Last Weekend our group went to Quilotoa, Ecuador. Quilotoa
is known for its lake which happens to be located inside of an inactive volcano.
From the small town of Quilotoa, you actually have to walk down into the
volcano to reach the lake. It was a treacherous hike, and Andres and I rented
horses to ride back up. Walking down to the lake took about thirty minutes, and
the altitude made the air paper thin. However, the views were incredible and I
will never forget being inside a volcano! When we reached the bottom, we were
able to kayak in the pond for about an hour. The lake is very large, and there
is no life in it due to the sulfur levels from the volcano. It was very peculiar
kayaking inside of a volcano, and not many people can say that they have done
it!
On
our way back from Quilotoa, we stopped in a small village to witness the
festivities of Corpus Christi. It was wild to say the least! The citizens
danced in the streets to a live band and consumed a surprising amount of
alcohol. It was amusing to observe the party, and after a while they paraded
into the bull fighting arena and teased the bulls while they were in their pen.
I’ve never seen so many drunken cowboys, and I was a little scared for the stumbling
bullfighters. When they finally let the bulls out, only one guy got gored in
the leg so I guess it was a successful bull fight. It was a unique experience,
and it opened my eyes to the exciting world of bull fighting!
After
the fiesta, our group stopped at a shopping mall to watch the USA vs. Portugal
match. Every shopping mall that I have been to so far screens every world cup
game on a giant screen in the food court. The game was a true nail biter, and I
thought we had the game won until Portugal scored in the last few minutes and
tied it up. I hate to say it, but it almost seems like everyone cheers against
the United States here. In any case, a tie is better than a loss and we
returned to Quito late that night.
On
Tuesday our group went to the Equator museum and we visited some Incan ruins
along the way! Visiting the Equator has always been something that I wanted to
do, and it feels great to cross it off the bucket list! I learned a lot about
the different hemispheres and the Earth’s magnetic forces. While standing on
the Equator you lose a pound of weight, and you can feel the magnetic forces on
your body. Our tour guide also demonstrated how water spins in opposite directions
when let out of a drain in each hemisphere. We were able to balance an egg on a
nail due to the unique gravitational pull of the Equator, and I was also able
to observe a real shrunken head that was 160 years old.
On
Thursday, the US played Germany at 11:00, so our group was dismissed from class
early and we went to a sushi restaurant downtown to watch the game. The sushi
was just as good as back home, and the game was an exciting one. We ended up
losing 1-0, but we will still advance into the next round of the cup. Somewhere
throughout the day I lost my cell phone, and I believe I was pick pocketed by a
talented thief. I strongly recommend carrying your valuables in your front
pockets if you plan on travelling here, as I have not been the first one in our
group to get burglarized. I was pretty
upset for a while, but my day got better when I was randomly asked to be in a
Coca Cola commercial by two models in the street!
I
am excited to leave on Sunday, but I know that I will miss Quito very much.
This whole trip almost seems like a dream, and it has been everything I
could’ve imagined from a study abroad experience. Saturday is a free day, and
Andres and I plan on hiking to the top of the Pichincha volcano early in the morning.
We do not plan on going to sleep on Saturday night since our bus to the airport
leaves at 4:00am. Hopefully my next entry will be written inside the United
States!
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