Life on the Hacienda

My day starts like any other in Ecuador, with the ubiquitous crow of a rooster. Of course, that's also how my day ends, since--as I've learned on the Hacienda--roosters do not only crow in the morning, but all day long.

Life here is fairly vanilla, in fact, if I were surrounded by Maple or Walnut trees instead of Guava, I may forget that I was even in the Galápagos. In many ways, living here is like living on any other farm you would find in the States or Europe. We rise early, milk the cows, saddle up the horses, and get to work.

Our work here is mostly clearing of invasive species and farming. Our ultimate goal is to restore the land to it's native state, hence creating a natural habitat for Giant Tortoises. This means that most of our work is trudging through Elephant Grass to fell Guava trees, hacking away at endless patches of Black Raspberry (the same one that rings our yard back home in PA), or digging holes and planting various endemic and native plants. We also run many gardens that supply food to the surrounding communities, educate the locals about conservation, and help local children with disabilities.

My days are long, filled with hard work, and close with an early bedtime. We cook our own food, and I spend my free time lounging in a hammock with my nose in a book, listening to the mooing cows or screaming donkeys. Before coming here I had no idea what a donkey actually sounds like... now I can say that it is not the old childhood "eeh, aww" we all learned, but more of a murderous, blood curdling scream. It really sounds like someone is torturing these poor animals 24/7. 

The next two days here are Carnaval, which includes a big parade in the street where people will run around throwing flour, water balloons, and rotten eggs at you. Unfortunately I will not be partaking in the festivities due to the nonstop rain. We are now in the 83rd hour of massive rainstorm here, where we have been in a complete deluge without more than 30 minutes of respite for the past few days.

Hopefully now that there are fewer people at the Hacienda I can get some pictures of our work and accomodations soon. Until that point, I bid you all farewell, and will be heading back to take care of the cows and chickens!