I am currently in Ibarra, a city of about 140,000 in the northern part of Ecuador. The entrance to the city calls it ¨The City You´ll Always Want to Come Back To.¨ Today I am not so sure I´d agree. I´m a bit homesick and lonely.
Honestly it is really a great city. Bigger, but quiet (at times a bit boring). I am living in San Antonio, about 15 minutes by bus from the city with a family from Couchsurfing, the Estevezes. They are truly amazing hosts and I have genuinely enjoyed staying with them.
San Antonio is absolutely beautiful. The light in the mornings is unlike anything I have ever seen, breathtaking. Oh that you could see a San Antonio morning. The weather is on the cooler, sometimes cold side, but for a large part of the day it is perfect. Ibarra and the surrounding towns lie between two volcanoes and is surrounded by lakes and lagoons. San Antonio is known for its carpentry, and there are some amazing wooden sculptures and furniture up for sale in a ton of the little shops in the town.
The Estevez family consists of Mami and Papi, sons Eduardo and Danhyel (23 & 20) and daughter Fanny (19). They live in a house that was built by the father´s father, and have an amazing garden out back. The garden is huge, and mostly grows wild rather than in rows. There are a dozen or so fruit trees of different sorts, herbs that they pick everyday to make different sorts of teas, blackberry bushes, alvocado trees, exotic flowers... my first day Danheyl took me on a walk through the garden and picked a bit of this and that for me to try, including a few fruits I had never even heard of. The next day some men came in to buy some alvocados, they picked a good mountainful. I think they ended up buying a few thousand.
The family is great, very giving, and I immediately felt at home and at ease with all of them. And within that same time frame, I watched them chase down one of their chickens (they run free in the garden) and kill it. We had him for lunch the next day.
Danheyl and I went on a walk along an old abandoned trainrail and he picked and pointed out about 40 different flowers I had never seen or heard of.
Ecuador is really a world unlike any other. Approximately the size of Colorado, it has, within its tiny frame, rainforests, beaches, highlands, volcanoes, mountains, lagoons, lakes, islands, everything you can imagine. There are also all sorts of people here—a ton of different indigenous tribes still call Ecuador home. It also has one of the greatest levels of biodiversity in the world, something like fifteen percent of the world´s bird species can be found here, as well as over 18,000 plant species. There is much to see, more than I will be able to see in my two months plus here. Not to mention that the people here are incredibly friendly and just pleasant all around.
Despite being homesick as I am today, I am certain I made the right destination choice for my journey this time. I was thinking to myself yesterday that while I was not completely sure why I chose Ecuador at first, there really was no other choice. Like choosing which nostril to get pierced, the choice was just what felt right.
Other things about Ecuador that I love:
- There is very much an attitude here that life is life. I really appreciate it.
- The largest meal of the day is almuerzo, or lunch. This typically consists of a soup, rice, a meat, salad, and juice, and typically cost about $1.50. I have yet to be able to complete one of these meals.
- Juice is strangely huge here. There are vendors at many locations where they´ll take a fruit of your choice (odds are there are a few things you´ve never heard of), some water, maybe some sugar, and throw it in a blender. Fifty cents for a glass of fresh juice made in front of you.
- For the most part, nothing is ever offered for a taste only, but passed around so that everybody can have at it. Water, beers, sweets, etc. are passed around freely amongst friends, even new ones. The costs of cabs, buses, and meals are also shared— very often a friend will buy my meal, or pay for the transport without expecting repayment (or assuming that because I am a gringa I can afford it). Likewise, I often pay for bus fare or such for friends and they have no qualms about accepting it.
- A good portion of the people I know I have met on the street or in a restaurant. The people here are very welcoming and curious, and quick to befriend or help me out as I am walking around.
Back to what I´ve been up to.
While staying with Carlos I helped him with his English a bit for a series of job interviews he had in English, and right before I moved to the hostal he got the job! He´s in Baltimore this week with the company, and had a lay over in Houston (his first time there).
My last week in Quito I spent taking Spanish classes (which helped a bit) and walking around the intensely huge city that is Quito.
My stay in San Antonio has been very ¨tranquillo¨. There is a man named Cruz that lives near the Estevez home that I speak with just about every time I leave the house. He is 64 and has been living alone for the past 20 years. He is a bit senile (he told me himself), but is truly a sweetheart, and told me last night that I am the first person from the States he has ever met. A few mornings ago he showed me his house and told me about his children, his wife that left him, his faith. He showed me his Bible and said that he served the same God as Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama (I am definitely at home here in that very few people I have met like Bush). He gave me a wood carving he made to remember him by. I don´t really have room for it in my bag, but will have to make it. I just love this man. He is also very poor. He said there is a lot of poverty in the area around San Antonio because the majority of cash her flows in the big cities, and little makes its way to the people that live elsewhere. But, he told me, the new president has instituted some assistance for people like him, and at the beginning of the month he receives $30 in aid.
Yesterday I went for a walk, and walked for the majority of the day just in San Antonio, probably about 7 to 10 miles. The scenery is beautiful in San Antonio and the air is so clean and fresh, it is a great spot for a day of walking. I stopped and spoke with about a dozen people. At one point I met Carlos, 23, who works for the light company. His job is to walk around checking meters and handing out notices to those in default. I joined him for part of his route, because it allowed me to go down some streets (I use the world loosley) I would have felt uncomfortable exploring alone. He was also from San Antonio and took off for a bit with me and showed me an indigenous church that was not in my guidebook, but was absolutely beautiful. We then hiked to his favorite lake, which ended up being dried up, but the walk was beautiful and worth it. Afterwards he invited me to his house to ¨almorzar¨(to lunch) with his family. His mother made a killer ¨almuerzo¨ and was a gracious host and his little sisters were precious.
At the beginning of my walk, before meeting Carlos, I was bit by a dog on my right calf. It didn´t break the skin, but left a huge bruise. Dumb, pregnant dog.
Which leads to things I am not enjoying in Ecuador right now:
-the dog that bit me
-the speaking in a language I don´t fully understand for about 90% of the time (I actually love this, but today while I am being homesick it is not enjoyable).
-the fact that I always stick out, and (my father´s favorite) the men that tell me that they love me everytime I walk down the street (oh.. Latin culture).
That will have to wrap it up for now. I´m leaving Ibarra tomorrow I think, and will be staying in a hostel this time in hopes of meeting another traveler that may want to travel with me for a bit.
42 days left!
Besos from Ibarra.
Chao.
