Chimborazo

Bob and John as we contemplated started off on our climb of Chimborazo Volcano

 

View of the volcano as we began our climb

Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador and in the Andes north of Peru. Despite its great height, it is only the 39th highest peak in the Andes. These mountains stretch from the Caribbean Coast of Columbia to the Strait of Magellan in the southern reaches of Chile. Chimborazo is a currently inactive stratovolcano in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 CE.

 

Climbing through a boulder field

 

The peak of the volcano is 6,263 meters (20,548 ft) above sea level.  Chimborazo’s summit is also the farthest point on the Earth’s surface from the planet’s center, being located along the equatorial bulge. The bulge makes the planet about 43 km (27 mi) wider at the equator than pole-to-pole.

Chimborazo is a favorite of mountain climbers. Reaching the top of the volcano is not a stroll in the country. The climb requires some skill and is often on black ice with low visability due to the clouds crowning its summit. Clampons and other  climbing equipment are required. 

Reading my trip description in the letter excerpt below, I am struck by my naivety regarding the potential climb difficulties. I certainly did not possess the technical equipment which would minimize the dangers associated with a transverse of the icy glacier surface at the volcano's summit. Remaining at the refuge below the snowline was perhaps a smarter decision than I realized at the time.

 

Settling a disagreement

One major disappointment became more evident as I read this letter and searched my files. Numerous photos from my Peace Corps days were missing from the archive I had saved over the years.  The unusual photos and magnificant vistas that i mentioned in this letter were nowheres to be found. 

 

The quality of developed photos prior to digital was sometimes hit or miss. However, I doubt that so many of mine turned out as duds upon development. I fear that many  were misplaced and lost over the intervening years. 

 

 

  

Cayambe and Sundry

Cayambe mountain and farmland

 

The above photo gives a clear picture of the agriculture system in Ecuador's highlands. The higher and steeper lands beneath the rocky height are generally all that is left for the indians to cultivate.

These snippets from an April letter give some sense of the variety of my Peace Corps service life in the capital city of Ecuador. The architecture exhibition was unusual, but we frequently attended first run movies at the local cinema. 

The second paragraph indicates a bit of the variety of co-op activity I was involved with in Quito.  The seminar preparation and statistical report were probably worked on in the National Credit Union Federation building. Working with individual co-ops usually occured in their place of business.

The trip to Cayambe was with the Ecuadorian extention agent with whom I frequently worked. The co-ops are located in the zone of the country which was our responsibility.  The last paragraph gives a sense of my thoughts on some of the difficulties we faced in helping the people of the country achieve economic and social success.

 

 

 

Cotocollao: Prejudice and Progress

 

 

The prejudice toward the indian population of Ecuador is well illustrated by the conflicts among the residents of Cotocollao's barrios. The evil of such prejudice is made extremely graphic by the example of the indian woman trying to get a bus ride to Quito. 

 

Ancient Cotocollao was  a large village. Prior to the discovery of the archaeological site in the 1970s, little was known about pre-columbian cultural life in the northern sierra. The site is strategically located near a pass that connects the Quito basin with the tropical forests of the western Andean foothills. Cotocollao was occupied from approximately 1800 to 500 bce. The occupation levels at Cotocollao are capped by a thick layer of volcanic ash and lapilli associated with the eruption of Mount Pululahua, which is located about seventeen miles to the north. The eruption of this volcano, dated to approximately 467 bce, is thought to have caused the abandonment of the site.

Ambato, Baños and Surprises

Recent photo of Ambato's city center

Ambato

 

Ambato is 2.5 hours by bus and 160 kilometers south of Quito. As is Quito, it is a city located in the central Andean valley of Ecuador. With a population of over 300,000, it is the capital of the province of Tungurahua, and situated at an elevation of 2,577 meters above sea level.  

 

Washing clothes along the river in Latacunga

A visitor is struck by the distinct difference in urban appearence between Quito and Ambato. A search for a historical center will come up empty in the latter city. To understand the difference, one must look to history.

 

On August  5, 1949, the Ambato was struck by a devastating earthquake. According to Wikipedia, it is estimated that more than six thousand people died, and thousands more were left homeless and destitute by the disaster.

 

Much of the city's colonial center was completely ruined. The city was rebuilt with significant international help. The Fruit and Flower Festival is held every year in Ambato to commemorate the anniversary of the earthquake.

 

Latacunga where the clothes are being washed is a town on the Panamerican Highway between Ambato and Quito. I remember taking the photo from the bus window. The photo below adjoining my letter is my only surviving image of the Fruit and Flower Festival. Not sure what happened to the other images that were developed from the "snapping pictures right and left."  

 

 

 

Baños

 

After the provincial capital Ambato, Baños is the second most populous city in Tungurahua with a population of about 15,000. It is an hour's drive, about 40 kilometers east from Ambato. It is a major tourist center due to its natural environment (it is home to more than 60 waterfalls) and its many sport activities. Residents and visitors alike enjoy rafting, kayaking, hiking, biking, horseback riding, hot thermal baths and other sports.

 

The two falls mentioned in my letter

 

More of the cliffs and waterfalls of Baños

 

Baños is the last city in the eastern range of the Andes before reaching the jungle and the Amazon River Basin. Baños is located at an elevation of 1,820 meters on the northern foothills of the Tungurahua volcano. Volcanic activity has been characterized by frequent powerful ash explosions and lava flows that can be seen from Baños.

Posing in front of waterfall near Baños

Surprises

Festivals, Festivities & Similar Activities

Central Quito, with certain plazas labeled, where various festivities were known to occur  

Around the end of the year Ecuadorians focus on enjoying life.  It is a time of holidays and associated celebrations. It is not a time to expect a lot of work to be done.  The following, pieced together from photographs, memory and my letters home, is a taste of what I experienced around the New Year:

Day of the Dead - November 1 & 2, visit the graves of ancestors and leave food. For a time of great liveliness and cheer, it is ironic that this end of the year period begins with the Day of the Dead. 

Celebrating Quito in the streets

 

American Thanksgiving - Late November dinner at the Peace Corps doctor’s home along with 8-9 other volunteers and the Peace Corps Director for Ecuador. Included martinis, turkey and the traditional trimmings.

Co-op Volunteer Conference - November 28 is start to our semiannual volunteer gathering consisting of discussions among ourselves leading hopefully to constructive suggestions for the Ecuador Cooperative Federation. We also participate in courses volunteers had requested on subjects where we felt weak.

Pre-Conference party - November 25 we Quito residents plus other volunteers in town for the conference enjoy a Spaghetti dinner with wine at residence of some female volunteers living in our barrio Vicentina. After dinner a CARE worker we had invited played folk songs on his guitar. 

Dancing at a big party

Quito Foundation Day - December 6 marks the Spanish founding of Quito by the conquistador Sebastian de Benalcazar. [The city existed long before the arrival of the Spanish. Historians believe the indigenous Quitu people originally established it as an important urban center.] The founding of Quito is officially commemorated with bullfights (I attended a few), a tradition which is a relic of Spanish colonial rule.

 

Misa de Gallo - On December 24 Ecuadorians celebrate a special mass called the “Rooster Mass.” 

 

Christmas - On December 25 Ecuadorians go all out with citywide Christmas pageants. This is the day of the Paseo del Niño children’s parade. 

February/March Carnival - beginning on the weekend before Lent and continuing until Fat Tuesday, Ecuador’s Carnival celebrations are in full swing. Quito celebrations include people throwing water balloons, spraying foam, and other frivolous activities.  

 

Out on the streets at night on Quito's Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Children Waiting to Attend Party?