ecuador-peru-ecuador

my time interning so far has been quite interesting. i started off with going to macará (about 4 hours from loja) for one of the monthly meetings of the organization. that same day we headed off to cross the peruvian border and spend the night in sullana (about 2 hours away). the next day was another meeting with more people working in the project. then we went back to macará to enjoy the fiestas. that day the president of ecuador had arrived and they were having a big celebration in the town square. music, dancing, poetry. the town was full of mayors, ministers, governors, journalists and tv crews. unfortunatelly, i was unable to meet the president. after a long night, we finally made it to zapotillo (an hour away), my new home base.

i got to relax in zapotillo a few days and then got to visit some of the communities that the project is working in. i visited tronco quemado where they are now, instead of selling garlic and onions at a very low price due to over-supply, they are making garlic paste and similar products and selling that in the area.

after that it was off to loja again. loja is at 2100 meters above sea level and zapotillo is at around 400 meters above sea level, so you can imagine the climate change. while i am constantly about to melt in zapotillo due to the heat, it is permanent springtime in loja. after a few days in loja i went up to quito (a 12 hour bus ride). i had to finish up some visa paperwork. i got to see soraya and her family.

now that i´m back in zapotillo, the main part of my internship will be commercializing some of the products they make locally in the communities: goat cheese (queso de cabra) and honey (miel).

happy naw-ruz!