Robert, Me, Santiago, Laura, and Pastor - compañeros forever
Airports are not really that romantic. Part II
Airports are not really that romantic when you have a security guard telling you that once you go past this door to just check your bags you can’t go back, therefore cutting the goodbye period really short.
Leaving Ecuador was a bit tougher than I would have imagined 2.5 months ago. We didn’t just travel in Ecuador. We freaking lived in Ecuador and we made so many lifetime connections with different people. Now the question is… when will we be able to go back?
The Final Countdown
And we are back in Quito!
Baños was amazing! It´s a cute touristy town surrounded by huge mountains and waterfalls. There is plenty of outdoor adventure stuff to do, but since Laura and I had only one night and one day in Baños, we decided to stick to the thermal baths, which is the reason why Baños is called Baños. What I really liked about the town was all the graffitti art on the streets. It is definitely a gorgeous town.
Now QUITO! It is weird being back in the capital of Ecuador. It was only 2.5 months ago, Laura and I met Peter from Great Wilderness and Santiago from FONMSOEAM in the Quito airport. Man, we were so cute back then. I remember asking Santiago on the second day what is a typical Ecuadorian dish. Little did I know that I would be stuck eating only typical Ecuadorian food for the next 2.5 months. (Well there was the occasional pizza and shwarma from Atacames.) We were also much paler and a bit chubbier. I can´t believe tomorrow, we will be boarding our plane back to the United States.
Los Serranos
Laura and I just arrived in Baños after +7 hour bus ride from Cuenca!
Cuenca is a beautiful churchy town in the Sierras. I am a sucker for cobblestones and churches. It definitely reminded me of a small town in Spain or Portugal. However, Laura and I were not prepared for the cold. I am so used to walking around in shorts, so it was a bit of a shock wearing jeans again. I had to buy gloves for my poor cold hands.
This morning, we caught a bus to Baços which is further north in the Sierras. It was a long bus ride, but at least we saw wonderful views of the Sierras. It feels like we entered a different country. The people of the Sierras (Los Serranos) look and sound different than the people from the Northern Coast. Ecuador may be small, but it is very diverse.
I left my heart in Esmeraldas.
Laura and I finally made it out of the Esmeraldas region yesterday. We completed our internship in FONMSOEAM and now we are finishing our time in Ecuador by visiting other Ecuadorian cities. We are currently enjoying our time in Guayaquil, one of the biggest cities in Ecuador. It is famous for it’s Malecon (Boardwalk) that was constructed in 2000. It’s a beautiful town with lots of shopping centers. It is kind of weird drinking cafe lattes for around $2.00. We have been used to drinking instant coffee for $0.40 or less. It is also weird that we finally have warm showers and wifi. Oh the luxuries. But I must say that I do miss Esmeraldas and the people. Yesterday at the lighthouse, an Ecuadorian from the Sierras asked us where we were from and we proudly said that we’re from Esmeraldas. Then he was like, but you guys are not black. Eh.
<3 Esmeraldas
In about a week or so, I will be leaving the Esmeraldas province of Ecuador to travel around other parts of Ecuador before heading back to the United States. Man… I am going to miss this place so much.
I will miss riding on the back of pick-up trucks. I will miss dancing bachata, salsa, etc. I will miss eating empanadas made out of platanos. I will miss going to the beach. (Oh coastal life) I will miss wearing shorts. I will miss the campo life. I will miss nights in Atacames. I will miss the Esmeraldeños. I will miss eating pastel de mana.
And of course… I will miss the amazing team of FONMSOEAM.
P.S. This song is always on the bars/discotecas. hehehe
July 16th - July 18th Minga en Palma Real
The youth from the community of Palma Real, Bunche and of course Laura, Peter, Rocio and I spent our weekend constructing a ramada (hang out spot) and a botequin (small pharmacy storehouse). We weren’t able to finish the whole thing, but we got a good head start.
P.S. New favorite Spanish word —> MACHETEAR. to machete someone (or something).
Female Farmers
Last Tuesday and Wednesday, I was finally healthy enough to go back to the campo to do some more inspections. We were gone for only two days, but we were able to meet up with a lot of people.
I personally love the community Límon because most of the farmers are strong single females. Even the president of the community is also a strong single female. Machoism is definitely a problem in Ecuador. There are even TV ads against machoism. One of FONMSOEAM’s goals for the future is to have at least 30% of their associated farmers be females.
