Ama la Vida: Loving life in Ecuador

filed in Ecuador on March 12, 2013

Quito's sloping hills - a home from home!

Walking around the tourist areas of Ecuador, it’s not hard to find bracelets, keychains and other merchandise adorned with the phrase “Ecuador: Ama La Vida”, next to a spiral prism of colors that has become their logo. Ama La Vida means Love Life, and traveling around Ecuador, it’s hard not to. From the busy sloping hills of Quito to the still-indigineous corners of the rainforest, Ecuadorian life provides as many unique atmospheres and experiences as are represented in it’s trademark prism. This past weekend, Anna and I checked a couple tourist attractions off our last-minute Quito to-do list, and now the group has been reunited in the colorful beach town of Montanita.

Bonding with indigenous T'sachila in the jungle!

From any point in Quito, you can look up and see a statue of the Virgin, called the Panacia, on a hill in the middle of the metropolis. The statue can be quite a controversy in Quito, it’s back is turned to South Quito, a notoriously impoverished region, and is the basis for a famous Ecuadorian movie named A Tus Espaldas, “To Your Backs”, which depicts life in South Quito, where even the famous Virgin’s back is turned to them.

The Leapers turn their backs to a volcanic crater lake

Anna and I went to visit the Panacia this weekend, and got a close-up view of the statue. It has demon-like creatures and claws coming out from the bottom which we are sure are meant to symbolize something, but have not yet taken the time to riddle out. To complete our To-Do List, we braved some very steep ladders at very high altitudes to climb to the top of the Basilica in Old Quito, where we saw some tremendous views of the city from the windy towers of the old church.

Balancing in the equator - Quito

After a 9 hour bus journey on Monday and a 3 hour bus today, this morning the group finally arrived in the much-anticipated Montanita! Here we have an opportunity to do a little relaxing, lounging, surfing, shopping, good eating and enjoying of the great nightlife. 5 days will be just enough time to stock up on souvenirs, get tan enough to make everyone at home jealous, and wind down from an intense 2 months of volunteering before heading back or, as with some volunteers, carrying on to the next leg of our journeys.

The sunrise 'survivors' celebrate on Montanita beach

Whatever the plans each of us has for the rest of the year, we will all be feeling quite sad to see the group break up in less than a week from now. One thing’s for sure, we all never forget the wonderful experiences we had and the amazing friends we made in Ecuador, and how we learned to Ama La Vida.

Rachel (Leap Business Intern, Ecuador Jan 2013)

Message from the Hart – Emily’s Leap

filed in Ecuador on July 30, 2012

Our lovely Leaper, Emily, has managed to find some spare time between galavanting with all the wildlife in the Galapagos to send us an email on how she has found being part of the the Ecuador Summer Team. I think it’ fair to say she has been enjoying herself:

“So far I’ve been having a fantastic time and one of the biggest surprises has been how good the accommodation is. I loved the hostel in Quito so much! The couple who ran it were so friendly, the woman didn´t stop smiling! And their little dog was the best part of going down for breakfast! He had a different little coat on each day! So cute! The hotel in Otavalo was really beautiful and the beds were very comfy! The Hacienda Tranquila is definitely the best place I´ve ever stayed! It´s so exciting that we get to go out and pick our own fruit and veg to eat! And being able to chill out on hamoks after a hard morning working is just bliss! The beds aren’t the most comfortable and the spiders in the rooms are terrifying but it´s definitely worth it!

Emily (middle right) and other Leapers taking a break from the work

Another surprising thing on from this trip is the great friends that i have made since being here. When it came to separating to go off to the Galapagos or to the rainforest it was quite sad! Already looking forward to reuniting in Montanita, although I don´t want to leave San Cristobel either! I thought the work would be a lot harder than it is too. Not that the work we´ve been doing isn´t hard – it´s just that we have fun while doing it so it really doesn´t feel as tough as it is! Also I didn´t really know what our guides would be like, I was expecting a strict boss-like figure, but Miguel and Alejandro are just awesome! They have been really supportive whenever we’ve needed anything and so far Giovanni, the Galapagos guide, has been just as helpful.

Rennovating the old building in Chilcapamba was the kind of work I expected to do while there. The constant sanding, plastering, painting and repeating did get quite tiring and boring but we entertained ourselves (and the local builders I think!) by singing songs, so the time went quickly! Last Friday at the Hacienda we had the morning playing with children from the local community and showing them around the Hacienda. Though the language barrier isn’t a big deal, I do wish I spoke some more Spanish so I could understand more of what the kids were trying to say to me. Today we’ve been using machetes to cut down blackberry bushes, and harvesting coffee which has been fun work too. This Galapagos phase is definitely more chilled out than the Otavalo phase as we have more time to relax between the morning and afternoon and in the evenings because we don´t have Spanish lessons here.

I´m absolutely loving my time here and would recommend it to everyone! It´s gone so fast I can´t believe I only have 3 weeks left! I know that when it comes to leaving Ecuador I won´t want to go!”

Ecuador 2009: Alan’s Blog (The Final Countdown)

filed in Ecuador on November 9, 2009

(To the tune of “The Final Countdown” by Europe) Ba ba ba baaa, ba ba bup ba baaaa.

I guess that it´s just about time that this blog starts to wind itself down. I don´t think that this will be the last post, but we´re getting close. Unfortunatly, I will be home on Tuesday night (well, not 100% unfortunatly). I am excited to see my family and my friends, but it will be a bummer leaving Ecuador. I feel significantly different now than I did when I wrote my first blog post. I feel more cultured, stronger, and slightly more proficient at Spanish (maybe slightly more than slightly). We´ve all had the times of our lives down here and it will be a sad day when the group has to go our separate ways. Laura and I are flying home on the 10th, Ben is heading to the Galapagos for a week, and Jenny and Andie are traveling for a week or two on their own, perhaps heading down to Peru!

Montanita

We´re officially done with our volunteering! (Cue applause). We´re actually in Quito for the afternoon waiting to catch an overnight bus to Montañita, a surf town on the southern coast. Everyone´s excited to go out big this last weekend and Montañita is the place to do it. There´s going to be great surf, lots of sun, and lots of clubs with gringos and locals alike. Needless to say, Montañita can´t come fast enough.

Hitting the beach in Montañita

Soon to be us!

This last week we´ve been taking it pretty easy. We finished our playground last Friday, so we´ve jusy been doing little jobs aroung Chilcapamba recently. On Monday we went to the local cemetary for a holiday celbrating the locals´ancestors. Everyone from the surrounding villages dress up nicely and mosey on down to their relatives graves to pay respects, leave offerings of flowers and food, and tidy up the graves. We spent the day walking around the town and people watching. On Tuesday we spent the day making bread. Then, on Wednesday, we helped Alfonzo build a new fence at his house.

Also, on Wednesday, a very important mystery was solved. The house we´ve been staying at has an assortment of livestock: guinea pigs, pigs, chickens, and some dogs. Twice a day, once during breakfast, and once when we´re about to go to sleep we hear the sound of pigs dying–they are increadibly loud and then they all stop at once, when they realize that their friend is dead. Well, it was actually just the sound of Alfonzo feeding the pigs. For three weeks we all thought we were hearing pigs dying twice a day…

Well, hopefully internet in Montañita won´t be horribly expensive : )

See y´all soon,
Alan