Still volunteering

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Another week has passed in this lovely paradise of Alto Choco, in good company with people from all over the world.
This week we have done exhausting work: chopping wood with machetes, transporting rocks, soil or wood; as well as interesting work: reforestation, making lokal bags, watering the worms, learning how to make tortillas fritas, milking the cows, making beds, treeclimbing and horseback riding. So you see - you don't really get bored here!
The week passed enormously fast an for the WE we went to Apuela, the "center" of the mountain region close to Otavalo, after a hard good-bye to some of the volunteers. Saturday night there was supposed to be a great party in the school of Apuela according to the local volunteer coordinator Milton. We went there quite early and to our big surprise we realized that it was a local beauty competition where three 14-year-old girls put on a show to win the honourable title of Miss Apuela. The show took ages, it probably seemed longer since we didn't understand, and the animator just did never stop talking. It was so long that me and AnC fell asleep, sitting on the floor next to eachother. But when the music started we all got tons of energy and danced all night long. It was quite soon clear that we were the "dancing queens" of the fiesta, and the day after the people of the village said hello to us and asked us if we liked the party, and especially the dancing :o)
People here are just so friendly - if you say hi, they are very glad to greet you back, but if you don't - they will just leave you alone. Beleive me - that is a great thing when you have been travelling latino countries for a while :o)
The day after we trekked a little bit in the mountain and then we hitch-hiked (no worries - with a local guy that also works at the volunteer station) back to the camp. It was such an awesome experience. The back of the camionette (a pickup) was quite big and the driver friendly, but liked to drive fast. The ride was very bumpy and dusty and random stops along the way to pick up or let off people, to take or leave goods or just for a chat were part of the journey. Kids on the streets wave and small children on horses accompanied by dogs run after us. And in all of this mess, we also had to listen to Spanish campfire songs going "a ricciticcitamba...". Unforgettable.

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