Almost 1 month since I’ve been here, so hard to believe! Time seems to be going by fast, but looking ahead I have a long way to go! Today we did farm stuff..fed the chickens, ducks, pigs, collected eggs, milked a cow ( I know, aren’t you proud dad ;) ) Reminded me of old childhood memories. Funny how people react to the sight of sows, esp if it’s for the 1st time.
We then went to help plant in the huertos. After that we collected fruit, mostly oranges & lemons. We also got to see this huge fruit-largest in the world actually, named Jack Fruit. Apparently it was brought here a couple years ago from Malasia. People here don’t really eat it but it’s supposed to have over 7 different flavors. We had lunch & then some free time. The main guy that owns/runs the place Luis, took us to another hostel nearby to swim. He said there we could jump off a bridge into the water..yeah def. not the case, it was too shallow. But the water still felt good and it was so clear!
We then had Spanish and Norma gave a presentation of medicinal plants and Shamans. Some of what I had heard of before with Cuy and eggs used to cleanse the body or detect diseases. It’s amazing the different types of plants that can be used for all types of sicknesses. She even talked about how the inner thin layer of the egg shell can be used as a healing agent on cuts, kinda like stitches. Also that the inside of a banana peal can be used as sun block! Just rub it over the area you want to protect, not sure what SPF, lol.
Dinner was really good! A type of spaghetti. Then once it was dark we went on this walk and saw illuminated tree roots, no lie! The roots glowed in the dark. Apparently there’s this story of a little man, a gnome, who made his way from Quito to live here. There used to be an old school and only the women teachers (with long wavy hair) would be able to see him.. It is told that if the roots of the tree are illuminated the gnome wants to welcome you into his house, which is a tree.
So the 1st tree we went to didn’t have any light. On the second you could see some specs here and there on the third tree the roots literally glowed in the dark!! Some real Avitar stuff. Luis said there’s been no scientific evidence found as to why the roots give off this illumination in the dark. As for the gnome, he was no where to be found..
One more thing, this morning we did our last charla to kids of a one-room school. There are 19 of them ranging from 7-14 years old, we took the younger half. The charla went alright, we found out that most kids hadn’t heard of floss nor do regular dentist visits. Many of the kids have to cross this river on a super sketchy bamboo bridge! They said that during the rainy season the river can reach and even surpass the bridge, so dangerous for he kids. They also walk between 15-60 minutes just to get to school. No running water and an outhouse for a bathroom.
The teacher lives there at the school and says she lets them use her bathroom most of the time. Absolutely amazing to see how people live. This is the reality…so sad…Tomorrow we do a hike, then to Puerto Quito for lunch, hopefully get some encuestas (interviews) done and then it’s off to Tumbaco..home sweet home..talked to dad tonight, yay! Buenas Noches
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