What can you do with 240 coke bottles, a big pile of sand and 10 Ecuadorian 4 year olds? The answer is, build an eco-friendly wall, as we discovered during our final couple of days in Chilcapamba – apparently Alfonso saw this technique being used in Costa Rica and so we helped to build the first pop bottle wall in Ecuador (as far as we know), and rounded off our Andes experience nicely!

Tupac models the wall made of coke bottles- the very first in Ecuador (we think!)

The night before we left the Andes phase, the Morales family suprised us with a treat of guinea pig for dinner (mmm what a treat!) followed by Ecuadorian music and dancing, as a thank you for all our hard work. It was a shame we hadn´t known about it as we were all in our pyjamas and I was braless..! Despite this, the music was very impressive and we all enjoyed dancing with the band (effectively just jogging around in circles), although I wouldn´t advise taking part in an Ecuadorian dance when you´re not feeling very well – I discovered this when I had to run out at the end to be sick. But all in all a very good night! The following morning we said an emotional fairwell to Chilcapamba and the Morales family. Alfonso gave us a little thank you speech alongside the president of the village and I have to admit I had a slight tear in my eye! It was only as the truck was leaving to take us back to Quito that I realised exactly how much fun I have had, what an experience… we really were sad to leave. On to the coast…

The house we are staying in here is pretty cool – it has been built for volunteers out of wood so we get a lot more space and privacy than we did at the Morales house. It feels a little like camping as the beds are matresses on the floor and there are even bats living here with us! The toilet is a compost toilet cubicle outside so there´s no flushing the chain… just covering over with sawdust, it´s amazing how strange it feels to leave the bathroom without flushing the chain! Water is also limited here so we are only allowed one bucket of water per day (cold of course) for a shower, but we were all suprised how far this goes!
We all had high expectations of Caimito, and it isn´t what we expected – the work, the weather and the sense of community (or lack of) have all disappointed us, and this week has been a real low in our trip. Caimito is literally in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do except visit the beach, which would be great if it wasn´t pouring down with rain and 45 minutes walk to access via a path which can only be described as a mudslide! We are helping the locals to finish a school classroom, so our jobs have been moving the materials (dirt) to mix cement, sifting dirt and filling in a ditch (with more dirt). Not so fun in the rain! And once we´ve finished work at 1pm, we have the whole afternoon free, with nothing to do but read and play games. Still, hopefully the weather will pick up next week and we can trek down to the beach in the afternoons.

On the bright side, we´ve spent a great weekend in the beach town Atacames, where we have enjoyed Western luxuries like pizza, unlimited water and internet! Not to mention the place is full of life AND the weather has been great, so beach time has been absorbed to the full. We are all determined that our second week in Caimito will be more exciting!