paddocks straight up the mountains. There are tiny contant trails over the mountains with brush defining the boarders of each finka, or farm. It is very lush and green. Right now, being the rainy season, it is very green, I wonder what it looks like in their summer. The trees are also dotted with yellow tube like flowers and the roadside brush is sporatic with red, white, purple and orange blossoms. There are also those marvelous reed like plants that have these large white feathery plumes on the ends. The earth is very orange and occasionaly brownish, it is a marvelous contrast to the white soft plumes and the green green grasses. I haven{t seen any wild life except for birds. Domestic cows, sheep, goats, dogs and chickens do not count as wild life but they are ever present everywhere.
We visited the church devoted to, you guessed it, my dear new friend, Santa Fatima. I had to say hi to her and thank her for inspiring my survival during my bus travels. Although the church was not as oppulent as in Quito, it has heart, that which I found lacking in Cuenca. Don{t get me wrong the Cathedral in Cuenca was very oppulent and very grand but it didn{t move me like it did in Quito. Here, the church resonated heart, and moved Rachelle to tears. She sat for a moment in the church and genuinely saw people giving heart, and tears to their prayers and I think she now understands why church can be a good thing, if church is accompanied with spirituality and honesty.
For those of you who worry about safety or theft, you need not worry. For example, today we were shopping and Rachelle left behind, in one of the million shops in the grand mall, her favorite shirt and other stuffs in a bag in a change room. When we realized it, we ran back to the shop and the shop keeper had a releived look on her face that we had finally returned to pick our stuff up. I felt bad because she did a kindness and we didn{t even buy anything from her. This kind of honesty is very real here, and it is nice. The people also have concerns for the tourists and make sure you are safe by informing you where to and where not to go, not only the hostel people, but taxi drivers and store owners and even people on the street.
Dane made a friend in Cuenca, an older gentleman, who spoke a smattering of English and owned this antique store. He sold Dane a pocket watch for a good deal, then gave me a ton of written info about Cuenca, then gave Dane several discontinued Sucres (their former currency before they converted to the U.S. dollar) and invited us to stay at his farm in the country, go ride his horses in the national park when we come back to visit. I feel he was genuinely being kind and wanted to share with us, his fabulous country. Again the people here are sooooo nice.
We will only stay a day more and then we will go to the Valley of Longevity. Cool name ehh.
There we expect to see alot of gringoes, unfortunately. We hope to go horse back riding in the Andes. We will see if the kids are willing to go for a 3 day horse trip or go at least hiking a bit. I would really like to. Apparently, in this national park, the wild life you can expect to see are... armadillo, ocelot, speckled bear, puma, and cooti and of course tons of bird, we will see.
I am really glad to see so much concern for their parks and of course alot of ex pats have set up eco-experiences as businesses. In the national park in Puerto Lopez, you could possibly get shot in turtle egg-laying season if you go to certain beaches without the okey dokey. They have a national guard to keep the people eco-wise and hands off the fragile little ones. Unfortunately, in many areas especially by the roads, where there is quite a bit of garbage and also the cars are quite smokey but baby steps and further education and awareness of safety will help in Ecuadors future survival.
Any way talk with you all later. Health issues are settling down and spirits are up. I don{t really want to go back to Canada, but I console myself with the knowledge, we will come back in September for 6 months and maybe also see, Columbia, Peru, and Uruguay. We will see only time will tell.
PS we are going to rent that house in Puerto Lopez for 6 months for like $300 a month, mas o menos. Yipeeee! Life here is great and wish you all could experience it with us. Hasta luego
Robin

From Cuenca

Another comment about the buses here. Because it is winter here, or in other words the wet season, we have alot of rain to contend with. I understand, they are experiencing another el niño again. This means the roads were torturous. I think, if they had this kind of condition in Canada, they just would have closed her down, but not here. These rogue cowboys, they call bus drivers, get snaps for bravado and sheer steel will. There were at least 7 major washouts on the main highway going straight up the mountain with sheer cliff on the other side. The road workers did the best they could with backhoes and trucks but yikes. In one spot there was at least a foot and a bit of this slurry like mud-clay-rock all over the road. So they created a detour, they built up a road made of rock right next to the afficted area, this means the only place to go is closer to the cliff. I had another talk with another saint posted on the wall. Unfortunately, due to my terror state I forgot to get her name. I feel like I used her a bit, I hope I didn´t make her feel cheap. There were very large rocks on the road and several parts of the road were closed down for a while. All is well, we got here didn´t we.
Right in the bus terminal in Guyaquil, we were immediately taken in and sent to the correct bus company, personally escorted to the bus, then onto the crazy ride. Then when we landed in Cuenca, we were again picked up by the owners of the hostel Americano and driven directly to the hostel. This was great because there was a heck of alot of rain coming down and searching for a hostel in the rain isn´t what I would call fun.
In the next day or so we are going to try Cuyo. For those faint of heart do not read on. Cuyo is Guinea Pig. Over all, on the food thing, we are a bit disappointed because although these people have access to the best veggies and spices in the world, they prefer deep fried foods, with potatoes and rice with salt and their pastries are bready and sugary. We found a restuarant in Puerto Lopez that is run by gringoes (The Whale Cafe) and they had all kind of veggies, thank god. I thought I was going to bung up my colon and harden my arteries on this trip. I was envisioning in my dreams, doing that cleanse I did just before I got here just to loosen up a bit. I am going to do it again when we get back to Canada just as a precaution. Here in Cuenca, we had a lunch that happilly included veggies.
Right away we noticed that it is very different here. First the people are not as friendly as in other parts, there is way more affluence (money not the other thing), new cars, better houses (beautiful houses) and the cost of everything is higher. (Again, I think the people of Puerto Lopez win the prize for great people.) I guess you can´t have it all. The buildings are way nicer in Quito for heritage and style but the upkeep is much better here. We are planning on visiting an orchid garden, it has to beat the orchid garden in Quito. We are also planning on visiting the art museums ( they have painters and sculptures here).
We were just heavily rained out so I am taking this time to write and keep up with things. Talk with you all later.
Robin

saying good-bye to Puerto Lopez

We are finally leaving here after being here 10 days. Again the city itself is really rough but the people make up for it. I was talking with a young fellah today and he is wanting to start his own surfing school. I said, thinking of giving him a compliment he was ambitious. He took it as a bit of an insult because he felt that ambitious people are takers and never happy with what they have they always want more and more and give very little back. I thought it was very interesting, his outlook and of course it has me thinking. We are still friends and enjoyed our times together but we both and Rachelle too are thinking about what we have learmed here. Again, they are giving and loving people who are honest to a fault. At least here in wonderful Puerto Lopez
Talk with you again from Cuenca.