A while ago, Maisa had said to me that her family were going off for another trip somewhere, but it wasn't going to be a weekend expedition this time - it was going to be a 10 day ride across Ecuador and into Peru. They asked if I wanted to go and before she had finished explaining the plan I had already agreed to it. In over a year and a half of being on this continent, I have only seen the delights of Ecuador so naturally I was excited to head somewhere new. All I would need to do is take 5 days off work (which was suprisingly easy), to pack the one bag that I own (slightly more challenging), and get ready for some travelling action.
Coming along for the ride, was myself, Maisa and her three sisters, her mum and dad, my friend Henry (who is dating one of Maisa's sisters), and Maisa's aunt and uncle. We would be travelling across two cars, which was nice because as big as their car is - squeezing 10 people into one vehicle was always going to get crowded!!! It was going to take us a few days to drive down to Peru but that was no bad thing as we would be stopping at some pretty cool places on the way.
We first set off to the large city of Cuenca, located in the South of the country. Its quite a long drive (around 9 hours) so along the way we stopped off at a number of places for food or to see some sights. One of the places we parked up at was Alausi, a small, old town made famous for its trains. If you want to ride a train in Ecuador it will undoubtedly go through Alausi. It is also the last stop before the decent down the famous Nariz del Diablo (Devil's Nose) Pass - where the train is designed to snake back and forth down a mountain side. It is meant to be breathtaking and scary to the point of heartstopping all at the same time. I haven't yet done this ride, but definately have it on one of my things to do before I leave this country.
We also stopped at another small town close to Cuenca, called Azogues. It has a very impressive church structure know as the Iglesia de la Virgen de las Nubes (Church of the Virgin of the Clouds) that was carved, way up high into the side of a hill. It was dark by the time we reached this spot but the views of all the twinkling lights given off by the town below still made the experience special. The church was also deserted which allowed us plenty of exploring time, with myself and Henry clambering up some precarious ladder to the top of one of the spires. The ladder was hanging to the side of this church by one loose bolt pretty much and its only that Henry and myself are complete ignorant morons which gave us the ability to attempt this ridiculous and dangerous expedition.
The ride from Quito to Cuenca is pretty spectacular. It runs down the Andes mountain range so most of the time you are cruising up at high altitude. At one point we criss-crossed around some of the mountains and below was a deep valley filled with clouds that made you think you were in some heavenly place. We did have some drama along the way when halfway to Cuenca, two of Maisa's sisters realised they had forgotten their cedulars - which is basically what South American's can use instead of a passport when they are travelling around their continent. Just like a passport for myself and Henry, it would be impossible for either of them to have entered Peru without these documents - a country we were to reach in a couple of days. It meant that Marcelo (Maisa's dad) had to make some arrangements for both the cedulars to be flown from Quito to Cuenca, where he would pick them up the following day.
After a long ride, we finally reached Cuenca. Its a really nice city, made famous for all its historical buildings. Churches and monuments fill the city center and small rivers line the many parks around the town. I had been here some time ago but was glad to get another look around. The only issue I have with Cuenca is that it is cold most of the time - but then coming from London, maybe I am making more of a deal about that than it really is.
One the one day that we spent in Cuenca, we wondered around the historic sites and took the steep ride up one of the nearby hills for spectacular views over the the city and surrounding area. We also had some traditional food from this part of the country, which is Mote (a type of maiz) that is cooked in a number of different spices and herbs and one of them with eggs thrown in too. Pretty tasty!!!
Eventually we got back in our vehicles and continued on our way. The next stop was to Machala, a small town deep in the south of Ecuador and only about an hour away from the frontera (border) between Ecuador and Peru.........................
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
The Start Of My Ten Day Trip - Cuenca
Friday, 5 August 2011
Many Things - With Maisa
I have been seeing Maria Isabel for maybe three months now. From the minute I met her I knew she was going to be fun, and we pretty much hit it off straight away. For an Ecuadorian her English is amazing. She has also travelled far and wide in her life - across South America but also to Europe and to the northern American quaters where she even spent four months living in the States. Her parents own three houses throughout Ecuador and even two apartments in Miami. We both have a passion for seeing the world - so every opportunity, thats what we do - well across Ecuador at least. Maisa and her family love to escape Quito at the weekends and whether I join them or Maisa and her friends, we are always adventuring off somewhere. Over the last three months we have travelled, well, all over the place...........
Baños & Puyo, Trip One: One of the houses Maisa´s family owns is in a small town close to Baños. So one weekend, Maisa, myself, Henry & Grace and Maisa's other younger sister - Jessy (and her friend too), all headed down for a few days. Maisa naturally drove us all (she loves to drive) and when we reached Baños I was amazed to see where we were staying. She said that they had a holiday-home down near Baños but this thing was huge. It was a beautiful, giant wooden thing that could have housed the entire Ecuadorian Army!!! It also had a great view of the surrounding mountains and river, complete with jungle vibe.
I really enjoyed this trip. For me it was something different. I had already been to Baños about 4 or 5 times previously, but with Maisa and her motor - we could travel much further out of town and see some Amazonian terrain that I had never expereinced before. We headed straight out to Puyo. About an hour drive south-east from Baños, Puyo is a much quieter and smaller town than it's neighbour - and it sits further into the jungle basin. Its noticable too, it really does feel far more Amazonian territory. Its also pretty spectacular to see. Maisa seemed to know the area pretty well as she drove us along the river valley, where we would occasionally stop of to see waterfalls or find somewhere to eat. We also took a cable car across the valley for even better views before (after a short walk through the trees) we eventually made it to a large waterfall and splash pool. With the rain-forest climate heating us up to a nice sweaty temperature - we were always going to go swimming. The water was cold but refreshing and you could literally get right under the powerful waterfall until it took you under. This is what life is all about.
We also got to see some of Baños too. Henry had never been here before so it was nice for him to explore such a great little town that Baños is. It was nice to go away and have no pressure of catching buses or finding accommodation. This really was the easiest and least planned trip I think I have ever done, and despite how I love all the back-packing adventures - it was pleasant just to sit back, have an amazing time and do basically no work at all!!!
Mindo: On another weekend, Maisa, Myself, Henry and Grace all went off to Mindo. After going to the small cloud forest town approximately 4 times during the first 6 months of my time here in Ecuador, it had been over a year since my last visit. Maisa and Grace said they also hadn´t been for around 7 years too, and for Henry - well he had never been before at all. Thus, we all decided a small trip was in order. Normally I am used to staying in a backpackers Hostel. Nice enough but generally with a jungly rustic feel. This time however, we stayed in luxury. Right in the heart of the small town, for one night, we lodged in a beautiful place, each room with balcony and view of the cloud-forest surrounding us. It was certainly worth it!!!
In the time we had, we decided again to trek off to some waterfalls. I have pretty much done everything in Mindo so for me I was just happy to be there and go with the flow. We took the cable-car across the valley, the short walk down through the forest before reaching the large waterfall. There we swam, went cliff jumping and even went on a built slide slide which you can sail down into the icy water. We also went to my favourite pizza place in Mindo and apart from that - just relaxed. It was perfect.
Maisa and I headed back early the next day but Henry and Grace stayed out for a little bit longer before coming back. Unfortunately after we left Henry realised his credit card didn´t work and he couldn´t get money out. They then spent most of their time trying to get cash all over the surrounding areas. After totally failing they got back to Quito with the last bit of cash they had left, via a very cheap bus. Life is an adventure, right???
Tabacundo & Cotacachi: So Henry and Myself were invited one evening to go with all of Maisa´s family around an hour and a half north of Quito, to a small town called Tabacundo. They have some family and friends up there but also, at around this time of year there is a huge street party in the town. Ecuadorians were dressed in traditional clothing as they danced and paraded through the streets. We all joined in of course and especially with the drinking of hot Ecuadorian alcohol called canelazo. It was a lot of fun. The second trip we took up there was around three weeks later. We had a nice lunch with their family and friends before Maisa´s dad later drove us up to a small place called Cotacachi. I had actually been to this town before - a long time ago when I had a Christmas lunch in my boss (Mario´s) family home. This time though we went to see the Cotacachi volcanic crater lake, which I had not been too - although I had always wanted to visit. We took a small boat ride around the lake and I naturally explained to everyone its formation with many volcanic facts thrown in. It really is nice to get out of Quito and see some volcano action sometimes. Even if it is just a lake - it really is a beautiful lake at least.
Latacunga, Otavalo & Weddings: On other weekend adventures, we twice headed down to Latacunga to see some of her family there. They always feed us really well especially with salty pork. Its one of my favourite things to eat in Ecuador because the way it is cooked - you just don´t get back home. Whether you are hungry or not - there is always food presented to you - I never usually complain!!!
On another weekend, I was at Maisa´s house when suddenly her dad presented me with a Versace suit jacket. The next minute, we are at the neighbours house where two of their friends were getting married. The church ceremony was in a weeks time but this was a small party where they say their vows and eat a huge lunch. That was suprisingly the first time in my life that I had sat down to a meal and Grace was said. The whole thing was very interesting to me and I really enjoyed the affair - Ecuadorians really know how to party.
On two occassions over the last month I have also returned back to Otavalo. Normally, people go there to shop at the giant market. Maisa´s dad though (the businessman that he is) had bought hundreds of t-shirts from the States and Maisa and I, with some of her friends went to Otavalo to try and sell them. I must be the first Gringo ever, to go to Otavalo and try and sell items instead of buying them. I loved the adventure nonetheless.
Baños & Puyo, Trip Two: Finally, Maisa and myself - and Maisa´s entire family recently went back to Baños and Puyo for a second trip. At first we went down to a huge building where the entire town (of Ulba - a small place just outside of Baños) was having a party and what appeared to be a beauty pageant. The party went on all night and there were famous Ecuadorian singers there playing popular traditional tunes as we all danced the night away - on a ton of whiskey!!! I also had my photo taken with some of these famous singers (although I had no idea who any of them were). We left around 2am and we never saw who won the town beauty pagaent although we were all too drunk to care by then anyway.
The next day, we all travelled to some beautiful spots around Baños. Tungurahua Volcano was out on show that day too - so naturally I was very excited. We then drove to Puyo again where we ate some traditional food from the area. It consisted of a special salad, un-popped popcorn, dried bananas, lots of lemon juice and then a can of tuna thrown on the top. Apart from the tuna - it was delicious. We later returned back to Quito life.
The trips and adventures that I have been on with Maisa over the last few months have been incredible. Sometimes I always think how one moment in your life can bring you to the most bizarre situations and the most amazing experiences all at once. For example, when I was back home in England I applied to volcano jobs all over the world and I didn´t know where I was going to end up. If a place in Japan or Montserrat for example had said `OK, come and work for us´, I would have gone through so many different things in my life. But it was Ecuador who said `come on over - we have a job for you´, and now, after so many twists and turns of fate, I have been taken in by an Ecuadorian family (and a wonderful young lady) and am experiencing so many fun and interesting things that I could never have experienced anywhere else on the planet. It could have gone so differently....................but im glad it didn´t!!!
Day to Day Life
So the PhD that I was hoping to get, ultimately never materialised. The Earths Sciences department at UCL decided that they would not fund any PhD's in volcanology this time around as there had been too many volcanology topics over recent years. However, the professor at UCL (Chris Kilburn, who I undertook my Masters degree with and who I was hoping to work my PhD with), and myself, have remained in contact as we believe we can set up our own PhD (under UCL) if we can find our own sources of funding. The PhD we have been discussing would actually be a collaboration between UCL and the Instituto Geofisico (IG) where I currently work, here in Quito (Ecuador). The IG have already said that they would be keen to collaborate, so our only real issue (as always) is money. The process in trying to establish sources of funding will be slow and may in the end, not be successful - but we are going to try nonetheless. However, in the meantime, the IG have offered me another contract until this coming December and have said that they have funding to keep me working here until December 2012, so if the PhD doesn't come off in the end - I have options for working at least.
I never did (up to now) sort out my visa and work contract situation. After obtaining a series of different visas (including one which proclaimed that I was a professor in Geophysics - I wish), the Ministry of Labour said I still didn't have the right documents for approved (official) work. Essentially, after collecting a whole host of elaborate documentation and the offer to donate my brain to any person of the minsitries choice (once I had died of course) - they still said no and we were back to square one. There were two occassions over the last couple of months where I almost started to pack my bags thinking that my Ecuadorian adventure was over. Even now, nothing has been technically sorted - but apparently we still have a few options up our sleeves and the IG have been working tirelessly to rectify the situation. They tell me there is nothing to worry about and that everything will get sorted in the end. I believe them of course, im sure it will get sorted - although to achieve that, will probably take some time between now and the day that time travel can be uploaded as an application to your I-pod!!! I look forward to that day for both reasons.
The actual volcano work that I do here in Ecuador though is still fun, exciting and interesting all in one go. I recently attended a one week seismology conference. It was set up by IRIS, a consortium of seismology groups and institutions from the States. It was decided that it would be hosted in Quito - which was great of course, for me and everyone else at the IG. This particular conference was designed to bring seismologists from (or working) across the Americas to collaborate knowledge and teach each other about seismological practices for monitoring and research. The conference and work course was actually two weeks, but most people at the IG were only allowed to attend for a week. It was held in the Radisson Hotel and all food, snacks and drinks were provided. It was the best weeks food I have had since I have been in Ecuador. The days were intense though, with 7-9 hours of lectures in seismology each day and maybe only the odd practical thrown in here and there. By the end of the week I felt like my brain had been dragged through a field of lava. It was fascinating however and I learnt a lot, although the biggest lesson I think I came away with, was how mindboggling difficult pure seismology really is!!! Thank god for volcano seismology!!!
My life outside of work has recently been great. I have for some time now had a fabulous group of friends here in Quito. At the Secret Garden we have had a brilliant group of volunteers, including a young Englishman named Henry who I have become good friends with over the last couple of months. Some time ago I started seeing a young Ecuadorian lady called Maisa (Maria Isabel). We have been seeing each other for a while now. Her little sister Grace (19), loves everything to do with England, so when I said I know a 19 year old British man, she was eager to know more. Maisa and I didn't have to do much work actually - they hit it off straight away and now Henry and I are dating sisters!!! I have never been in a situation like that before - but its nice.
The rest of the Secret Garden group are also great fun and have started mid-week and weekend parties that generally get very messy. A speed-dating event run by Henry turned out to be very successful and very sloppy, although to be honest - its not very hard to make speed-dating successful when you have a ton of backpackers and vodka shots!!! Unfortunately my good friend Sarah headed back to the States after some months back in Quito. She plans to come back for a third time but that will unlikely happen before the new year. However, the longer I stay here, the more people I see return. Some people who visited Quito a year ago have started to come back and many volunteers at the Secret Garden have returned for a second shift. Its always nice when a familiar face pops back into your life.
I have also continued playing football every week and I even rented a bike out one weekend and scaled the city of Quito. On Sundays they close some of the roads off, creating bike routes all over town. Its designed to get people fit and is a very family orientated affair. The city even provides free bikes for the day to those who don't have (or can't afford) one. In all my time here I have only ever done it once (pitiful I know) but I thought I might try and make it a regular occurrence - we will see. I have also done a hatful of weekend trips away. Maisa is renouned for being unable to sit still and so most weekends she is off to a different part of the country with either her family or friends. Since we have been seeing each other I have been asked to go on many of them. After all the travelling that I had done before around Ecuador - she has really started showing me even more of this beautiful country. Let me divulge........
The Big Vote
As I was sitting in the OVT, monitoring the activity of Tungurahua Volcano, the rest of the country were voting. It was a referendum, based around 10 questions that you had to vote just a YES or a NO to. The first thing is - everyone has to vote and if you don't you get fined by the government. Second, all voting took place on one day (a Saturday), but you can't go to your local voting pole, no, you have to travel back to the town you were born in!!! Thus, Friday night and Saturday morning, Ecuadorians were darting all over the country to get back to home-towns, some of which was their first visit in over 30 years!!! That weekend was chaos.
The questions were cleverly designed so generally a person would vote YES to all or NO to all depending on their political views. Of course, you didn't have to do that - you could answer each question seperately with a yes or no, but based on the results that came out - it was clear that no-one really did that. I didn't have to vote of course, but from what locals told me - the questions were structured in a very complicated manner. You had to go on-line to read the full details of them, where there were pages and pages of literature behind each question. You can imagine how many people in Ecuador have internet access and go on-line to read pages and pages of documentation. Many people in the country can't read and for those people, they had to vote by placing a thumb-print next to the YES or NO box.
The questions were designed in a way that if the majority voted YES - then the current president here, Rafael Correa would essentially have more political power. If they voted NO, then he wouldn't. Some of the questions really sturred up some emotion in the locals here too - like wether bull fighting should be banned or not. Weeks before the vote, graffiti went up all over Quito. Street walls, houses and shops were covered in paint, as people tried to get their voices heard. People also paraded in the streets, with banners emblazoned with a giant YES or NO on them. This referendum really got people enthused out here.
In the end, the majority voted YES overall, although it was pretty close for each of the questions, generally by winning with a 50 something percent. A few days later, apart from the lingering graffiti, people resumed their lives like nothing had ever happened - as always, life goes on.......................and so did mine!!!
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Tungurahua Volcano Starts To Play Games, So Off I Go - To The Observatory (OVT)
Of all the volcanoes I monitor here in Ecuador, Tungurahua has to be the most active of them all. It also lies quite close to some small settlements and the tourist town of Baños. For such reasons, when it starts to make some noise - it always becomes a priority for everyone involved at the Instituto Geofisico where I work and all the other groups of people involved (civil defense, military, government) who need to make sure that this bubbling beast doesn't harm anyone. For me personally - it means an absolute ton of work. As such, my research stops and all my attention is focused on real-time data from this volcano. During the middle of April, (2011) Tungurahua started to show signs of renewal in it's activity and hence my day to day events at work quickly involved a huge amount of data processing, such as producing graphs, making calculations and interpreting the information. Everything always needs to be done at the speed of a formula one racing car and it always needs to be right. Of course I enjoy all the hustle and bustle of a volcanic crisis - the pressure, the TV crews and most of all - the chance to get to the observatory.
The OVT (Observatorio Volcanologico del Tungurahua) is a volcano observatory that has been up and running for well over a decade now. Since activity resumed at Tungurahua in 1999, there have been several phases of volcanism. In recent years, for example, activity was noted in 2006, 2008 and a couple of periods during 2010. It therefore wasn't at all suprising that now in 2011 - the volcano decided it was time to shine again. This particular period of activity soon became exciting, not for the fact that is was blowing its top (it wasn't) but that it produced so much ash this time around. Areas around the volcano and beyond where coated in a layer of fine material. Since 1999 the OVT has been manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It corresponds with workers at the IG in Quito, with government officals, with our volcano watchers (local helpers) around the mountain and with the press - all for the purposes of letting the people know what the state of the volcano is at all times.
The OVT is perfectly placed. It is located in a small farm-land area called Guadeloupe not far from Tungurahua and is actually constructed within an old farm house. It has a little court-yard, a kitchen (with cook), a number of rooms for sleeping, a bodega for storing all the equipment and then the main observatory room with all the volcano monitoring machines you would expect to find. This includes seismometers, screens showing the latest rain, wind and weather patterns, a lahar monitor, two computers for calculating gas and ash emmisions, one screen with live (real-time) cameras pointed at the volcano and then gadgets such as a night-vision goggle, a thermal camera.......and so on and so forth. It also has a perfect view of the volcano, but is situated at a safe distance and position should the volcano really go off with a bang. It's a pretty cool place - if you're into your volcanoes.
Living on the farm is also an interesting experience. There was always so much food for us all, cooked to perfection by our chef. She would always cook with fresh produce too, which often included a squaking chicken that would suddenly go quiet as it entered the kitchen doors. The three or sometimes four dogs around the place would be a great source of entertainment on quiet days too, generally by their continuous mischevious behaviour. It was a fun place to hang out - thats for sure.
I hadn't been to the OVT for over a year now - so I was naturally happy to come down. People take turns in coming down and minding the fort before they are replaced a week later. I came down with Anna-Marie, my work experience helper, and Patricia (Patty) Mothes - a famous volcanologist from the States who has been living here in Ecuador for 30 years or so with her even more famous volcanologist husband, Pete Hall. She would be in charge at the OVT during this time and I would be second in command. The reason all the foreigners were coming down this week was because the President of the country decided to hold a referendum, which involved 10 questions that the people of Ecuador had to answer either yes or no to. I won't describe the utter craziness of this event or of the politics here (that will be done later) but basically voting is mandatory and everyone in the country (where-ever you are) must return to the province you were born in - to vote. It meant that on Friday and Saturday morning (voting took place Saturday) the roads all over Ecuador were in a state of utter mayhem as everyone was heading back to write on a piece of paper. As such, no Ecuadorians could be at the OVT during this time, so from Friday morning until Tuesday lunch-time, the three of us were in charge at the observatory.
Anna-Marie and I were first shown how to do a few things from the group that we were taking over from. There are many jobs to do at the Observatory, apart from just sitting around watching the volcano. Everyday the gases have to measured and calculated using a special program. You also have to keep an eye on the lahar monitors and the seimographs, and converse with the volcano helpers who are scattered all over the volcano, watching and reporting in any activity via radio. The siemograph drums need to be changed every day or so and new drum plots made. The old ones are sealed and lackered while newly made plots are created by charcoal burning a special kind of paper black, so that the needle can then rescratch in the new data. The Instituto Geofisico does have digital computer seismographs but they still like to use the old style plots. It makes taking this important information feel more real, to me at least, especially when people describe these incredibly simple but vital pieces of volcano monitoring equipment as - "measuring the pulse of the Earth". We also had to make plots which would be posted on the new information posts that go up on the website. It meant that our generally quiet days were interspersed with periods of work - which was good when you are sitting on your arse doing very little for so long.
Throughout our time at the observatory, Patty would often be talking to radio stations about what was going on with the volcano and twice, tv station crews came down to film her in action. We also had the Ecuadorian Army come down a few times - they often help when some of the IG guys go out in the field. Dealing with the military and the press is a common part of the job when you are at a volcano that just won't be quiet. The politics of volcanoes and people living on or close to them goes deep and often gets complicated. Patty told us that in the past (and occassionally now) the Mayor of Baños wants reports on the volcano's status to be 'toned-down' because it scares tourists away if they believe the volcano is too active. Patty and the policy of the IG is tell the state of the volcano with the highest of accuracy, by giving all the facts. She was often described as saying to the mayor - "you can't sweep this volcano under the bed" - and if you tried, you certainly wouldn't get much sleep!!! Dealing with these sorts of things on top of all the science that you have to do to make sure the results and ultimately the decisions that are made from those results are accurate, mean that a volcanologists life can get chaotic at best.
Tungurahua, although can technically be observed from the observatory window, will often never be seen for days as it is usually buried beneath a thick cloud. It was thus, that for the first 4 days we didn't once see the volcano that we were monitoring, apart from a few breaks on the first day. It's quite a frustrating thing, devoting all your time, day and night, to a volcano that is right in front of you but which fails to make an appearance. On our day four at the observatory, two guys from the IG came down - Roberto and Myriam. They were going up on the flanks of Tungurahua to service three stations all located in close proximity to each other at a small farming village called Pondoa. Anna-Marie and myself went along to help. One amazing thing about Tungurahua is that it is very steep. There are just 8 km from the vent to the town of Baños and in that 8 km there is a rise in elevation of 3 km. The town of Pondoa is much higher up on the flanks of the volcano than that of Baños or where we were staying in Guadeloupe, and so we had to take the steep track up in our off-road vehicle. From Pondoa, you are often up in the clouds and the views looking down and out are quite simply incredible. The Andes is a pretty breathtaking place.
We were servicing three stations - one was an an AFM (Acoustic Flow Monitor) which detects movement as increased flow (i.e. when a lahar) passes over the area. We thus jumped up and down to simulate a lahar and waited to hear whether the readings were coming through at the observatory. The second station was a tiltmeter, and which has a water detection system for highlighting increased rainfall - which may be an indication of if lahars are likely. Finally, the third station was a broadband seismometer - which picks up all the earthquake information that is given off by the volcano - this is more my field of expertise. All the stations were close to each other and little walking was required. On our way back to the observatory - Tungurahua finally appeared in full view - without a cloud in sight. For the rest of that day and into the night - we took photos with the thermal imaging camera, the night vision equipment and of course with our own camera devices. There wasn't too much activity but you could see some gas rising from the vent at times. The stars around it were also out in their thousands - and the Southern Cross perched just perfectly over the volcano for extra dramatic effect. We had a group of locals in from the nearby town of Cusua that night as well - to learn about what the observatory and the IG does, and to reassure them that they are in good hands when it comes to the volcano looming above their heads.
During our time at the IG, Patty would often be out in the field, doing one job or another, and during those times - I was in charge of the observatory. On our last day, with Patty out for the morning and no activity (or very little) during our entire time there, suddenly the volcano gave off a big explosion and ash plume. You could see the cloud of material through some breaks in the clouds. Suddenly, with me in charge, we had a hundred and one calls coming in from all angles. Patty was also on the phone as she was out there on the volcano at the time. It was all fine in the end - but it certainly gets a bit manic when something exciting happens out there. We had some heightened activity that day - which for me was all very thrilling.
The following day, the new group of people came in to take over from us, and we headed back to Quito. It was a fantastic experience, living and working at a volcano observatory, especially when you have some activity. There is a fair amount of responsibility, which I certainly felt when I was there. I was constantly data processing information for the reports and website alerts. Gas measurements, changing seimograph plots, lahar monitoring - it all has to be done to keep things ticking over. Anna-Marie and I did get a chance to escape though, not just in the field but for a night out in Baños too. Its only a 15-20 minute drive away and although I had been there 4 or 5 times already - its always a nice place to head back to.
We arived back to Quito on the Tuesday evening. It was back to work for me the next day, with more data processing and research on Tungurahua. There really is no rest when you deal with active volcanoes...............but then I didn't get into this line of work to rest!!!
Thursday, 12 May 2011
Canoa
So after failing to get to the beach the week previously, through a series of disasters (but still managing a trip to the thermal pools of Papallacta as compensation), I finally decided to make a stand. I didn't care who came with me but one way or another I was going to the beachside town of Canoa and no bus, landslide or person was going to stop me. Actually, this time, it all went to plan. Sarah came with me as did my American work buddy - Branden. We left Quito via the night bus on Friday after work and at 7am in the morning - we arrived in Canoa. My relaxing trip on the beach did end up as just that, but it didn't fail with at least some drama in the middle.......
Canoa is a sleepy village, with a nice stretch of beach and a pleasnat climate. Quito had been raining continuously every afternoon for as long as I can remember and not just a splash of water - but full thunder, lightning and hail. I was also having some major Ecuadorian issues, which included problems with my work contract, my work visa (as my current one has almost expired) and getting paid by my employers - the whole hassle of last year was coming back to haunt me once again!!! Apart from now being fully paid - I still have all the other problems and my visa is set to expire in less than three weeks. If I can't sort it out in time I will have to leave Ecuador whether I want to or not. I was also waiting on an answer to the PhD which I had applied for. After waiting on a decision for three weeks after the period they said they needed to get me a yes or no - frustration was starting to set in. I still to this day have not had an answer, as to whether I have got the PhD position (and hence will leave Ecuador) or haven't got it (in which case I will stay). On top of that, my Ecuadorian doctor who I was now convinced was keeping me on medication just so I could give him more money really was pushing me to the limit. I ended up resolving the situation by more or less telling him to stuff his medication, and I would sort my health out on my own. I am since fine. My point is, overall - a trip to Canoa was exactly what I needed.
First, the three of us searched and found a cheap spot on the beach - a wooden building type thing with balcony, hammocks and sea view - and all for just US$6 a night. We then had a little wonder around Canoa. There is not too much wondering to be done actually, when you're talking about Canoa. It's mainly a street on the beach, filled with restaurants, hostals and little bungalow shacks selling cocktails. There is a town behind the beachfront but it is small at best. The beach itself is wide, the sun appeared to always shine and the water was warm with big waves. Obviously, I really loved Canoa. It was far more tranquilo than say Ecuador's Montanita but that was nothing to complain about. There was an even mix of local Ecuadorians and backpackers too and on a weekend night, there was enough people around to make a party. It was going to be a good weekend.
Naturally - Sarah, Branden and I started our day lazing on the beach. After about 15 minutes of relaxation time however, we suddenly see Brenna. I had no idea that she was going to be in Canoa that weekend and of course its fine bumping into your ex, except while we were talking, a young Ecuadorian lady (Maisa) walks past - who I had recently been seeing in Quito. I also had no idea that she would be coming to Canoa that weekend either. Neither of the girls know each other, but basically it didn't matter - I had been double sabotaged. All I needed now was for Diana to turn up and the drama would have been complete. Actually, it turned out fine in the end, well, at least after Branden and Sarah had stopped laughing at my awkward situation. I mainly spent the day with Maisa, swimming a lot, eating a lot and generally frying in the sun. We even took a horse ride on the beach - it was disgustingly romantic.
That night Maisa left with her family and the three of us (Sarah, Branden & I) were back together. That night we partied in the one beach-shack bar that everyone had decided to congregate to. It was a fun night, full of much dancing and drinking (although for me - alcohol was off the menu!!!). The following day was spent much the same way as the first - lazing around. I even tried Cerviche - which is a typical dish in Ecuador and Peru, and consists of fish or shrimp in kind of a cold soup. It has lots of lemon juice, onions and a whole host of other ingredients. Traditionally they don't cook the fish - the lemon juice is supposedly meant to keep it fresh - but I think these days (for backpackers especially), they do. It has a strong, but delecious taste - apart from the fishy parts in it that is.
Unfortunately, Branden and I had work the following day and so we had to take the bus back on the Sunday night. Sarah stayed out there for a few more days. She has been living in Canoa for the last few months on and off. There she has been helping a local family build a home. She collects donations from all over the place (including from her family and friends back in the States). I donated US$10 for the cause too. Jealousy soon set in though - that she was able to stay, but, I have to work - and so Branden and I returned to Quito to continue with our volcanoes and continue with our life - back in the capital..........................
The Semana Santa Weekend & The Forcing Of Plan B: Papallacta!!!
Semana Santa is basically the term for Holy Week, which preceeds Easter in the Catholic calendar. With Ecuador being a fairly religious (okay, very religious country), specifically in the Catholic faith, everyone got a three day weekend to celebrate in style......Catholic style. My style however, was the beach. I had wanted to go to Canoa for quite some time. And with a three-day holiday this was the time to go. Unfortunately, the planning (first of all) - fell apart. We got to the local bus station to buy tickets too late and so all the Thursday night rides were gone. It didn't matter though, because on Friday afternoon - Jefferson from the La Guayunga Hostal (my Ecua-Brother) said he would take me in his mini-bus along with 10 other backpackers who quickly signed up. What this meant was - we had Friday morning free - and this particular morning (Good Friday) was special.
Semana Santa is known for it's big celebrations and processions, where people typically wear Nazarenos or a cloak and hood with a pointed top. It is the same design of clothing that the KKK adopted for their outfits, but these religious versions are generally of the purple coloured variety, or at least they were that day. The procession took place in Quito's Historic Old Town, which is basically where I live. A few nights ago we had seen the most bizarre musical production in one of the plazas. It involved some odd opera singing, mixed with dancing - which together told the story of Jesus. This procession was equally mesmerising. Hundreds off people walked the streets in purple KKK outfits, helped along with many locals dressed as Jesus - who would generally have to drag a giant wooden cross slung over one shoulder, through the streets of Quito. The crosses were often so large and heavy that people came in to help them. Then there were people dressed up as Romans and other oddly characters who would whip the Jesus paraders. Sometimes they would be whipped with vines, other times with ropes. Apparently it is a great honour to be chosen to act as Jesus in this procession. One guy was even in a wheel-chair and he was getting whipped too. Hundreds of people lined the streets to watch it, including me and half a dozen friends. The whole thing was most strange to someone who had never seen such a proceeding, such as myself - but I have an open mind so I managed to stay for well over an hour before all the whipping got to much for me to withstand. The other tradition during this time of year is to eat a special kind of soup - called Fanesca, which consists of 12 types of bean as far as I could work out. I was made some by the family at the hostal where I stay and it was very deliceous whilst being equally filling at the same time. It was certainly more healthy than the typical Easter Eggs that folk in my country of England eat during this time of year. Explaining the fact that we eat chocolate in the shape off eggs and bunny rabbits was probably about as bizarre to the Ecuadorians as it was for me watching a person dressed as Jesus parading through the streets getting whipped - so I guess we're even.
Later, we were finally ready to leave for the beach. That however, is when things started to go wrong. Actually that's not technically true - they started going wrong much earlier that day, when heavy rains had caused a large landslide on a road near the town of Santa Domingo - the same road which just happens to be the route to get to Canoa. This meant we would have to loop north past Mindo before heading back down (south-west) - and it thus would certainly add an extra three hours (maybe more) to our already 5 hour ride. After filling our bus up with all the backpackers - we set off for the shortest journey in history. No sooner had we set off than we realised the brakes were not working to full capacity. So back we went. There were many more buses at La Guayunga - they have tons of the damn things......but thats when the excuses came. I would have been happy if they had just said we couldn't go - but no, our hopes were raised and dashed a least four times with promises of another bus. One excuse followed after another, to the point of amusement - when we all decided we just wern't going to make it to the beach that weekend. With disappointment setting in - my good friends - Sarah and Kimberley, and myself decided how to salvage the rest of the weekend - and so we all decided pretty quickly......that Papallacta was our saviour!!!
Papallacta was a good alternative. It was a place I had wanted to go for a while. Its only a 90 minute bus ride away and can therefore easily be done as a day trip. Everyone that we spoke to who had been there said it was worth a visit, so, that Saturday morning - Sarah, Kimberley and myself went to see what all the fuss was about. Papallacta is a small modest town, situated at 3300m (asl) out in the Andes. The town would likely never be visited by tourists except that it has one special gift - thermal hot-pools which are dashed all over the place and which are also nicely heated (to about 40 Degrees Celcius) by the activity of the nearby Antisana Volcano. Because of its location and altitude, Papallacta has a general air temperature that is cold and hence the appeal of the thermal pools are that much more desirable.
Once we reached Papallacta, we naturally headed straight to a thermal watery location, getting out of the cold morning breeze and straight into the natural bath. Locals say the thermal waters in Papallacta have healing powers, but with the amount of local people that filled the pools soon after we arrived - I can't imagine any water so cramed full of kids could have anything healing about it. It was still very pleasant and we stayed for the entire morning though.
Later that day we checked out the town. There isn't really much to see there but it's setting (surrounded by Andean peaks) is pretty amazing. Before we took the bus back to Quito I did manage to have a typical Ecuadorian lunch which was made amusing by the soup. They are known to put all sorts of things into the soups here in Ecuador. Most are very tasty and you just have to move aside the unedible piece of meat that is floating in it. So, when I got asked which option of soup I would like, of the choices: A. Cows Hooves Soup or B. Chicken Soup, I naturally went for option B. I was then very shocked but not suprised to see chickens testicles floating in my dish. Sarah had great fun making jokes about my meal while I awkwardly tried to eat my soup, and avoid picking up a testicle by mistake. I don't normally play with my food - my mother always told me that was bad manners, but this eating escapde soon turned into the game.....dodging testicles - and there was three of them as well.......three!!! I can't say it was a meal I want to remember but equally it will be one I won't be able to forget in a hurry. With that in my mind, we headed back to the Capital. I still had one day left of the three day weekend - and I decided to do very little with it. Despite the many disasters that had occurred along the way during this holiday - there were moments in that weekend that will be thought upon with great fondness one day. One day far away it has to be said............but one day nonetheless.
