Advertisement
Published: September 27th 2005
Edit Blog Post
Chimborazo
A nice view from the bus on the way to Quito. This month has flown by, as I feared and it´s hard to believe I´m going home tomorrow. i´m not really looking forward to it, mostly because I have to spend 8 hours in the Houston Airport with a carry-on full of souvenirs and breakable presents.
The good news is that Hurricane Rita seems to have spared Houston from the worst of her ire. Although Continental flights were cancelled for Friday, Saturday, and some Sunday, they expect normal service to resume tomorrow (Monday), and according to their website, both of my flights are still good to go (not cancelled). I´ll keep my fingers crossed until I get to the airport tomorrow.
I´m not as sick today as I was yesterday, although my GI system is still a little tender from the Salmonella, 8 days on a boat, etc. That probably accounts for the 15 or so pounds I've lost this month! I´d like to have a big dinner tonight in preparation for tomorrow, but we´ll see what my apetite is like later tonight. I have some photos from Riobamba, but I will have to post them when I get home. Some brief shots of the house, the nearby volcano, Chimborazo,
Casa Verde
The green house that is also the base for Mike's Archaeology project. Chimborazo is barely visible in the background. and some really funny movies of the house cat, "Gringo", who is prone to fits of frustration while playing and ends up bouncing around like a Mexican jumping bean or something. He is very entertaining, and much more tolerable since Mike trimmed his claws. He occasionally gets cuddle fits, but is usually really jumpy or in the mood for some vicious playing.
All told, I´ve enjoyed my visit to South America, and I wouldn´t mind coming back and spending more time in the places I only caught a glimpse of. Apparently, I need to get to know Lima better, although I think I´ll stick to the established tourist destinations and avoid the areas where the locals warn you about thieves.
The culture is definitely different than what I´m used to, although alot of it makes some sense to me. I don´t think I'd be able to drive comfortably around here, but it´s kind of fun being driven around at breakneck speeds in taxis and buses. I do find it creepy that local newspapers print photos of people who were killed the night before (pictures of them
after the fact). I´ve also started to enjoy the haggling and bargaining
Washing Artifacts
It's fun, for about the first hour. Brick and tile gets really boring after sorting out several kilos. at the markets, and I have learned that you often get better deals by dealing with the merchants in Spanish, rather than English. I ´don´t always understand everything they say and can´t argue the finer points as well as Mike can, but the merchants are definitely friendlier when I talk to them in Spanish.
The marketing down here is also a bit of a shock if you´re not used to naked bodies and names that sound almost rude: candies here have names like "Plop" and "Mini Bum de bon bon bum". I´ve had Plop, and it´s a decent lollipop. For a more in depth discussion of this phenomenon, read
Nick and Sarah´s blog entry on the subject.
Regarding my brief exposure to Peru, I probably forgot to mention my flying experiences. First of all, when we first landed in Lima, half the people on the plane applauded when the plane finished landing. At first I thought "is it really that impressive to have a good landing", but in retrospect, perhaps it´s a good thing to praise people more often for a job well done. I´m certainly grateful to be alive and (relatively) healthy :-) Also, all the flights I was on in
Gringo
Yes, that's the cat's name. He's skittish and vicious ... sort of devilish, really, but very entertaining when he freaks out. He occasionally cuddles, too. Peru featured Just for Laughs Gags episodes as part of the in-flight entertainment. For those who arent´familiar with it, the show is produced and filmed in Quebec and features candid camera shots of people in Montreal exposed to craxy gags, such as a fake cop stopping a car, yelling at a passing pedestrian with a small dog, swapping out a stuffed dog for a real one, and kicking the stuffed dog over the fence. Then you get to see the reaction of the people in the car. My mom´s a fan of the show, and it was neat seeing it so popular in Peru.
If I were to visit again, I would like to spend more time visiting the natural areas, many of which seem readily accessible through locally-arranged tours, or after a bit of travelling off the beaten path. It was fun to visit with locals, as well (Mike has a local surrogate mom who is extremely friendly and welcoming and her and her family have become the surrogat family for many people working on his project). Lo siento Elva, that I couldn´t stay another night and taste your cooking! Part of me is attracted to the immediacy
Fancy road, low maintenance
In typical fashion for this area, they built a fancy new road around Ambato, which speeds up the trip between Riobamba and Quito, but they didn't stabilize the slope, which is eroding and periodically showers the road with little piles of rubble. in which many people live. There´s something to be said about living in the moment and not worrying too much about the future. It seems like a lot of that kind of attitude around here is linked to the fact that the future really is so unstable: Presidents rarely last for more than a year, and unemployment is very high for young people. Many people don´t seem to see the point of planning a lot for the future, since it is so fluid. Then again, it will be nice to go back to Vancouver where, although pollution could probably be improved, at least the exhaust doesn´t take my breath away. Seeing the cities here definitely makes me appreciate a lot more the comforts of home, and also makes me resent it at the same time. I can definitely appreciate more and more the contentment of living simply. Although I´ve experience quite a few luxuries during my visit (Galapgos cruise, massages, nice hotels), the contrast to the poverty that seems to be so common makes for a somewhat unsettling juxtaposition.
Well, that´s it for now. Time to head home. Listo.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.079s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 9; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0284s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb