There is no Q in Ecuador

Blog Contents

2006-05-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of the individual posts within this Ecuador trip blog. Click on the title and it will take you directly to the individual post. We hope you enjoy sharing our trip to the beautiful country of Ecuador.

January
Where in the world is Ecuador?
Adjusting to the altitude
What about Cayo?
The mountains
Arasha Rain Forest Resort
More about the bus ride
Flowers at Arasha
Hummingbirds??
Making chocolate
The big hike
Birds
Indulgences
Back to Quito – getting ready for Christmas
Gift baskets
Christmas at Emily and Cayo’s
Orchids and butterflies
Mosaico and Itchimbia
More on Mosaico

February
On the road to Otavalo
The jeep
Otavalo
Colorful Otavalo
People of Otavalo
Streetlights of Otavalo
La Luna
Weaving studio in Peguche
Parting thoughts of Otavalo
La Luna Objects
Ahh, beautiful Cuenca
The market
Tamales

March
Visiting Nubia
Posado del Angel, Cuenca
Paso del Niños
Old Year / New Year in Cuenca
The masks
Ringing out the old year
Lobito y Maria Jose
A little history of the Año Viejo burning
A day in the campo
The Panama hat factory

April/May
Eduardo Vega gallery
Artesa factory
Cuy
Images of Cuenca
Teleferico
Guayasamin home and museum
Eating out in Quito
Capilla del Hombre
Cristóbal González Guzmán
Going home

Going home

2006-05-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

That's the end of our holiday trip to Ecuador. I wish I had taken notes so I could have told better and more accurate stories. Terry pointed out an error I made a few weeks ago, but oh well. I dare you to find it.

We have many wonderful memories of the country, the people, and our experiences. Now that Emily and Cayo are moving to Portland, we won't make this trip as often, but we are determined to return to the country that we love.

Here are a few parting images --

Cristóbal González Guzmán

2006-05-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

Cristóbal is the art teacher at the school where Emily teaches. They ride the bus to work together every morning. For years Cristóbal also had an art gallery in the Mariscal section of downtown Quito and he has become quite a well-known painter in Ecuador.

Emily took us to visit him at his home in the new section of Quito. I had emailed him several months earlier, about the Onda Gallery here in Portland, It is a gallery that specializes in Latin American art and Emily thought he might want to contact them about showing his work.
His home is an older, typically Ecuadorean-style home, surrounded by a lovely walled garden on a quiet, little winding street, tucked away in a busy part of Quito. Inside it is like an art museum, with both his paintings and his collection of early colonial art lining the walls. Beautifully preserved antiques furnish the rooms. We visited over wine and pastries and then he gave us a tour of the rooms filled with his art. He is a soft-spoken, very humble man, but his face lights up as he talks about his students and when he talks about his art.

It was a very special, and very memorable evening. When we left, I took a CD of his work to present to the owner of the Onda Gallery. The owner of the gallery loves his work and there will be a Cristóbal González Guzmán show at Onda this coming September.

Capilla del Hombre

2006-04-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

The Capilla del Hombre museum is built on two levels with an opening up through the center to the dome, that can be seen from the outside. The work, all done by Guayasamin, is very large for the most part. Guyasamin depicted the misery and injustice of the world, especially of the indigenous populations of Ecuador. The work is emotional and very dramatic. Emily was telling me that despite his fame and a certain national pride, Guayasamin is controversial and many Ecuadoreans dislike his depiction of their people and culture as being downtrodden and oppressed.

Inside the dome.

And, on the softer side, this sculpture called "Family". The painting is probably Guayasamin's most famous and is a tribute to his mother. It is called "Tenderness".

Eating out in Quito

2006-04-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

We always enjoy finding new restaurants in Quito and revisiting those that we love. Several come to mind as I think about eating in Ecuador. Unfortunately, we don't have any photos of these places. We are always too busy eating to take pictures.

On every trip, we wind up eating one or more meals at Crepes and Waffles. This is a chain from Columbia and there are several of them in Quito. They are popular for business lunches and family outings. The large mid-day meal is Almuerzo. Visiting C & W during this time usually requires a wait. They have great salads, sandwiches, and crepe dishes. They also have huge wild and crazy ice cream desserts. The food is very tasty, the portions are large, and you can depend on sanitized fresh fruit and vegetables. I have to mention, though, that last year our friend, Muriel, found a live slug in her salad. I guess that indicates a lack of pesticides. They were very gracious and made it right for us. That has not deterred us from ordering salads on return visits. We are, however, pretty watchful.

We went to a great Italian Restaurant, however I can’t remember the name. Also, Em & Cayo took us to the only brew-pub in Quito, the Turtles Head Pub. It is styled after a British pub. The décor is great and the beer selection is good. They also have decent snacks. Andy and I played a few games of pool with Cayo. It was fun. We also met friends of Emily at a Pizza restaurant one night.

Quito has a wide assortment of restaurants that feature food from Cuba, Mexico, Italy, France, the US, and many more. And, of course, there are establishments that feature traditional Ecuadorian fare. There are a growing number of American fast food franchises (McD, KFC, etc.) Needless to say, we don’t spend valuable tourist time and $ in those establishments.

Guaysamin Home and Museum

2006-04-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

Ecuador's most famous artist is Oswaldo Guayasamin, who died in 1999. (self-portrait at right) His influence in Ecuador is vast and his work has been exhibited around the world. He is virtually unknown in the United States, probably because of his friendship with, and support of, Castro. At the time of his death he was midway through the construction of a grand museum called the Capilla del Hombre (Chapel of Man) high up on a hillside overlooking Quito.

His last home and studio are a bit further up the hill from the museum and we started there, wandering around the grounds, looking at his sculptures, his cars and some of his collection of Spanish mission bells.

From the house, we made our way down the hill toward the museum, stopping along the way to admire a Pre-columbian, Mayan sculpture, collected by Guayasamin, the beautiful view of Quito and a new sculpture on the grounds of the museum. I believe this piece is representative of the death of an indigenous leader at the hands (and horses) of the Spanish. This piece is not by Guayasamin, but was commissioned for the museum. I don't know the name of the artist—wish I did.

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the Chapel of Man museum.

Teleferico

2006-04-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

The day after we returned from Cuenca it looked like it would be relatively rain-free, so we decided to take a trip on the Teleferico. The Teleferico is a gondola ride in Northern Quito which takes you from 8800 feet elevation to over 12,000 feet. The upper end of the ride is near the summit of Pichincha, the nearest volcanic peak in the Andes. It was built just last year and is much nicer than many of the commercial establishments in Ecuador.

While it was not raining, clouds and mist compromised the view of the city and surrounding mountains. But, it was still an outstanding trip. At the top, Andy, Emily, and I took a hike up a trail toward the summit, but poor Terry suffered too much from the altitude to join us. It was fairly cold and an effort was required just to breathe. Cayo had to work and could not go along, but he and Emily had ridden it before on a much clearer day.

To the right is a photo of the peak of Pichincha, which is an active volcano.

At the bottom of the ride was a carnival and at the top we found cafes, shops, and folk musicians.

Images of Cuenca

2006-04-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

Before we leave Cuenca, I want to just leave you with a few more images of this beautiful city.

Cuy

2006-04-12T23:30:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Cuenca, we wanted to take the Molina family out to eat. We asked them to suggest a restaurant and they all thought we needed a nice Cuy lunch before we left Ecuador.

I have to tell you I had avoided Cuy on my previous four visits to Ecuador, but the time had come to sample the local delicacy. Cuy (pronounced Kwee) is guinea pig. We went to a restaurant renowned for their cuy, but we also ordered a platter of chicken.

This is a roast cuy. You can see the little feet. Chela pointed out to Ray, that these make convenient little handles for eating the cuy with one's fingers. You can't see the head in this picture, but trust me, it was there.

How did it taste? Well—you expected me to say "like chicken," didn't you? Some people think it tastes like rabbit. I've never eaten rabbit, so I can't compare. It tasted a bit like duck to me—a little stringy, very boney, but the crispy skin was quite tasty. Andy just couldn't bring himself to try it, but the rest of us managed to reduce it to a pile of teeny, tiny bones.

Artesa Factory

2006-04-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

One of the places we like to shop in Ecuador is a store called Artesa. They make and sell a variety of ceramic items. We have bought dishes, vases, and even a hanging ceramic light fixture. We originally discovered their main retail store in downtown Cuenca. Later, we found an Artesa store in the QuiCentro mall in Quito.

We knew there was a factory in Cuenca and, this year, we compelled Cayo to take us there. We piled in a small yellow taxi and headed for the outskirts of town. It was much larger than I expected. Where we entered was a very nice gallery with art pieces. Senor Vega started the company originally but has since sold it. He has his own gallery and workshop in Cuenca where he makes very nice original pieces. (see Terry’s prior post regarding the Vega gallery.) In the gallery of the Artesa plant were a number of original pieces by señor Vega.

The people at the factory were very nice and hospitable. A lady gave us a complete tour of the factory.

We saw the piles of raw clay and the crafting of the basic shapes. Then they fire them in an oven and all the items are hand painted. The final firing sets the colors. They obviously produce a high volume and we were told that they ship them to the US and a couple of other countries in addition to the Ecuadorian distribution.

At the end of the tour we were taken to an area with a long rack that contained rejects. For some designs, there were just a few pieces and for others there were many. Any item in this area could be purchased for a dollar. We bought these four small bowls from the discount rack.

Eduardo Vega Gallery

2006-04-01T18:28:00.000-08:00

Cuenca is well known for ceramics. Probably the best known ceramics artist in Ecuador is Eduardo Vega. His beautiful gallery sits on a hill called Turi that overlooks Cuenca with an expansive view. There is also a lovely church at Turi and interesting painted murals all around. Our son-in-law, Cayo, painted one of the murals at Turi, that was featured in a guidebook for Ecuador.

Vega has done many ceramic murals throughout Ecuador, as well as the small pieces he is known for. This mural is in the courtyard at the entrance to the gallery. Below is a picture I took of Emily and Cayo the first time we visited the gallery.

We have bought quite a few pieces in this gallery in the several times we have visited. The colors and forms are irresistable.

Inside the gallery there is a window from which you can view the workroom below. You can see sections of a large mural that is being made.

The Panama Hat Factory

2006-03-27T20:34:00.000-08:00

Panama hats do not come from Panama. All Panama hats are made in Ecuador. They are individually hand-woven from a fiber called toquilla. Toquilla fiber hats have been made in Ecuador for centuries. The Incas made hats from toquilla. They became known as "Panama Hats" when the workers building the Panama Canal wore these hats as protection against the sun. Teddy Roosevelt popularized the Panama Hat in the United States when he was photographed wearing one as he inspected the construction of the Panama canal.

Down a narrow alley way, off a busy street in Cuenca, we found one of several hat factories. We were cordially greeted and taken on a tour of the small factory where our guide showed us the steps in producing a fine Panama hat.

He showed us samples of the toquilla fiber and how some hats are very finely woven of thin strips of the fiber and less expensive hats are woven from thicker fibers. A form is used to weave the crown around to ensure that it will be even and the correct size.

After the hat is woven into a generic form it is bleached to the typical white color and then pressed over a form to give it one of several distinctive shapes.

Notice the metal forms that the hats are shaped by.

This is the press that is used for shaping the hat.

Panama hats range in price from about $30 up to hundreds of dollars for a finely woven hat. The best hats can be rolled up and folded and packed in a suitcase with no damage to the fiber.

A Day in the campo

2006-03-24T15:06:00.000-08:00

After the big new year's eve celebration everyone was moving slowly the next morning, but the plan was to load up the family and a lot of food and go spend the day at the Molina's house in the country. Cayo's brother, Pedro, has the only car, so most of us rode out in taxis. The house is less than an hour outside of Cuenca in a peaceful setting of hills, a stream, flowers and Eucalyptus trees.

Unlike the city houses, the country house has a big yard with grass and plenty of places to relax, both inside and on the porch.
The hammock proved to be a popular spot. Even the dogs managed a nap in the hammock with Eliana.

Lobo struck a meditative pose in the hammock.

Chela, of course, prepared a huge meal. Cayo fixed ceviche with shrimp—delicious! Everyone found a spot to doze or watch the kids play in the yard.

Pedro's little boy, also named Pedro, seemed to especially enjoy the sunshine and open space and delighted us by being as adorable as only a 2-year-old can be.

A little history of the Ano Viejo burning

2006-03-19T11:35:00.000-08:00

Cayo's brother, Pedro, told us that the Ecuadorean custom of burning Ano Viejo figures on New Years Eve originated many years ago with a malaria epidemic near the coast. Apparently, in an effort to contain the epidemic, the citizens in the affected areas were asked to burn their clothing and household linens. This coincided with the end of the year and the connection was quickly made, that the burning could represent an end to the ills of the old year and a clean beginning for the new. Over time the custom continued and evolved into the figures representing the old year.

I don't know if this story is true, but sounds plausible. (though I don't know that burning the clothing would have any effect on the spread of malaria) It does seem that this is a uniquely Ecuadorean custom. I love the idea and found it both fun and festive and, at some level, contemplative and quite cathartic.

Lobito y Maria Jose

2006-03-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

Little Lobo, who you saw in an earlier post in the mask, is the source of a growing collection of cute stories. When we first met him three years ago, he was five. He, his mother Eliana, and his sister Maria Jose live with his grandparents - Cesar and Chela (Cayo's parents). We were visiting their house for the first time and Lobo was rather fascinated with us. He kept bringing us various objects to show. At dinner, he left and returned with a large watermelon, which he wanted us to have. Of course, we had to refuse so we wound up with some of his school artwork.

On new years day, Emily and I went with Eliana and Lobo to get his new Christmas bike. We took his old bike to a neighbor to give to their child, then on to the bike shop to retrieve his new one. On the way back, Lobo rode his bike. We stopped at a school yard, where he proceeded to show off for some other kids. Unfortunately, the bike got the best of him. His finger became entangled in the brake handle as the two separated and resulted in a trip to the emergency room to repair his finger. He spent the rest of the day and evening with a huge bandage on his finger. He was pretty brave. I don't think it was his first encounter with pain. The first photo shows him trying a circus act. The second one was taken just as he was falling.

The other Lobo theme throughout the New Years holiday was that he had a very loose tooth that was driving him (and everyone else) crazy. He couldn't leave it alone. Andy and Cayo kept wanting to tie a string between the tooth and a doorknob and shut the door. But Lobo didn't want any of that. Besides, if he actually lost the tooth, he would relinquish much of the attention he could get by wiggling and turning it. Finally, sometime on New Year's eve, his mom tired of the drama and grabbed Lobo by the head and yanked it out.

Here is a picture of the two of them following the crime. He is not really in anguish, just posing for the picture. He is sort of a drama king.

Lobo's sister, Maria Jose, is a sweet girl of about 14. She is very patient with her brother, despite his efforts to irritate her. She is an outstanding salsa dancer and she loves her dog. Her grandma, Chela, is teaching her to play chess. I played a few games with her. She is pretty good, but I found myself letting her win sometimes. I hope she doesn't read this.

I have enjoyed spending time with both of these kids. They are being raised by their extended family and they are the recipients of much love. On New Year's day, they tried to teach me a card game. MJ's english is pretty good and Lobo knows a few words. We had fun.

Ringing out the old year

2006-03-14T10:47:00.000-08:00

After wandering around Cuenca to see the Ano Viejo displays, we ended up back at the Molina's for New Year's Eve. The family began to gather. At one point, Cayo's brother Pedro arrived with the family's Ano Viejo figure. Many of the figures we had seen around town were made by stuffing old clothes with sawdust, but the figure Pedro brought in was made of papier mache and was a dapper fellow dressed in suit and tie. His face was that of a singer who I was not familiar with. It was never really clear to me why he was the personality chosen, except that Emily said that his music was played a lot at the cafe Pedro owns and Ellie works at. Maybe they were tired of hearing him and were putting an end to it by burning his effigy. Maybe it was an acknowledgement of how much they liked the music. I wasn't sure, but he was definitely a smart-looking Ano Viejo and early in the evening I had a little dance with him.

Around 10:30 we gathered in the diningroom for a big dinner. You can see the tamales we had made earlier, set out as our appetizer course. They were followed by soup, roast pork, potatoes, avocados, salad, broccoli, corn and dessert of preserved figs and confections.

As midnight approached, Chela hustled everyone away from the table and out into the street with our figure.

As the new year approached, the figure was set on fire and everyone gathered around to watch it burn. We could see similar fires up and down the street and there was music and fireworks as well.

At the stroke of midnight Chela circulated with a bowl of grapes and urged everyone to quickly eat 12 grapes to ensure good luck in the new year. As the fire burned down, everyone took turns jumping over it, signifying leaving the old year behind and jumping into the new.

Little Lobo appeared dressed like the widow of the old year, another custom carried out by children, and went around begging for coins.

Once the fire burned out, we went back in the house for dancing. Emily and Cayo, on the left, love to dance together and are fun to watch. Even Andy, who had earlier declared he did not dance, was up dancing with Cayo's sister, Paola. The party was still in full swing an hour or so later, when we headed back to our hotel. The next morning the streets were littered with the burned remains of many, many Ano Viejos.

The Masks

2006-03-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

I wanted to add more regarding the Año Viejo Masks.

As Terry said, they are for sale on almost every street corner and they vary considerably in quality. I think most people buy a mask instead of making one. They are not very expensive and many are made to represent celebrities. You can buy an entire dummy with mask, but many folks just buy the mask separately and make their own body to put it on.

On the left is a typical display of masks for sale. And below is another example of how they are used on dummies.

Cayo's sister, Eliana, bought a mask for her son, Wolfgang. Now, there will be more posts later regarding this precocious lad, but I must tell you the story of his name. He was named after a German priest who is a friend of the family. His nickname is Lobo. Get it? Anyway everyone calls him Lobo or Lobito.

The first photo below is of Lobo in the mask. Behind him are his mother, Cayo, and Emily. The second picture is of Terry trying on the mask. I don't think this mask is a caricature of anyone in particular. I think it just appealed to Eliana and Lobo.

Old Year/ New Year in Cuenca

2006-03-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

As Ray mentioned, the celebration of what we call "New Year's" seems to be more about the old year, or "ano viejo", in Ecuador. As we walked around Cuenca on New Year's Eve day we saw ano viejo displays going up all over town. These mostly depict events of the past year and people who were in the news in the past year, emphasis being on anything scandalous or controversial.

The yellow banners indicate that there was a competition being held for these large displays, but there were also many small displays on balconies and in doorways of businesses and homes. Most families buy or make an ano viejo figure, that represents the old year. These are displayed during the day and burned at midnight on New Year's Eve. We also saw ano viejo figures displayed on cars and taxis and many people in masks around town.

Probably the most common ano viejo figure this year represented Lucio Gutierrez, the former president of Ecuador who was ousted earlier in the year and fled the country in a helicopter. His rather large nose made for some wicked caricatures, like the fellow on the motorcycle in his Lucio mask.

Even the new Pope made an appearance.

This one shows Gutierrez in his helicopter and the grim reaper pointing to a boat labeled "Coyote Titanic" which refers to a tragic event last year when a group of Ecuadoreans, who were paying to be smuggled, illegally, to the United States drowned. The crew saw that the boat was sinking and made a hasty departure in the life boats, leaving all the passengers with no way to escape or stay afloat.

Paso del Ninos

2006-03-06T19:45:00.000-08:00

In Ecuador, they don't celebrate the New Year as much as the demise of the old one. In fact, they talk about the holiday as Ano Viejo (old year). Saturday was New Years Eve.

Terry and I rose before Andy and decided to go across town to the Molina's house to see Emily and Cayo and Cayo's family. We started walking and when we got to Parque Calderon there were a bunch of people getting ready for a parade. We learned later that it is called Paso del Ninos, or the children's parade.

As you can see from these pictures, there were lots of children dressed in fancy costumes. The boys had painted mustaches and beards. There were also horses loaded down with complex collections of food and decorations. There was probably quite a lot of symbolism that escaped us. The people were very friendly and loved to have their pictures taken. We hung around for awhile but didn't stay for the actual parade. We found a taxi to take us to the Molina's house.

Posada del Angel, Cuenca

2006-03-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

We have stayed at Posada del Angel in Cuenca several times and we like it very much. It is well-located in the center of Colonial Cuenca in a restored Colonial house.

Like so many of the Colonial buildings it is built around a central courtyard, now the lobby, and covered by a big skylight.

The sun pours in and bathes the interior in sunlight and warmth. Along the balconies are seating areas with comfy chairs and lots of reading materials. Breakfast is served in the sunny breakfast room.

You can step out onto your outside balcony and watch the traffic on the cobblestoned streets or the city coming to life first thing in the morning. Ray caught this fellow dozing on his balcony in the next building.

Visiting Nubia

2006-03-01T06:52:00.000-08:00

When we first got to Cuenca, we went to visit Nubia, a friend of Emily's. When Emily first worked in Ecuador in 1999, she rented a room at the home of Nubia, her brother Pedro, and her mother Gerardina. They are the nicest people and they treated Emily with great kindness and support. Pedro is now married and lives in San Diego and his mother has retired and moved out of the city to a country home. Nubia and her family and Pedro attended Emily's wedding in Quito last May and we got to spend some time with them. Nubia was pregnant at that time, so we were excited about this visit to see the new baby.

Nubia, and her husband Diego, have a son who is about 2 years old, I think. He is extremely photogenic, as you can see in the picture with his Mom. His name is Pedro, after his uncle. A friend of the family, Erika, was visiting and we enjoyed talking with her about her work in the jungle. I remember her from when we visited their family in 1999.

Terry and Emily helped Nubia make lunch which was carrot soup. While they were cooking, Andy and I entertained Pedro and the baby. We had a fun time cooking, eating, and visiting. Cayo wasn't with us. He had to work and flew to Cuenca on a later flight than us. Diego came home for lunch so we got to see him also.

Tamales

2006-02-24T16:59:00.000-08:00

When we returned from the market Chela got to work in the kitchen. She cooked the pork until it could be shredded, then she chopped and sauteed vegetables to mix with the pork. She mixed the cooking liquid from the pork with corn flour, then added both lard and butter and stirred it into a thick paste. Large green leaves (I don't know what they were. They looked like banana leaves) that we had purchased at the market were washed and made ready to accept the fillings. All the ingredients were organized on the kitchen table and we gathered around to begin assembling.

We would take a leaf and break off the stem. It helps to run a spoon over the stiff center vein of the leaf to make it more pliable. Then you put a spoonful of the corn flour paste in the center of the leaf and pat it into a flattened circle. In the center of that you put a spoonful of the meat/vegetable mixture, then a sprinkle of chopped cooked egg and several raisins. Now comes the tricky part. You fold the sides of the leaf in so the dough encloses the filling, then fold the ends of the leaf under to make a neat packet.

I have made Mexican style tamales and these were similar with a few differences. The vegetable/meat mixture had carrots, red peppers, fresh peas, cilantro and spices. The biggest difference was the use of the leaves to wrap them instead of cornhusks as Mexican tamales use.

When we had used up all the ingredients and had a nice stack of bright green tamale packets, Chela carefully loaded them into a big pot to steam them for an hour or so.

The tamales would be the first course of our New Years Eve dinner. Mmmmmmm.

The market

2006-02-23T17:20:00.000-08:00

Chela asked if I would like to help make Tamales for New Years—of course I would! She said to be at her house by 9 the next morning and we would go to the market to get the ingredients, then we’d make tamales.

When I arrived the next morning she was ready with her basket and we walked several blocks to a big market that covered a square block, both inside and outside a large open building. That’s Chela in the black and white shirt.

Chela hit the market like a woman on a mission. She seemed to know each of the vendors and greeted them warmly, as Ecuadoreans do, before getting down to it. Then she was all business, squeezing, sniffing, accepting or rejecting fruits, vegetables, meat; politely, but firmly insisting on their best price. The basket grew heavier and heavier.

I was fascinated by the bags of different grains, the variety of beans and vegetables I had never seen before.

Inside the market there was a large section devoted to fresh meat. Chela bought pork for the tamales and fresh shrimp for ceviche.

The woman in the stall with the colorful bottles of soda pop was frying llapingachos, which are fried patties of mashed potato with cheese inside—delicious! After I took her picture she handed me a llapingacho and a piece of the roast pork you see, on a paper napkin. She gave Chela a similar sample and we left the market happily enjoying our treats.

Ahh, beautiful Cuenca!

2006-02-19T09:25:00.000-08:00

The most beautiful city in Ecuador is Cuenca (KWEN - ka). It is an old, old city occupied, first, by the Cañari Indians, then the Incas, then the Spanish and now it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is renowned as a cultural center of Ecuador. We love Cuenca for the beautiful colonial architecture and the wonderful people.

Cuenca is south of Quito in the Central Highlands of Ecuador. We flew from Quito to Cuenca. It is a short trip by plane—less than an hour, but a long bus ride on the PanAmerican Highway, so well worth the airfare. We haven't taken the bus, but Cayo and Emily do, from time to time, and I think they say it is about 7 hours. We wanted to spend New Years in Cuenca and visit some of our favorite people and places while we were there.

Our son-in-law, Cayo, is from Cuenca, where much of his family still resides. We are always treated to such great hospitality when we go to Cuenca. Here is Cayo, with his mother, the amazing Chela, who is warm and funny and the best cook in Ecuador.

The heart of colonial Cuenca is Parque Calderón, the central plaza in front of the new Cathedral. You can have your picture taken, have your shoes shined, or sit and eat an ice cream and watch the Indigenous women, in their colorful embroidered skirts and panama hats, stroll through the plaza or the schoolgirls in their uniforms.

The architecture of Cuenca never ceases to impress me. The old buildings and grand homes along the river make Cuenca one of the loveliest cities in all the world to me.

La Luna Objects

2006-02-19T06:10:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos I took at La Luna. As you can see, they did some Christmas decorating. The old phonograph was sitting under a bench and I put it on the bench for this picture. I don't know much about it, but it definitely appeared to be old and original.

Parting thoughts of Otavalo

2006-02-16T15:52:00.000-08:00

I wanted to add a few random thoughts about Otavalo and the surrounding area before we take you off on another adventure. We have seen some amazing sunsets from La Luna. The ordinary view is of a large valley with spectacular mountains as a backdrop.

From La Luna, there are a number of hikes. We have never hiked a trail directly from the hostel, but we have driven a short distance up the hill to lake Mojanda. It is a high elevation so the walking is measured. The weather was good, but it was cold. The vegetation is typical of high elevations. Below is a picture of Emily and Cayo at the lake.

Before we leave Otavalo, I want to mention the place we used to stay. It is a hostal called Aya Huma and it is located in Peguchi, just up the hill from the town of Otavalo where the weaving factory is located. We have stayed there twice and I would recommend it. It is more humble and less expensive than La Luna, but it is located in the middle of where the local indiginous artisans live. They have a small bar/restaurant where there is usually wonderful live folk music and dancing on Saturday nights. The term Aya Huma refers to a local nature spirit whose image appears regularly in this region. You will see the Aya Huma in the logo of the Hostal on their web site and also in one of the glass decorations on a street light in Otavalo.

Weaving studio in Peguche

2006-02-15T21:40:00.000-08:00

Just outside Otavalo is the little town of Peguche which is the source of much of the beautiful weaving that Ecuador is famed for.

We visited a weaving studio in Peguche just across the street from this exceptionally beautiful church.

The woman who greeted us took us into the studio to see all the aspects of the weavings. The weaving done in this studio is a higher quality than most that is sold at the Otavalo market. These weavings are sold in the better galleries in Ecuador.

She showed us the raw materials that are used for dying the wool yarns, including achiote and Cochineal, a beetle that lives on cactuses.

Here she is weaving fabric for tote bags.

On this loom she weaves tapestries.

Here are some of the beautiful weavings they produce in this studio.

La Luna

2006-02-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

We have stayed at two different places near Otavalo and enjoyed both, but I think we are really partial to La Luna, which is located just outside Otavalo very high up in the mountains. It is rustic and home-y and the setting is so beautiful. It cools off in the evenings and each of the rooms we have stayed in has a fireplace and a young man who works there will come and start a fire for you. This year's heavy rains had made all the wood so wet that fire starting was difficult and once we did get a fire going in our room it filled the room with smoke—not so nice as the crackling little fires we remembered from previous visits.

The main lodge has a nice room with tables and chairs and a fireplace, as well as a lounge area with movies and books.
Outside are hammocks for napping or reading. The views in all directions are spectacular, including two volcanos.

There is a young couple that works at LaLuna. The young man is the one who comes and builds the fires. He also seems to do all kinds of maintenance and gardening. The young woman is sweet and shy and always smiling. She takes your food orders, cleans, calls taxis and seems to work closely with the kitchen staff. We were surprised to learn that she had a baby since we visited in May and she did all her work with the baby on her back. He was a beautiful, little doll baby—all smiles and giggles.

A fixture at LaLuna are the dogs. I think there are four large, gentle dogs. My favorite is "Milky" the big white dog. Emily said she thought he was an Argentine dogo breed. I have found these dogs on the internet and believe she is correct. I found the history of these dogs quite interesting. I was surprised to learn they were bred to hunt and fight. Milky is a gentle, very easy-going dog, that even Cayo likes and Cayo doesn't much like dogs! The folks at La Luna will let you take one or more of the dogs out hiking with you if you want.

They seem quite content to lay around in the sun or play a game of fetch-the-stick with the guests.

Streetlights of Otavalo

2006-02-05T16:35:00.000-08:00

One of the new features in Otavalo this year was these fancy streetlights.

People of Otavalo

2006-02-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I get tired of shopping and, as I am waiting for others I take pictures of the people. Some don't want their picture taken, so you have to be sensitive. When we buy something, I often ask permission after the transaction. These women are wearing typical outfits.

And some pictures of children. The boy on the right is playing with a top.

Colorful Otavalo

2006-02-04T21:09:00.000-08:00

The market at Otavalo has many kinds of art and craft, but the Otavalenos are most well-known for their textiles and weaving. A walk through the marketplace is a feast for the eyes of color and texture.

These are some scarves that I got this time.

Wonderful weavings.

Woven bracelets and hat bands.
Pants made from handwoven fabrics.

Aren't these masks great?

Otavalo

2006-02-02T21:58:00.000-08:00

Every time we go to Ecuador, we make a pilgrimage to the town of Otavalo. We sometimes ride the bus, hire a driver, or rent a car to get there, but every trip is a unique experience even though the merchandise at the market tends to be the same. Otavalo is a small town north of Quito that is ordinary in many ways. It has several central plazas with churches and narrow dirty streets. But it is home to the largest market of indigenous crafts in South America.

As you walk into the city and approach “poncho plaza”, you are seduced by an increasing number of local artisans with various handcrafted goods for sale. The market commands a square block and spits out into all the adjoining arterial streets. It not only sprawls horizontally, but in tall vertical stacks of multicolored table cloths, hammocks, sweaters, and shawls.

The market dominates your vision with bright colors and interesting textures. It is not especially noisy, however. The local artisans are quiet and polite. As you walk down the aisles, the sellers will quietly point out the benefits to their particular goods. If you make eye contact, they pick up items to show you the finer points. If you express an interest, they will try hard to find just the right one for you. We never pay the price they originally quote. We have become very talented at dickering in a very friendly and respectful fashion. It works out great. We usually feel that we have found a very low price and they know that they have made a respectable profit. Sometimes, as we are looking or thinking, they converse among themselves in Quichua, the ancient Indian language, which bears no resemblance to either English or Spanish.

The market is run by a very successful collective of Indian artisans. If you see a table of Ecuadorian woven goods on a street corner or university mall in the US and it is staffed by a short brown man, he is probably from Otavalo. In fact, he is actually probably from Peguchi, a small village on the hillside above Otavalo. We have stayed in Peguchi and have seen numerous people toting large bundles of woven goods, woodcarvings, or vegetables to the market. I have asked street-corner vendors and purveyors of Andean music in Portland if they are from Peguchi and the answer is always a surprised “yes”.

We will continue to return to Otavalo at every opportunity even though we buy less. The overall experience is worth the trip.

The Jeep

2006-02-01T16:12:00.000-08:00

I don't have much to add about the jeep. We rented it from the husband of Emily's boss. He was a trusting fellow. Emily and I took a taxi to his house. He quickly showed us a few things, gave us the key, and sent us on our way. It was well-used, but reliable vehicle. It had a clutch, so Emily and I had to re-acquaint ourselves with stickshift driving. For some reason, I remembered the Anti-Christ from the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy". But we had no problems with this outfit.

Terry and Andy were a bit nervous about this entire caper, but it worked out well. Emily did a great job behind the wheel. She got us out of Quito (with navigational help from Marlene) and I took over once we got out on the highway. Andy also took a turn later when he became more comfortable with the situation.

Here are a couple of pictures of the jeep.

On the road to Otavalo

2006-02-01T10:51:00.000-08:00

Each time we have gone to Ecuador we have tried to see and do different things, but we always make a point of spending a day or two in Otavalo, where the huge indigenous craft market is held. We usually take the bus—the one with the chickens and bags of corn and potatoes. (see January 10 entry) This time Ray and Emily were hot to rent a car and drive there. It's about a two and a half hour drive from Quito. Ray will probably talk more about the car. I was not excited about renting a car, mainly because Ecuadoreans drive like maniacs, the roads are terrible and—duh—we don't really know where we are going. But we rented a nice Jeep and off we went. Marlene was planning to go visit her friend Debbie near Otavalo the same day and she was not eager to drive up alone in the rain, so she went with us. This proved to be fortuitous because Marlene knew some scenic, interesting routes and good places to stop.

Cayambe and bizcochos

The little town of Cayambe is famous for a kind of biscuit called a bizcocho, so we decided to stop and pick some up. There are shops and stands all along the highway selling bizcochos, but Marlene suggested that we drive into the town, down the main street and around the corner from the big church to a place where we could both buy our pastries and watch them being made. We went to the back of a series of small buildings and there were a group of people sitting around a table piled high with dough. They were rolling and cutting little log-shaped pieces of dough about as fast as hands can move. As the dough was cut it was transferred to baking sheets and stacked all around the room, then transferred into an open brick oven where they baked. We left with several warm, greasy bags of fresh bizcochos and a little tub of dulce de leche to dip them in. The dulce de leche is caramel sauce made from milk—pure, sweet deliciousness! The bizcochos are a little dull actually—rather like chunks of pie dough—but dipped in the dulce de leche, they are quite nice.

Debbie's house at Cusin

Just before we got to Otavalo we turned off the main road to take Marlene to Debbie's. Debbie owns a little house on the grounds of a 17th century hacienda called Cusin, which has been turned into a resort. The hacienda house is still there, beautifully restored and furnished. There are guest accommodations, a retreat/conference center, beautiful grounds and gardens and small houses that have been designed to blend with the old architecture.

Debbie used to work at the same school Emily and Marlene work at, in fact, was Emily's supervisor until this year. She retired and returned to the States, but has kept her house at Cusin and was there for the holidays. We visited over tea, got a tour of the hacienda, then bid Debbie and Marlene farewell and headed to Otavalo.

More on Mosaico

2006-01-29T16:46:00.000-08:00

I wanted to add a little more about Mosaico. If you are going to Quito this is such a nice place from which to view the city. You see the length of the valley and just how Quito follows the contour of the valley and creeps up the sides of the surrounding mountains.

The view of the Panecillo and the Virgin of Quito statue is wonderful from there. (Panecillo means "little loaf of bread" and it is a small mountain in the middle of old Quito with the monumental statue of the Virgin atop it) When we went this trip, the sky was dark and threatening and then the rain came pouring down. It was pretty spectacular. By the way, that's a bull fighting arena you see in the lower left.

Here's a view inside. It is quite a charming place and the drinks and desserts are especially good.

Mosaico and Itchimbia

2006-01-29T08:58:00.000-08:00

We started this day’s adventure by going to lunch at Mosaico, a restaurant just down the hill from Itchimbia. We like Mosaico for the view as much as the food and beverages. It is a great place to take photos of Old Town Quito. This picture was taken last year from the balcony at Mosaico. Emily, Terry, and our friend Muriel are more interested in my photograph than the marvelous view behind them. This year, the weather was lousy and we were the only ones in the restaurant. In fact, it started to rain hard and we had to move back from the balcony to avoid getting soaked.

Itchimbia is an art gallery on a hill overlooking the old city of Quito. The building is made largely of glass and is of some historical significance. It was moved to this location and re-assembled a couple of years ago. We visited it last year and saw a collection of children’s art. However, this year we found that it was closed. Before we left the taxi, we asked the guard at the gate if the museum was open and he responded affirmatively. However, after we had climbed up the many steps to get there, we found it to be closed. And it was a cloudy and rainy day. So we were somewhat bummed.

As you can see from this photo, there is an outstanding view of Old Quito from the museum. The picture from inside the museum was taken last year and features Terry, Emily and our friend Muriel Johnson who was traveling with us.

Orchids and butterflies

2006-01-25T23:57:00.000-08:00

We went to find the botanical gardens at Parke Carolina in the heart of downtown Quito on a rainy day. It was all beautiful, but the best part was the orchid house. Ray and I took photo after photo. I had a hard time picking out just four to share.

Do you know how hard it is to photograph a butterfly? There were a lot of spectacular butterflies in the Orchid house and I took a lot of pictures of them. This is the only one that isn't a blur of fluttery wings.

Christmas at Emily and Cayo's

2006-01-22T23:39:00.000-08:00

Emily and Cayo live in a 2nd floor apartment in a house that has been divided into apartments. It is small and cozy and very charming, with stucco walls, polished wood floors and beamed, angled ceilings. Their little Christmas tree lent a festive touch to the apartment and we prepared to help celebrate their first Christmas as a married couple.

Cayo told us that most Ecuadorean families celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with presents, a big dinner and late night mass. Our family has always opened gifts and had our big dinner on Christmas day. On Christmas Eve we went to Marlene's for dinner. Marlene is Emily's coworker and friend. She has been in Ecuador for quite awhile and lives in a high-rise apartment with a beautiful view. It was a great dinner with Marlene and several other of Emily's coworkers. The next morning we opened our gifts and later Emily and I cooked dinner. We had Marlene, Phil, Christa, Mike and their baby, and Emily's friend Ulla over for dinner. It was a big crowd for a small apartment, but we gathered up all the chairs and tables they have and were able to seat everyone. It was a nice day and our dinner turned out great. I really enjoyed cooking with Emily, who is a good cook. It reminded me of cooking holiday dinners with my mother and how much easier and more enjoyable it is to share that job than it is to do it all alone.

One of the nice features of Em and Cayo's apartment is a little terrace just outside the kitchen that overlooks the street below. Andy found it a good place to go for a smoke and not disturb any of us with his smoke. Ray took this picture of Emily and me cooking Christmas dinner from the terrace looking in the window to the kitchen.

Gift baskets

2006-01-21T06:03:00.000-08:00

Emily and her friends and coworkers all hire domestic help to clean, cook, do laundry, babysit, etc. Not only is this service very inexpensive, it represents an important layer of the local economy. Cecilia, the woman who visits their apartment one day a week, depends solely on just a few clients to make a living. And she barely makes enough to support herself and her two children, one of whom has Downs Syndrome. She works very hard most of the day cleaning and doing laundry. And she is a sweetheart.

On Friday night before Christmas, Phil (a fellow teacher at Colegio Americano) invited us and several others to his apartment for dinner and to prepare gift baskets for the hired help. It is customary for people to give their domestic help baskets filled with food, toys, etc for Christmas. They sell them at MegaMaxi for around $70, but it seemed cheaper and more fun to buy the stuff individually and assemble them ourselves. Also, Phil is a very good cook and he prepared a large meal of pork roast, soup, salad, potatoes, and vegetables. Emily contributed a Quiche. We were a little short on forks and spoons, but we managed by sharing and eating some courses in shifts.

Phil's picture is at the right above. Below are Terry engrossed in applying a bow to a basket and Christa, Mike, their baby, and Andy with a couple of completed baskets. Mike & Christa are Canadians. He also taught at the school with Emily, however they returned to Canada following Christmas.

Back to Quito - getting ready for Christmas

2006-01-19T12:38:00.000-08:00

Two days before Christmas we went shopping. It was raining off and on and everyone else in Quito was out shopping as well, so getting a taxi was hard. Emily had ordered a cooked turkey and I had brought some ingredients for Christmas dinner, but we needed to get other groceries and we had some last minute Christmas shopping to do.

The first time we visited Ecuador in 1999 there were no real malls. Also new since that first trip is a big grocery super store in Quito called Mega Maxi. It is part of a chain of grocery stores in Ecuador called Super Maxi, (don't these names sound like feminine hygiene products?) which have been around for awhile, but Mega is a step up, with clothing, housewares, appliances and liquor, as well as groceries.
It is a modern, American style super store, but with much more interesting produce and food items. I admit to a great fascination with browsing the aisles of Mega Maxi and finding treasure like amazing tropical fruits, guava candy, a block of cane sugar and a vast variety of bottled aji, the ubiquitous Ecuadorean hot sauce, made from tree tomatos.

Mega Maxi had a huge Christmas tree in the main floor lobby. Oddly enough the white and blue disks that decorate the tree say 'Oreo" (the cookie) on them.

The mall, Quicentro, is like an American mall in almost every way, including many American brand name stores and restaurants. It also includes some Ecuadorean stores, which, for me, were much more interesting than the Gap or Liz Claiborne. The prices are pretty comparable to American prices as well, which are very high by Ecuadorean standards. You can see in the picture that this mall was nowhere near as crowded two days before Christmas as an American mall would be.

Emily was never much of a mall person here in the States, but she says she finds the mall in Quito is just so convenient that she shops there a lot. Their apartment is not far from either Quicentro or Mega Maxi, another factor. Getting around Quito in taxis and public transportation is tiring and time-consuming.

Indulgences

2006-01-19T03:15:00.000-08:00

As Terry mentioned earlier, Arasha was a considerable step above other Ecuadorian accomodations we had experienced. For us, it was just great to relax in the pool with a Pina Colada, soak in the hot tub, or get a body massage. We did quite a lot of those activities around rigorous games of mini-golf, hikes, eating like pigs, and making/eating chocolate.

Birds

2006-01-17T23:03:00.000-08:00

There were a pair of parrots on a perch just outside the door to the main lobby at Arasha. They were very noisy, but we couldn't get them to talk. The wild birds that were flying around were really beautiful, but nearly impossible to get pictures of. They just moved too fast.

The toucan lived in a big cage up behind the main building.

The big hike

2006-01-16T14:55:00.000-08:00

Among the various activities on the Arasha list that were included in our stay was a hike to a river through the rain forest. The name of the river escapes me. I can check it out when I get back to Portland and look through our literature. We understood that it was a four hour trip and it was pretty difficult - a number of steep up-and-down segments. Andy and I decided to give it a go and Terry stayed behind to relax and draw. We embarked after lunch with Benito, a short athletic fellow, as our guide. He started by equipping each of us with rubber boots. They are the thigh-high type I used as a youngster for irrigating. As you can imagine, getting the right fit is tricky and they are just not good for a rigorous hike. They slip on your feet and, before long, you have blisters on your heels and/or toes.

The trail was the width of a road at first and covered with wood and nut shell chips. The guide spoke very little english, but I understood him to explain that we would be walking through a secondary forest. The nearby primary forest contained very large trees. After about a half hour, we reached a man-made beach next to a river. This was for children and others who want a short hike to a river to swim and play, but are not interested in the longer trek. From there, the trail became much narrower and, in the steep parts, contained many short log segments planted on end as steps. This was a good idea, however there were two flaws - they tended to get slick with moss and they were designed for/by folks with much shorter legs and strides than Andy and me.

It didn't really matter, though, because Benito would regularly ask us if we wanted an adventure. Being men in a country where macho behavior is the norm, we of course said "sure". At that point, he would step off the trail onto a steep muddy slope and head straight down to short-cut the sissy trail. On these "adventures" Andy and I learned to take hold of trees and shrubs and keep our bottoms close to the ground. We wound up sliding and getting pretty muddy. I was wearing light trousers over a swim suit and Andy had a pair of shorts. I also had a backpack that soon becamed caked in mud.

When we finally arrived at the river, we were hot and muddy. After a large swig of water, we stripped down and prepared to wade into the cold water for a swim. Benito poked us and pointed to an animal swimming in the water near the far bank. I asked him what it was and he replied - a crocodile. I said "Really?!?" and he said, "just a small one". Then he grinned and admitted that it was just an iguana. We watched the iguana swim downstream and climb out on the rocks, then we eased our way into the swimming hole. After getting used to the water tempurature, it really felt good to soak off some of the sweat and mud.

The return hike was easier as we stayed on the trail. And, even though it was an exertion, going uphill was easier on the blisters and my old joints than the steep declines.

2006-01-15T17:31:00.000-08:00

I just discovered, thanks to my sister, Becky, that we had the blog set to allow only blog members to comment. That's not what we wanted and it has been changed. We want comments! We love comments! Please................leave us a comment!

Making Chocolate

2006-01-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

At Arasha there were various activities you could participate in. One was a demonstration of chocolate making. The Arasha employee who presented the demonstration started by showing us cacao plants growing just outside the pavilion where we were. Then he showed us the beans from the cacao, which he threw into a big pot on a gas-powered stove. As the beans roasted they began to smell like chocolate. He enlisted different kids from the audience to stir the beans while they roasted.

When the beans were roasted he spread them out on the table and showed us how to peel the crispy skins off the beans.

Then he put the beans into a grinder and ground them up. That's Andy manning the grinder. Harder than it looked!

This is how the ground up beans looked--rich and chocolate-y and mmmmm, that smell!

The ground chocolate went into a pot and back onto the stove, where water, powdered milk, sugar and vanilla were added as the chocolate melted into a thick, rich sauce. Then we all got to sample it served over fresh bananas and pineapple.

Yum!

Hummingbirds??

2006-01-13T09:06:00.000-08:00

One of the features that was available at Arasha was a hummingbird sanctuary. A short van ride took us to a trail head. From there, we walked along a ridge through an orchard of lime trees. The trees were mature and were absolutely loaded with limes in varying stages of ripeness. We noticed a guy who was picking some and he allowed me to take his picture.

When we arrived at the sanctuary, there was a covered structure with flowers and hummingbird feeders, but no hummers. There was also a man-made stream with small fish. It was situated at the edge of a peak with a great view of the resort across a small valley.

Here are a picture of Terry & Andy under the cover and one of the view back toward the resort.

Flowers at Arasha

2006-01-11T21:37:00.000-08:00

Did I already say that Arasha was like paradise? Make that the Garden of Eden. I've never seen flowers like these.

More about the bus ride

2006-01-10T18:54:00.000-08:00

As Terry said, this bus trip was better than many we have taken. Cayo took us to the bus station on his way to work. The bus travels between Quito and Esmeralda on the coast and does not stop to pick up locals on their way to school or market or whatever. We have not visited Esmeralda, but I understand that it is unique in that there are lots of folks of African descent who live there. It was a port city for the slave trade. Anyway, Cayo is great about taking good care of his gringo-in-laws. So he talked with the bus driver and the assistant (who we call the flight attendant) and told them where we were going. I was not convinced that they were listening, but Cayo seemed confident.

My seatmate was a young chap and I tried to talk with him a couple of times, but he was a low-talker and a mumbler. With my poor spanish, that made it impossible for us to communicate verbally. However, we did pretty well with sign language and such. He was nice and became pretty amused at some of the slapstick comedy in the movie (Daddy Daycare). He probably took this bus frequently because he knew exactly where the entrance to Arasha was and he got the flight attendant's attention when it was time for us to get off.

Another unusual feature of this bus line was that they served crackers and coca cola. The FA came down the aisle handing out plastic cups and sealed packages of crackers. Then he returned with a liter of coke. He came back later and picked up the cups, but not the cracker wrappers. My seatmate threw his out the window, but I stuck mine in my backpack. I just can't seem to adopt the local littering practice.

Arasha Rain Forest Resort

2006-01-09T18:29:00.000-08:00

Emily and Cayo had to work the week before Christmas, so Ray, Andy and I took a bus trip out to the west of Quito to Arasha Rain Forest Resort for three days.

We have taken buses in Ecuador many times and the experience varies quite considerably. Very often the bus is old and beat up with people and bags of corn and live chickens filling every inch of space. The driver's helper hangs out the door yelling, "OTAVALO-OTAVALO-OTAVALO-OTAVALO-OTAVALO!" (or whatever the destination is) as the bus pulls up to each intersection and people get off and on all along the way. At the left is a picture of the inside of one of those kind of buses.

The bus we took to Arasha was, in contrast, clean, quiet and remarkably free of chickens. We watched an American movie (Daddy Daycare--not great) with Spanish subtitles. It was lovely.

When we arrived at Arasha we were quite sure we had discovered Paradise. Pretty thatched-roof cottages dotted the hillsides. Tropical flowers, butterflies, palm trees as far as the eye could see. We soon found the pool and discovered that it encompassed a bar, where you could enjoy a pina colada without ever leaving the water. This was, by far, the fanciest, most upscale place we have ever been to in Ecuador.

The mountains

2006-01-08T15:01:00.000-08:00

I love landing in Quito. The plane breaks through the clouds and, if it is reasonably clear, you see a number of magnificant snow-covered volcanic peaks. Quito sprawls through a long valley. The plane usually circles one of several smaller hills in the city on its way to the airport. A couple of years ago, it was stormy and our flight was sent to Guayaquil on the coast, where we spent the night.

Emily took this photo on a particularly clear day. You can see Quito nestled below the nearest peak - Pichincha. Later on our trip, we flew to Cuenca, which is directly south and requires a 40 minute flight. You fly right along the Andean range. When we took the flight this time, it was pretty clear and you could see several looming peaks very close. It reminded me of flying in and out of Portland and almost scraping the top of Mt Hood.

For some reason, we encountered lots of rain and chilly weather in Quito. It was unusual and many of the local residents were complaining about it. We told them that, coming from Portland, we were responsible for bringing the rain with us. We took the blame and apologized. We had rain jackets and umbrellas, but we were looking forward to some sunshine, which we eventually found. The only heating they have in houses and apartments are occasional fireplaces. So in the evenings and mornings, we just layered up and were OK. Even when it is cold, it is only about 48 degrees. And it gets at least into the 60's each day.

What about Cayo?

2006-01-08T08:05:00.000-08:00

This is Emily, in Ecuador. I wanted to send a short message mentioning that there are actually five of us in the family now, including my husband Carlos (we call him Cayo for short). He is one of the biggest motivators for my staying here in Ecuador for so long. This photo was taken in one of the only limosines in the whole country, the night that we were legally married last Spring.
We loved having my parents and brother here with us to keep us company over the holidays. School starts again for me tomorrow (I teach). I guess that means that the holiday really is over for us.

Cayo is, indeed, a great addition to our family! He is actually kind of in the picture of me. That is his hand on my shoulder. Here is the complete picture, taken that first morning at the Magic Bean.

Adjusting to the altitude

2006-01-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

Quito is situated high in the Andes with an altitude of over 9000 ft. I never truly adjust, but the first day is the hardest. I have a little headache and feel a bit dizzy for a day or two. After that I notice it mostly when we are walking fast, uphill or climbing stairs.

We usually take it a little bit easy the first day. We arrived at midnight, so we slept in the next day, then headed out to a favorite place, The Magic Bean, for breakfast. It is the best place in Quito for breakfast (my opinion) --fresh juices, including our favorite, tree tomato; omelets, yummy fried potatoes and lattes.

The Magic Bean is in the new part of Quito in an area called Mariscal. It is a section of town of hostels, cafes, internet cafes and shops that cater to travelers and it's commonly referred to as "Gringolandia."

It was just so great to have our family together. I couldn't get enough of looking at Emily's sweet face. As we were leaving the Magic Bean, I looked across the tops of the buildings toward the mist rolling down the sides of the mountains. Quito is a mix of old and new, chaos and noise, history and architecture, grime and grit and exotic flowers climbing along the walls and rooflines. It was good to be back.

Where in the world is Ecuador?

2006-01-07T18:14:00.000-08:00

When Emily first moved to Ecuador in 1998 we weren't even entirely sure where it was. We were not even sure how it was spelled. We soon learned that Ecuador is in South America, south of Colombia, north of Peru on the Pacific Coast. It aligns with the east coast of the US and is in the same time zone, except when the US is on daylight savings time. The equator runs through the northern part of the country and gives the country its name, although there is no Q in Ecuador!

It is a small, but diverse country with beautiful beaches, spectacular mountains (the Andes) and lush rain forest and jungle. Our most recent trip in December 2005 - January 2006 was Ray and Terry's 5th and Andy's 2nd.

We will all be contributing our perspectives. That's us above. Starting at the top left, clockwise are: Ray, Terry, Andy and Emily.