I didn't get this posted before we left yesterday as I spent time with Frank (Margarita's husband) discussing ways in which I might be able to work with the Ali Shungu foundation to help them further their goals. But here are my initial thoughts and impressions from our trip to date.
Mike
It is Tuesday, September 14, and we are getting ready to leave the Ali Shungu Mountaintop Lodge (owned and operated by Boncur and her husband) outside Otavalo and head to Quito to catch a flight to Cuenca. We flew into Quito on Tuesday, September 7th and overnighted there at the Hostal de la Mancha with whom I had previously arranged an airport pickup. Since it was already dark when we arrived in Quito, and rainy, we did not see much of that city.
In all honesty however my wife and I are not "city folk" and prefer to live in rural areas. Quito would probably not be our cup of tea if we decide to move here, although I'm sure we will end up spending some time there to explore the city and all the cultural opportunities it offers.
A driver arranged by the Ali Shungu Mountaintop Lodge picked us up the morning of September 8th and brought us to Otavalo. We had him detour through Cayambe so we could stop at the monument commemorating the "true" equator line and take our obligatory photos of each other with a foot in each hemisphere.
The drive from Quito only took a couple of hours and when we were about halfway the landscape changed dramatically and became much greener with lots of trees and agriculture.
We arrived at the lodge and checked into our casita. It was early afternoon but we decided to just hang out, enjoy the spectacular views of Volcan Imbabura from our casita, and acclimatize a bit to the altitude before doing much of anything. The weather was pleasant and comfortable although a little hazy.
My wife has posted some comments and a lot of pictures of our trip on FaceBook and if you are interested in seeing them you can go there and search for "Susan Sawtelle Herron" and be taken to them.
I really like the geography and feel of the area so far. One thing I became aware of quickly is that I am frustrated at not being to communicate effectively with the local people I am meeting, including our drivers and the people at the hostal in Quito. If we decide to make the move here I definitely want to immediately begin taking lessons to at least become conversant in Spanish. I envy Margarita and Frank and how they can carry on in-depth conversations with folks. I recall a similar feeling a number of years ago when I had the privilege of attending a wedding for a young deaf couple in Massachusetts with whom I had become an electronic pen pal. Most of the attendees were deaf and conversed in sign language and I felt I was the one who was disabled although they made great efforts to include me in conversations to the maximum extent possible.
The accommodations at Ali Shungu Mountaintop Lodge are absolutely outstanding and the food is superb. I would highly recommend it to anyone. It is an escape to Shangri La. We had a casita with two bedrooms, living room, bathroom and kitchen. Jose Maria would come and start a fire for us in the evenings while we were at dinner just to take any chill off and then we would not need another until the next evening.
Frank took us to see the school that the Ali Shungu Foundation supports for the local indigenous community of Yambiro. What an amazing experience to see what they have accomplished with very little money. They have helped build a community center (which will soon provide medical services), opened a computer classroom for the students, helped establish a day care center complete with kitchen that serves meals to students. It is a special thing to me to see how they have integrated themselves into the community and care very much for the indigenous people.
Margarita gave us a tour of Cotacachi and introduced us to Gary Phillips, Linda McFarlin, Michael d'Addio and others. We had lunch at a small natural foods cafe run by indigenous women with whom Margarita conversed in Quichua. We met a number of the local people in Otavalo, Cotacachi and outlying areas. We went with Frank to the Otavalo market while he did the shopping for the lodge. It felt like we were able to meet people on a different level than simply arriving as a tourist which was nice.
I don't think I'm particularly apprehensive about making a move to Ecuador, it is more that I detest the idea of packing up and moving again. That is somewhat surprising since I'll turn 70 in December and I've never lived longer than 4 years in any one place in my life. But it is the hassle of disposing of things (again) and the logistics of relocating, getting visas, etc. that is the least appealing aspect of contemplating this move. It is probably exacerbated by the fact we are not yet conversant in Spanish.
My gut feeling is that if we decide to make the move to this area of Ecuador we would probably want to spend several months in the Cotacachi area. There are a number of nice houses there we could rent within a few blocks of the downtown area that are comfortable and offer nice views of the volcanos and surrounding area. We would be able to take Spanish lessons to improve our communication skills, visit other areas in Ecuador, and make a more informed decision about a permanent location. The biggest complaint I've heard about Cotacachi is that there is too little to do. I, personally, would like to get involved more with the Ali Shungu Foundation and help them do even more work with the indigenous people and we would be close enough I could do that. We'll see because now we are off to Cuenca to explore more and meet some friends who just moved there.
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