Day 7 “Still Going…”
Where did I leave off…
Oh yeah, Gerard Butler-look-alike and I did become friends. He’s pretty cool. His name is Sean, but I call him Hawaii, because that’s where he’s from. He’s the same age as me and he’s moving from New Orleans to Anchorage for a girl. Hawaii and Fox and I have pretty much become the Three Amigos on the ship. We play games, we joke, we laugh, we cry. Ok, maybe not cry, but we are having a smashing time. Hawaii looks out for us too. He hooked us up with the air mattress, pillows, and blankets. He pretty much has our backs. He would make the perfect big brother. He’s also driving the same route to Anchorage as us, so it will be nice to know some one out there on the road through Canada. I think we amuse him quite a bit.



Hanging out on the ship has been so much fun! The time has gone surprisingly fast. Lights go out in our lounge at 9pm so Fox and I have been going to bed at that time. I’ve been getting up around 6am and hanging out with Hawaii, drinking some coffee and watching the sunrise over the mountains. Its extremely beautiful. This morning we docked at our first port, Ketchikan, AK. The three of us walked into town , got some coffee, then went looking for an internet connection. After several tries Hawaii found us one and we were good to go. We stopped at a local supermarket and got some delicious goodness for lunch, then Hawaii got us a cab ride back because we were all too cold to walk the two miles back to the ferry. The scenery has been amazing. I’ve been surprised how close we’ve gotten to the land at points. They keep telling us to be on the lookout for wildlife. I haven’t seen anything on the land, but we did spot a bunch of Orca whales and some porpoises swimming along side the ship. Pretty cool stuff….



Ciao,
Mouse

P.S. Word on the water is that we may get to see the Northern Lights soon… I really hope so!





AKRT
Day 8
“…and going”

We have been having such a fun time on this ferry, I think we’re making people jealous! Last night Fox, Hawaii, and I found New Jersey Nick and a bottle of wine and had the most hilarious time playing cards. We played poker for awhile, but the boys kept having to give us their chips because Fox and I went all wild with our betting (since we weren’t playing for money). I think the boys got tired of that so they taught us how to play spades. But we were laughing and talking so much each round took about an hour! The boys nicknamed me “Ginger” (because of my hair) and Fox “Hot to Trot” because she gets a bit sassy . Finally around midnight we gave up and went to sleep.



In addition to making friends with half the passengers we also had the ferry crew quite fond of us. Which works in our favor because we got a lot of stuff for free….the guys in the kitchen hooked us up with some breakfast… our galley guy ”Bert” (named because of his crazy eyebrows) went and got me a blanket (for free) from the blanket rental because I was cold playing poker…we even managed to get ourselves a stateroom to sleep in for the night. Dang we’re good. I mean nice.

In the morning the four of us met for breakfast and then hung out and talked until we docked at the port we were all departing from. As it turns out there are several people we met on the ferry that are making the same trip as us so we are all kind of caravanning through Canada. We have about a 4 hour drive ahead of us through the Yukon wilderness until we get to our stop for the night in Haines Junction, Canada. This drive is AMAZING. Its all snowy and frosted over. Pure wilderness, which looks a bit like Narnia, if you can imagine. We drove through a bald eagle preserve and saw TONS of bald eagles. It was awesome. Some were even perched along the side of the road. The boys are ahead of us on the road and we are thankful that we have them to follow. We made it to the Canadian boarder crossing after about an hour. It wasn’t to hard to get through. They asked us a bunch of questions and took our passports. They were going to make us open the car but Fox convinced them that would be a terrible idea. They took one look at the packed pruis and agrees. But I am kind of ticked, I don’t think they stamped my passport!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


We are now crossing the pass. The pass is what we were told was the most dangerous part of the journey. Its basically a narrow road that crosses over the summit of the mountain. If the pass isn’t clear you can’t go on. Its going to start getting dark soon, but the border guard said it was pretty clear, so Hawaii in his white Grand Am, Jersey in his white Silverado, and Fox and I in our silver prius disappear into the snowy distance. This is one of the craziest drives I’ve done. The ground is white, the tree are white, the mountain peaks around us are pure white, the sky is white, the air is even white, and we are trying to follow two white cars. By this point Fox’s knuckles are white. We have about 3 hours now till we get to our destination for the night. The four of us are going to find a place to eat and call it a day.

See ya in the morning, eh!
Canadian Mouse

AKRT Day 6 "Going to Sea"

Fox and I left Aunt Debbie’s house Friday morning and drove north to a town called Bellingham, WA, where our ferry was. We checked in at the terminal about 2pm and they told us to go get our car in line to board the ferry between 3 and 4. So we did. Friends, all I’m gonna says is they did not start boarding us until 6:30pm. 6:30! We sat in that prius for 4 hours!!!!! Poor Fox had such a headache. She was just about ready to burst. I had a great phone conversation with someone cool so my four hours when a lot better until my phone died. Eventually we did get on the ferry and started to unload the things we thought we’d need for the next 3 days and nights.


A little about our ship:
We are taking the Alaskan Marine Highway from Bellingham, WA to Haines, AK. It will take 3 days to get there. They stop at several other ports along the way which is why its taking so long. We are on a ship called The Malaspina. It’s 408 feet long and can hold up to 701 passengers. I bet there are less than 200 people on our ship. The lower deck is where all the cars are parked. Fox and I were surprised to find out that people have pets that they have to leave in their cars. You can access your vehicles during specific times throughout the day, but we can’t figure out where the pets go to the bathroom. Gee, the things that make us go hmmmm?



Our ship has a mini movie theater (which is only showing kids movies on this trip), a cafeteria, a recliner lounge, a cocktail lounge, an observation deck, a play area (if you can call it that), some video games, a gift shop, a dining room, a shower room, a bunch of cabin rooms (that you have to pay extra for), and a solarium. All in all a pretty decent ferry.


Fox and I were one of the last ones to board with our car (go figure) and get unpacked and to the upper deck before we left port. I have never carried so much stuff at one time, I should change my name to Pack Mule instead of City Mouse! We had to carry our stuff up 3 or 4 flights of stairs, many outdoors, to the top of the ship, the Solarium. The plan was to pitch our tent, put our air mattress inside and make a little private campsite. As it turns out, the Solarium was really tiny and only had 3 walls, and the rest was open deck. There were heat lamps, but many of them were not working and in our mad rush to get out of the car deck before we left port, we left behind most of our blankets. (duh.) There were lounge chairs on the Solarium deck and about 7 or 8 were already claimed with sleeping bags. One of the men informed us that we couldn’t pitch a tent under the heat lamps, it had to be out in the open air. I looked around, noticed that it was almost all men out there and we decided to explore the ship for other options. We hit gold pretty quickly in the recliner lounge. Basically a big, enclosed room that has rows of chairs, similar to a large airplane. We noticed people setting up little sleeping areas on the floors, between chairs, and across rows of chairs. We spotted and empty row, claimed it, and moved out stuff in from the Solarium. We spread out all our stuff, made ourselves something to eat from the food bag, and then noticed some other spots that were good ones. I found a dark little corner in the back of the lounge and moved my camp there. Fox found a table that opened up where she could lay across the row of chairs (being a shorty comes in handy at times like this…my 5’8”ness was not going to fit), so we moved her camp to there. By this point everyone in the lounge in now probably wondering where else we are going to move to. But I think we are pretty content with our choices. There are a row of lockers by me so Fox and I decide to get one to keep our purses in for the night. We fish around and find the only two quarters we have and get a locker. About 5 seconds after we lock them in and pay for it, Fox realizes she wants her crochet needle out of it. So we open the locker back up, loose our $.50, and decide to forget the lockers.



Fox came over to “my room” for awhile and we watched some Friends episodes on my computer. Then they turned lights out around 8:30/9:00 so we decided there was not much else to do but go to bed. I didn’t sleep to well. Not because I was uncomfortable, but because it was 9-freaking-o’clock and I wasn’t tired. I woke up about 2am. Stayed up for a bit to write this entry, then went back to sleep about 3:30. I was up this morning at 7, took a shower, and Fox and I went and got breakfast in the cafeteria. We are now hanging out in Fox’s “room” aka, the table. Me, writing, she, crocheting. I spent most of the morning walking around meeting everybody. I met two girls that are going to be making the same drive as us to Anchorage, so we are going to try and caravan together. I met 2 guys named Nick, on from AK and one from Jersey. And currently there is a cute guy sitting across the isle from me that looks just like Gerard Butler and I’m thinking about introducing myself, just for Jessica’s sake, because I know HOW MUCH SHE LOVE GERARD BUTLER. I am probably gonna have to talk to him, because it would probably be pretty weird just to walk up and take his picture. Ha ha! I am having fun talking to everyone here. My goal is the be the most popular girl on the ship by the time we reach our destination! Plus Fox brought all kinds of games and movies. Whats not to love about two hot girls with fun things to do on a ship out to sea for 3 days!!!
To be continued….
Ice Cube Mouse

AKRT Day 4 "Keep Going".

Let's see, where did I leave off? Oh yeah. Its Tuesday night and I'm sitting in the living room of our Couch Surfing host's home, waiting for him to return so I can meet him. His house is super cold and I don't feel comfortable enough to poke around and try and find heat so i just put my coat on and wait for him to come back. I was almost ready to just leave him a note and go to bed when he came back. I'm super glad I stayed up because we had an awesome time visiting. His name is Guy, and he's 29. He a sociology student at the University in Billings. We had a great conversation about weather, and age, and travel, and beliefs, and movies, and books, and people, and places, and life in gerneral. All while sitting in the freezing living room in our coats and hats. We are kindred spirits I have decided. Guy is someone I would definitly be good friends with if we lived closer. The we said goodnight and we didn't see each other again (he had left before we got up). Although he's txted me a bit checking on our trip and just to say hi. Another A+ for Couch Surfing.




And then we drove.
11 hours.
No fun side excursions this time.
Montana is freaking huge.
Drove through the rockies...GORGEOUS!
Drove across Idaho in the dark.
And into central Washington State.
Good times.




We arrived last night at Aunt Debbie's house in Zillah, WA where we will be hanging out for the next 2 days. Friday afternoon we will drive north of Seattle to board the Ferry that will take us up near Juno. I am super excited about the ship phase of the journey. Word from Alaska is that we may get to see the Norther Lights!!!!!!

ok...gonna chill for a day. Catch you on the flip side.
Mouse

AKRT
Day 3
“Going the distance.”

This morning we left Huron, SD, population 11,893. Three of those people are the nicest people west of the Mississippi, the Erdmans, who hosted us for the night. Made us dinner…made us breakfast…packed us a lunch. Who can ask for better than that.


Then we drove. And we drove some more. After that we drove a little father. And then we did some more driving. When we got to the western side of SD I made Fox take a mini detour to Wall Drug. She seemed quite skeptical, but I assured her it was a must see of the West.


Sadly the visibility was not good enough out to swing down and see Mt. Rushmore. But I did convince Fox to leave the highway, on another mini adventure to the town of Belle Forchs, which is home to the geographical center of the US. By this point Fox isn’t feeling so great and kind of feels like she’s in the geographical center of hell. I get out, do a self photo op, realize that its -11 degrees out and my furry mouse butt is frozen so I hop back in the prius and we drive again. We drive through WY, but didn’t get to see much because it started to get dark a little before 5. This evening we arrived in Billings, MT at our Couch Surfing hosts house for the evening. I’d tell you about him, but we only met him for a second because he had to head out and meet some people. So we are in his house, which is pretty cool (both decoratively and temperature wise) waiting for him to return. He seems like a pretty nice guy, so I am looking forward to getting to visit with him. Fox is already in bed. She had a long day. And I know she is looking forward to getting to AK…but we still have a ways to go.


Some notes of importance:
1. They sell milk (and OJ) in bags here. Yes, they have cartons too. But lots o’ bags.
2. We have driven thru 7 states now and had virtually no snow. The most snow on the ground that we have encountered was about an inch in Huron. This has made driving awesome! Pray that it continues.
3. Fox and Mouse have vastly different tastes in music. Fox: Nsync; anything Christmas; Country- songs about tractors and cold beer; and some song by Nellie called Pimp Juice. Mouse: Jason Mraz, Duffy, Edie Brickell, Devotchka, and Kate Rusby. Driver calls the music.
4. So far Montana still has a speed limit. I was kinda hoping that the rumors were true and there was no speed limit. That would be like my heaven. J
5. Before going inside tonight I stopped to look at the stars. There’s just nothing better than looking at a sky full of stars on a cold, clear night. And this is Big Sky Country. I’m almost positive you can see some of the stars in the southern hemisphere from here. Just nothing better….well maybe I can think of a few things…

Alright my little lovelies. Good night.
Mouse (and Fox who is passed out in bed.)

AKRT Day 2
"Going Rogue"

Last night we arrived in Minneapolis, MN. I introduced Artic Fox to Couch Surfing. (For those of you who aren’t familiar with Couch Surfing check out: www.couchsurfing.org. It will change your life.)
We were graciously welcomed by our host for the evening, Esteban. Let me tell you a little about Esteban. This guy is a Rock. Star. E is originally from Akron, OH. His parents are Costa Rican. He’s lived in Minneapolis since June, where he is a category manager for Proctor & Gamble. Baby and FemCare to be exact. Xavier grad. Speaks three languages. Is a foster parent for dogs. Traveled all over the world (mainly attending the world cup each year). And owns pretty much the most kick-ass bachelor pad condo I have ever seen! Did I mention he’s on 23! Seriously. This guy is a million times better than awesome. He had made dinner for us when we got there -chicken tacos and rice and beans. And we had some fantastic wine from Portugal Delicious! We hung out with him and his current foster pup, Reuben. A delightful little toe-biting mutt. Mostly we just hung out and talked. He had just gotten his Christmas gift from P&G which was a cooler filled with all sorts of P&G products. He just started going thru the thing and giving us stuff. It was awesome! Fox score some Gucci Perfume. I scored an Olay skin care wrinkle reducing kit (which, if you know me at all and my OBSESSION with skin care, made me happy as a clam). We also scored some snacks for the road and some Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner. E offered to take us out and show us the finer points of Minneapolis, but having been in the car all day, we decided to just chill at his place and watch a movie. The Boondock Saints to be exact. So E and I watched the movie, while Fox passed out on the couch and Reuben struggled with intestinal issues and kept stinking up the room. Then we made our beds up, me in the spare room, fox still passed out on the couch and hit the hay.



We got up early to the smell of fresh brewing Foldgers coffee (Proctor & Gamble) and brushed our teeth with Crest toothpaste (P&G). Esteban made us a nutrious breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon and bagels. (did I mention he’s only 23), and shortly thereafter, bid him farewell. Yet another amazing and awesome Couch Surfing experience and new friend to add to the list. And yes, Meadow Vole (Jon), keeping in true City Mouse fashion, Esteban was super cute! (Jon always accuses me of only choosing cute guys to CS with….is that a crime?)






We headed out to our first stop for the day: The Mall of America. Mostly because neither of us had ever been there, and , well, when in Rome…
We got there about 9 am and walked around a bit. It really is pretty cool. We both enjoyed it quite a bit. We kept noticing that there was a huge line of people forming as we looked down from the top floor onto the main level. I noticed that everyone had books with them, so we figured it was a book signing. And right we were. In a mere few hours, none other than Sarah Palin would be in front of us. Which totally cracked me up because before I left, literally EVERYONE who found out I was going to Alaska asked me if I was going to see Sarah Palin. Go figure it happened. I was a bit disappointed that she didn’t speak, but it was still cool to see her. She’s really very pretty. (sorry about my pics. Apparently my camera is a democrat and decided to be ridiculous when I was trying to take her picture. So, FYI she’s the one in the red coat.)





Fox and I did a bit of shopping (bought some MadLibs for the AKRT (Alaska Road Trip), had some lunch at the Rainforest Café next to a huge fish tank, and headed back out on the road. We are now driving across MN and into SD, headed to Huron, where we will be staying with my friend Jon’s Family. We have about a 6 hour drive to get there. 1.5 of those hours has been Fox and I choreographing dance moves to Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA“, which is now our official AKRT song.


Side note: As we turn onto the highway that will take us to ours hosts house we pass a sign that says, “Home of the Corn Palace.” Of course I squeal with delight, because I’ve heard of this wondrous place, only in legends…who knew it really existed!!! Well friends, it does. And it’s magical. Although, Artic Fox didn’t really see the magic in it like I did. She’s never even heard of the thing. She spends the next 20 minutes calling people to see if anyone else (beside the clearly insane redhead beside her) has heard of the Corn Palace. So if any of you fine folk in cyber land have heard of it, please leave a note and back me up….



Well, all I can say is its been a wonderfully unexpected day. See you tomorrow.

"Go west, young man. Let the evil go east."
Fox and Mouse

Alaksa Road Trip (AKRT)
Day 1
"Go West"








You may not know this, but I am an avid “to do list” maker. It’s pretty much how I organized my chaotic self so I can semi-function on a normal day. I was feeling quite frustrated with myself that I haven’t “done much” lately, despite the multitude of things to do scrolled across scraps of paper floating around my studio. I need to do more, I tell myself. Not because it’s expected of me, but because its is the fiber from which I am woven. I need more yardage. I have done a lot, but I need to do more, I tell myself with a little grace.

So I am leaving today on another adventure. And a much needed one at that. For the next week and a half , my friend, Janel, and I will be road tripping across this great nation of ours, destination Kenai, Alaska, as we mover her back home to be with her family. Continuing in the spirit of this blog, we can’t just let my friend go by her name, so we have given her the alias of Artic Fox. She wants you to be sure and know that despite the “arctic surname” she, in fact, despises cold and prefers warmer climates. WHY? We ask, is she moving to AK….that’s one of the things we plan to discover on this journey. So, I invite you my friends, to come with us, as City Mouse and Artic Fox get in touch with our inner Jack Kerouac and hit the road. The Prius is packed. The itunes and blasting. The mittens and hats are on. Let the fun begin….

Reflecting on my love of “to do” lists, I have decided to make a “have done” list. Enjoy!
I have heard the sound of children’s laughter rise out of a dank orphanage in China. I have known the colors and sounds of Easter morning in Sorrento as the people pour out of the churches carrying boughs of remembrance and peace. I have seen a rainbow appear while sitting on a cliff in western Ireland as storms roll in over the Atlantic. I have felt the warmth of the sand between my toes on a beach in Perth in the middle of winter. I have seen the fog lift over the ancient mountain ruins in Peru, revealing a sight so sacred it gave me my breath back. I have slept peacefully in the depth of the Amazon jungle with nothing but a net and a sense of adventure between me and the deep black unknown. I have wished upon a tree in Hong Kong that made more things come true on the journey to it, than I tossed upon its branches. I have broken bread with a Quechan woman in her Amantani home, and balanced upon the Floating Islands of Uros with an old man whose hands made the boat that carried us. I have walked in awe amongst the Roman ruins of Christ’s time. I have been lost and found in Venice. I have talked politics over brunch in Munich, and climbed a mountain side in the Black Forrest in search of a goal. I have accidentally encountered Van Gogh in Vienna, had my soul haunted at a desolate concentration camp in the Austrian countryside, and watched the orange sun settle down on the streets of Dublin. So for I think I’m off to a good start. But I still need to do more, I tell myself.


The joy is in the journey.
City Mouse and Arctic Fox

It's what we do. It's how we do it.

So the last couple of days have been fun. the weather is totally gorgeous here. its been 75 degrees everyday. on thursday i went into the city with the boys and explored, and by "explored" i mean shopped, and when scott got off work, he and natalie and i went to an art museum until marcus got off, then all four of us walked around down by the water. later that night i went to practice with the babies. on friday i went into the city with marcus and waited for scott to get off work then scott and i met natalie at cottelsloe beach, then we went down to freemantle beach and walked around the town and ate dinner at this great fish & chips place. we came back to nat's house that evering (where the babies are staying for awhile) and nat's host family took us all out to the F A N C Y restaurant on the 33rd floor of a building downtown called 365 because it rotated. it was amazing. and rediculously expensive. we figure the dinner bill for the 8 of us came to about $800 au!! crazy!! then we went home and crashed. today (sat) natalie and i went to breakfast, ran errands, rented 6 movies for $6 and video EZY (see what i mean...), and now we are waiting fo rthe boys to get back. they have a game tonight and i am really excited to see them play!!! pictures coming soon!

city mouse

SURPRISE!!!!!

so recently i decided that i was just going to take a leap of faith and fly half way around the world to surprise my little brothers, who are in western australia playing basketball. i wanted it to be a surprise so i didnt tell very many people. i touched base with the pastor of the twins church and made arrangements with them to pick me up at the airport in perth. beyond that, i did not have a plan....

so i boarded a plane in chicago..which was delayed due to mechanical problems..(gggrrrrrrr america airlines), then i arrived in san francisco, only to have them keep us sitting on the tarmack for another 45 minutes b/c the plane ahead of us was having mechanical problems.. (double gggrrrrrr american airlines). upon which i find out i've missed my connecting flight to sydney by 10 minutes and the next flight out isnt until 10:45 pm the next night. not one to be told i can't do something, i argued for other possible options, briefly thinking that i could catch a flight to hong kong then perth..alas it was full. so i begrudgingly accepted a complimentary nights stay at the sheridan hotel in san fran and all my meals paid for the next day and settled in for the evening. trying to convince myself that for whatever reason, i was not supposed to be on that flight.

the next day i decided that i would enjoy my mini vacation in SF and go exploring. i had been here once in high school, and remembered all the place we went so i decided to check out other places instead. so i hopped on a city bus and went exploring. eventually i found myself in Haight Ashbury, which was totally crazy! hippies still do bread here. and if you need any drug paraphernalia, any at all, there is certainly a store here that will sell it you you. it was like stepping into the summer of 1969!

after exploring the neighborhoods of SF all day i headed back to the airport to catch my flight. thank God i am no longer dealing with american airlines (can you tell theya re not my favorite). i am now on a qantas flight, which, with the exception of virgin atlantic, has to be one of the best airlines i have ever flown on. I sat nxt to the nice australian man from Adelaide and is 7 yr old redheaded daughter. they were super nice. he was some big time wine maker in southern au, and he gave me lots of great ideas of things to do in perth. I managed to sleep most of the flight (which is a talent i am fortunate to be blessed with). and arrived in sydney 14 hours later.
notes of importance: I left SF on Monday the 25th, arrived Wed. the 27th. technically Tues the 26th never existed in my world. how cool is that!

after being hearded through customs, surprise!, i have missed my connecting flight to perth by about 5 minutes. no longer phased by this thay put me on one 2 hours later. i finally arrive in perth 26 hours later than originally planned, where i am met by lisa, the pastors wife. she and her husband dean have done great undercover work and have found out for me that both twins are at work and scott works till 3 and marcus until 4. they work very near each other so seeing as it is now 2, we hustle downtown ans go looking for scotts store. (both boys work at mobile phone stores as demonstrators.) we soon find scotts store at about 2:45 and i walk in with my heart racing. i dont see him anywhere so i ask the girls at the counter if this is the store he works at. yes, he is in the back changing, she goes to get him. i hand lisa my camera, and after about 10 minutes he comes around the corner and does a double take at me and just starts screaming :WHAT THE HECK!! YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" it was hilarious. he just couldnt believe i was standing there. after talking to him a few minutes one of the other store employees comes running over and says that our brother just walked by. scott ran out to get him and lisa got the camera ready again. scott catches up with marcus out on the street (who has gotten off work early) and tells him he needs to come in scotts store. someone wants to talk to him. of course marc is not jazzed about this, but scott convinces him and as he walks around the corner and sees me standing there he gets a huge smile on his face and shouts out "WHAT?!?! YOU'VE GOT OT BE KIDDING ME!!!". totally same reaction. it was hilarious.

a very expensive surprise, and worth every penny.

so we have been having fun here. hanging out. checking out perth. their roommate natalie is awesome. yesterday i went to practice with them. today we are going to the harbour and their host family is taking us out to eat. tomorrow is their game, which i am excited to see. other things i want to do while i'm here: learn to play cricket, see and aussie football match, go to the beach, and see a kangaroo. the weather is gorgeous here. about 75 everyday. everyone in this city is super nice. it is a very clean, laid back city. i love it. i would totally live here. and i have come to the realization of how much easier it is to travel when you speak that language, compared to most places i travel to. however, just because we speak the same language doesn't mean i understand a bloody word anybody says. the slang here is RIDICULOUS! basically they take every word over 2 syllables, shorten it and add a 'y' to the end. breakfast is 'brekky', football is 'footy', university is 'uny'. its crazy. plus they way they influctuate their words, i never know if the are making a statement or asking a question. i must look like a dumbass half the time as i stare blankly back at people becausee i clearly dont understand a thing they've just said in english. and it works both ways too...i asked a lady yesterday what the time was and she looked at me and said "I don't know where Kmart is." oh well.

i'm going to go get ready for my day now. I'm heading into town with marcus, until scott gets off work, then going with him to meet natalie at the harbor until marcus gets off work. then we'll probably do something fun and ridiculous until dinner tonight.

have fun back home, mates.
see ya later!
city mouse down under

Jungle- take two

How funny! I just went back and read over City Mouse`s adventure in the jungle and found that we had mainly the same adventure- just a month apart! So, I started the trip to the jungle sick with a super sort throat- seriously that`s a bit of a downer on a vacation, to be sick twice! We got up early on Sunday and took a bus to the airport, a plane from Cusco to Puerto Maldenado, a bus from the airport to a boat (very cool long boats), and then hiked a few minutes to the lodge. And I slept on everyone of those modes of transportation- and later slept in the lobby of the lodge waiting for dinner! We were all pretty wiped out with the heat and all the hiking from the previous days.
On the bus ride they gave us a little basket with banana chips, brazil nuts, an orange and starfruit juice and on the boat they gave us rice wrapped up in a large jungle leaf. This group- Rainforest Expeditions- does a good job. I recommend them if you ever want to go to the Peruvian jungle. We rode on this boat for an hour, slathered in deet and soaked with sweat. The lodge was amazing- all open, with mosquito nets over the beds, no doors, no complete walls, showers with clear curtains so you can really see outside into the jungle while you`re showering- but it`s a cold shower, so not a lot of time for looking around. We took a short hike to a huge tower in the middle of the jungle to look out over the trees. We saw a lump that was supposedly a sloth, and saw some Macaws fly by, which I really wish I could have gotten on film or wish I could remember it forever because it was beautiful. Then we had some free time at the lodge, in which I think most of us fell asleep and at dinner Arturo (our ACTIVE guide) took one look at us and decided that maybe we would save the night hike for another night and all go to bed!
So the next morning we woke up at 4:00 a.m. and took the boat up river and a short hike to a flat boat that we took around a lake and looked for birds. We saw some toucans flying and some monkeys in the wooods, and a way chunky brown heron, and some big birds with crazy hairdos. Then we went fishing for pirranhas. Chunks of meat with a bamboo pole. Pirranhas are little dudes, I imagined something much bigger. I caught one after much persistent trying! Then back to the lodge and out again (I have decided I love maracuya juice. Does Owens carry Passion Fruit?) after a brief nap in the hammock. We went to see the birds on a clay lick. We saw three macaws. Hanging all upside down in the trees and jumping on to the hill of clay. I guess it`s a supplement to their diet. In the afternoon we went to visit the Shaman and see his forest of medicines. We tried a piece of a plant that was like novicane (I`m not sure on the spelling, the stuff they use at the dentist`s office), were written on with a purple dye from a leaf, drank one of his concoctions that was supposed to be for a cold and it must have worked because, my sore throat is finally gone today! He told us about different ingredients, one to cure cancer, one a natural viagra, another a love potion. Quite interesting. After dark, we went on a night hike to look at insects. We saw an itty bitty possum, a rat, a wolf spider, a tiny frog, and some monkeys in a tree. And I saw the leg of a tarantula. At the lodge of all places. I wasn`t much intersted in sticking around to see the rest of it.
This morning the journey back to Cusco. And most of the group went on another bike ride. I decided to decline that opportunity out of fear for my life, but we ate lunch overlooking Cusco. Tonight is our last night here and it`s off to Puno tomorrow.
I`ll be home in a few days, and looking forward to seeing you all.

Machu Picchu

City Mouse, did we go to the same Machu Picchu? I didn´t think it was small at all! We took a 2 hour tour and learned about a lot of places and still I would have loved more time to look around. It was beautiful.
Then we took a bus to Aguas Calientes where we were supposed to visit the hot springs. But, Arturo said they were a bit crowded and dirty so we all decided against that. We´ve had enough of dirty. They did rent bathing suits though- what a funny thought! We were still super dirty but had a few hours to walk around the town and shop at the markets. I visited an internet cafe and drank a latte. Pizza for dinner at 10:00 p.m. after we got back to Cusco and it was marvelous.

Today was a free day, doing a little wandering the streets and shopping. And now I think I´ve spent a few hours on this blog. So I best go pack and take a nap! But first I must tell you of the little boys I met this morning in the Plaza. I just wanted to sit and relax and write in my journal. Well every two minutes someone would come up to me wanting something. Selling paintings, postcards, cigarettes. Wanting a donation to such and such. It was maddening. Two different boys tried sitting with me and talking to me for awhile. One of them was 13 and he lives in Cusco with his brother and sister who are 16 and 18 and his parents live near Lima. He is here for school. He sells "his" paintings all day on the weekends. We talked about the weather and our plans for the day and our families. All in Spanish. He still creeped me out a little when he asked if I was alone or with a group and what hotel I was staying in but hey, it was a nice conversation.

We´re flying to the jungle tomorrow.

The Inca Trail

The Inca Trail. I think that I am still making up my mind about it. I think under different circumstances I would have really enjoyed it.

I started feeling a little sick to my stomach on Monday night, and even considered not going, since I was still having problems breathing as well. The alternative though, would have been 4 more days in Cusco. A city. I am the Country Mouse. So I went. It involved departing at 5:00 a.m. Only five of us were taking the Classic Inca trail, the rest of the group took the Lares Trail. . . and I hear they had nice weather. So Arturo (our guide), Claire (my British friend), Coleen (61 year old), Kim (45 year old physician) and I met up with another group: 4 friends from San Francisco, a couple from San Francisco, a guy from London and our guides Roger and Casiano. We took a bus for a few hours to the starting point Kilometer 82, I think. And we set out. It started really well- flat ground- but as we started going uphill, I started falling behind. We stopped for a lunch.
And let me stop right here and describe the meals on this camping trip. . . Amazing. Whenever we arrived we had a tent set up for us with plastic chairs around a table. Silverware, metal plates, bowls, cups, tea cups. I remember the first meal distinctly because I had not expected the extravegance. Garlic bread, an appetizer (maybe it was avocado and tomatoes), a soup (which were always delicious), and plates and plates of pasta and two different kinds of sauce. Every lunch was like this- a bread, appetizer, soup, and multiple food dishes, sometimes chicken, beef, fish, in wonderful sauces, with rice or quinoa, or potaotes. They even decorated the food like on a cruise with little birds and flowers made of vegetables. Amazing! And the breakfasts were the same, porriage in a cup, bread and jelly, pancakes one day, eggs another. The last day we had a cake for breakfast! Baked right on the trail. And between lunch and dinner we had happy hour with popcorn and crackers and Milo.
Porters. We had 18 porters carrying all our bags, tents, food, chairs, etc. They run up the mountain in front of the group and get set up either for lunch or a campsite before the hikers get there. They carry 27 kilograms each (I´m not sure how much that is), and they all had sweet personalities. There wasn´t much conversation because they spoke Quechua, but they woke us up in the morning with cocoa tea, brought us warm water for washing when we arrived for the day and when we woke up in the morning, and they watched over us at night.
So back to the hike. I think the weather that first day wasn´t bad- brief rain, so I was able to get some photos which was nice. I think we probably hiked 7 hours that first day and all I kept hearing was how the 2nd day was much harder. My stomach bothered me that day but was really unpleasant that night and I think I zoned out a bit because I don´t remember much of that day or evening. We played slaps and a version of spoons for dinntertime entertainment. The bathroom at this campsite was hopefully the worst bathroom I will ever see in my life. It consisted of a hole in the ground covered in logs and surrounded by a log frame with plastic over it for privacy. And that´s all I really want to say about that place.
There was actually no peeing in the woods. Every few hours they had bathrooms. They were disgusting but most were buildings with a plastic hole in the ground that you stood on either side of and there was a flush at the top. I survived.
I had a tent to myself which was unexpected and made me feel a bit bad because someone had to carry that extra tent up but what´s done is done. I was a bit cold at night in my alpaca hat, 2 long underwear tops and a fleece, and long underwear bottoms and the sleeping bag but I didn´t sleep too poorly.
We woke up to rain on Wendesday morning. And rain and rain and rain. And if you thought that it might stop raining and take off your rain coat and put it away, in five minutes you would have to get it out again. And it was uphill. Forever. To Dead Woman´s Pass. My stomach was awful and my breathing was awful and I was way last. By lunch time everyone knew I was a bit sick but thankfully it turned around that afternoon. For the most part. So the morning´s rain was just a misty type rain. As we switched to the downhill portion of our journey it became a downpour. I was freezing and soaked but I really enjoyed the downhill much more than the up. We went down steps that were covered in mud and water and I was so glad someone had talked me into buying the walking sticks at the beginning of the trail because I would have been toast without them. I fell down once- looked around- saw that no one saw me and kept on going. I didn´t get many pictures this day because of the rain and because of the constant fog surrounding everything. I´m sure it would have been beautiful, had we been able to see it. We hiked a lot that day. I think we set off at 6:30 a.m. or something and arrived around the same time at night. It was rough. The most challenging day I´ve ever had, probably. But you have to keep going of course.
Our campsites were all lovely, perched on the side of a mountain and while it poured all Wednesday night we awoke to a bit of a clearing on Thursday. At least we could see some pretty cool Inca ruins on a mountainside a ways away and we had a dry start to the day. And it was a pretty good day because it was mostly downhill. Thankfully, I fell in with the girls from San Francisco and they had a way of getting through the uphill parts- setting goals. Okay, we´re going to make it to that bush there, or we´re going 20 steps up. They made it bearable. We finished around 2:00 this day so it was a shorter day. It rained off and on. Toward the end of the hike on this day we started seeing electric lines and hear the train and it seemed quite out of place after all the quiet of no technology.
There were supposed to be hot showers at this site so everyone got very excited. However, they were closed for maintenance when we arrived. So a few of the girls ventured to use the cold porter shower. Now if the above was the grossest toilet I´ve ever used, I hope this is the grossest shower I ever use. First of all, if you know me, you know I´m a bit modest. And the door on this shower shut very poorly- no lock or latch and there were porters outside the entire time. The water wasn´t just cold. It was like ice falling out of the wall. And the water on the floor. Uggg. Gross, gross gross. But I was a small bit cleaner.
We went to see an Inca ruin a few minutes away and it was pretty awesome. I can´t wait to show the pictures.
So let me tell you what I learned about the Incas. Well, I learned a lot of things but coming to mind right now:

• They built 354 of these sacred sites I think. The ones that the Spainards did not find are the most intact ones.
• They had fountains, and terraces for farming and they did experiements to see which forms of agriculture would work at what altitudes.
• They built their buildings from the natural rock that was at that location- white granite, which when the sites were created would have been polished and the ruins would have been white. Their buildings were created with interlocking stones that no one has been able to replicate. They withstand earthquakes and go in at an angle a bit.
• They didn´t have money, they all worked together. There was some sort of service period where they worked on the various Inca sites for the state and then they got to go back home.
• The Incas were still building- never finished and more and more is found every day.
• The reason the Spainards were able to overrun them so quickly was because they had just had a civil war between two brothers or rulers, or something. Also, it took them a while to realize that they were enemies.
• Some Incas fled to Machu Pichu when the Spainards conquered and lived there for forty years undiscovered. The Spainards never found Machu Picchu.

Forgive me if some of my facts are wrong, and there is much more fascinating info, but this is getting rather long.

So the next day we got up for a 2 hour hike to the Sun Gate. The entrance to Machu Picchu. Did I mention that we got up at 3:30 a.m.? So we had to hike with our headlamps 5 minutes downhill in the rain (again torrential downpours during the night) to this checkpoint. The checkpoint didn´t open until 5:30 a.m. but for some reason our guide wanted to be first in line. There were a lot of other groups at this point. And honestly, when it opened, I thought I was part of the Amazing Race. For 20 minutes we raced through the cloud forest- still in the dark mind you- until I got so hot, I tried to take off my fleece so then I was carrying my backpack, walking poles, fleece and raincover all in my arms trying to run and keep up and finally I just stopped and took my time. I´m not sure what the race was about anyway. Running through the puddles, pushing by people (not me but people pushing by me!), and then there was some uphill so that finished it for me. It was kind of fun though, hiking in the pre dawn light. Hearing all the little frogs chirping. We arrived at the Sun Gate after some steep steep stairs to. . . what was supposed to be Machu Picchu in the sunrise but it was just fog. Everywhere fog. So we hiked down the final half an hour and then the day turned lovely. And we were at Machu Picchu.

In hindsight there were some really great things. The views, the Inca Trail itself was made by the Incas and was pretty cool, and I didn´t get blisters or have any awful muscle or joint pains which was great. But if you decide to do the Inca Trail, I would suggest going when you´re sure the rainy season is over. I wish I could remember what website I looked at that said April was the dry season- ha!

No brake! No brake! Stand up!

So on Monday, I got to try out my first real mountain biking experience. Yeah, sure, I tried the Winona Lake Bike Trails a few years ago and ended up walking the bike more than riding and with bruises all over my legs, but this, this was real mountain biking- and a near death experience. To start with though, I must tell you about Peruvian strikes. They don´t involve people just not working for a period of time until the two parties come to some solution. If the Peruvians don´t like something, they put piles of boulders all over the road and cut down trees to fall across the road. They are downright violent about it. This strike had something to do with the privitization of the water supply, frowned upon by the Peruvian people. The boulders in the road interupted our plan so we may have taken a slightly harder bike route than was planned. Everyone else seemed fine with this. . . but it was probably the most scared I have ever been. There was no way I could have trained for this experience. Only taking Nancy´s cycling class with my bike´s back wheel propped up at a 60 degree angle could have been similar. First we biked up a road with all the boulders and trees on it. Then it was a dirt path with rocks and ruts and dogs randomly running out and barking at you. And then it was all down a mountain. Sometimes, I could look in front of me and see nothing but the great expanse of Cusco out in front of me because it dropped off that much. Again, I have never been more scared in my life. Toward the end, Arturo, our guide, tried giving me some advice, because I was at the end, which consisted of "No brake, no brake, stand up!" I had no idea you were supposed to stand up when going over the ruts. Which left me very sore the next day. And I didn´t really take his advice much- I griped those brakes with all my might. I only fell once. Just a few scrapes. Man, not something I want to do again!
Then we went on a hike, after a brief lunch sitting among some trees. I think it was a 3 hour hike around some Inca ruins. I sadly don´t remember much of it now, even though Monday was only a few days ago. I think the weirdest food of the day was a fried potato with an olive and boiled egg stuffed inside. Interesting.

Inca Trail

I´m headed out. Scared to death.

Sexy Woman

So apparently the computer I was using was possessed because it is dead this morning. Now the guy at the lobby desk says- just use mine. How nice ey? So yesterday, where to begin really. . . we got up early to go to the Catholic mass and we attended half of a Quechua mass and half of the spanish mass. We couldn´t understand anything but it was interesting. then we went in search of some alpaca hats with ears for ourselves for the Inca trail. It was fun to look at all the markets- they had all colors and the hats can turn inside out for different patterns.
We met up with the group at noon. There are 9 of us. A family of four from Canada, a lady from Mass. who is around 60 and another lady around 60 who is from New York, another lady who isn´t meeting us until today and claire and I and Arturo our guide. Most everyone is very fit. I already have a p roblem keeping up.
So I really probably should have taken more Cardio Challenge because I was gasping all the way up the hill. So these hills make the hills that I walked with Allison seem like a molehill. We went to Sacayhuanen- thus the title, it´s pronounced Sexy Woman. It was an Inca temple and we learned a bit about Inca history. It started to rain while we were up there and while it was really pretty at first because it was still sunny and raining and there was another rainbow, I ended up putting on my raincoat over my camera bag- had several comments about my being pregnant. We then hiked up to the Christo Blanco- white Christ. Which yesterday when I saw it on the map, I said- there`s no way I´m hiking up there! It got dark very quickly and we hiked back down into the city. I have to go now but I´m sure you`re very interested in the food of the day. I had Quinoto, an Alpaca steak, asparagus and avacado, a soup made of poro a peruvian tuber and andean ice cream with a fruit on it I`ve never heard of- salco, I think. Oh and I didn`t tell you about the market! Meat, animal heads, vegetables fruit- you name it. That may just have to wait for the pictures.. . . Adios, the INca trail is tomorrow. I hope i don`t die!

The Dancing Day

Well, let me tell you about this computer I am using. It looks kind of like the computer that my family purchased for our first computer. It´s acting kind of posessed tonight so I´m not sure how far into this marvelous day I will get. We woke up to sunshine. After several days of clouds, this was a wonderful way to start the day. We set out around 8:00 a.m. ready to discover Cusco. We mainly wandered the entire day and I am very lucky that Claire has a good sense of direction because mostly, I have absolutely no idea where we are. We went to see all of the churches, just the outside because you have to pay to go inside. And we saw many fabulous views. I made up for not taking any pictures last week today and am quite happy about it. We struck out up stairs and down narrow alleys and passed men working on the street by hand and open sewers and little children who want to shine your tennis shoes or who want you to pay them to take pictures of them and their llama. We learned the phrase "No gracias" well because so many people want to sell you something. We wandered through alleys that had open doorways that led to beautiful courtyards of merchants and restaurants and stores selling Alpaca which is very soft- and expensive. We did go into one exhibit Qorikancha and the Saint Dominic Priory. It had beautiful gardens and a bathroom- which is very important! And there are remains of an Inca Temple there. And we learned about the Incas. Cusco was the center of the Inca empire.
Claire and I are good travelmates because we both like to take pictures and because we both want to learn about what we´re seeing. Also her sense of direction makes up for my lack of. It´s amazing that there can be a bit of a language barrier when we both speak English but. . . we just use different words sometimes.
We took a little snack midday of coffees and bread and we bought the bread because the place where we had the coffee smelled so amazing. I wish I could bottle it up and keep that smell with me. The bread came with 4 different toppings, a tomato spice herb chutney (that´s what Claire called it, I´m not sure I´ve ever used the word chutney), guacomole (yes the green stuff-for bread), mango orange jelly, and a really soft cream cheese with rosemary. Cereleun step out of the way!

We stepped into the Plaza (our main reference point) to see that there were some more festivities going on. We aren{t sure if they´re for Easter or just for the weekend or what but it was amazing. Dancing galore! Many different types of traditional dress, men dressed up as llamas, all sorts of things and we think that they danced througout the maze of streets all afternoon to live music playing so that you could hear it everywhere. And they were so happy and can you imagine- these heavy customes and it was really sunny and dancing all day! And they were cool dances, sometimes acting out some sort of scene. It was just amazing- you can bet that despite the crowd I took a whole roll of film! There was an instance where a little adorable girl, maybe 4, came up and stood with us, talking to us- in spanish so we didn{t understand her, i think she asked me if i was a mother at one point- and put her arms around us. A little too close for comfort. It´s sad when you´re afraid to trust a 4 year old but. . . we got out of there. We had really great up close seats by the street but we moved on.
We hiked up a mountain- or so it seemed, i´m sure in a few days, it will seem like a small hill- to another church and we saw a rainbow over the city!
Then we made an afternoon stop for some maracuya pie (one of those fruits with the gelatinous seeds, I think it´s a passion fruit) and I had strawberry milk- I{m pretty sure they were fresh strawberries.
In all the places we´ve eaten here we´ve had the privelage of sitting on balconies that overlook the street or the plaza with amazing views. I think our eating clock is a bit off so we eat very early- also so we can get in before dark, but it means that everywhere we´ve eaten has been almost empty. Fine with us, we get the good views! A lot of the restaurants here have a wood stove because the evenings get quite chilly.
One scene that made me think. . . as we were looking down into the plaza, a man jogged by and some change fell out of his pocket. There was a little girl who helped him pick it up and handed it over to him. She was maybe 5 or 6. And I couldn´t tell that he even thanked her. He moved on, still at a jog, but she found some more money on the street. I thought she would keep it because he was several yards away at this point. But no, she runs after him, yelling "me amigo" I mean, she sprints after him to give him this change. I never saw whether or not she caught up with him, but really, I hope he either thanked her well or she didn´t catch him and got to keep the money. She was just so sweet and sincere about getting him his change.
Well it was an amazing day and we wrapped it up with a lite dinner- I had a crepe with potato and cheese. There were tomatoes on my plate and I was dismayed at not being able to eat them because I wasn´t sure that they had been washed and then I noticed that the skin had been removed- so I decided they would be okay- right?
Tomorrow we meet up with the tour so I may not be able to post for awhile. Everyone have a lovely and blessed Easter!

Peru, in a better mood

I will first apologize for my typing on any blog posts in the future. This keyboard is not natural. I have not yet told you about my interesting last meal in Quito. We went to a lovely restaurant on the 13th floor of a building with an almost 360 view of Quito. It was quite awesome. I wanted to order something Ecuadorian and Allison recommended the Corvina so we asked the waiter which of the Corvina (a fish) dishes he recommended and he said the Corvina con salsa de mariscos (seafood sauce). Someone taught me that when you ask for a recommendation, it´s rude to not take it. So, I did. And I think it was probably the strangest meal I´ve ever ordered. It was good fish in a good sauce but it also had some strange things on it, I think one was a baby octopus.
Fast forward to today, I successfully met up with Claire and we made it to the hotel and went out to the Plaza de Armas which is fairly close to us. It´s really beautiful here but I didn{t take my camera because im a little unsure how safe it is but i wish i had because its just pretty cool. We each had a soup for dinner, i had a quenoa soup (oh where is Allison who can help me with all my spelling! And im fairly positive would not have allowed me to get ripped off by the taxi today) with vegetables and potato and cheese and split a rocoto relleno (im not sure about that spelling either) but its a spicy pepper with meat vegetables and cheese. Good dinner overlooking this ancient plaza and an awesome backdrop of moutains.
I have read not to stay out after dark here. But the sun did go down while we were eating out dinner. But being that it{s Good Friday, there was a parade and a mob of people crushing us. The parade included a Crucified Christ and i think people must have been throwing flowers. But i didn{t really get to see anything else. We were happy to make it back to the hotel safe and sound. And I was super happy to find a computer with free internet!
I want to congratulate my little sister on her art opening tonight and I wish I could have been there!

Peru

We have made it to Peru. Having trouble getting money because all banks are closed because of Good Friday and the ATM gave us large bills. Got ripped off (over charged) by taxi. Welcome to Peru!

My last day in Quito

So we had Sushi at Sake last night. Yes, again, I am eating non Ecuadorian food in Ecuador. It was some of the best sushi I have ever had- no offense to Caleb and Nate and Noa Noa. We had the spicy tuna, while not too spicy was still excellent. And we had one with white tuna (Ethel, I am so sorry you couldn't join us) that was tempura fried with cream cheese, avocado, and wrapped in a banana. In a peanut and soy sauce- it was amazing. But the best one was called the Volcano. It was tempura fried shrimp with avocado, lettuce, salmon, the usual rice and seaweed. And it was covered in a sweet honey soy sauce. But then they poured flaming alcohol over it. I'm realizing that this blog has become less about traveling and more about food!
Today we tried Pan de Yucca- bread made from the root of the Yucca plant, like the plant we use in landscaping- and mini bananas.
It's rainy and cloudy again today so I'm hoping for better weather when I head out for Peru tomorrow morning!
I am set to meet Claire, who I met in New Zealand, on our flight from Lima to Cusco. Then it's us on our own until Sunday at noon. I'm not sure what I would have done here without Allison so I'm hoping Claire has a better directional sense than me! I enjoyed Quito very much and now I am ready to start the next part of my adventure!

More time in Quito

So yesterday morning it was cloudy once again so we decided to go the other Guayasamin museum, farther up on the hill, the chapel of man. It was pretty amazing also- huge paintings and it's at his house so you get to look around it a bit as well. Here's the website if you want to see some Guayasamin work. We went out for a traditional Ecuadorian lunch and the translation in the menu said that I was getting "Chicken Stew with Rice" (Seco de Pollo) but when it came it was this huge dish of like a fourth a chicken, a ton of rice, a tomato, potato and an avocado! And I had juice of tomate de arbol another fruit that we don't have anything similar to. Then we went to have pedicures! I used to think that I would never like such a thing, but I've discovered that I was very wrong. Then we came back to the apartment and took another afternoon nap/read. Allison and I decided to try our hand at cooking a traditional Ecuadorian meal Corn Sango with Shrimp. I will say that we did very well and it was excellent! I wrote down the recipe so maybe I'll make it at home sometime. They use this white corn here that is huge and all puffed up, that was the basis of the dish. We also tried baked tomates de arbol but alas, that was not so successful.

Today. . . you'll never guess. . . it was cloudy again! We went for breakfast at this little cafe and had cappuccinos- so I am not at a total loss here, I can still get coffee with lots of milk in it and we had humitas which are like a corn pudding (I thought it tasted like cornbread) wrapped in a corn husk. Carrie, a friend of Allison's had a tamale, and it's different from a mexican tamale, I'd say it was corn based also with meat and maybe some vegetables and wrapped in bananna leaves! We also had a Quimilito which was a sweet version of the humita and then we finished it up with chocolate cake! You have to try everything, right!?

We decided to try venturing out to the Mitad del Mundo- which is where you get to see the line of the Equator. But it's a bit tricky- there are two different places that claim this status. We went to the original one first. I guess the first people who tried to measure the earth claimed that the line was here. They have a huge sculpture and have marked the line and Allison named it the Disney World of Ecuador because it is very touristy. We took a few photos on the line and went into the Insectarium/bug museum where I let a giant beetle type thing set on my arm (not on my skin- no way- on my raincoat)- Ethel you would be proud. But then we went to the other place and I loved it! It's just 210 meters away from the original spot (so the old guys were pretty accurate) but this is the actual Equator as measured by GPS. They took you on a little tour and did little experiments to show you that you are on the Equator.
Which leads me to the learning section of the day, these are especially for Jason:
5 Ways to Know that You Are on the Equator
1. When you drain water in a sink, the water goes straight down and does not create the spiral that normally occurs. This can be demonstrated by placing little leaves in the water that kind of just stay where they are instead of getting sucked into the spiral.
2. An egg is easier to balance on a nailhead. I say easier because it was still impossible for me to do.
3. It becomes harder to walk in a straight line- making you look like you're drunk. Something about the two centrifugal forces of the earth coming together at the equator.
4. You weigh less and your resistance is less when exactly on the equator. I'm not sure that I understood why on this one.
5. And something about on a sundial on the solstices the dial creating no shadow for a period of time. This was very hard for him to demonstrate as there was no sun today.

We learned all sorts of things about the indigenous people of the area- how their houses were built, and about some of the animals in the area, which I would really not like to think about, but City Mouse he did describe how tarantulas will spring at you while you are taking their picture. And he told us about shrunken heads and really I never have considered that something that is real- but I guess it is, Gross. And I got to try shooting an arrow with a blow gun, and we saw some guinea pigs in a pen- because they eat them, and he talked to us a little about the plant life. A plant that looks like aloe vera but is bluer is what is used to make tequilla, who knew? And also he told us a little about burials and the indigenous people used to bury a person's family with them when they died, it may have just been the prominent people but they would give them this cactus juice that would cause them to hallucinate and then they'd put them in these giant vases and bury them alive. How terrible!
But I think that little place is my favorite so far in Quito. Our tour guide was fun and he spoke english so it was a good experience for me. We also got our passport stamped at both of the Equators so now I have some new stamps.

I tried some empanadas this afternoon, with cheese- excellent! And they flavor (with orange in this case) their soy milk which I also have found that I enjoy.

One note on the driving. I wouldn't make it one day. I really don't think they have rules and sometimes in the taxi I have to close my eyes. Our taxi driver was so nice today- he drove us all the way out to the Equators and waited for us for like two hours while we were there. And he wasn't mad at us or anything for making him wait. Good guy.