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Blogs from Ibarra, North, Ecuador, South America
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Tuesday, June 28 & Wednesday, June 29
Published: July 13th 2011South America » Ecuador » North » Ibarra
July 13th 2011
Last day at the clinic. Though I honestly didn’t see myself as too much of a help there, I was gladly surprised by how sorry everyone was when they found out I was leaving. It was nice departing the hospital with Dr. Cárdenas, a wonderful pediatrician with whom I spent the most time with, telling me that should I ever return to Quito I always have a friend who would be happy to see me. He also wished me the best of luck in all my future studies. Tuesday was also moving day! The family moved from the first floor of the apartment house, to the second floor, and most of the day was spent working on hauling all the items and rearranging rooms, etc. The move was great for the family, who received an extra ... read more
June 20th 2011
A few of the other volunteers brought extra medical supplies and toys for children to donate, so today marked a work/sightseeing trip. Mariana, Lucho, four other volunteers and I set off first to Otavalo to visit Paige who was working at a day care there. We arrived a few hours later at a small village, bumping and bouncing as we drove slowly up the rocky road to the school. About 40 kids between the ages of one and five greeted us with smiling faces and muddy hands. They flocked around us as we were shown the various school rooms and art projects that littered the tables. As we went back outside to a slight drizzle they couldn´t be happier to have pictures taken of them, waving enthusiastically to the camera and jumping in the mud and ... read more
Carnaval in Ibarra, weekend in Intag & Copa Libertadores
Published: March 19th 2011South America » Ecuador » North » Ibarra
March 18th 2011
Hi folks! I've had a busy couple of weeks since my last blog and have managed to see a lot more of the northern highlands as well as a trip to the cloud forest in Intag which is quite possibly the most spectacular scenery I have ever scene...and I thought Scotland was green!! The weekend of 5/6th March was "carnaval" weekend in Ecuador which basically entails lots of drink, lots of music, lots of dancing and lots of kids running around throwing water and shaving foam at each other (as well as at poor, unsuspecting foreign types!) I took a trip up to the colonial town of Ibarra, a beautiful town nestled in the northern highlands at the foot of the Valle (Valley) de Chota. Ibarra and Valle de Chota are populated, in the main, by ... read more
August 8th 2010
Before heading to Pusir for the last day we stopped at an open air market in Ibarra. A few of the people went to get office supplies while Dwayne, Danny, Fernando, Paul and I went for some electrical fixtures. This stop was unlike previous stops because we had the chance to all pile out of the bus and explore for about 45 minutes. Dwayne needed some film for his camera so Fernando took us over to a nearby electronics shop. I managed to catch my first glance of the news in almost a week and I saw images of Russians running around with gas masks on and bombs falling from planes. I just figured we were missing the apocalypse but didn't really care because I was too preoccupied with being in Ecuador. Once we got the ... read more
August 7th 2010
After a sleepless night I saw the sun come up this morning. I was still suffering through sweats and chills so I decided to skip breakfast. I did figure out a cocktail that helps if you happen to get sick in Ecuador: 4 Advil 3 Anti-Diarrheal tablets 2 Dramamine Lots of water Take all at once and then walk around very slowly the rest of the day. I decided to go ahead and head to the village because I never really suffered from severe diarrhea or vomiting and I figured what else was I going to do? I really didn't feel like hanging out in my room all day. By the time everyone was ready to board the bus around 8:30 I was doing better and grabbed my camera bag and headed out to meet up ... read more
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Rolling with the Punches in Ecuador
Published: August 13th 2010South America » Ecuador » North » Ibarra
August 6th 2010
Our second day in Pusir was quite eventful, to say the least. We had made our usual round in Ibarra, picking up some wood for the nursery and water for the day. About 30 minutes outside of Ibarra white smoke began billowing up from underneath the bus as we were climbing a hill on the Pan American highway. Paul pulled off to the side of the road and Fernando said it might be a good idea if we all got out while they diagnosed the problem. As we unloaded our belongings Fernando and Paul crawled under the bus. Keep in mind we are on the side of the Pan American Highway and huge semi trucks and buses are roaring past in both directions. As we are all standing along side the road a police truck pulls ... read more
August 5th 2010
Before leaving Ibarra for the Chota Valley we made several stops for supplies. This gave me a better sense of the urban layout of Ibarra and of the residents. Like all other places in Ecuador I had seen, Ibarra is a city in constant motion. Cars are bumper to bumper, people are everywhere either waiting for buses or walking quickly along the sidewalks. Even on the drive from Quito to Ibarra one rarely gets a sense they are in the countryside due to the numerous little communities and clusters of old apartments and homes that are scattered along the Pan Am Highway. We stopped for water and a few supplies that would be used in the Chota Valley that first day. We finally got on the road around 10:00 and arrived in the Chota Valley around ... read more
August 4th 2010
The first morning in Ecuador was cold. The temperatures had hovered around 40 degrees the night before and the morning was cool. This was a nice break from the 103 temps we had left behind in Kansas City the previous day. Dwayne and I met up with the rest of the group at breakfast. After the introductions and greetings, the first thing I was told was to try the orange juice. There was a glass of a slightly off color orange substance sitting at my place. I picked it up and took a drink and it didn't taste anything like orange juice. However, since I didn't yet know the sense of humor of the group I drank it and said it was good. Jeff, who I had just met said, "Really!?!?" Apparently this was a drink ... read more
July 14th 2010
From the coast we did a marathon day of bus rides, into Quito and out again to Ibarra, 3 hours north. We found a small city, fairly clean, pretty well run, lots of trees planted and the first night we found our way to Cristo de la Calle, or Christ of the streets. It was founded 12 years ago by a priest and 2 social workers, and they poured themselves and all their resources into helping kids in desperate circumstances. Eventually the church disagreed with the social focus of the priest, and they parted ways. He left the priesthood, and is now married with 3 kids and continuing to put his devotion into the program. They help nearly 200 families, and run 4 houses, each of which is set up in as much of a family ... read more
