Finca, Hacienda, y Piña Piña Piña

It seems like my weeks just keep getting better. Carnaval was awesome. It was actually incredibly relaxing. I went with my mamí and papi to Santo Domingo de las Tsachilas, which is about 2 hours away from Quito. The climate is costal climate which was a really nice change from the chilly andean weather we had been experiencing last week. I slept the entire way there but that was because I didn't get home until 5 am the night before. (I will explain later.) It's kind of crazy that I was able to sleep the entire way because the road is ridiculously curvy as I found out on the way home. Anyway, we drove to my uncle Gino's finca (which basically means mansion) and had lunch with my dad's side of the family. I met Batitita (nickname given to abuelita by her first grandchild), Tia Maria Antonia, Tio Gino, Tia Terry, and Terry's uncle whose name I forgot. Terry is a gringa like myself and is married to Gino, my dad's brother. I believe her family owns the pineapple hacienda we went to visit but I am not sure. Anyway, their place was niiiiice. They had a pool that almost everybody utilized, fully clothed mostly. Tio Gino said that Carnaval is all about the water in Ecuador and getting everyone wet who is dry. We took a drive through the town and that was definitely the case. Water and paint were everywhere. It was nuts but looked like a lot of fun. The following day we went to Hacienda Maria Elena were I saw pineapple growing on the plant for the first time. It was truly exciting. Pineapple are a funny fruit in that you can plant that top part and the fruit will grow up out of the top of it. I wonder how my dad's pineapple is doing. Apparently it only takes a year and a half for pineapple to mature. I thought it was longer but I think that is only if you plant it in a pot. Anyway, we got a grand tour of the empaqueadora and I saw how they choose which pineapples are suitable for exportation and which ones aren't. The ones that are not go to the local market. At the end they cut up some fresh pineapple for us and man was it delicious. I loved pineapple but I have never tasted anything as juicy and sweet as pineapple right off the plant. Before we left I got to pick my own pineapple. I have some pictures that I will try and put up some time soon. It's pretty funny. Overall, it was a great trip and I ate a lot of torta that my mom brought with. I now have another home in Ecuador besides the one here. My abuela said that if I am ever in Santo Domingo again, I am welcomed there. Maria Antonia was really sweet. She does a lot of arts and crafts and she showed me all of the stuff she had made and let me pick out something I liked. I chose a place mat with really pretty leaves and flowers on it. She also gave me a keychain that everyone in the family has apparently. I guess I am really part of the family now. My mom kept saying how great of a daughter I am for wanting to come with her and Diego to Santo Domingo instead of going to Ambato with my friends. I think I made a good decision. I wouldn't have had my pineapple experience had I not gone!

Oh, I forgot to mention earlier, not only did I try truly fresh pineapple, I also tried fresh cacao, caña, and pepa de milagro. I didn't realize that you aren't supposed to bite into the seed, just suck on the fleshy part around it. I have now tasted 100% cacao and it is awful! After I figured out that I wasn't supposed to bite into it, the taste was much better. It was kind of tangy but really sweet. The caña was of course really sweet. It looks like bamboo but tastes like pure sugar which is pretty much what it is. As for the pepa de milagro, I don't remember what the actual seed is called but once you chew on it for a little while you suck on a lime and the lime tastes like honey. I think the seed changes the pH on your tongue and it makes the lime taste sweet instead of sour. Needless to say, it was great!

We finished our paper today and gave a presentation. I actually enjoyed working with my group and had we had more than two days to write the paper, I probably would've like it even more. It is nice to not be alone and have people to bounce ideas off of. I am glad it is done though because now I can enjoy the weekend!

The volcano Tungurahua errupted around 2 am on Thursday morning. It is located near Ambato where a lot of my classmates went for Carnaval. Fortunately, the all made it back before its big erruption but apparently it had been spewing for a little while. It seems like Ecuador is dealing with a lot of natural disasters lately. In the province of Guayes and I am sure a couple of others, there have been massive floods. The footage on the news is not pretty. Alas, I fear that it is only going to get worse and not just in Ecuador but everywhere in the world. We have messed mother earth up and she is not happy about it.

Ah, so I mentioned earlier that I would explain why I got home at 5 am on Sunday morning. My brother Fernando asked me if I wanted to go out with him and his friend Topocho. Of course I couldn't pass up the offer of seeing Quito with those who know it best. We picked up another friend named David but fondly known as Juaco. After picking up Anabel, Fernando's girlfriend, we headed to a discoteca where Anabel sang a whole bunch of well known songs like "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics, and "I love Rock and Roll". She's got a great voice and it was a ton of fun. AFterwards, we went over to the bassist's girlfriend's apt and we chatted and hung out. The boys (juaco and topocho) drank whiskey til 4 in the morning and apparently continued after we got back and I went to bed. Pobrecito Topocho got sick. Oh silly boys. It was a lot of fun though and I was really happy Fernando asked me to go out. I had been hoping he would. Early that day we shared music. It was a lot of fun and now I have a good hundred more songs on my iPod. Sweet deal.

I think I am going to go to the Centro tomorrow to buy some sandals and maybe take the teleferia up to see Pichincha. So many possibilities. As for now, I think I might go grab some more pineapple. :)

Ciao!