Eco-Ecuador Dispatches
Writings by Peter Berg on the Eco-Ecuador project.
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Ecuador is undergoing a political transformation of undeniably profound and long-lasting significance. As with most South American countries this is a time of widespread change and realignment for many reasons, but in Ecuador there is an additional uniquely internal factor that stands out above all others. It is rewriting the national constitution. President Rafael Correa put the issue of constitutional reform […]
March 8-21. 2008 Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Saturday, March 8, 2008 The weather is either hot and moist or hot, moist and slightly breezy. At Jacob Santos’ B&B mornings bring fruit, fruit juice, scrambled eggs, rolls and coffee. Fresh pineapple with banana yesterday and pineapple with watermelon today. Took a walk for the first time this morning. Not too far, but a nice amount. The […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador At this moment hundreds of thousands of tons of water hyacinths are floating down Ecuadorean rivers headed for the coast. Heavy rains that flooded out the shallow places where they overgrew during summer and fall have loosened stalks and leaves in long drifting lines that now artfully illustrate the river current. Occasionally there are large patches of plants that tore away […]
Hola, The following is a report excerpted from letters by Judy Goldhaft that may be the closest we get to the usual Dispatch before leaving early Wednesday morning. P & J Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Subject: News from Ecuador 9/12/07 Yesterday Ecuador’s President Correa came down to do a presentation of some federal funding and a ribbon -cutting ceremony for a new bridge that will cross the […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador After many delays due to rain and unavailability of people or horses, Clay and I finally made a second trip to the village of Pajonal for the purpose of riding over the most promising road site to the Planet Drum land. We began to encounter the usual obstacles immediately. At the outset there was only one horse and one burro for […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Whenever I return to Ecuador the first real taste of the country is the Guayaquil bus terminal (terminal terrestre). Serving the biggest city in the country, it feels like the commercial district of a uniquely busy small town of its own because there are thousands of people and hundreds of seemingly permanent features such as import and export delivery businesses, vendors, […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador There is an intriguing cultural paradox mixed in with the conflicted assortment of values and human experience that have evolved from contemporary globalism. How can there be “world” identity and preservation of diverse cultures at the same time? Eating fusion-nationality food, working as an importer of flowers from Ecuador, discussing Saudi Arabian Islamism, wearing running shoes made in China and a shirt […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador August rain is nearly unheard of during the desert-like dryness of summer and fall in Bahia de Caraquez and the State of Manabi. So when there was a week of it last month with two days of memorable monsoon downpour people were bewildered and out of their confusion sprouted divergent theories. One universally understood truth is that this is Ecuador where […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador The rainy season finally began at the end of January this year, late but potent. Only six weeks later the hills have been completely transformed from dust blurred brown-orange to wet vibrant green. Vine tendrils hang like searching snakes from trees and slink across paths. The ground is in a constant saturated state ranging from clutching mud that weighs down shoes […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador When I met a journalist on the street who told me she was now working at a pharmacy I didn’t immediately register what a contrast that was. It wasn’t surprising then because people in Bahia change jobs fairly frequently. I walked on thinking that her upbeat personality was suited to either position. Later I thought more deeply about how often they […]