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 Ecuador
July 2007 Report
A group of students from Year 11 and 12 took part in a very
successful expedition to Ecuador during the summer holidays. At the
end of over 15 hours of travel the party flew into Quito which at
2800m is the highest capital in the world. In order to get
acclimatised to the height the first few days were spent sight
seeing in Quito. We then moved to the highland area to trek. The
long days of challenging walks helped to improve the
acclimatisation. Diving into ditches to avoid bulls added to the
excitement. We were lucky enough to see Llamas and Condors amongst
the wildlife on our treks.
A day's rest was taken from the trekking to go horse riding. This
proved to be one of the best days on the trip although a little
painful towards the end of the day. The animals were well trained
and although quite lively followed instructions which gave the
inexperienced confidence. So when given the chance to gallop
everyone was up for it including the horses. Our last trek took us
to the refuge hut on Cotapaxi which at 4800m is as high as Monte
Blanc. We could not stay long to enjoy the view as a blizzard blew
in and we had to get down quickly. From the trekking we moved on to
Ambato and the Clara Lutz Children’s Home.
After some charity work the expedition moved to the jungle to see
the myriad of small and not so small creatures like giant moths,
preying mantises and tarantulas. It was here that we went
whitewater rafting. It was every bit as exciting as the photo
shows. Lots of water and big waves. Most people ended up in the
river at some time. It was then back to Quito and home.
Charity Work
While the group were in Ecuador they were involved with two
charities. The first was in Quito and was the Pan de Vida project
which is run by a religious group who provide a meal everyday for
the poorest people in their locality. Our students helped to
prepare the food and distributed it to the local people. Children
were always fed before the adults. The students worked at the second
project for 4 days. This was the Clara Luz Children’s Home in Ambato.
This is a nondenominational Christian charity that helps children in
difficulty and living on the streets by providing shelter, food and
education.
 Before
the end of last term a mufti day was held to raise money for the
project. This enabled us to donate $1300 dollars to the new
building at the home. This is a lot of money in Ecuador. One of the
older buildings on the site cost $2000 in total to build. The
donation was much appreciated by the charity running the project.
The students work there included framing a mirror used for group
therapy, painting cupboards used for the children’s clothes,
repainting the paddling pool (see photo), removing the rendering
from a building that was being extended and of course playing with
the children to give them the love that was so evidently missing
from the rest of their lives. There is a photo of child wearing one
of the football kits sent out with many of the other gifts, all
gratefully received by the children.
 It
was a memorable trip for all sorts of reasons; the wildlife, seeing
a volcano erupting in the distance while at the children’s home,
visiting the Equator, spectacular scenery and the street children
juggling at traffic lights to get money. Everyone on the trip will
have their own special memory and all will agree it was the trip of
a lifetime.
Ten Tors
A team of Year 10 students walks 35 miles and Year 12 team walks 45
miles. All the teams have 24 hours to walk the distance spread over
2 days. The teams are allowed no outside assistance and must carry
everything they need with them and be prepared for any emergency. If
you would like to follow the progress of the teams go to the Ten
Tors website:
www.ex.ac.uk/tentors.
May 2007 Ten Tors Report
This year proved to be the most dramatic for a long time and the
first to be cancelled during the event since the Expedition started
in 1960.
Weather forecasts leading up to the weekend gave a premonition of
what might happen. People setting up camp on Thursday complained of
heavy rain and winds and this continued when we arrived on Friday.
Teams awoke at 5am on Saturday to the sounds
of Chariots of Fire but thankfully not the sound of rain. At
7am teams got underway. The moor very wet with rivers quite high for
this time of year and as the teams walked south it was not long
before they encountered the rain and winds which they were to live
with for the rest of the expedition, with only occasional breaks.
Added to this fog was coming and going, just to add to their
difficulties.
Team progress was slow with conditions proving a real challenge. The
army had set up supervised crossing places at the main rivers to
ensure safety but this led to delays. Team dropouts were at a high
level on Saturday with coach loads of youngsters being taken off the
moor and brought back to camp. Two of our 35 mile team who had been
feeling ill before they started, dropped out. However both teams
made it to their fifth tor camp.
At 7pm all team managers were called for a briefing by the
organisers. They explained that they were holding all teams where
possible on tors overnight. Normally only 35 milers are camped at
the tors, whilst 45 and 55 milers can camp anywhere. However, later
we were called to another briefing announcing that the organisers
had decided to stop the event: the forecast of more heavy rain had
left them with no other option.
At 6.15am evacuation plans were explained, with people on the north
moor to be taken off by helicopter and teams on the south moor to be
taken off by road transport. It was a major operation that took some
time. Our last team did not get back to camp until 4.30pm but at
least everyone knew their team was safe. Hearing tales of the
difficulties experienced on the moor made it clear that the
organisers had made the right decision.
Team members were pleased that they still received their medals. The
final twist in the weather was that we left Okehampton in glorious
sunshine.
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