Wow, alot has happened since my last post!

First of all, we decided to all pitch in on a piglet! yes we have had this little porker for almost a month, and it is incredible how little Lady Oinksalot´s behaviour resembles that of a dog!

The first day we brought the baby back to the reserve, she escaped from her small pen within an hour. We were feeling quite dismayed, and disapointed about our wasted investment and believed that she would not last the night. The next morning came with shrieks from the Kitchen “La Chancita esta aqui!!!!” we awoke with curiosity and disbelief to find that the little piggy had survived a night the trecherous Amazon jungle, and followed its nose 600m from its pen to the kitchen!

We decided to put her in the old “Casa de Gallinas”, A small concrete room that used to hold the chickens before we had our chicken feast. 2 days after Lady Oinks’ return she began to warm up to our presence and showed much affection and love for her loyal caretakers.

She is quite obedient, actually more obedient than a dog.  We take her for walks, where she runs around you barking, not oinking, but barking. Then as she calms she never strays more than ten feet from you.

She eats everything! which cuts down our waste, and in about 9 months to a year she should be ready to roast.

The Napo river brought some adventurous times as we floated down el rio in the most unsafe life jackets I´ve ever seen. Me, Louis and Adam came across “un remolino” a whurlpool that sucked us all under for a terrifying moment of struggle and lack of oxygen!!! We all battled out of its grasp but if we didnt have lifejackets it porbably would have been a different story.

Nothing better than cooling off in El Rio Napo after a long day with a Machete

And so we went to our fiendly neighborhood shaman to experience spiritual cleansing and ayahuasca rituals. 20 minutes down the road from the reserve in the small community of Chichico Rumi resides Haimeh. An honest married man of 40 years, father of 12 children, former worker at the Jatun Sacha station, but retired to the sacred Napo look for gold, fish, and provide a safe place for people to explore the wonders of the ancient psychoative beveridge Ayahuasca.

Derrek, a returning volunteer from 3 years back, introduced myself, Louis and Gregor to Haimeh one clear friday evening. Haimeh explained the ritual, the history, the sacredness of the divine vine of ayahuasca as well as the plants one can combine with the sacred vine to create a powerful, emotional, spiritual state of being, which opens your perception to the knowledge of the spirit world! The great book of the collective unconscious as we in the west may refer to it.

One can witness ripples of time/eternity with geometircal patterns of tremendous intricacy, along with spirits of family members, spirits of strangers, spirits of plants, animals, rocks, water everything. One can commicate with these otherwise invisible beings with amazing clarity and understanding telepathically! as well as comminicate with the shaman through thoughts and feelings.

Truly an incredible experience which I recommend to anyone who has curiosity about the mysteries of life!

There is always room on the buses, its great! 1 dollar per hour on a bus 2 dollars for a delicious filling lunch, life is sweet with papayas, oranges, passion fruit, naranjillas and bananas ranging from the size of your finger to the size of a, well a huge banana like 2 feet long! Trees and plants that bleed milk and trees that bleed red blood!

There is a tree called Sangre de Drago (Dragons Blood)that bleeds when it is cut. The blood, which looks exactly like human blood, can be used for medicinal purposes when rubbed on the skin. The blood enriches skin and speeds healing of cuts and lacerations!

So I´ve been working in the medicinal garden and veggie garden in the afternoons, last week we built an impressive 20 metre bamboo bridge. And in the mornings I´ve been teaching english to 2 classes of 6/7 year olds and one older class of 12-15 year olds.

The littles are full of energy, dont were shoes and need to brush their rotting teeth! and the olders are much more well behaved and are a pleasure to teach.

Such geographical diversity squeezed in 12,ooo square km’s it is incredible! From the beautiful Costa with white sand beaches, smooth surf, and laid back lifestyle to the majestic central Sierra highlands containing 31 volcanoes, to the mystical jungles of El Oriente, Ecuador is one of if not the most geographically diverse countries in the world!

From the misty Cloud Forest of La Hesperia to the summit of Cotopaxi to the hot springs, bungee jumping, and paragliding in Banos, to the shores and surf of the hip little town of Canoa, My time in Ecuador has opened my eyes and mind to a new way of being. 

I have my sights set on heading to the Amazon for 8 weeks after I complete 8 weeks in Cloud Forests of La Hesperia. Maintaining the La Huerta (veggie garden), planting the endangered Tangare mahogany, harvesting fresh coffee beans and bananas have been the main duties in La Hesperia. Construction of a new local school has been coming along slow but steady.

Ecuador Journal

Thursday, September 3, 2009

CLOUD FOREST LIFE BEGINS

Today was an initiation to the Andean region of Ecuador. Catching the 7:40 bus from Quito to Santo Domingo y los Colorados, carrying it’s passengers through the curvy roads along the sharp, jungle covered mountains. Awe strikingly similar to those observed in Maui, with roadside waterfalls to the river valley far below, the two hour drive was nothing short of a tropical scene. I was the only one to stop at the small village of La Hesperia, about 85 kilometers from Quito. I peered across the road and to the left to see the vine covered stone arch which I was to follow, and continue forty five minutes on foot uphill to the reserve. The hike up hill was heart pounding, hot and sweaty, for I was carrying about 70 pounds of luggage with me. Two heavenly water breaks were vital for me to stave off dehydration and heat exhaustion. The morning sun shone strong upon the trail. Every bit of shade was picked out and walked through as my pounding rhythm trudged up ward. The smell of the forest enchanting. The moist green leaves seem so bountiful and healthy, hardly appearing to be in need of environmental protection.  Once to the reserve, I was greeted by a couple volunteers taking time off because of illness, definitely not the desired greeting, however, pleasant and cheerful. It was the time for lunch break and I was lead through a brief tour of the reserve grounds by fellow volunteer Patrick, an Australian, and had been in La Hespiera for 3 months prior to my arrival.

For Lunch we had rice, lentils, chicken, fish, and salad. Very delicious indeed. I will be feed well here. Dinner was asparagus soup, with tortillas maize y pork, y salado. I look forward to tomorrows work, most likely with a machete clearing brush from the trails, and creating new trails.

La bosque es muy precioso.

Monday, September 7, 2009

It has been five days since I’ve arrived in La Hesperia. I spent my first weekend reading, hiking, swimming in the water hole by the water fall, exploring the area. The Cloud Forest is a bubbling life organism with amazing birds, butterflies, centipedes and capuchin monkeys!

Wonderful addition to the trip! 

Looking forward to arriving in beautiful Quito.

I’ll Keep you all posted on the Ecuadorian trip.