A Walk in the Rainforest

Tonight as I was preparing my humble dinner of carne vegetal (tofu) and arroz (rice), Charo sensed an opportunity to continue her eternal crusade to fatten me up. As I cooked she asked if I would like some lettuce and added tomatos, onions, and olives when I said yes. When I went to the bathroom she added fried madura (one of the many banana types) to the stove and put out a plate of lima beans and roasted corn (a popular snack). When I returned and joked about my gigantic dinner she said, "I bought ham for you today too." As I write she´s trying to convince me that I need dessert...

This past Thursday I had a little change in my internship when I manned a booth in an artisan´s fair for Sol. Sol had a booth selling orange juice and bread goods and another three tables with things from the jewelry, woodworking, and sewing workshops in the organization. After the 6th level in Sol de Primavera the kids move into one of the different trade shops where they learn the skills they will need for their internships and jobs when they leave the foundation. The things they make in class (including clothes and dolls in the sewing shop, domino sets and wooden bicycles in the woodworking shop, and necklaces and rings in the silversmith) they take to various fairs and markets around the city. The money sometimes goes back directly to the kids but most goes into a fund in the organization that buys the kids shoes and school supplies. I had two of the kids with me at the fair (Luis and Susana) but it wasn´t a very busy day. When I left at 4 (after arriving at 8), our only customers had been my friends and host mom...

Although I´m always a delicate shade of pink here in Quito (owing to little atmospheric buffer between my Irish face and the sun) but after a weekend hiking in the rainforest my pink has acquired a somewhat more severe glow. Friday morning everyone on my program left for Mindo, a tropical paradise only 3 hours north of the city. On the way there we stopped at a Pululahua, a town in the center of a volcanic crater and the ruins of a ceremonial center of the Yumba at Tulipe.

The area just north of Quito is really arid and just kind of ugly in general but as we drove north the mountains slowly turned more and more tropical. It was a really beautiful drive with waterfalls ocassionally appearing amongst the trees and clouds rolling quickly down the vallies and across the road. After bouncing along a tiny country road for a half hour we arrived at Puchijal nature preserve, where we would stay the night. The main lodge and our cabin were right in the middle of the cloud forest, it was absolutely amazing.

We went on a hike to a waterfall first thing and although Andrew gets to do stuff like this every day, a walk in rainforest was a welcome change for those of us living in the city. The hike was beautiful, it was raining of course but everything was so fantastic no one cared. As we went along our guide would stop every few minutes to point out a tree that produced antibiotic sap or to pick up a leaf half-masticated by a bear. I didn´t bring my camera on this hike but at some point I´ll get waterfall pictures from someone. The waterfalls weren´t very big but they made for a great hike and a satisfying end to the walk. The waterfalls were also home to the gallo de peña (or cock of the rock as my guidebook so eloquently translated it) which we got a chance to see. When we got back we wanted to go for another hike so we scaled one of the mountains next to the lodge.

That night was Anna´s birthday so we taught the guides some of our American drinking/card games and they taught us some of their own. It was a hilarious time, at the end of the night everyone had red hands from an Ecuadorian slapping game...way fun. I also got up at 5:00 the next morning for an early hike with two other students. This time we hiked to a river where we braved a swim in the freezing water and saw puma droppings on the way back.

After that we left the preserve to check out a butterfly garden and to watertube down a river. We ended the day with a trout lunch in an orchid/hummingbird garden. All in all an amazing experience and everyone had a great time.

I actually started this post quite a while ago but only got around to finishing it tonight, the 10th. I also posted some new pictures (at http://picasaweb.google.com/aventurasdenate for people who requested the link again) so you should check it out. Hope everyone´s well.

Coming soon: A weekend at the beach and starting my independent study project