Coto fotos

The crew!

Cold!

Bummed about turning back, but still smiling!

Cotopaxi & the coast

Been a while since I´ve updated this!  Had a very busy last couple of weeks here.  Today is my last day in Ecuador, can´t quite believe it.  These four months have flown by!  After finishing my project in Intag, I came back to Quito in time to enjoy a little bit of the Quito fiestas, a celebration of Quito´s independence that culminates on the 6th of December.  Wasn´t in Quito for the 6th but there was a lot going on that weekend before.  Concerts, chivas (wooden party buses), bull fights (pretty expensive to go to, I didn´t), and lots of other events.  Went to another fútbol game.  On the 5th, our whole group reunited and went to a reserve called La Hesperia to do our project presentations.  Very fun to see what everyone had been up to for the past month!  Got back to Quito, wrapped up a few things, and then Saturday and Sunday a few friends and I tried to climb Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world!  We got up to the basecamp Saturday afternoon, greeted by lightning, thunder, and a snow storm!  We ate and tried to sleep for a few hours before waking up at midnight to start hiking, and luckily the weather had cleared up by that time.  Basecamp is at about 4800m (15,750 ft), and the summit is 5900m (19,350 ft).  Quito is about 3100m, and just at basecamp you can feel the altitude effects - headache, lightheadedness, little nausea.  Once we got hiking though I started to feel better.  I had snowshoe-hiked once, but never used crampons and an ice axe!  It was interesting.  I had to breath really deep every step because there is much less oxygen up there.  It was a really strange feeling.  We were really optimistic and had been planning this trip since the beginning of the semester, but unfortunately we ended up having to turn back around 5400m (17,700 ft) due to dangerous snow conditions since it had snowed so much the night before.  At that point a lot of the hikers had collected, and everyone was feeling pretty disappointed.  We were definitely bummed, especially since we hadn´t gotten to see much of the mountain, just the range of the headlamp, since we were hiking at night.  But I am glad that we didn´t have to turn back on account of our inability to handle the hiking!  It was still an awesome experience.  Highest altitude I´ve ever been by far!  We returned to the basecamp, drank some tea, and waited til sunrise which was absolutely amazing.  I am not on my laptop right now so I can´t post photos, but I will try to get some up here soon.  It was unreal.  Very clear morning, you could see a lot of other mountains as well as Quito in the distance.  Would have been a perfect morning to summit and see the crater, but I am trying not to be too bummed about it!

After returning to Quito and napping a bit, we set off for the coast, since it is the one major part of Ecuador that we hadn´t visited yet.  Got to a small surf town called Canoa.  I tried surfing for the first time!  It wasn´t pretty, but still fun.  Got some bruises, and came close to standing up haha.  Definitely not a natural.  We were able to meet up with some other friends there which was nice!  Stayed there a couple days then headed to Montañita, a bigger surfing town where they hold international surf competitions.  Had to spend a night in Puerto Lopez, a fishing town, and in the morning we went to the beach to see the fish market and the boats coming in with their catches.  Got to Montañita later that day and spent a few days relaxing on the beach.  The ocean there is a little bit colder than at Canoa, but it is a really nice beach.  Pretty touristy but still relaxing.  Cloudy and a little rainy the first couple days, but yesterday, our last day there, was beautiful.  Perfect day to end our trip!

Flying out tomorrow, crossing my fingers that the weather cooperates!  Can´t quite wrap my head around leaving Ecuador, but I am very excited to come home!  Probably will feel some reverse culture shock, and I have gotten so used to speaking Spanish that I´m sure I´ll be a little confused for a while!
I´ll try to get some more photos up soon

Wrapping up the semester in Ecuador

Well, today is mi último día in Peñaherrera.  Tomorrow I am heading back to Quito!  It will be quite a contrast.  But I am excited!  Spending a few days in Quito finishing up my project, and then Sunday our whole group is reuniting and heading to a place called La Hesperia, a biological reserve in another area of cloud forest.  We're spending a few days there to do our presentations and wrap up the semester.  Then back to Quito for a couple days, attempting to climb Cotopaxi with some amigos, and a few days on the coast.  I'm heading back to Maine on the 20th!  This semester has flown by and has been absolutely amazing.  I can't believe the places I have gotten to see and all of the experiences I've had - looking for monkeys the Amazon, snorkeling with tortoises in the Galápagos, fútbol games, parasites twice, and living in the cloud forest for almost a month, to name a few.  This Thanksgiving was my first far from home, but I did get to skype with a bunch of family which was great.  So grateful for this opportunity to travel!  It still feels unreal at times to be here.  Looking forward to heading home in just a few weeks to spend the holidays with family and friends!
Hasta luego!

Center of Peñaherrera

Otavalo

Typically cloudy day

Update from the cloud forest

Well, I've been in this town called Peñaherrera in the Intag cloud forest region for 2 weeks now.  It's been a bit bumpy, running into some obstacles with my project, but overall it's going pretty well.  Quite an experience.  Peñaherrera is a small community, with a school and high school, a few general stores, a church, and a little radio station for the region.  People here are really nice and helpful.  Being in the middle of the cloud forest, and at the beginning of the rainier season here, it rains almost every single day here.  You can pretty much count on rainy afternoons, although today is a rare almost rain-free day!  Yesterday was gorgeous in the morning, and a few friends and I went to the thermal pools nearby.  It is a little difficult to get around.  My friend Corey lives in a town called Apuela, which is about a 20 minute drive or hour walk.  I have been going there the past couple of weekends, there is a little more going on there.  There are buses back up here, but kind of sporadic, and i end up asking all over town to try to find out when the next one will be.  Despite the traveling difficulties, I actually get wifi in the park up here!  No cell phone service, but that hasn't been too much of a problem.  Very different experience here as far as communication, transportation, and concept of time here than in the US!  Sometimes I ask people when the next bus will come, and the response "ahora mismo" (literally, right now) can encompass a range of times.  Sometimes ahora mismo means the bus is coming right now, sometimes it means it will come in 2 hours.  Difficult to plan, but things are working out for the most part.

For my project I am trying to evaluate some reforestation projects here.  An organization here called DECOIN (Defensa Ecológica y Conservación de Intag) has helped support these community-run reforestation efforts in reserves protecting water sources.  Deforestation here is a big problem due to agriculture and cattle pasture especially.  Loss of vegetation can cause a lot of issues with the water cycle, leading to decreasing quantity and quality of the water sources.  My project is part of a continuing study - a few other students from this program in the past have come and done a similar study.  I was looking forward to the project, but it hasn't been going that smoothly.  I had to get to 5 different reserves, and none of the people I needed to find there have a telephone.  Tons of walking, but I have been getting used to it.  The field work itself isn't enjoyable and there is a lot of Excel work which is not my favorite, but I try to remember that I'm in the Andes and it's still amazing, despite the difficulties I am having.  I am learning a lot!  3 more data collecting days, then working on data analysis and paper writing.
I will try to write more about some experiences I have had here and more about what it is like, but I should get back to work at the moment.  And shower, it's been a few days.  I do get somewhat warm showers here!  Overall, things are going pretty well, although I may have parasites again.  But could be worse!  Just wanted to write a little update about where I am/what I'm up to.
I am looking forward to getting back to Quito in about a week and a half and Maine in a month, but it is a very neat experience to be here for a few weeks!
Hasta luego!  Happy Thanksgiving :)

El volcán Cotocachi, on a relatively clear day

That town on the right is Peñherrera!

Back to Intag

I'm in Otavalo right now, making the trip back to the Intag cloud forest.  I'll be there until the beginning of December, working on a reforestation project.  Living with a family in a small town called Peñaherrera.  Don't know much more than that so it will definitely be interesting!  Looking forward to working on my Spanish.  Brought the guitar that I bought in Quito recently!  My friend and I went to a little shop near our school - the guitars are made right there, and we talked a lot to Fausto, who has been making guitars there for 40 years.  He was so great, he even accompanied me home on the bus after I bought my guitar!  So nice.

Here's a few photos from some flower plantations we visited and from a trip to Baños.

Political march in Quito

Galápagos!

Just got back from the Galápagos!  Such an amazing week.  Saw lots of animals and birds and had a bunch of firsts - my first time in the Pacific Ocean, first time snorkeling, first time living on a boat, first time jumping off a boat!  Lots of fun.  I feel so lucky to have been able to go and spend so much time there.  Flew from Quito to Guayaquil in about half an hour, then straight to the island Baltra, about another hour and a half.  When we got to Baltra it looked like it could've been Arizona.  Lots of cacti, rocky, brown, woody shrubs.  Each island looks different, which was interesting.  It was really awesome to be walking around volcanic islands!  There are also certain species of birds and other animals that are endemic to just the Galápagos, or even to just one island!  Everything is so unique there.  The animals and birds aren't really afraid of humans and you can get right up close to them.  Every day we went snorkeling, and we got to swim with sea lions, turtles, schools of fish, even a couple sharks!

The whole area is really tourist-y, which I wasn't quite expecting, at least not to that extent.  There are lots of big boats and you see tour groups a lot.  Luckily the entire area is very heavily regulated and there are a lot of park fees and such to try to maintain the land and the flora and fauna.  Also, the majority of Ecuadorians don't visit the Galápagos.  It is a pretty expensive trip to make.  We divided our group in 2, half starting on Isabela, the other half starting on the boat, and then switching.  On Isabela, the largest island, we each stayed with a host family in Puerto Villamil.  Really fun little town, and everyone is so nice!  I stayed with Gabby and David, and their 6-year-old son Gabrielito.  His favorite movie is Finding Nemo.  Gabby works at a hotel in town, and David's brother works on a big tourist boat.  Lots of tourist-oriented business there.

Sea lion - lobo marino

Marine iguanas

Pinguino!

The Galápagos are over a hotspot, so it's all volcanic rock.

Playa on Isabela

Turtle development

 We visited a giant tortoise nursery.  Tortugas have been threatened here for hundreds of years.  Early explorers who stopped on the island would take tortoises as a source of meat for the rest of the trip, since they can survive for 6 months without eating or drinking.  Giant tortoises can live over 100 years, causing some to believe that drinking tortoise blood will extend your life.

Muro de las Lágrimas

 In the 1950s, prisoners from mainland Ecuador were sent to the island of Isabela when jails were getting full.  The police captain decided to have the prisoners work on constructing this wall.  About 100 people probably died during this process, and their bodies supposedly were just put inside the wall during construction.  We also saw an old desalinization tank, a remnant of the US military base here, which was established after the Pearl Harbor attacks, so that the US could monitor/protect the Panama Canal.

Sierra Negra crater

 Second largest caldera in the world!  Sierra Negra crater, surrounded by several active shield volcanoes.

Left Isabela to spend the rest of the trip on the boat San José.  Went to San Christobal the first day, Española the second, Floreana the third, and stopped by North Seymour the last day, before heading back to Quito.  The first night on the boat I was definitely feeling a little sea sick, but it got better after that.

Blue-footed boobies - so goofy looking!

Española.  Most beautiful spot on the trip.

"Post Office" on Floreana

Jumped off the top of the boat!

ray!


Snorkeling:

Frigate bird