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Published: September 6th 2008
Hi everyone!
Well I have got through my first week without too much trouble! So Wednesday I went to the Equator, which was a smidge commercial, but I expected it to be! Yes they did do the water turning different ways, but my Lonely Planet book spoilt it a bit as they recon its a bit of a gimmic, still I have the film to show it worked! So from the ecuator onto my project on Wednesday, luckily I had a guide all the way to the reserve I would never have found my way, but Manuelle looked after me! Once of the bus after two 2.5 hour journeys on some seriouslñy scary roads, I arriived at the village, I was then left with a 0.75 hour walk uphill to the reserve, I really was cursing by the end as the altitude sickness was still quite bad. But made it and it was worth the walk as the views are just amazing! Much to my dismay the nearest phone signal or internet connection is in Otavalo a two hour bus ride away, so I can only send messages at the weekend. It is how attached to such things you get!
Drinking Sugar Cane Liqour
I am at the top of a mountain drinking a very dubious green looking concoction of distilled sugar cane and fresh sugar cane juice! It took 2.5 hours to climb up there, I would have prefered a Lager really!!!My first day was to just aclimatise and then on Thursday my first task was to fix the sink (I told them I was an engineer and now I am on building duties poor people!) Still I managed to build a new brick and mud (?!) pedestal and then put the sink on top! No photo yet, I shall take one for next week!
You will not be jealous of the weather, it isn{t called a rainforest for nothing you know, every afternoon is RAINS, everything is damp, you get to a stage you don{t know what is dry and what isn{t!!
So that pretty much took the morning up and then in the afternoon, we went walking up to the sugar cane ditillery, a 1.5 hour walk they told me.... more like 3 there and 1.5 back so we climbed down the mountain we live on and then up to the top of the next one, again I was swearing by the time I got to the top! Still I did it, I can officially climb mountains now! ;o)
Friday I travelled back to Quito with Vannessa, a spanish girl who is travelling and staying
View up to the reserve
The shack to the left is where I sleep! But the views around are absolutely amazing! at Alto Choco for the next two weeks, she is looking after me very well and helping me with my spanish! We had a bit of a detour in Otavalo where we went to a magnificent waterfall. In the evening we met up with a Costa Rican Girl Daila who Vanessa knows who was a tour guide and so we all went out in Quito last night and met with her friends too! We went to a fiesta which was fantastic, I even found some lager which is a pilsner here and was beautiful!!! Unfortunately too much Sugar Cane liquor (drunk as shots neat, or with hot water and cinnamon or with aniseed like sambuca (I tried them all for educational purposes only!) has given me a stinking hangover this morning! So I apologise for the typing errors!!!!
There is so much to try to tell you all about and only so much time, I am going to the coast this weekend to get some sunshine! So will probably be back in Quito Monday or Tuesday for a catch up!
So take care all and speak soon,
Lots of Love,
Lorna xxxx
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Ian
non-member comment
Hi Ya.....
Nice to see that you are having such a great time their or should i say down their on the equator. I like the way that you can still smell out a beer from a hundred paces and i suppose that getting drunken dunken down their is the same as getting drunk here but with better veiws, i also like the mud hut where you eat and sleep you are now in my eye's a real Jane. The weather here is possibly the same but without the sweating. Cannot wait for the next thrilling installment so stay safe and spk soon Ian xxxx:-)