Ecuador, a natural splendour like no other

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Roxanne Vuurman

Well, friends and family, this is it. I am writing this final blog post from Jaun Valdez Café, our standard group meeting point over the previous months, however, sadly I am the only remaining group member in Ecuador. While Katharine arrived safely to Australia yesterday afternoon, I bid farewell to the boys, who will continue their travels in Peru, once again unable to resist the call of the coast. We wish them all the best, and for safe and happy travels with their remaining time in South America.

Our second last weekend in this fantastic country was spent wholly appreciating its natural splendour. Katharine and I made our way through the Amazon rainforest as the boys took in the stunning landscape of La Esperanza in Ecuador’s north. Both adventures left our group in awe at the incredible beauty this world has to offer. There are no words to describe just how amazing it really was.

With our remaining time in Ecuador we attempted get the most out of the place we have all called home for the past three months. Climbing the towers of the Basilica, an enormous cathedral in the city’s centre, we were able to experience the view of Quito’s enormity for the last time. We will all continue our lives with a great appreciation for this place.

I attempted to get every member of the group to write a small reflective piece to include in this final blog post, however (as I am sure their parents can attest to), Tom and Duncan aren’t always the easiest people to coordinate. As a result I could only rely on Katharine for some input (thanks Katharine).

Hey parents, so as a reflection on the past 3 months in Ecuador, the cunning Roxii has managed to rope us into writing our own piece for the blog. Whether it was trekking through the Amazon jungle, dodging Tarantulas and poisonous caterpillars or playing with the beautiful children at INSFIDM, I have had an unbelievable time. I would like to say a special thanks to our host parents, Marcelo and Ruth for all the care and guidance they have shown us throughout our brief stay in Quito. Without them this experience would not have been so incredible or unforgettable. I write this with a tinge of sadness on the eve of my return to Australia but am now happy to know that I will always have a home in Quito, if I ever choose to return. I would also like to say a special goodbye to the other volunteers for making this time even more spectacular, especially to Tom and Duncan who (and I say this with only a touch of envy) will continue on their journey to visit the other countries of South America. I will miss the crazy bus rides, frozen yogurts, hugs from children and stunning scenery that has defined my time here in Ecuador. Most of all I will miss waking up to the sound of “Katharine, I am dying” clarifying the fact that Roxii’s body had stubbornly decided to remain sick for the last three months. Of course we blamed this, along with our fitness levels, laziness and anything else on the altitude. I am looking forward to seeing my family again and I hope you have all enjoyed Roxii’s awesome blog posts. – Katharine

We all sincerely thank our host families for everything they have done for us. We don’t think we could ever truly express how thankful we are to them. This whole trip would not have been possible if it weren’t for their incredible hospitality.

To our families in Australia, we also send our thanks. I’m sure you have all had your fair share of worry. Thank you for putting up with us, especially when we neglected to contact you.

With every Pilsener; every excruciating bus trip, every lollypop, broken skate board and get together in La Carolina, every time Katharine had to anxiously watch children climb the monkey bars and every time she had to resist petting a stray, every time Tom high fived one of us or every time he was tackled by a child, every musician Duncan recommended and with every chord he played, with every time Emma did her snake face or every time she yelled at us, with every time I got unreasonably angry at blatant misogyny and every time I acquired a new illness, every fruit juice, black coffee, Cuba libre and empanada, every staff room talk, every discussion over a game of pool or on the balcony of Attic bar, every failed attempt at salsa and every successful attempt at white people dancing, every person we met and every new place we saw, we have all been permanently changed in the most positive way possible. This experience has been so life changing, and none of us would trade it for anything.

So for the final time,
Chao

All Souls Day and an update from Ecuador

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Roxanne Vuurman

Hola! With two weeks left of our time here in Ecuador for 4 of us, things are becoming a little bit of a mad rush. Today we sadly had to bid farewell to Emma, the next two weeks will not be the same without her.

Volunteering has been going fantastically. The children participated in a play depicting stories and the traditions of All souls day, and it was incredible to see the way in which this culture celebrates their dead, and how vastly different their view of mortality is when compared to that of Australia. In addition to their small celebrations and plays, normal class time has been going well, however witnessing Emma’s farewell just reminded us that our time here is rapidly coming to an end. None of us are really ready to stop travelling, but fear not parents (of Katharine and I at least), we will be returning soon, not extending our return flights.

Our weekend travel saw us once again returning to the beach town of Montañita for Halloween. There was never a boring moment!

For three of our volunteers (as mentioned many times before) the appeal of the beach was much too great, and they remained there for the entire weekend. For Katharine and I however the town of Baños was still calling, and we made our way from the coast to the Andes for more thrills. While 60% of our volunteers made the most of the surf the other 40% spent their time cycling the route of the waterfalls, and getting their water bottles stolen by cunning small shop owners.

The following weekend, Emma’s last in Ecuador, allowed us to see the stunning Mt Cotopaxi, as well as Lake Quilotoa, the crater of a dormant volcano that filled with water and minerals from the volcano, resulting in its stunning blue colour. The diversity of Ecuador never fails to astound, one day you could be surfing on the coast, the next cycling towards an enormous waterfall, whilst in other parts of the country it is snowing too much for climbers to see the glacier topped mountain, and yet you would only need to drive for 2 hours to see the sun shine across a volcanic crater lake. This country is so rich in beauty; it is nearly impossible not to fall in love with it.

With our remaining time here there is so much still to see and do, it is going to be so hard to say goodbye. This trip has given all of us so much more than we could have ever imagined, and although this trip has already ended for one of us, those of us remaining will continue to make the most of the time we have left.

Adios

Coffee breaks and trampoline time for a group of volunteer teachers

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Roxanne Vuurman

Buenos tardes! My sincere apologies for the lateness of this blog post, things can get a little crazy when you’re you spend your days either covered in glue, paint and children, or when you’re jumping off a bridge in an adrenaline filled (very safe) weekend in the town of Baños.

The past few weeks have been nothing short of amazing. Volunteering never fails to occupy our weekdays with entertaining stories of trampoline woes and classroom activities. The five of us manage to spend our break time at school just like real teachers, sitting around drinking coffee in the staff room and talking about anything and everything.

We have all managed to get so close to the staff and students at the INSFIDM, it definitely feels as though we are part of a family here. Katharine has an undeniable talent when it comes to compassion and recently managed an entire class of 5-6 year olds on her own for a day as her teacher mourned the loss of a family member, not only was she able to keep the children under control, but also managed to bring in new ideas to the classroom that were adopted in by the teacher upon her return.

In addition to this, Tom has managed to form an incredible bond with his class, and is an indispensable part of their daily activities, particularly trampoline time (much to the delight of the children whose ability to do flips on the trampoline has greatly improved). Emma brings so much to her class, particularly with her incredible Spanish speaking skills, and her unconditional adoration for these children while Duncan brings immense positivity to his class, and has similarly formed a great relationship with the little faces that smile back at him everyday. I do not know how we are going to be able to leave these gorgeous people in four weeks time.


On a brighter note our weekend travel has been extraordinary. Nothing could prepare us for the indescribable nature of Baños, a stunning town surrounded by mountains, as well as an active volcano! It really was something else to ascend the neighboring mountain of the volcano on horseback and watch as ash and smoke rose from the peak of the Tungurahua. Furthermore, Baños saw four of us faithfully leap off a very high bridge (ropes attached) and swing down to the ground below. Never a boring day here in Ecuador! Baños was not only a place that allowed us to push the boundaries of our comfort zone, but it was also a place that inspired each and every one of us. This country is beyond anything you could imagine.

Back in Quito the five of us also managed to ascend to dizzying heights as we rode the scenic TeleferiQo, a cable car system that allows people to witness the profound size of Quito from a look out on the east side of the (very dormant) Pichincha volcano. While Tom and Duncan made their way to the peak on foot, Katharine, Emma and I found our own entertainment in the form of two some-what friendly llamas resting near the look out.

Our time in Ecuador seems to be drawing to a close much quicker than any of us would like, and with our fair share of Pilseners, lollypops and long bus rides, we intend to make the very most of it.

Ciao

Vivir mi vida! GapBreak Ecuador

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Roxanne Vuurman

Hola! It has been quite some time since you have all been updated on the antics of the volunteering five. So many things to update you all on!

The previous blog last left you with words of our dilemma regarding our placement choice. Since then all five of us eventually decided on the School for the disabled, a challenging yet incredibly rewarding placement. Our first few days were spent familiarising ourselves with our classes, in which we would be assisting the main teacher with daily tasks and activities. It didn’t take long for all of us to get attached to the beautiful faces that greet us each morning.
The first full week saw the children on an excursion to a day camp, which focuses on horses and their ability to assist the learning and development of children with disabilities. Nothing could quite compare to the way the children’s faces lit up as they were called to help wash one of the horses, or their exclamations of joy as the bigger horses were brought into the stables.
Similarly, the second week saw the five of us only grow closer to the children as again we all attended the day camp. On this occasion many children were able feed the horses, and were taught independence through going up to the horse and petting it without the assistance of a teacher.
These past few weeks have been nothing short of incredible, both at volunteering and in our weekend travel.

Our second weekend in Ecuador gave our beach crazed volunteers the ability to finally see the coast as we made our way to the small coastal village of Montañita on an overnight bus ride. After twelve (very long) hours we arrived onto the very welcoming sandy streets of the laid-back beach town. Needless to say it was an amazing break from our newfound inner city lives in Quito, particularly for those among us who had already begun to crave the surf.

The following weekend resulted in the five of us being spread across the country. Katharine and I found ourselves in the rainforests of Mindo, in Ecuador’s north, zip lining across the canopy and getting acquainted with some friendly winged locals, as well as the sweetest old man by the name of Pepito, who ran us through the process of making award winning Ecuadorian chocolate and offered us as many fresh cacao beans as we wanted. As we swam in the waterfalls of Mindo, Tom and Duncan found themselves in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, where they enjoyed the spectacular view from a famous lighthouse within the city, and explored countless local attractions. Emma, however, still could not resist the allure of the coast as she returned to Montañita to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of the village.

This weekends travel allowed Katharine, Emma and I to experience the wonderful Mitad del Mundo, the middle of the world. It really was something else to watch on as indigenous dancers weaved their way across both hemispheres in an incredible display of the culture this country has to offer.

It is unbelievable how quickly these weeks have passed, and how many incredible experiences we’ve all had. We cannot wait to see where the following weeks take us as we continue to blast Marc Anthony’s “Vivir Mi Vida’ (a very appropriate, and very popular song), so until then it’s a friendly ciao from the volunteering five.

Altitude training of sorts in Quito, Ecuador

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Roxanne Vuurman

Hola amigos y familia!

It has been 8 days since we landed in the extraordinary city of Quito, Ecuador’s capital. After 20-30 hours of intense air travel and for some of us up to 6 flights, we arrived dreary eyed into the hands of our welcoming host families. For all of us the first days were spent recovering from jet lag and attempting to acclimatise (some of us struggling with the altitude more than others). It was on our second day in Quito that we began our Spanish studies at the stunning Academia Latinoamericana de Espanol. After taking a preliminary exam we were told what we already knew, that Emma and Tom would be put in a more advanced class, whilst Katharine, Duncan and I were taught the Spanish alphabet in our first lesson. Although, as previously mentioned, this disparity had been made quite clear to us at the very beginning and we have become experts at pushing Emma and Tom to the front of every social situation.

For some, our first week in Ecuador was spent familiarising ourselves with the busy streets and local shopping centres of Quito, and for others familiarising themselves with the impressive skate park within el parque Carolina and connecting with both locals and fellow travellers.

The weekend came as a welcome break from our morning Spanish classes and gave us all the opportunity to further explore this incredible city. On Saturday the boys enjoyed the Museo Guayasamin, an art museum existing in the home of Oswaldo Guayasamin, the late painter who was both an extraordinary artist and passionate collector of art.

The same day allowed Emma, Katharine and I to take a tour bus through the city, taking in many of the sites Quito has to offer. Notably, we were able to stop at El Panecillo, an enormous aluminium statue of the Virgin Mary that overlooks the city. Nothing could quite prepare us for the profound view seen from the statue, as we were able to ascend its’ enormity.

That night the group decided to explore the nightlife of la Mariscal, a bustling tourist area with much to offer. The night was largely spent attempting (very poorly attempting) to salsa dance with the locals, however we did have an incredible night despite our distinct lack of dance skills.

Monday we returned to our Spanish classes for the last time, 3 of us leaving the academy with substantially more Spanish speaking skills than before we commenced lessons (a little more than the alphabet you’ll be glad to know).

It was today that we experienced what we ultimately came here to do. We were shown our possible placements in the poorer communities of Quito, walking into rooms of smiling faces chiming “Good morning teacher”. We are now burdened with the task of deciding which placement we are going to spend the remaining 3 months at. Certainly not a decision any of us is going to take lightly. When so much help is needed in so many places it becomes a little daunting to the single volunteer who wants to help all.

Well, the bell is ringing in our host family home to signal that lunch is ready, so I will be off. The 5 of us cannot wait to see what the next 2 weeks will bring, and we cannot wait to share it with all of you.

Adios!

Ciao from the Gringo Gang

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Clare Baxter

When you're stuck at home in a full-time job desperately saving up for a gap year adventure like this, three months seems the longest time in the world. You cross days off your calendar like you're in a montage in a cheesy teen drama. I found myself in my office at work highlighting sentences in my Lonely Planet, and staring at maps of Quito. "I'm going to know these streets," I thought, and it was surreal. "I'm going to know them and walk in them and drink coffee in them and know them like the back of my hand."

Now we do. Street names that once seemed so foreign are as familiar as George Street or Parramatta Road. And, although I feel like a walking cliche saying this, I'm a little in love with this city.

There's something about the 4000-odd metre high mountains around us that's comforting, safe. I still catch my breath seeing them whilst walking home from volunteer placement in the afternoons. The coloured buildings that splash up the valleys are casually, quaintly beautiful. The cobbled streets and colonial buildings of the Old Town make you feel as though you've stepped off the Ecovia bus hundreds of years in the past and the cafes and bakeries of the new town are our home away from home. When people mistake us for tourists we reply defensively and proudly, "¡Vivimos aqui!" - we live here.

It's been a crazy life, too. I've done things that I never could have imagined doing, from all of our adventure sports (tubing, canyoning, banana-boating, paragliding, zip-lining, white-water rafting and I can't even finish this list), to all of the general adventures we had just being together and being us, the Gringo Gang (really hipster dinners in Guápulo, ticking things off DFAT lists, Montañita, and plastic bags in El Safari). I could never have imagined, either, how wonderful it would feel to volunteer to teach English to disadvantaged children. There's that utter sense of elation when you walk into a classroom to kids cheering, how you can't stop smiling when you sing "We want to wish you a Merry Christmas" with your students, and how close you get to the little ones. It aches to think about leaving them.

Some of the international volunteers are finishing our gap year adventures here, and some are travelling on a lot longer. But wherever we get off our planes I know (and our farewell brunch today proved this) we'll have the same sense of sadness to know we're not going to be spending the next weekend on an eight-hour bus trip to some place new together. Okay, I doubt we'll miss the bus trips. But I personally can't believe how close our volunteering group has become. I know so much about you guys, sometimes a little too much ...

I know wherever we get off our planes, we're going to be babbling. No amount of words, conversations, all-night d&ms - even divided by 12 people - could ever come close to describing what we've seen and done here. The food we loved (encebolla) and hated (foot bread), the views we took 12-person selfies in front of, the music we came to know so well ... "Manos arriba, cintura sola, una media revuelta, danza kaduro," and of course, "¡Yo no quiero agua!"

I know wherever we get off our planes, we'll be changed people. You may not recognise us, and not just because of our Ecuatorial tans or the five kilos we put on at Marcelo's house. It's because you can't experience something like this and be the same person you were before. For better of worse (definitely worse for our bank balances), we've become Explorers. We've become Global Citizens, as my junior school geography teachers would have put it. We've become Quiteños, Adventurers, Next-Trip Planners, and pretty darn good Friends. And we're so lucky to have had these experiences. So thank you to everyone who had supported us, for all you've done for us this past year or so.

So that's it mis amigos, I suppose. Thanks for everything; the communal showers, the hilarious anecdotes, the diarrhea advice, the afternoons at DiSerggio's, the bus trips to placement. Thanks for teaching me the lyrics to Drop It Like It's Hot, for sunscreen-application on the coast, for putting up with my singing and headaches, for lending me your clothes, for watching Skins together, and for saving my life those times. Hope I could return the favour.

There's something Marcelo said to us at dinner one time that kinda stuck with me. "You are the biggest bullshitters ever!" He said proudly. "You just live life like hell."

And I wouldn't have had it any other way.

The Gringo Gang Goes to the Amazon

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Clare Baxter

I have decided, mis amigos, to dedicate this entire blog to our adventures in the Amazon. I feel as though this is rather necessary, due firstly to the amount of drama the volunteer group caused back home by visiting there (many apologies loved ones), but also due to the amazing experience we had over the weekend. They don't call it the AMAZE-on for nothing. (Not going to backspace the terrible pun, so sue me!)

The volunteer group’s journey started with an achingly long overnight bus ride, which included a 3am stopover in an abandoned depot in one of the most notorious cities in Ecuador, Lago Agrio. Waking up in a dark, empty shed in the early hours of the morning was not the best start to our trip, but eventually we moved on and four hours later we arrived and were greeted by Romulo, our guide for the next four days.

Twenty minutes on the water and the group of international volunteers had reached Cuyabeno Lodge, our sanctuary nestled away in the depths of the jungle. We were living in huts with palm-leaf rooves, propped up above the ground on stilts to safeguard against the occasional floodings of the Cuyabeno River, a tributary of the Mighty Amazon. After dumping our things under the mosquito nets (just in case a pesky tarantula tried to set up camp in a hiking boot), the volunteers had a hearty breakfast and were introduced to Tas, the pet boar. This six-month-old boar would be our constant companion on hikes around the rainforest and explorations of the grounds around our huts, which were dotted with banana and cacao trees. We then wasted no time in getting out of the Orient heat and used a rope swing to jump into the river. Unfortunately this was where we quickly learnt the Essential Rope Swing Law of Averages; the first swing will be executed with much grace and elegance, but the second will result in heavy bruising up one side of the body, or even a fractured finger in Adrian's case.

The volunteers’ first day was a lazy one after the long bus ride, with a two-hour meander through the rainforest before lunchtime as our main activity. There we spied Romulo's favourite spider, the Scorpion spider (reminscent of the one used by Mad-Eye Moody in the fourth Harry Potter film to demonstrate the Unforgiveable curses). We all tried to emulate George of the Jungle by climbing the liana vines, incredibly strong and flexible roots dropped by plants growing in the canopy. Not all of us succeeded, needless to say, but we all got a lolly for our efforts.

A daily activity that the volunteer group also enjoyed, was our rides in the panga (motorised dingy) to the perfect piranha-fishing location ... the same river that we'd been swimming in. Contrary to what Hollywood would have us believe, piranhas aren't going to strip a human to the bone in a matter of seconds. They're actually quite fussy eaters, and human meat is just not good enough. We witnessed this pickiness as, after reeling back our raw beef bait, we saw that they had cunningly nibbled off the meat and left the strings of fat on the hook. Needless to say, this prompted many cheap jokes along the lines of, "What do Adrian and piranhas have in common?"

On Sunday, the volunteers spent four hours on a one-way panga ride to a small farming village about 70ks away from Cuyabeno Lodge. Definitely a highlight was when the boat stopped by a group of squirrel and black monkeys, and we were able to watch them swinging from branch to branch. We were even lucky enough to spot a woolly monkey, one of the rarest breeds in the Amazon due to decades of over-hunting. As we continued our trip down the river, a curious gang of squirrel monkeys followed us along the banks.

But that was not our only encounter with these furry friends. Once we'd arrived at the village, the volunteers were welcomed somewhat painfully by Nacho, the overenthusiastic pet monkey of the community. Our very own monkey (Paul) climbed a guaba tree with Nacho and brought us down the soft, fuzzy and sweet-tasting fruit that grows in 40cm-long seedpods on the tree. After our snack we set about harvesting yuca, the yam-like vegetable we then used to make yuca bread. With no water, salt, oil or butter added to the yuca flour, the result is a somewhat bland, dry flatbread which we ate with pineapple jam and peach-flavoured Tang sprinkled on top.

One of the most exciting things about our weekend travels has been meeting fellow international volunteers from all over the world, and our Amazon weekend was no exception. The eight-hour return boat trip that day seemed short due to our multilingual game of "I went to the Amazon and I brought ..." with Zuzka of the Czech Republic. We met Dee, a British lady volunteering in the Galapagos, and a Canadian family we affectionately named The Thornberries. They were doing a world trip with their two children, the youngest of whom was reminiscent of Eliza Thornberry from the aforementioned TV show. My favourite example of this similiarity was when I overheard the nine-year-old and her older brother arguing about the origin of the giant land tortoises in the Galapagos.

Our weekend trip to the Amazon was definitely one of the best so far, a mix of sweaty hikes through the thick mud in the "swampy place", of lazing in hammocks in the humid afternoon heat during our siestas, of long conversations in Spanish by a roaring bonfire under the light of a full moon, and getting up close and personal with creepy crawlies. It truly lived up to its name, and was an AMAZE-on experience.

Climbing Volcan Cotopaxi

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Ben Jacobs

The first stage of climbing a mountain is simple- deciding whether or not to climb it.

Volcan Cotopaxi is one of the most illustrious mountains in Ecuador, and indeed the Andes mountain range. Its stunning scenery in the surrounding national park attracting tourists from all over the continent. But only some attempt to climb it. Some locals told us only professionals attempt it due to its danger; whereas online resources told us it was physically and mentally demanding, but do-able. A challenge? Undoubtedly. Out of our comfort zone? Maybe. But did that attract it to us? Yes, yes it did. So the decision was made.

Unfortunately, my roommate Adrian broke his finger in the Amazon a couple of weeks before the climb, and doctors said he wouldn't be able to climb. So it was myself (Ben), Paul, Bettina, and Tarek who would attempt the climb. I am an 18 year old Australian with no climbing experience whatsoever, average physical fitness and no exposure to any significant altitudes. Paul, my other roommate, is a very physically fit 20 year old Australian with a wealth of rock climbing and canyoning experience.

He climbed Mt Pichincha few weeks ago, is very adventure-oriented, and makes difficult physical activities (such as climbing a 20ft tree in the Amazon) look like a piece of cake. Bettina and Tarek are two 19 year olds we met volunteering here in Quito. They are from Switzerland and Germany respectively, have both climbed smaller mountains in Europe, and Bettina also has significant experience at high altitudes.

The climb is a two day process. I shall detail both days individually below:

Saturday- Preparation

Woke up 7.30am, breakfast of pancakes and granola (all for the energy for the night climb). Our guide for climbing arrived at about 9am, he said he'd just come from the summit of Cotopaxi at 5.30am, the man he brought up had to be carried down by an emergency evacuation team after collapsing. The guide's name is Lobo- Spanish for Wolf- and his appearance matched his name. A physically imposing early-30's Ecuadorian with 15 years experience climbing Cotopaxi, who needs Bear Grylls when we had Wolf? We were told he spoke quite good English. I asked what the weather that night would be like, and he replied with "Yes, certainly, Cotopaxi is big mountain." Perfect. So we got fitted up in all the gear and headed for Parque Nacional Cotopaxi.

We drove to the 'carpark' at about 4500m, then trekked a steep 200m or so to the base camp. We had all our bags and gear with us, and the walk up was hard and took me about an hour and a half (Paul did it in 45 mins, Bettina and Tarek took just over an hour).

We had a hearty lunch of sopa y pan (soup and bread) and got ready for the practice glacier climb in the afternoon that we knew was standard procedure before the night climb. Lobo was playing cards, and told us to not worry about practicing, just acclimatise in the base camp. The 4 of us exchanged anxious looks to each other, then shrugged and joined in playing cards, while talking about what our will would be like if we died. Lobo told us of the 13 people that died on Easter Sunday in 1996, and of more recent deaths and injuries. We discussed prospects of getting to the top. Lobo told us 1 in 3 people don't make it due to weather/conditions stopping them. And 1 in 3 people don't make it due to sickness. And of the 1 in 3 people that do make it to the summit, 9 out of 10 of them have had significant climbing practice at similar altitudes. I've had none. I knew it was highly likely I wouldn't make it (I knew and accepted this already) so my goal was to go as far as I possibly could, maybe seeing the sun rise from midway up the mountain. Paul was determined to reach the summit (it was pretty clear he could do it) and Bettina and Tarek both thought they could, and I agreed with them, although they were maybe being a little optimistic.

Dinner was at 5.30pm. We were given a huge portion soup for starters, then as the pasta and chicken was brought to us Lobo held it above our heads and refused to put it down until we finished the soup. "YOU ARE TO NEED ENERGY TONIGHT!" he told us. We finished at 6pm and went to sleep. Sorry, let me rephrase that. We went to bed. Not to sleep. We were struggling to breathe, and the altitude (4700m) coupled with the anxiousness meant it was impossible to sleep. The room had about 25 bunk beds side by side, no gaps, with a thin mat on top and no pillows. Looked like army bunks. I lay there for 5 hours, staring at the roof while thinking about exactly the same thing as the other 50 people in the room. Most climbers get up at 11pm or 12am and leave at 12am or 1am, depending on what the guide told you. This allows time to reach the summit to watch the sun rise. 3 people wearing matching uniforms got up at 10pm and left at 11pm. Lobo told us he had never seen that before and was very confused by them. Anyway, we got up at 11pm and got dressed.

I had on 2 pairs of underwear, thermal pants, trackpants, climbing pants with suspenders. 2 pairs of socks, climbing shoes inside mountain shoes (yes, shoes inside shoes), crampons, thermal top, thick jumper, and raincoat. Gloves inside thick mitten things, neck warmer, and beanie underneath helmet. Harness, carabiners, head torch. Packed my backpack with water, powerade, snickers bar, gum, lollipop. Hooked ice pick (axe kinda thing) and rope to myself. Took a gastrostop so I wouldn't need to poo on the mountain. We were given tea, biscuits and granola as a snack just before we left. None of us ate a thing.

We looked at the clock on the wall. Midnight. Time to begin.

Sunday: The Climb

Try and remember the worst headache you've ever had. Double it. The thin air and temperature condenses your head so your skull is pushing in against your brain. Worst stomach ache? Double it. Throbbing ears. Chesty cough, like razor blades as it slices up through your throat. Now step outside into -10 degrees. Its pitch black. What's the coldest you've ever been? What's the hottest? This is both at once. Ever tried breathing through a straw while holding your nose? Try it. Ask yourself "Why are you doing this?". Actually no, don't ask. Because you know you don't have an answer. Look around, no one is speaking. Anxious faces. Frightened eyes. Now try and climb a mountain.

12.05am, 4810m - Lobo tells us weather conditions were absolutely perfect. Delighted that he wouldn't be part of the 1 in 3 people who don't make it due to weather, Paul confidently shouts "Let's climb this bloody thing!", thrusts his ice pick into the air, and walks in behind Lobo, who would be leading the way in a single file line. I slot in behind Paul, Bettina behind me, Tarek behind her, and a second guide- Christian- at the back.

The first hour we continue in this single file line, zig-zagging up through steep dirt and rubble at a consistent, but relatively slow pace. Each step forward you slide half a step back, there's no grip at this point. Lobo continuously emphasizes "Please, check the energy, check the energy. We need for death zone." Technically speaking, an actual death zone is where the brain isn't receiving enough oxygen to survive. You find this on mountains such as Everest or K2. Cotopaxi doesn't have a death zone, but the guides regard the 5700m mark as 'Cotopaxi's death zone', where the altitude and difficulty usually become too much to handle. The summit is 5897m. Paul, Bettina and Tarek are fine; I'm struggling to breath, coughing, my stomach was disgustingly painful to the point where I would've given anything to vomit, just to relieve some of the pain. The silence was deafeningly painful. "Why are you doing this?" Again, you don't answer. Because you can't answer.

1.00am, 4920m - We stopped for our first break, 5 minutes.

This was the start of the snow. We put our metal crampons on our boots for extra grip. This is the point teams have to split up. Lobo would go up with 2 of us, Christian (the other guide) with the other 2. Each team of 3 people would be tied together with rope. They told me if I wanted to go back down now I could go by myself, but from this point on if I chose to go back (or they deemed me too unwell to continue, which they made very clear they would have no hesitation in doing) then whoever I was tied with would have to go down too, even if they were fine to continue. The only other option would be if we passed people going down- I could join them. I knew the only people ahead were the 3 uniformed people I mentioned earlier who left early, but they were only an hour ahead and it would be a while before they came down. I looked down and could still see the base camp in the distance. There was nothing stopping me going back now. I knew it was selfish, but I said I wanted to continue.

Paul was undoubtedly the fittest so the guides wanted to pair him with Bettina or Tarek, with the other one going with me. I looked around, and could see in their faces no one wanted to go with me. Rightly so, I wouldn't want to be held back by someone else either. Lobo said Bettina had the better altitude experience, so recommended Tarek to go with me. It was deadly silent, very awkward. Tarek then said it was fine, but his eyes told a different story. Paul then says "Na man I'll go with Ben, we'll be sweet, you two go together." I couldn't believe it. This was Paul's dream, and I felt sick to the stomach because I knew that unless we got lucky and found a group on the way up or down, Paul would have to go down when I couldn't continue. He's not stupid, he knew this. He wanted the others to go on. It was incredibly kind of him. Bettina and Tarek roped themselves to Christian and set off at a quick pace. They were out of sight within 10 minutes. We got the Wolf.

1.05am - Wolf up front, with a rope attaching me a couple of meters behind him, and Paul a couple of meters behind me. We continued at a very, very slow pace. Every minute or so I stopped for 10 seconds to catch my breath. It was better this way, I knew the slower we went, the further we'd end up, and the more chance there was of a group coming up behind us with a spare place for Paul. Lobo seemed patient when I stopped, but I sensed he was a little frustrated. Paul was fine, he loved looking around at the views. I was so concentrated on breathing and taking each step at a time that I hadn't bothered to look around. Above us was the clearest night sky I've ever seen. There were thousands of stars. Venus was visible, clearly brighter than the rest. Behind us was an orange electric storm, but it was below us. Seeing flashes of lightening BELOW you is quite surreal. There were icicles everywhere, deep crevasses, stunning snow and ice formations. In the far distance below us, just through the clouds, we saw the head torches of 2 more groups ascending. Time for a break.

2.00am - Break. Water. Powerade. Energy. I put in my iPod as a distraction, and sucked on a lollipop for the same reason.

2.03am- Climb. This was the process for the majority of the climb:
Ice pick in left hand, push into snow ahead. Count one. Two. Left foot forward. One. Two. Right foot forward. One. Two. Ice pick. 1,2. Left. 1,2. Right. 1,2. Repeat. The iPod was serving its purpose. We were climbing at my pace, slow. I was starting to enjoy the climb. Or at least I was forcing myself to. I told myself I was fine, I told myself this was fun, I told myself I could go another hour, I had to. The power of the mind is a funny thing.

2.47am, 5300m- We stop for a 2 minute break, but this time it was Lobo's idea, not mine. "300m deep crevasse ice bridge." Lobo says. What does this mean? He calmly explains that we would have to sprint up for the next 20 seconds, because if we walked the natural ice bridge would break and we would plummet to our deaths. If he made it through and the bridge broke with myself and Paul falling, we had only a piece of rope and the power of the guide to try and pull us up, and there's only so much a wolf can do. We ran, we made it. It took a hell of a lot of energy out of us. A 20 meter sprint at this altitude is very, very tough. We asked Lobo if that's the scariest/most dangerous thing we would have to do.

He found it a very amusing question. 10 minutes later, we could see why. We had to climb round the side of an ice boulder on a 20cm wide snow ledge, with a sheer drop on our left, of which you couldn't see the bottom. Paul liked it, and asked how far down it went. Again, Lobo laughed, and said it didn't matter because you'd be dead before you reached the bottom. Now Paul loved it. Climbing a mountain evokes a lot of thoughts, emotions, and feelings. 'Scared' could not fit into any of those categories. We couldn't, wouldn't, and didn't allow it to. Once more, "Why are you doing this?" Just laugh, there's still no answer.

Another crevasse. 5th ice bridge of the night. Lobo's head torch fell. Paul and I knew if one of our head torches failed or was lost we would instantly have to go back. It was a non-negotiable rule. We didn't know what would happen if the guide's failed/fell though. Lobo clenched his teeth, Paul looked worried. Lobo got out his handheld radio, about to call down to base. He then had a sudden change of heart, put it away, and kept walking. We were seconds away from going back. Deep down, I wanted to have to go back due to the guide's error, or via his decision, not mine. I didn't want to be responsible for bringing Paul down. Even if I was too sick, I would wait for him to make me go down, him to male the final call, I wouldn't let myself turn back. I knew this would probably be around the death zone, so that was now my goal. That was a very commendable target, a lot higher than I thought I would get an hour or two ago. I would feel fulfilled if I got there. I had that goal in my sight.

3.15am, 5480m- We kept going at our very slow- but increasingly consistent- pace. After ascending yet another false summit, we saw something which I never expected to see, and it utterly shocked me. It was Bettina and Tarek. They looked as shocked to see me as I was to see them. Bettina was struggling. We overtook them. Slow and steady wins the race, ay?

3.19am - Lobo gets a call on his radio. It's Christian. They've had to turn back. Tarek is hugely disappointed. His dream is over. I don't know why, but it acted as motivation. We were doing it.

5600m - Ice pick. 1,2. Left. 1,2. Right. 1,2. Altitude. Lobo stressed again the need to save energy. He told us to count to 3 now instead of 2 between steps. Water. Powerade. 2 bites of snickers bar, frozen. Ice pick. 1,2,3. Left. 1,2,3. Right. 1,2,3. Repeat. Each step forward takes a lot of leg power, willpower, energy, breath. Each step brings you into thinner, colder air. You can't allow yourself to look up, you know you'll see an endless upward mountain. Stare down. Step by step. "Why are you doi-" Stop. Don't.

4.00am, 5700m, The Death Zone - Break. The summit is 5987m. I was incredibly proud of myself. 5700m is a huge effort. Lobo asked how I was. I lied, and said I was fine. I could tell he was close to making the call, but we'd come so far. I was determined now. When he turned away, I would gasp for air, crouched over, head spinning. My hands were purple and throbbing with agony, it was freezing. I felt my eyes close for half a second, I was slipping out of consciousness. I couldn't let Lobo see. Ice pick. 1,2,3. Left. 1,2,3. Right. 1,2,3. Repeat.

4.12am - This bit was tough. An 80 degree almost-vertical slope. Lobo said we were lucky, usually the wall is black ice which is very hard to grip, but there was an avalanche 3 days before which would give us slightly more grip. We asked if anyone was hurt. He smiled and moved forward. We had to shove the ice pick into the snow above us, dig our foot into the wall, heave ourselves up. My entire body was up in the wall, knees digging into snow trying to get more grip, knowing that if the axe came out, we'd all fall. The fall wouldn't kill us, but if we couldn't stop ourselves when it flattened out (when I say 'flattened out', I'm still talking about 55-60 degree angle slopes) we'd smash into a glacier, and there are hidden crevasses everywhere. It was physically exhausting. Completely draining.

I forgot that Paul was actually human too, and he was struggling. His fingers were killing him, throbbing feet, headache, freezing. Sore throat, thin air, huge effort to breath. And when Paul is agonising, you know it's for a reason. Lobo said (in slightly more broken English) "I don't care if you make it up this wall, if you don't have enough energy, finished, we go down immediately, impossible to go down with no energy, just as hard as going up, I not have emergency evacuation team again like yesterday. We can get to the top in 40 minutes, but this bit is the hardest. You have no choices now, I make the decisions. Are we clear?!" He seemed angry at us. His eyes were fiery. He'd been to the top hundreds of times, he couldn't care less if we went down now. He knew we were battling. And we were. "Why are you doing this?" This time I actually thought about it. The challenge? The experience? No, don't bother trying to answer. You can't.

4.30am, 5800m - 97 meters from the summit. Half an hour left. It was only now, at this point, did I know I had to do it. I had lied to myself the whole way up, setting stupid targets I knew would never be enough. I told myself before I started that if I got to this point I would let nothing hold me back. Paul's motto: 'Pain is temporary, pride is permanent' ran through my head. The summit was there, and we were going to reach it. We had to, we knew it. We've never been more determined for anything in our lives. The last 3 slopes were steep and tough, but pain was brushed aside. Our mental strength overcame our physical capabilities.


4.55am, 5867m, The Final Hurdle - We could see the top. We'd passed so many false summits, but the one we looked up to now was it. I absolutely could not believe it. The summit. 5897 meters. 5 hours of hell, for 5 minutes of heaven. Adrenaline numbed the pain. For the final time, I asked myself, "Why are you doing this?" And as I heaved one foot in front of the other, for the final few arduous steps, I knew that the answer was about 10 meters away from me. I felt tears in my eyes. I looked behind me, Paul did too. We knew what we were about to see would probably be the most beautiful sight we have ever seen. It didn't disappoint.

No words or photos can do justice to what we saw. As we stepped onto the summit, there were about 6 others there. There was no need for words, although the language barrier wouldn't have allowed them anyway. They looked over to us, and the slight nod of the head and raise of their ice pick was congratulations enough. Unanimous silence and euphoria. We were 5897 meters high. Over a kilometer higher than the summit of Mt Blanc, Europe's highest mountain, and 2 meters higher than Africa's highest, Mt Kilimanjaro. Due to the bulge in the equator, we were about the same distance from the sun as the peak of Mt Everest. It was 5am, and there was a thin red line over the horizon. Just in time for sunrise. Miles below us was a sea of clouds, with various mountains protruding through the top. Lobo pointed to the right, he didn't need to tell us what it was. A mere few kilometers away, seemingly touching distance at this point, was the peak of Mt Chimborazo, the highest point on Earth. We were about 500 meters below its summit, but from where we were we seemed level.

We were on top of the world, in every sense of the word. Cotopaxi's enormous volcanic crater was right in front of us. The sun was rising second by second. The 3 uniformed people who had left early emerged from the other side, we now understood why they left early. It wasn't uniforms they were wearing, it was what appeared to be a commemorative army jacket. It was two men and a woman. All aged in their late 20's, and they were definitely all siblings. They removed an urn containing what I presumed to be a parents ashes, and together as one, they released them off the top of the mountain.

It was a touching moment, and the perfect setting. We later learnt that it was their father's ashes, who was a keen mountaineer who had died in a freak accident climbing Cotopaxi a few years before. The two sons and the daughter came to complete what their father had failed to do. Their guide brought them up free of charge, the staff knew the father. After they left, we took photos. Lobo showed a rare sign of positive emotion and congratulated us. He seemed genuinely surprised and pleased for us. We took in the scenery, and after 10 or 15 minutes at the top we headed down.

5.15am, The Descent - Apparently we needed sunglasses and suncream as the sun bounces off the whiteness of the mountain and leaves severe burns to most on the way down, but for some reason or another we had packed for the cold, not the heat. Lobo correctly informed us that 80% of climbing accidents happen on the way down. I could now see why. I had used literally every ounce of energy I possessed to go up.

I left nothing in the tank, every last bit of physical and mental energy put towards the climb had now evaporated into nothingness. I would say evaporated into the clouds, but we were above the clouds, so I guess I can't. Lobo was infuriated at me, understandably. If he knew this earlier, he wouldn't have let me go up. I knew that, and that's why I had to hide it from him. I was completely delusional, falling over constantly with zero motivation. Going up was my only thought for the previous few hours; going down hadn't even crossed my mind. Lobo was shouting at me, but his voice was a blur. I was out of breath, my head was throbbing, and my limbs gave up on me.

It was bright now, and going down Paul and I were gobsmacked by the actual steepness of the mountain. In pitch blackness you take it step by step, but now looking down and trying to grip on insanely steep (sometimes vertical) sections was extraordinarily difficult. Sprinting across the ice bridges almost killed me. I should have been looking at what stunning scenery was around me, and I did, but I hated every second of the descent. When the ice ended and we could un-rope ourselves, Lobo and Paul started foot-skiing down the mountain. I sat down, using a boulder in front of me to stop me tumbling down the mountain, and took out my powerade. It was frozen. My body then did what it had wanted to do for the last 6 hours. It shut down.

7.30am- I woke up in a daze, head spinning, bones aching. I started slowly making my way down to the base camp. I remember Lobo saying it was half an hour down from here, and i'm sure it should be, but it took me an hour and a half. I arrived back and Bettina, Tarek and Christian were there to greet me. They were all ecstatic, visibly surprised that I had made it.

9.00am- We went back to the hostel in Quilotoa at 3900m, which seemed like a heavenly altitude at this point. Paul and I politely asked if we could 'sit' on their couch for a few minutes. That was never going to happen. We slept.

5.15pm- We woke up, and got a free bus ride back to Quito. The other 10 people in the Antipodeans group coincidentally saw us on the bus at a traffic light a few streets from the terminal. We didn't see them, but they all came running after the bus. We got off and were very surprised to see them all run round the corner towards us. They didn't know how we went, but were thrilled for us anyway. Someone said, "Did you make it?" and all we needed to do was smile for them to know the answer. They were absolutely ecstatic, the kind of energy we forgot could even exist. Their support was quite simply fantastic. We went and got dinner together. We arrived home to our host family, who congratulated us on our success. They had told us not to attempt the climb, it was a stupid decision and very dangerous. I'm glad we ignored them.

Without a doubt the most challenging thing I have ever done in my life. Without a doubt the most rewarding. Paul described the ascent as being the most painful, petrifying, but proudest moment of his life. And his name is Paul, so the P theme works well. I had to agree with him. Antipodeans have opened the door for us all to undertake some truly unbelievable activities here in Ecuador, from the Amazon Forest to the Galapagos Islands. But for myself and Paul, Volcan Cotopaxi sticks out above the rest. Well, 5897m above the rest- to be precise.

The Gringo Gangs adventures in Ecuador

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Clare Baxter

As of this, the third installment of the Blog del Gringo Gang, we have reached the halfway point of our GapBreak adventure. This is incredibly hard to believe at our end; never, it seems, have six weeks of our lives gone faster. And having now settled into a daily routine (up at 6:15, breakfast under the chandelier, the grind of the Ecovia bus, four hours of placement and a huge lunch) the days only go faster. A lot of us are even contemplating extending our return flights. (Don't shoot the messenger, beloved parentals.)

So, how have placements been going? At Fernando Pons, even 6B have become controllable, the three year two classes have learnt the Rainbow Song with much enthusiasm and year seven are our cheeky little brothers and sisters who, having learnt the word "kiss", proceeded to chant it at the resident lovebirds. And even though some of the lesson is spent digging for information about our "novios" back home, we have gotten through five topics with them and are moving on to the sixth.

Lisa and Sarah go to INSFIDIM, a school for disabled children. They each help out in their own class with kids varying in age and disabilities. However, the school is a buzz of happiness and positivity that brings all the kids together. The girls help to teach the kids all sorts of things including how to make a bed and tie up shoe laces as well as the usual classroom subjects. Recess is also really fun as they get dragged around by laughing kids and try to dodge the soccer ball as an intense game of soccer rages, whether or not you find yourself in the way. It is a real challenge and can be very tiring, but they've found it really rewarding as it is all worth it to see the kids grow in strength and knowledge every day as well as develop friendships with them.

In terms of our weekend adventures, there is a lot to report. With our new Swiss friend Bettina we travelled to Baños. Named after the hydrothermal springs on the edge of town, it's well-known for a strange combination of spa resorts and adventure sports. Much fun and many bruises were to be had as we canyoned down waterfalls, went white-water rafting down level four rapids (there are five levels), mountain-biked down a volcano, rode horses and drove buggies (which subsequently broke down in the middle of nowhere). And, of course, it was Paul's birthday weekend, an occassion he marked by jumping off a rather high bridge. Harnesses were involved, so worry not.

The weekend of the Quito festival was suitably celebrated in our hometown by watching the Ecuador vs. Chile World Cup qualifier. Whilst the game itself was amazing (3-1 to Ecuador, SI SE PUEDE!), Ben's story of buying 13 tickets for us gringos is even more so. So I got him to write it up for your enjoyment.

Day 1: I was told by Marcelo (the in-country agent) that the Ecuadorian Football Headquarters were ten minutes from where I live in a taxi. Excellent! So I got in the taxi, gave him the piece of paper with the address scribbled down on it, and we arrived there an hour and sixteen minutes later. De-lightful. There is a massive gate surrounding the building with a narrow entrance where there is a gated door thingy. It was unlocked and ajar, so I waltzed on inside (I didn´t walk, I waltzed) and went upstairs where I found a man in a suit, who brought me to an office where there was a women in a suit. I told the woman in the suit I wanted 13 tickets for the Ecuador vs Chile match. 13 in spanish is "trece", which sounds very similar to the word for three, which is "tres". She laughed at me and corrected me by saying I obviously wanted three.

I said no, 13. She then got out a blank piece of paper and drew a big number 3 on it, and pointed down at it smiling. I took the pen and put a one in front to make it 13. She seemed astounded, and got out her phone. She spoke to someone or other for about four or five minutes, and then suddenly handed me the phone. The man (who was probably wearing a suit) told me in broken english something about a director, ordering tickets, coming back at 11am the next day, and $260. The woman in the suit then took the phone off me and said "hasta mañana", so i waltzed back out, waved goodbye to a scruffy looking gardener, and went home.

Day 2: Allowing sufficient time to travel the hour and sixteen minutes to the same place, I arrived at 10.48am. However the gated door thingy I had walked through the previous day was closed, and there was a crowd of Ecuadorians standing with their arms against the fence, as if standing outside a prison cell. I went to the gate and recognised the scruffy gardener from the day before, and gestured for him to come and talk to me. I managed to say something along the lines of "Hello sir, I yesterday to speak with director, he know me, tickets for football." The gardener smiled and walked off.

A local man asked how many tickets I wanted. I told him 13 and he burst into laughter and told the others there. They were in tears of laughter at the silly gringo looking for 13 tickets when they probably wouldn't even get the one they so desperately craved. About 45 minutes of standing in the sun later, I decided to get the next taxi home. Around about the same time, the gardener came and opened the gate about an inch. The mass of people started to barge through the gate, and the gardener promptly held up a gun to their faces. Everyone froze. He then held up his other arm and pointed directly at me, gesturing with one finger for me to go in.

At this point I was quite confused. Nevertheless, I waltzed on inside and found the same man in a suit, who brought me to the woman in the suit, who introduced me to a man who wasn't wearing a suit, who walked me through a set of corridors to a man standing outside a closed door, wearing a suit. We stood there for about five minutes, not saying anything. Suddenly, he opened the door slightly, and smiled as he announced 'El Jefe' as the room opened up in front of me. The Boss.

Sitting behind a desk, smoking a cigar, with two bodyguards on either side of him, was the Director of Football for Ecuador. And he was wearing a suit. It felt like a scene from the Godfather, and I was about to come face to face with Al Pacino. I don't know the director's real name, so I'll refer to him as Jefe. I tentatively walked up to the desk, and Jefe said something while holding an expensive looking box of cigars up to me. The man to his left spoke English and acted as a translator, looking me in the eye while saying "The Director... would request you to share a cigar with him." I have never even tried a cigarette before, so to avoid completely embarrassing myself while not disrespecting him, I told the guard I had asthma.

Jefe seemed to accept the reason. He eyed me up and down, as I was wearing thongs, board shorts of the Australian flag, and a fake Ecuador football shirt which I had bought off the street for $5. He then bombarded me with questions, ranging from "Why are you in Ecuador?" to "Do you or any of your friends have criminal records in Australia for hooliganistic activities?". After a few minutes, he stopped talking and stared at me, probably into my soul. After all, he was wearing a suit. The guard then took over and said, carefully enunciating each word, "The Director... has approved... your request." I thanked them, and proceeded to purchase and receive the 13 tickets. On the hour-and-sixteen-minute journey home I sat in the taxi quite perplexed at what had just happened. But what I concluded from the day was that I finally had the tickets, and I should probably start wearing suits.

Finally, as is the tradition of these Gringo Gang blogs, it's time to check in with our bucket lists.

- Sarah ticked off her first (see a soccer match) at the awesome game between Ecuador and Chile.
- Emily L ticked off a multi-layered one -- seeing the three main areas of Ecuador, the coast, the Orient and the Andes.
- Paul and Emily A ticked off white-water rafting whilst in Baños.
- Lisa ticked off climbing a mountain, Mount Pichincha, the massive 5600m peak that overlooks Quito. It was a story of altitude sickness, a man named Marcel with two bung knees, and deep betrayal from a few members of the group whose names I won't mention. But it's a long, intense story, and we can really only have one of those per blog.

Anyway, the time and money I've spent at this here internet cafe are fast adding up, so I shall have to bring this blog to a close. On behalf of the Gringo Gang, I bid thee adieu until next time. Don't miss us too much.

Clare

YOEIO: You´re Only In Ecuador Once

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Claire Baxter

It's recess at Escuela Fiscal Fernando Pons and the kids are going crazy. THe little ones scale the soccer posts and swing from the crossbar, whilst the tough boys from Septimo-B take turns smashing a ball at them. Government-subsidised milk cartons are exploding as the naughty kids in sport uniform jump on them. Alex is playing elastics, much to the amusement of about fifty students who watch wide-eyed whilst eating dought dipped in syrup from the canteen. The older girls hold hands and prowl the playground in pairs; the queen bees.

We've only been teaching here for two weeks, but it already feels like we're a part of the school. Now we know where the classrooms are, what time the periods start and end and the best way to get a class of 40 five-year-olds to repeat "Good morning" after you. Class control is getting easier, although we all fear our twice-weekly 40-minute period with Sexto-B. However, the biggest challenge is putting names to the faces of about 600 wriggling, racing children.

Over the past fortnight we've taught the alphabet, numbers, colours and the family so many times that I actually started murmuring "What is an English word starting with Y?" in my sleep. But it's all worth it when you enter a classroom to kids cheering "Good morning teacher!" Plus, we know we've earned our afternoon siesta every day.

The Ecuador placement stands out for the wide range of volunteering opportunities available, and teaching at Fernando Pons is only one of them. Steph and Courtney have been volunteering at a disabled children´s clinic, which they´ve been really enjoying. Every morning they help around ten children with various disabilities to eat breakfast, partake in singing, dancing and craft activities, do physical therapy exercises and prepare for lunch. Whilst it can be frustrating and exhausting, again there's a sense of helping make the lives of these kids a bit brighter.

In other news, our weekend trips have taken us on some wild adventures all over the country. The weekend before last, for example, took us to the coastal town of Montañita in the south. It is a place best described as somehow even more chilled than Byron Bay. The water on this side of the Pacific is gloriously warm, and we made the most of our days off by swimming, playing soccer and volleyball on the beach, dancing to live music in the evenings and even going paragliding. The one dampener (literally) on our experience was when the toilet in our hostel room overflowed early one morning, flooding our room and leaking through the floor to the other girls' room beneath us. It was somewhat surreal to come downstairs at 5am to the sight of Michala standing in the corridor, dripping wet with arms aloft and sobbing, "It's raining in our room..."

Last weekend we visited Mindo, a rainforest village a couple of hours north of Quito which is known for its birdwatching, butterfly farms and zip-lining through the canopy. Following out catch-all motto of YOEIO (You're Only In Ecuador Once), we missed none of these opportunities. I must admit that going birdwatching at six in the morning was one of the best things I've done here; when we couldn't see any birds, watching the birdwatchers was just as amusing, if not more so. Plus we saw the most amazing yellow toucans diving from the tops of trees in the strong Ecuadorian sunlight.

Finally, to update the famous Gringo Gang bucket list, we have three more to tick off. Courtney ticked off going tubing, which our weekend in Mindo allowed us to do; Lisa ticked off learning salsa, a class which the majority of us participated in with limited success on our last day at the Spanish school; and Alex "became a salsa pro" (in our eyes at least) after beating a girl from Guayaquil at an impromtu dance-off in Montañita. Never will we forget her moves to Call Me Maybe, nor the moment she was named Miss Montañita to the roar of an appreciative crowd of both locals and tourists.

And so another installment from the Gringo Gang over here in Ecuador. Hasta luego mis amigos. More tales await.

The Gringo Gang in Ecuador

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Claire Baxter

Hola amigos from the Gringo Gang. It’s been 12 days since we arrived in Quito and we’re settling in well. It’s taken nine months plus 35 hours in transit to get to where we are now. We’re pretty sane people but we can be gringos, sometimes.


Hola!

I’m writing from a nail salon in the new town where a group of us are mid-mani. Not quite what we were imagining when we signed up for volunteering in a developing country, but a welcome surprise nonetheless. Then again, a lot of things have surprised us since arriving.

Apart from the Assange Saga, Ecuador is not really a well-known country back home and we weren’t really sure what to expect. The sheer size of the city overwhelmed us as we flew over late at night, a 100km river of lights running between the darkness of the Andes. During the daytime, spot fires around the city are in contrast with the chandeliers hanging in every room of our host family’s house.

These families represent the upper-middle class of Ecuadorian society and have offered their homes to us in return for our helping the children of Quito. 17.4% of Ecuadorians live below the poverty line, and it is with these children that we’re volunteering. We start our volunteering placements on Wednesday, so more information on that to come.

So what has the Gringo Gang been up to the past couple of weeks? Exploring the Old Town and salsa dancing in clubs in La Mariscal; climbing incredibly steep hills and blaming all breathlessness on the altitude; spending our mornings studying Spanish in the ‘’Academia Latinoamerica de Espanol’’ and the evenings on the party bus (chiva) touring the city and listening to Spanish dance hits. We’ve caught the public bus to Otavalo markets and spent … more than too much. But family and friends of the Gringo Gang rejoice! We bought you many gifties.

For those who know us personally, we’ve written ourselves a bucket list with three things we want to do here each. These vary from eating guinea pigs (Emily L and me), to seeing pink dolphins in the Amazon (Alex), to ‘’immersing myself in the life and culture of the llamas’’ (Ben, of course). During the weekend in Otavalo we ticked one off though; Michala conquered her fear of birds when we visited the Condor Park and watched a bald-eagle soar against the backdrop of the Andes.

Everywhere we go we attract stares; our gang of twelve continually-laughing gringos. We’re pumped to start our placements and travel more around Ecuador. Stay tuned for more adventures, our manis are almost done so it’s time to sign off.

Hasta Luego,
Clarita.

The end has come for the Quito 6!

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Lauren Gaudion

So we´ve reached the end of our 3 month expedition to Ecuador. Jasmine, Blake and Sam all caught their plane home last night, while Holly began her 62 hour bus journey to Cuzco. Jeff and I are still here, Jeff flying off to the States tonight, and me to London on Wednesday.

Now I know all of us will be asked the same question when we get home, ¨How was it?!?¨. To save your breath, I can tell you all on behalf of the Quito 6 that this experience has been beyond incredible. For me personally, it is more than I would have ever hoped for!

During our last week in Ecuador, we stayed in Quito, saying goodbye to our work placements, chatting with Marcelo about the trip, and hitting the town for the last few times. Over the past two weeks of going out in La Mariscal, we´ve claimed one bar as our own - named the Attic Bar. We would dominate the pool table there until around 10:30pm, then head off to the dance floor where we´d make new friends and dance the night away.

The music is pumping, and fortunately the drinks don´t taste as deathly alcoholic here as everywhere else! Also I might mention that last Wednesday night, we even saw our old Spanish teacher from the language academy, Alex, partying at the Attic bar. She says that we´ve all improved on our Spanish a lot. =)

Speaking of my Spanish abilities, I was telling Marcelo the other night how staying in a non-English speaking country really does help you learn the local language. For instance, I never thought that one of the few Spanish words I would learn while I was here was ´diaper´, which is ´pañale´. Although I suppose after changing pañales for the past two months I would have to know it´s meaning!

Also this week, Holly and I finally saw Old Town for the first time with Sam. I´m so disappointed that we didn´t go earlier, because it is definitely the most beautiful part of Quito. Although I´m yet to go to Italy, the streets remind me of what I think the Italian streets would look like. And don´t even get me started on the churches! There was La Basilica, which is the biggest church I think anyone has ever seen (Holly recognising it´s Gothic features owing to her architecture course at university).

It looked like a castle, and we spent around 45 minutes sitting out the front discussing what we would do with the place if we happened to buy it as a home. After La Basilica, we found the San Francisco church. It doesn´t really look like a church on the outside, but inside the detail and beauty of the decor is just exquisite. The church is made out of 500 pounds of gold, and took 170 years to build!

I went back today to attend a church ceremony there. Although I didn´t understand much of what the priest was saying, I could still admire the statues and paintings and detailed walls, as well as fitting in a prayer for my family and friends at the end.

I´m going back to work placement for two more days before flying out of the country, and I can tell that my last day is going to be teary. I´ve become so close with some of the children, and I don´t want to believe that this will probably be the last time I ever see them.

Thursday was Holly´s last day, and as a means of thanks from the nurses, she received a ceritificate of appreciation. From what we could decipher on the certificate, they said the cutest and sweetest things about her. Holly´s words exactly were ¨This is the best ceritificate I´ve ever had¨. I´m so excited to get mine on Tuesday to show off to my friends!

So folks, that´s all. I´m sorry that I´m not naturally a good writer and thus these blogs have bored you, but at least you know the gist of everything we´ve been up to. To Jasmine, Sam and Blake, have a safe trip home to your families. To Holly, Jeff and I, let our adventures continue! To my mum, I´ll see you in London in four days and counting! And to everyone else, I´ll be seeing you soon! Xoxo, the Quito 6.
 

Galapagos adventures and last week in Quito

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Lauren Gaudion

Buenos tardes everyone!

How are we all? I bet you're all excited to see your loved ones again in a week! Last week I told you all how I was left alone while the others went off to the Galapagos... :(

Fortunately enough, it seems they had an amazing experience! They put their tanning suits on, got up close and personal with some rare animals, and relaxed in the comfort of their 5-star cruiser. I must admit I'm just a tad jealous, but I've still got a good 60 or so years to go back! The gang took some really great photos as well, almost good enough for some antipodeans advertising they think! I'm sure they would love to share them if you ask nicely.

Apart from the Galap-lap adventures, all has been reasonably quiet in this busy city recently. We've been having fun at work, getting the most out of the last two weeks we have left. And by this I mean that yes, a boy called Martin shat on my hand yesterday. I've been adoring the children at my placement though. I know all of their names now and I know what makes each one smile. It feels so very fulfilling.

One girl (Damaris - aged 5 and one of the few who can actually speak) likes playing peek-a-boo with Barney in the playhouse. She can also go hours at a time forcing you to take her down the slide repeatedly. But I love her, and she's actually one of the main people here who's helping me improve my Spanish! It's going to be sad saying goodbye to them next week, but I've been so happy to help them, even if it is just making them smile.

Also this week, we've been taking advantage of the $5 cinema movies and enjoying the Wednesday night "Ladies Night - free drinks" trend in La Mariscal (Gringoland). My host father, Marcelo, says we've just about seen it all now in Ecuador, so we'll be spending this weekend in Quito again. We might go up the gondola and look over where we've been living for the past three months, and I'm keen to finally see old town and attend a pretty church ceremony. Whatever we do I'm sure we'll still have jolly fun, simply because we're in a beautiful country with a beautiful language and we know that we don't get these kind of experiences every day!

There's still a week left, so enough time for one more update soon. Take care our loved ones, and we'll be seeing you soon! Xxx

Guinea pig lunches and walking on the equator. All in a days work in Ecuador!

Colourful markets of Quito

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Lauren Gaudion

I´ve only been in Ecuador for 16 days now, and have already experienced it all... The culture, the food, the language barrier, the altitude sickness (or food poisoning - unsure what the cause was), etc. Although some of these experiences have made me homesick, they are what I wanted and expected to happen! It lets me know that I am going hard and getting the most out of my trip.

So far after my arrival, the original ´Quito gang´ have shown me around the huge city, running 100km long and 7km wide! On my first day we took a 40c bus ride up to Mitad del Munda and were thoroughly enjoyed straddling the equator and eating guinea pig for lunch (a very interesting meal, might I say).


The following Tuesday Holly and I began our Spanish classes at the academy. Although Holly remained fairly ritarded at Spanish after 20hrs in lessons, I managed to learn quite a bit surprisingly! Now I´m finding it (slightly) easier telling the taxi driver how to drive me to my destination. Although I would love to continue learning the language, I´m too broke to pay and extra however much for more lessons, so I´ll just stick to talking to the taxi drivers and my host mother (who knows no English whatsoever).

The weekends have been successful so far in travelling around Ecuador. My first weekend we went to Baños - a beautiful town surrounded by waterfalls and mountain scenery. There were a lot of tourist attractions we indulged ourselves in, such as white water rafting, canyoning down waterfalls, dune buggy and motorbike riding. We also let a little bit loose with the nightlife which was incredibly fun. I never realised how much better Ecuadorian nightlife was compared to Australia... we were given free drinks, the music was so happy and Mexican, and the atmosphere was the livliest I´ve ever seen!

Altogether Baños was simply amazing.

Last weekend we spent two days in Otavalo. We arrived on Friday and the markets were already quite large, but Saturday morning we woke up, looked out our windows and there were stalls all over the streets! I couldn´t see a road for the cars to drive on! We spent basically the whole day shopping, buying gifts for our families and friends back home, while also deciding to splurge a little bit on ourselves (Sam buying three ponchos for herself). Mainly we all bought llama products (scarves, ponchos, socks, slippers, beanies, etc.) just because they all felt so soft and fluffy!

Holly and I started our work placements this morning. We´ve decided to try out a medical clinic for children who suffer some sort of incurable disease. Surprisingly I wasn´t as traumatised as I thought I would be. There are some children who can barely do anything for themselves which is quite heartbreaking, but all of them are very cute and friendly towards us. I enjoy the work we´re required to do, that being feeding, playing with and generally taking care of the 15 or so children. I´m looking forward to working there more and getting to befriend all of the cute little toddlers.

For now that´s about the gist of what we´ve been up to here in Ecuador, but indeed there will be much more to come from the ¨Quito 6¨! Ciao!

Teaching projects begin in Quito

COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Jasmine Byrne

On Monday we finally started our placement! Charice, Samantha and I were transformed from relaxed tourists to struggling English teachers.

At 7am we braved the public transport and caught two bus to get to Fernando Pons school and we were greeted with smiles and kisses from the other teachers. Fernando Pons has about 300 students with grades 1 to 7.

During the first hour or so we were introduced to the student body and we established a timetable. We would be working from 8 to 12 with 5 classes a day each 40 minutes long. For the first class Samantha and Charice were paired together and I was on my own. I was given grade 4 I think, I was taken into the class, given a whiteboard marker and told to start teaching!



It was slightly horrifying as I had not yet been told what to teach and I had no idea what level the classes English was. So I did what anyone else would do in this situation and taught them the alphabet! After getting through each letter I managed to get the class to brainstorm a English word starting with each letter of the alphabet, and when they got stuck I would offer a word and draw them a picture of it so they would understand...now i'm not the best artist so now there are about 20 children in Quito that think a VAN is a bus....whoops!

Finally time was up and I got to go to the next class, as I left the children clapped for me and said goodbye. My next class was with Samantha, we had year 6. We again did the alphabet and taught them a few numbers with their English names, eleven to nineteen was a bit of a struggle for them but I think we managed to keep the class happy.

Next was recess and we spent the time drowning in a sea of children climbing on us looking for affection. Charice bought out her camera and the children were quite amazing at the pictures of themselves. The children also showered us in gifts, I came away with a yellow rose and two packets of biscuits which were delicious. Nowwww don't worry we didn't selfishly take the young, poor childrens lunch, beforehand Marcelo hand told us to never say no to a gift or food offerings as it was rude.
After recess Samantha and I were again paired together with grade 7, we taught them a few fruits and tested them by saying a fruit and getting them to draw it or we would draw the fruit and they would have to spell the name, they seemed to love this, and so did we, it was fun! Then we had to swap classes again.

This time we were all together to teach the second grade 7 class, we tried to do the same thing getting them to draw pictures, but they were so restless and loud, I think they were getting bored with us. This time our class seemed to be going for ages because the usually teacher never came to relieve us after the 40 minutes. FINALLY she came, and we were able to go home.

The only thing was, we didn’t know how to get home! After leaving the school we walked around for a while looking for the bus, but no luck! So we went back to the school and asked for directions, one of the teachers ended up walking us to the bus stop and making sure we got on the right bus, thankgod for her :)

After arriving home we ate our delicious lunch made by Marcelo and then fell asleep for the rest of the day. On Tuesday Charice and I both woke up sick. I had Tonsillitis which I get once a months so it was so no surprise, but Charice's illness is undiagnosed. She has seen the doctor and has been given antibiotics but 5 days on she is still sick, but feeling slightly better! So whilst Charice and I spent Tuesday to Thursday sleeping and feeling sorry for ourselves Samantha continued her teaching and and the boys continued their placement.

Whilst sitting at home sick, I decided I didn't like teaching very much so Marcelo has agreed to let me swap. The new plan for me is to go to the boys to there placement for the next week and then start a placement with my best friend Holly and Lauren when they get here! I'm very excited about it.

Samantha on the other hand LOVES teaching, everyday she came home tired, but smiling with a different adventurous story each time. On Tuesday she turned up at the school at 7.45 and discovered that the teachers had decided to have a meeting until some time after 9. In the meantime she sat there watching the kids run feral through the school. When classes finally started she taught the children some fruits, vegetables, animals and family. She also had bus trouble Tuesday morning, waiting a whole half an hour for a bus to finally appear going to the right place!

On Wednesday everything went according the plan and she said "it was wonderful". On Thursday (the last day for the week) the first three classes were normal and then there was recess, after this the bell went and she went to find where her next class was, only to be ushered into a 'cave' and fed some polenta "thing" and what she THOUGHT was aromatic water and was then told there would be no more classes as the children had dance classes for the rest of the day. That night she came home and said "yay, I finally get to sleep in tomorrow".

Now, I haven't yet had a chance to talk about my amazing host father Marcelo Maldonado. Marcelo refers to us girls as his little ones or his spoilt ones and the boys as professors. He describes Jeff as a Tsunami and Blake as a Womaniser! Haha.

Marcelo loves us, we are the daughters he has never had. AND he is an amazing cook! Here in Ecuador we have breakfast as normal but lunch and dinner and sort of swapped...we have a huge meal and dessert for lunch and then sandwiches for dinner. Lunch usually consists of rice and meat or salad and it is DELICIOUS, we always look forward to coming home at 1.30 for lunch and walking out of the lift to smell amazing food waiting for us. Marcelo loves talk about previous volunteers and always ends the conversation with "we could write a book you know". We love him.

Until next time,
- Jasmine Byrne