Ok, so i have been in Colombia one month now and I must say I absolutely love it. It is the most beautiful country I've been to and the people are all very friendly. I guess because there are so few tourists that come through here, there are also fewer people who make a living off tourists and thus, people are more genuine and less interested in your money. So anyway, here is what I have done, bear with me (or just look at the pics).

I left Quito last Monday, or rather Tuesday morning at 5 am and bused it to the Ecuador-Colombia border. From there I got another smaller bus (20 passengers) to the little Colonial town of Popayán. The drive from the border is supposed to be one of the most beautiful in Colombia and it definately wasn't disappointing. Although, Michaelle, it did bring back some memories of that terrifying drive along the Peruvian coast, with the edge of the road dropping straight down several hundred feet. Popayán is a really nice little town. Its known as the Pearl of Colombia because of the town's white washed buildings. All the buildings in the centre of the city are (I assume) required to be painted white and business' signs or names must be written in gold lettering. What I liked most about Popayán was the central park. I think it rates second of my favourite parks - after Antigua (obviously first because of serious amount of time invested there) and before Arequipa, Peru.

The next destination was to Cali, the biggest city near the Paficic ocean. This is/was probably the route most susceptible to guerrilla attacks (from what I've been warned) but at this time the police have it pretty well monitored. Our bus was stopped 3 times on the 2.5 hr ride to Cali, once by military and twice by Police. The first and last stops we had to get off the bus and have our bags checked and the men were patted down. The second stop what so that the police could ride the bus for a kilometre or two to make sure the speedometre was set correctly (buses aren't allowed to exceed 80km/h). This part of the drive I thought was more beautiful than the last (and so this pattern seems to continue to where I am now!!). The landscape was more lush with banana trees and coffee bushes, but still defined by the rolling Andes. Anyway, Cali likes to call itself the Salsa capital of the world. Unfortunately for me (and my moves) I was there during the week when the night life is actually quite boring. However, I am considering going back before I return to Ecuador. The city was ok from what I saw - they have a Subway (sandwiches) and people actually rent movies here from Blockbuster! This was a shock to see since every other store in Quito is a pirated movie shop. While in Cali, Elia and I picked up another Canadian guy (Sam) from BC.

Having had enough of the city the three of us went off to the little coffee town of Salento, nestled in the mountains and surrounded by beautiful vistas and coffee fincas. Salento was such a nice little quiet town with only about 3-4 thousand inhabitants and a great country feel to it. There were lots of men with cowboy hats and white, yellow, blue, and red Colombian scarves wrapped around their necks prancing around on extremely well trained horses. Saturday morning we hired some horses to take us down to a river. As I described before, horseback riding is not my favourite mode of transportation. This experience was actually quite enjoyable though. The only part that made me worry about my bladder control (yeah, sorry) was when we decide to go off road and went down a steep, STEEP, narrow dirt path. In the end it was actually quite a lot of fun. That afternoon we walked miles and miles down another narrow dirt road to visit a coffee finca (farm). Thinking we were lost, we asked some nice young military along the way for directions. Wow, I wish I had takend a picture of these kids (seriously, very young). One of them was actually armed with one of those machine guns (or whatever) with the big round barrel thing in the middle. You know what I'm talking about? Anyway, they were very nice and helpful though. haha. Sunday we hiked 12 km into the Valle de Cocora. This is a really nice valley with a cloud forest, tons of humming birds, and tucans. Its also the home of the Wax Palms, I think some of the tallest trees in the world. Really nice.

Ok, trying to keep this short and not too boring.... yesterday we left Salento and bused it to the dirty shabby city of Chinchina, right in the heart of coffee country (Check the label on your coffee bag sometime, might have Chinchina on it if its Colombia). The two guys were put off by the unpleasantness of the city and continued on to Manizales, but myself and Niamh (an Irish girl) stayed to visit the coffee farm here. It was terrific. The guys really missed out. The farm was situated at the top of a very steep hill looking over the town. We walked part way and hung off the back of a jeep the rest of the way. It took about 45 mins. On the way up we chatted with some very nice workers picking the mature coffee pods. They weren't used to getting tourist attention so it was really nice talking with them and asking them questions. At the end of the tour we visited a plant where they process and roast the coffee beans, and the staff there let us flavour some freshly toasted beans and then made us the freshed coffee possible. It was great and everyone was SOOOO nice!

Anyway, now I am in the University city of Manizales. The city is quite cold and surrounded by snow capped mountains and volcanoes. Think tomorrow we will head on to Medellín, the former home of the infamous Pablo Escobar and once one of the most dangerous cities in the world with over 4000 murders a year. Today it has cleaned up though and is considered one of the safest cities in Latin America with lots to offer. Hope that wasn't too much information at once. I will report back again in a few days.

On the road again

I have been in Quito now for about 4 months and frankly, I don't think I can take another second. The weather here has turned really gross - grey skies every day, cold, and rainy. So I have decided I need a change. I've decided I am going to the coast. Which coast? Where else? The Carribean coast - Colombia. I am really quite excited. The places I would like to hit include: Cartagena, Santa Marta, Bogota, Medellin, Cali, and the coffee region. I am so excited. My Swiss housemate, Elia, is going to come with me for the first 2 weeks or so and then I am sure I will hook up with other travellers too.


On a side note, I saw on the news last night that the preliminary results of the election were Noboa with 26%, Correa with 22%, Roldos next, then some other guy I don't know. The election is today so I will report back later with the results. Although, it is unlikely that anyone will win in this round.

xxoo

Some pre-election graffiti

In refecence to the candidate Rafael Correa - "Supporters of Correa don't create democracy" Re: Voting - "Vote null, disobey"
This one is my favourite. There is no better way to deliver a serious insult. The "exponential insult". I mean, not only are you telling insulting Correa but you are insulting him squared! I think what the insult means is that Correa is really a dictator using democratic means.... squared. Way to drive an insult home!

The time when I spent a couple days in the jungle with Julie three months ago.

Since Julie is offended that the construction workers outside my house are post-worthy and she isn't I am going to make (or finish a post) about the lovely 3 days I spent with Julie in the Jungle way back in July...

Alright, so following my living dangerously phase, I decided to take a wee trip to the Jungle.... or to the closest and cheapest "secondary jungle". My reason for going was to visit my friend Julie in the town of Tena, about 6 hrs from Quito to the east. While there I swam in a gorgeous emerald green river, got downpoured on (Paul Janz style), visited a place known as Monkey Town, helped build latrines (ok, I well took pictures), and all the while with Julie and two crazy Colombians. Here are some pics and with any luck a video clip too... for best effect turn the volume up on your speakers... and tilt your heat to the left (sorry, I will learn soon!). This is the tiny little deserted road we drove down for maybe 15 minutes to get to the river.

The beautiful river.

This is Juan Pablo and Mauricio as they alternate back and forth from the edge of the "cliff" trying to work up the courage to jump. Julie had to show them how it is done. JP eventually jumped.... Mauricio stood there for probably an hour while the rain poured down, eventually climbing down the way he got up. haha

Then it started to rain.... it POURED!

Mauricio, weighing his options, standing in the rain.

This is what happens when you let your town go to the monkeys. They drink and they smoke (and trust me... they are heavy smokes and not polite about it at all) and then they leave their garbage all over and smash their bottles. We visited a town on the side of a river called Misahuallí. Apparently some monkeys had been brought into the town 30 years ago or something and they never left.. now they rule. This is a video clip from while we were sitting in a restaurant on the edge of the plaza and a couple monkeys thought they would see what was going on.

Ok, now you are going to have to tilt your head. Sorry. Turn up your volume for the best effect.

Ecuador Votes 2006

This Monday Emma is coming back to Ecuador.... Oh and also, Ecuador will hold their elections.

These elections are especially important since in the last decade Ecuador has had 7 presidents, many never completing their terms. It has been interesting learning about it because the process is quite different from our own in Canada. I will give you an overview of what I understand.

Ecuador is DRY

And I'm not talking about the geography, its actually quite wet here now. Raining, raining every day. What I mean is that starting today (Friday) the entire country is dry. Yes, dry. Meaning no alcohol can be sold nor consumed in public. This will continue I assume until Tuesday.


Voting

The voting process here is really interesting. First, everyone MUST vote. If you don't then you will be subjected to a fine. Apparenly here it is only $6 or something, compared to the $80 fine in Peru. However, should you not like any of the candidates you have other options than to simply not vote. For example, I have met several people (mostly students) who say they are going to vote null. This means on their voting card they are going to vote for everyone, thus nullifying their vote. That is one option. If, on the contrary, you are simply indifferent to the candidates then you can leave your voting card blank - an "I'm with the majority" vote. This means, if I understand correctly, all blank votes are awarded to the candidate who already has the majority of votes. Also, when voting here, its not a representative system like we have in Canada where you vote for a candidate in your area. From what I see on TV you can actually vote for every part of the government. You can select the President and the counsellors... I think.

Election Process

Different from Canada, but alike most of South America, a second round runoff election will be held in November if no candidate wins more than half the vote or at least 40 percent with a 10-percent advantage over the nearest challenger.

The Candidates

Here are my thoughts the main Presidential candidates:

(1) Name: Alvaro Noboa
Party: Institutional Renewal Party of National Action (PRIAN)
Age: 55
Hometown: Guayaquil
Education: He's a lawyer and as a youth went to a private school in Switzerland.
IQ: Well, let's just say that his success might be from a combination of luck and inheritance.
Now this is an interesting man. Basically, he owns Ecuador. Apparently he owns some 15 banana plantations, chocolate and coffee businesses, four shipping companies, one bank, two insurance companies, an airline, a magazine, and more. In 2002 he claimed to be the owner of over 100 companies based all over the world. He ran for president in 1998 and again in 2002.
Popular opinion: A lot of people think he could make a good president based on his success in the business world. Also, due to his immense wealth he may be less tempted to dip his hands in the National bank account.



(2) Name: Rafael Correa
Party: Movimiento Allianza Pais
Age: 43
Hometown: Guayaquil
Eduacation: PhD in Economics from the University of Illinois
Languages: English, French, and learning Quechua, indigenous language.
Political Stance: Radical, looking for the Socialism of the 21st century.
Campaign slogan : "Dale Correa". Translation: "Giv'er Correa", or in Meaford "Get'er done Correa!"
I think Correa is a pretty popular guy. In 2005, he acted as the country's Minister of Economy and Finances. There is graffiti all over the city thanking him for his promenent role in kicking the abusive oil company OXY out of Ecuador. Correa lost this job after he suggested the funnelling of foreign debt payments to instead fund urgent social programs. His idea was not well received by the international financial bodies, but apparently he still upholds it today. Obviously, he's not very favourable internationally, he has said that if he is elected, he will stop making debt payments if there is a substantial drop in oil prices, a main source of income for Ecuador. I'm putting my money on Correa.




(3) Name: Cynthia Viteri
Party: Right of centre, Social Christian Party
Presumed age: 29; True age: 40
Hometown: Guayaquil
Hair: Bleached blonde
Years in Politics: 9
Not sure what to think about gal like Cynthia. Cynthia, oh Cynthia. Well, she had a career in TV, reporting news and producing. Then she started to pursue politics. She was the first female vicepresident of the National Congress in 2005. She has also been a member or president of several different commissions. She enthusiastic and seems to be very confident and driven as the only female in the race. Goooo Cynthia!





(4) Name: Leon Roldos
Party: Ethical and Democratic Network (RED)
Age: 63
Hometown: Quito. Haha, no no... just kidding. Yeah, he's from Guayaquil. Tricked ya! Gotta stay on your toes!
Years in Politics: 27
Do I know anything about him?: Nope. He has grey hair. That's all. He's not going to win.

Actually, I've just learned that he is a former Vice-president and has a decent chance or winning. Well, what do I know!


Poll as of the beginning of October

Rafael Correa (AP) 25.5%
León Roldós (RED) 19.2%
Álvaro Noboa (PRIAN) 11.6%
Cynthia Viteri (PSC) 7.6%

The Quito construction up-date.

Since Brendan is giving a summary of Japanese construction techniques I thought (seeing as they continuously disrupt my sleep) I would also give a wee description of construction here in Ecuador.

First of all, in contrast to construction in Japan where Brendan describes this as being very cramped, space is not an issue here in Quito. I don`t know if it is only because there is a lot more room, or if people just care less here about imposing on other people. They clearly aren`t very concerned about me sleeping well. I have been waken up twice now at 4:30 in the morning. Both times the sounds "beep, beep, beep" accompanied by a man yelling "dale, dale, dale" (lit= "giv'er, giv'er, giv'er") have worked themselves into my dreams. But then comes the reason for these sounds, a gigantic crashing noise as they dump the boulders from the dump-truck onto the work site right... RIGHT outside my window. Everytime I jump out of my skin thinking they are going to accidentally knock my building down or something. FOUR-THIRTY IN THE MORNING!!!!! I caught them on camera this morning. They were dumping the rocks on to a fire.
Here are some other pictures of the project. Word on the street is that they are building a grocery store. The original pile of dumped rocks. The holes in the picture were all dug by hand. All the metal things sticking up were cut and welded by hand, and were also erected by the workers. The workers. Building grates to place at the bottom of the wholes to anchor the tall metal post things. They will eventually cover the tall metal towers with cement. Some lady brings the men plates full of breakfast and lunch, the guys in the bottom left are eating lunch.

Sunday morning I was awoken to the sound of a radio blaring rather than hammers banging. The men weren't working Sunday but some how the women had managed to get a washing mashine back there in the corner and were doing their laundry. They then proceeded to hand the laundry on the ropes supporting the metal towers. There were more before I took this picture. While the women were doing the laundry the kids were chasing these cute little pups around the site, throwing them into the holes, then tying a measuring tape around them to pull them up again!!

Anyway, that's all for now. Here's Brendan's link: http://brendansboringblog.blogspot.com/2006/10/housing-in-japan.html

Some more familiar businesses.

No one seemed to have any problems figuring out the Tim Hortons coffee shop logo I posted earlier, how about this one. Look familiar??
I think this one it the funniest. These people didn`t just steal a logo like the other, but they interpreted it. The funny part, I think, is the misplaced apostrophe. What is that doing there?? M`c Pollo. I mean, is it replacing an A making the name Mac Pollo?

Happy Thanksgiving.

I actually pulled it off, I can`t believe it. You see, usually I am the designated table setter or salad maker or something when Thanksgiving rolls around, and Mum and Emily do most of the actual cooking. But, this year not having them around I had to take the situation into my own hands. I will admit, there were a few calls home asking for advise, but other than that it went quite smoothly. My friend Katty came over to help and then her boyfriend Kai, and my two housemates joined us for dinner. We had two different kinds of chicken, potatoes, two salads, stuffing, squash, gravy, and aji (hot pepper sauce). Yeah, I really can`t hide it, I`m pretty proud! When next year comes around though, I don`t mind being reassigned to dish duty.

Like Ooooomigod!! Its Axel....Eeeeeekkkkkkk!!!!!

Last night in an unexpected stoke of luck my flatmate's girlfriend got sick and they couldn't go to the concert they had bought tickets to.... so I got them! I invited my teacher friend Dolores and off we went.

At first I didn't want to go, even with the free tickets, because I was excited about my plans to go salsa dancing. But when I figured out the the concert began at 7:30 I decided I could easily do both. Why did the concert start so early? Well I discovered that when I arrived and found that over half of the guests were under the age of 19. Yes, this was a concert for the super heart-throb Argentinian ballad singer, Axel. sigh.

Despite the incessant screaming (Brendan I imagined that this must be what Japan is like everyday) the concert was actually surprisingly good. Axel is quite the talented artist. He plays the guitar, the piano, and... the harmonica. Ahhh, I think I'm in love! haha. He's not a bad looking fellow either. Well, all except for the hair. It looks good from the front, and from the 1/4 side view. But a full on side view or a shot of the back.... wow, its mullet mania back there. You see, across the top he has this attractive faux-hawk, but as the cut reaches the top of his head and begins to decend down the "hawk" loses its form and fills out into a full on dirty dirty dirty dry poof mullet thing. Sick. It looks like something crawled up onto his head and died! (haha, I think that's your line Rachel).

When he came to his last song I suggested to Dolores that we watch it from the back so we can make a quick escape (oh, I forgot to tell you our FREE seats were in the 3rd road). When we got out to the lobby I saw that they were selling cds, so I asked how much they were. Only $5 what a bargain. After buying a cd, the guy selling them told me if I stick around Axel (sigh) is going to be signing them. Soooo being the first person out to get a cd (and because I am Canadian and the cd guy thought that was pretty cool) I was the first person to get my cd signed!!!! Well, only until a pregnant woman who apparently thought she had a decent excuse not to wait in line butted in front of me. Inconceivable! So anyway, my turn came soon enough and when I went through the doors to where Axel was the cd guy yells at him, "This girl is from CANADA!!!" haha. I think Axel thought that was pretty damn hot because not only did he sign my cd, but he kissed me twice. TWICE!!! And I definately don't think it was because that's what people do here when they meet. Nope, not at all. I think we might be in love! haha.















Can you read that??? It says:

"Dear Laura, I loved you from the moment I saw you, I will love you forever. Love forever and for always, Axel."

I had to translate it of course, because its written in Argentinian spanish.

All in all it was a pretty fun night. We later saw the band at the same bar we were at, but no Axel.

Here's a little sample of "the Axel". This is like, totally, his coolest song. Watch the crowd eat it up... Imagine me in there singing along like the good Latina-wannabe I am. There I am, did you hear that scream?? He's singing that he wants to be my Love for always. Did I tell you he kissed me? Totally!

When China takes over the world...

Hey Sara and Melissa,

I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, but I think you should know. It seems that when China takes over the world they have plans to relocate Ottawa..... to New Liskard. I'm sorry! I know, its terrible! Something has to be done, they must be stopped. Quick, George Bush to the rescue!!!

Congrats Mark and Val

I know this is a little late (almost a month) but I just got to see the pictures. So.... I want to send out a congratulations to my darling friends Mark and Val who were married in September. I wish I could have been there. Take care and have a fantastic trip!! xxoo

The Chiva bus at last.

Last weekend I finally went on a Chiva bus ride. Living before in the busy Mariscal area, the Chiva bus was constantly driving me insane, going past my house with trumpets blowing and music blaring. But now it was my turn.

The Chiva bus is basically an opportunity to drink a lot while being driven around the city cheering and ducking for low hanging hydro lines. hahaha... Yeah, that's the funniest/most dangerous part about it. Ecuador's infrastructure isn't really made for the Chiva bus. The chiva bus is this double decker rickety truck thing where you have the choice to stand and dance on the top, where you might also potentially fall off to your death, or sit on the bottom half with all the conservative people. This is what a quality Chiva should look like: Packed full with lots of quality fun loving, beer drinking, good hat sporting folks. This is what our Chiva looked like, the German Chiva!
Well, it is clearly empty there, but it didn't get much fuller. The bottom part was entirely empty, except for the beer keg guy, and the top had just enough people for everyone to sit or stand comfortable... not the "man overboard" packed I had expected. And, there were NO trumpets! Not even a single trombone. All in all it was kinda disappointing. Instead of driving us around Quito where there are lots of people and nice sights to see, we drove around some town about 45 minutes from Quito where there were very few people in the streets. The one thing that pulled through though was the number of low hanging hydro lines! hahaha... I know it really isn't funny... but it was. How low were they? Here is a picture of the guys beside me ducking:

Yeah, they were pretty low some of them. Its amazing no one was "hydro-lined".

Anyway, at the end of the night we stopped at a restaurant where we were entertained by some amusing clowns and were fed some pretty delicious German food.... except the sauerkraut, gross!

There we go, Chiva Bus checked off my list of things to potentially kill me in South America. Haha... just kidding Mum. xxoo