Lakes and Dams

---

Some of you have probably been hearing more about the volcano in the news lately. Volcán Tungurahua has been more active as of late. We are in no threat, as Puyo lies upwind of the volcano and is more that 60km away. However, the increased activity still comes with its inconveniences to Susan and I. Peace Corps has officially declared Baños and the road through Baños as off limits. This means that to go to Quito we now have to travel through Tena, turning a 5 hour trip into a 9 hour trip on a road far more dangerous (due to landslides). But, safety is safety and PC in Quito knows better than the actual people who live in Baños and have experienced the volcano for their whole lives.

We got our first taste of this gruelling trip last week. We were headed to Quito on Thursday for our mid-term medical exams and to pick up my cousin Shelly at the airport. We got a call from PC that afternoon that we could not take the road through Baños. This was especially frustrating since we had planned on going to Quito with Andrea in her car. Instead we got on an 11pm bus and headed to Tena. We arrived in Tena, just missing the 2am bus to Quito so we waited for the 3am bus. We waited in the bus station and were at least able to watch a National Geographic show on human-eating snakes. Being the biologist that I am, I was intrigued despite being sleep deprived - perhaps that is why I was so interested, who knows? We got on the Quito bus - Susan quickly fell asleep while I spent time looking at the back of my eyelids without getting sleep. At 5:30am the bus was stopped by the Police who made everyone get out to show the contents of their bags and their identification. We had no problems there - thank god Sue put the contraband in her dirty underwear. It is funny what they choose to check and not check - had we actually had any illegal stuff, we could have left it on the bus on our seats and nobody would have been the wiser. Efficiency I tell you, it is a beautiful thing.

The rest of the trip to Quito was uneventful, except for the rain, which prevented us from seeing any mountains or a good sunrise. We finally arrived at 9:00am and headed to the PC Office. We filled out some paperwork and then went to the dentist to get our teeth cleaned. Neither of us had any cavities and the dentist didn’t say anything bad, so I am assuming that we passed the check-up.

After the dentist we had a brief medical exam at the PC office. They checked out BP, asked a few mental health questions, looked at our charts, updated our shots, and called us healthy. I did have to get another Hep.B vaccination. They gave me one four months ago, failed to write it down, and then didn’t believe me when I said I got it the day that they gave everyone else their shots. We all received two shots that day - they wrote down giving me the first, but not the second. I think I would know if I received two, oh well, they said getting it twice wouldn’t hurt me - I disagree, the shot did hurt, it has preservatives in it - OUCH!!!

Susan had a date with the gynaecologist so I stayed at the PC office doing some errands and a little work on the computer. Later in the afternoon, we meant with our APCD (director of our program) about the upcoming training for the new volunteers. Both of us are going to help out with this training so we did some pre-planning.

At 5:30pm we finally left the office and headed to our hotel to check-in. We were both exhausted from the trip and the long day. We showered in a nice hot shower, ate a snack, and headed to the airport to meet Shelly.
Shelly seemed to arrive with little problem. I was slightly worried since she speaks no Spanish and was carrying some equipment I had ordered for CODEAMA. If customs were to stop her and ask her why she had an electronic balance and a humidity probe she wouldn’t be able to explain it and it might raise red flags. No worries though, the equipment and Shelly made it through customs.

We headed to the hotel, let Shelly settle in a bit and then went to find a place to grab a bite to eat. We stumbled across a really nice restaurant (expensive though) and settled on eating appetizers and drinking wine and beer. After that, we were all exhausted and returned to the hotel to get some much needed sleep - afterall, we had a big weekend ahead of us.

The next morning we enjoyed a light breakfast at the hostal and then went to the Peace Corps office to store some of our things in our PC locker - this would permit us to travel light. We then walked up to the main North/South highway to catch a bus to Otavalo. After 20 minutes of waiting and not seeing any through buses, I decided to call the company to find out what was going on. We discovered that all the buses are now using a different route through Quito…..so we took a $5 cab ride to the other side of town, caught a bus, and went to Otavalo.

I had promised Shelly that while on the bus, she would get her first taste of Ecuadorian music. Instead, we had a Queen Latifa movie about NASCAR and a 70´s/80´s cd mix of music. The music was actually pretty damn good - I’d like a copy of that mix. However, no Ecuadorian music to speak of whatsoever.

We arrived in Otavalo around 1:00 and checked into the hotel. We then headed to the huge Saturday market (biggest in South America). Of course Shelly and Susan were giddy with the prospects of buying all sorts of handmade jewellery, scarves, sweaters, etc. I only had my sights on getting a nice hammock (which I did).

We spent the afternoon wondering around the market. By 5:30 we were tired so we made the wonderful decision to buy a couple of bottles of wine and return to the hotel for some lively conversation. We kicked the first bottle and then went to dinner. We found a restaurant that had an indigenous Kichwa band playing and somehow knew this was the place for us. Soon after we sat down and ordered, the band finished playing and the place cleared out. I think it was Shelly that scared them all away, maybe Sue too.

After dinner it was back to the hotel for the 2nd bottle of wine. The hotel is a nice place run by a former PCV from the 60´s (more about him later). The hotel has a small room with a fireplace so we naturally chose to socialize in there. There was a group of three Canadians (a father, his daughter, and her boyfriend) already in the room enjoying cheap scotch and wine. Normally, I find Canadians to be modest and enjoyable folk, but I think we got Canada´s worst. The father was a complete a-hole. Once he found out we were volunteers he started saying things like: what skills does a volunteer really have to offer, it is a waste of resources, etc. etc. When we told him that we were 33 and about our previous jobs he attempted to change his tune, but did a poor job of it. What I really wanted to ask him was: so what is Canada doing to help out - as far as I can tell they are sending their a-holes abroad as part of an in-house a-hole cleansing process. But you see, I’m not that type of person. I just bit my tongue and decided not to trades wits with a witless wonder. The guy kept telling us about the fact that he’s been to 32 different countries and that he has a successful wine business in Canada. Seriously he said this about 100 times - neither Shelly, Susan, nor I took the bait by asking him about it. His daughter and her boyfriend were much more tolerable. They had purchased an old Toyota Land Cruiser in Canada, put a diesel motor in it, and were driving from Canada all the way south to the tip of South America and then back again. They were 18 years-old - adventuresome I would say. So to any Canadians reading this blog - please understand that I will not let one arrogant, conceited, Canadian speak for the rest of you. Please keep enjoying your Canadian beers, your hockey, and your beautiful country to the North.

By midnight I had all I could take so I retired to our room and fell fast asleep. Susan and Shelly were not far behind.

The next morning we headed to the hamlet of Catacocha to check out the leather-goods market. The town itself was extremely clean and the shops were more European-like than we expected. This town is known for its leather - and it didn’t disappoint. You can get leather coats, purses, hats, belts, etc. etc. I am not a leather fan, however, I really respect the fact that everything is made in this town. Most of it is very trendy stuff. We went into about 20 different stores before we had exhausted the town and ourselves. So, we grabbed lunch and headed back to Otavalo.

When returned to Otavalo, Susan wanted to nap, Shelly wanted to explore, and I wanted to explore and look for a DVD shop where I could get a few movies - namely the Harry Potter movies. I figure at age 33, it is about time I grasp my inner youth and start reading the books and watching the movies. I’ve read books one and two and will start the others as soon as I trade books with another volunteer that has them. I went to nearly all the DVD shops in Otavalo before I stumbled across one that had what I was looking for. I purchased the first 4 Harry Potter movies and two other movies for a total of $6.50 - don’t tell the FBI - I am now in possession of illegally copied videos. The quality of these videos is excellent - I was surprised - they are direct copies from the original DVD’s.

In the process of seeking out the videos I was able to take in all of Otavalo. It is a nice town and definitely worth a day of exploring. Shelly said that she wondered around all day enjoying herself. By late afternoon we decided to have a little more wine while sitting on the roof of the hotel relaxing in hammocks.

Afterwards, we went to dinner at an Italian/Mexican Restaurant which was fine according Ecuadorian standards. After dinner, Shelly made a few phone calls to the States - while we waited for her, Sue and I met some random Ecuadorian on the street - he was very nice and offered to set us up with a taxi in the morning to take us to Lago Cuicocha for a nice hike. When Shelly got done with the calls, our friend too us to the town center to hear the municipal band play a concert.

When we returned to the hotel, the owners were down by the fire so we joined them. We came to find out that the owner was a former PCV in the 60´s in the former construction program. He was from Cleveland and is married to an Ecuadorian. The two of them were genuinely nice people and we enjoyed talking about Ecuador, the States, Peace Corps, and politics. He apparently goes back to the States on a yearly basis to do construction work and the like.
The next morning we ate breakfast and went to find our friend and his taxi. We had to negotiate the taxi fare - which is a royal pain in the butt - I can respect their need to earn a living, but when you know the real costs associated with the taxi, it is bitter being offered Gringo prices and having them act as though they are doing you a favour. We negotiated a price of $16 to take us to the lake and to pick us up later in the day. The driver didn’t say much on our trip out until we mentioned that we were PCVs. At that, he became a totally different person. He started talking about volunteers that he know and kept mentioning a volunteer from the 60s named Peter. He loved Peace Corps and had nothing but positive things to say. It really made me feel good about what I am doing. That a volunteer 40 years ago had such an impact that people still remember him and talk about him as though he were still there doing things to help the community.

The weather for our hike was horrendous (cloudy and wet), but we hiked anyhow. It was a 4 hour hike around a crater lake. Once the clouds cleared on our final few minutes of the hike, we realized just how beautiful the place was. The hike itself was constant up and down. The trail was nice and well marked, but that didn’t prevent us from completely exhausting ourselves. Shelly had the worst of it - 1) she is not acclimated to the altitude 2) she didn’t wear her gortex jacket 3) she was wearing hiking sandals. So, she had to stop frequently during the climbs (so did I though), she was a little chilly, and when crossing a muddy patch she managed to get her feet and socks completely submerged in thick gooey mud.

We had to call the taxi driver to tell him to give us another hour since we were running late. When we finished the hike we had a quick lunch at a restaurant on the lake and then headed back to Otavalo to grab our things and to head back to Quito.

Once in Quito, I grabbed some stuff out of our locker and headed back to Puyo. Susan had to stay in town for an e-business workshop and Shelly was going to explore Quito and find some information on jungle tours.

When I went to the Quito bus station, I had a decision to make. Do I take the Tena bus the long way back to Puyo or break the Peace Corps directive and go through Baños. Hmmmm……well, the Tena bus left minutes before I got to the station and the next one wouldn’t be for another 2 hours. The Puyo bus was leaving in 30 minutes. Now, I can’t tell you what I did - who knows what powers are reading this blog - but I can tell you that at no point was my safety in jeopardy. I got home late at night and instead of going to bed, decided to watch one of the Harry Potter movies. Needless-to-say, I was tired at work the next morning.

That morning, I caught up on my e-mails and some work related stuff, then headed to the Casa de Cultura (Cultural House). Andrea and I have organized an Environmental Film series for this month. This morning we were showing a kids movie about saving an owl from extinction. Over 180 kids came to the movie and it was a huge success. Later that evening we showed a documentary on the Galapagos - not too many showed up, but I think it was an issue of time - the movie started at 8:00 - most people are at their homes by then. Last week, we showed an Inconvenient Truth. The translation was poor and we did a poor job of advertising it, so we only had about 15 people show up. Next week, we’ll be showing Erin Brockovich - this should provide a decent turnout. We also show the video CODEAMA made about the water fund and watersheds. It’s short 5 minute film (I’m in it though, so I’ll be expecting an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor). Too bad I don’t speak in the video - though that is probably all the better.

Yesterday I went out to an indigenous community with a volunteer fried of mine (Jason) from Tena. We went to analyze a problem they were having with their fish ponds. Jason does a lot of work with fish farms, so I thought he could help out with his expertise. The community has 14 ponds, however, none of them are working because they currently have no supply of water. Naturally we said the problem with your ponds is that you don’t have water - fish like water. They didn’t really understand our attempt at humor. Anyhow, the problem is that the dam they built to supply water for the ponds was completely destroyed.

Apparently, the community received funds from the government two years ago to build the dam to supply water for drinking and for the fish ponds. Unfortunately, the government gave the money, but offered no technical support - this meant that the community had to design and build the thing on their own - recipe for disaster. Thank God, New Orleans doesn’t lie downstream of this dam construction. Anyhow, they did their best to construct a cement dam based on pictures they had seen. This lead to a dam wall that was about a foot wide with no anchor supports. The dam broke three months after building it, they repaired it, it broke again, they repaired it, and then it completely ruptured a month ago when we had all the flooding around Puyo.

Now, I don´t know much about dams or dam construction, but I do give a damn about the dam in this community reliant upon dams. So with the little dam knowledge that I have and the dam knowledge that Jason has - we agreed assist them in the construction of a new dam that should be damned good as compared to the old dam that was damned from the beginning. We will need a dam plan and dam laborers to construct a dam that will not be damned. It is about damn time for this new dam to replace the old dam so that the fish can live in their ponds supplied by dammed water and the people can drink the dammed water too.

So the plan will be to use earth bags to create a dam wall. Naturally, I’ve been exploring the internet and other sources of info to ensure that we engineer this dam well enough that the people will not have to replace it again for a very long time.

The people in the community were extremely kind to us. They kept referring to us an Inginero (Engineer). I kept looking for the train, but it didn’t come. Anyhow, this is the type of secondary Peace Corps project I’ve been looking for. One that will leave a community better off and will enable them to improve their lives in a meaningful way.

They fed us Tilapia (local fish) and gave us some jugo (juice) made from formerly dammed water. This means that I can expect some digestive fun in the next few days. But, you can’t refuse the food and drink they offer you. It was a kind gesture and one that I received with the utmost respect. Before we hopped back on the bus, I showed the kids a few tricks with some pennies that I had in my pocket then let them try to do the tricks - it was hopeless, but we all laughed and had a good time.

That night, Susan was headed back to Puyo from Quito and Shelly was headed into the Jungle for a 5-day jungle tour. Susan did choose to take the long way back through Tena so she got home around midnight. I went over to Andrea´s last night for a dinner party with Pablo, his wife Jessica, Karina, Yadira, and Andrea. Andrea just got a Raclette - which is an interesting device that has a grill on top and individual cookers below. The concept is like fondue - very communal eating where everyone cooks their own stuff. It was fun and a great way to kill time before Susan came home.

It is Friday now and I am looking forward to a nice weekend with my wife before she heads back to Quito for another workshop.

Ciao for now,
Jeremy

---

Photos

Church in Catacocha
A church in the quiet leather-making town of Catacocha - the town recently won an environmental award from Dubai - Interesting!?!

Lago Cuicocha
A cloudy view of the crater lake during our hike around it.

Eerie trail
The foggy day provided many walks through eerie clouds.

Shelly and Sue after a climb
The trail was up and down the whole way at over 11,000 feet. Naturally, we were winded and sweaty.

Well-marked trail
Hard to get lost on a trail marked like this.

Lago Cuicocha again
Another view of the lake as the clouds were clearing.

Shelly and her muddy feet
Sandals, socks, and mud don´t go well together.

The Damn Dam
Total destruction of the dam.

Fish pond without dammed water
No water, no fish, no income, NO FUN!!!