Not Your Typical Party Bus in Baños

Posted on July 29, 2014 by lisafindley

I appreciate that the traditional way to get to a waterfall is to hike to it, but when I was in Baños, Ecuador, I discovered another way: party bus. There’s a series of waterfalls along Rio Pastaza just outside of town. You can bike it, but if you are still suffering from a sprained ankle in pursuit of a different set of waterfalls, for example, that option becomes less appealing. So you can take a chiva instead.

Double waterfall

“Chiva” means “goat” in Spanish, and in several Latin American countries, it’s the nickname given to party buses: covered, open-sided trucks outfitted with disco balls and massive sound systems. The chivas used for the waterfalls tours are equipped with rows of benches, too. I joined a few other tourists and we enjoyed the bizarre experience of being blasted with loud salsa music in the early afternoon as we sped along a two-lane highway.

Chiva!

Jesus in the Rock

Of course, the guide talked in Spanish, so I only understood a little, but frankly, you don’t need to understand words to appreciate a waterfall. We went in a cable car that zipped us across a ravine, to the edge of two waterfalls, which tumbled into the river below as we swung on the cable above. Party bus and then cable car door-to-door service–there are lots of ways to get to a waterfall.

Cable car to the waterfall

After an interlude wherein the guide wheedled and cajoled to get us all to go on his friend’s zipline, we carried on to the final stop. Here, we had a twenty-minute walk along a beautiful path, down a tricky bit of hill, to a wooden bridge. This was a serious bridge–it was so steep, you had to hold on to a rope anchored to the shore, and use it to walk midway down the bridge. The bridge swayed in the breeze, but once you held on to the sides to steady yourself, you could look around and appreciate the biggest waterfall of the day, roaring down the side of the nearby hill.

The final waterfall on the trip

Serious bridge

It’s a long way down

The music on the ride back into town was just as loud as the ride out had been, although now we were all pumped up from seeing the waterfalls, we were more ready to groove along. Baños–the only place I’ve been where you can reggaeton your way to a natural wonder.

The river valley

Adventure!

Beach Time in Ecuador

Posted on July 28, 2014 by lisafindley

One of the great pleasures of long-term solo travel is the ability to change plans on a whim. I booked two nights in a small beach hostel in Ecuador, but it turned out to be so close to my platonic ideal of a beach experience, that I stayed for two weeks.

Sunset drinks

Most nights, the moon had a giant ring around it, and only occasionally was it obscured by clouds

My days followed a pattern: I got up sometime before 10am, ate the best breakfast I had in South America (eggs! warm rolls!), jumped in the waves in the sea, sunbathed, read my book, wrote a blog post, chatted with my new friend Hannah (who was doing a Workaway stint there), snacked, hopped back in the ocean or in the pool, drank a beer while watching the sun set, ate a communal dinner with other hostel guests, chatted and read til bedtime.

Re-reading that paragraph, I’m wondering why I ever left.

Group dinner

The little hut on the beach

Walking the beach at night, you’d feel little crabs skitter over your feet, and occasionally, the big guys, like this one

It was a short walk to the tiny town of Las Tunas, but for groceries or laundry, you needed to catch the hourly bus into Puerto Lopez, about a twenty-minute ride north. I did that run a few times, but after awhile, when I had the basics for my groceries and wore just my swimsuit and one dress in rotation, I stayed at the beach. If other guests were going into town, I’d ask them to pick something up for me, like a pack of tortillas or a few pieces of fruit. I thought that was all right, but near the end of my stay there, Hannah was asking me if I ever intended to do my own shopping again. I suppose that’s a good sign it’s time to move on.

I miss you, Hannah!

View from the road to Montanita

Beachside living room

A dozen sunsets, a dozen peaceful hours

Sunrise, Sunset

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Sunset, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Where in the World Wednesday

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Posadas, Argentina; June 12, 2014

A Day at the Lambeth Country Show

Posted on July 22, 2014 by lisafindley

It took til midsummer, but I finally got to my first festival of this year. Brockwell Park, in southwest London, has hosted the Lambeth Country Show for the last forty years. It’s a big ol’ party, with a large music tent, a crafts area, booths for various charities, tons of food stalls, and a farm and livestock area. People from all over the district come to have a day out in the country in the middle of London.

That's an English place--bouncy castles, food tents, church spires

That’s an English place–bouncy castles and church spires

Tasty meatballs stand

Fuuuun!

The excellent Liz, who along with her flatmates is hosting me in London this summer, was working at the Bee Urban tent. Bee Urban keeps bees at a lodge in the city, and it educates people on how to plant flowers that will attract bees. I helped out at their candle-rolling station, showing five-year-olds how to press the wick into the wax and carefully roll it up and stick it with a pin to keep it all in place. The kids were all adorable, and so pleased with what they created.

Let’s make candles

Various tents had falcons, geese, and owls

Naturally, when we heard there was camel racing, we had to go see that. The announcer was great, nonstop chatter about the camels and their jockeys. Her favorite camel was Bertie, the youngest of them all, with the longest legs, which shows promise for speed in the future, but for now, Bertie hardly knew what to do with them. He galloped like kids do when they’re pretending to be horses–galump, galump–not the smoother pace of the older camels. Maybe next year he’ll be a winner.

The race started when the four camels were more or less facing the same direction

For once, Bertie was not last

I ate a pork-and-stuffing-and-applesauce sandwich (delicious), lay on the grass in the summer sun and listened to classic reggae (blissful), and watched dozens of kids running around gleefully, their faces painted and their hands sticky with sweets (beyond adorable). It was a perfect festival day, right up until the point the skies opened up and drenched everyone in rain so torrential that the fair was closed only about twenty minutes later. Even that is kind of part of the full festival experience, though, isn’t it?

We took shelter under the sweets tent when the rain started; not a bad way to pass the time

Luckily, we’d brought towels in case we went swimming, so we got warm during the downpour

The Opposite of Light Packing

Posted on July 21, 2014 by lisafindley

I found a baggie of British coins in my things when I was packing at my parents’ house a week ago, and I put the whole thing in my backpack, figuring I’d use it all up when I got to England. It made my bag noticeably heavier, but no matter, it’ll all be gone soon, right?

Several pounds’ worth of pounds–get it?!

When I opened up the bag on the train into London, to count how much I had, I found that about two-thirds of the coins were from my first solo trip, when I collected coins from different European countries before the euro went into effect. Oops, that’s a lot of dead weight I’m carrying around.

Sunrise, Sunset

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Sunset, Somewhere over Chile or Peru

Where in the World Wednesday

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San Ignacio Mission, Argentina; June 17, 2014

Guayaquil: Ecuador’s Overlooked City

Posted on July 15, 2014 by lisafindley

The port town of Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador, and it’s one of the oldest cities as well. It’s been the site of many a battle through the years, including skirmishes with pirates and fights for independence from Spain. This contributes to the rough and ready reputation the city and its citizens have, and most people I met there were half-proud, half-sheepish about that reputation. Sure, it doesn’t have the polish of Cuenca or the political importance of Quito, but people from Guayaquil wouldn’t want to be from anywhere else.

Official seal

El malecon is a revamped stretch of waterfront, a long, rather sterile boardwalk containing statues of past leaders, a botanic garden, a children’s play area, a couple restaurants, and a large clock tower. I liked the part of the walkway built to resemble sails of a ship, and the odd sculptures representing the four elements. The climate of Guayaquil is perfect for the botanic gardens, which sagged with the weight of giant green leaves and bright flowers in the humid heat.

Masts along the walkway

Clock tower, and across the road, an attractive government building

Botanic garden

Over a hundred years ago, some iguanas made the plaza in front of the cathedral their home, and since then, it’s unofficially been known as the iguana plaza. There are signs everywhere asking people not to touch the animals, which were roundly ignored by most visitors to the plaza. I did have to watch my step in there–most of the iguanas lounge on the fenced-off areas, but a few decide to leisurely move to another grassy knoll, usually stopping in the middle of the pathway for reasons known only to them. I’m used to seeing pigeons or squirrels take over a public area, but this was the first time I’d seen reptiles be the local pest.

My friend Andy, a native of the city, took me to the Parque Historical, which is a combination outdoor museum and zoo. The zoo area was closed when we visited (the animals are given a day of rest every week, which I think is great), but we were able to see the outside of the hacienda and the reconstructed villagers’ house on stilts. Behind the stilt house, we watched pigs rooting around in their feed and ducks splashing in water. Andy showed me the cocoa beans, which have to be dried in the sun before they’re ground up and used for chocolate. He identified a lot of plants for me, which I always find impressive, as I can maybe name five plants native to my home.

All aboard

Finally, I spent a little time in Las Peñas. This is the oldest part of the city, a collection of colorful buildings on a hilltop at the end of el malecon. As is true in formerly rough waterfront areas in just about every city I’ve been to, the city leaders have put a lot of money into cleaning it up and bringing tourists in. I didn’t get to experience the nightlife there, but it’s meant to be really fun. As it was, I bought some souvenirs at the large artisan’s market and walked down the oldest street in town (cobblestoned, of course).

Las Peñas

A lot of people, myself included, use Guayaquil as just a stopover on their way to other places, but from what I’ve seen, it’s worth spending more time there and exploring the place that claims so many proud residents–not to mention noble iguanas.

A statue of Bolivar and San Martin shaking hands after agreeing to let Guayaquil stay with Ecuador rather than be annexed to Peru after liberation from Spain

Too Old for Hostels

Posted on July 10, 2014 by lisafindley

Matador has a great post up about how you know you’re too old to stay at hostels. Just about every one of those applies to me, except I don’t think about telling people to shut the hell up after 1:30am, I actually say that to them.

Most cities have non-party hostels, so those are the ones I usually stay at, thus bypassing many of the problems mentioned in the Matador post (party boats, etc.). And in Southeast Asia, a private hotel room with attached bathroom was so cheap, I usually went with those.

But some of the things they mention–rolling your eyes any time someone talks about “just living,” stereotyping Australians–well, those apply anywhere.