As I cruised over the Ecuadorian jungle hooked onto a cable with a carabiner that I had attached myself, I couldn’t help but wonder how I had gotten there.
Let me back up a little bit. On probably Monday (Jan 12) or
Tuesday (Jan 13) Host Mom and Host Brother and I were sitting and eating and
talking when Host Mom asked me if I liked nature. I told her that yes I liked
nature a lot. Excitedly, she told me that we would be going on a “paseo” (which
I knew to mean walk) in nature. Understandably, I assumed this meant we would
be going on a hike with some other families in the neighborhood.
Throughout the
week I heard from Lilly and Caroline, the other two Pitzer chicas in my
neighborhood, slightly different stories. Apparently Lilly’s family owns a
property in the jungle and we’d be going there and there was potentially
zip-lining and horseback riding. To be honest, though I believed Lilly, I was
stubborn enough to still be convinced I would be hiking.
Back to Saturday. Host Mom had told me to sleep in until 8
or so for a 8:25 breakfast. Host Baby woke me up around 7:30, but I stayed in
bed for a while and the morning ended up rushing by. By the time I ended up
downstairs, the whole family was around sitting around the table. I was
shocked, not just because usually I’m the first, but more because Host Dad was
sitting at the table. I hadn’t seen Host Dad since the day they picked me up
from the hotel. We ate rather quickly and I discovered that my host family did
not actually eat the seeds of grapes, which I had been unsure about so had just
been eating. This spiraled me into a minor breakdown about whether or not grape
seeds are toxic (rest assured, they are not).
We all piled into the car with Host Baby on Host Sister’s
lap in the middle seat and took off. It has since occurred to me that I was
pretty easy going. If it had been in the United States or my own family I would
have asked a million questions and probably been grumpy if I didn’t feel my
questions were answered sufficiently, but I couldn’t do that here so I just
went with it.
We drove out of Quito towards the mountains for a while.
About an hour into it, we pulled over to the side of the mountainous road and
Host Mom explained to me that her brother-in-law was building a house up the
mountain and that Host Dad, Host Brother and I were going to see it. Up for the
adventure, I threw on my sweatshirt and ran over to the red truck parked at the
bottom of a steep dirt road. We began our ascent up the mountain, stopping only
to allow a few more people to hop in. It had rained the day before so we didn’t
drive up the road so much as skid and slid up it. I’m slightly used to being a
passenger on rough terrain due my time in Nebraska, so I was simultaneously
grinning and praying the whole time. We made it to the open where the land
opened up to reveal stunning mountains delving into ravines of jungle. It was
gorgeous. We got out of the car and the men walked over to where the house was
being built to assess something or other. There were cows wandering around, so
naturally I wandered with them. I took some cow-selfies and many more pictures.
That kind of view is my favorite kind of beautiful. Unfortunately we had to get
back on our way to whatever was in store for us, so we slid back down the
mountain road in the truck. Going down was worse than going up, but look! I
lived to tell the tale.
We continued our drive into the depths of Ecuadorian
mountains and each turn revealed an even more gorgeous view. The trees on the
mountains looked as though they had returned home after a long day and slouched
over their couches. After being told so many times that it became a joke that
the house was “just around this little turn,” we finally made it. I managed to
get to the bathroom, change into the rain boots we had brought, and put on both
sunscreen and bug spray before being loaded onto a sideways one-person ski-lift
typed deal with Lilly and Ami (another PZ person) next to me. (Caroline, sadly,
was unable to come because she wasn’t feeling well). The chairs didn’t take us
too far up the mountain, but judging by the sounds that they were making as
they carried us to the platform, I don’t think they could have taken us much
further. All the children and a few of the adults came up this way while a
couple of the other parents hiked up to meet us at the platform. We then took
off into the jungle. We hiked for a tiny bit and ran into a zipline, but were
told that it was closed, so we continued hiking.
For me, time doesn’t exist here as much. I don’t know how
long we were driving or hiking or eating or anything. We just move on to the
next thing when we get there. This is a great lesson for me.
Eventually we did get to a zipline that was apparently not
closed. With our gear (harness, rope, and pulley) on we zoomed off. There was
someone who had done this before at the beginning and at the end to catch us,
but it certainly wasn’t the most obviously secure activity. We knew it was safe
because our host families wouldn’t have brought us here if it wasn’t, but at
the same time I was glad my mom wouldn’t know about it until I was back safely
at my house. There were six lines and they were incredible. We got to zip over
a waterfall one way and then on the other we had a crystal clear view of the
region below us. It was absolutely stunning.
By the last few we were hooking ourselves to the cables. When
someone got stuck in the middle, we threw them a rope to catch. When someone
accidentally let their pulley go without attaching themselves while standing on
the starting platform, we sent the next person out with a push to get them and
the pulley to the other side and then sent someone else back with two pulleys.
We were all safe, but it seemed like a creative safe.
When we arrived at the last point we were told that we were
late for lunch and we needed to hurry back through the jungle to get to the
house. We had been hearing about “las truchas” the whole day. Apparently it’s a
salmon/trout typed fish that is only in this region. After a filling soup we
were each given a large section of fish. I took a huge bite, excited to try it.
Excited, but also naïve, as I hadn’t thought about the fact that the fish would
still have its bones in it. I began picking the bones out of my mouth slowly.
Host Mom looked across the table at me right after I’d swallowed my first bite
and told me to be careful of the bones. “Excellent, will do.” I ate the rest of
the fish much more slowly and enjoyed it immensely. My favorite part of lunch,
however, was dessert. It’s going to sound weird, but it was actually delicious.
It was a bowl with half a peach in it filled with vanilla ice cream with oreos
crushed into it. It tasted like peach cobbler with oreo for the crust. I ate
mine happily and then I ate Lilly’s because she was full and I couldn’t let
that go to waste. I have missed ice cream a lot.
After lunch we went on two mini hikes. Neither time did we
know where we were going before we left. The first we ended up at a look out
spot that we climbed up and searched in the jungle for signs of life with binoculars.
The second one was to the waterfall that we had ziplined over. Both were
beautiful. When we returned the moms made fun of me for taking so many
pictures. When we had hiked back up to the house from the waterfall, we were
asked if we wanted to ride horses. My answer was that of course I did, so we
walked back down the massive hill to where the horses were kept.
Lilly had never ridden before, so we had a good time getting
her on the horse (literally pushing her on top). Once Lilly was on, they gestured
me over to the other horse. I asked if I was good to get on, they said yes. I
placed my foot in the stirrup and began to hoist myself on. The horse promptly
began bucking. Somehow I slipped off and backed up as the owners got the horse
to calm down. One of the guys jumped on to the horse and took off galloping
saying “he likes to run!” When he returned, he told me I was definitely good to
get on this time. I wasn’t super stoked on the idea, but what was I going to
do? This time the horse chilled as I got on and we took off at a walk as the
owner led me. I asked what the name of the horse was and he laughed and said
“Rebelde” and then said he didn’t know how to say that in English. For those
who are curious, I did know, and it’s Rebel. An aptly named horse if you ask
me. The owner led me down the road awhile and then when we turned around he gave
me the reigns and explained to me how I would get Rebelde to stop and start and
turn. I just went with it, not feeling the need to explain that I ride horses
most summers and although I’m not great, I do know how to get a horse to start,
stop, and turn. I simply smiled and said “ohhhh!!” excitedly and practiced when
he asked me to.
As soon as I arrived back to where the horses were hanging
out, my family told me they were leaving so I said my thank you’s and did all
the cheek kissing I could handle and jumped into the car. It was a little after
six at this point and had been a long day.
We drove back through the windy roads for a while before
once again pulling over to the side of the road. This time, however, it was
dark and I had no idea what was going on. Host Dad got out and began yelling
something about “las truchas.” I asked what happened but couldn’t understand
much of the answer except something about buying or selling truchas. Eventually
some car came by and gestures were exchanged. Host Dad got back in the car with
Host Brother who had been searching for phone service and we got on our way. I
was confused, but figured I’d never know. I was also focused on trying to
figure out how I felt about the fact that I feel way more comfortable in the
secluded jungle of Ecuador than in the modern city.
We made it home a little after eight or so and ate some
delicious “Empanadas Verdes” before making our way to our various rooms. It was
a crazy day just because so many different things had happened in a relatively
short amount of time – none of which I was truly prepared for.
This morning after breakfast, I noticed a bucket of fish
(truchas) on the counter, presumably answering my questions from the night
before.
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