¡Estoy en Colombia!
After a short delay of one day, Ecuadorean customs finally let me through. I´m in Colombia! On the plane to Medellín I met a friendly Slovakian guy and we decided to explore the city today.
At 9:00 a.m. we meet at a metro station in the center. We decided to meet upstairs in the central hall, not knowing that this is not a subway but an elevated metro! This makes the meeting kind of challengeing, but at 9:10 we´re ready to set off. We decide to check out the ´metrocable´ first. These are two overhead cablelines that provide a stunning view over the city. Our expectations are fulfilled. The cable brings us all the way over the poorer districts (communas) to great viewpoints at the ends. Obviously, these lines lead to better residential areas, so it gives me a bit of a discomfortable feeling by flying over the houses of all poor people here.But at the same moment it's so beautiful and astonishing!
Poverty is clearly much more visible here in Colombia than in Ecuador. There are many many more street vendors. Children are clamping and begging for many everywhere. It´s a different world.
After the metrocable, we decide to head for a kind of technology museum, but it´s closed for renovation for 10 months. It looks brand new, but apparently they have to rebuild it or so. So we head off for the other cable line, which provides an even better view over the city. On the top we walk through a neighbourhood with a lot of elementary schools that are just exiting. Children are playing in the street. It gives me a pleasant feeling and shows how peaceful Colombia can be, contradictory to all the bad news that the media are spreading every day.
We decide to head back and go to the university, where we straw around through the botanic garden. Here we encounter a small jungle route, a pool with turtles and a butterfly garden. After some lunch we walk back into town. There´s a lot going on on the streets. On our way we see a lot of areas where mechanics are fixing cars, looking for customers, just working on the streets; it looks like an interesting business model. In the center we visit the Plaza Botero, named after Medellíns figurative artist. On this square, some of his bronze statues are on display and the adjacent museum has a permanent exposition. For more information click here.
After the museum we decide to call it a day. We take a taxi to the bus terminal to buy some tickets. Tomorrow I´m heading south to Manizales. In the middle of the Zona Cafetera (coffee region) I´ll meet Taeke and Valentina. For those who are concerned: I´m happy to be here and so far I haven´t felt unsafe at all walking around the city that was once ruled by Pablo Escobar. Colombia has so much to offer and is working hard to show off to the world. Me mucho gusta!
Stuck at the borderline
Last night I flew from Cuenca to Quito, together with Joe, one of my colleagues. He´s heading Galapagos and then he´ll go back to the US. After this short but good flight I spent the night in a nice hostel in the new city of Quito and had a good night with some foreigners staying here as well. This morning I got up, did some final arrangements for my trip to Colombia and headed the airport around noon. So far, so good.
Because I was so early, the counters for baggage drop-off hadn´t opened yet. I decided to kill some time in a little bar and made my way to the counters opening at 1 pm. I got to know a friendly Colombian man who works in Quito and we talked for a while. I received an immigration form that I was supposed to fill out before going to the migration police. I started writing it, but several times asked my Colombian friend what it was supposed to be for, because it was an Ecuadorean form, not a Colombian one. Why would I fill out a form to leave the country? I was confused. That was only the beginning of what would turn out into a deception.
I moved forward to the customs (policia de migracion). Here I was confronted with the utmost bureaucracy I´ve ever experienced in my life thus far. I presented my passport, which according to international law is a valid travel document. However, as I work in this country I hold both a visa and an Ecuadorean id-card that comes with it. I decided to leave this little worthless card at home, because I didn´t want lose it. Stupid decision. The guy asked for it. I told him I didn´t bring it and kindly pointed at all the stamps that I managed to collect and bring since my arrival in Ecuador. 'Please look at my EU passport that is accepted everywhere around the world. You´re not going to stop me, are you?' Those were my desperate thoughts at that stressful moment.
No way. ¨No puede salir el país señor¨. I couldn´t believe my ears. 'You can´t leave the country'. I couldn´t leave this country carrying a valid passport. My key to leave the country lies 500 km south! The guy copied my passport, took my forms and sent me back. I talked to another officer and another officer, but there was no way I could get through. I had to postpone my flight and called my roommate in Cuenca. She might be able to ship the card by plane this night or tomorrow morning. Hopefully I´ll be able to depart tomorrow without getting stuck at the borderline again.
The next frontier: Colombia
The cycle is over, my students have passed! I'm looking back on an intensive period in which I taught and learned. I've met new people and faced new experiences. I found out that teaching isn't that easy, but at the same time I was very excited to see my students making progress through the cycle. I've made new friends with which I shared moments of laughter and fun. But at the same time we had our hard times: the culture shock, the continuous hard work and the inevitable sadness of friends leaving. I've found myself several times at different border crossings, though not always passed them.
I said goodbye to my students. Though not forever, as most will continue on the next level. We spent the last day of class having pizza and drinks. My students were happy to discover that their never-Spanish-speaking teacher turns out to understand most of their chats. We had a lot of fun. That evening, I said goodbye to my friends Craig and Megan from Britain. They'll return next week and are planning to get married next fall. So I'll go and visit them for sure!
Right now, being in between two cycles, I'm about to cross my next frontier. Today I'm embarking on a two-week voyage to Colombia: the land of coffee, passion and salsa! During my stay here in Ecuador many people have convinced me that Colombia is truly worth a visit. Contradictory to all negative reports in the media, Colombia is no longer just a country of crime and drugs. It's been shrugging off its notorious image for several years and has opened its borders to foreigners and tourists to enjoy its beautiness.
In Colombia I'm willing to experience just another flavour of South American lifestyle. Although I haven't completely planned my trip yet, I'll first head Medellín and then go to Manizales. This city is located in the Zona Cafetera, which exactlymeans something like: coffee paradise. In Manizales I'll meet Taeke, a friend whom I know from my university and fraternity back home in Delft, the Netherlands. We'll do some great excursions here and enjoy the great taste of Colombian coffee. So don't worry, I'll come back. There is only one risk. As Colombians tend to say: the only risk in Colombia is wanting to stay...
Colombia: aquí vengo!
Vamos a la playa
Carnaval is hot in Ecuador! It's four-day holiday, full of madness, fun and time with friends and relatives. Children play in the streets, trying to hit each other with water balloons, confetti sprays and even with flower and eggs. Isn't that insane? During my latest Saturday class, my students told me one can distinguish two kinds of Carnaval celebrators: the people that stay home and celebrate with their families or, a rapidly emerging group, people that enjoy their holidays somewhere else, for example on the beach. I obviously belong to the second category.
Together with three friends I decided to spend Carnaval in Puerto López. According to most of the travelguides that are older than 3 years, this town isn't much more than a dull fishing village. But over the past couple of years this town has turned into a nice but not overwhelmingly large beach town.
As we are determined to leave as early as possible, that is right after Saturday classes end, I propose my students an early exit. To make up this time they'll have to give up one of their breaks. No complaints so far. At 12:15 on the dot we rush out of school, grab our backpacks and rush into a taxi that brings us to the bus company. Wisely we have decided to book a private van that will drive us to Guayaquil, with a population exceeding 3 million peoply by far Ecuador's largest city. On our way from Cuenca to Guayaquil we pass through Cajas, a huge and gorgeous national park. Leaving Cajas, the landscape suddenly turns flat: we have left the Andes and we're now in the delta region of Guayas. It's as flat as Holland can be. Banana plants are all over the place!
In Guayaquil we're facing what I later recall to be one of the most insane travel experiences I've ever seen. Inside the terminal there is no possibility to move through anywhere to make it to the ticket counter. The terminal is fully packed with people, all desperately fighting for a place on any bus towards the coast. We immediately decide to go back to the private bus companies, but all buses have left. We're supposed to wait for at least 1.5 hours and need some more passengers before that bus can even leave. I decide to go and hunt for either people or other types of transportation. Just around the corner I happen to find a friendly guy from Montañita who is willing to take us all the way there. His van is halfway filled ,so we have to be quick, grab our bag and fold ourselves into the van's cosy and comfy ront seats. There we go!
That night, we finally make it to our final destination, after continuously having feared the risk of getting stuck in any town. We're happy! Having arrived in Puerto López we directly run and jump into the Pacific ocean and hang out in some of the hammocks on the beach.
The next day, we decide head to Isla de Plata. This little island is only an hour away from the mainland and truly resembles the Galapagos islands. The boat trip is very nice and comfortable. The crew are friendly and take care providing us with all kinds of food and beverages.
After our hike we set sail to another side of the island where we were all allowed to leave the boat to go snorkeling! We're able to see so many different fish here! But all the good has come to an end, so we get on the boat to go back to the mainland.
Facing the sunset we decide to go crazy in the huge waves that are currently hitting the coast. Even though having a great time here, I suddenly feel my arm hurting and realize I just got bitten by a jellyfish. Luckily we brought a first aid kit, so no ambulance or 911 are required .I'm fine.
On our last day we're invited by Freddy's cousins to spend the night at their place. Thanks to these friendly people, we can catch a 7:30 am bus to Guayaquil. This time, the situation there isn't that bad and even though we miss our bus to Cuenca by two minutes, I get home at 2:40, perfectly on time for my 3:00 class that afternoon. Which sets my mind back to reality! It makes me feel a bit disappointed, but knowing that the end of the cycle is near it isn't that of a big deal! The two-week break will take me to Colombia: the country of coffee, wax palmars, salsa and beautiness! But I won't leave before grading all my exams andsaying goodbye to my students.
Nasiballen in de muur?
Lesgeven valt soms niet mee. Iedere week bevat een berg schrijfopdrachten, leesopdrachten, een proefwerk en ga zo maar door. De planning is strak omdat aan het einde van de 10-weekse periode een examen loert. Er is dus niet al te veel tijd voor variatie, maar soms kan het!
Vandaag had ik zo'n dag met variatie. Lesgeven in het Engels op CEDEI is immers niet alleen maar grammatica en woordjes leren, maar ook een stukje interculturele uitwisseling. Daarom besloot ik om mijn leerlingen wat over Nederland te leren. Natuurlijk had ik ze al regelmatig tussendoor wat dingen verteld, maar vandaag was het tijd voor een retourtje lage landen.
Gewapend met een 30-tal dia's getiteld 'Journey from Ecuador to the Netherlands' begeef ik me naar het klaslokaal. Onze reis begint in Quito, vanwaar een KLM-vliegtuig richting Amsterdam vliegt, maar niet alvorens een stopover te maken op een van de Antillen. Ik vertel de studenten over onze koloniën in het Caribisch gebied en dat je hier zo lekker rustig op het strand kunt liggen terwijl de vliegtuigen overvliegen. De meesten kennen ze wel en enkelen zijn er zelfs al eens geweest. Even later vliegen we door naar Schiphol. Onze tour door Nederland begint in Amsterdam, waar we de grachtengordel bezoeken en enkele highlights bekijken, zoals het Anne Frankhuis, het Van Goghmuseum en niet te vergeten de Amsterdam ArenA. Anne Frank is niet bij iedereen bekend, maar sommige meiden weten te vertellen dat zij een dagboek heeft geschreven. Het Ajax-stadion geniet bij de jongens logischerwijs meer populariteit. Het verhaal dat Van Gogh zijn oor heeft afgesneden is zelfs bij een van mijn studenten bekend; ik sta perplex.
De volgende stap in mijn rondreis is enigszins persoonlijk gekleurd: ik ga door naar mijn geliefdeDelft, waar ik wat laat zien van de grachten, de TU en natuurlijk het Delfts blauw. Een jongen die graag elektrotechniek wil studeren laat ik zien waar dat in Delft kan en natuurlijk vergeet ik de winterse sneeuwpret op het dak van de universiteitsbibliotheek niet. Er komen wat droge feitjes over Nederland voorbij: het inwontertal, de taal, de munteenheid. Als ik vraag hoeveel inwoners Ecuador heeft komt het getal van 15 miljoen naar boven.
Dan de schok: 'There are no mountains in the Netherlands'. Dit is iets wat ik een aantal keer moet herhalen, opnieuw uitleggen en wederom herhalen, want het valt moeilijk te bevatten voor mensen die hun levenlang op een hoogte van 2500 meter het Andesgebergte wonen. Ik besluit het maar te gebruiken als een snel bruggetje richting de fiets. De plaatjes van fietspaden, volgepropte fietsenstallingen bij het station en fietsen aan bruggetjes geketend doen het erg goed. Natuurlijk vergeet ik de oranjes niet te noemen en de bijbehorende oranjegekte.
'Een kwart van het land ligt onder de zeespiegel.' En ik laat ze het welbekende kaartje zien van wat er gebeurt als dit allemaal onderstroomt. 'Hey, it looks like a dinosaur man!' is een van de meest intelligente reacties die ik hierop krijg. De Deltawerken daarentegen ogen veel bewondering, helemaal als ik laat zien dat je er zelfs overheen kan fietsen! De meisjes worden zichtbaar blij van de gekleurde velden met tulpen en natuurlijk de onvermijdelijke molen. Dat je in een land met veel water en wind goed kunt zeilen laat ik met een paar foto's van de laatste zeilweekendjes zien. 'Hey: there's our teacher!' Jazeker.
We gaan snel door met de meest populaire sporten van Nederland en ik begin natuurlijk met wat plaatjes van het WK voetbal. Dat Nederland tweede is geworden en Spanje eerste is in Ecuador zeer zeker doorgedrongen en de jongens kunnen namen als Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder en Rafael van der Vaart feilloos (op de uitspraak na dan) opdreunen. Schaatsen is natuurlijk een andere oerhollandse sport. Als ik een foto laat zien van een bevroren meer met schaatsers erop krijg ik meerdere malen de vraag of dat niet gevaarlijk is. Vervolgens door naar hockey wat ze maar raar vinden (in Amerika is dat een meidensport), wielrennen en zwemmen.
Via drop ('Yeah I tried that!'), haring ('Bleh'), kaas en Heinekenbier ('I like that' aldus een 12-jarige) gaan we door naar de Nederlandse woordenlijst en ik leer mijn studenten hun eerste basiswoorden Nederlands. Hierna sluit ik af met een filmpje: '15 miljoen mensen', de oude Postbank-reclame, wat ook op Ecuador slaat gezien het huidige inwonertal. Het is een vrolijk filmpje dat laat zien hoeveel mooie en leuke dingen er in Nederland zijn. Tegelijkertijd doet het de luisteraar ook beseffen hoe goed inwoners van Nederland het eigenlijk wel hebben. Ik krijg een brok in mijn keel en schaam mij stilletjes bij het horen van de tekst:
Het land dat zorgt voor iedereen
Geen hond die van een goot weet
Met nasiballen in de muur
En niemand die droog brood eet
Gelukkig verstaan mijn studenten de tekst toch niet. Blij gaan ze huiswaarts met een schrijfopdracht over de verschillen tussen Ecuador en Nederland. Ik ruim het lokaal op en wandel naar buiten, de straat op. De straten van Ecuador, tegenwoordig het land van 15 miljoen mensen. Bij het oversteken moet ik wachten op een auto; ik wacht in de goot en ontwijk een zwerfhond. Ik wandel via de trappen het centrum uit en sta even stil bij een bedelaarster die hier zichtbaar vermagerd een paar centen probeert te verdienen. Ik geef haar een kwartje. Snel loop ik door. Op zoek naar de nasiballen.
Ecuador, un país de contradicciones!
Acouple of weeksago I wrote about the significant differences between the poor and the wealthy in this country. Ecuador is full of fascinating contradictions. Just like every country is weird in the positive sense of the word that every country is unique. Rudely spoken, it's just weird. I'll unveil some of the unique aspects of Ecuador I found out during my stay here. On Friday morning I had a small talk with the guy who maintains the carpet in our house. I told him that there are no mountains in the place where I live. This is something quite difficult to grasp for people who have lived in the Andes their whole lives. Then he asked me about our currency and I had a hard time explaining him the fact that a euro is not just the same as a dollar. Intercultural differences, a difficult concept.
Many Ecuadoreans, although very friendly, seem very focused. Not just on their own, but on their own lives. As almost fifty percent of the people in this country still live below the poverty line. Obviously they try to do everything to make a living. This is clearly visible in the streets where vendors are all over the place basically selling anything you'd never need. This week it's Valentine's day stuff all over the place. The carpet cleaner got intrigued by the price levels in Europe so he asked me about the cost of a machine the he uses to polish the carpet. Obviously I couldn't give an answer to this question being in the center of his personal scope.
Another daily challenge that requires daily attention is change. Or, how to get change? Ecuador adopted the US dollar a few years ago and they have to buy their change from the United States. That may sound easy but it's far from that. The central bank of Ecuador has issued their own centavo coins. They are identical in size and value to the US cent counterparts and look quite boring. Banks and ATMs only give you $20 bills, good luck getting change for those. Yesterday, when I had to pay 50 cents with a $20 bill the lady first split the $20 into four fives at the shop across the street. Then she started begging for ones at her neighbor's place. It's a continuous struggle and sometime they just give me change by selling me more stuff.
The weather here is just fascinating. A common say here is that you can experience all seasons on one day. Although I haven't seen snow here yet, for most days the mornings are totally different from the afternoons. Everyday it's a challenge to think of what clothes to pick in the morning. I always bring my rainjacket to class even if it's sunny: I just might get a shower two hours later. Today I walked up to a panorama site called Turi, together with my colleagues Megan and Craig. Halfway our climb, we felt the first drops and the air started to look as if it could start hammering down any moment. We enjoyed the amazing view on Cuenca, where we could actually see two airplanes taking off from the airport, seen from above. Airplane spotting from the sky... woohoo! Just back home it started pouring down and I realized I'd been lucky this time.
Today on Valentine's day is my Birthday in this amazing country. Whereas this is a day for most people to think of their loved ones, I'm enjoying my loved time here. Being distant from most of my loved ones I'll be working all day taking placements tests, exams and teaching. Just having wrapped up midterm exams I was busy with all the grading for the first half of the cycle. Now this week we can relax a bit more and do fun things like discussing a movie or for example the cultural differences between Ecuador and Holland. And on Saturday I'll celebrate my birthday together with one colleague! Especially now I feel excited to be here but at the same time I feel a bit sad not being there. Isn't that a contradiction?
Walking for water
Last week's Sunday I went on a daytrip together with Tracy and Collin, two of my fellow colleagues at CEDEI. We decided to head for the waterfalls near the village of Girón so as to escape the city's crowded and polluted atmosphere for a while.
Our trip starts at the so-called Terminal Sur or South terminal, where the buses to Girón leave from. This bus terminal is not even slightly more than just a few parking lots along a busy main road, but the bus is easy to recognize carrying bright orange signs saying 'Girón'. We get on the bus and in about an hour we arrive in Girón. While some people are trying to get some more sleep during the bus ride I'm enjoying the beautiful landscape that quickly passes by.
Girón looks like a small town: quiet and nice, but not too much too see. After replenishing at a local store we decide to aim for the waterfalls straight away, which are located about 6 km uphill near the village of El Chorro. Now comes the major choice: do we want to spend a few dollars on a ride by a pickup truck or are we going to hike? We decide we'll do the last and start walking uphill. The road is very steep so we get the view on Girón as a quick reward, but it rapidly gets tougher and we're getting more exhausted in the Sunday morning sun. Tropical plants are everywhere around us. As Collin remarks, it feels like being in the jungle. Dogs barking all across the roads don't give us much of a feeling of comfort but we try and manage to keep on track. After about 2 kilometers we arrive at a fork junction, where we turn left, not being sure if this is the right direction. After about 5 minutes a truck driver sends us back denoting that we definitely should take the other direction if we'd like to see the falls. We continue our hike uphill by walking through some very small and even more quiet villages. Some trucks pass by claxoning to gain attention. But no way, we're committed to walk by ourselves. The view gets more and more interesting when the sun disappears and some fog starts to appear. I recognize the slender contours of an amazing fall in the far distance. After about 1.5 hours we reach the entrance of the park where we can pay our entrance fee.
Our route leads towards a path and staircase, basically made of wood and clay. We can already smell the waterfalll while we're almost crawling (yeah hand and feet) to avoid hitting some collapsed trees. Finally we arrive at the waterfall which we can almost touch from the bridge that hangs straight in front of it. I'm happy to have brought my rain jacket with me as it gets quite chilly here!
The seventy-meter fall is a true example of mother nature's beauty. It was absolutely worth the climb and being satisfied we descend on our way back to Girón. We decide that we have hiked enough and hop on u truck. Having the upper hand (the driver obviously doesn't want to drive back with an empty truck ) we only pay 50 cents per person for this ten-minute ride.
On the Inca track
During the past couple of weeks I've mostly been busy with my classes and preparing these, without doing so much traveling, which made me feel kind of discomfortable. Being in Ecuador without seeing anything frequently just isn't good for anu traveler and I felt like being off-track. So this week I decided to pick up my traveling spirit from my backpack where I left it and head for Ingapirca. These ancient Inca ruins are located just a 2-hour bustrip from Cuenca in the province of Cañar
My daytrip starts at 8:45 am at the Cuenca tourist office where I need a helping hand, because I'm not sure where my bus will leave from. There are actually several bus terminals in this city. The lady in the office is really helpful and gives me a straight answer: 'Your bus is leaving in 15 minutes from the Terminal Terrestre. Next one will leave at 1 p.m.' This is what makes me jump into a taxi and rush straight towards the land terminal. I arrive at the terminal at 8:55, from where my bus to Ingapirca will leave. Now the challenge is to find the right bus, as this terminal is of considerable size and consists of several gates. After asking several people I make it to gate 2. 8:56. However, to open the doors to the platform you need to put a dime (dubbeltje) into a machine. 8:57. Of course I don't have a dime in my pocket and rush towards a different door where a nice old man is sitting and can get me some change. At 8:59 I enter my bus, which leaves at 9:00 straight (this is certainly not according to Ecuadorean standards!).
The bus is full of local people, probably not heading for the ruins but using the bus as their daily means of transportation. I'm able to identify a few foreigners, one of them is from Germany and two of them seem to be from northern Europe. The bus ride, although fully packed, is a pleasant one and shows me the diverse landscape of Azuay and Cañar provinces. The land is very green, covered with grass and the cattle mainly consists of -as I tend to call them- Dutch 'melkunie' cows. The landscape doesn't really change when the bus is getting to higher elevations but the fog is definitely becoming more dense. After a two-hour bus ride I get off the bus at Ingapirca which is the final destination of the bus. We're on the top of a hill. Due to the fog, the scenery looks a bit mysterious. Having arrived here, I purchase an entrance ticket. With my Ecuadorian ID I pay only $3 instead of the $6 that they charge foreigners. Yes, I feel like a local now!
I enter the archaeological site, which at my first sight looks like a kind of a deception. They often call Ingapirca Ecuador's Macchu Picchu (the most famous Inca ruins down in Peru), which definitely sounds promising, doesn't it? But although I haven't been to Macchu Picchu yet, I can promise you: Ingapirca doesn't come even close to it. Nevertheless the scenery is very wonderful, being high in the mountains with a dense fog 360 degrees around. I decide to walk through the ruins. Most of the walls are truncated only two feet above the ground so what you basically see is the pattern of what used to be an old Inca-city. At the far end of the ruins is a much taller building on a small hill, which was used for warships. It's called the solar castle. Between the loads of local students that are more enjoying to play with their cellphones than the actual trip itself, I can identify only a couple of other tourists.
I know there must be more when I see some groups of students walking a trail downhill and I decide to explore this route. It's quite a steep pathway leading through trees, past Inca rocks and a small river. The view here is magnificent. Halfway this route a huge stone formation appears to me, clearly resembling a human face. I decide this was worth the $3 entrance fee and consider Ingapirca as a nice daytrip. Before my bus is leaving I walk into a restaurant to have a quick almuerzo. Back in the bus, rain is starting to pour down and Cuenca's streets seem almost flooding when I return into town. Having enjoyed some parts of the Ecuadorean Incatrail and the magnificent view I happily follow the track towards my house.