We are Ecuador

About a week has passed since the earthquake here in Ecuador. While the headlines, news footage, and public consciousness of the earthquake seem to have largely faded from international awareness, the carnage still lives on here. At the moment, there are still countless of people missing, presumably dead and there have been 654 confirmed deaths, which is still likely to rise.

Amid all of the sadness and destruction that I briefly detailed in my last post, there have been pockets of positivity. Throughout the past week, I have witnessed our local community, school community, and international community rally around those in need in different ways. The outpouring of love, support, financial assistance, and time devoted to helping others has been truly inspirational.

In light of this blog focusing on our experiences here, I find it appropriate to detail the different things that have been done that have made an impact on me.

Locally- Over the past week, my interaction with the rest of Quito has been rather limited. I have been spending quite a bit of time at work and as a result I have not seen many of the efforts taking place throughout Quito to support those on the coast in need. However though a variety of conversations I have had, I have learned about dozens of donation drop-off points, blood donation drives, and countless people driving down to the coast to personally deliver necessary goods. While a completely different topic, and experience, and situation; the way the community has galvanized in support of those in need is a little reminiscent of my time in New Jersey immediately following 9/11. The support and willingness to help, along with the growing observable nationalism that took place immediately following 9/11, got quite a few people through those tough times. While the circumstances are certainly different, the same spirit is present here and will be a valuable asset to those throughout Ecuador.

In School-In this short period of time, in the shadow of the aftermath of the earthquake, our school has come together in a really impressive way. The entire school, expats and Ecuadorians alike, have come together to raise funds, prepare shipments, collect donations, and raise awareness for those impacted by the earthquake. Our school courtyard is peppered daily with people wearing their Ecuadorian jerseys, bracelets, and hats.

Many of my own 7th and 8th grade students have begun working on projects that are within their scope of ability to address. While drinking water is scarce and therefore cannot be used for anything else besides drinking, they have been in contact with organizations on the coast and identified washing water as a huge area of need. In response, my students have been collecting used plastic bottles from the community, washing them, labeling them, filling them with faucet water, and hot gluing them to seal them. They are seeing that these little projects and little moments of effort are making a huge difference to those in need.

A group of our school's seniors even set up a GoFundMe page with the intention of collecting $5,000 for supplies at the coast. More on that in a minute. They exceeded their goal within 24 hrs and have since re-calibrated their goals three times to match the support they are receiving. If you want to donate to their cause, you can find their website here. They are already over $11,000 and counting. I find that in addition to their monetary donations and fundraising, this opportunity has really been an incredible learning experience for all of our students. Their thoughts and attempts and efforts have been in the right place and the support they are getting is tremendous. The work they are doing is meaningful and the direct impact they are seeing on their community is powerful for all of them.

In addition to the individual efforts of many, the school held its annual International Festival, but rebranded it We are Ecuador, with all proceeds going to relief efforts on the coast. The annual festival raises money through performances, games of chance, and food from different cultures. Last year, thousands of dollars were raised by the event and spread through a variety of charities. This year, with the collective money being sent to specific areas and locations, I think the funds will go even further.

Nationally- In addition to the local efforts mentioned above, the national government has made some decisions with the intention of supplying aid and assistance to all. They have temporarily closed bars and movie theaters and nightlife in an effort to channel the country's grief and avoid overt celebrations during such a tragic time. In addition to that, the government has implemented a mandatory tax effective immediately. While the details may be a bit fuzzy to me at the moment, the gist of it is, if you make more than $1,000 per month, you are going to be taxed one day's worth of pay over the next three months. $2,000 and above per month will equal 3 days of pay. $3,000 per month or above, is equivalent to 5 days worth of pay to be deducted in the next three months, with all proceeds going to relief efforts. While I am not an economist and do not know for sure, I wonder what will happen to the local economy with such a large amount of funding being taken out of what I presume will be the expendable income for many. How might the money they would have spent, being reallocated impact things in the short and long term? Although I admittedly am not an economist and do not know. Either way, this decision should inevitably raise quite a bit of revenue.

Internationally- So far, many countries have pledged assistance in the form of direct relief supplies, workers, or monetary donations. In addition to that, the citizens of the international community have really impressed me with their generosity. For example, through simple discussion with Shannon's family, they have contributed over $1000 of their own money. In addition to that, Shannon's sister Meagan has lobbied her company (shout out to Stoli for your support) for donations and many of her co-workers have donated money, again another $1300+ or so. These are just people we've been in contact with. The relief pledges have from many avenues have been tremendously generous. On behalf of the country we call our home, thank you to everyone who has donated time, supplies, or money to the cause.

This multi-faceted generosity and compassion is truly inspiring for me. In the wake of a week coming to pass when we don't anticipate much news coverage, I encourage you all to keep Ecuador in your thoughts, prayers, and daily discussions. Thank you to everyone for all that you've done.

Earthquake

I first want to say to any of our friends or family that might read this blog as a way of checking up on us, that we are fine. Neither Shannon nor I are in any harm nor were we injured. Our home also did not sustain any damage.

Now for context. This past Saturday at around 7:00pm, there was a 7.8 earthquake in Ecuador. The impact site was a small coastal town called Muisne. While the coast was the largest area affected, the entire country felt the impact, both figuratively and literally.

I was on a work trip to Peru and making my way back the night of the earthquake. When I walked into the hotel to get on our bus headed to the hotel, I was mobbed with people asking about my family and friends in Ecuador and by my colleagues. I looked at my phone and had well over 85 messages. 

The first thing I did was check Shannon's. They expressed her initial reaction to the earthquake and her fear. I was instantly home sick, guilt ridden for not being there, and anxious. After she assured me that she was alright, I checked CNN for more information and began seeing images. I will admit that temporary relief flooded me when Shannon was ok and I feel a bit guilty about that as well due to the fact that in that moment, my scope was only on her and I was glossing over the thousands of other people in my resident country who would never be the same. 

Some of the things I saw on CNN were truly horrific. While I have seen reports of natural disasters around the world before and felt sympathy, it has never struck home to me the way this did. Every image, every town, everything I saw was a place that I have been to, or been close to.  I won't post any of the photos here because by this time our readers have either seen them, or have no desire to.  I got home as quick as I could despite the minor flight delay due to the airport being shut down temporarily. I arrived a few hours later at 5am to the news that another 6.1 earthquake/aftershock took place.

By most accounts, the earthquake lasted somewhere between 30 seconds and a minute. In our area of Quito, there was not that much damage, although in the less economically developed southern sector, there were reports of quite a bit of damage. The coast, however was destroyed. For context, the coast is largely comprised of poor towns, no larger than the size of your average U.S. shopping mall. Most of the buildings, with a few exceptions are made of concrete and many do not have roofs, or windows. Structurally and architecturally speaking, it is not an area that was built to withstand what happened.  At the moment the current death toll stands at 413 with over 3,000 injured and countless more people missing beneath the rubble of crumbled buildings. 

When I got to school on Monday, I checked with each of my students before first block. I asked them how they were doing and if their families were alright. While we are an international school, about 50% of our overall population, and a good bit more of that in the Middle School, are all Ecuadorian. As the kids walked around talking, searching for some kind of normalcy I could see that they were uneasy and as I asked about their families, some of them couldn't answer me. They just looked at me with tears in their eyes and shook their heads no. As I spoke to them later in the week, I found out that quite a few of my students' family members had passed away and many had missing family members. 

It's absolutely devastating to see a tragedy so close. I saw areas of the country that I had been to. The worst part for me though, was seeing students who I have known, and whose families I have known for two years in shock and despair. Many of them have to deal with the grief of lost loved ones. Even more have to juggle realistic expectations with hope as they wait, with baited breath for resolution. As they hope for word that a family member didn't make it, or if they're lucky, a phone call explaining that they had survived despite losing everything. To see the people that are impacted by something like an earthquake of this magnitude is absolutely humbling and puts life into perspective.

This has hit home for Shannon and I. As we move forward, we are going to do everything we can to assist in rebuilding this community that has adopted us. Between food and clothing drives, blood donations, and other service projects, we are going to do everything within our power to help Ecuador cope with the reality with which it is now faced. 

While I am not one to push political, economic, or humanitarian efforts, due to the close nature of this event to our lives, I feel obligated to post some options for some of our friends, families, or strangers who may read this and want to contribute. While I know there is justifiable skepticism about many humanitarian aid organizations, the way I see it, even if the worst case scenario takes place and only some of your intended donations make it to Ecuador, every little bit helps. That donation, full or partial will go a long way in providing truly vital supplies. 

If you want to help, the following organizations are reputable and are accepting donations:

Ecuador Red Cross-Providing first aid and searching for survivors.

UNICEF-Delivering water, supplies, and medicine.

World Vision-Setting up shelters and providing supplies and medical assistance. 

Samaritan's Purse- Medical assistance, and local community outreach.

World Food Program- Food assistance to families in need.

Oxfam America-Clean water, sanitation, hygiene. 

CARE- Water, food, and shelter

Lima

This year our school sent out an email at the beginning of the year asking who wanted to go to a conference in Lima, Peru. The only catch was that we would have to present if we wanted to go. I thought to myself, "Self...This is the kind of opportunity that only comes when you live abroad. Don't be stupid, take advantage of the conference, the chance to present in front of your international colleagues, and it's a freaking trip to Peru. If you pass on this you are an idiot.

The following few weeks were spent preparing a presentation with my teaching partner, Ashley. We ended up focusing on a presentation discussing the virtues of experiential learning through emotion and learning simulations. We presented to a group of administrators as our de facto "try out" and were selected to represent the school.

I can think of worse things

A few months went by as we completely procrastinated and didn't look at it for a long time   tinkered with the presentation to make sure it was just right.

This past week we went. In fact, I am sitting under a palm tree at the school now typing this. The experience has been fantastic. We arrived early on Tuesday afternoon and spent the day walking around and exploring the city. We found ourselves along the beautiful coastline near the beach marveling at the sights and gorgeous city. We fought our way through intensely dense Lima traffic (big problem here), and explored the rich cuisine.

Ashley and I eventually presented and after it was all said and done, in addition to our experience within the city and during our presentation, we learned a lot of really cool strategies, ideas, and big picture philosophical starting points for rich conversations.

Dinner in Lima

While we were here, we also celebrated my 29th birthday with a trip to a famous steakhouse in Lima. Fantastic trip all around, and one that could have only been possible while teaching in an international school. If you would have told me three years ago that within the next five years I would be traveling to Brazil, Trinidad, and Peru to exchange experiences and ideas, I would never had believed it. I feel very fortunate and validated for having chosen to go down this path.

Flood!

When we first moved to Ecuador, we went through the settling in process. That included finding an apartment, navigating a new city, and figuring out how to do basic things in a country where people spoke a language that we did not. Shortly after we settled in, right as we were beginning to prepare ourselves for the exploration stage of moving in to a new place, the rainy season struck.

The rainy season in Quito is from October through December or so. People told us to prepare for it, and sure enough, the rain followed and held true to predictions. Quito's rainy season stands in stark contrast to our previous home, Florida. In Florida, during the summer it rains. It dumps. However, these thundering deluges usually last for about an hour or so. In Quito, the storms are usually much less vicious but they last all day.

Well, people were wrong. We were wrong. The past month in Quito has been the rainy season. Much more so than whatever was happening in November. It has rained every single day, all day for a few weeks. When we asked people about this contradiction, they said "Oh yeah, April is our rainy season..." Oh Ecuador, you slay me.

Anyway, keeping in line with the majority of our experiences related to cultural adjustment, Murphy's Law applied here. I woke up early on a recent Monday. My eyes were crusty, my spirit hadn't yet come in the form of coffee and it was cold. As I walked into the living room I felt a distinct and disappointing squish squish of a watery boogie board like crusty wet carpet. Our back patio had flooded into the living room. We lived on the second floor! It's not supposed to flood there.

Soggy carpet

Anyway, after some morning grumbling and general crankiness, (remember...still no coffee) Shannon and I mopped up the water. We propped up the rug to attempt drying it and prevent mold growth. What had just 9 hours prior been a dry fluffy carpet had morphed into a living room version of tres leches.

MMMM. Tres Leches

We had a local cleaning company pick up our rug and we did the best we could to spot dry the couch. We got a hold of our landlord and had her send a repair guy to come and fix the leak. Instead of, you know sealing the leak carefully he decided it would be best to drill holes into the wall at a downward angle. That way, if it flooded, it would just fall back outside. He just happened to ignore the fact that if he had just sealed the leak we wouldn't need holes in the wall. Of course, I made him do this before he left anyway, although he felt the holes would be sufficient. He slabbed a giant wad of silicone sealant on the wall, swiped it like a frat bro on tinder, and left it as it was. Our best lessons living abroad remain. Be flexible, and more importantly expect the unexpected.

Not exactly how I would have solved this problem.

El Porvenir

El Porvenir

After months of being closed to the public due to concerns of a possible eruption, Cotopaxi National Park has finally reopened. On a recommendation from some friends, we booked an evening at the Hacienda El Porvenir which is located right on the edge of the park and boats a spectacular view of the Cotopaxi volcano.

We were pleased to discover that this stunning retreat was no more than an hour and half drive out of town and the route provided scenic views of rolling green country side and simple farms.

Cotopaxi Looming

The hacienda is located at over 11,000 feet and the air is cold and the wind is strong. The property is an assortment of charming red clay buildings with straw rooves, wood-burning fireplaces, a horse pasture with about 20 Andean horses, and several sheep, llamas, and dogs on site. El Porvenir is situated in the midst of several cow pastures where paramo grass grows in thick clumps and mortino bushes (wild blueberry bushes) cling to the mountain ridges. And, though at the moment it was obscured by thick rainclouds, snow-capped Cotopaxi loomed just behind the hacienda.

We invited our friends who made the recommendation to join us, along with their two teenage daughters. After settling in to our respective quarters, Justin, Jimmy and I decided to take a quick walk around the property to stretch our legs and take in the view. The hacienda offered three marked foot trails, ranging from a 40 minute to a 2 hour walk. We opted for the two hour hike, which was going to take us away from the property, up the ridge behind the property, towards Cotopaxi, and then back down the ridgeline on the other side of the property – essentially a giant loop.

Cotopaxi Volcano

The first part of the trail led us to the outskirts of the property where most of the horses had retired for the day to graze on the grass and drink from little volcano-fed springs. Then, the trail made a sharp left turn and began ascending through a woody area. Up and up we climbed though the wood. Several times I attempted to taste some of the maroon-skinned wild blueberries growing in prickly bushes alongside the trail but Justin stopped me every time. Some old boy scout rule about not eating wild berries.

After about 45 minutes of walking, we crested the ridgeline and were rewarded with a spectacular view of the valley around us. Mountain ranges and volcanoes to all sides, and a patchwork quilt of green pastures below. The wind was whipping fast as the height and already I was feeling my cheeks begin to chap. I could also feel the rapidly diminishing atmosphere at this height, as I huffed and puffed noisily behind the guys. After a quick breather, we decided to go ahead and complete the trail, which up until now had been remarkably well-marked. The next 40 minutes of the hike were along the ridge, taking us toward Cotopaxi at a steady 15 degree incline.  This may not seem very steep, but when oxygen is so scarce at this elevation, it feels more like a 45 degree incline.

Getting Ready

I let the guys take the lead, and found myself where I do on virtually all mountain hikes – in the caboose, huffing and puffing like the Little Engine That Could. I find I don’t like to talk on these hikes, as my lungs are too busy keeping my alive to waste precious breath on conversation. And at no time do I find small talk more irritating when I’m oxygen deprived. So at this point in the hike my responses are usually limited to head nods and grunts.

And it was during one of my grunts to Justin when I looked up and saw the rain clouds rolling back from Cotopaxi, beginning to reveal its snow-covered peak to us. We all stopped in our tracks to process the sight in front of us. A massive volcano, its summit – draped in sparkling snow seemed almost to touch the tip of the sky. Making its name, “Neck of the Moon” quite fitting. How lucky we felt to be presented with such a magnificent site, even if only for as long as the clouds allowed.

We then continued our ascent up the ridge. I noticed that the once clearly-marked trail had vanished and could find no indication of which way we should be heading. Our friend Jimmy was confident he could see the trail down the valley and suggested we take a “shortcut.”

And here is where things take a turn.

We leave the path where we had been standing and make a sharp left, no heading down the ridge back to the valley where the hacienda sits. But the valley is nothing but cow pastures and spiky grassy bushes so the walking is difficult. The ground is covered with old cow dung, dried and bleached white from the sun. Prickly bushes, some as tall as my hip provide obstacles to finding any sort of clear foot path. Imagine if you were a flea, walking across the back of a hedgehog. Every other step you have to turn and dodge a quill. You cut left, cut right, hop over a bush, etc. We are also now going downhill somewhat steeply, so there’s the added momentum of your body weight propelling you down the ridge and throwing off your balance.

The sign at the hacienda estimated 2 hours for this hike – roundtrip. We had now been walking for close to that time and in theory would arrive back at El Porvenir in 20-30 minutes. We traversed the back of the hedgehog for nearly half an hour before coming to small gorge. It was here we realized that what our friend thought was the trail was actually a deep gorge between two pastures. And there was no trace of a trail in sight. We knew the general direction we need to head – down and left. But there was no obvious way to get there.

What transpired for the next 90 minutes can only be described as a clumsy downhill stumble that led us through unending cow pastures, down and up gorges, through flooded valleys, under and over barbed wire fences, several backtracks and recalculations back dropped against a plethora of whispered profanity. The sun, meanwhile was slowly but steadily beginning to set and the temperature to drop as we tripped, lurched, and bumbled through pasture after pasture, trying to get back on a track towards the hacienda.

I would like to add here that none of us had dressed properly for this sort of hike, thinking instead we were going on an easy stroll through the country. I was wearing soft leather boots and dress socks, and poor Jimmy was wearing cargo shorts and boat shoes.

Finally, we saw another ridge to our left. On the other side of that ridge, we were fairly sure, sat the hacienda. It was no more than 1,000 meters across yet another cow pasture and we would have the hacienda in our sights. Easy. Except for one small problem. This particular cow pasture. This cow pasture separating us from a blustery, darkening and lonely countryside and a warm hacienda with a fireplace and canelazos and fleece leggings happened to belong to a bull-fighting training farm. We could see the circular training arena down below. And within this cow pasture stood two dozen black, muscular, horned bulls. Bulls who are likely trained to fight and be aggressive with humans. Bulls who had abruptly become quite curious with our sudden appearance on the edge of their grazing field.

After a quick survey, we deemed that the bulls seemed pretty relaxed. In fact, some of them even started walking away from us. They probably won’t mind if we just cut through their little pasture here to get home. So we slowly started walking into the field. At this point, what I assume was the Boss Bull, turned to face us head-on, and took a step forward. You might say it gave the impression of “squaring us up”. Carefully and quickly, the three of us backed up again to the edge of the pasture. Boss Bull was still staring us down pretty intently. Then I had a brilliant idea. “If we join elbows and walk side-by-side-by-side, we’ll give the impression of one really large animal, and then Boss Bull won’t mess with us.” The guys found my logic to be sound. So the three of us hooked arms, me in the middle, and once again we attempted to cross the pasture. Boss Bull was not comfortable with us whatsoever, evidenced by his next quick two steps in our direction and what I can only describe as an “I dare you” stare. So we quickly backed up again out of the pasture.

It occurred to us at this moment that this is where the term bully came from. We were being bullied by a bunch of bulls. In one last ditch effort to get us home, I suggested we all try sprinting as fast as possible straight across the pasture. It was then matter-of-factly explained to me that as the smallest person with the shortest legs, I would undoubtedly be picked off with the quickness by Boss Bull.

And with no other recourse, and lacking the confidence to outrun a herd of fighting bulls, we humbly walked backward out of the pasture, back down into the gorge, and continued our wandering for another hour.

Finally, we reached a dirt road that would lead us back to the hacienda. And while we survived the bull encounter, we were not coming away unscathed. My slippery dress socks had rubbed blisters into my feet and I had scrapes on my hand from crawling under barbed wire. Jimmy had scraped knees from sliding down a tree trunk which he had used at one point to gain a vantage point on our location. And Justin’s sweater was covered in spiny brambles that he had inadvertently raked across his face in attempt to wipe his nose.

Shannon Horsin' Around

It was now dusk. Our two hour leisurely walk through the countryside turned out to be more like a four hour episode of Naked and Afraid: Andes Cow Pastures (minus the naked part). And we were only two glad to huddle up around the blazing wood fire in the hacienda’s sitting room, and warm ourselves with hot canelazos and bourbon as we regaled the girls with our harrowing tale of survival.

The next day at Porvenir was much more tranquil. After a simple scrambled egg, bread and marmalade breakfast, Justin and I went for a 2 hour (it was actually 2 hours this time) horseback riding tour back up into the ridgeline. We were outfitted with heavy alpaca fur-lined chaps, and thick wool poncho that did a remarkable job of blocking out the chilling winds.

Quietly we rode back up to the ridge with a splendid view once again of Cotopaxi. And I couldn’t help but marvel at how blessed our lives truly are. If you had told me two years ago that I would be riding horses through the Andes Mountains with Justin, surrounded by some of the most striking scenery I have ever seen, I would have laughed. But I did. And this is my life at the moment. And I’m absolutely loving it.

Train of the Volcanoes

Last week Shannon and I found ourselves in the midst of our annual Spring Break. Due to our wedding planning, honeymoon planning, and some general travel fatigue, we decided to stay in Quito for the break.

All Aboard!

Prior to moving overseas, my time as a teacher has shown me plenty of school breaks where people just hang out locally. Here, it seems that everyone instantly darts off for Chile, Peru, Argentina, or somewhere else. It's a subtle but very big difference in mindset. While I love traveling and seeing new stuff and cool places, Shannon and I also realized that we hadn't really done all of Quito and the surrounding area as well as we would have wanted. So, we decided to focus our week on seeing some of what Quito itself (and the nearby surrounding area) has to offer.

Waving with Delight

The first part of the week was filled with dentist appointments, and the like. The second half of the week we started our journey in and around Quito with a bit more vigor. We did the Papallachta hike again and spent an afternoon soaking in the pools. I won't detail that since it's very similar to the first time we went and we made a lengthy post them. In short however, it was cold and wet and muddy and awesome!

Another Quito adventure we decided to go on was the Train of the Volcanoes. The Ministry of Tourism in Quito has done an incredible job (so we've heard) remaking and repairing the local train systems. They have repaired the trains themselves, fixed up the tracks, and built tiny little stations along the rural towns to promote economic development and allow people to visit these often forgotten about areas. We had heard these trips were a great way to see the country and spend a day so we booked our tickets and got ready to roll.

Some contextual information you might need to know. The majority of Quito's finance and business interests lie in the north of the city. In general, Ecuador and Quito itself are not known as rich financial hubs, but within the city there is a clear division of wealth. Our school and our home are located in the north. The south is widely known and talked about (at least among people in the north) as the poor sector of the city. It is also known as the area of the city where crime and safety become more of a prominent concern. I have not spent much time in the southern part of the city, so I can only speak to the reputation as stated by those around me.

Anyway, the station is in the south of the city. We decided that since we didn't know whether there would be a guarded parking lot or street parking, given the reputation of the area, we would take a taxi. As soon as we arrived to the station we were impressed with the finely finished paint job, murals of Mariscal Sucre (a revolutionary general here), and the apparent organization of the building. As we pulled up and paid the taxi driver, we did, however see across the street, two police officers in a fight with a citizen. They had their billy clubs and he was clearly fighting back. I had no idea what provoked this, whether it was a crime or aggression on someone's part, but I was not interested in staying and finding out.

Rolling Green Hills Along the Way

We went into the station and checked in. Along the station there was a cafe and everyone was eagerly awaiting the chance to board. We took a few photos with the old style train and boarded. The inside of the train was clean and the layout was neat. We sat diner style (my New Jersey roots showing through). There were two bucket type seats facing each other with a small table in the middle and giant windows lining the whole thing.

Watch it Llamas

As the train set off, our car's narrator explained some of the information about the local plants and animals and she explained a cool story about the train in the area. She said since the indigenous population of the Andes were so well insulated and far away from the rest of the world, that when the trains were built there in the early 1900s, local people had never seen anything like the trains. They saw giant black things visiting intermittently spewing black smoke and thought of them as monsters. They responded by laying gifts of hand made goods, corn, and potatoes along the tracks as tribute to avoid upsetting the monsters. I thought that was a sad but fascinating story of the local area.

As we left the station and slowly meandered through South Quito, the poverty was evident, but the spirit of the people was incredible. As we passed, grown men, children, and grandparents ran out of their homes to come outside and wave to the train. This route was so new, and so many of them had never seen a train before, in 2016 in a city, that they were giddy at the sight of us rolling through. This took place dozens of times as we slowly went by. Police officers on duty stopped to smile and wave and take out their phones to video the train. It was incredible to see such a wide myriad of different types of people be completely enamored with a train. Everyone we passed was full of genuine wonder. It's something I won't forget.

Machachi Station

As we left the city, the landscape exploded into green pastures and rolling hills and volcanoes. The views reminded me of what I imagine Ireland to be. Endless rolling plains of different types of green. We were surrounded by lush forest, bountiful farmland, and dense mist rolling down the sides of the mountains towards us. We saw 7 different volcanoes along the way, hence the name of the route being, Ruta del Volcanes.

Traditional Performance in Machachi

After about two hours, we stopped at a small village where we loaded up on hot tea, snacks, and where local artisans sold some of their goods. The town had to have been smaller than 200 people in total population. I imagine the train stopping with 300+ people once or twice in a weekend provided them with some much needed economic stability with the tourists buying their goods. It was a really cool experience from my respective as the tourist to see these small towns as well.

We got back on the train and stopped again after a few more hours of breath taking views. Where we stopped, I was confronted again by some roaming aggressive llamas. I protected Shannon as I always do and we were back on the train after buying some hot chocolate.

Tiny Pony at the Farm

Our last stop was at a town called Machachi, where we were greeted a group of local teenagers performing a local dance they had rehearsed and prepared for us. After the dance, we went to eat lunch in a local hacienda farm. After the lunch, we roamed around eating freshly made fruit ice cream and checking out his animals.

Mutual Respect Among Natural Foes

We got back on the train and headed back into Quito, waving at more people along the way. It was an amazing day, an incredible way to see the countryside, and exactly what we were looking for when it comes to seeing some of Quito's local culture.