Blogs from Central Highlands, Centre, Ecuador, South America - page 2

Nov 29th I woke up at around 8am for a quick breakfast and headed straight back to bed, there's a long day ahead. At 11 we were fitted by our guides Jose and Nueto (Milton). The gear includes crampons and ice picks. After the fitting we started our drive to Cotopaxi and stopped for a quick chicken foot lunch. Protein! The drive into Cotopaxi was long but the park definitely stands alone. Three Massive mountains surrounding a plateau that dwarfed us in comparison. We crossed rivers and streams as we climbed higher and higher. Clouds soon appeared overhead followed by rain and then snow. It would best be described as a scene out of lord of the rings. As the terrain steepened the 4x4 we were in began to have problems with its gears and cut ... read more

JULY 15. GUARANDA. 2500m. PARQUE SIMON BOLIVAR. PEOPLE WATCHING. TIME TO KILL. "Took advantage of a straight believing town, tore the bandage..look who is bleeding now" -SILVERCHAIR I said goodbye to Latacunga and jumped on a bus to Ambato where I would make a connecting bus to Guaranda. I had no intitial plans on visiting Guaranda but it was on the way to Guayaquil and it also appeased my new found desire for getting lost in small mountain towns. Although my collective bus experience may as yet be limited to three bus rides, if there is one trip I would recommend it would be the journey between Ambato and Guaranda. Spectacular views and compelling interactions between the locals. The most interesting aspect of this trip for me though was observing the sometimes subtle and often dramatic ... read more

Ultimi giorni a Salasaca.... Molto lavoro tra lezioni, scuola e biblioteca. Belle giornate in compagnia di nuovi e vecchi volontari e locali... amici. Finisce la scuola.... e io me ne vado... per il momento. ... read more

Ancora Salasaca... un viaggio pigiati pigiati in un minibus fino al chimborazo... un week end di pura farra in Baños... tanti momenti a scuola e all'hostal Pacchamama ... read more

Sumak Kawsak Yachay: Salasaca, Ambato, Tungurahua Tre settimane a Salasaca e voglia di fermarsi ancora. Qui ci sono una scuola - che tenta di insegnare ai ragazzi in kichwa, spagnolo e inglese - e una piccola biblioteca con tre postazioni internet gratuite'per gli studenti. Robert (from Pasadena, US) ha 77 anni e ha deciso di prendersi cura della scuola quando si é trasferito qui dal Messico. I volontari vanno e vengono nella splendida casa dell'hostal Pachamama: prima eravamo dieci adesso siamo 5: Germania, Scozia, USA, Canada, Inghilterra, Irlanda, Belgio, Italia... domani chissá: I bambini sono splendidi e si cerca di offrire loro qualche cosa di diverso dal normale sistema educativo ecuadoriano: ma quante difficoltá! Cayacama... read more