Eye on the Prize

Ok, this is somewhat disjointed but stick with me.

Well school is in full swing. Teachers and students are settling into normal schedules and the Gringo is still trying to figure it all out. A weaker person would have given up trying to understand everything and just go with the flow. Wait, did I say weaker? I meant wiser. However, I do enjoy getting surprised on a daily basis so life is good. 

This year my high school has been given the honor to march in a parade as the Captain and his entourage. The parade is called the Mama Negra and consists of 6 main characters, the Captain being one of them. The principle of my school will be the Captain and I was asked to march behind him. The Mama Negra is a very popular festival here in Ecuador and apparently known around the world. I am not sure how true that is but have been told it over and over again. I will say that all the photos I have seen of the festival include ample of amounts of foreigners. I am anxious to see their reaction as they see a white guy walking in a very traditional parade. 

My costume is rather elegant, complete with a sword and handmade shoes. I have to learn the choreography for the march and the men at my school are very serious about this. So serious in fact that we have cancelled classes 3 times already so that we can work on our moves with many more practices to follow. (I really don’t want to stab anyone around me so this might be a necessary evil.)

The festival “officially” begins November 9^th. I put officially in quotation marks because the party has already started. The Mama Negra of the pueblo started last week and I have been told that each neighborhood holds their own mini-Negras from now until November. It is not uncommon to hear fireworks at night here but now that the festival season is upon us I hear them constantly. No rooster to wake me at 6 am, just flying fireworks. 

I recently attended a fiesta at my high school that the whole city was invited to. I was told to wear a poncho and a hat. I only had a hat that was from the coast and did not have a poncho. My host friend told me I could wear his. He had a dark one and a bright one. Which did I pick? Of course the yellow and orange one! My coworkers wore dark ponchos at the beginning of the fiesta but then shed them to make dancing easier. I, on the other hand, wore mine all night. I stood out like a sore thumb as I danced in my bright attire but had a great time. 

I blend in right?

After a recent training in Quito a few friends and I decided to go camping in a nearby national park. The place we camped was called Boliche. This is a campsite and recreational area in Cotopaxi National Park. We took a bus and were dropped off in basically they middle of nowhere and began our hike into the park. A 45 minute hike through the woods brought us to the entrance. We paid a small fee for our tents and then we ushered into the park by an overzealous park ranger. Maybe overzealous isn’t the word. EXTREMELY happy to see tourists come to his park is maybe a better description. He explained many things about the park and how great it was. After we paid our way in he asked to take a photo with us. We obliged and then hoped to be on our way. He then took a photo with a friend’s large backpack and even took an action shot as he slung my friend’s backpack on his shoulder. All of this was highly entertaining if not a bit strange.

Our Campsite

I cannot say nice enough things about Boliche. This park was small enough to day hike and had beautiful views of the surrounding snowcapped volcanoes, especially Cotopaxi. The park staff was professional and courteous. The campsite was clean and accommodating. We had a great time there. I might have also just missed camping.  One thing I will say is I was glad I brought plenty of clothing. The weather became rather frigid after the sun went down. We had a campfire but being at such a high elevation in the Andes always lends itself to very low temperatures. 

...And Boliche Had Llamas!

I am currently preparing myself to climb Cotopaxi, the enormous mountain outside my city. It promises to be very difficult and the guides in town recommend training before attempting it. I do not feel that I am out of shape but I am working really hard at preparing myself physically for the upcoming challenge. Just today some friends and I climbed a nearby mountain. Putzalahua has great views of Latacunga and other surrounding cities. The weather cleared nicely as we neared the top and afforded a nice panoramic view of the place we call home. 

Cotopaxi

On the way back to Latacunga this afternoon I had yet another very awkward moment. I had to stand as we caught a bus on the Pan-American Highway. After 10 minutes of standing I noticed a small baby sitting on her mother’s lap. The chubby little kid smiled up at me and I did my best to keep her attention and smiled back at her. After a good 10 seconds of staring at the kid I realized that the mother was looking at me as well. Her face seemed to say, “Like the show?” As it turned out, the mother had been breastfeeding when the baby turned and looked up at me. What I affectionately call, “the milk show”, had just been interrupted and I seemed to be staring directly at the… uh… the woman, though in reality I was just looking at the kid. The woman smiled and I tried to act as though I saw nothing, though the opposite is true. Luckily it was only a short 5 minutes more until we reached the terminal where I hurried off the bus and avoided eye contact.

Word to the wise, keep your eyes forward and don’t look at the babies on the bus, they might be eating…

School's back in, BYO fresh produce.

After a very busy summer I was looking forward to getting back to normal school so I could rest. In cruel irony this came full force.

Teachers here, similar to the US, are mandated to return to school a week prior to the students arrival. This period is to plan and prepare. I came in each day of this period in order to get an idea of what the next year would be like. After an initial meeting where the new Rector, principal, explained a few plans for the school year and then we were all dismissed. I then asked around about what we would do for the following 5 work days. My English teachers have been told that we will be using a new English textbook this year. However, we did not and still do not have them so planning was almost impossible. We spent the week playing cards, chatting about vacation, and watching some of the male teachers gamble. (I literally watched one man run out of money and use avocados as a currency substitute.) This is not to say that the week was not productive. I did get pretty good at spider solitaire.

On the Friday before the students returned I asked for each English teacher's schedule. This would prove impossible because not one my teachers had been given a schedule from the authorities. Coming from the American world of education this astounded me. The entire weekend I stressed about what would happen when the students showed up on Monday. Even the students schedules were not prepared. Thoughts of complete and utter chaos filled my head. Of course this did not happen. Monday came around and everyone milled about chatting about their weekend and the crazy weather we were having. Students played soccer and basketball to pass the time as their parents watched.

Around noon we had a school wide meeting where the Rector welcomed everyone and officially kicked off the new school year. Teachers received their schedules and everyone moseyed on to class. Classes went on with relatively few hitches. Teachers vamped and created interesting assignments for their new students on the spot. After school was over all the teachers met in the library and went on about their milling.

After some introspection I realized that those two weeks taught me a few things:

1. I am a planner. I never realized that order and structure were so important to me. It takes losing something to realize how much you miss it.

2. My worrying is of no help. The week leading up to school I was stressing due to the fact that we had no schedules or books with which to plan. However, things are running as smoothly as they were when I arrived. My stress only affects me and is not productive.

3. Productivity is relative. Coming from the American way of life I have a mentality of go-go-go. I remember as a boy hearing that, "If you hands ever go into your pockets it should be a reminder that you could be doing something, be productive". This logic does not apply here. It is neither good nor bad, simply not applicable. In order for me to be productive here I need to have my hands in my pockets from time to time and chat away with my co-workers and the administrators of the school. Coming into school with a go-go-go attitude quickly bogs one down.

4. I need to take a step back. Many times when I see things that I think I can do better I need to distance myself from the situation and ask questions about it rather than immediately try to change the way things are. While I have made some changes and suggestions, there are many things here that I simply need to cope with even if I do not understand the method to the "madness".

5. This is what I am here for. Despite some impatience that I experience from time to time I remind myself that this is what I signed up for. I am an incredibly blessed and lucky individual because I am  living a dream of mine. I am in a magnificent country surrounded by people that accept me for all my American "oddities" and I am going to make the most of my time in wild Ecua-land.

Now, a positive note:

In the last school year my school was divided into two campuses. This year the administration decided to combine the two campuses. Now, all levels are packed into one high school. The ages range from 11 to 18. What a mix... Anyway, there were many teachers that I had never met from the other campus. I had been told it was a bit of a boys club there and I wasn't too sure how well they would accept the new Gringo. To my surprise I was warmly greeted by all of the faculty and especially so by the men. I am greeted daily by each the guys with high fives and even bear hugs from a few, especially jovial, individuals. This is something I know I will miss when I return to the States.

And now for a funny story about sarcasm:

Over the break I attended a conference with some of my English teachers. We were walking back from a coffee break and I spotted a tall Gringo backpacker walking far ahead of us on the other side of the road. I pointed at him and asked aloud what my brother was doing in Latacunga. I have a very sarcastic sense of humor and this was yet another instance that I was reminded that sarcasm is not used or understood here.

The ladies looked at me and then looked at him. No one laughed and they then started telling others in the group that my brother was in Latacunga and had the audacity to not tell me. It took me a second to realize that they did not understand I was joking. One of the ladies even called out to the guy. I had to act quickly in order to stop the confusion and potentially embarrassing situation. I explained that I was joking and my brother was actually back in Amarillo and they should not to be alarmed. A few awkward laughs and we moved on. Yet another lesson learned.



Oh, care packages full of avocadoes are appreciated, I may want to get into gambling.




 I have attached a few photos from a recent adventure. Hope you enjoy, we sure did.


Have a friend milk a cow...

...then drink warm the goodness as the momma's calf watches on.



Rode in the back of a truck half the day with this kiddo.

Life is good my friends.

Embassy summer camp and the greatest place in Ecuador

 “Todd, you look like such a Gringo right now.” These were the parting words from my host friend when I left two weeks ago to embark on a work/pleasure trip in the northern part of Ecuador. I was wearing my very large backpacking backpack that weighed 60 lbs and rose at least a foot over my head. I had on shorts, sunglasses and a ball cap. I must say I was looking pretty stereotypical as I made my way to the bus station. I got more stares that usual that morning but I could not have cared less, I was going on yet another adventure.



My first stop would be Quito where I would await transportation to a US embassy-funded summer camp. This camp was located south of Quito. We reserved a very large and beautiful campground for our camp. 6 Peace Corps Volunteers and 10 Ecuadorian volunteers comprised our staff. We hosted about 40 Ecuadorian high school students from the northern portion of Ecuador that had received scholarships due to their academic success.

Explaining S'mores was more difficult than I thought... But the kids loved them.

We planned the camp about a month ago during a training session that the US embassy held in Tumbaco. From the planning session I felt as if the Ecuadorian volunteers were firmly in-charge and we as PCVs would be merely assisting. It turns out that the Ecuadorians had the exact opposite idea. After some initial confusion we, PCVs, went into action. We started planning activities and executing them on the spot. A fellow volunteer and I had just finished our own camp so we had several good ideas that we quickly implemented.



Of course we had to do the Cupid Shuffle

During the day we tried to wear the kids out with games, races, obstacle courses, and arts and crafts. In the evenings we had bonfires, ate s’mores, and sang English songs. Much to the dismay of fellow PCVs, my inner-Texan came out during the campfires as we sang “The stars at night”. The Ecuadorian counselors wanted the students to only speak English the entire camp. I felt this was a bit harsh so with my group of boys I made a rule that they could only speak Spanish when they were in the cabin. Not one of them objected to this.

Ecuadorians like the "thumbs up" look. Integrating!

I mentioned earlier that the campground was beautiful. What I failed to mention is that though the campground was magnificent, our “cabins” reminded me of large jail cells that would only be suitable for prisoners who committed particularly heinous crimes. The bunk beds were stacked three high and the entire room was about 20 ft x 8 ft. 15 of us were packed into that room and we got to know one another quite well.



Ronnie and Bryon

The camp, though poorly planned, turned out to be quite a success. The kids had a wonderful time and seemed to have no idea that we were had just planned each activity fifteen minutes before we started them. It was a great learning experience for all of us and for the kids.

Group Shot

Before I move on I have one quick story about one of my favorite students from that camp. His name was Ronnie and he was from la Valle de Chota. This part of Ecuador is largely Afro-Ecuadorian and economically disadvantaged. Ronnie tried very hard to only speak English with me even though his vocabulary and grammar were rather poor. The thing that cracked me up was his accent. He sounded 100% Jamaican when he spoke English. In Spanish his accent sounded similar to everyone else but his English was a different story. I felt as if I was talking to a character from “Cool Runnings” every time we conversed. Ronnie wanted to learn English so he could talk to American girls on Facebook. He told me that he had 22 American girls as his friends on Facebook and he always tried to chat with them. When I asked him how he found them he told me that he simply searched “American” names such as Sasha and Anastasia. I suppose motivation to learn can come from many places.



At the conclusion of the summer camp we all piled into an Embassy van and headed to Quito for a conference with all the other PCVs from our group. The conference, Reconnect, is an opportunity for each of us to present our analysis from surveys that we have completed during the first months in site. It was nice to see all of my friends from my Omnibus that I had not been in contact with since April.



One of these guys is Natural Resources Conservation volunteer, can you spot him?

Throughout the week we watched one another’s presentations and planned with our Ecuadorian counterparts for the upcoming year. The conference was a good chance to let some of the dust settle from the first months and get a good idea about where to go from there. The conference lasted a week and once it was over I was ready for some adventure.

I and eleven other volunteers packed our bags Friday morning and headed to the city of Mindo which is located about 2 ½ hours northwest of Quito. This city is now my favorite city in Ecuador. It is situated in a cloud forest at nearly five thousand feet of elevation. Mindo’s economy is based almost solely on tourism and fittingly so. This city was remarkably beautiful. I had never been to a “cloud forest” before and very quickly you can tell why it has that name. The place has a rainforest feel to it but the weather was mild and almost chilly. In the afternoon the clouds would roll in and hide us from the sun.



As a group we took advantage of many of the touristic attractions. Late Friday afternoon all the guys in the group went whitewater tubing. We bought our 6 dollar tickets and hopped in the back of a truck. We went by a small building and picked up the “boat” (six inner tubes that were all tied together), lifejackets, and helmets. We drove up a dirt road several kilometers and then were told to get out and carry the “boat” to the river. We did so and the guide told us to sit in specific spots so the weight would be divided evenly. We took off and had a blast as we went over large rocks and were tossed around like ragdolls through the white water.



Sorry, this is the best waterfall shot I have. Didn't want to get the camera wet.

The next morning we went to a “Waterfall Sanctuary”. This was a nature preserve that had 6 large waterfalls that you could hike to. Entrance to the park was free but you had to pay 5 dollars to ride the cable car that went to the other side of the valley to gain access to the falls. We went to the three of the six and they were awesome. We swam in a pool of one of the larger waterfalls. We even found a place that we could climb up to and then jump into the pool. I cannot describe how beautiful that park was. You will just have to come see it for yourself.

Cable Car ride! Devin doesn't look scared at all.



I stole someone else’s video from YouTube so you could get an idea of what the cable car was like:

Cable Car

In the afternoon we decided to go whitewater tubing again. This time however, we were going to up the ante. We went on the second tier rapids that afternoon. It was similar to the first trip but much more exhilarating. It poured down rain the entire time we were in the truck and during the entirety of our “boat” trip.  A little rain didn’t dampen our fun though.  Several times I thought we were about to change from whitewater tubing to whitewater swimming but luckily we were able to hang on. On this second trip we had two guides for our one boat. Maybe it would be better said; we had a one guide and his friend who was brought along for the ride to weigh down our “boat”. Apparently we did not weigh enough and the guide asked his friend to jump on our boat and hop around in his tighty-whiteys like a mad man right before we would go over a small waterfall. Regardless of the oddity of the situation we all had a blast.



That evening we played a three hour game of Risk on the patio of our hostel that had a bubbling creek nearby. Passing the time in Ecuador never seemed so easy. Reflecting on all the events of that day and the days that preceded it allowed me to once again realize how blessed I am to have this opportunity to serve in the Peace Corps. Some days are rough and lonely but times like that serve to give more value to times when I am surrounded by the magnificent nature of Ecuador and Government-Issued friends. I am thankful for all of the experiences that I am having here, both good and bad.

Zipping

On our final day in Mindo someone suggested we go zip lining before our four o’clock bus left the station. I figured what the hay. The company we went through had 10 cables ranging from short and fast to long and really fast. I had zip lined before but was not accustomed to their system. They gave us gloves that had large leather strips pasted across the fingers. This was your brake… At the end of each cable they had a rubber stopper thingy to slow you down but you were instructed to begin stopping yourself about two thirds of the way down the cable. At times I felt that I was going much too fast and would brake extra hard. This served to put new grooves in the leather strap and significantly warm my hand as the friction took its toll. We all survived the zip lining and got back into town just in time to catch the bus. I lugged my huge backpack to the station and hopped on. In a short five hours I made it back to my house and promptly passed out exhausted from the last two weeks. After a solid twelve hours of sleep I am ready to head back to Mindo… wait, I meant head back to work!

Summer Camp: Cuidarte Los Huevos!

“Holding a two week summer camp that one created from scratch is the best and most relaxing way to spend one’s vacation time”, said no one ever…

Ok, so that may be a bit overly pessimistic. While the camp was a lot of work and drained me a bit I am happy to have had the opportunity to hold such a camp for kids who likely had never had the opportunity to attend a summer camp until a couple of Gringos showed up. For sure the rewards outweighed the drawbacks.

The idea to hold a summer camp was hatched by a fellow volunteer who lives in a small community about 15 km from my site. Her site, Pujilí, is comprised mainly of indigenous Ecuadorians and the city is at a significantly lower economic state than my site, Latacunga. My friend suggested we hold a free summer camp for the youth of Pujilí giving English classes along with other typical summer camp activities. I initially had reservations about jumping into such a large project so early into our service but was eventually convinced that we would be fine and the camp would be great. I would be lying if I said that I did not think back to my initial feelings of doubt when the going got tough over the past two weeks but I am still very glad that my friend twisted my arm just enough to get me to commit.

Chillin' wit da homies

The camp was…

…a day camp running from 8:30 until 1:00.

…held at a local high school that allowed us to use their campus.

…open to any youth in Pujilí ages 5-16.

…free.

…created completely from scratch.

…ran by two PCVs that looked like they had it all together when really we would meet every afternoon and scratch our heads as we tried to plan the activities for the following day.

…exhausting yet exhilarating.

The camp was attended by about 30 kids depending on the day. Many of them were from the city of Pujilí but after we were featured on the news a few students from very rural very indigenous areas joined the camp as well. I remember working at summer camps in the States and how accountable the counselors were for the safety and well being of each and every student. Those summer camps assumed the liability for the students that are at their camp. Here it is just about the opposite. Children here are very independent and this was reflected in their behavior during the two weeks. Many times a group of three or four students would simply leave our camp to go buy bread from a store down the road. Invariably they would return though with their bread and things would continue. It was my instinct to immediately ask where they went and instruct them that they could not simply leave whenever they wanted to. I was responsible for them and didn’t want them to get hurt. (My very American fear of being sued for losing a child sometimes gets the best of me). The children did not understand why we wanted to know where they were at all times and this was something that I had to adjust to.

My sunglasses and my backpack made Joel look so cool

The students ranged from 4 years old all the way up to 16. This presented a special challenge. Keeping all ages busy and happy was something that undoubtedly expedited my premature balding. We planned activities we hoped would appeal to all ages. Many times we would ask the older kids to help the younger ones to keep everyone working.

The children were not required to come every day. We told them that we had fun activities planned each day and if they wanted to take part in them they would have to show up. This enticed them enough and we had steady attendance from almost everyone. It probably didn’t hurt that we had a tall blonde American female leading the camp.

Camp Activities:

English classes: We started these with the best of intentions. We wanted only to play games that involved English words and phrases. I allowed my friend to teach these because I had had my fill of English education for the year. These classes ended up being a time for the older kids to ask us questions about the United States and how to say certain phrases in English. I think I taught more English at times when a kid would want to know how to say a random word. For example, a young boy ran up to me and grabbed my stomach. I told him he was grabbing my fat, in Spanish of course. He then wanted to know how to say “fat” in English. I suppose learning  how to say “fat” is better than nothing.

Scouts: This was my specialty. I wanted to teach a few basic things dealing with the outdoors and survival. On the first day we did a challenge course where the teams had to complete certain tasks and the team that finished them all first would win a sticker on their team’s card. This was our monetary system that we used to keep track of who was winning. One activity in the challenge course was searching for food, shelter, and water which were represented by three discs. Another activity was to get every member of the team over a “poisonous rock” that was represented by a rope that was about 4 feet in the air. If a member of the team touched as they tried to get over it the entire team would restart. This activity led to only one kid landing on his head from five feet in the air so I consider it a success.

Como Planear Mi Vida: This is an activity that the Peace Corps encourages us to implement in our sites. I realize not everyone who reads this blog speaks Spanish so I will translate. The direct translation of Como Planear Mi Vida is “Not a good activity for 6 year olds.” Actually it means “how to plan my life” and basically it is meant to make children think about the decisions they make and how they can affect their future. My friend decided she would use an activity where each child is given an egg and told to take care of it as if it were a baby. The activity is meant to give kids an idea what it might be like to take care of a child. On paper it sounded like a great idea. But when you give a room full of little kids eggs, the results are predictable. Within the first 10 minutes we had 3 baby casualties. Egg yolk was everywhere. As the day progressed I found “baby brains” in many random places including the bathroom. Hopefully when these kids actually have babies they will try and take care of them better than they did with their eggs.

Sports: I decided the kids needed to learn American sports. The first sport I taught was Ultimate. The kids took to it pretty quickly and even asked to play in the following days. We also taught kickball. Man those Ecuadorians kids can kick a soccer ball (couldn’t locate a kickball). Those two sports were fun but the kids fell in love with Capture the Flag. After we taught that game that was all they wanted to play. They would just scream “Bandera, bandera, bandera!” when we would ask what they wanted to play. (We told them that the name of the game was “Capturar la Bandera”.)

Recycled Art: Because the camp cost nothing for the kids we had no budget. Every resource we used was either something of ours or we purchased it. Therefore recycled art was very appealing to us. We made wallets out of used milk cartons. The kids really enjoyed making these and I enjoyed seeing the kids using them throughout the camp.

Recycled milk cartons turned into wallets

Music Class: A local musician offered to teach a music class to the kids. The younger kids really liked the class. The older kids decided they were too cool for music school and hung out outside with my friend and me. This was when we had “cultural interchange”. We would chat about the States and the differences between Ecuador and the USA. I call it “cultural interchange” because that is one of the main goals of the Peace Corps and just in case my boss is reading this I want to cover all my bases. Hey Maria Dolores! J

Musical production put on at the final meeting

Olympics: On the last day my friend planned Olympic Games for the kids. We set up 6 stations that the kids would have to complete. The team that finished all of the stations in the quickest time would win. Though the games were very simple and short the kids loved the activity.

It may look like gambling but really they were bowling down water bottles

Working within the system to get the camp set up and ready to go was probably one of the most difficult things about the whole ordeal. There were many leaders in the community that pledged support for our camp. While one of them was able to come through and deliver what was promised many fell through due to various reasons. It was frustrating to rely on someone and then when you really need them they fail to hold up their end of the bargain. Improvisation became the name of the game many times. This taught me the value of two things. 1) Rely only on people that you really trust and 2) have really good backup activities.

Each day I would return to Latacunga around five in the evening thoroughly exhausted. On Wednesday of last week my students at the university called me and asked if I was busy. I told them I was not but I had not planned on coming to the university that evening. They pleaded with me to come because they were not going to have classes on Thursday, the day I normally taught them. I wearily agreed to come even though I had no lessons planned. I arrived to a surprise party they had planned for me and another teacher. We ate dinner and the students thanked me for working with them. It was a very nice surprise. Near the end of the evening a student stood up and gave a small speech about how grateful she and her classmates were. She concluded her speech by giving us matching leather jackets from the class. I have never owned a leather jacket before and I like the one they gave me. I look as if I just got off a Harley. It was very nice of them and I am truly grateful to get to work with students that want to learn as strongly as they do.

University students in an English Masters program

Now that the camp is over I have been working on a presentation that I will give in Quito in a week. The work of a volunteer is never finished. Next Wednesday I will go to Quito to work at a summer camp for the US Embassy. It promises to be a lot of fun. Hopefully they don’t plan on giving the kids eggs…

Last day. I bet in a week or so I will miss them!

Vacation Fear Factor: Ecuador

This post will probably do very little to bolster my image as a poor, deprived, lonely, in-a-developing-country, Peace Corps Volunteer. So be it. It was so much fun and I want to share a few of my experiences.

My good bud Jordan just came to visit and brought his friend and co-worker along with him. They stayed ten days and eight days respectively. Judging from their reactions throughout the entire trip I feel I can confidently say they did not know what they were in for. Between the hectic schedule I created, strenuous hiking, high altitude, not knowing the language, and all new food I think I thoroughly wore them out.

I will start this by saying that Jordan and Tyler spoke zero Spanish when they arrived. Translating basically everything was a challenge but it really boosted my confidence and we all know my level of confidence is very low. Ok maybe there was a hint of sarcasm there…

First 72 hours:

We started out in Quito after they arrived on Friday evening. The bus takes about an hour and a half to travel from the Quito airport to Quito. You may need to read that sentence again but trust me it is correct. The highly praised new airport is situated in Tababela, a small city outside of Quito. Due to traffic, bridges, and distance it takes a long time to get into Quito proper.

Pretty sure I saw him flinch one time

 We spent that night in Quito in a quaint hostel and then headed to the Centro Historico in the morning. We explored the area that is full of 500 year old churches and buildings. We even toured the presidential palace. The president allows all Ecuadorians and foreigners to tour his house and the center of his government when it is not in session. At one point we were able to walk up to the large table and chair where the president sits during governmental meetings.  I cannot imagine Obama or any American president allowing tourists to mosey around the oval office and sit his chair if they so felt like it.

That evening we traveled to my site and prepared for the next day of travel. My host friend, as he like to be called, volunteered to take us to the Amazon Rainforest. We all piled into his car and headed south. We stopped seemingly every twenty minutes as Fabian, my “host friend”, would show us something new. He was a great tour guide and was proud to show off his country.

One of our first stops was to eat cuy. Avid readers of this blog might remember that a cuy is a guinea pig. This meat is a delicacy here and I actually rather enjoy. Unfortunately my friends did not feel quite the same. They were able to stomach the cuy but they spoke little of it in the car as we wound our way through mountain passes that could easily induce motion sickness.

I always think of my old pet when I taste this juicy delicacy

The views were fantastic throughout the day. Fabian would stop off on the road many times to allow my friends to take pictures and ask questions. Traveling from the mountain region to the rainforest requires nothing more than two hours of travel. We left Latacunga wearing jackets and slightly shivering and within an hour we had shed clothes down to shorts and t-shirts. Like I said, this is a bio-diverse country.

The zip-line went right over the spot where they converged

Our second stop was to go zip-lining. We found a small roadside stop that advertised zip-lining and we decided to jump at the opportunity, pun intended. We had passed many zip-lining operations on the way to the Amazon but Fabian insisted on one further outside of the touristy areas. I was told that zip-lining has no regulations here in Ecuador and thus you have to be picky when deciding where to risk it. Within ten minutes of us stepping out of the car into the muggy, warm air we were harnessed up and ready to fly. My friends went first and I got some great photos of them. After I saw that they had not plunged to their death I assumed it would be safe for me. Thank guys!

Probably should have cropped this photo but I hate technology

We zipped across two enormous waterfalls that soaked us with their spray. We were quickly dried due to the speed at which we were traveling. Once on the other side we were told we could either take a cable car back across the expanse or zip back for an extra five dollars. The second zip, we were told, was much faster and longer. He had me at five dollars. This second trip was amazing as promised, truly an exhilarating experience.

Fabian and the dudes at the beginning of the Amazon

We were hustled back into the car by Fabian and were headed deeper into the jungle. We arrived in Puyo about an hour later and were greeted with heavy rain and crazy humidity. The rain would be in a full on downpour for five minutes and then stop. This was a cycle that was repeated over and over. We drove around aimlessly for about an hour and then finally found the animal habitat we were searching for.

Small crocodile at the habitat

The place we stopped at was a shelter for endangered species and wounded animals of the rainforest. In an hour period we saw the wildest array of jungle animals. We saw 5 different species of monkeys that included two that would fit in the palm of your hand. They had the smallest kind of monkey in the world. They only grow to 15 cm. At one monkey habitat a monkey reached out to Jordan’s hand and grabbed him. I of course had to repeat this task.

He wanted to go home with me

We saw a capybara, the world’s largest rodent. Heetland, being Heetland, entered the habitat in an effort to touch the thing. Luckily, the capybara knew what was best for him and walked away. I feel that this animal habitat would never exist in the US. Just as in most of Ecuador, the rules were relaxed. I do not feel like Americans would stumble upon a crocodile lounging in the walking path as we did. He also scooted along after seeing the group of gringos approaching. The habitat was a very neat place and it was great to be able to see so many different animals in such a small area.

Jordan getting to know the capybara

The day was quickly fading and we needed to head back to Latacunga. We were headed home when Fabian quickly pulled over on the side of the road and instructed us all to get out of the car. We went into a small open-air restaurant and saw a bowl of dirt. Fabian asked if I wanted to try one. I did not know what he was talking about so he shook the bowl. Four or five very large, very alive grub worms appeared on the surface of the dirt. In the name of new experiences I accepted the offer. The worms were quickly thrown on the grill and the woman explained that this was a delicacy of the Amazon. If I had not heard this from many other sources I would have assumed it was just a cruel joke that they play on unsuspecting gringos. We sat down and prepared our stomachs for what was about to take place. When they arrived Fabian instructed me to bite the worm at the base of the head and eat the body. The head is inedible and that was just fine with me. The taste can be described as a mix between crawdad and bacon. It really wasn’t that bad. Texture on the other hand was slimy and gooey just as you would imagine. Now that that memory was made we all piled back into the car and headed back to Latacunga.

Small volcano eruption

On the way back to Latacunga Tyler saw something that looked odd on the nighttime horizon. He asked what it was and we all looked. We were about 15 km from an active volcano and we all quickly realized that Tyler had spotted the beginning of an eruption. We pulled over on the Pan-American Highway and watched as lava flew over the edges of the volcano and smoke and ash billowed high above it. Soon many cars pulled over and were taking pictures just as we were. We stood in awe of the small eruption and said very little. This was a great cap to the day.

Buen Provecho!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was difficult seeing them squirm around before I ate one

Day three involved us going to Quilatoa, the giant crater volcano about two hours from my site. We caught bus in a small city outside of my sight and this was apparently a bad idea. The bus was already full and not taking passengers. I asked if we could board and just stand which the driver was happy to allow. We paid our fare and tried to get comfortable on the rather smelly bus. At one point Tyler accidently bumped a cardboard box on the floor and chickens began bawking and squawking from within the box. Tyler turned and looked at me as if to say “Really Todd..?” 3^rd goal of the Peace Corps: Share the culture and customs of the host country to citizens of the United States. Check.

We arrived at Quilatoa and took in the amazing scenery. After a few photos we descended into the crater volcano. It took about thrirty minutes for us to reach the bottom. The trail is rather steep and with each passing minute you realize it will take you double the time and considerably more breath to get back out. We reached the bottom of the cold vast crater and Heetland, being Heetland, suggests we swim. Of course I am right on his heels as he jumps into the cold water. As soon as we came to our senses we jumped back out and tried to find someone to rent us a kayak. We found an indigenous woman who told us we had to pay $2.50 a person and we had free reign of the lake. We paddled around for awhile and took in the magnificent 360 degree view.

Quilatoa with Tyler and Jordan

Upon returning to the shore we decided it was time to hike out. I had made up my mind I would see how fast I could make it out of the crater to the rim. It took me 43 minutes and I plan on breaking that each time I return. I waited on the rim for my friends to come out. They were not far behind but were visibly exhausted and somewhat agitated. I knew as soon as they caught their breath they would be happy they had made the trek. Catching their breath might have taken two days but eventually we were on speaking terms again. We returned to Latacunga late that evening and this concluded our initial 72 hours. It was jam packed with activities and I would not recommend doing all of this in such a short time. That being said, the experiences we had and in such a small amount of time were absolutely amazing.

The ladies that served us breakfast each day and fell in love with us. For real...

For the remainder of the trip we went to the beach, Atacames to be exact. We stayed at a nice hotel called Playa Hermosa, Frente Del Mar. It is a bit pricier than other hostels in the area but the location on the beach and the security more than make up for it. For three days we relaxed on the beach taking in the sun, sand, and surf. We ate so much fresh seafood I thought I might grow a fin. We spent the nights on the beach dancing and singing karaoke. I do not think I will ever forget seeing Jordan Heetland and Tyler Shin singing “Gangsters Paradise” at the top of their lungs as 10 Ecuadorian women watched with puzzled looks. Good stuff guys.

Many small fishing boats advertised whale watching for 10 dollars. We hopped on a boat around noon on our second day at the beach hoping to see some. We left and quickly realized that the size of the boat was no match for the waves. For an hour we drove around aimlessly as the lookout searched for whales. After an hour and fifteen minutes we decided to tell the boat driver we no longer cared about seeing whales, we just wanted off the boat before we all lost our lunch. Suddenly the thought of fresh seafood was revolting. We were lucky though because on the way back we got to see a mother whale swimming with her baby. The baby whale was playing and jumping out of the water and crashing down onto the waves. Everyone on the small boat was suddenly happy that we had been out on the ocean for such a long period of time. These animals were majestic and seeing them so close was breath taking.

Here is a link to a video I took:

Whale Watching

Our vacation was drawing to a close and we made our way back to Latacunga for our final night. I would like to say that we reminisced about all the things we saw and experienced over the past 10 days. However, we were simply too exhausted from the whole ordeal. Jordan flew out on Sunday and I went to sleep.

My vacation was such a great experience. I am happy that one of my best friends was able to come visit me and get to experience a little of what my life is like here. Heetland, you’re a good dude. Tyler, glad you made it down here bud. Fabian was happy to have another “Chino” in Latacunga for a short while.

 I am taken back when looking at all we did and all the ground we covered in such a short amount of time. I am even more amazed at how much more of Ecuador I have not even began to explore yet. Anxious to get back out there!

For now it is back to the grind. A fellow volunteer and I are hosting a summer camp for Ecuadorian children in her site. It is a lot of work but tons of fun. At the conclusion of this two week camp I will try and get another post up about the unexpected success and certain failures of our efforts.

Advice for life: Eat the worm, it tastes like bacon.