Leaving Otovalo

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Sadly, tomorrow is my last day in Otovalo after just five short weeks. I´ve really enjoyed my time here, met some great people, my family could not have been nicer (yes, even the alsatian, bless him!) and the kids at the school are just incredible.

Yesterday was my last day at the school, was quite emotional sying ‘Adiós’ insteas of the usual ‘Hasta mañana’ as I left. Many of the kids had made me cards and little letters saying don´t go, we love you, please come back, etc, which was so touching. Had a little ‘moment’ saying good-bye to a couple of my favourites, so sad.

Way too many stories to go into, but a few school highlights from the past month...

• Heads, shoulders, knees and toes in the playground (see pic)
  
• Buying pencil cases for the kids, as they just kept their pens loose in their rucksacks. They liked them so much they tied them round their necks and carried them everywhere!
  
• Teaching 'What´s the time Mr Wolf' to a horde of screaming littlies
  
• Blowing bubbles in the playground - caused a riot, with the entire school (including the older ´cool´ kids)
  
  Heads, shoulders...

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  knees and toes, knees and toes! Teaching the kids English in the playground - top fun!
  charging around trying to catch them!
  
• Showing two 8 yr old boys how to play noughts and crosses, then sitting back and watching them happily play against each other, neither spotting any of the potential lines!
  
• Providing skipping ropes, which turned into the new craze, we even used them in PE!
  
• A stray dog running off with Josefina´s rucksack, me heroically retrieving it and returning it to returning it to the tearful little girl
  
• Practising writing the letter ´ch´ over and over with a little boy who just could not get it. Next day he shyly turned around in class and proudly showed me a giant ´ch´ perfectly written in the back of his notebook!
  

My last weekend was pretty eventful. I climbed the giant volcano, Imbaburra, on the Sunday (4,600m, about the same as Mont Blanc). It was pretty tough, the air is really thin up there and it´s difficult to catch your breath. It took 4 1/2 hours to get to the summit, the last 3 hours of which we were climbing in cloud - it was wet, cold, v steep and only about 20m visibility. Sorry, but if I´m gonna expend that much effort I expect a nice view. By the time we got to the top I was pretty fed up, we got there posed for pics in a damp fog and headed straight back down. So I can say I´ve been to 4,600m, but I´d have been much happier sat at 3,500m in a warm sunny meadow waiting for the others. I guess I´m not one of those ´because it´s there´ types, more a ´because it´s real pretty´ types!

The day before was much better, I went paragliding with another volunteer, Benjy. This is where you jump off a mountain attached to a parachute (we did tandem jumps so each had an instructor with us). It was incredible, just amazing! I loved it! We had perfect wind, as soon as the sail caught it was jut two or three steps and we soared straight up in the air! We flew around a hill and out over a lake screaming excitedly and waving at each other! We had about 15mins in the air, floating up to 900m over the lake below! Landing was very simple, you were supposed to walk as you landed, but I forgot (oops!) and collapsed in a heap
with my instructor landing on top of me!! :-) I couldn´t stop laughing though and just got up and hugged everyone I could see! Very cool sport!

So now I´m off to the Galapagos, and turns out I won't be alone! My ex, Al, was supposed to be deployed to the Gulf but the day before he was due to go he had to have his appendix out and so was stuck at home. I half-jokingly suggested on Monday that if he was feeling down he should pop down and visit, and he has! He booked the flight on Wednesday for the following day, is coming to Otovalo this evening to meet the family, see the sights, etc, then tomorrow we go back to Quito for the flight to Galapagos! Completely mad! I´m still a little stunned that he's actually gonna turn up in a few hours time, but am really looking forward to seeing him and will be very cool to see the Galapagos together.

Have stacks to do before I go, including replying to a long string of emails, so if you're wondering why you´ve not heard from me, I´m sorry, but you are on the list, please keep in touch and keep them coming. But next week won't have any internet access, so you may have to wait a little longer for a response.

OK, that's it for now, be in touch post Galapagos.

Hasta luego todos!
Y Adiós Otovalo!

Ciao,
Ali
xx

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