El Ultimo Update

Dear family and friends,

Have you ever sat perfectly still in a circle of people and wondered, "will I ever experience a moment like this again?"  I’m sure many of you have. Now my question is; did that moment ever come?  Did you ever sit again within that same circle? Did you ever look upon those same faces with so much left in their familiar creases that you don’t understand? For that, the answer is surely no. Even if those people came together again, creating the same space, everything must have changed, for it would no longer have been the same moment; they would no longer be the same people. Everyone would now be different.

Have you ever noticed your thoughts at the beginning of things? Have you ever noticed that kind of relaxed anticipation? Days, months, years it seems until you will have to realize the end. That realization comes with a certain degree of resistance.  It takes you by surprise. You ask the wind, “Why does the time of the world move me? Why do I not move it? After all, this is my life.” And in response  the wind whispers that your life is the same life as that of the world, that your time is its time, that time in and of itself does not exist but it is our own yearning for the future that creates it. You sit now and think of that response, you wonder if it is not our yearning for the past that creates time. Yet as you wonder you realize that only in time will you find your understanding, so you let it go back into the wind and yearn for now.

Time has created an edge, and we are now on its brink. There is a principle in permaculture that states, “optimize edge, for it is the most diverse area”. The space between a field and a forest, the land and the sea, holds great abundance and richness. It is a place to grasp at opportunity. Why can’t this also apply to the edges in our life? It is the time of transition that changes us the most. It is the time of detachment and reattachment that holds within it opportunity. Yet it is our own choice to realize it. It is a fact that the edge of a pond is a fertile place, yet it is not a fact that we always use it.

Before I came on this adventure, my sister gave me a piece of advice that I didn’t forget. I don’t remember exactly how she phrased it, but she planted a seed in my head and it has been growing there throughout semester. She said to me, “When you come back you will be changed, and the people around you will be changed as well, but at a different pace. People will know that you have changed but they will not know precisely how or how much, and that is the challenge”. When we return there is so much we want to share, to teach, and to express, but we also want to listen, to understand what you have learned as well, for it is not just us that has changed. We are looking for an exchange, we will give you all that we can and some, we must know, lives only in our hearts and can not be understood, even by our closest family. We ask that you try to understand that, and to see that a part of our thoughts are only for the birds, for the trees, and for the wind.

Amor, Siena Powers.

Where am I going? - Shai
I don’t really know what to say. I feel different. I feel strong, happy, and ready to face the challenges ahead of me. Right now I am amazed at having completed semester; from skills, to adventures, community life, patience, listening, and silence.
Everything has its time and place, and I feel that I did the semester at the perfect moment. Thank you to everyone who made it possible for me to be here, and who supported me in this process. 
Hasta Pronto, Shai.

What Next? -Charlie
Semester has gone by in a flash, and now that we have formed an efficient and functioning community that is made up of spontaneous interactions between individuals, we must head home. Everything we have built up together now must be carried on by individuals to keep the groups spirit alive. I am excited for the challenge ahead of; reintegrating into the fast-paced world back home while keeping all that I have learned and seen within me to shape what I do. I have six months of my gap year left when I return home and I am looking forward to deciding what it is that I want to do and see before going to school at the University of Vermont in the fall. It will be a useful period of living totally independently and putting to use the experience I have gained here from this extraordinary community.

Kat
Thinking about where you are at in your life is hard, because how could you be at any other place? But when you start thinking about all of the other places you could be, you start to appreciate the “right here”. For three months I have been surrounded by the most amazing people, people who want to lead a life of simplicity and adventure. We have climbed mountains, struggled through swamps, been frustrated with each other, and learned a way of life that I want to keep with me forever. Even though goodbyes are soon to come, I will continue to hold everything I gained here in my heart. Going back to the U.S. is going to be a hard transition, but I have so much to hold on to. Whatever I do, I can take bits and pieces of this experience and weave them in. I am excited for the next chapter of my life, which consists of more adventure, but in Europe this time, and then an exciting four years of schooling at Warren Wilson. I am ready for whatever life throws at me!

Ciara
The first time around words were not spoken,
Gestures not made, and no one left broken.
The future is coming, and I stand in fear,
The future is coming, the future is here.
I will bid farewell to all that I know,
Turn my life in circles, go back to the snow.
The love that has flourished will never be lost,
But it will be frozen with the new season’s frost.
I will go back now and maybe start to forget,
But not one moment will I ever regret.
The future is coming, and I stand in fear,
The future is coming, and I am now here.

Malcolm
There is a saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” But a picture can’t convey the smell of dawn. No photo can show the crunch of a glacier at three in the morning, and no painter, however skillful, can paint a cooling breeze. No matter how many stories we tell, all we can speak of are the things we did. No words can describe the experience that we had. These experiences are what I am bringing home with me, with me but not for me. I have carved, cut, and bought presents and gifts, but I am bringing home a lot more than that, and that’s what I am excited for.
“The best things are not things at all” – Anonymous.

Piwi

To stand with my feet bare on the earth, the wind blowing by me and through me and in me, my soul quiet with the mountains. To join hands in a circle and trust the truth in the eyes of you, my friends. And now, to walk forward, alone yet not alone, knowing that your hearts are with me, the trees are with me, the strength of the mountains and the changing embrace of the rivers are with me. I know that in my soul I have all of the quiet and wisdom and light that I have encountered here and though I must leave it, I will not lose it. Thus is my transition from here to there, from eternal springtime to the sleep of winter, from one home to another.

Churo
Me pareció una experiencia muy buena y aprendí muchas cosas interesantes y que quiero ver si las puedo hacer en un futuro como por ejemplo escalar en roca otra vez, cuando vuelva a quito de Galápagos. Voy a pasar en Galápagos unos meses y de ahí volveré a quito a estudiar.

           

Meredith

When I first arrived to semester, I thought I wanted the experience and the knowledge I would get and the strength I would build. I was deluding myself, what I really wanted was to get away. I didn’t like the direction my life was going, I didn’t like the relationships I had with my friends and my family and most of all I didn’t like the person I was growing to be. So I went on semester. At first, I only focused on what semester could get me, but as time passed I began to shift my focus on what the people around me could teach me in regards to being a better person. I learned about all of the things I wanted to learn about, true, but they meant so much more because I associated them with the people who were with me, the people whom I grew to love. What I got out of semester that means the most to me is the relationships that will last a lifetime.

Ayere
I will go where the wind blows me,
Up to the mountains and down to the sea,
I have learned much in the past three months,
About living, and life, which you only live once,
And even though we shall all live apart,
We shall be together, within our hearts.

Nicole
In less than a week
We will return home
And shall all speak
Of what we have known.

There will be jungles
Full of deep rivers
And very high mountains
That gives us the shivers.

In addition to sights we have seen
There will be epiphanies gleamed
To lead us as we continue our trip
Back in the U.S no longer joined at the hip.

Work should be done
Until 100% complete
Otherwise your work ethic
Will soon deplete.

Things should be built
With our nature in mind
Devoid of pioneer permaculturists
Earth must be left behind.

Enjoy those you see
Just like you and me
It may not be long
Before your time with them is gone.

The world can be seen
As you travel about
Experiencing new cultures
Until you become an old lout.

Mateo

Me siento bien al regresar a casa con tantos recuerdos y conocimiento valioso. Haber caminado y recorrido en bicicleta por el Ecuador conociendo y maravillándome con la cultura y el paisaje, fue una experiencia muy especial para mi. Ver al grupo de 14 jóvenes trabajar tan duro. Resolver problemas y disfrutando cada día. Me da motivación e inspiración para aplicar lo que aprendí en KROKA en mi vida. Para los que quieran visitar Galápagos, son bienvenidos cuando quieran.  

Tommy
Yesterday Malcolm, Charlie, and I talked to the four cowboys who are staying at Palugo. One of them, the Australian, told us about many of his observations while on his expedition.  They were very close to what Michael had said the day before, and one part specifically touched my heart.  In both their expedition and ours, the only thing to do when things got hard was to keep going.  We had no choice but to power through.  But one of the biggest problems with modern society is that there is always an escape route for when things get hard.  There is always an excuse or a way out.  So when life is hard, and it is the most important time of all to keep going, people stop doing what needs to be done.  But now we have learned how to keep going, and experienced the joy of following something through to the end.  That is what I want to take with me, and what I hope everyone on this trip brings home. We need to remember that there is no more important time to work hard than when the times are hard. We need to remember, even if we are given a way out, to fight to the end.  Thank you, Michael and Marcela, for teaching me this and everything else. 

Zoë

Many people think that it is this experience that will be the challenge. Before I came here, many people said to me how hard they thought it would be. However, for me it is the changes that represent the challenge. I have learned so much in the past few months, and taking these ideals back into my life is a huge responsibility, yet there is nothing I would rather be doing at this point in my life. I know it will be hard, but some of these very ideals I speak of are here to help me upon this journey. I am excited for this new chapter in my life for it is what I make of it. I have this space of opportunity in front of me to be extremely creative in everything I do. I will miss everyone I have shared my life with for the past months dearly but I know I can not lose them since they have become a part of me. When I return home, I will be living in Burlington VT, away from my family. I will be finding work, taking classes, and doing lots of art. It is exciting and exhilarating to be making this change, and though I shall be suddenly away from these people, I know that I shall be constantly surrounded by memories. There is no better thing for me right now. I hope to get a cat or maybe a dog and at some point in the far future I am going to build a yurt, but don’t try and visit it soon. Thank you all who have taught me so much and enriched my life with so much love.

            

Update 10

Dear readers,

At the moment I am sitting here in the kitchen of the Chozon with a carrot in one hand and a bit of peanut butter in the other. Charlie is in the corner vigorously washing the 20 something nalgenes that have carried our food for the past two and half weeks. The rest of the group is down in the Bodega cleaning the gear that has brought us across mountains and valleys, carrying us through the rain and snow. Each piece holds within it a bit of our past, a bit of what we have accomplished, and so we work with love to make it last for another memory.

After leaving Antisana about a week ago, we split up into two groups to do our solo trek to the west base of Cotopaxi. We left on Friday afternoon with high spirits. We headed into the Paramo and walked for three beautiful days. In small groups, we all got to experience the parts of the work of expedition that we may have left for someone else in other times. If you didn’t know how to properly set up a tarp, or make a fire using the scarce materials, this was your time to learn, for no one else was there to do it for you. We had such a wonderful time walking out there together, navigating our way through the rolling hills that spread out around us in an endless array. In the evenings we set up beautiful camps, cooked delicious foods, and sat around the fire talking and playing music.

In some amazing stroke of luck or fate or whatever you want to call it, our group somehow obtained a small furry friend again that we named "Fletch" and that may or may not have had some part of Michael’s spirit inside of it. This dog joined us on our first night (the group being Nicole, Charlie, Malcolm, Ayere, Shai, Mateo, and myself) and to our dismay left us two days later, following the Outward Bound group that was doing the same trek but in reverse. He is greatly missed among us. We are a little bitter about the loss of our dog.

We reunited as a whole group the following Monday and began our hike around the base of Cotopaxi to Cara Sur (the south face) where we would be attempting our summit push. We spent two days on this traverse, climbing over rocky moraines and going up and down over the buttresses of Cotopaxi's colossal layout. We camped in a little alcove between the hills, and had warm soup and pasta for dinner before quickly retreating to our tents and our warm sleeping bags, where we took refuge from the cold wind. It was a sort of overwhelming environment to be in. The sheer immensity and power of the rocks around us made us feel like an ant crawling over a gravel pile that never ended. It had its own kind of beauty, a harsh and jagged beauty that put you in a constant state of submission to the mountains will. 

We reached the Cara Sur refuge on Tuesday afternoon and were welcomed into this special place by Eduardo and his staff with such love and such amazing food! After days and days of dirt and sweat we took wonderfully warm showers and ate crepes with jam and fruit. We drank pots and pots of tea and made oodles of popcorn, all while resting, making music, and playing the most hilarious games that birthed some of our finest quotes, such as Charlie's “ That famous Leonardo DiCaprio painting!” and Ayere’s (trying to say Captain Jack Sparrow)  “Captain Jim Parker!”.

After those days of rejuvenation and sleeping in the most comfy beds we packed up our packs for high camp and set out in slightly precarious weather. In was a beautiful walk up to alto camp, we started out in the moraine and as we progressed we found ourselves in the snowy terrain where we set up our tents. We got up to camp later than planned due to the weather so we made a quick but yummy dinner of miso soup and bread and settled down into our tents to rest and stay warm for a few hours.

At 11:00 that evening, Meredith woke us up with her pretty singing. With high spirits and slow bodies we all rose to attempt Cotopaxi. At 12:17 we began to hike up to the glacier and as the clouds cleared we noticed for the first time the cities of Lasso and Latacunga stretching out so far below us. Their lights showed up to match ours and as we climbed up the rocks and ice we looked to the lights above, and to the lights of our slowly moving train that penetrated the enveloping darkness. When we arrived at the glacier we put on our crampons, took our ice axes in hand and roped up into our teams. As we began to climb on the ice I felt a kind of exhilaration that emptied me of all tiredness, and with each step the pulsating rhythm of the mountain filled that space with a sense of tranquility and happiness.

But soon I felt that something was different here, Something was not the same as when we climbed Antisana and the first time that Davicho radioed down to Micheal many could tell that something was wrong. As we walked our feet sunk down into the snow up to our knees, snow that should have been packed down and firm to step on. It was continuing to snow around us and as we progressed the conditions turned worse. After what seemed like much too short of a time Michael brought his team up to the front and we all stood around him and Davicho as they performed an avalanche test. They dug out a big square chunk of the snow. As it was pryed loose, it all of the sudden slid forward by its own weight and if it had been possible, it would have cascaded down the mountain creating a deadly force. When Davicho stepped into the snow, at certain points he could feel the whole mountain quiver beneath him. Because of the conditions, the snow underneath the first semi-hard layer was soft and slushy, making an avalanche a more than likely risk.  It was impossible for us to continue. To make light of the moment, Davicho told us that we could wait there for the summit, maybe it would come to us and that would be much quicker. It made us laugh, but with sad hearts and with a determination that wasn’t completely fulfilled we turned back to where we had come.

We didn’t feel like going to bed when we got back to high camp, so we made hot chocolate and sat out on the snowy hills, watching the city lights below and waiting for the sun to rise. Although we didn’t summit, we found a bit of peace in that moment, watching the darkness turn to light and knowing that wherever we were, this change would still be happening. Sitting there together, we found our summit in a more unexpected way. But who is to say that it wasn’t even more beautiful?

In canyons cold,

In times without hold,

A mirage of stories are hidden and sold.

They are traded to the darkness,

They are bartered for by the brave,

And in the night they are taken to their caves.

Yet only a shadow are these stories lost,

Only a trace are these words past.

For one can not steal, or kill, or buy

A story that only the

 canyons cry.

I hope you are well and happy.
Lots of love, Siena Powers.

A very happy birthday from Nicole (and myself) to Nicole’s little sister Ariel whose birthday is tomorrow and is the same as mine! We will be celebrating both with lots of cake, I hope your day is wonderful!

Shai would also like to let all of her friends know that they are all invited to graduation.

Update 9

“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and our most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.”

                      -Wendell Berry

UPDATE 9

It has been exactly a week now since we left on our second expedition, with our packs and rhythm of our feet to hold us in place. We walked out through the back of Palugo farm, through open fields and small forest passageways. We explored in dug out caves and walked up dirt roads lined with eucalyptus trees. On that first night we arrived at the beautiful campsite called Encañada, near an almost jungle like river. There, expedition truly began, we set up our tents and had a wonderful afternoon of reading ‘The Alchemist", and some pretty intense riddle telling, that overflowed into the next day as well. Our hike to our next campsite Muerte Pungo (the door of death) was about 12.5kms. 

We left la Encañada, precariously crossing over the little river with our heavy packs and walking until 6pm that night. We walked on cobblestone roads and up over ridges, we hid from a herd of wild cattle as they charged down the mountain and we trudged through rain and hail. The next morning we awoke and had some heavy oatmeal with dried fruit that we had prepared. Marcela, Michael, Tupak and Raina left about a half hour before us and we began what was intended to be a day of solo group hiking and navigation. However, as night drew near and as we descended the last ridge after Chuzalonga hill, we felt that a longer group solo was calling us. Through the radio, our teachers instructed us to stop walking and set up camp if we reached 6pm and had not arrived to camp yet. So, we set up our tents in a circle and we draped our tarp over it to create a kind of little house. We were in a valley that stretched out to the base of Antisana and out to where, Tupak, Raina, Marcela and Michael were camping almost humorously close. There we all sat, late into the night, waiting for our dinner to boil and looked our onto the mountain that we would soon be climbing. Two days later we began glacier school on Antisana. We learned how to use our crampons, ice axes and how to work in rope teams. We camped for two nights at Campo alto (4,700mts) in the harsh rocky moraine and every night as the sun went down, you looked out onto the clouds that spread out at the same level that you were standing on.

Early Wednesday morning at 1.45 am we arose to climb Antisana. We sleepily stumbled from our tents and with our headlamps we began to climb up the rocks to the glacier. Seeing the group weave ahead though the freshly falling snow was like watching a train of silent lights floating in the darkness. As we climbed higher and higher finally reaching the glacier we put on our crampons, secured our ropes and took our ice axes. As we were walking warmth began to permeate our body, pushing away the chill that stillness would bring. 

As we began our climb on the ice at about 4:30am, everything had a new kind of light. We were up above the first layer of clouds and the stars that shone so brightly above us blended in with the lights of our train. The stars and the lights guided our way up through the glacier over crevasses. As the first rays of light began to saturate the clouds with a golden glow the coldest part of the morning set upon us. We were not able to summit Antisana because of a huge crevasse that we could not cross and blocked our route. However, I think we are all very happy with what we accomplished at this amazing place for it gave us some knowledge about mountaineering and a little bit of its wisdom.

Now we are preparing for our 3-day group solos, which will bring us close to the base of Cotopaxi where we will use the skills, we have learned here. Looking out at these mountains, as the clouds that change so rapidly about them, at the wind and rain that erodes their peaks, and see this change as our only constant. I see that change is the only thing that will always be there and in that I see that boredom is merely a figment of everyone’s imaginations.

Lots of love, I hope you are all doing well,

Siena Powers.

Permission Por Favor

By Nicole

Antisana, may I climb your peak?

Even though I may seem weak,

I have the will power in my brain,

To fearlessly climb your vast terrain.

I may be a novice that is true,

But I can surprise you out of the blue,

Scaling slippery glaciers,

With crampons sharp as razors.

Please grant me this experience,

So I shall not feel pertinence,

Climbing high has made me see,

The capability of what I can be.

The higher I go,

As my ears begin to pop,

I proceed to grow,

Until I reach the top.

Update 8

 

“Even after all these years, the sun never says to the earth ‘you owe me’. Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the whole sky”

                                    -Hafiz

Dear Readers,

It has been about two and a half weeks since we arrived back to Palugo from our first expedition, and somehow in a crazy whirlwind of crafts, cooking, lessons on permaculture and political history, we are now preparing ourselves to be launched back into the nomadic form of living and onto the Ecuadorian highlands for our final expedition. These weeks have been filled with laughter and music; and weaving through all of our work, let it be running at 5 in the morning, carving a spoon or drawing a healing dragon, the idea of active rest has guided our lifestyle.

The first week back was relatively calm and gave us the space to rejuvenate after our travels. We worked on lingering projects such as embroidery, spoons and knitting. We had a mega minga to clean all of our gear that had been traveling with us, and continued to work on our semester book. We had personal meetings with Marcela, Michael, and Mathias and most importantly we celebrated Zoë’s 18^th birthday! For that inaugural occasion we feasted on chocolate cake with cream cheese icing, and a much anticipated mango mousse that has been discussed since our time in New Hampshire.

It has been especially nice these past few weeks to find the space to relax with one another and do something that might not be required, something that isn’t scheduled, and take in for a moment the unique time that we are, for a short period of our lives, embedded in. It is calming to sit and read in our cabañas, all of the girls there together, snuggled up with a jar of peanut butter and listen to the romantic words of “Like Water for Chocolate”. We have now finished that book and have started on Chronicles of a Death Foretold, The Glass Castle, and The Post Man Always Rings Twice, we like to get ambitious with our make shift book club.

On Thursday, the 1^st of November, we woke up for chores and had a quiet morning of personal preparation before we went out on Solo. For two and a half days we found our place somewhere in Palugo’s encompassing land, and sat in one spot with only our clothes, water, and ourselves for company. We sat there among the grasses, watching the sky change from day to night, imprinting the path of the sun on our eyes, and waiting for it to be traced by the moon. We saw each change with a mind sometimes empty and sometimes full, our thoughts coming and going with the clouds above. At night we were cold, and maybe at times wishing we were warm in some other place. But looking back at those moments, I feel a kind of peace and clarity. I can not exactly put to words the feeling that I remember during those days, but it gave me, and many others I am sure, a way of learning, a way of coping, and it showed me, from a perspective that was not totally my own, the art of waiting.

On Saturday morning Mathias came to each of our spots and gathered us all together at the highest point on the farm. We stood there for a moment, all together after being alone for more time than we ever have in the past few months, and were able to reset our minds, and our group, for this culminating section of semester. Having this time alone, to reflect on everything that has been moving so quickly around us and through us, I believe was very important, especially at this particular point. It is a difficult thing to live so closely, and share so much of yourself with other people for such a long while, some kind of tension is bound to arise. Frustration and impatience are very human traits and within a group of people it is very hard to avoid this bubbling of emotion. Yet it is good, it is not something we should suppress or try to run away from. From these eruptions come a new appreciation, and love is just as human a trait. Before solo, we had some struggles, and this time away did not erase those feelings, but we have been able to improve our communication and our ability to confront each other in a direct manner, which is something that many people struggle in learning. Some go through their whole lives and never do.

Saturday was also the holiday Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) here in Ecuador, and after re-gathering ourselves we walked down into the town of Pifo for lunch and to visit the graveyard there. It was a beautiful thing to see the celebrations of life and around every grave were flowers, food, and other offerings to people that someone has loved. That night Raina and Tupac returned from their days off and brought us all sugar cane and fruit candy. We ate with a hungry satisfaction after days of fasting, and listened to Shai’s long share.

Starting into the next week, we began our building project which is called Guagua Choza that will serve as a workshop (ground floor) and a place for teachers to stay (first floor). It has been a lot of fun figuring out this project from the very beginning, and it is a nice feeling to see our work begin to take shape in such a long lasting way. We have spent many mornings working on the Guagua Choza and in the afternoons we have had a multitude of guest teachers, and time to work on the numerous projects that we have embarked on. We have gone to cook with Adela and have made the most delicious bread with chocolate called Guagua Pan (which means baby bread) and Colada de Morada which is a traditional meal to make on Dia de los Muertos. We have also worked with her on pottery and are very excited to see how our creations turn out. Marcela’s brother, Ricardo came on Wednesday evening and gave a talk on the socio political situations in Ecuador and Latin America as a whole. It was so interesting to look at this place where we have been living in such a different manner, and take in everything that is currently happening around us and is affecting everything we do. We are not just here to climb mountains in an isolated fashion but also to live. To be aware of your greater surroundings is such an important thing. We have been working with Marcela on theatre and a man named Herman came to work with us on leather projects for three days. We made sheaths for our machetes, covers for our semester books, and many people also made extra projects like bracelets, belts, and wallets.

On Friday we left right after breakfast for a day of rock climbing at a wall that is close to Palugo. We rode over in the back of a pick-up truck, bouncing around on the precarious roads. It was a beautiful spot that many of the Nahual climbers helped open, and we set up five routes to climb on. It was a great day, filled with a lot of fun testing our skill on the rocks. Afterwards we went fishing for dinner and caught about 20 trout, they were delicious! A few nights later we invited the Outward Bound semester over for dinner and we had a wonderful night with them. It was a very special thing to share all of our experiences with them and to hear all of their stories as well. In some aspects both trips are very similar, yet they are also so different in the way they unfold. Their group was a little older than ours, mostly in their twenties. We all had a great night of delicious food, some pretty funny games including a lot of spinning outside in the dark and some beautiful music.

One of our highlights these past few weeks happened very early just a few mornings ago. We awoke at our usual time to go running, 5 o’clock, and set out on a fairly routine route that we have done many times. We were maybe 15 minutes into our jog and were turning one of the corners of our loop, when suddenly I hear this shrill scream emanating from Zoë! She turned around with an amazing amount of vigor and started sprinting the other direction followed by an equally determined Nicole. And then I saw the culprit. A little, smelly, black and white tail scuttled back into the bushes leaving behind its pungent aroma. We had been attacked by a killer skunk! Saturated with its stench we promptly decided to change our course to avoid further battling, and finished our run with as much dignity as we could, leaving a slight trail of perfumed air behind us.

I hope you are all well and happy, and enjoying this last month without us.

Lots of love, Siesta Powers.

Just a little loving note from all of us here, we love mail! And have been so appreciating all the wonderful people who have sent us their warm wishes! Especially when it is in chocolate form... Also Meredith would like to say Happy Birthday to her sister!

 Pictures will be posted later. Please check in again.

Update 7

Shiwakotcha

Dear Readers,

Ashanga

It’s a strange thing to sit here, looking out on the fields of Palugo, being back at a place that has become my home after so long away from its beauty. I am here after calling the wilderness my home, San Clemente my home, Shiwa Kutcha my home. I sit here writing to you all, I sit here to tell you all a story of our travels, of our tribulations, of our joys, of our jokes, and above all of the experiences we have begun to internalize as our own wisdom. But more than any other time that I have sat down to this task, it is a challenge, it is hard to depict in words the changes that have happened in the last few weeks. I could go on for a long while about its beauty, about the images we saw, I could describe the countless dogs, the curious people, the vines and symbiotic relationships of the forest, I could talk about all of them in great detail but that is not the greatest change that has occurred. It is some kind of roundness, some kind of wholeness that I feel materializing. We are no longer a circle of people drawn flat on a page, but we have risen up, filled out, to create a spherical collective of individuals that work together with a greater conscience. That is the greater change I have witnessed, it is not something that is permanent, it is not something that has a definitive end or beginning, it is simply a kind of potential that lives within us. Or maybe it is something much different, maybe it is something I do not completely understand, and that is why it is such a challenge to describe.

Restday in Ashanga

The last time we left you was in the mountains, in the midst of the harsh yet beautiful panorama. We traveled on our bikes, with their circular rhythm carrying us from one place to the next. After epic days of up hills, through rain and hail, sun and wind, through sickness and some tears, we reached the hot springs of Papallacta. We combed the knots from our hair (for Ciara it was more of a struggle than most, her hair being that of a lion’s mane), we cleansed our bodies and welcomed Nicole back into the expedition after her much missed absence (she had to take a rest for two days back in Palugo due to her stomach which was bothering her). I cannot explain how wonderful that feeling was, the feeling of immersion in the heat, the soaking, the detangling of emotions and stress, the pruning of my fingers that symbolized all the sweat and dirt leaving my body.

Service work in Shiwakotcha

From there we began our descent into warmer weather, into fewer layers, into an easier life, and into the land of bugs and yucca. We spent Friday night (the 19^th) in Cosanga, a little town nearing the jungle in a house in the midst of construction. In exchange for the generosity of this “randomic” lodging we helped the man Lucas, whose house it was, by milking his cows in the morning. On Saturday we biked our farthest day (50k), although I have to admit it was one of the easier days seeing as it was mostly down hill. After crossing the final mountain range we truly began to make our way down into the jungle and with every turn of the road the plants became more luscious, they grew taller and remind me more and more of Dr. Seuss. In the afternoon we reached Ashanga, where Mathias, Nicole, Ayra, Davicho, and his daughter Violeta were waiting for us with delicious food. Ashanga is the jungle escape of Marcela’s parents and a place of peace by the river. We stayed in this alcove for two days, bathing in the river, sleeping, and eating wonderful things like pancakes, fruit, and plantain. We listened to the birds; we watched the sun setting over the majestic trees, and took in this magnificent transformation of landscape from the highlands to the jungle.

Campsite on the Yatun Yaku

Monday was our last day of biking, and throughout that extremely intense and hot day, two ice cream stops were of great necessity. We ate lunch not by a river, but actually sitting in it, desperately trying to soothe our newly obtained sun burned skin. In the afternoon we reached our destination by the Jatun Yaku river, meaning the Great Water in Kichwa, in which we spent the next day and a half preparing for the river section of our expedition. Here Thomas and Nadino joined us, which was so much fun and we are so grateful for everything they have taught us. Amidst our new struggle with the bugs we accomplished the feat of everyone in the group getting sick at least once, except for the mighty Mateo who has somehow slid by unscathed by the curse of nausea.

Navigation update

As we began the river portion, a new kind of peace fell upon our journey. The constant sound of the river flowing through the back of our minds cooled our thoughts, and brought on a kind of tranquility. During the days we spent our time paddling over the water in our rafts, we made our way through rapids and calm water, stopping for lunch on sandy beaches and observing the magic and beauty of the jungle float by us. We jumped off of trees into the water, swam by the boats, and had wonderful conversations as the land sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly carried us to the next stage.

Life in the jungle

Our last day of paddling brought us to the town of Misahualli, where we set up a beautiful camp and said goodbye to Thomas. From Misahualli we rode in the back of a pick up truck to where we would start hiking into the jungle to find Nadino’s family in Shiwa Kutcha. It was a strange feeling to be moved by this machine after self-propelling ourselves across the land for so long in a totally self-sufficient manner. It made you think about time in a different way, it made you value your own footsteps, your peddling, your stroke after stroke in the river, and it made you love that internal human power that is the most renewable source of energy and always available.

Botany studies

As we walked through the rainforest we were surrounded by its vitality in a new way, and upon our arrival to Shiwakotcha, we began our jungle life. Nadino´s parents welcomed us with cinnamon water and bananas (the most delicious bananas ever). To them and to the entire family, I would like to say Thank You for receiving us with such clarity and for letting us be a part of their family for three wonderful days. With them we explored the jungle, swam in the river, carved bowls out of pilche fruits, made spoons and baskets, and ate many green bananas due to our extraordinary impatience with food. We stayed up late into the night singing beautiful songs and painting our faces with Huito; we heard the stories of the dyes and through its culture could appreciate the special designs that leave a physical remembrance of their community. The days passed quickly and before we knew it we were packing up the kataraft for our final drift downstream, and for our last day on expedition.

As we paddled down that calm river, all 18 of us piled on one raft; it was as if the river reflected back to us the stories and faces of our journey. The sun shone down upon us with rays of satisfaction, we listened to the sweet music of Charlie’s ukulele, and with bittersweet feelings we began our departure from the jungle. We read Siddhartha, and finished its last few chapters, hearing the wisdom of the river through the story’s lyrical words, and seeing its beauty with our own eyes. In the afternoon we reached our take out, we unpacked the raft, and disassembled the carriage that had brought us so far. We loaded ourselves onto a bus and for four or five hours we traveled back through the path of nostalgia, traveled back across the land we had just traversed for 21 days and arrived back to Palugo late in the night. Mathias welcomed us home with tea and banana chips, and with tired minds and bodies we fell into sleep.

Learning from the indigenous people

I hope you are all happy and well, lots of love. Hasta Pronto,

                                     Siena Powers

  

Malcolm would like to say happy birthday to his mum, Kat would like to say a very happy birthday to her brother, Ciara would like to say happy birthday to her dad, and Shai would like to say happy birthday to a bunch of people in her family.

Quote:  ¨Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it into a fruit salad¨ 

We can’t actually remember who said that, Phoebe just wrote it on the board and I liked it.