American Teacher in Ecuador

When I arrived in Banos, I couldn't believe what a beautiful place it was.  Mountains all around, a waterfall visible from any point in town.  It was the first place in Ecuador that just felt right from the beginning. When I checked into my hotel the Posada J which I recommend, the lady behind the counter mentioned that they had a waterfall tour the next morning on a bus, to 7 waterfalls.  The trip was to take 4 hours.   I thought what a great way to explore this town and its surroundings!  So I signed up.  (Plus, the price was right.) The next morning a double decker bus pulled up to my hotel and honked.  I hadn't known it was a double decker -- I was impressed!  We of course drove by the waterfall right outside of my room, the Virgin Waterfall that is visible from anywhere in town. Absolutely gorgeous.  Then we went to a little town nearby called San Martin?  There was a huge gorge there, which our bus drove over on a tiny, ...

Ecuadorians truly know how to celebrate New Years Eve.  Rich with customs and traditions, New Years is a playful goodbye to the old to allow for the new. It's a cross between Halloween and Santacon.  People dress up as all kinds of different things, and  they wear lots of masks and wigs. After I met a group of nice guys, I just had to try on a couple of their wigs. I do NOT look good as a blonde. Then are the mannequins -- the before pictures.  They are supposed to represent things you want to change -- they can be specific people you know, customers, or just weirdos.  The townspeople take a lot of care in creating these very elaborate "people". At midnight, everyone drags their "people" into the middle of the street, douses them with gasoline and lights them on fire.  If you jump over them, that means good luck (I think). This is actually me jumping over the fire. Then ther...

Next stop:  Riobamba, a 2 hour busride from Alausi.  The countryside out the window was beautiful, rolling green hills, cows, and steeper green mountains in the background.  Below are pictures of Chimborazo Volcano. And this is Al Altar volcano, extinct since prehistoric times.  There's a lake at the top.  This was taken out of my hotel window.  (Excuse the power lines.) First, I wanted to rappel down Hotel Zeus, which was right near my hotel.  So I went and asked.  They said they need a minimum of 5 people before they'll set it up.  Nobody else in town was interested so I didn't get to go.  This is how high it was!  I asked if I could go in and take pictures from the top floor and they said yes so I ordered a beer.  Five minutes later they said there's a private event so I can't go.  I chugged the beer and went onward. The next day, I decided to go try to find the religious art museum.  It suppos...

On Christmas Eve, I took a bus from Loja to Cuenca and stayed at Hotal Yakumama.  I arrived in time to catch the end of the Pase del Nino parade, which is the longest parade in South America (normally taking 8 hours).  There were a million Jesus in the manger floats (which consisted of the back of a trucks with a manger scene).  There were a lot of wise men and people in traditional dress.  All very festive. Back at the hostel, I inquired about a Christmas Eve event.  Unfortunately, the lounge was to close at 8:00, as did most restaurants and bars, and everyone staying at the hostel had evidently found somewhere else to go.  I was basically all alone in my top bunk.  Netflix is my friend, fortunately. The next morning, I went to Alausi, two hours north of Cuenca by bus.  I had read that sometimes the bus will drop you on the highway and I was nervous about carrying all my luggage.  When the bus did drop me on the highway and I co...

The Christmas Party at my school was quite the event.   The party was to start at 7:30 so we had decided to show up fashionably late, at 8:15.  The doors were just then unlocked at 8:15.  The place was decorated beautifully.  There were speeches, a prince/princess contest, and more speeches.  We sat at our tables patiently. Although the school throws a great party,  there was nothing to eat or drink for 3 hours!  Not even water.  Just before dinner was served at 10:45, we got a glass of wine.  Dinner was fine and I thought we were going home.  But then they brought out the Johnny Walker Red.  We all grabbed one glass, then another, and the whole party changed from a subdued, well-behaved, polite party to a fiendish, crazed, dancing party. We raged on until I think it was 1:30 in the morning?  Suddenly I found myself being whizzed away in a car driven by one of the partygoers. On the way, we stopped in...