Ecotrackers en la Reserva de los IIlinizas: Ponce Quilotoa

Este es un blog que recoge las experiencias de nuestros voluntarios, para desarrollar alternativas turísitcas a las que desarrollamos en la Reserva de los Ilinizas a partir de Quilotoa y Ponce Quilotoa. (This blog records the experiences of our volunteers, to develop alternative tourism in the Ilinizas Reserve of Quilotoa and Ponce Quilotoa.)

Thursday, December 07, 2006


Maya Mahanaymi: volunteer report of a volunteer from Israel in Quilotoa

Quilotoa:

Day1- we get to Quilotoa around six, and the sun was going down. When I say we I mean Emma (another volunteer) and me. We came from Zumbahuwa in a truck (camyoneta), and though we bargained the price down to half, we still paid about five times what the local people pay… well, well…

We got off in Ponce, where we thought the families house was suppose to be, but when we ask the guys that came with us where the house of Cecar is, they tell us that it is in Quilotoa – the next village, that is twenty minutes walk up the road. The only problem was that I had my twenty kilos bag on my back and could barley move forwards. When we got to Quilotoa, we asked again where the house of Cecar was, and we were told that the volunteers sleep in a house nearby. We got there, and it turned out to be a hostel, and had nothing to do with Ecotrackers. But we were so tired so we decided to stay there for the night. The night here is very cold, and we slept in one bed, with seven blankets over us.

Day2- We got up pretty early, to do a trip around the lake before Emma has to go and also before it gets too hot. The volcano rim is only a minute walk from the hostel. When we get to the edge a breathtaking site is revealed in front of us. The lagoon is beautiful in its strong blue-green color.

We decide to walk around, but as an hour goes by and we haven't come far, we decide to go down to the lagoon. We're almost down when we find out there is a dead end (or maybe a deadly end) to the path we took, so we have to climb up and take another one…but in the end we get safely down.

In the lagoon we take a canoe ride around, and as good lazy tourist we do the return trip on horseback.

The people here are really beautiful. Especially the girls, they wear clothes in so many strong colors. It really is, as Max called it, heaven for photographers. There is also lots of art here, and especially traditional drawings of the lagoon and the area.

At noon Emma has to take the bus back to Quito, and I'm going to meet Cecar.

He comes to meet me, and takes me to his brother's house.

The houses here are made from cement, and not of wood as in the jungle or Esmeraldas (my two first volunteer experiences), and there are no pictures on the wall. In comparison to all the colors of the nature and the people here, the houses are very plain.

We meet Florina- the brother's wife, and also his three children, that look cute but are a bit ragged, with pants two times their size and no shoes on their feet. Florina has the youngest one on her back, held up with the help of a big scarf. She does all the house-hold tasks as if he weighs nothing, and every time she happens to look at me she smiles shyly. I like her…

Cecar goes for a while, and then comes back with few of his paintings. He asks me if I would like to buy one, and offers me a 'special price'. The only thing special about it is that it is especially high… I don't want to buy one and he gets disappointed.

He offers that tomorrow we'll go to the local school, to teach English, and after that to the river. The river tour, he says, should be on horses, and that would cost me 15 $. I answer that I would rather walk, and he gets disappointed again. So do I… I feel again like all they want is my money.

In the evening I meet Cecar's brother- Jose. He tells me that he is the singer of the community and he also plays in the local band. He also, like Cecar, is a painter. Their father is a craftsman who makes clothes, hats, belts from the fur of lama or sheep.

This village knows art…

Jose also teaches me a bit of Quitshua (their native language), and the tale about princess Toa- that the lagoon is named after.

Day 3- I wake up early, because of my full bladder. When it's cold and the toilet is out side, going to the toilet at night is a hard task. Cecar comes and tells me there is no school today, because all the teachers went to some sort of meeting. Too bad, I love children, and I think that one of the great opportunities that ecotourism gives is to get to know them.

We go to the river. It's a bit over an hour walk. The place is beautiful- in a steep valley. This is the river they draw in some of their paintings. The road is beautiful, herds of sheep, shepherds, green plains and mountains.

Then we go to Cecar's house. He shows me how he paints. I love all the colors they use. Cecar explains much of it comes from the lagoon. It is said that the lagoon has three colors- blue, green or yellow, depending on the weather and the hour.

After an hour or so, he asks if I want to go to the other house. I get the message, and go. In the house where I stay, they have a TV and a DVD. They ask me if I want to see a movie. I say yes, and we watch the village fiesta that was in August. There is a colorful parade, a theatre play of the legend about princess Toe, songs and at the end a bull fight. Except for the bullfight part, I loved it. I wish I could be here in time of a fiesta…

Day 4- The time is 5:30 am. I set the alarm clock early because I wanted to see the sunrise over the Quilotoa lagoon. But it's so cold that I'm breathing steam out of my mouth, and out side it is still pitch black. I'm almost giving up, but with the help of all my strength of will, I take the blankets off me and get out of bed. It was definitely worth it!

When I got to the lagoon the sun was not up yet, but the colors of orange and yellow decorated the sky. As I walk along the crater rim, the sun comes up. The colors in the sky keep changing every minute, and so does the reflection in the water. In the distance it is possible to see Ilinisia- the mountain with two tops, which they draw in their paintings. The Cotopaxi volcano, that is also usually visible in the mornings, is covered with clouds today, too bad… It is totally quiet, except for the birds that are already up. I can see the first rays of sun that light the village softly. Around six I see the first shepherds go off to the fields with their sheep. This is so relaxing I can stay here for ever… But the sun doesn't stop and soon it is full light, so I go back home.

When I come back Cecar is waiting for me and we go to Zumbahuwa, to the local market. We get there by a camyoneta, and this time I'm paying the local price, but I'm also paying for Cecar. When we get there the time is around seven, but the market is already in full swing. It's full of people, colors and smells. Cecar meets his wife and goes with her to buy some things. I go around by myself, but it's fine this way. There's a lot of animals, some of them alive, but most of them dead. In the food area they serve soup with chicken feet or lambs head in it, and on the floor there are lots of bones. At least the dogs were pleased… The fruits here are endless, which is heaven for me. I buy some bananas, and later mangos and oranges…yum. I try to take photos of the local people, but here they have had too many tourists, and they ask money even for a photo. After three hours or so I find Cecar, and he tells me it's time to go home. I'm a bit annoyed when he asks me again to pay for him, after all I went there alone. I say no, and I think he gets a bit embarrassed in front of all the other people from the village… his fault. When we get back I go with Florina (the wife of Jose) and the wife of Cecar to sell the things they just bought in the market, in the little stall they have next to the lagoon. And I thought they made it by hand, and felt bad bargaining over the price with them… It was nice though, being on the other side- trying to get the tourist to buy there.

Day 5- This is my last day here, and it's also voting day. Jose and Florina (with the little baby on her back) went to Zumbahuwa to vote. The two younger boys (5 and 3) stay at home alone. The kids are very in depended here, but I think this is a bit too much… I go on a last tour in the village, and manage to take some photos of kids. They always love the camera… That's it, at noon I'm taking the bus to Latacunga, for getting on at my trip.

The story of a painting:

Long time ago, in the area now known as Quilotoa, there lived a princess named Toa. Toa was lonely, and didn't find anyone to love.

In the same area there lived a Condor (a big bird). The condor was in charge of delivering messages from the sun and the moon to the people, and also passing the questions of the people back to sun and moon. Although he had a very important role, the Condor got also very lonely. One day, when princess Toa was in the fields by her self, shepherding her sheep, the Condor saw her from his nest. He fell in love with her immediately, but didn't know how to get to her without scaring her. He decided to take a red poncho from one of the shepherd boys, and dress out as one. With the red poncho he came to Toa, and talked to her all day long. The two fell in love, and after a while the Condor felt safe taking of his poncho and let Toa see who he really was. He took princess Toa on his back, and flew over the village. Toa loved the view from above, and they flew away to the Condors nest. There the condor kissed her gently, and with every kiss princess Toa got some feathers on her skin. When the village people came to look for her, she had already become a Condor herself.

Until today the young girls who go out shepherding by themselves, is worn to look out for the Condor. And the lagoon next to the village was named after the princess- Quilotoa (Quilo was the princess last name).

The paintings that the village is famous for, shows its environment and tradition. That is why this condor, with red poncho and princess Toa on his back, is painted in most of the paintings. The lagoon is the central thing in the village's life, and therefore painted in the middle of the drawing. It can be in tree colors- blue, green and yellow (as it is said it can be in real life). When there are no clouds (usually in the morning) it is possible to see the volcano Cotopaxi and the mountain Ilinisia. This two are also part of the view in the paintings. The river next to the village is a part of their village's people life, and is painted many times as a woman, that the water comes out of her breasts. In some of the paintings there is also a shepherd, some sheep and a lama.
COMENTARIO DE ECOTRACKERS
Maya fue a Quilotoa en el tiempo de elecciones para presidente del Ecuador 2006 .
La comunidad de Quilotoa y su cabecera parroquial Zumabahua tuvieron un papel muy impotante, pues el presidente Rafael Correa, que fue electo, usó mucho en la publicidad y en la campaña su pasantíia cuando fue estudiante en este lugar y el idioma quechua que aquí aprendió, para ganar las elecciones.
Photos:
1-54 of 54 | Select

posted by eco rastreadores @ 7:17 AM 

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home