There's much to tell from the past few days! Alicia and I spent the night at her daughter's apartment with her family in northern Quito on Friday. It was very fun for me to be there, it being so much like home with the kids eating and getting ready for bed and everyone coming home from work. We went to bed early and climbed into Gustavo's car with Baggie at 6 am Saturday morning, headed north for 235. We passed through much of Ecuador until we stopped at Lago San Pablo, a large lake with a beautiful Inn called Puertolago where we had breakfast. We had fresh juice, fruit in a very fun wooden canoe, eggs, and bread while overlooking the lake, the sun just coming up as the fog cleared. It was unbelievably beautiful, I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Ecuador. From there we stopped in Otavalo, the city and home of the Otavalo Indians who make beautiful crafts and have had great success industrializing their city and talents. We walked through the artist's market, looking at everything and had fun bargaining for a few keepsakes. I loved the drawings and paintings they had of the people and landscapes, and the famous intricate pictures on small feathers. They also use banana peels, leaves, and other natural pieces to create images. Their famous alpaca sweaters were everywhere as were beautiful scarves and wall hangings. We also found Indian coffee, which smells unbelievable and I'm not normally crazy about coffee, and Ecuadorian dark chocolate, yum.
From Otavalo we continued on to 235, through the Salinas Valley. I immediately thought of East of Eden and the dozens of pages John Steinbeck spends describing the Salinas Valley in California. I have not seen the one in California, but if it's anything like the one here I understand why he spends that long painting it for the readers. It is possibly the most beautiful place I have ever seen, and as I am not Steinback I'm not going to try and describe it very much as only the pictures can come close to describing it. Just the Andes on either side with the sun reflecting through the clouds and casting shadows on the red earth, it is magical. The word "salinas" has something to do with salt, and plants and villages litter through the hills as you look down. It was a beautiful drive up to 235. Once there, Gustavo let us out to walk down and over the river, the "real" way to 235. We went down and met Sheyla, a young girl from the village who lives across the river joined us the rest of the way over. The bridge crosses the river which has flooded several times, and is a bit shaky but stands strong. It's invigorating to walk across, feeling the river rushing by and the bridge swaying in the wind. We followed the path and finally arrived at 235, where we were welcomed and quickly found the kids and several of the women Alicia knows well, including Lenny's mom. We followed the kids up to the school ("mas arriba") and met Edmundo, the village leader whom we sat down with to discuss our ideas. We found out another village farther north, Rio Blanco, had just starting growing, harvesting, and processing coffee. They have a full irrigation system and processing plant, and Edmundo is interested in doing the same at 235 knowing it will grow well in their soil. We discussed irrigation, costs, and possibly processing in Rio Blanco, making it a joint venture. We know this will be a long process, but plan to have Lenny go back to 235 and Rio Blanco to see what they have going on and talk to the engineers and trainers there about helping in 235 as well. From there we can figure out what we need, how much, and how to start. I will hopefully see him before we go and if not will leave something for him with Alicia. We know he is very interested in helping his village and would love to start this. Additionally, the railroad that was built from Quito to the northern coast is currently being redone, and it goes right thru 235 (this is where the name came from). It hasn't been used in years, but they have restored it up to Salinas, and plan on continuing to the coast. This makes it so much easier for the people to bring their fruit to market, get to jobs, and sell their products. By the time the coffee is harvested, we hope the railroad will be back.
A bit more about 235 though. It is a small village nestled in the side of the valley of about 200 people, most of whom are related. They have a school that runs 1st-6th grade, and the nearest high school is in another village. When Lenny went to high school about 10 years ago there were 10 boys from 235 with him, no girls, and only he and one other boy graduated. This year, about 10 boys and 10 girls are going to high school. Silvana, Edmundo's daughter, just graduated from high school and is planning what to do next. We hope she and Lenny can help with the coffee and take the lead on the ground there. As may be assumed 235 is an agricultural village and they grow tomatoes, papayas, bananas, lemons, yucca, potatoes, and pineapples, all of which is unbelievably good. We had a delicious lunch of rice with fresh tomatoes, potatoes, and chicken soup with lemonade. They have tons of chickens who just run around the village, truly cage free, and are a great source of protein for them. We brought back papaya and pineapple that was so sweet and juicy, completely unlike the ones we get up north. Our hope is to continue planning for the coffee, but immediately get a loan for them to plant more pineapple bushes. They are like cacti, needing little water and attention, but grow incredibly well around the village. Between that and papaya 235 could sell even more and start making money to invest in the coffee. We will assess that with Lenny as well. After lunch we walked up to see the lemon trees, looking at the land and spring that flows from the mountains and thinking of ways to get water up there. Walking along that side of the hills looking over the river and around us was unbelievable. It is breathtakingly beautiful with fresh air and wind and just a completely different way of life. Everyone in the village is happy and welcoming and willing to do anything, and never ask for more or want something else. Such a simple life that makes them happy and healthy. It puts into perspective the crazy lives Americans lead that allows us to lose the importance of family, resting, and enjoying ourselves. I learned a lot from being there only a day.
After our visit we headed back towards Quito, making a quick stop for famous bizcochos, the best biscuit/biscotti-type bread I've ever had. They are very simple, $1 buys nine one inch by 3 inch treats. They are dry and crispy but come out fresh and warm, perfect with hot chocolate and often served with cheese. I wasn't sure what to expect but they were perfect, and we had more this morning that were left over. By the time we returned to Quito everyone was exhausted, and headed for bed (Alicia and I back in the apartment for another night). This morning was very nice, we had the left over bizcochos, fresh pineapple and papaya from 235, and the Indian coffee and waited for Julia and Jose Tomas, Alicia's grandchildren to return from their other grandparents' home. We spent the morning talking with them and watching the kids (who loved the fruit), and then played with Tomas after they left to go to the cloud forests nearby with Gustavo and Baggie (Gustavo is Jose Luis--Alicia's son-in-law's brother). We took him up to the terrace and went to get fresh bread from the bakery, a norm here as bread is a large staple and keeps the bakeries in business. When Alicia's daughter returned we caught up with them and headed back to Casa Victoria. It feels great to be back here, currently doing laundry and did a terrace workout with Heather and Sydney and settling in for a more relaxed night, a lot to catch up on. Tomorrow we are going to the market and then get to meet Alicia's dad, the former president of Ecuador, Sixto. I am so excited to meet him it will be incredible. Only a few days left!
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