Ecuador Volunteer Journals

I made it home, with some complications, but all ok.  I’m still a little sick in the stomach from Quito and I’ve lost a total of 16 pounds during my trip.  I guess I’ll have to eat that much more to make up for it!  My adventure was an adventure, I’m glad to be out of Ecuador, and I learned many things.  Here’s a TOP TEN list of what I learned from Ecuador.  
10. Bananas grow in large bunches on long stalks, upwards. 
9. Termites create these raised tunnels of soft wood where they march and create giant, bulbous colonies along the [...]

I plan to make a PowerPoint presentation upon my return from Ecuador.  It will be comprehensive with lessons learned, trip highlights, and lots of pictures.   It will take some time to prepare, so please be patient.  There are a LOT of pictures and I have to go through all of them first.

So I have returned from an enjoyable but expensive time in the ever popular and very touristy Baños.  This is the cleanest and prettiest city I have seen in Ecuador, and it is made so by the large gringo presence (and $$$).  Friday night we arrived in good order after a long bus ride and partied the night away at a discotech.  We even got a free ¨Bienvenidos shot¨.  Saturday some of us rented some mountain bikes and we rode down the mountain road towards Puyo which is filled with waterfalls and scenic views.  That was one of the best [...]

Besides shoveling a whole lot of mud out of a water collection pit, work this week has been rather boring.  Last weekend I went to some far away place called cascada de latas and saw some beautiful waterfalls.  There was much cliff jumping involved as well.  The water felt great!  On wednesday, 34 Masters of Biodiversity students from Quito arrived for the next 10 days to study.  There´s about 50 people at the station right now.  Mealtime is a fiasco!
This weekend I go to the famous town of Baños, where there´s an active volcano, a cool road to bike down [...]

On Saturday, we went rafting down the Lower Misualli Valley River, and it was so incredibly gorgeous!  There were many giant waterfalls everywhere.  It did rain the most since I´ve been here, but that was not much water compared to what the river provided!  The rafting trip included quite a long hike through the forest, in the rain, as well.  It was an intimate look at primitive jungle.  The trip took all day and was the most fun I´ve had in Ecuador so far.  Not only was it my first rafting trip, but the scenery was so wonderful.
I have just [...]

The title of this post come from the writing on the back of the bus I took into town.  Although everyone claims to be Catholic, the practice of true Christian values is underrepresented.  I think the people would be very receptive to a revival of the love that Jesus Christ has for them.  I often see images of sanctified babies, I suppose to be Jesus.  They know who Jesus is, and they have heard about the love of God, and I believe there are many who truely know His love and mercy and grace, but for the most part it [...]

Today I made my own bracelet from Amazonian seeds.  A local Quichua (the native tribe near here) lady teaches every Sunday morning.
I suppose I should talk a little about my fellow volunteers.  There are 12 total volunteers, plus two cooks, and about 4 or so workers.  Including myself, 6 of the volunteers are new this week.  All the staff are Ecuadorian or Quichua.  The volunteers include one guy from Philladelphia, one guy from Minnesota, myself from Texas, a Polish lady, an English lady, a Sweedish guy (who is my roommate and an Arnold Schwartzenager lookalike and soundalike (without the bulky [...]

I made it to the Jatun Sacha in one piece with all my luggage intact.  The Bus ride from Quito was incredibly long, and the bus ride from Tena to Jatun Sacha was incredibly crowded and hot.  The weather here is about like Houston in June.  I´v spent more time on a bus and in the city than I have in the jungle so far, but it is everywhere, and it is incredible.  The diversity is so huge – especially the insects!
On my first day of work (and only so far), I got to replant 6 tree saplings that were [...]

I´ll try to keep this shorter than the last one, but this will be my last regular post.  I´m sure I´ll keep very busy in the Amazon and I have no idea how much time I´ll spend online.
I went on the Teleferico, which is a sky tram that goes to the top of the Pinchuan (sp?) Volcano just west of Quito.  The views were great once the clouds dissipated.  I did get lots of pictures.  I met a lot more of the Herbalife people, too.  In the afternoon, I had my orientation with the Jatun Sacha Foundation  – it was [...]

So today was my big Quito adventure.  After a breakfast of toast and eggs and oatmeal at the hostel I was on my way to see Quito.  Just me, my daypack, my Vibram Fivefingers, and my very limited knowledge of Spanish.  Fortunately, there are many helpful people here and some of them even know a little English!  I was ever so grateful that the person in charge of the tourist info center knew English.  The map and information I gathered there was invaluable.
Quito is an interesting city with much history, very colorful but poor and dirty.  The pollution from all [...]

¡Hola mis amigos y mis familia!  Estoy bien.
Although I had to travel all over the United States just to get out of the country, my trip has gone well thusfar.  I flew on a commuter jet from Austin to Dallas and on another commuter jet from Dallas to Savannah to Miami.  Contrary to American Airlines’ reputation, that have all been on time and my baggage arrived with me in Quito.  My flight from Miami to Quito – Ecuador´s capital city and the world´s second highest capital in elevation (next to La Paz, Bolivia) – was 20 minutes late, but that [...]

It is exactly one week before I leave on my grand adventure to Ecuador.  By this time, 7 days from now, I’ll be flying somewhere over Central or South America.  I am excited, but there is still so much to accomplish.  I have yet to pack, although I have all my gear together.  I also have this big project at work that must be finished before I leave.  It is behind schedule and I have several appointments this week.  But whatever happens, I’m getting on the plane next Sunday and heading away from EVERYTHING I have known for the past [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Hola!
I think this is going to be one helluva post as alot has happened in the past 1.5 weeks. I´ve been at sea on The Archipell II, a first class catamaran no less!
The first day (Fri) me and my intrepid friend Jasmine, caught the ferry to Santa Cruz island, the economic capital of the Galapagos with a bustling town home to 18,000 people (more or less) and gawped over how big it was compared to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno in San Cristobal, I mean they even have chocolate! We found our boat and were stoked to find out the cabin [...]

Greetings!
It´s been a while since I´ve updated this blog – I´m currently in the middle of a 8 day cruise of the Galapagos which has been amazing! I´ll write about that when I get to Santa Cruz island on Friday.
So to catch up, the weekend before last I did a day snorkel trip to Isla Lobos (Sea Lion Island) and Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido) which is a famous dive site off the coast of San Cristobal – the island I´m living on.
Isla Lobos was our first site for a snorkel, it´s a small off-shore island with a good sea lion [...]

Hola Chicas y Chicos!
I´m back in port today, its been the first full week of volunteer action, I also had my first hot shower in a week and a half which was incredible… I´ve never felt so clean!
Ok, so here´s the run-down of the week´s exciting events. Monday I didn´t work as I was getting over my bout of Cholera or whatever it was, so I lazed about in a  hammock feeling sorry for myself, I even got to watch Twilight again on someone´s computer. I like it even less the second time round, have to say.
On Tuesday we went [...]

Hola mis amigos!
Firstly an apology – I cant find the apostrophy key on this keyboard… so youll have to bear with me, and also, Ive been spending the past day in bed sick, so this maynot be the most enthusiastic post.
Im on the galapagos islands now and have been since wednesday, and its awesome! But also strangely like Norfolk Island with similar weather and plants, so Ive travelled half way around the world to a place that looks and feels very familiar…
We had to pay $100 American at the airport to enter San Cristobal island, and we were picked up [...]

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 [...]

Hola!
I´ve been in Quito for 2 days now. I´m staying at a cool hostel run by an Indigenous family in the Mariscal Sucre area (aka Gringolandia – Gringo Land!)
After all the terrors I´d heard about Quito, I ventured out pretty gingerly yesterday, looking widly about for muggers and murderers which I fancied were everywhere. Quito is a massive city, very busy, very hectic – if there are road rules here, I haven´t seen people use them – they just scream about at a million miles an hour leaning on their car horns, crossing the road is quite an adventure!
I also [...]

Buenos Dias mis amigos!
I have arrived unscathed in ecuador after 30 odd hours of flying and sitting in airports. Quito is the main city and is sitting pretty at 2600m above sea level so I´m feeling the effects of the altitude right now… the general rule is apparently not to climb any hills, especially not the one in the city that takes you up to 4000m – that one gets messy.
I have a free day and then an orientation session on Tuesday and I´m to fly out to the Galapagos on Wednesday – hooray!
Will write more when I´m not feeling [...]

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 [...]

Wonderful addition to the trip! 
Looking forward to arriving in beautiful Quito.
I’ll Keep you all posted on the Ecuadorian trip.

Following the terrible news that Jae would need surgery to fix the problem with his foot, we felt deflated and depressed. We tried to keep spirits high and enjoy our time whilst we awaited the results from the scan. We decided to take a break at the beach and relax for a few days in Canoa. After the long and tiring journey we stumbled upon a little paradise. Scattered along the sand stood several beach huts, hammocks, a restuarant and cocktail bar awaiting us at Casa Bambu. We dumped our bags and wandered down the beach where after a few [...]

Following several failed attempts we started to believe our visit to the waterfalls was doomed and we wouldn’t get a chance to see them during our stay. We felt relieved to receive a brilliantly sunny morning on our last Saturday at the reserve and straight after lunch headed out to the waterfalls. A group of 15 volunteers managed to hitch a some what precarious lift to the falls. We trudged along the muddy path by the riverside, slipping and sliding all the way. It was a steep and sweaty climb motivated by the deep cool pool of water which awaited [...]

After spending a couple of weeks in the jungle there are several things that become part of every day life. You get used to the slightly damp odour of your clothes in the morning and waking up with yet another scratch from something that bit you in the night. Checking the toilet for any giant insects or spiders  before intrepidly entering becomes second nature before long. Dodging the never ending ant trails crossing every path becomes a skill you can’t live without. You slowly become accustomed to routines of the reserve, early mornings at 6am, lazy afternoon siestas in the [...]

We awoke on Saturday morning to the loud splattering of rain one our rooftop, a very comforting feeling somehow when you´re curled up in your cabin, especially if it means you can enjoy a few more minutes sleep as there is little point heading out into the downpour. But unfortunately this meant plans to visit the waterfall were once again postponed for another day. Instead we hitched a lift to Tena in a big space wagon, quite a luxury compared to the open back trucks, and spent the day lazing around town. We enjoyed ice-cream, burgers and chips, and spent [...]

De sidste mange dage har vi saa vaeret ved stranden, jeg kunne godt naevne alle navnene, men jeg tror ikke det ville sige jer saa meget! Saa jeg lader vaere.. 
Vi har ridt paa heste! Vi tog en lille tur ud til et organisk landbrug, hvor jeg kendte to piger fra skolen i Quito der var frivillige. Her spiste vi mad af traeskaale med traeskeer, drak vand med bismag af jord, lavede vores egen “chokolade” og red paa heste til abeskoven.. men der var ingen aber..
Vi har set paa hvaler! Paa en lille tur ud til isla de la plata (mini galapagos med [...]

We’re had a wonderful week at the reserve and feel happily settled into our new home. On Saturday we visited Tena, the nearest town to the station, about 45 mins drive away. Normally there are Bosque walks on Saturdays but this week several staff were away on holiday. From Tena we caught the bus to Misahualli, because we wanted to see the nearby waterfall which is reached en route. Unfortunately the weather can be quite temperamental in the jungle and as we disembarked the bus a heavy rainstorm hindered our plans for the afternoon. We sheltered in a nearby house [...]

Saa naaede vi endelig ud af Quito – lige inden Maria naaede at blive forkoelet! Jakob undveg desvaerre ikke den skaebnesvangre forkoelelse som naesten tager alle der vover sig ned i dalen (Quito er placeret i en dal) og hager sig fast! Jeg er meget traet af stadig at vaere stoppet fuldstaendig ti i naesen..
Foerste stop paa ruten var mindo! Et hyggeligt lille sted i skyskoven (the cloudforest – lidt det samme som regnskov, istedet for regn i en time er det bare overskyet en time). Det var et dejligt sted, med masser af myg, mine ben blev igen daekket [...]