hey kids.
After another hellish bus adventure, Annie and I are back in Quito after three days on the coast of Ecuador at a beach town called Canoa. Another addition to a series of relaxing and pleasant places since our advenutres in Riobamba with volcanoes and ancient trains. If you haven't read the last entry (shame on you!) we are here to catch a flight to Chicago on Jan 3rd to wrap up this section of our travels and see our families... which have grown since we have been gone (in number, not in body size [well maybe in body size since Christmas])
As some of you may remember, today being New Year's Eve, this is our wedding anniversary. 2 years people... and no divorce -- in fact we love eachother (and love being together) more today than we did even 2 years ago. I know, that is amazing. Take that American marriage statistics! Apparently if we make it past three years our statistical chances of staying together for life skyrocket. And if we make it past five years we get an official certificate from the US government declaring us "awesome". So after sleeping off the misery of the domestic Ecuadorian travel system, we'll celebrate today with a gratuitous and embarassing American film at the movie theatre and enjoy a nice dinner out, although the novelty of eating out for a special occasion has lost some of it's luster in that we've eaten out probably more than 200 times in the past four months. Also, Ecuadorians celebrate the Nuevo Año by having a huge parade with paper mache effigies of various people. They are all different sizes and some of these effigies represent bad people (like George Bush Jr.) and some of them are a bit more random (like Spiderman) Anyway, Ecuadorians strap these things to their cars and drive around all day today, then march them in the streets tonight, and then, being filled with sawdust and fireworks, blow them up at midnight in a savage display of violence. What a sweet tradition. The meaning of course being to rid ourselves of the bad and begin fresh for the new year.
I wanted to say here that Annie and I will not be abandoning this blog site but will continue to update with news from your favorite action/adventure partnership. There is a lot more to come actually. This trip has been a very introspective for us, although we have devoted most of those topics to emails with our siblings. But, since you were wondering; we talked about starting our own business(es) ranging from a breakfast restaurant to a woodworking/furniture or a custom kitchen/remodeling busiess, to a small college town residential rentals business. We've also talked much about myself going to graduate school for sculpture or 3d design, and Annie maybe pursuing a new direction too. We have also, with some trepidation, discussed transitioning to California and different living arrangements near or alongside Judy and Mark in Berkeley (thanks to Mark for all his patient emails). Another popular topic is Ella Tienefe, our new sobrina whom we've yet to meet and Amora, our sobrina who has begun to walk and talk since we left Chicago in June. Speaking of those rascals, happy birthday to their beautiful mother Chasity! We look foward to celebrating with you (a few days late) soon. We have by no means allowed this trip to make us intellectually lazy -- we have spent countless hours discussing the meaning of every choice we can make about our present and our future. We have read almost 20 books between us, and have focused more intensely than ever about how to make this life we are living together meaningful and conscious. We look foward to spending time with each and every one of you soon. See you in the US.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Feliz Navidad!
Happy Holidays to all! We miss you so much! We have spent the last four days hiding out in a wonderful little hotel in Vilcabamba. It's a small bed and breakfast called Madre Tierra...it includes gourmet organic breakfasts and dinners, and they made us a beautiful Christmas Eve feast...complete with all the turkey and cranberry sauce. It has been a much needed break for us. Our Christmas presents to each other were massages at the spa. (only $25 for a whole hour!)So, we've been livin' in up...and recuperating.
So...recuperating from what, you might ask? Well, from Riobamba we spent 3 days in the mountains outside of town. We hiked El Altar...an amazing volcano with a bright green lake in the crater, and surrounded by the most magnificent jutting peaks... all around. There's no way to describe it! So, the hike was about 20 miles...we camped just below the crater. The next day we hiked out to the Hacienda where the hike starts, and waited for the bus...for 2 1/2 hours. It never came, and we ended up spending the night at the hacienda...no people...no heat...no food... We woke up early to catch the next bus at 5:30am. It turns out that the bus had been held up by a landslide, and the morning bus was now being held up by a broken down potato truck. We could see it down the valley...honking at the truck, but unable to get around it because of the steep cliffs! The only thing to do was start running. So at 6:00am, after 2 long days of hiking, and having not eaten since the previous morning...we ran with our packs the 3km to town (along with four little boys also trying to catch the bus to get to school) Luckily, the people could see us running along around the mountain, and held the bus up for us (probably for the school kids, actually). So that was adventure #1.
Adventure #2 started the next morning at 5:00am. We stayed in Riobamba that night, and woke up bright and early to catch the Gringo Train to Alausi!! This fabled train once ran from Quito to Guayaquil, but has suffered many floods and catastrophes, and most of the line doesn't run anymore...except this bit known as the Nariz de Diablo, "The Devil's Nose". It's a crazy little engineering manuever to get it down a really steep canyon, including a couple of switchbacks where the train runs backwards...very beautiful views, but not exactly a fully funtioning transportation system. Hence it is now exclusively a Gringo Train. I couldn't believe the masses of tall white people who assembled at the station at the crack of dawn! Everyone in hiking boots and zip-off pants...the hardiest travellers sit on top of the train...feet dangling off the edge as the train dangles off the cliffs. I only lasted for the first hour or so...It was so stinkin' cold in the cloudy mountain morning. Scott returned to the top at the end...when it's most dramatic. So, after the train ride, all the gringos hopped on a bus to Cuenca...and we followed.
Adventure #3...The buses. After a day in Cuenca (where we were delighted to witness several of their spirited Christmas Parades) we hit the road for Vilcabama. We were driven out by the intense pollution that made us both sick almost as soon as we got there. We had a 7 hour bus ride from Cuenca...and felt lucky to be assigned seats 1&2...they had a bit more leg room... But we soon found out that the extra room was intended to be used by the 20 extra people standing on top of us for the duration of the trip...full on bags on our heads and butts in faces. The second leg (2hrs from Loja to Vilcabamba)wasn't much better...but at least this time it wasn't bags and butts...they just put thier babies in my lap.
So. As I was saying. We were feeling a good bit overwhelmed and tired by the time we arrived in Vilcabamba. We knew it was time for a break when our usual patience and cross-cultural understanding were wearing thin. So, after a few days of resting up and healing (we've also been battling multiple stomach issues since Colombia), We bought ourselves one more Christmas gift. We bought tickets to Chicago for January 3rd. We will fly out of Quito, so we'll have to head back north from here, but when we looked into flying from Lima in a month or so as we intended, we found that tickets were nearly double (and there is a 20% tax on top of it.) So, we've got another week to relax and enjoy the mountains and warm weather before we plunge into Chicago Winter! AHHH! But we are really excited about being home and with our families! So to all of you who have been faithfully following this photoless blog -- you get to be the first to know that we are heading home. Our adventures are hopefully not over -- only this current leg in South America... we hope to see you all soon, and tell you all about it. (And maybe even show you a picture or two...)
So...recuperating from what, you might ask? Well, from Riobamba we spent 3 days in the mountains outside of town. We hiked El Altar...an amazing volcano with a bright green lake in the crater, and surrounded by the most magnificent jutting peaks... all around. There's no way to describe it! So, the hike was about 20 miles...we camped just below the crater. The next day we hiked out to the Hacienda where the hike starts, and waited for the bus...for 2 1/2 hours. It never came, and we ended up spending the night at the hacienda...no people...no heat...no food... We woke up early to catch the next bus at 5:30am. It turns out that the bus had been held up by a landslide, and the morning bus was now being held up by a broken down potato truck. We could see it down the valley...honking at the truck, but unable to get around it because of the steep cliffs! The only thing to do was start running. So at 6:00am, after 2 long days of hiking, and having not eaten since the previous morning...we ran with our packs the 3km to town (along with four little boys also trying to catch the bus to get to school) Luckily, the people could see us running along around the mountain, and held the bus up for us (probably for the school kids, actually). So that was adventure #1.
Adventure #2 started the next morning at 5:00am. We stayed in Riobamba that night, and woke up bright and early to catch the Gringo Train to Alausi!! This fabled train once ran from Quito to Guayaquil, but has suffered many floods and catastrophes, and most of the line doesn't run anymore...except this bit known as the Nariz de Diablo, "The Devil's Nose". It's a crazy little engineering manuever to get it down a really steep canyon, including a couple of switchbacks where the train runs backwards...very beautiful views, but not exactly a fully funtioning transportation system. Hence it is now exclusively a Gringo Train. I couldn't believe the masses of tall white people who assembled at the station at the crack of dawn! Everyone in hiking boots and zip-off pants...the hardiest travellers sit on top of the train...feet dangling off the edge as the train dangles off the cliffs. I only lasted for the first hour or so...It was so stinkin' cold in the cloudy mountain morning. Scott returned to the top at the end...when it's most dramatic. So, after the train ride, all the gringos hopped on a bus to Cuenca...and we followed.
Adventure #3...The buses. After a day in Cuenca (where we were delighted to witness several of their spirited Christmas Parades) we hit the road for Vilcabama. We were driven out by the intense pollution that made us both sick almost as soon as we got there. We had a 7 hour bus ride from Cuenca...and felt lucky to be assigned seats 1&2...they had a bit more leg room... But we soon found out that the extra room was intended to be used by the 20 extra people standing on top of us for the duration of the trip...full on bags on our heads and butts in faces. The second leg (2hrs from Loja to Vilcabamba)wasn't much better...but at least this time it wasn't bags and butts...they just put thier babies in my lap.
So. As I was saying. We were feeling a good bit overwhelmed and tired by the time we arrived in Vilcabamba. We knew it was time for a break when our usual patience and cross-cultural understanding were wearing thin. So, after a few days of resting up and healing (we've also been battling multiple stomach issues since Colombia), We bought ourselves one more Christmas gift. We bought tickets to Chicago for January 3rd. We will fly out of Quito, so we'll have to head back north from here, but when we looked into flying from Lima in a month or so as we intended, we found that tickets were nearly double (and there is a 20% tax on top of it.) So, we've got another week to relax and enjoy the mountains and warm weather before we plunge into Chicago Winter! AHHH! But we are really excited about being home and with our families! So to all of you who have been faithfully following this photoless blog -- you get to be the first to know that we are heading home. Our adventures are hopefully not over -- only this current leg in South America... we hope to see you all soon, and tell you all about it. (And maybe even show you a picture or two...)
Friday, December 15, 2006
News From the Bottom Half of the World
Alright...So, Ecuador.
Well we found out from Lindsay that there were a few roadblocks about a week early, and they were over in less than a day. No big deal. Mostly rumor. So we crossed the border with no problems, and then took a bus directly to Otavalo. It´s a little mountain town famous for it´s huge Saturday market where the indigenous people from the surrounding mountians bring thier colorful wares. The market is over 1000 years old. They carry everything in huge sacks literally tied onto their backs- usually with loads three times their size. They start setting up at 4am. It´s amazing to see a completely empty square the night before, and then by morning it has transformed into an overflow of color and people. It was also the biggest concentration of white people we´ve seen since landing in San Jose. We stayed at a wonderful little bed and breakfast 4km outside of town. Muy Tranquilo. But very cold!
Ecuador is interesting because the weather is so different everywhere you go. I think it´s the altidude, the huge volcanoes and mountain ranges, along with the close proximity of the sun, that make it confusing. I got really sunburned at the market, even though it was a really cold, cloudy day.
So, our trip to the Equator... As some of you know, the equator is about an hour bus ride north of Quito. There is an enormous neo-classical monument indicating the center of the earth. It´s surrounded by a pretend colonial town that is really just gift shops. It really was like a theme park. You had to pay two dollars to get in the park, and then another 3 dollars to go into the monument (which we did not do based on principle), and the museum and planetaruim all had entrance fees. So we were feeling a bit deflated...and bored really.
So we left the park and wandered over to the Museo Intiñan...directly next door. Turns out that they got the equator wrong, and it´s really about 200 meters north of the monument in the Museo Intiñan! It´s a quirky little place, but we got a tour, and they do a bunch of experiments with you...like water going opposite directions down a drain, balancing and egg on the head of a nail, and weird strength anomolies. Did you know that you´re super weak on the equator? seriously...something about the "forces"... Anyway, the quirky little local place was so much more interesting and fun than the huge imperialistic monument. We thought it was ironic.
Now we´re just hanging out in Riobamba. We´ll keep you updated! Love you all.
Well we found out from Lindsay that there were a few roadblocks about a week early, and they were over in less than a day. No big deal. Mostly rumor. So we crossed the border with no problems, and then took a bus directly to Otavalo. It´s a little mountain town famous for it´s huge Saturday market where the indigenous people from the surrounding mountians bring thier colorful wares. The market is over 1000 years old. They carry everything in huge sacks literally tied onto their backs- usually with loads three times their size. They start setting up at 4am. It´s amazing to see a completely empty square the night before, and then by morning it has transformed into an overflow of color and people. It was also the biggest concentration of white people we´ve seen since landing in San Jose. We stayed at a wonderful little bed and breakfast 4km outside of town. Muy Tranquilo. But very cold!
Ecuador is interesting because the weather is so different everywhere you go. I think it´s the altidude, the huge volcanoes and mountain ranges, along with the close proximity of the sun, that make it confusing. I got really sunburned at the market, even though it was a really cold, cloudy day.
So, our trip to the Equator... As some of you know, the equator is about an hour bus ride north of Quito. There is an enormous neo-classical monument indicating the center of the earth. It´s surrounded by a pretend colonial town that is really just gift shops. It really was like a theme park. You had to pay two dollars to get in the park, and then another 3 dollars to go into the monument (which we did not do based on principle), and the museum and planetaruim all had entrance fees. So we were feeling a bit deflated...and bored really.
So we left the park and wandered over to the Museo Intiñan...directly next door. Turns out that they got the equator wrong, and it´s really about 200 meters north of the monument in the Museo Intiñan! It´s a quirky little place, but we got a tour, and they do a bunch of experiments with you...like water going opposite directions down a drain, balancing and egg on the head of a nail, and weird strength anomolies. Did you know that you´re super weak on the equator? seriously...something about the "forces"... Anyway, the quirky little local place was so much more interesting and fun than the huge imperialistic monument. We thought it was ironic.
Now we´re just hanging out in Riobamba. We´ll keep you updated! Love you all.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Quick! Quick!
Ok...there´s a bit of a line waiting for this free internet...so I´ll be brief. We are currently in Quito, Ecuador. We made it here just in time to see my dear friend Lindsay (who I traveled in Mongolia with, and who is now in the Peace Corps in Ecuador)before she flew home to New Jersey for Christmas! We had the most wonderful time with her...site seeing the Old City, taking a cable car up to the mountians above Quito, and drinking boiled wine on the roof of a building downtown. It´s so nice to spend time with friends...It makes us miss everyone all the more.
So, today, in celebration of Dad Heine´s birthday...we visited the official Equator! (more on that later) We´ve been in Ecuador for about five days now, and we're planning to travel south tomorrow to Riobamba. Hopefully, I´ll be able to write more later! We love you all & Happy Birthday, Dad!
So, today, in celebration of Dad Heine´s birthday...we visited the official Equator! (more on that later) We´ve been in Ecuador for about five days now, and we're planning to travel south tomorrow to Riobamba. Hopefully, I´ll be able to write more later! We love you all & Happy Birthday, Dad!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
clever blog entry title here
Hey team.
So Annie and I are in Popayan, Colombia; a relatively short bus ride away from Ecuador. We have in mind to cross that border in the next week here before some supposed road-blocks go up due to some kind of strikes that are rumored to occur. We have heard that the border town of Ipales is like most border towns, dusty and ugly, so we don´t want to be stuck there for a few weeks waiting for buses to run again. In all likelihood, it´s just a crazy rumor. We just wanted to let you know how we are... which is good. We stayed three days in San Agustin, some 7 hours by insane dirt road from here and some 12 hours from Bogota (where we spent nearly a week) This little ville was set at the edge of an absolutely heart-stopping huge gorge with multiple waterfalls. It was like a long and electrically green Yosemite. The area was dotted with plenty of pre-colombian indigenous archaeological sites with carved statues of crazy looking demons and various other fantastic creatures meant to scare people away from tombs. We took a day long jeep tour with some quiet Colombians to archaeological sites and waterfalls and did some of our own walking in farmland to more sites and overlooks the next day.
Great pictures!; of which I must tell all of you, may be prohibitively difficult to post. It takes forever to upload photos at the internet cafes available, and we need to somehow reduce their size to post anyway and we have no software for it. We´ll see... Anyway, we miss all of you and we´ve been thinking and talking about each of you consistently. We think we may be in Peru for Christmas so, you know, if anyone wants to hike Macchu Pichu for Navidid, email us-- we´ll meet up with you. Love you all--
Wish we could have seen the Slip with you Katie! good band.
So Annie and I are in Popayan, Colombia; a relatively short bus ride away from Ecuador. We have in mind to cross that border in the next week here before some supposed road-blocks go up due to some kind of strikes that are rumored to occur. We have heard that the border town of Ipales is like most border towns, dusty and ugly, so we don´t want to be stuck there for a few weeks waiting for buses to run again. In all likelihood, it´s just a crazy rumor. We just wanted to let you know how we are... which is good. We stayed three days in San Agustin, some 7 hours by insane dirt road from here and some 12 hours from Bogota (where we spent nearly a week) This little ville was set at the edge of an absolutely heart-stopping huge gorge with multiple waterfalls. It was like a long and electrically green Yosemite. The area was dotted with plenty of pre-colombian indigenous archaeological sites with carved statues of crazy looking demons and various other fantastic creatures meant to scare people away from tombs. We took a day long jeep tour with some quiet Colombians to archaeological sites and waterfalls and did some of our own walking in farmland to more sites and overlooks the next day.
Great pictures!; of which I must tell all of you, may be prohibitively difficult to post. It takes forever to upload photos at the internet cafes available, and we need to somehow reduce their size to post anyway and we have no software for it. We´ll see... Anyway, we miss all of you and we´ve been thinking and talking about each of you consistently. We think we may be in Peru for Christmas so, you know, if anyone wants to hike Macchu Pichu for Navidid, email us-- we´ll meet up with you. Love you all--
Wish we could have seen the Slip with you Katie! good band.
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