My Voyage to Ecuador with CBW!
by Susan Norton (volunteer)
I had signed up to do volunteer work with Community Building Works! in Ithaca, NY. Then one day I received an email from Sandy Haaf at Community Building Works! about a volunteer opportunity to help in a tiny remote village in Pucará, Ecuador with an option to extend the time there with a trip to the Galapagos Islands 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. I was on the fence about going. Of course I really wanted to go and do volunteer work in Ecuador, on the eastern side of the Andes mountains, how wonderful would that be? And I speak Spanish, though that wasn’t a requirement as the guides could speak the language, and invariably someone in the small group could also do the same.
Time went by and the deadline to make the initial deposit was approaching. It still cost money to go, though not as much as taking a tourist group tour by any means. The volunteer opportunity was run in conjunction with the Aldersgate United Methodist Church group out of Indiana. A day came, and I was talking with a good friend about how I really wanted to see Ecuador and work with the local people and also see the Galapagos Islands sometime in this lifetime. Then I went to my son’s house and there on the wide screen TV was a special show about the Galapagos! How exquisitely beautiful it was; with blue footed boobies, penguins, hundred year old tortoises along with other exotic animals and amazing scenery. I really felt drawn to go. Then I went home and there was a final email from Sandy, the deadline to register was the next day. The signs all pointed in the same direction. I was going to Ecuador!
I received pre-travel information from Dr. Robin Shear, who was doing the organizing along with Sandy, and I found out about the culture, what to pack, information about the climate and an in depth trip outline. It was magical from the start. I was greeted at the airport in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, by Chris James, our guide for the first part of the journey. Then I met my fellow travelers and volunteers from Indiana, and they were the nicest group of people, who along with Chris, immediately took me under their wings and made me feel welcome and cared for.
We stayed a few days in Quito, exploring the capital city. We took a gondola ride to the top of a mountain nearby and had a magnificent view of the city and surrounding area. We ate in local restaurants and visited special sites in the city. We were about 18 people plus the guide and the drivers. We had a lovely bus that we traveled in, with plenty of room and big windows. Then we headed out for the village of Pucará, where we were to do our volunteer work. On the way we stopped at Rumipamba, an archaeological and natural site on the way. We walked on an old Inca trail, that had been so well used that we were several feet below the level of the ground surface, in the cool shade and tree covered path. I kept seeing interesting birds, which our guide told me about, and I made good use of my binoculars and camera! We also stopped at “the middle of the world”, at the equator, and we could literally stand with a foot in each hemisphere at the same time.
We had one more night before we arrived in Pucará, and that was at Laguna Cuicocha, a volcanic lake crater. Some of us took a high-altitude hike around this amazingly beautiful lake while others took a boat ride out onto the lake to see its bubbling waters from gas released by the volcano. Our night at El Mirador lodge was wonderful, and there we met Peter Shear, the main guide and organizer of our volunteer work in Ecuador who outlined our activities and upcoming work detail.
The next day we crossed the Andes Mountains in our bus and this was quite an adventure as the views were breathtaking, the roads were steep and curvy. We stopped to see waterfalls as we ascended into the clouds. We arrived hours later in tiny Pucará where we were welcomed whole-heartedly with smiles, hugs, music and food. Peter Shear is the volunteer coordinator who brings volunteers in every year to help this poor village achieve economic stability while maintaining its unique culture. Sustainable agriculture is used with an eye to protecting the environment. By helping this village remain self-sufficient, we are also stopping the mining that would have destroyed this valley if they couldn’t survive on their own. The local residents are very grateful for our help and showed as much interest in us as we did in them.
I worked first on the lawn in front of the community center, which had been built by volunteers previously. Side by side with local townspeople, I tilled the soil, leveling it out and removing rocks and debris. Then we replanted it with grass squares that came from another place in the village. Several volunteers, locals and I worked and sang in the sun, while others brought in the grass pieces in a wheelbarrow. There was work for people of all ages and abilities. Other people planted flowers and weeded the gardens, dug post holes to make a new fence, mixed cement, and filled plastic bottles with earth to make an unusual wall structure for the recycling center to be built soon on the land. A fence was going up around the little Spanish language school, where we went at intervals to have our Spanish lessons.
It was fun! A hummingbird flitted by outside the window while I had my lesson with one other person. The teacher was a young woman who is now able to support herself and her family by teaching Spanish to visitors. Our Spanish lessons were included. In fact, everything was included in our price! We had all meals, lodging, beverages, transportation and entrance fees to tourist sites included. We only needed to spend our own money if we wanted treats like an occasional ice cream, alcoholic beverage or souvenir. The prices were quite low, especially since we were off the beaten tourist track. They use the American dollar in Ecuador, so there’s no need to change money. The food was good, especially the soups and the delicious fruit smoothies which seemed to be present at every meal!
Our lodging during our week of volunteering was nearby, right on the banks of the rushing Intaq River. The cabins were delightful! Flowers bloomed all along the outside of my cabin and I could hear the rushing river from my bunk bed. I felt I had arrived in paradise. And to top it off, a few hundred feet up the road was a hot springs where we could sit and soak in various pools of natural hot springs water, while watching the sun set with the mountains all around us.
At the end of our work week, the local residents had a special celebration for us. There was traditional dancing, live music, and the children even put on a theater show for us. Then we danced together, or sat and watched the activities, while some played soccer or frisbee with the newly donated soccer balls and colorful frisbees. It was a blast. I found it hard to say good-bye to these sweet people, but I know I can go back again.
It was an unforgettable experience. I feel I made friends for a lifetime. In addition to the satisfaction of my volunteer work, where I could physically see the difference I had made; I had grown stronger, walked a volcanic crater, went to the biggest outdoor market in the Americas and improved my Spanish. Then I got to go to the Galapagos Islands, another amazing journey entirely. This unique opportunity was one of the best experiences of my life. I would recommend it whole-heartedly!
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