Live News Update 2006 - Inca Venture Team 42

Latest news:

1st June 2006 Inca Venture 42 are in Chile. They have finished their language school and project work in Ecuador and have already completed the Santa Cruz trek in the Cordillera Blanca. Next stop is the Atacama Desert in Chile.

The Team:

Extract from our diaries:

From: David Miller and Joe Reeder
Sent: 25 May 2006 04:42
To: VentureCo HQ
Subject: Inca 42: Week 2 expedition phase

We began the week in Mancora, a tiny little coast town with not much to offer except cheap food, waves and football opponents. Needless to say we made extensive use of all three. Surfing lessons for the group produced two reactions, frustraion and exhilaration with many spending the entire time chasing waves to no avail, whilst the minority (including yours truly) caught one and became hooked.

Huanchaco effected some of us deeply, with Des and me having a new respect for surfers after coming off the worse after a brush with some rocks and a fishing net, while many of the lads got to experience a chopp for the first time. George's time in Huanchaco was one discovery, finding the best cuba libre of the trip so far and also a novel way of raising some cash, involving a razor, his right eyebrow and 30 sols.

Confusion marked the girls stay in Huanchaco, over the moon with their purchases of local jewellery and as a means of celebration they found a little restaurant with an interesting menu; Gordon Blues loin and Pancake with White Plate was consumed with much mirth.

The two days before Santa Cruz Trek were filled with preparations for the hike and experiencing the nightlife of Wilson's home turf, Huaraz. After gathering up supplies in a ´Supermarket Sweep´ style spree the trek began after a winding journey up the mountain. The landslides on the road failed to hinder our determination and spirit and we began he arduous journey up the mountains and through the valleys. The day went reasonably well though a few people struggled to adjust to the change in altitude, but still everyone struggled on to finish up at base camp. Overall a fairly successful day, the views were breathtaking and well worth the hard work that ensued.

David and Joe

A brief report on the Quito Greenhouse Project
April to May 2006

After having just finished three weeks of language school in Quito and having had a good party and a night on a Chiva bus to say farewell, I believe the group were feeling quite refreshed and were eagerly waiting to test out their newly learnt Spanish on the project . The project we were doing involved building a greenhouse at a local primary school so as to benefit the school and its community by enabling them to grow healthy organic foods which would help improve the diets of the school children.

We stayed with host families during the project which was great as the whole combination of living and working with locals in the city is a brilliant experience which helps you integrate better, improve your Spanish heaps and enjoy life more in the city as you get to know people in the community. The night life in Quito is also fab as the city has a wide range of bars, discotecas and salsa clubs to offer, so you never get bored in your spare time! On the first day of project we met Leo and Diana our foremen, guides and friends throughout project who are the best people ever. They make you feel really welcome right from day one and are also bags of fun and laughs to work with, especially Leo whose laugh we will never forget! The children we met in the local school where we worked were all such gems too as they will happily play with you and talk to you about anything during work breaks.

The first week during the project consisted of stipping down the bark of the wooden tree poles in preparation for oiling them to protect them. This was all done by hand of course, with minimal tools and pocket penknife saws as the previous group was still using most of the other tools. Oh, how we missed not having a good Black & Decker to do it in two seconds at times but alas, we prevailed! We also managed to measure up and cut the poles to size as well as placing them in the newly dug holes and secureing them in foundations of rock and concrete. We spent most of the second week cutting the roof poles and tiles to size followed by securing it on with hammers and nails which was pretty tough work that resulted in a number of bent nails in places as some of our group had obviously never used hammers before!

The third week, we cut the thermal plastics to size and secured this round all the greenhouse by which time the whole thing was really starting to take shape and we were already snap happy mad, taking loads of photos of our progress! Towards the end of the third week and through the fourth week we built a water tower, irrgation system and a wormery to help provide and maintain good soil for the plants. We also had time to paint two murals on the walls in the school playground to help improve the appearance of the school and educate the children. The first mural we painted was a World map with all the labeled continents and native animals associated with them. The second was a super cool looking vegetable rock band playing inside a greenhouse! Thank goodness for the two with such great artistic talents in our group, (Sian and Felicity), we may not have managed without you.

All the way through we were guided and taught by Diana & Leo whom we laughed and joked with all the way as well as going on weekends and evenings out with them which included going to see "La Liga" the best football team in Ecuador (they won 4-0, GO LIGA!), and a visit to a forest reserve in Pasochoa as well as visiting several museums, churches and historical buildings in old Quito.

Leaving the project and saying our farewells to people we love in the last few days (our guides, the children, host families etc...) was probably the hardest part of that month as it is quite surprising how quick you learn spanish and get to know people on the project and in the community. On the last day of project, the school we worked in very kindly thanked us with certificates in an eloquent leaving assembly attended by everyone in the school which was another kind touching moment the group will never forget! Our guides (Diana & Leo), familys and the school teachers and children all made us feel very welcome throughout project and helped us heaps which added to making the whole month a great experience. We all loved staying in Quito and grew quite familiar with the City, especially our regular bar Patatus which we all have very fond memories off, but are now looking forward to starting expedition next week!

By Stephen Egas-Kitchener