Chantal Otavalo
I was living in Principal, Ecuador from Jan. 26, 2007 - April 25, 2007, living with my husband's family. Principal is a small village in the Southern Andes about 2 hrs. from Cuenca and 13km from the jungle. sambal
I will be in ecuador again from August 12, 2007 until February 12, 2008.
Traveled in Guayaquil, Ecuador July 7-14, 2008.
Will be traveling again to Ecuador Jan. 12 until March 12. Going to Guayaquil, Principal, Cuenca, Santa Rosa, Salinas, and Galapagos Islands!!
Travel Blog Posts
April 6th 2007
Principal, Ecuador Apple Festival The party began at 9 am with music, a parade with floats from each barrio. At 10 am was the election of the Queen of the Apples. At 11 am, there were performances from dance groups from each neighborhood. The winner of the contest was a group who danced with chickens and guinea pigs it was very interesting and hilarious. After the dance, we lunched at Mercy's "restaurant"I had Chicken, rice, menestra, and fries all for $1.25. For some reason Mercy has a hard time understanding my accent, and After I had ordered the chicken, I changed my mind and wanted ceviche, but she gave me chicken and Ceviche. Jose ate the chicken for me. At dinner, I asked for "One fish, No Rice" which is "Un Pescado, No Arroz", but she ... read more
March 30th 2007
Bad luck today. Jose and I went fishing this afternoon in the river with poles made out of bamboo. We tried fihshing line and a hook and tied a rock on as a sinker. Jose lost his line. I lost the hooks and had to backtrack up the mountain, over the bridge to the first spot we made the poles, looking for two tiny little fish hooks. Jose found them, but then got his pole snagged on a rock and lost it. So no fish. We walked to the trout farm, but they are not selling fish right now because they are too small. The big ones they do not want to sell yet. We went back to the house bummed cuz we really wanted to eat fish today. We told Joses mom then Jose ... read more
March 29th 2007
Principal, Ecuador I could not sleep all night because of the pig, and we did not buy it today because its been raining all day. I was also dreaming of our future house in NY. What am I going to do? If it is less than a year for Jose to return I will wait in U.S. If it is more than a year, I will return to Ecuador. I am very excited or anxious, hopeful, etc. for our future. I imagine a house with a lot of land. Having a swimming pool, chickens, pigs, and cuys. I see the inside of the house full of sunlight, music, and laughter. I see a garden where we grow vegetables. Finally, beginning our life together in a more permanent way. Part of me wants to stay in ... read more
March 27th 2007
Principal, Ecuador Today we woke up and had a quick breakfast of eggs, chorizo, and rice. Then we went to Gausal to do some planting. The walk to Gausal takes about an hour. It used to kill me, but now I enjoy the exercise and Jose tells me that I walk much better than I used to. When we arrived, we began to plant broccoli, cauliflower, red cabbage, carrots, beets, onions, lima beans, radish, beets, squash, lettuce, garlic, and grass. The grass is for the guinea pigs. Jose and I walked to the stream to collect water in 2 buckets. Jose was thirsty so he put his whole face in the stream like a cow. haha. Then we went back to use the water to wet the seeds. I'm paying close attention to our work ... read more
March 26th 2007
Principal Ecuador Guinea pig, is called Cuy, and it is an Ecuadorian delicacy. It would be a sin to leave your vacation in Ecuador without trying it and I had the privilege of helping prepare it from start to finish. Read on for all the details... WARNING: not for people who are grosed out easily! :) It was a huge, white guinea pig. First, Mama broke its neck and then hung it upside down in her hands to let the blood drip out of its mouth and onto the dirt floor. It was a slow death, as it squirmed silently. When the blood had been reduced to a very slow dripping, she laid it in a big bowl and dumped a pot of boiling water onto its squirming body. This made it easier for her ... read more
March 22nd 2007
Yesterday there was a party at the Health Clinic for the community of Principal. It was a health fair which offered free health care for everyone. Free vaccinations for children under 5 and for dogs and cats. There was a bone density test for osteoporosis. I took the test and passed, but the doctor still gave Jose and I a prescription for Calcium. I met an American girl named Anna. She is in the Peace Corps and is visiting until Friday, then going back to Carambe, which is her training site, and then April 21 she is coming back to Principal to live for 2 yrs. and take over for Mateo, who is going to work in Quito. Anna and I hung out together all day. We both won at Bingo at the same time ... read more
March 21st 2007
Principal, Ecuador We haven't had power in the village for 3 days now, so we have been staying with Jose's parents because they have candles. Right now, we are in Gausal working on the garden. Jose's mom is cooking over a fire making rice, chicken, and chicken soup. I really wish I had taken a picture of this, but I still do not have any batteries for my camera. Plus, it rains once a day everyday in Principal and Gausal. So, she has 2 sticks on each side sticking up from the ground, and then one long stick going across the two, holding up the three pots. My job is to fan the fire with a diamond-shaped straw fan, and To add more wood when necessary. Jose, Pipo, and his dad are working on the garden. ... read more
March 18th 2007
Principal, Ecuador Sorry, I don't have any photos of the party because my batteries died. I haven't written in a few days because I was sick with a cold. Today Jose and I woke up at 4:30 a.m. to go to church. Every Saturday, until Easter, church is at 5 a.m. After church, Jose and I went to Gualaceo to buy things for my beauty class. We didn't go to the computer because Jose had a soccer game in the afternoon and we did not have time. We had lunch at my favorite restaurant in Gualaceo, La Costeña. I took a long nap when we got home because there is a party tonight in celebration of St. Joseph's Day (San Jose). It is a church holiday and I don't really understand who St. Joseph is. Later: ... read more
March 10th 2007
Principal, Ecuador We intended to wash our clothes in the river today, but as usual it is raining. I might wash them in the house later. Jose is still at war with his parents, and I am trying to stay out of it. His mom was complaining that he sleeps all day, and pays marbles all day, eats for free, and the house is like a restaurant. Well, its not really true cuz all we eat is rice and Jose paid $30 for the bag of rice. And everytime we return from the city we bring a chicken, cilantro, or a bag of avocados. We don't have a kitchen in our house, so we can not cook. I say that if Jose wants to sleep or play marbles instead of working like a slave, he ... read more
March 9th 2007
Principal, EC Everyone went to Gualaceo yesterday, but I was sick and nauseus, so Jose stayed home with me. I laid in his parent's bed watching a movie. Jose brought me some chocolate Amor cookies and a bottle of Manzana soda. When everyone came home from the city, they were angry because they went into the kitchen and no one had cooked dinner. Jose said they made an angry face and Jose said to me, "come on lets go". Jose said we were not going to eat there. So we went to the store and bought 2 breads, 2 tomatoes, and mayonnaise. Jose took a knife from his mom's house and we made tomato sandwiches for dinner. So, we just stayed in our house and played cards and listened to music. It was actually a lot ... read more
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