I´m in Cuenca!

My last week at La Hesperia went fairly well. I didn´t spend as much time with the kids this time because I was busy getting one of the new volunteers ready to take over the garden next week. Thursday afternoon Alexandra came to the garden for the first time in about six months (the steps down are very steep, so she avoided it when pregnant) and started making plans and giving directions. It was a little frustrating to have her finally get involved again on my last work day, but also good to see that things there are getting back on track after a few months of volunteer guess work. On my last actual day, I did a waterfall hike with a few other volunteers, which was very fun and very wet.

I spent Saturday wandering around Quito´s old town, then took an incredible bus ride through the Andes from Quito to Cuenca on Sunday. The scenery was, of course, amazing, but also, Sunday is market day in a lot of towns, so the streets were flooded with indigenous men and women in their colorful shawls and skirts and ponchos. For a while on the bus I sat next to a woman in a bright green skirt and bright pink sweater with two bright blue shawls holding her baby on her back.

Now I´m in Cuenca. I´ve done two days of Spanish classes and I think they will be worth it. My teacher, Carmita, is really good and nice and has a lot of suggestions for things to do in the area. Apparently, there is a big Inca festival in a few weeks that is only celebrated in Cuzco, near Macchu Piccu, and in Cañari, which is about an hour away from here and very close to Ingapirca, Ecuador´s big Inca site. She said that indigenous people from all over the country come to Cañari for three days of celebration, so hopefully I´ll be able to go. This week is Corpus Christi, which is a big deal here. There are fireworks everynight and the streets around the main plaza and cathedral are lined with stalls selling sweets. I went last night with my two host sisters. My family is very very nice, but I am of course very quiet and awkward at all times. The mother´s name is something like Katy, but Spanish. The two daughters are Marie Elisa and Angelica. They are both in college, but I´m not sure exactly how old they are. There are also two sons, Eduardo and Carlos. I´m staying in one of their rooms, but I haven´t yet figured out where either of them sleep. I haven´t seen them as much as the girls. I have breakfast with them in the morning, then class from 9-1, then back home for lunch, then I´m on my own the rest of the day and evening.

Also, I put up some new pictures.

I´m in Canoa!

This weekend I´m in Canoa, which is a beach town, but so far, no sun. Tomorrow I might go visit the other organic farm that I´m thinking about volunteering at later. There are so many things to think about doing. I´m trying to just take things one at a time. I have decided to leave La Hesperia for a bit to take Spanish classes in Cuenca and stay with a family. That seems like the best way to really learn. So yeah, this will be my last week at La Hesperia, for now at least.

A whole bunch of new volunteers arrived this week. We were up to 15 (4 Americans, 1 Brit, 1 Australian and 9 Canadians), but two of the Americans left this weekend. Another group of kids are coming next week, so that should be fun. On Monday I harvested coffee, which was interesting. My plants are doing well, so that´s nice.

I´m putting up new photos, but I´m not sure if I´ll have time to label them or not.

I should have more consistent internet access in Cuenca, which will hopefully mean more detailed and carefully written posts.

I´m in Baños!

Last weekend we made it to the Capilla del Hombre and it was really great. We also did the equator line, which is really just good for the picture. I left the camera cable at the hostel, so no pictures yet. The hostel has free internet, but there´s often a long line. If it´s shorter later I´ll try to get some pictures up.

This week was really kind of fun because there was a group of 11 year olds from the British School in Quito and we spent a lot of time with them. I supervised their horseback riding time, which was hilarious. Raul, who manages the farm, brought two very tame horses and pony. One boy couldn´t get the pony to move and kept yelling ´Corre! Corre! Corre!´(Run! Run! Run!). Finally, Raul hit the pony with a little stick and as soon as it started running the boy started screaming in terror and then feel off. He was fine and got right back on, but it was very funny. We also took them on a hike to a waterfall and planted trees with them. They are total city kids. One girl asked me to kill a bug that landed near her on the hike. I refused and it soon flew away.

My first act as Garden Princess was to plant tomatoes, celery and lettuce in the greenhouse. On Thursday I transplanted the cucumbers and zucchini we seeded last week. I´m not sure they´re going to make it. I´ve also been learning to use a machete, not that it takes much skill. It´s a huge knife, so you pretty much can just swing it and watch the tops of flowers fly.

I got to Baños yesterday afternoon. It´s a nice little town surrounded by green mountains. Ecuador seems to have no end of green mountains disapearing into clouds. This morning we went to the mineral baths, which was fun. From the baths all you can see are the green mountains and a waterfall. We went early enough in the morning that it was all Ecuadorian families, no other white tourists. Afterwards, we did a short hike to the falls of Cascada Ines Maria, which weren´t that high, but had worn the cliffs down in interesting ways.

I´m in Quito!

Hi! I´m back in Quito for the weekend with two of the other volunteers, Seth and Chris. This morning we walked around the old town, looking at old churches and plazas. We went to the Monastery of San Francisco, the oldest church in Ecuador, and the Bascillica del Voto Nacional, which Lonely Planet has named the Deadliest View of Quito because you have to climb up several very steep ladders on the outside of the tower. We survived. Tomorrow we are going to the equator line and taking a sky tram up a volcano. Sunday we are hopefully going to the Capilla de Hombre, which is the museum Guayasamin designed for his own work.

Things are going well at La Hesperia. I`ve planted trees in a reforestation area. I´m taking over a project to collect and press all of the plants being grown in the nursery, the vegetable garden and the medicinal garden. One morning Seth and I woke up early to help milk the cows. Everyday I collect the eggs. Last Sunday went for a hike on my own and saw a lot really interesting plants. I´m definitely enjoying myself. Next week a group of kids are coming and we´re taking them on hikes and planting trees with them and whatnot, so that should be interesting. Also next week I´ll be taking over the vegetable garden, which is kind of funny because I don´t really know anything about gardening, but I guess I´ll learn.

A lot of the other volunteers are leaving this weekend, which is too bad. There will only be five of us, down from 10. Meal times will feel very small. Some people have asked about the food. We have oatmeal and bread and jam every morning. They boil some of that mornings milk for the oatmeal, which is neat. Lunch is always soup, then a main. The soups often have potatoes, and sometimes we have broccoli soup with popcorn. Dinner is a main, then dessert. The mains can be anything, beens or beef or fish, and are often accompanied by rice.

I haven´t yet figured out this whole flickr thing, but you can go here to see my pictures.

Happy birthday Claire!

Flickr

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