Cuenca-Loja-Lima-Cuzco

Breathing heavily as we ascend Cuzco`s steep, narrow streets has become our daily training circuit before the 4-day Inka Trail hike which starts tomorrow. At 10,200 ft (about the height of South Sister) Cuzco is one of the world`s tallest cities... and one of the most unique at that....

... but before we disclose it`s many wonders, we should describe the long, haggard trip that brought us from Ecuadorian highlands down the deserted coastline of Peru. Cuenca, Ecuador`s most colonial city, was our first stop after Rio Verde. The three rivers dissecting its heart and mountains (yes, MORE mountains) rising from all sides presented an intresting contrast between the red-roofed, heavily populated city. We stayed just long enoug to visit two archaeological museums (one with an Incan site, Pumapungo, in its backyard), see our first Ecuadorian soccer game (Cuenca vs. Macara... and a tie....), and dine with a special friend from back home, Jaclyn, who`s been teaching at an orphanage for the past two months.

From there we began our trying trip south through Loja and across the border. The 32 rushed hours of bus travel in 72 hours didn`t leave us much time for the paramo, Ecuador`s southern highlands reminiscent of Eastern Oregon. Crossing the Peruvian border at 4:30am went smoothly, and we continued another 19 hours down the coast time Lima. The bus – complete with coche camas (car-beds) and meals – broke down at 1am, and we were crammed into an ¨economic¨ bus for the remaining 13 hot hours. The incident was actually a blessing in disguise; it delayed our trip just long enough to see the sunrise over Peru´s Sahara-like desert that meets the vast, blue Pacific.

¨We were, in fact, traveling south along the desert coast... to our left loomed the great dry fingers of the Andes. To our right, the caps of great Pacific roller far out to sea flashed silver in the same moonlight. This was the edge, a thin line betwen two great emptinesses: the ocean and the mountains... things magnificent in themselves, yet unnamed ans uncelebrated, only the fringes of what lay out of sight. It is the feeling that what lies within vision is only just the beginning of what waits beyond.¨
-Inka Cola
Lima greeted us with ocean breezes and scorching sun, and brought us full-circle back to the coast. We reunited with the waves after 3 months of highland/jungle travel, and reflected on our journey from the hostel´s quiet backyard. Its sheltered courtyard shut out the noise of the 9.2 million locals and tourists sipping Starbucks and downing Happy Meals while shopping in the expensive botiques of Miraflores.

Cuzco´s shops, on the other hand, are lined with hiking boots, backpacks and tents. Women offer cheap massages on every street corner (a deal we may be hard-pressed to refuse after the hike). And you can`t leave Cuzco before layering yourself in colorful alpaca sweaters, scarves, hats and socks that occupy every third tienda. The city`s homes are built entirely of tiled red roofs and whitewashed walls, and surrounded by slithering, snake-like hills spotted with eucalyptus forests. A few jagged white peaks loom in the distance. We saw these same mountains up close on our plane ride from Lima, peaking through the clouds like immense giants dominating the heavens.

Known as the capital of the Inca empire, there are multiple ruins throughout and near the city. It is quite common to walk out of a restaurant to have your vision bombarded by gigantic stones (some are 5 x 2.5 meters and weigh over 120 tons) cut so precisely you cannot put a knife between them. The Spanish, rather than toppling the stonework, built cathedrals and monuments right on top of them. It wasn`t until an earthquake in 1950 broke some of these colonial buildings and exposed their ancient foundations once again. Aside from the historical and religious significance, the town is truly beautiful. Cobbled streets and tiny corridors give a labyrinth-like impression, and just when you think you may never find your way out, you arrive in an open plaza, complete with fountains and a cathedral.

Check out these photos now, because there will be plenty more after Machu Picchu:
http://picasaweb.google.com/clapoma/CuencaLojaLimaCuzco
Sending our love! See you soon!

Vida Verde - Life in Green River

The alarm rings at 6:30 am and we hit snooze, once….twice…three times before we finally roll out of bed and hustle to get dressed – breakfast was the usual fried eggs and rice, so we didn`t miss much by ¨sleeping in¨. Our last day at El Placer (the school we`ve appropriately named ¨el zoologico¨) has arrived. We should have worn pads under our clothes to prepare for the borage of students who nearly held us captive at the end of the day. ¨No se vayan – Don`t leave!!!!¨ they pleaded.

We could have never predicted how a small town teaching experience would be. The teachers were kind and fairly helpful when it came to disciplining the students, who treated us like most students around the world treat substitute teachers. Having received no grades from us whatsoever, the incentive was personal for each child and depended on their individual motivation to want to learn the language – a skill that could potentially earn them job security in the future. We found the best teaching method was through play, by relating a new language with fun tasks such as mask making, color-by-numbers, songs, useful dialogue and fortune tellers, of course all in English. In the short month we´d hoped to have left the students with a basic knowledge of the language, but primarily attempted to peak their interest while exposing them to a new culture.

Our instincts were right on when we chose to volunteer for a month in Rio Verde. By doing so, we achieved a middle ground between travelling and living, having unpacked our bags and left our Lonely Planet to collect dust in the corner. In exchange, we picked up local friends and a family. We had a home and a job with responsibilities, but still managed to get off by 1 pm, at the latest, to enjoy the same freedom we had before as travellers.

Daily treks down the lengthy trail to El Pailon, with its picturesque ¨Land Before Time¨ feel, irresistibly delicious food, and great company, got us ready for the upcoming Inca Trail hike. Irma and Diego, two amazingly friendly Argentines who ran the restaurant ¨El Otro Lado¨, offered us a second home by allowing us to stay gratis (free) in their exotic cabañas in exchange for lending a hand in the restaurant during busy weekends. Claire took full advantage of the opportunity to waitress in español, while Ryan did his best to avoid taking photos every 2 minutes of the ¨straight-up-Sidhartha surroundings¨. Bonnie would have been in heaven, gardening in an ideal year-round climate and cooking up her famous Chick-a-Curry for an international crowd. Maybe she can take over the lease when the Argentines finish in August.

The longest friendship we had in Rio Verde, having been established on our first visit there as tourists, was with two artesanos: Oscar from Ecuador and his novia (girlfriend) Ruth from Germany. Their caring personalities not only showed through in the custom-made necklaces they crafted for us, but also in the form of generous tidings of homemade strawberry marmalade and garlic butter—which we took the utmost pleasure in accepting. They were such kindred spirits, helping us feel like a big part of their lives even if our stay was short.

Above all, the long nights with these amigos spent storytelling about travels and adventures will remain the highlights of our time in Rio Verde. As the following Oda al Rio Verde states, we`ll be near at heart even with continents between us, and awaiting future visits with open doors.

As for us, we`re on our way south to Peru, stopping off in Cuenca and Loja to take in more mountain scenery before dipping down to the coast for a 20+ hour bus ride to Lima. The grand finale of our journey: the 4-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. See you all soon to do more story-telling in person!!

For more Rio Verde photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/clapoma/RioVerdeII

Oda al Rio Verde

(This is an ode we wrote for our dear friends of Rio Verde.)

Suena la campana y salimos cansados
de un día largo con todos malcriados,
por suerte vivimos en un paraíso
en cual descansar se hace facilito

(The bell rings and we leave tired

after a long day with our crazy students,

but luckily we live in paradise

in which resting comes easy,)

A pasar por la calle saludamos a todos:
los vecinos, los niños y hasta los perros,
no nos hace falta la vista del puente,
(debajo de cual corre agua verde),
las montañas al fondo del mismo color
entre ellas combinan las nubes y el sol,

(Walking down the street we greet everyone,

neighbors, children and even dogs

we don`t miss the view from the bridge

[under which green water flows]

the mountains in the background of the same color

between them clouds and sun combine)

Al Jardin de Eden pasamos mucho,
la tranquilidad nos ofrece descanso,
entre flores y césped sentamos a leer,
dibujamos el paisaje para mejor conocer,

(To the Garden of Eden we go a lot

the tranquility offers us rest,

between flowers and grass we sit to read

we draw the landscape to better know it)

¨Al Baños,¨ nos gritan cuando salimos
aun no saben que no somos turistas,
¨vivimos aquí,¨ hemos dicho cien veces
(aunque no pudimos quedarnos por meses)

(¨To Baños,¨ they yell to us when we leave

they still don`t know we aren`t tourists,

¨We live here¨we`ve said 100 times

[although we weren`t able to stay for months])

Al Pache seguimos para compartir
historias cómicas que nos hacen reír,
las artesanías brillantes y creativas
hechas siempre por manos cariñosas,

(We continue to the Pache to share

funny stories that make us laugh,

the brilliant and creative artwork

is made always by caring hands,)

Como picaflores bajamos al Pailon cada día,
para tomar te dulce y coger energía,
la cascada – orcestra del agua y piedra –
cae sin fin con toda su fuerza,
comidas, sonrisas y muchos amigos
hacen que la subida dure solo ratito,
Diego i Irma nos brindan bienvenidos
y Camila nos saluda con muchos carisias,

(Like hummingbirds we go down to the Pailon ever day

to drink sweet tea and gain energy,

the waterfall -- an orchestra of water and rock --

falls without an end with all of its force,

food, smiles and many friends

make the climb last only a moment,

Diego and Irma toast us welcome

and Camila greets us with caring licks,)

Por la noche pasamos donde dos amigotes
cuyos gatos se llaman ¨mio¨ y ¨frejoles¨,
sobre mermelada de Ruth y papas fritas de Oscar
hablamos del viaje y las grandes aventuras,

(At night we head towards two friends

whose cats are called ¨mine¨ and ¨beans¨,

over Ruth`s marmalade and Oscar`s french fries

we talk of travel and grand adventures,)

Estas amistades nos llenan con alegría profunda
que la distancia entre nosotros dañará nunca,
quedaremos con recuerdos, collares y fotos
cerca en corazón aunque estemos lejos,

(These friendships fill us with profound happiness

that distance will never damage,

we will stay with memories, necklaces and photos

near at heart although we are far,)

No podemos creer como vuele el tiempo
cuando cada día parece un gran regalo,
te despedemos, Green River, sin mucho dolor
prometemos volver con todo amor.

(we can`t believe how fast time flies

when each day seems like a big gift,

we say goodbye, Rio Verde, without much pain

we promise to return with all love.)

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.