Ecuador Days 4

(warning: blogged while drinking $1 22oz beers in Ecuador – so plz excuse any errors kthx)

(double warning: I did not, even a little, proof any of this. Sry not sry)

We’ve done SO many things since Christmas. It has been the most amazing trip. Katie finally got her bags back after a million trips to two different airports (two of those trips were on Christmas day), a million tears, and a million angry phone calls. Hooray!

The day after Christmas we got authentic panama hats from the hat factory (fun fact: Panama hats are originally from Ecuador).

^^Katie and I in front of the shop where we bought our Panama Hats^^

After we went to the Panama hat factory, we went to a market that sold a ton of Ecuadorian made goods. They also performed spiritual healings at the market. All 4 of us (Me, Katie, Barb and Mike) got healings and it was kind of awesome. This old woman beat us with a bunch of herbs while whispering things over and over again. She then took a fresh egg and rubbed it all over our bodies (including down our shirts, she def copped a feel on both Katie and I!). After she was done reaching down our shirts, she put this liquid in our hands that smelled like rubbing alcohol and made us smell it. It was awful. She made us keep smelling it. Eventually the smell faded to that of cloves, which was actually kind of nice. She rubbed the liquid on us and in our hair. She then spit some sort of alcohol on our faces, stomachs and backs. At the end she rubbed a cross on our foreheads with charcoal (or something). We weren’t allowed to tell her thank you afterward. We paid her and the next person sat down. I feel good afterward. I’m not sure if that’s just because I was no longer being beat/spat on, or if it was because my soul was cleansed.

^^Getting beat with herbs^^

^^Katie and I cleansed with our charcoal crosses^^

After we were cleansed we walked around the market and bought handmade, Ecuadorian baskets and rugs and some Palo Santo Smudge Sticks for $1 per bundle (!!!!!).

After the market we walked back to the Cuenca Square and had Almuerzo. In Spanish, almuerzo means lunch. In Ecuador, Almuerzo is a lunch that is usually less than $4. It is usually 3 courses and everyone who eats Almuerzo at a restaurant has the same thing. For Almuerzo on Friday we had delicious juice (the juice here is soooo gooddddd), a bowl of soup followed by a plate of pork, rice and a salad. Third course was cantaloupe with a lemony whipped cream. It was all very delicious and less than $15 for 4 of us to eat. Amazing.

After lunch we walked to the flower market which is located next door to a catholic church. There Barb bought Katie and I Pitimas. Pitimas is a cure-all, vitamin drink made by the cloistered nuns inside the church to pay for their expenses. It was really sweet, like most things in Cuenca, but we drank it.

^^I spy Katie in the flower market^^

We then walked down to the Llama Lady to buy Llama Key chains which are my new, most favorite thing. Along the way we stopped to buy Coca Leaves because we are rebels. I think Barb judged us, but she hesitantly took a pic of us anyway :)

^^Mike, Katie and I with our Coca leaves^^

We then said goodbye to Barb and hopped on a Double Decker bus to do a tour of Cuenca where I got sunburned on my nose and on the top of my bottom arms but otherwise it was so awesome seeing the city from a high up view (which was partially obstructed by jazz douche in front of us who thought it was necessary to stand up the WHOLE TIME and record EVERYTHING – HATE).

^^Tour Bus Selfie^^

This is the longest day ever. I’m drunk.

Katie just said “stop it, you’re going to get your butt on her (me) again! BUSCA!” (to the dog – WE LOVE STELLA)

Carry on.

So we took a tour bus to Turi which is this gorgeous church on the top of the city. We got off the bus and Katie and I got real ambitious and thought it would be fun to walk up a MILLION steps in thin-ass-air to the shittiest viewpoint ever. Her dad tried to warn us. Obvi we did not listen.

^^This is Katie’s FUCK THIS PARKING LOT WITH BROKEN GLASS AND TEENAGERS MAKING OUT AN AN OBSTRUCTED VIEW OF THE CITY THAT WAS UP A MILLION STAIRS pic^^

^^this is my I’M ON THE TOP OF CUENCA AFTER WALKING UP A MILLION STAIRS AND YOU CAN’T SEE THE BROKEN GLASS AND TEENAGERS MAKING OUT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PICTURE, picture #exercise^^

Heard from Katie: “Ew, you smell like a penis” (to Stella)

Me after smooching Stella’s head and her almost licking my face: “sometimes I get a little too close.” Katie: “then you end up with dick on your face” THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID!

Then we walked back down the stairs and took pics with Katie’s dad at a MUCH better viewpoint.

^^All of Cuenca^^

 
^^Katie and I ON TOP OF THE MOTHERFUCKINGWORLD^^

We then rushed back to the tour bus, but not before Katie and I bought some beers at the market next to where we parked and took them on the bus home. I poked a hole in one end of the black plastic bag our beers came in and put it over my arm to cover it because I could tell I was getting sunburned (even with sunscreen on – this thin air, close to the equator crap + my ginger skin doesn’t mix well). Whatevs, #worthit.

We then went home for a bit before going BACK out. Srsly guys, longest day ever.

That night Mike, Barb, Katie and I went to a really amazing Italian Restaurant in a hostel in Cuenca. Katie and I both had really amazing carbonara that probably had a million lbs of butter in it (I say that because we saw the small woman in the kitchen put a million pounds of butter in our sauce). Whatevs, again, #worthit. We also drank a bottle of wine and had salad and bread and it was so, so wonderful.

After dinner Mike took us to the Hotel Presidente for a drink on the 9th floor. While we were there the bartender took us to the roof deck where we had amazingggg 360 views of the city.

^^Barb, Katie and Mike on top of the hotel^^

Then we went home and went to bed. AKA time to take our beer bottles back to the store down the block then eat ribs for dinner! YAY!

ADIOS AMIGOS!!

Ecuador Day 2

After a full night’s sleep, Katie and I had some coffee while listening to a million fireworks going off nearby. The fireworks here just make noise (a lot of noise) and don’t actually put on a show like they do in the US. It’s kind of obnoxious after awhile, especially when you’re trying to sleep or when you have a dog that HATES fireworks. Ha. After coffee we headed into the main house for breakfast. Barb made eggs and toast and bacon and pineapple. We also had some Yaupon tea that Barb drinks every morning in lieu of coffee. After breakfast we called the airlines to see if there was any progress on Katie’s bags. It turned out that they made it to the Guayaquil airport, just a bit later then we did. Score!

We then headed out to the annual Cuenca Christmas Eve Parade. We met two of Barb and Mike’s friends there and wandered through the parade (note: it wasn’t moving at all at this point). There were kids dressed up with moustaches and fancy clothes and decorated horses and cars covered in decorations and floats adorned with food and whole roasted pigs and chickens (head still on). It was quite the site. There were also tons of street vendors selling delicious smelling food. We stopped for some coconut water that came straight from a coconut. It was delicious.

 ^^One of the many dead animals in the parade, which was on the back of a horse next to two girls^^

^^view down the street from the beginning of the parade^^

^^The fruit stand where we bought our fresh coconut water^^

 
^^I loved this girl’s dress^^

After a while we broke away from the crowd (there were SO many people in the streets there) and Katie, Mike and I decided to head back to the house. We hailed a cab and got inside. Cabs here don’t have seatbelts, usually cost less than $2 to take across town and are kind of terrifying because as far as I can tell there are no traffic laws and taxis honk at pedestrians and it’s a bit crazy. As Mike said, “traffic lights are merely a suggestion here.” But they’re easy to hail and super cheap so we’ve taken a lot of them. Also, Mike and Barb’s place doesn’t have a real address or a street number, so we leave it to one of them to explain in Spanish to the cab drivers where the house is. Fun times!

When we got back to the house we walked to a shop to get Katie’s passport copied and then walked back to the house to wait for Havierre who we hoped could pick up Katie’s bags from the Guayaquil airport. After we gave him the copies we walked down the street to get some lunch. Katie got a combo plate with both tripe and goat, I tried a little of each. The tripe was in a delicious peanut sauce and one bite of the goat was enough for me. I had a fried corvina fish with rice and salad and French fries which was delicious.

After lunch we caught a bus (our first one since being here) to the marcado where we bought Santa hats and some really delicious fruits neither Katie nor I had ever tried before. The marcado was the most magical place, Katie and I had a blast looking at all the fruits and trying to talk to the vendors in v broken espanol. I wanted to purchase all the fruits. Apparently we are going back on Saturday when the market will be in full swing! I will buy more then!

 
When we got back to the house Katie and I thought that it might be nice to sit on the roof deck with a few beers and read for a bit. We walked a few houses down to the market to get 4 beers (1 each for the 4 of us). They cost $1 each, you guys! They were huge and it was awesome. So we sat outside and we read and it was really nice.

After it started to get a little dark we came inside and watched the movie August: Osage County which Barb picked up that day downtown for $1.50. It looked like it was in a legit case but the DVD inside was a burned one and there were English subtitles you couldn't turn off (the movie itself was in English as well). Despite all that, it was a good, albeit intense and kind of cray cray movie. We ate some lasagna and bread during the movie. Since the altitude is so high here, bread is much different than it is in Seattle. It’s good, but different. Thinner, I think. After we finished I suggested Katie open one of her Christmas gifts early so we could enjoy it that night. I got her the game Cards Against Humanity and the four of us actually had a blast drinking wine and playing until we went to bed.

It was a great second day in Cuenca!

Travel + Ecuador Day 1

I made it to Ecuador! To get here Katie and I flew from Seattle to Phoenix, Phoenix to Miami, Miami to Guayaquil and then got in a car with a man named Havierre who drove us 3+ hours to Cuenca. Thank God for our Hoodie Pillows! It wasn’t quite that easy though. The airline made Katie check her carry on bag in Phoenix, promising that it would arrive at the baggage claim in Guayaquil with us. Well, it didn’t. And neither did the bag she checked to begin with. Both bags lost, and the people at the airport have no idea where they are. Cool. This caused a 2ish hour delay when we got to the Guayaquil airport at 4:15am, there may have been some tears, a lot of confusing conversations because we don’t speak Spanish very well and a very, very kind driver waiting patiently for us when we finally got out of immigration, baggage claim hell and then customs.

^^Katie and I with our hoodie pillows FTW^^

Havierre insisted we stop and get coffee before starting our trip so that we did. Then we drove through the outskirts Guayaquil which looked exactly like you would imagine the outskirts of a poor, Latin American city to look like. Lots of closed storefronts and stray dogs and random animals on the side of the road intermixed with banana farms and rice fields and fields of sugar cane. When we got out of the city we started seeing road side fruit stands every 1/2 mile or so. I declared that I was only eating fruit for the rest of the trip because the fruit looked so gorgeous and fresh. (spoiler alert: I haven’t followed my diet very closely yet)

About an hour into our drive we started going up, up, up a windy road. At the beginning of the drive up the mountain we were stopped by a heard of cows in the middle of the road. 

^^cows as seen from the back seat of the cab^^

This is how the last 2ish hours of our drive would go. It was a gorgeous drive and once we got stopped by  a head of cows once. We drove up the Andes Mountains and stopped along the way because: car sickness and the amazing view.

^^Andes mountains with an active volcano way in the background^^

^^Katie and I with the volcano in the background^^

We then entered a national park with a sign that said watch for Llamas (or something to that effect, see note above about needing to brush up on spanish) and I exclaimed that I would be SO excited if I saw wild llamas because that was like, the one thing I wanted to do in Ecuador.

We drove a little ways and saw a heard of wild llamas. I was so excited I couldn’t speak a real sentence. I leaned out the car window while Havierre stopped in the middle of the road so I could take pictures. They were mangy and tame and beautiful and amazing. After a few minutes we drove on. We ended up seeing two more heard of llamas and at one point I was shouting out the window “hola llamas!!” Seriously guys, it made me day.

^^HOLA LLAMA!!^

 
^^More llamas!!^^

 
^^Baby llama!^^

We also stopped at the highest point in our drive to look at the view and realize that neither Katie nor I could climb a small hill at 40,000ft elevation without feeling like we were going to pass out. Cute.

^^View from the highest point on the drive – crazy how it went from lush, tropical views to barren, mountain views within about an hour^^

Most of the drive up the mountains was on a three lane road (two lanes going up and one down), so it was fairly safe for us to pass semis going about 10 miles per hour up the mountain. However, after a while the road turned to a two lane road and Havierre was passing semis right before sharp corners. It was mildly terrifying but apparently he does that drive multiple times a week, and we made it out alive, so all is well.

When we finally arrived at Katie’s dad (Mike) and his partner’s (Barb) house we were exhausted but seeing as Katie had no bags, we decided to go with Barb to a small mall nearby so Katie could get a few essentials and we could get some breakfast complete with amazing juice made with fruits I’ve never heard of.

After shopping, we came back to Mike and Barb’s house and passed out in their guest house, where we’re staying while we’re here, for a few hours. It was glorious considering we’d probably only slept 3 hours on two separate planes up until that point.

When we woke up, we got ready and had a dirty martini with Katie’s dad before heading to the town square for dinner.

 
^^Katie and I before dinner in Mike and Barb’s gorgeous yard/garden^^

I had some chicken with rice dish for dinner that was yummy and a pineapple juice. The pineapple here is totally different than pineapple in the US, it’s almost white in color and it’s way less acidic in a really delicious way. After dinner we walked around the square, peeked in an ancient church, popped into a store to get Katie a few more clothes, then Barb and I got really amazing hot chocolates while Katie and Mike stood in line for the symphony.

^^Cuenca town square^^

Symphonies in Cuenca are fully funded by the government so it was free to watch. The symphony was really wonderful, and at the end a choir came in and sang with the symphony. They played some Christmas songs both in Spanish and English, it was really lovely to watch and listen to.

^^Choir^^

^^Cuenca Symphony^^

After the symphony was over we went back to Barb and Mike’s house to have a glass of wine and play with their dog, Stella before going to sleep.

It was a great albeit veryyyy long first day in Ecuador!

Holiday Things 2014

This past week has been full of fun holiday activities. When Microsoft bought Nokia, my legal group absorbed two members of the Nokia legal team. They were in town visiting last week so we moved all of our usual holiday festivities to last week so they could join in. This included a lunch and toy exchange (where the toys were donated to charity after) at my boss’s boss’s house, and a smaller group lunch at Maggiano’s. It was an exciting week.

In addition to my work holiday events, last Thursday Dustin and I went to Sun Liquor’s first annual Nog Ball. Sun Liquor’s Erik Champan hand makes the eggnog from fresh eggs, cream, apple brandy, bourbon, rum and sugar. Sun Liquor’s Aged Eggnog is made in small batches and aged for 30 days in glass, a process that breaks down the fats and proteins, making the nog silky smooth and delicious. The nog is usually only available on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, but this year they decided to offer it at a party as well, along with some amazing Seattle snacks.

 
^^Dustin and I in our ugly Christmas sweaters^^

We had a great time eating fry bread tacos and eggnog topped Top Pot donuts, and sipping Seattle bourbon, boozy milkshakes and of course eggnog. I think I gained 6 lbs just at this one event. #worthit

On Friday evening I attended the Microsoft Cloud Infrastructure (&) Operations Holiday party as Dustin’s date. (sidebar: can we please note that the below is Dustin’s Microsoft group’s holiday party, while mine is a gift exchange in someone’s livingroom and we don’t even keep the gifts?! Must be nice to work for a group that makes money and has a substantial morale budget haha.) It was the fanciest holiday party I’d ever been to (granted, I don’t have much to compare it to) and we had a blast. It was at the Hyatt in downtown Bellevue which is huge and beautiful to begin with. There was a prefunk for Dustin’s smaller group at one of the restaurant bars in the hotel before the main party. The prefunk included chicken quesadillas and an open bar and I got to meet some of Dustin’s coworkers and their dates before the actual party began which was nice.

The actual party took up two ballrooms on two floors. There was an Alice in Wonderland theme and it included a million open bars, servers walking around with plates of really delicious snacks, an oxygen bar that may or may not have saved us from terrible hangovers the next day, a sit down dinner, a photo booth, gambling, dueling pianos, karaoke (with a live band as your backup) and at the end of the night, they brought out a tater-tot bar and it might have been the best thing that has ever happened to me.

 
^^Posing with the flamingo croquet^^

^^I put all my dollars on 4 numbers, then 17 hit and I won like $500 fake dollars and immediately gave up when I realized there was no point in playing with fake money and no prizes ha^^

^^Holiday Party Selfie^^

 ^^Awkward smilez^^

 
^^Giant flowers FTW^^

We had so much fun at the party, and we were glad that we got a room at the Hyatt so we could order $10 room service beers and then immediately fall asleep after the party. Good times.

Saturday we did a lot of Christmas shopping. We shopped in Bellevue first and then Saturday evening we headed up to the Seattle Premium Outlets to finish up things. While we were there we stopped in the Kate Spade store because they were having a crazy sale (50% off everything + and additional 20% off handbags). I scored a cross body bag, originally $248 for $35! Best score everrr. After the outlets and watching Marcus Mariota win the Heisman while snacking on fries at the Ram, we headed back to Seattle and stopped by Sephora on our way home to get some makeup for me as well as some spa-night-essentials. We then had a spa night and I fell asleep on the couch right as SNL was starting (fail).

^^Activated charcoal mud masks^^

^^Super moisturizing masks that make us look like serial killers^^

Obiv we had baby skin on Sunday. I even refrained from wearing makeup all day. I’m sure Kate really appreciated that during our dinner together that evening ;)

It’s been fun doing holiday things even if my pants are a bit tighter this week. I’m sure this work week is going to feel a million years long with no holiday events planned and as I look forward to my trip to Ecuador happening a week from today (eek!). I hope you’re all having a happy holiday season as well! xo

Thanksgiving Weekend 2014

Thanksgiving feels like it was a million years ago. I guess, technically the thanksgiving weekend started over a week ago for me. I was able to leave work v early on Wednesday which was so, so great and head down to Hood River to meet friends for a long weekend of fun.

Not long after I pulled into town Art and Amy arrived. Art and Amy had never been to “the homeland” so it was fun showing them around. We went to dinner at Solstice where we had delicious drinks and pizza. Then, because Josh and Katie still weren’t in town and we were getting a little sleepy, we went to Brian’s Pourhouse for some of their amazing spanish coffees. By the time we our boozy coffees, Josh and Katie were getting into town, so we met them at the house they rented for the weekend in downtown Hood River. We unpacked and made a game plan for the night and then went out to get some drinks and some food for Josh and Katie. We went to the Trillium first where there was fried food and Jello shots and where we toke some Voke Tabs for energy. Then we went to the River City where there were friends from high school and more shots and general fun times.

^^Me, Katie and Amy at the River City Saloon in Hood River, OR^^

After we made it back to the rental house Josh declared that he was v hungry. So Katie being a good wife and me being a good best-friend-in-law and Amy being arguably the most sober called a cab and went to get Taco Bell despite the cab driver telling us that Taco Bell was closed. Sadly, after arriving at Taco Bell we concluded that he was correct, Taco Bell was closed and that there was nowhere in town that would serve us food, so we paid the cab driver and went home empty handed and passed out.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. Art, Amy and I went to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving dinner and relaxation. My uncle Bert and his partner Joanne also joined us (which was a HUGE group compared to last year’s three (my dad, brother and myself)). We fed cows and ate food and snuggled with Fluffy and chatted and napped all day and it was amazing. We ended the day back at the rental house playing Apples to Apples.

Friday we got the best breakfast sandwiches from River Daze cafe, saw some sights, drank some local beer, visited with Katie’s grandma and ordered pizza in.

Saturday we said bye to Art and Amy (it was Art’s birthday, yay!) I had breakfast with Beth and I went over to see her new apartment and meet her new Boston Terrier puppy, Baxter, who really likes to hump everything.

^^Baxter and I^^

 
^^Beth, her sister Emily and Baxter^^

When it was time for Beth to get ready for work around 3pm I went home to see my parents and Fluffy and grab a few things and I had planned to head back to Seattle that night. However, not 5 minutes after being home, I was standing by the wood fire, talking to my mom, when out of the corner of my eye I see my dad walking up to our house covered in blood (no jokes), had a moment of panic, then he opened the door and announced that he got an elk while he was out hunting!! So I call my brother, get on some warm(ish) (read: not warm enough) clothes, and follow my dad and his BFF up winding, snowy, unpaved roads in my new(ish) car that handled it all reallyyyy well. We hiked 3 miles into the forest where my dad got the elk.

^^The point where we left our cars and started walking – Mt. Adams was gorgeous that night^^

By the time we got there it was already dark and so, so cold. I held flashlights while my dad and Lynn butchered the rest of the elk (they’d already packed out the head and a front quarter). My brother was making trips back and forth with his pack full of meat to the wheelbarrow we left about a half mile back on a dirt, logging road. I was honestly shocked when we walked up to the elk in the clear-cut where my dad got it. It’s hide was laid out, the front and hind quarters had been removed but the remaining body was enormous. There were also random piles of guts everywhere. It was insane. There was so. much. meat. (I will spare you the pictures, because yes, they exist). My dad is always really adamant about getting all of the meat off of the carcass because an animal gave its life and you must be respectful of that. Unfortunately it is impossible to take the entire carcass (rib cage, spine, guts and hide) back with us because of the sheer size of the animal. Some bears and coyotes and ravens will feast on those.

The hike in took about an hour, the rest of the butchering took about an hour and the hike out took about an hour. It was approximately 25 degrees out. My brother ended up hiking all the way out with a bag full of approximately 150lbs of elk meat pieces (from the torso of the elk – rib meat, tenderloin, back straps, etc.) on his back. He just went as quick as he could toward the cars. My dad, Lynn and I walked more slowly with the wheelbarrow full of probably 400lbs of meat (the other front quarter and two hind quarters). I carried gear and held flashlights for everyone while my dad and Lynn took turns pushing the wheelbarrow (note: both of them are in their mid 60s). One of them would push until they were about to collapse/pass out (Lynn) or until their wrists and shoulders hurt too badly (my dad) and then they would switch off. It was a really long walk. We were all really tired and cold on the way back. We eventually made it back to the cars we loaded the meat into the back of Lynn’s truck and my brother and I got into my car and turned my heat and seat warmers on high. We were still cold when we got home about 1/2 hour later. We followed my dad and Lynn back down the winding, snowy, dark roads and at one point their truck pulled over. Lynn hadn’t taken his heart medication, had already packed meat out that day, hadn’t eaten or drank any water and was feeling like he was going to pass out. My dad drove the rest of the way and we got him some water when he got back to our house to hang the meat. I was legit scared he was going to die. He didn’t. A lesson in not pushing yourself too hard. Stubborn man, you!

^^My dad, Lynn and my dad’s elk head^^

^^Proud dad and his elk head^^

After the meat was hung and Lynn was safely home I tried and tried to get warm by the fire and check my phone because I finally had cell reception again. I was pretty much dead. My mom saw the three of us being super pathetic and made us some delicious comfort food for dinner – this white turkey gravy stuff over toast and asparagus. I saw her put an entire stick of butter into that gravy stuff. My dad brother and I ate all of it. No fucks were given about health.

Because all of my things were in Hood River, I headed back to town, met Sarah and Laura for a quick drink, finally started to warm up, went and swooped up Josh and Katie to meet Beth at the Red Carpet for a “White Salmon Takeover.” We had a really fun time seeing people from high school and then went back to the rental house to pass the fuck out.

The next morning I met my mom, dad and brother at Nora’s Table for breakfast because it was my mom’s birthday. It’s not a place my family would usually go because it’s in Hood River and it’s kind of fancy/yuppy, but my parents loved it and I think they’ll go back which is a total win. After breakfast I headed back to Seattle and had one of the most stressful drives back ever I’ll tell you the short version because oh my this is a lot of words in one post: there was a hit and run/car chase that was occurring IN traffic, on I5-North during which I almost got hit by the runaway car and it was terrifying and I wanted to cry/had terrible anxiety after, and then two cars almost hit me while I was in their blind spot after that. Then Dustin and I ate Chinese food and I felt better. The end!