Viaje a Baños

Omgoodness! So much to share about Baños. Maggie and I got up early in the morning on Friday Nov 25th and took a 45 min taxi ride to south Quito. There we met up with the rest of the group and we took a 3 hour bus to Baños. We had a hostel reserved called Plantas y Blanco. It was a fantastic hostel! We had private rooms and it cost us 11.50 per night per person!

We did not want to waste anytime. We went down the road and found a place that had dune buggies. We rented two buggies and Kyle road a motorcycle. We drove for about an hour and a half through the mountains. We stopped along the way and saw several waterfalls. It was amazing! Afterward we went to the Swiss Bistro. The food was amazing and cheap just like most of Ecuador. Maggie and I split a meat fondue and it cost each of us 12 dollars. Then we went to a bar that played American music. We asked for hip hop and they gave us Will Smith and Jennifer Lopez! We went home and went right to sleep after all of that fun!

On Saturday we went white water rafting. We learned all of the commands, we learned how to fall out of the raft and how to rescue. It was awesome! We were on an Amazonian tributary and they told us if we wanted to go to Brazil we could get out of the boat and float there. We spent an hour and a half on the river and then we went and had lunch in a tiny town. It was a class 3 rapid... now I need to find a class 4!

When we got back from white water rafting we went to see the Waterfall that was near our hotel. Then we went shopping for a bit. After shopping we ate dinner at Casa Hood. The owner was from Michigan which was very cool! That night we rode a Chiva (a big open sided bus with flashing lights and loud music) we went to the top of Tungurahua volcano. We couldn't really see anything because it was cloudy. It was very boring. However, 4 hours after we left on Sunday it erupted and everyone was evacuated!

The city of Baños from the top of the mountain.





On Sunday morning we got up and ate breakfast on the rooftop of our hostel. I ate pancakes with peanut butter and cheese. It cost me less than 2 dollars! Before we went to breakfast we went to the Baños termales (hot springs). We sat in what looked like dirty water but was actually mineral water straight from the earth. You could also shower in water straight from the waterfall... it was freezing and
amazing! We went shopping a little more and then checked out of our hostel. We took a bus to Ambato and then had to take a taxi and another bus to Quisapincha. In Quisapincha there are tons of leather shops. There were soooo many beautiful cheap things. I really wanted a real leather jacket but my arms were too long and nothing fit! Maggie bought a beautiful 100 percent leather hand made jacket for 60 dollars! We took a bus and taxi back to Ambato and then took another bus back to Quito. We arrived at 8:10. After taking a horrible taxi back to Quito we arrived at 9:30 at home. I was sooooooo tired!

Overall the trip was amazing and I would love to do it again. I wouldn't change anything! (except maybe the last taxi driver).

Vero has decorated the house for Christmas but it just doesn't feel like it could be close! It is hot in the sun. That is not possible during Christmas time!


Le extraño todo!

Katy

Decide how you want to feel, and go wherever it takes to feel that way.
— Andy Hayes, Travel Writer

Accion de Gracias

Omygoodness! We had the most wonderful Thanksgiving last night! We ate everything that we would normally eat in the states except there was no stuffing :( I made two pumpkin pies and pumpkin rolls and green bean casserole. It was interesting because they don't have all the supplies that we have in the states. I had to make the pumpkin pie in a casserole dish because pies are not typical here. Also there was no pumpkin pie filling. I had to buy chopped up pumpkin, boil it, mash it and puree it! When it came to the green bean casserole I had trouble. They really don't have canned soup here. Instead I had to buy a package of powdered/ freeze dried cream of mushroom soup and go from there. They don't have frozen green beans but I didn't really mind using fresh. Also they don't have the crispy onion things for the top so I used shoestring fried potatoes. It turned out really good! It is so much easier to eat natural and organic here. Many times there is not another choice! Most things don't have any added preservatives...

Everyone came to our house. Maggie and her host family (Vero's daughters family) Carol and her family (other daughter) and then friends came as well. Many people don't celebrate Thanksgiving here so friends came because they had nowhere else to celebrate. Their families don't celebrate it of course. We celebrated because Vero and her daughters had lived in the states for 9 years and they fell in love with the tradition.

We ate everything, drank wine, played with the kids and gave thanks. I think I'm still full! Hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving!!!

ps.. there is no Black Friday here. Sad but probably a good thing ;)

Con amor!

Katy




Forever on Thanksgiving Day, the heart will find the pathway home.
~Wilbur D. Nesbit

Making Turkeys! Happy Thanksgiving

I taught a lesson on Thanksgiving in the United States today. We made awesome pinecone turkeys. :) On each feather we wrote what we were thankful for!

con amor!
katy

1st day of teaching at Colegio Americano!!

Today I had my first day teaching at Colegio Americano! It went really really well! My kids paid attention... we will see tomorrow how the homework turns out :) I taught a lesson on using mental images and the 5 senses when reading.

Making my pine cone turkey and getting ready for my lesson tomorrow! Teaching about Thanksgiving in the United States.

Con amor!
Katy

Shoppig in Otavalo y Cuichoca

We did my favorite thing alllll day. SHOPPINNNNGGG!! We all met early in the morning and drove two hours to Otavalo, Ecuador.

Abby and I were buddies that morning. She cuddled on my lap half way to Otavalo.

Vero, Abby and Daniel. The interesting thing about Ecuador is that the children don't sit in safety seats. The kids sat on our laps and in the back of the SUV for the whole trip.

Otavalo is the home of a giant Mercado Artesanía, Indigenous artisan market. They sell jewelry, hammocks, blankets, ceramics, clothing... on and on and on handmade goods. It was a beautiful drive! We drove through the mountains and had a beautiful view of the mountain Imbabura.

I bought all of my Christmas presents. It was the best and most enjoyable Christmas shopping I've ever done!



Afterward we ate dinner in an inactive volcano. The crater had filled water and is now a beautiful lake in the town of Cuicocha

After our long day, I went home and spread out all my beautiful things and looked at them again. Soooo excited!

That night, Vero, Maggie and I went to a play at Vero's school Alliance Academy. The play was fantastic! It was called Fools and the students did an amazing job. Some of the students were performing in their 2nd and 3rd languages.

Les extraño todos!

Katy




“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” Maya Angelou