Randomness

Time to add a little randomness to this Blog´s life. Yesterday, I packed up again and headed to Quito. My second month in Ecuador has come to a close, which means a quick descanso (break) before heading to my last volunteer stint in Canoa. Now seems like a good time to follow up on other blog entries and post my extraneous thoughts about La Hesperia. So, here it goes...

Showers...
Last week Raul, an electrician from Spain, showed up at the steps of the volunteer house. Next thing I know, the showers switched from freezing to usually warm. My last shower was a joke...warm turned freezing, but I´d rather have that any day to the initial shock endured by jumping into what feels like a melting glacier.

Bug Bites...
I quickly realized that the bug bites were going to take over not only my waking hours but also my precious sleep. As much as I despise using Deet everyday (even after showers) and wearing long sleeves and pants (or occasionally, the all-too-stylish capris with long socks and flip flops) in warm weather, there was no choice. The bugs won this war. The weekend I went to Baños was a welcome break from itching, but the mother-load of the itching wars was still to come (see below).

The Suicide Tree...
No, that´s not the real name, but that is what many locals call the tree that silently attached my skin recently. Last Saturday while enjoying a nice meal in Santo Domingo, I noticed mini bumps forming on my arms. Over a few days, those bumps became red, and turned into what appeared to be mini water blisters. An oh my, the itching sensation that followed was intense. While the bug bites could be tamed by some Caladryl, the Caladryl only worsened this itch. Cold water, as suggested by the volunteer coordinator, did the trick for a little while, but I needed something more. Thankfully, a miracle was sent in the form of a college guy from Italy named Thomas. He happened to have a rash cream that saved my sanity the last few days. Some of the bumps are going away now, along with the itch. However, the allergic reaction continues to show up in random patches. Living life in short sleeves bearing slightly puffy, purplish-red, bumpy arms among other volunteers is one thing. Doing the same in Quito where the Suicide Tree isn´t prevalent just feels a bit odd---like I have leprosy or something.

The Initial Stage

Hike Numero Dos...
On April 3rd, we embarked on my second group hike around La Hesperia. This time, to a waterfall. The adventure began with the all too exciting trek down the main hill (hint of sarcasm there), which takes about 30 minutes. After walking along the main road for a few minutes, we ducked behind a restaurant and the next thing I knew, we were among a lush, almost jungle-like forest. Crazy how much the scenery changed in a few moments. Due to the heavy rains in March, the river was flowing rapidly and much of the path was muddy. In my opinion, that made the journey more fun. We zigzaged back and forth through the river, climbed over logs and rocks, and shimmied our way over narrow paths (grabbing onto anything sturdy to keep us from falling in the river). The waterfall pounded down, but a few brave souls decided to climb the bottom half for a quick swim. In my opinion, treking back is soaking clothes didn´t make the quick dip worth it. Returning to the volunteer house from the waterfall was a crazy experience. Two words to describe it...straight up. It was almost like rock scrambling but instead of rocks, we had mud, dirt and vines to grab onto. Exhilirating, if a bit nerve-wrecking too. All in all, three hours well spent.

Coffee...the Real Thing...
One day this week I took the mule down to deliver our milk to the milk man. On the way back up the hill, I had the chance to pick a bag of coffee beans. They are taken off the trees when the skin has turned red. The old-fashioned machine below sheds the skin for us, so the beans can be dried and then roasted.


Fenologia...
Ever heard of this word...I hadn´t. Basically what we did on Fenology days was trek to various parts of the forest to observe the growth and fruits of hardwood trees. It was fairly laid back work and interesting. Along the way, we picked up seeds and seedlings to plant in the viverio/ nursery.

Lorna, Kate and Me

Mushrooms Anyone?

El Dispensario...
Even though my first week at the clinic was a bit disappointing, something about being in the medical mindset kept drawing me back. The doctor never took me under his wing, so to speak, so Nurse Nelly was really my mentor. On any given day we only saw a handful of people at the clnic, so there is till heaps of information for me to learn. However, I took advantage of every task, even if it just meant filing papers.

I started out every day sweeping the floors and cleaning a little here and there. As patients arrived, I often took their weight, height, temperature and occasionally, blood pressure. Everything at the clinic is old-fashioned...bathroom scale, measuring tape on the wall, mercury thermometers and ancient blood pressure cuff with stethascope. Nelly would really like to get some digital thermometers and blood pressure machine, but the goverment doesn´t outfit these smaller clinics with new equipment often. I watched and assited with intermuscular injections on a regular basis. And, finally, on my last day, I observed an intraveneous injection. Other than those activities, I spent my time doing basic office work, speaking Spanish and studying from my Spanish for Medical Professionals book.

I never expected it would be hard to leave on the last day. After all, I was only at the clinic for a few weeks. However, I found myself dragging out the final morning-waiting to say goodbye at the last minute. Of course I would have learned more if I´d had the opportunity to observe a doctor at a larger clinic. But something about this basic, sterile, quiet clinic will stick with me for a long time.

Nurse Nelly and Me

Cheers to La Hesperia...
The photos I have don´t really do it justice. One thing I will truly miss about La Hesperia is the scenary. Imagine waking up every day to view miles of lushly covered mountains. Sometimes I´d sit at the bench outside my room, gazing at the clouds rolling over the landscape, thinking about how lucky I was to be in the moment surrounded by such magnificence.

I found myself comparing Santa Martha to La Hesperia quite frequently. That´s good and bad I suppose. At least it means that both places had some great qualities (and some not so perfect ones too). At La Hesperia, I felt at home instantly. The group was inclusive, fun and overall, a bit more mature. The volunteers at Santa Martha seemed more hard-core and dedicated, but I think that had a lot to do with the expectations of the volunteer coordinator. I really enjoyed the variety of activities La Hesperia had to offer. I preferred the jobs that were either relaxing throughout (like making food) or were easy-going for portions of the day with hard work mixed in. For example, when planting trees, it was hard bringing the trees into the forest. However, once the planting began, the work was a bit less toiling. Same with weeding around sapplings at higher altitudes. A hard climb at the beginning, but the actual weeding wasn´t so tough. Plus, being in the middle of the forest was great! The volunteer coordinator at Santa Martha provided us with more background information about how and why we were doing certain tasks. Plus, she gave us feedback each day about our work. That was always nice. However, the laid back attitude of the coordinator at La Hesperia meant that we didn´t have to backtrack and redo our work ever at La Hesperia. I loved the group meals at La Hesperia even though sometimes we were too tired to talk much. The meals weren´t always perfect, but overall the variety and flavors were satisfying. It was hard to keep to my ideal no-wheat diet, especially when homemade bread and pizza taunted me. However, I was good about limiting it.

Well, it´s time for me to run (or literally, take a taxi) to the bus station. I´m going to meet my friends from La Hesperia in Otavallo for an overnight trip. Saturdays in Otavallo are market days. Too bad I have no room for souveniers right now. I´ll have to return once I´ve dumped my work clothes for good in Canoa.

Hasta Luego Friends,

Becky