First Week Down

In Which We Explore Our Surroundings and Write a Post Together

We arrived to Ambato on Thursday, and since then we've been trying to get as settled into the things needed to survive as well as possible. We are staying in the same little house that we stayed in the first time we came to this city in Ecuador. However, we are only staying here for 2 weeks while we find a more permanent house or apartment. We do have Jethro (our dog) with us so we need an area for him to be able to walk around in. They have random little parks all over the place, which is very convenient considering the needs of our four legged friend.

We took a taxi ride up the Via Ecologica to Santa Rosa for 3 dollars and we walked back down to enjoy the scenery. It started as a good idea to exercise Jethro, but ended in a good exercise for us. The road literally goes uphill for about 2.5 miles. This picture is off the road about 50 yards. It looks pretty flat but it literally starts to drop off past the small little tree all by itself.

The hills above Amabato

The epic look of surprise

So in the process of trying to make a simple routine per day, we have to get into the groove of the culture. When to buy certain foods, where to buy certain foods, and how much said foods should cost. We were able to find some basic foods like 1-2 days here. Low and behold we found rice/arroz. I always pick fun with Victoria because she is half Puerto Rican but for some reason CANNOT cook rice. It should be a prerequisite for having a Hispanic background... We had heard from another family here that when cooking rice here you have to use 3 cups of water to 1 cup of rice because the elevation difference (8,000ft+) makes the water evaporate more quickly. She cooked that rice like entirety of the Hispanic culture was behind her. Not a single crunchy, non-cooked piece was to be found. I was so proud that I congratulated her. To go along with this awesomely cooked rice we had fresh avocado and fried plantains.

The biggest zucchini you will ever see

On Sunday, we met up with new friends of ours, Elizabeth and her step-dad Wayne. They're Canadian immigrants who recently became Ecuadorian citizens, along with Elizabeth's mom, Roxana. They offered to show us around La Mayorista, which is the biggest market on our side of town. This is most likely where we will do most of our weekly shopping for produce. And man, oh man, do they ever have produce! It's all so fresh and a good 50% of what's seen is grown either within a short distance of Ambato, or within the province of Tungurahua. Eating locally is not a problem here at all.

We saw all manner of veggies an fruits, half of which I couldn't even name. Since the growing season is basically all year round, things such as zucchini and squash and cucumbers can get to enormous sizes!

Spices, spices, spices!

Dried goods

Elizabeth made sure to introduce us to their spice vendor. He had an entire little shop full of freshly hand-ground spices. There were also nuts and chocolates available. It was seriously overwhelming, since all we were looking for was a little bit of chili powder. We'll definitely be going back soon though, because you can never have too many spices when cooking.

There were also stores with freshly ground corn, wheat, rice, beans, pasta - you name it, they probably had it. Everything was in the big barrels that you could walk by and see and even touch!

There was a particular area dedicated to greens - spinach and lettuce and kale and everything that grows that's green. Beth was looking particularly for dill, which she said was typically a little difficult to find. We went by this one vendor with all sorts of fresh herbs, and she miraculously had a bundle. Beth had spoken with her the week before, and apparently the lady had held them for her.

Fresh herbs!

The fruits and vegetables are incredibly numerous, like I mentioned before. A good half of them I don't even have a name for them in English! And they're all SO GOOD, especially the fruit. They've got two or three types of passion fruit in season right night, and Ambato is known as the land of peaches! They've got several different types that come into season through out the year, and they are all absolutely delicious. 

Rambutan - so very odd looking, but so very tasty

So we went to the market on both Sunday and Monday. On Monday we went into the center of town -(El Centro) to the market there to check out the meat-sellers. Beth and Wayne introduced us to their chicken and sausage suppliers, and we bought a little of both to get us through the week. 

On Tuesday, I (Victoria) was feeling the effect of the past few days at 9000+ and walking all over the place. Plus, I hadn't been drinking very much water, so I was overall dehydrated and just feeling bleh. I had a headache and stomach ache and had planned to stay home, but Beth and Wayne called to invite us to Baños that day. They said they were planning on going to the hot springs and then going to a chiropractor to get adjusted. They didn't have to tell me twice.

The city right up on the mountain

Baños Cathedral

So around 1 that afternoon, we loaded up on a bus for the 40-minute, 80-cent ride to Baños. The town is pretty small, but it's very popular with tourists, both foreign and local, due to aforementioned hot springs. Apparently the weekends are typically slammed, but the weekdays are much more manageable, so we were happy to be able to enjoy the sights and sounds without fighting a crush of people.  

The hot springs were absolutely wonderful! My back and hips were sore, and soaking in a hot mineral pool was exactly what I needed. They have varying levels of temperature at the springs. There was an area with freezing cold water - good for circulation, and then several pools of varying heat. We were in the 2nd hottest pool, which looked more like a cistern, but it was glorious. It's slightly unappetizing to look at, because the water is  slightly murky, but that's the way it comes direct from the underground springs. Beth reminded us that this entire area sits on an active volcanic line, which is why they can get water that hot from mountains that high.

Natural hot springs and waterfall

Baños itself is gorgeous. It's known for its hot springs, but it's also known for its adventure tourism and waterfalls. There's hiking and kayaking and rafting to be had within a short walk or ride. We saw dune-buggy type vehicles that you could rent for the day to drive around the area. 

Communal clothes washing station
 naturally fed by the waterfall

The city itself is wedged in a very small, narrow valley. It backs right up to the mountains, from which they get their hot springs. They claim (and we can attest to) the cleanest water at Virgen de Agua Santa. The spring comes directly from the mountain into a stone cistern. People drink directly from it as there are no chemicals, no contaminants, other than a few leaves and sticks that fall into the cistern itself. It's pretty amazing water, we drank some ourselves :)

Cistern at Virgen de Agua Santa

After a good 45-minute soak in the springs and some refreshingly clean natural water, we headed to the chiropractor. His name is Jeffrey and he's from California. He's been in Ecuador for 20 years now and has married an Ecuadorian woman, thus making this his home. Beth and her family have been seeing him for a while now, and we were just excited to be able to get adjusted. Upon meeting Jeffrey, we realized that he's absolutely crazy, but it's our kind of crazy, so we felt right at home.  He knows his stuff and he put us to rights very quickly. We didn't ever plan on being able to be adjusted while here in Ecuador, so finding someone who knows what he's doing who isn't very far from us is a wonderful surprise and blessing.

Entrance to the Virgen de Santa Agua

Entrance to Jeffrey's house, and his cat!

Hello from Baños!

The rest of the week was pretty slow. We did take the next few days to just relax and recuperate, having done a lot at an altitude neither of us is used to. We went and saw Beth, Wayne and Roxana several times, having dinner with their family and just generally hanging out. We spent a good amount of time walking around our area, getting to know this neighborhood and the surrounding areas. We've been keeping our eyes peeled for houses for rent, but so far it seems like the newspaper is going to be the best bet for us. Nonetheless, the walking has been great exercise, as well as a good way for us to get to know the area and for people to get to know us. We try and greet everyone we see (well, John does) and most people here are very friendly and welcoming. We get a lot of strange glances, but we're getting used to it.

On Friday, Marco and Elena stopped by to water their plants and also to invite us to church for Easter. We were very happy and excited by that, and of course said yes. They also invited us for cafecito (coffee and bread) at their house later Sunday evening, which we gratefully accepted as well. 

When the appointed time rolled around on Sunday, Marco and Elena picked us up and away we went to church. Their church is several neighborhoods down from us, closer to El Centro. It's in  a lovely little neighborhood and it looks like a large converted house. The meeting area has been opened up to roughly the size of a small gym, and the downstairs area houses the kitchen, bathrooms and another smaller meeting area for the children, youth and adult ministries to take turns using. 

The service itself was very nice. My Spanish still isn't good enough to pick up everything in a normal-speed conversation, but I was able to grasp a good portion of things. We knew some of the songs even though they were in Spanish, and that was a huge encouragement. John was able to follow along with a few words, and Elena helped us both by translating at times. 

Part of the play at church

Afterwards, since it IS Easter, they had a special presentation by the youth and some adults. It was a play done about the life, death and resurrection of Christ, and how it impacts us today. It was interesting to watch and gave me, personally, a lot to think about regarding cultures and faith. Our cultures are very different, and they do things differently here than I would back in the States. Even with that though, the message of Christ was clear, and I could see the people told and received it with reverence and love. 

 One last thing we saw on the way home - behold the wonder of Ecuadorian driving :

There are 3 people on this bike - look closely

Eat your heart out, overprotective parents!