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Published: April 5th 2007
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Bus on the way from Baños to Quito
and the police car that stopped us... Rachel and Dan and I set off for Quito after an amazing time in Baños with Jo and some other cool people. In the middle of our bus journey we were pulled over by a police car. The three of us got a little anxious...and then we remembered! The bus had hit another bus about half an hour prior to the pull over. But our driver didn't really stop, he sort of checked both buses and just kept going...So we end up stopped on the side of the road...with like, 5 police officers, the other driver etc etc. To add to the excitement...I was in the window seat directly where we hit the other bus (We were trying to turn a right corner around another bus - slowly - but I guess he misjudged the size...cuz he scraped the crap out of both buses!) So the driver and police kept asking for me to tell me what I saw - but i didn't want to get involved, so I just said i was sleeping. Even though i saw the WHOLE thing coming even before it happened. I said to Rachel - he's so not gonna clear this...and then CRUUUNNCH....
Mitad del Mundo
The middle of the earth...according to the French We get into Quito a little later than anticipated, found our hostel, and went for 5$ All you can eat Mongolian Grill. YUM. We had been fantasizing about it allll day. And it lived up to all the hype we've heard about it! The next day we checked out of the first hostel, and then found another one a little closer to El Mariscal - the area of restaurants, bars, hostels known as gringo central. There were many awesome cafes and bars and just cool places to hang out - Quito is awesome. For a capial city it sr wans't horribl ! We were chillin out, and I said to the gang...So..you guys wanna go to the middle of the world tomorrow? I was a da
First we checked out the big monument claiming to be the equator, and the middle of the world. We did some handstands, posed a few poses...and then went to the REAL middle of the world. The French who first calculated the equator - as it turns out - were 200 meters off. The REAL middle of the world, and the real equator, is located 200m to the north! The Musuem there is incredible
- there are all sorts of tests and experiments to prove that it is the real equator. You can balance an egg on the head of a nail because there is less gravity on the equator...you are about 2 kilos lighter on the equator...you can't stand straight up and down on the equator - you wobble from side to side because of the currents meeting there...you can't walk a straight line...you have significantly less strength...and to top it all off - they have a basin of water. On the equator the water funnels out straight down..and on the south side swirls one way...and on the north side swirls the other! Even just a meter on either side makes a difference! So cool! Out trip to the middle of the world was certainly pretty hilarious (we would freak out in awe at every experiment...our guide loved it!) We made our way back to Quito...and prepared for another fantastic dinner and night out!
Sadly, Rachel had to leave for Bogota, Colombia the next morning - and Dan was leaving that night...So we said Chau to Rachel..with promises of Seattle-Vancouver partying and shopping :p
That day I went on a day
trip to the active volcano of Cotopaxi. We bused to a base camp..and then hiked up to the refuge at 4800m. It was a tough climb...and COLD!!! We got to the refuge...had some lunch, and then it started to snow...in EQUADOR!!!! Granted we were pretty high up...but I was in shock! We then proceeded to hike up to 5000m - to the edge of the glacier on the active volcano...brrrr....it was an awesome trip - cool group mates, incredible scenery..and a little taste of what I missed at home this winter!!
Quito was an awesome city - me and a friend who I had met in Baños a week prior (Will) explored Old town Quito and hung out before I flew from Quito to Panama City on April 2nd. Panama city was huge, modern, ugly, and unfriendly. I was definitely missing all the cool people I had met in South America!! Eventually I met a cool girl in the hostel - Jessie - and we ended up hating Panama City together...but making it bearable. We did some GREAT shopping (super cheap clothes...great deals) and I no longer have ANY room left for souvenirs for any of you...oops! We also
Balancing the egg on the nail
yeah, that´s me with a sweater on my head. it was hotttt checked out Casco Antiguo (old part of Panama City) and it redeemed the city a little bit. There were some really cool buildings and scenic shots...but I was happy to get on the bus to Bocas del Toro - an incredible coastal Island Archipeligo (sorry, no idea how to spell that...) on the Carribean side of Panama. Met some awesome guys from Victoria on the bus from the city to Bocas - and have been chillin with them for the last two days. Pics and blog about Bocas comin´ soon!
Happy Easter and lots of love from Panama...
Lauren
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Catherine
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Happy Easter!!
Sounds like you're having fun in Central America. I never would have thought that Panama City was so modern. Go figure! Hope you had a great Easter! lots of love, Catherine