Tuesday 23.09.2014

The days are beginning to feel as if they`re running away from us: already half way through our stay!

Unfortunately (no, really, unfortunately) the school we should have been at today was tied up with exams so Arturo had another brainwave and suggested an afternoon on the beach.

Should hasten to add this was after a hard days work yesterday, back to the very first school we visited and this week it`s Africa so naturally it`s lion masks and snakes.....






as well as games involving lots of noise and fun,

not to mention some serious reading - if you can call reading a book that involves yelling cha-cha-cha
at regular intervals serious that is (Cha-cha-cha en la selva: Cha-Cha-Cha in the jungle).

And always the interested onlookers....



Later, back at the house, we spent several hours sorting books, testing about a million felt-tip pens and generally tidying up the boxes of materials, preparatory to planning a mini-library which it is hoped to establish in part of the BookBus house.

So a slightly later start this morning was very welcome as was a lazy afternoon on the beautiful beach at Los Frailes, also within the Machalilla National Park. This was not a golden sands and blue sky kind of beach today : it has rained quite often since we`ve been here, turning the dusty streets of Puerto Lopez quite quickly into a slippery mud-slide and it was drizzling and grey this morning but it was warm! and with very few people about an excellent place to relax, swim and explore the rocks and surrounding forest.



The weird and wonderful forest deserves a whole new post as does our adventure on Sunday.......but it`s another early start tomorrow so - hasta luego!

Saturday 20.09.2014

So Friday really deserves a post all of its own.
In the morning the "commute" took us up into the Machalilla National Park* to a community school where yet again we were met with smiling faces and shouts of "Hola!",one word we have got familiar with.


In this serene setting

we had the luxury of a room just for our use, groups of immaculately turned out children soon absorbed in the activities and books we`d arrived with.





Arturo, the project leader, is full of imaginative ideas and energy and as the morning wore on and it got hotter and hotter it was he who organized games in the shade of the trees,

eventually drawing in practically the whole school.

And it was Arturo who made the brilliant suggestion that as an end of the week treat we sample the delights of the nearby Laguna de Aguas Sulfurosas, and the reputedly rejuvenating mud, liberally applied, allowed to dry and then washed off with a gentle swin in the lagoon.



Whether the mud has had the desired effect remains open to debate

but the surroundings were guaranteed to soothe the soul

with time for a little r&r local style (sorry J!)

before an excellent plate of chicken and rice (omelette for the veggies) at the local restaurant.

The rest of the day was spent at Restaurante Patacon, ** home of the choc crepes and the best coffee in town - our "Wonder Bake" of the trip (see posts from Zambia last year!)- not to mention good beer and the most genial, tolerant host who didn`t seem to mind us sitting for hours as we made use of the wifi.

Today has been about a bit of a lie-in, some gentle strolling around the town and along the beach and saying goodbye to David Gordon, BookBus Chairman, who we`ve had the great good fortune to work with this week but who is now off back to London to continue promoting the work of the BookBus. His profile on the BookBus website says he`s very "hands-on" and that`s certainly been true this week. :)

And after such a relaxed day we`re all ready for a bit of an adventure tomorrow...........


*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machalilla_National_Park

**https://twitter.com/pataconpisao01

Friday 19.09.2014

End of the first week and it seems there is only one way to get in the mood for that weekend-coming-up feeling:

(they really are very good).











So three more schools - two quite contrasting ones on Thursday and yet another today.
The first school on Thursday was bright and cheerful, with colourful pictures on the walls,

space to try some games

and the usual enthusiastic engagement with the books and activities.

We took heed of the emergency procedures.....

though fortunately didn`t need to put them into practice and at break time we popped across the road to check out the local garden centre.



We left with the promise to return next week and moved on to the next school, bigger,noisier and altogether harder work but still the interest was there, the books a big draw.....



to be pored over

and shared.

And today? A community school based in the peaceful setting of the Machalilla National Park of which more in the next post.

Wednesday 17.09.2014

Strong Colombian coffee and a chocolate crepe. Feel we`ve earned it after a third morning up at 6 and off into the hills by 7 for four hours or so of reading, colouring and trying to explain where Escocia is on the map.
In fact maps have featured all week as the idea has been to establish contact with some of the Book Bus children in Zambia and exchange information about the respective countries.

But reading a book is the first business of the day, fun for some and challenging for others, not least us non-Spanish speakers: suddenly we are in the position of being poor readers ourselves, "barking at the print" with little comprehension - a truly salutary experience.

However with each day we pick up a little more - Susan excelled herself this morning asking the children questions and, more importantly, understanding most of the answers!

After the reading comes an exercise to describe what is good about living in Ecuador and something about themselves (favourite food, favourite toy, favourite sport) to send to the children in Africa.

Each day we`ve been at different schools, two more tomorrow and yet another on Friday. If the plan comes together, we return to the same schools next week, armed with accounts of life in Zambia: our mask-making skills, honed to perfection last year, may come in handy.

And when there`a pause in proceedings what better than to settle down with - what else - a good book......

The actual Book Bus in Ecuador is currently based in Quito and while plans are afoot to acquire another one for Puerto Lopez, we have the opportunity to arrive at our destinations in a variety of ways. One school has been close enough to walk to from the house, today we went further away by car but Tuesday was another ride in the ubiquitous tuk-tuk,

dozens of which buzz constantly round and round the village and up and down the surrounding hills, often at breakneck speed (at least when they`re coming down) and without which it seems the place might grind to a halt.

Meanwhile we explore the village: the familiar delights of a stroll along the beach,

the somewhat less familiar (and for my ornithophobic friend frankly terrifying) experience of walking through a gathering of vultures to get to the market - and the library!

So back to the coffee and crepes....and later maybe a pizza. Can`t be all work can it?

Tuesday 16.09.2014

Tuesday already and we`ve survived our first classes though whether the same could be said of the children enduring our language skills is another matter.

And if things have gone a little quiet on the social media front since Sunday (see Susan Cassie on FB) it`s because we`ve either been in transit to Puerto Lopez

or working hard to prepare our classes. :)

To back-pedal though, we had a quiet day in Quito on Saturday having experienced our fist minor earth tremor - oh, wait, that was Susan descending from the top bunk in our very nice hostel(she said I could write that)......
The city is big and bustly, full of colour and music and mad traffic and, as our lungs testified, at a high enough altitude to make every incline hard work, and there are a lot of inclines.

We searched out the essentials: good coffee (not hard to find)

and purchasing opportunities

and then did a bit of sightseeing round the old town, climbing, breathing hard, to the Basilica del Voto Nacional, which is, as the Rough Guide tells us:
the tallest church in Ecuador, thanks to its two imposing 115m towers, plainly visible throughout the city"

Perfect for people watching and getting your breath back.

Come Sunday it was pack up and head for the airport, meet Fernando, the representative for BookBus in Ecuador and make the short flight to Manta where Arturo, the project leader was waiting to welcome us.
Lunch in a busy fish restaurant and then a bus trip further along the coast to Puerto Lopez and,topping it all off beautifully, arrival at the house that is to be our home for the next fortnight courtesy of a tuk-tuk - the only way to travel really.

And then it was time to do some work...........

Friday 12.09.14

Made it! A long day but an exciting one. Left Aberdeen in the fog and arrived Quito (via Amsterdam) in the sunshine some 14 hours later. One slightly surreal taxi ride which included what sounded like strains of Loch Lomond coming out of the radio got us to the Hostel Revolution where we sat on the roof staring at the Andes, hardly able to believe we're  actually here.

Wednesday 10.09.2014

A perfect September day spent packing for South America - a slightly surreal experience but here we are. One more day to tidy up loose ends at work and then an early flight on Friday and we`re on our way. More to follow....hopefully.