Cloud Computing

Last weekend we went to Mindo. Mindo is a cute little town surrounded by about a million touristy things to do. Mindo is also in what is called the "cloud forest." Perhaps you're thinking to yourself, "What IS a could forest?" Perhaps you've cooked up an image of said cloud forest in your fantastical imaginations. I'm guessing you nailed it, but, just in case, here's an example.

It's basically forest... that often has clouds covering it. Pretty cool.

After a short drive from Quito, we arrived at our hostal in Mindo. It was super cute and surrounded with some lush vegetation. Here are a couple views from around the hostal.

So... We're in Mindo, right? Well, the three things on the docket for Mindo were as follows: a butterfly garden, zip-lining, and something called the Gondola (we'll get to that later.) For the average person, these things probably sound pretty sweet. However, if you're someone who knows me AT ALL, you know that my top two fears are butterflies and heights, followed closely by almost everything else. For those of you who may not know me as well, you may be thinking, "I understand someone being afraid of heights, but butterflies? Sarah's such a jokester." Wrong. They really terrify me.

It's basically a weekend of my greatest fears all jammed into one beautiful setting. (Do you see a theme starting with my time in South America?) I'm relieved to say that the butterfly garden went pretty well. It was a giant greenhouse disgustingly full of butterflies, and I only yelped three or four times. Someone even got a picture of me holding a butterfly... I'm not currently in possession of said photo, but once I am, I'll share it. I promise. Until then, here's a photo of my finger dangerously close to a butterfly. It will have to suffice.

After the mariposas (that's Spanish for butterflies... LOOK MOM! I'm learning!) we headed to the zip-lining place. I'd like to go on the record as saying that I was ALMOST convinced to go on the zip-lines, but there were 13. THIRTEEN. I maybe could have stomached one... two on an especially brave day... but THIRTEEN? Really, zip-lining place? What do you have to prove? I ended up staying safely on the ground with the mysterious, black biting insects and my friends Iris and Ana.

We headed back to our hostal that evening. The cool thing about our hostal was that it was NEXT DOOR to a chocolate factory. Say WHAT!? So, obviously, we had to tour the chocolate factory that evening. It was pretty great. You can tell how great it was by how much fun I'm having in this photo of me during the chocolate factory tour.

Ok, ok, ok... I realize that maybe this photo doesn't scream, "I'M HAVING ALL OF THE FUN!" But it was a nice tour. This photo, more than anything, is to give you an idea of the look I'm rocking here in Ecuador, because it's basically this, all day, every day.

On Sunday, we headed to the Gondola. I'll be upfront with the fact that I love a good boat ride. We're going in a boat, you say? Count me in. However, in this case, the Gondola is not really a gondola. Perhaps you remember the teleferico incident from a week ago. Well, the Gondola is SHOCKINGLY similar to the teleferico. Except, it felt much less safe. Here I am, putting on a brave face as we boarded the Gondola.

Notice: the look being rocked. But don't let my smile lull you into the false idea that things were great. We were seconds away from doing this.

Maybe it's hard for you to see because it's SO FAR AWAY, but that's the Gondola there in the middle, scuttling across a giant gorge.

All in all, though, the Gondola was worth it to get to the other side so we could hike to an awesome waterfall. Somewhere, someone has photos of us getting frozen to death under the waterfall, but for now, a picture of the waterfall with some strangers in it will have to do.

Despite the difficulty and fear I'm facing in a lot of the things we're doing here in Ecuador, I truly wouldn't change or trade one second of it. I'm so thankful and happy to be here, and I kind of can't wait for the next ridiculous thing to happen.

The hills are alive...

Primarily with the sounds of me gasping for air.

Yesterday, we all decided to climb Pichincha. We've heard a lot about Cotopaxi, the tallest volcano in Ecuador, and we've received some information about hiking it. However, to make sure we were all up for it, they insisted we try out Pichincha first. Before I jump into this embarrassing enumeration, I'd like to go on the record as saying that I never had any real aims of climbing Cotopaxi. Snow covered volcanoes just aren't my thing. I mean... they're REALLY cool, but as for climbing, I have trouble with fences.

So, we go to Pichincha. First of all, Pichincha has this teleferico that takes you up toward the top. You may be thinking to yourself, "What is a teleferico?" GREAT question. It's like a ski lift of NIGHTMARES.

 

We scrambled off the teleferico. Well, I scrambled off... I'm sure everyone else got off in a very organized, rational manner. And the view is just stunning. Truly, it is. But I'm standing there trying to calm down from my teleferico panic attack, and I'm certain that this whole mountain climbing is not going to go my way. 

Let me paint you a little picture. Pretend the picture below is a mountain. I mean, it IS a mountain, but pretend it's Pichincha. 

Great pretending. Now, something you need to know about this mountain is that the top is far off the page to the right. It's difficult to tell where exactly, because the top of this mountain is also covered in clouds. 

Ok... So, the teleferico really does most of the work for you. It zooms (well, scoots) over miniature cows and their yappy, herding dogs and goes straight for Pichincha's jugular. Imagine, if you will, that the teleferico stops on the "x."

Well, I made it about here, before I could no longer move and breathe at the same time. And, honestly, this graphic might be a little too generous with my actual distance.

My companions made it off the page, but not quite to the top, before they had to turn around because it was getting too late. Sophie, who has been sharing a head cold with me the last couple of days, stayed behind with me (too graciously), and we bonded over our Emperor's New Groove surroundings (yes, I know we're not in Peru... thank you.) We were later joined by Iris, our former Luxemburg child-star friend from our language school. The three of us spent a nice amount of time enjoying the scenery of the Andes.

 

Finally the rest of the group rejoined us, led by none other than Hugo, our fearless (actually, he's also afraid of heights) van driver and guide during our time in Ecuador.

Before we hopped back on the teleferico of broken dreams, we took a moment to get a classic shoe shot. Enjoy, blog readers.

Oh! While we were on Pichincha, the clouds parted enough that we were able to get a view of Cotopaxi.

That was actually really incredible. However, I think it goes without saying that I will not be climbing good ole' Cotopaxi anytime soon. I really would LOVE to... but I think we can all imagine how that would end.

Do you speak whale?

The thing about Ecuador is that is has stolen all of my pens. While I know that's not a reasonable excuse for being three days late on this post, it's probably a contributing factor. Another contributing factor is that I had to be sneaky and steal photos from my friends, because I didn't carry my camera around on the trip.

Last weekend we visited la Isla de la Plata. Basically, it's this island about a two-hour boat ride off the coast of Ecuador. It's a great alternative to visiting the Galapagos Islands because it contains some similar wildlife but is much closer to Ecuador and less expensive to visit.

At about 9 p.m., Thursday night the seven ChACErs, Karen (an Austrian woman who works at our language school), Anna (a student from New Zealand who is taking classes at our school), Freddy (a man who works at our language school), Hugo (our driver), and Daniel (Hugo's son) all piled into our 15-passenger van and headed West. However, when I say we "headed West," what I mean is that we careened through the Andes Mountains on a winding highway that I was certain would only end in death. Fortunately, about 10 hours and as many wrong turns later, we arrived at our hostel in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador.

Our van

Our tree-house hostel

With little sleep, we wandered around Hostel Monte Libano, which is on the beach about 70 feet from the Pacific Ocean.

Elaine and I

Laura, Elaine and I

We ate a quick breakfast and headed out on our adventure. We joined five or six others and sped across the Pacific Ocean. On the way to the island, we did some awesome humpback whale watching. The whales were all like, "Check us out, bro!" And we totes did.

Whale.... obvi

When we reached the island, our guides told us a bunch of stuff in Spanish about the whales. I knew they were talking about whales... so that's something. Afterward, we split up to walk around the island and saw a bunch of these guys.

Blue-footed boobies

They were cool and pretty cavalier about their space on the path. We finally returned to our boat, ate lunch, and went snorkeling. The water was fairly murky, but I loved it and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Then we started on our ride back to shore. Aside from a lot of laughter about my sleepy companions and some really choppy seas, the ride went quickly, and we spent the rest of the evening relaxing in Puerto Lopez. For my first day ever seeing the ocean, I'd say I nailed it.

Elaine, Laura, Sophie and I on Isla de la Plata

The next morning we headed to the beach and spent a fair amount of time getting pummeled by waves as we swam about 40 feet out from shore. Later we hiked around the area near the beach, exploring a cave and seeing some breathtaking views.

All the ChACErs on a rock outside the cave

The ChACErs with Hugo (front left) and Freddy (front right)

View from where the previous picture was taken

That evening we explored the streets of Puerto Lopez, attended a local mass where we stuck out like thumbs that are sore, and ended the night with a bonfire on the beach.

Apparently, at some point during the trip, we saw a couple of sea turtles. But when I say "we," I mean everyone but me. I must have been distracted by something silly like a fish. I'm really sad about that. To make up for it, I bought some sea turtle earrings to replace my wolf ones that got eaten by the mighty Pacific. Sunday morning, exhausted, we headed back to Quito. Somehow, the 8-hour drive that took us 10 hours on the way there, jumped to 12 hours on the way back. But I'll be the last one to complain about stopping to buy fresh coconuts with straws in them from a roadside stand. Thankfully, on the way back, I sat in the seat facing backward, where I could only tell we were in imminent danger by the horrified faces of my friends.

Mr. Turtle is my father

(Sorry, aside from mentioning sea turtles, the title of this post is unrelated.)

Yesterday we found out that this weekend (starting Thursday evening) we're going to la Isla de la Plata, otherwise known as the poor man's Galapagos. It's perfect, because I am a poor man.... well, woman... and I love me some sea turtles. That being said, you probably won't hear from me until next week.

The last two days have been really wonderful. Number one: I love the people I'm here with. I have this incredible good fortune of time and time again being placed in situations where I meet people who awe me, and I can tell already that this experience will be no different. B of all: I'm actually able to tell that my Spanish is improving. That may be hard to believe, but I was able to hold a conversation with my host mom all the way through dinner. Granted, everything I say is in the present tense, but, heck, that's progress. Additionally: we've started exploring the city a little bit more, and it's been fascinating. I've spent my entire life in small towns in Nebraska, and I've truly loved every second of it, but I can tell that this experience is going to change the way I look at the rest of my life.

Yesterday, during class, we went to el mercado. Basically, it was this giant building full of fruit and vegetable stands with an area that serves all types of food. We're talking pigs, head and all. To put it in the words of one of my classmates, it was baller. Today we walked to a giant park in Quito called el Parque de Carolina. It's gigantic. I only played Frisbee in a very small portion of it, but I'm excited to do more exploring.

My life is pretty awesome.

Can you just be "whelmed"?

I think you can in Europe.

The funny thing about learning a new language is that you don't realize how bad at listening you are until you really have to think about what you're hearing. We started Vida Verde language school today in Quito, Ecuador, and I have approximately eight weeks to cram as much Spanish into my brain as possible before we go to Santiago, Chile. Then I'll have to start all over again.

I have the distinct pleasure of living about two blocks away from our school, so after a short walk this morning, I arrived bright-eyed and excited to put my Spanish to the test. That was at 8:15 a.m. By noon my brain had turned the consistency of cottage cheese, and we still had an hour and half of class left. I walked out of that school a shadow of my former self.

However, it's hard to be despondent in the midst of the Andes Mountains. Surrounded by towering peaks, Quito has an elevation of 9,350 feet. And if the views don't leave you breathless, the altitude will. It's still all very unreal and overwhelming to be here, but as far as "whelming" goes, I'll take "over" every time.

Bienvenido

This story really begins months ago, when I found out that I would be joining six others on a year and a half long adventure in South America. But, truthfully, everything in between then and now is kind of a blur. I finished up my school year in Nebraska, and I found that leaving my school and my students was one of the hardest endeavors I've ever had to make. Then, I spent two months romping around Nebraska and basically everywhere in between the Gulf Coast and Wisconsin. Finally, about three and a half weeks ago, I showed up at the University of Notre Dame to start a program to earn my English as a new language endorsement. During this program, six of my classmates and I will be gallivanting around South America, primarily Chile, and pretty much having the time of our lives.

Which brings me to this moment of the story, the moment from which all the other moments will stem. I'm sitting in my room at my host family's house in Quito, Ecuador. After a missed flight yesterday in Miami and a comped hotel, we made it to South America. Getting through customs was a breeze, and before I really knew what was happening, I was whisked out of the airport and into the heart of Quito. Let me assure you, driving into the heart of Quito is like driving into the heart of a smile. At least, I can only assume that's true. It was dark when we arrived.

Now I must sleep. Tomorrow we start our language classes at 8:15 a.m., and I plan on learning a lot of new words. I want to have a better conversation with my host, Rebeca, than a failed attempt at explaining my mom's new cat. How do you say "my mom replaced me with a cat" in Spanish, anyway?