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Powerful Ash Plume
After a rainy night, the volcano was dusted with snow. Hard to believe the snow didn't melt with all the thermal activity -- a big boom emitted this dark plume.Spending time in Banos is never boring! After seeing Johanna off in Quito, I was ready for some R&R so I headed down for some Scrabble at Shana's. However, the past few weeks have been anything but relaxing. Mama Tungurahua, the volcano that’s located (as the crow flies) about 8 miles from Shana’s house, decided to kick into high gear.
It all started on May 26th when I was awakened around 6:20 am with my bed shaking and the windows rattling. I flew to the door, and managed to see what looked like red-orange lightning bolts shooting out from the crater (which fortunately faces the opposite direction from town!) The explosion was followed by a dense grey plume of ash, pushing the clouds aside as it spurted forth.
The next day I had a bit of a mishap. As I was setting off for town on foot, but my bulky backpack swung around and knocked over a sharp metal sculpture in Shana’s entryway. Thinking it had just bonked my ankle, I put an ice pack on it for a few minutes and then continued
Tunguraha Lava Display
On three separate occasions we saw breathtaking lava shows like this one. Many thanks to Adam Curtis for allowing me to use this photo, taken with his fancy camera! on my way. By the time I reached the BIB (Biblioteca Interactiva de Banos, the volunteer library where I was helping with a mosaic project), my ankle was bleeding and I realized I had a fairly nasty cut. After a soak in the hot baths the following morning, I made my way to the clinic to have my ankle looked at and to get a tetanus booster. The sculpture was made of rusty metal and I figured it had been at least 10 yrs since my last tetanus shot, so I had nightmares of lockjaw (not a diet plan I'd like to follow!)!
It ends up that the doctor at the clinic is also the head of the civil defense league, and while I was being poked and cleaned and bandaged, he was getting reports of a possible major eruption. Volunteers in orange jumpsuits began appearing for meetings and evacuation route arrow signs went up around town. That night there was a spectacular lava display (see the amazing photo taken by Adam Curtis, a volunteer working on the organic flower farm behind Shana’s house). During our daily Scrabble games, Shana
Clouds and Ashes
A swirling twist of fluffy white clouds was abruptly pushed aside as the volcano expelled a dense plume of grey ash into its midst. and I would be interrupted a dozen times an hour by the volcano's booming and shaking. Sometimes it made long, churning blender noises as if it were stirring its contents deep inside. Sometimes it sounded like a large explosion, at other it was like a loud plane flying low overhead. The deep rumble often felt like a vibration way down in my being. Often I would time how many minutes between thunderous booms or unsettling window rattles. Even though we were reminded every 5-10 minutes of the volcanic activity, it startled us each time! The guest house in Shana's garden where I sleep is situated above the carport and has wood floors. Both of these factors made for a swaying, reverb effect when the volcano rumbled & boomed. I would fly out of bed, trying to catch a glimpse of a lava flow and then my heard would be racing and it was hard to fall back asleep!
So, after a few days of high volcanic activity, Shana and I decided to take Maxi with us and sleep down in town in the volunteer quarters at the BIB. We could
"Ashid" Rain
When the shifting winds carried the volcano's ash plumes over the town, everything had an ashy dusting. Many people put on face masks to sweep up. still occasionally hear a big volcanic boom from up above, but it felt much calmer and more tranquil down below. One night the wind shifted and a light drizzle brought a large quantity of ashfall down into town. I awakened to find my truck coated with a find dusting of raindrop-patterned ash. Quite amazing! We were awakened early most mornings by the army and police corps jogging by, right outside our windows and chanting in unison as they marched/ran past. In the daytime Shana and I went back up the hill to visit the cat, fix our meals, watch movies and play more Scrabble, but for nearly a week we chose to sleep down in town.
On three separate nights when the sky was clear, I set off with truckloads of library volunteers to different vantage points and we were lucky all three nights to see remarkable eruption shows. From the antennas up on the hill across the evacuation bridge was saw huge chunks of burning magma tumble down the mountainside. As they flew and bounced, they broke into smaller pieces, sometimes lighting trees on fire as they descended. Viewing this
WOW! Would ya lookit that!
Heading out to different vantage points, the volunteers from the BIB and I marvelled in the awe of nature's power. We couldn't get a good shot of the eruptions, so we took this one of us watching it! display of nature's awesome power was both thrilling and terrifying. It was almost too frightening to watch it thru binoculars! But on the whole, the feeling of experiencing the awesome power and beauty of this natural phenomenon was more of excitement than fear.
One of the things I most enjoy in Banos (aside from Scrabble!) are visits to the hot baths. Lounging & swimming at El Salado thermal springs, located just a 5 minute walk up the hill from Shana's house, has always been a highlight. ALAS, these older, rundown baths are finally under major renovation and will be closed until October, SO - Shana and I took advantage of sleeping down in town to explore some of the other thermal bath facilities. The baths right in town, under the Cabello del Virgen (Virgin's Hair) waterfall tend to get very crowded with large groups of shouting students and truckloads of indigenous villagers arriving with their blow-up toys and splashing games. Sorta defeats the purpose of going to relax in the hot mineral waters. A few friends (who obviously had seen the cheesy movie, Volcano) asked me if it wasn't dangerous
Renovating Salado Baths
Alas, the hot baths near Shana's house won't be finished for another 6 months or so. Hopefully, it will be worth the wait! to bathe in the hot springs while the volcano was so active. NO - that scene in the film where the lovebirds were boiled alive was pure Hollywood!
Several times Shana and I drove a short ways out of town to the Santa Ana hot baths. They are surrounded by lovely gardens and there are nice views of green hillsides from the baths. There are nearly a dozen hot, warm and cold pools but during the weekdays (when we preferred to go to avoid the crowds) only a few of the baths were filled with water. The largest warm pool, which is perfect for swimming laps, was occupied by swimming classes when we arrived the first time. We asked about the class schedule so we could plan our next visit around it. As too often happens here in Ecuador, the employee didn't really know and didn't want to admit it or go out of her way to find out, so she just told us anything at all, giving us incorrect information. Of course when we next arrived swim class was going on again. Oh well!
Santa Ana Hot Baths
Shana relaxes in a hot pool, surrounded by greenery. She refers to the white-haired senior bathers as "the cauliflowers"! We followed the Geophysical Website, reading the Vulcanologists' daily reports. No one could know for sure what might happen - all they could do was present various possible scenarios. Town officials were trying to appear as prepared as possible, but there was so much conflicting information and incorrect gossip about "suggested" or "obligatory" evacuations and required participation in a "mobilization simulation" that the local population largely ignored what they heard. School was cancelled for a few days, then resumed, then was cancelled again throwing all the kids (and their parents) in a tizzy.
However, daily activities at the BIB continued as normal, with local children and adults coming for library time and English classes each afternoon and evening. On International Children's Day the library staff planned an afternoon of music, games, dances and fun. Ordinarily, they would have blocked off the street to have more space, but since Calle Oriente is an evacuation route, they weren't given permission to stop traffic this time.
Each Tuesday night I led the Intercambio/Exchange gathering. Usually 20-30 people showed up, almost half of them
Interactive Mural
In the children's classroom at the BIB, volunteers have created this fabulous mural. The house opens up to reveal rooms and furniture. There are clothes to hand on the human figures. native English speakers (volunteers, students and travellers). The local Ecuadorian participants were primarily students in the BIB English classes. I really enjoyed leading fun and educational activities where people could share their linguistic & cultural knowledge & experience. It felt good to be back in a teacher role, even in this informal setting. I realize that teaching is a part of me, deep in my soul, and always will be.
There's always something exciting and creative going on at the BIB. I love the "storeroom" of recycled materials which all get used for projects or one kind or another. Each afternoon volunteers coordinate art projects which relate to a given topic from the library books. Over 1,500 books have been donated and over 100 volunteers have shared their skills and creativity since the BIB first opened less than 3 years ago! It's a very special place and each time I'm in Banos I try to spend time helping out in any way I can. As I had done in the past, this time I brought down a truckload of "stuff" that had been donated by my friends in Quito for the
Arts & Crafts Supplies
Here's Bobby, one of the library administrators, posing in the recycled materials room. I love the creative use of empties and disposables. Plastic bottles hold bits and baubles. quarterly BIB Garage Sale. I was planning to stay around and help organize and set prices for the coming sale, but as the volcano's activity increased and more and more people evacuated from the area, it was decided that the Garage Sale fundraiser should be postponed.
At this point Shana and I decided to head up to her rented house in the valleys outside of Quito. We packed the animals into my truck and drove the 4 hours north. This time the kitty came along as well, much to her chagrin...she yowled and wailed for the first hour or so of our journey, until she finally fell asleep. Max LOVES to ride in the car and he was a happy camper, nose pressed to the window, sniffing out the little airflow crack. As we climbed the Andes, we marvelled at the beauty of the snowline of Cotopaxi, peeking out from below the clouds. Once in Quito I had a thorough cleaning done of the truck -- the back seat was embedded with dog hair! I stayed for a few days with Shana in her little house, helping Max get
Undersea Mural
My seashell mermaid found a permanent home as a part of this whimsical mural. I love to watch the kids touch each fish and shell. accustomed to his new environment, taking him for walks in the ample garden and urging him to make friends with the other dogs who live in the large, multi-residence compound.
One day Shana, Lupe and I went to lunch at a unique restaurant located just up the hill from her place, Casa de Rafa. Rafa is a Swiss guy, raised in Quito, who has emulated a trend that is sweeping Europe (but has not caught on as well in the US). We lunched in an underground cavern in total darkness, served by blind waiters. In the absence of the sense of signt, the other senses are heightened and all sounds, smells and textures seemed exquisitely fine tuned. I ordered the "surprise meal" so I had to figure out what I was being served. It was a singularly delicious experience, in every sense
For the last few days before meeting up with the volunteer engineers, I had to take care of some administrative stuff. I had been trying ot reregister my truck for nearly a year, wanting to change provinces so I wouldn't have
Lunching in Total Darkness
This passageway is the descent to the pitch black underground chambers where we were served our meal by blind waiters. to deal with Guayaquil traffic hassles. Well, I finally had to admit that the guy in Banos who'd been trying to help me (since last year!) SO, I bit the bullet and hired a guy in Quito who knew what he was doing. In the end, he had to drive my truck down to Guayaquil and back (7 hrs each way) to effect the necessary paperwork. The Banos fool only succeeded in digging up some old stuff about the vehicle from before I bought it, and in the end I had to pay a drunk driving fine for the owner who had the truck before me. SO RIDICULOUS. OK, I won't go on and on about it, but let me just say how STUPID and CORRUPT the whole system of vehicle registration is in this country. I don't even want to tell you how much I ended up having to pay out.
While my truck was zipping north and south throughout the country, I hung out at the home my friends Dean and Debbie Rule. I've stayed at their lovely home a number of time when in Quito, and this time
Max & his Baby
This knitted figure was Chaco's favorite baby. I rediscovered it while organizing my stuff. Maxi loves it and I love seeing him cuddle it. I slept in their daughters' old room (all three of the girls are now living back in the US). Debbie says she's going to call me Goldilocks because over the years I've tried out most all of the beds in their playhouse, guest house, and main house. One night Dean and Debbie had to go to a meeting and Debbie thoughtfully put in a movie for me to watch in their absence. Seeing how much I was loving on their 12 yr old Golden Retriever, Woody, Debbie said I have just the film for you to watch. Based on a true story, Hatchi is a sweet, tear-jerker of a film! While I was hanging out, watching the film I felt a mild earth tremor and the sound of the planes taking off and landing made me think I was under the volcano again!!
After spending a couple of afternoons helping the son of a friend of Dean and Debbie's to write an admissions essay and review his oral Engish for an interview at a new school, I set off to meet my next group of volunteers. In the end, one of the Engineers
Maxi & his Kitty
It's so sweet how they cuddle up together in Max's bed. If the Babazikit is already curled up, Max carefully lies down so as not to disturb her. They keep each other warm! got a high fever from his innoculations and couldn't travel so the group ended up coming a few days later than planned....in fact, as I finish typing this sentence I'm headed to the airport to meet them. Stay tuned for the next blog entry about yet another visit to Malingua Pamba with the Engineers Without Borders!!!
Thanks for reading! Drop me a note -- I'd love to hear from you!! Be sure to scroll down for some more photos of amazing mural art in and around Banos, as well as some streets scenes. I do love Banos and may end up living there more permanently in the not too distant future...but I'll keep you posted on that after I return to Ecuador in the fall (China in July and Calif in August!!) I do love the thrills and unknown turns of my life!!!
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Jack and Pam
non-member comment
volcano and meal in the dark
Weenjoy these entries. Thanks for sharing them with us. The volcano story and pictures are great. The meal in the dark is hard to imagine. So it is a fad in Europe too! These two events are, in a way, opposites of one another.