Climbing Imbabura Volcano

On my second attempt at the 15,157 ft Imbabura volcano overlooking Otavalo, I made it!

I referred some of the high school volunteers (the same group helping me with English classes) to my host brother Vinicio, who regularly guides tourists up the volcano. I decided it was a great opportunity for me to go, having gotten lost and not made it the time Kent and I tried to go a different route. The others welcomed me along, and at 5am this morning we all piled in to their pickup truck and headed to Ibarra. It took about an hour to reach the trailhead. We had bread and hot tea that Vinicio had brought for all of us before snapping a few photos and starting up the trail.

The morning light slowly revealed the Andean landscape above Ibarra.

By about 7am, the sun had turned the fields a deep golden color.

Vinicio, Shereef, Ben and Hyde (stretching) were my hiking companions.

Eucalyptus trees lined the path for the first few hundred yards.

The patchwork of fields are typical of the Ecuadorian sierra.

The path was very steep most of the way, passing through the “pajonal” or grasslands.

We got some gorgeous views of neighboring Cayambe volcano, which according to Vinicio is almost always covered by clouds.

As we continued gaining altitude, the inside of the half-crater that forms the summit came into view.

Ben rests and looks over the valley floor.

Resting at the midway point, we could see Cotacachi and Otavalo.

It was really windy up on the ridge.

Some of the views during our ascent made me dizzy.

We were really tired when we reached the summit at about 10:30am…

…but happy!

It was the highest mountain I’ve ever summitted, and I loved it.

To top it off, there was a gorgeous sunset when I got home to rest and wash my socks. Just another day in Ecuador.

Cuicocha, Castillo and Caminata

A few weekends ago I hiked with Jaime, Ida, and my Colombian friend Ricardo around Laguna Cuicocha, a gorgeous crater lake about 45 minutes from Otavalo.

It took us 4 hours to make the full circuit. The weather was as nice as I’ve ever seen it up there, and we got some great views of the lake and the surrounding countryside.

Ricardo lives in Pasto with his German girlfriend. We became friends 3 years ago when I was studying in Quito and he was a squash trainer.

Last time I tried to hike around with Paul and Kent, it was completely socked in so we turned around a third of the way in. This time it only sprinkled a bit then broke into patches of intense sun. Some teenage Ecuadorian boys were mountain biking the trail with a jug of Cola in tow, which looked pretty formidable to me.

Meanwhile back at the ranch preparations were already underway for the "entrega de castillo", or turning in the castle. As best I could understand, this is done to promote sharing between communities and to celebrate the bounty of the harvest. Once we got back from hiking, Ricardo and I helped tie dozens of bananas, oranges, grape bunches, homemade rolls, and boxes of wine to large wooden lattices, making the castillo. We made two since we had been given one last year--I guess tradition demands a double return.

The garland of "uchu", or red chili peppers was put on the castillo as the finishing touch.

My little niece Ayriway only cracked a smile after extensive tickling.

Cousin Rolando is a national level track runner.

We entered a big field dancing in circles with the castillo to the beat of our very own band--my host dad and uncles playing the guitar, harmonica and flute.

After what seemed like an hour of dancing, we turned in our castillo and watched other groups arrive dancing.


My aunt and baby Kindi, with some of the wildest, most inquisitive eyes I've ever seen. He's kind of afraid of me but I think we're becoming friends.

Summer English classes have been going well, with over 80 kids showing up each day. Luckily I have some high-school volunteers from the US to help me out. I teach the advanced level, and nine of them teach the other three sections.

Last Friday we took the kids on an adventure to the sacred Lechero tree, picked up trash, and hiked down to the Peguche waterfall for a picnic lunch. We had a blast and all the kids made it, despite the long hike uphill.

It’s amazing how far the temptation of cola and empanadas will carry kids…

...even the tired ones.

Some of the boys were very squirrely, running ahead or climbing the sacred tree.


Over 90 of us were there, but some were messing around or refused to be in the picture. All in all it was an awesome "caminata", or walk.


On a sad note, my dog Mingari was run over on Monday morning. I'm especially sad because she was so happy and full of life, and took care of the little puppies like they were her own. At least she enjoyed the short life that she had.

Fortunately, aside from a few sad things that have happened recently, I'm enjoying work and my host family a lot. Through the castillo and other cultural events I partipate in because of them, I'm learning a lot about indigenous culture. My good friend Kelly is working in Quito for a few weeks, so I went to visit her on Sunday. It was great to catch up after so long, and we'll be hanging out the next few weekends. Hasta pronto,
Lorena

Midnight Bathing Ceremony

Last weekend my host family took me on a crazy and unforgettable adventure: ritual bathing at midnight in a "hot" spring to celebrate the festival of Inti Raymi. The purpose of bathing at midnight in this vertiente, as they call it, is to purify yourself and make your body strong and resistant to illness. I refrained from sharing with them my thought that being wet and outside at midnight in the coldest month of the year might actually invite sickness. Around 20 of us--my family and all of their cousins, aunts, uncles, friends-- piled into the back of a big truck at around 11pm, my sisters assuring me that we were going far, far away and that I'd better bring my pillow. No more than 15 minutes later, the truck stopped.

I was confused, but followed everyone else as they climbed out of the truck and started along a path into the woods. Carrying candles, we descended muddy switchbacks into a valley. I was told that if I didn't gather firewood along the way, I'd be charged admission. I knew they were just kidding me, but I gathered as much firewood as I could carry anyway. I began to think that there would be a lot of people where we were going, and wondering what exactly they meant by "bathing". Was this going to be a freezing cold stream? Would I be told to whip myself with an ortiga nettle? Would I really be invincible to illness afterward?

When we arrived at the bottom of the switchbacks, we were in a pasture-filled valley bottom. Only a few yards away was the spring, bubbling and steaming. Sweet, I thought, this isn't going to be freezing and miserable after all. Even better, we built a huge bonfire and sat around it on benches.

Meanwhile Santos, my host dad sprinkled rose petals around the edge of the spring and in the water too, preparing the ceremonial area. He called us all over, and we stood contemplating the dark forest we had come from as he chanted in Kichwa. He got into the pool and blew several long, deep blasts from the conch shell.

Then they said it was time to get in, so I changed into my suit and came back with my towel. The air was chilly but I thought it would make it that much nicer to get into the steaming water. One by one my cousins and sisters and uncles waded out to the middle of the pool, and Santos poured water over them from the conch, sprayed water from his mouth onto their faces, backs and arms, shook dry leaves over them, and sent away any bad energy with a big whoosh from his mouth.

I watched several people go before me, getting cold but excited for the hot water. Finally I put my foot in, and discovered that the water was only slightly warmer than the air!

Yikes, that discovery called for a cigarette. Actually, smoking the cigarette was part of the ceremony, along with "wine" that tasted like rubbing alcohol mixed with grape perfume.

When it was my turn, the water wasn't too bad, and I felt myself if not literally then at least emotionally cleansed. This was like the start of a new chapter, the summer months. No more runny nose and homesickness (I hoped).

Not everyone bathed-- Estela and Pacha preferred to hang out on the edge and watch. Margarita and Cristina, two of our cousins, were there for moral support.

Brr, time to warm up by the fire.

No sooner had I gotten out of the pool, it started raining. The dry eucalyptus leaves provided a short furious blaze, then fizzled out. Then it started pouring. We gathered our things and scurried up the switchbacks to the truck. By the time we got home it was 2am--the perfect time for chicken and potato soup!