A Little Vacation from My Vacation

My trip to Mindo, part of Ecuador´s cloud forest region, lasted from Sunday to Tuesday. I expected Mindo to be a hot tourist spot, so imagine my surprise when my bus left the station with less than 10 people on board and only picked up a few more Ecuadorians on the way. The trip took roughly 2 hours 45 minutes and that was with a 30 minute stop for a road closure. Not too shabby.

Mindo is small. One main road and one main square with lots of mini roads trailing off the sides. Here´s what you´ll find in Mindo...convenience stores, travel adeventure agencies, restaurants, Internet cafes and hostals. The evidence shows that Mindo is obviously a tourist destination, so where was everyone? On my last night in Mindo, I finally found out. At some point in the not too distant past, part of the road to Mindo collapsed. I saw a photo-not a pretty sight, but thankfully no one was on the road when the accident occured. There is also a mountain near Mindo that recently threatened "landslide". The authorities decided to create a controlled landslide instead of risking future issues. Unfortunately, the authorities didn´t realize the destruction the landslide would cause. Basically huge boulders everywhere. If all that wasn´t enough to keep away tourists, Ecuadorian and international alike, there was more. At least one newspaper noted the road to Mindo would be closed on Carnival weekend (which it wasn´t). Then there was an accident with a school group. For a number of days, Mindo was under a state of emergency. Needless to say, people have recently been detered from visiting Mindo. Funny thing is that I had no clue. The economy is really hurting because Mindo relies on tourism. Hope the tide will change soon.

Okay, now for my adventures. Sunday, was a bit of social shock. After living and working with a large group of people for a month, sitting in a hostal alone was a bit depressing. As much as I wanted to relax, it was just too quiet. I took a nap, ate lunch, walked around town, did Soduko, read and just about pulled my hair out (no not really).

Monday I got up early for a long walk/hike. The national park is either a $10 cab ride or a 2 hour walk. Guess which I opted for? The walk up was actually nice. I saw a blue morpho butterfly, a few birds and catepillars. The mosquitos found me too, unfortunately. I´m still itching. To get into the park, I took a cable car across the cloud forest (see photo). There are numerous waterfalls to see, but I went for the gusto-1 hour hike to the tallest one through primary cloud forest (meaning the forest has never been cut down). The forest was so lush and beautiful, but I found myself feeling bitter because every few minutes I´d run into a spider web. Now, if I had been smart I would have waved a stick in front of me the whole way, but that´s above my instincts I suppose. About 20 minutes into the hike, I encountered a small waterfall that didn´t have an obvious dry way to go around or over it. So, I walked through it. Grrr...nothing better than wet sneakers (hint of sarcasm there). I trudged on. There were more creeks and waterfalls but the rest had easy access over or around.

The view of the waterfall was actually anticlimactic. Though the top is indeed high, the tress and other foliage make it impossible to see the top. I guess the beauty of primary forests is that they´ve never been cut, but then they also lack the views. There is a staircase leading part-way up the side of the waterfall, which provided some advantage for viewing. However, it was kind of nerve-wracking to climb because the water just pelted down next me. Did I mention that I never saw another person during my entire hike...guess the spiders were out to get me because they didn´t have anyone else to pick on that day. The walk back was much more enjoyable. I even saw a snake slither away from me.

Looking down from top of the stairs

Monday night, I returned to my new favorite restaurant for dinner. I say my favorite for three reasons: it serves soy milk (which you never see in Ecuador), has amazing sweet plantains and one of the owners was a Peace Corps volunteer in 1987. She helped me find the way to the national park and was just a great person to chat with too. The restaurant is called Caskaffesu (http://www.caskaffesu.com/). Supposedly serves amazing brownies, but trying not to eat wheat, I refrained. Anyway, that night a couple from Canada invited me to join them for dinner. We had wonderful conversations, most of which involved travelling. They were in Mindo to do some birding and are now on an 8-day trip around the Galapagos.

Tuesday morning I took another walk to the butterfly garden. The garden sits about 3 km from Mindo amidst a beautiful scene of banana trees, wooden cabins, flowers and water. It´s not huge, but has (if I venture to guess) about 20 varieties of butterflies. Following my morning adventure, I packed up, ate one last bowl of vegetarian chili at Caskaffesu and hit the road back to Quito.

My D.C. mentality hasn´t left just yet. I´m all about the walking. This morning, I walked 30 minutes to Parque Carolina to visit the botanical gardens. I imagined the gardens would be small and run-down, but I actually think it´s a place my mom would enjoy (being a gardener, that says a lot). It has orchids, cacti, herbs, traditional Ecuadorian crops and a variety of other flowers and trees. In the afternoon I continued my walk to Jatun Sacha´s office for a brief orientation. I planned to taxi back but when I handed over my volunteer fee to Jatun Sacha and realized I only had $5 left, I decided to walk back to my hostal instead. A brief stop to change into jeans and then more walking. This time to buy rubber boots and to find the bus station. I can´t tell you how nice it feels to sit. Oh by the way, I wore flip flops all day too. My shoes, which I asked the lavanaderia to dry for me (remember the waterfall encounter?), now feel very snug.


The air in Mindo was so fresh and clean, but by walking all over the city today, I surely inhaled enough pollution to make my lungs filthy again. I could smell the diesel exhaust just flowing through the air. Maybe I should blow my nose to see the evidence...or maybe you didn´t want to hear that.

Tomorrow morning I head off to La Hesperia reserve. I´ll be there for a month doing something productive. I actually don´t know the details because I supposedly get to decide when I arrive. Unfortunately, because the reserve is about an hour from the nearest town, I won´t have Internet or phone access except on the weekends. The blog updates will be less frequent for the time being, but know that I´m thinking of you all often.

Cheers!

Becky

A Month, Really?

Okay, in all honesty it took me about two weeks to feel at home at Santa Martha Animal Rescue Center. However, the last two weeks went by all too quickly. Yesterday morning I waved goodbye to Santa Martha and headed back to Quito with the rest of the volunteers. I don´t feel like there was much closure before my departure. I volunteered to clean the house in the morning, so I could finish packing as well. That meant no last minute animal encounters, which, thinking back, is kind of sad. The beauty of being in Ecuador for four months is that I can always return for a day-trip.

I´m going to dedicate this entry to my thoughts about and photos of Santa Martha. It will be sort of geared towards future volunteers. The hardest part about volunteering at Santa Martha was the fact that it took a while for me to fit-in with the group. Volunteers are always coming and going. Sometimes cliques form between people, especially when they are from the same country. Totally understandable-everyone wants to find a piece of home away from home. After two weeks, when some volunteers had gone and new volunteers had arrived, the dynamics changed a lot for the better. Don´t get me wrong, people were never intentionally mean. I had to carve out my niche, that´s all.

Baby Kestral

The work at Santa Martha is demanding, especially during the first week when you are inundated with numerous tasks and struggling with the lack of air due to a high altitude. If you go with the mindset that you want to get into shape, the transition from city life to Santa Martha will be easier. The hills are numerous, and you often carry water, chickens, food, or building materials when walking them. During the rainy season (now), the sky lets lose almost every afternoon. There are no raindates for cleaning and feeding because the animals must have their basic needs met. Rain gear is a necessity. The rain might wash away some of the animal poo (good thing), but it makes food soggy and pathways muddy (bad things).

Our ferocious Jaguar, Brenda (she´s actually yawning here, not showing her anger)

My favorite type of job was rehabing animal enclosures. It required creativity, machetes, heavy lifting, hammering and cutting grass. At first, I balked at cutting grass by hand. However, I came to find it quite relaxing. During my time at Santa Martha I was able to upgrade the rabbit, porcupine and bear enclosures. Due to a recent influx of animals from Guayabamba Zoo, I also helped build a new enclosure for our capuchin monkeys.

Just finished one side of the capuchin monkey enclosure!

One of our new capuchin monkeys (Bonnie or Clyde??)

My least favorite jobs included disinfecting the squirrel monkey enclosure to make room for squirrels (I know the fact that we received squirrels as exotic animals sounds weird, but they aren´t like US squirrels-much cuter!) and taking long-expired chickens to the chicken pit.

Squirrel monkeys searching my pockets.

The volunteer houses are basic, but they definitely fit everyone´s truest needs-bunkbeds, oven (two houses), stove, dishes, dvd-tv (two houses), table, chairs and shelving for clothes etc. The best ammenity is the hot water for showers. After a long, tiring and sometimes chilly day, a hot shower feels like a million bucks. There is also a shared filtered tap for water, which we all took for granted. Plans are in the works to extend the third house, which will be nice.

Leo, one of Santa Martha´s pumas

Dalma, the coordinator of the project in Tambillo, is surely passionate about the animals and dedicated to her job. She is a friend to the volunteers but has a level of superiority too. Dalma always has a long to-do list and is constantly balancing her time between tasks, but she is consistently available for the volunteers and works alongside them when time permits.

Meal time!

I guess I´ll close this entry with a few thoughts about what to bring, just in case a future volunteer reads this. Before arriving, go to a corner store or grocery and get some food. You may move in with other people who can spot you food for a day, or you may not. I moved into an empty house and had to eat plain lentils and rice the first night (thankfully left by previous volunteers). The houses have sheets, blankets and towels to some extent, but I was glad to have my own sleeping bag and travel towel. Working gloves are a must, and it´s also helpful to have a pair of rubber gloves when working with water (you can buy them in Tambillo). Santa Martha has plenty of rubber boots at the moment, so you can probably find a pair to suit you. That´s what I did; much easier than toting boots from oversees. If the sun is out and the wind is blowing, washed clothes can dry in a day. If the rains are bad, it may take three days for clothes to dry completely. Bring clothes that you don´t mind getting stained and sweaty. It´s helpful to have clothes that dry quickly as well-thin shirts and a pair of quick dry pants are perfect.

Well, that´s all for now. I´m taking a break in Mindo right now. It seems to be a very lazy town in the cloud forest region. Surprisingly enough, the Internet here is the fastest I´ve found for uploading photos.

Hasta Luego,

Becky

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!

Okay, really just one bear and though Santa Martha has lions, it doesn´t have any tigers at the moment. Still, bear was the theme for this week. The goal: rehab the bear enclosure. The bear looks cute and cuddly, standing about about five feet. However, looks are deceiving for sure. She easily reaches through the cage with long claws. Every morning we worked to fix her enclosure, she pulled on the rope of her trap cage, hoping to escape. Thankfully after she received breakfast at about 11am, she relaxed. The bear is destructive, but I think she really just needs lots of entertainment. When we started the rehab construction, her enclosure was littered with scraps of branches and planks of wood that she had torn apart. Her waterfall was kaput. A bad rain caused mud to block the flow of water at the source.

Everyday this week I worked on the enclosure. The main tasks involved finding and carrying large branches, macheting and sawing wood, and creating platforms for the bear. Seems simple, but the lack of tools meant lots of long hours. One day, two girls went under a man-made waterfall the fetch a large log. Along with some other volunteers, they hoisted the prized log up a huge steep incline of mud. Once on flat ground, I worked with four other volunteers to carry the log at least fifteen minutes down muddy stairs to the bear enclosure. That same day I found myself standing in a mesh of fallen trees and sticks chopping two large branches for the enclosure.



Another day I worked for five hours measuring, chopping and wiring branches to a corner of the enclosure to make a platform over the waterfall. When Thursday and Friday came around, I debated about choosing an easier task for the morning work. However, it was so nice to be in the sunshine of the bear enclosure and to feel a sense of accomplishment.



Yesterday before leaving for a weekend in Quito, we got news that the bear will go to a rehabilitation center in April. Hooray! If I recall correctly, it has taken almost a year to get the paperwork approved. The bear will get to use our enclosure for a month and then will be on her way to wild freedom. Who knows, within a month she might destroy all our hard work (though I hope not). Oh, and the waterfall is working now too!



Win for the week...Friday it didn´t rain at all for the whole work day!

Hasta Luego,

Becky

Baños

*I wrote the entry below last weekend, but wasn´t able to publish until now. Pictures to come soon.

Another weekend, another mini trip. This time to Baños. The guide book says about three hours from Tambillo, but alas, it took us five. We bused to Ambato. Upon arriving, we realized that we were not near the terminal for Baños buses, so we piled (literally) into a taxi to the next terminal. From there it was another hour to Baños. It´s Carnival weekend, a big holiday in Ecuador, so families are traveling everywhere. We actually had to stand up the entire first bus ride.

After arriving in Baños, we finally ate lunch at around 4pm. Then we did a bit of shopping and walking around town. At 8pm we met up with a group from Santa Martha that had just spent two days in Puyo´s secondary rainforest. For a few days people had been talking about a great restaurant with vegetarian options. It wasn´t until we were walking to dinner that I figured out we were going to Cafe Hood. That´s the place I ate during our stop over in Banos last fall. What a neat coincidence! Of course, the food was yummy again. Later, we hit up Leprechaun Bar. Neat place with a bon-fire out back, dancing in the front and a balcony up top. However, because it was Carnival the place was jammed. Needless to say, I didn´t stay long. Maybe I´ll go back the next Baños go'round.



Today, I hope to take a walk outside town to see some scenary and sites. The guide book has vague directions, but probably smart to ask a local too. Some people are sleeping in and visitng the baths (supposedly with minerals from the volcano that clense the skin) and others have already left for a rafting trip. This afternoon we´re off to the grocery and back to Tambillo. Hopefully this time finding a more direct bus with seats.



Recap from Santa Martha this week...
Tuesday was filled with hard work, feelings of accomplishment and a minor injury all together. In the morning I went on a trek through some overgrown paths with four other volunteers to find fallen trees. Luckily, we found a patch of three trees before too long. Mission: cut trunks in half so they could be used for rehabing the puma enclosure. Each of us had a go at cutting our own tree with a machete. The trunks were not extremely large, but still there was a feeling of pride and accomplishment when I finally hacked through the trunk. Carrying the trunks up muddy stairs was another story. Tricky and exhausting!

Later that day, one of our caracara birds, Duncan, was transfered to a rehabilitation center so he can be released in the near future. I was disinfecting the cage with another volunteer when I slipped on mud (can you tell it has been raining a lot!). My gut reaction was to grab the nearest tree. However, in doing so, I pulled something in my neck. Grrr. The neck pain put me out a bit for the rest of the week, but it is improving.

Two afernoons I cleaned the big bird cages. That´s the best option for cleaning unless there is an odd job to do. I´m becoming quite fond of the tucan. So beautiful. He´s actually mean-tries to bite my pants a lot, but his beak is completely harmless. Did you know that a tucan can´t even break a banana in half? He picks up his food with the tip of his beak and then swallows whole.

On friday afternoon I had the rather revolting job of sorting through trays of donated eggs to throw away the ones that were broken and rotting. Oh the smell...

In case you didn´t notice, I was finally able to upload photos yesterday. Take a peak at the other entries to see some of my adventures in Ecuador.

Cheers!

Becky

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

A Lot

Work A Lot
Eat A Lot
Sleep A Lot

That´s life at Santa Martha Animal Rescue Center. We work hard from 8am to 1pm. And by work hard I mean carrying dirt up and down stairs, hauling water up and down hills to feed the animals and cut grass by hand. In the afternoon we work from 4 to 6pm doing easier jobs, such as cleaning cages and feeding animals. We´re dirty all the time-really disgustingly dirty. I thought about staying at Santa Martha this weekend, but I might need to go to Quito with the rest of the group just to feel clean.



We eat a ton! Breakfast is usually a big bowl of oatmeal with a banana. Snack is nuts or chips. Lunch is either two bowls of soup or something quick if I want to go to town. Dinner is two helpings of whatever we make. And I almost always wake up hungry in the middle of the night. Oh, and I have a feel spoonfuls of peanut butter each day-yum!

None of us have trouble sleeping because we are so exhausted from the work. We typically go to bed between 9 and 10pm. Last night I watched a whole movie, which was a feat in an of itself.

Okay...now a bit more about Santa Martha. The rescue center was created on land owned by a dairy farmer. There are no consequences for having wild animals as pets in Ecuador, but it is illegal. Kind of strange, right? Anyway, when police confiscate an animal, they often bring it to Santa Martha. We haven´t received any animals since I´ve been here, but the do arrive often. There are a plethora of wildlife-jaguar, pumas, birds, monkeys, eagles, speckled bear, turtles, iguana, ocelots and lions (yes, the African kind). Most of the animals were pets but the lions and jaguar were in a circus.



I live in the smallest house which is basically one room with three bunkbeds, a kitchen and a bathroom. The floors are cement, so we´re always feeling dusty. Our kitchen counters are also cement. We have a mini stovetop. If we want to use tv or an oven, we have to visit one of the other houses. Right now I´m living with a woman from Australia who owns farms. She´s great! Next week we are supposed to have three guys move in. The other volunteers are from Europe, Canada and the US.



It is refreshing to be outdoors all the time. The weather has been nice but it fluxuates often. Most days it rains a bit but then turns sunny. We have mountains all around us and the scenery is so green!

Until next time...

Becky

The Journey Begins

Sometimes our best intentions lead to disappointments. Like the fact that I decided to get traveler's checks and then ended up leaving them in DC. However, no need to feel wallow in anger (though I must admit I was frustrated for a time) because in all honesty, there are worse things that could have occurred.

I arrived at 10pm last night into Miami, which was 30 minutes earlier than expected. Another highlight was the fact that there were only about 40 people on the 737 airplane. The whole day I was looking forward to using the business center, so I could update the blog. But, guess what? The business center charges $5 for 10 minutes online. Are you kidding me!? I guess hotels with brand names in the heart of Miami feel they can charge an arm and a leg for a bedroom and then slap on more fees for the out-of-a-job-but-loving-it traveler. Anyway, I weighed my options, $5 for 10 minutes at the Hilton or $5 for 5 hours in Ecuador? The second option seemed far better, so I decided to wait.

Another musing from yesterday...
After reclaiming my luggage in Miami and carrying my hiking pack along with a heavy school backpack around a few places, I became bitter. What was I thinking when I decided to buy a hiking pack? Was I trying to look like a cool, adventurous, quasi hippie traveler or did I really think a hiking pack would be the easiest thing to get from point A to B to C and so on? Perhaps a bit of both. After a little practice carrying the pack and once snacks and vitamins start to decrease, I think (and hope!) I grow to love my pack. For now though, we have a tense relationship.

Well, after sitting for more than three hours in the airport and for over three hours on the plane, the last thing I want to do is sit at a computer. However, there really isn't anywhere to go outside my hostel. So, my elevation headache and I might just hit the bed. A good rest before convening with God's flora and fauna tomorrow is just what I need.

Night. Buenas Noches.

Becky