I have asked my visitors to write a blog entry. I figured this would be more interesting because the things that have become mundane to me will be new to my visitors.
So here begins my Mom's blog...
I was lucky enough to be able to spend 10 days in Ecuador with Leah. After an uneventful flight, Leah picked me up in Quito. The next day we went to the equator. (There are two parks dedicated to this, since the French were a few meters feet off when they calculated this in the 1700's.) Those parks were full of interesting facts about Ecuador's indigenous groups and the earth's center (mitad del mundo).
Thank goodness it was cloudy that day, although several exhibits depended on the sun. Leah proved to be the only person in our group who was able to balance an uncooked egg (small point down) on a nail head at the equator. No wonder the Peace Corps needs her!
After that, we took a cab up to the huge angel statue overlooking the city (El Panecillo) and walked down. About halfway down, passerbys were telling us to hurry up and get out of there, since this was a dangerous area. Then we saw the writing on the wall (literally). The walls of the path were stamped "Robbery Zone - Danger to Tourists". We moved along quickly and grabbed a cab at the bottom.
Our next stop was the Otovalo market. This is the largest open air market in Ecuador. After a fouled up reservation debacle and several hours of trying to find a hacienda that was in the middle of nowhere, we ended up in a nearby town, Ibarra. We went to the market the next day but did not allow enough time. We barely grazed the edge of the market but had fun looking at everything. We bought some stuff for Leah's apartment and I bought handmade stuff to bring home. It's probably good that our time was limited. Leah is quite the seasoned price negotiator. William Shattner has nothing on her.
Then we made the long trek back to Leah's new apartment in La Asuncion. That was an all day trip involving buses, taxis, and camionetes. Her place is a nice little spot that doubles as a grain bin when not rented. She has water and electricity but washes her clothes outside a concrete water tank/slab called the Rock. This is how it's done in Ecuador. I was glad to miss laundry day, but I helped her cook stuff....from scratch. Jeez
I met Leah's host mom and sisters. They were very sweet, but we were unable to locate her counterpart and host-dad, Rafael. Leah was disappointed that we were unable to meet. Me too. We also took a day trip up to Salinas to see the salt flats and chocolate and textile mills.
After a couple days at Leah's site, we made the long trip to Tena in the Amazon basin. That was a day long trip. We went rafting on a class 4+ river that is a main tributary to the Amazon river. That was fun. We were with a New York family and two great guides. It was a good mix.
After that we went back to Quito to meet Steve at the airport. They were glad to see each other :D (Understatement!) That was fun.
Well, I'm back home now and looking forward to the next trip to Ecuador!!
I'm so glad Leah will be coming home for Christmas!!
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