Realizing The Meaning of "En Chiva"

Well, the hike from village to village was a little less relaxing than anticipated but still amazing. We were on the bus to the first village when Katie, some Danish girls, and I got off early and decided to walk the rest of the way. Why? I´m not so sure, because as we were getting off the bus it began hailing and everyone on the bus were craning their necks, laughing at us poor poor gringas. It turned out to be a good hike, and we certainly needed the exercise. We were welcomed at the hostel with a massive, warm meal of quinoa soup, spaghetti, salad, and chocolate cake. That was the first time I had been full in a while.

 The next day was a little more difficult, because we got lost a few times...We blame it on the directions and poor translations...Fortunately, there was a young girl working in the field (work that I could never imagine doing as it was essentially on the side of a steep steep cliff) who was nice enough to lead us to the correct path. Just like with the people on the bus, I´m sure she was laughing at us, not with us. Fortunately, my sense of humor has grown just as much as my desire of fresh leafy greens since arriving.

 The third and final day of the hike involved climbing at least a couple of mountains. There were times when I thought I would not make it--the air was extremely thin and my legs were burning. But my guide did not seem to understand since he had lived in the area his entire life....With the help of Gingko pills we made it to Quilotoa Lake, our final destination.

 Our next stop was Baños--an Ecuadoran tourist town named after its natural hot baths (an equivalent in the US may be Florida during spring break). Katie´s and my vision of these baths was certainly idealized. We decided to go at night. I mean, what could be better than relaxing in hot baths under the stars and meeting people our age? We should have known, because it was packed full of people, shoulder to shoulder. And these people were at least twice our age, mostly men, and wearing too tight of bottoms. Needless to say, our time at the hot baths was cut short. We would have to star gaze from our room.

 While walking around Baños we kept seeing this advertisement for an after-dark trip up the mountain for a scenic view of the volcano "en chiva." We weren´t sure what "en chiva" was, but we assumed it was referring to a volcano exploding or something. I have never been more wrong in my life. "Chiva" was actually a party bus, a very popular activity in this small tourist town. So we headed up the mountain, reggaeton and salsa music blaring, in the back of a truck. When we got to the top we could see the lights of Baños but no sign of the volcano. We also were forced to sit and watch maybe the worst "magic" show of my life. In the end, I´m glad for the experience, but I won´t be upset if I´m never "en chiva" again. I still am looking for that exploding volcano...

Well, since my last post there have been two more pictures with the gringas. One was in a jewelry shop when a lady asked for our picture with her phone, although she had no real desire for any kind of conversation. The other was with a group of 15 15-year-olds. One boy asked Katie and me for a picture, and once we said yes, it seemed like boys were coming from every corner and alley of the street until there was a full classroom of them crowded around us. Let me know if you find a Facebook page full of us gringas and random Ecuadorans.