Hola from Los Noranjos, Ecuador!

The Tsachila men get down and dirty with a spot of arm wrestling!

Life continues to be interesting as we finish our first week of volunteering in the rainforest. We’re living in the smallest of the seven Tsachila communities, also known as los Colorados for their bright red hair, dyed with a berry called achote. Our wood plank cabin is open air with plenty of spaces for mosquitos to buzz in and bother us but luckily we have mosquito nets for our beds. It’s a small sacrifice to pay for the exquisite surroundings that come in the form of lush vegetation, bright flowers, and exotic birds. This week we finished helping with the construction of a classroom for the local school and will start a new project next week. In the afternoons, we got to help collect ‘gusanos‘ (a type of grub) from a rotting tree, eat said grubs, plant corn, pick oranges, hear traditional Tsachila music on the marimba, receive ‘cleansings’ to ward off sickness and bad spirits, relax in hammocks, and enjoy the company of the cheerful and friendly families who feed us and welcome us into their homes every day.

All in all, a good start to the next two weeks!

The Ecuador Summer Team 2011 x