Vegetarian lasagne | Lasaña vegetariana

Ingredients – makes 6 servings
5 cloves of garlic
2 onions
1 red pepper
Salt
250gr mushrooms
2-3 laurel leaves
1,5 teaspoon (tsp) thyme
400gr carrots
3 tomatoes
2 celery stalks
3 tsp Italian herbs (basel, oregano)
200mL red wine
2 spoons starch / arrowroot

100gr butter
50gr flour
Water / milk
Optional: bouillon, nutmeg, paprika powder

500gr Lasagne leaves
2 zucchinis medium size
200gr mozzarella style cheese
400gr white cheese
100gr parmesan cheese

Red sauce
Mash the garlic with the pepper in (olive)oil and fry together with the chopped onions, add a little salt to improve caramelisation.
Add sliced mushrooms together with thyme and laurel.
Dice the tomato and add to the pan when the mushrooms are baked well enough. Also add some extra water and tomato paste.
Add the carrots – grated. Add a little of the zucchini and the selery – diced
Boil for about 10 minutes.
Add Italian herbs (Basel, Oregano) and red wine, plus something to bind the whole (corn starch / arrowroot) Stir well and boil for just a few minutes. The red sauce is done!
If you can, remove the laurel leaves before putting the sauce in the lasagne.

White sauce
It’s your basic béchamel sauce, so melt butter until it starts to turn brown. Add flour and stir well, don’t let it burn. Add water or milk until the sauce is at the right thickness. Than spice it up with pepper and salt, bouillon, nutmeg and/or paprika powder.

Building the lasagne
You can do it any way you like it, but here’s how I did it.
--- layer of lasagne
*** red sauce
--- layer of lasagne
### sliced white (mozzarella style) cheese
=== sliced zucchini
--- layer of lasagne
*** red sauce
--- layer of lasagne
*w* white sauce
### more cheese – i.e. parmesan


Ingredientes - hace 6 porciones
5 dientes de ajo
2 cebollas
1 pimiento rojo
Sal
250gr champiñones
2-3 hojas de laurel
1,5 cucharadita de tomillo
400gr zanahorias
3 tomates
2 tallos de apio
3 cucharadita de hierbas italianas (Basilea, orégano)
200 ml de vino tinto
2 cucharas de almidón / arrurruz

100gr de mantequilla
50 gr harina
Agua / leche
Opcional: caldo, nuez moscada, pimentón

500 gr hojas de lasaña
2 calabacines medianos
200 g de queso estilo mozzarella
400gr queso blanco
100gr queso parmesano

Salsa roja
Machaque el ajo con la pimienta en aceite (de oliva) y freilo junto con la cebolla picada, añade un poco de sal para mejorar la caramelización.
Agregue los champiñones en rodajas, junto con el tomillo y el laurel.
Corta el tomate en cubitos y añade a la sartén cuando las setas se cuecen bien. También agregue un poco de agua extra y pasta de tomate.
Agrega las zanahorias - rallado. Añade un poco de la calabaza y el apio – en cubitos
Hierve durante unos 10 minutos.
Añade las hierbas italianas (Basilea, orégano) y el vino tinto, más algo para enlacer a la salsa (almidón de maíz o arrurruz) Revuelva todo bien y hierve durante unos pocos minutos. La salsa roja está lista!
Si es posible, elimina las hojas de laurel antes de poner la salsa en la lasaña.

Salsa blanca
Básicamente es una salsa de bechamel, entonces derrita la mantequilla hasta que empiece a tomar color. Agregue la harina y revuelva bien, no dejar que se queme. Añade agua o leche hasta que la salsa se encuentra en el espesor adecuado. Después condiméntalo con sal y pimienta, el caldo, la nuez moscada y / o polvo de pimentón.

La construcción de la lasaña
Puede hacerlo de la forma que le gusta, pero aquí está cómo lo hice.
--- Estrato de lasaña
*** Salsa roja
--- Estrato de lasaña
# # # Blanco queso, cortado en rebanadas (estilo mozzarella)
=== Calabacín en rodajas
--- Estrato de lasaña
*** Salsa roja
--- Estrato de lasaña
* W * salsa blanca
# # # Más queso – por ejemplo, parmesano

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.

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.

Day 99 Thursday 30 July – To Lago Agrio

At 10 in the morning, the bus left for Coca, a dirty oil town further east of Tena. I could take a direct route to Lago Agrio, but there are only 3 busses from here and they either leave very early or arrive very late. Lago is – just like Coca – an oil town and neither of these cities is very safe in the middle of the night, according to my guide and the people in Tena.

About half way to Coca, while I’m almost falling asleep, there is a loud bang. The rear tire on the right just exploded. We stop at the side of the road and the bus driver and his assistant (they always drive in pairs) team up to replace the tire. Everybody else gets out of the bus to get fresh air, sun or to take a piss. With a small group we stand around, watching the changing of the tires, which takes about 20 minutes.

Somehow, we still arrive in time in Coca for me to take my connection. I wish my travel mate from Germany a nice time in Yasuní – the other big reserve – and get on my next bus. When we drive off, the assistant puts a DVD on and… shit, it’s Jean Claude van Damme again. And the same one they showed in the bus from Quito to Tena. They really have a bad taste in films in the busses around here!

I arrive in Lago Agrio early: at 5:30 pm. We don’t stop at the bus station but a few blocks away, but some nice people tell me to take a taxi and they let me know the normal price. For a dollar I get to the hotel. Hotel Lago Imperial is the meeting place for tomorrow, so I figured it would be smart to sleep here as well. There are probably cheaper hotels, but my guide wasn’t really complete with those. For 15 dollars I have a room with a ventilator (AC is 5 more), but I also have my own bathroom, TV and a double bed. Breakfast is included; though I also have a ticket for free breakfast here. Mari will leave this night and will join me at the breakfast table in the morning. From there we will be picked up and brought to the Samona lodge in the Cuyabeno reserve.

Day 97 Tuesday 28 July – … and the chocolate factory

Like always, things do not go as smooth here in Ecuador as I am used to. I was hoping to go to the chocolate factory with Judy in the morning, but when I called her the night before, she didn’t answer. This morning I called again and I got a whole story from her, which I didn’t totally hear, because I was walking down the busy Colón.

It turns out, there were some bus problems in Tena, forcing Judy to take the bus via Ambato, which is quite a detour. She arrived only at 11 in the centre of Quito. I met her at her house, the place that R. called his house before, when I first was there. Then we took three buses down North to the chocolate factory of Ecuatoriana de Chocolates. The factory that makes the Cacaoyere chocolate. I don’t know if it is known anywhere, but I hear they have contacts in Germany for selling the chocolate. All the way to the factory, Judy talks a lot. I think I’m quite up to date about the current things that are going on. I just need to get a hold of her to talk about the history of Kallari.

At the factory, we first sit down and Judy talks with the manager, and a chocolate maestro. Some things about the new batch of chocolate, which is quite good, though a bit acidic (which will go away within 3 months); and about packaging designs. Then they offer me a tour through the factory. I’m not allowed to make pictures, because they may be a bit careful: Kallari is going to build its own factory the coming year.

The cacao is first roasted for 45 to 48 minutes, after which it is rapidly cooled down and the skin gets removed. The beans are then ground into small bits. In the Kallari cacao we see some lighter pieces of cacao. These might be mutants or criollo varieties. The ‘contamination’ of the cacao with a small percentage of other varieties than Cacao Nacional is giving it a more nutty and floral taste, which is only a good thing.

The ground cacao beans are turned into a thing called cacao mass, going into cacao liquor. The exact process is not explained to me. In the next room they add the vanilla and the sugar, and they roll it into small pieces. Then it is mixed with cacao butter – which is at the moment bought from outside, a machine to make this is a million dollar – and ‘conched’. Meaning it is turned around and getting to the right taste. Some flavours will disappear while conching.

Now it is ready to pour it into bars. A machine turns the chocolate in different temperatures, preventing the fats to shift and thus preventing the formation of a white finish. It needs to be shiny and brown. It is poured into moulds and then goes through the cooling tunnel. At the end of the tunnel is light, but then it soon turns into darkness again, when the bars are packed into plastic and pushed into cramped boxes. Only at the consumer end will the chocolate ever see light again.

After the tour, I ask whether I could come back much later to do some interviews and that’s alright, they “love interviews”. After that it is time to take the bus back to the centre. Judy accompanies me for a while once more. When I get off, I pass by the café to say goodbye to Mari again; I pick up my stuff from the apartment, which I’m kind of using as a storage now, sorry; and I take a bus to Cumbaya. From there I pick the first bus to Tena, where I’m lucky to get a seat on the first row to watch… oh no… Jean Claude van Damme films. Luckily there’s a guy standing with his arms in front of my view.

Day 95 Sunday 25 July – Twilight: Eclipse

We planned to finally go to the TeleferiQo today, but the sky turned very cloudy. Even if it wasn’t going to rain, we wouldn’t have been able to make any good pictures. Instead, we decided to go to the cinema. Aunt Trina called me while walking down the hill, which was a pleasant surprise. At the cinema, we had the choice between the mage’s apprenticeship (el aprenizaje del brujo) and Twilight: Eclipse. I didn’t know either of them, so I let Mari choose.

Eclipse it was: a film about vampires and werewolves, but not even considering the amount of girls in the room, it was more of a teen romance film. Girl likes two guys, one of them a werewolf, the other a vampire. And of course these two species hate each other. Nevertheless, they work together to help the girl when she is in danger. It was a pretty straight forward film and, if I am correct, based on a series of books of which one of my friends is a big fan. It wasn’t that bad, but come-on, a vampire-slash-werewolf film that isn’t scary or funny? And a stupid girl that chooses an ice-cold vampire over a werewolf…

Day 94 Saturday 24 July – Holiday in Quito

No hangover, but almost overslept myself for breakfast. Vilma made a nice local dish with ground plantain (couscous like) and a piece of fresh papaya. The rest of the morning I hung around in the hammock a little, writing some more postcards. The office is closed today and I haven’t any idea what to do. Perhaps tour a little in town. For the rest I should wait for Judy to come back from Quito this evening. I need to interview her.

Too bad that Judy isn’t coming until midnight, and it’s raining very hard. I decide to go to see Mari this weekend in Quito. I take my laptop to be able to work on Monday. Perhaps it’s possible to visit the chocolate factory again on Tuesday, but we’ll need to see about that.

I pack my stuff in the small backpack and walk to the bus terminal. I only have to wait fifteen minutes until the bus arrives, but eventually the bus takes 5 and a half hours to get to the station. Then the trole-bus isn’t driving on schedule and I don’t arrive at Mari’s house until midnight. What a ride.

Day 93 Friday 23 July – BBQ by candle light

The day wasn’t really interesting. It was a hot day, too hot to work in the office on the computer all day. But that’s what we did anyway. I’ve now also involved myself into how we can improve the café in Quito. Two other volunteers had already made up a pretty extensive list, but since I’ve spent so much time there, I added another page to it.

In the evening two of the volunteers invited the people from the office for a barbeque. I decided to bring a bottle of aguardiente and sprite. D. brought ingredients for a salad. But when we got there, there were no lights. We crossed the little bridge and entered the main hall, where they were already preparing the food. With just one back-up light and some candles we all helped prepare the rest of the food. When the back-up light was empty, Carlos went back to his house to get another light. This way we spent the whole night eating and drinking. And making jokes about the ass-meat that Ben brought. It’s something they eat around Loja, but not in this region.

Day 92 Thursday 22 July – New project with Kallari

I talked to Carlos about the working possibilities, but besides helping out with one of the other volunteers, he couldn’t think of anything. Elias knew something else, a project to provide alternatives to hunting and fishing. The indigenous people are hunting and fishing a little too much, so that the population of wild life and fishes are declining slowly. Kallari wishes to offer alternatives, like other livestock and fish ponds. The problem is that the fish ponds that have been made in the past are for the largest part with tilapia fish, but these are African species. Kallari wishes to make ponds with local species of fishes. And add livestock of local animals. So the question to me was: How do we do this, which species, what will it cost, etc.?

But when it comes down to changing, I also wonder how they will convince the men of the communities to switch to animal farming, because in the majority of communities, hunting is also a social act.

At dinner, when I tell Vilma about the mosquito bites, she makes me a concoction of lemon and the leaves of a plant which is supposed to be antiseptic. Then she washes my arms and legs with it and tells me to let it dry in the air. For the most part of that evening, I didn’t have any itches from the mosquitos, so it really worked.