Reun-IAN and Rio Verde

Upon returning to Baños, we realized we had both on the same night dreamt of running for our lives from an exploding Tungurahua, a week before the evacuation!!! Talk about Claire-voyancy! We`ll be sure to post any foretold disasters on the blog in the future. But the volcano wasn`t all bad....

It brought us back to Quito, where we reunited with our international amigos at Casa Bambu, a hostel that seems to grab you and makes it tough to leave the capital city. The biggest reunion yet came that Tuesday evening, when Ian, Ryan`s roomate, lived up to his word and arrived to spend a week with us during his own travels through Central and South America. It was a week of unplanned perfection which began with fiestas and parillados (BBQ´s) at Casa Bambu and ended with us back in Rio Verde to begin our month of volunteer teaching. The week was a much-needed reminder of our beautiful friends and family, as well as an opportunity to show Ian the best of our home for the past two and a half months. Between heavenly hikes and high altitude beer pong, cook-offs and concerts with compañeros, the short stay was over before we were ready to say goodbye. However, seven days were better than nothing and we split paths with Ian as he traveled to Argentina in search of work teaching English; us on the other hand, began our job that very next day.

Despite many materials and weeks of anticipation, we could have never predicted how the first week would go. Upon arrival we had the slightest hesitation about the prospect of living under another family´s roof at our age and after having graduated college. But our worries were immediately extinguished by their generosity and warm hearts. Polivio, his wife Luisa, and family take genuine interest in us and are so great at giving us the respect and freedom we deserve as adults. The apartment-style living situation allows us our own cuarto con baño privado (room with private bathroom) and door of entry to come and go as we please, as well as provides us with a communal kitchen to interact with the four families that share the living space. We are also fortunate to live with a small number of our students, including our host ñaños (brothers and sisters) and cousins who have taken interest in learning guitar and acting as guides on nature excursions around the area.

Speaking of which, we forgot to mention that Rio Verde is the ideal location for two nature-loving Oregonians (don`t worry, it`s a safe 20 miles from Baños!). Endless layers of clouds dance between steep mountains; intersecting rivers and numerous waterfalls careen through narrow passages to collide with the Rio Pastaza`s brown and white churning water. The pueblito (small town) is home to roughly 1,300 residents, all of whom are unbelievably amable y tranquilo (kind and peaceful) because of having been raised amidst such scenic surroundings. We find it impossible to adequetly describe the various natural wonders of Rio Verde. Among them the ¨Garden of Eden¨ and ¨Pailon del Diablo (Ecuador´s most famous waterfall)¨ are two of our favorites places to unwind with quality journaling and pleasure-reading after a long day of teaching.

The students... oh the students..... Each week is divided between three schools in two towns: El Placer, appropriately named ¨the Pleasure¨ as most families have at least 6 children (one with 13!), La Escuela Puerta Dorada in Rio Verde, and la Guardaria (daycare) our ¨favorite¨ part of the week. The estudiantitos (little students) do not hesitate to envelop us in a borrage of hugs every morning when we arrive. A chorus of assembled ¨good morning, teacher!¨ or ¨Profe, profe!¨ compete for our eyes as we arrive at 7:30. At any given moment, a five-year-old is pulling our shirts from behind, a 12-year-old wraps completely around Ryan´s waist, a seven-year-old offers Claire a soggy breakfast cookie with one hand while the other clings to her leg, and a curious nine-year-old pets Ryan´s blonde arm hair and searches for his remaining unoccupied fingers.

The first week was beyond successful: We initiated mask creation for all grades from Kinder-7^th, resulting in monkeys and cats of vivid colors prouling around both towns after the dismissal bell rings. We hope the students also gained an understanding of the English language, having used games and songs to review colors, animals and computers. Perhaps by the end of the month we will have also allowed them a broader perspective of the world, slipping in lessons that include nature conservation tecniques (¨Your trash goes in the garbage can!¨,) as well as cultural differences (¨Not all of what you see in Hollywood movies accuratly portrays the U.S.¨). However, not all was completely successful: Our attempts at teaching English to a group of 25 energetic three and four-year-olds proved frustrating this Friday afternoon. A needed break for the poor teacher, the hour and a half-long locura (craziness) makes us so glad for the weekend.

Last, but certainly not least, wonderful new friends have been easy to come by. Chats with neighbors delay arrival to any destination around town, with five-minute walks taking upwards of an hour between dozens of ¨buenas tardes¨ and sonrisas (smiles). The artesanos (artists), who set up shop above the entrance of the main attraction, make a meager living off their beautiful jewelery and handbags. We enjoy afternoons sharing music and travel tales with these international amigos. Two young Argentines also welcome us into their home, the restaurant that they manage (which doubles as a living room and jam spot) and overlooks the raging Pailon del Diablo. The mix of mellow music and rushing water compliments the amazing food they dish up, a much-needed break from the typical (but delicious) Ecuadorian beans and rice served at ¨home¨.

We´ll be sure to post again before we finish teaching in mid-March and begin our trek through southern Ecuador and into Peru, to ascend Machu Picchu by way of the 4-day-long Inca Trail! And then home early April, just in time for spring.

For photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/clapoma/QuitoAgainReunIANBaOsRioVerde

Volcanes: Tienen nuestro respeto!! (You have our respect!!)

Never before have we had to flee from a natural disaster, however, this morning we were forced to leave Baños in a flash of fury. The song on Ryan´s Ipod couldn´t have been more appropriate than Dave Matthews´ ¨Lie In Our Graves, ¨ which was the first to appear on random shuffle as our bus left town.

Maybe we should have knocked on wood when we wrote the previous blog title ¨Mushroom Clouds, Mi Culo: Volcanoes Don´t Scare Us.¨

The Virgen de Agua Santa lived up to her name and helped us to escape a rumbling Baños minutes before the road that leads to Northern, Southern or Western Ecuador was closed. It all began around midnight when we awoke from a deep slumber to Bolivar, the hostal´s friendly night watchman, pounding on the puerta. He relayed to us the message blaring across all the radio stations: ¨The Volcano Tungurahua has increased activity and we need to get our clothes on and get ready to evacuate.¨ We scurried around the room to gather our most important things, before rushing to the hostels common area where we learned more about the situation at hand. Plumes of ash 10 km high (6 miles) and tremors that rumbled windows and doors were occurring over 30 times an hour. Roaring booms echoed between the surrounding mountainsides and struck fear in the eyes of everyone around us.

We spent the next two and a half hours deliberating as to whether or not we should join the masses of fleeing tourists and Baños residents. This was the first time we´d been faced with such a prospect. Should we run to the safety zone, only a few kilometers away or wait for the ¨official alarm¨ to evacuate? Probably against our better judgement, we decided to wait it out in our room with the light on, thereby avoiding doing the same thing at a shelter a mere 3 km away.

We closed our eyes and awaited a siren or a shower of rock and lava, whichever came first. Dozing intermittently between booms, Claire dreamt that we left town. Just the definitive answer we were looking for. By then it was 5 AM, and the explosions and booms had intensified. We rapidly packed our bags and checked out, saying goodbye to Bolivar, who admitted he was finally becoming fearful but felt it was his duty to stay put until all the tourists had either left town or were in the safety zone. He confided in us that in all his life spent in Baños, he had never heard such loud and constant booms from the volcano. Tungurahua first became active in 1999, after an 80-year lull, and had an equal size eruption in 2006, killing six people and displacing thousands.

This photo, taken today, shows the ash (not snow)
on the dangerous side of the volcano

We hurried through deserted streets towards the bus terminal to tremor rattling storefront doors, seemingly applauding our decision. From the bus terminal, we could see the flames and red clouds looming in the darkness just above the tiny town of Baños. The bus we boarded had no music playing as it usually does, and the air was filled with increasing tension, as we awaited police permission to drive the dangerous road which passes the deadliest side of the volcano. A road of ash and rubble from previous activity and landslides.

Finally, after demanding ¡Vamos! (Let´s Go!) in multiple languages, we were off and avoiding a 15 hr detour East and through the Orient. It was a tiresome ride but we arrived safely in Quito at 10:30 this morning, happy to be alive and not to have waited any longer to see what one of natures most powerful and unpredictable forces on the planet was going to do next. Ecuador´s President, Rafael Correa, has declared a 60-day state of emergency, which will allow 3 million dollars in aid for evacuees and residents. We only hope for our friends and the residents of Baños that all quiets down shortly. For more info Google: Tungurahua, Ecuador

Amazon Volunteer Adventure

We´re in Baños again... which could only mean one thing: out of the jungle. This time, our Amazon trip brought us north up the Rio Napo (one of the major tributaries leading to the Amazon River) to a small community called Mondaña, where we spent two weeks volunteering with the Yachana Foundation. An organization dedicated to preserving its 3,600 acre reserve, teaching local kids important sustainable agricultural and tourism skills, and providing healthcare to the community, Yachana was a perfect place to offer our hands. Much had changed since Claire´s last visit as a tourist in January, 2004: the Yachana Technical High School, built 2 1/2 years ago, now hosts 160 students who have been elected as leaders of their small communities to attend the school and return home with many new and valuable skills -- skills directly applicable to their way of life.

But some things remained the same. Delfin and Juan, the two guides with more information than an Amazonian encyclopedia, still lead groups of tourists young and old (mostly old) through dense rain forests, on bird-watching expeditions, grub-munching (yes, actual grubs) cooking classes, and on river floats. We spent the first few days getting adjusted by joining in on the fun with a group of 15 honorary grandparents from the midwest on their tours. We were also fortunate enough to join Tom, the reserve´s conservation manager, on a 4-hr trek through some of the area´s only remaining primary rain forest. The reserve hosts the highest diversity of plant species, remaining undisturbed during years of detremental agriculture, and which results in a dense and towering upper canopy... and plenty of fist-sized creepy crawlers! (It´s amazing how accustomed you become to the constant barrage of mosquitos, flying cockroaches, bullet ants and bizarre spiders.)

The ¨fun¨came to an abrupt stop and the ¨real work¨ began when we transitioned to spending our days at the colegio (high school) with 15 to 23-year-old students. We expected to help out by teaching english but were surprised to find that need was already met by five fantastic english teachers, each of which was committed for long periods of time (anywhere from 10 weeks to 2 years or indefinitely!) and also specialized in teaching their own brand of ecology or sustainability. At a loss for how we could contribute to these efforts of volunteers from around the globe, we were reassured that our presence with the students was invaluable; simply offering the students a different perspective than they knew from their reality of growing up in rural Amazon was a tremendous offering.

By the end of the two weeks one could hear the guitar riffs of Bob Marley and Ben Harper echoing from various corners of the colegio; we taught them song lyrics during two of their english class periods to live guitar, and many others took interest in learning such different music styles during their free time, watching Ryan intently as he strummed to a skank beat. Our other contributions included creating innovative silkscreen designs for the new Yachana t-shirts and introducing recycled paper-making techniques that Claire gleaned from her years in mom Daisy´s at-home workroom.

Elvis, a student in quinto curso (junior year) said it best: ¨Nunca me olvidare como me ensañaste atonar la guitarra, Ryan.¨(I´ll never forget how you taught me to tune my guitar, Ryan.) The ¨king´s¨ guitar had remained out of tune in anticipation of a tuner arriving from Quito in a month or two. Robert, a Mondaña Community local and a natural-born leader, was by far the most motivated student. He took Claire´s brief mention of paper recycling and ran with it, constructing and collecting the necessary equipment (a screen with wooden borders, a ¨sponge¨ made out of a foam mattress, the one functioning blender in the community, which happened to be his mom´s, and even his own t-shirt to dry the paper on) in one afternoon!

We left by canoe as the sun rose, returning once again to ¨civiliation¨. Among all of these jungle memories we forgot to mention our amazing week in Quito and Otavalo for Claire´s 23rd, which was spent with great new friends (Raul from Mexico and Phillip from Germany, aka ¨German Deacon¨ (note the photo in album); our pals Flannery, Abbey and Stewey who we met in Quilatoa, and who hooked us up with English teaching materials for Rio Verde -- THANKS GUYS!!! -- ; and simpatica Gaby, our friend Jesse´s Quiteña gal from his year abroad).

For photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/clapoma/OtavaloQuitoAndAmazonVolunteeringWYachana

Ecuador by Bus: Comuna Los Rios to Tena

The quintessential Ecuadorian bus ride can be summed up by the goings-on of our fellow pasajeros (passengers) on the 3 1/2-hr-long return trip from the jungle. So exaggerated, we felt we might turn around at anytime to find a candid camera.... It went like this:

5 am: Wake up call for 5:30 am canoe ride out of jungle. Ryan was awake already, battling food poisening..... pobrecito!

6:30 am: Bus leaves Los Rios on a road resembling goat tracks. The cobble-strewn ¨highway´¨ has us bouncing along to blaring reaggeton (every driver´s favorite choice).

6:31 (stop), 6:33 (stop), 6:35 am (stop):
Pasajero, pasajero with bebe, pasajera emborazada (pregnant) with three bebes....

7 am: Shirtless, ruthless, abnoxious man enters bus, either still drunk from the previous night´s festivities, or WAY too excited to be traveling to Tena. Proceeds to cause such a commotion, leaning over Ryan´s lap to distract the bus driver as he maneuvers down the road, we wonder if he works as a (bad) stand-up comic. Constantly shakes home-made rattle to reaggeton beat.

8 am: ¨Non-stop¨ bus stops at market, brightly colored and full of nothing useful. We sit smelling food in the distance (but unable to scope it out for fear the bus may take off without the gringos). CD on loudspeakers starts to skip. We dare the devil to think of a punishment crueler than skipping reaggeton.

8:30 am: Driver returns and reverses for three blocks to prolonge his glance at female market-goers in too-tight pants.

8:31 (stop), 8:34, 8:37 (stop), 8:37 1/2 am:
Pasajero, near accident, pasajero, abnoxious man yelling....

9:30 am: (Isn´t the ride supposed to have ended by now?) Nope, not without the final remaining element of any bus ride in Ecuador: vendors.

9:32 am: LOUDEST man in South America enters the bus and proceeds to ¨sell¨ a magic, cure-all formula to pasajeros with his amazing art of persuasion. I sure don´t believe the powder cures impotence, diabetes, athletes foot and cancer. But if it can make me yell that loud, I´m sold.

10 am: Arrival at destination Tena: the side of the road (weren´t we going to the bus terminal?). Oh well! At least we made it! We decide with our better judgement to postpone the other 5-hr bus ride from Tena to Baños. Better luck mañana.