A Month in Ecuador 2015

Two weeks into my summer I left for a three-week service learning trip to the small country of Ecuador. I was incredibly excited to be leaving my regular summer days behind and heading into the great unknown. I only had a small idea of what I was getting myself into. We didn’t know what we’d be doing, what the living situation would be like, or what the weather would do. This is the first year that Mizzou has sent a group of students to Ecuador. On top of that I had only met the other students and our instructors for a class once a week for half of a semester. That was actually pretty exciting to me. It meant that we all got to know each other in a way that we couldn’t replicate. Traveling with people you know, while stressful at times, is relatively easy. Traveling with strangers is completely different but also very exciting. This wasn’t the first time I traveled with people I barely knew and I hope it won’t be my last.

There were several very different aspects of my trip that came together to give me a summer I’ll never forget. That being said I’ve decided to write this post in three parts. Part One: Life in the Community. Part Two: Weekend Getaways. And Part Three: My parents meet Ecuador.

Part One: Life in the Community

Monday through Thursday (sometimes Friday) we lived and worked in the small community of Chilcapamba. If you asked me to show you this town on a map I could get you within a few miles but that’s the best I can do. Like I said, it’s very small. Upon arrival we saw our home for the first time and fell randomly into place with our roommates. My roommates and I ended up in a room facing one of the two volcanos the community is situated between. Our volcano ended up being shy but she did show herself on a few occasions. After putting our bags away we were taken on a walk to see where the community’s water comes from. We expected the walk to the spring to be a short one. We were surprised to be taken into a large valley and an untrimmed path to the spring. It used to be a waterfall but after an earthquake it was reduced to a small spring that runs behind a stone wall.

That night we had our first dinner in our home. We were told that lunch and dinner would be fairly similar and for the most part that was true. Each meal had a soup of some kind, rice, and a vegetable. Occasionally  there was a surprise thrown in and usually that was a good thing. We had no problem putting away meal after meal once work began.

On our first morning introduced me to my alarm clock, a chicken that lived right outside my window. It was also our first breakfast. Everyday we had bread with jam (or maybe it was jelly), hot chocolate or coffee, and either a banana or an  apple.

That was also our first day of work. Little did we know that our first day would set up the rest of our week. The first four days of work consisted of harvesting, sorting, and removing the kernels from corn. It was an eye-opening experience in a way I never expected. We put both the good and bad corn in the same bag but left the husks on the good corn to speed up sorting. We all came across corn we thought should be thrown out but the community members told us it would be taken care of during the last step in the process. The first field had a really good harvest and it was easy to find good corn but the second one wasn’t as great and forced most of us to come face-to-face with our fear of spiders. Throughout our stay we go to eat some of the fruits of our labor. On the last day of our first week we did a little gardening. We spent the day picking weeds, reenforcing the rows, and tapping into the pre-inca water system to water the plants. It was very gratifying.

Our second week of work consisted of a little more variety but not exactly in the best way. We spent our Monday sorting beans, taking shifts at the preschool, and making bread. Early Tuesday morning myself and one other girl came down food poisoning. I’ll spare you the details and just say that we spent Tuesday and Wednesday in bed recovering. On Thursday we decided to take it easy so myself, my sick buddy, and two others girls spent the morning at the preschool while the others continued with another project. This ended up not being such an easy task. We took the children on a hike. We ended up in a field surrounded by barbed wire and covered in cow patties. While the three women that ran the preschool sat looking on at them we were busy freaking out. We ran to stop them from running into the barbed wire on multiple accounts but also had fun playing games.

The third week of work was both mentally and physically challenging. I am not one to work out so most of the trip was physically grueling but this week also tested my mental strength. Up to this point we had trusted that we were doing every job with the most efficiency that we could. We knew that the community members did work like this on a daily basis so they knew the best way to get it done. We spent Monday morning hauling bags of rock over our shoulders down road and up a steep hill. It was physically draining but when we found out that they had previously taken a truck up the hill on a different day it really got to my head. I wondered why they didn’t have access to the truck today or why we didn’t at least have wheelbarrows and I wasn’t the only one. After lunch we hauled bags of sand up the hill but we came up with a new strategy. We made a line of people all the way to the top so that our journey wouldn’t be so long. This worked well for us and helped our team spirit. We spent the next three days working in trenches that would be used to lay new pipes to expand their water system. This also brought new difficulties. We had been so used to seeing our projects through that when we weren’t a part of actually laying the pipes a few of us felt odd leaving them to do more work while we relaxed. Our days had started to end earlier so watching them go off to work without us was a strange sensation.

While the working part of the trip may not have been the most fun part of the trip, it was probably the most important part. I will always cherish it. I have never gotten to know a new group of people more quickly than when we all sat around buckets of corn for hours with nothing to do but talk. We spent our days learning new skills while also getting to know the community and each other. Saying goodbye to the community was really hard and I hope that I can go back some day.

Part Two: Weekend Getaways

After spending many hours on planes and in airports myself, three other students, and one of our instructors arrived in Quito at four a.m.  We unintentionally woke up our other instructor in the room next to us. The next morning we met three other students who had gotten there before us and our other instructor’s wife, who is from Colombia. We spent the first half of our day exploring the streets of Quito. We visited a market place, a famous square, and an amazing cathedral I could see from my bathroom window. We spent the second half of the day at the middle of the earth otherwise known as Mitad Del Mundo. Early the next morning two more people in our group showed up. The next day was also the day we headed off to Chilcapamba, ending our first weekend.

Our second weekend was split into several different adventures that all showed different aspects of Ecuador. While the events of the first day were held in the same town they were vastly different from each other. We started out by riding the bus to the town of Otavalo. The bus ride itself was an interesting experience. They cram as many people as they can onto those busses which unfortunately means easy access for pickpockets.  After arriving at the bus station we walked/hiked for several miles as we made our way to a beautiful waterfall. After a little exploring we headed off to the market place. Otavalo is famous for its market. It is held everyday but is especially large on the weekends. We spent several hours walking around and buying things we never knew we needed but simply couldn’t leave behind. There were beautiful, handmade items around every corner accompanied by a hard bargainer.

Day two of the weekend was wonderful and confusing. It started out as a beautiful day as we arrived at Lake Cuicocha. At one point this lake was a volcano. Over the years it was transformed into a crater that is now a beautiful hiking trail. This was when the altitude really hit me. I had been out of breath on the trip several times already but I blamed that on myself. This was a whole different ball game. After a couple of flights of very steep stairs I could already feel the burn. This lasted for about five hours. I’m just glad my water bottle also showed up to the hike. I sweat more in those five hours than I think I ever have before. In fact, every time I thought I needed to go to the bathroom I could just walk another few hundred feet and sweat it out. Gross, but true. The sweat and exhaustion were completely worth it for the views. The views continued to get better as we got further into the hike. They were different around every corner. It’s a good thing too because after about four and half hours the trail simply decided to end. There is no warning sign and no directions on where to go from there. And, oh yeah, that’s when it started raining. We ended up on a road, then the back of a truck, and finally at the restaurant we were all supposed to meet at. That hike was an accomplishment for all of us and I think we’d agree to do it all over again. After a long and cold ride back to our home we ended the weekend with a hot meal and a good nights rest.

When the third weekend rolled around we were all ready for a little adventure. Several of us had been sick and the group as a whole was experiencing some culture shock. Lucky for us this was the weekend we got to spend in the cloud forest. I was really excited for this weekend in particular. I knew we would be zip-lining but I had no idea what else was in store. Our first night in Mindo we were treated to some of the best pizza I’ve ever had which was promptly followed by a rain storm. The next morning we all headed out for zip-lining. It was only 25  dollars a person and in the U.S. I would have expected to pay at least 100 dollars. I’ve been zip-lining before but not anywhere near this beautiful. It was amazing. We all did this pose called the superman which is where you wrap your legs around an instructor and hold your arms out like you’re flying. It was pretty great.

The afternoon brought something I never imagined I’d be doing while in Ecuador. Myself, along with four others in our group, repelled down three waterfalls. We all started out pretty nervous even though our excitement was ultimately winning the competition between the two. Our nerves really kicked in when after one person had gone down it started to rain. This made the water flow much faster. As I took my turn down the first waterfall the adrenaline really kicked in. I couldn’t believe that I was actually doing it. Then came number two. I volunteered to go first but after looking down I had a little mental freak out. There was no way I would back out but the feeling of my heart pounding inside my chest was all I had on my mind. The second one went much smoother, and after going down a really small one that didn’t require being hooked up, we made it to the final waterfall. This was the tallest one we would be repelling down. I was the last one to go down and I made the mistake of looking over my shoulder and seeing the little orange dots that ended up being the helmets of the others. About half way down I started to hear the others cheering for me at the bottom. That was a huge encouragement and made me smile even more. When I Finally reached the bottom I looked back in awe at what we had all just accomplished. That day is home to the best 24 hours of my life, at least so far.

For our final weekend as a group we returned to Quito. We spent the first day at the hot springs. As our altitude increased the temperature changed dramatically. We all showed up in shorts and t-shirts which turned out to be a mistake. We were all really cold but that made the hot springs even better. The next day a majority of us decided to climb to this angle statue we could see from our hostel. We didn’t think it would be hard to get to and it wasn’t but that’s because we didn’t end up making it there. When we got a certain point we met a lady who told us that if we went any further we would get robbed. That sounds pretty bad and when you pair it with a neck slicing motion it becomes terrifying. That was all we needed to turn right around and go back to the hostel. We all ventured out again at some point and made sure to tell our instructors about our experience. This was also the day my parents arrived in Quito but I’ll get to that later.

The next day was the final day for everybody else in the group. A few of us went inside the beautiful cathedral we could see from our hostel. The architecture was incredible and the stained glass took my breath away. I also visited two gorgeous churches. The first was the San Francisco. It is the most visited church in South America. Then we went to the Compania Church which is supposed to be second in beauty only to the Vatican. Personally I think the San Francisco is more beautiful but to each his own. That night I said goodbye to everybody who hadn’t already flown home then made my way to the hostel my parents were stating at. It was a weird feeling watching all of them leave and staying behind. I was happy to spend another week in such a beautiful country but it was like they took a part of me as they left.

 

Part Three: My parents meet Ecuador

As I mentioned before my parents showed up on the second to last day for most of the group. They went with me and a few others to the cathedral and the churches but the real adventure with them didn’t start until it was just the three of us. On our first day alone we went to Otavalo, Lake Cuicocha, and Cotacachi. I didn’t even think it was possible to see all of those places in one day. Otavalo was much smaller than it was when I was there on a Saturday. At one point we had to drive past Quiroga and I couldn’t help but think how close I was to being back in Chilcapamba. It was a completely different experience even though it was the same place. It was the same feeling for every place I revisited with my parents. It was like I had never been but I felt right at home.

We started the next day at the Guayasamin Museum. He is the most famous artist to come from Ecuador. He started out doing pictures of his family but his later work is what he’s really known for. He used his gift to depict the suffering of the indigenous people when they were colonized by the Spanish. It was incredibly powerful. His house was also on display with all of the amazing works of art he had collected over the years. It was really interesting because he was agnostic but he had a lot Christian artwork. He also had a collection of miniature sculptures that were all in a different sex positions. I guess you could say he was a man with eclectic taste.

That afternoon we made our way to the Teleferico. It’s a gondola that goes to the highest point in Quito. It was really windy so we shook a little on the way up. The view from the top was amazing but the temperature had dropped substantially. We also got to see a rainbow go over the city.

The next day we headed off to Mindo. We went to a butterfly farm and an orchid farm. They were both beautiful. We also went zip-lining. I got to do the Superman but I also got to do the Mariposa (butterfly). For this pose you face the instructor to start off and then they take your ankles and hold them in the air so that you are completely upside down. It was crazy! The ground was suddenly the sky and it was fantastic.

The next day was our last day so we spent it walking around Quito and getting ready for our flight. When midnight rolled around we made our way onto our first flight to Houston. After landing we proceeded to go through three hours of customs and two more hours of waiting. Our second flight to St. Louis was fairly short. A real reality check came when we went to a restaurant and our meal cost over 30 dollars. That doesn’t seem like much for a family of three but our meals in Quito cost about us about 15 or less. We made our way home, thus ending the adventure.

I was happy to be back in the states but it took no time at all for me to wish I was back in Chilcampamba with my newly formed family. I hope to return to Ecuador and do even more exploring. Whether I go alone or with new people, the old memories are sure to come flooding back. I wouldn’t change anything about my experience because every little moment contributed to one of the most incredible months of my life. To those who were there with me, thank you. Thank you for putting your best foot forward and making the summer of 2015 one to remember.