This past week has been, by far, the best week I have had in Ecuador so far.
Last Monday night, all of the exchange students in Portoviejo met up, got on a bus, and traveled all night long to Quito, where we then took a plane, and then a canoe to a lodge deep in the jungle where we stayed for 4 nights.
The place we stayed is called Yachana Lodge. It is part of an organization that also includes the Yachana Foundation and the Yachana Techincal High School, which is amazing. The high school is for indigenous or mestizo kids from all over Ecuador. It is a private school, which usually means that the students have to pay to attend. However, in this school students are only required to buy their uniforms, which are brown-colored tshirts from the school. All of the costs are covered by profits from the Yachana Lodge and private donors. Since the high school is in a pretty remote location, the school schedule is a bit different- students stay at the school for 21 days and then return home for 21 days. While staying at the school, they are responsible for everything themselves- the school is pretty much run by the students. In the morning, students do different activities- they are divided into groups such as agriculture, livestock, recycling, artesania, and basic cleaning around the school. Each morning when we were there, we helped out the students. One morning, we cleared an area for reforestation with machetes. Another, we (well, not me) killed chickens for lunch, and then took out all of their insides and chopped them up for cooking! We also helped dig a small pond where they will eventually raise fish. It was really neat talking to and working with the students there- they have SUCH different lives, and it’s really interesting.
In the afternoons, we did various activities- one day we went to a shaman to be ‘cleansed’. I’m not sure it worked for me though- I went home with about 10 million more mosquito bites than I came with. Another day we floated down a section of the Napo River. Another we went for a hike in the Yachana reserve.
We left Yachana Lodge at 8 on Saturday morning. After another 3 hour ‘canoe’ ride (actually just a long skinny river boat), and another 30 minute plane ride, we arrived in Quito. On the way from Portoviejo to Quito, we rode in two van sort of things- we were 19 people, so we fit perfectly. On the way home, however, some people stayed in Quito with their families, so we were less people and it wasn’t worth it to rent another whole bus. So, our chaperones tried to get a couple of bus or plane tickets. Since it was just at the beginning of Carnaval, though, there were NONE available. So, four of us ended up traveling across the country in taxi. The drive was absolutely gorgeous.
We arrived in Portoviejo at about 10 p.m., and so I unpacked my dirty clothes, filled my duffel bag with all of the clean clothes that I had, and went with my friend Leslie’s host family to the beach for Carnaval!
Leslie and I spent Sunday night, all day Monday, and Monday night in Crucita, the closest beach to Portoviejo. Crucita is not know for being especially good for carnaval, but we still had a lot of fun. During the day we went swimming, and then went walking along the ‘malecon’, the road that runs alongside the beach. One of the things that people do during Carnaval is throw water, spray foam, and whatever else they want to on people walking in the street. Leslie and I thought it was absolutely hilarious, so we walked back and forth along the road until we got too tired to do anything at all.
On Tuesday morning, we went to San Clemente, which is known for being a wonderful place to celebrate Carnaval. We met up with a couple of other exchange students and spent the day relaxing. At about 7 at night, we went to find something to eat, and I ended up staying out all night long. There was one street there that was absolutely stuffed with people. The sides of the road were filled with small stands selling beer and stands set up by discoteks playing music. So, the streets were filled with people dancing and drinking. In order to walk through the streets and stay with the people you were with, you had to hold hands, and weave one by one through the mass of people. It turns out that drunk people like throwing water and beer on people even more than sober people, so by the end of the night, I was completely wet, and stank like beer. It was surprisingly amusing though, and we spent a good part of the night walking back and forth through the streets. At about 7 a.m. we went swimming in the ocean (in our clothes), to get the smell out. We ended up going home that morning, where I added to my pile of dirty clothes, and then took a good long nap.
I am now without any clean clothes, VERY sunburned, and still exhausted. It was, without doubt, the best week I have spent in Ecuador. Funny, isn’t it, that only about 1hour of it was spent in Portoviejo?
Since my camera is not working, I plan on stealing all of my friend’s pictures from the Amazon, so I will post those soon.
