Life’s a Beach

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This last weekend Betsy had a long weekend from school for Cuenca Day (that town’s independence day from the Spaniards) so she, Lucy, and myself loaded into our recently new vehicle and drove 325 kilometers to the small fishing town of Tonchigue on the west coast of Ecuador.  We’re still figuring out the best way to get out of Quito on a Friday afternoon.  It feels like hand to hand combat.

The drive to Tonchigue was similar to other driving experiences we found in Ecuador.  Once past Mindo it was more of the same; a twisting road that climbs and descends, people passing on double yellow, and brush and bamboo that creep and lean over the road.  I like to think I pass with caution.  Towards the middle of the drive we turned onto an honest to goodness two lane road (each way) with a speed limit of 100kph.  Based on the radar displays along the way I can tell you that our vehicle is somewhere between 6-8 kph faster than the speedometer.  It’s good to know our ride can roll at a descent rate.  We finally rendezvoused with our group at the beach house and finally felt like weekend set in.

Where we were was on a stretch of beach north of the pueblita of Tonchigue and south of the nearly-as-small pueblita of Same (pronounced Sah-may).  The beach consisted of swaths of sand and patches of crushed sea shells and rounded pebbles.  Though there wasn’t any surf to speak of, the water was warm and it ran up onto the beach nicely.  As a bonus, our condo was located adjacent to a cemetery (think above ground Louisiana-style tombs) and as luck would have it, Sunday was Dia de los Difuntos (all souls day), commonly knows as Dia de los muertos (day of the dead).  It was actually pretty neat to see families making the pilgrimage to the cemetery to clean the area around their family member’s tomb, place flowers, and celebrate all day.  We saw a few hammered guys wobbling away after “paying their respects”.  It’s as good of an excuse as any.

This was Lucy’s first time back to the beach since Betsy and I took her to California on our honeymoon.  She was only about 2 1/2 months old then.  It only took two or three waves crashing onto the beach for her to get the hang of things.  She played fetch with two other dogs on our trip until she was wiped out.

One of the neatest things I saw on the trip was the Sunday we were there.  Some kids who were part of the families at the cemetery were fascinated with Lucy as Betsy threw the Frisbee for her.  Remember that Lucy is somewhat of an anomaly in Ecuador.  Not a lot of people have dogs as pets and when they do they’re usually pretty small.  People are absolutely terrified of Lucy when they see her coming, often crossing the street to avoid her.  Anyway, the kids gathered around Betsy and it got to the point where they all took turns throwing the Frisbee.  Betsy got a kick out of connecting with the kids a bit.

It was a very nice weekend.  After some drinks, dinners, sun, and relaxation we rolled back to Quito.

New Ride

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This post is two weeks over due.  However, we got a new vehicle!  It’s a 1995 Toyota Land Cruiser FZJ 73.  It’s built partially on the FJ 40 chassis, has Toyota’s 1-FZ-F engine, and built in the FJ 70 series style.  What that means is it’s off road capable, has a more powerful carbureted engine than previous models, and has a little more space than many other two doors in the country.  We think it’s going to be a great vehicle for us because it is durable and has enough space for all three of us and all of our stuff.

Our first weekend of owning it we drove it to Papallacta, a small, rural town a few hours east of Quito up in the mountains just north of Cotopaxi Volcano.  Once there, Betsy, Lucy and myself took a nice hike in the rain along a creek.  The hike went through a small organic farm and we saw our first Avocado Trees; lots of them.  There are a ton of outdoor opportunities near Papallacta and we can’t wait to get back.  It was liberating getting out of the city and this trip will be one of many.

Mindo

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A week ago, Betsy had her first long weekend from school so we took the opportunity to travel outside of Quito for the first time.  Our destination was a town called Mindo.  It’s about a two hour drive west from Quito over an interesting two lane mountain road.  Our rented Chevy Spark let us feel every bump and groove of the road.  We needed all of its 51 horsepower to just keep up with other drivers, let a lone try to pass on blind double yellow curves like many other drivers seemed to enjoy.

Comparing Mindo to Crested Butte is a bit of a stretch, however, both towns did come up in the same conversation.  Mindo is a small, quiet town with dirt and cobble roads centered around outdoor activities including hiking, bird watching, zip lining, and river activities.

Our first day we hiked to Nambillo Falls.  After a thirty minute hike, we were surprised to find that the area around the falls included an observation platform, some man made pools fed by side streams, a concrete slide built into the contours of the hillside, and a pavilion where residents of the property were grilling out and selling food and beers.  This was the first time Lucy got in some real water and she loved it.  She also provided quite a show for the 15-20 locals who were there on their own weekend excursion playing in the water and chasing sticks (video).  I gave the slide a go too (video) but am still waiting to find this warm river water my kayaking friends keep telling me about.

On our second day we went zip lining and were relieved that it was a double cable system for added safety.  I wasn’t sure what to expect for $14.  There were thirteen segments to the whole tour.  Great fun.  On the way back to town we stopped by a butterfly research pavilion.  They had butterflies in various stages of maturity and the highlight was being able to feed them with ripe banana as they sat right on your finger.  One of the most impressive things we learned was how the cocoons mimic their surroundings.  For example, butterflies that live close to water have shiny cocoons to mimic water dropping off of plants (photos of gold pods).  Amazing.

After a lunch back in town we went for a hike with some of Betsy’s coworkers that happened to be staying in Mindo. This by far was the thickest jungle scene we encountered.  Steep hills, thick foliage, vines, ferns, and a ton of humidity.  To start the hike we had to cross the Mindo River in a pulley and rope “cable car” that held two people (and a dog).  Lucy hated every second of it but it was surprisingly safe and efficient.

We had such a great time in Mindo and are excited to return.  The next time we go we will have our own vehicle to explore even more as we are close to pulling the trigger on one.  But that is another post.

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No No

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This last weekend we also went to the town of Nono, about an hour away.  It was great to get out of the city.  We drove through the town to a small parking lot and then hiked to a water fall.  Along the way we met a nice family that was on the same hike.  Lucy finally was able to get into the water.  Good times.

Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

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Today, Quito will become the closest city on planet Earth to the Sun; it is the Equinox.

This weekend, we visited Mitad del Mundo, the middle of the world.  Commonly referred to as the Equator.  Near Quito, there are two prominent celebrations of this.  The first, established some time ago, is presented with great pomp and circumstance, complete with flowered gardens, stone walkways, and a four story tower with an observatory.  The second is 250 meters away from the more well known line, was discovered eighteen years ago with GPS, and is the exact middle of the earth.  This true Equatorial line is complete with experiments to illustrate the effects and significance of this very real line.  Balancing acts, two sided sun dials, and tubs of draining water that illustrate the opposing Coriolis effects on the different sides of the equator.

My favorite picture below shows my hand over a sun dial.  We were so close to the Equinox that the sun dial cast nearly no shadow.  Today at noon CST the sun dial will cast no measurable shadow and the earth will be in balance.

The Coriolis Effect causes counter clockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere (Tornado) and clockwise rotation in the Southern Hemisphere (Typhoon).  However, at the equator, this rotation does not exist.  To illustrate, see the video below to watch water in a basin drain straight down with no vortex.  The leaves fall straight through.  Amazing.

 

Alpenglow

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Since the equator run directly through Quito, sunrise is at 6 AM and sunset is at 6 PM every day of the year. This is taking us a little while to get used to but the sunsets are beautiful just like in Crested Butte.

The rose bushes in our yard are amazing. They are in full bloom and we notice new buds on them everyday. Even Lucy enjoys sniffing them when she goes out into the yard.

 

Note to Self: Watch out for Ecuadorian hot dogs

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While Roman has been in Mammoth, California this last week for the annual Black Tie Retreat, Lucy and I have been muddling through life in Quito. We went on a fun mountain bike ride in Parque Metropolitano on Saturday and enjoyed a Tanzanian/German/Ecuadorian (how’s that for a fusion restaurant!) lunch at a local restaurant with some friends. Saturday evening, my friend Amanda had a barbecue at her apartment a few blocks away. Just as I was into the second bite of my hot dog, thinking to myself “this is one miserably tough casing on this thing”, my friend Shannon said, “I had a hot dog the other day and I had to remove the plastic covering on it.” Needless to say, that tough casing wasn’t just a casing after all. I think I will stay away from hot dogs for a while.