Volcanos and Orphanages

"Well you roll on roads over fresh green grass
For your lorry loads pumping petrol gas
And you make them long, and you make them tough
But they just go on and on, and it seems that you can't get off
Oh, I know we've come a long way,
We're changing day to day,
But tell me, where do the children play?"

I spent a week at an orphanage on the coast of Ecuador near a town called Manta. I had heard about this place while in a microbiology lab last year. My lab partners and I were discussing my trip and another student who I didn't know at the time overheard us. He told me he had a cousin in Ecuador who ran an orphanage and that I could go there if I wanted.

I had a little trouble making it to the orphanage. First, I got a little side tracked by a group of travellers I met in the small Andean town of Latacunga. They were mostly travelling alone, but had all met at various places along the way. There were 4 girls from Holland, 1 guy from the UK and one guy from Canada. Brian, the Canadian, found out I was from Seattle, so for the rest of the trip he kept explaining to everyone else in the group that I was "one of those new-age hippies". I’m not sure what exactly that means, but I had to stop arguing with him when he guessed that I liked rock climbing, ate granola with soy yogurt and drove a Subaru. All of this is true.

I spent a couple of days with the group in Latacunga, where we hiked up the Cotopaxi Volcano. We made it to the glacier line, but going farther would have required two days and technical equipment. Regardless, we hiked up to 4900 meters (16,076 feet) -- to put this in perspective, the summit Mt. Rainier is 4392 meters (14,411 feet). I definitely felt short of breath at this altitude. After the hike, my new friends convinced me to take a detour to Baños, which was way out of the way but very beautiful. I explored the surrounding hills riding a "horse" that more resembled a prehistoric ancestor of what I think of as a modern horse. I decided I will probably forgo riding for the rest of this trip to spare myself the sight of these bony creatures.

The bus trip out to the coast ended up taking two days instead of one due to some combination of the following facts: I got the flu the night before leaving, I had headed backward by detouring to Baños, I didn’t want to get into Manta in the middle of the night, and the authors of Lonely Planet can’t estimate distances to save their lives. I ended up staying over night in an industrial town/city that was not in my guide book. A local man on a motorcycle took pity on me walking down the street in the dark carrying a huge backpack and sweating excessively in the 90 degree heat, so he escorted me to the nearest (safe) hotel. I had found one earlier, but decide that it was more of a "motel" rather than a "hotel". A motel in Ecuador is not a place I would like to stay for reasons that will be left unsaid here.

I had no idea what to expect before arriving at the orphanage. I was in touch with a woman named Pearl who I knew was in charge of running the orphanage. I also knew that the orphanage had only opened a year ago and had 12 children living there. I was told that there were many things I could do to help out, including helping to build new buildings, gardening and supervising the kids while hiking or swimming at the beach. When I arrived, I was stunned! The orphanage consists of three houses: one completed house for the children and parents, a second house being built for more children and a second set of parents and one house being built for volunteers. The land is located in a rural area, with a small town where the children go to school about 15 minutes away. The land surrounding the orphanage is owned by friends who are maintaining the land as habitat for the local howler monkeys, birds and other wildlife.

Pearl does not actually live at the orphanage, but Peter and Juanita, a couple with grown children of their own, live there for free in exchange for caring for the 12 children. The group acts just like any other family, the children refer to each other as brothers and sisters and to Peter and Juanita as their father and mother. This is all quite amazing to me seeing as all the children have only been living there for a year and many are fairly old, 12 -15. They are amazingly resilient.

I spent most of my time there painting the new volunteer house and playing with the children in the afternoon. My friend from the microbiology class, Evan, was there with his girlfriend. They have been traveling around Ecuador for almost 2 months now. I had no idea they would be working there the same time I was. It was a pleasant suprise. The children are all very bright, despite limited education before the last year. They are very friendly and work together well to make the household run smoothly. I got a little taste of what it truly takes to make that place work when Juanita convinced me to make pizza for the kids one night. Cooking in a foreign country where you can't find ingredients you are used to is difficult enough, cooking for a total of 18 people is even harder, and the most difficult is cooking for 18 people in a foreign country with 4 to 5 children literally hanging off your arms.

This experience has thus far been my most rewarding experience while travelling. Not only was I able to give back to the community by doing some volunteer work, I also felt that I was really able to get to know a part of the community. The orphanage already runs mostly on donations provided by the local community, which I found impressive, particularly in Ecuador. Nevertheless, I plan to keep in touch with this incredible place and hope to be able to continue to help them in the future.