CUENCA
After we returned from the Galapagos we still had 6 days of spring break left. I spent 3 of those days (April 16-18) in Cuenca with Laura, Marlene, Nathan, and Jake. Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador and is full of beautiful colonial architecture, including lots of churches.
I loved Cuenca, it was one of my favorite places that we visited. We just had a great experience with everything we did. Our hostel was great (Hostal Paredes - if any of you ever visit Cuenca, check it out) and cheap ($5 a night). We found a great restaurant, Chicago Pizza, where we ended up eating twice. Internet and calling was really cheap which we took advantage of. We visited a cool art museum that was in this nice building with lots of open court yards. We saw the Rumba Kings and were the cool tourists who danced along and entertained all of the other people in the park. It was really nice to have a chill stay where we just wandered around and did everything on our own time. Cuenca had a great atmosphere and it was a good end to an incredible spring break.
Me with Cuenca in the background
--------
INGAPIRCA
The second day we were in Cuenca we went on a day trip to Ingapirca (which is the Machu Picchu of Ecuador) which is about two and a half hours away from Cuenca. It is a Inca and Canari (the group that was there before the Incas invaded and took over). I thought it was super cool and I liked it a lot. It's amazing to be in the middle of so much history. What was also great was how easy and cheap it was. We took a bus there that was $2.50 and then with our USFQ student IDs we got a discounted entrance for $3 which included having a guide and entry to the museum, and then took the bus back for $2.50. We did the whole thing for $8, not a bad deal. We not only saw the main ruins but also some other cool things like the Cara de Inca (like the man in the mountain) and some other smaller bits of ruins in the surrounding areas. We also talked to a guy who lives in the area and he told us more about the history of the area. Great trip.
--------
QUILOTOA
The second to last week of classes we had Friday off (May 1). I had a lot of homework to do so I couldn't do a full weekend trip so Laura, Jake, and I took advantage of the free Friday to take a semi-day trip to Quilotoa, a caldera lake, and still have the rest of the weekend to work. We left Thursday night to go to Latacunga (a town not too far from Quilotoa). We stayed over night there and then left to go to Quilotoa in the morning. It was a cool trek. First we took a a bus to Zumahua (about 2 hours) and from there we rode in the back of a pickup truck to Quilotoa (about a half hour). Both trips were incredibly beautiful. We were driving really high up in the mountains and the views were great.
Quilotoa itself is super cool. It is a lake in the caldera of a volcano. It is a somewhat special one because the water is green. It has something to do with the volcanic gases and algae. Looking at it from the rim of the volcano was another one of those moments when i couldn't really believe what I was seeing. It looks like a back drop or something. We walked down and spent some time down by the lake and then walked back up. Up close you can really see how green the water is. It doesn't transfer to pictures that well , but we tried. Walking down took about 15-20 minutes. walking back up took 45. We were at high altitude (not as high as Cotopaxi but still HIGH) so breathing was interesting. They do have horses that bring people back up, but we are too hard core for that. We had perfect timing weather-wise. When we first got there it was pretty clear and you could see the whole caldera. After we walked down and as we walked back up clouds starting coming down the walls and then it got cold a drizzley. It worked out to be a great short trip for the weekend.
--------
TENA
The Friday before we left for spring break, I went to Tena for a day trip (April 3) to go white water rafting with Justin, Ari, Angela, and Laura. It was incredible. Tena is in the Oriente so we were rafting through the rain forest. To me it felt like rafting through Jurassic Park. A bit different from my other rafting experience in Norway where we had to wear wetsuits to protect from cold. It was an all day trip which included lunch and tons of fun. The guides were chill and enjoyed pulling people off of the rafts when we were in calm stretches. There was much more swimming involved than I had anticipated. I fell out of the raft at one point in the middle of a rapid (fell not pushed). It was fun although I must have knocked my shin very hard against a rock since a had a large bruise and bump (the is still there a little). One of the coolest moments was when one of the guides and I climbed onto this small rock platform right in front of a waterfall. We were pretty much standing in the waterfall (I have had many up-close and personal waterfall experiences). It was a great day and totally worth skipping a day of class for (woops).
--------
ULTIMOS DIAS EN ECUADOR
After I was done with my exams I had 4 free days before I left to come back to the US. One of the days Jake and I went to Teleferico (which is a cable car you can take up Pichincha the volcano alongside of Quito) and the Basilica (where you could climb up the towers). It was a day of great views of the city. Many parts of climbing the Basilica were vaguely terrifying because you were climbing these tiny metal ladders, but that added to the adventure. I spent my last free days cramming in all the stuff I wanted to do in Quito which I hadn't gotten to yet.
My last day in Quito I spent the day with my host mom. First we went to the Capillas del Hombre (Chapel of Man) which is the museum Guayasamin created for his work. Guayasamin is Ecuador's most famous painter who painted about racism, poverty, oppression, and class division. It was a really cool place and I like his paintings. I was really glad I got to go because he and his work are a big part of Ecuadorian culture (especially in Quito). After the museum Matele and I went over to her friend Aida's for lunch with her and their friend Belin. Matele, Aida, and Belin play cards together almost every week so I got to know them pretty well. We had great steak which Belin cooked for a lunch. VERY tasty. After, the four of us went to Mitad del Mundo (the mini city that is at the Equator). I can't believe it took me that long to finally go there. It was great spending my last day with the three of them. We had a good time.
--------
UNO NIGHT
The last Friday night I went over to my host sister's house for a big family get together to say good bye to Melissa and I. I didn't realize it was going to be almost the whole family when the night began but by the end it was me and Melissa (the other student who was my host cousin), Matele, Lori (host sister) her kids Sammi and Jose, Julio (host brother) and his wife Vero, my Abuela, Mario (host uncle) and his wife Maria Sol, and Chirri (host aunt and Melissa's host mom). We all ate pizza and then played Uno Spin. It was a great night. I was so glad I got to spend the time with them because they were so great throughout the semester. It's sad saying goodbye to all the other students I was with, but it is even harder saying goodbye to my host family.
--------
REFLECTIONS
The group (minus Emily)
I wish I could come up with some profound neat statement to sum up my semester abroad, but that never seems to work. I am so glad that I decided to study abroad in Ecuador. I have been wanting to do this program since the first time I looked at the BU Abroad booklet. It has exceeded all of my expectations. The whole program was great. We had an amazing group of people on the program, Maria Antoineta does an incredible job with the program, I loved my host family, and I went on amazing mind-blowing trips. For the same price as a semester at BU I got to visit Otovalo, Tiputini, Santo Domingo, and Galapagos. I think I can safely say of all the many international programs at USFQ, BU has the best program. This semester is one of the highlights of my BU experience. I cannot put into words how awesome it was (although obviously I have been spending the whole semester trying). I now have the world traveling bug.
Map of all the places I visited
