Riobamba, Ecuador
I arrived in Riobamba yesterday after my second visit to Banos. My new friend (Darwin) played hookie and came along for the night. Was really great, but he´s gone back to Banos to work now. He works 7 nights a week for 12 hours each shift, and then...Monday through Friday he works at a tourist information booth for an additional 7 hours a day. He makes a whopping $300.00 a month and is very glad for it. Man oh man. We don´t know how good we have it.
At the hotel in Banos, there is a very, very sweet Senora who works the day shift. She and I were chatting the other day and she asked me where the US was. I got out a map of North and South America. She had never seen a world map before and was excited to learn where Ecuador was located. Most kids outside the cities are only educated until the age of 12, some even younger. Academic education is no benefit to you if you are working the fields or selling food on the street. Certainly however, in the cities education is more valued as incomes are higher. My spanish instructor in Quito (the capital) for example, is a student at the university.
The bus ride from Banos to Riobamba passed through newly re-opened road. In August ´06 there was a volcano eruption in Banos. They are still clearing the lava flows from the road with bulldozers. Was a sight to see. I´ll be here in Riobamba until Sunday, when I´ll depart for a train ride called the Devil´s Nose http://www.exploringecuador.com/en_ar_devilsnose.htm The scenery is supposed to be spectacular and the best seats are on the roof! hooHA!
While in Banos the other day, I went rafting and had a great time. Was pleased to see they had life jackets and helmuts, as well as a rescue kayak. There was only one boat, and as my Cape girls know, rafting with a large tour can slow things down. At home, each boat waits until all the other boats have competed each rapid, so the trip is a lot of stop and go. Here it was uninterupted fun. In Latin America, liability issues aren´t even on the radar. In fact after going through one of the rapids we stopped, but only to climb back up, on all fours through the river, over the rocks to body surfed down again.
Ecuador, at least in the cities, compared to Central America seems to be light years ahead. For example, they have trash barrells on most of the street corners and more importanly, people actually use them! I have also seen handicapped ramps for the sidewalks as well. There is trash removal and the trash trucks play music that our ice cream trucks play. It´s very funny. I´m told it´s because the residents don`t put their trash out (because of dogs) so they wait until they hear the music to do so.
It is carnaval season here and the kids are out in full force after school tossing water balloons at each other. It´s fun to watch. Innocent bystanders...too bad for you. The adults don´t seem to mind at all.
Okay amigos...I´m off to dinner. The restaurant in my hotel serves yummo chocolate and bananna crepes for dessert. I know where I´m going for dinner.
Hope all is well in the great white north. Love to you all!
At the hotel in Banos, there is a very, very sweet Senora who works the day shift. She and I were chatting the other day and she asked me where the US was. I got out a map of North and South America. She had never seen a world map before and was excited to learn where Ecuador was located. Most kids outside the cities are only educated until the age of 12, some even younger. Academic education is no benefit to you if you are working the fields or selling food on the street. Certainly however, in the cities education is more valued as incomes are higher. My spanish instructor in Quito (the capital) for example, is a student at the university.
The bus ride from Banos to Riobamba passed through newly re-opened road. In August ´06 there was a volcano eruption in Banos. They are still clearing the lava flows from the road with bulldozers. Was a sight to see. I´ll be here in Riobamba until Sunday, when I´ll depart for a train ride called the Devil´s Nose http://www.exploringecuador.com/en_ar_devilsnose.htm The scenery is supposed to be spectacular and the best seats are on the roof! hooHA!
While in Banos the other day, I went rafting and had a great time. Was pleased to see they had life jackets and helmuts, as well as a rescue kayak. There was only one boat, and as my Cape girls know, rafting with a large tour can slow things down. At home, each boat waits until all the other boats have competed each rapid, so the trip is a lot of stop and go. Here it was uninterupted fun. In Latin America, liability issues aren´t even on the radar. In fact after going through one of the rapids we stopped, but only to climb back up, on all fours through the river, over the rocks to body surfed down again.
Ecuador, at least in the cities, compared to Central America seems to be light years ahead. For example, they have trash barrells on most of the street corners and more importanly, people actually use them! I have also seen handicapped ramps for the sidewalks as well. There is trash removal and the trash trucks play music that our ice cream trucks play. It´s very funny. I´m told it´s because the residents don`t put their trash out (because of dogs) so they wait until they hear the music to do so.
It is carnaval season here and the kids are out in full force after school tossing water balloons at each other. It´s fun to watch. Innocent bystanders...too bad for you. The adults don´t seem to mind at all.
Okay amigos...I´m off to dinner. The restaurant in my hotel serves yummo chocolate and bananna crepes for dessert. I know where I´m going for dinner.
Hope all is well in the great white north. Love to you all!
posted by amy at 6:32 PM
2 Comments:
sounds fabalous - and yes we do have it made here in the good ole USA!!
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