So it has been forever, eh?

we apologize, but we have been quite busy ~ upon returning from the states we had 2 visitors at different times and went on several magical journeys...then 1 week later school started

so we're just going to start posting some pictures (and maybe some comments) and hopefully before too long we'll catch up to the present...so we'll start at the start when we came home to the states, where we had the most wonderful time and got to spend time with all the people we love more than they will ever know! ~ and then we'll come back here to Quito and go to the Magic Roundabout and Puerto Lopez with Jon ~ then we'll go to the jungle with Josh and then we'll come home to 2 wonderful new friends

so here goes...and because it's easier, we'll just post pictures

This is our stay at the Charnitski's and the poconos....

So that's our stay at home, although, of course quite a bit more happenned. We just wanted to stay longer...

So we were home in Ecuador for a bit and then Jon came down. We stayed in Quito for a day or two then headed to the "Magical Roundabout."

Hello everyone ~ one more week of school left ~ it's so hard to believe!
I just wanted to post a couple quick pictures. The first two are taken in downtown Quito. Chris and I were out and about on Saturday running errands. We're always so struck by the fact that we're in the middle of the city but surrounded by these gorgeous mountains. Make sure you click on the picture to view it larger ~ otherwise you don't get the same effect.

By the way, Chris is standing next to the sign for my favorite store here, Camari. It's a fair trade co-op that sells delicious snacks, quinoa pasta, honey, etc. This area also has a huge fruit/vegetable/meat market that's always a lot of fun to visit.


Here's a picture of a bunch of the teachers we work with. Friday night was graduation and last night was the senior banquet which, I guess is their version of prom. It's held at the Swiss Hotel, which is the fanciest hotel in Quito, and families come and buy tables. Teachers also go (although we slipped out before things really got rolling ~ we thought it was a little weird for us to be there while students are partying). At the beginning of the evening they announce each senior and they are escorted down a runway.


I'll also try to post some more pictures from two amazing field trips I took this past week. The first was with the fourth grade and we went to a rose farm. Ecuador is one of the leading exporters of roses and one of the students' family runs a farm. It was really cool to see how they run the place and get all the roses ready to export.
The other trip was with the fifth grade (since I'll be teaching that grade next year) and they do a unit on the environment and one of the groups works on deforestation. So we went to visit a mountain outside of Quito where a guy is reforesting a portion of the mountain. It was beautiful and he's doing great things and showing other people how they can reforest the land. The kids were so excited to see what he was doing ~ he even has a windmill there.
Anyway, that's about it for now ~ hope everyone is well!

you have to watch this - the whole thing - do not call me a friend unless you do - you will be satisfied - what a saga - it's called

Battle at Kruger

8:23 - enjoy (and do not bail)

These four pictures (above) are of our favorite fruit - maracuya - it's pretty unique and there's certainly nothing like it in the states - once you get the seeds out - which is pretty easy - you throw them in a blender with a generous dose of powdered sugar - blend - and strain through a sieve to get rid of the seeds - yum! (sweet and tart) - they even sell maracuya gatorade


The 2 pics below are naranjilla, and like the maracuya you blender with sugar to enjoy ~ they are also unique and delicious (both of these, by the way, are also great with a little vodka and seltzer)
















This seed is really cool - if you drop it it can sail like a paper airplane - it's about 4 inches across





and some art ...

this moon-dog one, by the way - is a blatant rip-off of Miro

Peace and love and we can't wait to see everyone!

Here's a quick note...
As you may know, Chris and I have three terraces off of our apartment. One of the three we use all the time to sit on and look out at the city and the mountains (I'm sure you've seen the pictures in earlier entries). We have a lot of plants out there that chris has grown from seed and we recently bought a hummingbird feeder and a fuchsica plant (hummingbirds are really attracted to these flowers).

Well, we were ready to be patient but I think it took about 24 hours before we got our first guest....

and now we have about three regulars that come all day to drink from the feeder (and sometimes the plant) and chase each other around. They're even getting used to us being around, which is great because we get to see them up close.


This makes us very happy.

Well, we're back from our latest mini-adventure. We had a surprise 4 day weekend (it was supposed to be 3 days but the government changed the holiday to Tuesday). So we decided to take two of those days to head up to Otavalo ~ a town about 2 hours north of here. Otavalo is the town with the largest indigenous craft market in all of Ecuador. In fact, the Otavalenos are an indigenous success story because they are able to make decent money selling their crafts.

Anyway, a bunch of teachers from school rave about this hostel called La Luna outside of town in an idyllic setting in the mountains. It's mostly a backpackers hostel and Chris and I have wanted to hike a mountain close by called Fuya Fuya (beautiful and fun to say).

Here's the view we saw when we stood outside our room in the morning...

And the path that led down to the building where our room was...


When we arrived, we were met by an amazing sky. The clouds were surrounding a mountain.

The skies here constantly amaze us by how beautiful and dramatic they are and by how quickly they change. You can be suddenly surrounded by clouds and mist.

Unfortunately, when we arrived Friday night we found out that the road up to the base of the mountain was blocked by a landslide because of all the rain we've had lately.
Normally, you would drive (or take a taxi) the 10K to the Mojanda lake to hike up Fuya Fuya.

Instead, we hiked about 8 or 9 K uphill (at high altitude) for about 2 1/4 hours and saw this beautiful view of the mountain we wanted to climb, rested a bit (it was a great workout!)

and hiked back to the hostel. It would have been impossible to hike the 20K round trip plus up and down the mountain ~ so we have to save it for next time.

The next day we hiked the 5K into town and did some shopping at the market.
We kept walking and looking at the town to where we were supposed to be...

We also got to see their local fruit/vegetable market and it was beautiful! If only we had a car we would have filled it up.

We came home on Sunday feeling pretty proud of ourselves for getting better at managing the bus system. Instead of heading to the far south of the city where the bus station is, we caught a bus in the north (close to where we live) on the side of the road, hopped on to get the last two seats and enjoy the movie that was playing ~ Rambo First Blood, part II (dubbed in Spanish). It saved us about 45min to an hour. And we were able to figure out where to jump off on the way back ~ after enjoying the movie Collatoral Damage (Gov. Arnold) also dubbed in Spanish.

So, we have recently returned from an amazing trip to the small fishing town of Puerto Lopez on the West coast of Ecuador.






This was the first trip to the coast for us, so we really didn't know what to expect. One of the things we came to recognize is how much of a third world country this really is.

It is certainly easy to forget while making our way through Quito ~ and even our trips to the high Andes (to the Blacksheep Inn) haven't given us this same impression.

The other thing about this country that we came to realize even more is how kind the people really are. We knew this, yes.
But nothing will clarify this more than a trip across the country (which, by the way, is about the size of Utah - unlike Utah, however, it has one of the biggest mountain ranges through the middle and it doesn't quite have the infrastructure).

We started our trip with a 10 minute cab ride to the airport and a 30 minute flight to Manta. From there we took a 3 hour bus ride to Puerto Lopez. The bus system here is amazing and cheap. It cost the 2 of us 6$ for the 3 hour journey - and when you get a seat, which is most of the time, they are remarkably comfortable, albeit tough to snooze on.

We were ushered in a moto-taxi (the mode of transportation in Puerto Lopez) to our hostel - the Hosteria Mandala. An Italian artist and a Swedish lover of whales opened this hostel 9 years ago. They are sweet and vibrant people with a passion for life. The gentleman

is an artist particularly skilled in woodworking and he has created a beautiful retreat in which everything is a work of art. Check out the entrance gate he carved (above).


Five years ago they planted a garden - and I can't imagine the place any other way. Driving up I was concerned, but the place is incredibly special. The food is divine and the coffee as well (a rarity in this coffee producing country - as said in "The Panama Hat Trail, "The coffee gets worse the closer you get to the source."

We spent 1 day visiting a beautiful beach, Los Frailes and another day heading out to an Island called "La Isla de La Plata." It was something of a hellish place - a big, hot rock. It does have something of a unique ecosystem but it has been through several years of extreme drought.

This place is called the Poor Man's Galapagos, and aside from the obvious reason that it costs a lot less to visit, I can really only see one other reason - and that would be the blue-footed Boobies. Funny thing, I happened to be wearing some blue feet myself and accidentally snapped a photo.





















On the third full day there we just chilled out. Of course I couldn't stop trying to dissect the fishing industry in the town. Boats would seem to come in at random times, although I am convinced there is a pattern to it all. I am also convinced that every one in the town knew exactly who was out on which boat, when they left and exactly when they would be back. This place is the real deal and a true journey into the past. When the ships returned, men and boys with their plastic bins swarm the boats - buying the fish right off of the boat. Some men go out for a day, but 2 day trips seem more common. These are tiny boats - like what I imagine in The Old Man and The Sea.

And a final note, we found this great Columbian restaurant (Chris is looking at the map of Columbia in the picture) run by a very friendly couple and they served delicious Caipirihnias and some delicious corn pancakes topped with beans and cheese ~ we were in heaven!