Hello
from beautiful Colombia! As usual, there is a lot to catch up on! And
also as usual i hope yo all are doing fabulous and celebrating that
winter is almost over which means we are only a few short months away
from the best months of the year...SUMMER! This also means in just a few
short months I will be back in California.
So
I realized that in my last email I forgot to mention a very critical
part of my stay at the hare Krishna farm; here it goes : one afternoon
three friends and i were sitting around the table eating some whole
grain bread and fruit with tea when a beauuutiful yellow vw van pulled
up. It had a huge che guevara sticker on it and....a for sale sign! We
sat there staring at it, in shock at how beautiful and badass it was. I
decided to go over and ask the price and almost fainted when the owner
told me that he would sell it to us for just $2800. Between 6 of us it
would be a steal of a deal. It was big enough for all of us to sleep in,
travel around in, adventure in, etc. we decided to take it for a ride
and see how well it ran. I guess you know the rest of the story from
here...it drove horribly. The steering wheel basically didn't work and
we just cruise controlled the whole time. BUT when we got back we all
decided we would continue to think about it. The next morning on the way
to yoga, the paper with the phone number appeared out of nowhere next
to my yoga mat. A sign? We talked again about buying it and driving it
up the coast of Ecuador, southern colombia and basically living the
dream to the fullest. I joked that when we got back to the house for
breakfast if the van was there we would have to buy it. An hour later,
upon our return to the house from yoga....the van was there!! I think 3
of the 6 of us almost peed our pants with excitement and laughter and
adrenaline. Well, the story ends sadly. We didn't buy the van. The dream
travel mobile will have to be found on another journey at another
time.
Puerto Lopez, Ecuador: there not much to
report from puerto lopez. I met a nice german girl and we spent the two
days i was there together, wandering the beach and going to a national
park called Los frailes that was just spectacular and beautiful! The
beach was so pristine and preserved and raw. The first day we got to
puerto Lopez I was craving a plantain cooked on the grill with cheese
and homemade mayo so I asked owner of the hostal if he knew where I
could buy one. He handed me over to a friend who began to speak ver
softly and asked me how many I wanted, I told him just one. He responded
that he didn't have any right now but in the afternoon he could find me
some. I was very confused and asked him whether he was going to open up
his restaurant just for me? That was absurd! Then he looked at me also
very very confused and asked me what I was trying to buy. I told him
maduro con queso...plantain with cheese and mayo. He burst out laughing!
I stood there bewildered and truly confused. Turns out that in puerto
Lopez weed is known as maduro con queso as well as the snack of a cooked
plantain. The guy thought I was trying to buy weed! Oy vey. It was
hilarious. I told him thank you and Anna and I continued on our way.
Food:
plantain, fish and peanut in the shape of a grenade and then deep
fried! Eaten with spicy sauce. Homemade oreo ice cream. Fresh coconut
juice for .50.
Canoa,
Ecuador: canoa is this small beach town that is very relaxing and quant
and beautiful but also overrun by tourism. I found a hostal here for
just $5 a night and spent the next two days eating fresh fish, fried
plantain, grapefruits, organic oatmeal chocolate chip cookies brought
from a local farm that my best friend Alice worked at when she studied
in Ecuador and tanning on the beach. In the morning I woke up, walked
along the beach and found a quite secluded spot to do a good hour of
yoga and drink my Yerba mate. On one of these mornings I was staring off
into the waves drinking my mate when a huge group of cows came mooing
down the beach! Have you EEVER seen cows walking along the beach? Me
neither. It was hilarious. I forgot my camera that day though. During
the night in canoa the frogs and toads went absolutely wild! The sound
was almost deafening and just so spectacular to be surrounded by. They
sounded as if they were calling people's names for hours and hours. It
was beautiful to fall asleep surrounded by the sound but one night I
woke up from a really deep sleep and was convinced that the frogs were
going to swarm the hostel in waves. The sound was that intense! Also at
the hostel one night i was standing waiting for the water to boil and a
newt dropped down from the sky. I have no idea where it came from but
there it was smack in the middle of the courtyard also looking very
surprised to have fallen from the sky. Canoa was relaxing and fun and
beautiful and refreshing! After 2.5 days there I headed to the next
beach town of choice, Mompiche!
Mompiche,
Ecuador: After 3 different bus rides and 6 hours of travel I arrived in
Mompiche! A tiny sleepy little beach town in northern to middle
Ecuador. Everyone says that canoa 8 years ago was just like Mompiche.
The roads are all sand, huge tropical trees line them with dull street
lamps and the sound of waves crashing while you sleep or while to are
awake. Here I made good friends with two Chilean women who were just
hilarious and awesome and we spent the next 2 days together lounging on
the beach dying of laughter. We walked one day to a spot where we then
took a little boat across very high permanent tide and found ourselves
on a gorgeous island surrounded by coconut trees and white sand.
Veronica and Roxanna decided to pay the money and go on a small
parasailing trip together. The parachute is attached to a boat with a
motor and the boat pulls you out into the ocean and you soar above
looking out and down at the glistening ocean. Roxanna was not feeling it
but after 15 minutes of being very aggressively convinced by Veronica
she decided to go for it. They got all geared up together and then were
not really sure what happened. The boat starting its motor and they
didn't start running so they got dragged in the sand for a few seconds
and then whisked into the air. I actually peed my bathing suit with
laughter this time. The look on their faces of complete shock and fear
and confusion mixed with them just being whisked away into the air was
priceless. When they got back Roxanna was furious and had bruises and
Veronica was, along with me, dying of laughter. We could not believe it!
It remained the huge joke of the rest of our time together. That night
we went to the little bakery in town that a few argentine girls opened
up and ate yucca-cheese-Carmel cake, chocolate espresso cake and a
blackberry pie. Just little slices of each! Scrumptious!! The next day
we headed to playa negra (black beach). On our way walking there I
tripped on some rocks, went flying, broke my sandals and sat in the sand
in shock but also not surprised by my own clumsiness. We continued our
walk. When we arrived at the beach I couldn't believe my eyes. The sand
was so shiny and black! It was as if somebody had poured black glitter
all over. Incredible! We spent the day lounging in little ponds that had
been formed by the high tide, covering ourselves in the black sand and
Veronica made a really cool head figurine, it was very impressive and
had green eyes. Then in the afternoon on our way back we decided to hike
down to a secluded little beach spot that was so worth the almost
vertical hike. The rocks along the walls surrounded the beach were
covered in shells and holes filled with little pools and animals. We
hung out there, took a video of this weird snail crab running across the
sand who then pretended he was dead out of shyness. I think these two
women will be friends for life, they were just so open and funny and
real and awesome! Unfortunately the next day we parted ways and I headed
to Mindo while they headed south to canoa. We are still in touch almost
every day!
Mindo, Ecuador: I arrived in Mindo
at around 8pm, found my hostal, took a shower and passed out because at
5:30 am I was going on my first bird watching trip! Oh man was it cool!
We walked for about 5 hours and saw 4 different kinds of Tucans and
about 40 other species of birds! I've turned into a total birdie fan.
The guide has been bird watching since he was around 6 years old and
could literally spot a bird from like 500 meters away and we all ran
over to look at it through his hitech telescope. The rest of the day I
did yoga in my room which was the attic of the house turned into a
hostel and had a beautiful view of lush mountains. My room also had
hammocks in it! So I rested a lot, wrote in my journal, ventured into
town for lunch and veggies for dinner and just took it easy know that
soon I would be in Quito and life in the big city is nothing like life
in a tiny bird watching town surrounded by clean air and nature. The
next morning I left Mindo with exactly $5 in my pocket because the only
ATM in town was out of service and headed to Quito, making it literally
with not a penny left in my pocket. I decided that day to always carry
emergency money with me somewhere in my backpack!
Quito,
Ecuador: theres not much to report from quito. I liked it fine. Would i
go back? Probably not but it was nice to get to know the capital of
ecuador for a few days. I went to the guayasamin museum which was one of
the most powerful, well designed, beautiful museums i think i have ever
been in. Just prefect! His art is breathtaking! Check him out. I
witnessed a little carnaval parade happening and was dragged off to
dance in it by a 7 year old girl, got covered in confetti and spray and
had a blast. In Quito I also explored the neighborhood of Guapalo that
Alice recommended to me but went during the day and everything was
closed. I could tell though that it was very cute and fun and young and
artsy; then made friends with a black dog that followed me around for
about an hour until I finally had to go into a store to get rid of it so
I could head back to my hostal. There was also an earthquake while I
was in Quito! Small one. That's about it to report from there. Sorry for
the dullness.
Now I am in Colombia and loving
it! The people are unbelievably friendly and kind! I will write soon
about the border crossing and my first few weeks here but for now I
leave you with this very long email :)
Xoxo,
Adge
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