PRODECI - EWB, ECUADOR 2010

Ecuador by Bicycle

2010-11-05T07:21:00.000-07:00

Week 15: Holiday Time

After the busy construction period it felt a good time to take some time off and see a bit more of the country. Kitted out with maps from the Instituto Geographico Militar (located on the hillside just east of the Parque Ejido next to the white dome of the Observatory - you can't miss it), a mountain bike from the Biking Dutchman in Quito (hired at $15 a day www.bikingdutchman.com/) and a pair of goggles more apt for a world war one pilot, I hit the road.

Using a mixture of pedal power, gravity and buses I travelled some 500 km through Ecuador's diverse terrain (equivalent to the distance of London to Glasgow as the crow flies); taking on the dusty and cobbled mountain roads through indigenous Quichua communities up to the spectacular Quilotoa lake, rattling down the side of Ecuador's highest snow covered peak Volcan Chimborazo and battling the heat on the tarmac road through the jungle on the waterfall laden route from Baños. 12 days later I return to Quito with knees aching, but refreshed... If you want to learn more or are a cyclist planning a route through Ecuador read on;

Day 1 - 2: Cobblestones and Llamas

SIGCHOS (2800m) to LATACUNGA (2800m) via Laguna QUILOTOA (3914m)

101 km

After battling the fumigating Trole buses through QUITO's old town, a bus from the city's glass fronted modern southern terminal Quintumbe takes me first to LATACUNGA, 100km and 1 1/2 hours south, from where I get a bus to the small town of SIGCHOS (note there are no direct buses from LASSO on the Panamericana as you might expect).

SIGCHOS, 50km to the west of the Panamericana, at 2800m is at the start of the "Quliotoa Loop". A lovely tarmac road winds its way up out of LATACUNGA and reaches a pass at (Xm) before descending into a valley carved out by the river (X). The newly surfaced road would make a lovely downhill run on the bike, but is greeted by a tough uphill on cobbled roads to SIGCHOS.

My cycling starts with a 23km bumpy and largely uphill ride (photo, above left) arriving into the small village of CHUGCHILAN at 3200m by nightfall. Despite the rocky route the view across the valley to the east is astounding, with the Volcan COTOPAXI visible on the horizon (below).

After a good night's rest, the road onwards to the Laguna QUILOTOA starts with some nice downhill stretches before making a steep climb towards the volcanic crater that holds the lake. The road surface becomes more solid and smooth after CHUGCHILAN and the aroma from pine trees shading the route fills the warm air. This fairly remote area is home to Quichua speakers heavily dependent on farming. On the road I pause to let a herd of sheep pass, with llamas in tow.

Just as I think I've reached the highest point on the route, the road dramatically cuts its way down across an almost moonscape valley - the road hugging chalk like rockfaces. The subsequent climb up to the lake (at 3914m) is rewarded with stunning views over the massive expanse of crystal blue-green waters (below), some 22km from CHUGCHILAN. A hike can take you around the ridge of the crater in 4 to 5 hours.

At the time of writing the mostly downhill road onwards from Lago QUILOTOA to the town of ZUMBAHUA (3800m) is in the process of being resurfaced. Clouds descended to cover the 14km bumpy route, as "volquetas" (trucks carrying roadstone) bumbled their way past me engulfing the air in thick plumes of dust. Aligning the road water gushes through open channels that the locals use directly for washing and laundary - using large stones and brute force. The reward at the end of the road is the sight of ZUMBUHUA (3800m) nesteld amongst jagged peaks (below).

After ZUMBUHUA climbs a wonderfully tarmaced road as the scenery becomes more desolate (below).

With rain beginning to thrash down I take a ride with a "camioneta" (a truck with a tarpoulined cover to transport my bike) up to "Control Millin", which is the highest point on the pass between ZUMBUHUA and LATACUNGA. From there it is the most beautiful 42km ride all downhill into LATACUNGA, via PUJILI. With the rain clearing, after the bumpy and rocky roads the smoothness of the asphalt is pure bliss (below).

Day 3: Downhill Adrenalin
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COTOPAXI (4500m)
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22km
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I can highly recommend the Biking Dutchman's trip to COTOPAXI volcano - even just for the superb picnic lunches on route. Located 30 minutes north of LATACUNGA, at the main entrance to the park off the Panamericana Highway I met the jeep that takes you and the bikes up to the snow line of the volcano at 4500m.

The route is ALL downhill back to the park's entrance along a fairly rutted dirt road that leaves your arms feeling like jelly afterwards.

Our tour takes in a detour to some Inca ruins and passes across a wide expanse created by the flows of "lahar" (a mixture of mud, rock and debris) from the volcano (below). In 1877 a lahar flow reached the pacific ocean in under 2 days, some 250km to the north, which demonstrates the velocity they can reach. Volcan Cotopaxi twice destroyed the nearby city of LATACUNGA in the 18th century. There are various translations for the name COTOPAXI, from "neck of the moon", "broken neck" to "headless poncho".

Day 4: Best Cycle Ride in Ecuador?
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CHIMBORAZO (4800m) downhill to AMBATO (2577m)
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70km

As part of the Biking Dutchman's two day tour a night is spent in the old railway station at URBINA, 1 1/2 hours south of LATACUNGA and just beyond AMBATO, offering stunning view's of Ecuador's highest mountain: Volcan CHIMBORAZO at 6310m. The next morning the jeep takes us up the mountain's first refuge at 4800m, passing through an almost desert landscape (below).
I found a translation for the name CHIMBORAZO as "the snowy pass" (from the Quichua "chimbana", "to cross" and "razu", "to snow").

I learn about the arduous work of cutting and collecting ice from the volcanoes glaciers for selling in the markets of Riobamba some 40km away. This practice is now becoming a thing of the past, whilst the glaciers themselves are receding. Caroline Bennett of Global Post makes an account of "Ecuador's last ice man". Take a look at; www.globalpost.com/dispatch/the-americas/100112/ice-man-chimborazo, where a short video can be viewed.

If you want to test out your lungs you can make the walk up to the second refuge at 5000m before starting the ride. When we left the first refuge it had begun to snow and the road was quickly covered in dense cloud. The track down is much smoother than at COTOPAXI. Goggles are desperately needed as ice attacks my face like needles.

Out of the cloud, a gravel road up at 4200m cuts its way through the desert landscape until reaching the main road between AMBATO and GUARANDA (above left). After a few more kms, we turn off onto a secondary road that follows the Ambato river into AMBATO. This tarmac section of the ride is again ALL downhill and was the moste beautiful cycle ride that I have ever taken - the road zig-zags its way through outstanding valley scenery (above right). As the valley narrows, the road is hemmed in by steep rock faces on either side - even passing under overhangs. With gravity as your aid it is probably my favourite ride in all of Ecuador.

70km later I arrive into the bustling city of AMBATO and find a bus to get to RIOBAMBA for the night (1 hour south).

Day 5: Cloud-covered Mountain Pass
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SAN JUAN (3400m) to GUARANDA (2650m)
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50km

I start the ride over to GUARANDA in the western part of the highlands from the small town of SAN JUAN, just outside of RIOBAMBA - which serves some of the best "almuerzos" (lunches) that I have had in all of Ecuador. The scenery is majestic - rolling green hills in all directions (above). There is an untarmaced, but firm scenic road onto SAN JUAN, which starts with a good 2-3 hour slog up to the pass at 4000m (a 600m height gain).

On reaching the pass visibility has reduced to only a few meters in the clouds and the road down into GUARANDA becomes much more sandy and loose, and is by no means downhill all the way as you might imagine. After 2 more hours I give in and hitch a lift into the town. The sight of civilisation is a welcome relief. I choose to get transport onto the quieter and more picturesque SALINAS, 35km north of GUARANDA, to spend the night in a refuge that has a log fire.

Day 6: From Chocolates to Home-Made Footballs
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SALINAS (3550m) to RIOBAMBA (2750m) via GUARANDA (2650m)
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60 km

SALINAS (above) was once a place of dire poverty isolated in the hillsides, until an Italian missionary named Antonio Polo arrived in town. He subsequently helped the community to set up a high-quality cheese factory using the milk from the surrounding farms. 40 years later, the town is now a model of community development with a dozen community run factories in the town; from chocolate, to woolen clothing (below right), cured ham and even footballs. It is the community who owns and manages the factories, with profits directly being used to help the town.

Daily visits to the factories also provide a healthy tourism income. I felt it was due for a rest from the saddle, and the perfect opportunity to try out Ecuadorian made chocolate for the first time. Interestingly, the wonderfully made footballs are branded with the FIFA logo and "made in Japan", for sale at local markets. This suggests that Ecuadorians look up to products made from abroad. To combat this mind-set a non-profit company has been running the campaign "¡Mucho mejor! si es hecho en ECUADOR", which translates as "Much better if made in Ecuador!". The logo below can is now placed on locally fabricated products, in a similar way as the Fair Trade logo is used. To learn more visit their website;

http://www.muchomejorecuador.com.ec/

You can learn more about SALINAS activities on their website:

http://www.salinerito.com/ (Spanish only)

Above Left: as the name suggests, SALINAS first trade was salt. The salt pans are no longer used but extensive collection and drying pools can be seen dotted on the hillside.
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The afternoon's ride takes me back to GUARANDA - a mostly downhill route on tarmaced roads that I can thoroughly recommend. A bus can get you back up the entrance to CHIMBORAZO park, for a downhill ride that will literally take your breath away starting at 4200m, with the chance of a glimpse of the volcano between the clouds (below).

Day 7: Volcanic Debris

RIOBAMBA (2750m) to BAÑOS (1800m)

66 km

The main road from RIOBAMBA to BAÑOS starts as tarmac and makes its way mostly downhill though green valleys through the small towns of PENIPE and PUELA (above left).

The road passes beneath the active volcano of TUNGURAHUA (below left), which violently erupted in 2006, sending out a column of ash, rock and cloud for some 15km. The town of BANOS was evacuated and the main road from RIOBAMBA became blocked and submerged in debri and earth from subsequent landslides.

Before setting out I made enquiries with local truck drivers, who informed me the road was passable. And so it was. After the town of PUELA, the tarmac disappears and debris of rocks are strewn acorss the landscape. The road becomes extremely dusty and not the place to be as a terrific wind picks up. On reaching BAÑOS (above right), a town famous for its thermal baths, I can think of nothing better...

Day 8: "Highway of the Waterfalls"

BAÑOS (1800m) to PUYO (950m)

61km

The route onwards from BAÑOS, west towards the jungle is a great way to experience the transition from the highlands into the Oriente. With the descent in altitude, comes an increase in temperature and humidity as the vegetation turns to rainforest and hanging vines. The well tarmaced road is a popular route, taking you past a number of waterfalls to explore. The "Pailon del Diablo" (the "Devil's Cauldron"), pictured above, is well worth the visit. Access right up to behind the waterfall is possible - and it doesn't take long to get completely soaked. Peering into the cauldron I look around and see myself in the middle of the full circle of a perfect rainbow.

The route isn't without it's climbs as it follows the Rio Pastaza into the jungle frontier town of PUYO.

Day 9: Jungle Highway
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PUYO (950m) to TENA (518m)
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75km

The route on from PUYO towards TENA is on an all tarmaced road. The route climbs its way out of PUYO until it reaches SAN JOSE. From there it's downhill into SANTA CLARA and largely flat and slightly rolling onto PUERTO NAPO. There are a few steep climbs just before reaching PUERTO NAPO and after the bridges again it's steep up and downs into TENA itself.

The atmosphere is hot and humid - with views overlooking the jungle canopy with the Amazon stretching out into the horizon as far as the eye can see. As I pause for breath by the road side birds create magical sounds, as dusk and an ensuing thunderstorm closes in.

Day 10: Rafting the Jondachi
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TENA

38km
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TENA is internationally reknowned as the best place to experience white water rafting in Ecuador. I can thoroughly recommend rafting with "River People";

http://www.riverpeoplerafting.com/

It was an amazing way to see and experience undisturbed jungle - the river passing its way through gorges, waterfalls spilling out from great heights and thick overhanging vegetation on each side.

Day 12: Train Tracks
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"EL CHAQUIÑAN" Trail - PUEMBO to CUMBAYA
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18km

After taking an evening bus from TENA to spend a night at the soothing PAPALLACTA hot springs, for the last stretch into QUITO I made my way to PUEMBO, to pick up the old train route down to CUMBAYA - now a popular cycle for families in and around QUITO.

The well marked trail is firm and secluded, taking you down a canyon through eerie tunnels amidst dry and hot terrain. There is quite a climb out of the canyon, but makes for a great getaway from the highways and for me a pleasant way to end the cycling tour.

To reach the trailhead I took the turning off the Panamericana to PUEMBO and after a few kms reached a Y marked by a conrete cross. Taking the left hand route and staying on the tarmac the road crosses the railtracks a couple more kms further on.

The trail ends at CUMBAYA, but does go in the other direction. The trail can be followed east and north all the way through CAYAMBE, OTAVALO and onto IBARRA. For more detailed information you can ask the Biking Ducthman.

I would recommend cycling in Ecuador. It's a popular national pastime, buses and passing jeeps are always happy to give you a lift and it's a great way to get out into the open air and explore some stunning and diverse scenery.

Construction Time!

2010-10-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

Weeks 11 - 13 in INTAG

After 3 weeks of finalising designs and getting hold of materials we are ready to begin on the construction works in Limones and Villadora. A new elevated water tank will be built at the school to provide a guarantee supply of water where a lack of pressure and intermittent supply has been a continued problem. Up at the sources, improvements to one of the spring captures will be made to provide a cleaner and safer supply of water for the two villages.

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Site Office

Construction begins at the school. Eva and Tom set up their site office next to the school buildings as materials arrive: the 2,500 L Rotoplas tank along with formwork, rebar and pipework. Meanwhile a "minga" (community work day) is arranged to deliver the bulk materials down to the remote spring capture site. Young and extremely fit community members make impressive work of carrying down the laden bags of sand, aggregates and cement to the spring site. Materials that will form the new spring capture boxes.

Material Delivery

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Elevated Tank Construction

At the school the "maestro" (construction foreman) and his team quickly get to work on preparing the structure's columns. The structure will be 4.2m high to ensure that a sufficient flow rate can be provided to the furthest most taps across the school.

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Rebar columns are created at an impressive speed, and formwork is put in place, ready for the concrete pour. Demonstrating their ingenuity the maestro's use only a small array of simple tools to carry out the tasks required.
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A carefully fastened scaffolding frame of bamboo will serve as a working platform for finishing the pour to the coluimns and forming the base slab that will support the water tank.

After only 5 days working on site formwork and reinforcement is being completed for the tank's base slab.

The Tank Structure Takes Shape

From (left) finishing the pour for the concrete colums to (right) installing perimeter fencing to the tank's slab, with the rotoplas water tank in place on top of the finished tructure. Supporting formwork will be kept in place for a good 3 weeks after the pour to ensure the concrete has reached its fullest strength before taking the full load of the tank. With mostly sunny and hot days during the construction period we were very thankful for the evening of rain on the day the tank's base slab was finished, so that the slab could be kept cool and watered: perfect weather for curing concrete.

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Pipe-laying: Community Work Force

The parents of the children attending the school were on hand to provide the labour required to connect the new tank into the network. Working as an efficient unit it wasn't long until trenches and pipes had been laid to both connect in the new tank and remove a damaged and leaking length of pipe across the playground area. The completed tank can be seen in the background (right).

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At the same time a soakway is dug and backfilled with rocks brought up from excavation work at a mining area only a few minutes from the school.

All Hands on Deck! Tank's Pipe Connections
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On the last day of construction at the school it was non-stop working to get the new connections made to the tank before night fell. The aerial shot below shows finishing touches being made to the valve chamber that will allow the school to the option of using just the tank, or taking water directly from the network when pressure in the system is sufficient.

The maestro heats the end of rubber hose pipe (mangera) to make the final connection from the network into the entry pipe up to the tank (top right and below left) whilst the operator of the system uses his "roscable" kit to make screw end fittings for the pipework (below right).

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With the final connections made and the tank "on-line" by the end of the day, it was only left for a nervous wait through the night until we could see if the tank had filled and would do its job.

Early the following morning the walk up to the school was made in silence, a mixture of nerves and excitment at what we would find. Eva scaled the steps up to the tank and removed the cover and greeted with me with exclamations of "It's full! It's full!". The pressure within the network during the night was sufficient to fill the tank. Despite our calculations showing that this would be the case we still needed to see this with our own eyes to be rest assured it had worked.

Flow measurements around the school showed desirable flow from taps at the furthest point away from the tank demonstrating that the tank is fit for purpose. After months of planning and preparation it was with great relief and satisfaction that we could see the tank working as planned. The operator of the system summed up our experience by saying that "at times the works have been stressful, at times a lot of fun and in the end we have reached success".

Spring Protection

In the last week of the construction programme, works moved up to the remote spring - nearly 3 hours walk from the operators house and still a 30 minute hike down from the nearest road. Getting materials to the site has been one of the trickiest part of the construction programme. With the corrobation of the community members and finding a mule and a horse the remaining materials could be brought down to the site to complete the works.

In the photos above, (first) the spring eye is being diverted so that work can be carried out around the eye. In the same picture a diversion channel can be seen on the right hand side. This is more clearly shown in the photo (second). A retaining wall above the eye will divert any surface water from entering the eye, with run-off being by-passed through the channel. One of the key aims of our work was to provide a spring capture that only took water directly from the eye, and made the separation between spring water and surface water. As we'd seen at the existing spring capture that took water that had already ran over ground, any surface water is more likely to be laden with sediment and have a greater risk of carrying contaminants into the captured water.

In the photo above (second) the finished spring box is being covered with a layer of plastic sheeting, which will provide another barrier against surface water entry.

Sedimentation

Below, Eva explains to the "maestros" the dimensions required for a sedimentation tank that the pipe from the new spring box will feed. On first observations it appears that the direct capture from the spring eye is sediment free, and that by having protected the spring there will be little need for sedimentation. However, the tank will provide a inspection chamber and the ability to remove sediment should this become a problem.

Below the maestros make the finishing touches to the sedimentation chamber, with an internal waterproof finish. Working up at the spring has been a challenge due to it's remote location within a narrow valley surrounded by thick vegetation and an ever quickening muddy ground. However only 2 and a half days are required to compelte the works at the spring.

Meanwhile the operator begins to investigate a potential third source of water to the system, amid concern that the supply of water for the future needs to be gauranteed. From our observations we learn that in the minds of the people here it seems to be that "clean water" is one free of sediment, with little consideration given to further treatment. Before our time working in Limones and Villadora comes to an end we intend to obtain water samples of the sources currently in use and envisaged, with the hope of opening up the debate of what is "clean water".

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As we reach the end of the construction period we relfect that the past few weeks have been the most demanding period of our time here. Eva describes the time on site as a "rollercoaster", moving from excitment at seeing our designs take shape to frustration over missing materials, delays to the work and at times a struggle to get the finished result that we want if this method seems more work than the team of maestros had envisaged.

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The early morning hikes up through the mist in the fresh country air will be missed, as too the chance to learn firsthand on a busy construction site.

Flow Rates and Meter Readings

2010-08-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

Putting on the Detective Hat

Weeks 4 to 6 in INTAG

FLOW MEASUREMENTS

After our introduction to the system in Limones and Villadora, we set about a fact finding mission to get a better informed picture of how the system works and the current demands the system faces. We wanted to learn how much water the people are currently using, is the systems spring supply sufficient to meet this need and for how long? and does the system have enough storage capacity to meet the peaks in demand during the day?

Without access to downloadable flow meter data as I'd become accustomed to in the UK, we needed to use our initiative to obtain the information we wanted. With stopwatch in one hand and bucket in the other we measured the flow rate at different points through the system, from the sources through to the final break pressure tank. As shown in the pictures below, we needed to use the overflow from the the "tanque de reserva" (reservoir tank) to measure the total flow entering the tank.

Now that we knew how much water was entering the system on a daily basis, the next step was to measure the consumption over a typical day. The final break pressure tank overlooks the second village of Villadora, and made the perfect spot to record the instantaneous flow rate. With this information we could get a rough idea of how much water X no. of households uses.

Farmers in the area start their days early. We wanted to capture this initial peak of the day, which meant 5am starts so that we could be measuring flow rates as dawn approached. Our measurements showed two main peaks: in the morning between 7.30am and 9.30am (0.7 l/s), and in the evening between 4.30pm and 6.30pm (0.67 l/s). The flow rate began to pick up above night-time flows as early as 6am, as we observed workers take to the fields soon after dawn. Usage was steady during the day, with flows picking up again at 3pm before the evening peak. When talking to households we learnt that soon after breakfast and after workers have left for the field, those at home begin the tasks of laundary and meal preparation, so that there is not necessarily a lunch-time peak as we might expect.

METER DATA

As part of our gathering information exercise we have been able to obtain meter reading and billing data for each of the 34 household connections dating back to 2005. This information has given us a good picture of typical consumption for this area, with monthly consumption ranging from as high as 65m3/month (=2100L/day) down to 10m3/month (330L/day). The average monthly consumption is equal to 22.3 m3/month (=733 l/day).

Following an overview census of the two villages, the average household contains 5 people. Using the population data we gathered, we've calculated an approximate consumption/day/person = 190 L/day. If you were to discount the high users in the system, the average consumption/day/person would come down to 150 L/day, which is the close to the 163 L/day/person in the UK (according to the Environment Agency).

This typical meter reading sheet shows that the a basic monthly charge of $2 is set for 25m3 consumption, which is just above the average consumption recorded. A cost of 15 centavos is charged for every m3 in addition to the basic charge. In this example, a household of 5 (2 adults and 3 children) have used 28m3 over a month period, a total price of $2.45.

Meanwhile in our home in Ibarra, for the month of August our household of 4 used 24m3, at a cost of $5.50. This price includes $3.40 for potable water and $1.70 for sewerage services.

SCHOOL'S PRESSURE PROBLEMS

The main concern in the system is the lack of water pressure at the school in Limones. The school, and its neighboring farm house, are situated on a high point in the system. During the peak usage periods the water supply up to the school's taps provides merely a trickle and in some periods no flow is delivered at all. It seems that at this point of the system, the pipe is not flowing full due to the demands downstream.

In addition, the school's meter is showing a considerable leak, of a potential magnitude of up to 500l/day.

These two issues are on the priority list to be addressed as part of the improvement works that we will be carrying out for the system.

Our next step will be to present the information we have gathered to the "Directiva de la Junta de Agua" (the water committee repsonsible for managing the system), in order to identify priority problems and the solutions that we can take to improve the operation of the system.

Day in the life of a Village Water Supply Operator

2010-08-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

Limones y Villadora

Week 3 in INTAG

Meet Anibal Pasquel. He is the man responsible for operating and maintaining the gravity-fed water supply that serves the two villages of Limones and Villadora. In this farming community there is a total of 34 connections, which includes a school and a restaurant marked with a hotel sign. Anibal lives with his wife Maria in a wooden house that he built himself, on a plot of land where everything is grown from beans and bannanas to pineapples and cotton.

Aside from his farming commitments, Anibal is responsible for responding to any problems in the system, making syure that water is flowing and of drinkable quality. His work includes making new connections, installing meetings, organising community work teams when repair work is required or responding to a halt in flow at any time of the day.

Over the last 2 weeks we've had the privelege of spending time with Anibal and Maria to understand how the system works, where problems lie and the ideas that they and the community have for improving the system.

6 AM: OFF THE BEATEN TRACK: HILLSIDE SOURCE

Our tour of the system began with an early morning rise to make the 2 1/2 hour hike up to the system's spring source, in the hills that surround the two communities. With machete in hadn Anibal hacks his way through the evergrowing vegetation to clear our path, which includes

some very sturdy sugar cane.

9 AM: SPRING CAPTURE

There are two spring captures that feed the system. The greater of the two begins at the base of a large rock wedged into the steep slopes. Under the base of the rock, water is channeled into two concrete chambers, aligned in series, each with wire mesh filters to catch debri or sediment. A perforated capped pipe leaves the second chamber to carry water down to the communities. Three years ago, a dry summer caused an extreme reduction in flow from this source, which led to the development of a second spring further up the hillside.

The second spring collects water that has already run above from for some 8m. As a result, in our visit we observed thick sediment lining the concrete collection tank. Maria soon got to work on draining and cleaning out the tank. This second spring delivers a quarter of the 0.4 l/s that enters the system from the two sources combined. Taking this measured flow rate of 0.4 l/s, over the period of 1 day, the sources provide 34,500 l. Without taking into account storage capacity and peak demands in the system, this would be sufficient to supply 47 households using 733 l/day. This suggests that the sources are sufficient to supply the two villages with its current population - but mroe study is required to understand the sytem's storage capacity and daily usage patterns to confirm this thinking.

10 AM: PIPELINE TO THE COMMUNITIES

A path follows the route of the pipeline as it descends its way down the hillside. A flexible 1" pipe (called "mangera") is in parts suspended above ground, fixed to bamboo stakes plugged into the ground. The majority of the pipeline is buried and runds along a ridge of a the hill towards the reservoir storage tank.

11 AM: CONTROL VALVES

Along the route of the pipeline break pressure tanks ("tanque rompe presiones") are used to bring the static head back to atmospheric pressure. This reduces the pressure in the pipeline, which enables the diameter of the pipe to be kept to a minimum.

At high points along the system, valves to release air ("valvulas de aire") are positioned, whilst at low points washout valves ("valvulos de desague") are located to allow cleaning of the pipeline. In the picture above, Anibal explains that at the moment the majority of the air-release valves are manually operated, and that they require automatic valves so that he needn't have to make the trek when there is air entrained in the system.

1 PM: CHLORINATION

A chlorine batching tank sits on top of the reservoir storage tank, but has not been used for many years and the equipment has become obsolete. The reason for this seems to be due to a number of factors; one being the distance of the reservoir storage tank from Anibal's house making the frequent dosing an overbearign commitmnet, and the concern that chlorinated water was being wasted through the storage tank's washout during hte night, onto the road below.

3 PM: MINGA: COMMUNITY WORKFORCE

The line that marks Limones from Villadora is the recently upgraded main road. There are break pressure tanks located either side of the road, with a drop of some 20m between the two. SInce the roads reconstruction, the flexible "mangera" passed under the road through a drainage conduit. This low point in this part of the system has led to problems of air entrapment in the pipe. As a result, the water committee whom are responsible for manaing the water system, known as the "Directiva de la Junta de Agua", called for a "minga", to install a concrete post to elevate the pipe above the road, with the aim of removing the low point in this part of the system.

The "convocatoria" as shown by Maria above, orders all users to attend to give assistance for any repair or maintenance work required, with a penalty of $10 payable for non-attendance.

8 PM: THE SYSTEM'S LIFELINE

From our time spent with Anibal we have learnt a tremendous amount about the challenges that face a gravity-fed system, both technically and socially. We have seen firsthand Anibal's tireless work that he puts into making sure the system is working.

As I ask Anibal what inspired him to take on this role, he tells me that he's "always fascinated to learn how things work, and to get them working at their best". He jokingly tells us he doesn't have much of a technical background, but we have seen that he has the mind, the care and the attention to solve any problems that come his way. His attention to detail was demonstrated to us through his careful drawings of the system, with each house labelled by name.

At the end of a long day attending to the upkeep of the system, we are greeted by Maria who has lovingly prepared a hot nourishing soup of platano and potato grown on on their land, together with a warming soya milk. They call this valley paradise, with its abundant produce of food, and from my time here I can see why.

Water, Water, Everywhere!

2010-07-17T18:59:00.001-07:00

Day 15

QUITO'S YAKU WATER MUSEUM

For anyone interested in water, Quito's modern "hands on" water museum is a must. Elevated on the hillside of Pichincha, the "Yuka Parque Museo del Agua" offers stunning views across Quito, with the old town lying directly beneath. Taking the old quichua name for water, "yuka", the museum has been built on top of one of Quito's first reservoir tanks at El Placer. Higher up the valley, tanks are still in use, with trunk mains in places visible bisecting the museum walls.

Via a series of tubular slides, an interactive guided tour takes you on the journey water travels from its highland source down to the customers tap in downtown Quito. On the way a giant washbasin filled with washing up liquid gives children young and old the chance to create bubbles the size of umbrellas, and experience the behaviour of water in all its molecular forms.

www.yakumuseoagua.gov.ec

HIGHLAND SELF-SUPPLY

Meanwhile, a venture off the beaten track amongst the hills overlooking Quito in the west reveals an abundant water supply that is being utilised by the farmers who traverse the steep slopes high above the city. One can imagine that households some 100m above the city's centre would not be connected to a mains supply. Eva and I found a pipe leading from one of the farmers households that had been placed in a trench that followed the contour of the hill. On inspection the trench merely contained a trickle of stagnant water, and the guazed end of the open pipe hung in the open air.

We followed the trench up the hillside to find a strong stream of running water. A path followed the stream into thick vegetation. Battling branches and brambles aside we continued, with the ferocity of rushing water being our guide. Along the route we noticed man's hand at channelling and guiding the water via concrete conduits and embankments. The sound reached its crescendo at the foot of a waterfall some 15m high - a torrent of rapid flowing water cascading rocks neighboured by thick hanging moss. Amidst the jungle-like environs it was easy to forget a city of 1.4 million inhabitants lay only 40 minutes away.

Our journey now takes us north to the region of Imbabura where we will be working with villages and households situated in similarly steeped slopes, to provide access to sources water such as this. From our observations so far it seems that Ecuador does have an abundant supply of water, which at first sight appears hidden and difficult to reach.

Tom

Warning: "Los Ladrones"

2010-07-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Day 14

PICK A POCKET (OR TWO)

For anyone travelling in South America, I imagine the following story is not a new one: an organised theft aimed at distracting the unaware tourist. However, I hope that anyone reading this can avoid the incident that happened to me.

We were in the old part of Quito, "Centro Historico", which is awash with colonial buildings, churches, squares and souvenir stores. At the same time the old town is a thriving commercial hub that draws crowds of shoppers from across all of Quito. Being a big tourist attraction the area is well-known for theft.

I had heard of stories of theft on the streets of La Paz whereby muck of some sort Is dropped onto the bags or clothings of travellers, with people on hand to "clear-up" the mess, only with the intention of pocketing a valuable item.

On this occasion I can recognise the mistakes on my part, that led to the theft of my camera, so please don't make the mistakes I did:

I chose to look around the old town alone, when up till now Eva and I had travelled together throughout
I had my camera on show hanging to my side
I walked to the Plaza San Francisco and observed the view of the square with a thoroughfare behind me
I noticed a man walk past behind me and heard a splat of some sort - (afterwards I realise that he had poured a yellow liquid onto my bag and back) that had the same smell as bird poo
A second man approached me and pointed out that I had muck on me, and had tissues at hand
He directed me into the church, saying that I could clean up inside
I followed him with a sense that he may not be genuine
Once I put my bag and camera down on a stand in the church, he distracted my attention to cleaning the muck, and once he had my eyes turned away he took the camera and fled the church
On realisation I went to exit the church, but was met with two other men waving their hands and saying the thief had passed back into the church, which I soon realised was a means of delaying me so that the thief could escape to a side street

Only a while later, on a crowded bus not far from the city centre, a pickpocket goes unnoticed - until the traveller feels down for his mobile phone to find an unzipped pocket in his trouser leg.

For anyone travelling in Quito it is well worth either:

- not taking valuables out with you unless you have to

- keeping valuables hidden or somewhere that cannot be accessed from the outside

- travelling together and being aware of the people around you

Thanks to these two incidents I will learn to be more careful and aware when out an about, but at the same time my trust of the people I meet is not diminished.

Safe travels

Tom

Sea-Life: Whales, Gunao, Sulphur Pools and Hammocks

2010-07-12T15:51:00.000-07:00

Day 10

Lashing rain, thunder and lightning has descended on Quito this afternoon, as I retreat to the comfort of the kitchen and an internet connection

We were blessed with a beautiful trip to the coast this last weekend, taking a night bus from Quito to Puerto Lopez, some 10 hours away.

Puerto Lopez is both a thriving fishing centre and a big draw for tourists looking for sunshine, sea and sand. The town itself feels low key, yet active: open backed trucks pass by laden with fruit, fresh fish - and ice, to be taken to the shore for the mornings catch. Presidential campaign slogans decorate street walls, the loudspeakers from the town's church greet the evening air, as others gather under a tent pinned up across the street for the summer's main bingo event.

The coast is thriving with life: small crabs dozen in numbers scamper across the sand, diving into their burrows as humans step close, some sort of sea mollusc buries itself into the sand at low tide. In the early morning, fisherman return with their catch: the fish are quickly de-scaled and taken into the town to be served for lunch. The fisherman tend to their nets as tourists take to the sea - for the hope of whale sitings and a visit to 'the island of silver', so named for its reflective (and at the time tempting) appearance from the 'guano' of the rare bird species that covers its cliff tops.

We were indeed blessed to see the wildlife up close: Whales with their powerful fins and tails smashing he ocean's surface, with pairs dancing in and out of the water in courtship. The arid island itself is home to rare and unusual species, that makes one think of Darwin's trip to the Galapagos: birghtly blue footed birds gargle to remove salt from their pallets, and stand in pairs posing for photos (the male emits a high pitched eek, and the female bellows back with a strong warble). There may be a danger of the island becoming over-used by tourists with dozens of boats speeding back and forth each day. However, for the moment at least, both the wildlife on land and below the sea's surface don't bat an eyelid at the visitors

Further up the coast we visited a village built around sulphur pools - the smell of egg very strong to the nostrils. The people here appear cut off from neighbours - the journey to the nearest town is nearly an hour away, but they are not without their amenities: a school and satellite dishes. A piped system suspended by wires carries the sulphur rich water to irrigated plots of land, and one of the pools is dedicated to laundry, with the locals praising its detergent properties.

Plants and produce grow in abundance around the pool: as we enjoyed a tour through a banana plantation - experiencing first hand how amazingly strong banana leaves are when bound as rope.

The coast of Ecuador has a relaxing feel yet is a hype of activity: both for humans and the wildlife. As hundreds of birds nest down for the night on a string of electric wires, the beach becomes alive with late evening volleyball and dancing in between the deckchairs and hammocks. Whilst we board the night bus to Quito, taking the motion of the sea waves with us as we sleep

Tom

City Life

2010-07-09T17:00:00.000-07:00

Day 7

QUITO - 9 to 5

We have now been in Ecuador for almost a week. During the week of Spanish classes we have been able to explore and get to know the city of Quito and the people of Ecuador a bit more.

The atmosphere here is very welcoming, from taxi drivers to shop tenders, we are greeted with smiles and where are you from? - I feel a sense that people have a genuine interest to why we have come to their country.

One fun example was our dialogue with a one-man street theatre group. In Quito's central park, which is so attentively well kept, filled with playground facilities for children and home to the popular sport here of volleyball, we were drawn by a crowd that had gathered to enjoy the story-tellers anecdotes. Very quickly he noticed us and engaged us as part of his comedic routine - there were some big laughs after the some of the things he said, but I don't know what they were!

Quito can be explored on foot - but steep inclines still get me out of breath due to the altitude. The sun has been shining over the last few days, but rain at 4pm remains clockwork. The streets are busy with yellow taxis, express buses expulging thick black smoke, and a bustle of commuters on their way to work in this commercial district. Two businessmen impromptly use a sheet of cardboard as an umbrella, a poodle-like dog has his hair shaved at a vetinarian's clinic, and I meet a friendly elderly Nun in a German bookstore/library.

There is quite a large German influence in Quito. This weekend we travel to the coast with a group of Germans we have met at the school.

OREGANO - CURE FOR SICKNESS

We did experience our first bout of illness yesterday, after taking lunch at the restaurant directly next to the house. We have identified the fruit juice as the culprit - pointing towards the tap water. For me it highlights the massive impact having clean and safe water to drink - our illness knocked us out for at least 24 hours - we lost liquids, nutrients and felt very weak.

The teachers at the school helped us out by giving us Oregano tea (quoted to aid stomach problems). This included a tour to the local supermarket - an incredible array of tropical fruit and vegetables, spikey skins, massive in size - some familiar: papayas and green bananas and some unfamiliar: "tomatoes of the tree" (sweet tomatoes)

We have one more week in Quito to sharpen our Spanish before heading to Ibarra, where we will be based for the next 6 months

Tom

Urban Jungles - Quito and Mindo

2010-07-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

Day 4 in Ecuador

QUITO - CITY OF SURPRISES

We are now starting to settle into our new environment here in Quito. Let me give you a feel for our experience so far. Life in Quito with our homestay family feels little different to any loving household: as I write now sat at the kitchen table, Sophie is preparing dinner, Carlos is selecting south american songs on youtube and now singing has begun!

Quito appears a very big place, yet so far we have been able to walk to everywhere we need. Quito has a fascinating complexion of skyscrapers sandwiched next to old churches covered in ivy, hemmed in by its eastern and western sides by snow capped mountains. This gives the city a higgledy piggledy feel, with no way of telling what lies around the next corner. On our walk to the school we pass big international banks, a new skyscraper is under construction and there is a blue coloured fairy tale castle that would appear more at home in Disneyland. Our home for these 2 weeks lies adjacent to one of these skyscrapers, yet is a 3 storey building, with a very determined dog (yet friendly once you get to know him) overlooking the property from the roof

MINDO'S JUNGLE - JEEP RESCUES AND FRESH COFFEE

Our first 2 days in Quito were spent on a trip with other students from the school where we are studying (Simon Bolivar Spanish School http://www.simon-bolivar.com/). Within 4 hours of arriving on Ecuadorian soil we were on a bus winding our way out of the valley where Quito lies, through dry barren landscape, to be greeted by incredibly lush, green overgrown forests in the hills 2 hours northwest of the city - to the town of Mindo.

Mindo is a hype of activity for tourists - both from abroad and from within Ecuador. Amongst the cloud forests virtually all outdoor activities are available: flying down a zip wire above the rainforest canopy, white water rafting in inflated inner tubes of car tyres tied together and plunging into cool waters at the base of waterfalls. The locals seem to love being in the water - one man and his son taking up a spot in the middle of a fast flowing river to enjoy a cold, but natural jacuzzi.

My two highlights in Mindo:

On our way up the hill to the waterfall, we noticed a rather large jeep had lost its footing on the earthern road, and had its two right hand side wheels hanging off the edge of the steep hillside. On our return down the same route 3 hours later the jeep still remained precariously perched above the jungle incline, but was not roped up against a nearby tree. Our party descended to join the already fairly large crowd of people inspecting the vehicles situation. Our guide quickly took the initiative to save the jeep - spades and hands dug out the under carriage which had become embedded in the ground, a rope was tied from the rear of the bus to the front of the jeep, some of us held ropes to keep the jeep from moving sideways, and with some wheel spinning later the jeep was free! All the driver needed to do now was fill up with petrol! (so off he went with a jerry can in his hand on the 30 minute journey into town)

Back in the town of Mindo I came across a coffee plantation, that grew, toasts, grinds and sells its rich produce across Ecuador and the world. I was kindly given a tour of the process - and returned with a bag of an incredibly rich and rather strong coffee - which now resides in our room here in Quito and is my aid for waking up in the morning, just from the smell!

Our adventure continues: a week of Spanish lessons and some salsa classes

Tom

Tom and Eva's arrival in Ecuador

2010-07-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the (second) highest capital city in the world - Quito. Only 14 miles south of the equator, but with a climate not dissimilar to northern England - rain, 16 C, cold in the night and cloudy (however I am informed by my host family that this is strange weather for this time of year, and July should be sunny!)

Eva and I's stay has been nothing but warm and welcoming. We arrived safely at 3am on Saturday 2nd July, after a 24 journey that took us through the US that reminded me how friendly Americans are. We were kindly welcomed into our family homestay by Sophie, a mother of two adorable and energetic children, 4 and 10 years of age. This will be our home for the next 2 weeks as we enrol on an intensive spanish course.

So, for those of you who don't know the reason for my trip to Ecuador?

Myself and Eva Linnell have been selected by Engineers Without Borders UK (EWB-UK) to work as volunteers on water supply projects in rural mountainous regions in the north of the country, with the local NGO, PRODECI.

EWB-UK are a student-led charity that teams up young engineers based in the UK with projects with local NGOs around the world, that require specific skills and experience.

For the next 6 months we will be living and working in Ecuador, to oversee the design and installation of a number of water supply systems in rural areas. The new systems will provide a clean and reliable supply of water to households who currently either must walk long distances over rough and steep terrain, or use sources of water of poor quality. With water of a guaranteed safe quality near to the home, families will benefit from improved health, with less time and resources spent on dealing with illnesses from poor quality water, and more time for developing their livelihoods for themselves and their children.

Eva is keeping her own blog, so please check out:

I will be keeping a record of my experiences here in South America over the coming months. Please feel free to add any comments, suggestions or advice on my blog.

Chau for now

Tom