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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Miami to Quito

I must admit, taking on a project that involved living in a foreign country for 7 weeks and not speaking the native language was daunting. But in retrospect, I did fine with limited Spanish skills and no Achuar language skills.

While waiting in the Miami-Dade International Airport for my flight to Quito, I met someone who was from Quito and worked as a cook in Coca, an oil village near Quito. Ironic that I would meet someone who worked for a German oil company while I was concerned about the oil development on Achuar territory. She had been visiting her daughter in the States and was now headed home. She spoke English quite well and spent the hours talking about her family and my plans while in Ecuador. She invited me to stay with her in Quito. Such a lovely lady.

Arriving in Quito sent us on our separate ways. I had a reservation at a hotel, and the next morning a 7 a.m. meeting with Pedro A. Pedro and I had been e-mailing and skyping for a year or so to work out all of the details regarding writing a book about the Achuar. He was my contact person at the Kapawi Ecolodge Quito office.


Friday, April 4, 2014

More Preparation


I do not speak Spanish. I have taken classes throughout my life, but it doesn’t take. I tried Rosetta Stone, and then a quick intensive study with a friend who is a linguist. All to no avail. So I head out, trusting that my rudimentary Spanish skills will get me through. I will have interpreters sometimes, but I have to get to Kapawi first. I will be traveling in Ecuador. Their language is Spanish. 

Preparation


The proposal was accepted! Now, to prepare for 7 weeks in the rainforest. There were immunizations to get, a supply of preventative meds., quick-dry clothes to round up, knee socks, personal items, flashlight, batteries, binocs, camera, laptop… the list was long, the space in one duffle small. The weight limits were challenging. The small planes that fly from Shell to an Achuar community transport tourists to the lodge as well as supplies. Everything has to be flown in. That means each person is limited to 25 pounds. That was a big challenge. I tried to think of every contingency.