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Published: August 2nd 2008
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Hi everyone! I´m going to start this entry off on a very sad note. I just found out that my good friend, Natalie Gordon, passed away in a car accident on July 24, 2008. I am so sad that I could not attend the funeral or that I could not be there to support her family and our friends in this time. I´m sending out my condolences to everyone she loved and who loved her. Natalie, rest in peace, I love you and miss you so much and will never forget you!!!!
Okay, so I´m not really feeling so great about writing this blog right now, but I´m gonna try.
I´ve just finished my fourth week at the reserve, and I cannot believe how fast time has flew by! So much has happened in these last two weeks and I have no idea where to start. So, last last weekend, a bunch of us came into Quito to do the usual (internet and laundry) and to spend the weekend with Jay (who was leaving on the Monday). We found this restaurant called the Mongolian grill, which had this all you can eat and drink special for 12 dollars. This turned
out to be an interesting night, especially for the servers there, because the all you can drink part included ANY alcoholic drink that they had. Holy ship. We spent a good 4- 5 hours there. I don´t think they´ll ever let us in again. After that we went to yet another bar, where it was themed after the beatles. I mean like only beatles music and posters EVERYWHERE. hilarious actually. Played Jenga and drank some beer till 2 am. Jay was awesome and I really miss having him at the reserve. I think a lot of us would agree when I say that he really added to the soul of La Hesperia. Anyways, so somewhow we managed to catch a bus from Quito back to the reserve and got there late Sunday night. Had to walk up the mountain in the dark, which is actualy quite creepy in the cloud forest. Missed most of dinner but we got some rice and soup in which was good enough for us.
Work at the reserve is hard to explain in a few words. Some times its just insane, and sometimes its more chilled and laid back. My first two weeks there consisted
mostly of reforestation, where we´d have to hike up the mountain to the reforestation area carrying hoes, hole diggers, and trees. On those days we had to pack lunch and carry it up with us. Reforestation is crazy, because we´re basically trying to climb up carrying all the equip and machete down trees and hoe and plant on this insanely steep slope, bout 70 degrees. Not exaggerating. Almost ship myself when Walter (one of the staff) pointed up the mountain, took out his machete, and started chopping through jungle. The point, is to cut lines through the forest, about 3m in width and about 100 meters up the mountain. The area we reforestate in looks like junge and is extremely dense (and muddy, since it rains every day there at 3 pm), but most of it is actually just overgrown farmland. So we have to clear lines through it and then plant the trees (that we grew in the nursery) at 5m intervals all the way up the lines. So much fun. It´s so steep and muddy? that you have to claw your way up somehow without using your hands (cause your holding the trees). And then while your working
and all sweaty and dirty with mud down your pants it starts raining. But work doesnt end till 5 so the last 2 hours of work is pretty entertaining. After work, we walk back down the hill and race to get into the showers (there´s two of them for 18 pp haha) and we attempt to all get a shower in before dinner (at 6:30). Anyways, other stuff we do includes working on the vegetable garden, harvesting and roasting coffee (which we drink and is delicious) maintaining the nursary, medicinal garden, and meditation garden, collecting eggs, walking the mule down the hill with the milk to sell, feeding the goats and horses, getting water, pickin oranges and lemons, making bread and pasta, and mapping out the reforestation lines. There´s other stuff but I´m kind of brain dead right now. sorry. lol. Anywho, work is really good and is keeping me in really good shape, along with the super healthy diet they feed us. I´ve actually never felt healthier in my life. Dont worry though, we balance in all out on the weekends by living off icecream sandwiches, fries and beer. lol. Oh ya, after dinner is the best time of
the day, cause we all hang together at night and play games or just talk or listin to music. There´s 3 great musicians here with us right now, and the feeling of laying on your hammock in the middle of the cloud forest and just looking up at the stars and all the sounds around you while there´s a beautiful fire with people roasting marshmellows is just unbelievable. It´s like heaven. Its so nice being here, because we can live here with absolutely no concerns or worries, and we have the time, and the perfect environment to just let our minds wander, and to relax and be competely at peace after the day´s work. I´m going to be really sad to leave this place..
Okay, righto, so last weekend, we went to Otavalo, which is a famous outdoor market in ecuador where they sell pretty much everything. And I got to barter. So much fun. I got you guys (family) a hammock!!! So excited to bring it home and use it. IT was Brynne´s last weekend last week, so we celebrated by coming into Quito after going to Otavalo (bout 2 hours bus ride to Quito and then another 2
to Otavalo) for some dancing and drinking. So we found this Ecuadorian club (which was pretty much half full of gringos) and stayed there till it closed (3 am) and then managed to stumble our way back to the hostal we were staying at. The next day, (sunday) we did the internet/laundry thing and caught a bus back to the reserve, this time before it got dark. Go team.
Righto, this weekend, the plan was to get a ride on the Devil´s nose train. Left the reserve right after work on Thursday, at about 6pm, and caught a bus to some town ( i forget the name). Bus ride was 6 hours, so we got there at around midnight, miraculously found a hostal (that only cost us 4 dollars a night..haha) and then got some street food for dinner which was basically this woman standing behind this cart making fries and some sausage type looking thing in a pan of boiling oil. Ate the fries and sausage? out of a small yellow plastic bag with a toothpick. Quite satisfying, actually. Cost 80 cents. The next day, we got up early to catch a bus to Alousy, where we got to
ride on the Devil´s nose train. It was pretty cool cause we got to ride on the roof. Kind of like a roller coaster.
Okay, so I´m running out of time and still gotta upload photos, so I´ll update some more maybe next week. Hope everyone´s doing great! I love and miss you all!!!
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Jenn and Chelsea
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Dude! you are having the best time ever! can we come and join you. For realz! Chelsea thinks your nuts for keeping the spiders. and it Gave her nightmares! He He Can't wait until you get back.