Shandia-My House

The following photos are all from the time I spent in Shandia, a small town in the Ecuadorian Amazon. There is so much to say but I'll try to be as to the point as possible.

What better place to start than the house I lived in?

This house was originally built for a Peace Corps volunteer who was supposed to be in Shandia for two years. I say supposed to because she left after about six months. Some time later people in Shandia were still talking about her. The plus side was that there was now a house I could stay in.

The house was made completely of wood with wire meshing on all the windows. The roof was very high and made of a large leaf from a local plant(para toquilia). Approximately 20,000 leaves were used in the construction of the roof.

On the front of the house on the right you can see some political propaganda from the PSP (Partido Social Patriotica). In front of the house are the compost I built and the little garden I started with help from the kids. On the far left you can see the black plastic that formed the wall of my bathroom.

Two by a Waterfall

Beautiful

Roof of Boat

On this small 12 person boat we traveled down the river from Tena to Coca. The highlight was our stop in Santa Maria(one of about two million in Ecuador alone) where we went on a jungle night hike!

Mural at Mitad del Mundo

One of several murals from the middle of earth monument near Pomasqui. We "accidentally" wandered by the gate not realizing that we should have paid to get in. By the time the guard chased us down most of our group had already made it up to monument and was on their way out.

Looking Up

Looking up into the canopy of the forest you realize how small you are

Pasochoa Hydro Electric Dam

On the mountain of Pasochoa near Sangolqui there is one of Ecuador's few hydro-electric power stations. This form of power has great potential in Ecuador but is vastly underutilized. Think of all the river mountains not to mention the ones in the Amazon...

Sangolqui-Jennifer Around Town III

TADAH!

Sangolqui-Jennifer Around Town II

A random castle along a side road

Sangolqui-Jennifer Around Town

I really wonder what it would have been like to see this tree before it was cut down. As it was it made a great place for a picture of Jennifer.

Sangolqui-The Compost

The newest edition to the school, a compost bin! This would later get some siding and a second one built behind it. Most of the compost came from home but student's snacks and our nightime potlucks helped out too. This was the perfect addition to the garden built beside it.

Sangolqui- The School II

This building at the back is apparently a new edition to the school since it was bought about 10 years ago. Most of our classes were held in this part of the school.

Sangolqui- The School

The "school" Trent ran was actually a house. It had several large rooms though and the large lawn space made it a good place to be.

Sangolqui-Survive the Shower

The view from Jennifer's room

And be sure not to touch this

Imagine showering with this over your head(at Jennifer's house)

Sangolqui-The Dog

The family dog "Dana" on the front lawn

Sangolqui-My House

In Sangolqui we stayed with host families for the first four months of the exchange. I had a small bedroom with the Orozco-Penafiel family in this house. The house was a short bike ride from the school and also close enough that I could carry our compost to the school. Unfortunately the house did not have much of a yard for that sort of thing.

Fence

Close up of a fence on a bridge in Laticunga

In the window

Cotopaxi Train

A few kilometres from the park entrance is a train that you can take into Quito from the Cotopaxi National Park. We arrived late and unfortunately couldn't get a seat on top. We were so tired that it hardly mattered to us. The train actually stopped to pick people up along the way, while also passing very close to people's back yards. About 3/4 of the way we had to stop because the track was broken(typical Ecuador). Instead we got crammed into a hot bus for the rest of the trip.

Jenn on Cotopaxi with a sweater I bought her. We hiked in with all our stuff and were lucky enough to catch a free ride with a guide who was entering the park. He let us out at this small lake and we camped next to it for the next couple days. Except for one noisy Ecuadorian group and the occasional vehicle passing by we were by ourselves. Well except for the cows which were grazing around our tent during the night!? We had amazing campfire food and hiked around the nearby hills(see flower pictures later on). On the way out we just started walking and eventually someone stopped and picked us up.

Cotopaxi Peak

The peak of Cotopaxi during a brief respite from the clouds. I'll never forget the first time I saw it, absent mindedly turning around while hiking on the plains. It's even visible during the night...

Plains of Cotopaxi

Jenn and I also had some time to travel together by ourselves. This is one of the flat areas leading up to the Cotopaxi refuge. The white spot in the middle is either a spontaneous alien appearance or a developing mistake

Cuenca Parade

One of several colourful floats during a parade in Cuenca

Stairs

Stairs near the park in Cuenca

Streets of Cuenca

Another picture from out a window

Cathedral of Cuenca-Main Doors

This cathedral when built was meant to be the biggest in Latin America. Unfortunately they forgot that that might actually involve some sound planning. Inside this Cathedral I saw God, literally.

Road to the Angel

At the end of the road in this picture you can see the angel on the hill on the outskirts of Quito

Roof Tiles

I had to lean out a window to get this picture, but it was worth it

Inside the Cathedral

Even cooler than being inside the cathedral was walking across the roof of the sanctuary!

Lone Tower

Another of the towers. There was a couple kissing but they are not visible in this scanned picture unfortunately

Cuenca and Cathedrals-The Two Towers

No picture tour of Ecuador would be complete without some mention of the Cathedrals.
Here is the two towers of the main Cathedral in the historic centre of Quito

Starfish

Starfish on soft sand, surrounded by slowly receding water

Down to the Coast

Seashells with ever delicate sand dollar
Thousands of these lined the beach,
but could break with the lightest of touches

Church in Montanita

Blue Beach Boats

Random shots from the Sierra

Whatever you do, don't bring in your goats!

Our homemade Christmas Dinner

Me with another llama

More from Ingapirca

Rock with holes
Según algunos antropológicos...

Jenn and Dan

Jenn meets the llama

Christmas Tour-Meeting the Llama

We now jump to Christmas where Jenn, Dan, and I did a tour of Ecuador. One stop was at Ingapirca, the most prominent Inca site in Ecuador. That was cool, but the best part was meeting the wildlife. Eventually I got close enough that my offerings of grass were accepted.

Group Photo

This one should have gone way back at the beginning but I just got it now. This is the group at the military base just before our Welcome Dinner.