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Sassy Toes!
Yes, I do treat myself every couple of months to a pedicure. Here I am getting my pre-bday treatment. (oy, blindingly white legs!)Here it is, a full month after my birthdayand I´m just now getting around to posting this blog entry! (I was born February 15, 1960 - you do the math if you want to know how old I am!)
The fun began a week before my birthday as I took a trip up to Manta (2 hours north) for a visit with the chiropractor (ah!) and a beauty treatment (manicure/pedicure, waxing, facial) I need all the help I can get!
On the 13th of Feb I headed south 1 hour to Montañita where I met my friends Jody, Bobby, Karl & Yessi. They had been travelling since 3 am on 3 different buses to come and visit. There is a Western Union office in Montañita so I took advantage of the visit to collect a scholarship donation from Bekka in London. She is sponsoring three students, graduates of the primary school where I am G-dmother. Thanks to her generosity, 3 dedicated adolescents have the opportunity to study at a private secondary school in Puerto Lopez.
BIRTHDAY GIFTS: Several of my birthday gifts came in the form of donations to the school (thanks Claire & Bob!). A
Bouquet from Aurelio
The evening of my party, the owner of the hotel where I´m now working arrived with this huge, gorgeous bouquet of flowers from the garden. group of American friends here in Ecuador gave me an exquisite handmade candle, decorated with shells. My new bosses from Mandala, Maja & Aurelio were able to come to the party for a short while, bearing a huge bouquet, a bottle of champagne, and a yummy dessert from the restaurant (salami de chocolate is a rich nut and chocolate roll). The other party guests commented that Maja & Aurelio must REALLY want to go on vacation, showing with their generosity how much they value my coming to manage the hotel for several months. Unwanted gift: I discovered my first varicose vein...I´ve always been a little vain about my legs, and this was an unpleasant shock.
The night before my birthday party, my visitors and I dined extravagantly at Alandaluz - spending money at the bar and restaurant is a way for me recoup some of the thousands of dollars they owe me for the income on my cabañas. I also reserved several other cabañas so that my party guests who had come from far away could spend the night after the party. My adopted family from Salango stayed over - the first time in a hotel for most
Acacia Walk
The day before my bday, I took a LONG walk with my visitors from the mountains. Bright orange acacias laid a carpet of fallen petals in our path. of them! It was a way that I could give them a gift on my birthday.
I tried to have most of the pre-party prep work already done so I could spend time with my visitors. We had a lovely day walking through the village and along the beach, getting sunburned in the process! Chaco had a great time, leaping and splashing and chasing everything in sight! His new friends never seemed to tire of throwing sticks or playing tug with him.
Everybody pitched in to get my house ready to host 20+ guests. Marianne prepared her famous coconut shrimp, Gladys made her Mora Mousse, Beatriz brought fried broccoli, Jaibel donated the beer and it was put in a foil-lined box for chilling (my fridge was already packed to the gills!). I had been making ice cubes for a week, so we were ready to party.
Just as guests were arriving and we were heading down to the beach to watch the sunset, the lights went out. We gathered candles and flashlights, but the power cut meant no fans or music (I had worked several days uploading a party music mix of Latin/African/Reggae onto
Beach Walk
We ambled all the way to the cliffs at the north end of the beach and got quite sunburned on the walk back. Chaco had plenty of new friends to throw sticks for him! my IPod). As we frolicked on the beach in the dying light of day, I made a big birthday wish that the electricity would return....and within moments after we re-entered my house and started lighting candles, the power was back. Gracias!
I was honored by the presence of many friends, old and new. Jaibel & Karol closed down their restaurant for the evening so they could attend! Kevin & Diane left their restaurant in the hands of their employees, but hurried back in time for closing. Jesse & Phil came down from Agua Blanca on their motorcycle, and treated themselves in a night at the hotel. Victor took the bus from Jipijapa (over an hour!), and of course my beloved adopted family was in attendance (this time, just the women!)
The party food was a success, with lots of goodies for dipping, and a variety of sauces to dip them in. Everyone could personalize their own meal by mixing chicken, squid, shrimp & fried broccoli with spicy peanut sauce, honey mustard, ginger-passionfruit chutney, or barbecue sauce. In addition to the hot foods, there was also a cold table with veggies, chips, crackers along with guacamole and
Group Photo at Dusk
The party was set to begin at 5 pm so we could all gather on the beach at sundown. What a lovely, loving group of friends. sour cream dips. I made my favorite smoked salmon (lox) and cream cheese tortillas, rolled up with cucumber and red onion and cut into pinwheels...a big hit! Since many of my guests were restaurant owners, I was proud that they appreciated the delicious party fare.
It was all so delicious, it was hard to save room for dessert. And the sweets just kept on coming. I made my favorite carrot cake with craisins topped with cream cheese icing. I had bought passion fruit & lemon pies from my favorite bakery, an hour south. We served the chocolate "salami" from Mandala, and the Black Raspberry Mousse from Gladys. Needless to say, I was forced to send home a LOT of the leftovers with my guests! Especially since I would only be in my house for a few more days before starting my new job.
Of course they made me "bite" the cake before we cut it -- this is an Ecuadorian tradition, usually at children´s birthday parties. As I leaned down to "bite" the cake, they pushed my face into the icing. Laughter all around! It was so nice to introduce friends to one another, see old
Finger Foods & Dipping Sauces
Fried squid, chicken tenders, broccoli and coconut shrimp were paired with honey mustard, peanut sauce, ginger-passion fruit chutney, bbq sauce and more. acquaintances reconnect and enjoy the company of the some of the most wonderful people I´ve met in Ecuador thus far!
The party invitations said 5:00 - 10:00 pm, and since many of the guests had to drive back north to Puerto Lopez (the road has been under construction, an ever-changing navigational challenge) the party really did end at 10 pm! One friend who had heard about the party but hadn´t gotten the details showed up at 11:30 (about when most parties start here in Ecuador) and we were all in bed. Monica apologized profusely and came back for a visit a few days later. While she and I were having lunch at my house, some other friends who hadn´t been able to make it the night of the party stopped by. It was like a bday gathering reprise.
The morning after my big bday bash, my actual birthday day, I hosted a big breakfast at the hotel restaurant, inviting all of the overnighters. It was so nice to look down the long table and see the faces of many dear friends. From there, we loaded up the pick-up truck with friends headed northward (along with their
Dessert Buffet
We had carrot cake (with craisins, my favorite!), lemon & passion fruit merengue pies, chocolate "salami" (a Mandala specialty) and black raspberry mousse. Yum! party favor doggie bags!), dropping them off in their respective villages along the way.
Then, my Baños friends and I continued on to the Agua Blanca Lagoon...there was no doubt in my mind where I wanted to spend my birthday! We had the sacred sulphur lagoon all to ourselves, the cool water mingling with currents from the underground warm springs. We slathered on the mud and allowed some visiting journalists to take our picture. They assured us it would be in the weekend magazine of El Universo from Guayaquil, but I checked for the next few weekends and never did see the article.
I then took my visitors to Mandala so they could see where I´d be working (and am now working as I write this!) A yummy lunch (my favorite from the menu is swordfish in lemon parsley sauce - picudo a la siciliana) and lots of photo ops. My next blog (in a month or so) will have lots more chatter about Hosteria Mandala, but if you want a sneak preview, you can check out the website which was just updated last week (I helped with the translations into English and French!) - www.hosteriamandala.info
Breakfast with friends
I invited all of my overnight guests to join me at the Alandaluz restaurant for breakfast. It was a full weekend party. -
I attended another birthday party last month....a full blown wedding-esque Quincañera bash! One of the nieces in my adopted family, Maria Antonieta, turned 15 and as she is the only daughter, her family went all out on the party. They closed off a street, brought in a DJ with 8 ft speakers, put up tent enclosures, hired a professional photographer, rented tables and chairs, and invited 100´s of friends and relatives.
Every detail of the decoration was contributed by her many cousins and aunts and uncles. There were handcrafted doll-topped dishes filled with cookies and candies, huge styrofoam & glitter signs, streamers, colored lights, and LOTS of food. Each plastic champagne goblet was decorated with a ribbon. Even the Barbie party favors had little blue dresses designed and sewn to match the dresses of her 15 "maids of honor".
Even as I was remembering my own Bat Mitzvah party,with my pink and white dress and decorated tables, it was interesting to observe the traditions of this coming of age event. The escorts of the 15 attendants had to each take a garter off the the quniceañera´s thigh and put it on their partner´s
Lagoonies!
I knew I wanted to spend my actual birthday swimming in the Agua Blanca Lagoon. The water is refreshingly cool with warm currents from the underground hot springs. leg. At this age most of the boys are shorter and less mature than the girls. The boys blushed furiously as the guests catcalled, whooped and howled (it seems the passage from girl to woman has a lot of sexist overtones in Latin culture).
Each of María Antonieta´s grandfathers changed one of her shoes from flat, slipper types into elegant high heels. Then, of course she had to slow dance with her father, her uncles, and every male relative. The invitation (pink, of course) had an enclosure requesting CASH GIFTS ONLY. I was informed that she was saving up to buy a computer. I couldn´t help but think that by forgoing some of the party hooplah, they could have easily helped her buy her computer. Of course, it´s a once-in-a-lifetime event that she will never forget and that raises her parents´status in the community.
OK dear blog readers. Thanks for sharing my bday with me long distance. I would LOVE to hear from EVERYBODY who takes the time to read this, either via my gmail or on this blogsite. Even though I´m working long hours, I do have some time to keep up with my electronic
Fritz the Whale
Here is the humpbacked whale skeleton reconstructed by Aurelio last year. All around are facts in four languages. correspondence!!
Happy spring to those of you who live in cold climates!! Love, Jill
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Danielle
non-member comment
Happy Bday Jill
Glad to see your birthday was so wonderful! Happy belated wishes from this side of the world. That party was something else! Watch out for that ceviche...have to get my cholera public health announcement in here! :) Hugs!