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Published: July 17th 2006
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World Cup Mania
The locals in Quito celebrating their win over Costa Rica! We arrived in Ecuador the night before their historic World Cup win over Costa Rica. The match was screened at 8am local time and after they secured their place in the next round, Ecuador erupted..... There was singing and dancing in the streets, drums and music, and eveyone, even the busdriver, wore their country's colours. That afternoon, we were wandering around Quito, visiting the stunning Plaza de Independencia and other such picturesque plazas and choice churches, when we found ourselves in the middle of one such impromptu party. We were soon adopted by a few local lads, held 'hostage' and forced to dance and party-on with the Ecuadorians!
From Quito, we headed to Portoviejo. It's not an attractive town by anyone's standards so I therefore have no pictures to post! However, we were not here on a site seeing mission. As some of you will already know, the sole reason for our trip to Ecuador was to met Yandy, a little 6 year old boy whom I have been sponsoring and corresponding with via Plan International. After 3 days of Grimsville, the date finally arrived for us to meet Yandry. Plan International, the charity organisation, met us and took us
Quito
One of the many exqisite plazas in Quito, Ecuador's capital city. to his home in a village about 30 minutes away. As soon as we walked in, he planted a kiss on my cheek and gave me a hug! Within minutes, he was calling me 'madrina' (godmother) and became his 'padrino's' (Garry)
little shadow for the day! We gave him, his brother and sister a kids backpack each filled with toys and sweets, and little Yandry turned to us and said, ''I had a dream you would bring me a backpack and now it's come true''....We spent the morning playing football with him and his friends on the dust pitch next to his house; he sported his new Arsenal kit that we had brought him with pride (West Ham had sold out of kids kits, obviously) and at every opportunity, Yandry's mother Maria would feed us on classic Ecuadorian food such as Ceviche (a raw fish dish) and emmense amounts of rice and chicken. During the afternoon, Rene, the representative of Plan International, took us to see some examples of the work they have carried out in this community, such as the building of Yandry's school and local health care centre. Most importantly, water has been brought into the town, something
Yandry's Family
They were really welcoming and wouldn't stop feeding us..... we so take for granted yet this is still seen as such a huge acheivement in this community. The local women I spoke to were so appreciative and praised Plan International for the developments.
Yandry turned out to be the sweetest little boy - really affectionate and so proud that we had taken the time to visit him. In fact, he showed us his family photo album where he had stuck our photo for safe keeping! He also virtually knew the letter I had written to him word for word. When the time came for us to leave it was quite heartbreaking as the little boy cried as he didn't want us to go. The visit was amazing and it made me realise how much good the donations are doing for this place, and surrounding areas, and that the sponsorship means as much to the sponsored children as it does for those that sponsor.
From here, we headed up the coast to a chilled-out surf town called Canoa where we stayed in a fantastic hotel overlooking the Pacific. The town was so small that when we needed a cash point, we had to take a 30 minute bus ride
Meeting Yandry!
This is Yandry in his new football kit to the next town and then catch a small ferry boat to the other side of the bay....!
Then it was on to Otavalo, a predominantly Indian town popular for its' famous artisans market where the locals sell their paintings, carvings and weavings. This was also the place we watched England knock Ecuador out of the World Cup. However, instead of being lynched, the locals (who were all out dancing in the street despite the defeat) all shook our hands, and Garry spent the day with some market traders drinking beer and singing Ecuadorian songs!
From here, we headed south. After another night in Quito, we arrived in Baños, a small town frequented by both Ecuadorian and foreign tourist who come to enjoy the town's natural hot springs produced by the active volcano which looms overhead. In fact while horse riding in the mountains, we could here the volcano rumbling like the loudest of thunders. Baños is also popular for its' close proximity to the start of the jungle so we took a full day tours with a guide and trekked through the Amazon. It was an outstanding day - we learned about the medicinal purposes of many
Meeting the neighbours!
This is us meeting the locals at the health centre, which Plan International contributed towards. of the trees and plants and even got to try a naturally produced face mask that the locals swear by. After a few months of travelling, anything which promises a clean face is worth a try! We also got to swim under a natural waterfall called Hola Vida, which is well-hidden deep within the jungle. After trekking for some time through thick jungle terrain and wading through clear, fresh streams, we took a very sketchy looking canoe down the river to meet our guide, who had decided to go by car (?). As the canoe took off down stream, it slowly began to fill with a couple of inches of water, so a German guy on our boat had to bail the water out of the canoe using a plastic bottle - I am glad he had a use, anyway.
On the way out of the jungle, we stopped off at a community of 70-odd indigenous people, whose families have resided in the area for hundreds of years. The community even had a Shaman (a witch doctor) to cure their illnesses and perform ancient ceremonies which they still hold sacred. A truly interesting, and thank God, snake-free experience!!!
From
Sing when your winning (drink if you lose)
Garry and his friend, Ricardo, the day of England's win over Ecuador. Baños it was south to Riobamba, the starting point of the popular train journey known as the Devil's Nose, a series of tight switchbacks built out of the mountainside. We sat on the roof and set off at 7am, watching the sunrise as we snaked through stunning sierra landscape where the local farming families came out to wave at us as we threw lollies to the children. We finally got off at a small town called Alausi and the following day we took yet another bus to the charming colonial town of Cuenca, where after a brief site seeing walk around town, we contracted another dodgy stomach bug and spent the following day in our hotel!
We ended our Ecuador tour in Vilcabamba, a valley down south where the residents live well in to their hundreds due to the superb climate - it is one of the top three valleys in the world for longevity, the others being in Russia and Pakistan. We spent a week in a luxurious hotel - spa called Madre Tierra (Mother Earth), eating organic meals and generally being pampered with massages and facials. It was a great way to recharge our batteries and prepare
Hola Vida Cascada
Swimming in the waterfall in the jungle. for the road trip back to Peru.....and another series of bone-shaking buses that lie ahead.
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Jess & Tim (THE KIWIS FROM MACCHU PICCHU)
non-member comment
WOW!
Hi guys Looks amazing, and what an amazing experience meeting your sponsored "son" and family! So glad to hear you are having a great time still! We are in Mendoza, drinking great wine and eating copious amounts of fantastic steaks, muy bien! Off to Santiago tomorrow for a few days skiing hopefully and then onto tropical fiji for 5 days before arriving in NZ...for good!! Keep in touch and good luck with the rest of your travels, we hope to see you again in NZ (Blenheim) Cheers Jess and Tim