Introduction to Ibarra and Intag

Ibarra is a city in the north of Ecuador and is the capital of Imbabura province. The office of the charity we are working for, PRODECI, is in Ibarra, though their work is carried out in rural communities outside the city. As Tom and I are volunteers PRODECI do not pay us, but they are providing us with a flat here in Ibarra, shared with two other volunteers from Spain. It's a brilliant arrangement as the housemates, Silvia and Maite, are lovely and speaking spanish at homes is a big help.

The first week at work saw at introduction to the area of Intag, one of two geographical areas in which PRODECI works. Valle de Intag is a remote valley with steep sides. The only access is via a rutted, unmade track that runs for around 100km, in one side and out the other.

Although Ibarra is only around 70km away from the PRODECI house in Intag, the journey takes around 2 1/2 hours due to the state of the track. But at least it's passable- during the rainy season it is common for landslides to block access completely.

This lake is at the start of the track into Intag, at the foot of Volcan Cotacachi. The lake is called Cuicocha, meaning "guinea pig lake", because of the shape of the islands that rise out of the crater. This is only one of the fantastic views on the way into Intag, and due to the changeing altitude one seems to pass through different climatic zones.

A pineapple plant; banana tree and a young banana leaf at dawn with morning dew; Banana plants grow to their impressive stature to produce only one crop of bananas. After that the trunk is chopped down for new shoots to sprout.

The altitude is notable in Ecuador, with areas such as Quito at around 2,800m and coastal and jungle areas to the west and east of the Andes at near sea level. At high altitudes fruit such as apples can be grown in the near-British climate, whereas lower down, at 1,000m, tropical fruit trees of banana and papaya fill the hillsides.

The village of Garcia Morena, one of the largest communities in Intag, shrouded in mist. I'm told the view from up here is fantastic normally!

Along with a little general orientation and trying to get to grips with the geography of this extensive valley, we were introduced to the project on which we will be working. The communities of Limones and Villadora, which share a water system, have asked PRODECI for funds to make improvements to their existing system and Tom and I have been sent to carry out the technical evaluation. The first person we met was Anibal Pasquel, known as "Nivo", who is the operator of the water system (seen on the left in the photo below).

Initially I I am finding it difficult to adjust to hearing a new accent and a lot of new technical vocabulary! My first impression is that he is highly knowledgeable. It makes me wonder whether we are required here or whether funding should be made available directly to people such as Nivo who wish to make improvements to the system.

Access to the existing infrastructure is sometimes tricky but Nivo, who must be in his sixties, bounds up and down the mountains with ease!

Moving on: from Quito to Ibarra

So, I´ve been in Ecuador for just over 2 weeks now and plenty has happened. I am here with Tom who is also keeping a wonderful and comprehensive blog, here:

ecuador-tom2010.blogspot.com

In Quito I was at the Simon Bolivar spanish school to consolidate my learning. The school is brilliant because they organise a lot of activities outside of classes. The first weekend I went on a trip to Mindo and met many of the people who have since become good friends. The only trouble being that they´re mostly German so we don´t practice our Spanish together much...

In Mindo, a community within the cloud forest of the same name, huts are nestled within dense greenery and the air is filled with the call of exotic birds. It was on this weekend that I first saw a Hummingbird, though the Toucans, which apparently also live here in large numbers, eluded me.

My colleague Tom Russel and I in Mindo, feeling very pleased with the beautiful surroundings in which we found ourselves!

Back at the Spanish school we discovered they also run salsa classes twice a week. Salsa is a big force here and it helps to know how to dance when going out in the evening! I remember my first night out, in Mindo, everyone stood around the edge of the dancefloor until salsa music was put on, at which point the dancefloor came alive.

So, Quito has had it´s ups and downs. During the first few days I was bowled over by how much I was learning and how new everything felt. Then one evening towards the end of the first week Tom and I were struck simultaneously by sickness- we didn´t go back to the place where we had had lunch, and I have since learned to ask whether the juice is made with purified water! Unfortunately I don't have photographs of the first two weeks in Quito, as I think the best prevention from robbery is not to carry anything of value. My colleague Tom learnt the hard way about Quito robbers as he had his SLR camera stolen while exploring the old town. Fortunately the insurance money allowed him to replace it.

Relaxing on the beach in Puerto Lopez!

We decided to spend the second weekend at the beach at Puerto Lopez and it was the perfect cure for illness. It is a 10 hour bus ride from Quito but there are very comfortable night buses that cost around $10 - a dollar an hour! The buses are just one of the things that work fantastically well here. So much about Ecuador is very developed, the people are very friendly, Quito has fantastic parks, an amazing skate park and beautiful grafiti pieces throughout the city that indicate the community and organisation of the city. But at the same time, in this country where it rains almost every day you can´t drink the tap water and even the main Basilica in Quito has big gaps in the walls.

With the first two weeks behind us it's time to leave the holiday atmosphere and beach excursions behind and get to work in Ibarra, our home for the next six months.