It´s Lovely to Feel Clean!

Saturdays are great at Santa Martha! We only work for two to three hours doing the essential jobs and then the rest of the weekend is free. Yesterday, I helped another volunteer feed and clean the rabbit and guinea pig enclosure. We also fed carrots to our adopted friend. The poor donkey loves people, but it is always tied up and has been soaking wet lately due to the rain. He belongs to the farm owner, but we like to give him TLC when we have some extra time. Another nice thing about Saturdays is that someone from each house cleans the kitchen, bathroom, and floors during morning work time. Great idea because otherwise the houses would never get thoroughly cleaned.

There are 12 of us currently residing in Gringoland. I´ve never been to this part of Quito, but I kinda like it. Hostels, restaurants, travel agencies, internet cafes and bars galore. Definitely more expensive than other parts of Ecuador. Kind of ironic that a meal costs almost the same as a night in a hostel. We are being tourists of course-visiting the cultural market, the equator, old town Quito, local bars and getting our fill (speaking for the whole group) of delectible goodies (such as burgers, good coffee, cake, Mexican food and french fries). Speaking of food, we also plan to hit up the local SuperMaxi grocery store to find all the goodies that are impossible to get in Tambillo. Kind of a funny name for a grocery, no?



Okay, now to reflect on the week a bit. After a few days of little rain and lots of sunshine, the rainy season returned in force on Thursday. The afternoon brought a downpour and lightning like I haven´t seen in years. Pouring buckets for at least 45 minutes. Luckily because it was lightning, we didn´t have to work until the rain let up a bit. Thursday through Saturday we were forced to dress in full waterproofs. Cleaning animal crap is bad when the sun is shining, but imagine crouching in a small bird aviary to clean when everything is soggy. The rain is cold and always brings in a thick fog. However, we all embrace the tasks and help one another out just to get the work done quickly.

All in all, I´m settling in at Santa Martha. If I could wave a magic wand and change some things, you bet I would. However, I guess that will probably be true for all places I volunteer in the next few months.



As a side note, I´ve tried to upload photos twice, obviously without succcess. Still getting used to my new camera and missing my Nikon. However, I have a few good shots to share. Think the connection is good in Gringoland, but unfortunately, I don´t have my USB SD holder with me. Lesson learned-always bring camera gadgets when traveling to major city!

Feeling clean and loving it...

Becky