Death in Cajas - Part II

Ariel & I relive DEATH in CAJAS

Because we are obviously slow learners, we returned to El Cajas again this month. I blame peer pressure. There was a group going to explore a new area of Cajas (new to me anyway) led by John (who I am pretty sure is part robot - no one should be able to move that quickly at that altitude). He took us to the highest area in Cajas near Tres Cruces. 

Before we even left Cuenca on Saturday morning, we woke up early to go to Feria Libre. It is a huge market where they sell about anything you could think of. But despite that, we really didn't find anything we wanted to buy. I wanted the girls to experience it, but since it was so early most of the stores were closed. I think we were all a little disappointed. Ariel found some heels that she liked, but the prices were all "gringo specials." But we did make a very important purchase there - GUM BOOTS. These were ESSENTIAL since it had been raining for the last 4 or 5 days (including that same morning). 

 

Aaron assured us that the group was still going even though it was raining, so Ariel and I headed to the terminal to meet them to catch the bus. In the end the group was Jeff & Jenny, Aaron, Amanda, Ben, John, Ariel and me. We were all a bit tired and under prepared. In case you have forgotten Cajas is COLD! But even I wasn't prepared for what awaited us. 

 

When we arrived in Cajas and stepped off the bus the wind and cold almost took our breath away. I brought out all of the spare clothes that I had with me for us all to bundle up as much as we could. Less than 5 minutes later the freezing hail started to pelt us from what seemed like every direction. We thought about returning to Cuenca, but we decided to carry on wherever John was leading us.

Along the way we had to make a decision on which path we wanted to take. One was four hours and the other was six. Despite the fact that we had been contemplating throwing in the the towel not 30 minutes earlier, we (and by that I mean BEN) decided why not just take the longer path. That might have been when the death threats started. So grumbling we all continued hiking. And then it began to snow. (That's right, snow in Ecuador...practically at the equator!!!!) Ariel's aim with a snowball was much better than the boys. I guess it helps that she has had practice growing up in Ohio.

Amanda and Robo-John

I will say that the beginning of the hike was not as arduous as last time, because we were not really climbing to a higher altitude, but rather staying pretty level. We faced other obstacles. Because of the rain, some of the streams were higher than expected. We also had very muddy/marshy ground. At one point I took a step and when I pulled my foot up, the boot stayed behind. I was very glad I was wearing 2 pairs of socks to keep the mud from soaking through and freezing my foot. I got my boot back and we kept on walking after a motivational cookie break. 

 
The next section of the hike we (Amanda, Ariel & I) tried to keep our mind off of how cold we were by singing the songs from Phantom of the Opera (unfortunately the lyrics were escaping us) and Annie (the sun might come out tomorrow, but it wasn't out that day!). We also tried some motivational Kingdom Melodies (like Move Ahead). Anything to keep us putting one foot in front of the other.  

Think of me...think of me fondly

We continued downhill toward one of the lakes, but we couldn't find a way around. We walked nearly the entire circumference of the lake and tried to climb up this sheer wall of bushes, when the boys started to sink in the mire. Everyone except Jeff. He did some kind of Mission Impossible maneuver and managed to fly across to the other side where we were waiting. We're still not sure how he managed that...we were IMPRESSED!

Lunch Break

By this time we were all starving and had earned our lunch. We stopped in a clearing by the lake and decided to eat as quickly as possible. It was so cold, I can't even really describe it. My hands could barely move. I didn't have enough dexterity to even be able to re-braid my hair. And the sandwiches that the James brought were frozen. COLD! I was ecstatic when the sun came through the clouds. Even though it was only for a moment.

I think John realized that some of us were on the verge of mutiny, so he gave us an option...we could cut an hour off the hike, but it would involve climbing through a more difficult path in the forest. We didn't care...we took it.

Ariel began channeling her inner Kaitlyn...well baby Kaitlyn (there's no comparing to the original). But she was done. No one was going to make her walk one step faster than she wanted to. So Ben and I fell back and walked with her. (not because WE NEEDED TO or anything like that) We were just being our usual kind selves. Don't believe the lies....they were behind first. ;-) 

We entered the forest and we stepped into the Princess Bride. These were the weirdest trees that I have ever seen. And because of all the mud we had to hop from one limb to the next or we would sink (like the quicksand). I was just waiting for giant rats to come out and start gnawing on Ben's shoulder. Fortunately they didn't and we continued up and out.  

By this time, I think the other group was out of the park drinking hot chocolate, because we were so far behind. All we could hear was an occasional "Hurry up" from Aaron. He better be glad Ariel couldn't see his head or aim far enough to hit him with a rock...there may have been blood. 

We continued on our way and were repeatedly amazed by these wooden bridges that kept on popping up. All morning John had been carrying a gigantic backpack (another incomprehensible feat supporting the idea that he is at least part robot). When we stopped for lunch he pulled out enough food for everyone, a 3 liter and a spare sweater or two. We decided that he also had the building materials to construct these bridges and stairs. He's pretty amazing. And we hated him. 

We were now heading back downhill and the path was pretty slippery because of the mud. I told Ben and Ariel that it would be easier to just slide down. Ariel (with some help from gravity) decided to give it a try... 

 







We were almost out by this point. But Ariel still managed to stomp her feet for most of the way. I also channeled some inner Kaitlyn and declared that I would "NEVER HIKE AGAIN! EVER!"


We made it uphill where the rest of the group was waiting. John had built a set of awesome steps to take us back to the road. But he missed a few spots. Nobody is perfect. ;)

Another casualty free trip...but only because we never got our hands on Ben's pocket knife.

We really wanted a nice hot cup of coffee or chocolate but the restaurant was closed because it was now after 5pm. A strange mustachioed man stood guard and refused to let us past (probably Russian mafia). So all we had left to do was wait for the bus.



When it came we were all so happy to be inside of anything. Ariel and I plopped down in the first seats available, and everyone else went to the back. I fell asleep shortly thereafter and was happy to wake up where the day began...outside the Feria Libre. 



Unfortunately the cold was not over. We arrived home to wash off all the dirt and mud and we learned that there was NO HOT WATER!!!!!!!!!! (A problem that we have had far too many times since arriving in Cuenca.) I had to take the most disappointing shower of my life. Thank goodness Kaitlyn had finally given in and purchased that hair dryer. We made our own little car wash. WARM AT LAST! When will we ever learn?

Vilcabamba

(This blog was a collaboration of Kaitlyn and Stephanie) 

View overlooking Vilcabamba

Once the C.O. sandwich was over, we all decided we needed a little vaca to relax. 

Amanda and Aaron had a friend in town, Ben (from New Zealand/Holland), so we took a trip to Vilcabamba, a town about 6 hours south of Cuenca. Jeff & Jenny (a couple from Cleveland who live in Cuenca) also joined us. We left the meeting in a rush to go home and pack quickly so we could make it to the bus terminal in time to leave by 1pm. We all packed a backpack with our clothes in it, and then we took a duffel full of our snack food for the weekend, a full sized duffel!!  We obviously have our priorities straight.

We finally made it to Vilcabamba around 7pm, and we took two taxis to our hostel, Izhcayluma. We all got our keys and went to our rooms. Once getting into the room I felt like I was at a summer camp cabin. It was very cute! AND the beds were actually very comfy. The girls' room was set up like a barn. There were 2 floors with three beds on each level and a creaky staircase between them. After settling in, we all went to dinner. Izhcayluma is famous for their authentic German cuisine. We all tried some new German dishes. Jeff managed to finish off 4 plates of everyone’s leftovers. Aaron and Ben spent half of dinner convincing Kaitlyn to go horseback riding the next day. I also needed some convincing after my last experience with a horse (I almost fell off when it took off in a gallop). In the end with both agreed to join the group. Everyone was in except for Jeff because of his bum achilles.  After dinner we went off to the bar area to play pool, ping pong, and chess. I found out I’m neither good at pool or ping pong, and that chess is not for me. But we did have lots of fun trying to play. And they had hammocks! I HEART HAMMOCKS!!! After playing pool until about 11:30 everyone headed to bed. 

We got up pretty early in order to eat breakfast and so the 8 of us could head down to horseback riding by 9am. We got to the place to meet our guide Jaime and got cowboy hats and gum boots and went off to meet our horses.  We were each assigned a horse according to our experience, but most of us were newbies. I was the last one to get on my horse, Trebol. 

We proceed on our journey to the mountain where our horses were going to take us up. For at least the first hour the guide was leading my horse on a rope. It took us 3 hours to make it to the top. Aaron was leading the way for most of the journey uphill. Once, my horse, Chocolate Caliente, took the lead. We had a little battle of wills to see who would dominate. I’m still not sure who won.   

Once we reached the entrance to Podocarpus National Park, we stopped to let the horses rest and to start the hike. After sitting on a horse for 3 hours, getting off was quite a challenge, and then to be told it’s a 2 hour hike, I was the happiest person ever! 

            

 
It was definitely a challenging hike, well for me at least, (it really was difficult) everyone else was pretty speedy and left me, except for Stephanie and Ben, who walked with me the whole time. We walked through streams and saw 2 waterfalls. The second one was larger and everyone got into their swimsuits and got wet. It was FREEZING! Jenny and I only made it as far in as our toes, because once I put my feet in, I just couldn’t handle it. Everyone else got in for at least a few camera shots. Ashley fell coming out and her poor foot was seriously bruised. After the break we went back to hiking. I literally had to climb up the side of a MOUNTAIN. I came to a spot that was a 3 ½ foot high wall of dirt. Jaime (the tour guide) attempted to pull me up, but it resulted in me plummeting against the wall of dirt instead. So….Aaron had to get up with Jaime to pull me from above and Ben was there from behind helping me as well. It’s always handy to have boys to shove me up a mountain, or it just shows bigger people shouldn’t hike. LIE!

 

About an hour or so later of Stephanie, Ben, and Amanda listening to me complain the whole time, we finally made it back to the horses. We ate lunch and got back on. Getting back on the horse was worse than getting off. I sat down and I thought I was going to cry it hurt so bad. Going down the mountain was seriously torture. I had to say a prayer that Jehovah get me down the mountain quick! Unfortunately, Jenny’s saddle wasn’t on very tight so it fell off along with her. Scary! I was directly behind her and I heard a thump, scream and another thump. As I came around the bend she was lying in a bush on the side of the trail. She was shaken but okay and able to get back on and continue. Go Jenny for being brave.

WE FINALLY MADE IT TO THE BOTTOM (2 ½ hours later)! I was super happy, if you can’t tell. Once we got down to flat ground everyone ran with their horses back to the place we started. I freaked out (because of my previous scary experience) when Aaron’s horse took off running and my horse followed. I was yelling at him to stop. Finally he did long enough for me to get a tight hold on the reigns to keep my horse in check for when Aaron took off again. I think I finally won domination over Chocolate Caliente.  

Jenny and I did eventually run in order to get to the place sooner. I couldn’t get off the horse soon enough. I walked very slowly back to the rental place with Amanda and we called first and second on the shower! Once getting back to the hostel I showered and had to lay down because my body was not happy with me for horseback riding.

While the showers were happening the rest of us were sitting in hammocks out back of the dorms. Ben went and fetched us some soap from the front desk and we had a little war (apparently Ariel & I throw like girls). He threatened me with the hammock breaking because I was swinging so hard. Funny thing is, once I went in for my shower, Ben got into my hammock and it did break and he went splat. (Aaron wasn’t there at the time and later on the same thing happened to him. They were both okay.) Everyone headed up for dinner then,  except for me since it was finally my turn to shower.  

Stephanie woke me up when she was ready to go eat. I don’t understand why the restaurant had hard seats, apparently they don’t understand that horseback riding isn’t comfy. After eating we went to the bar area and played some games (Cranium, etc.). At 9:15, I had to throw in the towel and go to bed. I took some Tylenol and I was out. Ashley and Jenny followed soon after.

The rest of us stayed up, attempting to play Risk (not enough pieces) and then pool and ping pong. Amanda, Ariel and I invented a new version of Ping Pong where anything that bounced was good. We ran around a lot chasing the ball, but it was lots of fun. We all alternated playing Cutthroat pool. Some of the games lasted way too long (to the shame of the boys). Then we taught Ben and Amanda how to play Euchre, which was similar to another card game they knew. It was getting late and I was signed up for an early massage…time for bed.

I woke up first and had breakfast alone before my massage. It was very nice after a long day on a horse. I came back to find the rest eating breakfast, so I had seconds. 

I slept in the next morning until late, but I had to finally get up in order not to miss breakfast. So I packed up my bags and went to breakfast. Everyone was getting massages that morning except for Aaron, Amanda, and me. Amanda napped while Aaron and I sat around. He harassed some kittens for a while. Once a few people got back from their massages we started a game of Monopoly.  I lost horribly before calling it quits to eat lunch. Everyone finished their massages and it was off to catch a bus back to Cuenca. 

On the first bus ride I fell asleep and got tortured by people putting candy wrappers in my hair. NOT NICE PEOPLE! The rest of us amused ourselves by playing a version of Parchesi and harassing Kaitlyn. On the second bus the movie “Man on a Ledge” came on (with English subtitles) and Aaron and I didn’t watch it. I couldn’t see the screen to read the subtitles so I gave up. It made the time pass quickly and we were back in Cuenca before we knew it. It also helped us forget that the bus driver was driving like a manic. Overall, despite the horrible pain after horseback riding, I enjoyed my trip.  - Kaitlyn & Stephanie

Karaoke

May 29th

Stephanie and Ariel found a karaoke place and suggested we go. Stephanie, Ariel, Ashley, Allison, Aaron, Amanda, and I went on a Tuesday night. You pick your songs out of a book and you rotate every 3^rd song with the other groups. We discovered one of the groups had a great singer and the employee also could belt it out. On the other hand, we also had to endure depressing Spanish songs sung by a dying cat. Uh...I mean enthusiastic woman. A for effort? We sang several songs, one being Bohemian Rhapsody which Aaron owned! He did a really good job. He entertained the whole place. Our other songs included “Barbie Girl”, “Baby”, “I Gotta Feeling”, “I’m Yours”, “Beat It” and “Limon y Sal”. Allison and I learned our lesson the hard way…we should not attempt to Karaoke Spanish songs (especially Juanes). I can’t remember the rest but we did a lot of singing. This sadly was Allison’s first and last karaoke while Ashley was here. Aaron and Ashley also did their duet together of “Breaking Free” from High School Musical. Right before their song set came up, Aaron’s throat was really itching. He decided that he needed something for it, so he took off running to the closest store that was open, two blocks away. He bought his Halls and came running up the stairs to sing “Breaking Free.” Later on in the evening when we went to pay, Ashley noticed that there was a rack of Halls right there at the Karaoke place. He ran around the block for nothing. How Ironic!!

June 15^th 

Fernanda <3 Bon Jovi

MIO!

We went again to karaoke. This time we went with Aaron, Aaron’s friend Ben, Amanda, Damaris, Marcelo, Brittany, Megan, John, Kevin, Fernanda, Paola, Chad, Michelle, Jeff, and Jenny.  We went back to the same place, but this time on a Friday night, so it was a lot more crowded. I picked out a song but I was not feeling well that night so when it got to my turn I gave the song to someone else. Bad me, I know. Kevin, who is seriously shy, actually sang a Nickelback song. I was very impressed. Ashley's favorite song of the night was sung by Paola. "MIO! MIO! Este hombre es mio...." She really killed it. Since it was so crowded, we didn’t get to sing many songs, and the Spanish songs the other groups sang were slow and depressing. So we headed home early.

June 20^th 

Another karaoke night. This time it was Ariel, Ashley, Stephanie, Aaron, Amanda, Ben, and I. First we met up for dinner at a new restaurant, La Esquina. It is similar to Tiesto's, but the service is much worse. First of all, the waiter tried to pressure us into ordering far more food than we needed. Amanda had been there before and told us there would be more food than we could eat. To make ordering really entertaining, we decided that Kaitlyn and Ben should do it. So she asked for “una coca-cola por favor” and Ben ordered the food. It was plenty. 

After dinner we went to a new place to get different hot chocolate drinks. They were really good. 

Finally we went and found a new karaoke place that charges $.25/song. This was Ashley’s last Karaoke before she left. So we had to go all out! Fortunately the place was pretty empty. Overall, we sang more than 20 songs as a group. And the Spanish group that was there was actually supportive and sang some upbeat Spanish songs instead of the normal, boring, slow songs.

 

Enter Sandman

Ashley rocked out to “Enter Sandman” with Ben and Aaron.

Single Ladies

A highlight for me was singing “Single Ladies” with Amanda and Ariel with Ashley providing the Beyonce dance moves. About halfway through the song, Aaron joined her to let out his inner single lady.

"Bette Davis Eyes"

"Just the Way You Are"

Aventura FAIL!

"Na Na Na Na Na Na Na, Hey Jude"

 

 

Amanda, Ariel, and Stephanie sang “Lovefool.” Ben and Stephanie did “Total Eclipse of The Heart.” Ariel did not learn our lesson from the previous Karaoke night, and tried to sing a song by Aventura in Spanish...FAIL. Thankfully, the mics had malfunctioned during the song anyway, and no one had to hear the horribleness, or at least most of the horribleness. For some unknown reason, the employee came and fixed them about halfway through. BOO on him! We ended the night with everyone singing “Hey Jude” by The Beatles.

Though the curtain has now come down on Ashley's karaoke days, the rest of us can't wait to hit the stage again. LIGHTS, CAMERAS, VOICES!!!

C.O. Sandwich

Roberto & Wanda Vazquez

The first two weeks of June were very busy. Once we came back from the beach we had two weeks of circuit overseer visits back to back. The first visit was from Roberto & Wanda Vazquez to the Chinese group. Since the group is only about 12 people we all had to step it up to care for them. 

We had the pioneer meeting with them at the James's apartment on Wednesday. Ariel got permission to attend since she missed her C.O. visit back home. She did a really good job following along even though the entire meeting was in Spanish. Roberto made some very good points about living with Godly Devotion. 

Damaris invited us girls over on Thursday for lunch with them. The night before I had made a carrot cake with all of our leftover carrots and brought it along. Damaris made chicken fajitas and rice and beans. It was delicious!!! (I miss Chipotle) 

For the afternoon service meetings, Roberto made suggestions specific to engage those in the Chinese field, since most are Buddhist. I tried one of them (using a famous proverb that is also in the Bible) with a young girl the next day. Even though she said that she didn't agree with our beliefs, she read from the Bible first, which was SO EXCITING! 

But the best experience was one that Paola & Wanda had. They went into a store and spoke with a new Chinese lady. At first she didn't want any literature, because she said her husband wouldn't let her have it. All that they left with her was the Truth Tract. They went outside to meet up with another group. While they were waiting the lady started knocking on the window to get their attention. She came down and asked for the Bible Teach book that is shown on the back of the tract. She said that she would read it and they could visit her until her husband comes back it August! 

On Saturday morning, Ariel tried something new: Chinese phone witnessing. The whole group got together at the Munoz's house and took turns making phone calls. The more experienced Chinese speakers did studies and presentations and the rest of us helped out by reading scriptures. Everyone participated. Ariel loved it and got 2 return visits!

At the Saturday night meeting, the two talks were translated from Spanish to Chinese. My head hurt trying to switch back and forth. I think I listened to Spanish and Ariel listened to Chinese. Roberto made an announcement that there would no longer be separate Chinese Watchtower studies on Saturday night, but that they would be moved to Sunday at the same time as the Spanish WT so that we have time to keep ourselves strong spiritually. Jehovah takes really good care of his flock.

So by Sunday, we all decided to take a mental break and go to the meeting in English. A brother we know gave the talk on the importance of making good decisions. It was really nice. We all just wish we had an English songbook. 

The next week was the Spanish circuit overseer. The brother who came was a substitute from outside of Guayaquil, Giancarlo & Marta Roma. Each morning at the service meeting he used a different question to direct the householder to the Bible Teach book. Then he would ask for a volunteer to demonstrate. Twice his wife had to do it. I tried to pull the question of the day into my presentation and I had some really nice conversations.

Ashley and Ariel were able to come to the pioneer meeting that week. It was at the Lopez's house. I had gone the day before to help Ceci prepare a dessert to enjoy afterwards. Ceci's son John, invited Ashley and the rest of us to play basketball after the meeting on Thursday night. We all brought our clothes to change after the meeting, but the game didn't start until really late, because the first court we went to was already being used. All four of us girls played and each one of us made at least one basket, if not more. 

We enjoyed the rest of the visit, even though the C.O.'s wife was a little under the weather. That Sunday was our first meeting with the Chinese Watchtower combined in. What a change!

It's always nice to enjoy the special week of activity with the circuit overseer, but having it two weeks in a row gives me a whole new level of appreciation of living that schedule. Just thinking about it makes me want a nap. :) I think I prefer my circuit overseer visits one slice at a time. :)