Papallacta - Warning!!!

How can anyone wonder why I´ve decided to stay here when I have this type of scenery round the corner from where I´m living. That´s Antisana piearcing through the sky! And if you look closely enough the plants in the foreground are covered in ice....Brilliantly cold day!!! At least at the 4000m at which this picture was taken!

A few weeks ago I tagged along on a trek out to Papallacta, (area in the above picture)...Awesome day even though I was feeling rotten....The highlight of the day was meeting Joe and Phil, two hilarious English gentlemen, with slightly twisted minds - We hit it off like a house on fire...
Ended up going out for drinks and dinner and having a fantastic conversation, which included a debate on the use of proper punctuation, namely colons and semicolons...It was a blast!
A few cocktails, a bottle of wine and a few more glasses of wine fueled the conversation...Thanks guys had a laugh!

Back to the trek....After an initial trek at 4000m Joe and I, who weren´t feeling the best, decided it was best for us to wait while the others were on the second trek, lying in thermal baths - Rather awesome actually to be lying in steaming hot natural water, the sun beating down and moutains towering over you at over 4000m. Definitely one activity I won´t be saying no to if it gets offered again!

We also visited an active trout farm, where I gutted my first fish! That´s what the warning is about in the title! Blood and guts all over my hands....Excellent Fun!! Tried my hand at fishing them as well, with a net and all....Was a lot more successful at cleaning them. Congratulations to Phil who caught fish on his first go!

The trout farm is also a guinea pig farm....No not farming them as pets, but for people who find these hairy rat looking things delicious for dinner...This particular one, on the right, was brought back to Quito with a friend and both were enjoyed two nights later - Not by me.

Since then I have moved into my little apartment, which is very bare: Not a single piece of furniture. Moving in was brilliant, although I went with the idea that I would have hot water straight off - Silly Girl!! Needed gas, didn´t I? And it´s not connected straight to the apartment, is it?? No, needed to buy gas in bottles...Let me tell you, it´s not easy to wash with an electric kettle full of water!
Anyhoo, now have a fridge and a stove, (complete with gas) and should be getting a bed, some lamps, and a couple of shelves this afternoon!!! Yay!
I have even succumbed to having a flatmate....Zorba, my plant! She is beautiful: Pink and Green.
I also was given a "Petate" by Ely, my boss at the agency as a housewarming gift. To explain it is a handwoven straw-type carpet typical of the coastal areas of Ecuador...This particular one has green and purple through it - Very Funky! I also have another "carpet," which is actually here a mantel, (a tablecloth). Blood red with pinks, purples and oranges through it.
So poco a poco I´m getting there! Will provide photos once it starts looking less like I´m camping out in an empty apartment.
This is my building! Basically my place is on the first floor and has the terrace which goes all the way to where the palm trees are. Love it!!

Mi Español is coming along too - With my past and future tenses becoming less confusing...Although trying to understand the words of songs is still trying on the old brain cells, as I found out last Sunday when I went to and all day outdoor concert. Imagine a park the size of the Domain with a sea of umbrellas (for the sun,) dancing merengue and salsa, infront of a giant stage with such artists as Fanny Liu, Fonseca, Fontina, and others starting with other letters of the alphabet!
Of course, my little group had not thought of umbrellas so were all sweltering under jackets to keep from getting burnt! Oh and eating loads of ice-cream to keep cool! Yay!
Do apologise, dorkus head here forgot to take her camera - No photos available.

Ok, more trips for all you Intrepid Ecuadorian Travellers:

1. Double lines on roads are there only for decoration - You can overtake over them, especially around blind corners, and when there is oncoming traffic, preferably heavy trucks!

2. Lane markings are also decoration - You can always fit an fifth car in a four lane road and hey why not a sixth while we´re at it!

3. Foot paths are a figment of your imagination...They exist....Almost. Watch out for the endless holes you can disappear into!

4. You can count on Chinese shops around the globe to be the only ones open everyday of the week!

5. The garbage collectors come every night of the week - Just pop your rubbish bags on the sidewalk in the evening and hey presto! The next day they´ve disappeared!

6. All you shoe and sneaker fans...Boy will you be happy here!! Leather shoes and heels here are to die for, and sneakers can be bought in any colour under the sun...Cheap too!

7. Volcanoes (Tunguragua) erupting are a common occurence. For all of you who have heard about it, and for those who haven´t, here in Quito we are not at all affected by the latest eruptions, other than having to reorganise trips for clients.

8. Shop Assistants think it´s good customer service to hover about 50cm from you as you are looking for clothes, shoes, whatever....They look at you funny when you tell them you would be more comfortable if they went away (ie Piss off!!!)

9. The "Muffin" look here is not a bad fashion statement - It´s bad fashion culture! The clothes are designed so that you are made to have any hint of excess skin, roll out the sides, back and front....

10. Bus stops do exist.....However just wave a bus down and it will stop wherever! Even if it stopped 10m up the road for someone else! Hell, they´ll stop if they´re in the farthest lane from you...As long as you can get across the lanes without getting yourself killed, you´ve got the bus!

Just getting you all prepared for when you visit me! :o)