05 avril 2006
So this is good bye
Well, this is it, in a couple of hours I'll be boarding the plane which is to take me back to France.
A bit strange saying good bye to everyone, especially since I'm coming back for 2 weeks at the end of the month (to finally be able to introduce Sebastien to all the people and places I've met and lived with/in these past 10 months), but it won't be the same. I'll be coming back as a tourist, not having as much time to spend in each place.
I don't really know how this experience will have changed me, IF it has changed me at all, but I do know one thing, I've met, learned and seen extraordinary people and things. Whole new fields have been opened to me as well as a way of reflecting upon events and things. I'll never forget this year in Ecuador and even though there would be so much more I could write about or show you, I preferred spending these last couple of days with the people I've met and shared my life with.
Hopefully, reading this blog these past months has opened your curiosity about this country and you might feel the desire to come and visit it for yourself. I can only encourage you to do so.
I haven't posted the pictures or any "litterature" about the last couple of weeks of tourism I did with my cousins, but to sum it up, we trekked fof 3 days around El Altar where we caught some spectacular views of the mountains and it's lagunas. Then, we actually tried ourselves on the Chimborazo where unfortunately for us the snow conditions were poor and we had to give up reaching the summit due to the high risks of avalanches. But at least I got closer than ever to it - went as high as 5 700m (the slope to the top is a real killer though... unending hike upwards, without the least bit of level parts... in a sense, I'm glad the conditions were tough, that way, I'll never know whether I could have gone all the way or not!)
Anyway, I'm back to Paris, and back to leading a more "normal" life, whatever that is. A page is being turned, but so many exciting chapters lie ahead!
It was fun keeping this blog, hope you enjoyed reading it too!
27 mars 2006
The Coast
During all my time in Ecuador, I have only spent very few days on the Coast: actually I only went to Puerto Lopez with Alexandra, Quininde (and the cocoa micro enterprises) and Muisne (the mangroves). Everytime we had a national meeting in Heifer where all the teams from the different areas got together, I was always struck by how different the realities in the other zones were from that which I knew best, the Sierra.
Most of the work I was to do here revolved around commercialization and trying to find new ways of getting the products of the farm to be sold or exchanged without having to depend on intermediaries. When I presented my work during my last days at Heifer, I had the opportunity to talk with the person who is responsible of the projects on the Coast and we arranged that I could spend a couple of days in Manabí with Calixto, the person in charge of the projects locally, to accompany him in his visits to various projects, get a feel of the local conditions and share with them the experience we’ve had regarding commercialization in the mountains.
The first day, we participated in the International Women’s Day
march in Jipijapa, walking down the streets of the town, attending the
ceremony afterwards glorifying women and presenting the laws for the
free treatment of pregnant women and children. 
Through various
sketches, the women illustrated the poor care they receive in hospitals
in comparison to how it should be. I remember the time I went to a care
center in Pujilí after my food poisoning and how shocked I was to see
that I was given special treatment, no waiting in lines, perfect
attention while all the local indigenous people seemed to have been
standing there since the opening of the center.
On our way back to Portoviejo, we were comfortably seated in little garden chairs in the back of our pickup truck when we experienced the worst storm ever, and to top it all off, we blew a tire while it was pouring! Arrived soaked to the bone in town where we had lunch before setting off to find me a place to stay.
The good thing about the Coast is that you get fish instead of meat
or chicken in your almuerzo, but they just can’t help frying it and the
piece is so slim that it still oddly tastes like plastic... but the
rice is excellent, very different than the Sierra one, probably due to
the altitude difference which influences the way it cooks. Problem is
they still serve you a loadful and when not in a restaurant, since it’s
impolite to leave anything in your plate, I struggled deeply the last
day. 
On
our last day visiting communities near Paján, while I was
having trouble finishing my kilo of rice, as an extra honor, I was
served a second helping of chicken and sauce, as it were the lack of
sauce the problem... you could easily have rolled me out of that
reunion :-) They sent me off with freshly made peanut butter: just
ground peanuts, nothing else! Nathalie, your boys would just love a
peanut butter sandwich made out of this creamy, organic, wonder butter!
Anyway, we went out to look for a cheap, central hotel (in order to ensure that I’m in a “safe” place – everyone keeps telling me how dangerous the Coast is, they become over protective. My family actually tried to talk me out of taking my night bus the other day – then again come to think of it, I probably could have chosen another bus company since mine took 1h30 less than the one other people came in... when you see the state of the roads here, speeding is not such a good idea. That kind of explains why the bus was so empty!) So I ended up in El Gato (the cat) in a windowless, cramped and humid room with sheets which looked rather dodgy. In the evenings, the streets were so empty that I actually couldn’t find a place which looked decent enough to sit down for dinner (paranoia can be communicative!) and ended up eating in my room. Could have been depressing but I actually found the situation funny (considering that it was just for 3 days, how bad can that be!)
The next 3 days, we went to visit various communities, witnessing
the tragic effects of the winter rains on their farms, and talking with
the farmers to see how they cope, and discuss commercialization
prospects.
The first day we went to the field, Calixto picked me up at the
hotel, and took one look at me before pointing out as politely as
possible that I might not be exactly properly dressed for the occasion,
kind of like “is that what you’re going to wear? Basically, I looked
like a tourist ready for the beach, not someone on her way to visit
inundated community fields, laden with mud, puddles and bugs! I had to
laugh at myself.
And he was right to send me back up to go get a long sleeved t-shirt and insect repellent: water being everywhere, it was mosquito heaven. That’s also when he gave me the good news that the malaria pills I was taking wouldn’t be of that much use since the main problem here is dengue fever... which develops where there are large quantities of clean water (ie. rain water)
The different farms and communities we visited were completely
inundated and even access to some of them were extremely difficult, due
to the water and/or mud. On our first visit, the farmer nicely lent me
a pair of boots so that I could see more: thing is, he forgot to
mention that they had built in air conditionning! Spent the rest of the
day trying to get my socks to dry, and being barefoot in mountain boots
is really uncomfortable. Then again, in some parts I didn’t need my
shoes to walk through the puddles... and that’s when Calixto gave me my
2nd good news, with his innocent statement of: “you should think of
getting deparasited when you get back to Quito”. Seems that you can get
parasites through your skin! Yikes!
Anyway, in the Sierra, we always have a notion that producing
anything on the Coast comes easily but the reality is very different:
between those who suffer from excess water to those who suffer from
lack of it, the conditions become really tough in either the dry or wet
season, if not in both. Just looking at the fields around us, the
houses even, it was incredible. You couldn’t tell the river bed from
the fields.
Farmers cultivate rice, peanuts, banana, corn, citrus fruits... They
try to find ways of protecting their plants from the excess water,
elevating them for example, or digging protective trenches around
their fields. When I went to visit another French volunteer further
down the Coast, I was shocked to learn that the farmers around Pedro
Carbo do not own their land, they rent it from large land owners. These
owners took over the land, at a time when anyone could just declare
oneself proprietor, from lack of legislation. 
They impose upon the
farmers currently working the land a short production cycle, keeping a
high level of dependency. They are thus compelled to grow peanuts, and
are extremely vulnerable to any price variation. One of their projects
now is to find ways of transforming the harvested peanuts in order to
sell them as peanut butter, roasted peanuts, etc., finding new ways of
generating income.
Considering the conditions in this region, one of the most logical solutions is getting the farmers to organize and plan their production together so as to sell their products in their own market place, putting forward the fact that they are organic producers. From the discussions I had with some of the people we visited, it seems that none of them were actually putting forward the fact that they were producing organically, as if they were not taking pride in their work or even trying to get other people to recognize the efforts.
When we look at the prices of organic produce in our supermarkets,
you realize that it has an extra cost, that organic fruits and
vegetables are always more expensive. Thing is, around here, people are
not ready to pay more before they come to accept the importance of
eating healthy, see the effects of all the poison they are ingesting
otherwise (some of the chemicals used here are prohibited in our
countries as too dangerous; people applying the products lack the
proper knowledge at times, leading to applying incorrect amounts which
lead to health hazards). So the first step is actually selling their
products at the same price they would in any other market place, but
insisting, promoting and communicating on the importance of eating
organic produce.
In our last visit to the communities of Nueva Esperanza, Atascasos and Primavera, we travelled in la Ranchera,
a bus which ressembles more a touristy train than a regular bus, and
what worse, which works with domestic gas instead of fuel!
In
any
case, the meeting we had with these communities will remain special for
me: not only for the incredibly nice way in which they received us, but
also because it was the first time I really had to stand up in front of
a crowd and talk about commercialization, trying to motivate them, give
them hope about the possible outcomes.
I’ll be following closely the progress of the first market fair they’ll be testing in Rocafuerte: right now, they’re in the tough process of planning and organizing the details of how, who, what and when. We wish them luck.
Little bonus photo of the way we ended our first day of visits near Rocafuerte, taking a stroll down the beach of Crucita and sipping a cool beer in front of the amazing view of the sun setting in the Pacific...
24 mars 2006
Cuyabeno Primary Forest
Part of the places my Mom wanted to visit during her trip to Ecuador
was the jungle. Since we had been to the jungle near Baños with
Alexandra in November, I chose the primary forest of Cuyabeno, near the
Colombian border, as our destination. The “near the Columbian border”
precision comes from the fact that as we were looking in our guide
books with Maelle, who was with us for the visit, we noticed that the
Guide du Routard didn’t have any information on the Cuyabeno National
Park. 
Looking into it more closely, we realized that it was because
they strongly advised against going there because of its proximity to
Colombia and the current political unrest and coca related problems.
Well, they were right on one account: the town of Lago Agrio really
sucks and we definitely did not like arriving there or leaving there.
Guess we were kind of paranoid anyway when we arrived cause when the
bus driver who came to pick us up left us in town for an hour and
disappeared with our luggage leaving no clue as to how to find him, we were on the verge of freaking out... I
couldn’t help but imagine the scene if Dad had been with us!
Anyway, once back in the car, we had 3 hours till El Puente, then
another 3 hours of canoe to get to our campsite. So deep in the forest,
I doubt the guerrilleros or the FARC would think of coming to get us
out there :-) The campsite was lovely, we each slept in our own
individual double mosquito net, under a large palm tree roof, which
made us feel as if we were sleeping outside. Its just incredible
falling asleep, listening to the jungle animals.
On our first day, we went for a short walk with Lenin, our guide,
(yes, we too noticed that his name is a bit odd!) and Aurora, our
native guide. We saw loads of birds and insects, and this baby monkey
that Aurora freed from a liana which had little spikes the baby monkey
got entangled in. Seems that if Aurora hadn’t gone to free it, his
mother wouldn’t come close since she was afraid it might be a predator.
Unlike other animals, a mother would not give her life up for her
babies: better let one die, than risk killing 2!
After coming back for lunch and a nap, we went to Aurora’s community
to make casabe, a traditional yuca tortilla. We peeled, grated,
squeezed the juice out of the yuca root, before cooking it and eating
it with pineapple marmelade... During the rest of our stay, we were
surprised to see Aurora sneaking bits of casabe every once in a while,
dipping it in the river water to soften it!
Coming back, we turned of the canoe’s motor and let our boat drift with
the current, bird and animal watching all the way. Listening to the
sounds of the forest is so peaceful and relaxing.
On the second day, we went out to Laguna Grande to go piraña
fishing, cutting up little pieces of meat as bait, and throwing them
back in the water once we had admired them. 
The funny thing about
piraña fishing is that you actually have to make noise when throwing
your line in the water to attract the fish, contrary to what I’ve
always thought, kind of like imitating a body falling in?
After that, we went for a walk in wet and dry forest (with mud up to
our calves at times) where Aurora made a great demonstration of weaving
with a palm leaf. Later, we went for a nice refreshing swim in the
somewhat murkish brown waters we had just been fishing in and in which
we would later be looking for crocodiles... It’s amazing the things
you’ll do when you’re not in your own country! 
The day ended looking at
an breathtaking sunset on the laguna and going back towards our
campsite, flashing our Light towards the shores, trying to spot the
little red eyes all around us.
The last day was basically spent returning to Quito. An early
morning start to go bird watching down the river, then it was back in
the canoe to reach El Puente before getting on a bus back to Lago
Agrio. Nearing El Puente, we came upon a huge tree which had fallen
across the river, blocking our way. After looking at various
posibilities, it was finally decided we would clear a path beneath the
tree: Aurora and another women, armed with their matchetes cleared the
branches and leaves under the approving look of Lenin who hardly even
tried to help them... Always amazed at how much women do around here!
23 mars 2006
A new job opportunity ?
During the last weeks of my volunteer period, we were invited to Santa Barbara to the inauguration ceremony of the alpacas in the páramo. A beautiful little ceremony where the children were asked to be godparents, so as to ensure their implication and attachment to the animals.
As most festive events in the communities, there was a lot of dancing and drinking, music playing, cuy eating, but in this particular occasion, we also had bull fighting! Up in the páramo, the community keeps a herd of wild bulls (toros bravos) that they bring into the community village for special events in order to play toreros.
It was a bit scary seeing that the main plaza wasn't very securely
closed off (meaning that these wild animals could easily escape and run
around in the rest of the village) but also because the villagers are
so drunk by the time that it can be very dangerous. The bull keeper
himself was staggering as he was escorting them and once in the ring,
he was sent flying and had to be carried out. Not to mention a poor kid
that got trampled...
Anyway, when the people in charge started saying lets put the bulls back in and bring out the "vaquita"
for the people from Heifer, I was expecting a little cow, not at all
the animal they set loose on us! Armed with nothing more than ponchos
and our good will, we positionned ourselves in the middle of the aren and hoped for the best!
The
little cow was trying to act bravely and would come charging at us, but
once close, it would break violently and retreat. The poor animal was
actually as scared or more than us!
Maybe I should consider this torero thing seriously !
More pictures of the event in the photo albums on the right.
22 mars 2006
Loja specialities: tamales, humitas, quimbolitos
You might remember a while back, after the girl’s visit in September, I had given the recipe for humitas, expecting Valentine to take a shot at it… ( by the way, how’s that going ?). While travelling in Loja with Mom, I introduced her to the local specialities of tamales (which I had helped make while visiting one of my Ecuadorian aunts in Cayambe), and quimbolitos. They are both corn based specialities cooked in Achira leaves, the first is salty, made with chicken and peppers, egg, etc. the second is sweet, with raisins. Horchata is the local herbal tea which turns a lovely pink color thanks to the hibiscus leaves which are part of it. That’s one of the things that I brought back for Christmas, horchata tea bags!
Tamales
Humitas
Quimbolitos
On our last day in Loja, we stopped in this little tea shop and in
the window, the display of goodies was absolutely perfect and just
screaming for me to take pictures and share them with you!
21 mars 2006
Swimming with sharks
I remember this movie I saw with Alexandra the year we attended the "Festival du cinéma Américain in Deauville" some 10 years ago called "Swimming with shark", and even though the movie had to do with sharks in the business world, our trip to the Galápagos Islands with Salim and Aurélien totally fits in with the title !
Salim was the master planner of the event, negotiating some 5 months
ahead of time with the tour agency to get us the best boat and best
deal we could get. And apart from the little scare he got when we
arrived at the airport in Baltra, everything was perfect, even better
than we could have imagined. We actually chartered a catamaran just for
the 3 of us (yes, this in complete opposition with the life I have been
leading these past months, but this is a unique opportunity and if you
can't splurge once in a while, what was the point of working and saving
up ? :-)) but when the Nemo guide showed up (that's the name of our
boat) and started counting close to 12 people, Salim turned a lighter
shade of grey and his eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets :-)
The Isla de la Plata
we had visited with Alexandra in November is nicknamed the “Galápagos
de los pobres” since you can see plenty of boobies and frigate birds
(the piqueiros de patas azules, de patas rojas and fregatas), but the marine life in the Islands is absolutely amazing.
Once
landed on the island of Santa Cruz, we embarked directly on Nemo, starting off with 20 hours of
sailing to reach our first dive site, the island of Wolf. The islands
of Darwin and Wolf are said to be the
best dive sites in the Galápagos: since they are so far away, few people
actually go there. And we did do some terrific diving out there. Over
the next 3 days, we got in 11 dives where we swam in very warm water
(around 26-27 degrees) and got a chance to see an impressive amount of fish
and animals. Aurélien was the underwater photographer and once I get my hand on his pictures, I'd love to post some of them. They are amazing (and not only because Aurélien is kind of a photo perfectionnist!)
To perfect the experience in the North (our dives above the Equator line - we also made a dive ON the Equator line), while leaving Wolf, we were accompanied by
dolphins dancing around us and jumping, as if showing off.
After
the Red Sea and an amazing diving début, the islands of Wolf and Darwin
are definitely in the same league. Here too, I was told “once you’ve
dived the Galápagos, it’ll be hard to find another place that compares!”
The main attractions here are not corral, as in Egypt, but a great diversity of marine life, especially all sorts of sharks (hammerheads, Galápagos sharks, white tip reef shark, grey sharks, etc)
Both
our guide, Fabricio, and Salim are big shark fans. I must admit that I
felt much more comfortable with the turtles, rays, and all the colorful
fish.
On one particular dive, at Darwin’s Derrumbe,
the Cliff, whole schools of hammerhead sharks were circling above and
around us: I felt like I was in a huge shark pit, hanging on to my
little volcanic rock (for dear life?), in order not to get carried away
by the current. If we didn’t see more than 200 sharks, I’d be
surprised. The little American in me, raised with Jaws, couldn’t help
but feel apprehensive, and in my head, I could hear the Jaws music
(ta-dam… ta-dam), while Fabricio was making fun of me, signing “aren’t
you just freaking out ??) Not to mention Salim who laughed out loud
underwater after pointing out the hammerhead which was coming straight
at me...
It’s
amazing how much damage to the reputation of sharks those movies have
made: it’s been pumped into our brains as kids and even though I know
better, the tension remains!
So
many unknown animals, such an unfamiliar environment, it’s difficult to
know whether all these animals see you as a friendly observer or as an
intruder. The murray eels for example look like they’ll bite you, but
from what we've seen it seems that their opening and closing of the
mouth is actually their way of regulating their body temperature, not a
threat. As for sharks, supposedly they are actually shy animals.
Well,
I know I was glad to have read that because otherwise, between watching
out for eels and keeping clear of the sharks, I was nearing panic
attacks every 2 minutes :-) Then again, I remember a dive in the island
Albany where there were many grey sharks which made our dive master
nervous because they are more curious than shy. Had us huddle together
so they wouldn’t come and get us!!!
Another
fun thing about diving is that even though you dive with a buddy or in
a larger group, you are still in your own underwater world (only able
to communicate through signs) and your mind starts to wander. Seeing
all the colors underwater, I started to think about interior design and
about how inspiration really comes from what nature has already
combined, whether stripes, polka dots, or just the color association.
It's all so beautiful.
All in all, we were able to dive 19 times and passed our Nitrox exam (this gives us the opportunity to be able to dive with an air mix with a higher proportion of oxygen than regular tank air, thus enabling us to have shorter decompression periods and absorb less nitrogen - Peter, correct me if I'm wrong :-))
We made a couple of land visits where we got a chance to see
colonies of birds, iguanas, giant turtles and even penguins., the
world’s 2nd smallest penguins, only 35cm high!
We had visited the Isla de la Plata with Alexandra in November which is
nicknamed the “Galápagos de los pobres” since you can see plenty of
boobies and frigate birds (the piqueiros de patas azules, de patas
rojas and fregatas) as you can here. It is really something to be able
to come so close to all these animals: since they have no predators,
they have no fear, walking along the paths, you actually have to watch
your step sometimos in order no to step on a sea lion, an iguana, etc.
This week of sailing, diving and discovering the Galápagos was truly
an excellent way of starting my vacation. Seeing my time with the NGO
and the work I had been doing these past months come to an end was
rather difficult: the month of January saw me go through all sorts of
phases of doubt, questions, and overall uncertainty as to what I had
achieved and was looking for. One week, taking a complete break from
everything, helped me move on, see that so many excellent times are
still to come and that what I have started here does not need to stop
just because I am going back to France!
20 mars 2006
Rising against the Free Trade Deal
Last week already, protests had begun. Last Monday already, the indigenous groups had begun blocking roads across the Andean highlands in protest against the free trade deal which is being considered with the US, as well as the expulsion of the gas company OXY. Ecuador is set to enter a final round of the free trade talks on 23 March.
My cousin Cécile arrived Thursday night in Quito; since I was stuck in Guayaquil, I had to fly back to Quito to be able to greet them. Didn't want to see them arrive in all this mess without at least having someone to help them out.
The blockades were lifted over the week end in Cotopaxi, and they were able to visit the Quilotoa lake and reach Banos on Sunday. Problem is, my other cousin and her boyfriend left Quito this morning, trying to join the others, but the road blocks have started again today, even more seriously. Thousands of protesters are blocking the Panamericana (the road which crosses Ecuador from North to South) with burning tyres, rocks and trees. In Latacunga today, not only were indigenous people protesting, they were joined by people from all over the Province, requesting that the government fund the projects it had planned to finance.
Demonstrators are calling for a referendum on the trade deal (TLC - tratado de libre comercio) fearing, and I can only support their action in that respect, that an agreement with the US would harm their economy and their culture, and would only benefit the wealthy.
People are coming in from all parts of the country, walking towards Quito: the indigenous groups from Pastaza in the Oriente have been walking for days to reach the Government Palace but have seen there progress stopped by the military forces. Police have fired tear gas in an attempt to disperse the thousands of indigenous protesters who have taken part in the blockades.
These have already led to a shortage of provisions and a rise in prices in major cities in the country.
As for me, I wanted to regain Riobamba today, before making my own way to Banos either tomorrow or by Friday, but considering the conditions, we are going to wait out and see whether tomorrow things have cleared up a bit (I am a bit doubtful, but who knows... the government doesn't seem very quick to react).
There probably isn't much talk about all these protests and movements from where you are, but just in case, wanted to let you know that I'm fine. This morning, while watching the news, I saw footage on the student protests in Paris against the CNE or CPE... guess we're all going through some sort of social crisis wherever we are! All Ecuador seems to see about France are people in the streets burning cars ! In October, I was constantly asked to explain what was happening in my own country when all they heard or saw was how people all across the country were burning cars...
09 mars 2006
Ecuadorian markets
In the family, we are all great fans of market places and everytime we visit a country, we love to spend time wandering down the alleys of any market, identifying new fruits or vegetables, getting a feel for what people eat and what is available. You might remember one of the first posts I had written about all the different fruits they have here (all visitors must at least try the tomate del árbol, guanábana, mora and naranjilla juices), but there are also a number of vegetables, spices, beans and flours which fill the air with wonderful smells. In Riobamba, we went to the Saturday market which is near home, and we were taken in by the smell of the guava fruit which is sweet and delicious.
One of the attractions I didn't want my mother to miss during her stay in Ecuador was the Thursday market in Guamote. It is one of the largest, most colorful and very local rural markets in the country, where people from all the surrounding communities come to the town of Guamote offering anything from animals, to vegetables, cloth, bits and pieces (I always find it amusing when people sell batteries by the unit or toilet paper by the roll in the streets). 
luWe enjoyed getting lost in the streets, mixing in (although, given my size and skin color, that isn’t exactly easy…), admiring all the different women’s clothes - not all women dress alike, some of them have the skirt I’ve seen most which is basically a piece of cloth wrapped around their waste and secured with a faja, long 5 or 6 cm wide embroidered belt, others wear very bright slightly shorter pleated skirts under which there are so many layers that the result is rather bulky.
So many times we were tempted to just sit down among the people eating from the street vendors, but we knew that lunch was waiting for us at home and we definitely didn’t not want to get on my Ecuadorian mother’s bad side on our first day home ! 
But we did sneek in a bit of hornado, one of the Riobambeñan specialities: pig which is baked so slowly it is all melt-in-your-mouth-good which they serve with mote (a type of corn) and bought some mangoes, not the big ones we are used to, but the smaller ones, called mango de chupar (mangoes you suck on…) which you eat by first softening the pulp, biting a hole out of the top of the mango and squeeze the juice out of it, very sloppy process, but so rewardingly tasty! The hornado may put you off at first by the way the little pig is looking at you, but once you’ve tasted cuy, I guess you’re game to trying a bit of anything!
You might also remember me talking about the market of Otavalo, famous for its crafts market around the Poncho Plaza for tourists. But their are also two other very different markets, a bit further out of town, where locals come to buy and barter for animals, food and other essentials. It was the first time I actually went to visit all three market places: the animal market starts around 6am and ends around 10 so we started with that one. All along the way to the market place, we were walking along men and women, pulling their piglets, sheep or other animals, generally squeeling, to be sold. There is some sort of organized emplacement for each type of animals: pigs, sheep, cows, bulls, horses and lamas. It’s quite a sight! Not to mention the poor pig we saw who got molested by a bull while we leaving!
07 mars 2006
Roulette bus
The title sounds better in French than it would in English...
Last night I was to meet my cousin and her boyfriend who have arrived in Ecuador last week and they're staying in the volunteer room. First time I was trying to cross town from where I'm staying using the bus, and I decided to try my luck at it. Thing is, there are so many buses in this town that it's not always that easy to understand in which direction they're going. That's how this new game of "Bussian roulette" started. Based on the street names which appear on the front of the bus, you hop on, hoping it's going in the direction of the street you want, and not coming from there.
So far, the last 2 times I played the game, I lost: in Riobamba with Mom, we hopped on a bus coming from the center of town, and not going towards it. Last night, at first I thought I had won since it was crossing town towards la 10 de Agosto but then it decided to turn North in it instead of South as I had expected. Kept hoping it was just going in one of the side streets to be able to make the correct turn, but ended up jumping off in front of the trolley terminal and getting to my destination by the more definite "trole" solution !
Considering it was dark and raining, the elements were against me this time. I will not give up just yet :-)
03 mars 2006
Does anything strike you as strange in this picture ?
Picture taken in one of the main streets in Loja... What happened to "Le tiercé, c'est mon dada?"
