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I am at the 4.5 month mark and happy to report that I am still enjoying every second of my life in Ecuador.I am still relishing in the incredible time I had with my Mom when she came to visit.More meaningful to me than anything was getting a whole week of one on one time with my Mom, catching up on our life experiences of 2009 thus far, gossiping, and getting closer to a South American culture together which has undoubtedly become a part of me in the last 4 months.
We visited Ingapirca just outside of Cuenca.The Cañari/Inca ruins are relatively small but offer a precious, mystical look into the past that one can only experience by walking the grounds once manned by these surprisingly intelligent, undoubtedly spiritual cultures.We both enjoyed our taxi tours throughout the countryside where we able to observe the flora and fauna of the mountains, and got an intimate look into how and what these (very) agriculturally-minded Ecuadorian's do for a living.
The mountains surrounding Cuenca are large rolling hills and most are absent of the towering rocky cliffs such as we drove through in route to Cuenca from Guayaquil.This has made prosperity (or basic survival in many cases) possible for the country inhabitants.They use plows pulled by steers to dig their rows, women and children work just as hard as the men to man the fields, fertilizer in many cases is hand-made from cow patties and spread by hand on the crops.Everything from potatoes to peaches are grown in this part of the Andes, including a delicious favorite grain of mine called Quinoa, which we found out actually comes from a tree and only grows above 2,500m.We shared a delicious Mother's Day meal at a fancy Hosteria in the country, and even had time to watch some good movies together.
Back in Guyaquil the day before my Mom returned to the States we took a day trip to visit the Mangroves on Puna Island in Machala. I hate to even admit this having studied marine biology and having been in Ecuador since January, but this was my first encounter (ever) with Mangroves.I found them to be mysterious and very 'alive' with their entwined roots and tall canopy features.Almost more outstanding than the mangroves however, were the miles of banana plantations we drive through en route through Machala.This region is the banana capital of the world and we were literally surrounded by fields full of banana trees (on both sides of the road) for almost an hour.And of course we indulged in the delicious fruit spending a whopping 0.05 for two bananas ;-0
After Mom left I spent a couple days exploring more of the history of Guayaquil and Ecuador. I went to the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition that is in Guayaquil for the whole month of May.I spent literally an entire day exploring the exhibit.The information was very thorough and there were mini models of almost all of the inventions he created throughout his life as well as prints f his paintings with in depth history behind his most famous pieces. I loved the exhibit! and left very satisfied with my progress in my reading comprehension of the Spanish language.After my 7 hour exploration of the life and mind of Leonardo De Vinci (in Spanish), I rewarded myself by going straight to the theatre and watching Angels & Demons (in English), and went to bed that night feeling very cultured and scholarly ;-)
So what's next in the line-up for my vacation time from work?...I have been in the water taking advantage of the small waves for surf practice(perfect for me!) by morning, and tearing up the beach volleyball courts by evening.Ryon Ottoman, a long-time friend from back home, is coming in on Friday and we will be going straight to Baños to explore all nature has to offer in this part of Ecuador.Until Friday I should be able to finish the two books I am in the middle of reading and continue to enjoy experiments in the kitchen.With the plethora of fresh fish, vegetables, and fruit I often find myself consumed in thoughts of how and what my next meal will consist of and being confronted with the almost constant temptation of perusing the market all over again just to let my head spin out of control with all the ideas I can come up with for the next best meal!
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