Life in Otavalo

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I´m currently staying in Otavalo while I develop my basic Spanish skills. It´s a cool little city about a 2 hour bus ride north of Quito - a bus ride which actually takes one across the equator.

The city itself is nestled in the mountains, and lays in a bowl, with peaks towering over in every direction. The city itself is big enough to have a variety of small stores, restaraunts and clubs. That being said, it´s still small enough that a ten minute run takes me right into the countryside, where I entertain myself by dodging cows, sheep and other various livestock while running. On top of that, I have taken to carrying a rock in each hand for the over zealous canines I encounter. However, the fact that the city is in a bowl surrounded by mountains means the first half of every run is uphill. That combined with the altitude (about 6,500 feet) has made the first handful of my runs a bit uncomfortable. However, as soon as I turn back home a downhill run makes the return quite easy.

Weatherwise, it is quite comfortable. I usually am quite comfortable in pants and a long sleeve shirt. At night it cools off to a temperature that is quite comfortable to sleep in. It is usually clear in the morning, with clouds picking up in the afternoon. Actually, when the surrounding mountain tops are obscured by clouds, it can be quite dramatic. However, being right on the equator, at elevation, means that when the sun makes an appearance in the afternoon it cause a pretty decent sunburn in a short amount of time.

The morning after arrival I began my Spanish lessons. I am taught in one-on-one lessons with a very nice instructor who, most importantly, has an incredible amount of patience. The classes are everyday for four hours, so I have quite a bit of information to digest. As I have never taken Spanish, it is all quite bewildering at this point, but slowly getting better.

Also in the house is a young man from England is also working with Cielo Azul, so I was able to talk to him about the organization. I have also met a handful of the other volunteers seems like a very nice group of people, witha plethora of different ages. Most of the volunteers are from Germany and Switzerland, so my German will probably be improved by the time I get home.

Other than that, I´m leading a very simple lifestyle of studying, eating, running and sleeping. So, not much exciting to write about.

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Comments

[Griff]

The Running Man
Sounds like you should stop running so much, or get a gun!

[Bill Seaman]

Hey, when I come out to visit, can we take a golf cart up those hills?