Fiestas de Quito

Last week was "Fiestas de Quito." This  festival goes from the end of November to December 6 to celebrate the founding of Quito in 1534. Most people don't have school or work on Dec 5 and 6, as those are the most important days of the Fiestas. During the week there is bullfighting, dancing, theatre shows, and a huge parade that presents the new Reina (Queen) of Quito. After the week was over, I realized that most of the Quitanos use this week as an excuse to drink, dance, and have a great time!

Below are a few pictures from the parade. It was FOREVER long. Kilometer after kilometer (yeah, they use those here. Celsius too.) of bands, entertainers, and indigenous dancers and musicians! My friend Rebecca and I stayed for 2 hours before leaving, and the parade was only halfway over!

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This week I also learned more about the bullfighting that goes on here in Quito. The Ecuadorians say that it's a cultural activity and it's always a "fun time." However, I saw it as a torturous activity. A couple weeks before the fight the bull is locked in a dark room so that its vision will be off when it's time for the bullfight. They also hit the bulls repeatedly in the knees with huge sandbags to make sure it's in pain days leading up to the fight and they put vasoline in their eyes the day of the fight to decrease their vision even more. They also pour acid onto the bulls genitals right before the fight which causes severe pain, aggravation, and the bucking you frequently see during the fights. I did not support the animal cruelty going on here in Ecuador and I hope that their government puts an end to the torture.  

Volcanoes are cool.

It seems that November is always a busy month and it just flew by! Even though I am not at Bellarmine, I have found myself with about the same amount of end of the semester work as if I were. Although I shouldn't be using this as an excuse for not blogging, I am. Sorry! I'll try to start posting on all the things I've lacked to write about from the past few weeks soon! For today's post - BANOS!

My geology class took a weekend field trip to one of the most active volcanoes in Ecuador called Tungurahua.
It is located in Banos, a city about four hours from Quito by bus. It was awesome!




We learned how to use a "geological hammer" (mostly used as a scale or to break apart bigger rocks) and other geological instruments, as well as hunted for different types of rocks in a quarry and got to walk around on an old lava field!




After we finished our work on Saturday we had the evening free in the city. We walked around and found some place to eat dinner. No, we did not eat cuy (guinea pig --->) as seen here. They still had teeth! Gross! Guinea pig is a delicacy in Ecuador but I just can't bring myself to eat it. After dinner we went out dancing and then to sleep in preparation for an early morning on the volcano.



Day 2 was spent at a volcanic look-out center and at Ecuador's Geophysical station. We got to hear stories about the last big eruptions in July and August 2006 from a man that spends almost all of his time at a volcanic watch center. We also got to see a seismograph in action and take a go on the most amazing swing in the world!

And the good thing about me waiting so long to post this blog is the following --- IT ERUPTED ON SUNDAY! 2 weeks after I was there. So far, zero pyroclastic (the dangerous kind) lava flow has been reported and only minor ashfall has been seen. The intensity of gas and ash emissions seems to be decreasing by the day. The only way Quito would be affected by this eruption would be for the ashfall to heavily increase and strong winds be blowing to the North. So fingers crossed for those two things to not happen! I'll make sure to keep you posted on the activity of the volcano.

Hopefully I will be able to post on Monday or Tuesday about the Festival de Quito, Quito's Independence Festival, that is taking place this weekend! I'm starting off tomorrow with a parade! One of my favorite things!

Everyone have a great weekend,

Kelley