Tena Revisited

A week ago Wednesday I hitched a ride with my friend Kate to take one of her volunteers to a biological reserve near Tena called Jatun Sacha. We took a different route than the last time I went to Tena and it was absolutely stunning.



















Antisana volcano (possibly), over 18,000 feet.





































Our accommodations at Jatun Sacha. As long as there's mosquito netting, I'm a happy camper.

























Lots of interesting flora and fauna here at the reserve, including this furry flower reminiscent of a newborn bird and the creepy basilisk thing scurrying about Jatun Sacha's organic farm (below).









































Our afternoon chore was to clear the paths at the organic farm and cut down bananas. We took a short break to do show off our machetes.




















"Come mister tally man, tally me banana!"


















































































We did three pretty decent hikes in 12 hours and I was pretty pooped. The night hike was a bit scary with just flashlights and the light of the moon to guide us as we stumbled across lightning bugs, a water snake, a giant spider, sounds of froggies...










































On our morning hike, Kate and I ventured off by ourselves in search of a metal tower and green tree men (Alberto, volunteer coordinator at Jatun Sacha, regaled us with many tall tales during our brief time there). After an hour and a half of crossing slippery log bridges and stomping along the same path with no end in sight, our Blair Witch minds kicked in and we began to get a little nervous about being lost in the jungle, but by a stroke of sheer luck, the path dropped us off literally at our cabin doorstep! Phew!



















































































After our invigorating morning hike in the rain, Kate and I set off in search of amaZOOnico, a wildlife rescue center and refuge. A scenic motorized canoe ride allowed us to drink in the sights of the river (including folks pannin' for gold, $30 per gram) before we explored the reserve. A ton of depressing stories about the animals there sprinkled with a few accounts of successful animal releases into the wilderness.










































Macaws are actually really obnoxious and dangerous, but many people don't realize this until they've bought them on the black market and brought them home. So many animals are just abandoned after this realization.




















Capybara, so cool! Just a giant guinea pig, really. :)

























Peccary, sort of a wild pig that looks a bit like a porcupine, but check out the chompers on this guy!

























Gorgeous Amazon parrots...these guys get shipped 20 to a box and only one or two survive. But the profits from one parrot sold are enough to make people continue this practice.




















Tortoises hiding from the caiman...just kidding.




















Ocelot! Beautiful animals with a healthy carnivorous appetite!

***

The volunteer at the amaZOOnico rescue center told us of Capuchin monkeys that had been kept in a box for over 24 hours without food, water or sunlight so they literally went a bit crazy...one of them bit off a few of his own fingers and even part of his tail. Another monkey
(different species, maybe woolly) had lived in a zoo in Banos and wouldn't set a foot in nature, just concrete. A jaguarundi was discovered in a hotel room in a town called Loja...many stories like this, but the people at amaZOOnico are trying to help and have released many animals back into the wild after a rehabilitation period. Unforunately, some animals have been so severely abused or mistreated that they stand no chance in the wild and are permanent residents of the zoo.



















Kate and I hopped on a bus to Tena Thursday afternoon and prepared ourselves psychologically for some Class IV rafting the next day. What a day! We caught some amazing rapids and even had to get on land and hike around some dangerously rocky rapids and then repel down the rocky hillside to get back to the river. So cool! I almost slipped and died though. Hiking that treacherous terrain without my glasses was quite terrifying!























Relaxing on a remote mini beach before lunch. So tired, but oh so fun!!!!! Such adventures!!!!!

Mis niños de Villa Ticca

Villa Ticca...the name of the daycare I volunteered at for about three weeks. Twas only for a short time because of scheduling conflicts with my English classes and with the daycare's shortened summer hours for the second half of July. Nevertheless, it was a most rewarding and oh so fun experience. I got to listen to cute little kids speaking Spanish for about four hours a day and introduce them to some fun games. Red light green light was a surprising hit as was Bingo (perhaps because I used little gummies on the free space and gave a gummy as a winner's treat...nah, that didn't have anything to do with it, I'm sure).

The facility was pretty big, but simple with a few classrooms, this indoor patio area, a dining room, kitchen, etc. Any surface area was quickly converted into a soccer field in spite of such obstacles as a metal swingset (without swings), a spiral staircase, concrete columns, other children...none of these mattered. They LOVED futbol!!! We played every single day!

Here we have Cinthia, Yesica, Lady and Jennifer playing the ever popular Bingo. They wanted to play every day after the gummy introduction, but I replaced the gummies with stickers after that. ;)


















Susana, what a ham!
























Every day at noon, I'd open the door to the daycare and surrender to the rushing mob of children scrambling to hug me. Boy, it was a tough gig. ;) I'm gonna miss those little tikes and their amazing hugs that nearly toppled me over each day. This is my big helper Yesica, sweetheart!


















We were banished to the rooftop one day because we were making so much noise and the littler group of kiddos was napping. These kids were so creative with their playtime. With so few resources, they could create a game out of practically nothing.
























My young boys, Matias and Anthony, plotting some mischievous plan.
























My favorite photo...it conveys so much more than I ever could with my clumsy words strung together.
























Anahi was such a cuddle bug!


















Giggling girlies: Giovana, Yesica, Anabela, Cinthia, Susana
























Kenny and Jacko. Check out the view behind him!


















The south of Quito has a reputation for being dangerous and impoverished and while it may look like that, I felt perfectly safe walking around here during the day. It's more of a community than you'll find in many barrios in north Quito. Several of the ladies who work at Villa Ticca have children at the daycare. It feels like a true family. Every day they kiss each other hello and good-bye. I honestly felt warm and gooey inside when I was there. :)


















Anthony and Kevin about to karate chop me!


















Joselyn's ready for her close-up, Mr. De Mille.
























My last day was so sad. My little "escolares" (kids old enough to go to school) kept hugging me and slipping me notes that said "I hope you never leave Ecuador; you're the best teacher ever." Oh God! Make it stop! Then they gave me this poster. Soooo sweet! I'll never forget them and I hope to return soon so that they're not too big to have forgotten me. :)

I went to the blessing & grand opening of another Villa Ticca in the small town of Peguche when I first arrived in Ecuador. These facilities were both founded by Dutch women and are funded entirely by Dutch and other foreign sponsors. The facilities were quite charming and well-equipped at their inauguration, but now need a lot of maintenance and the kids are always in need of school supplies (even simple things like paper and pencils).

Several of the kids have truly depressing home lives: extreme poverty, dead parents, malnutrition or no food at home at all, crumbling houses, etc... If you're interested in helping out these adorable kiddos, check out the website and the video below for more info:

http://www.villaticca.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=NL&hl=nl&v=W6RjQf_yUqE

All of the children featured in the home visits were in my group of escolares. My heart ached as I watched this video, but when I returned to the daycare and hugged each of those smiling kids, I realized how lucky I was to know them and to witness their smiling faces each day in spite of such struggle.

Hope you find them as lovable and endearing as I do! :) They will always be in my heart.

I heart Montañita

So since I've given the blog a facelift, all of my text has shifted. I hate doing this blog, but I love sharing my experiences with you, so I shall suffer somewhat silently for a while longer. :)

Almost two weeks ago, I went to the beachy hippy town of Montañita on the coast of Ecuador to celebrate the birthdays of two fabulous gal pals, Cat and Johana. A pic of the entire crew can be seen at the end of the blog (Sandra, Deborah, Manda, Rachel, Cat, Johana and I). The pictures below are kind of a mess, so I will just write briefly instead of navigating through the pics and creating havoc among the pictures...

8 hours by bus from Quito to Guayaquil, another bus to Santa Elena and then another to Montañita for about 3 hours more. Montañita is an adorable little beach town with lots of thatch roof and wooden huts as restaurants, hostels and whatnot. It's a haven for surfers and hippies. That amazing breakfast of Nutella pancakes with fresh strawberries and, yes, strawberry ice cream was savored at Hola Ola (why hello to you, too, Wave) and sent me swiftly into the first food coma of the weekend. The weather wasn't very ideal for frolicking at the beach, but we did our best. The difference between high and low tide was remarkable! We stayed at a beachfront hostel that had a 26 bed dorm-like setting in the attic...we chose a private room! We went out, danced salsa, pranced about in the ocean...it was a spectacular time! Here are some pics to liven up this bare bones commentary.