Finally, CUY!!!

January 14.

My apologies for not posting photos.  I'm hoping to upload photos over the next few days, but we shall see.  Believe me, we have plenty of entertaining pictures to share!

Yesterday was one of those days that I don't look forward to... about 1/3 of us became sick.  Although we use trusted restaurants and are careful about food in general, this happens every few years.  Thankfully whatever intestinal bug it was (I got it too) could be easily and rapidly treated with Ciproflaxin.  And (how can I put this politely?) no puking.

Despite this, we had another excellent day.  We started with a visit to a sustainable farm project run by a Japanese expatriot, Aya.  She has married an Ecuadorian and has a very very cute daughter.  She is part of a group called the "Sloth Club" which tries to slow life down to be more harmonious with nature and lower impact.  One project was to have people in Tokyo turn off their electricity for a couple hours - which apparently was a big success as the largest building in Tokyo shut completely down for this event.  She and her husband have created a large number of creative solutions - like a washing machine that runs via an attached bicycle, solar heating, Guinea Pig compost, and human composting.  She is very amiable and suggested that the students can contribute in whatever small way they can... as KuruKindi did - a hummingbird that contributed a single drop of water to put out a forest fire.

We then drove down to visit a Rose plantation.  We had a little trepidation entering the place, as we have heard many horrible things about mistreatment of workers and the use of noxious chemicals and pesticides.  Nevertheless, flower production is a significant part of the Ecuadorian economy, and an interesting view into how international trade works here.  We learned that there are two primary markets for Roses from Ecuador, Russia and the United States.  However, these markets have very different demands - Russians demand very very long stems with small flowers, whereas the US market desires large flowers with shorter stems.

Our final destination was Intiñan (means 'brother of the son' in Quichua), which is kind of an amusement park on the Equator.  They have a couple of real shrunken heads or "Tsantsas" - but they have all sorts of very fake and deceptive demonstrations on the Equator (which are amusing, but definitely not educational).

OK - more later - we're boarding the plane for Galápagos!!!  [THREE HOUR PAUSE]  And I'm back - I'm writing this using WiFi on the Santa Cruz in the Galápagos.  In previous years the internet was free, but now it is rather expensive.

So - Intiñan was amusing, but everyone is pretty much worn out by then, and we were ready to nap on the bus ride back to the Hotel.  Now - I failed to tell you earlier that several students had committed to trying Cuy, and our bus driver snuck out and purchases a roasted Guinea Pig cut into about 12 pieces.  It had a distinctive smell as we carried it back to the Hotel.

We had the Hotel kitchen re-heat the Cuy and serve it during dinner.  The students kept their promise and gobbled the little Cuy right up.  Exactly four students got legs, and one student (unbeknownst to him until it was pointed out) got the head.  Doug dug the cheek meat.  Tasted somewhere between roasted pork and roasted chicken, so they said (I won't touch the stuff...).

Dr. Shapiro gave a lecture on poverty and its profound effects on health after dinner.  After this lecture and our visits to CENIT, Ali Shungu, and KuriKindi, our students have a much clearer picture of how they can personally contribute to health and well-being.  This group of students have been particularly interested in opportunities to work both here in Ecuador and at home - it has been inspiring.

- Eric Fortune