We are chilling on the beach in Montanita, but let's start where I left off: Otovalo. It was so nice to get out of Quito!! We felt like we could breath again... Less pollution and less fear! People were extremely nice and helpful. We got there Friday night, went out for a nice dinner with some local, indigenous music played by a local band. I got llapingachos (a very typical dish for Ecuador) which is potato patties with meat, eggs and a salad, I should say it's really nice (in the picture)!The next morning, Saturday, the town filled with an amazing array of colors, crafts, smells, food, people and animals... You could buy pretty much anything that the indigenous and mestizo people make! Otovalo has a very high percentage of indigenous people, they basically run the biggest indigenous outdoor market in Ecuador. I went a bit crazy and got three rings... Two of them made out of the caw´s horn (check it out in one of the pictures, it's big and black, I love it!)! Ainius finally got a shark's tooth after bargaining with a guy on and off for a whole day :). It was really fun andwe spent most of the day "shopping".



The next day we decided to go to Cotocachi a little town 20 minutes away from Otovalo and to our surprise ended up in laguna Cuicocha where indigenous people were celebrating Inti Raymi or Solstice celebrations (Jonines). We took a pick up truck there and back, it was fun, but really cold! It seems that it involved getting drunk (pretty much completely hammered :)), dancing in circles and sacrificing fruit and chickens! We stayed there for a couple of hours, first took a boat road around the lake and then tried to make sense out of the rituals that were taking place there. After that we went back to Otovalo and decided to stay there one more night since we didn´t feel like going back to Quito. Monday we had no choice and went back to Quito to check whether our passports with visas arrived from the American embassy, alas no passports yet... We were told they might show up some time this week...



We met up with Josh and Jysea (Australian friends) and they were going to Montanita (a famouse beach for surfing), so we decided to go with them and left that night with a bus. 10 hours later (!) we were on the beach enjoying fresh juice, sun and surfing (I tried, but decided it´s too hard and just enjoyed staying on my belly on a board :), Ainius was much more serious about it and has tried to stand up for a whole day!). We´ll stay here for another night and then we are going on a tour to Isla de Plata or ¨poor man´s Galapagos¨, hopefully we´ll see some wales!!

We have an update! We will be back in Seattle July 8th and will be flying to Lithuania July 12, but will show up in Vilnius only 14th (we hope :)). United didn't want to give us tickets for miles first, but Ainius was brilliant, he talked to the supervisor and we finally got our free tickets with layover in Chicago (which is cool, we get to see Viktorija!).
Seattle people, we want to see everyone in 4 short days that we are there!!!!
Tomorrow we are planning to go to Otovalo, an indigenous market and then either jungle or the beaches!!!!!!!!!!!!
Some photos from Katy when we were in Papallacta (thermal baths).

Musu planai paaiskejo, griztam i Seattle liepos 8 diena, ir LT turetumem pasirodyti 14, nes atskrendam i Varsuv 14 ryte ir reikes kazakaip nusigauti iki Vilniaus ar Klaipedos ta diena, kitaip negavo bilietu... Isskrendam rugpjucio 3 vakare is Vilniaus. Na o ryt varom i vietini indenu turgu (gal ko reikia?) ir po to i dziungles ir prie vandenyno!!!! Nuoraukos is Papallacta, kur svenciau savo gimtadieni (siltos vonios!)

Tomorrow we are going to the US embassy, hopefully we can get visas to go back to Seattle...
We are feeling fine and now are in the stages of planning the next step of our lives... aah vacations end so fast...
Anyway, I forgot to tell about a soccer game between Ecuador and Argentina that we were lucky enough to see in the stadium! We got there 3 hours before the game because it was getting packed to the capacity!! It´s kind of interesting how they do not assign seats for you (even in the theater), so you need to get there early to get good ones (some people got there early in the morning, while the game started only at 4pm). The weather was beautiful once we were waiting for the game, but it started pouring down right before the game... and never stopped for the duration of the game... Fortunately there were vendors that were selling ponchos for 2.50$, we got one each! Before the game and during the game, people (Ecuadorians) were swearing all the time! I´m glad we learned all the swear-words so we could pretty much follow what was going around us ;). Ainius most enjoyed a moment when after each Argentian player was announced, the whole stadium was shouting: ¨son of a bitch¨ :) Needless to say, it was really loud and fun! I didn´t really care who is going to win, not much of a football fan... However, we were wearing yellow shirts with Ecuador spelled on them. Ecuador won 2:0, which was quite unexpected from what I understand, traditionally Argentinian team should be much better.
One interesting thing about Ecuador, it seems everyone is selling something somewhere all the time... Sitting in the stadium, we had vendors with food, snacks, drinks passing by ALL THE TIME... We bought one traditional stadium dish: it had tiny boiled potatoes with toasted big kernel corn (no suprises there!) and interesting parts of the pig, soft, chewy skin being one of the stragest things that I´ve tried so far!
In general, it´s really suprising how people are selling everything and everywhere, even if you are in a taxi somebody is trying to sell you fruit, clothes or flash drives (!). Even in restaurants, people come in (children in tow) with trays of candy, cigarettes or fruit and try to sell you... Really not liking it.
Well, my birthday celebration started Friday and ended Monday (can´t remember the whole Monday night... only that there were lots of shots involved and one of them was on fire! :))
Sunday we went to thermal baths in Papallacta 2 hours outside Quito. http://www.papallacta.com.ec/termales.htm
Oh, how glorious it is to sit in steaming hot water with sun shining and doing absolutely nothing else!!! There were many pools with different water temperatures, we tried a few and enjoyed our time there immensly... Love being 33! :)

Couldn´t write anything sooner, our plans for the trip turned completely upside down... We got robbed this week, we are both OK, not hurt, but very upset... We lost our computer and the camera, I´m sure you know what it means for me... In addition, we also lost our passports. Now we are in the process of obtaining temporary travel documents which last only for 30 days and the worst part about it is that we cannot really travel with it anywhere except back to Lithuania. But there are some good news :) we might be able to obtain a US visa to go back to Seattle within those 30 days and from there we will be going to Lithuania to get new passports and visas for Japan. In addition, I just filed a claim with the Visa and might be able to get money back for the camera... Fingers crossed!!!
On a more personal note, I am trying not to be angry at every single person in Ecuador... The sad part is that almost every gringo (white person) whom we met either was robbed or an attempt was made to do so. At first, we didn´t really believe it, but now... On the other hand, all the people that know us from school are trying to help us so hard! We even have some friends of our host family looking for our things on the black market of Quito. They were able to locate the computer, but the robbers want too much for it... We are still looking for the camera, not sure if it will ever resurface. This made me realize how little things or stuff really means. Everything is replacable! I can´t replace Ainius or my friends, but other stuff... really can be all replaced with time.
We´ll let you know how it goes with the documents and other stuff, but so far we are getting back to enjoying ourselves (with or without pictures :)).
Oh, we´ll stay in Lithuania for at least 3 weeks, I´m sure our parents are excited about that! Cheers and don´t worry about us, we are BACK! I don´t want to remember my birthday (tomorrow) as a sad day. Some friends (Australian, Ecuadorian and American) here helped me celebrate it yesterday which was really cool! We sang, ate and had a nice time till 2am (Carlos and Edith are trying to make us feel at home). Tomorrow is an election in Ecuador and alcohol is not sold anywhere in the country, but since we know people that know people we´ll manage! :)

Atsiprasom, kad taip ilgai nerasem. Musu kelioniu planai gerokai pasikoregavo, po to kai sios savaites pradzioje mus (o tiksliau mane - Ainiu) apvoge salia parduotuves. Netekome kameros, kompiuterio ir netgi pasu... Kita savaite turetume gauti laikinus keliones dokumentus, kurie leis mums grizti atgal i Lietuva ir pasidaryti pasus. Sie laikini dokumentai galios tik 30 dienu ir is esmes negalesime keliauti, kur buvome suplanave anksciau (Peru ir Bolivija). Is kitos puses, atrodo, jog galesim parskristi atgal i Sietla. Tai gerokai palengvins mums grizima Lietuvon, kas, aisku, yra labai gera zinia musu artimiesiems ir draugams.
Kadangi praejo jau keturios dienos nuo vagystes, palengva pradedame atsigauti. Tiesiog psichologiskai sunku susitaikyti su sia netektimi, o taip pat numalsinti pykti. Ziuri i zmones gatveje ir vos ne kas trecias pradeda atrodyti, kaip vagis. Aisku, tai netiesa... Mes cia suradome labai maloniu ir paslaugiu zmoniu. Musu ekvadorietiski "tevai" - Edith ir Carlos - bando padeti kuo gali. Per kelias paskutines dienas teko apsilankyti ivairiuose Quito turgeliuose, kur chebra prekiauja vogtais daiktais. Kompiuteri atrodo, kad suradome, bet parduoti jo dar mums nenori. Bijo, kad policija pasakysime. Is kitos puses, mes turime draudima kamerai, kuris galbut padengs islaidas. Ziuresim...
Beje, rytoj Jurates gimtadienis (su kuo ja kuo nuosirdziausiai sveikinu!!!). Nors aplinkybes truputi liudnokos, vakar (penktadieni) labai fainai atsventeme Jurates gimtadieni - valgeme, grojome, dainavome, ir pan. Pravakarojome iki paryciu. Gerai, uzteks man rasineti, reikia prie mokslu vel sesti. Dar sia savaite mokysimes, o po to norime link pajurio varyti.

Forgot to tell about the market on Friday! Our teacher Anabel took us to a closed market that is held everyday at least in that neighborhood. We saw so many fruit! The colors of fruit and flowers are magical! Also, they had meats and fish and little places you can eat. It was kind of funny though, we were going through the stalls and Anabel was pointing at different things and saying their names in Spanish while we were repeating them... :) We were quite a spectacle! At the end we tried their snack: fresh boiled big kernel corn mixed with toasted corn and some sort of beans topped with one of my favorite things here: Chicharrones, which is fried pork cracklings (which was only 50 cents!!!!!!).



I am finding that very few things are hard or are annoying here. In general we've been enjoying pretty much every aspect of the culture. I thought it will be a bit harder to get used to a new culture, but to my surprise it's been really easy! The only thing that is a bit annoying is the unpredictability of our shower... It's either freezing or hot... Can never tell! :)
I love how the people are so relaxed and really know how to have a good time. For example yesterday we went out for dinner (had typical Ecuadorian fair: potatoes, rice, slowly stewed lamb and avocado) and later went to ta club to dance, it was packed!! People love to dance here! They definitely dance in a more sensual manner than everywhere else that I've seen! And once the salsa beat is on, the beauty of the movements is hard to describe, it seems that everyone knows how to salsa... except for the white people :)! Oh well, we are learning, hopefully we'll be able to salsa at least a bit...

Penktadienis - turgaus diena? Praeita penktadieni mes su savo ispanu k. mokytoja Anabel bludinome po vietines reiksmes turgeli. Nors jau anksciau bandeme nemazai mums nezinomu vaisiu, si karta uztikome dar kelis. Viena is ju - chirimoya - mane tiesiog apzavejo. Taigi sekinejome savo mokytoja is paskos ir kartojome vaisiu, mesu, zuvu ir kitu padaru bei augalu pavadinimus ispaniskai. Pietus pavalgeme uz 50 amerikietisku centu - kukuruzai, kepta kiauliena (Chicharrones) ir pupos.

Hola everyone! Thanks for the comments!! Let's see where did we left off? Ahh Banos! We are still thinking what a good time we had there!
At first we were thinking to leave Quito and go somewhere else, but as many of you know Ainius got a job offer in Tokyo (which he accepted, in case you are wondering :)), so there is some paperwork we have to complete and send to Japan, therefore we are staying for another week till Friday afternoon and then we're thinking to go to Otovalo, the most famous indigenous market in the country and travel north for a week.
Tuesdays and Thursdays we are learning how to dance salsa!!! It's really fun, but most of us are pretty bad compared to the teacher... However, we are learning some pretty sweet moves! Maybe we'll get a video next week... (key word - maybe :)).
Wednesday was a really fun day. In the evening we learned how to make Ecuadorian ceviche! Ceviche in Ecuador is very different from Peruvian ceviche which is more known outside South America. Peruvian ceviche is usually with fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices while ceviche (at least shrimp ceviche) in Ecuador is made with ingredients that I would never put in one plate. But here it goes: toast big kernel corn (I've never seen it in the states) in oil (just like Ainius is doing in the video! :)), make regular popcorn, cut tomatoes, mild red onions, peel shrimp, squeeze lime and orange juice, get some beer. Cook peeled shrimp with beer for 2 minutes, reserve liquid, pour lime juice on the shrimp. Meanwhile mix cut tomatoes with onions, pepper, salt, cilantro, lime and orange juice. Finally, liquify some of the tomatoes, add their juice along with shrimp, shrimp cooking liquid, some mustard, ketchup, a little bit more beer. Serve in a bowl with toasted big kernel corn and popcorn. I have to say, it's not bad, it's actually pretty good, but very unexpected!



After cooking class we went to watch Jacchigua, which is indigenous ballet/theater. We loved the music (which was live!) and the dancing was really cool. It was truly a treat for the eyes and the ears! (You can check them out here: http://www.jacchiguaesecuador.com/eng_principal.htm and here's one video of the ballet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohwVy_5uc4s )
Yesterday (after salsa!) we went on "a city tour at night" with the school, just because it's safer in a group at night. It was really nice! We had some nice conversations with some truly interesting people and saw some very pretty sights of Quito.



So far, I'm absolutely in love with the pace and lifestyle here! It's just so human, things are not rushed, not many rules, people are chill. I totally see myself spending more time here, Japan seems kind of out of the context, but hey we're up for it!

Sveikuciai dar karta! Labas aciu uz jusu komentarus. Lauksime nauju! Paskutiniame musu dienorascio lape raseme apie Banos miesteli. Iki siolei ji prisimename su ilgesiu...
Mes pradzioje planavome pasimokyti ispanu k. dvi su puse savaites ir tada dumti kur nors kitur. Taciau planus teko siek tiek pakoreguoti. Visu pirma, musu ispanu k. gana varginga. Dar viena savaite tikrai nepakenks nors jau galime islementi kelius padoresnius sakinukus. Kita priezastis - netiketai atsiradusi galimybe pagyventi ir padirbeti Tokijuje (Japonijoje). Taciau japonai paprase visokiu dokumentu, sveikatos liudijimu ir tt ir pan. Zodziu, reikia viska susitvarkyti, kol esame sostineje, nes dziunglese rysio nebus. Taigi iki kito penktadienio sedesime Quito, o po to zadame pasauti iki Otovalo, vieno is zymiausiu indenu turgaus salyje.
Kiekviena antradieni ir ketvirtadieni mokykloje vyksta salsos sokiu pamokos. Nors musu sugebejimai dar gana kuklus, taciau jau pramokome keleta krutesniu zingsneliu ir apsisukimu. Be to praeita treciadieni mokemes ekvadoriskos virtuves paslapciu. Gaminome ceviche, tradicini ekvadorietiska ir peruviestiska patiekala. Is esmes, ceviche paprastai asocijuojama su Peru, taciau ekvadorieciai irgi turi savo patiekalo varianta. Neversiu viso recepto, tik paminesiu, jog kai kuriuos ingredientus: zuvis arba krevetes, alus, svogunai, pomidorai, pomidoru padazas, garstyciu padazas, keliu rusiu kukuruzai ir dar dievai zino kas. Kai ka pakepi, kai ka paverdi, kai ka pabarstai ant virsaus, sumaisai ir gaunasi toks idomus marmalas. Man visai patiko, o Juratei - pusiau su beda. Peruvietiskas ceviche variantas paprastesnis ir bent jau Jurates nuomone - skanesnis.
Uzkirte ceviche's, vakare nuvareme pasizmoneti i nacionalini teatra. Tenai vyko koncertas-baletas, kuriame pristatoma ekvadorietiska kultura, muzika, sokiai bei istorija. Sio "sou" rezisierius (Rafael Camino) yra labai zinomas vaikis tiek salyje, tiek ir uz jos ribu. Jis laikomas tradiciniu ekvadorietisko sokiu ir baleto tevu. Daugiau info, galite atrasite angliskoje dalyje prikabintu adresu.
Vakar patrype salsa, vakare vaziavome i naktini miesto tura. Aisku, Jurate fotografavo kaip paselus. Be to autobuse pabendravome su labai idomiu chebrantu is Kanados, kuris yra vienos Kanados indenu genties vadas ir padeda spresti ivairiu saliu vyriausybems su ciabuviais susijusius klausimus.
Praejo jau dvi su puse savaites kaip esame Quito. Pradedame priprasti prie cionykscios tvarkos bei gyvenimo ritmo. Chebra - atsipute, niekur labai neskuba. Mes irgi gryba pjaunam kol galim, nes aiskiai suprantame, jog Tokijuje s... malti neteks.

Couple movies! Keletas filmuku! Sokam virtuvej salsa su Carlos (dancing salsa with Carlos in the kitchen). Carlos groja tipine Ekvadoro muzika (Carlos and typical Ecuadorian music). Sokam kartu nuo tilto!!!! (Bungee jumping off the bridge!!!!)

Quito and Banos

We are beginning our second week in Quito and finally had a chance to walk around a bit more. I have to take back a statement that Quito doesn't feel like a metropolis... We went for a walk to Centro Historico (old part) and climbed all the way to the Basilica tower and finally saw how Quito looks - it's huge! It also has many tall buildings that I didn't see on my previous walk, after all it has 2 million people!



We went to the old town couple of times and it's quite nice, but we are growing quite tired of the big city feel, its pollution and lack of activities that we usually enjoy, such as hiking or walking without chocking on fumes :) I think we might be moving on at the end of this week... We might take one or two more weeks of Spanish in Cuenca which people tell us is much smaller and much nicer than Quito (it's 10 hours south of Quito).
It's also interesting to see how such a big city contains extremes: nice new cars alongside poor indigenous people that have almost nothing. We've been talking a lot about politics and economies with our teacher Anabel and learned a little bit about the inside workings of the country. It seems that they really like their stubborn president even for his lack of diplomacy and flexibility, it seems he is like a breath of fresh air after so many conservative governments that tended to benefit mostly rich people.
This weekend we went on a trip to Banos with other students from the school (organized by the school). We LOVED Banos! It took us about 4 hours to get there on Saturday morning. We went biking right away once we got there... total 4 hours!!!! Let me tell you, it was hard for me to enjoy it in the very beginning, it was drizzling and wasn't very warm. However, it was a very cool ride through the mountains; we visited 4 or 5 waterfalls. During one of our stops we bungee jumped... Ainius convinced me it would be fun... Well I'm not sure if I would call it fun, you go against all self-preservation instinct, plus landing is not as pleasant as it might seem... On the other hand, the rush of adrenalin through the body is like nothing else! I think Ainius would go for it again, me? not so sure :)



The second day in Banos was my dream come true!! I spent 4 and some hours at the spa a bit outside the main city. Katie (I met her at school) and I did 4 procedures. First we walked barefoot on rocks and dewy grass and had to get rid of all the bad thoughts before they started working on our bodies, and what a work that was!!!!! First, we had mud mask all over our bodies, then we went to banos de Cajon, which is pretty much like sauna with herbs and aromatic leaves from the jungle in a little box that looks like a torture chamber :) They gave an ice-cold water shower for 4 times during the sauna - quite extreme! Finally, we got a very nice 1 hour massage that culminated with hot rock massage! Ahhh, really best time ever! You are wondering how much? For all of that, plus unlimited tea and some fruit - 30$!!! Meanwhile, Ainius went rafting for whole 2 hours which he says was very much fun. They not only enjoyed beautiful scenery, but also throwing each other into cold river water :) Who was the most active initiator? Who else if not Ainius!!!!