I have been in Ecuador for the last two and half weeks. It is quite a contrast down here from the U.S. I had been intrigued by Ecuador because of it’s diversity. Although it is only about the size of Colorado it has Tropical Rainforest, year-round glaciers and many things in between. The culture is also very diverse. A large percentage of the population speak Quechua and the native people have a voice in the government.

My first few days were spent in Quito which I initially enjoyed but soon wanted to leave the city to explore more rural areas. I went to Ambato because it is known to have large markets. Ambato is a three-hour bus ride from Quito and I enjoyed that ride. Rich fields are on the trip and the contrast between the sanitized feel of American interstates could not be greater. I was interested in exploring the markets in Ambato and soon was on my way to find them. At the market I did not find anything I had not found at the Quito market but I enjoyed the contact with the native people who seemed to have a deep strength to them. Later I was to find out about a huge Sunday market in Ambato.

I continued to Baños where I got sick. After a day recuperating I headed down to Puyo to explore the Jungle. Simply being in Puyo was amazing since it gives you a feel of the jungle. I headed over to El Jardin hostel for a meel and learned about a nature walk along the river. There I found the Parque Oemare, which is a wonderful ethnobotanical park created by three different Ecuadorian tribes. It costs three dollars to get in which I felt was well worth it. We were introduced to many different plants and showed native structures and objects they used in their lives.

There is also a tower in Puyo in which you get a view of the trees. I found out about Flor de la Amazonia while I was in Puyo and went to visit the place. They are an animal rescue place set in the jungle northeast of Puyo. The ride there is wonderful as it becomes more remote as you go along. You see what the forest looks like after it has been cleared and it is being farmed. At Flor de la Amazonia there are cages where they have different animals. I saw monkeys being moved to another cage and released.

The sounds the made I thought at first was coming from birds. There was also a parrot that was sitting among the trees so still that I at first thought it was not real. At Flor de la Amazonia I went for a walk through the jungle and was able to really get a feeling for it. It was a magical feeling. Flor de la Amazonia also has a school in which they are teaching English to children of the local tribe.

That weekend I decided to do more exploring and headed north to Tena. I found a hostel next to the bus station and the next day decided to visit Jatun Sacha which is known as the premier biological research station in Ecuador. This place cost $6 to get in and I was given a tour of the medicinal plant garden as well as their garden for food. In the garden you can see the clay soil and how barren it is. There is a tower to climb and I climbed that got an amazing view out over the trees. The trail there is confusing and seems longer than the map makes it seem but it is through primary forest as is the trail to the garden so it is an amazing experience.

In Tena itself there is a great park which is a jungle style park and has exhibits about different plants and animals from the jungle and gives you a good feeling of being in the jungle. I enjoyed a hillside of impatiens as well as huge old trees and a variety of birds in the trees. The person at the entrance was a local native person who wanted to know how much I enjoyed the park and the town.

After I left Tena I headed back to Baños and was glad to eat at a restaurant there. Baños has far more choices for healthy food than either Puyo or Tena. There is a restaurant named Casa Hood that has wonderful food and many international travelers with whom you can share your experiences. I met a group from England who had climbed a mountain in the Andes and were talking about their experiences there. At this restaurant I saw a flier about a school farther up the mountain which needed volunteers. The name of the school is Katitawa and that is where I am right now.

The school is attended by native Bolivians who were transplanted by the Inca and have stayed here ever since. I was struck by how friendly and peaceful the students seemed. When I first I arrived at the school they were very curious who I was and when Robert and I walked to the school we were happily greeted in English. The school and the place where volunteers stay are located in two different locations with a nice walk between. Salasaca, being in the Andes, has a very different feeling than Puyo or Tena.

The first day at the school we climbed up the mountain and got a good view down into the valley and of the surrounding mountains. The tallest peak in Ecuador, which some say is the farthest point from the center of the Earth, is visible from here when the weather is clear. We were told by Maria, one of the teachers that there was a sacred place on this climb. The students saw a rabbit and got very excited and chased after it. They did not seem to realize that they would scare it away in the process.

Once we got to a field we stopped and the students were introduced to the game of tag where two people link arms and the third person has to run and find someone else to link arms with and avoid being tagged. It took them awhile to catch on and one child refused to run but once they got a hang of it the game became quite lively.

While we were up there a group came up and were teaching paragliding. It was fun to watch. The parachute covered us a few times which caused great excitement among the students. The person running the program tried to sell us on signing up. It was $350 for a month’s worth of training. The students had been really interested in doing it but when told the cost one of the younger ones said everything is really expensive.