Lago Yahuarcocha

Domingo, 9 de mayo, 2010

Boats on Lago Yahaaurcocha

At 2:00 p.m. sharp Marcello, Viviana, and David showed up for our trip to Lago Yahuarcocha. Marcello lived in Belgium for a year and thus treats time differently than a lot of Ecuadorians. We hopped in the car and away we went.

David at Bow

Macello, Marilyn, Viviana, Glenn y David

Egret y Patos

Mountains and Sky

The day was beautiful, especially after all the rain we’d been having. The beauty of the lake matched the beauty of the day, with brightly colored paddleboats, tour boats, and different shore birds decorating the slate blue waters encircled by vibrantly green mountains. The paddleboats were not like the utilitarian paddleboats we see so often. These were much bigger, and they were in the shapes of swans, ducks, turtles, and dragons. We even saw a whale. We took a tour boat and had a wonderful ride around the lake. Getting in was quite exciting for me. There was a space in the front a little bigger than my silla de ruedas (wheelchair) and four or five people lifted me (wheelchair and all) up one foot over the gunwale and then down three feet to “my space”. Marcello and David sat on the bow, while Marilyn and Viviana sat in chairs near me. Of course, Marilyn was back and forth between her seat and the bow.

The tour around the lake was magnificent. When we got near the shoreline, we could see coots, egrets, and ibises. When we were too far away to see water birds, our eyes could wander up the rich green slopes of the mountains. And, of course, when our eyes wandered even further upwards, they were rewarded with a deep blue sky highlighted by fluffy white clouds.

After the boat ride, it was time to eat tilapia. We were going to stop at the place Blanca and Luis took us because we knew it to be safe, but Marcello vetoed that and directed us to a tienda in the pueblo of Yahuarcocha. OK, we didn’t get sick when we ate fish at their house. Guess he knows what he’s doing. The tilapia was great, and so was the company.

After we ate, we drove around the rest of the lake before doing what we nearly always do when we’re in or near Ibarra – stop at Rosalia Suarez’s for helado (ice cream). Perfect end to a perfect outing.

When we returned to Otavalo, Marilyn decided to take our guests home instead of dropping them at the hotel and letting them walk. They kept protesting, and we couldn’t figure out why. Finally, we understood. Marcello works in Ibarra. He leaves home early and returns late. This would be the last chance for four-year-old David to play in the área de juegos (playground) with his father on the hotel grounds. Our offered ride home paled by comparison.

Viviana

Martes, 11 de mayo del 2010

Yesterday, when Marilyn found out she wouldn’t be able to teach class at Huaycopungo today because of a strike in the community, she arranged with Isabel to take the whole family to Lago Yahuarcocha, near Ibarra, at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. I was a little disappointed we weren’t going somewhere different, especially since we had just been there on Sunday. But it turned out to be the perfect salve for our wounds over having to put Cuatro down. Cuatro was a stray dog Marilyn wanted badly to rescue and place in a nice home. I had her put him down because I felt he was too aggressive and I was afraid he’d bite someone at the hotel.

We were a little late leaving, and picked up Isabel, Brayan, and Victoria at about 2:15. Elvis couldn’t get home from the university in Ibarra in time, so we arranged to meet him there.

Not far out of Otavalo, the police directed us off the Pan American highway to a road that would take us part way up Volcán Imbabura to the antigua carreterra (old highway). Groups of indigenous people were protesting a new water law by blocking the main highway to Ibarra. As we traveled along the antigua carreterra, we went around some rocks that were being placed in the road and I vaguely wondered if we’d be able to get back to Otavalo. After a few miles, the police directed us back down to the Pan American highway.

Victoria

Isabel y Marilyn

We reached Ibarra without incident, picked up Elvis, and went on to Lago Yahuarcocha. The weather was perfect, but, because most people only go on Sábado y Domingo, the lake’s tour boats were not operating. We both had our hearts set on that, because we had enjoyed it so much on Sunday. Marilyn figured they might take a boat out for six people, so she asked around. Sure enough, there was a person willing to take us.

As on Domingo, I was lifted, wheelchair and all, into the boat. Victoria sat in a seat near me, and the rest alternated between the seats and the bow of the boat, sitting mostly in the bow. Isabel’s two sons, of course, stayed in the bow.

Lots of Birds

Because there were far fewer people there than on weekends, we saw more birds – egrets, ducks, ibises, and common gallinas (what I would call common coots). The boat operator also took us nearer the shore than the operator had done on Domingo. Marilyn got some great photos.

After the boat ride, Marilyn and I were surprised to find that none of the family had ever taken the boat tour at Lago Yahuarcocha. It’s less than 20 miles away from Otavalo, but when you don’t have a car or a lot of resources, even that is out of reach.

We then walked along the lakeshore. I was surprised at how far Victoria, who has cancer and is a little frail, was able to walk. When we sensed she was beginning to tire, Marilyn went back and got the car while the rest of us walked on to a place where we could sit.

Isabel, Elvis, Glenn, Marin, y Victoria

When Marilyn and the car arrived, we drove on to find a tienda where we could eat tilapia. Our first choice, where we had eaten with Blanca y Luis, said they were only open on Sábado y Domingo. So we went to our second choice, where we had eaten on Domingo con Marcello, Viviana, y David. Marilyn and I decided to share a tilapia, and Isabel knew Brayan couldn’t eat a whole one, so we ordered four tilapias among the six of us. They were huge! Marilyn and I barely ate all of ours, and none of the rest were totally consumed. They went home in go-bags.

We finished driving around the lake and then headed for our lugar favorito por helados (favorite place for ice cream), Rosalia Suarez in Ibarra, as if we really needed anything more to eat after all that tilapia. Indeed, I had a hard time finishing mine. But, hey, it’s helado! What else could I do?

Brayan y Victoria

On the way home, we didn’t have to get off the Pan American highway. There were no protestors after dark. But there were rocks lining the road in preparation for blockages the next day. We had been fortunate enough to squeeze through a small window of opportunity to have a fine time, in a fine place, with some fine friends.

Once we got back to nuestros habitación (our room), we started thinking about Cuatro again. Sadness descended once more. We went to bed early to try not to think about it. Even though I thought it had been necessary to put Cuatro to sleep, we both felt an acute sense of loss.

Cuatro

--Glenn Hebert