Day 119 Thursday 19 August – Madrid airport

After getting a new plane ticket in Madrid - I get to fly together with D. after all - we went through the whole tour of passport control and luggage check again, but this time we didn't get through. I had bought 3 bottles of aguardiente at the Quito airport. Because of some undercover jerk reporter, even liquids above 100ml that you bought in airports outside of Europe are not allowed under hand luggage. We tried going back, but sending it in freight luggage would cost triple the value of the bottles. The second time we got through baggage check, they threw my liquor in a container. I got angry, though mostly to show these stupid rules are unacceptable. Not that it helps - Europe is crazy and paranoid.

We land at 22.15, but don't see our parents waiting until 23.00. After that we sit together and talk and eat for a while and then it is time to drive home... We arrive at the house around 2am.

Day 118 Wednesday 18 August – Day of return

Before going home, I needed to pick up the last boxes of chocolate: the 85%. So I took another bus again back and forth. After that I quickly packed my bag and spent my last quality time with Mariela.

At 14.30 D. Came by to pick us up with a taxi that brought us straight to the airport. While we went in to check in our luggage, Mari waited outside. It took almost an hour to get checked in. And my luggage was too heavy. 19 and 29 kg... Fortunately I was able to move some things around, and I was allowed 2 pieces of hand luggage, which made it into something like 20 and 23 kg.

When we got back outside, Mariela had almost left. We sat outside for about an hour, until it was really time to say goodbye. We spent some last minutes together and then we walked in opposite directions...

D. and I had some dinner in the airport - for free because there was a delay of 3 hours. And we went to the gate. We didn't sit for long until they called out my name along with several others. Apparently, they had singled out one of my bags for a random drug control. The whole group had to go down to their bags and stand around while the police searched it. They singled out exactly the bag with the chocolate. The policeman wondered about it, broke one bar, but left the rest intact, luckily. Though I was mostly worried about my wuayusa tea.

We were late, but the flight went mostly smoothly. Until we got to Madrid...

Day 117 Tuesday 17 August

In the morning I went to my old apartment to get my things ready and post my latest blogs. Then at around 11, Mari was finished with her classes and we went down south to do some shopping. That reminded me again that shopping with a girl can be very tiring... But we also found a bag for me to put all the chocolate in, because the one I bought in Otavalo was way too small.

In the afternoon, after lunch, I went back to the apartment and got my stuff. Now I was ready to pack one of my bags already. The return is coming way too soon.

Day 116 Monday 16 August – At the chocolate factory again

At noon I met with D. again to go to the chocolate factory. We took a bus and miraculously I remembered the whole trip from last time. Once there, we got another tour around the factory and we got part of our chocolate. Unfortunately they were out of the 85%, but hopefully they will make it on Tuesday again. I did one more interview, while D. was writing down all that he saw during the tour and then we left for the centre with about 9kg of chocolate.

In the evening, we had a small farewell / thank you dinner at the Indian restaurant with just the 4 of us.

Day 114 Saturday 14 August – Meeting the family

Up early, to do an interview with Carlos. Only to find out later that I didn’t record the conversation. My little machine did that before with a less important interview. I have no idea how I could have made such a mistake. After the interview, and my breakfast, I paid the chocolates which I will pick up fresh from the factory in Quito on Monday.

After all that, I thought I would go to Archidona with Mariela. Instead, I found her in a shoe store with her sisters and brother. We went to buy cement to construct a toilet and after that we all went to their house, where I also met Mari’s father. It’s a nice little place, it only misses a bathroom.

In the afternoon I walked around the centre with her and her brother to look for artesania. About the last souvenirs I needed.

2008 – 22 juli - Jaipur

(Omdat niet alle berichten uit India online geplaatst zijn 2jaar geleden, volgen er nu nog wat oude berichten)

Deze dag hebben we een tour gemaakt met een busje. Eerste stop was een tempel gemaakt van marmer. Prachtig gebouw, maar nog onder constructie. Het wordt net als de Lotus tempel een plaats voor alle religies. Iconen van elke religie zijn verwerkt in de marmeren sculpturen.

Daarna reden we langs Albert Hall naar het observatory en de city palace. Het eerste is een plaats met allerlei stenen / marmeren constructies om tijd. Plaats en astrologie te bepalen. Het tweede is een groot gebouw en museum van de maharaja.

Daarna via de water palace, een paleis midden in een stuwmeer –waar we alleen van ver wat foto’s maken - naar het amber fort, waar we ook veel gezien hebben, maar wat beter met foto’s te beschrijven is.

Uiteindelijk bleek de tour guide ons toch nog langs een shop te leiden en bleek dat een toer naar de monkey temple (Galta) nog INR 400,- extra zou kosten. Tegen afspraak in. Dus toen zijn we maar terug gegaan naar het hostel.

Cor was bij terugkomst van de koorts af en het ging ook al wat beter. Maar ook Arianne begint nu een beetje ziek te worden. Loek voorspelt dat het door de drukte deze week daar niet bij zal blijven.

2008 – 21 juli

We hebben een wandeltocht gemaakt door de ‘Pink City’ oftewel vooral de straten, bedelaars en winkels, etc. Gezien. Dus het echte leven van Jaipur. Daarnaast een ‘kurta’ gekocht bij een khadi winkel, net buiten de pink city. Aan het eind van de tocht was er geen tijd meer voor de city palace, en gingen we met een auto-riksha terug: 9 mensen in 2 autos.

Vorige nacht was Cor ziek geworden en die was vandaag met Anil naar de dokter. Hij had wat pillen gekregen voor de koorts, maar verder zou het niets ernstigs zijn. Dus ging Cor deze avond mee naar Choki Dhani: een prachtig festival net buiten Jaipur. Bij binnenkomst kregen we allemaal een rode stip op ons voorhoofd en bloemen in ons har. Daarna zijn we gaan eten in de buitenlucht. We werden gastvrij ontvangen door mannen met een tulband en donkerrode shirts. We moesten onze schoenen juit doen en onze handen wassen en toen werden we naar onze plek gewezen. Aan de lage tafeltjes kregen we ons eten langzaam opgediend. Roti, rijst, saus, zoete krakelingen, karnemelk en meer. Ondertussen kregen we nog een tulband opgezet door de mannen.

Na het eten weer onze handen wassen een een handje suiker-anijs. Daarna zijn we vrij rond gaan lopen. Dans, massages, ‘jungle-tour’, draaimolen, theater: er was vanalles te beleven.

2008 - 20 juli - Apendieven en naar Jaipur

(Omdat niet alle berichten uit India online geplaatst zijn 2jaar geleden, volgen er nu nog wat oude berichten)
Ik had natuurlijk al wat suspense gebracht in mijn vorige post. Er gebeurt hier nu zoveel dat het bijna onmogelijk is om mijn hele logboek op het web te plaatsen. Maar ik ga nu een poging doen om zo ver mogelijk te komen. Laat ik eerst de spanning wat wegnemen over mijn vorige post. Mijn beroving klinkt natuurlijk erg spannend, maar was het eigenlijk helemaal niet:
Toen we vanmorgen de trein uitstapten en naar een wachtruimte zochten, kwamen we langs een troep apen. Op dat moment viel het me al op dat ze dichtbij zaten, maar dat het vasthouden van een plastic tas met fruit geen goed idee was, drong nog niet tot mij door. Dus toen ik een dier (dacht eerst een hond) op me af zag komen schrok ik wel even. Na de eerste greep trok ik het zakje wel omhoog, maar niet genoeg en bij de tweede greep was het zakje kapot en lag alles op de grond. De troep apen was er razendsnel bij en alles wat we konden redden was een sweet lime en de zoutjes. Bananen, mango’s, allemaal weg. Hadden we toch beter wat fruit aan de bedelende kinderen kunnen geven.
Als we in Jaipur aankomen is het al laat, etenstijd, en hebben we geen tijd meer om naar het festival – Choki Dhani – te gaan. In de trein naar Jaipur is het erg druk, het is deze keer ook 2e klas non-AC. Een tijdje hebben we het spelletje ‘uno’ gespeeld. Het spelen van een spelletje trekt wel veel aandacht. Iedereen wil zien wat er aan de hand is en probeert te ontcijferen hoe het werkt.

2008 – 19 juli - Musoori hill station

Aline is de eerste zieke, ze heeft wat griepachtige symptomen en Anil brengt haar naar een dokter als wij naar Musoori gaan. Als we terugkomen blijkt ze een virus te hebben, waarvan ik de naam niet ken en heeft ze medicijnen gekregen. Het is wel besmettelijk, maar niemand van ons heeft nog ergens last van.
Musoori is een stadje in de bergen. Erg toeristisch, er zijn veel hotels en gift-shops, maar de toeristen zijn vooral Indiërs. Op straat wordt ik door een jonge Indiër aangesproken die met mij en de groep op de foto wilde. Dat gebeurt wel vaker. Behalve hier op Navdanya en in de trein komen we nauwelijks blanken tegen.
In het bergdorpje hebben we een wandeling gemaakt, welke mooie foto’s heeft opgeleverd. We hebben daar nog wat geld gepind, wat ook weer een heel avontuur op zich was, omdat niemand precies wist hoe het werkte en iedereen bang was om zijn pasje te verliezen. Gelukkig was dat laatste niet mogelijk en bleek na veel proberen dat er een maximum van INR 4.000,- was. Onze zekker zijn weer goed gevuld om souvenirs te kopen. Op de weg terug werd Justine ook nog wagenziek, maar dat kwam vooral door benauwdheid en de Indische rijstijl.

Day 113 Friday 13 August

This morning there is no water again. It happened before at the beginning of the week, and it is something central. But nobody knows why this keeps happening. No notice from the water company, no nothing. No complaining either, so probably people are used to the fact that there is sometimes no water.

D. picked me up at my place just before 11 and we took the pie to the office. Almost everyone asked for the recipe. I did a long interview with one of the board members and then it was already lunch time.

This is the last day at the office. Tomorrow I’ll probably go hunt for the last souvenirs and Sunday I go back to Quito. It is almost time to go back and I already know I will miss it here. These last days I am not sure what to expect internet-wise. Don’t expect me to post much before my return. See you soon, friends.

Day 112 Thursday 12 August – And the bed shook

At a little before 7, my bed started shaking. I first wondered whether it was my neighbours being rough, but later I realized I had just experienced my first earthquake. A small one, probably further away, I thought. However:

“Ecuador was struck by a strong 7.1-magnitude earthquake on Thursday but no major damage was recorded, the US Geological Survey said. The epicentre of the quake was in the central part of the South American OPEC nation underneath swath of Amazonian rain forest.

The quake was felt as far as the country's capital, Quito, located about 110 miles southeast of the epicentre. However, the depth of the earthquake was about 131 miles below the surface, which is quite deep. "Had it been less deep, it would have caused quite a lot of damage," Sandra Vaco, of Ecuador's geophysics institute.” Says the Epoch Times.

Following this experience was a more fruitful day than usual. Though the board members hadn’t come back yet, I did do two interviews and made another two appointments for more interviews. I decided to skip the surveys, because there was no time, but maybe I will make it with the interviews after all. For a second I was afraid I wouldn’t.

In the evening D. came over to bake some apple pies in the kitchen of Vilma. He had his mom’s recipe and, even though we didn’t have a scale, we did a pretty good job. At least the first tastings went well. Tomorrow we’ll bring some pie to the Kallari office. Even though there won’t be many people there, because it’s a national holiday.

Day 111 Wednesday 11 August – At the animal shelter

Because the board members were not available today at the office, I decided to go to the animal shelter ‘Centro Fatima’. I asked D. to come with me, because while I was going for business, I expected to see some animals.

After a detour to the laundry, me and Mr. Been took a bus in the direction of Puyo and we went off at the small village of Fatima. That was not the place we wanted to be, however. I asked the closest store owner where we had to go. She said it was 1km back from where we came, but she thought it was closed now. Before we started our walk, we first went to get a recharge of our cell phones, where the lady behind the counter knew nothing of the centre being closed or not.

We walked down the road for that 1km and indeed found the place. A sign outside said that the place is closed for 2 months because of renovations and whishing us a good return… We decided to take a look anyway. I explained who we were and what we wanted and someone went to see the person in charge. We talked for a while and then he showed us the complex. A lot of empty cages, but we did see turtles and some monkeys. The engineer gave me his card, and some tips on another animal shelter further down the road.

We took a look at the time and decided to go to the animal shelter further down the road. Because it took some time for the bus to come, we hailed the cars to stop. Pretty soon one of them stopped and brought us further to ‘yana cocha’. A complex with a winding path going by numerous monkeys, birds and felines. Near the end, two free capuchin monkeys were very interested in my camera. They grabbed it and tried to look inside.

Day 110 Tuesday 10 August – Nothing to do

It’s a quiet day today. The board members have all gone to Quito for today and they won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon. I have 4 days left to do my interviews here and there is no-one to interview at the moment. I do have some more literature sources on Kallari, but I’m a bit in a tight spot with the interviews. The board members are hard to reach, even if they are in town, and my most important informant has gone already and is leaving to the US tomorrow. I really need to push some buttons tomorrow to get all my information.

I spent the day mostly looking through my e-mail, working a little on the project I’m doing as a volunteer and reading articles. It is so hot today that by the end of it, I’m exhausted. I go back to the house at 5pm already and watch some series on my laptop. D. told me he may pick me up for a game of basketball, but his friends hadn’t shown up yet by 8pm, so I take a shower and sit down in the hammock to write my blog posts.

Day 108 Saturday 7 August – Otavalo market

The alarm goes off at 6.30 in the morning and we wake up with a little bit of a hangover. Or a lack of sleep at the least. We came back from the party at 2am the night before. In the end however, we leave the house at 8. A few busses and 3 hours later we find ourselves in Otavalo. A small town North of Quito, with one of the biggest artesania markets. Even bigger on Saturdays. We start strolling around the market for a while looking at the clothing, jewellery and bags. I decide I need more money and get some at the bank. Not long after that, Mariela sees a beautiful dress and drags me into a store. She tries it on and looks really beautiful in it. She asks me to lend her the money for it, but I may decide later to just give it to her. Especially since the store gave us a deal, because I bought a second one to take home as a souvenir.

Then we bought a lot of other stuff at the market, including an extra bag to take the chocolates home. I hope I’m not overloaded with stuff now…

Day 107 Friday 6 August - Canelazos

This evening we said goodbye to Sarah, Maguy and Mattieu. They threw a little party and we brought some ingredients to make canelazos, the local warm alcoholic drink. In the morning I walked down from Mariela’s house, where I’m staying my last days in Quito. I walked by the Santa Clara market before, but I never entered. First thing I started looking for the naranjillas that are needed to make the drinks. These fruits are from the tomato family and have a distinct taste that I can’t describe. They are very tasty though and I hope to be able to bring some seeds with me and grown them in my garden.

An old lady asks me what I want, so I tell her I need naranjillas to make canelazos. I ask her how much I need to make the drink with one bottle of liquor. Either she doesn’t understand me, or her hearing is bad, but she just goes on about prices and numbers. In the end, some other fruit vendors help me out with the number of fruits I need. I leave with 12 naranjillas for $2,-. In the afternoon I buy the bottle of aguardiente that I need at a small liquor store.

A lot of people came to the party, and many tried our canelazos, which was pretty good. Though Mari did most of the real cooking (that’s why I’m also not entirely sure of the amounts in the ingredients). Tomorrow Sarah will go back to France. The other two will follow in a few more days. Leaving me to wonder who I’m going to throw a goodbye party for…

Ingredients (makes about 2 jars):

Aprox. 3 L Water

12 Naranjillas

5 Cinnamon sticks (or leaves)

7 Straws of lemon grass

½ kg Raw cane sugar (or panela)

Aguardiente

Wash the naranjillas well, remove the fuzzy stuff and cut out any soft spots. Boil the cinnamon, lemon grass and naranjillas in a big pan of water for about 15 minutes. Then take out the fruits and liquefy them with a little water. Pull through a sieve to get the chunks out, and then keep the juice apart. Boil the water and spices about 10 minutes longer with the sugar. Then blend the spiced water and the juice. It should be the right amount, but don’t make the juice too watery. Bring it to boil again and add the liquor right before serving.

Naranjillas may be replaced by oranges or blackberries. In the case of oranges: peel them and boil them whole first. Then follow the recipe like it is. Aguardiente is a typical sugarcane liquor. It may be replaced by rum.

Day 103 Monday 2 August - Birly eards

We started very early this day. We put the alarm at 5.30 am and left for bird watching 15 minutes later. Even the monkeys were still asleep at that time. It was cold and still quite dark, and even though we did see enough birds, the light wasn’t good enough to make any worthwhile pictures.

After breakfast, we went for a canoe ride by hand. We were brought to a smaller stream, where we had to peddle onwards. From there we came to a big lake, which was kind of frightening. You could look about half a meter in the water, but all you saw were plants growing there. According to the guide, underneath this growth, you can find all kind of dangerous wildlife: anacondas, caimans, electric eels and many piranhas. But other than the lake itself, we didn’t see much else.

In the evening, after lunch, we went to meet with a shaman. We had to wait for a little while, and while we waited we had fun with a tiny canoe. We bet for a beer that I could take it for a round and I did. Unfortunately the shaman wasn’t there, but his son (who is also shaman) was. He explained to us a couple of things about becoming a shaman, for which they use (among other things) the hallucinogenic ayahuasca or ‘yagé’ as they call it here. He did a couple of rituals, like cleansing one of our travel mates. And treating his back with a kind of nettle. The next day we took it easy and took a number of busses back, all the way to Quito, where we arrived at 11pm.

Day 102 Sunday 1 August - Community visit

The 3rd day in the jungle, we visited the Siona community near the lodge. While the men of the village are enjoying their Sunday soccer match, a woman shows us how to make their typical yuca bread. A flat bread, that looks somewhat like dosa. We go with her to harvest some of the yuca. We all try to pull it out of the soil, but it is hard. Only with the second plant, I am able to do it. We peal the tubers there and take it to the house, where the cooking fire is already burning.

The yuca is washed and then rasped. Taking care of the fingers, three of us are rasping the big roots of yuca. Then the lady puts the pulp in a sort of hammock, which is then twisted to push out the sap. We are very surprised to see that the yuca comes out as a dry powder. She sieves the yuca flour and then put it in a pot. From the pot, it goes on to a hot clay plate on the fire, where she turns it into a flat bread.

We have lunch there and afterwards play a little with a blow dart. When we are done with that, we get to walk around a little, but Mari and I decide to take a swim in the river. On the way back to the lodge, we spot some pink dolphins again. This time I take a picture of a fin. They are so fast, it is impossible to shoot photos of them.

Later in the afternoon we hear about another anaconda and rush out to see it. A little bigger than the one we saw before, but still a very young one. The rest of the evening we go for another swim in the lake and look for caimans again. We see another small one (probably the same).

Later at night, we get quite a scare, when Mari thinks she sees a tarantula in our room. We don’t find it, but when we later go to bed, she feels something big creeping up her leg. We rush for the flash light, only to discover it’s a giant cricket.

Day 101 Saturday 31 July – Hiking day and night

At the breakfast table at 8 am, we start spotting animals early. Someone found a black scorpion and starts passing it around the tables. In the roof we can still see a leg of a tarantula. Later after breakfast we take the canoe to a place where we will take a hike.

During the hike, the guide tells us about different plants and trees that are to be found. He asks us to do whatever he asks, to eat what he asks, and so on. The first thing he gives us is a piece of tree bark, which contains the anti-malaria medicine. He shows us a tree of which the white sap cures problems with the stomach. There’s a plant of which the dry twigs you can smoke, without addiction. And a palm tree that ‘walks’. We didn’t see many animals. Mostly insects, like cycads, poisonous caterpillars the size of a finger and ants and termites. One ant species was useful for stitching up a wound. He showed us how to do it too. Another ant species, inside a hollow tree, was good to eat (I passed this one though).

The hike wasn’t so hard, though some of us had some problems in the swamp and came back to the lodge with wet feet. But the temperature under the canopy is like a sauna, so we went for another swim in the lake afterwards.

The evening was reserved for piranha fishing, but only two of the guys caught some. After that, we went on a night hike, with our flash lights on. We saw giant crickets, scorpions, a scorpion spider, a small tree frog and 2 snakes, of which one was quite venomous. The guide showed us a fungus that lights up in the dark, which even then was hard to see in the darkness of the woods.

Day 100 Friday 30 July – To Cuyabeno

At a quarter to 6, I’m woken up by my cell phone. Not realising where I am, or that it’s not the alarm that’s going off, I try to turn the alarm off. Luckily I notice that it’s Mari calling and I pick up the phone: she’s already standing in front of the hotel. I go down and take her up to my room, the doorman doesn’t say anything about it, so I think it’s okay.

When we go down for breakfast however, the lady at the desk tells us I shouldn’t have done that and that I now have to pay $10,- extra. We argue about it, but she wouldn’t let go. It’s a lot of money for a 3-hour-stay in this hotel. We take our breakfast in silence, because we are both angry with the hotel, and wait for the guys from Samona lodge to pick us up. Only 15 minutes later than planned, the minibus leaves to Cuyabeno with us and 13 other tourists in it.

The bus ride takes about 3 hours, with a stop in between where we buy some ice cream. We end up on the edge of the park at a bridge, where the guides direct us to lunch and to the office where we pay our entrance fee for the park. The guides have no idea who’s vegetarian and who is not, but later on this won’t be a problem anymore.

At the bridge we leave our bags, which are going to be brought in a different canoe, while 11 of us take a canoe with the guide to the lodge. He says it normally takes 1 and a half hour to get there, but we are taking a longer route to see as many as possible. We get ponchos, which we hardly need to use in the entire trip, and life vests.

During the boat ride, we get very lucky. We see a number of species of monkeys, two types of boa, bats, a sloth and a few birds. The guide tells us it is about all we will see during the entire trip. Though we have yet to see the famous anaconda. When we arrive at the lodge, we get our backpacks back and we are shown our rooms. A nice double room with a private shower serves us well.

A little while later, we take the canoe out again to the big ‘laguna grande’, where we spot our first pink river dolphin along the way. At the lake we take a swim and watch the sunset. When it is almost dark, we sail to the shore, where we look for caimans. A small one approaches the boat, while the guide splashes a piece of chicken in the water and yells ‘aung’ all the time.

When we get back to the lodge, dinner is served and a tarantula appears on the scene. And besides the cockroaches in the room, that was the last animal we saw that day.