Another foggy dawn
The mountain almost gone
Another doubtful fear
The road is not so clear
While traveling in the Andes mountains and the Amazon rainforest recently, I took a series of photos to show the wide range of geography in the tiny country of Ecuador.
In order to reach the Andes, I had to travel 5 hours on a bumpy dirt road. In order to reach the waterfalls in the Amazon, I hiked 3 hours up steep, slippery mountainsides. Part of the way through, we literally had to chop our way through the dense vegetation with machetes. A true eco-adventure.
The reason for exploring the waterfalls was to see the potential for eco-turism in the area.
The other day, I gave workshop on how to make paper products by first making recycled paper. The house in which I gave the workshop was amongst the most rustic I have seen since arriving to Ecuador. The kitchen consisted of a wood-burning stove, and there was no refrigerator. The sink consisted of a hose outside. The shower consisted of the same hose outside. And the bathroom was the most interesting part of all. The family had simply laid down a piece of plank wood across a small creek. To do their necessities, they simply squat on the plank wood and let their waste out into the creek.
The mother asked me to pardon her for the poverty. I was moved by her remark, although the family seems well adjusted and happy in their digs, considering they built the house themselves on their own land.
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