This shot, captured at Lake Quilotoa, was taken by our new friend, Matt. We were hiking along the rim of this volcanic crater lake, when a herd of sheep, a few donkeys, dogs, and indigenous women came cruising by. More photos from this hike coming up soon.
There is nothing better than the sound of a blender in the morning. A blender sound means that you get to drink fresh fruit juice (jugo) for breakfast. The fun part is you don’t know what kind of juice you’re going to get. It could be pineapple juice, or blackberry juice, or strawberry juice, or guava juice, or raspberry juice, or passionfruit juice, or even a tree tomato juice (it’s in the tomato family but doesn’t taste like tomato – it’s much sweeter). I haven’t had an orange juice yet!
A fun compliment to the jugo is to add milk. It then become more rich and smoothie-like and is then known as a batido.
Either way, we love them and look forward to see what we get to drink every morning.
Ok, this post is a bit out of order. In the whirlwind of packing, prepping, and diving into this trip, I’ve gotten a little behind… Here is why our departure was so nuts and so fun:
July 14-28: Two weeks in Michigan. Amazing times – our first nephew is born (welcome Gavin Benjamin Martens!), quality time with the families in Ann Arbor and northern Michigan, Cottage Weekend, etc.
July 29-31: Move out. Everything into storage or friends’ basements/garages. Note to self – moving takes longer than you think it will, even with the help of friends and family. Trying to work during moving is also difficult.
Aug 3: Last work day for nearly a year! Amazingly good feeling, except that I wasn’t done with work obligations yet (and won’t finish until after week 1 in Ecuador).
Aug 4: Work and pack. Work and pack. Tie up loose ends.
Aug 5-8 : The world trip begins in Colorado. First, we drive to Durango where we head into the Weminuche Wilderness area for some backpacking in the Chicago Basin. Having not had the opportunity to get into the backcountry at all this summer, we had to squeeze in at least one trip before taking off! This was a special one – the Chicago Basin is one of the most amazing landscapes in all of Colorado, and it’s only accessible by the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (or by adding an extra day of hiking in). The DSNGR ride is an experience in itself. Operating continuously since 1887, this steam engine used to provide access to the mines in the Weimenuche region. Today, it’s a tourist attraction and super-cool backcountry access vehicle.
After a 2.5 hour train ride, we arrived at the trailhead, which led us up to the Chicago Basin over 6 fairly steep miles. The Basin, surrounded by three 14,000ft peaks, was as majestic and picturesque as we had hoped. On day two, we slugged our way to the top of our 4th 14er, Mt. Windom.
The unexpected excitement of the trip was our regular and very close interaction with a few families of mountain goats. The Chicago Basin is very highly visited, and the mountain goat population has grown fond of the delicious salty clothing and urine of these frequent visitors. We knew of this issue before arriving, but somehow, we managed to choose the campsite that intersected their daily migration patterns, and they took a liking to us. These guys had no qualms in coming as close as 5 feet from our sitting position, 
and would occasionally let us know that we were unwelcome guests by marking their territory while looking in our direction. Fortunately, we made it out without incident, and now it makes for a good story.
Aug 9-10: Telluride. For the 3rd time in 2010, I had the opportunity to visit Colorado’s most picturesque town. This time, it was to see two nights of my favorite band, Phish, and they rocked that box canyon. Joined by great friends in the best live music venue around, it was a killer way to kick off our big adventure.
Aug 11-13: Pack and work. Goodbye happy hours and parties. Way too much to do before leaving…
Aug 13: Our final night in Colorado, and one hell of a goodbye party and show. Despite a lengthy break from the previous performance, Zen Mustache members all brought their A-game, and we played a rockin show. Aside from friends and family, I will miss playing music with these guys more than anything else.
Aug 14: Without sleeping a wink after the show (and running a 4:30am last-ditch attempt to find our vaccination cards (unsuccessfully), we head to the airport at 6am. The adventure begins…
I love this place! Owned by an American couple that has been living here and running the Inn since, 1996, this special place is way-off the beaten track but they certainly reward you once you get here. After 8 hours on two different buses, we were happily walking up the driveway and were warmly welcomed by Andres and his partner Michelle.
Ted was aware of this place because of his work with Sustainable Travel International. The Black Sheep Inn is one of their members and they have also been honored repeatedly in the travel industry for their commitment to the environment and the local community. I’ll let Ted write more about their initiatives and accomplishments in another post, but know that they’ve gone over the top (in a good way) with everything from composting toilets to solar-powered water pumps.
On the property there are:
Accommodations for up to 35 people – including a dormitory-style bunkhouse, private doubles with shared baths as well private rooms with private baths.We’ve also had the pleasure to meet other travelers from around the world. Last night we had dinner with an Ecuadorian woman and her young daughter; a couple from the Czech republic; an American ex-pat and his girlfriend who is originally from Taiwan but has been living in Ecuador for 20+ years;
a American guy from San Diego traveling alone and two women from San Francisco. What a treat! Today we went hiking with the guy from San Diego and the women from San Francisco – amazing pictures and details from that hike to come!
Andres and Michelle have thought of everything and know how to cater to a Western tourists needs and desires – as they are gringos themselves! Though we loved our community homestay experiences these past couple weeks, it’s a welcomed treat to have a few over-the-top extras in our life these next few days. In fact, we just changed our two-night reservation to 3 nights. Needless to say, I’m thrilled.
Growing up in a decent sized city, there are many aspects of rural life that I have not experienced. Spending two weeks among poor, rural, Ecuadorian communities has been an eye-opening experience on many levels, and my respect for people who are truly living off the land has grown significantly. But nothing has been more inspiring than the genuine sense of community that permeates through the pueblos and small towns we’ve visited. Favors are exchanged on a daily basis, and people collectively make decisions that are (generally) in the best interests of the whole.
Nowhere is this neighborly commitment and connection more apparent than in Mingas – community work days. Projects span the spectrum from building homes for people in need or painting the community center, to fixing the town water system or constructing community gardens.
The town council votes on projects that are most necessary to the community, and one Saturday a month (sometimes more often, other times less frequent), the town gathers and works to complete the project at hand.
During our time in Pucara, we had the opportunity to participate in a Minga, constructing a wall around the local cemetery (not exactly our idea of the most valuable community project, but an important initiative for this very catholic society). This was our first experience with volunteer tourism, and it was hard work. But, when you witness the level of participation from all sorts of people, you can’t help but want to contribute. Kids, adults, teenagers, elderly, men and women are all involved in some form, from mixing concrete (a much more laborious process without cement mixers), carrying rocks, raking land, or preparing food for the workers. The workday (well, work ½ day) ended with a big meal for everyone involved.
I’m not familiar with a similar tradition in the US, but we could certainly use it. The concept of donating one’s time for the greater good of your town, regardless of whether you directly benefit from the project, is an inspiring demonstration of neighborliness and good will. I’m certain that some people at our Minga thought a cemetery wall was a waste of their time. But they were there contributing anyway because that’s what the community asked for. Next month, the Minga project might bring an irrigation system to their farms.