Nick and Tanner visit a small village that has been affected by a recent volcanic eruption to see if they can offer some help.

We spend a bunch of our UNIDO money on dust masks and eyewash and pack our stuff for a trip to Riobamba.  Tungurahua erupted while we were in Zapallo Grande, spewing large amounts of ash across the country, reaching as far as Guayaquil.  All domestic air travel was suspended, and many roads were closed.  Nick and I have a couple of days to kill before we fly back to CA, so we get in touch with a friend of the Welty’s who lives in a small village called Pichan, just outside of Riobamba. 

The bus ride to Riobamba offers fantastic views of Cotopaxi, and we begin to see the effects of the ash (‘la ceniza’) everywhere as we get closer and closer.  Many sections of the road are closed, as they are blocked with piles of ash and debrid from rockfall. 

We check into a very nice hotel, wearing dust masks as we walk the streets of Riobamba checking out the nightlife.  True to our style, we survive just fine without the women, however there are plenty of small mishaps along the way.  We grab a meal at the Switz Diner, though their appears to be nothing Swiss about it other than the misspelled name on the front door.  For the second time, someone mistakes us for French tourists – perhaps the lack of American tourists in these parts of Ecuador I the reason.  We order off the menu under a section that says ‘a la carte’.  Since the prices are so cheap, we assume that the portions are small, therefore we order a plate of chicken and two other plates of meat.  Apparently ‘a la carte’ has a different meaning to the Switz, and we are stuck stuffing ourselves with another ‘monton de carne’.

The next day, we are picked up at our hotel by Bladimer and his three-year old son, Nathan (pronounced like ‘baton’), along with a friend who appears to own the truck they are driving.  We ride in the back of the truck while they get some shopping done in the market.  We proceed up to Pichan, where Bladimer and his family lives at the local church.  Today is a ‘minda’, which means a group work day.  On these days, the whole community is expected to come together and work.  They are busy building an addition to the church.  After some arguments, Bladimer keeps trying to feed us, we convince him that we came to work and not to eat.  We head up the hill with the truck and commence work harvesting potatoes.

Tanner giving Nathan a recently harvested potato.

The ash is everywhere, and we wear the dust masks as much as possible, though it's impossible to hold a conversation with them on, expecially our broken spanish.  Perhaps the most interesting conversation ocurred when Bladimer asked us what religion we were.  We often have a hard time explaining that one in english, so after some dictionary consulting, Bladimer seems satisfied. 

The ash coats everything with a thin layer.  If the livestock (many pigs and cows) get too much of the ash in their system, their GI tract gets clogged (it turns into a cement-like substance when wet) and the animals die.  There are thousands of families like Bladimer's who will be going through some very tough times in the near future. 

The kids of Pichan could not stop smiling at the gringos.

After a lunch of potatoes, onions, roasted corn, and an oatmeal-like drink, we head back down to the church.  The kids are constantly entertaining us as we help them tie rebar and pour cement.  Everyone is in high spirits, and I here laughter more often than I hear hammering. 

-Tanner