Montañita

This place just keeps getting better and better. Everything just seems to be falling into place here in Montañita. The random event when Andrea sat next to the fisherman started it all off. Yesterday I started looking for places to camp and or really cheap hostals. I came across this apartment that two girls were renting from Guayaquil. Since I have been planning on camping I need a place where I can clean fish and cook my meals...there is not much firewood around here. I was able to make a deal with the girls on using their kitchen, and they will teach me to cook Ecuadorian style. This is also a great deal because I will learn lots of spanish with them. Today I found a nice hostal that is going to let me pitch my tent on their roof, and it happens to be right next the kitchen I will be using. I will be paying $2 a night which is going to be great for my budget. Another ironic and crazy turn of events happened to me today. Since the day I arrived here my spearfishing buddies have been overly generous to me letting me use wetsuits, kitchen facilities, and other stuff. I had worked out a deal where I would pay one of the guys to use his extra wetsuit, but we had not gone over the details. I wanted to buy my own because I could tell he would rather me have my own, but they are $300 or more. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what to do. This morning we were going fishing again, but for some reason or another I didn´t wake up. I am not sure why but I just sleep through. When I did get out of bed some of the other locals told me that Pedro (one of my fishing buddies) came looking for me because we were going to go up north to the really good fishing spot. We have been talking about this place for a week now and I really wanted to go. When he came to get me didn´t know that I had changed rooms, so he was not able to wake me up to go. When I found all this out I was so pissed at myself. I missed the first big trip!!! About an hour after finding all this had happened this morning I end up meeting an Australian guy who is headed home in a couple of days. He had been in Montañita surfing. I don´t even know how the subject came up but he was done with his wetsuit and gave it to me!!! I always say everything happens for a reason and it truly does.

I may have found my new home

So I am here in Montañita, Ecuador for the second time, and wow is it better this time around. Andrea and I were here 3 or 4 weeks ago checking out the spanish school, and I was trying to meet up with some local spearfisherman. We were only here for two days and it didn´t seem like it was the kind of place we would stay for too long. I was not able to meet up with the fisherman, and the school was a little pricy. At the time it just didn´t seem right for. After 2 weeks in Baños we decided to come visit a friend from Chicago who is working here in Montañita.

I have been carrying my speargun and equipment for a month or so now and it has been a bit of a pain in the butt. I had given up on meeting up with the spearfisherman here, and was ready to wait till Colombia. It is funny how things just always work out. On the bus to Montañita Andrea and I sat in different seats because the bus was pretty full. As fate would have it Andrea sat next to one of the local fisherman. She introduced us and he took me around to other friends of his who love spearfishing as much as I do. The next day we were in the water going para los pescados. Unfortunately the water was not so great we managed to get couple of fish. Afterwards Lenin took me to his house where we cleaned the fish and he cooked them up for Andrea and I. Through out the day I had met many of the locals. The town is very small and everybody knows everybody. After dinner Lenin invited Andrea and I to his cousins wedding. I continue to be amazed by the warm friendly people I have met on my journey. I had just met the guy 8 hours before and he had taken me fishing (let me borrow some equipment), brought us to his house and cooked a meal, and then invited us to the wedding. These are the reasons I took this trip. These are the experiences that will stay forever with me. At the wedding were were welcomed as if we were family. We spent the night dancing away and practicing our conversational skills with all the buen gente de Ecuador.

Halloween in Ecuador

Andrea and I had an amazing time in Guayaquil for Halloween. We met up with a few people I met a couple of weeks ago through couch surfing. It was a birthday/Halloween party. They took us to a crazy club with an open bar which you can imagine was muy divertido. It was great partying with all the local Ecuadorians. Besides Andrea, another American and fellow couch surfer Jim, and myself there were no other gringos. It was difficult trying to practice our spanish with the loud music and clouded mind, but we had fantastic time. I even did some salsa(tried at least) I definitely would not have been doing that without the liquid courage lol.

It was a last minute decision go to so Andrea and I had no costumes and no ideas. We had a 9 hour bus ride the day of the party. We ended up getting our Costumes in the bus station when we arrived in Guayaquil. I was a vaqero (cowboy) and Andrea was a masked lady...lol we didn't have much to work with as you can imagine. We were lucky to have our friends show us around and take us out to the nice places around. It ended up being the most fun I have had in a while. Definitely an amazing experience.

Galapagos

This is something that I have been looking forward to for a long time. I can remember when I was about 8 or 9 looking through my animal books and seeing the crazy prehistoric marine iguanas. I remember how bad I wanted to see one in person. I also remember thinking that I probably never would since their only home was so far and very remote. It really was a dream come true for me to experience this.

It is funny because the iguanas are about as common as Longhorn fans are in Austin. I remember thinking that I would be happy if I got to see just one...then it would be a successful trip. Well the trip was more than successful to say the least. I got face to face with sea lions, marine iguanas, land iguanas, blue footed boobies, stingrays, hammer head sharks (very briefly), and many more animals...I guess I could add in the Galapagos Tortoise as well. The islands really are like no place on earth...at least no where I have ever been. The animals have virtually no fear of humans. I had to be careful not to step on a baby marine iguana. I almost got attacked by a sea lion because I was not paying attention and got too close to her in the middle of her nap. It was neat to see the subtle differences in the animals who have slowly over millions of years adapted to this remote island. There are many different species of tortoise that have each adapted in their own little way to survive. For example the Highland Tortoise has a collar or arch in it`s shell just above the neck. This is because most of its food is on the trees and shrubs, therefore it needs to be able to reach up with it`s neck. The Low Land Tortoise has a flat or straight shell because it eats from the ground. Most all of the animals have adapted in one way or another for these unique islands and their terrain.

It is not just the marine life and wildlife that attract people to the Galapagos. The landscape is unique and beautiful as well. The islands are all of volcanic origin and are still to this day moving closer and closer to Main land Ecuador. I think it is something like 6mm a year. This is why the tortoise is the most famous creature on the Galapagos, because the islands move so slowly like a tortoise.......(not really I must made that up). There are many different islands maybe 13 give or take, and only 4 them have people living on them. Each island is different than the other. They range from cloud forrest to barren dessert. Most have craters and crater lakes which are beautiful to look at. The worlds second largest (measuring across) Crater is here in the Galaps. Galapagos. There are all kinds of lava flows and crazy rock formations in the volcanic regions. It is amazing how fast it can change from tropical to desert. About 15 years ago an Ecuadorian Commando team went out to do a survival test and 9 of the 12 did not make it, and it was just for practice. This place is like no other on earth.

Another thing about my Galapagos trip and this may be the best part of it was the people I met. When I think about the tour I did I definitely could have done it on my own for cheaper and saved a few bucks, but I would not have met the people I did. I have been lucky this entire year with all the tours and group activities that I have done, and this one continued with that luck. I met some great people that will be good friends for ever and that alone was worth the trip for me. When it comes down to it the people I meet along the way on my trip are really what I enjoy the most.

I will try and put pics up soon :o)

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu itself is quite and experience. I sat there and looked at this city made of massive boulders and stone and thought to myself "how the hell did they do it". It would not be an easy task to complete something like this even today with machinery and proper roads. To imagine how it was done so long ago with just sheer man power is incredible. It was incredible how the walls to all the temples were perfectly aligned with no error what so ever. They even carved homes out of massive boulders...I just dont´t see how it was done.

We had to wake up at 4 am the morning of Mach Picchu to get there early and to get a ticket for the extra Waynapicchu Mountain. It took about an hour of walking up stairs in the dark to finally reach the entrance to Machu Picchu. I didn´t realize that it would be so tiring walking around the city, but it may have been tougher than any of the days on me trek. From the famous post card view you can see Waynapicchu and the main part of Machu Picchu. This is an extra little hike you can do if you get there early enough (which we did). This was quite difficult especially in my flops. It took another hour of walking strait up and at times you are walking on an extremely narrow stair case that seems to drop off to no where. The most amazing thing I saw in my life was here. There was a man probably in his late fifty´s early sixties climbing Waynapicchu with his wife. Now I was tired and exhausted how the heck was he doing it? Then when I got closer to them I realize that was the least of his worries. He was directing his wife's every step...she was blind!!! I could`t believe it. Reaching the top was definitely worth it. You really felt as if you were on top of the world.

Salkantay to Machu Picchu

I had been looking forward to this trip for quite some time. Gladly it was the great experience I was anticipating. I originally signed up for the Classic Inca Trail hike to Mach Picchu, but after doing some reading I decided to do an alternative hike. There were two main reasons for the change. One was that it saved me about $150, and the second is that there are a lot less people on the alternative treks. I am extremely happy with my decision. There was only one other group (16 people) that we saw routinely on the whole trek. On the Inca Trail there is over 500 people daily, and sometimes up to 1000. It definitely takes away from the experience when there are a bunch of crazies running around. I couldn't´t imagine having to share all the views I had with 100+ other people. It made me think a little about the orangutans in Borneo.



My only concern going into this trek was the same as anyone...were the people in my tour group going to be fun or not. Anytime you do a tour it is a gamble. No matter where you go or what you do if you are with a good group you can have an amazing time, but if you are with a bad group it can be hell. I must be doing something right because again my tour was great. Unlike my jungle trek there was more than just two people, but everyone on the tour was great. We all got along amazingly. We had people from Germany, SPAIN, Holland, Australia, Israel, Ireland, and I was representing Texas, USA. It is funny...almost every time I tell someone I am from Texas they say something about two things. Most of the time it´s good ol George Bush. If not him...it is damn Chuck Norris in Walker Texas Ranger. All I can do is laugh (lol).



It was tough being prepared for this trek because it would be super hot, then in a matter of minutes it would be freezing. The trek started out in the village of Mollepata at about 2900 meters. 7 hours later, 1000 km higher, and 19km closer to Sulkantay Mt. we reached our first camp. It was quite miserable. The wind was blowing about 25mph and it was freezing. I was kept asking myself why did I pay for this. We basically ate dinner and got into our sleeping bags as soon as we could. Although it was miserable...our campsite was amazingly beautiful. Especially when the sun went down. We were camped at the base a huge glacier and it was just beaming in the night. I wish that my camera could have picked it up...it is probably one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen. The diversity of this trek was incredible. Day two we woke up at the base of a glacier. We trekked for 4 hours or so and reached the 4752 meter mark (the highest point of the trek). We hiked for another 3 hours and we were in jungle. I couldn't´t believe the change in landscape, vegetation, weather...everything was different. It was like hiking from Colorado down to Florida in a couple of hours.



Each place we camped was nice and unique in its own way, but one place in particular was special to me. Santa Teresa on the third night had a special little critter that was living there. For those of you that know me you could guess...a little 2 month old squirrel monkey that loved to play with people. I really thought about stopping my trek there. His name was Pancho and he was the cutest little monkey I have ever seen. Santa Teresa also had one other perk to it. I made the trek much harder than it really is. I didn´t want to spend the money to get the right equipment (most important was shoes, socks, and underwear) because I will only use it for the next couple of days. To me it would have been a waste of money. Besides having a resident monkey Santa Teresa had a natural hot spring where we could soak and clean up. We all spent over 2 hours soaking in the natural pools hoping that our bodies would recover for the following day.



By day 4 my shoes had completely failed me. On my right foot my pinkie toenail had fallen off from being squished. The last day of trekking and the whole day at Machu Picchu was done in my flip flops. All together I probably did around 30km and 18 hrs of trekking in my flops. I was surprised at how comfortable my flops were during the trek, but after all that walking even my flops were hurting. We finally made it to Aguas Caliente the base town for Machu Picchu were we got to stay in a proper hostal. It was nice to have a bed and a hot shower ;o)

On to Lake Titicaca

The trip from Rurre back to La Paz was not real exciting. It was 22hrs and the day time driving was done through rather boring scenery. The night was freezing cold because my window would not shut properly and I had a cold breeze on me all night. I arrived in La Paz around 6 in the morning waited around for a couple of hours and caught the 3 hr bus to Copacabana on Lake Titicaca.

This little town had a great vibe. Very relaxed and chilled out. Lots of good places to have a cup of tea or grab a bite to eat. The prices were the best I had seen in a long time which always makes me happy. There were little treks you could do around town which was nice so I could get in shape for my Machu Picchu trek (tomorrow..I hope the altitude doesn't get the best of me!!!). Of course Lake Titicaca is extremely beautiful and massive. Most my time here was spent relaxing and reading. (Yeah I read a lot now...kind of weird). I did day trip to Isla de Sol where ironically enough I got really sun burned. My friend that I was traveling with at the time came and got me about 5 min before we had to go. I didn´t know where we were going, so I didn`t have a hat or sunscreen (I am still peeling 9days later). Isla de Sol was amazing though. Some of the views were spectacular. I decided to skip Puno and Aeroquipa and stay an extra couple of days in Copacabana. I had been on too many buses and just wanted to relax. After about 5 days there I hopped on the bus to Cuzco.