Mary and Mike in Ecuador

Alaska pics

2010-11-29T16:01:00.003-05:00

Hello all.

It has been awhile, but we thought some of you might want to see our pics from Alaska.

Here they are.....

Part I: Work
These were taken during the first work portion of the trip out to the Y-K Delta. Jet from Anchorage to Bethel, bush plane to the isolated Yup'ik village of Chevak, then a cold-windy-wet 4 hour boat ride out to our field site in the middle of nowhere. Once there we established camp (a two day process), waited for the weather to clear (lots of rain, winds up to 50mph, and cold), and then finally spent some time hunting for shorebird and waterfowl nests. This is what it looked like....

Part II: Play
On our own. Three weeks hitchhiking, camping, backpacking, canoeing, and enjoying.

Part III: Work, again
Round two on the Y-K Delta. Why? How about Yup'ik kids, thousands of flightless geese, and 5 errant polar bears.

That's it.

As you may have noticed, we didn't include too much in the way of narrative. If you have any questions feel free to email, comment, or call.

Happy Holidays!

ps- yes, Mary did suffer through her morning sickness while living in a tent on the tundra.

Alaska

2010-06-02T21:46:00.011-04:00

Hello again.

As many of you know we leave for Alaska today. For those of you who did not know here are the details:

We have been hired by the USGS to work as Avian Field Biologists as part of a remote field team studying the effects of climate change on the behavior of migratory shorebird populations in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge of Alaska. (click on any of the hypertext if you want more details)

Below is our itinerary which details our major movements for the duration of the trip. To get to the field site we will need to take two different bush planes to finally arrive in the small Yupik community of Chevak. From there we will load all of our gear onto a boat and head out onto the Bering Sea for a chilly four hour ride before reaching our site on the penninsula at the northwestern edge of Hazen Bay.

Itinerary:

Thursday, June 3rd
Fly from NYC to Anchorage

Monday, June 7th
Fly from Anchorage to Bethel (1 hour, 400 miles)
Fly from Bethel to Chevak (1 hour, 136 miles)
Take boat on the Bering Sea to remote field site (4 hours)

Sometime in July (it depends on hatch):
Take boat back to Chevak
Fly from Chevak to Bethel
Fly from Bethel to Anchorage
Make contact with family (probably by email) to let you all know that we are alive and well.

Have a great summer!

UPDATE....Saturday, July 17th...

We are in Anchorage today and tomorrow and then headed back out to the Delta on Monday for an additional two weeks of work with the USGS. Our return date will depend somewhat on the weather and the birds, but we will be moving to southern Maine during the first week of August. Until then the only way to get in touch with us will be by satellite phone (emergency only).

Enjoy summer!

Ciao Sayausi

2010-06-01T18:56:00.003-04:00

June 1, 2010
Tuesday,7:54pm
Bayville, NY
Post-Thunderstorm

Well after 27 months in Ecuador Peace Corps has officially come to a close. We have spent the last month job hunting and visiting family and are now back in New York getting ready for our upcoming work in the Yukon Delta this summer (more details in a future post) before moving to Maine in the Fall. This will be the last Ecuador post and it will be a collection of events that took place during our last few months of service (somewhat of a potpourri).

We hope you enjoyed seeing, perhaps a bit too much of, our lives in Sayausi during the past two years! (and thanks for all of the comments, we have loved reading them)

Iliniza Norte: February 3

In combination with one of many trips that we had to take to the Peace Corps office in Quito we decided to try our luck at hiking up yet another Ecuadorian Volcano, Iliniza Norte. Surprise, we didn't make it to the top (see earlier posts regarding Volcan Cotopaxi, and Volcan Chimborazo). Once again we remembered from our training as Wilderness EMTs that preventing an emergency is always the preferred option, and given the strong winds that were blowing I had no interest in experiencing the part of the mountain known as "Paso de la Muerte". We had planned to spend the night at 4,800 meters above sea level, but after a delayed departure from Quito, two buses, and 6hrs of hiking uphill we realized that we were not going to find the shelter before dark. (for those of you who have never experienced it, searching for a hut in the dark on the side of an Andean volcano is not fun) So shortly before sunset, and in the middle of a vertical scree field with swarming clouds and menacing weather, we decided to turn around and head back to the hostal in the nearest town even though we had enough food to last us two full days on the mountain. The decision was a good one as we both survived, enjoyed the sunsetting on the nearby glaciers of Cotopaxi, and the hot showers and warm tea felt great even though it was after midnight by the time we reached the hostal and were able to enjoy them.

Carnaval: February 6

What is February without Carnaval...check out last year's post for in-depth coverage on Carnaval Festivities. This year we were up at Maribel's house again and "played carnaval" with all sorts of food, ice cold water, corn starch, and foam. We also "played carnaval" the day before with my soccer team but didn't bring the camera as the festivities took place along the shore of the rived that runs through town. Imagine what you see in the pictures below but instead of a kitchen full of Maribel's family, visualize my soccer team, the mens' counterpart to my soccer team, lots of soot from the meat that was grilled, mayonnaise, mustard, and lots of dunking people in the river.

"Playing Carnaval" with syrupy fig juice for "la foto"

"Playing Carnaval" with whatever was within reach

Banana?

Good Fanesca Friday: April 2

Our landlady Dona Carmen invited us to her house for Good Friday. It is tradition to make a HUGE meal for Good Friday and invite as many people as you can afford to feed. Dona Carmen prepared an eight course meal (she said she used to make eleven but nobody would eat the last few courses) including the ever famous fanesca. Fanesca is a soup made with at least nine different grains and reconstituted salted fish a.k.a. bacalao. One spoonful of this soup is enough to satiate the hungriest of stomaches. We were served a giant bowl as the fourth course in the Good Friday feast. It was all I could do to stir the fanesca around in the bowl a few times, take a bite, and politely say, "ya."

During the meal there was a HUGE hail storm to go along with the HUGE meal, so of course I took some video.

Semana Santa procession

more proceeding

Good Friday Hail storm

When it hails it hails

Have you ever seen hail bounce off of an Andean Papaya?

Happy Birthday Mary and Norma: April 3

Norma and I share the same birthday, so the family was planning a big bash for the fifth. When we told them we were leaving the fourth they rescheduled and had us up for a cuy-eatin', cake smashin'time. The party was great, the food was delicious, and I learned one more Ecuadorian tradition on the way out.

The birthday person is invited to take a bite out of the cake after they blow out the candles. I had seen this before and noticed that someone comes up from behind and pushes the birthday person's face into the cake. Now, when I have seen this on previous occasions the push only results in a small amount of cake on the nose of said birthday person. So, when my turn came to take a bite out of the cake I was expecting a small, gentle push from behind. Long story short, the only reason it looks like a gentle nudge from behind is because the birthday person uses all their might to keep from getting their face completely shoved into the lovely cake in front of them. I, not being prepared to brace myself for what I thought would be a little push, got my face smashed into the cake! I am quite sure there was more cake on my face than was left on the table.

So, one more lesson learned, one more birthday celebrated, and one last cuy eaten before our departure from Sayausi. Not bad for one day.

Saying Goodbye: April 4

We had originally been scheduled to depart Ecuador on April 23rd, but for medical reasons (happy side note, the amoebas are finally gone!!!) we left a few weeks early. This came as a huge surprise to us and our friends in Sayausi. For the past year they had been talking about our goodbye party, and they were all disappointed that we were going to be leaving in such a hurry. Even though they didn't have any time to plan, that did not stop them from giving us an incredibly sweet send-off that we will never forget.

Needless to say there is no way to describe what it is like to leave a place you have come to know as home and people that have become your family. Viva Sayausi!

Wine for everyone (so what if we are in a moving van)

Tu eres mi gran amigo

van entering bus terminal

Cusco Extravaganza

2010-03-09T14:20:00.003-05:00

March 8, 2010
Monday, 1:24pm
55, Cloudy
Sayausi

Por fin! Here is the long-awaited (or at least long in coming) Peru trip post. Though months have past the memories are as fresh as ever, thanks to tons and tons of photos. In fact, with the help of Dona Ana (i.e. my mom) we set ourselves a new record for number of pictures taken. Between the three of us we took so many photos that it would quite literally be impossible to post all of them. So, below you will find only the “best of” photos which still include a whopping three hundred images for your viewing pleasure (I promise I tired really hard to post only a few but I liked so many of them). For those of you who are interested in seeing all of the Peru pics (over 3,000 images) we can show you them in person as we will be back in the states in April!

Enjoy and disculpara for the delay.

The Great Peru Itinerary:
Day 1: Meet Mom in Guayaquil
Day 2: Tour Guayaquil and fly to Lima
Day 3: Fly to Cusco and Walking Tour
Day 4: Rafting
Day 5: Train to Aguascalientes
Day 6: Machupicchu and train back to Cusco
Day 7: Sacred Valley Tour
Day 8: Last minute shopping and fly to Lima
Day 9: Fly to Ecuador (see previous post for Ecuador with Mom stories and photos)

Day 1: Meet Mom in Guayaquil
Our grand adventure began with meeting my mom at the Guayaquil airport and then whisking away to the oh-so-fancy Dreamkapture hostal where my mom was quite amused by the electroducha (electrified shower: electricity heats the water as it passes through and only occasionally shoots out sparks …exhilarating!).

Day 2: Tour Guayaquil and fly to Lima
The next morning we toured the Malecon (the riverside park), visited a very special park with very special inhabitants (see pictures for details), and ate a delicious seafood lunch followed by tasty batidos (milk and fruit drinks). Then we were off to the airport for our flight to Lima.

We arrived in Lima around 8:00pm and stayed at El Patio, a charming hotel located in the middle of the Miraflores section of Lima. We then had a late dinner and went to an art exhibit featuring all sorts of sculptured nativity scenes.

Day 3: Fly to Cusco an Walking Tour
Early in the morning we were off to the airport yet again to catch a flight to Cusco. After checking in to El Balcon, a lovely hotel close to the center of all things Cusco, we were off to see the sights and the stores. We spent the entire day roaming up and down cobblestone streets, taking pictures, and generally enjoying ourselves. We also ate some grilled alpaca and quinoa soup…as they say, “when in Rome’…or in this case, Cusco!

Day 4: Rafting
Awesome!!! There are no other words to describe it. Rafting was fabulous and my mom was a natural paddler. Though truth be told, I’m pretty sure our raft guide could have gotten us down the river without any help from us. In any event, the surrounding area was gorgeous, the rafting was beyond fun, no one had to make use of the rescue kayakers, and the hot lunch afterwards tasted oh-so-good.

Day 5: Train to Aguascalientes
Finally, we were on our way to Machupicchu. However, in order to get there one needs to a) hike the four day section of the Inca Trail or b) take a train. We opted for the latter and set off early in the morning to catch the first train to the town of Aguascalientes. The scenery along the way was spectacular and the town of Aguascalientes offered everything a tourist could want (though apparently only for a few days, as just several weeks after our visit there were huge mudslides that washed out the train tracks and tourists stranded in Aguascalientes found themselves without some creature comforts). We spent the day browsing the shops and strolling along the river before calling it an early night so that we would be well rested for our 5:00am departure to Machupicchu the next morning.

Day 6: Machupicchu and train to Cusco
Before the sun even hinted at peeping over the surrounding mountaintops, we were up, ate breakfast, and standing in line to catch the first round of busses headed up to Machupicchu. Not an hour later we arrived at the ruins. There was a light rain when we arrived which added quite the ethereal quality to the experience. It’s hard to describe what a remarkable place it is or how it looked (hopefully the pictures will help with that) but it certainly makes one reflect upon the past, present, and future in a different way.

Not too soon after arriving Mike and I went for a small hike up Huayna Picchu (the mountain you always see in the background of pictures of Machupicchu) where we took a few misty pictures of the ruins from up high and had some great views of the glacier covered mountains that define the valley. We then found my mom, thanks to the walky-talkies my mom had brought with her (yes we were those tourists, but they did come in handy and were fun to use) and met our tour guide who took us on an informative, and interesting tour of the ruins. When the tour finished we still had a little time to wander around and that is what we did until the last possible minute. Then we headed back down to Aguascalientes to catch the train back to Cusco.

It was certainly an incredible day.

Day 7: Sacred Valley Tour
The Sacred Valley Tour wasn’t something we had originally planned on doing but once in the vacation mode momentum builds and all of the sudden you’re on a bus visiting several of the surrounding ruins and towns that surround Cusco.

The tour was great and we got to see a lot more than we would have otherwise. It’s hard to believe just how many ruins are around Cusco. It’s truly impressive.

On a funny note, our tour guide was a woman from Cusco who was wonderful the whole day and then as we were headed back to town, shortly after the sun had set, she shared with the entire bus her thoughts on aliens and UFOs. Yup, we got the 4-1-1 on alien and UFO activity in and around Cusco…who knew? So it makes you wonder, was it really the Incas (better put, the Quechuas) or was there some extraterrestrial force at work carving and moving all of this rock? I guess we’ll have to sign up for another tour to get the answers…maybe next time.

Day 8: Last minute shopping and fly to Lima
Our last day in Cusco we took another small tour to nearby ruins with ridiculously big carved stones, and then did some last minute shopping before heading back to Lima.

In Lima, we toured the Miraflores district, did some more shopping, enjoyed Christmas carols (yes, this post is very late) in the central park while enjoying hot chocolate and an incredible rice pudding with cherry preserves desert, and then called it a night and slept soundly with images of rapids, ruins, shops, and cobblestones floating through our sleeping heads.

Day 9: Fly to Ecuador (see previous post for Ecuador with Mom stories and photos)
The next day we flew to Ecuador where out whirlwind adventure slowed down to Sayausi speed and we spent a week with my Mom relaxing in our site and touring the streets of Cuenca (again, see our previous post).

It was quite the trip and certainly one I will remember forever. We would of course like to thank Dona Ana for such a wonderful trip and for all the wonderful memories; eating grilled alpaca and roasted cuy feet, braving the rapids of the Urubamba, drinking coca leaf tea, exploring ruins of yore, bathing with electrified shower heads, and learning all about aliens and UFOs…what a world, what a trip!

(Our service here in Ecuador is winding to a close and after two years we will be flying back to the US on April 23rd! We will try to post again sometime soon to describe what we have been up to for the last few months (highlights include Carnaval celebrations and hiking up yet another active volcano). For the meantime, feel free to scroll through the archives to revisit all that we have reported on for the last couple of years…. on the top right of this page you can see all of our old posts filed by date. Enjoy!)

Special Note: Due to spam, we have added a filter to the comment option. Keep commenting as always (we love reading them) but your comment will not immediately appear on the blog.

Feliz Año Nuevo!

2010-01-12T13:22:00.004-05:00

January 5, 2010
Tuesday
Sayausi
Cloudy, 60

Feliz Año Nuevo and a Hug
(Check out the new link called "Volunteer Feature" located under the picture on the right-side of the screen! You may recognize the featured volunteers.)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! This holiday season has been packed with travel, parades, family and friends. My mom was here for two weeks (December 14-28) during which time we took over 2,000 photos! Therefore, we will be spreading the holiday joy over two installments: 1. Holiday Extravaganza and 2. Peruvian Adventures. Even though the Peru portion of my mom’s trip came before the holiday part we thought we would post all holiday related photos, videos, etc… before the holiday season is officially over. So, get ready for lots of costumes, cuy, candy, dancing, and of course, more parades! (and then, in a week or so, we will post the Peru portion of the visit)

December 23rd: School Christmas Party and Museo Banco Central de Cuenca
Our first day in Sayausi started off with a bang…or at least with a lot of Christmas carols. I was invited to be a Christmas carol judge for the annual Christmas party up in Bellavista.

At nine o’clock sharp the caroling began with me seated at the judge’s table and my mom and Mike in seats of honor (i.e. they were given chairs instead of having to sit on the cement bleachers with the kiddies). The competition was steep and it was only by one point that first grade beat out the sixth grade. It was then time to judge the nativity scenes that each grade had constructed in their respective classrooms.

I’ll give a little background into the nativity scenes so that later when I explain how they were judged it will make more sense. It is tradition for every family to have a baby Jesus doll that in the weeks leading up to Christmas is paraded from house to house within the family. For example, for one week it will be at your aunt’s house and then there will be a procession with music and flowers and food to get it to your grandfather’s house where it will spend a week before continuing the journey (those of you residing in Bayville should remember this from last year when we brought some of Ecuador home in the form of a ceramic baby Jesus and made you all parade him around). In preparation for the arrival of Baby Jesus each house constructs a nacimiento or nativity scene. The scene of course is incomplete: all figures are facing towards an empty space which is reserved for the arrival of Baby Jesus. Historically, these nativity scenes (which every household makes during advent) were made from local mosses, bromeliads, and orchids. Not surprisingly, this was less than good for the surrounding forests. Therefore, in the last five or so years there has been a push to use recycled materials or anything reusable and environmentally friendly so as to maintain both the tradition of the nativity scenes and the natural environment. So, now people get really creative and make beautiful nativity scenes using old newspapers, potted plants, fallen branches, etc…

Back to the school…the nativity scenes were judged based on two categories: creativity and use of recycled materials. Again the competition was steep but it was again the first graders with their corn cob three kings and gourd stable that took home first prize.

It was then on to the sack races and other general festivities. The ice cream was served early as the electricity was cut at ten o’clock (there have been daily power cuts across the country for the last three months due to the year long drought) which worked out well for us! We each got giant scoops of homemade coconut ice cream. We were then given at least five small panes de pascua (Christmas bread, aka panetone) before we left.

We spent the afternoon in Cuenca and even checked out some of the Incan ruins near Cuenca’s biggest museo, Banco Central. However, after our Peruvian adventure it was clear that the Incan Empire didn’t quite have as strong a hold on Ecuador as it did in Peru. The museum was fun though and we only set off the alarm three times as we walked around (there was a small motion detector that would go off if you stepped too close to any of the exhibits). We ate lunch at Moliendo Café (the only place Mike and I eat at in Cuenca: cheap, good, and owned by a really sweet Colombian couple). My mom agreed the food was delicious including the bunuelo (cheese flavored doughnut). Then we toured the markets, both food and craft, before heading back to Sayausi where we dined on coal roasted chicken at David’s (Mike’s teammate’s restaurant).

December 24th: Parades Galore
The entirety of Christmas Eve or Nochebuena was spent either watching or participating in parades. These parades feature kids dressed up as religious figures, gypsies, traditional dress, or as superheroes and they go on for hours! We went into the center of Cuenca to check out the largest parade and had a nice spot right on the central park. For several hours we watched countless horses, cars, kids, babies, dogs, sheep, and everything else parade by decked out in everything from the most extravagant costume to the most basic. Sun baked (again, we still haven’t gotten any rain) we went for lunch at a tourist friendly restaurant that specializes in Ecuadorian fare and overlooked the parade in the central park. Needless to say between the location, the company, and the food lunch was delightful.

Then we headed back up to Sayausi to participate in a different parade. At this point the Christmas spirit had really gotten into me and I agreed (after several weeks of being persuaded by our neighbors) to get dressed up with a few other women from my town. What did we dress up as? Cholitas Cuencanas of course! A neighbor gave me a pollera, blusa, and chalina, Jenny (our landlady’s daughter) braided my hair, and poof I was ready. My mom and Mike were not poofed into anything but they did walk in the parade being sure to catch any particularly photo worthy moments. However, since I was the only one in costume I was the only one to receive the bag of candy, pan de pascua (panetone), and banana (which everyone in the parade who was dressed up got).

The parade started up at Dona Rita’s house (the same house where we would be the next night for my mom’s first ever cuy roast) and winded through town where it eventually ended up in the church for a Christmas evening mass.

After mass it was back home and time for sleep…well, we may have had a few candies first!

We also tried out the envios service here in Sayausi over the holidays. Turns out it works! We (with the help of Doña Carmen and family and the Rusts) sent a cuy to the states (sorry AZ family but they don´t deliver to the Southwest) for Christmas Eve.

December 25th: Feliz Navidad!
Merry Christmas to All! Christmas morning of course started with stockings (Chuspi enjoyed the stocking itself as much as the contents) and then it was breakfast, presents, and then, you guessed it, on to more parades!

This time we were just observers and photographers. The parade started in San Martin (a barrio of Sayausi) and ended up in the plaza right outside our front door, which is where all parades seem to end. Once the parade reached the plaza there was an outdoor mass followed by dancing, music, and more dancing.

Then it was off to Bellavista for cuy, more dancing, cake making (aside from the baby Jesus it was also Juan Diego’s birthday too), and general merrymaking. We were up at Dona Rita’s house from two o’clock until ten o’clock during which time my mom and Juan Diego helped each other with English/Spanish, we supervised while Juan Diego made and decorated his own birthday cake, played frisbee (my mom’s birthday present to Juan Diego which was wildly popular), chatted, ecua-danced, ate, chatted some more, bathed baby Matias (Melida’s month old baby), dressed up baby Matias (my mom also brought down a few jumpers for Matias…also wildly popular), ate cuy (yup, that’s right my mom chowed down on cuy and liked it…at least a little bit), and ecua-danced some more before eating birthday cake.

After the festivities we walked home along the river (which also happens to be the road) listening to the sounds of frogs. A very nice Navidad indeed.

Opening Stockings

Sayausi Parade

Christmas Mass

Christmas Dancing

Christmas Kids

Christmas Dinner

December 26th: Ver Deporte
Saturday was a day to recoup after over a week and a half of nonstop travel and activity. So, in classic Sayausi style we spent most of the day down by the estadio watching countless soccer games and chatting with our neighbors and friends.

December 27th: Hacer Deporte
Sunday was a lot like Saturday except Mike and I were playing in all the games. The first game of the day was futbol in the estadio de Sayausi at 10:30am. The second game was basketball (me) at 11:30am, then Mike played basketball at 12:30pm which we weren’t able to stay and see because I had another game at 1:00pm in San Jose (another barrio of Sayausi that is further away and where we don’t really know many people). So my mom and I zipped off in a cab with Maira to go my one o’clock game while Mike stayed to play three-on-three with his basketball team as the team they were supposed to play against didn’t show up.

My game in San Jose was called short after a fight broke out in the second half. Yup, after two years of playing in countless games here in town this was the very first fight and my Mom was there to see it! Long story short we were winning and the other team was upset because up until then they had been undefeated and BAM, fighting. No one was hurt and only one girl on my team was involved. It was essentially five girls from the other team pulling the hair of one girl on my team. Either way the game was called, and we aren’t going to play at that field anymore (voluntary decision on our part as the organizers weren’t going to kick anyone out so my team just decided we didn’t want to play in a tournament where teams fight). Then we were delayed at the field for an hour as a giant storm rolled in and dumped buckets of water and hail. Fortunately, there was a small covered area where everyone could huddle until the rain passed and the cab came and picked us up.

By the time we got back to the apartment it was almost 3:30pm and our van back to Guayaquil was leaving at 4:00pm. Having been in Ecuador for almost two years we decided that was plenty of time to shower, go grab lunch(slow roasted pork and potato pancakes) and bring it back, eat it, clean up, and then get a cab to the van office.

We pulled into the van office at 4:06pm (the van service said they could wait to 4:05pm at the latest) to see the van waiting for us. And so we made our grand exit from Sayausi, up the hill, through Cajas, over the continental divide at 14,000ft, back down the hill, through the clouds, across the rice paddies and banana plantations, and into Guayaquil.

December 28th: Se Va
My mom’s flight left at 10:30am the morning of the 28th which gave us plenty of time to have a nice breakfast at the hostel and reflect most positively on a wonderful trip.

After my mom went through the door to customs Mike and I headed back up the hill, and four hours later were in Sayausi where upon arrival we took a long nap.

In the next post all Peruvian related photos and stories will be shared. A few highlights include white water rafting with my mom in the Urubamba Valley, eating roasted alpaca on several different occasions, watching the mist pass through the ruins at Machu Picchu, and alien sightings among the snow capped mountains near Chincheros!

Año Viejo (Old Year)
For New Year’s Eve, and for several days leading up to it, Cuenca, Sayausi, and Ecuador are covered with life size dolls dressed in old clothes, stuffed with newspaper, and donning a mask (be it a Barney, Michael Jackson, famous politicians, or a generic old man face). These dolls called Año Viejos in Sayausi are tethered to the fronts of cars and busses, seated outside shops, and hanging from window ledges until the clock strikes twelve….more on that later.

Not surprisingly New Year’s Eve brought with it many more parades, the Año Viejos (the dolls described above), and viudas (widows). At this point you should have a pretty good idea about what a holiday parade in Ecuador would look like so I won’t go into details. The Año Viejos I have described above and the pictures below should complete the picture, literally. However, the viudas or widows are new. On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve the streets become crowded with young men dressed up as women begging (more like jokingly asking) for change. These groups (they tend to travel in groups of three to five) often set up camp on a street and string a rope up to stop passing traffic. Once the car has stopped the driver and passengers are asked to give some change to the viudas. This interaction generally involves a lot of laughter on both sides and occasionally ends up with extra change in the purses of the viudas.

You may ask, as we did, why? Why do young men dress up as women, call themselves viudas (widows), and ask the occasional passersby for change? Good question. If you find out let us know because no one in our town had the faintest idea as to why people do it, they just do. As for the Año Viejos we did get a little bit more information on them, but nothing too definitive. To some it represents the good of the past year, to others the bad. Some create a doll that has the likeness of a person they respect while others chose to dress their doll as someone they despise. There are dolls that look like cartoon characters (Sponge Bob is popular). What binds them all though is their common fate (see below).

To start of the New Year’s Eve festivities there was an Ecua-volley game and a women’s indoor game (soccer on a small field with a small ball). I was asked to play in the game as at this point I am friends with all the soccer moms (unlike in the states, soccer mom here quite literally means the moms that play soccer) and their daughters. So, myself, Maira, Leo (Maira’s sister), the Carbo sisters (daughters of the President of the Parroquia of Sayausi), and Diana (a good friend of the Carbo sisters) played a game against Nacha (wife of David, Mike’s basketball teammate), Jota (Nachas sister), and several other Nacha relatives. The game was tied at the end of standard play and went into extra time (two five minute halves). After a stunning goal by myself and another by Majo (one of the Carbo sisters) our team became the winners and as such the proud owners of a crockpot. Yup, a crockpot. Upon seeing the crockpot everyone on my team asked, “What’s that?” The crockpot has since been sitting in our living room, still in its box, since it is unheard of to cook with electricity due to cost (and the ongoing nationwide daily power outages due to drought).

After the thrilling sports events many people went to the church for mass while others went home for dinner, but all came back shortly after for the “chancho encevado”. What, may you ask, is a chancho encevado? Well, think to yourself what is the most appropriate thing to do after a New Years Eve mass? Well, if you answered “to chase around a greased pig in the plaza”, then you are well attuned to Ecuadorian culture. After the chancho encevado was captured everyone under age twelve lined up for the “ollas encantadas” a.k.a the enchanted pots.

The ollas encantadas are the Ecuadorian equivalent of pinatas except that every kid gets their own and even though you’re technically only allowed three hits you get to hit until to smash an enchanted pot and all the goodies fall out. It looks like this: a long line of kids waiting for their turn, a string twenty yards long from which twenty cantalope sized ceramic pots are hanging, two adults directing the children, and a crowd of onlookers. Inside each of the enchanted pots are a doll, a bag of candy, and an orange. And I’m pretty sure I figured out what makes the pots enchanted. Whenever the last pot is broken but there is still a line of kids, after a five minute break twenty new pots are dangling from the string…pretty magical huh?

Following the ollas encantadas the race to the top of the “palo encevado” began. This race did not end until well after midnight and was really a sort of endlessly entertaining sideshow while the rest of the festivities continued. Can you guess what a palo encevado might be? How about a thirty foot high greased eucalyptus trunk with soda, chips, soccer balls, and clothes dangling from the top? Yup, a greased stick with at most ten dollars of prizes tied to the top and a pack of anxious teenage boys at the bottom. Now that’s good fun.

In the hours leading up to midnight we were treated to several singing performances and the announcement of whom Sayausi’s Año Viejo was supposed to resemble. Turns out our vecino (neighbor) was the lucky guy, and as is custom a mock will was read in which he had a chance to say something funny about all of his family members, neighbors, and friends.

So, now the clock is striking midnight. What do you think happens to all those Año Viejos that spent the day tied to a car, sitting in front of a store, or hanging out a window? A giant bonfire greets them at the tolling of the New Year. Every man, woman, and child tosses their “Old Year” into the fire then proceeds to give everyone a hug while wishing a Feliz Año to one and all. The hugging then continues for several days (or weeks) as you must say Happy New Year and give a hug to everyone you know even though it might be awhile before you bump into them.

Chancho Encevado

Ollas Encantadas

Well, that sums up our holiday season here in Ecuador. Lots of parades, a wonderful time spent with my mom, plenty of good food, and to send the old year off in style a greasy pig and a giant fire.

Happy New Year (and a hug)! May it bring you health, happiness, and maybe if you’re lucky, a roasted guinea pig and an effigy made in your likeness!

´Tis the Season

2009-12-11T09:44:00.002-05:00

December 11, 2009
Friday, 9:22am
Cuenca
Sunny, 60

This blog is sort of a grab bag of things that happened in the last month. There is no overriding theme nor is there any real flow from one topic to the next. With that in mind we wish you all Happy Holidays and hope you enjoy the random collection of pictures and words below!

(Also, I apologize in advance for all the typos you will surely find. I typed the blog in Cuenca and the version of Word I was using kept making bizarre autocorrections as the default language was Spanish and I was writing in English. So put the red pens away and enjoy the omition of many words and creative spellings of others.)

Baby Matias, Construction, and another Niño
Doña Rita´s daughter Melida gave birth to Matias a few weeks ago. Her sister Maribel asked us to take some pictures of him,the work they had done on their house, and the Niño (it´s a big tradition here to have a Niño that travels from house to house leading up to Christmas. The same weekend Matias was born the Niño arrived at Doña Rita´s house) so she could send photos to her brother who lives in Canada.

Cubanos, Semifinals, Finals, and a Fire
We had a couple of fundraisers for one of the soccer teams I am on to raise money for uniforms. The fundraiser, which took place on several occasions, consisted of making sandwhiches (in our house) then selling them with a vaso of cola for a dollar at the nearby estadio. Unfortunately, on the first day the cubanos (Ham and cheese on white) were locked in a tienda (store) at lunch time and we couldn´t get them out again until dark . This meant we had to sell everything at half price which severely cut into our already narrow profit margin. The second time, however, everything went according to plan and all sandwhiches were sold at $1.

Another campeonato (small, soccer tournament) came to a close this month. My team came in second place after a loss in penalty kicks in the finals where three people (including myself) hit the post. That´s right, tres palazos! Unbelievable. We still had a big cookout later that night at Zoila´s house and ate lots of fried rice and watched Michael Jackson videos.

It is also worth mentioning, as we have pictures of a fire off in the distance, that Ecuador has been without rain for far too long. Up until a few weeks ago the rivers were empty and there were fires on every hillside. Since then we have gotten a little bit of rain so most of the fires are out and you can no longer walk across the rivers. However, they are still rationing electricity (over 90% of Ecuador´s electricity is hydroelectric which doesn´t work very well if there is no wáter) which means for several hours every day we are without electricity.

Makin´cubanos

Fake Bill
We got our first counterfeit bill two weeks ago from an ATM of one of the biggest most respected Banks in all of Ecuador. The bank won´t reimburse us and we had to return the bill anyway but it was neat to see it even if it means we lost $20. See if you can tell which is the fake.

Zukes and Eggs
My garden is chock full of zukes this month which means zucchini crust pizza, zucchini muffins, zucchini fritta, zucchini salad, minestrone soup made with zucchini, and so on. As a novice gardener I have to say zukes are a most gratifying crop.

Also there´s a picture of an egg from a farm raised chicken and one from a factory raised chicken. Can you tell which is which?

Christmas is coming!!
Enjoy some pics of our apartment all dressed up for Christmas (and some of Chuspi enjoying all the holiday decorations).

Envios
It´s super common in Sayausi (and all of the province of Azuay) to send all sorts of food, stuff, and more stuff to the States where most people here have family. The most common item is, of course, the ever so delicious cuy i.e. guinea pig. We are not quite sure how it works but it looks like you drop of your cuy here in Sayausi and it ends up in some similar looking storefront somewhere in the U.S. Pretty remarkable considering a shipment goes every Thursday and Tuesday and arrives two days later in the U.S.

Work Photos
A fellow volunteer is putting together a website with a profile about what volunteers in Ecuador are doing. So these are the pictures we sent him for the website. We will post a link to the site once we have it. Enjoy!

Chuspi, Chuspi, Chuspi
This blog was originally going to be an Adopt-a-Chuspi post as Mike has an allergy to her. However instead we are going to leave Cuspi with our lovely, landlady Doña Carmen, proabably in January. So here´s a bon voyage to Chuspi tribute with a special guest...a deer leg!

A fun tail
Yum, deer leg
Brush-tastic
Brush-a-me, mama
Flight instead of fight
The beetle gets it
Relaxed Attack
Pathetic
Peticure
Whatta good Chuspi cat
Yum, sardines

National Lampoon’s Venezuelan Vacation

2009-11-06T13:54:00.003-05:00

November 2, 2009
Monday
5:46am
Cloudy, 60

For the last ten days we have had the pleasure of being in Venezuela with my dad. During this trip we explored the breathtaking islands of Los Roques National Park, the zoos and hot springs of Valencia, and the culinary delights of Caracas. We also discovered that my dad and Chevy Chase have much in common when it comes to planning and enjoying a vacation i.e. simple events always have the potential to become a comedy of errors.

Below is a brief itinerary (for those of you pressed for time) followed by a detailed account (for those who can spare an hour or so) of what we have dubbed National Lampoon’s Venezuelan Vacation.

Day 1: Arrive in Caracas and Flight to Los Roques
Day 2: Nordesky, Krasky, and Aquaman’s Debut
Day 3: Franciskys
Day 4: Boca de Medio, Madrizqui, Scuba, and some British Commentary
Day 5: Cayo de Agua, Biological Station, Espenky, Multi-purpose Tevas, and Bravo!
Day 6: Boca de Cote, Lobster Shack, Estrellas Marinas (Esparky), Pelona de Rabusky and Umbrella Trouble
Day 7: Cayo (Isla) Muerto and The Hitchhiker, to Valencia and Hot Springs
Day 8: Arepas, Zoo, Arepa Mansion, Meetings, and To Caracas
Day 9: Meetings, Teleferico, Gualipan, and Jeep to Macuto
Day 10: To the Airport, Duty Free Extravaganza, Bogota Layover, Van to Sayausi

Day 1: Arrive in Caracas and Flight to Los Roques
We arrived in Caracas just before 11:00am on Thursday morning. After going through customs and skipping baggage claim since we had none, we met my dad who had arrived about a half an hour earlier. It turns out he had spent a majority of this half hour trying to shake a black-market money changer who spoke broken English.

In Venezuelan currency there is what is called a parallel market. In 2008 the Bolivar Fuerte was introduced to replace the Bolivar and remove three zeroes from all currency and prices (for example a 1000 bolivar coin would now be 1 bolivar fuerte). The parallel market exists because there is a fixed official rate for the Bolivar Fuerte. The fixed rate which is 2.15 bolivar fuertes to the dollar is supposed to help with inflation. However, it also means that everything would be too expensive for people buy things. So, there is a parallel market (not legal but not really illegal in terms of enforcement) where you can get around 5 boliver fuertes to the dollar. This system, while making Venezuela a potentially very affordable place to visit, makes changing money a little bit more complicated and a little bit risky for tourists and Venezuelans alike.

So my dad, a rather obvious tourist which is associated with dollars or euros, was quite a target for the dozens of parallel or black market money changers who also serve as porters (why not earn a little extra money while carrying bags). Luckily, my dad wasn’t persuaded to change his money with these porters at the rate of 3.5 Bf to the dollar and so our first order of business upon our arrival (after many hugs and hellos) was to find Roquemar, a “tourism” storefront recommended to us by the owner of the hotel we would be staying at in Los Roques (we ended up changing our dollars at the rate of 4.7 Bf to the dollar).

After a rather bizarre, semi private money exchange we had our first taste of delicious Venezuelan food during lunch at the workers cafeteria in the basement of the airport (TGI Friday should be avoided in all countries) then headed over to the Auxiliar Airport to catch our flight to Los Roques.

I need to take a minute here and explain that is was virtually impossible to find a flight to Los Roques as there is no website you can go to and no number you can call to make a reservation (trust me, we tried). All flights to Los Roques, it seems to me, are booked through the posada where you are staying. So first you have to find and decide on a posada before you have any idea what the flight options are. Then, to make things a little more complicated, no one accepts credit cards. We were beyond fortunate that Ana, the Italian owner of Ranchito Power (the posada where we stayed) paid for our tickets in advance out of her own pocket. After paying for the tickets she forwarded us a copy of the electronic tickets that had been sent to her. We printed these out and crossed our fingers as we arrived at the Auxiliar Airport.

The Auxiliar Airport shares the same runway space as the international airport, it’s just located about a half a mile closer to the end of the runway and instead of normal sized planes there are tiny, tiny planes. Also unlike many international and domestic flights, if our plane was delayed past sunset the flight would have been cancelled as there are no runway lights in Los Roques and therefore no flights landing or taking off after dark.

Our plane was the aeronautical equivalent of Mike’s 87 Nissan. The “Sundance” as it was un-aptly named sat 15 and the pilots were in arm’s length of the first row and while there were seat belts the likelihood of the seats staying attached to the plane in any emergency situation were so low as to make the presence of seat belts negligible. The emergency life jackets however were easily accessible.

After a slight delay of almost an hour, the “Sundance” took off into the sunset with nary a shutter and the 35 minute flight saw only slight turbulence and a few unnerving dips. And, it seemed, that the landing was smooth and uneventful until a loud boom, followed by the smell of burning rubber, unusually abrupt braking, and the repeated “thwap, thawp, thwap” of rubber on asphalt filled the cabin that was now sloped down to the left.

So, we disembarked mid-runway while the crew unloaded the luggage and walked it over to the receiving “gate” i.e. the other side of the rope. It was sunset, and we left the “Sundance” at a slight tilt and with its busted tire behind us.

Chicho, one of the three employees of the posada we were staying at, met us at the other side of the rope with a “baggage cart” i.e. a handcart and escorted us down the sand street to Ranchito Power.

At Ranchito Power we were greeted by Ana, the posada owner, and shown to our room (one of five in the posada). After putting our bags in the room we went out in search of dinner. This it turns out would be harder than expected.

We first went to the string of restaurants on the beach only to discover that no one had any food. Yup, no food. Apparently, the supply boat didn’t come in.

Los Roques is an archipelago located 100 miles off the north coast of Venezuela. It is made up of over 200 small islands only 42 of which have names. Gran Roque, the only inhabited island in Los Roques National Park, has 1,500 fulltime residents, 60 posadas, 2 vehicles (one for garbage and the other a tractor), 1 school, and two sources of food: the ocean and the boat. So, you can imagine that getting food and other supplies for all the residents plus the 400 or so tourists on the island is slightly more difficult and more dependent upon outside sources than most other places.

After being turned down at every restaurant we could find along the beach we found our way to the plaza where there was a small restaurant serving hamburgers, pasta, and a few other dishes to desperate tourists with no other food options.

And so ended Day 1 of our Venezuelan vacation: tire blow out upon landing in Los Roques where there was “no food” because the boat hadn’t come in.

Left prop

Up, up, and away

Coral reef sighted

First sight of Gran Roque

Bumpy landing

Day 2: Nordesky, Krasky, and Aquaman’s Debut
First I should give a basic overview of what a typical day in Los Roques was like. They each followed the same basic pattern with the major differences being the islands visited during the day.

Breakfast was served at 8:00am in the small common area of Ranchito Power. Ana made the breakfast each day which included the Venezuelan staple of corn arepas plus pancakes, bread, several jams, fresh fruit juice, cookies, cereal, eggs, a fruit plate, and coffee (coffee in Venezuela was delicious, on every street corner there was someone with a thermos of steaming hot coffee and a stack of small plastic cups selling for 10 cents a piece).

After breakfast everyone gets changed and ready for the beach and puts in lunch orders (most of the islands have no services and so the posadas pack a cooler full of sodas, snacks, and in our case, delicious salads and pastas for lunch each day). At 9:30am every morning about a dozen small motor boats leave from the dock of Gran Roque carrying 4-10 tourists to one of the over 200 islands within the Los Roques archipelago. During the day we would normally visit 2 to 4 different beaches with the day ending back in Gran Roque around 5:00pm. Once back on Gran Roque you make a dinner reservation (the posadas need to know by 5:30pm how many dinners they need to make) and then dinner is served around 7:00pm. After dinner there would usually be some planning for the next day (more planning in our case as we were also juggling meeting times back in Caracas, calling different people, sending emails, etc..) and then off to bed where sleep came quickly until the rising sun peeked in through the window the next morning.

But it was our second day in Los Roques and our first day going to the beaches that we got our first glimpse of what we would later call “Aquaman.”

Planning our trip to Los Roques required a lot of time and email exchanges with various people on Gran Roque and we did a lot of internet searches on Los Roques and read the Lonely Planet (our guidebook on Venezuela) section of Los Roques a minimum of ten times. Below are a few snippets from said section:

1. “Gorgeous white-sand beaches, clear turquoise waters, amazing snorkeling and diving…”
2. “This idyllic collection of small coral islands harbors rich coral reefs comes virtually unspoiled.”
3. “…scorching sun and dazzlingly blue skies…”
4. “…250 unnamed islets, sandbars and cays scattered around a crystal-clear, glittering lagoon brimming with marine life.”
5. “…these attractions all await hedonistic sunseekers in the stunningly beautiful tropical archipelago known as Los Roques.”

So, with all this in mind, guess which phrase stuck out to my dad in terms of planning his beach attire which would be worn at all times in and out of the water?....”scorching sun”. Fearing any contact with the sun (reminder, he lives in Arizona) his “swimming suit” consisted of the following:

1. Wide brimmed hat pulled down and tied off under his chin
2. Extra dark and wide sunglasses
3. Long sleeved shirt buttoned up and tucked into and tied to his pants
4. Long pants tucked into his adventure socks
5. Socks with Tevas (or snorkel fins when appropriate)

Now picture everyone else in the boat: bikini clad, speedo sporting Italians, bikini clad, speedo sporting Venezuelans, and bikini clad, speedo sporting travelers from around the world. Granted Mike and I were somewhere in between Aquaman and the magazine models but we did draw the line at socks.

So dressed for a safari in the savannas of Africa we set out for our first day of beaches and snorkeling in the Caribbean.

We boarded the small motor boat on the shores of Gran Roque and set out for Nordesky amid a sea of aquamarine, crystalline waters and beneath of sky of pure blue: it was in all honesty beyond words.

Nordesky was our first snorkeling stop and our first time stepping foot into the warm, clear waters of Los Roques. We saw a dozen sea turtles, some coral heads, angel fish, and untold numbers of other sea creatures. Aquaman proved that socks and snorkeling are not completely incompatible but did not have as much luck with the wide brimmed hat which proved to be a significant visual impediment not to mention choking hazard (that did not stop him from wearing it though). After an hour or so of snorkeling in Nordesky we got back on the boat and headed off to Krasky where we would spend the rest of the day.

When we first pulled up to Krasky it was one of those rare moments where you really think you must be dreaming. It was gorgeous: an empty white sand beach, blue waters, and a warm breeze.

The captain’s helper set up our umbrellas and chairs then left saying they would be back at 4:30pm. Full disclosure: Aquaman originally described this idyllic set-up as being part of Dante’s inferno. Fortunately, he eventually became a convert and geared up for a second round of snorkeling before lunch.

Krasky is one of the few islands that has a restaurant so we ate fish that was caught that morning in the shade of the covered patio then set out for some afternoon snorkeling before some serious floating a.k.a. lounging. Then at 4:30pm our boat reappeared, we packed up, and were magically whisked back to Gran Roque where we heard the supply boat had finally arrived and so made reservations at Bora la Mar, a restaurant right on the beach where we would end up eating most of our dinners.

Dinners on Los Roques always included fresh fish and some delicious side dish prepared by the posada owner. Marta, the owner of Bora la Mar, is from Spain but has lived on Gran Roque for 16 years. Apparently, she was the ninth posada to open on the island and as a result has one of the best locations, which is why we ended up eating there so often.

Tired and sunburnt I slept like a gran roque that night. Mike tired but not so sun burnt also slept well, though relatively cramped as he didn’t fit on the bed, and Aquaman pale as the day he was made slept soundly having outwitted the sun with his amazing Aquaman powers.

Day 3: Franciskys
Early the next morning Mike and I walked up to the lighthouse to take in our surroundings on what was one of the highest points on Gran Roque while Aquaman slept on out of reach of the sun’s first rays.

Breakfast was served at eight and by nine thirty we were back on the boat headed to Franciskys, one of the closest islands to Gran Roque with some of the best snorkeling in Los Roques. The open water was a little rough that day so all of the boats were staying close to the main island, but luckily Franciskys has a protected harbor with a fantastic reef inside of it. Ideal snorkeling for a windy day.

With umbrellas and chairs set up we set off for some more snorkeling. Full disclosure: Mike and I were both wearing pants this day after getting the backs of our legs relatively scorched from all of the snorkeling the day before. Aquaman was of course fully clad in his superhuman attire.

The rest of the day went as follows: snorkel, lunch, float, snorkel, float, float. Vacation’s tough but somebody has to do it.

Day 4: Boca de Medio, Madrizqui, Scuba, and some British Commentary
Our fourth day started with a hike up to the lighthouse on Gran Roque. From the lighthouse we could see several of the islands we had gone to already and a few that we would go to in the following days.

After breakfast Aquaman and I walked Mike down to the dock where his scuba-diving boat was waiting. Mike started fiddling with the gear immediately as the Colombian dive master double checked Mike’s scuba knowledge. Apparently, passing the scuba knowledge test Mike and a honeymooning couple from Switzerland set out for a day of scuba-ing i.e. two, hour long dives in what was later described as “absolutely amazing” diving conditions.

Aquaman and I set out for a slightly less adventurous adventure with an older English couple that happened to be the only two other people on the boat with us that day. Our day trip included four stops: Estrellas marinas, boca del medio, snorkel time, and finally Madrizqui. We didn’t bring the camera with us because of an earlier sand scare but you can by this time imagine the blue water and white sand without visual assistance.

The snorkeling on this trip was slightly different than our previous snorkeling engagements as we jumped off the boat into open water as opposed to arriving at a beach and snorkeling from there. While the getting off the boat posed no significant problems for myself nor Aquaman (thank you gravity) getting back on the boat was a slightly different story (thanks to gravity).

I had the advantage of being relatively slight and therefore was pulled back on board by the English man and the captain’s helper. My dad however was left to his own devices and was further hindered by a lot of drag from his superhero outfit. To his credit he was back onboard relatively quickly at which point the English woman commented, “what you lacked in elegance you made up for in efficiency.” At this point I assume you can also imagine what Aquaman’s embarkation looked like without visual assistance, although video footage would have been quite comical.

We met Mike (who was sleeping in the hammock when we arrived back in Gran Roque) exchanged stories (Mikes included a fifteen minute dance with a gang of social squid) and headed off for dinner and mojitos. Again, vacation is really tough.

Bocce in the street

Day 5: Cayo de Agua, Biological Station, Espenky, Multi-purpose Tevas, and Bravo!
Back together again we headed off for another full day of snorkeling and general Caribbean enjoyment, this time under the tutelage of Friedman, a Jamaican-Polish resident of Los Roques.

First stop Cayo de Agua, a gorgeous string of white sand connected by a sand spit to another gorgeous string of white sand. We started off with another new type of snorkeling: the drift snorkel. A drift snorkel means, in this case, you walk up the beach past some mangroves to an entry point. Then you let the current take you back to your umbrella and chairs while admiring the beautiful coral reef beneath you, all without the need to kick even a little. Unfortunately, we were advised of the drift nature of the snorkel a little late in the walk and so Mike and I left a few things in the trail that we would come back for after the snorkel. My dad realized even later the nature of the snorkel and so ended up at the entry point with his Tevas.

Never fear for Aquaman has an aquatic solution for everything. And so that is how my dad became the first person ever to snorkel with socks on under the fins, long pants, a long sleeved shirt tied to the pants and buttoned up to the neck, a wide brimmed hat with chin string, goggles, a snorkel, and Tevas attached to his hands as paddles. Needless to say Friedman decided not to take us snorkeling near the sharks on the other side of the island as had been earlier planned; apparently the sight of Aquaman strikes fear (or perhaps signals easy prey) to sharks.

Next stop: Biological Station! At the Biological Station we got to see dozens of sea turtles that are being raised for later release into the wild. Since only 1 in a 1000 sea turtles makes it to adulthood and humans think turtle eggs are aphrodisiacs, sea turtles are in a tight spot. So, this station gathers up baby sea turtles, cares for them for a year, and then releases them back into the wild hopefully with a higher chance of survival. We tried to buy a shirt for Mike while we were there but Mike is still quite tall for Venezuela and so we left with nothing but our memories and some fresh coconut to remind us of the sea turtles of Los Roques.

Our last stop for the day was Espenky where Aquaman and Mike set off for another snorkel while I floated happily in the oh-so-warm waters of the Caribe.

I would like to say that nothing else noteworthy happened that day and that your last image for our fifth day would be that of me dozing in the gentle waves of the sea. However, Aquaman had one last surprise in store for us…and everyone else on the boat…and for that matter everyone back on the dock at Gran Roque as well.

The boat ride from Espenky back to Gran Roque probably took about 20 minutes. Mike and I were seated on one side of the boat toward the back and several bikini clad, speedo sporting Italian tourists further up the boat was my dad.

About ten minutes into the ride my dad stood up and did what can best be described as a little dance: several quick steps in place. He then sat down without looking back at any of the other passengers. Everyone on the boat, including Mike and myself, was a little confused but not too surprised by Aquaman’s display due to his recent history of erratic and unpredictable behaviors. Five minutes later he gets up again and does the same thing. Again, no real surprise coming from Aquaman but still a little perplexing.

Then it seems that all would end well. The dock was in view, the boat had slowed down and in less than a minute we would be safely docked back on Gran Roque. Little did we know Aquaman had a gran finale in store.

About twenty feet from the dock, with the boat still motoring at a decent velocity, my dad stood up, stepped onto the ledge of the boat, and launched himself into the blue waters of the Caribbean.

This did in fact surprise everyone on the boat…for about two full seconds (Friedman almost successfully caught him mid leap). Then, the entire boat (mostly Italian) broke into simultaneous applause and shouts of “Bravo! Bravo!”

When we reached the dock the comments ranged from “Tu suegro esta loco” (Your father-in-law is crazy) from the Venezuelan tour organizer to “Your father is fantastic” in English from the Chilean biking model.

I wish I could share with you the visual of my dad jumping overboard that I will have imprinted in my brain forever as well as the tears of laughter that didn’t stop for a good fifteen minutes but alas the camera was stowed safely away and so your imagination will have to suffice to piece together Aquaman’s grand disembarkation. We did however manage to capture a few shots of him swimming back to shore afterwards.

Any guesses to the motives behind Aquaman’s jump? Perhaps he wanted to live carelessly? Perhaps he saw a sunken treasure? Maybe, he just wanted to know what it felt like to jump off a moving vehicle with a crowd of onlookers? Or, maybe it was just nature calling a little too strongly at the most convenient moment that would present itself within very narrow time restrictions.

So, that was how day five ended: my dad jumping overboard. Well, at least I wasn’t in middle school otherwise the trauma inflicted from such a public display of bizarre dad behavior would have been incurable.

Stay seated

Gotta go...but the boat´s still moving too fast

Day 6: Boca de Cote, Lobster Shack, Estrellas Marinas (Esparky), Pelona de Rabusky and Umbrella Trouble
Our sixth day in paradise took us on our biggest snorkel adventure. We set out for Boca de Cote, an area where Los Roques opens up into the sea. This was both a drift snorkel and an open water snorkel. For over an hour we floated along with the current above a virtual garden of coral and aquarium of sea life that started at about 5 feet below the surface and then quickly dropped down into the deep, deep blue.

After boarding the boat (this time slightly more gracefully than the last time) we made a stop at the Lobster Shack. The Lobster Shack is barely a building, constructed in the middle of the water (shallow though it may be) where six months out of the year fishermen live and fish. What do they fish you ask, well lobster of course! However, the lobster season doesn’t begin until mid-November so we just got to hang around and take a dip in the surrounding waters.

The third stop of the day was Esparky where thousands of giant starfish hang out in the shallows. The captain’s helper found a live conch and then made it into a snack for everyone floating around i.e. us. For the seafood to be any fresher you would literally have to eat it underwater as we were up to our shoulders in the water where the conch was caught, killed, prepared, and served. Yummy!

Our last stop brought us to Pelona de Rabusky the smallest island we had yet to step foot on. The island had been recommended to us as great snorkeling spot because the it is actually surrounded by a continuous coral ring, and as it turns out was also inhabited by a group of flamencos. Due to its tiny size (your driveway is probably bigger than this island) the three of us circumnavigated the Pelona de Rabusky almost without incident.

This time however it was Mike not Aquaman who was the perpetrator. Mike, being the ever inquisitive individual that he is, noticed a small pile of cartilaginous skeletons about ten feet down resting next to a bed of coral. And Mike, being the apt swimmer and diver that he is, decided to dive down and get a closer look. Upon arrival at the pile of carcasses, I mean cartilaginous skeletons; Mike thought to himself, “Hmmm, I wonder what did this?” He then turned his gaze away from the coral and out to the deep blue sea trying to imagine what carnivorous beast, I mean predator, could have done this. It was at that moment when he turned his head full of inquisitive thoughts that he saw a giant baracuda grinning directly at him while he was holding the remains of its former meals!

Mike of course ditched the carcasses and began to swim away only to see that the baracuda was chasing him! Luckily Mike was close to shallow water and the baracuda wasn’t actually interested in attacking, I mean persuing, Mike as he was only defending his territory. Note for the non-snorkeler/diver: Baracudas are big and have an ominous dentition to put it lightly. They usually linger near divers and are known to startle, but not to pursue. I guess this time was an exception.

Needless to say we didn’t snorkel any more that day.

However, back on shore Aquaman was up to his own mischief. Having arrived back at the beach before Mike and I, he noticed that the sun had shifted and decided to shift the umbrella accordingly without taking into consideration the prevailing wind. After considerable fidgeting with the umbrella the top half snapped off. Under normal circumstances not a big deal. However, we have to remember that on a National Lampoon Venezuelan Vacation with Aquaman, circumstances are never normal. On this particular day there was quite a bit of wind and so the umbrella went flying off at considerable speed stopping only after crashing into the bikini clad, speedo sporting couple that was set up twenty yards from us. Luckily, no harm was done and the speedo sporting Brazilian kindly returned the stray umbrella to Aquaman.

The boat ride home saw no men, or Aquamen overboard, and we ended the day at Bora la Mar with another mojito, plenty of good cheer, and swordfish that was caught that morning.

Off to snorkel

Don´t look back

Flamencos

Day 7: Cayo (Isla) Muerto and The Hitchhiker, to Valencia and Hot Springs
Our last day in Los Roques we went to Cayo Muerto, a little sand bar surrounded by crystalline waters in what was really an idyllic setting.

Though I haven’t yet mentioned it, another comment in the Los Roques section of the Lonely Planet guidebook mentions the presence of sand flies on the islands. My dad had been taking special care to avoid being victim to these menacing foes, and to his credit left Los Roques without one sand fly bite. Whether that was due to over-use of Deet, or a diminished and/or less active sand fly population is still up for debate. However, on our last day walking to the boat that would take us to Cayo Muerto, our last island, Aquaman starting complaining about a light stinging sensation on his leg. He didn’t seem particularly alarmed and not in that much discomfort so we continued to the dock.

We arrived on Cayo Muerto about ten minutes later, had or umbrellas and chairs set up, took lots of pictures, admired the waves breaking out on the distant reef, and were settling in for some big time floating when my dad complained again of stinging on his leg. At this point he un-tucked his pants from his socks (yes, the outfit was virtually impenetrable by bugs and sun alike), gave his leg a little shake, and out fell a scorpion! A scorpion had been in his pant leg for just over an hour at this point biting and stinging my dad’s leg. Fortunately, it was a large scorpion (less venomous and less prone to sting) and Aquaman was fine, if not a little stung up…but hey, at least it wasn’t those pesky sand flies 

Several hours of snorkeling and floating later our boat came to pick us up and take us back to Gran Roque for the last time.

Our flight left at 5:00pm (the Sundance was back in commission by that time) so we spent the last few hours in a frenzy trying to get more money on a tiny island in the middle of the Caribbean. Luckily, we were not the first to run into this predicament and a nice lady showed up with a credit card swiping machine and a boxful of cash to help us out. Her name was Carolina, but we like to think of her as a walking ATM.

Our flight was late in arriving, and we were rushed onto the plane by 5:30 (lucky thing because had the flight been delayed more it would have been cancelled as, mentioned earlier, there are no lights on the runway and so no flights arrive or depart after sunset).

In Caracas we were met by our driver who whisked us off to Valencia where upon arrival we went straight to the thermal pools outside our hotel room door to de-stress after six days of relaxation. The theme of National Lampoons Venezuelan Vacation continued even on the mainland as instead of going into the geothermal hot springs we instead immersed ourselves in a pool that was undergoing a chemical maintenance causing the night staff to come out and help protect us from ourselves by ushering us out of the chlorine dip and into the hot springs. WalleyWorld here we come!

Yin and yang

Into the deep

Grace and Elegance

Day 8: Arepas, Zoo, Arepa Mansion, Meetings, and To Caracas
Breakfast in Valencia was perhaps the most delicious breakfast we had on our trip (see pictures) partly because it was authentic Venezuelan fare rather than a delicious breakfast that we would be likely to serve ourselves at home. Arepas, corn flour patties, are served at almost every meal and are absolutely tasty. Breakfast consisted of two arepas, scrambled eggs, spicy shredded beef, black beans, cheese, fresh fruit juice, and good coffee. Yum and yum!

That morning we went to the zoo where we were given a personal tour of all sorts of neat Venezuelan critters, all of whom had been rescued and as such could not return to the wild. The river dolphin show however was closed since one of the stars had just recently given birth. Also the snake exhibit was closed because you have to pass the dolphins to reach the serpents. That was all fine with us though since introducing Chevy Chase to venomous snakes seemed like it would be testing our luck a little bit too much. Luckily the Orinoco crocodile cage and the piranha tank were also well out of our reach.

Lunch was…you guessed it, more arepas at the Mansion de Arepas where the arepas come stuffed with whatever your heart desired served with fresh fruit juice. Then it was off to some meetings and then back to Caracas.

Day 9: Meetings, Teleferico, Gualipan, and Jeep to Macuto
Caracas was filled with lots of delicious food (including freshly made donuts on every corner and mango served with salt, vinager, and curry), extremely nice people, and lots and lots of traffic.

In the afternoon we took the teleferico (an elevated cable car) over a giant hill that separates Caracas from the coast. We then took a short jeep ride to Gualipan where we snacked on fruit served with cream and bollitos (kind of like a tamale) until another jeep came to drive us down to Macuto.

Macuto is the nearest nice town to the airport and lucky for us out hotel was located right next door to a delicious tasca. I know it sounds like we already had a lot to eat today but that was nothing compared to dinner: garlic bread, lobster bisque, prosciutto with cheese and olives, wine, and to top it off enough asopada de mariscos to feed at least a dozen people (though the menu said it served only two). In fact, it was so much asopada that Mike couldn’t finish it. So, we took it home. Yep, I carried it through customs in Venezuela, Colombia (where we had a seven hour layover), and Ecuador. Boy, was it tasty!

Day 10: To the Airport, Duty Free Extravaganza, Bogota Layover, Van to Sayausi
Our last day started almost as early as it could have with a wakeup call at 2:30am and a cab waiting for us at 3:00am.

Our flight left at 6:15am for Bogota and my dad’s flight left at 6:25am for the EEUU (although, not surprisingly, American Airlines was boarding passengers well before Avianca was). However, after all the money changing madness we still had Bolivars to spare and no where to change them….at a decent rate at least. So, we had a last minute shopping spree in the duty free store at the airport that opened up just in time. I am pleased to say that several pounds of Venezuelan chocolate and coffee were acquired as a result.

Then of course it was time to bid farewell to Aquaman. It was a wonderful trip, certainly unforgettable, and loads of fun! Thanks to Aquaman and the resulting National Lampoon’s Venezuelan Vacation!

The Yapa
Mike and I ended up with seven hours to kill in Bogota so instead of waiting in the airport we changed some Bolivar fuertes to Colombian pesos, got a cab to the center of town, and hit the streets and the market. We spent the morning walking around the Centro Historico, admiring balconies and doorways, picking up a few souvenirs in the nearby market, watching a military parade, and getting a great lunch to complement the other Colombian snacks we were enjoying. Not a bad little extra.

After lunch it was back to the airport for the return flight to Guayaquil and then a four hour van ride up and over the 14,000 foot continental divide to get us back to Sayausi. A vacation well spent!

“El Deporte es para Unir”

2009-10-19T14:27:00.002-04:00

October 18, 2009
Sunday, 8:00am
Mostly cloudy, 62

Campeones y Campeonas
The past month has been one filled with sports-reel worthy highlights starring, of course, me, Mike, and I guess our teammates. Below is a play-by-play of how Mike got a giant trophy and how I got a second, though slightly smaller, trophy as well. Not that trophies matter because as Doña Delia (captain of my indor team) said during the trophy presentation "el deporte es para unir".

Basket
As you already know Mike has been playing in the Liga Deportiva de Sayausi basketball league with Darwin (the husband of Maira my futbol captain), David (the owner of the local asador where we buy delicious roasted chicken and Mike gets lunch with his coworkers), and Enrique (David’s cousin), Juan Pablo and Miguel (Enrique’s brothers and therefore also David’s cousins), Lucho (who used to be a ref in Sayausi), and Dani (their tall friend who has a three old son named Koby…yes, he is named after Koby Bryant).

This dynamic octet make up the Sayausi Huracanes; almost undefeated in league play except for two losses for just not showing up and a third against their nemesis (ok, they’re not really a nemesis but another really good team in the league…but it’s so much more dramatic if they are referred to as “nemesis”) where they had to play a man short for half the game. The second time the Huracanes faced off against their age-old nemesis Ciudadela Alvarez the Huracanes one by two points made by none other than the one, the only, Miguelito Carbone. Yes, it was quite the showing: fouled in the last second on a lay-up in a tied the game, sent to the foul line Miguelito sank both shots to win the game!

So, the Huracanes were off to the semifinals where they would face off against Anthrax. Anthrax had invited Mike to play with them before the season started (they are all from the family we spent Carnaval with and the same family of Gladys whose wedding we went to where her sixty-plus father Don Manuel dragged me out of the bathroom line to dance to “Moscow” a fifteen minute dance mix that is what you think Russian Disco music would sound like…yes, there was lots of kicking legs and crossed arms). The only member of Team Anthrax that is not related to Don Manuel and company is a man referred to as Rambo. Rambo is 5 foot 3 inches tall with giant muscled arms and legs (yes, he looks like a mini-Rambo) and is rumored to have killed a man in Brazil using a headlock. Whether or not there is any truth to this or not, he definitely has anger management issues.

However, not even Rambo could stop the Huracanes. The defeat of Anthrax was absolute with a point differential higher than their total score. And so it was that the Huracanes made it to the finals where they would tip-off against none other than their age old rival, their arch-nemesis Ciudadela Alavarez!

The Huracanes took an early lead in the first quarter only to give it away completely in the second. In the third quarter the Huracanes made a slow recovery that left them within several points of Alvarez going into the fourth and final quarter. In the fourth the score vacillated between tied and one team or the other with a one point advantage. Then, it was as if father time had turned back the date to the Huracanes previous meeting with Alvarez. Time was out, the score was tied, Miguelito went for a lay-up, was fouled, and sent to the line. At this point, however, I think father time lost interest. There he was at the line the game in his hands; all he had to do was make one of the two foul shots. Bounce, bounce, shot…brick!! The crowd groans. Bounce, bounce, shot…nothing but rim!! The ref blows the whistle and regular time is out. The score is tied and overtime looms.

I don’t remember all of the details of overtime (I was rather worked up and closed my eyes for a large portion of it). However, I do remember that Miguelito partially redeemed himself with two blocked shots and seven points. And when the five minutes were over the Huracanes were the champions of Sayausi! And truth be told, Miguelito may have more than partially redeemed himself as he was given the team trophy at the prize ceremony and encouraged to take it back to the US with us when we leave.

So, all ended well in Sayausi for the Huracanes and they spent the night toasting their victory and eating tasty roasted chicken at (where else?) David’s Restaurant where Miguelito insisted the trophy stay so that all could bask in its plastic-gold light.

Nice Rebound, Migi

Nice Layup, Migi

El Himno Nacional

And the trophy goes to...

Indor
The campeonato in Ingapirca, a tiny barrio about 30 minutes up the hill from our apartment, came to an end this past weekend. What started in April, had a two month break in July and August due to fallen trees on the field, concluded with the finals this Saturday. And who you may ask won? Well, Buenos Aires Jr. of course in a stunning 2-1 victory against Galaxia during which I scored no goals but did get a yellow card and then less than a minute later an awesome strawberry on my belly…the result of a foul against me that resulted in a yellow card for the other team (though it should have been a red as I was tripped from behind on a breakaway).

And what may you ask, are the prizes given to the champions of such a prestigious tournament: a trophy, medals, and $300 in cash! And what does a team do with that much cash….buy new uniforms and pay the registration fees for the next tournament! In fact, today (the day after winning) I am marching in the inauguration for the Liga Deportiva de Sayausi wearing the new uniforms for the next tournament which is the same tournament that we came in first two years ago and third last year. The trophy (my second in as many years), which I was given for acompanando the team, is not as big as Mike’s but it does have lots of ribbons.

The Finals

Ra, Ra, Ra, Buenos Aires!

El Deporte es para unir

Show me the money

Goodnight, Chickens

The Trophy Shelf

The Inaugauracion

Procession not related to the Inaugauracion

Judging the Madrinas

La Seleccion
The World Cup qualifiers have come to end and so has Ecuador’s chance to participate in it. Ecuador qualified for the last two World Cups but these were also then only times they had ever qualified for it.

For the last few months they have been in a tight race to finish fourth or fifth in South America and for each game they played in pursuit of a spot in the 2010 World Cup everyone (and many pets) in Ecuador donned yellow jerseys and hung flags from their windows in support of their team.

Dressed to Impress...

However, their journey to South Africa was significantly hindered when they lost to Uruguay last Saturday in Quito. When they then lost in Chile on Wednesday their chance officially ended.

Maybe next time 

On a related note, Miguelito is pretty excited about Honduras qualifying for the second time ever in their history! (although he can’t find a Honduras jersey anywhere in Cuenca)

Entrenando
A few months ago I was invited to join a soccer team that would practice, something unheard of in women’s soccer in Sayausi. So, we have been practicing Saturday mornings on a small, mostly grass field down by the river for a tournament that starts in November. The team is made up of girls from Sayausi, most of who are from the team that beat us in the semifinals this past year…go figure.

Mudville
I also had two games this weekend on what was the first official day of the rainy season. All things considered I got off easy...

Flowers
The hydrangeas in our window boxes are starting to bloom. They all but died when we went to Peru for 10 days back in July and so it is quite exciting to have them doing well, so well in fact that they are flowering!

Don Jimmy
My dad is coming to visit! For a sneak preview of where we will be heading try doing a Google Image search for “Los Roques, Venezuela” 

Zamora, Yungpamba, y Trabajo

2009-09-22T16:42:00.004-04:00

September 21, 2009
Monday
8:41am, Cloudy 60
Sayausi

Project Update
Our last two posts have focused on travel (Peru and Conejo), but believe it or not sometimes we actually get some work done as well. Here is a little taste of some of the projects (at least the ones with pictures) we’ve been working on for the last few months:

Me
World Map
Over summer vacation I led a group of six or so students (age 5-12) in a World Map Project. Making a World Map is a sort of rite of passage in Peace Corps as many volunteers end up making one at some point in their service. They are usually made on giant surfaces and show all of the countries in the world. However, due to limited wall space (we were given the area above the bathroom sinks to work with) at the school, the world map we ended up making was a slightly modified version. Below is a brief overview of the three week endeavor that was the World Map of Bella Vista de Sayausi.

1.) Attempt to make a square (our first square turned out to be not quite a square).
2.) Paint the entire surface blue (thereby covering up the not-so-square square).
3.) Make another square that was actually square (a level turned out to be key).
4.) Make a grid (56 little squares by 24 little squares, it was nice to just be supervising for all of this).
5.) Number squares and divide big grid into 18 smaller grids.
6.) Practice drawing by grid with several worksheets (to figure out who could draw by grid and who would have more of an assisting role).
7.) Start drawing the continents on the grid (we ended up doing continents plus Ecuador instead of all the countries as our space was limited).
8.) Keep drawing the continents on the grid.
9.) Finish drawing continents on the grid.
10.) Mix paint for each of the continents.
11.) Paint the continents.
12.) Let paint dry.
13.) Touch up paint and let dry again.
14.) Outline continents with permanent marker.
15.) Touch up paint on continents, again.
16.) Decide what to do with the area surrounding the map.
17.) Divide area surrounding the map into seven sections and paint each section according to the color of each of the seven continents.
18.) Draw endangered animals from each continent in the color coded sections surrounding the map.
19.) Mix the paint for the 20+ animals.
20.) Paint the 20+ animals.
21.) Outline the 20+ animals with permanent marker.
22.) Touch up paint for the 20+ animals.
23.) Put labels on continents and animals.
24.) Re-paint the oceans on the map.
25.) Take lots of pictures of the finished product.

So, that was basically what happened in the course of the three weeks of the World Map. During this time there were countless cookie breaks and singing of Michael Jackson songs. Oh, I also left out that before any of this happened, Jairo (a seven year old who was an eager participant every single day of the project) offered to clean out the sink so that the kids could stand in it to reach the wall that we would be working on. There must have been some sort of pampamesa party a couple of weeks beforehand as there was all sorts of soggy, rotting food in the sink. I would also like to point out that Jairo volunteered to help and not once made any complaint about the smell (which was bad) or the texture (which was gross, as you can imagine). So with two tops from cut up coke bottles we scooped up all the filth; me holding my breath and Jairo attempting to sing “Beat It.” Throughout the making of the World Map Jairo liked to mention just how dirty the sink was before we started and what a good job we did cleaning it up.

Lastly, I would love to take credit for how great the map looks, but I was merely the supervisor and my tangible contributions to the map only included a second coat of paint on Antarctica and a second coat of paint on the orange section surrounding the map. Lady, Bryan, Marcelo, Justin, Jairo, and Anita did the grand majority of the work with help from half a dozen other students who showed up for a couple of days during the project. I barely touched it!

The Director of the school has asked me and my crew to do another mural once the school year starts (this one of Ecuador and its provinces) and CEDI (the preschool nearby) also asked if we could do a mural for them sometime this year. Who knew murals would be such a hit?

The Making of a Mapa Mundial

PL-480
Another rite of passage for the Peace Corps Volunteers seems to be the writing of a PL-480 grant. I have started working with a group in Bellavista de Sayausi called the Sistema de Riego de Minas, a group that is trying to encourage people with livestock in the nearby watershed to adopt other forms of agriculturally related income thereby protecting the town’s water source and providing a more sustainable source of income. In June we started working on a PL-480 grant to solicit funding to build a community greenhouse that would serve as a working model for the residents of Bellavista, provide additional fruits and vegetables to the local school for the kiddies lunches, and a small income to the Padres de Familia that would maintain the greenhouse in collaboration with the Sistema de Riego. Needless to say the process is long and trying to schedule meetings with members of the Sistema de Riego is more challenging than you might think. However, we are almost done with the first draft and hopefully in the next week or so we will be able to submit the proposal for initial review.

Garden
I have also started a garden at our neighbors house (apartment living has its drawbacks) and have successfully grown turnip greens, romaine lettuce, and arugula. Our neighbors were of course very interested in these strange looking vegetables as the turnip greens didn’t look like the turnip greens that they grow (and so they called it nabo extranno i.e. foreign or strange turnip greens), the lettuce they decided was the fifth type of lettuce (apparently there are six though there used to be only two), and the arugula was likened to spinach just much more bitter and therefore deemed to be good for the liver. While this garden has some selfish motives behind it (Mike and I love fresh greens), our neighbors have taken interest in what we are up to, they are trying new vegetables, and they even took some of the harvest to the market to sell!

I just cleaned out the remains of the first cosecha (harvest) and replanted with more arugula (yum!), more strange lettuce (a mesculin mix), sugar snap peas, greens beans, squash, chives, and kohlrabi. We’ll see how the neighbors react to those (assuming they grow)!

The Fruits(or Veggies) of My Labor

Mike
Busy as always at Parque Nacional Cajas, these past few months have been more critter filled than previous ones.

Baby Deer
A month or so ago a dead baby deer was found in a well. Recently dead, dead by drowning, and preserved in the icy waters of Cajas, Mike and the other Biologist Pancho decided to try out their taxidermy and butchering skills (Mike observed how to stuff a fox at the local university a few months ago).

Mike and Pancho skinned, cleaned, and upon Mike’s suggestion grilled a baby deer (Mike also brought home two bags of baby deer meat and has since made venison stew, roasted ribs, and has plans to roast the baby deer leg that is still in our freezer). An amusing side note: the park staff reacted to eating deer the same way most gringos react to eating cuy for the first time, “Gross! I can’t believe people actually eat this. I really can’t believe that I’m eating this.”

The stuffed deer will eventually be displayed in the museo that Mike and Pancho are working on.

Dead Condor
A nearby resident of Cajas called in to say he had spotted a recently dead Andean condor and so Mike and Pancho made plans to hike out into the middle of the park to find out which of the six individuals that inhabit the park it might be, and to get this lovely specimen for display in the up and coming museo.

However, the caller was vague about the location (we think he may have wanted a condor specimen of his own) and so the trek to find the dead condor was eventually abandoned…I guess that means no condor stew, too bad.

Sapos
The Park recently approved the construction of a frog hatchery to counter the rapid decline of the park’s amphibian population. So, Mike went out along with the park guards to learn how to capture the frogs and what happens to them in the nursery once they are captured.

Aves
In June there was a group of ornithologists from the University of Stonybrook working on a dissertation project in Cajas. They were setting up mistnets to catch and tag birds for four full days as part of a four year study (coming down once a year for four years). Mike, being the skilled biologist that he is, was invited to help out with the study which meant for four days Mike and this group of ornithologists (two Ecuadorians, one Colombian, and one gringa) sat around tagging cute little humming birds, a mochuelo (an Andean pygmy owl), and all sorts of other pretty little birds that fell into their nets while enjoying the beautiful (and exclusive) area of Mazan, an area that is off limits to tourists as it is a place for scientific studies and, I guess, Peace Corps Volunteers (I have been luck enough to visit Mazan and it really is quite beautiful).

Some Sort of Survey and a Map
Mike’s major project for the past few months and in all likelihood for next several months is the making of a reporting system for the parkguards to fill out while they are patrolling the the park. The information gathered from this system will serve as a tool to monitor park flora and fauna as well as aide in park management and direct future studies to be done in Cajas. Part of this project involves meeting with a bunch of computer programmers in Cuenca, so it’s a pretty fancy.

Additionally, Mike is working to redesign the park map to make it more tourist friendly i.e. to make the map useful as its current state is rather pathetic and doesn’t do any good for any tourist. This also involves some sort of fancy computer program and a really nice printer that died last week.

Let’s Go for a Walk
Just so everyone knows, on a nice day (i.e. small to no chance of hail storms) it is not unusual for Mike and Pancho (the other biologist) to decide to go for a hike: yup, just a hike. It’s a work day, but it’s nice out, so let’s go for a walk. Last time this happened, the two of them ended up finding a dozen horses in the park and had to heard them out of the park, on foot, for 3 miles of mountainous terrain. So, don’t worry it’s not all work and no play (if you count grilling deer and playing with birds work).

Life in Ecuador Update
And of course, there are still a lot of other little things going on that don’t fall specifically under the “work” category but more in the “general goings-on” category. Enjoy…we certainly did!

Zamora
Last week we and three other volunteers took a trip south and east to check out Parque Nacional Podocarpus. The park entrance is located 8km up a washed out dirt road, outside of Zamora (the first automobile reached this “city” in 1962), a city two hours southeast of Loja which is 5 hours south of Cuenca. So, if you followed that at all, we traveled the farthest South we have yet to be in Ecuador i.e. seven hours south of Cuenca, and dropped down into the Amazon basin.

We left early Monday morning, and after descending more than 6,000 vertical feet, were in the park by four o’clock in the afternoon. Upon our arrival in the park (which required a half hour hike uphill in the warm, humid climate) we immediately changed into swimsuits and headed to the nearby swimming hole i.e. a beautiful, yet cold, river surrounded by jungle on all sides. The lower part of Podocarpus (where we were) is made up of the last few hills that the icy Andean water has to wind through before reaching the Amazon.

Since Mike and I didn’t have a tent we stayed in the “main” office in the room where the park guard on duty usually sleeps. Remember, to get here you have to walk a half hour into the jungle after taking the landslide covered dirt road for an hour from a city that is still waiting for a paved road to connect it to the outside. Luckily, the parkguard wasn’t staying that night, or the next one, so we would have the office to ourselves….kind of. The park office, or more aptly put small rickety cabin in the middle of a tropical forest, was literally crawling with all sorts of critters as soon as the sun went down. We were very appreciative that the parkguard left us his mosquito net and we made sure to tuck it in really tight!

The next day we went for a hike in the morning up to the Mirador (and when I say we hiked up, I mean we hiked up, and up, and up). Being sufficiently soaked with sweat, we headed back to the river after the hike. Then, being sufficiently cooled down we went for another hike that followed the river farther into the surround forest.

Zamora is known as “The City of Birds and Waterfalls.” This second hike we went on certainly proved the aforementioned slogan. We saw tons and tons of birds and almost as many waterfalls. Needless to say it was a gorgeous hike.

Not surprisingly we were again soaking wet from the hike and headed off to a different swimming hole with notably warmer water. This swimming hole was small but included a waterfall that you could dunk your head into to get pounded clean. After basking in the waterfall and drip drying in a patch of sun, we snacked, ate dinner, made smores, and then went to bed, trying not to think about (or listen to) all the critters that were scavenging for our fallen crumbs.

Our last morning in the park Mike and I hiked back up to the Mirador, returned soaking wet, and headed straight for the river.

When we got back to the cabin a couple of Ecuadorians from the Ministerio de Turismo had arrived and were thrilled to see a group of gringos lounging about. As such we were invited to star in their government sponsored video promoting tourism in Southern Ecuador and Northern Peru. The project (Peace Tourism) is in collaboration with the government of Peru to make up for the fact that the two countries, until quite recently, were at war over a small piece of forest not too far from where we were camped. It took a little over an hour for them to get all the shots they wanted of us posing with orchids, taking pictures, and hiking with our big gringo backpacks. They promised to mail us a copy of the finished product, and even better, they gave us a free lift back into Zamora.

Back in Zamora we grabbed lunch with another volunteer who lives there (we were going to get the local specialty: frog legs, but upon seeing the cost opted for hamburgers instead) and then hopped on a bus heading back to the cool mountain breezes of the sierra.

Waterfalls, Birds, and Mucho Màs

Leafcutter Ants I

Leafcutter Ants II

Leafcutter Ants III

Leafcutter Ants IV

Yungapamba
This past weekend I was invited to play in a soccer tournament in Yungapamba. The captain of the pink team that I play on in San Miguel de Sayausi knows the son of a guy who wanted to sponsor a women’s team in this tournament and so that’s how Mike and I ended up in Yungapamba i.e. a hillside in the middle of nowhere.

So my teammates, their cute little kids, myself and Mike left early Saturday morning in a pickup truck taxi that took us to a market in Cuenca where this sponsor bought us shoes and where we got on a private school bus to take us the rest of the way.

When we arrived in Yungapamba we were given our uniforms (pants, jersey with our name printed on the back, warm up jacket, hat, and socks) which we were told to immediately change into (on the bus of course) before we headed to the actual site of the fiestas of Yungapamba.

An hour or so after our arrival there was a procession, followed by dancing, followed by the Sport Inauguration. The Inauguration, as we have seen before, involved each of the teams marching accompanied by their madrina (cute girl all dressed up) and then standing in rows while the judges picked best uniform (which we won and were therefore given twelve beers as a prize) and the best madrina (our madrina did not win). Shortly thereafter the games started.

We won our first and only game on Saturday 2-1. Then we sat around and watched the men’s soccer team that was also sponsored by the same man who sponsored our team (a supposed multimillionaire of Yungapamba origin but who now lives in Guayaquil). By then it was close to four in the afternoon so we piled into a pickup truck for the two hour sunset ride back to Sayausi.

Sunday morning we were back in Yungapamba by nine o’clock in the morning for the first of what would be two games. We won the first game 5-0 and the second game 1-0 to come in first place and win $70. We then piled back into the pickup truck to make it back to Sayausi to play in yet another game (the red team in Ingapirca de Buenos Aires de Sayausi). Then, after scoring three goals in my third game of the day, I pretty much collapsed from exhaustion.

Soccer-mania...In the Middle of Nowhere

Chuspi
Chsupi has also been working on a few things over these past months and we thought we would share her accomplishments with all of you. Behold, the amazing Chuspi!

Catch

Catch II

Intercept

Intercept II

Kick

Kick II

Kick III

Attack

Hunt, Catch, and Eat

Dàme la mano

Dàme la mano II

Read

Read, Chuspi, Read

Write

It`s Hard to Train a Cat

El Conejo en Ecuador (Jim in Ecuador)

2009-08-31T10:29:00.003-04:00

August 29, 2009
Saturday
8:34am
Sayausi
Cloudy, 60

(Note to our loyal followers: For some unknown reason the email alert for our blog is not behaving in as reliable of a manner as it should. Please spread the word amongst yourselves that a new post is up. Thanks.)

Jim in Ecuador
My brother came to visit last week, during which time he was awarded the nickname “Conejo” or “Rabbit” (explanation to follow). Of course we did many things, met many people, and had an absolutely fantastic time. Below is a day-by-day account of the Conejo’s visit in Ecuador!

The Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Guayaquil and bus to Sayausi
Day 2: Cuenca
Day 3: Cajas
Day 4: Cuenca again
Day 5: The art of paseando and futbol
Day 6: Cuy lunch and more futbol
Day 7: Ingapirca and Cuenca
Day 8: To the coast!
Day 9: Isla de la Plata and bus to Guayaquil
Day 10: Depart Guayaquil and back to Michigan

Arrival: 18-August 2009
Jim’s plane was scheduled to arrive at 8:30pm on Tuesday night. Mike and I left Sayausi around two o’clock in the afternoon on a bus that for trip entertainment featured several Jackie Chan movies. Many flying kicks and poorly translated one-liners later we arrived in the Guayaquil bus terminal where we took a taxi to the Guayaquil airport (in the daytime it is safe to walk the one block from the bus terminal to the airport but once the sunsets all moving about is done in taxi).

The airport was packed! Granted this isn’t anything unusual as entire families go to the airport to meet arriving family members or see off departing family. No joke, for every arriving passenger in Ecuador there are at least five to twenty people waiting for them in the airport, which makes for a very festive atmosphere. Even though we were only two strong we did our best to make a contribution…and we had a lot of time to do so as Jim’s flight was delayed two hours.

At 10:00pm we, at least a hundred other people, and a surprising number of live chickens tucked away in what appeared to be luggage gathered around the arrival area for the Miami-Guayaquil flight. Necks craned and everyone on tip-toes trying to peer through the sliding glass doors to see who the next passenger out would be we waited for the Conejo to make his appearance.

Of course, the rest of the story is pretty much how you would imagine it. Jim arrived, I jumped up and down, Mike waved, and then was that, literally as we had to run and catch the last bus for Cuenca that was leaving twenty or so minutes later.

So we climbed into another taxi and headed back to the terminal to catch a bus back up to Cuenca with the Conejo in tow.

In the terminal we bought our bus tickets, waited for about ten minutes and then got on the bus where the entertainment for the evening was The Mechanik II starring the Russian superstar Dolf, most famous for his role as The Russian in Rocky vs The Russian. After four hours on a winding road, which included several hours of masterful cinematography we got off the bus in Sayausi at 3:30am.

Upon arrival in our humble abode Jim met the acquaintance of Chuspi who took an immediate liking to the Conejo (whether that was because of the many cat toys he had brought with him or his rabbit-like aura we will never know). Needless to say, we went to bed en seguido.

Cuenca-19 August 2009
I would like to say we all slept in but let’s be honest we are not good at sleeping in. At seven o’clock we were all up. We spent a good part of the morning chatting (my brother was here!!) before heading into Cuenca for the day.

We walked around Cuenca for the better part of the morning, visiting artisan shops, the market, and eventually buying Jim an Ecuadorian hat (wide brimmed, probably something that will never be worn outside of Ecuador). We ate lunch at El Paraiso in Parque San Blas. San Blas is one of the 52 churches in Cuenca, Parque San Blas is one of the hundreds of little parks in Cuenca, and El Paraiso is one of at least twenty vegatarian restaurants in Cuenca.

After lunch we continued the walking tour of Cuenca, heading down to the Banco Central to see if there were any concerts or theatre performances going on but as it is August and everyone in all of Latin America is on vacation for some part, if not all, of August there were no scheduled events in the near future. So we continued our walk past some Incan Ruins that run along the river, continued on the river path that led back into the Centro Historico of Cuenca, and then checked out some DVD/CD/MP3 stores.

By mid-afternoon we were all beat and decided to buy some food then head back to Sayausi to make dinner and generally relax after about 3 hours of sleep from the night before.

Back at home in Sayausi we made a quick stop at my garden to pick some fresh salad greens for dinner that night then home to make some pizza and watch a movie. As I write this I am certainly aware of how wonderful it was to have Jim here with us, just being able to spend time with him and hang out together was fantastic, especially with pizza and candy!

Pics of Cuenca I

Cajas: 20-August 2009
Early Thursday morning we hitchhiked up to Cajas for what would turn out to be a really great hike. We crammed into the bed of a small pickup truck and started the hour drive up to and through Cajas.

At Cucheros we got dropped off and started the hike: a steep, prolonged uphill. This hike always leaves me gasping for air and with a heart rate that exceeds normal ranges of comfort, and I live at altitude. As such we were a little concerned about how Jim would do. Turns out there was no cause for concern as Jim did great even though he had come up from sea level only the day before. With the hardest part of the hike behind us we continued on…for another seven hours!!

During the hike we saw a pair of foxes (rare to see, I have been hiking pretty regularly in Cajas for over a year and had only seen glimpse of one fox once), a pair of endangered Andean condors (super, super rare), and of course traipsed through super muddy trails leaving us with what is known as “Cajas Foot” i.e. a foot, ankle, and lower calf that is covered in wet, cold, sloppy mud. Fortunately, it is the dry season here so as muddy as the trails were it could’ve been much, much muddier. We passed lakes, quinoa forest, made our way through paramo, passed waterfalls, crossed log bridges, saw more Incan ruins, and chased alpacas. Yes, you read correctly, we chased some alpacas (though if you watch the video you won’t feel bad for the alpacas…our threat to them was minimal to non-existent).

A daring display

Not-so-daring Return

The Amazing Alpaca Chase

By the end of the hike, the Conejo was beat (eight hours of heavy hiking at altitude will tucker anyone) and the better part of my energy reserves were also spent. Fortunately, we were able to catch a ride with some fishermen at the guard station in Llaviuco which saved us another two miles of walking before we would have gotten to the highway where we would have had to hitchhike on a downhill curve (not an ideal set up for getting cars to stop for you).

All in all a pretty great day that left us all tired and ready for some good food and some great sleep!

Hiking in Cajas

Cuenca: 21-August 2009
Friday morning we walked in to Cuenca from Sayausi along the Rio Tomebamba, arriving in Cuenca just before lunchtime. Still quite tired from the hike the day before, we stopped in at Café Lojana to get some freshly roasted and brewed coffee along with a few humitas (corn tamales). Sufficiently caffeinated we spent some time planning our coastal trip i.e. finding hotels, tour agencies, bus schedules, and loads of incorrect phone numbers. Before hitting the artesania markets we grabbed a light lunch at Govindas, another vegatarian restaurante.

After lunch we scouted the stalls in the Mercado San Francisco and then the indoor market located on the San Francisco Plaza. About an hour or two into the shopping Mike had to go to a meeting at the Cajas office so Jim and I were left to finish souvenir shopping on our own. We also managed to squeeze in an ice cream cone and do some people watching in Parque Calderon (the central park where the giant cathedrals are) and do some t-shirt surveillance before Mike caught up with us again (don’t worry Mike gets plenty of ice cream). From there we walked down through Parque de la Madre to check out the infamous statue of speedwalking superstar Jefferson Perez. We also walked over to the soccer stadium and then back along the river before going to Moliendo Café (the best food in Cuenca is Colombian) where we were planning on having dinner with Chris and Kelly (two other volunteers).

We had gotten to the restaurant a little early and so ordered a few drinks and some delicious empandas to enjoy as we waited. Several minutes later Bridget walked in (another volunteer) who we did not know was coming who was shortly followed by Kelly and Sarah, who were followed shortly by Katie and her sister Megan (who was visiting from the States) who were followed by an unknown male wearing a PeaceCorps Peru shirt who upon questioning turned out to be a PCV from Paraguay and was meeting Gloria (another Ecuador volunteer) for dinner. Shortly thereafter Gloria arrived who was followed several minutes later by Andy and Jason (two more volunteers). Chris, ironically, was last person to show up that evening as his bus had to take an eight hour detour due to a landslide. So, the dinner expanded substantially from four to many within an hour, a very PeaceCorps-Ecua-experience and a great time all in all.

Pics of Cuenca II

Sayausi: 22-August 2009
Saturday morning we planned to do the grand walking tour of Sayausi heading up through Bellavista, down through Buenos Aires, and then eventually ending up back in Sayausi-Centro. We had warned Jim that this loop could take anywhere from one hour, if we did the walk straight through, or four hours depending on how many people we ran into. Any guesses on how long the proposed loop took??

Trick question! We didn’t get past Bellavista. At Dona Rita’s house we stopped to talk to Sandra, Melida, Elvis, Juan Diego, and Tatiana. They were trying to plan a cuy dinner for Jim but upon hearing that he was a vegetarian and after some explanation as to what that meant they decided they would have to do something else for him…today. So, we talked about making pizza among many other things before deciding to make him banana empanadas. It was during this time that Jim got his apodo, or nickname, “Conejo”. Part of the explanation of Jim being a vegetarian involved a lot of comparisons to rabbits. Subsequently Jim was named “Conejo”.

After naming the Conejo, Sandra left to go get the ingredients and we stayed at the house with Melida to make the dough. Four hours later we were eating banana empanadas with café con leche that one hour earlier was still in the cow.

Upon downing at least four banana empanadas each and planning to come back the next day to go see the cows with Maribel, we made our farewells and headed back to Sayausi…to go see Dona Melchora (our host mom for our first few months in Sayausi).

At Dona Melchora’s house the Conejo met Dona Melchora, Norma, Norma’s daughters Jenny and Diana, and Don Nestor. We were invited upstairs for tea and pineapple while Norma’s daughters gave us a detailed account of their recent trip to the beach and gave each of us a seashell. Before leaving we stopped at my garden again and gathered some nabo (turnip greens) for dinner.

Then we were off to my soccer game in San Miguel (another barrio of Sayausi). We arrived at the field a little early and watched the game before us. Then Jim and Mike hacer-ed the barra (made the fan section) for my team as we played and won our game! We won 5-0. I scored one goal and had one assist while the other superstar made a whopping three goals, did I mention she’s awesome?

The three of us then got a ride back from the game with Maira (the captain), her husband (Darwin), and their three children (Jessica, Churros, and Daku) in a two door, very small Suzuki.

Paseando in Sayausi

Sayausi: 23-August 2009
Early Sunday morning we walked up to Dona Rita’s house to “go see the cows” (ver las vacas) with Maribel. We were told they were really close so not to worry about the Conejo (Jim) and altitude problems. However, when we got there at 7:00am Maribel was concerned to find out we had to be back by 11:00am to go to a lunch at our land lady’s house.

“Bueno. Vamos rapido pues.”

The three of us went tearing up the road for about ten minutes before making a sharp uphill turn. We proceeded to walk uphill (45 degree upward slant) for no less then forty five minutes (with very occasional breaks to catch what little breath we had) before arriving at the cow pasture. Once at the pasture we took a short snack and rest break before Maribel started digging a hole for the cows to drink from (we continued resting while she dug). Then it was time to sacar leche i.e. milk the cows.

Maribel started, and of course made it look easy. Jim after a minute of carefully studying Maribel’s masterful milking hand took a go at it. As it turns out milking cows is not quite as easy as it looks. Somehow moving your hand in what looks like the exact same way as Maribel is somehow not exactly how she does it. I, having tried once in the past to milk cows with Maribel’s sister Norma, passed on a second opportunity to try milking cows. Instead we laughed as Jim tried and watched admirably as Maribel milked several cows within twenty minutes.

Milkin´

Still Milkin´

La Maestra

After the cows were milked, each one had to be walked over to the little hole that Maribel had dug while we were still resting from the climb up and listening to the parrots flying around just above us on the hillside. This took a little under an hour and then we started the walk down. Maribel asked me to “cargar” the milk bucket so she could run ahead and give water to the two remaining cows that were further downhill. The twenty pound bucket tied to my back with a blanket definitely made the slick, steep downhill path a little more exhilarating than it should have been. Fortunately, no milk was spilled and Maribel took the bucket from me after she had seen to the other cows.

The downhill certainly went much quicker than the uphill climb but also required much more mental exertion as very quick small, but still carefully planned, steps were needed to prevent slipping and sliding down the trail. We were back at Maribel’s house by 10:30am where we were served morocho (a milk and corn flour drink that is normally served hot but as we were in a rush it was served cold – not as tasty) and a cheese sandwich. We then bid our farewells and headed back to Sayausi to shower before going to the cuy roast at our land lady’s house.

Unfortunately, weekends in Sayausi generally come with a 2-12 hour stretch of no water. When we got back to our apartment we were without water and so had to set off for lunch without showering and probably smelling faintly of cow and grass.

Our land lady, Dona Carmen, lives in Gulag, another barrio of Sayausi. Usually there are busses that go the one and half mile stretch of road but as there is major construction on said road, we had to walk.

We arrived at Dona Carmen’s house a half hour after we said we would be there but in Ecuador a half hour late is at least a half hour early, so we hadn’t missed much. Dona Carmen was still roasting the cuyes in the living room fireplace (yes, in the living room) when we got there.

About an hour later we were eating a lunch for which all of the ingredients had been harvested that same morning from the garden behind the house.

Lunch Menu for Non-Vegetarians: Half a cuy, five potatoes, rice, lettuce, a boiled broccoli-carrot-pea-cilantro salad with coke.

Lunch Menu for Vegetarians: Lettuce and a boiled broccoli-carrot-pea-cilantro salad with coke.

Dinner Later that Night for Chuspi: Cuy

Cuy Dinner

Cuy Dinner Take II

I’m not sure why rice and potatoes weren’t included on the vegetarian plate (further evidence of the utter confusion the term vegetarian caused in Sayausi) but Jim a.k.a El Conejo was served a gigantic plate of lettuce leaves and boiled vegetables. As for the non-vegetartian plate the cuy was delicious, definitely the best cuy in Sayausi, and the rice and potatoes were exactly how you would imagine them.

After eating, a tour of the cuy hut (not sure Jim liked that), and some chatting we headed back to Sayausi for Mike’s basketball game.

Turns out the game was cancelled because the opposing team withdrew from the league so we stopped by Carmita’s (she owns a tienda next to the soccer field). She served us berry ice cream and candy as we watched one of the vacation league games and introduced Jim to all the regular soccer fans that frequent Carmita’s i.e. sit on the benches she has outside of her house.

When the game ended it was pretty late in the afternoon so we stopped by the Sunday market to get some fresh veggies and fruit and headed back home for some much needed rest and some serious hangout time.

Paseando in Sayausi Continued

Ingapirca: 24-August 2009
Monday morning we got an early start to catch a bus to Ingapirca. Ingapirca is a site two hours north of Cuenca with the largest Incan ruins in all of Ecuador. The two hours turned into two and half hours on the way there due to more serious road construction but the drive is beautiful and the weather was lovely so it passed quickly.

The ruins are in the province of Canar (we live in the province of Azuay) which has a large indigenous population. Ingapirca, the ruins, are most known for the mortar-less stone work and the fact that the majority of what remain is not only from the Incas but from the Canari who were there before the Incans arrived.

The site is gorgeous and located in a beautiful valley with views of the nearby towns and, on the day we were there, views of many mountain ranges off in the distance. We spent the better part of two hours walking around the ruins and generally enjoying the pleasant weather, lovely surroundings, and of course the impressive mortar-less stone work.

After touring the ruins we had lunch (the quinoa-cheese soup was particularly delicious) at a nearby restaurant that overlooked the ruins of Ingapirca, browsed for souvenirs, and then got back on the bus for the ride back to Cuenca.

Back in Cuenca we did some last minute errands for our trip the next day and had dinner at El Paraiso to watch the sunset over the San Blas church.

The rest of the night was spent packing and getting ready for the coastal leg of the trip that would start at 5:30am the next morning.

The Ruins

To Puerto Lopez: 25-August 2009
This day passed in a blur as we were on a bus for most of the day. We left Sayausi at 6:30am and arrived in Guayaquil at just before 11:00am. Incredibly lucky with the timing, we then got on an 11:15am bus for Puerto Lopez. We were on this bus for three hours before it stopped in the wonderful, truck/bus stop town of Jipijapa where we waited for an hour before continuing on to Puerto Lopez. Fortunately, aside from the coastal landscape and agriculture out he window, throughout the ride there were high quality movies to entertain us: Chuck Norris and Mark Walhberg at their best. We arrived in Puerto Lopez just before five o’clock ready to put our bags down, walk around, and eat some fresh seafood (expect for Conejo, of course).

We stayed a really cute hostel called Itapoa. It’s run by a Brazilian women whose Spanish can, without warning, turn to Portuguese and then just as quickly back to Spanish. Our room was actually a two story cabin with a small balcony overlooking the courtyard gardens, and each bed was outfitted with its own mosquito net (I wonder why?).

After dropping our bags at the hostel we walked around town stretching out our mildly cramped legs (even my legs were sore as the bus seats were kind of small). We walked up and down the malecon (beachfront walkway) and along the beach checking out the local fishing boats and other beach activity i.e. ecuaboley.

We hung out on the malecon for the rest of the evening, had a great dinner, then retired to our humble abode after finalizing the details for our whale watching and island tour the next day.

To the Coast!

Whales and Isla de la Plata: 26- August 2009
To say this day was totally and completely awesome would be an understatement! After a complimentary breakfast overlooking the beach we boarded a small motorboat with our guide Cherry and a group of about ten other random tourists. We then headed out into the ocean in search of humpback whales, which come here every year to mate and give birth during the months of July, August, and September.

It takes about an hour and half to cover the 25 miles of Pacific Ocean and get out to where the whales are but the ride is great. The wind whips at your hair and the sea spray at your face, not to mention the many sea birds flying along side the boat making occasional dives into the ocean below. And then, as if all that weren’t enough, the captain cuts the motor and suddenly you are in the center of a group of nine humpback whales!

Whales

The whales are indescribable, larger than our boat, and they are everywhere. I don’t know how much time we spent following them around as everyone is sort of in a trance like state watching them swim, dive, spin, and listening to them making their whale noises. Eventually however we had to continue on to the island.

On the island we went on a 6km hike through colonies of blue footed boobies, masked boobies, frigates, and red footed boobies. The sheer quantities of birds is astounding, and then add the baby birds, the nests in the middle of footpaths, and the birds’ general apathy toward the group of humans walking through their nesting grounds and you’ve got yourself one incredible experience.

Take his phone!

Boobie Talk

After the hike we got back on the boat and headed to a cove for some snorkeling!! You could see the fish just by looking over the side of the boat but that was nothing compared to what you saw once in the water. There were lots of fish in all different colors and tons of coral as well. The water was also really nice which made it hard to get out. But all good things must come to an end so eventually we got back on the boat and started the return trip back to land.

Once back in Puerto Lopez (around 5:30pm) we changed into dry clothes and then with some great timing, immediately got on a bus for that wonderful truck/ bus stop town of Jipijapa. In Jipijapa, again with perfect timing, we switched busses to get a bus for Guayaquil at which point I fell asleep and didn’t wake up again until we were in Guayaquil. I’ve been told I missed some killer Jean Claude van Dam movies, and delicious fish stuffed bread.

By the time we were in Guayaquil it was almost midnight so we just caught a cab to our hostel and passed the night hanging out with the caged jungle animals by the small pool in the courtyard of the hostel. A perfect ending to an absolutely wonderful, wonderful day.

Watching Whales and Isla de la Plata

Homeward Bound: 27-August 2009
So here we are at the last day of Jim’s trip. His flight left at 10:00am so we loitered at the airport as long as possible before an American Airlines employee told Jim, and at least fifty other travelers, that they had to start the boarding process as there were more lines ahead for immigration and customs.

Then Jim walked through a different set of sliding glass doors and started his 14 hour trip home and Mike and I headed back to the bus terminal for the bus to Sayausi.

I guess that brings us to the end of the Conejo’s trip to Ecuador. Simply put, it was awesome!! We miss you Jim and hope we haven’t left anything out!

In Guayaquil

Mary and Mike in Peru

2009-08-14T15:43:00.005-04:00

Mary and Mike in Peru
August 14, 2009
Sayausi
2:45pm
65F, partly cloudy

(It seems as if the email update is not working as well as it should be, so we will be counting on word of mouth amongst our loyal followers to get out the word that a new post is up.)

A few weeks ago Mike and I went to Peru and though we only had twelve days we did our best to pack in as much as we could. Below is a rough outline of what we did each day. For those wanting all the colorful details a more expanded account follows.

The Itinerary
Day 1: Fly from Guayaquil to Lima, night bus to Huaraz
Day 2: Hike to Pre-Incan ruins in Wilcahuain and Monterrey Hot Springs
Day 3: Cordillera Blanca Trek
Day 4: Cordillera Blanca Trek
Day 5: Cordillera Blanca Trek
Day 6: Cordillera Blanca Trek
Day 7: Happy Birthday Migi, night bus to Lima
Day 8: Bus to Huacachina, Dune buggy tour and sandboarding
Day 9: Bus to Paracas, Mountain biking in Paracas National Reserve
Day 10: Boat tour of Islas Ballestas, Bus to Lima
Day 11: Lima
Day 12: Fly from Lima to Guayaquil, then home to Sayausi

Day 1: Traveling to Lima
We left our humble abode in Sayausi around 10:00am to catch our five o’clock flight to Lima. The drive goes right through Cajas National Park (my Dad will remember the curvy road with precipitous drop offs well) then drops over 4,000 vertical meters to reach the industrial coastal city of Guayaquil. Even though Guayaquil is an international airport, compared to any international airport in the States it is quite small. As such we were checked in and waiting for our flight exceptionally early.

Our plane arrived on time (LAN Airlines - which we now love), we boarded, and then we were off to Lima enjoying all the movies, games, and nonsense that each passenger is provided on their personal digital console (Mike and I played each other in chess and though neither of us play regularly it was clear I possessed a knack for, if not chess itself, then at least beating Mike at it).

We arrived in Lima about two hours after taking off (if we had taken a direct bus from Guayaquil to Lima it would’ve taken 26 hours), went through customs, changed some money (Peru uses Soles), and got a cab to the MovilTours bus station.

Our original bus was scheduled to leave at 10:50pm but was running about 15 minutes late so the woman at the counter bumped us up to the 11:00pm bus which was the Super Cama 180 bus (cama meaning bed and 180 meaning your chair reclines to 180 degrees). However, it was only 8:00 o’clock when we got to the bus station and so decided to go get some dinner. Dinner that night was our first insight into how much better Peruvian food is than Ecuadorian food. I mean motecito (the big, watery, flavorless corn that rules Cuenca cuisine) is edible but Peruvians have so much more! First, there were vegetables in something approaching a normal serving size (as opposed to the essentially nonexistent portions given north of the Peruvian border) and there were spices other than culantro! After filling up on the first of what would be many tasty meals we went back to the bus station to await our chariot, I mean bus.

I will say here once, and maybe one or two times later, that the buses in Peru are incredible. Granted we were traveling on the fancy bus line but they have a fancy bus line, which is huge in and of itself. The busses are two stories, you have the option to have a seat that really reclines, the TVs work, they play decent movies, they give you a real meal, there are fleece blankets and pillows with every seat, the bathroom is nice, there are two bus drivers that switch off every four hours during the route, the drivers are given a breathalizer test before leaving and upon arriving in their destination, they video tape your face and seat number (prevents crime, I guess), and they actually have direct routes which means no stopping a thousand times to pick up random people on the side of the road in the middle of the night! To put it mildly bussing in Peru was a treat. We slept like babies on the bus and arrived in Huaraz at 6:30am ready to go.

See pics of Lima dinner and the Super Cama 180 in Day 2 Slideshow of Lima and Huaraz.

Day 2: Huaraz, Pre-Incan Ruins, and Thermal Springs
First impression of Huaraz: Holy cow, can you see all those mountains?!! Huaraz is located northeast of Lima smack dab in the middle of the highest tropical mountain range in the world. To the north and east of Huaraz is the Cordillera Blanca and to the west is the Cordillera Negra (the blanca being snow capped and the negra being un-capped). To the south is the Cordillera Huayhuash (a mix snowcapped and un-snowcapped mountains). Huaraz is a hub for mountain climbers and trekkers alike and although Mike kept suggesting that we climb a mountain, his reason won over and we continued with our plans for a nice trek instead as my body refuses to act normally above 5,000 meters and all of the mountains peak at much, much, much higher than 5,000 meters. In the Cordillera Blanca within Parque Nacional Huascaran there are 27 peaks over 5,400 meters, which is 17,716 feet (in Colorado the highest peaks are just above 14,000 feet). In Ecuador there are four peaks that are that high and we have attempted to climb two with zero success on my part and only mild success on Mike’s (he made it to around 6,000m on Volcan Chimborazo). All the mountains and snow make for a gorgeous location however they are also the cause of a type of major natural disaster called an aluvion. In 1941, and then again in 1970, an aluvion essentially destroyed the city of Huaraz. They are caused by earthquakes, or rapid melting, which dislodges glaciers (there are 663 glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca) which in turn creates a terrible combination of avalanche, waterfall, and landslide. In 2003 there was a warning for a potential aluvion that would hit Huaraz in under 15 minutes, however the warning was based on a satellite image from 2001 (there was no warning in 2001). Since then the crack in the glacier has supposedly frozen over. I tried very hard not to think about any of this during our trip.

Our guide met us at the bus station and took us to the nearby hotel. Our room had huge windows that looked out onto at least seven surrounding nevados (snow capped peaks), cable TV, hot water, a lazy boy, clean towels, and did I mention the view?

Later that morning we met up with our guide at the agency to go over all of the details, schedule the next morning’s pickup, and of course pay. Paying in Peru can be a somewhat complicated affair as they are extremely picky about the condition the bills are in, especially if you are paying in dollars. Luckily, most of our bills were in good condition but he wouldn’t accept one ten dollar bill which looked like it may have been chewed on by a dog after going through a washing machine too many times (that is how all of the bills look here in Ecuador where they use the US dollar).

With all of the details worked out we headed off for Wilkawain, some nearby Pre-Incan ruins that you can hike to. Fortunately, we had planned to hike as there were scheduled transit strikes for that day (and the several days prior) which meant lots of rocks in the road to prevent any traffic from passing and some rock throwing and whistling at the cars that did try to pass. We really lucked out in that we were not delayed coming from Lima to Huaraz all because we had taken the night bus and apparently they don’t block the roads at night. The Peace Corps office in Ecuador had contacted the Peace Corps office in Peru and apparently several Peru PCVs were stuck in Huaraz for a couple of days due to the strikes.

It took about two hours to hike to the ruins which, as Joe Carbone would say, were “underwhelming”. But then again they are two thousand years old and it was only a mausoleum so I guess I shouldn’t judge too harshly. The hike was pretty and the stones used for the construction were quite large and it did survive the aluvions which destroyed the rest of Huaraz on two previous occasions. I guess they just don’t build ‘em like they used to.

While we were at the ruins we enjoyed a nice snack of chochos (an Andean bean served with lime juice and a type of roasted popcorn) and an Inca Kola (the pride of the Peruvian soda industry). It was quite the melding of old and new as chochos have been around for thousands of years and is a complete protein while Inca Kola is neon yellow and quite literally lacking in any nutrition value; we’ve come so far.

Later that afternoon we went to Monterrey where there are healing hot springs. I don’t know about the “healing” claim but the “hot” claim is definitely over exaggerated. While the murky, brown waters were warm they were far from hot. That in combination with the chilly ambient temperature, an altitude of 2,800 meters, and slight winds made for quite a cold event. But who knows we may have healed many unknown, or known, ailments that would have impeded the rest of our trip (like Mike’s recently sprained ankle).

During the day Mike was able to practice his Kichwa a little as it turns out Kichwa and Quechua share quite a few similarities but are still very different. It was fun to try out some words and the locals were thrilled that a gringo would know anything in Kichwa/Quechua and they were very interested to hear how the Ecuadorian Kichwa compared to their own language as none of them had ever been to the sierra of Ecuador and very few indigenous Ecuadorians make it down to Peru.

Other Huaraz highlights included:
- Observing the Peruvian Chola who dons every color under the sun between her pollera and chalina and sports a wicked witch of the west styled hat adorned with a decorative side fan of satin.
- Getting my picture taken with a llama in the central park, taunting it, and the llama getting its revenge by attempting to spit on me.
- The food vendors in the park which included a small cart with an old fashioned hand operated popcorn popper and a woman walking around with a tray a fruit salads with honey, each treat selling for the equivalent of $0.30.
- The large “S” signs that were posted in all buildings which indicated zonas de seguridad in case of earthquakes
- Lunch in the market where we ate cuy that actually tasted good.
- Papa rellenas (a fried potato filled with cheese, olives, and veggies)
- Churros (deep fried dough that is then sprinkled with powdered sugar)
- Quinoa drink (a breakfast drink that is kind of like a thin oatmeal but made with quinoa instead of oats).
- Breakfast sandwiches for $0.15 each that come with your choice of fried egg, sweet potato, tortilla (mini spinach omelet), fish, cheese, or plain old potato.

To finish off our fun-filled day in Huaraz, we feasted on Chinese food (there is a large Chinese population in Peru), sampled some local cookie desserts, and then packed our bags for the next day’s trek.

Lima and Huaraz Pictures

Day 3: Cashapampa, Quebrada Santa Cruz, Campamento Lllamacoral
Special Note: We have included maps of the area so when we mention the names of towns, lakes, rivers, or mountains you can find them on the attached photos and follow along with us!

Maps

At 7:00am our guide showed up at our hotel to take us to the “terminal”. The terminal consisted of a dusty lot by the river packed with registered vans. There are no city busses in Huaraz, nor are there busses that serve the surrounding area. Instead there is a complex system of what are called combis (white vans with signs in the front windshield that indicate their destination). These vans, much like busses in Ecuador, have a limitless capacity i.e. people just keep piling in regardless of the absolute lack of space within the van. So, we strapped our gear to the already overflowing roof rack and sat like sardines in what was an extremely full van for a two hour ride to Caraz where we then got a taxi (shared between other trekkers and mountain climbers headed to the Cordillera Blanca) to Cashapampa which translates roughly to “frozen land”.

Cashapampa is the entry point to Parque Nacional Huascaran. However, the villagers have cleverly adopted a system where in addition to the park entrance fee that you pay at the end of the trek you also pay them a fee to enter the park (fair enough considering the number of gringos that traipse through their town on a daily basis during the dry season). In Cashapampa we met up with the arriero (mule driver) who would bring two mules to carry all of our bags plus the tents, gas tank, and all of the food. Although we hired a guide and the whole package deal, you can do the trek on your own and rent gear in town (which is what Eoin and Grainne, a very nice Irish couple we met who were doing the trek solo click here to see their website describing their trip around the world). However, it worked out well that we didn’t do that option as Mike’s ankle wouldn’t have held up under extra weight burdens. So, instead we were totally spoiled as the package we paid for was supposed to have six people in the group. But no one else signed up so it was just me, Mike, Florencio (the arriero), Roosevelt (our guide), and two donkeys.

Before starting into the canyon valley that was the starting point of the trek, I asked our guide if there was a bathroom I could use in Cashapampa. Imagine a large smile spreading across Roosevelt’s face as he tells me, “no hay.” In this town of 800 people there was not a single bathroom. As it turns out there was not a single usable bathroom for the next four days. Ick!

With a full bladder but high spirits we set out following Quebrada Santa Cruz through a steep valley with a landscape that reminded us of Sabino Canyon outside of Tucson; there were even cacti that closely resembled saguaro. The day was gorgeous; no clouds, light breeze, and tips of snow capped mountains peeking over the edge of the valley on all sides of us. After five hours of a mostly uphill hike we arrived at our first camp: Poo Camp I. We lovingly call it Poo Camp I as the only latrines in the area were so far beyond usable (overflowing) and had been for so long, that between the people, horses, mules, cattle, and dogs the entire camp was covered with excrement. That aside, it was a lovely campsite. It was right on the edge of a stream and had an incredible view of Taulliraju, a nevado looming off in the distance.

This first campsite is the most heavily used of the three sites we would be visiting as all of the climbers attempting to summit Alpamayo stop here as well. Alpamayo (Alpa “Earth” and Mayo “River”) has been rated by some German group as being the #1 Most Beautiful Mountain in the World. I’m not sure how you quantify mountain beauty, but it was quite beautiful. Anyway, tons and tons of people come from all over the world to climb Alpamayo (a six day expedition) and to get to the base camp for Alpamayo you have to pass through this first campsite. Needless to say there were a lot of people with a lot of really nice gear that first night.

After arriving we took a walk around the area while Roosevelt and Florencia set up camp and made cafecito (afternoon snack). Around 4 o’clock we were invited into the food tent, which is also where Roosevelt and Florencio slept, for popcorn and our choice of tea or coffee. We then went on another walk until we were called in for dinner (I mentioned we were totally spoiled during the trip, right?). Dinner each night consisted of a giant bowl of piping hot soup, a huge main dish, and unlimited hot drinks. Roosevelt also heated up hot water to fill our water bottles each night to put in our sleeping bags.

Yes, hot water bottles for our sleeping bags, in addition to mountain tights, long johns, sweat pants, three longsleeved shirts, a fleece, two pairs of heavy socks, gloves, and an alpaca hat. To say it was cold at 3,760 meters, or 12,336 feet, would be a giant understatement. As soon as the sun goes down which in a steep valley in July in the Southern hemisphere at 9’S latitude is around 5 o’clock, it gets really, really cold.

Day One of the Cordillera Blanca

Day 4: Laguna Jatuncocha, Laguna Arhuaycocha, Alpamayo Basecamp, and Taullipampa
Each day of our trek started at 6am when we would wake up, pack up everything inside our tent (which was everything including our packs as we were advised not to leave anything outside because once someone’s boots were stolen), get dressed, use the nonexistent facilities, and then wait until 7 o’clock when Roosevelt would call us in for breakfast. Oh, breakfast. It was so delicious everyday. We were served a giant bowl of some breakfast soup i.e. hot chocolate quinoa oatmeal, creamy rice pudding, or sweet oatmeal, a plate of eggs, two rolls, jam, butter, and of course unlimited coffee and tea.
After being extraordinarily well fed we would set off for the day.

On Day 2 we were headed to Alpamayo Basecamp, passing Laguna Jatuncocha (“Big Lake”) along the way. Upon reaching the base camp, after half a day of hiking, we continued on for another half hour uphill to get to the glacial lake of Arhuaycocha. To say this hike was beautiful is a larger understatement than calling the nights cold. The pictures don’t do it justice but you can at least get the idea of the glacier sliding into the turquoise lake surrounded by snowcapped peaks a full two days hike away from the nearest dirt road.

At the lake Roosevelt made us a tuna salad to go with our Oreos, oranges, and rolls which we enjoyed on the shore of the lake beneath crisp blue skies to the sounds of crevasses opening on the glacier.

That night we camped at Taullipampa (4250meters/13,944feet) where from our tent we had 360’ views of the surrounding snowcapped peaks. One of those peaks was Artesonraju, which is the mountain shown at the start of every Paramount Pictures movie and won the title of being the 3rd Most Beautiful Mountain in the World (if you believe that such a thing can be ranked). Upon arrival in Poo Camp II, which wasn’t quite as nitrogen heavy as Poo Camp I, we attempted to wash off a little in the nearby stream. Pop quiz: Where did this stream originate? Yes, that’s right; it originated from the glacier on Taulliraju a mere 400 meters away. Needless to say our attempts at bathing were short lived. Fortunately, we had tea and coffee waiting so we were able to regain some of our lost body heat.

Day Two in the Cordillera Blanca

Day 5: Punta Union, Quebrada Paria, Campamento de Paria
On this, our last full day of hiking, we would cross the highest “on foot” point of our trek. Punta Union, which we passed after two and a half hours, has an altitude of 4,750 meters (15,584 feet) and, as to be expected, breathtaking views of the surrounding area.

From here we descended through an area which reminded me alternately of Middle Earth and the opening scene of The Sound of Music. Mike was of course treated to both renditions of the soundtrack to Lord of the Rings (just that one part da na naa, na-na-na-na-na) and every song from the Sound of Music. This was at about the same time that his ankle started bothering him again; I choose to believe they are unrelated events.

Our third and final camp (elevation 3,870 meters) placed us at the mouth of the Cordillera Blanca. So looking back our view consisted of (can you guess?) more, spectacular snowcapped peaks.

Third Day in the Cordillera Blanca

Day 6: Quebrada Paria, Vaqueria
Our last day we hiked out through a nearby village where the local children have learned several very important words in Spanish (Quechua is the first and only language of these secluded villages): galleta i.e. cookie and caramelo i.e. candy.

We eventually got to the real park entrance where we paid the entrance fee and Mike asked the park employee where all the money ($20 per person) went considering there were cattle in most of the park, no facilities, and no obvious trail maintenance. The answer: not to the park. Unfortunately, most of the money brought in goes to and stays in Lima, most likely filling the pockets of a few and leaving the park to be grazed, poo-ed on, and generally neglected. Fortunately, the park is still amazing and hopefully will remain as such so others can come and enjoy what really was a gorgeous area unlike anything we had seen before (the Irish couple kept referring to it as being more impressive than the trek they did in Patagonia).

The next part of our day consisted of waiting for one of these combis to arrive. When two hours later a combi finally showed up it was headed to a town an hour up the road in the opposite direction we wanted to go. We got on it anyway as there was a chance it would fill up and when it passed by again there wouldn’t be space for us. So, we got to go to Yanama, hang out there for a little over an hour, then head back to where we were originally picked up before actually starting on the way home.

On the way home is where we passed the highest point of our trip, 4,767 meters/15,640 feet. That is the highest we have ever been in a car. The pictures we have of the road should explain to all why roads usually aren’t made at this altitude and why when they are they usually don’t last very long. During the somewhat harrowing descent there were more spectacular views of mountains, glacial lakes, and rockslides.

We arrived back in Huaraz around 6 o’clock where we immediately showered and then went out for dinner. After walking over forty miles, over half of which were uphill at over 4,000 meters in essentially three and half days, we were ready for a big meal and a warm bed.

Day Four in the Cordillera Blanca

Day 7: Happy Birthday to Mike, Huaraz, Night-bus to Lima
Happy Birthday to Migi,
Happy Birthday to Migi,
Happy Birthday Viejito,
Happy Birthday to You!!

To celebrate Mike’s birthday we slept in then spent the day eating every delicious food we could find as well as doing some souvenir shopping.

That night we got on a bus headed back to Lima. This time we only had semi-cama seats but we were still given dinner and treated to a ten o’clock showing of The Day After Tomorrow in Spanish with English Subtitles and a baby who cried all night long.

See pics of Birthday Dinner in the Day 2 Slideshow of Lima and Huaraz.

Day 8: Huacahina, Dune Buggies, and Sandboarding
We arrived in Lima at 5:30 am, got some breakfast sandwiches and quinoa drink at the cart that had set up shop across the street from the bus terminal, and then got on a 7 o’clock bus to Ica.

The trip to Ica was four hours, most of which looked like a scene from the Sahara desert. Peru in general doesn’t get much rain and southern coastal Peru gets no rain. The view from our window showed unending sand dunes to the east and occasional glimpses of the waves crashing on the beach in the Pacific to the west. The weather was slightly warmer than Huaraz but instead of crystal clear skies a blanket of clouds covered the sky as far as you could see.

Several hours later we arrived in Ica where we took a five minute cab ride to Huacachina. Huacachina is a tiny town located around the perimeter of a small spring surrounded by endless, towering sand dunes. The sand dunes are the major attraction here and every hotel offers dune buggy tours with sand boarding each afternoon. So upon arrival in Huacachina we booked the four o’clock sunset tour with our hotel, grabbed lunch, enjoyed the warm weather, and then headed back to our hotel for some sand-themed adventures.

The dune buggy sat eight and the driver had been driving dune buggies for the last fifteen years (he was half Italian). The other passengers along for fun and sand were a couple from Denmark, a couple from Argentina, and a couple from England. All buckled up we went tearing off into the dunes.

After ten minutes of a rollercoaster-like ride where everyone understood the purpose of the tubulares (rollbar), we stopped for a photo op. Mike and I, having permanently damaged our last camera on sand dunes in Colorado, were cautious throughout and so took our photos quickly and, in our opinion, sparingly. Pictures taken we tore off for another ten minutes of climbing up and rocketing down dunes before starting the sand boarding segment of the tour.

In the back of the dune buggy were seven sand boards that were handed out to each of the passengers at the top of some very steep dunes. We were then instructed how to sand board while standing, which only Mike and one other guy attempted to do, and how to sand board as if the sand board were a sled i.e. sand-sledding. Sand-sledding turned out to be much easier and much more fun than the standing up version and eventually the entire group was flying down the dune bellies down, arms tucked, and legs sprawled.

The tour ended with a stop on top of dune to enjoy the sunset where we did risk taking some more pictures. However, once the sun went down it got pretty chilly (14’ South Latitude) so we piled pack into the dune buggy and headed back to the hotel.

Huacachina

Day 9: Paracas National Reserve and Fresh, fresh Seafood
We spent the next morning in Huacahina taking in the sun and generally relaxing before getting back on a bus and heading an hour north to Paracas.

Paracas is a small, almost nonexistent, coastal town that two years ago was not more than a fishing village, but even so it was flattened by an earthquake that measured 8-point-something on the Richter scale with the epicenter being just 10km off its coastline. Fortunately, it has been mostly rebuilt and whereas before it was a minor tourist hub (people used to come for the boat ride but stay the night in Pisco, a quaint colonial town twenty minutes up the coast that is still recovering from the earthquake and does not have any hopes of regaining its tourist market since all of its colonial architecture is in rubble heaps) it is now the tourist hub for all coming to see Paracas National Reserve and the Islas Ballestas. We, of course, were coming to do both of those activities starting with a bike tour of the National Reserve.

Paracas National Reserve boasts a large flamingo colony, sea lions, and of course miles and miles of rolling sand dunes that come right up to the coast (and, as we would later find out, intense afternoon winds).

To explore the reserve we decided to rent bikes and make our own tour instead of paying a taxi driver forty dollars to drive us around. We easily found a place to rent the bikes and by three o’clock we were on the road.

The bikes were great and the scenery was striking (sand dunes and ocean) but the wind made the leisurely bike ride a test of strength and endurance which I failed miserably. I made it with minimal grief to the flamingo colony, which was huge and amazing, but from there the road went up hill while the quality of my disposition went downhill fast. I ended up walking the big uphill and alternately walking and riding the rest of the three miles to a beach. We had intended to try and see the sea lions but those were another two miles into the wind and so we enjoyed Lagunillas, the super tiny fishing village where we were after two hours of what I thought was a pretty intense ride though Mike thought otherwise (the most arduous part of the ride for him being dealing with my huffing and puffing and less than charming mood), and then turned around and biked back to Paracas. In my defense I did much better on the way back and only had to walk the bike once, also the wind was at our backs. I think that afternoon gave me an honest appreciation for the terms headwind and tailwind that I will carry with me for quite some time.

After returning the bikes, we walked along the malecon (beachfront area) then had the first of what would be two incredible seafood dinners. I will admit that before this trip I was not the hugest fan of seafood. Paracas changed me. I want to say right here, right now that I love seafood. It may have taken twenty-seven years but I have finally arrived: seafood (when it is fresh) is delicious.

At seven o’clock our taxi showed up at the restaurant (as early planned with a travel agency in Huacachina) to take us to Pisco, the town where people used to stay before the giant earthquakes whose epicenter was 2km from the center of Pisco. We tried to stay in Paracas but being the new tourist hub that it is there were no available rooms. So we traveled up the road for about twenty minutes before we arrived in what was formerly the tourist hub that boasted colonial architecture and cobblestone streets.

Unfortunately, Pisco had not made the same successful rebound as Paracas and was still half built and half rubble. While there are still a few nice hotels the overall feel of Pisco did not suggest a return to its former state. However, it was nice to stay in a place where you know, small though it may be, you are contributing to an economy that could use all the help it can get. Our taxi driver, who was from Pisco, told us that six days a week he works fifteen hours. On Sundays he works all day trying to reconstruct his house which was destroyed over two years ago.

So, we stayed the night it a really cute hotel that had been rebuilt since the earthquake run by a really cute family in a town that used to be the “it” place to stay.

Day 10: Islas Ballestas and Back to Lima
Early the next morning we were picked up at our hotel in Pisco and driven back to Paracas for a boat tour of the Ballesta Islands. The Ballesta Islands are a series of small islands located about a half an hour of the coast of Paracas. The islands host millions of birds, thousands of penguins, and hundreds of sea lions. So, as you can imagine, every morning hoards of gringos line the docks of Paracas to take a boat out to the islands and that Friday morning in mid-July we were a part of the hoard.

The boats seat anywhere from 15 to 30 people and everyone is given a life jacket with strict instructions to make sure not to take it with you when you leave. On our boat we had an almost bilingual guide, a boat driver, and about 15 passengers. We left the dock a little after eight and arrived at the first point of interest on the tour: the Candelabra.

The Candelabra is a formation in the side of sand dune ten minutes from shore. No one knows how it got there or how long it has been there. However, our guide shared with us several theories one of which included aliens. Other theories included pirates and conquistadors but after deep contemplation and reflection I say aliens.

Next stop: Islas Ballestas. We spent the next hour and half circling several islands surrounded by strange rock formations and teeming with sealife. When people first visited the islands there were two meters of guana (bird poop that is excellent for fertilizer) which of course was then sold, and is still sold, for use in fertilizer. On our tour we saw untold numbers of bird, penguins, sea lions (we even saw a baby sea lion), and of course lots of guana.

I wish I could explain or the pictures could show just how many birds there were but you’ll just have to take our word for it when we say, “lots and lots.”

When the tour was over we stayed and had another fantastic seafood lunch right on the beach in Paracas then headed to the nearby bus station to make our may back to Lima.

I know I already explained just how nice the busses we were taking were but in case you forgot, they were really, really, nice. However, as we learned that day in Paracas, it doesn’t matter how nice the bus is if the roads are bad.

The roads surrounding Paracas are sandy and the bus station was located on one of these roads. Shortly after boarding the bus (passport check and face filming complete) we had to disembark as a pipe had broken, wet the road, and our bus was stuck in the subsequent mudfest. Fortunately it only took a two by four, a shovel, and all available manpower to shove the bus the necessary two feet to free it from its earthen prison.

With that minor delay we were on our way to Lima.

Pics of Paracas y Pisco

Day 11: Lima
Our last full day in Peru we spent in the Miraflores section of Lima, this is where most the markets are and is generally considered safer than Central Lima, another neighborhood we considered staying in. The Miraflores section of Lima was nice, very, very nice. Our hostel was located in a residential area on the outskirts of Miraflores in a super, super nice neighborhood. The hostel itself was an old house with beautiful hardwood floors, wrought iron fixtures and an all and all lovely layout.

To get to the markets from our hostel required walking along the beachside park that stretches several mile along the coast of Lima and is slated for construction to cover the entire coast (Kind of like what Bloomberg is doing with the waterfront land in the city). This park was not only beautiful but also had clay tennis courts, playgrounds, dog parks, and parapenting (which Mike wanted to do but didn’t due to my incessant, though perhaps unwarranted, worries)!

We spent the day browsing the markets, tasting more delicious Peruvian treats, and generally relaxing.

Lima and Flight Home

Day 12: To Sayausi!
Our flight left at ten o’clock the next morning marking the official end to our Peruvian adventure. We arrived in Guayaquil at noon and were on van headed back to Sayausi at one.

On a final note, as no blog post would be complete without it, some news about Chuspi, Our old host sister Norma agreed to come over once a day while we were gone to clean the litter box (totally new concept) and feed Chuspi. When we got home Chuspi was alive and well so I guess everything went according to plan. However, an interesting surprise included the piece of half eaten bread, random bones, and bag of rice with a long string tied to one end all of which we found on the floor of our apartment near the front windows. After a moment’s confusion we figured out why there was a veritable cat buffet on our floor. The walls of our apartment don’t actually meet up with the windows, therefore there is a several inch space between the wall and the windows. Recently a family moved upstairs: mom, dad, and two girls. It appears the two girls had been lowering food down to Chuspi while we were gone! So, Chuspi was more than well taken care of (Norma later told me most of the family had come over each day to play with Chuspi as well). To this day whenever I see Heidi (the niece of Norma) she asks me to, “saluda a la Chuspi” translating to, “say hi to Chuspi!”

San Pedro de Sayausi: Take II

2009-07-22T15:37:00.008-04:00

July 22, 2009
Wednesday
8:00am
Partly Cloudy, 60F
Sayausi

San Pedro De Sayausi

One of the downsides to being in our site for over a year is repeat events. While still fun for us, perhaps you have already seen enough of the Fiestas de San Pedro de Sayausi. Or maybe you’re feeling that you could stand to see a few more folklorico dances and fireworks. If the latter is true this post is for you.

One of the upsides of being in our site for over a year is that we know EVERYONE in all the events. We were also treated to much more food and everywhere we went we were with people we knew. It was quite a nice feeling.

The fiestas were a week later this year which is mildly confusing as to the best of my understanding Saint’s Days are supposed to be fixed. The weather was also more rainy than usual and turnout a little low, so the people of Sayausi were convinced that San Pedro was upset about the date change and so put a slight damper on the fiestas. Although apparently San Pedro, according to some, brings the rain so maybe the new date was pleasing to him. However, according to others, he stops the rain so I guess we just don’t really know how San Pedro felt about the change of dates. Either way there were still tons of homemade fireworks, hours upon hours of blasting music, dozens upon dozens of dances, and many fires lit to either bring the rain or stop the rain.

Enjoy the photos and videos, please feel free to compare and contrast this year’s fiestas to last years. Perhaps someone who has viewed them both can decide if San Pedro was happier this year or last year based on the fireworks, dances, and music included in each.

Click here for last year`s fiestas
(Or, you can use the index on the righthand side of this page to access any previous posts)

This Year`s Fiestas
Remember to double-click to enlarge the images in the slideshows and to click the underlined links to see the videos. Enjoy!

Setting up for the Fiestas!

Live Music

Dancing

Women Intro Dance

Men Intro Dance

More Men Dancing

Everybody Dance

Parade

Pet Contest and More Dancing

Caraguay, Caraguay

Las Nenas Fresh I(one of my students is in the group)

Las Nenas Fresh II

Crazy Dance that lasts for hours (yes, drag is encouraged)

Cholita Competition

Little Cholitas

Saturday de San Pedro

Saturday 6:00am

Tio Oscar cleans up the plaza

Shooting for Candy

Setting the scene

Ecuaboley

Reina Competition and Castillos

Castillo I

Castillo II

Castillo III: Watch Out!

Paper mache Soldiers with Fireworks

Smoking Soldier

Failed Launch

Artillery Boat I

Artillery Boat II

Flame broiled Cuchi

Vaca Loca

Vaca Loca en Vivo

Burning the Barba of San Pedro

Globos, up, up, and away!

Sunday de San Pedro

The Band

Band and Onlookers

Horse Race Participants, to the plaza!!

Other goings on in-and-around Sayausi

Closura
The end of the school year officially came and went, and as such there were many ceremonies; the biggest of which being the closura of the school. For several hours over a hundred elementary aged students were asked to stand in formation while many speeches were made and thanks given (I was singled out a few times, for thanks, which was quite exciting). During the ceremony, which took place during the first days of San Pedro, a parade started up in the same plaza and so for some time we had competing sounds of ceremony: the director’s speech versus a ten man brass band with drums. Needless to say the director did not pause, he raised his already amplified voice and continued with what he had to say.

Himno Nacional

P.E. Performance: Jumping through Hoops

P.E. Performance: Attempting to Jump Through Hoops

During the P.E. Performance

Agua Vida
Another closura was that of Agua Vida, the environmental education group I have been working with for the past several months. Again hundreds of elementary aged students were asked to sit in formation for at least two hours as speeches were made. Eventually there were dances and puppet shows so I guess that makes up for some of it.

Basketball Ankle
If you have not already heard, Mike’s basketball team made an incredible comeback in the last five minutes of the last quarter of their game several weeks ago. It was quite impressive and Mike was fuel in the fire so to speak. However, the fuel suffered a minor setback in the last minute when Mike went one way and his ankle the other.

After several doctor’s visits, x-rays, many ibuprofen along with some rest (I don’t know if there is anything more difficult than trying to get Mike to sit still with his foot elevated) he has made an almost complete recovery. There is still mild swelling, that hiking for several days through mountainous terrain probably didn’t help, and still a little tenderness when turned in certain ways. Luckily, the next game isn’t for another two weeks by which time Mike’s ankle will be ready to go (though had there been a game this week I’m not sure Mike would’ve sat out). So no worries, Peace Corps medical is great, the doctors were fantastic, and everything was taken care of. Really don’t worry.

Gringos in the News
Here is a fun interactive activity for all of you following our blog. In a separate window, open up Google and type in the following two words: Mary Ecuador
It is not the first hit, but scroll down to the seventh hit and you should see a link with a couple of familiar names. Enjoy.

Chuspi and the Gastronomy of the Fiestas of San Pedro
Along with any party, fair, or festival comes food vendors. For San Pedro the plaza was lined with people selling all the ups and downs of Ecuadorian gastronomy. Aside from the usual fried and candied treats, Mike tried the following over San Pedro weekend: roasted pig skin, grilled intestines, fish soup, cow foot soup, cuy face, and blood sausage. I tried some but not all of the above and as such we felt that Chuspi should not be left out (i.e. we didn’t want to finish some of these culinary delights and thought that Chuspi may enjoy them more than we did).

So, the first ever San Pedro de Sayausi Taste Test was arranged. The food: Blood Sausage vs Cuy Face. The judge: Chuspi.

the testing..

Where`s the face?

Taste Test I

Taste Test II

Taste Test III

Taste Test IV

The Results:Chuspi eats whatever she is closest to. In the eyes of Chuspi, I guess blood sausage and cuy face are just too tasty to pick a winner.

Apu does the Penguin

Peru
We just got back from Peru on Sunday, July 19th. It was amazing, and the blog post describing it will be posted sometime in the near future. Until then you will have to imagine the glaciers, penguins, flamencos, and sandboarding.

Pampa Mesa, Rescate, Indoor, y Mucho más

2009-06-26T10:33:00.012-04:00

June 26, 2009
Friday
9:38am
Sayausi
Cloudy, 50

This post takes place Around Town, In Cajas, In Cuenca, and last but not least, At Home. There are of course lots of pictures and videos which will undoubtedly enhance your blog experience. Enjoy!

Around Town

Missing Minga
The second or third weekend in May (the weekend after the bautizo party detailed in our previous post), Mike and I were invited to participate in a minga. Mingas are organized work days where various people from the community get together to volunteer on a common project e.g. fix a broken water tube, or fill the pot holes in a street. The word “minga” is Kichwa and is a custom that is really only carried on in the Sierra at this point.

In any event, every weekend there is a minga of some sort. In the past we have participated in a few mingas nearby. So, when we were invited to a minga by Rodrigo (my new counterpart mas o menos) we gladly accepted as mingas involve hard work but also the opportunity to get to know different people, feel like part of the community, and get to eat cold cuy from a plastic bag.

We were told to meet at Mama Rita’s house at 7:00am from which point we would walk for one or two hours with the group to the captacion (place high up in the paramo where the capture for the water for Sayausi is located) and help build a fence to keep horses and cattle away from the water source. Having arrived at the bautizo on time and then waiting four hours for the party to start we figured if we got to Mama Rita’s house by 7:15am we would still be ridiculously early but would at least be able to sleep past 5:00am. We left our apartment at 7:00am and began walking up to Mama Rita’s. About half way there we ran into Don Nestor and Dona Melchora (old host parents and sister/brother in law to Mama Rita). They informed us that the group for the minga had just left and that we could catch up with them easily. Don Nestor then gave us directions for how to get to the minga site which roughly translated to, “Go through this field, then past the other field, then past the cows, then continue up and you will be there.” These directions were to guide us through a series of low mountains with no trails and no overtly distinctive landmarks for the untrained eye. Feeling rather adventurous and up for a walk we replied, “Great, off we go.”

Within five minutes, before even arriving at the mountain i.e. still in town and traipsing through cow pasture, we were lost and had to ask for more directions. Again we got vague indications and a general wave of the hand in the directions we were supposed to go; up. This time however, we ended up on a trail: a very, very, very muddy trail. A trail so muddy, in fact, I nearly lost my giant rubber boot in its depths. Surprisingly, we have some video footage to demonstrate.

Muddy Trail

I`m Stuck

Chainsaw and Birdsong

About one hundred yards after this trail ends we lost all sign of anything resembling a trail. Luckily we ran into Yula (Mari’s cousin/Mama Rita’s neice) and her two daughters hidden in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere, on their way to sacar leche from their cows. So Yula became out guide for the next 45 minutes until we arrived at the place were hers cows were (Please keep in mind that these are not lovely rolling hills of pastureland, we are walking on an extraordinarily steep hillside that for now is more forest than grazing land demonstrated by the parrots flying overhead). From here we got another general wave of the hand along with the following, “go up until the carreterra then up some more until the carreterra.” Carreterra translates to highway but is used here in any situation where there is something resembling a trail. So up we went until dense mountain vegetation blocked our path at which point we went down and up again until we did eventually arrive at the ridgeline i.e. carreterra number one.

At this point we could see some new fencing and thought we must be close as the minga we were looking for was putting up new fencing. However, after looking around for thirty or so minutes without seeing anyone we decided we must not be there yet. So following Yula’s directions and Mike’s deductions about where the captacion must be, we continued along the ridgeline, upwards.

Another thirty minutes later we arrived at a road (a wide dirt trail that at some point cars may have been able to drive on) and turned up. An hour later, leaving the treeline behind us and now surrounded by nothing but Andean paramo and clouds, we came across a motorcycle and some horses, a clue in the mysterious hunt for the minga. Figuring we must be close at this point, we followed what looked kind of like a trail down a valley and up to another ridgeline. At the top of this ridgeline we found some signs telling us we were in Minas, which is the area of captar-ing water. So I shouted for Mari a few times and hoped one of the fifty people on this minga would hear me and answer. Well, windy mountain conditions aren’t really ideal for yelling so not surprisingly no one answered.

Wind and Wave

We walked around the lakes in the area for about an hour looking for clues that might point us in the right direction but decided, as some dense fog rolled in, it was better at this point to admit defeat and start the climb back down to Sayausi.

After walking three hours up and two back down we arrived back at out apartment, tired, blistered (we were walking in rubber boots instead of hiking boots because of the mud), and confused about how fifty people who started walking just a little bit before us had been so impossible to find.

As it turns out (we later learned) the minga left Mama Rita’s house at 5:30am! Supposedly, someone had waited for us until 7:00am (which I think rather unlikely) and then left on their moto when we didn’t show up. Not only that, but the minga was another three hours hiking past the lakes where we had ultimately given up our search.

Rodrigo invited us to another minga last weekend in the same spot. As luck would have it, we had other plans.

Looking for a Minga

Madre Fiesta
The day after the minga search, my school was having a Mother party. They were celebrating Mothers, the Virgin Mother, and Mother Earth (Pachamama). Each grade had prepared a dance as had some of the parents, and all of the dances required costumes. During the dances drinks were handed out and snacks were sold. However, all of this was only a taste of what lay ahead: the Pampamesa.

After several hours of dancing, hopping, singing, and celebrating, the stage (the cement soccer court in the center of the school) was cleared and a long, narrow tarp was laid out. The tarp was about one meter wide but stretched at least 50 feet long. Once it was laid out women with giant pots of rice, mote, and potatoes approached the tarp and started spreading the contents onto the makeshift runway crossing the length of the cement court. Then came the roasted chickens, dumped onto the tarp. Then the roasted cuyes, dumped onto the tarp. Then a scattering of hard boiled eggs and lima beans followed promptly by a swarm of parents and students amid a hum of “buen provecho.”

From there it is really a blur of fistfuls of food and a light spray of rice. There were no utensils other than hands for this Sierran potluck and kids were free to plant themselves directly on the tarp and feed voraciously on the surrounding mounds of food. It was one of, if not the most incredible thing I have seen this past year. It was right out of a dream, when I was four or five years old. No parents saying to sit up straight, keep your elbows of the table, or hold your fork correctly. No, no this was about as far from Americanized table eating as you can get. I was encouraged to plop down and dig in. It was fabulous, although eating rice with your hands involved more mouth to hand contact then the CDC would probably recommend during a swine flu pandemic (yes, this happened in the height of the swine flu scare).

Then to wash down the pampamesa, several cups of juice, soda, or chocolate milk were passed around (yes, several cups were shared between over two hundred people). Again, it was fabulous and the stomach ache that persisted for the rest of the day was well worth it.

Dancing and Eating

Frog Dance

Crazy Dance I

Crazy Dance II

Pacha Mama Dance

Pampa Mesa

Buen Provecho

Who Needs Forks?

Mediano Photo Shoot
Last week I was at a meeting at Mama Rita’s house. We were there to discuss the possibility of a greenhouse and a few other proposals the group is working on. However, unbeknownst to me we were also there to take a picture for some upcoming fiestas: Las Fiestas del Mediano.

Rodrigo filled me in on the details. Apparently, when couples used to get married in Sayausi they would have a huge feast (with tables). All the women would bring medianos (a ceraminc platter) filled with cuy, papas, mote, and aji and the men would bring gallons of trago (moonshine). From there a nice meal would take place with everyone seated around a long table. Now, as times are always changing no matter where you are, this doesn’t happen anymore and many people don’t know that it ever happened. So, this group that I work with started Las Fiestas del Mediano three years ago to maintain some parts of their culture.

That night, the night of the unrelated meeting, Mama Rita and Mari were cooking up some cuyes, papas, mote, and aji for a picture for the poster for the Las Fiestas del Mediano. In the middle of the meeting we took a break and took pictures of Mama Rita, Tio Oscar, and all of the prepared food (see pictures below, one of them will end up on the poster).

Lucky for us after the meeting ended at 9:00pm, we were each given a gigantic plate of food. I managed to pick at mine politely without actually having to eat all five potatoes, half a cuy, a plate of rice, and mote. Mike, however, ate it all! Sometime gender stereotypes do work out in my favor, the only other person at the meal not to eat everything was the other woman.

Unfortunately, we won’t be in town for Las Fiestas but we will certainly get a copy of the poster!

Mama Rita, Tio Oscar y El Mediano

Indoor
Last weekend Mike brought the camera up to the indoor field to capture the indoor experience. It was raining, which is normal. There was livestock around the field, also normal. And kids walked into the game several times, also very normal.

We won 10-0 which is not normal. The ref actually called the game early because of a mercy rule. You see, last week Margarita came up to play with us, and she is the other local superstar. I am the foreign superstar and Doris, another teammate, was on fire. As such we were pretty much unstoppable, what with the passing and everything there was nothing for the other team to do.

As a funny aside, before the game started we were standing around talking and it somehow came up that we were all senoras. Doris intervened and said that I was not a senora (Doris just turned twenty last month). My other teammates said I was married and so I was a senora. Doris countered by saying I don’t have kids which makes me a senorita. My other teammates agreed at this point and decided that I am in fact the only senorita on the team. So despite being older than most everyone on my team, I am the senorita. Go figure.

Jugando

Niko wants to play

Goal Kick

Nice Left

Mary and a little lamb

Almost

In Cajas

Rescate
Cajas National Park is quite the tourist destination and as such Cuenca has many guide agencies selling package tours of the park. However, in order to guide in Cajas you have to pass a course that is offered by the park and consequently is pretty expensive. The course last two weeks and requires the guides to be in class ten hours a day. Each day a different topic is addressed. For example, birds on one day, plants of Cajas on another.

Mike was approached by the park staff to see if he would be willing to teach the Mountain Rescue portion of the class. Mike of course accepted and we began to plan a ten hour course on back country first aid. The class was held at 13,000 feet above sea level in the park at Toreadora, the most popular tourist destination in Cajas. We modeled the class after the Wilderness Medicine Institute EMT class we had taken in the states. That means there was a lot of hands on practice and the focus was on a small number of practical things the guides could do en caso de emergencia.

Activity based learning is not common in Ecuadorian culture, so the guides were both surprised by the format and, fortunately for us, completely taken with it. One participant said Mike was the only instructor during the two weeks who got an applause at every break. I guess that Masters is paying off after all.

Guias, Patients, and Llamas

Cajas Run and Photo Contest
Last year Mike and I both participated in the Cajas Run for Conservation. We came in virtually last place but still got a medal and snacks, so of course that made it worth it. Year two, however, required a more active role and we both ended up working at the race instead of participating in it. I was on the team in charge of making and then distributing the gift bags and Mike was manning a table of Cajas posters, fliers, bird guides, and the like. The latter was completely Mike’s idea as he thought if the race is titled Running for the Conservation of Cajas there should be something dedicated to promoting the park and conservation instead of just having the race and handing out snacks and prizes. After a lot of persuasion the park eventually allowed Mike to have the table, but really it took a lot of convincing on Mike’s part.

As part of the Cajas Run, which is held to celebrate its status as a protected area, there was also a photo contest. Mike was begged to enter by his co-workers at the park and at one point was in second place (the photos were judged by the same people who asked him to enter) but was eventually bumped to a lower spot. Apparently, there was some concern in the office about a member of the staff winning a prize. Either way, Mike’s photo was on display for an entire week outside one of the main ETAPA buildings in Cuenca.

The Racers y Una Foto

Cajas
A few nice pictures of Cajas, posted just because they are pretty. Enjoy.

In Cuenca

Cuenca Bus Station
For my birthday Mike and I went to soccer game in Cuenca. It was really fun and had a really nice family atmosphere, which Mike tells me is very different then the atmosphere at soccer games in Tegucigalpa.

Cuenkita
For my birthday Mike and I went to soccer game in Cuenca. It was really fun and had a really nice family atmosphere, which Mike tells me is very different then the atmosphere at soccer games in Tegucigalpa.

Cuenca
For those of you who have forgotten how pretty Cuenca is.

At Home

Below is a collection of events gathered from the steps or window of our apartment: our neighbors tending their lawn, market vendors from Canar, the local butcher, “payments” I have received for tutoring, flowers, and of course Chuspi playing with beatles and eating cuy.

Sayausi Market

Dirty Meat

Battle Axe

Butcher y Chola

Lawn Care

BBQ or Lawn Upkeep?

Fruit and Flowers

Wormy Mora

Chuspi and the Beatle

Searching the Funda

Beatle Stomp

Beatle Chase

Almost got away

Chewing on beatle

Eating Beatle

Chuspi eats Cuy

Dinner is served

Purring for cuy

Purring for the foot

Scapulicious

Chewing cuy

Basqet, Bautizo, y Bastantes Fotos

2009-05-22T16:45:00.006-04:00

May 21, 2009
Thursday
10:00am
Sayausi
Cloudy, 55F

WARNING: The multimedia component of this post is beyond excessive. There are twenty-six videos and hundreds of photos. We`re not sure why there is so much, perhaps we have become digital camera crazy, but we hope you enjoy at least a portion of it.

Bautizo
Several weeks ago we were invited to Juan Diego’s baptism (Juan Diego is Maribel’s son, Maribel is Dona Rita’s daughter, Dona Rita is the sister of our old host mom, Dona Melchora). Juan Diego just turned eight years old but it is not uncommon for children to be baptized at that age or older here. The reason for the “later” baptism is because the family is supposed to throw a huge party after the ceremony where they invite at least a hundred people, feed them tons of food, tons of drink, and provide a DJ to play music all night long: it takes several years to save up enough money to host such a large party.

This year, however, there was enough money saved and so Jaun Diego was getting baptized.

Maribel and Juan Diego came by our apartment at least a month before the date of the baptism to give us our invitation. On the first Saturday of May the mass would be held at 4:00pm followed by dinner and dancing at 7:00pm. We gladly accepted the invitation and the request that we serve as the official photographers for the event.

We spent the next several weeks asking everyone we knew what type of present would be appropriate for a baptism (we had heard from other volunteers that only religious gifts were acceptable). It turns out anything is fine for a baptism present and so we bought a Spiderman pencil box, a Kung Fu Panda board game, and the Kung Fu Panda movie.

When the big day finally arrived we found out that Mike had his first basketball game at three o’clock the same day as the baptism!! Figuring that the game would take just under an hour and that both the basketball court and the church were a three minute walk to our apartment, we thought we would have just enough time to go to the game, change, and get to the church in time for the ceremony. So at three o’clock the game began and at three fifty it ended. We made a mad dash for home, changed out of our respective uniforms (I had had an indoor game at 2:30 that afternoon), cleaned up as best we could without showering (not enough time, and the water was out anyway), and we were out the door by four o’clock and in the church by 4:02pm.

Thinking it was horribly rude for us to arrive even a minute late I was both surprised and not surprised to realize we were some of the first people in the church. Not only that, none of Juan Diego’s family was there yet. I started to worry that maybe we were at the wrong church or perhaps we had read the time wrong. So, I stepped outside to call Norma, Maribel’s sister and Juan Diego’s aunt, to confirm the time and place of the ceremony.

-Norma?
-Yes??
-The ceremony is at four, right?
-Yes, are there a lot of people there already?
-Yeah, there’s a few people but I don’t see Maribel, or Dona Melchora, or anyone. Are we at the right place?
-Yes.
-Are you coming?
-Yeah, we’ll be there soon.

Twenty minutes later just before Jaun Diego was actually baptized his family and the rest of the crowd showed up. We should’ve learned our lesson from this and the last entire year of living in Ecuador but later that night we made the same mistake; showing up on time.

After the ceremony we went home and waited until seven o’clock to leave for the party that started at seven o’clock (thinking that the half hour walk up to the house would put us there at an appropriate time). When we arrived at Maribel’s house eveyone was in their work clothes, there was a bucket of seventeen yet uncooked chickens, giant pots of boiling water, and zero guests. Yes, we were the very first ones there. Not only that we remained the only ones there, other than immediate family, for the next three hours. No joke, we were the only ones there for three entire hours before other people started to show up. During those three whole hours we saw the sound system arrive and get set up, the roasted pig arrived, the fruit for the fruit display arrived, was washed, and finally assembled, the cake stands were set up, the cakes arrived, the cakes were arranged and rearranged, the decorations were hung up, the electricity went off and on several times slowly things down even more, and Mike and I took a lot of pictures.

When other people finally showed up there was an hour and a half of dancing, candy snacks, trago (sweet,warm alcohol), and more dancing. I feel as though I should take a minute here and try to explain what dancing consists of here (and by here I mean family parties in the mountains not dancing at disotecas or anything hip/modern or coastal). Close your eyes. Imagine you are walking down a lovely road. The sun is out, birds are chirping, and every few minutes you see a good neighbor walk by. You’re happy. Your gait is jovial. Your arms swing gaily at your sides. In fact, you’re feeling so merry, so happy in this day that your arms form right angles, and your hands are in little happy fists swinging as you walk, gently bouncing down the street. Now, take away the road but continue walking in place just as before; arms swinging, a slight bounce in your step. This how you dance in the sierra of Ecuador. Of course there are few other details: no eye contact with your partner, very little smiling, and an occasional round of clapping to the music. Not so bad, especially for the rhythmically challenged like myself.

After a few rounds of bouncy dancing, dinner was served…at eleven thirty pm! For those of you who know me there are very few things I do at eleven thirty. In fact there is only one thing I do at eleven thirty: sleep. So, eating soup, a giant chunk pork, an even bigger chunk of chicken, several potatoes, a mountain of rice mixed with hot dog pieces, and a giant cup of the most sugary tea you can imagine was quite the feat for eleven thirty. This was followed by more dancing and eventually cake at two o’ clock in morning, so we hear. We ended up bowing out of the festivities around twelve thirty. Not so bad considering we showed up at seven.

The Ceremony and the Fiesta (double-click to enlarge the image)

Stop playing with your tie

Repeat after me...

Hola, Don Jimmy!

Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is celebrated the same day here as it is in the U.S. and many of the customs are the same: cakes, flowers, candies, stuffed animals carrying big, red hearts that say, “I love you.” However, there are a couple customs that we don’t have in the States. One, there is no school the Friday before nor the Monday after Mother’s Day (this may be Sayausi specific). This seems to me like more work for moms who otherwise wouldn’t have kids to look after but that is my norteamericana perspective. Two, Saturday night the streets are filled with trucks carrying speakers and about a half dozen jovenes (young adults). The trucks stop in front of houses, where they have been told to go, and “serenade” the mother who lives in the house. This “serenading” consists of kids screaming at the top of their lungs for at least forty-five minutes at each house. Also, this all takes place between 2:00 in the morning and 5:00 in the morning. Again, it might just be my norteamericana-ness but this seems like it might not be that enjoyable for a mom who works all day. The moms here love it, so there you go. Enjoy the serenading.

Serenading at 2:00am (the video is really dark because it’s 2am)

Out our bedroom window at 2:15am

Basqet
Mike has finally entered the wonderful world of the Liga Deportiva de Sayausi. And following in my golden footsteps, he is quite the star. The last game his team was winning 51-2 at the half. Ouch!!! Mike being nobler than I, and the other members of his team, let up a little during the second half to end with a 73-16 victory. Who knows, we may have to make room for another trophy in the house, not that it could be as big as my trophy as that would be defying at least one law of physics.

Last year there was no men’s basketball league, for no apparent reason as there has been in the past, so this year everyone was out to get Migi (nothing to do with his ridiculous height advantage). He had at least three different offers from different teams which, I would say, puts him pretty high up in the draft pick (again, nothing to do with the fact that he is at least a foot and a half taller than anyone). But he really had no choice as the men’s counterpart of my soccer team was forming a basketball team i.e. the husband of one of my good friends (and teammate) down here asked Mike to play on his team. Anyway, stay tuned for more “Quisiera ser como Migi” b.ball highlights.

Mike “the baller who’s taller” Carbone (double-click to enlarge the image)

Agua Vida
This week I helped lead a field trip with the group of students I have been working with at the school. There is a branch of ETAPA (a local government agency in charge of water and phones) called Agua Vida. Agua Vida gives environmental education lessons in 36 schools. They visit each school once a month and for one of their last activities they organize a field trip. I was invited by a teacher to accompany the students on the trip, and I gladly accepted (with the idea to worm my way into Agua Vida lessons next year).

The students were so excited you would’ve thought they were going to an amusement park instead of a water treatment plant; again it’s all a matter of perspective. Although I was reminded of my students in Harlem who couldn’t imagine anything more humiliating than to be seen on a yellow school bus, when my students here were shaking in their seats with excitement when the very same yellow school bus pulled into the yard.

After an overly excited rush to the bus to claim the best seats, the ones in the back of course, we were off to our first stop: Cajas National Park. At the park we met up with Ramiro, a parkguard that was in my English classes for several months, led the tour around the lake. During the tour we were on the lookout for birds, of which we saw many, and cool plants, of which we saw many. When we returned back to the guard station we had lunch.

I remember field trips when I was kid. I also remember the cafeteria putting together a sack lunch for each kid. Nothing spectacular just a PB&J, juice, maybe some fruit, definitely no guinea pig. Lunch on this field trip was much more communal, though each student did bring their own pot with lid carrying some rice and meat. Several students brought entire roasted guinea pigs which were divided among all the students and adults. Other students brought liters of Coke which, with the help of 2-3 plastic cups, was eventually divided among all the students and adults. I was given a piece of cuy, a plate of rice, a choclo (corn on the cob), a cup of Coke, and several candies for after lunch. I was offered some chicken and a hard boiled egg but couldn’t manage all of it and so had to decline.

In the bus on the way to our next stop, the water treatment plant, I was offered juice in a different but well used plastic cup, a menthol candy, a coconut lollipop, and some chips. Again, I was forced to decline due to rumblings of cuy in my stomach.

We were only at the water treatment plant for ten or fifteen minutes before heading off to our next stop, the sewage treatment plant. And although we were only at the sewage treatment plant for 30 minutes it was informative and didn’t smell all that bad. Then it was homeward bound, at which point I was offered some cut up fruit and more candy (and they wonder why women gain weight in PeaceCorps). All and all the day was fun and the kids were fantastic.

Field Trippin (double-click to enlarge the image)

Blasts from Blogs Past
Below are new pictures that were missing from previous posts. Enjoy!

The school garden (double-click to enlarge images)

Hi-ho, hi-ho! It`s off to work we go.

Turnip Toss

The Señalizacion de los Senderos de Cajas

Articles about the group that got lost in Cajas and Mike helped find

Indoor game at the Fiestas de Buenos Aires

When it rains...

...it hails.

Our ceilng when it rains, also the floor of the apartment upstairs

Semana Santa in Cuenca

The 15km Jefferson Perez Race, yes we did meet Jef

Excessive Chuspi-ness
All posts will most likely end with a portrait of Chuspi. Since you last saw Chuspi she has gone to the vet, been on a bus, and met several new life forms. Here is this month´s addition to the Chuspi archives.

Meeting New Friends..or Snacks

Apu laughs at Chuspi
A box and a ball
No, get in! Get in!
Camera Crash
Chuspi does nothing
Meet the Beatle
First Contact
They`re Friends
How she`s uses her paw!
Sting like a Bee
Round 2
Velcro Beatle
Scaredy Cat I
Scaredy Cat II
Hiding
Domestic Dispute

Easter, Deporte, y Chuspi

2009-04-25T13:57:00.005-04:00

April 25, 2009
Saturday
1:30pm
Cloudy and breezy, 60F
Cuenca

A Year in Review
For those of you keeping track of time, or those of you that occasionally peruse this blog outside conventional time constructs, we have just reached our one year mark in site. That means Sayausi has been our home for one entire year. Times such as these call for deep reflection and self-analysis. What have I really done this past year? What will the future bring? Why does the gas truck come so late on Fridays? I suppose more time in site may shed light on these probing questions, or I may still have no idea why buying five papayas costs more per papaya than buying only three. Only Father Time knows and so we will await his omniscient reason and in the meantime patiently pass the time until seven thirty for the gas truck on Fridays and gladly buy papayas in threes instead of fives.

Easter Pascua (not Navidad Pascua)
Pascuas Past
Last Easter we were in La Esperanza located about forty five minutes West of Cayambe, which in turn is located about an hour North of Quito. We went several masses, ate fanesca, were troubled by the scary people in purple robes, and ate tons of homemade humitas (tamales for those of you more familiar with Mexican gastronomy). To refresh your memory and stroll down the pleasant roads of yesteryear check out our Easter Post from last year by clicking here.

Pascuas Present
This Easter we saw many processions, heard the warning bells for many masses, were overwhelmed by the smell of rosemary on Palm Sunday, and we observed the final station of the Via de la Cruz from the comfort and safety of our apartment (my favorite “tradition” is that after the last station the plaza was raided by ice cream vendors and I’m pretty sure the entire town of Sayausi partook in a rico helado, I later asked about this “tradition” as I saw it to be and was told that it was not a tradition at all, people were just cooling down after the long walk that is the Via de la Cruz…but if it happens every year, and only once a year at the exact same time than what is it?). We would have participated more fully in the goings on had I not been with gripe (a cold, flu-like, non-specific illness).

As it was we were busy cooking up a storm. No, we were not attempting our own version of fanesca (see last year’s post) we were busy creating our own version of some Carbone family classics. Now of course, with the exception of Easter Salad which was still made by a Carbone, the remaining dishes were made with the blood, sweat, and tears of a Driscoll-MacEachron. So, below is the menu for our Ecua-Easter Sunday:

Breakfast:
Easter Salad
Googala
Easter Bread (Of which I made tons and gave out to several families that we are close with in town. They all loved it and were completely amazed, as was I, that the egg cooks in the oven with the bread. Also, everyone thought it was a lot like guas-guas de pan (babies of bread) which are made in abundance for the Dia de los Difuntos, see our November post for more information)

Lunch:
Repeat of Breakfast

Dinner:
Lasagna with homemade spinach noodles
Salad (hecho by fellow PCV Kelly)

Dessert (Special Note: We were going to make a wheat pie but I had tuckered myself out and so called upon a more tried and true dessert)
Sugar Cookies (hecho by Me and Kelly)

On a scale of a-very-Eastery Easter to a-not-so-very-Eastery Easter, I think we hit it out of the ballpark with a super-Eastery Easter. Of course there were no dyed eggs as all of the eggs here are shades of brown and more often than not soiled (see pictures) and Easter egg dye is essentially nonexistent, so there were some lacking elements but the spirit was there and that’s what counts! So, Happy Easter to one and all!!!!

Easter in Ecuador (double-click to enlarge)

Pascua Future
Like I know what’s going to happen next Easter! You’ll just have to check back then and find out. Or next year, I can post a link to this year’s blog and it will be like I wrote about next year’s blog this year…who’s with me?

Es Lindo Hacer Deporte
Once again we had a month filled with athletic events and we were told many a time by many an Ecua, “es lindo hacer deporte.” Which roughly translates to, “It’s nice to do sports.” Everyone from the woman who works at the lavanderia to the man who sells pinapples in the street would tell us, “Si, es lindo hacer deporte” especially when I was walking around town in my very red uniform (see the parade of uniforms post).

Indoor
This month I was invited to join another soccer team. The team is made up of some of the same women on the soccer team that I am already on but the games are played on a different field and it’s not called “futbol” it’s called “indoor”. The origins from this name are based on the size of the field. The field is small like the size of the fields used for indoor soccer in the States. However, unlike in the states “indoor” is not played indoors. The field is in someone’s backyard and since it is bordered by corn and sheep it is most definitely outdoors. To help me get ready for this new sport we went to our local tienda and bought a brand new “indoor” ball so that I can practice. We were quite surprised to find out that the ball for “indoor” does not bounce….here is the proof….

Click here to see the video!

Last Sunday I played my third “indoor” game outdoors on the muddiest field I have ever seen during a mild downpour. My very red uniform was completely black with mud after the game and I only finished cleaning it yesterday after several days of soaking and scrubbing. In any event, “indoor” is fun and it means that I now have a game every weekend and two games every other weekend, as my “futbol” team only plays once every fifteen days but “indoor” plays outdoors every week.

Basket
We have known for quite sometime that there is a women’s basketball league in Sayausi. In fact I have been invited to play several times but have declined since my basketball skills are far below my futbol ones. However, we have recently discovered that a men’s basketball league is starting up. We learned this by the many solicitations Mike has received to play on different teams. Being 6’2’’ is something that is not easily overlooked here in Sayausi where at 5’4’’ I am taller than the average man.

Next week the season starts and it looks like Mike will be playing on the Buenos Aires Men’s Basket (they just say, “basket” not “basketball”) Team. We selected that team for him since it is made up entirely of the husbands of the women on my futbol team. Now we just have to find shoes…if only that were as easy as it sounds. Shoe sizes are EU here and Mike needs a forty-six. In Cuenca, a city with half a million inhabitants, the largest shoe size that can be found is a forty-one. Wish us luck and check back later for basket highlights!

Fesitval Atletica de Cuenca
Every year Jefferson Perez (see Olympic post) organizes a giant 15km race to raise money for various causes. The cost to register is $1 and you get a t-shirt, a medal, a water bottle, a little bag, and about a thousand promotional coupons for various local businesses. Needless to say they had us at t-shirt. Here is a link to the official event website.

Last Saturday we and five thousand others gathered at the mall to collect our number, running chip, and t-shirt. After three hours of waiting in a line that actually wasn’t that long (probably about thirty yards) Jefferson Perez himself handed us our bag of goodies and we were ready to race!

Last Sunday at 10:00am we and five thousand others gathered at that start line for the annual Jefferson Perez 15km. Considering I had had a pretty serious cold for two weeks at this point, I was feeling a little nervous about the following nine miles. Not to mention that in the three previous races we had participated in here in the Cuenca area we both finished close to last. It seems that there are very few casual runners in Cuenca and as such I am almost always one of the last ones to cross the finish line. So imagine my surprise when there were lots, and I mean lots, of slow runners participating in the 15km. I looked average, and average was a welcome change from far below it.

Running with kleenex in hand on the cobbled streets of historic Cuenca, through rain and sun, I arrived at the finish line about ten minutes after Mike after completing the mandatory lap around the stadium track to a crowd of cheering onlookers. However, we had little time to relish our respectful finishing times as I had an “indoor” game that started in an hour. So, off we went to ‘hacer mas deporte’ because it is really nice to do sports.

Work
Although Peace Corps work is really about being here, living here, and all that that entails we realize that sometimes our stateside readers need a fix about our so called “actual” work, so here it is; some of the things we have been doing for the past few months at “actual” work….

Me
I am still working primarily a local elementary school where I collaborate with the kindergarten teacher several times a week to help with English instruction as well as basic literacy skills in Spanish. (Follow this link to see pics of the school taken during the kiss the flag ceremony). I have also been working with ETAPA, the local municipal water provider, to run a plant nursery and school vegetable garden where we bring a class of fifth graders to assist in the upkeep of the plants at both the nursery and the garden (Follow this link to see pics of the parade and museum I organized last June with this same organization). I am trying to implement a larger educational component for the fifth graders while they are at the nursery and garden but it looks like I will have to keep working on that for a while as the mindset of both the students and teachers is that outside time is not learning time.

Que mas…I’m helping a local teacher with a field trip for mid-May where we will visit several nearby lakes and learn about the water cycle, water treatment, and of course cuidaring (taking care of) our water resources. I continue to do cooking lessons with a few women who have taken a strong interest in things like tortillas, pizza, and carrot soup. (Click here to see a previous post of me cooking with the ladies)

So work is good and it looks like things are popping up more and more and I am still finding new things to do and ways to help out despite not working directly with an established counterpart.

Mike
Mike has spent the last month working on a trail marking project. About a month ago a Polish guy showed up at the park saying he wanted to pay for and execute a trail project. Cajas of course agreed to the free money and free service and Mike jumped at the opportunity to be working in the park (not the office) on a daily basis participating in a project that would have real results without any signatures required. Not to mention the fact that two months ago a group of six fishermen got lost in the park, Mike had to organize search teams (made up of park guards, fireman, police and army) to go find them, and that none of that would have happened had the trails been properly marked.

At this point almost all of the trails have been marked and Matt (the Polish guy) and Mike have spent countless hours walking the trails with a GPS, a paintbrush, paint, and map marking key spots on each of the eight trails (a total of about 40 miles in length most of it at least 12,000 feet above sea level). Next week they are putting in wooden signs at each of the places where the trails meet indicating the names of the trails that are converging, how long each of the trails is from that point, and the difficulty level of each trail. (Follow this link to see pictures of Cajas National Park)

As a side project Mike has been going to a Neotropical Fauna class at the University of Azuay to help preserve and stuff a wolf (really just an Andean fox, but they call it a wolf) that a co-worker found in the park. Last week they took off the skin and threw away the insides. Next week, they are degreasing the skin with gasoline and beginning the preservation and stuffing process. Keep checking back to see how the wolf gets back to the park. (Follow this link to see a picture of a live wolf-fox)

Politico
It’s election time again! That means lots of little cars with big megaphones on their roof, parades, late night rallies in the plaza, posters with faces and numbers everywhere, political jingles on the radio and TV, and no sale or public consumption of alcohol from Friday at noon until Monday. Also it means we can’t leave our site, give interviews, be on TV, visit polling sites (see link to Constitution post when we did visit a polling site), or anything else that could be considered in any way, shape, or form, political. As such I have nothing more to say about the upcoming election where Correa is expected to win by all credible news sources.

Can you find the election posters??? (double-click image to enlarge)

Gratuitous Chuspi videos
And for your viewing pleasure…Chuspi playing with random objects!!!!

These were all taken this morning as I was writing the blog. That means Mike had nothing to do...hence, all of the videos. Enjoy!!!

Click here to see Chuspi play with paper

Click here to see Chuspi play with a bottle cap

Click here to see Chuspi play with a plastic bag

Click here to see Chuspi play with tagua

Click here to see Chuspi watching and running away from tagua

Click here to see Chuspi watching tagua and the camera

Click here to see Chuspi play with tagua and plastic bag

Click here to see Chuspi play with tagua and plastic bag, again

Carnaval y otras fiestas

2009-03-26T16:00:00.002-04:00

March 20, 2009
Friday
7:10am
Cloudy and Rainy, 55F
Sayausi

Carnaval
In our last blog we briefly explained what Carnaval is and the nationwide water, flour, and silly string fight that last from Friday through Tuesday of Carnaval. However, when we posted our last blog we had yet to actually participate in said water fight and were relatively clueless as to the finer details of this nationwide water fight. Now, we are seasoned Carnaval participants and can report on what it is like to be in Ecuador for their week long equivalent of Fat Tuesday.

We left off on the Friday of Carnaval when we were headed back from Riobamba after attempting a climb of Volcan Chimborazo. The drive out of Riobamba took place amidst a monster parade followed by an all out war zone of water fighting, flour throwing, and silly string dousing. When we arrived in Cuenca our bus was assaulted by water balloons soaking the first several rows of people on the bus. In Sayausi we made it to the safety of our apartment dodging buckets of water and water balloons which were being thrown from the roofs of surrounding buildings.

Saturday and Sunday began at just before dawn with an onslaught of homemade fireworks exploding every five to ten seconds until mass began around nine. Each mass was preceded and proceeded by a parade accompanied by another massive round of these homemade fireworks that release no show of lights when they explode, only an earth shattering “CRACK” that sounds exactly like gun fire (which makes sense since aside from bamboo and newspaper, they are made of gunpowder). Additionally, every time one of these firecrackers goes off it causes every car alarm within a half mile radius to go off as well. The result is more or less captured in the footage below.

The water fighting continued all through Saturday and Sunday. We saw a lot of the action from the safety of our apartment. The usually peaceful Sunday market was punctuated by occasional squeals and shouts from people soaking others, getting soaked themselves, or in somewhere in between one of those two stages. Even the Padre got out the hose and participated in the water festival.

Monday it was out turn.

Our host mom’s sister, Dona Rita, invited us up to her house for a carnaval feast. Having some idea that this feast may also include a little fight (in the form of throwing water) we dressed down for the occasion wearing clothes we not very attached to, or at least had no use for in the following week. Also, we made sure not to take our camera since we knew it would get wet….that means no pictures, but I’m sure you can imagine what it was like.

We arrived at Dona Rita’s house around ten o‘clock in the morning and were immediately put to work. I was a deliverer of various goods between the kitchen in the house and the smoke house where Mike was put to work roasting one of five cuyes (for pictures of the cuy roast check out our post from September when Don Jimmy visited us…same smoke house, same fire, same cholitas, same cuy sticks). Other meat prepared for that day include: several chickens and a roasted rabbit. Mike was told that he has a “muy linda mano” (a very pretty hand) for roasting cuy as his cuy turned out perfectly i.e. super red and crispy. He also got to eat a roasted rabbits foot as a snack since it was burning and needed to be removed. During the roasting, which took the better part of four hours, the family that wasn’t directly involved in the cooking i.e. the children, one Rita’s daughters who works six 14 hour days a week, and some of the older male cousins were of course engaged in an extreme water fight.

Please remember that it is cloudy with zero sun with the ambient temperature hovering in the low to mid 50sF and the water temperature closer to freezing than not and of course there is no sort of heat in the houses which are primarily made of concrete. Needless to say participating in a water fight in these conditions leaves the participants very wet and very, very cold.

Our luck held on, however, as we made through the roasting and other feast preparations without getting soaked. We did get espuma-ed (covered in a silly string like substance that comes in a can and is called “espuma”, it smells like a mixture between soap and shaving creams and dissolves pretty rapidly).

Around three o’clock the food was ready and everyone sat down to enjoy the fruits of their labor….
First Course: Chicken soup with mote and aji (a salsa made from tree tomato)
Second Course: Rice fried with noodles and hot dog, boiled chicken, roasted rabbit, roasted cuy, potatoes, and a glass of Coke
Third Course: Canned peaches and canalasso (warm, cinnamon rum drink)

At around four or four thirty after roasting for four hours and eating for one or two hours, we started making our excuses for having to leave. This started the second round of the Carnaval feast day celebrations. Apparently, one of the reasons for the feast and all the edible goodies is so that the guests can’t complain when they are attacked afterwards (although the people who host are also subjected to the chaos which ensued)!

Out came the boxes of flour and suddenly the living room and all of the people in it were covered in flour (yes, the water, flour, and espuma fighting is not limited to outdoors)! The flour was then covered by espuma and then people were carried outdoors (myself included) where they were doused with several buckets of near freezing water. Thinking about it sets my teeth chattering de nuevo. Mike, though he was not carried, was then also soaked with several buckets of the same near freezing water. After we were both floured, espuma-ed, and drenched to the bone we were allowed to say our goodbyes and start the long walk home.

I don’t think I mentioned that Dona Rita’s house is in the neighborhood where I teach and as such I know a large number of children in the area, and more importantly for this walk during Carnaval, a large number of children know me. I guess we left Rita’s at about the same time that all the other families had finished with their feasting and had smoothly transitioned into the water fighting portion of the day because the streets were lined with kids armed with bottles, buckets, hoses, and water balloons. Our twenty minute walk was pointedly marked every fifty yards by kids yelling, “Senorita!” and then some sort of water attack. On the way home we were soaked by at least seven kids with buckets of water and one very determined kid with a hose. By the time we got to our apartment I’m pretty sure my core body temperature had dropped by several degrees. Fortunately, we have a water heater and at least seven boxes of tea so we were warmed up quickly. (we did take a couple pictures of what we looked like upon returning home, but by then most of the flour and all of the espuma had been washed away, and there is no way the picture can capture how cold we were!)

Tuesday we had planned to go visit our friend Carmita for a little bit in the morning and then spend the rest of the day recuperating from Monday. However, at Carmita’s we ran into Ruth (a friend of ours from soccer) who invited us over to her family’s house which is two houses down from Carmita’s. And so by ten o’clock Tuesday morning we were back in the Carnaval swing of things.

Ruth lives in a house with her daughter, mom, dad, sister, and her sister’s daughter. This makes up about one twentieth of the people, all family, who were at her house that Carnaval Tuesday. Unlike Dona Rita’s where they filled up buckets from the faucet and then soaked people with the buckets, Ruth’s family had several inflatable swimming pools set up the largest of which was over two meters (seven feet) in length and at least one meter (three feet) wide (this did not stop people from making jokes about Mike’s size and whether or not he would fit in the pool, the best of which include; “We’ll have to fold him up”, “Who has a chainsaw so we can fit him in the pool”, and “ We’ll have to soak him part by part”). Needless to say we did not make it long without getting thrown into one of these pools. Fortunately, there was some sun in the morning so we dried out a little in between soakings.

The feast at Ruth’s included the following:
First course: Crackers with a sweet coconut, vanilla spread and canalasso drink
Second Course: Chicken soup with mote, aji, and canalasso
Third Course: Grilled Sausage, Potatoes, Chicken, Rice, Mote, Agua de Remedios, and canalasso
Fourth Course: A roll, pineapple marmalade, cheese, and canalasso

Being seasoned Carnavalers by this time we knew the party was not over after the food was served and eaten. Sure enough about ten minutes after everybody had finished eating the soaking resumed (not that it ever really stopped as buckets were thrown during the meal and the hose wasn’t turned off at any point during the day). However, I did think that since we had been such good sports earlier we might be sparred another trip to the pool….wrong, wrong, wrong. We were both ceremoniously (or unceremoniously) carried and dunked into the pool again, which by now was filled with mud and all sorts of yard debris. We were also each individually called upon to be participants in the Reina y Rey of Carnaval competition, which meant not only did we get soaked again we first had to parade around the pool as people cheered. I came in second place and was given a fake rose (the winner was thrown in the pool yet again after having eggs cracked on her head). Mike also got second place and was awarded a crown (the winner was covered with mud and then thrown into the pool). I’m sure that we each would have won, but they didn’t want to subject us to the eggs and mud…..we were thankful.

Then everyone gathered around the bonfire and were served coffee with bread and a piece of candy, which if you are counting is course number five for the day. After an hour or so of hanging out by the fire we said our “thank yous” and “goodbyes” and headed home for hot water and tea this time avoiding the street lined with kids and buckets of water.

Water fighting and more!

Padre leading the Procession while singing

The Band plays on...

What Carnaval sounds like...

Juramento de la Bandera
The Friday after Carnaval is a big day for seventh graders in Ecuador. On this day every seventh grader across the country swears to the flag. This means several things: they have to wear their fancy uniform with their white gloves, they have to practice the national anthem a lot so they can sing along during the ceremony, everyone gets out of classes for the day, and they are sworn to protect their country and their flag. I think it’s kind of like saying the Pledge of Allegiance in the States except they only have to do it once instead of everyday from first grade through twelfth like we do (or did) back home.

The day started with an hour and a half of recess during which time the kids played soccer and tag and stuffed themselves with hot dogs, french fries, and candy (a very normal recess here in Ecuador). Then around nine o’clock all of the kids, from second to fourth grade, lined up and got ready to march.

The entire ceremony took about an hour and a half during which time the students marched in, sang the national anthem, listened to a speech about the battle of Tarqui, another speech about being loyal to the flag, sang the hymn of Cuenca which sounds exactly the same as the national anthem, and finally swore to the flag.

To swear to the flag each child marches up to the flag, takes a knee, says “Te prometo” (I promise you), kisses the flag, then stands up and marches away. Then the ceremony is essentially over and all the kids line up to take pictures with their parents and the director of the school. I was the informal photographer of the day and so the event is pretty well documented, enojy!

My School

Recreo

Directing the Students

Marching

Sumakguaguapumachuspisapa
On the last day of February 2009 we went to the Feria Libre (the big market here in Cuenca) to look at kittens. And looking of course turned into buying and that is how Chuspi came into our lives.

We had looked at a few stalls that had kittens but the stall Chuspi was at was filled with chickens, ducks, turkeys, cuyes, dogs, geese, and who knows what else. As such it was a pretty noisy stall and we ended up stopped there for a few minutes just to take in the chaos of a ten foot by ten foot tent stacked high with countless cages each stuffed with various animalitos. It didn’t take long to spot the lone cage with several kittens crouched into the corner looking just about as pathetic as you can without looking ill.

Chuspi was the first one we pulled out and I guess once you hold a kitten there’s no putting it back so we played with here for a little bit at the stall. During this time a duck escaped and Mike was asked to grab the escapee. Having never caught a duck before, and not being able to stand up straight because of the low blue tarps and various ropes stringing them together, Mike was at a severe disadvantage and I’m pretty sure the duck got away as they still hadn’t found it by the time we left about ten minutes later.

So after a few minutes of playing with Chuspi and duck hunting we gave the lady at the stall three dollars and left with Chuspi in hand to find a basket to carry her home in.

Later that day we gave her her full name which translates roughly to “pretty little puma that’s a lot like a fly” a.k.a Sumakguaguapumachuspisapa or for those who know her well or don’t speak Kichwa simply Chuspi, which means fly.

We have now had Chuspi for three weeks during which time she has learned to use a litter box, doubled in size which makes her about 2 lbs and eight inches long, and has learned to jump to the amazing height of six inches.

Chuspi!!

Chuspi climbs up

St. Joseph’s Day
As most of you already know, March 19th is St. Joseph’s Day. You may or may not know that St. Joseph is the patron saint of Sicily. A long, long time ago there was a severe drought raging through Sicily and the people prayed to St. Joseph for rain. They promised that if the rains came they would have a feast to honor him. And very soon the rains came so the people of Sicily did not starve. In fact the rains allowed them to harvest their fava crops and so they survived on favas, or maybe they survived on favas during the drought. It happened some time ago so the details are a little fuzzy. Either way, St. Joseph’s Day is celebrated by creating an altar to St. Joseph and preparing a feast that includes the fava bean.

Luckily for us the fava (or haba bean en espanol) is super popular up here in the highlands of Ecuador and in preparation for the feast we bought three pounds of fava beans and told our friends to make fava-licious recipes for the feast of St. Joseph.

After cooking for several hours and constructing a worthy altar to St. Joseph everyone arrived (four other Peace Corps Volunteers from the Cuenca area) and the feasting began!

The Feast
Spicy pickled favas
Roasted curried favas
Roasted honey mustard favas
Sauteed favas with garlic and oregano
Roasted peppers with red wine vinegar
Assorted fruits
Bean dip with fava chips
Rosemary foccacia with herbed butter
Potato Rolls
Minestrone soup
Fava shepard’s pie
Biscotti
Pound Cake
Spinge cookies with ricotta filling

The Altar
Three tiered
St. Joseph card
Candles
Balsam wood incense
Bread Crumbs (symbolize the fact the Joseph was a carpenter)
Fava beans
Wine
Flowers
Fruit
Sprinkles
Fresh pasta
Fresh herbs
Anything we had with a face on it (Pez dispensor, Al Gore St. Patrick’s Day card, piggy bank, owl key chain)
Anything shiny or pretty (medals from races, bracelets, ribbons, hand stitched heart from Valentine’s day, hand woven change basket, pine cones from Long Island)

The musical entertainment consisted of a customized playlist of Italian artists, Italian-American artists, songs that were or sounded like they could be from the Mediterranean, and a DVD of a performance of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. hosted by Johnny Carson. Nothing but the best for St. Joseph’s Day.

Feasting

Wedding
This past Saturday Mike and I were invited to a wedding in Cuenca. The wedding was for a friend of ours in his third year of service with the Peace Corps who has been dating Gaby, an ecuadorian, for the past two years. We used this muy formal event to justify getting a suit made for Mike, as suits in the States never fit his unique build ( i.e. tall and thin). There were nine other volunteers at the wedding and about 90 Ecuadorians all ready to eat, drink, and dance. The ceremony started at five and we weren’t back in Sayausi until midnight (a late night for us). Enjoy the pictures and keep an eye out for the “dama de amor” (this is a woman who traditionally dresses in red and is supposed to distract all the single young men from the bride).

Pics from the Wedding

Volcan Chimborazo

2009-02-21T12:03:00.005-05:00

February 21, 2009
Saturday
8:07am
Sayausi
Partly Cloudy, 55F

Atletismo
This past week we decided to test our aerobic capabilities in two arenas: running a 10k at 9,000ft and attempting a hike up Chimborazo a volcano whose summit is over 20,700ft above sea level; the closest point to the sun on the entire planet (thanks to equatorial bulge).

Reference points: We will be talking a lot about altitude in this post so here’s a few points of reference from the states:

Highest mountain east of the Mississippi River is just over 6,000 feet above sea level.
Highest peak in the lower 48 is just over 14,000 feet above sea level.
Combine the two of those and you get Volcan Chimborazo at 20,700 feet above sea level.

146th and 184th
The 10k race was last Sunday and the course wove through the streets of Cuenca. Like all the other races we have participated in or observed in Ecuador there were no casual runners. Everyone showed up in their fancy running shorts and tank tops doing star jumps and other ridiculous looking warm up activities. They also all brought their racing attitude i.e. I am going to give it my all and if I am not vomiting at the end of this race I did not try hard enough. Needless to say that is not the attitude I showed up with. Nor have I spent my life running at 9,000ft above sea level like every other participant (excluding Mike and the other volunteer who were also running in the race). As such I began the race towards the back of the 250 person pack and finished in the back as well. My place being 184th out of 250. Mike did slightly better coming in at 146th place. I guess this should have been an indication of our preparedness to climb Chimbo which again peaks out at over 20,000ft above sea level and is the highest place on the planet.

The Chimbo Trek
Since arriving back in Ecuador Mike and another volunteer, Garrett, have been planning their attempt to climb Chimborazo. The climb to the summit is supposed to take between 8-10 hours and the descent an additional 2-4 hours, depending of course on the speed at which you are walking which is dictated by fitness level, snow level, and level of acclimatization, and of course level of craziness (which according to me has to be set higher than average). The climb itself, we were told, is not technical and only requires that a person be in good shape. By the end of the trip our definition of good shape and even altitude acclimatization had completely changed.

Entrenemiento
To prepare for this climb Mike was of course hiking in Cajas on a regular basis (I too was going on these hikes but as I have a more average level of craziness I never intended to attempt a summit on Chimbo and instead planned on staying at the refuge while the other made their climb; as such these were not training hikes for me, they were just normal hikes).

These hikes usually peaked out at around 13,000 ft above sea level and we went out hiking for 4-6 hours once or twice a week in the month leading up to Chimbo. The highest we hiked up to during our training was Paraguillas which reaches 14,500ft above sea level.

In addition to these hikes, Mike had started a weight-lifting regime which included going into our dojo with the gas tank, a brick, several big bottles of water, and a few big rocks. I am not sure what the regime consisted of but it took about an hour and he came out tired and sweaty…boys. On my part, I was going for 40-50 minute runs several times a week, in preparation for my stay at the refuge. After my last Andean mountain refuge stay three years ago at Cotopaxi where we had to come down due to my mild altitude sickness I was trying not to take any chances.

So, after a full four weeks of this intense training schedule, Garrett and Gina (two volunteers that started their service in Bolivia but were relocated to Ecuador after Bolivia was forced to kick out the US Ambassador and PeaceCorps Bolivia was shut down) arrived in Sayausi to make the trip up to Riobamba the nearest city to Volcan Chimborazo.

Gearing Up
On Tuesday morning, the day we were planning to leave for Riobamba the city closest to Chimbo, while walking towards the bus terminal in Cuenca with our backpacks we got a call from the mountain guide agency. They were calling to see if we still wanted to go up even though it wasn’t a full moon. Apparently, since global climate change started messing with normal weather patterns they have found that the weather on Chimbo is better around the full moon and our chances for a summit would be greater if we postponed two weeks and attempted our climb with a full moon shining down. They also wanted to let us know that the recent weather on the mountain had been fairly bad (lots of snow) and that they can never guarantee what the climbing conditions will be like, but that they “confiar en la luna”.

Now, none of us were earth science majors but even with our biology degrees we were pretty confident that the moon has very little influence on mountain weather patterns. So despite what the guide shop was advising us, we decided to go ahead and leave as originally planned as the historically best times for climbing Chimbo are June-August and December-February and if we waited two more weeks we would be climbing during the historically worst time to climb. “Worst” times to climb and “best” times to climb being based on the weather and snow level during these times. Surprisingly when there is a lot of snow it makes the climb a lot harder and the chances of reaching the summit before utter exhaustion are low.

So, at 11:00am on Tuesday morning we set off for Riobamba. After six hours of slow curvy Andean highland semi-paved highway we arrived. A half an hour after that we got a phone call from PeaceCorps telling us that the road between Cuenca and Riobamba (the same that we just took) was off limits to volunteers due to landslides and subsequent road closures. Talk about timing! If we had left any later PeaceCorps wouldn’t have let us go, we would’ve lost our deposit money and our chance to climb Chimbo (Parents of the world, please do not worry too much, had it been really bad we would’ve cut our financial losses in favor of our safety…or at least I would have and then Mike would’ve had to as well).

After talking with PeaceCorps and letting them know we were in fact safe, it was time to eat, and eat, and eat. We met up with another volunteer who lives in Riobamba and she took us to a little pizza place where I think Mike may have eaten his weight in food, all in preparation for the climb of course.

Wednesday morning we walked around Riobamba until one o’clock when we went to the mountain guide agency to get all of our gear and then head up to the refuge. We were supposed to go the agency earlier but a group of Germans who were up on Chimbo the night before got really sick on the mountain and the guides were busy all morning getting them off the mountain and back to safer altitudes.

At the guide shop the climbers, Mike, Garrett, and Gina, were given boots, crampons, an ice ax, water resistant pants, a fleece, a water-resistant jacket, giant gloves, a harness, a headlamp, and gators (things that cover your shoe up to your knee so snow doesn’t fall into your boots). I was given the warm clothing, a sleeping bag, and none of the climbing gear.

After picking up some roasted chicken and the rest of our food for the next 20 hours we got in the car and started the drive up to the first refuge located about an hour and half from Riobamba with an altitude of 15,748 ft above sea level (the same altitude as the refuge on Cotopaxi where I got sick from the altitude three years earlier). The ride up was half on a paved road and half on a windy, cinder road with visibility of about ten feet due to heavy fog (at this altitude they are clouds, but it still seems like fog). The only things that would occasionally break the white blanket of fog were giant volcanic rocks strewn across the barren landscape and several prancing vicuna (a relative of the alpaca with extraordinarily fine fibers and a very small population).

When we arrived at the first refuge there was a blanket of snow with a depth of at least 3-4 inches. We were told that it is a rare thing to have snow that low on the mountain….retrospectively a warning that there would be huge quantities of snow higher up the mountain. At the first refuge we were given a snack of tea and popcorn followed an hour later by dinner. It was sometime between the snack and dinner when my head started to hurt…totally psychological right, that I would get the same symptom of altitude sickness at the exact same altitude I got sick last time?

Once we had finished dinner we donned all our gear and headed up to the second refuge on a cinder trail lined with giant volcanic boulders (both red ones and black ones), covered with snow, and a visibility range of 20 feet at best.

Drive North, Gear Up, and the First Refuge

16,404 ft – 19,???ft
The hike to the second refuge took about 30 minutes and all the physical and aerobic strength I had, made painfully obvious by the persistence of my headache and the onset of mild nausea. We were now at 16,404ft above sea level, the highest any of us had ever been.

At this altitude I was not the only with a headache, but everyone else maintained their positivity and hoped that a couple of hours of sleep before the climb would help. So, at 7:00pm we got into our sleeping bags and attempted to doze off for a few hours before the 11:30pm wake up call.

I can only speak for myself and Mike but those few hours were anything but restful. My heart rate never dropped below 90 beats per minute, my headache just got worse, and the sleeping bag was not keeping me warm. In fact, I was probably shivering for the entire time, my shivers ranging from mild to severe jerking spasms. During these restless hours I was considering my bailout option: hiking down to the first refuge and paying the guide there any sum of money to drive me back to Riobamba. Luckily, I was about to inherit three additional sleeping bags once everyone left on their hike so I decided to wait it out and see if warmth would make things better (spoiler alert: the extra sleeping bags did in fact make all the difference and I slept like a rock from 12:30 onward).

At 11:30 pm the guides came to wake everyone from their restless sleep. Mike, Garrett, and Gina got up and began gearing up by the light of their headlamps and shuffling down to the first floor where “breakfast” by candlelight was waiting (there is no electricity at this altitude). I too got up and went downstairs to enjoy the small fire (the wood comes up on donkey) and stretch out my now cramped muscles from tossing, turning, and shivering the past four hours. As Mike was being strapped into a harness that he would later be using to repel down an icy rock face, I sipped some hot chocolate, warmed my hands by the fire, and started to feel a little better.

When 12:30am rolled around it was time for the hike to start. The hike has to start in the middle of the night so that you can reach the summit and head back down before the sun has time to melt the snow causing avalanches and other mountain dangers. The equatorial sun is strong even at altitude. So, in the pitch black of midnight Mike, Garret, Gina and their two Kichwa and Spanish speaking guides set out from the second refuge headed up, and up, and up. I turned around, went, back upstairs, grabbed all of the sleeping bags, constructed a serious cocoon, and quite literally passed out into a lovely deep sleep.

Meanwhile…

…the hike began. Though I only saw the headlamps creeping up the first 10 meters of the path, and the reflective patches on their jackets shining back, I have been told Mike and the gangs’ accounts of what happened and have been given permission to relay that information here. The trail was steep. Very steep. Steeper than expected and relentless in its incline. There were no places where the trail leveled off. In fact, it actually got steeper as you went further along. At its easiest point the incline was most like a staircase but it would be more appropriate to compare the majority of the trail to a ladder. The trail was also surrounded by steep, sloping drop offs that dropped off for thousands of feet into a sea of darkness. The term “trail” is also slightly inappropriate as there were several feet of fresh snow on the mountain hence covering any “trail” that may exist below it. In the few places where the snow was thin, because of the steep slope, the “trail” was solid rock covered by a crust of ice.

“Crampon, crampon, ice ax,” were the words that continued to float through Mike’s head as he advanced slowly up the trail. This translates in layman’s terms to, “Left foot, right foot, cane,” but with the added physical challenge of kicking your feet into icy snow with each short stride and plunging the spiked end of the ice ax down several feet to provide an anchor in case the snow under your feet gives out and you start to slip downhill. (Notes for the non-climber: The ice-ax is attached to your safety harness by a short rope, so if your footing gives way and you slip and fall your ice-ax should catch you and support your weight. Also, each climbers harness is attached to their guides harness by a 20ft rope incase of fall, of which we did have one but thanks to the rope and harness system no one went sliding thousands of feet down the mountain. Crampons are the spiky metal things that look like mini bear traps that you strap to the bottom of your plastic mountain boots and use to kick into the snow and ice for traction.)

And of course, during all of this your body is severely deprived of oxygen. So, after two hours of ascent they arrived at the top of an inverted V shaped ridge, and despite the steep sides, this ridge was the one and only level part of the hike. This is where Mike took the only pictures we have of the hike as it was unbelievably cold and otherwise dangerous to take out the camera and let go of your anchor i.e. your ice ax which is what stands between you and slipping downhill into that unending dark slope to oblivion. But I’ve been told you could see both the Southern Cross and the Big Dipper so maybe it was worth it.

Another hour of “crampon, crampon, ice ax” and Mike started asking the guide some questions about how much longer there was to go and how hard the descent was. Three hours of constant hiking and there was still another five to go plus the descent which is faster but more energy demanding than the ascent. Considering this information plus the fact that the slope was getting even steeper causing more slipping and less upward movement, and that it was impossible to take more than four consecutive steps in row without stopping to rest, and that you couldn’t rest without getting really, really, cold, and you needed to rest more because the trail was getting harder, and that with every step you go there is less oxygen available, and that Mike is no longer single and twenty-one, he decided it was time to turn around and head back.

So, at nineteen thousand and some number of feet above sea level after three and a half hours of hiking up Mike and one of the guides turned around and started descending back toward the refuge located just over three thousand vertical feet below them. Gina, Garrett, and the second guide continued uphill for another hour or so before later coming to the same decision.

The hike down was faster as it included more slipping, sliding, and a free form of sledding (without a sled) down a particularly steep section that involved Mike in a seated position using his ice ax as a handbrake with the guide he was still roped to behind him doing the same thing for about 300 yards. In addition to this free form sledding Mike had to repel down a 20 foot rock face covered with snow and ice. Repelling meaning the guide was holding all of Mike’s weight using a rope that they were each tied into by the harnesses they were wearing. As Mike slowly kicked to find footing with the toe part of each crampon and hammer in with the pick end of his ice ax he made his way down…as for the guide, he did the same thing without the additional safety of someone supporting his weight (I guess that’s why you pay for the guide).

Aside from the bitter cold, the steep drop offs into mountain crevices, the lack of oxygen, and the psychological challenge of forcing your body to its physical limits, the hike I was told, was absolutely gorgeous. The sky was clear allowing thousands of stars to decorate the otherwise black sky and a crescent moon eventually peaked over the mountain top turning the snow into a blanket of iridescent blue. So, despite numb fingers and toes, burning lungs, and extreme fatigue, the brain still seemed able to process the beauty of the mountain against the backdrop of night…or maybe it was all an illusion created by lack of oxygen, I guess we’ll never know.

Back in the refuge…

After five full hours of toasty warm, dreamless sleep I heard the unmistakable sounds of giant snow boots on the metal ladder staircase that leads up to the rooms where generally hikers sleep before the big hike, or in this case, where those who opt out of the extreme high altitude activities with high discomfort levels accompanied by the risk of falling off mountain ridges into an infinite blackness, sleep.

I crawled out of the four layers of sleeping bags under which I had been hibernating to see a large dark figure duck in through the doorway and then blind me with a giant headlamp. It took several seconds to realize this relative of the abominable snowman was in fact Mike back from his attempt to climb Chimborazo. Moving as quickly as he could in what was an exhausted, semi-frozen state, Mike took off the giant snow boots, the harness, the water resistant pants, the water resistant jacket, two fleeces, glacier gloves, hat, headlamp, and few other random pieces of climbing equipment and collapsed into the nearest bunk bed.

I did get a few details out of him before he fell asleep (yes, I did give up some sleeping bags). However, he didn’t get to sleep long before the sounds of snow boots on metal yet again broke the otherwise perfect silence of the refuge of Chimborazo. At around seven o’clock Gina and Garrett were back at the refuge having had to turn back from their climb about an hour after Mike turned back. Again, a few details were shared and many layers of equipment were shed before they too collapsed into the nearest available bunk. Being back down to one sleeping bag and since the sun was starting to crest over the mountain, I decided to get up and take a look around the refuge as it was after seven o’clock in the morning and my cocoon had been dismantled.

The morning at the refuge was beautiful. There were no clouds and the fog (clouds) that had enshrouded the area when we had arrived the day before had lifted revealing stunning views of the Volcan Chimborazo. I was later told that the weather during the hike was also beautiful, though cold, and that had it not been for the several snowy days preceding the climb that they would have had a better chance at the summit. In any event, the morning was certainly breathtaking and for a brief, fleeting, almost non-existent moment I could understand the urge to climb to the top of the gentle looking mountain before me. However, after a few careful minutes of studying the mountain side, the sharp edges stood out more clearly as well as the steep rock faces that cut through the snow covered ridges, and seeing the fresh tracks where the hikers had ascended the urge to even walk up the trail a little bit left as quickly as it came.

Several hours later, Mike, Garrett, and Gina awoke and we began the hike, which for them compared to the night before was more like a stroll in a park on a spring day, back down to the first refuge. At the first refuge we gathered up all the rented gear, turned it over to the guides, then piled into the van that would take us back to Riobamba leaving Chimborazo behind (and above) us in the clouds.

Chimborazo Climb

Carnaval
Back in Riobamba we were greeted with the official start of Carnaval. Carnaval is the Ecuadorian equivalent of Mardi Gras except that it lasts five days and instead of drunken madness, the entire country participates in what is essentially a giant, friendly water fight. Everyone is fair game, although the younger population seems more into it than the older population, and nobody gets mad.

This is how it works. You buy water balloons, water guns, and flour. You then walk the streets or perch on a balcony and try to soak as many people as your can. After soaking people with water you also try to cover them in flour or carioca (an Ecuadorian version of silly string). This continues all day for five days until Ash Wednesday. We’ve been told it stops on Wednesday but we were also told that it wasn’t supposed to start until this past Thursday, despite the fact that on February first Mike and I were walking in Cuenca when someone dumped an entire bucket of water on our heads. Luckily, aside from some minor water gun attacks, that’s been our only real soaking since Carnaval began but technically it started three days ago so we’ll see what happens.

We stayed the night in Riobamba and then headed back to Cuenca on Friday morning. Apparently, there had been several mudslides on the road between Riobamba and Cuenca but they were cleared up well enough to allow at least one lane of traffic to pass again. So, six hours later we were back home and ready to celebrate Carnaval…or at least ready to watch it from the safety of our apartment! (The soakings have reportedly been drier than normal since the water in Sayausi has been off for three days now. Don’t worry though; the kids are going down to the river to fill up their water guns and buckets.)

Riobamba Carnaval and Drive South

Carnaval in Riobamba

Special Note: When we arrived in Riobamba it was Day One of Carnaval. Saturday, Sunday, and especially Monday and Tuesday were still to come which means another blog is soon to come with loads of Carnaval goodness...check back soon!

Happy Valentine´s Day!

2009-02-12T15:02:00.003-05:00

February 12, 2009
Thursday, 8:54am
Cloudy, 55F
Sayausi, Cuenca

Kugel, Floods, and Slugs, Oh my!

Kugel
We’d like to take this opportunity to give you all a sneak peak into the daily events, trials, and tribulations of life in our apartment here in Sayausi. None of the following events are that extraordinary individually but looked at together paint a pretty accurate picture of what goes on in a typical week.

First, our apartment is pretty swanky for Peace Corps. It’s big, there’s furniture, and we even have appliances (which supplied the boxes that make up a significant percentage of our furniture). One of those uber swanky appliances is our stove. A real stove. Though after coming back from the states I realized our super fancy stove is actually super small as well. My mom gave me a really nice baking sheet over Christmas as they are difficult to find down here and the ones you can find are coated in tephlon, which with my tendency to burn things is not a good idea. I was so absolutely excited about this cooking sheet that it did not occur to me until I was back in Sayausi, in my apartment, looking at our stove, that the sheet might not fit in the stove.

I slowly approached the stove, pulled open the door, and tried to slide in the baking sheet. No luck. The baking sheet which would easily fit in any stove in the states with room to spare did not fit. I clanked and pushed and grunted, tilted, pulled, and gave up. The sheet did not fit. It was time for more drastic measures: Mike, a tool box, and a brick.

I sat down to watch as the lovely William and Sonoma baking sheet brought all the way from Arizona to the southern sierras of Ecuador was bent, banged, and sculpted to fit the dimensions of my mini-stove.

After several minutes of “reshaping” the baking sheet slid, with only minimal resistance, into the grooves within the oven meant to hold the oven racks. However, it works perfectly and aside from the small puncture wound received during some brick and nail maneuver it’s like the sheet was built for our oven…which I guess in a sense it was.

Anyway, so we have an oven small though it may be. And this allows for all sorts of tasty cookies and tasty experiments. One such experiment took place a few weeks ago when we and a friend from the coast decided to make kugel. Kugel: the food that somehow could be both dinner and dessert. Thanks to our tiny oven that could we made the noodley, cinnamony, cheesy, sugary dish and feasted until our hearts content…which with kugel comes after a relatively small portion.

Floods
During the same week our oven gave us kugel, the weather gave us something else: a flood in our very own 2nd floor apartment.

Since our arrival from the states Sayausi has been getting fairly regular thunder storms accompanied by huge downpours almost every afternoon. It’s actually rather impressive and I enjoyed watching the torrential letting of water from the clouds above, even though it meant a relatively large pool of water gathering in our laundry room (not a problem as that room is tiled and has a drain). In fact it was one afternoon when Mike didn’t go up to Cajas and we were both enjoying the weather spectacle from the safety of our apartment when somebody knocked on our door.

Our upstairs neighbors had come down to ask us if our apartment was taking on water.
We told them about the water in the back of our apartment and they said, “You’re going to get more. Come upstairs and look.”

We followed them up two flights of stairs to their apartment where it looked like someone had come in with a fire hose and soaked everything. There were buckets overflowing with water everywhere and a standing two inches of water covering the majority of their apartment. The only way out for the water was down, to our apartment. We raced back down the stairs to check the back of our apartment where the pool of water had doubled in size and we realized that water was also coming down and leaking through the ceiling in our bedroom.

We immediately started moving everything from our bedroom to the front of the apartment. Additionally, we began plotting with our neighbors about how to get the water from their apartment, and the vacant apartment right above us, out before it all leaked through. After a few minutes of intense brainstorming the answer came: brooms. Yes, brooms.

After gathering all the collective broom in the building everyone started sweeping the water out of the apartments and down the stairs to the front door of the building. We shut the door to our apartment, stuffed several towels in the space between the door and the floor, and listened as the indoor waterfall passed by our apartment and out on to the streets below. After about thirty minutes of an indoor water park most of the water had been moved out and we moved into the drying stage. For us, this meant moving all of the possibly damp clothes and furniture into drier places. For our neighbors it meant turning on all of the lights in the building, and leaving them on, for weeks. Yes, the lights in the upstairs apartment have been on for three weeks. We know that because in the hallway and in the laundry room the ceiling is made of clear glass tiles. So at night when it should be dark it is not (the tiles also gave us an interesting view on the water sweeping that took place earlier).

So our apartment has dried out and things have returned to normal except for the perpetual light all day and all night that emanates from the apartment of above.

Sweeping the flood away...

Slugs
There are no biting, malaria ridden mosquitoes in Sayausi. There are no poisonous snakes lurking in dark corners. There are no flesh eating parasites or dangerous predators. No, what we have do deal with are slow moving insects, slow moving spiders, and the slowest of the slow moving; slugs.

After every rain (which is every day) some slimy slug wiggles his way into our apartment. I am not sure why or what they have in mind but the come in nonetheless (maybe it’s the smell of kugel and other baked treat that draws them in). Mike was initially in charge of slug control as I dealt more with the slow moving spiders. However, one morning that all changed and I took over as slug buster. The events of that morning were captured on film.

This film may not be appropriate for slugs or other slimy creatures.

Recreation, First Aid Education, and Ecochallenger Biathlon-ation

Hike
Not surprisingly we went for another hike in Cajas. We’ve been doing some high altitude training…more on that in the next blog post.

Featuring the flowers of Cajas... (double click to enlarge the image)

...and Mike walking in the almohadilla...

...and Mary walking in the almohadilla

Back Country First Aid
Every month the park guards at Cajas have a day long meeting. During this day there is an informational meeting and then some sort of activity (like picking trash out of one of the many lakes in Cajas) or some sort of class.

For the January meeting Mike and I were going to be in charge of planning a backcountry first aid class for the park guards (in case anyone forgot we are both Wilderness EMTs and as such are qualified to give such a course…at least in Ecuador). And it looked like we were going to give the class until the day before we were supposed to give the class. Mike got extremely last minute confirmation from the Cruz Azul (a kind volunteer mountain rescue group in Cuenca) that they could come up to give the class. As such our class was postponed and we were assigned to be facilitators for the Cruz Azul class.

The class took place after the extremely boring meeting during which I read, a perk of not actually having a formal relationship with the park, and Mike had to pay attention or at least look like he was. After the two and a half hour meeting Cruz Azul took over.

Their presentation was interesting, the park guards seemed to enjoy it (especially the parts with ropes and harnesses), and other than the fact they got some medical information completely wrong and demonstrated a maneuver for a spinal injury that made my stomach flip and in real life would likely inflict serious damage to the patient, it went really well. We’ll definitely have to re-address a few details in the class that we will give to the guards but we got a really tasty free lunch at the end of it all and that makes almost anything worth it.

A glimpse of the class in action...

The Ecochallenger
Every year Cajas, in partnership with an organization in Cuenca, has an extreme biathlon through the park. It is called the Inganan, which roughly translated means the Trail of the Inca, since some of the course goes along the Inca Trail (although less this year since Mike had the route changed for conservation reasons).

The course begins with an hour and a half straight uphill bike ride and ends with a 20k run through the hills of Cajas. I don’t think there is any way to describe the extremeness of the hills in Cajas nor the extremeness of doing either of those two activities on their own at up to 14,000ft above sea level (think Pikes Peak without the snowcap). Thankfully, we were not competing in the race. We were a backcountry checkpoint on the trail and medical assistance should anything go wrong on the running part of the race.

However, to get to the checkpoint we had to hike in an hour and a half (at a pace I did not think I was, or should be, capable of) and hike out three hours crisscrossing the hillsides for lost racers (of which there would have been many more if we hadn’t been at our checkpoint waving my giant yellow raincoat in an attempt to lead the racers in the right direction up the valley). Needless to say even though we were not in the race we were tired at the end of it and gobbled up the sanduches they were handing out at the finish line, followed by a fried trout lunch complements of the race organizers.
Here is the website for the event: www.ecochallenger.blogspot.com

Valentine´s Day
In case you didn´t already know Valentine´s Day, even though it falls on a Saturday this year, is a perfectly valid excuse for not going to work or school today (Thursday) or tomorrow (Friday). Here, in Ecudaor the Dia de Amor y Amistad is more of a several day celebration. So, enjoy the ¨festival¨ of San Valentin and eat some candy hearts for us!

Que paso?

2009-02-05T11:44:00.003-05:00

February 2, 2009
Monday
1:27PM
Cloudy and about 60F
Sayausi

Since the last post we have traveled over 15 hours in a bus, over 20 hours on a plane, have covered over thousands of miles, and have ended up back in Sayausi!

Before we left, Sayausi was in full-swing Christmas mode with parades everyday and masses every few hours. The kids were dressed up as anything that required a costume and the cars were decorated with fruits, bottles of pepsi and coke, and any kind of bright fabric that came in quantities large enough to cover a car. Mike and I were busy getting ready for our big trip home and last minute Christmas shopping (as well as a little shopping for ourselves)!

December in Ecuador

Making a Cholita
For the sake of future Halloweens and other events requiring a costume, Mike and I decided to buy all the necessary clothing and accessories to dress as cholos and cholitas de verdad.

First thing first: the pollera. The pollera is the traditional skirt that the women of Cuenca wear, or used to wear. Though the pollera is worn daily by the older women of the surrounding area, the younger women only wear the pollera for special events (like Christmas parades) or when they want to dress up a gringa (me) and then just can’t resist dressing up themselves.

There are various qualities of polleras and as such the prices range from a reasonable $20 to the ultimate red-carpet worthy pollera that costs up to $300. They are sold all over Cuenca and we spent a full day checking out polleras before settling on buying a lovely velvet, burgundy pollera with good swishing action and an expandable waist so it will fit for the ages.

With the pollera in hand we only needed a blouse, a chalina (a fancy scarf/blanket use for carrying grass for cuyes and dancing), an apron (for going to the market), and a hat (I think this is just satisfying the fashion diva hidden inside all cholitas). Thankfully, we live in the land of the chola and as such we had no difficulty find all of the remaining items…except for the hat.

As it turns out, I have an absolutely gigantic head. Yes, that’s right a cranial circumference that casts shadows throughout the land. So big that when we went to hat store they did not have a single pre-made hat that could hold the contents of my planet sized skull. Fortunately, the hat maker was a resourceful man and agreed to custom make a hat for me and my uniquely large bobble head. To make this special hat he essentially stretched the largest hat he had over the largest mold he had and then continued as per usual.

Per usual hat making in Cuenca involves hammering the woven straw hat over the ancient wooden mold and then dipping the hat in white glue (plaster might be more accurate than glue). It is the dipping in this glue, plaster goop that makes then final product extremely sensitive to rain. Yes, in a land where it rains more often than it does not the hat of choice would literally disintegrate in an afternoon shower. To combat this mortal flaw inherent in every cholita’s hat, everyone carries around a plastic grocery bag. When it begins to rain the cunning cholita takes off her hat, wraps it in the plastic bag, puts the hat wrapped in a bag back on her head, and continues as she was with what looks like a bag shaped like a hat balanced on her head.

With hat in hand and a bag in the other we had all the clothes, accessories, and plastic needed to make a cholita at any point in the future. Now all we needed was the cholo.

Making A Cholo
I am sure no one will be surprised to learn that it is much easier to make a cholo than a cholita.

To make a cholo you need two things: a poncho and a hat. We were lucky enough to find both of these items in the mecca of Ecuadorian souvenir shopping, Otavalo. Before we left for the States we spent several days in Otavalo buying many things including a bright red alpaca poncho and a black felt hat sporting a few brightly colored feathers. Although Mike also has a gigantic skull, Otavalo is accustomed to providing for the giant gringo tourists that pass daily by their stalls in the market. So, while my hat had to be specially stretched and formed, Mike was able to buy his size at the first hat vendor that we saw.

Check out the pictures in the New York section to see the final products aka La Cholita Mari y El Cholo Migi.

The Advent in Azuay
Though we were not in Sayausi for Christmas we saw a fair share of interesting noel customs. If it has not already been made clear, Cuencanos are always ready for a parade. At a moments notice the street goes from empty to packed with hundreds of children in dressed as cholitas, cholos, superman, batman, santa, angels, kings, queens, gypsies, shepards, animals, or trees. You name it and someone is dressed as it. In addition the hordes of children there are countless numbers of farm animals draped in giant blankets with tiger prints and leopard portraits usually carrying at least one child in full parade costume attire. The advent is no exception to the ardent love of parades the Cuenca nourishes in all of its children and adults alike.

The week before we left there was a parade every afternoon complete with children, farm animals, marching bands, and floats. Lucky for us most of the parades begin or end at the church and so we have an excellent view from our apartment window of all of the festivities. Here are some of the advent highlights:

- Trucks full of children dressed as nativity attendees
- Herds of little Santas
- Cars covered in fruit, soda bottles, bags of chips, and bags of cookies (these are offerings made to ensure good luck in the coming year)
- A roasted chicken with its head still attached propped up in a bed of roasted potatoes, mounted to the hood of a car with a twenty dollar bill stuck in its mouth (also an offering made to ensure good luck in the year to come)

We can imagine that the parades and costumes continued through Christmas as when we returned to Sayausi January 14th, 2009 there were still parades and as of today February 2, 2009 there are still these same types of parades. We have been told that they last until Ash Wednesday. In addition to the parades leading up to Ash Wednesday, February 1st marked the unofficial start of Carnaval here in Cuenca. This essentially means that from now until Ash Wednesday the city of Cuenca is engaged in a giant water balloon fight. Mike, myself, and a friend got our first taste of this on Sunday as we were walking home and were doused with a bucket of water. Only two more weeks to go, here’s hoping for sunny weather!

Ecua-December (Double click to enlarge the image)

The Trip Home

Getting to New York from Sayausi
We left Sayausi on December 13th, 2008 headed for Otavalo. In a midst of parades and floats we departed on an 8:00am bus from Cuenca with back packs full of snacks and presents…

…thirteen hours later we arrived in Otavalo where we stayed for several days before continuing on to New York!

We left Quito at 7:00am Friday morning and arrived at Mike’s Grandma’s at midnight. Thanks to a six hour delay while sitting on the runway in Miami because of heavy snow in the Northeast it took us 15 hours to get from Quito, Ecuador to the delicious cheese, olives, and desserts that were waiting for us in Bayville, New York. However, waiting on a plane that has water, several bathrooms, and built-in movie screens in the back of every chair was not nearly as bad as it had seemed before I had had to ride a bus for 12 hours straight on a regular basis in Ecuador where not only is there no water but there is, if you are lucky, an absolutely foul bathroom that requires extreme amounts of balance to use and an unbelievable tolerance for bad smells to remain in said bathroom for more than three seconds.

A Bicoastal Christmas
As our families live just about as far apart as is possible in the lower 48, Mike and I spent Christmas on substantially different longitudes. However, we both had a wonderful time and are very thankful to both our families for such a wonderful Christmas!

New York, New York! (Double click to enlarge the pictures)

AZ, AZ! (Double click the to enlarge the picures)

January in Vermont
The last few days we were in the States we took a small trip to Vermont with my mom and Mikes’ dad to check the possibility of living in Vermont once the days of Peace Corps have passed and we return to the real world of life in the States.

We stayed in Burlington for four full days, eating in delicious restaurants, visiting at least 10 schools, talking with three principals, touring the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory, studying up on quilt making in 19th century Middlebury, and generally traveling around seeing what we could see.

Snow and more snow! (Double click to enlarge the image)

Quilting in Middlebury

Back to Ecuador

You’ll never guess what was going on in the plaza of Sayausi when we got back…that’s right, another parade! It’s good to be back.

More Parades! (Double click to enlarge the image)

And dancing...

And dancing with parading...

Futbol, Cuycoima, y La Navidad

2008-12-13T10:46:00.003-05:00

December 12, 2008
Friday
1:23pm
Weather: Overcast, 60F
Sayausi

The Season Begins

Last Sunday marked the official start of the new soccer season here in Sayuasi. And like any beginning, end, or relatively special event in Ecuador it was accompanied by a parade. Each team, of which there are twenty, marches in their brand new uniforms each led by a flag bearing the team name, a mascota (a dog dressed up in the team uniform), and a madrina ( a local 15-20 year old woman in a fancy dress with heels and her hair done).

The parade began at ecua-ten o’clock in the morning and as such Migi and I arrived at my team’s captain’s house at ten fifteen (our gringo attempt to arrive on ecua-time). We were the first ones there, excluding the madrina and the several girls who live in the same house, and spent the next hour and a half in a small room with too much furniture and a ton a Christmas decorations chatting with Churritos (the daughter of the captain who has curly hair and therefore is known only as churritos which means curls) and watching as Darwin (the son of the captain who is three) repeatedly threw a Christmas wreath in an attempt to break the light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

By eleven thirty the entire team had arrived and the rest of the teams were lined up down the center street of Sayausi. And although we had been there for an hour and a half we had to run to make it to our spot in the parade. An Ecuadorian custom seems to be that no matter how early you get there and no matter how late the event starts there will be a period of panic where all of the sudden everyone is running.

With all twenty teams, mascotas, madrinas, and flags lined up we made our way through the adoring crowds to the stadium (the open dirt field with flood lights and goal posts where all the soccer games of the league are held). Upon arriving at the stadium each team’s name was called along with the name of the bella madrina. Each team would then slowly walk to midfield, turn down the center line, and then make a final turn headed toward one of the goal posts where the “mesa principal” was set up and all the Liga Deportiva de Sayausi bigwigs were seated. This procession probably took about forty-five minutes, highlights of which include a madrina riding in on horseback and the Ecuadorian equivalent of pomp and cirmcumstance played about forty-five times on a loop. The procession was followed by the Ecuador national anthem which was then followed by the Cuenca anthem which sounds exactly like the national anthem.

Marching down the Street

Still Marching in the Street

Entering the Stadium

Still Entering the Stadium

The Crowd

After the welcoming statements, each madrina was asked to step forward for the judging of the madrinas. This part most resembles a beauty pagent in the states except the contestants do not speak nor exhibit any sort of talent. They just stand there smiling and the judges walk back and forth a few times then huddle in a group for an excessive period of time before crowning the Senorita of the Liga Deportiva de Sayausi. During the judges huddle REMs “Losing My Religion” was played on a loop and my teammates joked about how I was the only one who could actually understand the words of the song. It’s worth noting here that the speakers and events of the inauguration do not have the crowd’s complete attention. I would even go so far as to say that they do not have half of the crowd’s attention. It has the feel of a high school assembly but without a principal telling everyone to quiet down.

Once the winning madrina had been picked and the other madrinas had time to dry their eyes it was time for the uniform judging. A representative from each was asked to step forward and again the judges walked back and forth a few times before huddling together to have a deep discussion about the quality of the uniforms. After another rendition of “Losing My Religion” the winning uniforms were announced….drum-roll please…BUENOS AIRES JR!! (for those of you who are totally out of the loop that is my team and we won the championship this past August). I guess tight red pants are classier than I thought…that and the Buenos Aires Jr. Men’s team had totally sweet red and black Adidas warm-ups…but I still think it was the red lycra that did it.

A Madrina on a Horse

The Olympic lap came after the madrina and best uniform selection and consisted of a member form each team running around the field behind one runner carrying a flaming paint can on a stick. The fixed torch that was lit was also an old paint can but served very well as an Olympic torch. The ceremonial lighting of the torch was followed by the swearing in of all the players and then by several lengthy speeches by the bigwigs at the front table.

The Olympic Lap

Lighting the Torch

Addressing the Masses, look for excessive use of hand gestures

At the end of all of this the teams were asked to file out as they had come in. It goes without saying that this did not happen and instead there was massive mingling and loud music instead of an organized exit march.

Double click the image below to enlarge the photos and see the captions

Cuy-coima

A few weeks ago Mike had the honor of being treated to a lovely lunch in Cajas. All of the technicos were invited and none of them had to pay. For the six technicos and Migi there were six cuyes, motecito (giant watery corn), mountains of rice, ensalada, ajicito (kind of like salsa), potatoes in cuy juice, and rounds of good cheer. And who was to thank for all of this free Ecuadorian culinary goodness?

…a trucking company that uses the highway that runs through Cajas. Keep in mind there are substances that are prohibited from being carried as cargo in the park and this highway is the quickest way to get to the metropolis of Guayaquil and the many ports on its shores. The whole thing smelled fishy and it didn’t help that the park boss was calling the whole lunch a cuy-coima which translates loosely to guinea pig-bribe.

But who’s asking questions when there’s juicy cuycito for lunch?

Remember there’s still time if anyone wants us to bring them back a roasted rodent for Christmas!!

She broke her what?

Yesterday Migi was at the office diligently working on a First Aid presentation that he will be giving to the park guards in January right before they have to patrol the route for the 30K Eco-challenge that Cajas is hosting (Migi got them to change the route for conservation and safety reasons so now the race will not go through pristine forests and pre-Colombian Incan trails). As he was quietly working at his computer reviewing the differences between strains and sprains he overheard two of the tecnicos in a panic.

Upon listening more closely it turned out that a tourist had fallen in the park and broken a bone. At this point Migi approached the tecnicos, reminded them that he is an EMT, and at the same time told them that instead of staying at the park office talking about what to do they needed to go up to the park and help the other park guards take care of this woman.

At this point a police car pulled up to the control station and a park guard got out to relay the entire message as the electricity had gone out in the middle of the original call about the tourist (the park radios don’t work when the power is out). When Migi asked the park guard which bone the tourist had broken, the guard signaled to his femur and made a frowny face.

Now if there was one thing they taught us when we were getting our EMT certification it was the absolute horror of breaking a femur. The pain, the blood loss, and immediate need for urgent care from well qualified professionals are some of the reasons why Migi urged the group to get in the car and get up to the park, which was 15K and 25 minutes from where they were and another 30K and 45 minutes in the opposite direction to the nearest hospital.

After they had all piled into the car Migi started trying to work on his broken femur related vocabulary and ask all the questions we were taught to ask about an emergency situation. From these questions Migi learned that it was a woman in her forties who fell while hiking by the Lagunas Unidas (a point located two hours from the road on a muddy, rocky, slippery trail).

“Really, this woman fell while walking and broke her femur?”

“Yes.”

“It takes a lot of force to break a femur. Was she rock climbing?”

“No.”

“Is she really old?”

“No.”

“Is she really overweight?”

“No.”

“Huh. I don’t think she broke her femur.”

After being assured that it was in fact her femur that was broken, Migi began to ask if the ambulance that was coming would have a traction splint (try that in Spanish). A traction splint is standard in US ambulances but it sole and only purpose is to apply traction to a broken femur. The tecnicos and park guard had no idea what a traction splint was but they were sure the ambulance would not have it (having volunteered at the Red Cross here in Cuenca I can vouch for the fact that there is nothing in the ambulances with the exception of a cot and a few poorly trained high school kids trying to get service hours).

This concerned Migi for several reasons. One, the only way to make a person with a broken femur feel anything except for excruciating pain and simultaneously prevent the bone from piercing an artery which could very quickly lead to heavy blood loss and possible death is to apply traction and maintain traction. Two, even though we were taught how to construct a makeshift traction splint for situations like these, they take a long time to make and despite the simplicity of making a traction splint with a canoe paddle, several bandanas, a lot of rope, weird knots, and a water bottle, once you put someone in a traction splint they become next to impossible to transport unless you have a smooth surface, a professional quality stretcher, and a dozen people. Three….no the first two should be enough to convey the gravity of the situation.

So, as the truck was winding its way closer and closer to the trailhead down which was the tourist with her broken femur with several untrained park guards and no radio contact because the electricity was still out, Migi was thinking about the lack of a Good Samaritan law in Ecuador and his relative inexperience in applying traction to a broken femur despite having practiced many times applying what he was told was appropriate traction on unbroken femurs.

Finally, they arrived at the parking lot.

In the parking the lot there was already an ambulance surrounded by park guards with the sixty year old woman with a broken tibia inside. Yes, in the parking lot, and yes, a 60 year old, and yes, a broken tibia. No, she was not 40, and no, she was not 2 hours down the trail, and no, she did not have a broken femur. As it turns out it is really hard to break a femur while walking. Who knew?

The park guards had a stretcher and had hiked in then hiked out with the woman and as such were soaking wet as it had been rainy and hailing for the past several hours. And again, she did not have a broken femur. Needless to say, Migi was relieved beyond description.

Home Alone with Friends, Christmas Cookies, Pan de Pascua, and Presents for Profe

Last week we also had Kelly and Lisa over (PCVs) to watch Christmas movies and make unreasonable amounts of Christmas cookies.

Aside from watching the Grinch and Home Alone we also spent a large portion of the evening sorting the multi-colored sprinkle package into individual colors to facilitate cookie decorating later in the evening. The cream cheese and powdered sugar frosting was dyed “red” by the addition of red Jell-o powder as food coloring was not available.
You really have to be innovative to get by in Peace Corps!

Other Christmas related tidbits include pan de pascua and regalos for the profe, aka me.

Pan de Pascua
On his way back from the femur incident Migi stopped at our local tienda to get some eggs for dinner and he overheard a woman asking for pan de pascua. Being inquisitive by nature, Migi then asked Lupe, the tienda owner, what pan de pascua is. She told him to come back in two hours and she would have some ready, hot out of the oven.

Two hours later Migi went back to the tienda where he was shown a pan de pascua. Pan de pascua is in fact the Ecuadorian version of panetone. She then refused to let Migi pay and wished us a Feliz Navidad.

Double click the image below to enlarge the photo and see the captions

Regalos para mi
Today, after teaching a class to the park guards in Cajas, I went up to the school in Bellavista to drop of the grades for the trimester and hand back the exams. As I was handing everything back the director of the school asked me if I could stay for a few minutes when I was done.

So, once I had finished handing everything back I went to the director’s office where I was met by all the teachers at the school (seven in total). We all sat down and the director then proceeded to thank me for all of my help at the school. And boy do Ecuadorians know how to thank people. I’m pretty sure my face was several shades of red by the end of it all. In addition, to the flowery speeches of which there were several I was presented with two giant Christmas bags filled with gifts! Needless to say that in English I would have been at a loss for words so in Spanish I was barely able to speak but I did manage to thank them all in return and say that I wish I could thank them more.

Though I refrained from rummaging through the bags in front of the entire staff, it was the first thing I did once I got home.

The gifts include:
An Ecuador shoulder bag
Two hand embroidered white linen shirts
A leather handbag
A Colorful wool sweater
Two pairs of linen pants
A hand knit scarf
Lots of friendship bracelets

A nice send off for Christmas vacation!

Watch the present opening extravaganza!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Nacimiento y Agradecimiento

2008-11-30T13:04:00.003-05:00

November 30, 2008
Sunday
7:47am
Weather: Cloudy and cold
Sayausi

The Niño

A few weeks ago I was dropping off the lavasas (all of our food scraps that are used for pig food) at our old host family’s house and I noticed about halfway there that the ground was covered in rose petals. Not just one or two petals here and there but an actual trail of rose petals that led up to the kitchen door of our host family’s house. I thought they were there because a daughter-in-law had recently moved in because her house in under construction and that the rose petals were some sort of ceremonial house switching ritual. Boy was I wrong. Although my host family thinks it’s hilarious that I thought that, as if they don’t do anything similar to that on a regular basis (For example, they carry burning coals with incense around the house once a week to quitar (remove) the evil spirits).

It turns out the rose petal trail was in honor of the Niño (the baby Jesus). Each extended family in Sayausi has a Niño that stays in each family member’s house for one week starting in September. Before the Niño arrives the family has to construct a nacimiento (nativity scene). Once the nacimiento has been constructed the Niño arrives. The rose petals were from when the Niño had left Dona Melchora’s house the past Sunday (the Niño only moves on Sundays and if the family is late moving the Niño they have to pay a dollar fine).

After having been explained the tradition of the Niño, Dona Melchora invited us to the next procession. This time the Niño was leaving an Uncle’s house and going up to Mari’s house in Bellavista (the same house where we roasted cuyes with my Dad). Of course we accepted the invitation and I spent the week leading up to the big procession at Mari’s house helping with the construction of the nacimiento (it involved de-threading plastic sacks for the roof and spray painting wood chips for the grass).

On Sunday evening at seven o’clock we met Norma (Mari’s sister) and Dona Rita (Mari’s mother and Dona Melchora’s sister) in the plazoleta of Sayausi then walked down to the Uncle’s house (Rita and Melchora’s brother’s house). We entered the house through a long dark hallway that opened up into a large sitting room that was lined with couches and chairs and was already seating about twenty family members all centered around the nacimiento and the Niño. After walking around and shaking everyone’s hand and kissing everyone’s cheek (Ecuadorian custom) we took our seats. From our seats we could take a good look at the nacimiento.

The nacimiento was essentially a series of tiered bookshelves covered in a white cloth. Each tier was covered with rose petals and candles and featured figurines of shepards, kings, animals, Joseph, Mary, and of course, the Niño. The typical Niño here is on average ten times larger than any other figure in the scene, wears an embroidered brightly colored dress, and rests in a custom built wooden cradle.

After everyone had arrived, which was about another fifteen people making a total of about thirty Albaracins (their last name), we were served a hot cinnamon flavored rum drink followed by a prayer and then coffee and homemade banana empanadas. Once everyone had finished their snack the procession began. We all filed outside, led first by the children carrying large bags of rose petals, then Norma carrying the Niño flanked by several adults with candles and incense, then finally the rest of the family including me and Mike.

The procession lasted almost an hour and followed the major street of Sayausi meaning that in order to arrive at Mari’s house we definitely stopped traffic.

Once we arrived at Mari’s house we all filed into another large sitting room lined with about thirty chairs centered around another nacimiento. After everyone was seated the patriarch of the family (Tio Oscar who happens to be our next door neighbor) stood up with the Niño and moved to the center of the room. At this point a line was formed leading up to the Niño and each family member, children included, was blessed by kneeling beneath the cradle of the Niño while Tio Oscar said a prayer and made the sign of the cross with the Niño above their head. Mike and I weren’t sure if we should go up and so remained in our seats until Dona Melchora took us by the arm and said we needed to be blessed for the health of our families. So, with everyone watching (we were the last ones) we each individually took a knee in front of Tio Oscar while the Niño in cradle was passed over our heads and some sort of blessing was murmured.

This was followed by a longer prayer, another hot cinnamon rum drink, a toffee candy, agua de remedios (pink herbal sugar drink), rice, potatoes, and stewed meat.

All and all the procession plus prayers, blessings, and snacks, took about three hours. Additionally, each Sunday during the dinner portion of the procession a bag is passed around and each family is expected to give three dollars. This money is used to buy bread and bananas for Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve all of the children dress up as members of the Bethlehem crowd and parade through town ending up in the main plaza of Sayausi where they are given bread and bananas. Mari told me that her family buys about 400 breads every Christmas Eve to hand out. Her son, Juan Diego, dressed up as San Jose last year and may dress up the same this year but is still deciding between that and Papa Noel (not a Bethlehem original but still a popular holiday figure).

Just for comparison’s sake I want to briefly explain what Mike has told me about the Honduran version of the Niño’s role in holiday festivities. In Honduras, each house has its own Niño and their own nacimiento. However, there is no sharing of the Niño. In fact it is quite the opposite. Each house has to guard their Niño from being stolen. Yes, in Honduras your neighbors try to steal the Niño instead of sharing him. And if your Niño is stolen you have to throw a party for the family who stole your Niño, if you want to get it back.

So, I guess each country has its own way of celebrating the holiday season. We’re looking forward to being back home with family with or without Niño processions or Niño stealing. However, if any of you would like to start either one of these traditions there are stores here that sell only Niños and dresses for the Niño and we would be happy to pick one up for you.

Click to watch niños throw rose petals in Procession of the Niño

Click to watch Mike in the Procession of the Niño

Click to watch Tio Oscar bless people with the Niño

Thanksgiving

Wednesday morning I began to cook for Turkey Day. And for an extra Peace Corps challenge, Sayausi was without running water ALL day. Yes, from sunup to sundown there was not a drop of water to be gathered in Sayausi (before sunup the water had a brown sludge consistency due to heavy rainfall the previous day). All cooking was done without the ability to easily wash, rinse, or soap a single dish or ingredient. With this in mind, cookies, cornbread, and tortillas were strategically prepared first followed by roasted vegetables and from scratch-stuffing so that even if the veggies tasted like anise the cookies would not taste like onion. Mike was there to help with dicing and general moral support as there was no electricity at the Cajas office so he couldn’t get anything done on his computer and came home after being at work for just less than an hour.

We finally turned off the oven around 5pm that evening and treated ourselves to dinner at the chicken place in town as there was not an available pot or pan in the house that wasn’t filled with savory treats for the next day.

Watch Mary fetch water from the giant bucket we store for times when there is no water

Thursday morning our apartment in Sayausi became the staging ground for what would become the first ever Cajas National Park Thanksgiving extravaganza. Volunteers arrived from far and wide to celebrate el Dia de Accion de Gracias in the pristine valley of Llaviucu. By ten o’clock we had loaded our neighbors buseta (big van or little bus) with two horses of firewood (conversion: Mike learned that a horse is equal to two mules, and each mule is two cargas of wood), ten pounds of charcoal, a propane gas tank with hose and regulator, 14 Peace Corps Volunteers, 14 backpacks with sleeping bags, pots, pans, silverware, a jaba of beer (12 big bottles of beer), several boxes of ecua-wine, 10 gallons of drinking water, toilet paper, untold pounds of food and snacks, a portable stereo, dish soap, binoculars, and a fishing pole. Needles to say we were a large load for a relatively small van and as a result our max speed uphill to the park was around 5mph.

Nevertheless, we arrived at the cabin by eleven o’clock and were snacking on bocaditos by eleven thirty. After some heavy snacking, there was hiking, fire building, and holiday arts and crafting until late in the afternoon when we started heating up all the Turkey Day goodies for the big meal. The served-on-the-porch-overlooking-the-lake-in-a spectacular-valley menu included the following:

Charcoal Roasted Chicken (Thanks to a pollo place in Sayausi that opened at 6am for us)
Stuffing de Sayausi (Me and Mike)
Mac and Cheese (Margaret a PCV in Honduras 69-71)
Mashed Potatoes (Amy and Jacob)
Roasted Roots with Rosemary and Garlic (Me)
Veggie Gravy (Amy)
Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows (Brad)
Lucy’s Cornbread (made by me)
Veggie Crudite (Me and Migi aka Mike)
Mrs. B’s Spinach Dip and Crackers (Kelly B.)
Made by the Swiss in Ecuador Cheese and Crackers (Linea)
Bruchetta and Herbed Tomatoes (Me after being married to an Italian for a year)
Herbed Butter (Almost Italian Mary)
Bread and Cheeses (Jungle Lauren)
Wine and Cheese (Margaret)
Fruit Salad with Yogurt (Lucy and Craig)
Fruit (Lauren, Mike, and Me)
Guava Machete Fruit (Garrick)
Tennessee Apple Pie (Amy)
Riobamba Chocolate Chip Cookies (Erin and William)
Secret Recipe Oatmeal Cookies (Linea)
Oreo Brownie Fusion (Kelly)
Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting and Walnuts (Lucy)
Grandma Carbone’s Anise Biscotti (Me)

There was so much food that the four burner stove wasn’t sufficient to heat everything up so Mike turned the fire that Amy had so skillfully built into a makeshift oven to heat up the two chickens and four pots of stuffing (we didn’t heat up the third chicken as there was an abundance of food and treats). I’m sure I have forgotten to list some foods not that they weren’t also delicious but the food coma has impaired my memory.

The evening was spent star gazing, planet watching, constellation creating, owl listening, card playing, night hiking, catch phrasing (a game sort of like Taboo but easier), and being thankful for good food, good company, good lodging, and everything else good in the world. Before going off to bed we loaded up to wood burning stove with charcoal and even though we were at 10,000 feet above sea level the cabin stayed toasty warm all night long in the upstairs carpeted rooms with fluffy beds, pillows, and comforters.

The next morning Mike and I got up around five o’clock and went for a sunrise tour of the Llaviucu valley. When we got back around eight we sat down to a breakfast of leftovers and homemade tortillas with eggs and coffee, hot chocolate, tea, and milk. Not bad for the middle of nowhere in an Ecuadorian national park. The morning was then filled with checkers playing, day hiking, fishing, and general park activities like bird watching and llama chasing. We were also lucky to have an Andean toucan visit us while we were fishing (the cabin is actually called La Casa de los Tucanes) and to have two endangered condors fly up the valley while we were river hopping in search of trout. We tried to lure them in with the chicken carcass we were using for fish bait but it proved just as ineffective in attracting the condors as it was for the trout.

At three o’clock the busetta arrived to take us back to Sayausi and although we had fewer things than before it was still crammed and the wire holding the back of the van closed did not endure the cobblestone road up to the highway so Mike had to backtrack on foot to pick up involuntarily jettisoned items. We’re still not sure if we lost anything to the river as we crossed the small wooden bridge but so far no one has noticed anything as missing.

When we got back home on Friday afternoon our apartment served as a very comfortable waiting room for those who were headed back home on a bus later that day/night. We ate more leftovers and watched Lord of the Rings noting the similarities between Cajas and the landscapes in the movie. And although it had been several days we still did not have enough water pressure to ignite the calefon (water heater) and so we took ice cold showers at 9,000 feet above sea level where ice cold is really ice cold and the ambient temperature is slightly above ice cold. Don’t worry we did not get sick but we haven’t showered since as there is still (on Sunday) not enough water pressure.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with lots of delicious food, good company, and hot showers. We look forward to seeing many of you in a few weeks and to taking a hot shower.

Double click on the image below to enlarge the photos and see the captions

PS…It is now 11am on Sunday, we have finished typing, are about to go into Cuenca to post, and the water in our apartment is now completely shut off. I guess we will have to continue looking forward to that hot shower.

A Day in the Life of a Famous Ecua-Yankee Author

2008-11-15T12:14:00.003-05:00

November 15, 2008
Saturday
8:30am
Weather: Partly cloudy
Temperature: 60’ish
Sayausi

The original theme for this post was going to be a photo-documentary of a single day here in Ecuador. However, we ended up not taking as many pictures as anticipated and several other days turned out to have actual things to write about. As such, this post is just like any other; a random collection of thoughts, events, and photos.

Dia de los Difuntos
Also known as Day of the Dead in Mexico, closely associated with Halloween in Los Estados Unidos, and part of the Fiestas of Cuenca in the province of Azuay, Ecuador.

During the first week of November Cuenca celebrates itself and Dia de los Difuntos. This weekend is probably the biggest weekend of the year after Christmas, Semana Santa (Easter), Carnaval (Mardi Gras). For the fiestas there are bailes (dances), concerts, artesanias (crafts), misas (masses), games, Volkswagon bug races, burro races, a Miss Cuenca competition (La Reina de Cuenca), and a Chola Cuencana competition (no literal translation just Chola of Cuenca). Since most of the free events are held outside and it was raining buckets for the entire weekend we didn’t get to see much of the fiestas. Fortunately, we saw many of these things during the fiestas of Sayausi back in June and so we can just imagine that they were more grandiose and the venues were larger.

For Dia de los Difuntos, which was the Sunday of this party weekend, there was a giant mass that is held in a cemetery here in Sayausi. During this mass people bring flowers for their loved ones that are buried in the cemetery and the priest reads a complete list of these loved ones. Outside of the cemetery vendors sell colada morada (a warm, purple colored, cinnamon, pineapple, blackberry drink) and gua-guas de pan (breads in the form of babies). These are specialty items that are only sold for Dia de los Difuntos (although I have heard that some families throw caution to wind and make the colada morada for Christmas). The mass in Sayausi (which traditionally was held at 2:00 in the afternoon) was held at 5:00 (the people were a little put off by this as it traditionally held at 2:00 and that’s when it should be) and is supposed to last several hours but was cut short due to a torrential downpour (which people were saying wouldn’t have happened if it had been held at the normal time and what was Padre Oscar thinking to change it). So we hid out in Carmita’s tienda for the evening hoping for the rain to stop. When several hours had passed and it was still raining we accepted the offer of plastic garbage bags fashioned into a poncho type garment and made our way home through the continued rainfall.

On a Norteamericano note, on Dia de Halloween, I made pancakes with…CANDY CORN! Looked great…tasted like candy corn with pancakes.

Pictures of Dia de los Difuntos (double click the image to enlarge the image)

Sunday (yes, just Sunday)
From time to time there are processions in Sayausi (i.e. every week give or take a few days). On this particular Sunday (which was going to be the inspiration for our Day in the Life post) the local elementary school was having a soccer tournament. So, all of the teams paraded through the plaza and the market that is there every Sunday. Each team was in uniform, carried a sign with the name of their team, and was led by a madrina (Mari’s sister Sandra’s daughter Heidi was one of the madrinas and Juan Diego, Mari’s son, was on one of the teams). A madrina is kind of like a team matron but she wears a gown, a tiara, makeup, and carries a bouquet of flowers. More often than not the madrina is selected for the team based on her visual appeal. And so twelve or so teams of elementary school kids were led by elementary school madrinas into the plaza where the madrinas are voted on and a queen is elected. Keep in mind that none of the madrinas actually had to say anything, they were just voted on. A lovely tradition that certainly encourages young girls to care about more than what they look like, they learn to care about what others think they look like. Good thing we don’t have anything like that in the States.

After stumbling across this procession, we continued on our way to Cuenca where we were meeting up with a few volunteers to do some grocery shopping before heading out to Kelly’s house in Santa Ana for a BBQ. Before heading to the grocery store where we were going to do said shopping we stopped by the ATM. Who can find something unusual about this ATM encounter after looking at the pictures?

On the way from the ATM to the store we passed through one of Cuenca’s many parks. Parque de la Madre (Mother’s Park) is a hotbed of speedwalking activity. At any time of day you can find the next “Jeff” training at the Escuela de Marcha (Speedwalking School) that is located in the park. Other common sights in Parque de la Madre include; kids playing, soccer games, Ecua-volley games, teenagers “cuddling” on benches, hot dog vendors, a planetarium, and of course the giant statue of Ecuador’s pride and joy, Olympic gold and silver medalist, three-time World Champion, the one and only, speed walking legend: Jefferson Perez.

In this next paragraph I am going to reveal something to you. I do not in any way want what I am about to say to spoil your vision of Peace Corps and what your son/grandson/nephew/son-in-law/friend/former teacher or daughter/niece/daughter-in-law/friend/former teacher is going through here in Ecuador. Let me remind you that we have an unreliable supply of hot water (yes, we do normally have water it’s just sometimes we don’t have hot water) and we are only given $10 worth of minutes on our PC issued cell phones each month. We are truly roughing it here and so when I tell you about out grocery store, Supermaxi, I expect that you will remember the hardship we face in our daily lives (our TV only gets like 5 channels and our freezer needs to be defrosted frequently) and see Supermaxi as a well deserved luxury. I will not attempt to describe what Supermaxi is. I will simply allow you to look at the few pictures we were permitted to take of its interior (I think Ecuador wants to keep its guilty pleasure a secret as well) and remind you that there are only three Supermaxis in Cuenca and that there also exists a Megamaxi, which I will allow your imagination to visualize after seeing pictures of its more humble beginnings.

After buying the necessary foods for a totally Norteamericano BBQ we hopped on a bus, waited for an hour in the market parking lot (see life here really is tough), and then we were off to the hills of Santa Ana where our dear friend Kelly lives and where Cuenca trucks all of its dear trash. Yes, Santa Ana is both Kelly’s home and Cuenca’s landfill; a perfect location for a Sunday cookout.

The Guest-List:
Me (aspiring Cholita of Sayausi)
Mike (recently discovered model and author)
Kelly (hostess and Santa Ana’s resident polar bear)
Sarah (Lojana who agrees Cuenca is better)
Garret (recently imported from Bolivia since PC Bolivia was shut down)
Matt (have you checked out his website for Puyo’s Orchid Garden?)
Kenji (knows how to pack light for a hike)
Wilcox (does not have a Supermaxi in his site)

The Menu:
Cheese Burgers with mushrooms and onions
Grilled Asparagus
Mrs. B’s Spinach Dip
Doritos
Ruffles
Carrot sticks
Ecua-Beer
Coke
Diet Coke
Cookies

Yes, life here in Ecuador is a daily challenge. That’s why it’s nice that every once and a while with a little effort (we had to walk up to the nearby tienda to get the beer and only half of them were cold) we can really enjoy ourselves and know we can make it through our hard knock lives as Peace Corp volunteers.

A Day in Life(double-click to enlarge the image)

Las Fiestas de Cajas
This past week marked the twelfth year of Cajas’ status as a national park. To celebrate this milestone Cajas and Mike (not necessarily in that order) have been working on nine books: a mammal guide, a bird guide, a plant guide, an amphibian, reptile, and fish guide, a route guide, an environmental education workbook for teachers, a workbook for kids, a storybook filled with pictures and stories by kids, and a tourist brochure.

During these past few months as the park and Mike (again not necessarily in that order) realized that there was still a lot of work to be done on these books, Mike and the park (in that order) having been working really hard and really long hours to make sure everything would be ready for the fiestas. And because of all of this hard work almost everything was ready for the fiestas. As a co-worker of Mike’s said, “You can prepare here but that doesn’t actually mean anything will happen.” Not that Mike really took that advice to heart as he was at the office until 8:00pm the night before the fiestas trying to make sure all of the books were going to be ready (2 print shops and a design shop to coordinate) and that all the appropriate banners, flags, and other parade paraphernalia was organized for the next morning. We left the house at 6:30am the following day to go “prepare” for the parade.

So yesterday was the big day and for the celebration Cajas organized a parade, a concert, and a Session Solemne (A Solemn Session). The parade began at 8:30am on a Friday morning and over 40 groups with a total of around 900 people participated. And even though the Park was only given permission to have the parade the night before (yes, they had known for months about the parade) everything turned out great. Mike was in charge of getting the groups in order for the parade at the start and then once all of them were parading he was making sure the high school band marching behind him and the park guards didn’t run them over. I’m not sure what the other park employees were doing during this time but I’m sure it was important.

Watch Mike Walk!

Watch Mike Wave!

The parade ended in Parque Calderon (the central park of Cuenca) where there were snacks for everybody and a concert in the plazoleta (which also wasn’t approved until the night before but hey how can you plan for something with only a few months notice?). At this point Mike was told today was his day off because all of the books were ready and now he could just enjoy the fiestas….except that they still needed to find a projector for the Session Solemne that started at five and prepare the auditorium for the many VIPs that would be attending. So, really Mike spent that afternoon making last minute touches to the slideshow, setting up the projector and the screen, making sure all banners and flags were appropriately displayed, and oh did I forget to mention he had to gather facts for several of the speeches that were to be given that night?

At 5:00pm the Session Solemne began in the Salon de la Ciudad of the Municipal Building that borders the central park. A Session Solemne is kind of like the Oscars without any funny skits or suspense but with the fancy clothes, flowers, awards, and ushers. Basically, it is an opportunity for really important people to get together, dress up, and congratulate each other for all of their excellent work. Normally, I don’t think I would have been at all entertained by lengthy speeches in a language I am still learning but several words did stand out among the overly ornate orations: Cuerpo de Paz and Miguel Carbone. The regional representative of the Secretary of the Environment, a man who has the ear of the President should he need it, personally thanked Mike during his speech in front of all the big wigs and the 500 people in the audience for Mike’s contribution to the completion of the nine books and the conservation of Cajas National Park. Not bad for seven months in site. Mike tells me PC Honduras was not like this.

After the Session Solemne (or maybe it was still part of it) they served cocktails and continued thanking each other while looking at pretty posters of Cajas, one of which is a picture Mike took of a fox when we were here three years ago. Not being big on self-congratulations and having been up since five o’clock in the morning, we skipped out on the cocktails. Probably a social no-no in Ecua-culture but since we have no current plans to settle in Cuenca, were undressed, had been in Cuenca for over twelve hours, and had already been congratulated enough for our Norteamericano standards, we went home.

Below is a link to a page that has pdfs of all of the books. Since they are new releases with limited print numbers hard copies are in high demand. If you have any specific requests I can see what I can do.

ETAPA website with pdfs

Highlights of the books include: my name on the credits for translation in the Mammal Guide, Mike’s name on many credits for the Mammal Guide, Route Guide, and Amphibian Guide, and is featured as a guapo tourist in nine pictures in the Route Guide as well as haven written the Backcountry First Aid section.

Las Fiestas del Cajas (double click to enlarge the image)

P.S. Happy Birthday Grandma!

Boy, you’ve gotten fat…and beautiful

2008-11-01T13:59:00.003-04:00

November 1, 2008
Saturday
7:00am
Sayausi

It seems that after six months of being in our site we have started to fall into a routine of some sorts which has distracted us from attending to our blog. Furthermore, due to the said established routine this blog may seem to lack the usual flare that I am sure you have all noticed and appreciated about our previous posts. Apparently, you can take the gringo out of the U.S. but you can’t take the task oriented nature out of the gringo.

Mary’s “Work”

In the past four weeks I think I have officially crossed the line into to being Peace Corps busy. Granted this is a relative term both within Peace Corps and certainly in comparison to what “busy” may mean to someone working in the great U.S. of A. As of right now from 7:30am until 12:00pm Tuesday through Friday I am working. Yes, that’s right for a total of eighteen hours per week (including the many break-citos within those hours to tomar a pan-cito y platicar i.e. chat with my “colleagues” while work is supposed to be happening…just for clarification this chatting and snacking is not because of me, it is actually built in to the typical Ecuadorian work day)

So, what may you ask am I doing besides snacking, engordaring, and gossiping during these self-described work-hours? Well, on Wednesdays and Thursdays I walk up the road from the plaza to Bellavista Elementary School (it actually has a more official name, or names rather, but I can’t remember all eight of them so I just call it la escuela de Bellavista despite being corrected a number of times about its actual litany of names). At this school I am currently giving English classes, trying to start up a school garden, and eventually trying to elbow in some environmental education classes and possibly a world map in the future. But for now some Enlglish and a school garden, which the near constant rainfall in our town makes it a nearly impossible task, will suffice. Below is outline of what my work days consist of:

Wednesdays at La Escuela de Bellavista
Jardin: A class of twenty four-to-five year olds all wearing aprons (to keep their uniforms clean) and dripping noses shouting back at me the few words I have managed to teach them. Usually this class also includes a bathroom break where I have to dole out sheets of toilet paper and help about half of the class unbutton and re-button their pants. On occasion there is also a random crying student who needs to be sent home because they miss their mom.

Segundo de Basico: More shouting, no aprons, no bathroom assistance, less crying, and a surprisingly increased ability to retain information (then again when you’re coming from buttoning pants and wiping noses the mere ability to maintain some sort of physical upkeep is impressive).

Recreo: Also known as recess in the States, is a time where the kids run around like crazy (nothing new here) but the teachers, instead of watching over the madness, retreat to the kitchen, shut and lock the door, and sit down to eat bread, drink coffee, and talk about whatever gossip is making the rounds on that particular day (last weeks’ topic was the realization that there was a student who only had his father’s last name. “Jamas en mi vida” i.e. “Never in my life” was the resounding chorus upon hearing this piece of information, as it is the custom for every child to have a total of four names: first, middle, mother’s last name, and father’s last name. I always thought I was strange for having all those names but here it is unheard of for someone to be lacking one. I really think the teachers believed he was some sort of aberration that actually did not have a mother and just appeared on this earth by some unseemly manner).

Tercero de Basico: This is the first class I have where I can actually write something on the board and there is the slight possibility that they will be able to copy it in some form into a notebook. However, the writing of more than five words on the board takes up the entire 45 minutes as they attempt to copy it, erase it, ask me if it is OK, I say it is, they say it is not, they erase it again, and the cycle repeats.

Cuarto de Basico: This class has forty (yes forty), energetic, eager to participate, but hard to focus students that can write reasonably quickly and retain information from one week to the next. This class is obsessed with what color pen they should be using to take down the notes I put on the board and so a large portion of each day is spent discussing red pen, blue pen, pencil, should we skip a line, what do I do if I don’t have enough space on the page (well, continue on the next page I say as though I were some sort of mensa member), is that a “g” or a “y” (y’s here have to be made by the joining of two perfectly straight lines whereas only g’s and j’ have a curvy tail), and is that an “n” or a “h” (the proportion of stem to hump with the letter ‘h’ is about 10 to 1 and anything else is indistinguishable as a letter).

Thursdays at La Escuela de Bellavista
Quinto de Basico: The teacher of this class is the Director of the school and as such feels he is quite the outstanding instructor. Each time I write something on the board or explain something he will erase and re-write or excuse himself for the proceeding interjection and basically try to stage some sort of coup where he ends up teaching some other mildly related topic instead of whatever it was I had been teaching. Also, his preferred form of communication is most similar to that of a dog defending a fire hydrant; a series of barks punctuated by displays of macho-ness.

Sexto de Basico: By far my favorite class, there are only 16 students and every single one is super excited about everything. I think this is the equivalent of fifth grade in the States and so the universality of fifth graders being in a developmentally awesome stage holds true. As an added bonus, they can write quickly and the teacher just sits quietly at his desk.

Recreo: Pretty much the same as Wednesday’s recreo though the topic of the gossip usually changes.

Septimo de Basico: I usually end up teaching this class for about fifteen minutes instead of 45 as after recreo on Thursday’s the entire school formars (stands in lines according to their grade and pratices a few pseudo-militaristic exercises) and the director barks some announcements at them before calling out the names of around 60 individuals to collect some small piece of paper he has that they need to deliver to their parents. Why this task can’t be given to the teachers of the classes still confuses me. In any event, the students in this final class can learn about the same amount of material as the previous class in less than half the time but with the enthusiasm of tweens that are no longer unabashedly excited by school and are more interested in making sure their social status is maintained.

So that’s my work up in Bellavista and now I can’t leave the house without being bombarded with “Hola Senorita” by the wandering masses of the students that are finished with school at 12:00pm and have never had one of their teachers live in their neighborhood. It’s actually quite cute and does my ego wonders.

The other two days of the week I go up to Cajas National Park with Mike to give Tourism/English classes to the parkguards. Technically the classes start at eight and finish at ten but by the time the class actually starts and by the time I get a ride back down to Sayausi it is usually noon, so I count the entire time as work though in reality there’s only about an hour and half of actual work but when in Ecuador do as the Ecuadorian park employees do i.e. work equals the total amount of time it takes to do something including travel time and break-citos.

Mike’s Work

After many months of being stuck behind a desk (something Mike probably never envisioned himself doing especially while in Peace Corps) the several books he has been working on (i.e. re-writing though he will only be given credit for ‘technical revision, photographer, and translation’) are supposed to go to print this coming Tuesday! Which has been no easy task as most of the edits he has done have required access to AdobeReader which ETAPA has still not given Mike access to at his work computer and so can only use the program for a minute before it kicks him off and shuts down. This means that a majority of the work he has done was first with paper and pen and then transferred to digital format when he had access to a computer with the appropriate program; all and all tripling the time it would have taken if he had just been given the ability to use AdobeReader at his own computer (Internet access would have also made the job much easier; oh well). In any event, he finished and now, as mentioned earlier, the books are supposed to go to print. And although “supposed to” in Ecuador is the equivalent of saying “will not” it may present a possible end to desk work for the near future.

However, Mike has done such a good job with the books (he was complimented on his methodical approach to editing and his attention to detail in front of all the major jefes at the last park meeting) that he may get pinned to the desk for another round of books that didn’t make this deadline. As the newly appointed park biologist (the old one is doing a Masters in Quito and as such will be gone for the following ten months), in addition to more book editing he has been given the responsibility of designing and implementing a survey for the park guards to fill out on a regular basis that would track the number and movement of different animals in the park so that Cajas could monitor the health of its fauna (or the maybe more accurately so that is can measure the extent of the effect of cattle and horses that are in the park and should not be). It’s almost like Mike left a real job in the States only to get a more “real” job in Ecuador.

Fortunately, every now and again the park does let him out from behind the desk and one of those rare moments occurred a few weeks ago when he accompanied a team of biologists to assist with site selection for an upcoming condor study (see pictures below). The study aims to monitor the small population of Andean condors that frequent the park by luring them to particular peaks using recently slaughtered cows. The biologists will set up nearby observation points where they will sit in a relatively dry place with binoculars and wait for the condors to appear. Before cozying up in there observation points the biologists will delegate the slaughtering of cows, and all the blood and foulness that that action entails, to the park guards demonstrating the food chain that exists in the work place as well as in nature.

Another out-of-desk experience included taking a camera and park guard on a point-and-shoot tour of specific sites in the park. One of the books Mike has been working so hard on in the most recent past is a guide to all of the trails in Cajas. In this book, each trail is broken down in to several different points of interest where some specific information is given about the surrounding area. There is also supposed to be pictures from each of these points of interest. Keep the word “supposed” to be in mind. So, obviously several of these pictures were missing i.e. did not exist and so needed to be taken. So Mike, a park guard, and camera spent the day visiting these points of interest and taking pictures for the book. As a result Mike can now add to his resume part-time model and photographer. Not bad for a day’s work.

Mike also took it upon himself to break free of his desk shackles one day last week to go check up on another study going on in the park. This other study is monitoring the population of deer by measuring the amount of fecal matter found within several transects throughout Cajas. I was lucky enough to accompany Mike on this lovely, rainy, wet, cold day and trudge through the Andean paramo looking for small red strings that identified each transect. Fortunately, we were not there to count the quantity of fecal matter (though I wouldn’t be surprised if that was included in an upcoming hike). The task of finding the transects ended up being a mission of luck rather than map reading ability as these biologists had incorrectly placed the transects and so they were also incorrectly placed on the map. We did end up stumbling across one of them and despite its location everything else about was set up correctly.

Despite the likelihood of working behind a desk each day Mike continues to pack his backpack with all his hiking gear (pancho, waterproof pants, first aid kit, thermos with tea, compass, maps, binoculars, gloves, hat, emergency blanket) just for the possibility that he may find some excuse to leave his office, computer, chair, and desk behind for the day and pretend to be a real Peace Corps volunteer doing things outside the confines of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Adobe Acrobat.

Home on the Range…or more accurately the Plazoleta

Pasta
Though we are both working stiffs we still find time (somewhere outside those 18 hours per week) to enjoy the campo life. After leaving it sitting on our kitchen shelf for three months, we finally took out the pasta maker and made pasta. It was not nearly as time consuming as I originally thought it would be and I now appreciate the need for a giant wooden board (whether it be for googala or other doughs that require a well of flour for eggs to be placed within). The tile counter top is OK but the grout can be quite annoying while kneading. But it’s all worth it to use the play dough machine…I mean pasta machine that is amazingly reminiscent of a play dough machine with the added advantage that you are actually supposed to eat what comes out of it as opposed to just wanting to eat what comes out of it.

The next day we feasted on fresh pasta with tomato sauce and though the noodles are longer than I have become accustomed to, the taste was unsurpassed (at least in the land of Ecua-noodles).

Watch Mary make pasta!

Watch Mary eat pasta!

Veggies and Kichwa
Obviously we pay rent every month. Not so obviously, our landlady comes to our house each month to collect it. Even less obviously, when she comes she brings with her a giant crate filled with vegetables from her garden that she presents to us just after we give her the money for the rent. I would like to emphasize the word “crate” in the previous sentence. It is not just a mere lettuce head or bunch of carrots; it is an entire crate of vegetables (see pictures in slideshow and make sure to notice the new “window” Mike made for our kitchen). Also, keep in mind that our land lady is a fully fledged chola. That means everyday she wears a pollera, the flashy blusa, a cardigan, braids, and a chalina (a blanket worn for extra warmth when it is cold and balanced on the head when sunny, to block the sun of course).

This past month when she, her daughter, and her grandson came over with the overflowing crate of vegetables she also brought one of her other daughter’s homework for Mike to help her with. The homework was kichwa. Our chola (i.e. almost indigenous land lady) brought Mike (total gringo) her daughter’s kichwa homework. I mean we probably have the only Kichwa-Spanish dictionary in all of Sayausi and Mike has probably received more formal Kichwa instruction than anyone in Sayausi but the entire situation was still highly amusing.

Boy, you’ve gotten fat…and beautiful
This is a difficult story for me to write. But I figure for the sake of cultural exchange and humor factor it is worth putting down in a public space for the entire world to read and comment upon.

If you will recall from earlier in the post Mike and I went for a hike in Cajas on a cold, rainy day. Again, it was a cold, rainy day and as such I was wearing a long sleeve shirt, a fleece, a windbreaker, a scarf, a raincoat, jeans, and waterproof pants over my jeans. The hike took around five hours, of which four of them included large amounts of rain and wind. We had just gotten out of the back of pick up truck (which was our ride back to Sayausi form the park which means more rain and more wind) and were walking through the main street of Sayausi back our apartment when we ran into Luz Mil.

Luz Mil is also a chola, like our land lady, but a more eccentric chola with the final effect being more similar to a rodeo clown than cute and indigenous. The majority of people in our town also believe that she is a witch. In any event, she has taken quite the liking to me and is always thrilled to see me. Whenever, Mike runs into her (which is fairly often as he walks by her house on the way to work) she always asks, “Y la nina Mari? Donde esta? Como esta la nina Mari? Porque no viene aqui para visitarme. Yo hice motecito, porque no viene?” Guilt, as it turns out, is a universal tactic in trying to get people to come visit.

On this particular occasion, a month or so had passed since the last time I had seen her and so she was particularly enthused to see me on the street. We crossed over to greet her in the traditional Ecua-fashion which includes a kiss, a hug, and several exchanges of “How are you”, “How have you been”, and “How has it been going”. However, after the kisses and hugs there was no “How are you” there was no “How have you been” there was no “How has it been going”, there was only, “Oh, how fat you’ve gotten, you look so beautiful! What have you been eating to get so fat and beautiful! I can’t believe how beautiful and fat you have become!” I tried to go on the defensive with some comment about the number of layers I had on because it was so cold and so on but she countered expertly by pointing out the my face had also gotten much more beautiful and fat.

Now, I realize there are some cultural differences between here and there and for the most part I think I have adjusted well to these differences and usually do not take offense to where these differences collide. But my brain honestly and truly had no idea how to respond to someone telling me how incredibly fat I have gotten and at the same time saying how absolutely beautiful I looked. In any event, I want to hear no comments on the truth or untruth of my fatness, nor the accompanied beauty of this fatness. I will just point out that if someone here in town is sick everyone automatically says that this person has lost a lot weight and how terrible it is to lose weight. Following this logic I will assume her meaning was more along the lines of how healthy and glowing I looked and I will now monitor my ability to button my jeans.

Moving on to other less personally scrutinizing topics...

Don’t Forget to Vote
That’s it really, don’t forget to vote. We did and we are both registered in states where our votes quite literally don’t matter and we had to pay $6.00 to do it. That’s like ten ice cream cones, five full lunches, or sixty pieces of bread, quite the sacrifice (no comments about fatness here please). So, go vote…for Obama.

Don´t forget to double click to enlarge the slideshow and see the captions.