Kroka Ecuador Semester 2016: Up On The Clouds

This adventure started late in the night in Palugo as Aiden, Alessio, Colton, Tanner, Jonathon packed out gear. They decided what sleeping arrangements to have, tents or a tarp- and of course they chose tarps, which we were all happy about. Paul, Tashi, Malena, Lilah, Rosy and Cristian all dealt with the food pack out making snacks with Marcea, such as sweet and salty peanuts, hummus, and sweet corn. Planning and packing the meals was definitely the hardest part, Tashi always having to hear us complain about the lack of food, while Thomas told us that not always having endless amounts of food is good for the spirit.

We finally peddeled out of Palugo mid-morning on Tuesday waving goodbye to everything we had known so far. We waved goodbye to our personal view of the inter-Andean valley and our goddess Cotopaxi (the volcano). All of us set off at a nice pace, catching the old railroad tracks to send us on our way. The railroad was hard to follow at times, curving through busy roads, dirty shoes littered around the tracks, and cows wandering aimlessly teathered to fraying ropes along the trail. It is no wonder that the leading half of the group soon got lost, taking a wrong turn down an old dirt road. There was much debate, but as time ticked on, we knew we had gone astray from the path. We asked around, using our best Spanish, trying to explain that we were looking for two gringo looking folks on bikes with children. Thankfully with the help of our Ecuadorian peers, Cristian and Jonathon, the message was clear and they explained that they had seen those folks and we headed along the right way again. Luckily, we were all united in time for an amazing lunch of hard boiled eggs and veggie wraps, that even Colton ate. From there on, our day was a breeze, passing beautiful waterfalls and traversing down rolling mountains as we dropped 300m from where we had started. 18km later we arrived at a friend of the Dammers’ house to camp for the night. The yard was filled with an abundance of avocado trees and we set up camp right there in the perfectly manicured lawn- not the typical bush camp we were used to. The sun set as we drank our soup, and it was magnificent to watch the sky turn a beautiful pink hue.

Rosy- keeping her bike tuned up and ready for the long miles ahead!

We woke up the next morning feeling well-rested knowing that we had to be, or the 40kms ahead would be difficult. We immediately rode into a massive canyon- I would even go far enough to comprare it to a strange Ecuadorian version of the grand canyon. We had estinated that it would take us 30 minutes to complete the 1km distance down and up out of the canyon, however an hour and a half later we emerged, sweating and panting but in awe of the view. We crammed some welcomed chocolate and pineapple into our stomachs and off we went up the awaiting hills. For lunch, Thomas chose a vendor for us to buy our food from. She was an older women selling beans, plaintain chips, salsa and lime. We approached her, bought some of her delicious food, and shared our meal in front of the school. Our choice of lunch location immediately caused a scene. Children came streaming outside. We each paired up with a middle-schooler and gave them our helmets to try on. We spent the next 20 minutes pushing them around amid shrieks of laughter. We finally moved on, knowing we had about 35 more kilometers to bike. The day dragged on, climbing up big hills, single tracking through dense pricker bushes, ripping all of our exposed legs. About 5km away from our campsite, we came to a bridge crossing only to find the bridge had been taken down, leaving a a crevasse in the lush valley. After contemplating if we could jump it, we decided to take a different route to our campsite on the river. We finally arrived after dark to a beautiful campsite by the rushing river- we helped our well-worn bikes (two broken derailluers, one broken chain and two flat tires) down the steep path and exhausted we set up camp. We then prepared for the 50km biking day which lie ahead to arrive to our desination of San Clemente, the home of Jonathon.

Tashi, Paul and Alessio...happy as can be to be in San Clemente!

A beautiful day to meet our host families

San Clemente is a community set on the side of a mountain called Imbabura. This community strives to maintain a traditional life-style agriculturally, socially and mentally. The bike ride into San Clemente was a long one, but we were in much higher spirits than the previous day. The climb into San Clemente was breath-taking as we crossed big mountains, with the clouds now below us. Midway through the trip a huge lightning storm rolled in and we were actually able to see the individual lightning bolts, striking the ground and illuminating the mountanous landscape. We waited out the storm, getting drenched in the pelting rain and took a few moments to ask directions from two folks on a motorcycle. The most difficult part of the day was the virtually vertical cobblestone climb to reach the small village above the clouds. Our legs fell into a snail rhythm, slowing working our way up the epic slope. Our wonderful host families, where we would spent the next few days, were there to greet us and take us to our homes where they had a hot meal waiting for us. This incredible feast consisted of potato pancakes, delicious soup and vegetables. It was so amazing to be able to eat food that we knew came straight from their soil, nourished by their hands and grown with the help of the Andean agricultural calendar.

A delicious meal with our host families

Over the next two days, we grew closer to our host families. We joined them for morning chores, ate all our meals with them, and learned their traditional crafts. We joined in a community “minga”, or work party, with our brothers and sisters from the community. From moving big rocks for the floor of the neighbors house, to planting corn, and fava beans, we worked together, helping our new found friends during the shared work minga. Even though communication was difficult at times, we were all able to connect through agriculture, food, and participation in activities together. People who hadn’t spoken much Spanish before the trip began to become avlot more familiar with the language, and these homestays added significantly to the learning. Leaving San Clemente was sad for all of us, as we had all formed a connection with our new families.

Tanner and Malena- enjoying getting to know the people of San Clemente as they plant the fields

A gorgeous day to work together

Colton- focusing on his planting work

We left our bikes in the community and headed up the mountain by foot to the Casa de Cerro, or Mountain Hut, which will be our resting spot before and after we trek up the mountain of Imbabura. Currently, we are all well and happy- feeling enriched and rejuvenated from our experience in such a special community as San Clemente. This semester seems to be flying by, and we are all trying to be as present as possible. We hope to enjoy every moment of our experience while we have this amazing panoramic view of the valleys and the mountains, and the opportunity to be living and learning together.

Your scribe,
-Rosy