Summer school + rafting 11 July to August 13th

After a few quiet weeks at the beginning of this volunteer placement, things started hotting up after 11 July when we started the summer school with me as co-ordinator, managing staffing, informing kids where they need to be, managing admissions and teaching. All of which was quite stressful, so after a quiet weekend or two at home in the mountains to chill after my Quito weekend....

and with the weather improving a little after a few weeks of freezing cold and rain almost every day, we were treated to asome spectacular views of Chimborazo. Another volcano. After being so close to one of the most dangerous in the world (Machin, near Ibagué), I hadn't realised I'd be within sight of six, but then, it is the Andes and the rim of the Pacific plate...

Stunning, but I was really looking forward to heading to the jungle, to Tena for some well earned R&R. We arrived in the pouring rain, and it didn't look much and by day, it turned out not to be the aesthetic jewel in Ecuador's crown, but it was warmer than the mountains and we managed to get white water rafting booked the night we arrived and also have a pretty darn good meal out.

 And this is what we came for. Complete with humourous guide, Gino, and the very professional support staff at Napo Adventures who I would heartily recommend. As Gino said, the rain meant the river was very high and that our trip would not last as long as normal due to the river flowing much faster.

Ready to rock! When we saw the size of the swollen river from up close, more than just me found the heart fluttering more than usual.

So far so good. Our kayak saftety person took these excellent pics. Often going backwards. Impressive.

This gives you a bit of an idea (but not much) of how scary the scary bits were....

As per the plan we headed off to Misahualli after the rafting, and having found a delightful hostel, we had an excellent meal in and then headed out to the pretty little square. We ventured across the enormous bridge across the river with ghostly mist and neon lights blending to make the whole crossing give me the willies.

Having stayed out an extra half an hour when we could have gone home was quite amusing as we got caught in a flash downpour. Here Chris, Cheslie and Becky - three of the nicest volunteers I have worked with, had abandoned their shoes.

...me too obviously...

Morning brought us the beautiful views of the jungle that had been the other attraction for the weekend. Ecuador really does have a lot to offer.

This was the view from the social area below where we spent a lovely few hours chilling out after a long post-rafting sleep. No yoga for me that morning.

On the Sunday, after a magnificent breakfast at the hostel, the more intrepid and better prepared footwear-wise set off for a short but difficutl hike up to a waterfall.

Linsen, our ebullient art teacher, and I enjoying the ethereal beauty of this spot...

Like I was saying...

The following weekend needed to be cheap so I went off for a hike near Baños, going with Chris and meeting 2 new Brit volunteers there.

Got some beautiful views as we went for a 2 hour solid climb.

Sometimes difficult to see how they manage growing stuff on these slopes, but...

We then made it up to the flat bit at the top after 2 and half hours of solid uphill. Good leg workout.

The clouds sat right on top of the row of hills next along. The river and road in the valley between the two was our destination, but as all the sustenance we had was some refreshers and we were rapidly running out of water, we decided to head back, rather than face another hour or so of uncertainty with no water.

All things considered though, an amazing weekend.

Another week of school, then another nice long walk. This time just with Nick, who you can see above, as Tom was ill. The local hill in Salasaca provided the objective. Summit!!!

The foliage you can see was so dense and so high in places that the final 200m took us two hours of literally swimming uphill through and over the vegetation which fired out pollen dust all over the shop. Very hard work but very rewarding. Until it wasn't anymore and the bushes just got higher and we couldn't see the summit and admitted defeat.

Now time to look at some of Tom's photos.