Yupaichani Mamas and Taitas

Greetings to all my relations, Blessings and love to my family in San Diego and my fellow runners who are in Mexico right now.

The southern route is still running hard through Ecuador, and in a few days we will cross into Columbia. I think most of us are still in awe from everything we have had the honor to experience here in this country. I would like to thank all the communities and people who have helped us to this point. Mama Julia, Mama Rosa, Taita Manuel, the Canaries, the Purwas, and all the Kichwa people. Who everyday have prayed for us and trusted us to enter their communities. Everyday we are visiting volcanoes, or beautiful lakes, and mountains.

What has amazed me the most of this country is how incredibly organized the indigenous communities are and how much they have been able to accomplish, and the organizations they have established like the Ecuarunari, and Conai. Most impressive is the way that each community works the land and fights hard to preserve and teach their traditional medicine, using what mother earth has to cure their ailments and keep their communities healthy.

Families teach their children to know the plants and herbs around them and how to use them in the right way, always having that respect and gratitude to our pachamama. We visited schools that maintain the oral tradition, places that teach to walk in the ways of our ancestors. Alternative schools such as Kititawa that are bilingual, teach the keeps how to work the land, preserve their roots, and run solely on solar energy.

We have already passed Quito, and were able to visit a sacred mountain that marked the middle of the world, and learn the importance of that sight and how our people measured time and years according to the shadows.

While in Quito i was able to visit an afroecuadorian culture center called Azucar. I would like my brotherws and sisters to put a prayer for this site and the amazing work that they do for the center, especially since we will also be recieved by the afroecuadorian communities. This center is at risk of loosing their site if they dont raise enough funds, and many youth would be missing out.

Thank you Sonia for opening the doors to your center, a sister center to my base in san diego the worldbeat center.

Currently we are in Cotacachi, we will be moving on tomorrow, and moving foward with this prayer. You are all in my prayers i will update everyone again when i get another chance.

Oscar