Back to Life, Back to Reality

Back in Guayaquil, and I've never been so happy to be home.  It was an epic journey.  The challenges we faced - climbing mountains, battling food poisoning, missing flights, etc. - made it that much more rewarding to come back to the balmy tropics of Ecuador.  Don't get me wrong; spending time in the Sacred Valley of the Incas was well worth the time and money, our trek was gorgeous, and visiting Machu Picchu was a great experience.  There were a few items, however, I would have appreciated knowing beforehand.  Just to be prepared mentally, since being prepared logistically usually doesn't happen for me.  Pending photos and reflections on our trip, here is a list of Useful Things To Know When Traveling to Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley:

- Visiting Machu Picchu is like working out.  It is the 16th century version of the Stairmaster.  There were lots of out-of-shape tourists there, and you don't want to be one of them.  Start working out now.

- If you're camping at high altitude on the Inca Trail or another trek, fill up a plastic bottle with hot water just before going to bed.  Slip it into your sleeping bag and you've got warm feet for the night.  (Or you can be like me and wear socks made out of possum fur.  Thank you, New Zealand.)

- Even if you speak good Spanish and have no qualms about navigating the local bus system, it really is a good idea to pay for a day tour if you're trying to be efficient with your time and see as much as possible in the Sacred Valley.  Especially if you find yourself hampered by gastrointestinal woes and don't really feel like dealing with waiting on buses or haggling over cab fares.

- Speaking of food poisoning, don't assume you are immune.  Expats, I exhort you to let go of your hubris and consume carefully.  The Incas continue to wreak an interminable revenge on foreign GI tracts after that whole smallpox thing from back in the day.

- Cusco = cold.  Machu Picchu = temperate.  Ergo, neither shorts nor exercise leggings are appropriate.  They are two apparel extremes, neither of which are warranted by the climate.  Layers!  Layers are fine!!  (Really, enough with the exercise leggings, people; the only time you need those are at night if you're camping at high altitude.)

- Bread.  Bread, bread, bread.  Cusco apparently has really good bread.  While we were sitting in the airport terminal for about 5 hours waiting on our delayed plane, we counted dozens of Peruvians carrying plastic sacks that contained round loaves of bread bigger than the size of your head.  This is the "it" item to bring home to your family after a trip to Cusco.  If you really want to blend in with the locals, forget the alpaca blankets and silver jewelry and pack your suitcase with bread instead.

- Inca Kola is everywhere.  People really drink it, and they like it, and they like it when you like it.  Unfortunately, this is part of the culture in which I do not enjoy partaking, and so my description of it here will hardly be impartial: When I see a bottle of Inca Kola, certain phrases run through my head.  Phrases such as "Just Say No" and "Stop, Drop, and Roll."  I suppose the best advice I can give is to simply Be Aware.  Be Aware that what you are about to consume looks like carbonated urine and tastes like liquid bubblegum.

- This little corner of the world is well developed for tourists.  With Machu Picchu being one of the Seven Wonders of the World, you'd have thought we'd be prepared for things like the required purchase of package tourist tickets in order to visit parts of the Sacred Valley, or simply for the sheer number of other tourists around.  There are ways to avoid the toury-ness of it all, which we will get to later.

...That there is a brief rundown.  Ponder those over a bottle of Inca Kola and we'll be back shortly with more trip details.  Over and out.

Hasta Pronto

One of the perks of living in Guayaquil is the large number of direct buses that service not only Ecuador, but other countries as well.  My friend Evergreen and I had heard intriguing rumors about these international buses.  They included such fabulous things as chairs that recline to 180 degrees; air conditioning; and bus attendants who serve you meals.

We decided we had to test the verity of these rumors, and that is why we booked bus tickets to Peru.  (The allure of the mysterious Incan ruins of Machu Picchu had something to do with it as well.)  Yes, it's true: tomorrow, I embark on a long anticipated vacation.  Part of the next twelve days will be spent high in the Andes, without access to my hammock or the internet, so this post will serve as a temporary adieu.  In the meantime, check out this website for a virtual tour of Machu Picchu that probably has better pictures than the ones I am going to take -- nevertheless, I will take pictures, and I will bring them home and post them here because I owe it to you, my dear and loyal readers.  But I'm thinking the pictures I take of all the Peruvian dishes I plan to try will turn out somewhat better. 

"Feliz viaje" is what we say to mean "Have a good trip." 

And to that I respond, "Gracias, nos vemos pronto!"

...See you soon!

NY Times: Ecuador Grants Asylum to Assange, Defying Britain

"It struck many as odd that Mr. Assange, who shot to fame as a fighter for media freedom, chose Ecuador as a potential refuge. Mr. Correa has presided over a crackdown on journalists there."

Full article is here.

On the Playlist: Gusttavo Lima

Man, these Brazilian singers are really working their way into my heart lately.  First there was Michel Teló, and now the young (younger than me - ack!) Gusttavo Lima with his hit "Balada Boa."  This latest is one you'll be hearing frequently these days, whether blared in the streets on the weekend or deafening you at your gym bailoterapia class.  Perhaps it is time to learn Portuguese so I can understand what the words mean.  In my opinion, however, the standout features are the rhythms and the insane danceability of these songs.  And also, what is quickly becoming an instant love-it factor for me: the accordion.  Accordion pop music?  Could this ever be popular in my home country, the United States of America?  Listen to it and decide for yourself...

Adventures with Crustaceans

This is the view from my friend Whitni's house:

There are no crabs in this part of the country, so I had to bring them myself.

Whitni lives in the town of Paccha, in the temperate zone of the Andes.  I visited her this past weekend, and a few days before I left she gave me a call.  "I have a huge favor to ask you," she said.  "When you come, could you bring a couple dozen crabs?"  Her host family, jumping at the chance to obtain fresh seafood from the coast, wanted to have a cangrejado (crab bake; crab dinner).

The morning I left, I ran down to the riverside market by my house and bought two dozen fresh crabs for $20.  They were tied together in rows with twine, waving their claws at me in salutation.  Or retaliation.  One of the two.  At the bus terminal, I stowed them under the bus.  This is how many people transport their live chickens, dogs, goats, etc., when traveling by bus across the country.

Six hours later, when I disembarked in Paccha, the crabs were still alive.  Fresh seafood in the mountains, what ho!

Here are some lovely specimens:

We had quite a bit of fun playing with our food, going so far as to create artistic scenes with the uncooked crabs.  I have titled them below.

"Crab Love"

"Crab Carnage"

"Crab Gore"

Eventually, we did cook and eat the crabs.  (Whitni's host family cooked and Whitni and I ate, to be precise.)  The crabs were boiled in a plantain soup, which was then eaten alongside with a salad of onions and tomatoes.  Not pictured are the wooden boards and stones we used to smash open the crabs and get at the meat.  Cangrejados are always a gloriously messy affair, which in my opinion only enhances the enjoyment.  Buen provecho!

Also--

Google honors today, August 10th, which is Ecuador's independence day.  Depicted on the postage stamp is the Mitad del Mundo (literally: Middle of the World; i.e., the equator!).  Come on down and visit, you'll see a lot and get a neat stamp in your passport.

I'm 25 and Where'd I Put My Dentures

The creativity of my students continues to amaze me.  We practice and learn new things, and sometimes I forget how much they already know.  Like, for instance, how to make good use of the scanty resources available to them.  This birthday card was gifted me by one of my young friends.  She used nothing more than paper and markers to create something unique, imaginative, and meaningful.  The pink heart is folded paper that, when opened, contained a heartfelt note. 

Messages from friends and family, both here and abroad, made turning a quarter century old less of a terrible thing. 

Thank you to everyone for your words of encouragement and love!

Love to All,

Jordan

Beat the Heat

This is a very non-Ecuadorian dish, but I have to share it because it makes living in the equatorial heat Worth It.  And, for those of you riding the heat wave in the US of A, it might provide some relief.  Here's the skinny:

Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt.  Believe it.

Here is a brief survey to help you decide whether you will like this recipe:
1. Do you like cookies?
2. Do you like ice cream and/or frozen yogurt?

If you answered Yes to both of these questions, this recipe is for you.

Basically, there are three steps:

1. Make cookie dough, but without the eggs.
2. Mix in yogurt.
3. Freeze it.

The keys to happiness are scattered about your kitchen - in your pantry and refrigerator - and all you have to do is gather them up to unlock the secret to fro-yo awesomeness.

Start by making the cookie dough. Put all the good stuff in a bowl. This means butter and sugar.  Mix it up real good.

Next, if you live in Ecuador or another place where there are no chocolate chips, you have to improvise.  Let's be snobs and use Ecuadorian-made chocolate - "true chocolate," as the label on this bar proudly announces. 

The company that makes this, La Universal, has a factory near downtown Guayaquil.  It is great fun to ride past it on the bus, because the block it is on always smells delicious.



Here is what our chocolate looks like on the inside: smaller bars, each stamped with the words "La Universal" so you don't forget what chocolate you are using. 

See that knife?  This is how we improvise chocolate chips.

Chocolate chunks, more like.

A few of these may have made it into my stomach at this point, but for the most part four fifths of the 200 gram bar of chocolate went into the making of our fro-yo.

...Chocolate goes with the dry ingredients...

...Mix the dry ingredients with the wet...

...And here is our eggless cookie dough.

Here comes the easiest part.

Mix a cup or so of yogurt into the almost-cookie dough.  Vanilla yogurt is sweeter, but plain works just as well.

Stir until the batter is all mixed together.  Make sure to swipe your finger down the spoon and taste, as shown in the picture.

Stick it in the freezer overnight.

Take it out in the morning and it should look something like this, but with a pristine surface if you have more patience than I and don't continually swipe fingerfuls of the stuff to check its consistency.

Breakfast, yum!

Tejer: To Knit

My life is becoming one big arts & crafts class!  And I guess I'm not complaining.

The women's handicrafts group has decided they want to learn to knit.  Crocheting is very big here, and nearly everyone - at least in the older generations - seems to know how to do it.  It's common to see women carrying elaborately crocheted purses, handbags, and wallets.  The idea of using not one, but two needles dumbfounded the ladies. 

They were intrigued.

Learning to knit has been a goal of theirs for a long time.  For months, in fact.  When my grandmother, a knitter extraordinaire, heard this, she was quick to send me a package in the mail, complete with a book on basic knitting; a pair of needles; and the beginnings of a simple patterned scarf.  All of these were wondeful educational tools, and last week I finally got the opportunity to make good use of them.

The first step was re-teaching myself how to knit.  I found that following instructions meant for 8-year-olds was very helpful.  It was also a good way to review terms and translate them into Spanish ahead of time so as to better teach the ladies.

When there is a specialized vocabulary involved in an activity we're doing, I always have to take a little more time to prepare.  For example, one of the first knitting terms you have to learn is "casting on."  This is when you are starting a project and must put the first row of stitches onto your needle.  In Spanish, "to cast on" is montar puntos.  Puntos are stitches, so you are "mounting" them onto the needle.

You can also montar (assemble) a piece of furniture; montar (pitch) a tent; or montar (cock) a pistol.


We, however, were casting stitches onto needles - "needles" being a relative term.

In actuality we used chuzo sticks.  You know, like for making shish kebabs. 

They weren't perfect, but they worked in a pinch.  Besides, I'm of the Mr. Miyagi teaching philosophy: Do exactly as I command, no questions necessary, no matter how tedious the task.  Wax on, wax off.  Cast on, bind off.

It worked!  They learned how to knit!  By the end of class, they were teaching and helping each other, which is the best sign of success. 

Homework: complete a scarf by the end of the week (because it is so "cold" here in Guayaquil now that the rainy season is over).  This means I have to teach myself some more stitches so they have something new to learn a few days from now.  Pretty soon, my students will be more advanced than I am.  The knitting craze has officially begun, and it's showing no signs of stopping.  I've a feeling we'll be knitting up until I head back to the States at the end of the year, and the ladies probably won't stop even then.  At least, I hope they won't. 

THANK YOU, Gram, for providing the materials that make these classes possible.  You have started something that will be a source of joy, creativity, and income for many of the women in Guasmo Sur!