Chasing Waterfalls

Things are slowing down in Quito ... which I guess is a positive sign, particularly given that I'm leaving next week to Lima. People in the legislative assembly (both legislators and legislative assistants) and in the university frequently mention visiting the beach and Baños, a small town known as the 'window of the Andes.' Since I'll be back in May, I decided to push the beach trip for when my friends in Quito can travel, and instead take a small weekend trip to Baños. The major appeal for me is that Baños is known for their incredible waterfalls ... yes, that's plural. As some of you may know, I thoroughly enjoy waterfalls. So to 'celebrate' what appears to be a successful field research trip, I left early Saturday morning to visit this town that I've heard a lot about. Be prepared for some amazing photos. After leaving my apartment at 6:30 in the morning and multiple bus rides later, I finally arrived to Baños at noon.


I quickly found a hotel (yes - no plans) that was situated on a quiet street and had an amazing view of the town and a waterfall. Most of the hotels were located near the town square, a LOUD town square. So I paid the extra few bucks for a nice room and an incredible view located in peace.


Generally when I participate in these weekend adventures I try to break from the crowd so I can enjoy my own leisurely time. This is generally pretty difficult when the adventure requires traveling, which was expected on this trip to get from waterfall to waterfall. No worries, bike rental was available for a simple five dollar cost. By one o'clock I was on my bike riding on the road that traced the river that welcomed the waterfalls.


To start, I have never seen such amazing natural beauty. At some waterfalls we had the option of paying one dollar and traveling in a cable car across the waterfall. Yes - I did this for every waterfall where this option was available, without question. Notice the size of the waterfall compared to the cable car in this photo.


Ecuador reminds me a lot of Costa Rica. The two countries have a very diverse geography and are small enough where traveling isn't such a burden, unlike Bolivia. This burden is dramatically reduced because the roads are actually paved and taken care of ... well, at least where there is tourism opportunities. Of course, Costa Rica is the other country where the natural landscape is absolutely amazing.



Taking the bike was a major bonus. I was able to stop freely and even see waterfalls that I think would have been missed if cruising in a car. In fact, at one point I took a detour after hearing a waterfall from the road and ended up hiking up a dirt path that was somebody's private property. I paid them a dollar to guard my bike and they pointed me towards a waterfall that wasn't even on the map. Most of the waterfalls were on the Northeast side of the river and traveling was on the Southwest side of the river. Generally, there would be some restaurant and an open space to draw attraction to specific waterfalls. However, the next picture is one of those waterfalls that could have been easily missed in a car. There was nothing to attract visitors except for this amazing sight.


Overall, this trip was incredible. I'm considering returning when I come back to Quito in May - hopefully one of my buddies will be able to travel with me. We'll see. But for now, I have these images cemented in my mind. Of course, just selecting a sample of pictures was a challenge.

Historic Center

I've unfortunately been exhausted the last few weekends and haven't been able to enjoy much of Quito. Most weekends, my friends and I go out to eat for lunch and usually have dinner at their place, but we really haven't had much of an opportunity to travel around. However, last Saturday we made an evening trip down to the historic center. Quito has a very well preserved colonial district that is absolutely amazing, full of traditional streets, homes, and beautiful churches. I briefly roamed around last weekend during the day and the place was absolutely dead. Apparently, the time to visit is on Saturday night. We had a good time eating and joking around.

Overall work is going really well and moving much more quickly than in Bolivia. I've already completed about 20 legislative interviews and I'm near the end of my list. So far, no former or current presidents. However, I've met with all of the top leadership (except for one person - the president of the chamber) in the legislative assembly and I've met with almost every legislator who has currently departed from his/her political party to be an independent (which is kind of a big deal). Things started off somewhat slow while I was adjusting and figuring things out, but I know my way around the assembly now. I have a couple tricks up my sleeve that help me get around security and get to the legislators. The chamber overall is built like a fortress, you need an access card to get through every door. But, apparently the card is unnecessary if you use the fire escape stairs that are outside the building and access each floor from the external stairs. Who would have thought? Science!

A Little Break

Last Saturday started the four day weekend. In preparation for Lent, the people demand a few days of partying. My party didn't start off to great ... Friday night I didn't fall asleep until 5 in the morning on Saturday because of a brutal stomach bug and, as a result, I slept most of the day on Saturday. I quickly recovered, although not fast enough, and was back in business on Sunday.

When I enjoy some down time, I generally pass it with a professor, at the institute where I'm a visiting researcher, and his family (wife and two-year old child). They generally take me to some seafood restaurant on the weekend and then we take a small trip somewhere ... nothing big, just the middle of the Earth and back! Sometimes we just eat dinner at their place. They're a fun bunch and we keep ourselves entertained. Last week we planned a good ole BBQ at the national park to enjoy our Monday holiday - agreeing to get as much work done as possible so we could actually relax on Monday and get back to business on Tuesday. The little stomach bug didn't help my situation out, but I did what I could.

Two of their friends (a couple) joined us and we had a blast. We started grilling at midday and just hung out for about 6 hours. It was pretty great and relaxing. We came prepared with plenty of food and wine - enough to keep the conversation at an endless flow. As you can tell, we enjoyed ourselves. Santiago, the professor, is on the right and his wife (Heidy)---she's an economist---is on the left with their child Matius.


Towards the end of our little celebration David, the other guy, took me over to the edge of the park and showed me the incredible view of the east side of the city. I had been sitting in the patio space for about 6 hours and had no clue that I was so close to this sight. As you can see, it's insane!

Middle of the Earth and Back!

Phew - there and back - I made it!

Last weekend I journeyed to the middle of the Earth. It was a treacherous endeavor, but it happened. I was first picked up outside of my apartment building by one of my buddies and his wife and child. We were ready, packed, and loaded. I brought some water just in case we ran into any obstacles. Ten minutes into the journey we had to stop for some food – fearful that this could be the last for a while. After enjoying some beers and seafood, we fired up the wheels and kept on moving. We had to go north - and fast! Finally, we arrived to the middle of the Earth ... 20 minutes later. There we were … in the middle. Yes, touching the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere at the same time.

A lot can happen in the middle of the Earth … watch out for that giant bird!

I can’t say that this was my only time to journey to the middle. There was once a time – literally, the time – when I made it to zero degrees longitude.

I’ve survived both. It’s been difficult and my equilibrium has been off since I came back from the middle – but this is the price I pay as a political scientist. Only if people could truly understood the price I pay for science, would I then be respected.

Back in Business

After a brief break in the U.S., I'm back in business in Latin America. This leg of my research trip starts in Quito, Ecuador. I'll be in Quito for no more than three months before heading off to Lima for about a month. Some of you maybe asking, "Hey, I thought you were going to go to Lima first?" Well, this is what you get for trying to figure out my schedule. I, a man of mystery, don't appreciate being weighed down by this crazy schedule. Although I was trying to get to Lima first, their April elections put a little damper in my program - they always do, these elections! Democracy! I first thought I could spend February doing interviews and collecting data, but that was pushing things a little close and the availability of legislators was questionable. Nonetheless, I'm here in Quito.

After arriving last week, I immediately got settled in my apartment and started working at the local university, which focuses specifically on the social sciences. I was given the position of Visiting Researcher and they are interested in me presenting some of my research while there. One of the professors at the university has already helped me a lot with getting access to the archive and he's currently helping me get interviews with legislators. They have a really nice intellectual community and I generally work from there when I'm not in the archive.

Thankfully, I live about a 12 minute walk from the university and a ten minute bus ride to the legislative assembly and archive. The city is surrounded by some really beautiful green mountains. Unlike La Paz, the mountains aren't closing in on the city and the city isn't built on top of one another.


However, La Paz did spoil me with my apartment expectations, nothing beats living in an apartment on the 9th floor overlooking a major plaza with a clear view of all of the surrounding mountains. I'm back down to the first floor with really no view (but, there are windows!). I'm happy with this apartment, but it was kind of a shock at first. Oh well.


I do have a clear view of a mountain right when I exit the building. This is no 9th floor view, but it does get me up and going in the morning. Of course, in this case, the clarity of the view depends on the clarity of the sky. The rain seems to come as quickly as it goes, forcing me to take an umbrella everywhere I go. I feel so prepared!

What just happened?

Towards the end of my trips I generally adopt some objective to complete a finale message. Most often times, I get near the end, I'm exhausted, and I never get around to it. This patterned behavior can even be traced back to the good ole emailing days when I would send updates via email. I just let people assume I'm back home (safely) and drained of thoughts. But, this time, I'll give what the people (Aunt Charmaine) want.

I could never really fully understand what was going on in La Paz ... I was surrounded by zebras, faced with inventive hairstyles, ignored by those in need, and just plain confused. Of course, these events may not even necessarily indicate a general trend in La Paz (doubtful!). However, finally, it all came together during my last week in La Paz. I wasn't going crazy! I really will never truly understand what is going on there. Thankfully we have artistic expression to deliver the message. While in the Vice President's administrative building for a meeting (not with the V.P.), I came across an interesting painting. I stopped, stood, and decided to keep on moving. I just couldn't spend my waning energy trying to figure out what was going on in the painting. After the meeting, I passed the painting again. I stopped, stood, and decided to snap a photo (I always had my camera with me - ready for research and the most opportune encounters). This painting essentially captures the confusion I endure everyday while I'm in La Paz.


Ok - a lot is going on here. First, why isn't anyone tending to the man who appears to be dead? Is anybody concerned about the fire? Where did the wolves come from? Finally, with all of this going on, where did the bare-chested woman come from and why is she just laying there? Thankfully, she has the Bolivian flag to partially cover her up.

No, Your Hair Looks Great!

As many of you know, I don't take great pleasure in poking fun at people and laughing at their misfortunes. However, today I saw the worst hairstyle every. I don't say this lightly. On a daily basis I'm confronted with men that have retched mullets, feathered hair, rat-tails, and reverse rat-tails (literally, a tiny clump of long hairs in the front pulled over a shaved head - this is not the same long-bangs trend of the mid-90s) and with women that have, once again, mullets, and the poodle. Sometimes I feel like I've stepped back into the hairstyles of the 80s. It's pretty severe for me to claim that somebody has the worst hairstyle in La Paz ... I'm even going to say in Bolivia (potentially, The Americas). This style is unique - it's not just an exaggerated mullet or some high-quality feathering. Don't worry, I quietly stalked him in order to get a good picture. You have to see it to believe it.

Yes - those are three strands of braided hair coming out the back of his head. It's not even a modification of the rat-tail ... it starts too high and there are three! Oh yeah - he had a romantic lady-friend with him. Proof: I first passed them while they were making-out (no, I didn't get a picture of that). Apparently, some women really dig the style.