The Coast

ICE group on the beach outside our hostal.

All fifteen of the ICE students from Canada involved in the program reunited for 8 days for an incredible adventure on the coast of Ecuador.  We travelled to the largest, but not the capital city of Ecuador, Guayaquil, in the province of Guayas.  From there, we travelled two provinces over by bus to the very quaint community of Las Tunas in the province of Manabi.

While residing in the beautiful beachside hostal, Azuluna, meaning blue moon, we had a few tasks ahead of us.  Firstly, we had a couple days of classes where we discussed our learning to date, travel and tourism, and power and relationships. While at the coast, we had a community development project.  The community decides the project, and we spend two days completing it.  We were asked to paint a few of the classrooms in the local public school.

Since eight days is a lot to sum up, I think it is best to share my experience at the coast mainly with pictures.  Once of my favourite activities at the coast was horseback riding.  We had a two-hour trail ride along the hilly back-country of the coast, experiencing the beauty beyond the water.  The ride was concluded along the beach, where we were given the opportunity to increase our speed a little bit.

My horse Mila and I

ICE teacher David on the beach

Meg and her horse Miguel

Cassie is allergic to horses, so she got a donkey :)

Another interesting activity was visiting the two surrounding towns.  To the north, we visited the town of Puerto Lopez, a community that is very much influenced by tourism but still holds onto its own culture.  The tourism in the town is all run by the locals, creating a symbiotic type of tourism.  Contrastingly, to the south, the town of Montañita is almost completely influenced by tourism.  There appeared to be more ¨gringos¨than Ecuadorians.  It very much reminded me of Kensington Market in Toronto.

The bustling fish market in Puerto Lopez

I made a new friend, but I don´t think he was pleased about it

This many men will pile onto this miniscule boats, and remain out in the wild ocean for over 36 hours at a time

These birds are called ¨Friggit¨ birds, and cannot touch the water, so they obtain their food through scavenging

My apologies if you´re squeamish.  I left out the gut piles!

A very close encounter to a couple of wild horses on a nature walk.

A beautiful, healing, sacred sulfur pool.

A view of the beautiful mountains from a lookout.

Another important aspect of our trip to the coast was our community involvement.  First, we spontaneously participated in the community´s ´minga´or working bee as we might call it.  We walked across the main highway in the blistering heat, picking up garbage.  Despite a lot of sweat, and occasionally a little blood (I got poked in the forehead by a mega-cactus), it was a good feeling to know we were helping both the community and the environment.

A primary method of transportation in Ecuador is riding in the back of a truck.

Ksenias face perfectly portrays how we all felt on the inside after picking up loads of garbage in the hot sun!

Our second, planned project was painting the classrooms of the local public schools. First we primed and then painted the rooms with yellow and blue.  We spent two days on this project, the second day with the assistance of over thirty students from the school.  It was a great opportunity to interact with locals, experience local culture, and contribute to a community in need.

Sarah, Cassie, Meg and myself.

Caroline and our hostal´s manager, Galito.

Working alonside the locals.

This kid was sitting high up in a windowsill to get the tricky places.

Enjoying a delicious cake, courtesy of some local mothers.

I didn´t even realize this picture was being taken, I was looking smug after dumping the massive portion of my cake onto my supervisor´s plate as he took pictures.

The coast was a fantastic experience.  We had a great variety of activities, and it was great to just relax with my Canadian friends who I rarely see here.  Our hostal was simply incredible.  It is called Azuluna, and it focuses on eco-tourism, community development, fair treatment of employees and staying local. To get an idea of how amazing this hostal is, you can check it out here http://www.azuluna-ecuador.com/.

This is about two minutes from the doorstep of our room.

We were surprised to find the coast quite mountainous as well.

Bolon de Verde, a snack I made before coming to Ecuador, and a specialty of the Coast.

Skating...on ice! & Absolute Beauty

After an entire week off of work for Semana Santa, the Ecuadorian Easter Week, I have had a few great experiences with Ecuadorian culture and exploring the beautiful geography of the country.  Following my visit to the middle of the world with my Gringo Amigos, I travelled back to Quito again, with my Ecuadorian Amigos.  To my surprise, they invited me to go skating.  I had to clarify, more than once, that we were going ice skating.

Despite my disbelief, we really arrived at an indoor ice rink.  For a skate rental and one and a half hours, I paid five dollars, which I suppose is about the same as in Canada.  The skates were in need of some serious sharpening, which would explain why Ecuadorians cannot skate.  Also, the conditions of the ice were worse than any pond I have skated on.  Despite the not-so favourable conditions, it was really cool to engage in such a Canadian activity in Ecuador. 

A couple of my Ecuadorian amigos and myself.  Can you spot the Gringita? 

I had to take each of my co-teachers around the rink, since they could not manage to skate on their own, which was completely understandable considering the circumstances.   I was very pleased to see that they had posters of all the NHL farm teams at the rink, including the Marlies.

This made me smile :)

Here are just a few bowls that go into Fanesca...

We had to peel the skins off of ALL these chochos... it took a few hours between three of us.

I peeled all this garlic by myself :)

Another fantastic day of Semana Santa was when I went to Cayambe National Park, in the province of Puyo, with my Abuelita.  The park is beautifully surrounded by mountains which are lushly decorated by green forests.  The biggest attraction of the park is the natural pools, which we spent most of our time at.  They were all different temperatures and I stuck to the warm ones as the air was quite chilly.  It was very relaxing as my muscles loosened in the heat and I gazed at the endless mountain scapes.

One of the many beautiful views of mountains.

 On our way to the pools.

Just a few of the pools and the river.

My Wonderful Abuelita and myself.

Another view.

The river where the natural water comes from.

A few of the people that accompanied us on the trip.

Beautiful...

Beside one of the artisan shops, there were these vibrant totem poles.  I am surprised how similar the cultures of Canada´s native people are to the natives of Ecuador.  Many of the cultural practices, dwellings and artistic expressions are closely related.  It is interesting to see how cultures so distant by geography can really be so close in culture, without the use of technology or communication.

A close look at the beautiful details.

Here I am!