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Published: August 7th 2007
The final leg of the mainland Ecuador trip has just wrapped up tonight. This section was more focused on cultural markets and towns and consequently less adrenaline packed. It was actually nice to relax and take things in at a casual pace. Some of the highlights included going to the Equator at Latitude Longitude measurement of 0 0 0. Strangely enough there are actually 2 monuments for this special location...one created by the French a few hundred years ago based upon geographical measurements and one that was recently created by GPS. The GPS is about 100 yards down the road and is supposed to be Ultra accurate. We were given all sorts of neat facts about the uniqueness of the Equator including some gravitational experiments with spinning water and egg balancing. Some people claim these are bogus. Either way, it was fun to try.
We stayed in a 400 year old Hacienda fully loaded with old dusty furniture, sculptures and fireplaces. We went on a nice horse ride with the local cowboy. None of us had any real horse experience so we mostly trotted along at an uncharacteristically safe pace. At times we asked for Mas Rapido and we nearly
bobbled out of the saddle. The most interesting section of the ride went directly through a field full of cows. It was a bit like herding as the cows ran in terror with each turn and gallop. It was quite funny but of course the animal lover in me felt like a jerk. Later that night I ate a Guinea Pig.
One additional note about Ecuador Politics. Their is a country-wide election tomorrow to vote on what is going to happen to the government. Some people want it gone and others are skeptical about a complete overall as this has happened 6 times in the last 10 years. Just recently the president fired half of congress and hired his own political pals into office. I am certainly far from an expert on this topic, but from the conversations I have had with a few locals, there is quite a lot of corruption and instability. Strangely, the only impact this has had on me was the lack of alcohol availability. Ecuador has a law that prohibits alcohol sale and consumption 4 days before and up to the election. Thus, I am typing a blog on Saturday night. 😞
The
next stop included a visit to a crator lake and a Rose plantation. It was amazing how much security they had around this place. Huge 20 foot walls and angry dogs and armed guards around every turn. Apparently they are concerned about other plantations stealing their methods and secrets. Strangely enough they don't mind if we take photos. Hmmmmm. This region generates a huge amount of Roses for the entire world. Just watching them for 10 minutes easily uncovered the extreme boredom these people live with each day. They do the exact same movement over and over every 10 seconds all day everyday. Eek.
The final stop was in Otavalo...home of one of the largest indian markets in Latin American. Every Saturday the entire city is completely covered with Indians offering goods. They come from all over the country to compete for the tourist and local dollar. We started bright and early at the animal market. It was a bizzare sight. Many people just stand around with their pigs, goats, chickens, cows, horses and wait for someone to make an offer. They all did a nice job of standing near similar animals for easy comparison. Other animals were on
auction via a fast speaking man with a microphone. Every step was a huge poo on shoe risk. I spent the rest of the day getting lost in the endless streets of hats, hammocks, statues, live music, raw food and extreme poverty.
One unpleasant thought that occured to me while I was sitting on a bench watching other tourists waddle around to each booth. Many of them wore expensive clothing and carried around huge elaborate cameras and spoke in loud english with no effort at all to speak at least a few spanish words. They would haggle these poor street vendors down to such low prices it was absurd. The prices were amazingly low anyway. I think some of these vendors are so desperate for money, they would take a loss in order to feed their children. The rich tourist will probably spend the 3 dollars they haggled on a pink cell phone cozy. Anyway, I couldn't help but feel lumped into this same group of rich white tourists. I have different ideologies and actions, but these are not apparent on first glance.
Next up....GALAPAGOS!!!! I am Uber-Mega-Stoked for this part of the trip. Itis an 8day cruise
that hops from island to island. All sorts of Darwinian Mega-Diversity to be seen above and below water. Some people say this is the best scuba diving in the world. I have my underwater camera all prepped and hopefully I have some nice videos and pictures for you...although I am not sure what sort of internet access is available.
okdoke. buenos noches.
-brad
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bird del mundo
non-member comment
concise
the equator pics rock.