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Kindling Hanukah Lights
Patrick & Jenna look on as Dad, Bob & I light candles for "Thanksgivukah" at Claire's home in Toluca Lake, Calif. Hard to believe this is my 99th blog -- wow! Time flies by but with these (almost) monthly blog entries, I try to keep track of some of the many adventures I've had. The first photo is a flashback of my visit with family in the US. It didn't reach me in time to be published in the last entry, so now it forms a bridge between my visit to the states and my return to Ecuador.
Arriving in Quito I hunkered down for a few days, catching my breath and setting up doctor appointments. I had several days to wait before I could get in to see the otorrinolaringo (ear, nose & throat doctor) and the gastroenterologo (gut doc). As if on cue my dear friend Lupe wrote asking if I wanted to accompany her north to visit the ranch her sister had just bought. Sure! Great! I parked my truck at her apt and we set off in her 4WD vehicle that very same afternoon. It was a pleasure to be the passenger for a change, to be fully able to enjoy the stunning scenery. It seems I’m almost always doing the driving, so it’s a
Norma's Country House
Lupe's sister bought this charming mountain estate. A great getaway from Quito's big city madness! treat to sit back and just ride!
I was expecting a rustic cabin, but we arrived at a deluxe two-bedroom home, complete with new mattresses & thick, cozy comforters. Lupe’s sister had decorated it beautifully, down to the tiniest details. The glassed-in wrap-around porch offered breathtaking views of Imbabura mountain (for which the province is named) and rolling green hills and valleys. From nowhere, two horses came galloping across the lush, grassy fields.
The ranch had been purchased along with two horses, Carlota & her son Carlitos. Soon it was discovered that the mare was pregnant and the young male had not yet been broken. Out in the fields he clung fiercely to his mother’s side. Two ranch hands drove the horses into the stable area to feed Carlota her “expecting mother” nutritional supplement and, as expected, Carlitos followed her. It was fascinating to watch how the workers circled around him and finally got a rope around his neck.
When we arrived at the house, the caretaker was filling the hearth with firewood and as night fell we built a huge fire, largely for warmth
Tub With a View
Exquisitely gorgeous bathroom, complete with bay window bathing overlooking rolling mountainsides. but also for its visual beauty. Turning off all the light curled up at opposite ends of the sofa, we talked late into the night while watching the leaping, licking dance of the flames. Magical!
Bathtubs are relatively rare in Ecuador – largely due to the difficulty and expense in heating enough water to fill them. This house had a heavenly tub tucked in a bay window overlooking a wide expanse of gentle hills. After luxuriating in a hot bath I dressed for a visit down the hill to Casa Mojanda. What a coincidence that Lupe’s new place is just up the road from the hotel owned by my new friend Betti!
Betti & Steve had invited us to join them for some wine & cheese, which ended up becoming an evening meal as well. Betti was stuck inside, hobbling on crutches after a taxi had rolled over her foot on a recent visit to New York City (we missed each other there by just a few days!) She suffered only a hairline fracture, but pooling blood in the foot and a great deal of pain meant she could put
Wandering Casa Mojanda
A late afternoon ramble around the grounds of this beautiful inn. not weight on it for at least six weeks. Only in week three, she was already feeling some cabin fever and was grateful for our visit!
Before sunset Steve took us on a walking tour of the grounds (Lupe’s first time at the Inn). The organic gardens were bursting with new growth and we visited the traditional thatched hut which had been built for ceremonies & healings. Someday I hope to try out the wooden hot tub, perched on a hillside with spectacular views! The grounds of the hotel are truly beautiful and I hope to be able to work there someday. After a lovely visit, Lupe & I drove back up the cobbled mountain road, arriving to find a blazing fire already lit. Ahh! I could think of no better re-entry to Ecuador.
It’s tough for me to touch down in Quito after a trip to the US – I don’t love big cities, so whenever possible I head off to a more rural setting as soon as possible! If I have to stay in Quito, I’ve learned it’s best to leave my truck parked and brave the congested
An Imbabura Sunset
Stunning views from Casa Mojanda every hour of the day, but especially at nightfall. streets on foot, via public transportation (crowded but always an adventure) or by taxi (avg ride costs $1.50-$3.00) In a taxi I never fail to have interesting conversations. One day, a 30 yr old driver was hitting on me. He asked me to invite him in for lunch, intimating there was so much I could teach him. “No thanks,” I told him, “find a bored Ecuadorian housewife. I’m not the one for you.” I tried to feel flattered by his come-on, but it was a real stretch!
Saw the doctors and set up and endoscopy and colonoscopy procedure for the following month. That done, I returned to beautiful Banos where Shana and I successfully avoided Christmas and New Year’s madness by staying up on the hill at her house, playing Scrabble and watching the XFactor!
I actually did venture down into town on New Year's eve day to help out at the BIB (volunteer library). Following Ecuadorian tradition, we built an effigy to burn the night of the 31
st. Down the street from the library is the “funeral home” of the Sindicato de Choferes Profesionales (taxi drivers’ union). It is
Effigy for New Year's Eve
Following local tradition, library volunteers created a 'monigote' to burn at midnight. Read text for more info. constructed in such a way that it blocks the entire sidewalk, right at a narrow point in the road. Whenever there’s a wake there are dozens of cars parked out front, further blocking the way...and it’s on a bus route.
Since the building juts out, there are two dank corners formed on the sides which, naturally, are used liberally as “urinarios” (aka pissoirs). We created an exact replica of this building including straw-stuffed mannequins peeing in each corner – One side has a fire hydrant so we posed the model lifting his leg! My job was to recreate the signs on the building, as well as helping to write the “Testamento” – a dbl posterboard sized placard that explained the “protest” that our effigy was meant to represent.
Once we assembled the completed building façade on the curb, the straw-stuffed people were placed strategically alongside it. We also included an outline drawing of a dead body on the street. Part of the testament read: If you have the bad luck to be struck & killed while walking past this building, at least it won’t be far to go for your
Embroidery Course
The children at the volunteer library loved learning how to embroider! loved ones to view your cadaver!
As always, the thermal baths beckoned with their healing waters. A Canadian friend who has visitedBnoas several times came to town and offered her heavenly Watsu water massages at the hot springs. Using a floatie pool noodle (we named it the Watsoodle) Tamasine twists & pulls & swirls the body through the warm water. She reaches under to massage neck & shoulders in a perfectly weightless environment. Some of the best body work I’ve experienced, almost trance-like.
With a group of volunteers from the BIB I visited the recently inaugurated “Parque de la Familia”, a lovely park perched above the hydroelectric dam. We had heard that they were undertaking a composting project and it might be possible to buy compost. Well, there was no compost available, but we made the contact to set up an excursion with the BIB kids to visit the gardens and learn about composting.
Right after New Year’s I taught a week-long embroidery class for the children who come daily to the library after school. One of my Hanukah gifts had been a bunch of
All hands on deck!
Kaylen & Clark pitch in during embroidery sessions. embroidery supplies, so I decided to share the wealth. On the first day we had a dozen kids trying their hand at two different stitches, the running stitch (“corre corre”) and the chain stitch (“cadena”). Starting the second day eight of the girls continued working with me and each decorated her own pillowcase over the next few days.
I also gave some one-on-one Spanish lessons to a couple of the volunteers – one was trying to reawaken her High School Spanish and the other wanted to activate her spoken Spanish, tucked away from a long stay in Colombia 15 yrs ago. It was fun working with both of them, each one with a different method. When I haven’t taught in quite awhile, the joy of these lessons reminds me that I ought to include regular teaching/learning experiences into the loosely woven tapestry of my patchwork life!
Back in Banos I’m attempting to work more physical activity into my daily life. I swim for an hour 3x/wk in the warm pools at the thermal baths and I try to do more walking; it’s an easy 15 min. mostly downhill hike into
Atop the Cathedral
Amazing views of Quito's Historic Old Town rooftops town, but I’m also working on my uphill stamina so I’ll feel confident enough for more of the beautiful (hilly!) hikes around here. I’m still looking to buy a house in this area, but nothing definite happening yet.
I went back up to Quito for my medical exams (a three hour drive). For me, nine days is a long time to spend in the city but this visit was so much more ‘chill’ because my friend Betti loaned me her Quito apt. Located high up on a hill beside the Parque Metropolitano, I enjoyed great city views! In November 2006, shortly after I came back to live in Ecuador, I stayed at Marcelo’s place just across the street. I love the neighborhood and enjoyed my daily walks down the hill and across Parque Carolina.
I spent a few hours in immigration offices, trying to sort out my resident VISA once and for all. Several meetings at my lawyer’s office, multiple photocopies of endless documents, signing papers galore…the necessary bureaucratic evils of expatriate life. A series of doctor visits to interpret test results – my Crohns disease is more active than
El Ejido Park
With Papi Francisco Suarez & niece Gabriela in recent years, but I’m feeling well and know I can control flare-ups with diet and yoga.
I made time to visit with a few friends, but once I finished my necessary errands I mostly just relaxed up at the apt: enjoying unlimited high speed internet (I had been limping by on a slow stick modem), watching movies on my computer, reading, cooking, taking a hot bath, listening to the downstairs neighbor practice playing the cello (not bad!) I spent one Sunday afternoon with my Quito family (Alexandra, Miguel & their 2 daughters) at the new Bicentennial Park. Located where the old airport used to be, there aren't many trees but the former runway is now a biking loop that attracts cyclists young and old. Afterwards, I invited everyone out for a sushi dinner – a total extravagance enjoyed by all!
While I was in Quito my coast family came up for a visit – it’s a direct overnight bus from Puerto Lopez to Quito so Beatriz decided to make the trip to collect a laptop I brought back from the US for her. She arrived with her father and
Quito's Basilica
My adopted sister Beatriz took the bus up from the coast (10 hours!) to spend the day with me in Quito! Breathtaking view from the cathedral towers. her niece Gabriela at 5:30 am, so everyone took a much needed nap before we set off for a full day of Quito adventuring.
It was Gabriela’s first visit so we took the EcoVia tram to the handicraft market in Parque El Ejido and then walked to the bus terminal to buy their return tickets. We climbed to the top of the Basilica to take in the view of historic tiled rooftops and towers stretching out below. We had lunch on Plaza Independencia and then wandered the old town for hours. That same night they caught the bus back down to the coast. Exhausting!
Thanks for reading! Send me a comment if you liked this entry. My next blog (#100) will be hot on the heels of this one. I have a few days of downtime and a good internet connection, so expect to see my account of a trip to the Amazon (lots of monkeys, waterfalls and exotic flowers -- plus heart-stopping volcano pix!).
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Jessica Fields
non-member comment
Wonderful post, Jill! Thanks.
Casa Mojanda is now on my radar, and Parque el Ejido!