COMING SOON HOUSE ADVERTISING ads_leader
Elena's Orchids
A gentle afternoon hose spray to simulate a drizzle brought out the beauty of these orchids. Hello Friends!!
Here I am again, ready to publish one more blog entry before I hit the road for a few months of travels. After surviving a two month stint managing the hotel, I eased into a two week job in Puerto Lopez, this one the perfect antidote for the last. I've been house-sitting for friends Vittorio & Elena who own the best restaurant in town, Bellaitalia. Their home is actually above the restaurant, but the restaurant was closed during their vacation so my job was to take care of the pets and the plants -- no people! That doesn't mean that I didn't have contact with people at all, however I did spend quite a few days vegging out in front of the TV, watching DVDs and napping! Entire hours would slip away as I cruised thru the satellite TV channels and caught up on the latest shows, reruns of old sitcoms, watching my former student Chris develop his role on Private Practice, stumbling upon a decent movie from time to time (Marley & Me is a sure-fire tear-jerker!!) Some nights I went to sleep at 7:30 or 8:00 (because I could!) and some mornings after feeding the animals
Garden Pathway
This was my view from the table where I did my computer work. With the restaurant closed down, I could hang out and enjoy the garden during the day. I went back upstairs and slept some more (because I could!) or put in a movie and lounged in front of the fan. When I went back to Mandala to go over a few pending reservation questions with Maja, she commented on how well-rested I looked!! Yeah, well.....
The gardens behind the hotel are stunning, but a lot of work to keep watered. We haven't had much rain so each evening, once the sun dips below the horizon, I use a watering can to dip water from storage barrels placed around the garden and I hand water each of over 100 plants! Before she left, Elena pointed out which of the orchids needed a gentle mist each day and remarked that one of them was just about to bloom (see photo). Good thing the flowers last awhile --it looks like they will still be in blossom when she returns from Galapagos in a few days! The basil at the back of the garden needs special care -- just a few dribbles of water twice a day. The cactus, a light spray every 2-3 days but the dahlias and geraniums and impatiens
Rosso & Gigi
These cats yowl and screech until they get their eats!
were begging for a long drink each evening. I enjoy watering each plant, and lugging the 3 gallon watering can is a good upper-body workout!
I've never been much of a cat person, and these cats sure are demanding! When big Rosso wants to eat (at all hours of the day) he whines and wails and cries like a baby. Of course he's used to getting his way! Then there's Gigi who spends most of her time perched up on top of the fridge (she must like the gentle vibration of the motor). On my last trip up to the supermarket (2 hrs north in Manta), I treated myself to some LOX (yummy!) but each time I pulled out the packet after slathering my bagel with cream cheese, Gigi would leap off the fridge and onto my head or shoulders, lunging down to nab my smoked salmon. I had to block and tackle to save my precious fish from her clutches! The dogs are much mellower, both older Ecua-doggies (a breed known for short legs and long bodies). However, they are accustomed to Vittorio letting them out before 6:00 am
Baba & Chichi
Hiya! Aren't we cute! Baba's front paws turn out, ballet boy in 2nd position! each day and have not adapted to my sleeping schedule....so I've had a few messes to clean up. Oh well.
The 2nd night I was staying here, a big wind storm blew through and the window screen flew out of the frame and came to rest on the rooftop. The next morning I was still in my nightie, feeding the cats when a gust of wind slammed the door to the upstairs bedroom area. Oh no -- I had accidentally pushed in the button on the doorknob, and now I was locked out. What to do? Taking my cue from Rosso who loves to climb around on the rooftop, I climbed up onto the roof by balancing the wine rack on top of a table. Wobbling, shifting, shaking, easy does it, we don't need a broken leg here! I made it up and thru the window, rescuing the screen on the way there. Needless to say, I've been very careful to keep the door UNLOCKED ever since!!
I've been able to spend some time with an American friend,
Tagua Artisan Workshop
Figurines in the process of being carved and polished. The baby high chair at the back is now used for equipment. Marianne, who has trained local artisans to carve tagua vegetable ivory. My loyal long-term blog readers may remember that I worked at Marianne's kiosk a few days a week year before last. I have also helped her sell handicrafts at a Cruise Ship Artisan Fair. This time she and I took a day trip down the coast to visit the three artisan families she works with. We made a few stops along the way to visit a community where a women's cooperative creates recycled paper products and also a workshop where they assemble balsa wood boxes. It's fun to get off the main road, meeting the people in these communities. To get to the tagua artisans I had to cross several rivers in the truck -- usually I'd hang back and see how the guy on horseback or the dude on a motorbike angled into the river to find the shallowest spot. I will never forget the terrified, helpless feeling of losing traction and free floating for a few moments (in the Ayampe river, several years ago). Tagua is an incredible material, and I loved seeing how the piles of tagua nuts invaded the homes and lives of the artisans.
Tagua & Tennis Shoes
Piles of nuts litter the entry terrace. Tagua is a part of daily life. Marianne and I also made a run up to Manta ("civilization") to do some shopping and for health and beauty treatments. I had a facial and visited the chiropractor. During previous work stints at Mandala I had sometimes suffered sciatic leg pains from all the standing. These past months I had no problems with those burning, shooting pains but did suffer some numbness in my right outer thigh. The chiropractor and I determined that I must still be flushing out neuro-toxins from the jellyfish sting I suffered several months ago (just before my birthday) -- in fact, more than likely it was a Portugese Man-o-War that wrapped his wicked electrical tendrils around my knee and thigh. The acupuncturem electro-stim and ultrasound therapies I receive seem to have gotten something flowing and now I feel zinging tingles alternating with the numbness.
Marianne had some more out-of-town art fairs to attend, so I stepped in to help out with the care of her new baby, a dalmation pup named Nena. Marianne's new house is all the way across town
Walking Nena
This 9 month old dalmation is willful and strong! The 5 days I cared for Nena was a real workout!! from Bellaitalia, so I got motivated to walk the two miles and then have Nena walk me along the south end of the harbor. She's a strong girl, and still learning to heel on leash. I'm so often in my truck that I really enjoyed this opportunity to get up close and personal, observing how people live in some of the marginal neighborhoods of Pto Lopez. Fascinating to catch a glimpse inside the always-open front doors of the humble cement block houses, to see the fishermen engaged in repairing their nets, maintaining their boats, bringing in and selling their catch. At the end of this blog scroll all the way down and click next to see some pix of daily fishing village activities.
Of course I've also had the opportunity to spend some time with my adopted family. Beatriz Suarez, the teacher at the school where I am "godmother", is a very dear friend and her entire extended family is my Ecuadorian family. I told them that I have developed "Suarez Belly" because they insist on feeding me every time I stop by their house! If I'm headed into town I
Beatriz & Daniela
A beach afternoon with Beatriz and her niece. We had fun body surfing, beachcombing and sunbathing. give them lifts, and one afternoon Mama came to admire the gardens at Mandala and chose some cuttings ("hijos"-offspring, as she calls them) to plant in her garden. The front of her house is a mass of flowering shrubs - planted in old buckets, pails, jugs, bottles, anything she can use!
Beatriz and I took her niece, Daniela, for a walk up to the rocky, beautiful north end of Salango beach. This was one of my favorite places to go romping with Chaco and to pick up shells for mosaics. This visit, we three gals had a glorious time on a beautiful, sunny afternoon. Another morning Papa took us out in his "panga" (small motorboat) to go snorkeling near Salango Island. Unfortunately, the sea was exceptionally rough and the turbid waters did not make for very good visibility. It was chore to swim from reef to reef - not ideal snorkeling conditions. I keep hearing about different snorkel spots along the coast, and I hope to explore more of them! I love entering the world of the coral and the fish, the urchins and algae. It's so surreal and relaxing.
Jill & Danielita
The rocky north beach of Salango was one of Chaco's favorite places to run and play. Together Beatriz and I planned meetings with the parents of the students who are receiving "scholarship funds" to continue their high school studies. We drew up a contract of responsibilities and obligations. It is our hope that the we can keep the fund going strong until all three of the current recipients graduate. (If you'd be able to help out, ask me about how to contribute to our scholarship fund!) Bea will continue to administer the month funds for the students' tranportation, school fees and supplies. She will also keep in contact with the teachers to verify the students' progress.
I also met with all of parents in the community to help them work out a plan to finish the construction of the new school building....it's almost there, but is just sitting empty for lack of funds and motivation. There are 20 families and I told them if they each put in $10, I will match the total with another $200 and we will have enough to hang the doors, put grates on the windows and raise a water tank to the roof
Captain Fernando
My adopted Papa took the morning off fishing to take us out in his boat to go snorkeling at Salango Island. for the toilets. Some of the fathers with volunteer their time and in addition we budgeted to hire specialists for a few days to help with the welding and metal work.
Just a few days before my the restaurant owners were due back, I got a call from Freddy, one of the waiters at Mandala who had been my English student over 3 yrs ago. His wife was very pregnant, and the clinic is about an hour north. I had told him to feel free to call me if the big moment arrived and he was unable to arrange for transport....so at 9:45 one evening Morci & I were pressed into ambulance service! I zoomed along the foggy, curvy road -- it had been recently been repaved so at least I wasn't dodging potholes, but they had not yet painted the lines so it was difficult to predict the upcoming curves. While Mercedes gently moaned in the back seat, her mother and mother-in-law calmed her while her sister rode up front with me, cradling the feverish 3 yr old soon-to-be big sister. Three or four more people rode in the truck
Ice Cream at Mandala
My adopted Mom, Julianna and two of her daughters came to tour the Mandala gardens. Mama was gifted a few plants and we all enjoyed the homemade ice crm! bed with an assortment of suitcases, boxes and a stroller of all things! I guess all major events must be a family affair -- and here all families are extended families!
As we sped north and up from the coast, we passed thru a village with a crowd of people attending a wake. I couldn't help but think about the two extremes of the life cycle being acted out in unison. Later on, as we approached the town of Jipijapa we passed a Quinceanera celebration...one more step along the passages of life! Once we screeched to a halt in front of the maternity clinic, we rolled Mercedes out of the truck and up the stairs while they called the doctor. Her first baby had been delivered via C-section, so it was almost a sure bet that they'd do a cesarean again. It's a good thing they did as the baby had already pooped in utero, a situation that can be dangerous to both mother and child. By now it was almost 2:00 in the morning and they had stretcher-carried Mercedes up yet another flight of stairs (no elevator in this
Proud Papa
Mandala waiter Freddy called on me and Morci to help rush his pregnant wife to the clinic. We made it in time for an emergency cesearean. clinic). She was instructed NOT to say a word for 36 hours, as it is believed that a new mother's recently vacated womb will fill with gases if she speaks. When I left with only a few of the family members in tow (the others planned to spend the night) mother and baby were both doing fine!
So, my time in Puerto Lopez drew to a close with a luncheon for a few friends I hadn't yet had time to visit with. I packed up my stuff, deciding to leave a suitcase and a box at Mandala since I'll be returning for another stretch as manager frm late Sept thru Dec. From now until September my life will be filled with travels, starting with a 2 week whirlwind tour of Ecuador with Johanna. She was a former student of mine in Atlanta who decided to take some time off before law school to travel. Since January she's been backpacking all around South America and tomorrow we will meet in the very south of Ecuador, Vilcabamba, the valley of longevity. We will spend 2 nights in each place as we work our way
Waiting for the fishing boats
Every morning the crowds gather on the beach in Pto Lopez, eager to see what the fishing boats will bring. north to Cuenca, then up the coast, over the Andes by Quilotoa crater, down thru Banos to a jungle lodge near Tena and up the eastern Andean hwy over to Quito. Whew! After Johanna flies out in time to make it back to Atlanta for her brother's HS graduation, I will have a few weeks in Banos to chill before meeting up with another group of Engineers Without Borders. Then, it's back to LA for just one day before flying out to China for a month. If you're curious what that's all about, drop me a note or just stay tuned for the upcoming blogs!!!
COMING SOON HOUSE ADVERTISING ads_leader_blog_bottom
Tot: 0.1s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 15; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0578s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
XuXu
non-member comment
Resting?
Jill, your resting is more active than most people's most active lives! So good to hear how you, and others I've had the good fortune to meet through you, are doing. Love your blogs! Still practicing for the Swiss skating experience in July-- so glad I decided to go now before these bones get any older-- KIT-- XuXu