Starting the process to obtain a new work visa was as big a nightmare as I knew it would be. The ministries in charge of these things here in Ecuador seem to think that it is a good idea to change the rules on obtaining a visa, approximately every three days. This makes it increasingly difficult to do anything because by the time you have collected all your papers they have changed the rules on what you need and you have to start all over. When I first arrived into the country you just needed some documents to obtain a work visa directly. However, since that time things have changed, so that you now first need a ton of papers to obtain authorisation from the Ministry of Labour, and then go for the work visa afterwards. It is like putting up a huge brick wall in front of what was already a huge brick wall. My work colleague from the States - John and myself have started the arduous process and hope to have this visa in our passports sometime before our 60th birthdays!!!
At the beginning of April another holiday popped up. It was Semana Santa (Easter) and we were all given a long weekend for it. This would give me a good opportunity to get away from all the red-tape nonsense which appears to follow me around in Ecuador. To make use of the beautiful nature and the house that the Coello's have down in Banos - that is where we all headed. Despite Maisa telling me about it, I had never visited the farm land which they own near Banos. Actually they own a couple of pieces of land, but the farm as they call it is the largest. I don't know how big it is exactly but they asked me if I wanted to go and check it out and I naturally jumped at the chance. The farm land is not so farm-like as you would imagine. It is a large piece of land in the jungle that surrounds the Banos area. Some time ago, Mauri came and worked on it for about a year and cut a path across the land. As none of the Coello's had returned for about 4 years (when Marcelo had a terrible accident as he fell from a waterfall and badly hurt his arm), we needed machete's to get through the jungle terrain. The land crosses a large river, has a small hut some-way in and if you keep walking you can reach all of the 7 or so waterfalls. We walked for about an hour before reaching the first waterfall, which was small but was fine for taking a cold shower as we all melted in the heat of the Jungle climate. On the way back we passed dozens of lemon and orange trees and helped ourselves to the delicious fruit. It was quite a trek and not easy on parts, so by the end we were all pretty knackered.
During our weekend we also took the ride to Puyo which has incredible views of meandering rivers and a deep valley. We met up with Maisa's friend Lilly there - just to say hi and have something to eat, before driving further on to our popular river near Tena, the perfect place for a swim. I had never noticed before but the restaurant by the river actually has a pet Parrot. It had come from deeper in the Jungle but apparently likes to hang out by the restaurant, presumably for food. The trip was great - it is always nice to get away from Quito when I can and despite being bitten alive out in the Jungle and burning to a crisp under the strong heat of the sun, I will never pass up an opportunity to come out to this part of Ecuador. It's simply stunning!!!
Sunday 6 May 2012
A Trip Away For Semana Santa
My Second Home - Mindo
Not too long after my school friend (Martin) had departed Quito and continued on his way, an opportunity came up for Maisa and myself to escape on another trip out of the city. Maisa's family had gone off to the States for a week or so to meet up with Grace who was coming down from Canada and also with Henry, who had travelled from the UK. That left Maisa and myself alone more or less. We still had work as normal, but we decided that once the weekend came - we would get out of Quito.
We ended up going to Mindo - a place that I was more than familiar with but was happy to go back to. We also took along Mauri (a person who is essentially like a brother to Maisa but actually the two aren't really related) and his wife Yadi. So off the four of us went. Now, the odd thing for me in this situation is that whenever we take Mauri and Yadi anywhere we basically have to finance them for the entire duration. Mauri works for Maisa's father and gets paid, he is 31 years old, yet the two of them never have money. Now I don't know their full financial situation so it would be wrong of me to judge - it is just strange that Maisa and myself always seem to be like a mother and father to these two whenever we go out or on a trip away. I have never been a father, let along a father to a 31 year old - but now I feel I have had some experience in it when I actually do have kids of my own.
Mindo was the usual beautiful, relaxing and peaceful place, that strikes you straight away and reminds me why I always keep going back. I have been to Mindo probably more times than any Ecuadorian I have ever met. We did all the normal things that I love to do in Mindo too - first by eating at my favourite pizza place out in town and at night, we went to a local bar. It was a good start. The next morning we first went on the Canopy Swing - a series of zip-wires attached from tree to tree where you glide above the canopy of the cloud forest. I had done it so many times but love it too much to care. I have been so many times now that the guy who owns it must be financing his kids through college on the huge sums of money I have given him. Maisa had never done it before and I don't think Mauri had ever done it or anything like it in his life - so they also enjoyed the high-altitude adventure.
We also did something that I had actually never done before in Mindo. The Hotel where we stayed at also produces its own chocolate and as part of the price for your room they give you a free chocolate making tour. On the tour they teach you how they grow the Cocoa plants, give you a bit of history on the making of chocolate and then take you around their nearby farm which has big green-houses with different stages of the Cocoa beans. We saw the drying process, the grinding of the beans and finally the production of the chocolate. At the very end there was a tasting session where we all got to try 100% chocolate without any preservatives or sugar added. Now I love dark chocolate but even for me this was a bit bitter. We then added different amounts of other ingredients including on one occasion, hot peppers. I think I prefer Cadbury's, but we did get to try a completed chocolate brownie at the end - which was delicious.
Mindo had been just what we all needed. We left the small town happy and relaxed, knowing that whatever stress awaited us back in Quito - we were now ready for!!! As it turned out there was a lot of stress awaiting me in Quito. Now was that dreaded time, the time I hoped would never come. Even the thought of it strikes me with fear and anguish. I shiver, sweat and shake at just the mention of it, but, there was no getting out of it because now was the time...............the time - to get a new work visa.
An Event For Every Occasion
In Ecuador, Valentines Day (El Dia De San Valentines), is quite a big thing. After living in South America for over two years now, it has certainly occurred to me that in Latin culture people seem to be a very emotional, cheesy and romantic bunch. I'm not saying the English aren't romantic or cheesy but certainly not to the same extent. I mean you only have to sit an Englishman in front of a TV and fast forward to the end of the film - Armageddon, to see a Brit cringe with agony. It's romantic and/or cheesy moments like in Armageddon, where the average person from the UK will generally make a face like a dog chewing a caramel toffee and be heard muttering the words - "what utter drivel". On the cheesy/emotional front, compared to us Brits, the Americans take it to the next level and those from Latin America - well they take it three levels up, across an imaginary line and then far off into the distance. So when Valentines Day popped up, I had made a special effort to be as cheesy and romantic as Englishman'ly possible. In the morning (before work), I took the 40 minute journey to personally deliver a big bunch of flowers (and chocolates) to Maisa, who was just waking up in her family home. She was caught a little unaware, as I turned up (as a surprise) at 7am. Later on in the day the two of us went out for a nice meal where I also surprised her with a gold necklace. Maisa gave me some very nice gifts too, including a leather wallet and a cute little cuddly monkey that would have made a normal Englishman pull the dog-caramel toffee face. Luckily, after living here for some time, I am quite desensitised to such forms of lovey-dovey and so really appreciated the form of affection. It was a great night out and the two of us took many cheesy photos to show everyone back home..............sick bags on standby!!!
Just a few weeks after Valentines Day and it was another special occassion to celebrate - Maisa's birthday. She was about to turn 23 and I don't think she was particularly looking forward to it. The thought of getting older (even now at her young age) is not something she lights-up at with joy. Yet I had to remind her that 23 was an amazing age to be and I would love to be on that side (the correct side) of 25 again. I bought her more things that women and especially Maisa love, which included a pair of shoes and a handbag. She was over the moon. We didn't go crazy for her birthday, but we did go out for dinner with her family. We went to a very nice Italian restaurant that Masia and I had been to a few times before. It was very delicious.
Just a few days before Maisa's birthday, I had a special visit from an old friend. The last time I saw my school friend Martin Haggis was during my leaving party at the beginning of February of 2008, four years ago. When I returned from those travels a year and a half later, in August 2009, I didn't see Martin before he himself left for his travels, and as well, three months later, I again headed off once more - this time to Ecuador. After two and a bit years of travel, Martin had finally made his way down to South America and at the beginning of March, made it to Quito. He was only around for a week but it was enough time to catch up, chat about the old days, chat about our travels, our football team (unfortunately), and all this while drinking an absolute ton of beer (which is certainly Martin's speciality)!!! He hadn't changed at all, which seems to be the way with my friends - they are always the same every time I see them, and to be honest that is just the way I want it to stay.
Amongst all these occasions was another event - it should have been a normal affair but as is so often the case in Ecuador there is usually something which I just don't understand. Some relation of Maisa's was having her 15 year birthday party. This is a big deal in Latin culture as a young girl turns into a women at this age. For this, Masia was asked to be godmother of the girl, which I thought nothing of at the time. It was therefore a surprise to me that when we turned up at the event I as well Maisa was treated like some sort of royalty. Because I am dating Maisa, I had somehow become honorary godfather - and I had only met the girl once before. Now I don't think I have any obligations to fill in this role but it was a little odd when 100 people at the party started shouting Viva Los Padrinos or in other words (English words) - cheer for the godparents. After the strangeness had passed, it was actually a nice party, with food, drinks and a lot of dancing.
Over the last few months there had been a lot of occasions to celebrate for, which is good because I like a celebration. One Valentines Day, two birthdays and a reunion had flown past me over the last 8 weeks, however, as I was soon to find out - the celebrations wouldn't end there.........................
Carnival 2012
One of the good things about living in Ecuador is the unbelievable amount of holidays they have. Almost every month there is some occasion to take a day or two off work and what better occasion than Carnival, which popped up at the end of March. Despite what you see on the television each year, Carnival is a festival celebrated not just in Brasil, but in all of Latin America. Each country celebrates it a little differently and for Ecuador it is celebrated by spraying water and coloured foam over everyone......as well as the normal fiestas!!!
Along with Maisa and her family (and with an extra long weekend ahead of us), we took the 4 hour ride down to Tena, on the edge of the Amazon Jungle. When we arrived to the town on the first night, the party was already in full swing. In one of the main squares, the town of Tena had set up a huge stage for a musical concert, surrounded by food stalls and many a local selling foam in a spray-can. It wasn't long before all of us were dancing and naturally - spraying each other with foam. I would like to think that little Domi enjoyed herself the most but actually the fun was definitely shared by adults and children alike. The party went on late into the night and by the end - we were all covered head-to-toe in foam and soaking wet.
The following day, we carried on our adventure by heading to our favourite river near Tena and going for a swim under the strong heat of the Ecuadorian sun. We also brought food along with us this time and cooked up a big BBQ at the designated area, located on the river bank. It was perfect. That night we stayed at a fancy lodging, which had very cool individual wooden huts. In the dining area there was a film showing. It was based on a true story about a group of Americans trying to make contact with a native tribe from within the Ecuadorian part of the Amazon. At that time (1960's or so), this tribe had not had contact with the outside world. The tribes-men ended up killing some of the American's with spears thinking they were a threat before they eventually all made friends. Some of the Americans ended up staying in the jungle with the tribe for the rest of their lives. The film focused however around one tribes-women who spent a lot of time with the Americans and ended up learning to speak English. While we watched the film, Maisa realised that this woman was her friend's (Lilly's) grandmother. Lilly and her grandmother both live close to where we were watching this film (Puyo) and where the whole film is set. Her grandmother and their village still live in the jungle and in a very primitive way although Lilly has moved somewhat away from this basic life, especially considering that Maisa knows Lilly from university!!!
The following day we continued on our way. I can't remember the small town that we ended up at, but where-ever it was the Carnival party was in full swing. We had to walk some way to get to the party. As we passed the town, there was the usual food stalls selling, well the usual food. However, there was one stall selling Witchetty Grubs for eating. If you don't know what these things are - it is best not to know. Living in the jungle, these grubs are like small fat worms. The slide along the ground by somehow wiggling their bodies in a motion a bit like a slinky. Out here you can eat them cooked or alive. Now, I have eaten some pretty crazy things during my travels. Snake, crocodile, grasshopper and guinea pig to name just a few, but there was something about this thing that I just couldn't stand to bring it anywhere near my mouth. Out of everyone, only Maisa's sister - Jessy had enough guts to try it. She said it was pretty tasty actually.
The party was a bit chaotic. A large area next to a river had been turned into a concert. Music and more foam was the main attraction once again and even though I was now sick of foam, it was still enjoyable. Actually, for some reason I ended up making a foam-spraying enemy with a 10 year old Ecuadoian boy who made it his sole mission to only spray me. The only bad thing about the festival is that some of the foam they use is cheap and it is also coloured, so by the end your cloths are completely stained. I'm now saving these clothes for if I am here for next years Carnival party. We spent our last night at Maisa's home in Banos. When we arrived there was no electricity as the Coello's hadn't been to this house for quite some time. Amazingly Mauri somehow seemed to hot-wire the property. Using the power-line that is located just outside, he ran a couple of wires from it to the generator of the house and essentially stole electricity directly from the grid. Two things about this event surprised me - one, that it is actually possible to hot-wire a house and 2, that Mauri somehow didn't end getting electrocuted!!!
The next day we headed back to Quito. It was a great trip and certainly nice to be a part of the Carnival celebrations. For me, it was now back to work, and with an active volcano on my hands - it was certainly going to be a busy time. The vacation was definitely needed though, it was a lot of fun and one big adventure. However, it would take me about 4 days to dry off...............
