Week 7

The experimental plot of guayusa we planted. I think it's more exciting than it looks

Late afternoon from the back of a pickup truck taxi

Sunset is weird in Ecuador

And really awesome for pictures.

With Nick (right of me), Cass (behind him), Carolyn (next to her), and one of the funniest Ecuadorians whose name I am forgetting, on the canoe en route to Carolyn's community

Into the Jungle

Chontachuros - a type of Gusano (worm in spanish- for those in Hanover this blew my mind to know that a restaurant is named after these), which are actually tasty when cooked over a fire in a palm leaf, and less tasty when grilled directly on the flame.

Jewelry made by the community

Busted water pipe-turned sprinkler

View overlooking a plot of banana trees

I stumbled upon this ecolodge paradise, it looks quite nice!

Week 5/6

 A more random assortment of pictures this week, mostly from Banos. Enjoy!

Guava fruit (the white stuff) with a big pit in the middle, they grow all over the place

Sugarcane in one of the many stands around Banos where they are sold

A strangely european-looking church in Banos

The church at night

A view of Banos from the beginning of the hike

Followed me for a bit up one of the dirt roads I was walking on. One of the few smaller dogs here I liked!

Accidentally found this national park

View from where I ate lunch

A sign along the way - "To look after the water is to look after our lives"

A local delicacy in Banos, Cuy. In english: Guinea Pig. (I didn't try it this time)

Soccer game in Tena

A view of the sunset and sky from the office

Homestay - Week 4

Here are some photos from my homestay in Atuhalpa, about 20 minutes from Tena along the river. I lived with my host family, a single mom with two sons, but really had many more kids hanging around every day (it took me until my last day to figure out who was really related to who and what their names all were). The kids love taking pictures with the camera so there are more pictures of me this week than usual.

Where I lived

Eddie, one of the cousins, was freakin adorable

Crocodillo on the wall

Crocodillo on my head

My host mom, Michi - single mom who consistently feeds an army of kids and friends after working in the fields all day, she was a champion

The party for the anniversary of the town the night I met my family. Everyone danced for a very long time, more than most people really wanted to I think

Either he was trying to hit me or trying to laugh. Either way he wasn't actually drinking, I think.

Nadir, on the left, one of the sons, was a funny kid and was always joking around with me

Here's me with a machete, mom. And my new wife (another one of the cousins).

Eating grapes with Eddie

My host mom using Chuguriyuyu to help treat my many, many mosquito bites

View from the hillside we were clearing

Clearing a field for a new finca (farm)

Bird nests above us with birds that made the coolest sounds

A young bird fell out of a nest but apparently couldn't fly, since it didn't really try to escape or defend itself against us.

Random Pictures

These are some photos I had that didn't really fit in to the other posts, but I thought were amusing/cool. Enjoy!

Hung out nearby as I was working at a guayusa nursery one day

Awesome dog one of the peace corps volunteers has, named "Supay," as in "Soup-eye."

Huge tree that houses a ton of different plant and animal species - it's crazy how much biodiversity there is in such small spaces around here.

Pictures of a couple of of the tree's branches, it was hard to really capture how much was going on within the tree

Patricio, one of the technicos who works with the guayusa farmers, drinking chicha before a community presentation about the process of selling guayusa and an election for a community representative to Runa

Cool looking fruit/plant