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| Chota valley - back yard |
Ibarra, the nearest city to Chota, is approximately 400km (258 miles) north of Quito. I have been there three times, most recently on Monday, accompanied by Oscar, Sandra's father, to purchase supplies for restoring the old brick and concrete house we will be staying in until we complete the construction of a new naturally-built house. Guillermo, Sanda's sister's husband's father, is an architect and he had called Patricio, a worker whom he regularly contracts, to see if he would be interested in working for us, which he was, so Ana Lucia, Sandra's sister's husband's mother, took all four of us -- herself, Patricio, Oscar and I -- around Ibarra to find the necessary supplies.
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| Chota valley - roof damaged by overgrown mango tree |
The restoration consists mostly of cleaning and repairing minor damage, sealing small holes in the walls, the ceiling and beneath the doors in order to keep bugs out, and replacing window glass. The complete list of supplies, which we were able to purchase for a total of $300 dollars, is: glass cut to measure for the windows ($33,00); light switches and electrical outlet ($13,38); paint ($99,10); fibrocement boards for covering up unused doorways ($30,65); cement and black silicon sealant ($64,78); screws ($2,80); water pipes including connectors, shoulders, and faucet ($12,05); german locks for the doors ($20,19); and a rented scaffolding ($6,25). In addition there were three or four other purchases, such as sand for the cement, that didn't have receipts. Though the list is short there were a lot of matierials and we could not possibly have fit all of them inside Ana Lucia's chevrolet station wagon. Instead we hired a pickup for $20 to transport us from Ibarra to the worksite in Chota, and from there caught the bus back to Quito at the end of the day.
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| Chota valley - restoration pantry |
Manual labor in Ecuador works on a week-based system. There is no estimate up front, just a figure representing a weekly price. That amount doesn't change if work is added or unseen problems crop up, however if the added work is too much to complete in one week an additional week must be paid or unfinished work be left to bear. For us, for this restoration, Patricio's fee was $150, bringing our total expenditures to $470.
A quick note about the property. As of today there is no connection to any utility on the property itself. The utility companies are obliged by law to draw lines as far as the property limit if we ask them, which we have, and I suspect the connections will be up by the end of this month. Provided that this is the case, we will have to hook up the plumbing and electricity ourselves before moving into the house.
There will be other work for us as well considering we have either to make or buy furniture (simple shelving, bed frames) and build a frame for mosquito grille around the outdoor kitchen area, which under the current plan is the rear veranda with a view taking in the other side of the valley across the river and the mountains beyond. It is such a beautiful view as I have never had before from a kitchen.
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| Chota valley - restoration roof |
This Friday Oscar and I will be returning to Chota to view the restorations and pay Patricio. The trip is a long one to make three times in a week (besides Monday I was down on Saturday to meet Patricio, explain the work we wanted him to do, and make a list of measurements and materials) so thankfully between the taxi to the north station of Quito and the bus from Quito to Ibarra the price is only $15 round-trip. The distance is far from the hardest part: the serpentine mountain roads and large altitude change (1,000m / 700 miles plus) are much more difficult to bear. The bus ride always twists my stomach into knots and recently Oscar told me he felt sea-sick as we climbed up the highway to Quito on Monday's return trip. At least from the bus-seats one cannot see out beyond the windshield. Ana Lucia drove us to Ibarra Sunday night and we left Quito just as the mountain mists began to roll over the highway. For the entire trip we could not see more than a few dozen meters ahead, shorter still in headlight glare from oncoming traffic, and where the mist was thick we had to squint at the reflectors to mark the lanes. All of which would have been much less frightening off of the winding mountain roads with endless U shaped corners swerving around obscured precipices.
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| Chota valley - restored main room |
I have a lot more I want to tell about the land in Chota, the people we have met, the conditions of our project, how it feels to be doing this… For now however this will serve as a first update. I fear I have not been practicing my writing as I ought to have been and this text is horribly chaotic and makes for difficult reading. If you have any questions about anything, related to the update or otherwise, please ask them as your curiosty leads you and I will try my best to include an answer in the next update or in direct reply to you. I apologise for the time it has taken me to write such a simple thing. I foolishly expected to have enough time to care for an infant, watch a toddler, study spanish, practice saxophone, take care of myself and Sandra, manage the restoration of the house in Chota, complete the visa application process, look for a car, find a healthcare provider, and write.
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