Ecuador - Day 36

Inside of Outside

More heating oil issues. Hopefully got it figured out today. Fingers crossed. Walked around town, saw some parks and cool buildings. Went to El Rey del Burrito and ordered Fajitas and Quesadillas. Quite good. Went to the s at the train station. Ashley got some llama and alpaca wool. IN the afternoon, she crocheted and I finished getting my book. Went to Happy Pizza for dinner and rushed off to a movie. Jack Reacher. It's pretty good. Spanish subtitles help a little with learning. Our floor mates aren't very quiet.

Ecuador - Day 35

Inside of Outside

Another day of buses. Took a truck to Zumbahwa. Had to bargain. Then bus to Latacunga. Bought peaches and researched where to go next. Heating oil almost figured out. Took a bus to Ambato and then Rio Bamba. Hotel Canada! Found a place for $5/night. Got Chinese food for dinner. Way too much food. God a doggie bag. Went to several internet cafés to try and download my book. Got kicked out with 5 minutes left. Try to resume tomorrow.

Ecuador - Day 34

Inside of Outside

Baby cows everywhere, umbilical cords dragging in the dust. A cool water powered milking machine. Hitched a ride with Patricia and Hannibal to Quilotoa, stopping at scenic spots on the way. Only got lost once. Hiked down to the crater lake. Beautiful and mind blowing. Hid the 6L water jug behind a shrub. Camera is working again. Watched a shepherdess and 1 in training herd a hundred sheep + 1 ram + 1 goat to water and then up the hill. Took a nap. Ate a simple dinner. Flavourless meat is hard to stomach. Oh, the silence.

Ecuador - Day 33

Inside of Outside

Bkfast at Residencial Viajero. Admonitions from Hilda. Ashley not feeling so good today. Bus towards Quito. Another bus to Latacunga. Standing room only. Started feeling sick. Got off at a random spot and sat in the grass for a while. Debated with Ashley bus or hitchhike. Hitched a ride then nabbed a bus to some other random spot, where we caught a bus to Latacunga. Got grapes, chocolate, yoghurt, ice cream, and noodles, then caught a bus to Pujili. No hostels in Pujili. Took us an hour to realize. Hitched a ride to Tigua in a pickup with a gravestone. Awesome home grown dinner by Marcos and Margarita.

Ecuador - Day 32

Inside of Outside

Up the hill, down the hill, so many times today. 1st to hunt for breakfast. Than the hot springs. Very nice. 1st pools of different temps from nearly scalding to frigid, fed directly by hot springs or mountain stream. Hot/freezing/hot/freezing etc. Locro for lunch. Good. Might try to make it at home. Splurged on a deep tissue massage for me and Ashley got a relaxing massage. Mine hurt, but was great. And a nap after that, then hunted for a place to eat dinner and got a small pizza.

Ecuador - Day 31

Inside of Outside

Last day at the farm. Woke and packed 11 people, plus their luggage, an empty gas bottle, several large boxes, into a 7 seater. Dropped us at the road. Ashton forgot to exit at Mindo. Me, Ashley, Sebastien, and Noemi had bkfast, then hitchhiked to Quito w/Paul the cray but relatively good driver. They went to Colombia, we bused across Quito (me tired, dehydrated, and very grumpy), and cought a bus to Papallacta. Found a beautiful hostel. La Residencia Viajero, kept by Jorge and Hilda, who are awesome. Platos vegetarianos for dinner. These mountains are much different--grassy instead of jungly. Hot Springs tomorrow.