Skating...on ice! & Absolute Beauty

After an entire week off of work for Semana Santa, the Ecuadorian Easter Week, I have had a few great experiences with Ecuadorian culture and exploring the beautiful geography of the country.  Following my visit to the middle of the world with my Gringo Amigos, I travelled back to Quito again, with my Ecuadorian Amigos.  To my surprise, they invited me to go skating.  I had to clarify, more than once, that we were going ice skating.

Despite my disbelief, we really arrived at an indoor ice rink.  For a skate rental and one and a half hours, I paid five dollars, which I suppose is about the same as in Canada.  The skates were in need of some serious sharpening, which would explain why Ecuadorians cannot skate.  Also, the conditions of the ice were worse than any pond I have skated on.  Despite the not-so favourable conditions, it was really cool to engage in such a Canadian activity in Ecuador. 

A couple of my Ecuadorian amigos and myself.  Can you spot the Gringita? 

I had to take each of my co-teachers around the rink, since they could not manage to skate on their own, which was completely understandable considering the circumstances.   I was very pleased to see that they had posters of all the NHL farm teams at the rink, including the Marlies.

This made me smile :)

Here are just a few bowls that go into Fanesca...

We had to peel the skins off of ALL these chochos... it took a few hours between three of us.

I peeled all this garlic by myself :)

Another fantastic day of Semana Santa was when I went to Cayambe National Park, in the province of Puyo, with my Abuelita.  The park is beautifully surrounded by mountains which are lushly decorated by green forests.  The biggest attraction of the park is the natural pools, which we spent most of our time at.  They were all different temperatures and I stuck to the warm ones as the air was quite chilly.  It was very relaxing as my muscles loosened in the heat and I gazed at the endless mountain scapes.

One of the many beautiful views of mountains.

 On our way to the pools.

Just a few of the pools and the river.

My Wonderful Abuelita and myself.

Another view.

The river where the natural water comes from.

A few of the people that accompanied us on the trip.

Beautiful...

Beside one of the artisan shops, there were these vibrant totem poles.  I am surprised how similar the cultures of Canada´s native people are to the natives of Ecuador.  Many of the cultural practices, dwellings and artistic expressions are closely related.  It is interesting to see how cultures so distant by geography can really be so close in culture, without the use of technology or communication.

A close look at the beautiful details.

Here I am!