Good bye and hasta luego to Ecuador

I fell in love with the people of this country.  Such a mix.  So many traditions.  I learned so much about this painfully beautiful country whose forest is disappearing and with it countless species of plants and animals. 

What an issue when a country so poor sits on a huge oil supply that is under it's most precious but not convertible to money to buy necessities - the forest.

The Andes surrounded us during our visit and large parts of their green cover was side by side with huge areas of dirt and sand where the mining and cement industries have cut away the forests endangering the people through landslides and mudslides.  The many places we passed with parts of roads closed due to mudslides and falling rocks showed how real this problem is.

The people are poor but so gracious and warm.   I especially appreciated their great willingness to help me express myself in Spanish. 

Te amo Ecuador!

_____________________

A final PS.

In Turkey we were warned to  stay inside as riots were expected.  Nothing happened while we were there.  When we left Turkey, Istanbul erupted.  When we left Bangkok , the civil protests began in the streets.  When we went to Eastern Europe, Russia was threatening the area.  The day we left Quito for El Monte we got the following email from the US Embassy (we always register with our local embassy when traveling abroad.

May the people of Ecuador be safe and protected from natural disasters.

U.S. Mission Ecuador
Message for U.S. Citizens
Importance of Emergency Preparedness

August 22, 2014

 

 

The U.S. Mission in Ecuador reminds U.S. citizens living or traveling in Ecuador that the Quito and Guayaquil areas are prone to natural disasters as the recent seismic activity in and around Quito has demonstrated.  The U.S. Mission in Ecuador recommends that U.S. citizens keep themselves informed and make personal preparations in the event of a natural disaster.

 

Knowing what to do before, during and after a natural disaster is critical.  When traveling and living overseas, it’s important that you know how to respond to natural disasters, such as earthquakes and flooding.  We encourage U.S. citizens living in Ecuador to be prepared for natural disasters. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends that you take three basic steps to mitigate your risk in an emergency:

·   Be Informed – Stay aware of present risks and ways to avoid them.

·   Make a Plan - Ensure you have a communication and emergency plan ahead of time.

·   Build a Kit – Create an emergency kit to help cope with the unexpected.  FEMA’s Emergency Supply List has other recommended items. 

Ecuador’s National Risk Management Secretariat and the Ecuadorian Geophysical Institute monitor Ecuadorian volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis in Ecuador, issuing regular reports on their activity. In the event of a natural disaster, pay close attention to the news media for updates. 

 

 

 

U.S. citizens living or traveling in Ecuador are encouraged to enroll through the Department of State's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program  in order to obtain updated information on travel and security within Ecuador.

Food at El Monte

This really needs to be mentioned.  All was fresh and delicious.

                               Salmon - each lunch and dinner was served with a salad besides the veggies on the plate.

One of the salads at dinner

Some of the many fruits we enjoyed.  The red are tree tomatoes.  We had them as juice and candied for dessert. They taste more like citrus than tomato

Quiche with pumpkin and spinach

A rare break from vegetarian food with turkey in the salad

A wonderful veggie mix in a delicious sauce.

 
Breakfast was juice,  eggs scrambled or fried.  toast from homemade bread or biscuits,  butter and jam of one of the local fruits. 

Coffee or lemon grass tea (lemon grass grown in their garden)  or hot chocolate.  There is a chocolate factory in town that recycles and uses every part of the cocoa bean.

Visit to an elementary school in Mindo

So one of the most serendipitous events of our trip was that our driver, William,  to El Monte had asked if his wife and 4 year old grandson, Will,  on could return home to Mindo with us.  It turned out that Mirabel is principal of the Mindo "elementary " school - grades pre-K - 10th.

I could not resist asking if we might visit her school which is in session now.   She was delighted.  BTW she does not speak English and my Spanish is un poquito.   We communicated just fine.  So Monday morning we went into town to visit.

Mirabel and me

 We visited each of the classrooms.  Uniforms are provided to the youngest by the government.

                                                          On the left is Mirabel's grandson

 

 

View of the grounds from the second floor of the upper school.

This really surprised me.  Computers supplied by the government. 

 

 In the10th  grade we had a dialogue where they asked questions in English and I attempted to answer in  Spanish.  It was 

fun and the kids were great.  Lots of hugs,  handshakes a great time.  

We were there at lunch break and Mirabelserved Empanadas and Juice in the principals office.  

Then we watched the older kids playing soccor/futbol

It was a wonderful visit and interaction.  This was the highlight of the trip for me.

 

El Monte Lodge in the Cloud Forest

After  Banos we returned to Quito and were then driven to El Monte Lodge. in the Cloud Forest  This was in many ways more remote than the Sani Lodge in the Amazon.  No internet, no TV,  no radio,  no newspapers and the people who run the lodge are a different  breed.  This one is owned by an  ex pat American  who knows nothing about world events and doesn't seem to want to.  He and his Ecuadorn wife and 8 mo old child are immersed in the beauty of the land and sustainability issues.  He has a degree in Forestry. 

THIS is how you arrive at El Monte.  The seat is pulled by hand across the following stream. 

The only other visitors when we arrived were 3 generations  of a family. These are the Cuban grandparents.

On the left is Lucia (of El Monte) who was our guide while at the lodge and the other woman is Belgain daughter in law of the family,

This is the other daughter in law who is English.  They ALL now live in Ecuador.  Note the raspberry juice. One of the many juices we had at El Monte.

 

 

The grounds are beautiful

 

Our cabin.  All the windows are part of large panels that open

 

                                                   Just one of the open panels

How is THAT for a bathroom.  The entire wall next to the sunken tub opens to the jungle.

 

 

                            Once the large family left we had the place to ourselves.  Norbert went out each day to see birds and orchids and butterflies and some of the many species of plants.  I had other activities as you can see :)

 

 

 

A toucan outside our window.

Indigenous people of Ecuador by region from the tower at El Mitad del Mundo

This man is preparing the herb the men use to color their hair.

These are made of dough

 

 

I love this picture

This is the tribe that runs Sani Lodge where we stayed our first week in the Amazon.  This is the native spelling I used Kichwa - which is the Spanish spelling