Duke Spring Break in Baños

After a weekend on the beach in Montañita, Ashley, Jack, Sam, and I returned to the sierras Sunday night to meet our first two spring break groups.  While Ashley and Jack took the group from Vanderbilt University out to our partner organization, FEVI, in the valley north of us, Sam and I met up with our group of six from Duke University and brought them back to the valley with us.  Seeing as Monday and Tuesday were holidays in Ecuador celebrating Carnaval (what we know as Mardi Gras in the States), we took off for our overnight trip bright and early Monday morning, to Baños.  Here to give a snapshot of our time together is one of our spring breakers from Duke: Jake!


After a long and bumpy ride to Baños, we were welcomed with espuma (foam) and buckets of water by the locals.  It was Carnaval, and the festivities were wild; a major part of the celebrating involved spraying foam on everyone and everything.  Once I dried off, the town was amazing.  We checked into a hostel (which only cost $7.50 a night), and then decided to go repelling down 5 of the local waterfalls.  We had a blast – the experience was well worth the blisters and rope burns on our hands.  After we dried off (again), we caught a chivas (essentially a party bus) and went to party on top of a volcano.  The party consisted of fire-jugglers and comedy shows, but the real highlight of the night was the view.  We could see over all of Baños, and the mountain scenery was incredible.  When we returned to the town, we quickly learned that the celebrating during the day was nothing compared to the celebrating at night.  We all were so tired after the adventurous day that we turned in a little early so we would be ready for the next day’s events.  


We started the next day with a rooftop breakfast before renting bikes and embarking on a 27 kilometer ride to a huge waterfall (I know, there are a lot of waterfalls on this trip).  The ride was exciting for two reasons: the incredible views that we saw on our path and the water balloons that we had to dodge (the Carnival activities also included water balloon pelting).  About half way through the ride, we stopped to go on a one kilometer zip line (it was the longest zip line I have ever seen).  I can honestly say it was one of the coolest experiences of my life.  We finished the bike ride and snapped a few Kodak pictures of the waterfall before returning to our hostel and leaving Baños.  A few pointers for those of you planning on being in Baños for Carnaval: get the Mega Grill burger (it’s delicious) at the burger stand off the plaza, go zip lining (it’s exhilarating), and bring a bathing suit (it’s wet)!  

Baños!

A performer with fire on top of the volcano

Jake concentrating in preparation for a 1km zipline.

ZIPLINE!

Family visiting means plenty of travel

In absencia, since she´s in the Galápagos with her family right now, Becky writes about having family from the States visit her and Manna in Ecuador.  

Two Thursdays ago, my brother arrived in Quito.  I was excited for him to visit and see all the cool stuff I have been doing since July.  The day after he arrived, I brought him to Zoë`s and my cooking class for the Aliñambi nutrition program.  The program has started out very successfully and we’ve made some delicious and nutritious food.  In class that Friday we made a cream of spinach and lentil stew along with fruit salad, for which the kids brought all the fruit to class from home.  We also made some great jugo de mora (blackberry juice).  The kids really enjoyed this week`s recipes and even asked for them so that they could make it again at home.  Alex enjoyed helping with the class and trying to talk to the kids.

Two weekends ago, I took my brother to Tena, a town right inside the jungle.  There, we went on a daylong whitewater rafting trip, which was really cool.  It was a great way to get inside and experience the jungle.  Unfortunately, we both got food poisoning during the weekend (which is expected every now and then in Ecuador, especially for newcomers).  We missed hiking the caves outside of Tena in the morning, but the sickness passed pretty quickly and we were on our way back to Sangolquí the next afternoon.

My parents also arrived last week to visit.  They, along with my brother, visited the Manna Centro to see me at work.  They really enjoyed taking a tour of the Centro and looking in on the children’s art class.

I`ve been super excited to show my family around Ecuador.  Last weekend, we spent a lot of time in Old Town seeing the old churches and visiting museums.  We also went to the artisan market and Mitad del Mundo (where the equatorial line is located).  As you read this we are heading back from the Galápagos for a five-day cruise around the islands!

It’s really awesome having my family around to visit.  They get to see where I live and work and be a part of the great experience I am having here in Ecuador.  A feel that a lot of the time, while the people you love back home definitely support you, they do not exactly know or understand the work you are doing.  It’s nice sharing with my family a glimpse into my life here.

Retreating to Baños

Last weekend MPI Ecuador took its second retreat of the year to Baños.  It was a first trip for all of us (except Bibi), and we loved it.  Situated on the western side of the Sierras in the zone where mountains transition into Amazonian jungle, Baños is warm and beautiful and full of fun things to do.  We arrived on Sunday morning, dropped off our things at the hostel, ate a delicious lunch, and immediately set out to cross activities off of our list. 

As with many tourist towns in Ecuador, the streets of Baños are lined with tourism agencies from which you can rent equipment and guides to take advantage of local adventure opportunities.  We rented bicycles for one of the local trails and set off for the hills and waterfalls surrounding the small town.  First, however, we stopped at the San Francisco bridge to check out something we’d been talking about for weeks in anticipation: puenting.  “Puenting” is a shamelessly Spanglish term (puente means bridge, so it was “bridge-ing”...?)  referring to the activity of jumping off of a bridge attached to a rope and swinging underneath.  We pedaled up to the bridge to find a line of folks watching as a girl stood on the platform psyching herself up to jump.  She tried for 15 or 20 minutes, but eventually she stepped down, unable to bring herself to actually go over the edge.  I don’t blame her; I wasn’t able to do it either.  But everyone else in our group did! 

Hannah puenting off of Puente San Francisco!

The bike ride continued to be beautiful and was followed by dinner and a nighttime chivas bus ride (the same kind of bus that hosted Chet’s birthday on the streets of Quito back in July) up to the lip of Tungurahua volcano overlooking the town. 

Before we returned home the following afternoon, PDs split off for multiple activities in our remaining hours.  I for one, as the house’s early riser, went at 6:30am to take advantage of the thermal baths that Baños is known for, its full name being Baños de Agua Santa, or “baths of sacred water,” the town having developed around the site of an appearance of the Virgin Mary near a waterfall.  It was spectacular to sit in steaming waters underneath a cliff of greenery and right next to an enormous waterfall in the first hours of the daylight.  Other PDs throughout the morning and early afternoon also went to the baths, rented go-carts, got massages, and explored the small, lovely town before catching the bus back up the Pan-American highway to Sangolquí.

Overall the retreat turned out to be the perfect mix of adventure and relaxation, and we all came back refreshed and ready for the week.  I personally loved Baños and am really excited that I get to go back in just a few days with one of our first spring break volunteer groups, from Duke, for Carnaval.

Becky and Ashley getting ready for our bike ride.  Note the go-cart... 

Brock on his rented ATV.

One of the many cascadas surrounding Baños.

The cascada overlooking the thermal baths.

Keep a lookout for posts from spring break groups over the next two weeks!  We’re extremely excited to be hosting four fantastic groups of volunteers from Duke, Vanderbilt, the University of Georgia, and the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.  Duke and Vanderbilt arrive this coming Sunday, and we can’t wait!

2010 ends in adventure; 2011 begins with change

… and we’re back!

Yesterday saw the beginning of 2011 for MPI, complete with a morning meeting to debrief each other on our holidays as well as to prepare for the opening days of our new quarter. 

At the start of break, five of us flew to Peru to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, a trip Zoë (thank you!!) began planning in August.  Zoë, Becky, Jack, Ashley and I, joined by Zoë’s brother Zach and Hudson from MPI Guatemala, spent what we agreed were some of the most physically challenging days of our lives hiking 45 kilometers up and down 2000 meters through the Peruvian Andes to arrive at Machu Picchu. 

The MPI Machu Picchu team: Jack, Zoë, Ashley, Becky, me, and Hudson from Guatemala!

After Peru, everyone (including Bibi) traveled home to the States.  Except me.  Although I was sad to miss out on the Taco Bell and Chipotle everyone got to partake in over break, it was cool to spend the holidays here in Ecuador.  My family came and spent Christmas with me and saw our house in Sangolquí and our centro in Rumiloma.  We also spent several days in the jungle, which was fantastic.  After coming back to Quito, they left for the airport with somewhat unfortunate timing around 8pm on New Year’s Eve, but not too soon to see a bit of the Año Viejo in Ecuador.  Avenida Amazonas in la Mariscal was as early as the morning of New Year’s Eve blocked off from traffic and lined with monigotes, or “años viejos”: effigies of people in the Ecuadorian public eye, often political.  At midnight, the creators of the años viejos burn their monigotes, symbolizing the death of all that was undesirable about the year that’s ending and the beginning of a new year, one that will hopefully bring good to replace the bad that has now left.  It was quite a sight.

Two Años Viejos in La Mariscal on New Year's Eve

To return to the present day and MPI Ecuador’s work initiating 2011, the major change we are undertaking in the new year is one in our schedule.  In an effort to respond to requests within our community in the past, we are shifting our work week from a traditional Monday-Friday to Tuesday-Saturday.  People frequently ask us if our library is open on Saturdays or if we offer English classes Saturdays rather than during the week, and we have always had to say no.  But now we begin a grand experiment in which we can say YES to such questions!

Our first Thursday, Friday and Saturday back to work, we are doing a great deal of promoting in Rumiloma and its surrounding communities of San Francisco, Tena, Chaupitena, Santa Isabela, and Fajardo to advertise the new schedule for the library and our classes.  The revised weekly schedule will look like this:

Library hours: Tuesday-Friday 2:30-7pm; Saturday 9am-1pm

Teen Center hours: Tuesday-Friday 4-7pm; Saturday 10am-1pm

Adult English: Wednesday 6-7pm; Saturday 9am-12pm

Children’s English: Tuesday/Thursday 4-5pm

Children’s Art: Friday 4-5pm

Women’s Exercise: Tuesday/Thursday 6-7pm; Wednesday 8-9am; Friday/Saturday 9-10am

Cooking: Saturday 10:30am-12pm

Guitar lessons (individual): Tuesday 2:30-5pm

We start taking inscriptions for this quarter’s classes Tuesday.  We hope that the inclusion of Saturdays in our schedule will allow us to reach an entirely new segment of the community that has been unable to participate in Manna activities before now.  Here’s hoping for positive change in the new year!

Questions for Haley! / Cotopaxi Pictures

It's time to submit questions for Haley Booe's interview! You might think we're jumping the gun a little bit since we haven't posted Chet's interview; with all of the excitement of summer programs, Sarah and I will now be tag-teaming the interviews. Hopefully I don't butcher it too badly as I attempt to learn imovie next week...

Please send any questions to me (jmw8387@gmail.com) or post them via comment right here on the blog BY MONDAY (como mid-morning). Questions can include anything and everything ranging from:

- how badly she wants to adopt Justin Bieber
- what it's like to teach women's exercise 4 times a week
- how exactly she has a choreographed dance memorized for every song
- how often she watches She's the Man in her bed
- what she's doing in this picture below

As per request, here are a couple of pictures from Mike and Chet's voyage up Cotopaxi from a few weekends back. They were so so close, making it just past the ridge you can see in the picture down below, but unfortunately they started late and had to turn around due to time constraints. Still, we are so proud of them and all of us stared in awe and how incredibly beautiful the view of Cotopaxi was from Quito that day.

Mike and Chet somewhere around 3a.m. while climbing Cotopaxi

View of Cotopaxi, taken by Mr. Chet Polson

- Jackie

So Happy Together

Though we have been bad at keeping up with the blog this month, I can sincerely report that it's partially because we have all been spending so much time with each other (other reasons include spring break and quarterly reports). You might think that we get enough face time in our tight living/working quarters, but in the past two weeks we embarked on a three-day weekend trip to Guaranda and Salinas, had a 'lock in' in the library/teen center, and spent last night in Quito celebrating Shawn's 23rd year of life (HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAWN!).

Last weekend was our third retreat to Guaranda, a small city nestled in a valley that's surrounded by seven hills of patchwork quilt-like cultivated land and pine trees. The bus ride to and from Guaranda twisted through the high Andes right past Ecuador's highest peak, Chimbarazo. While in Guaranda we climbed up to the statue of Guarango, who the town is named after, wandered the city, ate our fair share of street food and Magnum ice cream bars, and watched an episode of Glee in Spanish (while the boys enjoyed a municipally supported cock fight). From Guaranda we took a day trip to Salinas where we learned about the successful co-op there that employs a large percentage of the town through its textile factories specializing in producing tea, cheese, chocolate, soccer balls, and more. Lucky for us, our guide passed around an appetizing glass of alcohol fermented by an intact snake corpse to get us ready for the walking tour.

View of Chimbarazo from our bus

Admiring the 7 hills from Guaranga's statue


Chet and Erik pose with the coveted snake beverage

This past Thursday most of us participated in locking ourselves in the library for a night. Why would we ever want to do this, you may ask? Well, for one, we got to have dinner at a street side paradilla (barbeque) and experience what an average week night is like in Rumiloma. We also participated in a Halo tournament, played set, watched movies, and celebrated the completion of our quarterly reports.

In general, we (usually) love each other and I for one hope to have many more non-work related opportunities to enjoy each other's company throughout our last four months in South America.

We just can't get enough of each other

Cheers to being more consistent blog writers over the next few weeks!
- Jackie

A Taste of Heaven

This week's guest blog comes from Erik Swanson, my apartment-mate until next week when we migrate to the house for spring break - something tells me we might have a little adjusting to do after months of seclusion. After spending Carnaval on the coast, Erik has a lot to say about the beautiful beaches and people he encountered!

"Forty-five years ago, as the story is told, a group of surfers set out to travel the Ecuadorian coast in search of the perfect wave. When they found their ideal wave, they brought their families to a place that is now known as Ayampe to live in tranquility. Never straying from its roots of relaxation and moderate isolation, it is currently a town of no more than 400 easy-going inhabitants. The marriage of its climate, landscape, and culture make it nothing short of breathtaking. When one takes into account the addition of its surf, this small town may, perhaps, appear to be an outpost of heaven on Earth.

The town is small and charming, with its only paved road being the highway that runs from North to South along the coast. There are many small restaurants in the area that serve incredible seafood brought in fresh from the sea and even a small pool hall along the main road of town. Travelers can expect to be greeted with smiles and welcoming locals during the day and to be lulled to sleep by the soft chirping of insects accompanied by the constantly rolling waves at night.

Upon examining the beach itself, one can expect to be struck by all of the magnificent features that contributed to a group of surfers deciding to make it their private paradise. Surrounded by the last tropical forest in Ecuador, not to be confused with the rain forests of the east, and dissected by a river, this small strip of coast is a testament to Ecuador’s natural beauty. Adding to the ambiance of picturesque isolation, the beach’s northern and southern extremities are clearly marked by enormous, impassable rock faces. Completing the scenery, there is a small island formed by two pillars rising almost 100 feet above the waves located due west of the center of the beach. Once a year, the forces that be bless the locals with a stunning sunset that falls directly between the two pillars.

Erik takes a shot of friends at a beach-side bonfire

I had the pleasure of spending the four days of the Carnaval weekend in Ayampe. During a weekend that, at least in Latin America, is typically marked by the over-consumption of alcohol and onsets of temporary madness, I had the pleasure of a weekend filled with sun, surfing, and the company of good friends. My main suggestion for anyone with interest in visiting Ayampe is to bring multiple good books. I’d like to thank Kurt Vonnegut and Jean-Paul Sartre for fulfilling my every literary want and need. "

Three-Day Weekend Voyages

Even though Guayquil is over 160 miles from here, we were fortunate enough to celebrate its independence day with a day off from work. We spent the weekend rather scattered throughout the country; Sonia was off in Tena with Ricky (we miss you Ricky!). Haley and Sarah ventured north to the infamous Rose Cottage for a quiet weekend in the mountains of Otovalo. And the rest of us braved the Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa for the Ecuador vs. Uruguay game.

The hammocks they barely left for 24 hours

Future save-the-date announcement?

We had been looking forward to this game for about two months, ever since Serena sent an e-mail informing us that the first five people to write her back would claim tickets owned by last year's PDs. Chet, Erik, Krysta, Mike and I were lucky to have read our e-mails first and after a couple of weeks trying to find the receipt, plus two days trying to pick up the actual tickets in Quito, we we're geared up and ready to go Saturday morning. You would probably think that a 5p.m. game wouldn't require us to get there much more than an hour or so ahead of time. However, as we made our way into the stadium around noon, we barely found enough open seats and the crowd was already extremely rowdy.

Me and Krysta (hour one of waiting for the game to start)

The flag that covered our whole section (hours 1 - 5, multiple times)

Erik rocks out, fully-dressed in Ecuador gear

Mike and Chet just before the opening kick off!

Unfortunately, as you probably already know, Ecuador lost 2 - 1 to Uruguay. Before we had enough time to marvel in the glory of scoring the first goal towards the end of the second half, Uruguay retaliated and somehow got themselves a penalty shot within mere seconds of the game ending. Though we were all disappointed, it was an amazing experience and tons of fun, even the five hours of basking in the sun playing cards.

Thanks to some advice from Seth, we'll be attempting to watch Wednesday's game against Chile in the teen center. Although our chances are slim since being pushed down into 6th place with 23 points (we need to be in at least 4th place to qualify for South Africa 2010), we're still hopeful!

Si Se Puede!

- Jackie

Otavalo goodbyes

Yesterday we hugged goodbye two of our numbers, Dunc and Eliah. It should come as no surprise that the two cuarenta partners planned their Ecuadorian evacuation together; yes, they both claimed Graduate School as their individual reasons for leaving on the same day, but I'm not buying it. They just couldn't stand to be down here if the other was not :)

In anticipation of their departure, last weekend all eight of us oldies piled into a bus headed for Otavalo. I have to admit I was a little hesitant to go there; in our trusty Lonely Planet guide book Otavalo is written up as a "must see place for tourists of all kind, due to its enormous weekend market,". The last place I wanted to stay with my seven people was a touristy market town, surrounded by leather key chains and alpaca floor rugs and painted shot glasses...no thank you. So imagine my surprise when our camioneta drove out of the town, up the cobblestone street right into the mountains and just kept going. Up, up, up we drove, jostling around in the back of an old white truck, backpacks and knees and laughs jumbling around with us, until we came to La Luna, our hostel picked by Dunc.

It was perfect. Nestled into the side of a big old hill covered in golden grasses and swaying trees, the place had crisp white walls, fire places, colorful hammocks, homemade guacamole, and a ton of board games. But most importantly it had connecting rooms and one big dinner table for all of us to sit around and reminisce, eat, play and read.

Here's to our last hurrah together! It's been a great year, huh.
-Holly

Serena and Jos goof around while running back down to the hostel.

Serena and Eliah get ready for a serious game of Guess Who?

While Dana and Mark battle it out in Cuarenta.

View on the way to the waterfall.

Love that self timer.

Spot Serena.

Recreating a Quito statue we pass every time we bus into the city.

Trying to squeeze everyone onto a small rock. Why not.

Eliah and I share some rock space.

Rousing game of Clue next to the fireplace.


Mark tries to roast a marshmallow with a piece of burning paper...?

Dunc takes in the view on a Sunday hike.

The steep trek up to the summit begins.

View of Cayambe from the top of Fuya Fuya (my first Ecuadorian summit!)

Danabean and I channel our Colorado mountains.

The climbing crew.

A condor sighting from the summit. Rare and wonderful, as it's estimated there are only 65 in the whole country.

Mindo is Lindo

Mindo: Adventure weekend in a cloud forest.

Our home away from home for the weekend, Casa de Cecilia.

My Swiss Family Robinson dreams come to fruition.

Most of the group heads out to zip-line, while...

Dunc and Ryan enjoy a Pilsner by the river.

Early morning contemplations on the porch are very serious.

The girls talk around the breakfast table.

An ideal breakfast. Followed by pancakes.

Scott, Meghan, Michael and Ryan learn about coffee roasting.

Roasting Coffee Beans!

Coca beans ready to be shelled, roasted, ground and spread on our pancakes.


View out the back of our hostel.

Scott, Taylor, Meghan and Ryan sit on one side of the truck bed...

While Dunc, Michael, Mari and I sit on the other.


Getting the "hold on really tight" speech before tube-rafting.


Everyone's ready for the river. Especially Dunc and Meghan...