TRESPASSING IN ECUADOR

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I am in Cuenca at the moment, we arrived here at 5 this morning via another uncomfortable all night bus ride that was so cold i had to sneak the seat cover off and get in it.
Our last day in Baños we decided to go for a hike, so we took a taxi out of the city to a bridge, where the taxi driver tried for 10 minutes to talk us out of walking there, but we insisted, and then we didnt have enough small cash to pay him what he asked for, so we cut him a dollar short. 😞.
We were now in the mountians surrounding baños, which are in the clouds, and where the only people you see arnt hikers but rather farmers who have plots of land on the side of a 45 degree mountian, walking around with machetes and a starving horse. but we didnt know this yet, we were planning on hiking to this waterfall that is a little bit of a tourist attraction, so we see a trail leading up a mountian from the side of the road, and take it, hoping its not the path to someones house.
we walk for mabey 1 hour, ziggzagging up while following the river before we come to a little restuarant in the middle of nowhere, with a gondolla, aka an old truck that turns a wire ´round, which pulls this rinky-dink cage over an incredibly high revine. confused, we keep walking up along the mountians, 'passing little huts with laundry hanging out to dry and cows grazing every now and then, thinking all the while that we were on some touristy trail. after about 3 more hours, we are up at the level of the clouds, chloe is about to die, and we are not sure if it is a trail we are walking on, there was only cow shit and barbed-wire fences.
sure enough, a farmer left a gate open, but we didnt notice, and we had been walking up his "pasture" for 3 hours. thats when we knew why the little wrinkled brown people we saw farming were giving us such funny looks as we passed, we had been tresspassing for 3 hours without knowing it. luckly, no-one confronted us, and we got back down slightly before dark, took the gondola accross, saw the waterfall we were looking for, and hitched a ride in the back of a truck back to baños.
it was such a wonderfull experience.
OH, yes yes, and we just bought plane tickets from Iquitos to lima on the 27th of dec.
Iquitos is a city in peru that no roads go to, and it takes 2 days by boat from the nearest road to get to it. it is in the amazon i guess, its right next to brazil. im kinda scared, but very excited. so now we have to go there, and we will probably spend at least a week there.
we are thinking that 3 days from now we will be at the farm, and will stay there for a month.
but who knows, we can do ANYTHING (which we are still very excited about).
i hope all is well with everyone, and i cant say how nice it is to get comments every once in a whjile, its just wonderful!

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Comments

[Zef Konst]

Hey Antone
I miss you. It sounds like your having a load of fun and im jealous. I've been checking my e-mail all the time to see if you have a new travel blog up... they are very exciting to read. This place in peru seems rather exciting to me seeing that no roads lead to it maybe that even means no cars which would be cool. I'm about to end the first trimester... I think ill do pritty well because ive been working hard. Im just getting into squash hardcore and shakespeare is growing on me... believe it or not i think i want to act a bit in college. By the way what how do I see chloe's travel blogs... I've tried to find them but its really hard to... im inept on a computer. I love you and will be reading about you lots hopefully zef

[mom]

virtual travel
perhaps the horses are full of parasites. there's lots to eat right? Did you ever see a woman with a horse or donkey or beast of burden? I never did and wonder if there is a rule...Flying in the amazon? is it a virtual plane? are you going by boat? Usually country folk don't mind people crossing thier land if they don't disturb the crops or leave gates open, unless of course they're growing alternative crops...then yikes. I'm off to NY to meet Missy and the family, she is in a show right accross from the Met in the Pratt Mansion. Jos is working at Mac's Zef is into Shakespear now, memorized whole bits of it. Love you and take care, and hows the old spanish???? Love Mom

[anonymous]

Hola Antone! Glad all is well and that you are having fun adventures! Have some cuy for Jamie....his favorite ecuadorean meal! Ciao for now, Mary ps brush your teeth

[pooks]

trespass, ask forgiveness later
Actually I hate to trespass in the literal sense(always thought the dogs would get shot) but love trespassing in life, just got to do it, whatever it is, or life will trespass you by! Love you and the blogs. Chloe looks and sounds so much like Claren itttt'ssss uncanny. Love her too. Pooks