My Final Days in Ecuador

First, I would like to say that I have made it home safe and sound! I left Quito at 11:30pm on July 1st and arrived in Minnesota at 12:30pm on July 2nd. Despite my flights going off without a hitch, my route from Macas to Quito was fraught with a few more difficulties. Due to some recent legislation by President Correa, the Shuar Community near Macas decided to host a series of protests to attempt to boot Correa from power. These protests took the form of "paros" or road closings where protesters don't let anyone through until they get what they want. Since myself and another volunteer had flights looming in the near future, we decided it would be best to leave a few days early from Selvavida to give us time to negotiate any roadblocks. We also took the night bus to Quito because even protesters have to sleep at some point. I didn't sleep on the bus so I arrived in Quito on four hours of sleep from the day before.

In Quito I visited some of more common tourist attractions. My first day I walked around the old historic city center, visited a few of the churches, and got to see the VP of Ecuador give his weekly address to the citizens. I also visited El Panecillo, which is a large statue of a virgin looking over Quito from "Cerro Gordo" a 200m high hill in the Quito valley. On my second day I visited the "Mitad del Mundo" or the center of the world. It's where the Equator bisects through Ecuador. We also hike up to an old volcanic crater which had some pretty amazing views. On my last day I visited some of the museums in Quito and ate my last lunch in the city.

National Theatre in Quito

La Ronda, a street famous for food and handicrafts

Presidential Palace

View overlooking Quito from El Panecillo

One half to the north, the other to the south

Thinking like a globie at El Crater

In my final week Cesar decided that I should learn to be a little bit more of a jungle man so in the afternoons after teaching at the school we took tours of medicinal plants near the project, learned how to set traps for birds and animals, and of course learned some traditional Shuar face painting.We used a seed pod which was filled with the orange paint-like substance to create the designs. Cesar also told me a little bit about the mythology of the Shuar. I might do another blog post just about those stories later.

Traditional Shuar designs for celebrations or war

We found a termite ball, Cesar for scale.

The termites were really cool because you can rub them on your skin and they release an oi that acts as a mosquito repellent. In fact, some mosquito repellents today are derived from chemicals in termite oil.

 On my last Friday before leaving, the students held a "despedida" for me and we took a bunch of pictures. Here are a few:

8th and 9th grade

They killed a small snake and wanted to show it off (It is poisonous so they killed it for safety)

8th, 9th, and 10th grade with the professor and school director

Here's a little wildlife tour from the jungle:

The tarantula was hunting cockroaches in the roof (about the size of your hand)

Found this big guy on the path to the road

Poisonous scorpion on the stairwell wall in my room

Butterflies were the one family of nice insect

This guy was about 3 inches long and above my clothing

A little coral snake on the path to the bathroom

Here are some examples of the food I ate while in Ecuador:

Fresh fruit salad with hand squeezed fruit juice

Arroz con pollo y legumbres (Chicken and rice with vegetables)

Fried Yuca, Rice, and Lomo, or beef with a bottle of Ecuadorian beer

Carne asada, yuca frita y salsa de cebollas (roast meat, fried yuca, and onion salsa)

I'm glad to be back in the U.S.  Happy 4th of July everyone!