Back in the little village of Apuela this afternoon to book flights to our next destination Colombia. Got a few minutes for a quick update.
A couple of weeks back Claire, Sylvie and I (Stacey) all trekked in for four hours to Talacos, a remote little farming valley where we camped on the farm of a lovely family. Talacos is beautiful, and families seemed to be literally farming the sides of the cliffs.
The couple we stayed with were called Yolanda and Efren and they had four sons, two of which were living at home still, ages 10 and 12. We played volleyball with them for about two hours on our first day, they were so energetic. They love volleyball here. The father Efren was a Italian man (unusual here) who had grown up on the farm. He was tall and slim with a ruddy red face that you get from working in the fields all of your life. He talked very slowly to us in his booming voice and asked lots of questions about New Zealand. We told him about the sheep and he couldn't believe there are 20 sheep per person here (or whatever the figure is). They made us play endless games of Cuarenta at night after dinner, a game that everyone is obsessed with here. It has really confusing rules that seem pointless. Like the fact that the order of playing is anticlockwise.
Yolanda made us donuts and very milky sweet coffee for breakfast. She served us up a glass of fresh milk straight from the cow, which I wasn't very fond of, but it's good to try these things. Real milk has a very strong taste! Lunch each day was a huge plate of rice and beans with a fried egg and fried plantain. dinner on the first night was a big square of roasted pumpkin which was delicious (although i think they were a little stuck with what to cook with 2 vegetarians visiting). While here we were trying to find signs of bears so during the days we were out traipsing the fields and valleys with our radios and binoculars. Alas, no sightings this time round.
Stacey
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The last week on the Bear Project
So hopefully in this last week on the Bear Project we will come across a bear, but if not, it has still been a really cool experience. One of the funnest things is getting to know a different community and culture. Even today, me (Claire) and Stacey went along to this thing called a ´minga´ where the community decide a certain project that needs to take place for community benefit. Today it was clearing the road of overgrowing trees with machetes because the cars and buses were having trouble driving through some parts of the road. Hard work though.
After we are finished here, we are going to go south in Ecuador to the Poor Mans Galapagos Islands (as the real one costs heaps!). It looks really cool though and has pretty much all the species on the real island, and you can see animals like dolphins, howler monkeys, whales, and those birds called boobies that dance around. So we will just chill there for a week before meeting up with the fourth Amiga Nicola and catching a flight up to Cartagena at the top of Colombia. There we will
probably be spending most of our time eating seafood, at the beach and exploring around the place. We also want to go and see the Lost City up there (very Indiana Jones). Think it is about a six day hike, hopefully our practice here comes in handy!
That´s about all I can think of to write right now! Oh hang on, how could I forget, this morning I woke up to a slug on my eyelid. An actual slug. On my eyelid.
Ciao!
Claire
After we are finished here, we are going to go south in Ecuador to the Poor Mans Galapagos Islands (as the real one costs heaps!). It looks really cool though and has pretty much all the species on the real island, and you can see animals like dolphins, howler monkeys, whales, and those birds called boobies that dance around. So we will just chill there for a week before meeting up with the fourth Amiga Nicola and catching a flight up to Cartagena at the top of Colombia. There we will
probably be spending most of our time eating seafood, at the beach and exploring around the place. We also want to go and see the Lost City up there (very Indiana Jones). Think it is about a six day hike, hopefully our practice here comes in handy!
That´s about all I can think of to write right now! Oh hang on, how could I forget, this morning I woke up to a slug on my eyelid. An actual slug. On my eyelid.
Ciao!
Claire
Rumble in the jungle
An update to let you know what we've been up to and that we haven't been taken out by a volcano...crazy though, as I write, I can hear the Volcano rumbling away in the background even though it's ages away...
We are still in Pucara in the Ecuadorian Andes and are now just getting into our last week here on the Bear Project. Alas, I have not seen a bear yet but I have come very close to seeing Frida the bear and her bear cub but she keeps just getting away from us (we can tell how close she is from the radio signal), but I have been her tracks, bits of eaten corn, scratchings she has made on a tree and a tree lookout that she has created which has been pretty cool. We also saw a puma footprint in the mud the other day. Only two of us have seen a bear so far - Sylvie and Remi - when they went away camping they saw a small female bear eating corn on the opposite hill.
The four weeks so far have been really fun though. We have got way better with our walking, and now walks that seemed horribly hard at the start seem pretty easy! Living at the house is cool too, and we have quite a bit of down time to play cards, read books, make camp fires, drink the local beer (which is pretty low percentage because of the altitude) and spirit - called pudo (which is made out of sugar cane, and also comes in handy for lighting the fires) - and hang out. On Sundays we always make up a big feast too (as its Celia's day off) and Stacey has made cakes each time which are really good - especially the pineapple one last night.
Claire
We are still in Pucara in the Ecuadorian Andes and are now just getting into our last week here on the Bear Project. Alas, I have not seen a bear yet but I have come very close to seeing Frida the bear and her bear cub but she keeps just getting away from us (we can tell how close she is from the radio signal), but I have been her tracks, bits of eaten corn, scratchings she has made on a tree and a tree lookout that she has created which has been pretty cool. We also saw a puma footprint in the mud the other day. Only two of us have seen a bear so far - Sylvie and Remi - when they went away camping they saw a small female bear eating corn on the opposite hill.
The four weeks so far have been really fun though. We have got way better with our walking, and now walks that seemed horribly hard at the start seem pretty easy! Living at the house is cool too, and we have quite a bit of down time to play cards, read books, make camp fires, drink the local beer (which is pretty low percentage because of the altitude) and spirit - called pudo (which is made out of sugar cane, and also comes in handy for lighting the fires) - and hang out. On Sundays we always make up a big feast too (as its Celia's day off) and Stacey has made cakes each time which are really good - especially the pineapple one last night.
Claire
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The Secret Garden
This 'secret garden´is not to be confused with the hostel of the same name in Quito. This photo is of a random abandoned house we found on a walk we did to some pools (on a day off from the project).
Gang of dogs
A gang of dogs in Baños (see earlier post).
There are a couple of mongrel dogs called Diana and Bobby that spend time around the house, but unlike some of the excitable dogs here they are sweet natured and lovely and defend the house at night (not that there is really anything to defend us from). They have owners but we feed them too because we like having them around.
Fresh bread and marmite
Our cook, Celia, makes fresh bread most mornings and we chow it down with the marmite that Claire bought (all gone now!) and eggs and fresh juice.
The house we are staying in here is very simple - the walls in the sleeping quarters are falling apart and you can see through the cracks in the wooden planks to the outside. We get woken at 5.30 each morning from the sun streaming in and by the roosters down the road. It's beautiful and still in the morning. We spend the days walking and trying to find signs of bear tracks to place the traps in the best places. If we are not walking or monitoring traps we spend the day doing laundry by hand in the sink out the back of the house, or reading in hammocks. It's very quiet and peaceful. In the afternoon it usually clouds over and at dusk sometimes there is a hazy white cloud covering everything and you cant see more than about 50 metres. we really are in a cloud forest! We saw a huge beautiful moth last night the size of a sparrow, beating itself against the light at out house. Most nights after tea we sit in the kitchen reading and there are moths divebombing at our eyes and mouths.
We have a camping trip planned for tomorrow - it's a tough five or six hour trek in with all the gear but apparently once we are there it is beautiful and we will have meals with a local family who will make fresh bread each day.
Stacey
The house we are staying in here is very simple - the walls in the sleeping quarters are falling apart and you can see through the cracks in the wooden planks to the outside. We get woken at 5.30 each morning from the sun streaming in and by the roosters down the road. It's beautiful and still in the morning. We spend the days walking and trying to find signs of bear tracks to place the traps in the best places. If we are not walking or monitoring traps we spend the day doing laundry by hand in the sink out the back of the house, or reading in hammocks. It's very quiet and peaceful. In the afternoon it usually clouds over and at dusk sometimes there is a hazy white cloud covering everything and you cant see more than about 50 metres. we really are in a cloud forest! We saw a huge beautiful moth last night the size of a sparrow, beating itself against the light at out house. Most nights after tea we sit in the kitchen reading and there are moths divebombing at our eyes and mouths.
We have a camping trip planned for tomorrow - it's a tough five or six hour trek in with all the gear but apparently once we are there it is beautiful and we will have meals with a local family who will make fresh bread each day.
Stacey
Proyecto Oso Andino
The bear project we are volunteering for is called Proyecto Oso Andino - Protect the Andean Bear. Our job is to set foot traps that send out a radio signal when the bears stumble into them, so we can track them. We havent seen any bears yet but everyone is optimistic we will catch one soon as the corn is ripening. we have three traps out in various corn fields that we are monitoring. Last night Stacey dreamt that we saw two bears, so we're hopeful! So far we feel a bit useless compared to the super fit guides but it gets better each day. The fact that the guides are with us each day taking us out on the walks and setting the traps is what makes it all worth it. They are lovely and very patient, and INCREDIBLY fit. Actually, it feels like they are constantly waiting for us. They are practically running up the mountains and we seem to be collapsing behind them in a sweaty gasping heap. The altitude here really does make everything harder.
The bumpy bus ride to Otavalo
Today we are back in Otavalo, soley for the purpose of emailing and getting cash. The village Pucara where we are based is very isolated and very small, and there is just one tiny shop that sells biscuits and drinks and icecreams and operates the public telephone. Otavalo is is the closest city, a very bumpy 2 hours away by bus, and famous for the big markets. It's nice here and a lot of people wear traditional dress - the young men wear white pants and have very long straight black hair that they plait, and the women wear long straight black skirts and big lacey blouses with a sash at the waist. Both men and women wear little cotton tie up sandals. The bus was full this morning so we (Claire and Stacey) were standing awkwardly in the aisle and getting thrown about with each pothole. After about an hour Stacey was feeling exhausted and distinctly queasy. It didn't help that two people were throwing up out the windows, ignoring the bus assistant who was gently urging little plastic bags at them. After another half an hour, when we didnt know how much more we could take, two sweet old men in panama hats and woollen cardigans smiled at us and offered us their seats. We were so happy and relieved we could have kissed their sweet brown wrinkled faces.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Up, up in the Andes
We have been up in the Andean Cloud Forest for two weeks now and its such a crazy beautiful place! Really in the middle of nowhere though...
For those who don´t know, we are doing five weeks of volunteer work with the Andean Bear Foundation project which consists of walking all over the mountains and tracking/trapping bears. So instead of going to the office for eight hours a day, we wander round the mountains. It's a nice change to feel physically tired at the end of the day instead of mentally tired and the scenery is amazing. We get up at about 6am and go to bed at around 8pm which is pretty different to normal life at home in New Zealand. We also eat about three times as much as we would at home. The organiser (Sarah) said that its the only time we'll be able to eat whatever we want and not put on weight, so we're taking advantage of it!
We are staying in a village called Pucara, in the Intag Mountains. We have a house dedicated to the project, with three technicians (for the radio collars) and a cook called Celia. There is also a cool Aussie couple who recently got married in Cusco with us in the house too. We have about two days off a week, which is pretty good.
So: we have set about four traps for the bears now and are waiting on those ones (they are connected to a radio collar so we can listen on the transistor radio to see if they are trapped) plus we are going camping for four days tomorrow in this other village where we are going to set more traps. They are very hopeful for us to catch some bears as it is a good time of year for it with the corn ripening!
The bears seem to be the poor cousin of the bears of the world with lots of unanswered questions and near to no funding. They are becoming more interesting to the world now though, as they are starting to attack and eat peoples cows! Beforehand scientists had thought they were vegetarian bears. This is thought to have happened because of the huge amount of land the bears need to roam around in, and the fact that that land is being eaten away by the changing land use to agriculture and horticulture. As you can imagine, the people here aren´t the biggest bear fans!
For those who don´t know, we are doing five weeks of volunteer work with the Andean Bear Foundation project which consists of walking all over the mountains and tracking/trapping bears. So instead of going to the office for eight hours a day, we wander round the mountains. It's a nice change to feel physically tired at the end of the day instead of mentally tired and the scenery is amazing. We get up at about 6am and go to bed at around 8pm which is pretty different to normal life at home in New Zealand. We also eat about three times as much as we would at home. The organiser (Sarah) said that its the only time we'll be able to eat whatever we want and not put on weight, so we're taking advantage of it!
We are staying in a village called Pucara, in the Intag Mountains. We have a house dedicated to the project, with three technicians (for the radio collars) and a cook called Celia. There is also a cool Aussie couple who recently got married in Cusco with us in the house too. We have about two days off a week, which is pretty good.
So: we have set about four traps for the bears now and are waiting on those ones (they are connected to a radio collar so we can listen on the transistor radio to see if they are trapped) plus we are going camping for four days tomorrow in this other village where we are going to set more traps. They are very hopeful for us to catch some bears as it is a good time of year for it with the corn ripening!
The bears seem to be the poor cousin of the bears of the world with lots of unanswered questions and near to no funding. They are becoming more interesting to the world now though, as they are starting to attack and eat peoples cows! Beforehand scientists had thought they were vegetarian bears. This is thought to have happened because of the huge amount of land the bears need to roam around in, and the fact that that land is being eaten away by the changing land use to agriculture and horticulture. As you can imagine, the people here aren´t the biggest bear fans!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
The town of Baños ('Baths')
After a night out in Quito where the majority of the night was spent at an Irish pub called Finn McCool´s (which wasn´t that cool), we decided to get out of the city the next day.
We took a 3hr bus out to a town in central Ecuador called Baños, which means baths. Baños is a holiday spot at the base of a volcano where people come to bathe in the hot springs. The whole town is covered by this misty cloud, and along with the old novelty caterpillar trains and the abandoned water slide towers the whole town has an eerie 70's carnival feel to it. We encountered the local dog gang that roam around town together. Friendly, yet fiery when one spots some food. No rabies though (don´t worry Mums).
Back to Quito tomorrow to get ready before we start the Andean Bear project on Monday. Five weeks chasing after bears in the Andes Mountain ranges!
We took a 3hr bus out to a town in central Ecuador called Baños, which means baths. Baños is a holiday spot at the base of a volcano where people come to bathe in the hot springs. The whole town is covered by this misty cloud, and along with the old novelty caterpillar trains and the abandoned water slide towers the whole town has an eerie 70's carnival feel to it. We encountered the local dog gang that roam around town together. Friendly, yet fiery when one spots some food. No rabies though (don´t worry Mums).
Back to Quito tomorrow to get ready before we start the Andean Bear project on Monday. Five weeks chasing after bears in the Andes Mountain ranges!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
First stop Quito, colonial capital of Ecuador.
Sylvie was the first amiga to arrive in South America. She arrived from San Diego, and proceeded to enjoy cervezas on the roof of our first hostel, the Secret Garden. Later that night, after a hellish 26-hour journey, complete with damaged baggage and diving headfirst into broken Spanish explanations to the airport staff, Stacey and Claire stumbled in, embraced Sylvie with relief and flopped down on their beds. Exhausted but excited!
We had the next day to explore the city. First task; to buy botas de caucho (gumboots) for our volunteering work. The Andean Bear Foundation recommended that we buy the boots from a hardware store called Kiwi which was about a 15 minute taxi ride ($2) away to the south of the city. We were a novelty in the hardware store, with our huge Kiwi feet getting stuck in the Ecuadorian-sized gumboots. Kiwi gumboots are not made for kiwis, apparently.
One day looking around Quito was enough. It is very smoggy and dirty, and it doesn´t have the best vibe for tourists. In saying that, there was a beautiful big church there and we did have a very cheap lunch from a Hare Krishna cafe. It cost around $1.80 for drink, soup and main, so can´t complain!
We have found that when you speak Spanish in proper sentences (more than just a few random words) the locals here become very amicable, especially taxi drivers. Some funny conversations have included one with a taxi driver, who after enquiring about New Zealand´s cold weather, asked if we partake in dog sledding.
Later that nighk we had a few drinks at the hostel and met lots of travellers who were staying at the hostel including an awesome kiwi girl called Esther.
In terms of safety, none of us has really felt threatened yet. However, we did get the loudest and slowest wolf whistle in the world yesterday which almost deafened us! People do stare at us but it's probably because we look like slobs in our jandals and baggy tshirts, compared to the tiny, ultra-tight-pant-wearing girls (not for the faint at heart). We are also complete giants compared to the locals!
Back to Quito tomorrow to get ready before we start the Andean Bear project on Monday. Five weeks chasing after bears in the Andes Mountain ranges!
Stay tuned...
We had the next day to explore the city. First task; to buy botas de caucho (gumboots) for our volunteering work. The Andean Bear Foundation recommended that we buy the boots from a hardware store called Kiwi which was about a 15 minute taxi ride ($2) away to the south of the city. We were a novelty in the hardware store, with our huge Kiwi feet getting stuck in the Ecuadorian-sized gumboots. Kiwi gumboots are not made for kiwis, apparently.
One day looking around Quito was enough. It is very smoggy and dirty, and it doesn´t have the best vibe for tourists. In saying that, there was a beautiful big church there and we did have a very cheap lunch from a Hare Krishna cafe. It cost around $1.80 for drink, soup and main, so can´t complain!
We have found that when you speak Spanish in proper sentences (more than just a few random words) the locals here become very amicable, especially taxi drivers. Some funny conversations have included one with a taxi driver, who after enquiring about New Zealand´s cold weather, asked if we partake in dog sledding.
Later that nighk we had a few drinks at the hostel and met lots of travellers who were staying at the hostel including an awesome kiwi girl called Esther.
In terms of safety, none of us has really felt threatened yet. However, we did get the loudest and slowest wolf whistle in the world yesterday which almost deafened us! People do stare at us but it's probably because we look like slobs in our jandals and baggy tshirts, compared to the tiny, ultra-tight-pant-wearing girls (not for the faint at heart). We are also complete giants compared to the locals!
Back to Quito tomorrow to get ready before we start the Andean Bear project on Monday. Five weeks chasing after bears in the Andes Mountain ranges!
Stay tuned...
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