Three young kids posing next to the cocoa. They were devils the rest of the time
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
La puenta en Serena
On the right is an advertisement for the Social Christian party headed by Cynthia Viteri(see my previous posts on Ecuadorian politics) On the left some graffiti urges people to "not vote for the same old ones"
Shandia- Isaac
Near the end of my stay we went on a two day hike to some virgin jungle about four hours from Shandia. At one point we had to cross a river flowing quickly from recent rain and I snapped this shot. With only two bowls of chicha(fermented drink made from manioc) we were able to hike up and down a mountain for 12 hours. Our goal was to see the site and hunt monkeys as well but none were found.
Shandia- Jonah with Guitar
My next door neighbour with the guitar my host family in Sangolqui lent me.
Soccer- On the side lines
Soccer games were also a source of income, with all sorts of drinks and food sold along the sidelines. My favourite was the fried dough bread with sugar. In fact, it was no different from a beaver tail! Cultural peculiarities will never cease to amaze me.
Shandia- Action Shot II
Out of several action shots I attempted only these two came out any good. If only I'd had a zoom lens and a tripod. I felt, however, that that would have been too invasive. In one case a girl was taking a penalty shot and she asked me to not shoot. I gladly obliged.The girl above is attacking the goal with her usual tenacity.
Shandia- Soccer Team II
Mujeres Shandia A. During my time there they were unbeatable and frequently ran up the score against their opponents.
Shandia- Soccer Team
Another weekly community event was the soccer team that was part of the local league. Shandia played against teams from Centro Talag, Bajo Talag, Santa Rosa, Ila Yacu, Serena, 10 de Agosto, and a few others. The winner of the league would then go on to play in the provincial capital of Tena. These games were taken quite seriously and were a lot of fun to watch. The family I stayed with (Cerda Andi) was particularly active in the soccer league. The father, mother, five kids, and daughter in law all played on the top teams. Their second youngest son was on the elementary school team and his little brother was following close behind. I'm sure their youngest daughter will also be a great player some day.
Shandia-Ecuavolley
A popular sport when soccer wasn't in season was ecuavolley, a variant on volleyball. It is played with three people on each side, a soccer ball instead of volleyball, and slightly smaller and higher net. The biggest rule change is that lifting is allowed, even encouraged, given the weight of the ball. Games were played for money with many people gathered to watch.
Shandia- Cocoa Drying
A major part of Shandia's economy was the selling of cocoa seeds to the local cooperative, Kallari.Once collected from nearby farms they were fermented for 3-4 days and then laid to dry on this drying rack. The smell of the beans wafting through the village was irresistible.
Shandia-A River
A nearby river. In order to get the water looking like that I set the camera up on a rock and set the exposure for 2 seconds.
Shandia-Community Telephone
In Shandia there is one community phone installed in 2003 when President Gilmar Guittierez (from the area) was briefly in power. Calls can be received from anywhere and you can phone out with a calling card. Because the phone is communal, answering it is a very public event. When the phone rings there is often a rush to answer it and the "winner" then gets to go yelling the name of the person who has received the call. On some occasions when I expected a call I had to out sprint people to get there first.
Shandia-Community Centre
Centro Comunitario Jaime Elliot. Built back in the 1950s it was at one point the school but now has not been used for some time. There exist some ideas to renovate it and perhaps make it into a museum or tourist destination.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
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