I will be in the United States from March 14-28. From March 14-17, I will be in Seattle. From March 17-21, I will be in Portland. From March 21-28, I will be in Colorado.
I can be reached on my rental cell phone at 619-301-7260.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Indigenous Wedding, Cotacachi
Typical Andean music
The groom feeds the bride, to represent he will always take care of her.
Family circle around
Notice the rose pedals on the groundWorking on a Chakra, Rio Blanco, Amazon
Mica uses a machete
Nadia carried yuca on her head
Tina and Kayla learn how to plant platano
Kayla and Alex dig holes for platano
Friday, March 09, 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
The Amazon
We left for the Amazon on Wednesday. The long and beautiful drive over the “paramo” (highlands) of Ecuador was exhausting and extraordinary because we passed through several kinds of ecosystems. We arrived Port Misahualli that night and rested so we would be energized for the next four days in the jungle.
On Thursday morning we went in boats along the huge and wide River Napo to the “Parque Amazoonico,” which is an Animal Rehabilitation Center. We took a tour and learned about the variety of animals that live in the jungle, like monkeys, snakes and cats, and discovered why so many of these animals are in danger. Hunting. Pets. Humans.
Then, we split into two different groups, and one group traveled to the Kichwa indigenous community called Machacuyaku and the other group went to the Kichwa indigenous community called Rio Blanco.
I went to Rio Blanco.
The hike into Rio Blanco was about 2 hours up and down a muddy trail, and our two young guides stopped often to explain different properties of medicinal plants along the way.
Thank goodness for rubber boots! And mosquito nets!!!
In Rio Blanco, we went to the community, visited the school, played duck-duck-goose with the kids, made “chicha” out of yucca and toured the botanical garden of medicinal & edible plants.
I was fascinated with a 99 year old woman that did not speak Spanish. She babbled to me in Kichwa and we smiled at each other. =)
We also went to a small farm and planted yucca and platano, and realized how hard farming is without machinery. Also, we realized how important yucca and platano are for these people’s diet, and culture.
We went on a medicinal plant hike to a paradise-like waterfall. Our guides baptized us all with nature-oriented names in Kichwa and then we swam in the pools of cold water below and above the powerful waterfall. My name was “Reina de la Cascada,” Woman of the Waterfall. All of the traditional drawings with natural paint on our face washed off in the water. We returned to our lodge down the river in tubs and dug-out canoes. In the rain.
We also had a craft demonstration and learned how to make fish traps, baskets, string and necklaces out of natural fibers from plants.
We had a cultural night, where local people from the community performed for us their traditional wedding dance, their peace dance, and their small band played some traditional songs with a guitar, a violin, a drum and a natural wood instrument. In turn, we explained where our ancestors came from, and I played the guitar and we sang Redemption Song, You Are My Sunshine and Blister in the Sun. And we did the Hustle dance. It was a time of intercultural sharing and friendship building.
We did so many activities and we felt the peace of the jungle. We learned about the struggles of the indigenous in the Amazon, against European gold mining companies and Japanese oil companies, along with their economic struggle of sustainability. We understood the Kichwa´s attempts to revive their culture and maintain their language. We explored their methods of holistic health with alternative and natural medicines. We got a taste of their lives.
We left the jungle with hundreds of bug bites and an initial understanding of the forest’s inhabitant’s lives.
We are now in Quito and we are returning to Costa Rica today. Changed. Two and a half weeks later. Ecuador has been an excellent case study for us about Latin American Issues, Global Studies, culture, economics, politics, gender studies, indigenous movements, alternative medicine, globalization, and, and, and, and, and, and….
On Thursday morning we went in boats along the huge and wide River Napo to the “Parque Amazoonico,” which is an Animal Rehabilitation Center. We took a tour and learned about the variety of animals that live in the jungle, like monkeys, snakes and cats, and discovered why so many of these animals are in danger. Hunting. Pets. Humans.
Then, we split into two different groups, and one group traveled to the Kichwa indigenous community called Machacuyaku and the other group went to the Kichwa indigenous community called Rio Blanco.
I went to Rio Blanco.
The hike into Rio Blanco was about 2 hours up and down a muddy trail, and our two young guides stopped often to explain different properties of medicinal plants along the way.
Thank goodness for rubber boots! And mosquito nets!!!
In Rio Blanco, we went to the community, visited the school, played duck-duck-goose with the kids, made “chicha” out of yucca and toured the botanical garden of medicinal & edible plants.
I was fascinated with a 99 year old woman that did not speak Spanish. She babbled to me in Kichwa and we smiled at each other. =)
We also went to a small farm and planted yucca and platano, and realized how hard farming is without machinery. Also, we realized how important yucca and platano are for these people’s diet, and culture.
We went on a medicinal plant hike to a paradise-like waterfall. Our guides baptized us all with nature-oriented names in Kichwa and then we swam in the pools of cold water below and above the powerful waterfall. My name was “Reina de la Cascada,” Woman of the Waterfall. All of the traditional drawings with natural paint on our face washed off in the water. We returned to our lodge down the river in tubs and dug-out canoes. In the rain.
We also had a craft demonstration and learned how to make fish traps, baskets, string and necklaces out of natural fibers from plants.
We had a cultural night, where local people from the community performed for us their traditional wedding dance, their peace dance, and their small band played some traditional songs with a guitar, a violin, a drum and a natural wood instrument. In turn, we explained where our ancestors came from, and I played the guitar and we sang Redemption Song, You Are My Sunshine and Blister in the Sun. And we did the Hustle dance. It was a time of intercultural sharing and friendship building.
We did so many activities and we felt the peace of the jungle. We learned about the struggles of the indigenous in the Amazon, against European gold mining companies and Japanese oil companies, along with their economic struggle of sustainability. We understood the Kichwa´s attempts to revive their culture and maintain their language. We explored their methods of holistic health with alternative and natural medicines. We got a taste of their lives.
We left the jungle with hundreds of bug bites and an initial understanding of the forest’s inhabitant’s lives.
We are now in Quito and we are returning to Costa Rica today. Changed. Two and a half weeks later. Ecuador has been an excellent case study for us about Latin American Issues, Global Studies, culture, economics, politics, gender studies, indigenous movements, alternative medicine, globalization, and, and, and, and, and, and….
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