Skoolin in Salasaka

Hola familia y amigos
A few days before leaving Quito we made friends with the wonderful artist and person Fernando Torres. We left our Gordito with his doorman and his daughters. Unfortunately he was starting to grow out of our backpack :(
After a quick stop at Cotopaxi, Ecuador´s largest snowcappped, active, on the equator volcano we made our way to Pachamama.



Since our last post we have been happily living in Salasaca, Ecuador, a small, mostly indigenous town three hours south of Quito along the Andean ridge. I dont think it shows up on Google maps. We have been here 2 weeks so far volunteering in the hilltop school Katitawa. With about 25 students, Katitawa is a bilingual school teaching Spanish, English and native Kichwa (a dying language).
We finally have routine, which believe it or not we longed for in the midst of aimless traveling, maybe its an American trait?
Everyday we wake up around 6:30, have ¨porridge¨ then walk 30 minutes to school. Our first week was hot and dry and we were constantly battling clouds of dust, this week weve had nothing but rain, thanks Southern hemi. At school we help out in Spanish, English and Math classes, in which more energy is required to keep kids in their seats then it is to actually teach. During morning break we sip on Colada. Its government sent flavored powder mixture, boiled with water to a cream of wheat consistency. Apparently it contains good nutrition for the kids, but tastes pretty bland, mostly we just eat it because its warm, sometimes we get cookies too. The kids usually eat it as pure powder as well, which always makes a mess. Then they come climb on you.
Lunch is always less than spectacular as well, but its free and a welcomed break.
Toward the end of school Emily usually teaches full art class and Courtney usually works in the schools over picked, over grown, under irrigated garden. Our wind downs at the of the day.
Back at home we have time to relax, or ride by the back of a truck to our one street town, play cards (Yonif!), and wait for dinner. We love our home! We live with 11 other volunteers from around Europe and the US. We enjoy socializing with our new friends, and always coming together for a gourmet family dinner every week night! Seriously the best weve eaten yet, all handmade by us in rotating cooking teams.
Just outside our door we see inactive volcanoes like Chimborazo (technically the highest point in the world!) and Tungurahua, which just erupted this year! We also get to hang out (and hear) cows, horses, pigs, donkeys, sheep, stray dogs, chickens, roosters, ducks and more. They live in the mountain tops as high as the patchwork farm fields reach. Everyday we are amazed to see 4 foot tall women carrying 5 foot long bundles of greens and men walking everywhere barefoot.








Last weekend we rode bikes along the Pan American through Banos´waterfall route, and partied it up in Banos, Ecuador´s favorite vacation spot! We also saw the thermal baths the town is named after.







We have had a good week at school and look forward to another. We look forward to vacationing in the jungle or on the beach soon!
Salud!

pictures soon to come
here´s our school!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_vxIQsM7cM
school website: www.skyecuador.org

Happy Halloween!

Greetings from Ecuador!
We are currently writing from Quito, Ecuador´s mountain rimmed capital. Today we had fun walking the city and busing to mountain top theme park/gondala ride view point. The city sprawls wide with an unbroken skyscraper skyline. We will explore the splendors of colonial architecture tomorrow.

El desierto de Tatacoca was so unlike anything we have seen yet. After spending a night in a nearby villa, we walked an hour in the midday sun through the ¨red desert¨ and were picked up by our friend Hairo. Hairo lives in the middle of the ¨grey desert¨. His property includes a natural pool, hammocks, and handmade, bamboo/mud facilities, including an outdoor kitchen and cabins with spectacular desert views. We enjoyed riding around by motorcycle and taking day and night hikes. Minus the bugs. We learned about cactus fruits and sasafrass trees. At night we were greeted by a nearly full moon which cast a grey light upon the desert floor. Unfortunately we did not see many stars in the cloudy sky, but the desert had just as many dazzling configurations.
After 3 days we were on our way, however we could not leave without being gifted the cutest puppy in Colombia. During our stay we enjoyed their constant company and entertainment. We knew we wanted Gordito - the hungriest of the bunch- when he puked all over Courtney on our first day.






Gordito in hand, we motorcycled outta the desert and bused through Neiva to San Agustin. Arriving late by pickup truck, which amazingly transported 18 of us for an hour, we found a happy family hostel in el centro. The next day we left Gordito with the 10 year daughter and set out for the infamous archeological park. The park was full of huge rocks which were carved into defensive faces and protective stances of anthromorphic figures. Most of these statues dated back 4,000 to 6,000 years! There were few informative signs around, and we refused to go with a guide after meeting the craziest of the bunch. However we still enjoyed our stroll and felt the ancient energy. It was also good practice decoding the spanish signs.







On Monday, October 25th we arrived in Popayan. The central district contains only white buildings which were a lovely colonial style and gave surreal impressions. We spent an extra day just strolling the streets, and getting our new dog vaccinated. On our first visit, we arrived by bike. Considering its dangerous to cross the streets here, this was a bit of a frightening experience. The second visit we walked through rain. With our doggy passport, we made our way to the boarder city of Pasto. The bus ride was included bonito views of deep canyons and steep green slopes. The highlight of Pasto was realizing Colombian pastries are bad after sharing a bagel-like donut.






Goodbye Colombia, Hello Ecuador.
In the morning we bused to Ecuador with a very relaxed puppy. We landed in Otavalo. Otavalo is most famous for its extensive artisan market manned by the large indigenous population. The Otavaleno women dress all the same in white floral blouses, long blue skirts, suede strap slides, strings of gold beads (symbolizing wealth), and a long braid down their backs. First off in the morning we went to the animal market with a very excited backpack-bound dog. We saw pigs, goats, cows, upside down chickens, guinea pigs for eating, kittens and pups for adopting. We told at least half the people there that our dog was Colombian, and was not for grabs. The artisan market covered a dozen blocks and was overwhelmingly full of crafts. We bargained for Ecuadorian pants and bracelets.
That afternoon we left with overstimulated eyes for Quito.

Capitales

Bogota was our most recent unplanned stop that was well worth the visit. We arrived at the countries capital last Sunday and were immediately dropped into the rich cultural and historical happenings of the city. We stayed in La Candelaria barrio for 3 days and 3 nights. We walked the streets, ate hawaian arepas, saw a concert for dia de los razas in plaza bolivar (the countries largest square). The Museo del Oro (Gold museum) was a one of a kind treat where we were able to learn even more indian histories and see their gold masterpieces. Colombian indians = El Dorado. We visited the Botanical Gardens where we saw all the lovely fauna and herbs of Colombia.
We ditched Bogotas party scene and instead spent our weekend in the countryside of Solento, Colombias coffee capital. Perhaps we should have switched this order. In Solento we were able to stay in the penthouse of a coffee farm and work there one day. We were hoping for more work, but there is none on the weekends, and today is a town-wide day off. On Friday we enjoyed picking the fruits of the coffee trees, which will be peeled down 4 layers, soaked in water, roasted and grinded before they become the coffee we all know and love to drink. Perks of the farm: free fruit to pick and all-you-can-drink-rich-coffee.
The rolling green hills and adorably painted houses that surround us have made Solento a good stop along our way. Yesterday we hiked in the National Forest Valley de Cocora and saw the tallest palm in the world! and we made it out with all the shoes we went in with.
Tonight we leave for the desert of Tatacoa to explore new landscapes!
Ciao de Colombia,
Emilia y Chia

Taganga and the Lost City trek

In the last week we have trekked up and down mountains and beaches.
Taganga is a quaint fisherman village with a lot of tourists just down a windy road from Santa Marta. We were fortunate to find the best hostel in the whole city (or so we think) on our first go. El Oso Persozo (the sloth) is a treehouse like hostel in the middle of the city where we can swing from rooftop hammocks and relax in the breezy cafe - includes 360 panoramic views of rolling green hills and caribbean sea.
However, we have seen far better in the last week. Last friday we embarked on a 5 day 4 night trek through Tayrona National Park to the very lost city of the Tayrona indians. Our first day included a (10 person full) bumpy jeep ride up a mountain to Pueblito where we began our hike. Through the jungle we went passing banana trees, parrots and rivers. The hike is steep both up and down but we were well taken care of with fresh fruits like mandarins, pineapple, bananas, sugar cane, and cocoa sweetness. After approximately 4 hours of hiking we stopped at the home of our guide (where he has lived all his life) and were feed and put to bed in hammocks. We go to bed early and rise with the dawning sun to eat another huge plate of food, sip on coffee and juice. We pass semi-domestic cows, chickens and roosters on steep pastures as well as indian villages made up of thatched palm huts. Coffee and cocaine fields abounded. We see the biggest cockroaches, butterflies, beetles, toads and spiders bigger than our hands! Every day it pours, and our sweat soaked clothes smell a little better from this rain relief. The sun is hot and the humidity is strong the whole way through, something us washingtonians dispise, but we instead are distracted by the wonders of the world which surround us. Every minute, day and night, hums with the jungle electricity of bugs, waterfalls, wind in the trees above, strong rain, load birds and randomly scattered pigs. Every step feels fulfilling, and our guide points out the smallest beautys along the way, he knows everything about the flora, fauna, people, and living off the land. We relied on his knowledge every day, although he often made sarcastic jokes that hopefully we have eventually been able to decifer from the truths.
On the third day we rise at 5 and find Courtney´s only shoes scalded by the warm oven they were placed next to to dry the night before. Our guide has nothing to offer but aquasocks. After this upset, with grace, we scale a waterfall, and walk 1500 stairs to find overgrown stone circles which were once foundations of prehistoric homes. When we reach the center of the old civilization we are literally blown away by a ginormous Colombian military helicopter. After landing in most sacred spot of the ruins, hundreds of supply boxes are unloaded to feed and accomidate the armed military men stationed on site. It seemed a bit sacreligious to us, but we were curiously perplexed by the mass quantity of supply that only comes once a month. A decade ago guerillas used to feed off tourists that came through the trail, so the military has been set up as permanent protection, and it was affective.
We spent time soaking up the spiritual energy that eminated from the old city and learned lessons from one of the two indigenous elders that still lives there. On our decent back we felt influenced and inspired, making our journey even more worth the while. We return to pueblito on Tuesday completely bug bitten, sore feet/legs, and stinking from a lack of showering in the last week. Fortunately there were cold rivers for us to swim in to somewhat relieve our noses from the worst body odor either of us has ever experienced. That said, we were very excited to return to Taganga and reset ourselves, launder our clothes and finally bathe.
We are now scheduling our next adventure to the coffee region of central Colombia where we plan to volunteer on farms and see where Starbucks gets its gold.
We are happy and we are safely enjoying this paradise we have landed in.
Mucho amor,
Emilia y Chia