Ecuador: Day 9, 10,

Day 9:
We awoke early because we were supposed to met Eduadro, Maria and Ivan (his friend) and drive up to Otavalo (a city with a great indigenous market). While we were eating breakfast and Ivan showed up with his sister (who for the life of me I cannot remember her name, sorry). We set out about half an hour later, I drove with Ivan and his sister because there weren't enough seat belts in Eduardo's car. Me and Ivan's sister got along and talked for a bit about music, books, Pride and Prejudice and other films. We first stopped at the sight of about 15 ancient Quitu pyramids. If you didn't know you would most likely think these pyramids were large grassy mounds for that's exactly what they looked like. We walked around with a guide who had been at the sight since they were first excavated in the late 1960's. He was an interesting fellow and told many stories about the people to us. It was neat because there were many lamas that lived there and I loved being able to see them up close. They're so cute and I never noticed their similarity to camels.
They never found any treasure in the one pyramid they dug into. It was discovered to be a burial place and they found over 100 skulls. At the top of one of the pyramids there was an observatory that the Quitu (the original people of this area) used. There was a place where they observed the moon and a place where they watched the sun. Our guide did a cleansing ritual on Greg with different plants because he sensed Greg had some bad energy. We also went inside the little museum they had with artifacts which was interesting.
We set out again and after about an hour (maybe more) we arrived in the city of Otavalo. Unfortunately just as soon as we arrived there it began to rain. We walked around the market and I found a ton of lovely things; striped pants, an amazing headband, little bags, a blouse, socks scarves and many other fantastic things. And the best part was, everything was so cheep. For example my pair of striped orange pants were only three dollars. One could buy many many amazing items and not feel as though they had used a lot of money. Mom and Greg also found some nice things, like sweaters and purses. The market was so nice to look at because of all the hanging blankets and knitted things in bright colors. And even though the sky was gray all the color made everything more cheery.
The one thing about the market that disturbed me was seeing all the roasting meat around. There were grills and stalls with pig heads and chicken carcases. I felt a bit nauseous and I'm still not to fond of eating meat after that. It was also sad seeing all the trash laying about, on the streets and in the plants. It just felt so forlorn and run down, as if the people didn't care.
We ate a late lunch/early dinner at this odd restaurant called Buena Vista (Good View, which was a good name because the view over the market was great). Mom and I got a vegetable lasagna and a salad. They were both good. We piled back into the car and headed home. I found myself dosing off during the ride, but it was hard because the streets were so bumpy and I kept waking. In all I had a great time at the market, it was lots of fun.Day 10:
We got about around 10:30 and met Eduardo and Daniel (one of Greg's students). We all piled into the car and headed off towards Cotopaxi (a volcano near Quito). It took about an hours drive before we could see the volcano although threw out the day it was covered by clouds. Eduardo wanted to take us to visit a Hacienda near the volcano but we couldn't find the way to get there. We asked many different people and they all seemed to point us in a different direction. We finally found the street which was small and bumpy. The Hacienda was quite beautiful. As we drove up I noted that it felt rather like Argentina and the ranch there. It was built on some Incan ruins so parts of the walls were white washed and others we old stone brike. I really loved it there. We explored a bit and found this beautiful room with a dirt floor and a table with roses in the center. It felt like the perfect place for a photo shoot of some sort. In the center courtyard one could admire the lovely building with its yellow and white walls and then, later on, a herd of lamas came and you could feed them carrots. They were so cute and were really soft as well. There was a garden with lots of flowers and ducks who waddled around near the pond. There was a lovely room that felt really cosy with pictures of the owners and neat old books and objects.
We sat down to lunch with another group of five people. Two were diplomats at the Argentine embassy stationed in Quito, they were really interesting and talked with Greg a lot about politics which didn't interest me much, but they still seemed nice. One girl, who was about my age was from England and was in Quito learning about chocolate because her parents own a chocolate factory. When I heard this I thought that that seemed extremely fun having parents that own a chocolate factory and traveling to learn more about chocolate. But it turned out her true passion was for dance.
The first part of the meal was Locro which was amazing, maybe the best so far. We also got an incredible juice called Naranjilla. It takes like Pineapple, orange, guava and peach all together. I got a chicken salad while everyone else had fish, it was really yummy. For dessert they had this fruit (which I don't remember) in this sauce which I really liked but Greg wasn't fond of. In all the meal was really really good, expensive, but good.
We left the Hacienda and drove to a giant house-sized rock that came out of the volcano. It was huge! It was wild to see but sadly it was covered in graffiti, which wasn't very nice to see. We drove home and I was happy to be out of the car. I really loved seeing the Hacienda, it was one of my favorite things thus far.

Ecuador: Day 7 and 8

Day 7:
It was a relaxing morning which, I think, was just what I needed. We ate breakfast, I had my usual fruit and a croissant, and then I worked on my computer a bit. Greg had another headache and so when he went to get I message I decided to come with him so I could ride the bike at the gym for a little while. It was actually quite fun, I rode the “workout bike” with this odd serious man beside me while watching a muted makeover show. After that I went up to the room and relaxed a little more. At around 2:30 Greg had an interview with the while Greg was interviewed and I couldn’t help admiring the photographers camera. It was fun watching and wondering what the interview would be like in the paper. They said they wanted to do another one with his family as well, which would be nice.
Next we went to the university and I sat in the back, as usual, while Greg talked. I got quite bored because most of the night was Greg reviewing peoples work and I didn’t have my headphones with me. I also wasn’t very inspired to draw, nothing quite turned out the way I wanted and when I tried writing, the same thing happened. Mom’s lecture got delayed due to the lack of time. After the class Greg, mom and I went out to have a late dinner with two of his students, Daniel and Pablo (Pablo looks rather like my drama teacher Corby). They are both really nice and I had a great time. Mom and I both got the Locro (Ecuadorian potato soup) which was amazing. Pablo has an amazing gift for drawing. His pen drawing just blow my mind. Overall it wasn’t the best night, but the dinner made everything better.
Day 8:
On the morning of July 3rd it was really sunny and hot. I was so excited because I thought I could finally wear a skirt. We met Eduardo and Maria (his wife) at 11:00 and to go the the botanical gardens. Once we got the the gardens the clouds had begun to cover the sky and it was starting to get cold. The gardens were really nice. There were all these neat plants and the orchid greenhouses were especially interesting. There were so many unique types. Our tour guide was really nice and I learned lots about the different plants. Here are some of the plants we saw:






























































After the gardens we went to visit Eduardo’s friend who has this make-shift museum of dinosaurs he builds. They’re quite wild because they move and snap at you. At one point I was really freaked out because this dinosaur popped up from behind this wall roaring a knocked fake rocks towards us. I’m rather embarrassed to say I jumped and let out a bit of a scream. Next, Eduardo, Greg, mom and I went to lunch at the restaurant at the Hilton Hotel. We had heard from Pablo that it was really good so we thought we’d give it a shot. I’ve been having an odd stomach ache were after anything I eat I’ve been getting stomach cramps. Due to this I decided to get the chicken and rice soup which was actually really good.
We met Maria and went back to the university. During the class I worked on this post, drew another of my Pendragon drawings, listened to moms talk and joined in the drum circle at the end. Everyone was banging on whatever they could find; drums, cans, knees, poster tubes, etc. It was a bit sad saying bye to everyone because I liked some of the people a lot. Maybe I'll see some of them in the future.

Ecuador: Day 5 and 6

Day 5:
It was cold again on Tuesday, the clouds filed the sky and overall it was very gloomy weather. I didn’t have the greatest morning. Firstly because the contest I was planning on entering, ended the night before and I hadn’t entered yet. That put a bit of a damper on my whole day. I started a drawing which didn’t work out and listened to my book on tape. At 2:30 we met Ivan, one of Eduardo’s friends who drove us to the college. We got a short tour around the college and then went to the classroom where Greg was going to teach. We ate lunch at this yummy restaurant across the street, mom and I split a taco salad which was very good.
Mom and I sat in the back of the classroom while Greg got his equipment set up. I decided to start a series of drawings of the characters in the Pendragon series. Because the last book came out recently, I’ve been trying to read or listen to the whole series again so that I have a clear memory of everything. Thus I have been really inspired to draw the characters. I drew throughout Greg’s class and almost finished two drawings which I quite like.
Greg had all of his students show their portfolios and it was interesting to see all the different styles and types of art. There were some I liked and some I didn’t, as I suppose it is with all art. The portfolio showing went longer than expected, maybe because there are 40 people in the class and thus Greg’s talk started late. He talked to the students about finding their personally vision (another way of saying heart virtue) so that their art will be truly theirs. I think its a good thing for the students to learn because I feel some of them are trying to do what others have already done, or fit into a mold.
It was a long night but I had fun drawing. We got home round 10:50 and after eating an apple I crashed. I was exhausted.

Day 6:
Mom woke me up early this morning so that I could go eat breakfast with her and Greg (lately I’ve been asleep when they went to the restaurant and they would bring me back something). I felt rather like I was back at school because the curtains made the room seem dark and I walked half asleep to the bathroom. Eduardo showed up unexpectedly and joined us for breakfast. Greg had a really awful head ache and waited back in our room for someone to come help him open the safe, which was stuck. I had some fruit, black tea (my favorite) and a little pastry. It was quite good. Since Greg still hadn’t shown up after about half an hour I decided to go up to the room and see if he was going to join us. He was waiting for someone who had gone to fetch a new battery for the safe. I decided to wait in his place while he went to eat. In the end we needed to get an entirely new safe installed in the room. Greg was feeling really bad so mom, Eduardo and I went out while he stayed behind to rest. Mom needed a little bag to put her things in so we headed over to a little market. It was really neat because it made me think of Morocco this all the rows and all the hanging hats and scarves and handmade things. There were so many things I liked and they were all extremely inexpensive. For example there was this awesome hand-woven backpack in yellows oranges and greens for only fifteen dollars! I probably would have bought a ton of thing but Eduardo said that next week we’ll be visiting a village where all these things are made and mom and I figured it would be better to wait until then. Unfortunately mom couldn’t find a bad that was in the right colors or right size. While we were there I got a scoop of Guarabana ice cream which was delicious. I wonder if I can find Guarabana back home...
Next we visited the National Cultural Museum of Quito to see some artifacts from the Quitu (the original people of Ecuador) and Inca’s. They were really neat and I enjoyed seeing all of the pottery and sculpture. We also saw some painting and sculptures from the colonial period (when the Europeans began to come over) which were also nice, but not as interesting as the ancient pieces. We took a cab back to the hotel checked in on Greg, who was doing better and went up to have lunch at the restaurant. Mom and I split an asparagus soup, which was really yummy, and a turkey and Dijon mustard sandwich, which I also enjoyed. After we drove to the university and met with a biologist. Mom had been interested in talking to him about the native plants of Ecuador and where the good distilling places were. He was a neat fellow and I enjoyed listening to him talk.
We went over to the classroom I began typing this post while Greg set up. Throughout the talk I drew and listened to my book on tape. In all it was a really fun day.

Ecuador: Day 3 and 4

Day 3:
Unlike the first day in Ecuador, when I awoke it was cold and cloudy. It looked as though it might rain and in fact it did drizzle a bit. For the first portion of the day we stayed at home in the hotel. I drew and listened to my book on tape while Greg worked on his presentation. At around 3:00 we met Eduardo and his wife, Maria. We drove across the city to eat lunch at this nice restaurant. The restaurant was on top of a hill with a nice view of the city. I quite enjoyed looking out the windows while we were eating, seeing the building and the tree covered hills. The clouds here are quite amazing. I think I’ve seen all three types of clouds in the same day, which is very very rare in California. For lunch I got the “Ensalada Camilla” which was a salad of tomato, cheese and pesto and the Locro Soup, which is a traditional potato soup from Ecuador severed with avocado and cheese. They were both very good but I especially enjoyed the soup. We also got a juice called Guanabana with blackberry. Guanabana is a fruit from Ecuador which I haven’t found the translation for yet. Its quite good; sweet and white. After lunch we decided to go see the statue of the Virgin of Quito which is on the top of one of the big hills. Maria and Eduardo didn’t know how to get there so we drove threw many winding cobblestone streets asking people for diresctions. Even though it was really bumpy, I actually found it quite fun!
We reached the top after maybe half an hour of looking for the right way. The statue is really big and made of metal, though it looks rather like concrete. It’s is like the statue of liberty in the way that you can climb a staircase inside her. It was odd because the outside was quite grand yet the inside was painted a pale blue with painted flowers and odd almost cheesy little dioramas. It was rather incongruent. The furthest up you could go was a balcony by her feet. It was very very cold and rather windy as well. One of the most interesting things there were a bunch of old pictures showing when it was being built. They were in black and white and were really quite nice. The statue was built by a priest who had dreamed of building it for many years. The sad thing is, it was build over an ancient ruin.
We drove home and it was nice to be in the warmth of the hotel since it was so cold outside. I wrote some poetry and went to sleep.


Day 4:
Today was sunny in the early part of the morning. As the day progressed the wind grew and the clouds began to cover the sky once more, The weather here is odd because one moment it is sunny the next it is cold and cloudy. Greg needed to work on his presentation so we stayed home in the morning. I didn’t do much, just relaxed and worked on my computer. I finished up my poem from the night before, which I actually quite like, and tried to pick a picture I’m submitting to a contest. We ate lunch at the hotel restaurant, I had a penne pasta, which was supposed to have garden vegetables with it but it didn’t, and this mix of tropical fruit juices which I love and have every-time we go there. We had to hurry to pack everything before we met Sebastian, Eduardo’s friend from the collage who was to drive us. The drive was really nice. It was much more jungly and the had some interesting buildings. It also had my favorite, cobblestones which meant it was really bumpy. We arrived the collage, met Eduardo headed over to the presentation room. The collage has a nice campus. I especially liked the inner courtyard. There was this building across the way that was covered in ivy and I really liked. The presentation room is rather odd but also sort of cool. Its painted red and blue with golden Fleur de Lis print all over. Eduardo said it makes him think of Disneyland but it makes me think of like a magician’s room or something. Greg set up for a couple hours while I worked on my computer.
Greg’s talk went really well, except sometimes the translation broke his flow. There were some funny people at the talk as well. It was fun observing them and seeing their odd mannerisms. We got back to the hotel at around 9:30 and went up to the restaurant to eat (I wasn’t very hungry). We returned to our rooms to finish up some things before going to sleep. I am very tired myself and my whole body feels like its craving sleep.