I returned back from Santa Elena to the city of Quito a happy man. It was a time of festivities here in Ecuador. I mean, the rest of the world would also be celebrating soon too - with Christmas and the New Year coming up, but there just seems to be more celebrations during this time of the calandar year, here in this part of the world than most other places I can think of.
I returned back to Quito just in time for the founding of Quito festival. It commences around the beginning of December and generally involves a vast quantity of drinking, eating and dancing. Its a great festival,where people come out onto the street to celebrate the birth of their city. Each street usually does something different. In ours, there was a local football touranament played directly in the middle of the road, to the great annoyance of anyone wanting to actually drive down it. Later in the evening, there was live Ecuadorian music and small stalls also appeared to accompany it, selling beers of many a different variety. The party didn´t stop that night.........or the next!!!
At work, the parties continued too. We stopped all our volcano work and got the beer out. We then sat down to a huge game of Cuarenta (40), an Ecuadorian card game which does have some form of rules but which would take the average person a life time of playing to understand. Its a fun game nevertheless and was naturally played in good spirits. The Secret Garden Hostal also got involved in the festival, hiring a Chiva bus for the night, to allow the newly visiting backpackers a taste of Ecuadorian fun - so naturally a night of chaos commenced. I remember going on the Chiva bus for the first time last year for this very festival. I had only been in the country a week or so. I always thought what an amazing country this was if this is what goes on every week of the year. The drinking and parties lasted some days, my hangover a lot longer.
Chistmas popped up pretty quickly for me. It was a quiet affair but that was nothing to complain about. I spent Christmas day with a variety of friends and backpackers, drinking and eating. The Secret Garden made a great xmas dinner (one of favourite meals) and we enjoyed a night of games, chatting, and natuarally a beer or two. Some of us even swapped presents to make it really feel like Christmas. At work, our xmas celebration involved 60 or so people taking up an entire Brazilian restaurant, eating a ton of meat and as usual, ending with a dance or two of salsa. I also got to spend some time with Diana, although she stayed mostly with her family, which is what you should be doing during this time of year. This was my third Christmas away from home and it doesnt really get any easier. I looked around at the faces of other backpackers on Christmas day and they all had the same expression. It was one of trying to have fun and be happy, but always poorly concealing a feeling of wanting to be somewhere else. By the next day however, genuinely happy faces had returned............and so had mine.
I decided to stay in Quito for New Years this time around. Last year, I headed down to the coast for some beachy fun, but I thought it would be nice to end the year in Quito, the city I have called home for the last year. During the day, there was a huge street parade on Amazonas - one of the main roads in town. People were dressed up as witches and wizards and other Halloween based costumes - its odd, but I am told it is what they do here - however, no-one actually knows why!!! There were huge models and stands of displays lining the street, with music playing and the smell of barbecued food filling the air. It was a hot, bright sunny day too and it really made for a great atmosphere.
In the evening, my festivities started again, up on the terrace of the Secret Garden, drinking with many friends and a load of randoms. Later I met up with Diana and some other friends, where we first partied in the street before continuing the celebrations in a club, until the small hours of the night. The street party in Ecuador for New Years is an interesting affair. Someone will head out onto the street, start a raging fire in the road, and then be joined by the rest of the local community. People will stand around chatting, drinking, setting off fireworks, and often - jumping over the fire. Supposedly, the idea is that you are jumping from your past and into the New Year - your future. Another famous tradition in Ecuador is also to build a big doll, usually dressed up like an unpopular politician or some other figure generally not liked - and then hurl them onto the flames. As long as you are not too drunk when the fire is in full force - most people survive the night. I certainly enjoyed it!!!
The following day, when most people are asleep, stepping out onto the streets of Quito is like looking upon the world after a nuclear war. Burnt paper and plastic cover the streets and fill the air. It is so eerily quiet too, that you could easily believe you had woken up in some sort of zombie film. You look around each corner, expecting one to pop out at you. I have never seen any place quite like it.
The festivals of December 2010 certainly lived up to expectations. It was a great time to be in Quito and fun was undoubtedly had by all people involved. Even the granny from our hostal got to dance a few songs!!! Luckily it would be a year until it would all happen again, as it will probably take me until next December to get over it all. However, there was no time to rest for me. In 9 days I would be leaving mainland Ecuador and heading to a place I had always wanted to see. For 12 days I would be working as a volcanologist in one of the most unique places on the planet - and I couldn´t wait. I would be heading out with a team of American scientists to service a series of seismic monitoring stations - and it just happened to be on the islands of the Galapagos......................
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Goodbye 2010: The Founding Of Quito Festival, Christmas Day & New Years Eve - Ecuadorian Style!!!
One Year Living In Ecuador
While still in Santa Elena, on Ecuador´s southern coast, just one day after I had presented to 200 scientists on the temporal distribution of explosion events at the Tungurahua Volcano, the 25th of November 2010 popped up. It marked my one year - of living in this country. Actually it was quite difficult to comprehend that I had been living in South America for a year now. Yes, so many things had happened in that time, but for some reason which I cant easily explain, this year seemed to go so much faster than others that I had spent travelling the world.
I have certainly learnt a lot during my time here, and not just about volcanoes. South America is like no other place that I have ever been to. The culture, food, attitudes and general way of life is so very different to what I know. Still, these things have not distracted me from having an amazing year - if anything, they have only enhanced those experiences.
Of course, there are still some aspects of life here that drives me to a state of insanity. I still haven´t learnt to deal with the pace and absurdity of Ecuadorian walking. A trivial matter to most, but just come to this part of the world and spend a few days walking the streets of Quito for example and you will instantly shake my hand and nod your head with understanding. Its not that they walk slowly, nor that they insist on taking up the entire pavement by holding hands in some long snake-like line, but its the fact that they have absolutely no idea of anything that is going on around them. Its odd, because put these people in a car and they drive like Damon Hill circuiting Silverstone. They all drive at top speed, with ultimate concentration and very rarely collide. Then take those same people and place them onto the pavement and suddenly their heads are transported up onto cloud cuckoo land and they have absolutely no comprehension of anything going on in the world they are walking through.
Other slight oddities and annoyances that I have noticed within the country include; the lack of change at any store, bank or in fact any place distributing money; the smog and pollution which fills the city of Quito to the point where 90% of people must have brochitis......surely; and finally the beaurocratic nightmare that occurs whenever any sort of paperwork is required. Since living in this country I have signed at least 34,000 documents, many of them in my own blood. Obtaining a work visa proved such a mission of despairing proportions that at points during the process I almost debated trading the administration office with one of my own kidneys for the damn document. They probably would have accepted.
Yet despite all this, the year I have had here has been remarkable, an experience which won´t (and couldn´t if I wanted) be forgotten in any hurrying moment. At this point in time I don´t know how long I am going to be staying in this part of the world. My job at the Instituto Geofisico (EPN), working as a volcanologist, has taught me so much and for now I am happy to still be enthralled by it all. Plans to leave however are in the pipeline, so I must and undoubtedly will enjoy however much time I still have left here. I have made some amazing friends over the year. Some have gone on to other parts of the world, many have come back for a second spell, and some never left in the first place. Here are some of the incredible things I have done, or been through with these people. Many of them were a lot of fun, some where a little scary, but all - were unforgettable..............
1. Helicopter trip around Reventador Volcano - as a volcanologist, I was lucky enough to fly in a helicopter, half hanging out the hoovering machine while taking gas measurements around the extremely active Reventador Volcano. Two hours after our flight, the volcano exploded - we would have been caught right in the middle of it. The pilot of the helicopter would later say "I am never doing that flight ever again. I didn´t realise at the time but I now understand - that was the most dangerous trip I have ever flown!!! "
2. Walking On The Equator - unsuprisingly "Ecuador" lies on the equator - so a huge group of us took the hour and a half trip north of Quito and went walking on the middle of the world.
3. Kidknapped and Maced - Its not every day you get kidknapped but it certainly happens a lot more out here than it does in my home-town of Southgate, North London. Whilst taking a taxi with my friend Leanne, two men suddenly jumped in, maced me in the eye, threatened us with screwdrivers, took all of our belongings and kicked us out onto a quiet street of Quito, without a penny to our names.
4. Jungle madness - playing in the Amazon Jungle is certainly a recommended adventure. On the many occasions that I have spent in the jungle terrain, I managed to find time for white-water rafting, caving and of course - jumping off of bridges with just a bit of rope attached to my feet. Actually, I did that last one a few times!!!
5. Eaten the weird and wonderful - they certainly have some bizarre food out here - some are deliceous, like Yuca - a root that grows only in the Amazon Jungle and tastes a bit like potatoes, while others are not so tasty - like Guinea Pig - which ended up more like an autopsy than a meal and tasted so bad, I would have probably enjoyed eating a dead person during an autopsy than sitting down to another plate of this rodent again.
6. Bailing friends out of jail - with a country as beaurocratic as Ecuador - staying over your visa is not a good idea. Yet Ravi, an Indian hippy decided it would be okay for him to stay an extra few days. He ended up spending three days in prison and guess who was designated to help get him out........ahhhhh!!!
7. The USA - I did manage to get out of South America for 10 days - where I spent time in Vegas with my boys from London, for one of the world´s messiest stag do´s. I also went to the Grand Canyon and spent a week in LA and Santa Barbara. I ate more food in those few days than I had in the entire year I have been in Ecuador.
8. A birthday on a Chiva Bus - when a birthday celebration needs to be done in style, what better way than to party on an open-top bus, complete with disco lights, DJ and unlimited alcohol, while the bus cruises around the city of Quito. Add 35 friends to that and my 27th birthday was celebrated in a way it never will again!!!
9. Monitoring erupting volcanoes - some volcanologists work in a place and never see their volcano erupt. I have been in Ecuador for one year and seen the Tungurahua Volcano go off about three times. Monitoring the activity during those periods was an invaluable experience, a lot of fun and a little scary at times.
It was just over a month from now, when my list would be extended once again. Point 10 would happen on the 9th of January 2011, but before then, I had a Christmas and New Year to celebrate. Ah, its a tough life..........................
Monday, 29 November 2010
Santa Elena & Salinas - And The Presentation
The time had finally come. A while back, way before my trip to the United States, I was asked to do a presentation for a conference that was coming up. Most of my time in Ecuador working on monitoring active volcanoes in this country was dominated by making a database on explosion events at the Tungurahua Volcano. Once it was complete I was using the data that I had collected to perform a statistical analysis on this information - to understand better the distribution of explosions at this volcano and what it essentially tells us about the volcanic system in general. The presentation was to be on my results and findings from this analysis.
The conference was between the 24th - 26th November and was organised by SENACYT. They are basically an organisation which funds scientific and research projects in Ecuador, and this conference in particular was associated to natural hazards and risk management. The conference was taking place at a university down on Ecuador´s south coast, in between Salinas and Santa Elena.
On the 23rd of November, myself and few others took a flight from Quito to Quayaquil and then a short car ride to the conference area. We were staying in Salinas - its a beach town, but is different to any other coastal location that I had seen in Ecuador. It sits out on a peninsular, with tall high-rise hotels lining the beach-front - it looked more like Miami Beach than a coastal town in Ecuador. We were put up in a grand hotel, located on an Ecuadorian Naval Base. We were well protected out there. Our rooms were like mini apartments, looking out to the sea and everything was paid for. It was good living.
I stayed there for three nights - the duration of the conference. Others came and went - mostly just to do their bit and then head back to Quito. A few days before the conference, Tungurahua Volcano had started to show small signs of activity after a repose of about 4 months. Most therefore, made their contribution and left. I however stayed for the duration - as it was my first conference in this country and my boss, Mario, thought it would be a good experience to stay.
The conference was hardcore. It started every day at 8am and generally didnt finish until 8pm. There were many presentations and poster displays, obviously all in Spanish - but it was an interesting experience overall. I did my presentation on the first day. My talk was in English and it went well. I spoke in front of perhaps 200 Ecuadorians and all of them seemed to understand what I was saying - or at least they gave that impression. The talks are only 15 minutes so I wasn´t up there for too long. At the end of the day all the scientists who had presented had to go back up on stage as a panel and the audience would fire off questions to us.
The majority of people at the conference were scientists, military personel and government policy makers, and a whole host of students from the university. While there I was introduced to an Ecuadorian consultant who went to Southampton University in 1978. I had done my first (bachelor) degree at Southampton - although that was done a little after the 1970´s!!!
There were a number of presentations from the Instituto Geofisico, as many of my colleagues came and went over the three days. It was an interesting experience.
At lunch time we would often head to the town of Santa Elena, a small dusty town in this dry region, just 20 minutes ride from Salinas and the beach. At night, we would head back into salinas and stop for great restaurant food along the coast. We would often be eating at 9pm and so by the time we had polished off a few beers and made it back onto the Naval Base - most of us collapsed at 11pm.
On Friday afternoon I took a bus back to Ecuador´s big southern city - Guayaquil, and then took a flight from there back to the capital. It was a great three days - but the work wasn´t over for me. After a short weekend - it was back to the Institute on Monday.....................
Back In Banos For A Third Time
Just a few weeks after my trip out to Montanita, I was back on the road, this time to Banos - again. I went with Diana and one of her friends, Tania. She has a friend who owns a hostal in Banos and we were thus allowed to stay there for the weekend, for free. This is no simple hostal however, it was more like a Hotel. We had a huge room with satellite TV, there was a hot-tub in the hostal, a sauna and a great breakfast, as well as more - it was living in style.
We went down to Banos on Friday night and returned again on Sunday. On the Saturday we did the waterfall bike ride. You rent a mountain bike for $5 (for the day) and ride on the road out of Banos. Its mostly downhill and it takes you along the valley road, where waterfalls line the way and the jungle scenery dominates your view - its stunning. I had done it once before and was glad to be going again. We went as far as the Pailon del Diablo Waterfall - the highest in the area. Somehow I had totally missed it last time, riding straight past - but this time we stopped to take a proper look. It´s an amazing waterfall, its approximately 100 feet high and its powerfall. You first take a 30 minute walk from the road, throgh some pleasant jungle terrain, before reaching the falls. From there there are paths which essentially take you right behind part of the waterfall for an even more impressive display. You often find yourself standing in front of many waterfalls when you travel the world - and this one is definately worth a look.
We also managed to find time to sit in the Sauna and relax in the hot-tub, as well as have a good night on the town. The weekend was pleasant, and with my trip to the coast coming up, where I would have to do a presentation in front of a few hundred people, this was the perfect way to relax before the chaos that was to come..........and it came quickly!!!
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Montanita For Halloween
Halloween is not that big in Ecuador. But around that time there are various religous festivals and also a public holiday - which I have no idea for what reason, and it appeared not many locals had any idea either. Still, it ultimately meant that I had from Saturday to Wednesday off work and so it was decided to do a big party in Ecuador´s beachy town of Montanita.
I went with a host of people. A little while ago I had met a young Ecuadorian girl, called Diana. Her and her work friend Milton, along with my hostal buddies Claudia and Mike all headed down to the coast. The last time I was in Montanita was for last New Years - that was actually the last time I was on a beach, and so after an overnight bus-ride for 8 hours and then another two buses of 4 hours - it was nice to finally be back in the hippy beach town of Montanita.
The place had actually changed quite a bit. Last time, the roads were dirt tracks and the whole place had a very grungy feel to it. Now though, the place seemed to of had a make-over. Paved roads now line the streets and many bars and clubs look new and pristine. Still the place has its grungy, hippy side to it, that I feel makes Montanita what it is. The beach is still big too and the surf is always good - and those things never change.
We stayed for three nights. The place is designed for partying so naturally all three nights were for two things only - drinking and dancing. We soon met up with some other friends that we knew - Nicki and Marie and some others from the Secret Garden Hostal in Quito that we would bump into now and again. The parties were great and although not many people dressed up for Halloween, it still didn´t stop us all having a good time. Our frind Claudia did however manage to get a costume - she went as the pregnant girl from the film Juno. No-one had any idea who she was but she did look pretty pregnant and many people would get out of her way during the night - she naturally played on it.
On most of the nights we would start off on Cocktail Alley - where all drinks are made with fresh fruits and a lot of alcohol. You kind of feel like you are being healthy and unhealthy at the same time. Then we would move to a club for dancing the night away, or relax on the beach where many people would light fires and sit around them with their bum firmly in the sand, chatting until the early hours of the night.
In the day we would chill on the beach, play in the waves and generally do very little. The weather was warm although for the entire time we were there we never once saw the sun, which was a shame.
The trip was great however and everyone had a good time of what they could remember. It was the last time I would see Claudia and my long term mate - Mike though, who were both leaving for different locations and not returning back to Quito. For the rest of us however, we headed back up to the capital and were soon back at work. It was nice to have a little holiday and nice to go back to a place which I had not been for so long. Now though - it was back to work and back to normal life - well for a while at least......................
Cotopaxi
So one weekend, shortly after returning from the United States, off I went with my Canadian buddy Mike to Cotopaxi. It doesn´t take long to get there form Quito, a few hours drive by bus and then an off-road vehicle for 40 minutes takes you right into the heart of basically - the middle of no-where.
Cotopaxi is a National Park but its center piece is the Cotopaxi Volcano. Its one of the highest active volcanoes in the world and its one of the Ecuadorian volcanoes I monitor. I had actually only been out this way once with work, when we were picking up equipment from one of the stations around here. That day, we worked out in the field, right on the flank of this impressive volcano - except clouds prevented us from even getting a glimpse.
Mike and I stayed out in the Secret Garden´s other hostal. Its right out in the heart of nature that dominates this part of the country. Its an amazing hostal too. They rear animals out here for food, use human waste for compost and run the whole place with basically no electricity. The food out here is tasty, the rooms or tents are comfortable and the beer in their hot-tub nicely rounds off a day spent in the mud. One of their toliets also has one hell of a view, as seen pretty much from anywhere at this location - the impressive Cotopaxi Volcano looming in the distance. In the foreground, the immediate surrounding area is dominated by lush, green rolling hills and on each a llama usually sits doing very little with its day. This place really is a brilliant location to get away from all your problems in the world. Personally I dont really have too many problems - but it was still nice just to be here!!!
Mike and I spent a lot of our time relaxing in the fire-lit hostal, drinking beers, being attacked by the four dogs that live here, and generally doing very little. We did find time to get out and about though. There is a nearby waterfall walk, where you trek along a river to some small but pleasant waterfalls. We did it in the pouring rain but also went solo, so we felt as though it was a mini adventure as most of the time we were basically lost.
We also went out to the Cotopaxi National Park. A group of us went out, taking the winding road up to the carpark. There we hiked up the steep sides of Cotopaxi towards the Refuge. It sits at about 4800m (asl) and the walk is by no means easy. From the car park to the refuge, it takes about 40 minutes using the average feet, but its altitude really means that every step is a struggle - especially in the breathing department. The views of the surrounding country up there are pretty spectacular though, so you quickly forget that its such a problem inhaling and exhaling!!!
Once at the refuge we had a quick rest before continuing up towards the start of the glacier. This walk was quicker and seemed a lot easier than before, even though by the time we stopped we were now at 5100m (asl). This was the highest I had ever been on land. In fact we were so high, that in terms of altitude this was higher than when I jumped out of a plane for my skydive in New Zealand - that puts things into a scary perspective.
We stopped at the glacier, as from this point on you need ice climbing gear (specifically crampons), so we all treked back down again after a short brake. One day, before I leave this country - im gonna attempt the climb to the summit, but for now it was good to see how I fared at the glacier. It wasn´t too bad - so I will definately give the top of this active volcano (at 5897m) a go sometime soon.
We walked back down towards the car park. From there however, four of us had hired mountain bikes to make the rest of the descent. Its a rough, rocky dirt track down - and a little dangerous at times. It was a bumpy ride but equally fun. Mike, messing about on his bike actually went over the handle bars in an acrobatic leap. It could have been serious but in the end he was fine and it bacam more a laughable affair than anything else. It took maybe an hour to go all the way down, where we were then picked up again and taken back to the hostal. We didnt make it back easily - the car broke down and so had to hitch rides with some local Ecuadorians - this is South America for you!!!
The trip out here was a perfect get-away from the smoggy city of Quito. Ecuador really is a beautiful country when you get out into the heart of their mountainous nature and there are not too many places to experience this beauty - as Cotopaxi. It was nice to fully see and climb this volcano too, as I had spent so many months monitoring this bubbling beast without actually too many glimpses it. Next time I have to try the climb to the top too - but thats for another day.
Mike and I jumped in the back of a pick-up truck and sat in the sun - taking our ride back home......................
Returning To My Temporary Home Of Quito (Ecuador)
Before I made it back to Ecuador, whilst still enjoying my time in the wonders of Los Angeles (USA), news was flooding through that an attempted coup was taking place in the capital city of Ecuador, Quito - where I had been living for the past 10 months and where in 3 days time I would be returning. President of Ecuador - Rafael Correa decided to change some polices making it harder for police in the country to gain promotions and recieve better wages & bonuses. This didn´t go down well with the Ecuadorian police and suddenly an uprising and attempted coup began to take place. Correa was trapped in a hospital, as loyal military members attempted to hold off the angry crowd. Reports suggested that the police surrounded the hospital and then proceded with a tear gas attack. Friends living in Quito later told me that the police were also burning objects in the streets and causing the kind of trouble which they are usually responsible for preventing. Such acts were taking place all over the country. After 12 hours Correa was rescued from the hospital, with the military and government taking back control of the situation but consequently with 8 police / military officers dead from gun fighting. Airports in Ecuador were closed for a few days and thus it was assumed that I would not be able to return to the fiasco taking place in the southern part of the Americas. In the end, the airports re-opened and my flight remained on schedule. I made it back to the madness of Quito - where streets were now filled with military officers, each a giant machine gun.
Quito was pretty much back to normal a few days later and my life back in South America picked up where it had eseentially left off. Unfortunately more long term friends were leaving. After 6 months here, my German buddy Jens finally finished up his work in forestry and departed these shores. I did have one very cool reunion though. When I first arrived in Ecuador I made good friends with Maha, a young German girl. We spent some months together traveling around or drinking on the terrace of the Secret Garden. I spent last new Years with her too. She returned back to Ecuador and we spent some time catching up. She didnt stay long and soon returned back to Germany - but has told me she would be back again after Christmas - she really does love this place.
Work was pretty hectic. I returned back and essentially started to plan my presentation. In a few months time, I would have to publically speak in front of a few hundred Ecuadorians on the explosions at the Tungurahua Volcano. A big conference was taking place at a university down on the coast of Ecuador and I was asked to do a 15 minute talk on volcanic activity. I was allowed to do the presentation in English, but I hadn´t yet finished my analysis or obtained all of my results and so it was a manic time for me at work.
I did manage to find some time to have fun. I went to a few great football matches. The first was my local team here in Ecuador - La Liga. They were playing a team from Argentina in the Quater Finals of essentially the South American version of the Champions League. There were fireworks, fights on the pitch, general mayhem and a win for the local team, which meant that La Liga were through to the Semi Finals. For the first time, after seeing hundreds of football matches, I also got a touch of the ball. It was looped high into the crowd and I leapt like a small cat to get a touch on it. I was happy about that.
The other game I went to see was an international friendly, Ecuador Vs Venezuela. Ecuador destroyed their South American counterparts 4-1 and it could have been more. It wasn´t a packed stadium but it was still nice to see an international friendly in this part of the world.
I hadn´t been back that long in Quito when I decided to do a few more trips out of the city. One of my good friends, Mike was soon leaving and he wanted to go to Cotopaxi and relax in the Secret Garden´s other hostal out there, and just be with nature. So the next weekend, I packed my bags again and off we went.............................
