Goat parking

Padre Chupa

I continue to discover new shades of green amidst the patchwork, rolling hills and ravines of the Andean ´sierra' region. Otavalo is situated in the midst of various volcanoes and their respective hills and small mountains. The topography makes transportation a real issue in accessing healthcare, though buses, trucks delivering gas, and even potatoe venders make the trek to surprisingly distant communities. And though bouncy to say the least, my charge of meeting with community leaders and school presidents before the upcoming health brigades has been a real treat. Accompanied by an impossibly sweet cab driver - the best grandfather character and a wonderful conversation parter, I´ve hopped around to a handful of the communities we will be visiting, to deliver letters and concrete information as to when the bus full of medications, doctors, and a guitar will be appearing. As Tandana has longstanding relationships with all these communities my job has been very easy, the hardest part being tracking down presidents living in communities with no cell service. Luckily, when lost and asking for directions from the man wrangling his horse in the driveway, sometimes you that very man is the president.

Beautiful traditional women´s wear + reproductive health

As preping for the health brigades has ramped up, I´ve said goodbye to my lovely hosts at a number of health centers. As per usual, the most interesting of these departures was with the nurse Mercedes, who was doing another training with local midwifes, this time on pregnancy risks and warning signs.The training started with a video, describing conception and quickly segwaying to a horrifyingly graphic and propogandized piece on abortion, produced by the Catholic church. Eventually the head doctor at this clinic ran out of the room, returning with a different video, which actually pertained to pregnancy risks. I´m still not sure if it was an honest mistake or an intentional move.

Yesterday, I luxuriously emerged from my now-pretty-smelly-sleeping bag to find the sun shining and the puppy playing. It was awesome, particularly after a week straight of gloom and rain, thanks to my oh so romantic description of the harsher weather. Like a dummy, I left the house with not a jacket nor rain coat, relishing the rays of sunshine (and getting sunburned) and freezing from 2pm on when the downpour began. The day epitmozed the weather here - no month-based seasons but all possible weather within any given day.

In a few weeks I´ll be leaving here, and as always is the case, I'm now more than ever 'at home' with my family and finding friends in the community. Though my routines feel normal and Otavalo familiar, stills from the community and town continue to capture my attention :

Post-market goat parking

Happy St. Patrick's Day!