2013 Ecuador Semester blog post #3

Jackie and Julia in the workshop
leveling railing posts 

Asha ensuring a clean corner

To say the past week and a half have been a whirlwind of activity would be an understatement. In our last week and half in New England, we have been taking full advantage of the glorious weather and all the resources we have here at Kroka Expeditions. Of course, much of our time has been spent preparing for our trip to Ecuador tomorrow morning, but somehow we managed to fit in many other activities.

Last Monday, we went contra dancing in Nelson! Though it was the first time many of us had been contra dancing, and we degraded a row to confused swinging several times, we had a blast. The locals welcomed us warmly and were kind enough to teach those of us new to contra the rules of the game so that by the end of the evening, even the newest dancers knew how to swing, do-si-do and hay.

Isaiah building the railing with Hugh's guidance

Sonya (blog author) ensuring the perfect fit
of the railing for its base

After our dancing excursion, we spent Tuesday working on our construction project of the week, building a loft for the carriage barn. With the help of Thomas and Hugh, a local carpenter and friend of Kroka, we managed to raise the beams, nail down the floor, and complete most of the railings. The project continued throughout the week and gave us a final goal to look ahead to. Though we weren’t able to meet our goal of finishing the loft and raising the railings, we learned about power tools, measurement and construction.

On Wednesday and Thursday, we turned our energy to the river. Misha took us canoeing on the Ashuelot the first day and the Deerfield the next so we could create a solid skill basis before we hit big

Spencer and Jackie juggling on the water

The happy crew and Misha

waters in Ecuador. The Ashuelot is flat water, so it wasn’t inherently challenging, but Misha made sure we were challenged. The large girth of the river gave us plenty of room to practice different paddling techniques and balance, so it was a perfect place to start our paddling curriculum.

Yarrow exploring the tunnel

Tadeo and Robin jumping in!

The next day, our skills were put to the test on the Deerfield River’s rapids. As on the first day, we spent some time practicing paddling technique, but this time, the focus was on ferrying and bracing, essential skills for white water. The first leg of the journey went by smoothly as the rapids were class two. Those itching for a thrill weren’t let down by the relatively flat water; during a brief respite from paddling, Misha led an exploration into a dark tunnel which was a railroad tunnel built with dynamite in 1877. 

When we got back to the boats, a few adventurous souls squirmed their way up the bridge and made the thirty-foot leap into the water below. Even the people who didn’t jump got a thrill on the last rapids, which were class three and much more challenging than the beginning of the trip.

Friday flew by with preparations for parent weekend. Between cleaning, preparing our presentation and bathing/laundry, it hardly felt like there was a day at all and before we knew it, it was Saturday morning and our parents had arrived. Seeing our families and friends was wonderful, though the collision of our two worlds was very interesting. We had the opportunity to leave Kroka Expeditions and spend a little time away from the group, going into town for lunch with our families or something of the sort. Having time to relax and catch up with our families gave us a new perspective on this semester and our commitment to each other.

When the time came to say goodbye, any of us could have chosen to go home with our families, but we all returned to each other and this life we have been living for the past few weeks. Making this choice has given us a greater sense of commitment and focus. We are going to be together for two and a half more months and in less than 24 hours; we will be in Ecuador together. A new country and a new set of faces, not to mention a new culture and diet, is a huge transition, but knowing how close we are as a group, I have no doubt that we will enter this new phase of our journey gracefully.

We leave tomorrow morning at 5:00 AM. This week of preparation has gone by within the blink of an eye. We went for a spectacular hike up Mount Monadnock on Monday, had Spanish and Permaculture classes and our skills test yesterday, but today it has been nothing but pack, pack, pack. Despite the stress of having to finish our academics, send off the last letters, clean and close down camp, and pack, our excitement is growing by the moment. The next stage of our journey has begun!

Until next time,

            Sonya Buglion Gluck