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.

2008 – 18 juli - Gandhi lezing @ Bidja Bidyapeeth

Nadat ik mijn posts uit India heb nagelezen, merk ik dat een aantal verhalen nooit gepubliceerd zijn. Hier zijn er alvast een paar, maar er volgen er zeker nog meer:

Vanmorgen werden we gevraagd om wat werk te doen. Samen met Sanne, Arianne en Loek gingen we ‘fieldwork’ doen, wat uiteindelijk niets meer was dan onkruid wieden in het gras. Daarna was een lezing over Gandhi en globalisatie, maar ging eigenlijk over één van zijn lessen: dat van ‘khadi’, het zelf spinnen en weven van kleding. Dit is goed voor de lokale economie en werkgelegenheid. Nog een stukje zelf gesponnen, wat verrassend genoeg meteen best goed ging. Reetha Christi vertelde dat het spinnen je vooral goed af gaat als je goed in je vel zit, maar nog mooier dan dat vond ik de verhalen over Gandhi zelf. Bijvoorbeeld dat hij zich niet druk maakte, dat hij graag een grapje maakte en dat hij niet oordeelde over anderen.
Het eten hier op Bija Bidyapeeth is trouwens erg goed. Afgezien van af en toe yoghurt bijna volledig veganistisch en altijd erg lekker. Hier in het noorden is niets erg ‘spicy’. Volgens Anil wordt dat meer hoe verder je naar het zuiden gaat. Wel oppassen voor hele pepertjes!

2008 – 17 juli

De nacht in de trein ging vrij snel voorbij. We zaten niet allemaal bij elkaar, maar dat maakte niet zoveel uit. We hadden allemaal nog redelijk geslapen en om 8:30 uur kwamen we aan in Dehradun. We werden door 2 jeeps van Navdanya opgehaald en daar verblijven we nu 2 nachten. Het is een mooie oerderij, gericht op het conserveren van zaadgoed. Het is leuk om allemaal bijzondere gewassen te zien en de manier waarop ze verbouwd worden.

2008 – 16 juli

Een bezoek gebracht met een touringcar (genaamd ‘tourist’) aan de Qtub Minar, en grote toren, gebouwd door moslims ter ere van de overwinning op de hindoes. Na de lunch naar de Lotus tempel geweest, een prachtige tempel in de vorm van een lotusbloem, gebouwd voor alle religies van de wereld, door de zogenaamde Bahaïs.
Later met de taxi naar het treinstation, toen zagen we pas het echte Delhi, met de bedelaars, de krotten en de vele kleine winkeltjes. Op het station zelf waren we in een kring om onze tassen gaan zitten, om diefstal te voorkomen. We trokken al veel bekijks, vooral toen enkele van ons het spelletje ‘uno’ gingen spelen. Later een schatting moment toen een moeder met kindje naar ons toe kwam en het kindje ons een hand wilde geven.

2008 – 15 juli - 's Nachts

Na meer dan een uur gelopen te hebben– waar we onderweg nog vuistgrote slakken tegenkomen - komen we aan bij de India gate, een grote poort waar je eigenlijk niet te dichtbij mag komen, zoals de Champs Elysees. Bij deze toeristische trekpleister lopen om 23 uur nog tientallen mensen, vooral kinderen, die je vanalles aan proberen te smeren. Schrijnend om te zien, en moeilijk om nee te zeggen, vooral ook omdat ze zo aanhoudend zijn.
De terugweg in de riksha was veel sneller, de taxi-driewielers waren snel gevonden, en voor INR 90,- per stuk brachte ze ons ruim op tijd terug naar het hotel.

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.