A secret face, a touch of grace
A man must learn to give a little space
A peaceful state, a submissive trait
A man must learn to gently dominate
This week, I participated in an Income Generation and Conservation Workshop, sponsored by the U.S. Peace Corps. Only 15 of us were selected to attend, and each volunteer brought one Ecuadorian counterpart. I brought a Saraguran indian with me.
The workshop consisted of three days of classes given by experts in ecotourism, small-scale product manufacturing using natural materials, and marketing strategies.
Participants also displayed products produced in their communities, such as greeting cards made from recycled paper(which can be produced using used paper, water and a blender), jewelry made from rainforest materials, foodstuffs, and other items.
On the third day of the workshop, we went on a field trip to a butterfly farm, an orchid garden, a hummingbird garden and a river-rafting company.
We stayed in an ecolodge made of wood, with spectacular views of the town of Mindo and the surrounding rainforest.
I am currently traveling by bus back to my site in the Amazon. The trip takes 22 hours, so what I´ve done is divide it up over three days.
The scenery along the spine of the Andes mountains is incredible. As the bus between Quito and Azogues barreled through Andean valleys at break-neck speeds, we passed by many indigenous communities. The hills were rolling and beautiful, often brown due to the lack of rain.
I saw lots of adobe and stone houses with straw roofs. Many indigenous peoples were out working on their farms. The Quichua women, dressed in their traditional garb, including a big puffy dress. As they bent over to work on their crops, their rear ends looked especially large.
Most of the Quichua men wore hats and brilliant-colored ponchos. Many animals were to be seen, including cows, pigs, donkeys and llamas. I also saw a train going in the opposite directions, with passengers piled on top of the roof. And, believe or not, I saw a bus with live sheep piled on top of the roof as well.
After a grueling 9-hour journey, I stopped in the town of Azogues to spend the night. The town is characterized by the large, colonial-era church built high on a hill, that can be seen from miles away due to its brightly-light exterior at night.
On the journey between Azogues and Loja, many indigenous peoples piled onto the bus. As well, many sales-people came aboard hawking food, vitamins, clothing and whatever else they sell.
Tomorrow I will begin the third and final leg of my journey back into the Amazon, and expect to be back in my site after 4.5 hours of travel.
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