It was around the time of the Banos field course that both John Lyons and I finally got our visas to work. In the past I had obtained Ecuadorian work visas and never once was it an easy process to go through. This time around was no different. There are so many required documents to collect, rules and laws to follow, sweat and blood to shed - and then, when you think you are ready to go and hand in all your papers - the government go and change the whole process and you basically have to start all over. It feels like a never ending cycle of red-tape. After some months of painful document collecting though, both of us submitted everything that we possibly could and we were finally approved to work. It had been a long process but we had made it!!!
After a week of work at the IG (and visa making for me) it was back down to Banos for Juan, Hugo, Andrea and myself, to complete our final week of the field course that we began 14 days prior. We got back into our groups and took out our monitoring site equipment, careful first to make sure that we had saved and stored all the data. We were put into pairs to work on a mini project, using programs such as Matlab to analyse and manipulate the seismo-acoustic information and come up with some interesting results. I was paired up with Ashton, a bright guy who was noticeable for the unbelievable amount of tattoos that he possessed. We worked on a project of detecting events automatically and then calculating some parameters of the volcanic signals that we had found.
During the week we also had presentations from various professors from the States and from Ecuador. We went out every night to eat in a different restaurant and have a few drinks in one of the local bars. The days were mainly spent in our hostel working on the projects. There were some opportunities to get out though. A few days we went out in the field to look at rock formations of volcanic deposits such as pyroclastic or debris flows, that had once devastated the area surrounding the volcano. We had a tour of the Tungurahua volcano observatory (of which I already knew pretty well) and on another day we spent some time looking at a super-concentrated volcanic flow which had just formed off one of the drainage systems of Tungurahua. It is similar to a lahar but by no means nearly as powerful or damaging. We were able to get up pretty close. We also went up to a lookout point to observe Tungurahua one evening. We all took beers with us for the show. It was an amazing sight as we had views of Tungurahua, Chimborazo and a whole number of other volcanic peaks.
At the end of the week each pair presented their results to the group, and that was the course done. We went out for one final night where we all drank a few more beverages than usual and chatted about many a random story. It had been a good few weeks in Banos. I had met some interesting people, learnt a great deal and generally had a good time. Each of us from the IG group were also going to receive 2 US university credit hours from New Mexico Tech. It was very exciting although at the time I had absolutely no idea what they were.
The weeks after the Banos trip I kept in contact with Dr. Jeff Johnson about starting the application for a PhD. Jeff had recently moved to Boise State University in Idaho and wanted me to follow him there. It was something I needed to talk with Maisa about but I was keen to do it. A few days after the Banos trip another thing happened. An old friend was returning. Grace had come back from her English studies in Canada some time ago but now her boyfriend was returning. Henry was landing in to Quito for more madness and mayhem. He was a good friend and I was glad he was going to be around for the next few months. He was also bringing along his cousin - Anousha, who I would soon find out was as loopy as Henry himself...............
Thursday 21 March 2013
The Banos Field Trip: Part 2
Tuesday 19 March 2013
The Banos Field Trip: Part 1
Dr. Jeffrey Johnson had come back to Ecuador for the 35th time. Okay, so I don't actually know if he had been 34 times before but he certainly knew the country well. That I was sure of. The professor from New Mexico Tech University was teaching a 3 week field course in Banos, based on field techniques in the installation of volcano monitoring equipment and the analysis of the collected data. He had brought around 20 students with him. Four of us from the IG (me included) were also asked to join; to help out the students (as we were well accustomed to the ways of South America) but also to learn ourselves. The four of us however were only invited to weeks one and three, which was the main installation and data analysis part. Week two (in the middle) was only for travelling around to see the many Ecuadorian volcanoes the country had to offer, of which the IG group already knew pretty well. The four of us were also asked to each make a presentation to the group of students on the volcano data that we had been working on.
The group was nice enough. They had come from universities all over the States and even some from outside North America. Everyone was keen to learn and enjoy themselves at the same time. The first week consisted of our seismo-acoustic installation. We had five main sites that made up our array. Each site had a seismometer and an acoustic microphone, both used simultaneously for detecting volcano signals. The sites were located close to one another around one large field, high up on the flanks of Tungurahua volcano. The idea was to split up into groups and each install a station site, under the supervision of Jeff Johnson, Mario Ruiz (my boss at the IG) and help from John Lyons who was also working at the institute. Once each station was installed we would have our completed array and would then return to the stations a week or so later to see what data we had collected. I was confident the data would be interesting as Tungurahua was active and I was sure that we would at least see an explosion or two at the volcano. Actually, we didn't have to worry, as one morning while everyone was in bed at the local Banos hostel half the group was woken up by an explosion.
During that first week I presented my research to the group. It was based on explosion events at Tungurahua volcano, so the topic couldn't have been more relevant. The talk went well and it had impressed Jeff enough to talk to me later that evening about the possibility of me undertaking a PhD, with himself as supervisor. It was something I was keen to find out more about and over the next few weeks I discussed this subject further with him.
The week had been quite intense. We were out in the field for most of the days and listening to presentations or reading scientific journals at night. We did have some time to head out into Banos, to eat at the many restaurants, drink in a few of the bars or swim in the pool at the hostel. The trip for myself and the other 3 at the IG was also funded - so we could work and play hard and all at little personal cost. It was a fun week and I was glad to becoming back again, in just 7 days time..............
Saturday 17 November 2012
Maisa & I - One Year Together
The months that followed really represented a period of time that Maisa and I spent growing as a couple. We would see each other at least every other day and be on the phone to one another pretty much all the time. It was nice. With Maisa's family having a second house in Banos, it was also a period of time that we spent many a weekend down on the edge of the Amazon Jungle. Banos basically became my second home in Ecuador.
On one trip down to Banos we headed back onto Maisa's farm where we bathed under the cooling waterfalls after a long hike in the jungle heat. Along the way we found a huge hornets nest which Mauri decided to play with. Unsurprisingly, he was stung numerous times which quickly became a fascinating thing to watch for myself, as both his hands swelled up like balloons. It was bizarrely abnormal. On a second trip down, we were invited to a family wedding. It was an amusing experience, primarily because the young boy in charge of the wedding rings consistently dropped them about once every three minutes. As the ceremony continued you would continually hear a 'chinking' sound and then a second latter a small boy would be running around the church trying to catch the run-away rolling rings. Each time he did it I laughed louder and louder. The party was an experience also. Actually, weddings in Ecuador are not too dissimilar as any where else. The bouquet is thrown, speeches are made and there is much eating, drinking and dancing. The odd thing, which is not just at weddings but any form of party gathering, is that the food is not served until very late. The reason I am told is that if the hosts serve the food at say 8 pm, then most people will have left by 9. Thus, the food is served at something like midnight to prevent people disappearing and leaving the place empty. It therefore means that a huge amount of the drinking and dancing takes place before the meal so that by the time the food does arrive most people are steaming drunk. Odd. Apart from that, the wedding was very nice and enjoyed by all.
In Quito, Maisa and I celebrated our one year together. We went out for a nice meal, in a great restaurant with an even better view - that engulfed half of the capital. We had done a lot together during the past year, which has included spending time with each other in four different countries and in between, about a million different experiences. I hope for an endless amount more.
Back at work, things were going well. Tungurahua was taking up most of my working day as the activity at the volcano continued. I was soon to be going down to Tungurahua for a two week field course with a group of students from the States. I didn't know it at the time, but it would change my future.........forever.
Sunday 6 May 2012
A Trip Away For Semana Santa
Starting the process to obtain a new work visa was as big a nightmare as I knew it would be. The ministries in charge of these things here in Ecuador seem to think that it is a good idea to change the rules on obtaining a visa, approximately every three days. This makes it increasingly difficult to do anything because by the time you have collected all your papers they have changed the rules on what you need and you have to start all over. When I first arrived into the country you just needed some documents to obtain a work visa directly. However, since that time things have changed, so that you now first need a ton of papers to obtain authorisation from the Ministry of Labour, and then go for the work visa afterwards. It is like putting up a huge brick wall in front of what was already a huge brick wall. My work colleague from the States - John and myself have started the arduous process and hope to have this visa in our passports sometime before our 60th birthdays!!!
At the beginning of April another holiday popped up. It was Semana Santa (Easter) and we were all given a long weekend for it. This would give me a good opportunity to get away from all the red-tape nonsense which appears to follow me around in Ecuador. To make use of the beautiful nature and the house that the Coello's have down in Banos - that is where we all headed. Despite Maisa telling me about it, I had never visited the farm land which they own near Banos. Actually they own a couple of pieces of land, but the farm as they call it is the largest. I don't know how big it is exactly but they asked me if I wanted to go and check it out and I naturally jumped at the chance. The farm land is not so farm-like as you would imagine. It is a large piece of land in the jungle that surrounds the Banos area. Some time ago, Mauri came and worked on it for about a year and cut a path across the land. As none of the Coello's had returned for about 4 years (when Marcelo had a terrible accident as he fell from a waterfall and badly hurt his arm), we needed machete's to get through the jungle terrain. The land crosses a large river, has a small hut some-way in and if you keep walking you can reach all of the 7 or so waterfalls. We walked for about an hour before reaching the first waterfall, which was small but was fine for taking a cold shower as we all melted in the heat of the Jungle climate. On the way back we passed dozens of lemon and orange trees and helped ourselves to the delicious fruit. It was quite a trek and not easy on parts, so by the end we were all pretty knackered.
During our weekend we also took the ride to Puyo which has incredible views of meandering rivers and a deep valley. We met up with Maisa's friend Lilly there - just to say hi and have something to eat, before driving further on to our popular river near Tena, the perfect place for a swim. I had never noticed before but the restaurant by the river actually has a pet Parrot. It had come from deeper in the Jungle but apparently likes to hang out by the restaurant, presumably for food. The trip was great - it is always nice to get away from Quito when I can and despite being bitten alive out in the Jungle and burning to a crisp under the strong heat of the sun, I will never pass up an opportunity to come out to this part of Ecuador. It's simply stunning!!!
My Second Home - Mindo
Not too long after my school friend (Martin) had departed Quito and continued on his way, an opportunity came up for Maisa and myself to escape on another trip out of the city. Maisa's family had gone off to the States for a week or so to meet up with Grace who was coming down from Canada and also with Henry, who had travelled from the UK. That left Maisa and myself alone more or less. We still had work as normal, but we decided that once the weekend came - we would get out of Quito.
We ended up going to Mindo - a place that I was more than familiar with but was happy to go back to. We also took along Mauri (a person who is essentially like a brother to Maisa but actually the two aren't really related) and his wife Yadi. So off the four of us went. Now, the odd thing for me in this situation is that whenever we take Mauri and Yadi anywhere we basically have to finance them for the entire duration. Mauri works for Maisa's father and gets paid, he is 31 years old, yet the two of them never have money. Now I don't know their full financial situation so it would be wrong of me to judge - it is just strange that Maisa and myself always seem to be like a mother and father to these two whenever we go out or on a trip away. I have never been a father, let along a father to a 31 year old - but now I feel I have had some experience in it when I actually do have kids of my own.
Mindo was the usual beautiful, relaxing and peaceful place, that strikes you straight away and reminds me why I always keep going back. I have been to Mindo probably more times than any Ecuadorian I have ever met. We did all the normal things that I love to do in Mindo too - first by eating at my favourite pizza place out in town and at night, we went to a local bar. It was a good start. The next morning we first went on the Canopy Swing - a series of zip-wires attached from tree to tree where you glide above the canopy of the cloud forest. I had done it so many times but love it too much to care. I have been so many times now that the guy who owns it must be financing his kids through college on the huge sums of money I have given him. Maisa had never done it before and I don't think Mauri had ever done it or anything like it in his life - so they also enjoyed the high-altitude adventure.
We also did something that I had actually never done before in Mindo. The Hotel where we stayed at also produces its own chocolate and as part of the price for your room they give you a free chocolate making tour. On the tour they teach you how they grow the Cocoa plants, give you a bit of history on the making of chocolate and then take you around their nearby farm which has big green-houses with different stages of the Cocoa beans. We saw the drying process, the grinding of the beans and finally the production of the chocolate. At the very end there was a tasting session where we all got to try 100% chocolate without any preservatives or sugar added. Now I love dark chocolate but even for me this was a bit bitter. We then added different amounts of other ingredients including on one occasion, hot peppers. I think I prefer Cadbury's, but we did get to try a completed chocolate brownie at the end - which was delicious.
Mindo had been just what we all needed. We left the small town happy and relaxed, knowing that whatever stress awaited us back in Quito - we were now ready for!!! As it turned out there was a lot of stress awaiting me in Quito. Now was that dreaded time, the time I hoped would never come. Even the thought of it strikes me with fear and anguish. I shiver, sweat and shake at just the mention of it, but, there was no getting out of it because now was the time...............the time - to get a new work visa.
An Event For Every Occasion
In Ecuador, Valentines Day (El Dia De San Valentines), is quite a big thing. After living in South America for over two years now, it has certainly occurred to me that in Latin culture people seem to be a very emotional, cheesy and romantic bunch. I'm not saying the English aren't romantic or cheesy but certainly not to the same extent. I mean you only have to sit an Englishman in front of a TV and fast forward to the end of the film - Armageddon, to see a Brit cringe with agony. It's romantic and/or cheesy moments like in Armageddon, where the average person from the UK will generally make a face like a dog chewing a caramel toffee and be heard muttering the words - "what utter drivel". On the cheesy/emotional front, compared to us Brits, the Americans take it to the next level and those from Latin America - well they take it three levels up, across an imaginary line and then far off into the distance. So when Valentines Day popped up, I had made a special effort to be as cheesy and romantic as Englishman'ly possible. In the morning (before work), I took the 40 minute journey to personally deliver a big bunch of flowers (and chocolates) to Maisa, who was just waking up in her family home. She was caught a little unaware, as I turned up (as a surprise) at 7am. Later on in the day the two of us went out for a nice meal where I also surprised her with a gold necklace. Maisa gave me some very nice gifts too, including a leather wallet and a cute little cuddly monkey that would have made a normal Englishman pull the dog-caramel toffee face. Luckily, after living here for some time, I am quite desensitised to such forms of lovey-dovey and so really appreciated the form of affection. It was a great night out and the two of us took many cheesy photos to show everyone back home..............sick bags on standby!!!
Just a few weeks after Valentines Day and it was another special occassion to celebrate - Maisa's birthday. She was about to turn 23 and I don't think she was particularly looking forward to it. The thought of getting older (even now at her young age) is not something she lights-up at with joy. Yet I had to remind her that 23 was an amazing age to be and I would love to be on that side (the correct side) of 25 again. I bought her more things that women and especially Maisa love, which included a pair of shoes and a handbag. She was over the moon. We didn't go crazy for her birthday, but we did go out for dinner with her family. We went to a very nice Italian restaurant that Masia and I had been to a few times before. It was very delicious.
Just a few days before Maisa's birthday, I had a special visit from an old friend. The last time I saw my school friend Martin Haggis was during my leaving party at the beginning of February of 2008, four years ago. When I returned from those travels a year and a half later, in August 2009, I didn't see Martin before he himself left for his travels, and as well, three months later, I again headed off once more - this time to Ecuador. After two and a bit years of travel, Martin had finally made his way down to South America and at the beginning of March, made it to Quito. He was only around for a week but it was enough time to catch up, chat about the old days, chat about our travels, our football team (unfortunately), and all this while drinking an absolute ton of beer (which is certainly Martin's speciality)!!! He hadn't changed at all, which seems to be the way with my friends - they are always the same every time I see them, and to be honest that is just the way I want it to stay.
Amongst all these occasions was another event - it should have been a normal affair but as is so often the case in Ecuador there is usually something which I just don't understand. Some relation of Maisa's was having her 15 year birthday party. This is a big deal in Latin culture as a young girl turns into a women at this age. For this, Masia was asked to be godmother of the girl, which I thought nothing of at the time. It was therefore a surprise to me that when we turned up at the event I as well Maisa was treated like some sort of royalty. Because I am dating Maisa, I had somehow become honorary godfather - and I had only met the girl once before. Now I don't think I have any obligations to fill in this role but it was a little odd when 100 people at the party started shouting Viva Los Padrinos or in other words (English words) - cheer for the godparents. After the strangeness had passed, it was actually a nice party, with food, drinks and a lot of dancing.
Over the last few months there had been a lot of occasions to celebrate for, which is good because I like a celebration. One Valentines Day, two birthdays and a reunion had flown past me over the last 8 weeks, however, as I was soon to find out - the celebrations wouldn't end there.........................
Carnival 2012
One of the good things about living in Ecuador is the unbelievable amount of holidays they have. Almost every month there is some occasion to take a day or two off work and what better occasion than Carnival, which popped up at the end of March. Despite what you see on the television each year, Carnival is a festival celebrated not just in Brasil, but in all of Latin America. Each country celebrates it a little differently and for Ecuador it is celebrated by spraying water and coloured foam over everyone......as well as the normal fiestas!!!
Along with Maisa and her family (and with an extra long weekend ahead of us), we took the 4 hour ride down to Tena, on the edge of the Amazon Jungle. When we arrived to the town on the first night, the party was already in full swing. In one of the main squares, the town of Tena had set up a huge stage for a musical concert, surrounded by food stalls and many a local selling foam in a spray-can. It wasn't long before all of us were dancing and naturally - spraying each other with foam. I would like to think that little Domi enjoyed herself the most but actually the fun was definitely shared by adults and children alike. The party went on late into the night and by the end - we were all covered head-to-toe in foam and soaking wet.
The following day, we carried on our adventure by heading to our favourite river near Tena and going for a swim under the strong heat of the Ecuadorian sun. We also brought food along with us this time and cooked up a big BBQ at the designated area, located on the river bank. It was perfect. That night we stayed at a fancy lodging, which had very cool individual wooden huts. In the dining area there was a film showing. It was based on a true story about a group of Americans trying to make contact with a native tribe from within the Ecuadorian part of the Amazon. At that time (1960's or so), this tribe had not had contact with the outside world. The tribes-men ended up killing some of the American's with spears thinking they were a threat before they eventually all made friends. Some of the Americans ended up staying in the jungle with the tribe for the rest of their lives. The film focused however around one tribes-women who spent a lot of time with the Americans and ended up learning to speak English. While we watched the film, Maisa realised that this woman was her friend's (Lilly's) grandmother. Lilly and her grandmother both live close to where we were watching this film (Puyo) and where the whole film is set. Her grandmother and their village still live in the jungle and in a very primitive way although Lilly has moved somewhat away from this basic life, especially considering that Maisa knows Lilly from university!!!
The following day we continued on our way. I can't remember the small town that we ended up at, but where-ever it was the Carnival party was in full swing. We had to walk some way to get to the party. As we passed the town, there was the usual food stalls selling, well the usual food. However, there was one stall selling Witchetty Grubs for eating. If you don't know what these things are - it is best not to know. Living in the jungle, these grubs are like small fat worms. The slide along the ground by somehow wiggling their bodies in a motion a bit like a slinky. Out here you can eat them cooked or alive. Now, I have eaten some pretty crazy things during my travels. Snake, crocodile, grasshopper and guinea pig to name just a few, but there was something about this thing that I just couldn't stand to bring it anywhere near my mouth. Out of everyone, only Maisa's sister - Jessy had enough guts to try it. She said it was pretty tasty actually.
The party was a bit chaotic. A large area next to a river had been turned into a concert. Music and more foam was the main attraction once again and even though I was now sick of foam, it was still enjoyable. Actually, for some reason I ended up making a foam-spraying enemy with a 10 year old Ecuadoian boy who made it his sole mission to only spray me. The only bad thing about the festival is that some of the foam they use is cheap and it is also coloured, so by the end your cloths are completely stained. I'm now saving these clothes for if I am here for next years Carnival party. We spent our last night at Maisa's home in Banos. When we arrived there was no electricity as the Coello's hadn't been to this house for quite some time. Amazingly Mauri somehow seemed to hot-wire the property. Using the power-line that is located just outside, he ran a couple of wires from it to the generator of the house and essentially stole electricity directly from the grid. Two things about this event surprised me - one, that it is actually possible to hot-wire a house and 2, that Mauri somehow didn't end getting electrocuted!!!
The next day we headed back to Quito. It was a great trip and certainly nice to be a part of the Carnival celebrations. For me, it was now back to work, and with an active volcano on my hands - it was certainly going to be a busy time. The vacation was definitely needed though, it was a lot of fun and one big adventure. However, it would take me about 4 days to dry off...............
