After my birthday, this was a fairly uneventful week. I mostly just worked on my Spanish and bought my plane ticket to Peru (a much more complicated process than it may sound like).
On Saturday, Kim and I went to Parque Nacional Cajas and it was amazing. I´m uploading pictures right now, but I´m not sure that they really do it justice. It was quite possibly the most impressive place I´ve ever been. First, we walked in the lower cloud forest area, which was similar to La Hesperia. The hike in the paramo was what really got me. We hiked around several lagunas and through a forest of quinua trees at an altitude of 4000 m, making it one the highest altitude forests in the world (according to our guide). The vegetations was incredible and even though it rained the whole time, mist seemed to suit the place better than sun would have. The only drawback was that we went with a group and some of the people were wearing totally inappropriate shoes and so they were slipping all over the place and we had to go very slowly. I didn´t mind too much though because it gave me more time to look around.
That night, Kim and I went out dancing with one of the teachers from the school at a place with a live salsa band. My salsa isn´t very good, but we had a lot of fun.
On Sunday I was going to go to some markets in smaller towns nearby, but I was exhausted from hiking and dancing. I ended up going to with Katy and Angelica to Katy´s sister´s ´country house´ (it´s really just a suburb of small cabins in the hills above the city) for a realxing lunch. Afterwards we made milcocha, which is like taffy. I still don´t talk very much when I´m with them, but it´s getting less awkward.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
I was in Puerto Lopez!
Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes!
Things here are going well. I´m learning a lot of Spanish, although I´m still not great at putting it to use. Carmita is very patient and encouraging, as is my family. This is a little embarrassing, but when I wrote before I said that there were two sons, but there is actually only one. His name is Carlos Eduardo and I swear that I was introduced to him twice that first day, once as Eduardo and once as Carlos, but the second time it was as I was walking in the door and he was walking out, so I didn´t see him that well. Anyway, they are very nice and very understanding of both my timidity and my poor speaking abilities.
Last week I did a little sight seeing and a lot of walking around, trying to get a feel for the city. I went to the two main iglesias and to the Museo de Arte Moderno. Thursday was the last night of Corpus Christi, so I went and watched the fireworks and ate a lot of dulces. Cuenca is a great city for just wandering and looking, but I was also a little lonely and overwhelmed. There is only one other student, Kim from Amsterdam, taking classes at the same time as me and we hadn´t really spoken much, but on Friday she invited me to go to the beach with her for the weekend. We went to Puerto Lopez and had a really nice time. This is her fifth week taking classes, so her Spanish is much better than mine, and she speaks fluent English. We ate ceviche, which is my new favorite food, and went to Parque Nacional Machalilla. Later in the summer, it is a major humpback whale breeding spot, but right now it´s just Ecuador´s nicest beach. There were only about thirty minutes of sun all weekend, but we hiked around and swam and managed to get a little tan because the sun here is much stronger than at home. It´s really nice to know that I have a good travelling companion for the rest of my time in this area.
I had a nice birthday yesterday. Carmita brought me a rose and a piece of banana cake that she had made. Then, during our 11 am break, we had a little party with Kim and her teacher Sophie and Helenita, another woman who works in the office. They brought this amazing tres leches (three milk) cake, which is apparently very popular here. In the afternoon, I went for coffe with Kim and in the evening my family had a little celebration with more cake and cookies and singing.
Things here are going well. I´m learning a lot of Spanish, although I´m still not great at putting it to use. Carmita is very patient and encouraging, as is my family. This is a little embarrassing, but when I wrote before I said that there were two sons, but there is actually only one. His name is Carlos Eduardo and I swear that I was introduced to him twice that first day, once as Eduardo and once as Carlos, but the second time it was as I was walking in the door and he was walking out, so I didn´t see him that well. Anyway, they are very nice and very understanding of both my timidity and my poor speaking abilities.
Last week I did a little sight seeing and a lot of walking around, trying to get a feel for the city. I went to the two main iglesias and to the Museo de Arte Moderno. Thursday was the last night of Corpus Christi, so I went and watched the fireworks and ate a lot of dulces. Cuenca is a great city for just wandering and looking, but I was also a little lonely and overwhelmed. There is only one other student, Kim from Amsterdam, taking classes at the same time as me and we hadn´t really spoken much, but on Friday she invited me to go to the beach with her for the weekend. We went to Puerto Lopez and had a really nice time. This is her fifth week taking classes, so her Spanish is much better than mine, and she speaks fluent English. We ate ceviche, which is my new favorite food, and went to Parque Nacional Machalilla. Later in the summer, it is a major humpback whale breeding spot, but right now it´s just Ecuador´s nicest beach. There were only about thirty minutes of sun all weekend, but we hiked around and swam and managed to get a little tan because the sun here is much stronger than at home. It´s really nice to know that I have a good travelling companion for the rest of my time in this area.
I had a nice birthday yesterday. Carmita brought me a rose and a piece of banana cake that she had made. Then, during our 11 am break, we had a little party with Kim and her teacher Sophie and Helenita, another woman who works in the office. They brought this amazing tres leches (three milk) cake, which is apparently very popular here. In the afternoon, I went for coffe with Kim and in the evening my family had a little celebration with more cake and cookies and singing.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
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 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.
Friday, May 16, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, May 2, 2008
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!
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!
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