I got to Quito with my four fifty pound bags and had to sweet talk the guy to let me pass through customs because there are new laws that require special paperwork for donations, oops. Again, for the billionth time in two years, I was shocked and impressed with my smooth Spanish talking skills. I called Ryan from the cab and arrived at his new Quito pad. I was greeted by Ryan, Akul, Elliot and Jason. This overwhelmingly good welcoming was just what I needed to feel back at home in Ecuador.
After a great night with the boys, a day in Quito and a night alone at Ryan’s with the Big Lebowski my sad to leave home mood was out the window and I was ready for some rafting adventures. The next afternoon Jason, Ryan and I headed out to el Chaco. John, Dave and Akul were supposed to be with us, we had bought our tickets early but their taxi got pulled over on the way to the terminal. I was freaking out they weren’t going to make it and trying my best to pull my sweet gringa 
Spanish on the bus driver to convince him to pick them up. He said he only could if they went to the circle called the trebol. I relayed the message to Jason, Jason made the call, they were going to make it - we were calm. Then, upon leaving the terminal, the three boys were there bags ready, smiling faces happy to have made it in time, eager to get on the bus. They were at the wrong circle, I ran up front, I told the bus driver to pick them up, he said he couldn’t, the police didn’t allow it in that spot. He told me to tell them to take a taxi to the trebol, Jason relayed the message, the boys started to run. They ran and they ran through the oxygen-less polluted Quito air, twice they were touching the door of the bus, begging to be let on but the bus driver kept pointing further ahead. Finally, after a good 15 minute jog the boys got on the bus, the whole bus applauded and we were on our way to el Chaco. El Chaco is the entrance to the Amazon rainforest. I was there in September with Carmen, my friend Jeff is a volunteer out that way. Being a good friend of Jeff’s I got to stay in his cabin with some other people from our group, I love his cabin.
Spanish on the bus driver to convince him to pick them up. He said he only could if they went to the circle called the trebol. I relayed the message to Jason, Jason made the call, they were going to make it - we were calm. Then, upon leaving the terminal, the three boys were there bags ready, smiling faces happy to have made it in time, eager to get on the bus. They were at the wrong circle, I ran up front, I told the bus driver to pick them up, he said he couldn’t, the police didn’t allow it in that spot. He told me to tell them to take a taxi to the trebol, Jason relayed the message, the boys started to run. They ran and they ran through the oxygen-less polluted Quito air, twice they were touching the door of the bus, begging to be let on but the bus driver kept pointing further ahead. Finally, after a good 15 minute jog the boys got on the bus, the whole bus applauded and we were on our way to el Chaco. El Chaco is the entrance to the Amazon rainforest. I was there in September with Carmen, my friend Jeff is a volunteer out that way. Being a good friend of Jeff’s I got to stay in his cabin with some other people from our group, I love his cabin.I wrapped a stolen from the hostel where the rest of 
the volunteers were staying white sheet around me into a dress, taped a bunch of condoms to a headband, painted my eyes dark and headed to the 2008 El Chaco Halloween Gringo Fest. Upon arrival I found myself socially awkward when I was expected to mingle with the other groups of volunteers. For whatever reason these groups are called Omnibuses, I am from Omnibus 97. We are now the seniors of Peace Corps Ecuador, suffering from mixed emotions of love for the past, fear of the future and senioritis. Luckily, our Omnibus has really stuck together and I easily found my niche in with my best buds. The gringo fest included Beirut, flip cup, 80s music, a bonfire and even gringo candy! The night was a blast and the pictures are too good. I was Mary Magdalene and sported a nice condom crown, to express her sexual freedom but promote responsibility; my supposed whorish-ness was emphasized by the presence of two Jesus’… why would Mary M only have one? Susan and Jeremy both rocked amazing costumes and are the winners in my book. Susan’s for artistic ability in the construction of an enlarged box of Clos wine, a favorite amongst PC volunteers for its cheap goodness. Jeremy’s was not only creative but political and well done. Go them!
the volunteers were staying white sheet around me into a dress, taped a bunch of condoms to a headband, painted my eyes dark and headed to the 2008 El Chaco Halloween Gringo Fest. Upon arrival I found myself socially awkward when I was expected to mingle with the other groups of volunteers. For whatever reason these groups are called Omnibuses, I am from Omnibus 97. We are now the seniors of Peace Corps Ecuador, suffering from mixed emotions of love for the past, fear of the future and senioritis. Luckily, our Omnibus has really stuck together and I easily found my niche in with my best buds. The gringo fest included Beirut, flip cup, 80s music, a bonfire and even gringo candy! The night was a blast and the pictures are too good. I was Mary Magdalene and sported a nice condom crown, to express her sexual freedom but promote responsibility; my supposed whorish-ness was emphasized by the presence of two Jesus’… why would Mary M only have one? Susan and Jeremy both rocked amazing costumes and are the winners in my book. Susan’s for artistic ability in the construction of an enlarged box of Clos wine, a favorite amongst PC volunteers for its cheap goodness. Jeremy’s was not only creative but political and well done. Go them! The real adventures began the next heavy eyed, too much beer, where did I even get that tequila, morning. Alone, I went to eat breakfast because there is a nice Manabi (my providence) restaurant in el Chaco – I ate encebollado, a fish soup from the coast that is famous for its amazing ability to cure hangovers. Then I met the other volunteers and we headed to the river. I don’t think any of us knew what we were getting ourselves into.
The weather was spectacular and the atmosphere incredible. The scene was like a weekend music festival but seriously missing the good music. The 14 year olds in the Ecua-music cover band almost succeeded in ruining the amazing mood set by the gorgeous surroundings, the good people, the abundance of beer and the friendly competition. The rafting competition involved 18 teams. The first day each team got two chances to qualify for the second day by doing time trials. My team, Balls Deep, formed by Akul, John, Dave, Jason, Mary and I really dominated o
ur first trial run. Balls Deep turned out to be the best name choice of the competition because of the hilarious way it sounds when an Ecuadorian tries to say it. Unfortunately our second run turned out to be rib breaking and shin bruising when we hit a rock and both John and Mary went flying from the boat. We finished with Mary in the boat without a paddle, huddled in the rear and John nowhere to be seen. We later found John in the ambulance but the rib was just bruised, thank goodness. 
The weather was spectacular and the atmosphere incredible. The scene was like a weekend music festival but seriously missing the good music. The 14 year olds in the Ecua-music cover band almost succeeded in ruining the amazing mood set by the gorgeous surroundings, the good people, the abundance of beer and the friendly competition. The rafting competition involved 18 teams. The first day each team got two chances to qualify for the second day by doing time trials. My team, Balls Deep, formed by Akul, John, Dave, Jason, Mary and I really dominated o
ur first trial run. Balls Deep turned out to be the best name choice of the competition because of the hilarious way it sounds when an Ecuadorian tries to say it. Unfortunately our second run turned out to be rib breaking and shin bruising when we hit a rock and both John and Mary went flying from the boat. We finished with Mary in the boat without a paddle, huddled in the rear and John nowhere to be seen. We later found John in the ambulance but the rib was just bruised, thank goodness. 
15 of the teams qualified for Sunday, round 2. We were team 15. The tournament was divided into 3 heats of 5 boats each. Time was the ultimate deciding factor but the presence of other boats presented a new challenge and a clearer sense of competition. The el Chaco dump truck loaded all of the participants in the third heat to the starting point up river, during this smelly bumpy trip it started to rain. After waiting in a torrential Amazon down pour under a banana tree huddled together for the boats to arrive, Balls Deep gathered together. With goose bumps and blue lips we got refocused and entered the river which had increased in velocity due to heavy rains. Being serious competitors we considered this positive, high waters giving us a clear advantage. With Ryan as Johns’ replacement, Balls Deep entered the river. Dave’s D1 cheering and our Balls Deep smooth rhythm pulled us in front of the pack. Seriously, this part of the race felt so incredibly good, we were so positive so strong, so smooth. Another boat pulled next to us but their rhythm was off, as we started to gain on them again we were confident we were going to win the heat. The guide was cheering, I was ecstatic, Dave continued his coach-like encouragements: push it Ryan, yeah, you got it Jason, Dig Akul, keep it up Mo, etc.
Then disaster struck, or rather when trying to avoid hitting the other boat we struck a rock. Upon impact our guide, Jason and Akul all flew out. Our boat started to wrap round the rock and fill with water, the side of the boat upstream quickly disappeared and the water rose to my chest. I clenched with my legs and looked up to see the next boat coming straight at me and fear rose as the boat covered me. I thought I was going to suffocate, I pushed with all my might, the boat disappeared, flipped and with it 6 other volunteers were in the water, paddles everywhere. I took my paddle and paddled backwards, Dave and Ryan paddled forward, adrenaline kicked in. We were suddenly free from the rock, the boat spun out and we were heading down river, no guide, missing three people. Since this event I have seriously considered becoming an emergency room doctor. I saw our guide in the water, I grabbed the bag of save people rope and looked to Akul, I yelled to him, but he never turned around, I turned to Lindsay, she was flying down the river, a pale white look of fear on her face, I was standing with my knees balanced on the side of the raft, I wanted to save her. I saw her as her back hit a rock and she flew like a rag doll down a two foot drop. I called to her, she was going head first down the rapids, she wouldn’t turn around. I turned to the guide; he was swimming toward the boat. He told me to get out of the way, he reached the boat. In one huge burst of strength I ripped the guide into the boat, he looked at me surprised and grabbed a paddle. Then I saw another volunteer Jon, I reached down and pulled him into the boat.
Then disaster struck, or rather when trying to avoid hitting the other boat we struck a rock. Upon impact our guide, Jason and Akul all flew out. Our boat started to wrap round the rock and fill with water, the side of the boat upstream quickly disappeared and the water rose to my chest. I clenched with my legs and looked up to see the next boat coming straight at me and fear rose as the boat covered me. I thought I was going to suffocate, I pushed with all my might, the boat disappeared, flipped and with it 6 other volunteers were in the water, paddles everywhere. I took my paddle and paddled backwards, Dave and Ryan paddled forward, adrenaline kicked in. We were suddenly free from the rock, the boat spun out and we were heading down river, no guide, missing three people. Since this event I have seriously considered becoming an emergency room doctor. I saw our guide in the water, I grabbed the bag of save people rope and looked to Akul, I yelled to him, but he never turned around, I turned to Lindsay, she was flying down the river, a pale white look of fear on her face, I was standing with my knees balanced on the side of the raft, I wanted to save her. I saw her as her back hit a rock and she flew like a rag doll down a two foot drop. I called to her, she was going head first down the rapids, she wouldn’t turn around. I turned to the guide; he was swimming toward the boat. He told me to get out of the way, he reached the boat. In one huge burst of strength I ripped the guide into the boat, he looked at me surprised and grabbed a paddle. Then I saw another volunteer Jon, I reached down and pulled him into the boat.
We paddled strong to the shore. We were minus two rafters on our team and plus one from another team. Needless to say we were disqualified. But, we were alive and Akul even found his shoe while he was floating down river. I was shaking as I walked toward our little tent, my adrenaline rush leaving me feeling week. Clay came over to me with an intense look of concern and muttered “Andrea, I really thought we
were going to kill you”. Minutes later, Wilson, the guide from Clay’s boat that had crashed into me, came over and apologized “I am so sorry, I thought we were really going to kill you”, but in Spanish. All in all, the competition was really a blast but I think the rock won, turns out it was the same rock that had put John in an ace wrap the day before. An Ecuadorian team won the competition and Peace Corps teams came in 2nd and 3rd. The 2nd place team actual didn’t deserve the win but the guide had mixed up and noted someone else’s time as theirs. The volunteers tried to give back the money… hilarious.Even though I apparently almost died, the weekend in El Chaco goes down as one of the best during my time in Ecuador. I was surrounded by good friends, I got to dress up, dance, be competitive and be in one of the most beautiful places around. The people of el Chaco are really incredible, the scenery breathtaking and the times good. It really might be the best place on earth.
Sounds nuts. Glad it was only a bruised rib... still painful though... YIKES.
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