Daily Walk To School

Click on the post title for our walk to school in pictures. After it opens click on "Slide Show" above the pictures.

Walk to School

It Is A Beautiful Day Today....And I suggest that we all enjoy it.

For the past 9 years I have been helping out at a small indigenous school in Salasaka. It has been a wonderful experiences in my life. We have had almost 400 volunteers working here over the years and 99.9% leave with a positive experience. Every once in a while I run across something they have left on the web for the world to see. I would like to pass these on to others who may be contemplating volunteering somewhere in South America. Here is some food for thought. From Jana. Click Here

Volunteering....Baños Or Salasaka

In just a few more days or maybe a week, we will open our Travel Agency in Baños....This will than have the rights to sell any tour or trip to the public, but will probably stick to our own Cultural Tour to Salasaka. The tour will be a full-day tour, starting in Baños and returning to Baños. It will be marketed to the above 30 crowd who want more than just the recreational tours offered by the 100 plus agency that operate on almost every corner in Baños. We will be looking for a couple of Volunteers to help promote this tour in Baños. They would live in Salasaka with the other volunteers who work at the Katitawa School, Library or Nursery in Salasaka. If you are not familiar with are volunteer program in Salasaka check out our Katitawa blog.  For more information about our little school, nestled in the hills above Salasaka click here.

After Baños....What next. Why Not Volunteer in Salasaka?

When you have had your fill of Baños and want to move on to do something different....Consider volunteering in Salasaka.  It just might be the best thing you have ever done in your life.

Salasaka is a indigenous pueblo just 50 cents up the road from Baños.

For more information our little school, nestled in the hills above Salasaka click here.

A Beautiful Day In Baños

Yesterday I went to Baños from Salasaka, primarily to take Inti one of our Katitawa School (www.katitawa.blogspot.com),  students to the Doctor.  He was born with some problems with his legs and now at 10 years old, we are using some of our Emergency Fund to see if we can get some help.  We met with a doctor who gave him a preliminary examination and would like us to get an MRI so she could get a clearer picture of what are the options to make his life a little easier.  We will try to get this done in Ambato in the next week.

After the examination, I put them on the bus for Salasaka and decided to spend some time getting to know Baños all over again.   I still visit Baños every month or so, but never as a tourist.   I was surprised at how much the city has changed.

Just outside the bus terminal, I saw an old restaurant, with a new name and decided to have a late breakfast. Maybe my memory has slipped over the years, but as I remember the restaurants were always really friendly and eager to please.  It was a large restaurant and there was only two people eating maybe three. I wandered in and found a place to sit down and although the place was nearly empty and at least six employees conversing with one another, in time one of them came by and I ordered breakfast.  When the server came by and brought me the water for my coffee, I tasted it and it was just lukewarm,  I called her back and told her that the water was not hot.  She looked at me as if I was senile and said "It's hot"....I said in a rather loud voice,  "it is not hot"  This annoyed her and without a word she came back, picked up the cup and walked over to the micro and put it inside.   When she brought the cup back it was hot and she said not a word.

After I ate, I wanted another cup of coffee and had to call out to three other servers who were talking across the room and asked if I could order another cup of coffee.  It came, I drank it and found the place to pay and a tall gentleman, maybe the owner came over and told me how much I owed,  He gave me my change, I left and the total words from the staff were, five from the waitress and a couple of numbers from the cashier.

After this memorable breakfast everything changed.  I met up with a friend who had volunteered at Katitawa, and we walked around town and visited the Posada del Abuela, where I was a partner in the past.  We also stopped by  the Sangay Hotel where I had friends and the Posada del Arte , which is a great place to stay, by the way.  I hope I am boring you with all of this memory lane stuff.  You have to remember it has been a long time since I posted on this blog.

Now the fun begins.  There is a new attraction in Baños that was built some years ago, but new to me.  Parque de La Familia....or The Family Park.  It is only about five or 10 minutes from Baños, just across the river by the Agoyan Dam.  Since I did not know exactly where it was, we took a taxi for $3.   It is beautiful.

I do not have a camera so here is the web site....Check it out.  www.parquefamiliabanos@tungurahua.gob.ec.  The admission is free and it is open from Wednesday through Sunday. From 10 to 6.  It even has spaces to camp.

There is a new bus service that takes you back to town for 25 cents.

Before I went back to Salasaka, I stopped by Ray Hood's Cafe Hood and had a great cup of coffee and two of his famous Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Since Sunday's are the worst days to travel to Salasaka, I got a seat on an Ambato bus and before it left the Controller, asked me where I was going.   "Salasaka", I replied.  He said, "One dollar", which is the inflated price to Ambato.  I said nothing and sat there.  When we were on our way he came by and said, "$1".  What about my over 80 discount?  He said  "$1".

It was a great day and now I am back in Salasaka geting ready for my classes on Monday.

Thanks for reading.....If anyone is listening.  Robert.

A New Beginning.

A lot has happened since my last post.  I am still living and working in Salasaka.  However we now are starting a new project in Baños.  Should have a new post on Monday.