Here, There and Ecuador

Our time at the beach came to an end, and after saying goodbye to our new friends, Tom and I left Kamala.

Before we could enjoy seeing the sights of Ecuador, we needed to resolve our visa situation.  This resulted in us having to cross back over the Peru border.  The immigration officials made us sweat for a while (holding out for a bribe, which they did not receive) but eventually everything was set in order.

We spent a couple of days relaxing on the beautiful, quiet beach of Mancora, before re-entering Ecuador and continuing our journey.

From the border we travelled to Cuenca, the third largest city in the country.  It is a beautiful place, set against a green landscape.  After over a month of being on the beach and in cities, it was refreshing to be back in the countryside.

Rio Tomebamba

We walked upstream along the Rio Tomebamba, a path which shows the contrasting aspects of the city.  To the left stood the charming, colonial style buildings of an old day Cuenca, and to the right we could see the modern buildings of the business and education centre of the city.

We visited the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the largest of several in Cuenca.  It is a vast building that inspires awe, with impressive architecture and elaborate works of marble inside. 

After our brief, but lovely time in Cuenca, we moved on to Banos, a town set on the hillside of the Tungurahua Volcano.  The town is close to the jungle and there is much rainfall, which accounts for how lush and green and almost tropical the plant life is there. 

On the outskirts of the town are the hot springs of El Salado.  These thermal baths draw hot, volcanic water from underground and are slightly discoloured because of the high mineral content.  There are pools of varying temperatures and massage showers, which fire out powerful jets of water.  Some of the older local people visit the hot springs for relief from aches and pains.  We relaxed for some time in the water here, taking in the beautiful view of the hillside and the river which runs alongside.

In the dirt buggy

From a day of relaxation to one of more action, we hired a dirt buggy, which was automatic with just two seats and no windscreen or windows.  We zoomed out of the town up towards the waterfalls of Machay, accompanied by Jess and Jeannine, two friends from the CELTA course in Kamala.  It was certainly an experience, having never driven on the wrong side of the road, or the wrong side of the car.  We drove though dark tunnels which dripped water onto us, the wind whipping our faces and barely able to hear to speak to one another.  It was a lot of fun, as was the short cable car journey we took across the waterfalls, watching the powerful water cascading into the river.

We visited the church La Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Rosario de Agua Santa, which although seemed relatively small compared to some which we have seen in South America, contained many impressive religious paintings and beautiful art on the ceiling.  At night, the domes of the church are lit up, a bright purple colour, a view of which we had from our room.

Leaving Banos, we travelled to Quito, the capital city of Ecuador.  We are here now, enjoying our final days in the country before travelling on to Colombia.

Becoming CELTA Qualified - Ecuador

For 5 weeks between April and May I have been on an intensive teacher training course. The CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) is designed by the University of Cambridge and Southern Cross Teacher Training centre in Ecuador. It is a globally respected certificate through the fact that it includes so much input on behalf of the person who decides to take the course with seminars, workshops, essays, in-depth analytical lesson plans and assessed teaching. Stress levels on the course are high and free time is minimal.

Luckily though, this course was held on a beautiful beach location and was spread over 5 weeks, rather than the average 4 weeks. The place we stayed at was called Kamala Playa, an ecological hostel resort placed between the fishing village of Manglaralto and the surfing and party town of Montanita.

To say all this is however misleading. Although beautiful, the place could be deadly. An 'eco-resort' now means to me insects. Small insects that bite and leave your body covered in red spots and huge insects that, albeit interesting to look at, frighten the life out of you. Our accommodation was also extremely basic. Made from bamboo it had more holes than a colander. This allowed the insects easy access and meant that Sophie and I spent most nights hiding under the mosquito net.

Another attraction of the course was that it was fully inclusive. Three meals a day were provided which meant everybody could commit their full attention to the course. The meals, however, were a bit hit and miss. Sometimes plentiful portion sizes and sometimes not enough. Sometimes extremely tasty and others unimaginative and bland. There was a particular fried rice dish that was served four nights out of seven one week which we had all grown to hate.

Don't, however, let my honesty about the food and accommodation lead you into thinking this was a bad place to be. On the contrary I loved the time I spent here. The trainers, Cathy and Nicola, were extremely good at their jobs. With their passion and experience you always felt in safe hands, and that you were getting the best teachers available for your money. I came on the course thinking CELTA may be overrated in terms of what it was going to teach me. I was happy to say that the course exceeded my expectations. I learnt so much and I will definitely be applying what I have learnt in my future teaching.

It is a demanding course in terms of workload but as long as you manage your time effectively and start your assignments and lesson plans as soon as possible then the course is achievable. I was even able to manage my time so that I could fit in a full day off to spend with Sophie on Saturdays. Saturday mornings were usually spent nursing our Friday night hangover with a Mai-Tai cocktail and the best apple pie this side of the equator. Being on the beach also meant you could easily take a 15 minute break when needed by either walking on the beach or swimming in the sea.

Now that I've finished the course its time to look for my next teaching job. I am extremely happy to have received a Pass A grade, an honour that I share with only 5% of people who take the course globally. Hopefully this will open up a few more opportunities for me. All I know is that it shows how hard I worked and that my efforts were noticed. For now I will keep doing what I love, teaching amazing people in some amazing locations.

Thanks for reading, Tom.

The teachers and trainers.
From top left - Tom, Justine, Nicola, Holly, Cathy, Daniel, Monica, Hannes, Jess, Marc
From bottom left - Jeannine, Eden, Emily

Acuario Valdivia

This week has been my first week volunteering at Acuario Valdivia.  The aquarium is a conservation project which looks after marine animals that have been injured and are unable to survive in the wild.  The organisation also runs an ecological club for the children in the local area.

Valdivia is a small town a few kilometres south of Montanita.  It is famous for being one of the oldest settled cultures in the Americas.  There are many artifacts of the stone and ceramic works created by the Valdivian community.  One of the most famous of these is the Venus of Valdivia, important to the local people because she symbolises fertility.  A statue of her still stands today.

Chilly Willy

I undertake 2 different types of volunteer work at the aquarium.  The first is to help Javier, one of the guys who runs the aquarium, feed the animals.  This involves hacking up raw fish to feed to the pelicans and blue footed boobies, the penguins - Chilly Willy and Coralina - and the sea lion, aptly named Leon.  Leon is a very gentle and good natured animal.  When holding out the fish for him, he doesn't snap at your hand greedily, he just waits patiently for you to drop it into his open, expectant mouth.

I also cut up baby squid into tiny pieces to feed to the very tiny baby water turtles.  After they have eaten, I also have the task of cleaning them with a toothbrush - this should give you an indication of just how small they are.  Squid is fed to the crabs, sea urchins and the eel as well.  Having never seen a crab up close before, it was very interesting to watch how they eat, using their pincers like hands while they munch on the squid.  The only animals which don't eat sea creatures are the turtles, who feast on lettuce and celery, and the crocodile who devours the chunks of raw chicken thrown to him.

Me feeding Leon

The second type of volunteer work I do is teaching English at the aquarium.  The staff there speak next to no English, so this week I have started to teach them, along the theme of the aquarium.  I want to teach them things that are relevant to their line of work.  They are interested learners and we have had fun in our lessons, often with jokes about pronunciation of my Spanish and their English.  A couple of local boys join the lesson when they have finished school.  They already speak some English, and are encouraged to give the tours when English speaking tourists visit.  The penguins occasionally join the lesson, which is always entertaining.

I have really enjoyed my first week at the aquarium and am looking forward to my remaining 3 weeks.

Thanks for reading.


Sophie

Travelling to Ecuador

From Cusco, our journey to Ecuador began.  We travelled by bus, which was very tiring.  We stopped in Lima for one night, where our host at the hostel was one of the most helpful and nicest men we have ever met.  With it being Holy Week, many people were travelling out of the city, which caused some problems finding transportation to Guayaquil, Ecuador, however Angelo advised us of our options.

From Lima, we travelled to Tumbes on the Peru-Ecuador border.  When we embarked from the bus, we were approached by a man who showed documentation, declaring he worked for Cifa, the bus company which transports people across the Peruvian border into Ecuador.  As such, we got into his taxi, where he drove us to the Peruvian border to have our passports stamped, leaving Peru.

The Peru-Ecuador border is not like others, such as Peru-Chile.  There is a town inbetween the two, so once leaving Peru, you need to pass through the town before reaching the Ecuador border.


The man and his colleagues asked us for money before taking us to the Cifa office/bus station.  This made us suspicious, especially after the incident with the taxi driver when we crossed into Chile.  So we refused to give them any money and sent them on their way.

The view from our cabaña

Two other men then approached us and took us to a different bus company.  They wanted $100 just for the 2 minute walk and carrying my suitcase, but of course we refused.  We boarded the bus for Guayaquil, expecting the bus to stop at the border so we could pass through Ecuadorian immigration.  However, at the border, officials just waved the bus through.  This meant we did not have our passports stamped and were not granted visas.

Exhausted and clearly somewhat stressed, we arrived in Guayaquil during the evening, greeted by heat, humidity and pouring rain.  Arriving at our hotel, we hoped to sink into bed in a cool air conditioned room with a lovely view.  However, an error on their part meant we spent our first night in a tiny room with no windows and only a ceiling fan.  Fortunately in the morning, this was rectified and we were moved into a cool, bright room which even had a balcony.

We spent a couple of days in Guayaquil.  It is an enormous city, high rise buildings and lanes of traffic spanning 6 across.   This busy metropolis felt so modern compared to Arequipa.  There was a pretty park near to our hotel, with an impressive statue situated in the centre.  We explored some of the local shops and ate a lovely meal at a restaurant beside the river.

Our cabaña

From Guayaquil, we travelled to Kamala, near Montañita, where Tom will be studying his CELTA course for the next 5 weeks.  We have spent 2 nights here now.  Our accommodation is practically on the beach, with a view of the ocean from the window of our cabaña.  We are waiting to hear what course of action we need to take to resolve our immigration situation, however for now I am enjoying relaxing in the sun for a couple of days before hopefully continuing with my Spanish classes and finding some more volunteer work.

Cusco & Machu Picchu

Tom and I were sad to say farewell to our friends in Arequipa, and I must admit I had a couple of tears when saying goodbye to the little ones at Manantiales, but we were also excited about the next stage of our travels.

Our journey from Arequipa to Cusco took around 12 hours.  We arrived early morning and were greeted warmly by our hosts at Hostel Llipimpac.  It felt like such luxury to be provided with a room which had hot showers and a proper duvet cover on the bed, rather than sheets and wool blankets.

Exploring around Cusco, we found the main plaza.  It was very pretty, with many flowers and looking up and around we could see the green landscape and mountains.  Cusco has a much more old world feel than Arequipa, the buildings all of different stone, darker and weathered.  In the sun, it feels hot, but in the shade much cooler, as Cusco stands at a higher altitude than Arequipa.

During our stay, which crossed partly with Holy Week, we saw a procession of police and military staff carrying a huge cross with a replica of Jesus Christ.  The procession started at the enormous, grand church and gradually wound its way around the plaza, local people throwing red flower petals as it passed by.

We visited the Choco Museo, where we learnt about the origins of cacao, myths of chocolate and the uses it has had through time (and of course we ate some chocolate, too).  The cacao plant does not bear fruit until it reaches maturity at 5 years, then it is fruitful for another 20 years.  The flowers that flourish near the bottom of the tree are pinkish white and have 5 petals.  It is believed that the cacao plant was originally discovered in the foothills of the Andes.  The Mayan people used to use chocolate in sacrifical ceremonies.

The highlight of our time in Cusco was visiting Machu Picchu.  Early one morning, we travelled by train to Ollantaytambo, a small town.  From there, we boarded another train to Aguas Calientes, the town at the bottom of Machu Picchu.  Our train journey wound alongside the river.  As we approached Aguas Calientes, the plantlife and vegetation became more and more lush and green.  Finally, a 20 minute bus journey brought us to the gates of Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu, which comes from the Quechua language meaning 'Old Peak' is also known as the 'Lost City of the Incas'.  It was built around 1450, during the height of the Inca Empire.  It is believed that it was abandoned around 100 years later, following the Spanish Conquest.  It is also possible that many of the Inca inhabitants died from Smallpox.

It is difficult to convey what an incredible sight it is and even more amazing to think of the time and effort invested in establishing such a well built and structured estate.  The Incas who created it were incredible people, in terms of both physical and mental ability.

The site was split into two main sectors, one for agricultural purposes and the other for more urban use, where the inhabitants built their homes with specific areas for the nobility and for religious places of worship.  The Incas built using a technique called ashlar, involving dry-stone walling without mortar.

Whilst our time in Cusco was brief, we saw many interesting and amazing things and we feel really lucky to have seen one of the seven wonders of the world.

Next post:  Travelling to Ecuador.

Next step: CELTA Ecuador

Extreme Language College

Half a year teaching English in Arequipa seems to have gone by really quickly. Thursday 29th March marks my last day as a teacher at Extreme language college.

When I was first offered the job I must admit I was nervous. Not knowing anything about Peru or the city we were going to, we had many concerns. I had joined ESL forums and websites and it was the horror stories that other teachers had shared that stood out the most. The least of my worries was that it was going to be the first class I had ever taught.

San Pablo University

Luckily I chose one of the better language institutions in Arequipa. Here I have gained experience in all ages and levels of learners and made my mark, I hope, teaching English (Yorkshire!). My colleagues, who have always been friendly and supportive, and my students, who have on the most part been enthusiastic learners, will be missed.

My next step will be to start a CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) course in Ecuador. This is an intense 5 week course of 170 hours, which is a week longer than the usual 120 hour 4 week course.

I found this image on Google to give you a glimpse!

The course is set on a beach on the Ecuadorian coast between the small fishing village of Manglaralto and a popular surfing beach called Montanita. Sophie and I will be living on the beach, just a stones throw away from the pacific ocean, in rustic style beach huts called cabanas. We have been told the cabana will come with en suite facilities but we have been informed it will be basic.

I already have a TEFL qualification but have decided to do this course, and choose Ecuador in particular to do it, for a number of reasons:

1. CELTA is more respected and recognisable all over the world since it is awarded by Cambridge ESOL, part of the University of Cambridge. There are institutions in countries around the world, especially ones I would like to teach in, that only accept teachers with CELTA. 
2. I feel it will show employers that I am serious about my trade. I see it as the next step in my professional development. I enjoy what I do and want to be the best I can be.
3. This course in particular is 5 weeks rather than 4 weeks, so I feel like I am getting value for money and the stress of an intensive course seems more manageable.
4. The course works out cheaper than it would do in England. Also included in the price is accommodation and food. Plus we'll be living on a beach!
5. We were travelling through Ecuador anyway, so why not make the stay an educational one.

We are both really looking forward to moving on to Ecuador. It's going to be sad to say goodbye to a place we've called home for the last seven months but we both feel like we are ready for the next phase of our journey around South America. 

We leave Arequipa on Friday 30th March on a week long travel up to Ecuador with some interesting stops along the way. You'll have to wait to read about them in our next blog :)

Thanks for reading,

Tom

Guinea Pig & Salsa Dancing

Tom and I have lived in Arequipa for almost 7 months now.  It's strange to think, that in less than 2 weeks time we will have left what has been our home and where we have settled into daily life.

Aside from the usual routines of work and volunteering, we have spent much of March doing all of the things that we haven't had chance to, but really want to do, before leaving Arequipa.

We have sampled some interesting food.  First was anticuchos, otherwise known as beef hearts.  These were slightly fatty, but rather tasty, marinated in a delicious sauce.  Second was cuy (guinea pig).  Served whole, the skin was very crispy, like pork crackling.  The flesh underneath tasted a little like chicken, although there wasn't much of it.  We ate some of the organs too, but drew a line at eating the brain!  Thirdly, we have eaten adobo, a soup which is traditionally eaten on a Sunday morning.  The consistency of the soup is quite thin, and is not spicy but does have a warmth to it.  It contains what can only be described as a pork chop.  It sounds bizarre that this would be eaten for breakfast on a Sunday, but it is delicious, and also a good hangover cure.

We visited Museo Santuarios Andinos, which is famous for holding the preserved frozen body of a young girl who was sacrificed to the gods, named Juanita.  She is also known as the Inca Ice Maiden or Lady of Ampato.  She was sacrificed during the 1400's and would have been aged between 11 and 14 years old.  Her body was preserved in the ice near the peak of the Ampato mountain for around 500 years, before the volcano erupted and her body was subsequently discovered.  It is amazing that much of her skin and organs have remained intact.  Children were chosen at birth, for sacrifice during their lives.  If the Incas felt that a sacrifice to the gods was needed, the most intelligent children, usually from wealthy families, would be selected.  They would have trekked for days, in cold temperatures, to the top of the mountain, before a ritualistic ceremony took place, ending in the death of the child.

Something else on our list of things to do, is to take salsa classes.  So, we booked in for 2 week sessions, our final class this evening.  We have learnt steps from 2 styles, Bachata and On 1.  It has been a lot of fun, complicated at times and certainly requires a lot of energy.

We will be interested to see what our final days in Arequipa bring, before boarding the bus on the next leg of our journey on 30th March.