September Update 2013 - Our second year!

It's been awhile... but we are still here!  Yes, we have begun our second year here in Ecuador.  We did leave for part of the summer - traveled for about a month actually and it was nice to get away.  However... our summer was a short one.  We traveled home and spent time with family and friends, and then traveled to some beautiful places we have never been before... and then before we knew it we were on our last flight heading back to Guayaquil.  Once we got back here we were going to go to the beach (Salinas) for our last couple weeks but we decided to stay put and relax a little here at our home so we could catch up on some sleep and prepare for school to re-start.  It was a nice... but lazy two weeks.  Although we do not consider Ecuador our "home", it is our temporary home, and it felt good to be back in the bed we were used to sleeping in... and back to our familiar routines. Before we knew it Dan and I were back to school greeting new teachers, and settling in to the new school year.  We did have several teachers leave at the end of last year - about 6 or 7 actually.  For most, it was the end of their contract and they decided to teach elsewhere - some in other countries... continuing along the International school circuit, while others returned to the U.S., and others... well, they had not decided their path yet.  Regardless... they are missed.  We hope to stay in contact with some of them via Facebook and other means.  Although we only knew them one short year, we had a commonality... we were all far from home - far from our families, friends and loved ones... and we spent time together here getting together to eat, talk, drink, have a good time... and make friendships.  It helps to spend time with the other teachers - and it does make the time go by quicker, and gives you someone to share your new experiences with as well.  So, when we had new teachers start this year - all of a sudden we did not feel like the "new ones" anymore.  That was a bit strange - but nice.  We feel as though we have settled in now and have grown accustomed to life here - the good and the bad.

We are enjoying our school year so far!  It is going by quickly it seems.  We started the first week in August and here it is already 5 weeks into the school year. Before we know it it will be Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!  Something tells me it will be here in a blink of an eye.  Excited about that actually!  In our last year here we are hoping to do some more traveling before we leave for good.  Maybe Manchu Picchu - maybe Panama - Cuenca again possibly - and some other areas that Dan has been eyeing.  We will see what we can fit in during the short 9 months we have left.  School and sports keep us very busy and occupy our weekends a lot - so we will see.  If we go anywhere exciting... I will share it in a post.  I have attached some pics below of various things here in Ecuador... take a look!

In the meantime... continue to live the life you love, and love the life you live!

¡hasta luego

~ Michelle

Typical storefront business in small towns.  Most have bars like this one - which have an opening for exchange of goods and money.

This is a restaurant we passed by while on the bus going to Salinas (one of the beach towns).  This is a typical restaurant look here.  Concrete structures with openings and plastic tables and chairs.  When they close - metal gates come down and close up the openings. 

Misc picture of a neighborhood & cars. 

This is a Chiva Bus.  We were celebrating!  It was a going away party.  These buses are rented and there is a disco ball, DJ, and drinks.  It is open air and it drives around town while you listen to music, dance and socialize.

Chiva Bus

Las Penas, Guayaquil, Ecuador - at night - the view.

Church at the top of Las Penas - up the hill 444 steps to the top.

at the top of Las Penas

This is a really good wine I've had here.  It's hard to find!  Is about $16.00 a bottle.

Granadilla (passion fruit)

The inside of a granadilla.  Not pretty, but yes, we eat it - and it's good - and really good for you!

Daily Stuff... Pro's and Con's

Buenos tardes amigos.  I hope this posting finds you all doing well.  I am currently fighting off the effects of food poisoning... ugh, which is no fun.  Our school doctor thinks it must have been some food I ate this past weekend when we were out and about that was not refrigerated correctly.  Needless to say.. I am feeling the effects of it.  Living here in Ecuador is not easy in my opinion.  I'm speaking about many different aspects.  One in particular the food and drink.  The water from the tap is not drinkable.  We must buy our water in the large blue bottles which we have delivered to our villa.  These are not delivered by the fancy bottled water trucks like in the U.S., no... here they are delivered by car, truck, or strapped on the back of a bike or motorcycle.  When I say truck... it could be someones personal dirty work truck, or a big semi dirty work truck.  Needless to say, the bottles of water are suppose to be cleaned and sanitized, refilled, and then sealed for delivery.  We use that water for drinking and for most things in the kitchen... cooking, coffee, etc.  We use the tap water for washing dishes, hands, etc.  We do use the tap water to brush our teeth, although some other people do not.  We were told that as long as you don't swallow the water your fine.  The three of us have gotten pretty good at learning how to brush without swallowing a drop. So I think.  Of course we shower using the tap water.  Sometimes it smells funny, but it's not dirty water... it just has bacteria in it from the old plumbing under the ground.

Now the food... that's interesting.  Most people I talk to are shocked to hear when I say that most of the food here in Ecuador is pretty bland.  I guess they expect it to be like Mexican food - but remember... this is South America - Ecuador - not Central America and not Mexico.  Although the people here speak Spanish, they are Ecuadorian and they cook Ecuadorian - not Mexican.  The main dishes they eat are soups, rice, beans (lentils) and chicken.  Throw in some fish here and there, some plantains, and occasionally pork and beef.  When the food is prepared it is with very little spices and is very very bland.  Being honest with you, after being here almost a year we are getting pretty bored with the food choices.  Even shopping at the store your choices seem very limited - especially compared to the U.S.  We can find some items that have been imported from the states, however, as I have said in past postings, those items are few and far between and they are very expensive - often 3 to 4 times more than what we would pay in the U.S.  Therefore we rarely if ever buy them here.   We have went to have Chinese food several times at a place within walking distance to where we live and that place is good - but not like U.S. Chinese food.   That sounds funny doesn't it - "U.S. Chinese Food".  It makes me wonder how the Chinese food in China tastes.  Anyhow, the Ecuadorian Chinese food is okay and we tend to order the same thing each time we go there - that way we know what we are getting.  We order out for Domino's pizza every once in a while too.  When we do that Sam gets a chance to practice his Spanish.  He usually does fairly well... and then towards the end of the conversation he gets a little lost in translation... and needless to say they hang up on him - but, we always get the pizza delivered so he must be doing something right.  Pizza here is also not like home, but it's good enough to eat.  One positive is that I've lost about 15 pounds since arriving here last July.  I guess that may have something to do with the food... or lack there of... who knows.  :)

We are nearing the end of our first school year here.  I must say... I am ready for summer vacation!  I am ready to go home and see our family and friends and have some tap water and U.S. food.  :)

Living here has some positives as well as some negatives.  On the positive side, we are living a much simpler life style.  We spend way way way less money - however we make way way way less money too.  We do not have expenses like we did in the states... such as car expenses, gas, insurance, food (we ate more in the U.S. and went to the store a lot more too), and we really have no housing expenses here either except for water, electricity, cable and Internet.  Those are quite a bit less than what we were paying in the states.  So, from that stand point those things are positives.  However, we are very far from the U.S. and airplane tickets are not cheap (usually around $1,000. round-trip per person) so it's not like we can just jump on a plane when we get home sick.  We also miss camping - which I don't think many people do here, if at all.  Maybe only the traveling backpackers.  I've never seen a trailer, motor home, or camper here. They do have boats and jet skis - but the recreation is not like at home where people get together and go do things like that - no.  They go to beaches and then they rent a jet ski for $20.00 for a half hour... ride it, then that's it.  We do miss our camping trips and road trips.

Another positive... we spend a lot of time together... the three of us.  We eat meals together - every breakfast and dinner, and then Dan and I usually have lunch together almost every day at school.  But, a negative... no dishwashers.  From what I hear not many houses here have them - and you can find dishwashing soap in the stores on occasion but not all the time.  So... that means I cook and Dan cleans.  I will do the dishes on occasion, especially if I am baking or doing extra stuff in the kitchen, but for the most part Dan is the dishwasher.  He REALLY misses the dishwasher.  :)  Sam helps out a little with it, but here you want to be sure that you use really hot water so with Dan doing them we know he is cleaning them right.  A positive... we have a great housekeeper one day a week.  Her name is Elena and she is wonderful.  We pay her $20.00 a day and she does all the floors, bathrooms, laundry, dishes, and anything else we ask her too.  She is great.  Can't get that in the U.S. for $20.00.  She comes to the house when we are at school, and is gone when we get home... and everything is done... even laundry folded and put away or hung up. Awesome.  Negative... television.  We have on average 4-5 channels that are English speaking.  But occasionally some other channels will play some movies in English.  Dan misses his sports!  We do get some football, basketball and on rare occasion a baseball game - but the games are not always the teams Dan wants to see and they don't show any college sports.  We only have one TV - which can be both a positive and a negative.  So when Sam is playing his video games we are usually on the computers.  Not much to do here in the evenings except go for a walk or bike ride.  Now that is another positive... we do walk pretty much everywhere (that is close), and we go for walks quite a bit and bike rides.  We did not really do that at home much. I am thankful that we don't drive here though because people drive nuts here, always blowing their horn - driving 3 and 4 cars wide on a two lane road, cutting each other off - AND, several times Dan and I have been walking and people have actually sped up and flashed their lights at us to get out of their way.  There is no laws for pedestrians here... the drivers have the right-of-way so you best move out of the way or you will get hit.  No kidding.  This goes for in the grocery store too.  Numerous times I have been shopping and my basket will get run into or people will stop right in the middle of the isle and not move... even after they see me there waiting.  I say "pardon" but they just ignore me. I am always moving over out of their way but it is not reciprocated. Weird.

Anyway, living here is a good experience for all of us I think.  It's like nothing we have ever done before and it will be something we will never forget.  We all learn from our life experiences and I am sure that each one of us will have some pro's and con's to living in Ecuador when our time here is up.  Until then... we will just keep on moving on.

Since we returned from the Amazon we have not really done much.  School has been keeping us busy with various activities and events. We did make it to the beach -  a place called Salinas one weekend which was nice. We stayed at a "gringo" hostel which we really liked and plan to go back there again.  Here are some pics...

Enjoy your days... enjoy your nights... enjoy your time with the ones you love the most!

Until next time...

Michelle

The AMAZING AMAZON!

Hello again everyone!

I am finally taking the time to post the information and pictures from our Amazon trip.  This was a wonderful trip - interesting to say the least - and although it did not have all the comforts of home, was not the cleanest, and had lots of critters, insects, and especially spiders... I do not regret this trip one bit!  It was worth the travel time to get there and worth putting up with all the normal things I would not want to associate with (like lots of bugs...).

When we decided to book this trip we had lots of options, simply because the Amazon is so vast... there are several areas you can go to take advantage of the tours and accommodations   While researching we decided that if we were going to go into the Amazon, we really wanted to go "into" the Amazon.  There are many places that are along the outside of Amazon and they take you into it just a little bit - but those places are very close to civilization and we did not want to feel like we were just getting a small taste of it - we wanted to be immersed in it.  So, we ended up booking a trip that took us on a flight from Guayaquil to Quito and then in Quito we caught another flight that flew us into a small area called Lago Agrio.  Once we landed in Lago Agrio (which is a very small airport), our tour guide, named Neiser, was there to meet us. We were loaded into a bus and then off we were into the Secondary Jungle - which is part of the Amazon.  Our bus ride was 2 hours.  It went by quickly since we were watching the scenery change... and we saw a monkey and some neat birds along the way.  After 2 hours we arrived in Cuyabeno National Reserve.  There we loaded our things into a really long motorized canoe and we were off headed up river to our lodge, another 2 hours ride into the primary jungle. The canoe ride was very fun!  The drivers are very experienced and drive about 25-35 mph on the river zigg-zagging their way through the jungle.  We saw an injured baby anaconda along the way, as well as many cool birds.  Wow!  We couldn't believe we were really in "The Amazon Jungle".  After about 2 hours we arrived at our lodge, Guacamayo Ecolodge.  We were welcomed by the staff with some fresh juice and then shown to our rooms.  The rooms are in thatched roof huts that sit on stilts along the river.  Our room was simple - 1 double bed and a set of twin bunk beds.  We had a small bathroom that had a toilet, small sink and a shower with hot water.  The windows have no screens, no glass - and the roof is thatched roofs, but the walls do not go up to the roof so it is somewhat open air.  Our beds had mosquito nets over them, which we used at night.  The rooms had no electricity - only candles at night.  The dining room hut had candles at night and had one area with an electric plug to charge camera batteries.  No phone, no internet.

The lodge was "all-inclusive" meaning... it included three (3) meals a day, water, hot water, tea and coffee.  They had soda pop and beer for purchase as well as other alcoholic drinks if wanted.  It also included all the tours.  We were there 4 nights, 5 days.  Some of the things we did were:  hiking day trips in the jungle, a night hike in the pitch dark with flashlights which was very cool!  Saw lots of big bugs; also did a day canoe paddle trip where we paddled a canoe through the many water ways in the jungle looking at monkeys, birds, snakes, butterfly's  etc.; also went piranha fishing, caiman hunting, swimming in the lagoon, went to meet some indigenous people (the Sequoia tribe) and we all made yucca bread together the way they make it and to see how they live, and then met a Shaman (medicine man), and also went on many motorized canoe trips to explore and to also see the sunset over the Amazon - which was BEAUTIFUL and calming.

The food was good, the staff and people were very nice, and our guide, Neiser, was wonderful!  He can see things from so far away... and can spot things while traveling on the river at 25 -30 mph that no one else can see.

I have to say... the time we did the night hike was a highlight!  At one point we were all in the middle of the jungle - pitch dark with just a few flashlights - and our guide tells us all to stop and turn our lights off.  We do.  He says "listen to the symphony".  We stood there for about 10 minutes just listening to all the critters... crickets, frogs, birds, owls, monkeys, etc...  It gave you such a strange feeling.  I leaned over and said to Sam "Wow, is this weird or what... we are standing in the middle of the Amazon Jungle - AT NIGHT - in the dark - not many people can say they did this".  He looked at me and smiled.  He was so into it!!  He was following Neiser around like a little puppy.  He listened to everything Neiser said and when Neiser was walking through spider webs and digging in the ground for poisonous frogs... Sam was right there checking it all out first hand over his shoulder.  It was really awesome.  Another highlight was the canoe trips we made everyday from the lodge to other areas.  It was a relaxing and refreshing time watching all the wildlife and having the breeze blow in your face.

Some of the things we saw:  Many types of monkeys, many types of birds (including Macaws and toucans , many types of spiders (including tarantulas, wolf spiders and other very large and strange ones), frogs, lizards, snakes (including boa and anacondas), pink river dolphins, many different type of insects - some very large ones, piranha, caiman, and many butterfly's, flowers, fruits and weird and cool trees and plants.

The trip was actually reasonable cost... and we would really recommend it!  However... if you are scared of spiders... this might not be the trip for you.  At night the tarantulas do come out in the thatched roofs.  They don't like humans and we never saw one come down from the roof - but you can see them with your flashlight (we saw about 15-20 one night), and you can hear them rustling around.  I really don't like spiders, but the tarantulas did not bother me.  I must tell you, the wolf spiders are nasty!  They are all around up on the posts and on the roof.  They did not bother me until one day one of them landed right on my back!  It was about as big as a hockey puck and he landed on my back when I leaned over to get something in our room.  I think he fell or jumped from up above and somehow landed on me.  All I had on for a shirt was a tank top and I felt this "thud" on my back.  I pulled my tank top away from my back and looked over my shoulder and I could see it stuck to my shirt.  I immediately tried to hit him off me but he was stuck to me!  I started screaming "get it off me" and Dan came in and hit it off me onto the floor.  Dan took his water bottle and put it near the spider and the spider reared up his front legs and showed his fangs!!!!  He was mad!!!  At that point, Neiser, our guide had ran up to our room and he saw it and he stomped on it.  He said "boy, he was an active aggressive one"!  Dan asked "would it of bit her?" and Neiser said "oh, yeah" !!!!  Well, this happened on Day 3 and for the next 2 days I was kind of freaked out.  I walked everywhere with a flashlight.  Neiser did say that those spiders do not normally jump on people and that it must have been chased by a lizard or something on the roof and fell.  I'm just glad it didn't bite me.  Although that happened, I do not regret the trip at all, and it did not make me want to leave by any means.  If you are ever in South America... take a trip into the Amazon, you will really enjoy it!

Here are some pictures from our trip!  Enjoy!

Mountains flying from Quito to Lago Agrio

Lago Agrio - Ecuador

bus ride to Cuyabeno

secondary jungle - The Amazon

chocolate pods - cacao

baby anaconda - injured by a caiman possibly

heading to our lodge up river..

another anaconda... this one is about 5 feet long and just ate a baby monkey they think.

Our lodge

the lodge from up in the bird tower

baby boa

ahhh relaxing ride

monkey

tree of life

another anaconda... close enough to touch

weird fruit... you take out the pod and suck on it

yucca bread drying

butterflys

coffee beans

papaya

cicada's

cacao pods - the inside

yellow head vulture

first you dig up the yucca root, then you peel the skin off...

Dan helping the lady from the Sequoia tribe clean the yucca

Then you clean it...

then you grate it into a fine pebble..

build your fire..

then you put it into a vine and twist out all the water... then you place it on this screen to sift it

then you put a bowl of the flour type mixture on this hot plate and let it cook

yucca bread with jam

Sam getting his ready... still warm from the fire.

yum!

butterfly... odd one.

Another tree of life.  These are like the trees in the Avatar movie... they took the idea from the Amazon.

Shaman - Medicine Man

Dan swimming under the moonlight at sunset in the black lagoon

Beautiful!

Lobster Cricket

see how big next to Sam's hand

another lobster cricket next to Sam's boot

Wolf Spider with egg sack attached

termite nest

bird nests handing from tree

Red dragon fly

frog... looks just like a leaf!

fungus

fishing for piranha

wolf spider

on our way back to Lago Agrio

flying home