The Discovery Zones of Ecuador

~The Discovery Zones of Ecuador

The first day that Ramona and spent time just exploring the town, it was a Sunday and we accidentally happened upon a small carnival! They called it the Discovery – it had those cheap, “I might die if a screw comes loose, but oh well looks fun!” type rides, a haunted house, one or two games, and the usual (for Ecuador) cheap food vendors. OH and I must mention the huge Barney imposter who was selling mini-Barney’s on a stick that you could walk… interesting. A couple of these rides, however, insist on more description and photography… for instance, one we dubbed, “the superman ride,” because it entailed several platforms were you were lying on your stomach next to one other person and being lifted into the air and then spun around and up and down.

Also, another ride for children included a very mini-merry-go-round prototype, however, the center was a cartoon duck spraying petrole um out ot the cars, planes and trains around it – now if this isn’t an extreme example of the country’s dependence on oil , I don’t know what is….

Close to the Discovery was this Park that we would probably call a playground. Except this playground was on acid. Everything was multicolor and everything was extreme. From the volcano with treacherously-jagged steps to reach the top, to the dangerously steep slide to come down from said volcano, to the spider web and doll house – no doubt one would have to pay to enter a park like this in the United States.

Which brings me to another thought about Ecuadorians on a whole that I don’t think many people realize. Almost all of those that I have met are extreme neat freaks and extremely precise. And this goes for all aspects of life. From the fact that my siblings in the house write in small, neat penmenship in grid-boxed notebooks to the fact that most people iron EVERYTHING… yup, even their sheets, towels, and underwear. I had a more than hilarious conversation about this with one of my professors, whose mom still irons all of his clothing including his under garments. When I asked “POR QUE?!?!?” (WHY) his reply was that she always insists, “you never know what will happen…” HAHA, okay, funny, but I still think its a little weird..