ECUADOR - ANAM

In Ecuador, ELI offers programs in a number of locatins. If you want to volunteer or intern on the coast, Puerto Lopez is a great choice!

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    1/15 - Home for the summer! Puerto Lopez is a small coastal town in the province of Manabí. It’s a very popular tourist town known for the yearly whales that visit its waters! This is a photo of the calle principal, the main street that runs through the town.
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    2/15 - The beautiful beaches of Puerto Lopez never ceased to provide me with tranquility, peace, and so much fresh air. On top of one of the mountains is a mirador, a lookout spot.
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    3/15 - My homestay in Puerto Lopez! The house is very spacious and surrounded by so much vegetation. My homestay family included Sra. Elsa, her son, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and many many chickens. My stay in Puerto Lopez was incredible thanks to a loving family and its pets! Also the land the house is built on is right next to a cancha, a synthetic soccer field!
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    4/15 - This is a picture of another friend who was working with me in the subcentro de salud in Puerto Lopez and her homestay family. They soon took me in as part of their family. This picture was taken on a weekend we all took a bus to another coastal city called Libertad.
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    5/15 - I ended up working in the subcentro de salud’s external consulations (consuelta externa) for 3 weeks with this doctor who taught me a lot about patient-physician interactions and medicine! All of the doctors and nurses I worked with during my time in Puerto Lopez taught me so much about Ecuadorian culture and medicine and we have become good friends after just a summer of working together!
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    6/15 - This is what the emergency room looks like in the small subcentro de salud in Puerto Lopez. The room holds two beds, a desk where the physician sits, and an oxygen tank.
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    7/15 - While working in the ER in the subcentro I got to help out with multiple natural childbirths. This baby boy was born on a Wednesday afternoon. Something I will always remember about his birth is the fact that the ER doctor ordered coke for the mother to help her push the baby out!
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    8/15 - Some of my friends from the laboratory in the subcentro. The laboratory usually only has one person who runs the entire lab, but there were some students from the nearby city of Jipijapa who occasionally stopped by and helped us out.
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    9/15 - This is a picture of the granddaughter of the tio in my homestay family. One afternoon I helped her set up her zoo! One of the best ways to practice my Spanish was with little children and she was a great teacher!
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    10/15 - A moto taxi! This is the main source of transportation in Puerto Lopez. A ride from my homestay to the subcentro de salud only costs about 50 cents!
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    11/15 - My first day in Quito driving around with the project manager in Ecuador! Thanks to her, I got to know the north of the city a little better. The streets are crowded and set up in a strategic hill like fashion because of the mountainous region that surrounds Quito. Unlike Quito, my homestay in Puerto Lopez was flat!
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    12/15 - Quito in all its glory and altitude! This photo was taken from the Teleferico (cable cars) which climbs from 2850 meters to 4050 meters above the city!
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    13/15 - As part of the program, the ELI in country supervisor gives you a free tour of the city for a day. On my tour I was able to visit the historic south side of Quito and visit the La Basílica del Voto Nacional.
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    14/15 - Since Puerto Lopez is a coastal town, every morning the fishermen would bring their catches of the day to the beach. It was fascinating to watch them bring in fish, lobsters, shrimp, etc. and directly sell them to their customers! Can’t get any fresher than this!
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    15/15 - In terms of tourist attractions, Puerto Lopez is known for the whales that visit its waters every year because there aren’t any predators. While I was down there, I just had to see the whales for myself!

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