The Calm Before the Storm

Hi Everyone,

Before Tandana officially started it's medical work, a group of donors came from the States. Because I was going to be working for the Foundation for free, I was invited to join the donor group as they toured the area, ate fine food, enjoyed great music, visited pre-Incan pyramids, and lots of cool stuff.

The group arrived and we had some very fine dining at Palmeras. Then we were treated to a local music group. I stole one of the instruments after some dancing, but no one seemed to mind.

The next day we visited a volcanic lake nearby called Cuicocha. Cuicocha is a kichwa word meaning "guinea pig lake." The lake is situated at 10,000 feet in between mountains.

It has two islands in the middle, and the story says that they resemble two guinea pigs. The funny thing is that the real story behind the name is much different. The kichwa name was kuysticocha which means "rainbow lake," because a rainbow often appears above the water. The Spanish heard "cuy" and the created a story to match. Regardless, it was really gorgeous and impressive.

Afterwards we went to the workshop of a man who makes furniture out of coffee trees. Who knew? I decided to teach the group how the furniture was made (and no, I don't have any idea but if you can act, people believe anything!)

Then onto a fancy lunch at a nearby hacienda.

The grounds were incredible. Lots of trees, plants, and fruits I had never seen before in my life.

And of course, what gringo hang-out is complete without a peacock...

Another day we visited a tree farm. The concept is really cool. Twenty-five local communities got together and decided to make a farm of popular exportable trees. It generates income, sustains the near-by environment, and they were able to solicit assistance from the EU and the States.

In terms of how exciting it is to visit, well let's just say if there had been a cot available, I would have used it...

Being a group of donors to Tandana, it was important that they saw some of the projects that Tandana had supported. It was also a good chance to meet some of the communities in which Tandana works.

This first community is called Larcacunga. Tandana has run a clinic here twice a year for the past 5 years. The kids are really fun and the community clearly loved Anna and what she did. Tandana had helped build a water treatment plant a few years back. The five towns that share the water also share responsibility for it's upkeep and maintenance.
Our next stop was Gualsaqui. This happens to be the town where my host Dad teaches and my host Mom is a nurse. It's about 30 minutes from Otavalo and acts as an access point to many tiny communities as you head up in altitude towards the Cloud Forest.

Here is me with my Dad and Kristen (from the post "Northwestern Hospitality")


For our final adventure with the donors, we went to a site of pre-Incan pyramids about half way between Quito and Otavalo. It is called Cochasqui. It dates to approximately 900 AD. It is a sacred site for the Kichwa religion and is situated on the line of the Equator. Pretty impressive seeing as Europeans didn't designate that line for another 800 years.

The wildlife was awesome. There were hundreds of llamas, alpacas, burrowing owls, rabbits, and guinea pigs (of course).

The wildlife got even more interesting about half way through the tour. The alpaca and a a male llama decided that they wanted to mate with the same female llama. We felt bad for her, and in the end, the alpaca was triumphant (the white one).

The park service that managed the site had recreated some houses based on evidence of what they might look like.

They may have gone a little overboard with this bridge...

After a long walk back, we all settled down to a picnic lunch next to the llamas.

It was a really incredible week, and just the sort of fun relaxation I needed before the cuy hit the fan (that's not a real Ecuadorian expression but you got it anyway).

On the drive back, it looked as if Imbabura had erupted! The problem was that it has been extinct for thousands of years and no one seemed panicked. I later found out that a errant fire had spread to cover the entire mountainside.

After this, I stopped playing and started working. I promise.
Love
Kent