Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Noah & the Ark
We cut out over 200 arks, window, doors, giraffes and elephants...and after tomorrow...most will be floating somewhere in many homes around here. Our final bible lesson was based on the story of Noah. We emphasised God's covenant to Noah, obedience and patience. (The later is something I have had to really embrace as everyone and everywhere we go, it's always an hour...or two late.) We played "Pin the Animal in the Ark"...the funniest part was watching them put on my gloves which I had them wear... you could tell they had not put on gloves very often. We also formed a circle (our ark) and tried to keep the animals (balloons with faces on them) inside the ark. We counted to 40 in English and Spanish and finally, learned a bit about several animals. Our "pay" was a bunch of pretty excited kids having lots of fun and hopefully....filing away more important lessons from the bible.
Correction on Jalopy
Thought when I wrote about the jalopy a few days ago, I knew what a jalopy was. Wrong again. Today we rode in a REAL jalopy. It had a steering wheel, gas pedal, brakes, a few door knobs, a window or two that worked, no working gauges, no real dashboard and just minor holes in the floorboard...except for the truck with major holes. But that good ol' jalopy had enough power...barely...to get all 6 adults home! No sir, no just ordinary cars for us!!
Looking for an American Husband
While squished in the back seat of the jalopy, we got to laughing so hard I thought we would bust a gut. One of the ladies from the church told us (traslanted via Tatiana) that she had a dream...that missionaries from America came...and knew of someone in America who would marry her...and take her to America where she would blossom! He would be less than 35, kind, love her and their home, speak Spanish (which Rog said was not necessary as love is an universal language) and love God. Rog and I started brainstorming ...and came up with a few names of possibilities. She said tomorrow she would bring a picture of her, a sexy one....no a whole album of pictures...and an resume....so we could take it home and find her "dream American husband!" Who knows??? Might just happpen!!! If any one reading this has candidates...let us know!
We cut out over 200 arks, window, doors, giraffes and elephants...and after tomorrow...most will be floating somewhere in many homes around here. Our final bible lesson was based on the story of Noah. We emphasised God's covenant to Noah, obedience and patience. (The later is something I have had to really embrace as everyone and everywhere we go, it's always an hour...or two late.) We played "Pin the Animal in the Ark"...the funniest part was watching them put on my gloves which I had them wear... you could tell they had not put on gloves very often. We also formed a circle (our ark) and tried to keep the animals (balloons with faces on them) inside the ark. We counted to 40 in English and Spanish and finally, learned a bit about several animals. Our "pay" was a bunch of pretty excited kids having lots of fun and hopefully....filing away more important lessons from the bible.
Correction on Jalopy
Thought when I wrote about the jalopy a few days ago, I knew what a jalopy was. Wrong again. Today we rode in a REAL jalopy. It had a steering wheel, gas pedal, brakes, a few door knobs, a window or two that worked, no working gauges, no real dashboard and just minor holes in the floorboard...except for the truck with major holes. But that good ol' jalopy had enough power...barely...to get all 6 adults home! No sir, no just ordinary cars for us!!
Looking for an American Husband
While squished in the back seat of the jalopy, we got to laughing so hard I thought we would bust a gut. One of the ladies from the church told us (traslanted via Tatiana) that she had a dream...that missionaries from America came...and knew of someone in America who would marry her...and take her to America where she would blossom! He would be less than 35, kind, love her and their home, speak Spanish (which Rog said was not necessary as love is an universal language) and love God. Rog and I started brainstorming ...and came up with a few names of possibilities. She said tomorrow she would bring a picture of her, a sexy one....no a whole album of pictures...and an resume....so we could take it home and find her "dream American husband!" Who knows??? Might just happpen!!! If any one reading this has candidates...let us know!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
The Dining Room Table
Dusty yellow checked with lace inlets and embroidered flowers...the tablecloth that covers the dining room table where we sit for more than two hours most every day...breakfast, lunch, and dinner...consuming Ecuadorian cuisine and even more nourishing...Ecuadorian family life and culture. After prayers, rice, various potatoes, soups & juices with chicken or thinly slices of beef are served with thick slices of conversation and contagious laughter....even when we don't know what we are laughing about. When Tatinana is here, she spends as much time translating as eating. When she is not, we play charades...and all of us are learning new words in the other's language. Tonight Rodrigo brought a globe to the table so we could show him Michigan and places we have been and he found places he'd been. After much talking, we all clear the table and usually I help do dishes and sometimes have helped prepare the meal... giving me a window into the Sonnia's kitchen.
Sunday Service at Sonnia's Church
How do we always end up in the front row? Went to church at Sonnia's home church...Templo Evangelico Alianza... and again were ushered to the front row. Can't say we saw one other non Hispanic person. The words to the songs were projected on a big screen so we could sing along--reading Spanish is much easier than learning it. Rodrigo had given us an English Gideon bible to bring. After church, we were introduced to a round of people...ministers, fellow Gideons, Sonnia's theoloy techer and friends One even spoke English! As Sonnia promised, it only lasted one hour...unlike last week's service at Plenitud de Dios!
Dusty yellow checked with lace inlets and embroidered flowers...the tablecloth that covers the dining room table where we sit for more than two hours most every day...breakfast, lunch, and dinner...consuming Ecuadorian cuisine and even more nourishing...Ecuadorian family life and culture. After prayers, rice, various potatoes, soups & juices with chicken or thinly slices of beef are served with thick slices of conversation and contagious laughter....even when we don't know what we are laughing about. When Tatinana is here, she spends as much time translating as eating. When she is not, we play charades...and all of us are learning new words in the other's language. Tonight Rodrigo brought a globe to the table so we could show him Michigan and places we have been and he found places he'd been. After much talking, we all clear the table and usually I help do dishes and sometimes have helped prepare the meal... giving me a window into the Sonnia's kitchen.
Sunday Service at Sonnia's Church
How do we always end up in the front row? Went to church at Sonnia's home church...Templo Evangelico Alianza... and again were ushered to the front row. Can't say we saw one other non Hispanic person. The words to the songs were projected on a big screen so we could sing along--reading Spanish is much easier than learning it. Rodrigo had given us an English Gideon bible to bring. After church, we were introduced to a round of people...ministers, fellow Gideons, Sonnia's theoloy techer and friends One even spoke English! As Sonnia promised, it only lasted one hour...unlike last week's service at Plenitud de Dios!
The Storm
The bible lesson we are now doing is about the storm that Jesus calmed while out with his disciples. It’s solid message of keeping your faith and letting Jesus calm your storms . Rog has cut plastic water bottles to make boats and added screws to mount a sail and adds a prow. We have them color and add a cut out of Jesus & the disciples. The kids have loved putting it all together. I play musical chairs and a balloon game and Tatiana plays a memory game . We make a good team! I pray the lesson will surface for them when they face a life crisis.
Day Off
After many days of lessons and prepping, we got a day off. We decided to visit the museums. The Historical was the best. It included a section of rebuilt buildings, a zoo with area terrains & animals and an agricultural section with gobs of gorgeous flowers. Colorful parrots flew around freely squawking and entertaining us. Many school kids were there…and while we took pictures of the animals…some took pictures of us!! We responded to many “Hi, How are you?” We also enjoyed a museum that had dioramas of the development of Guayaquil. The modern art museum was strange—just what we expected. I also enjoyed having day to eat American food…Rog is loving Sonnia’s cooking & I am okay with it but was ready for something more familiar…so I ordered a hamburger! Well, it was a “ham”burger…some type of sausage/ham mixture. But as always, the fries were delicious!!!
Bus Ride Around Town
It was time to hop on a bus. We’d been using only taxis to get around but wanted to have “the real thing” so we checked out the destination flashing on the front of the buses and jumped on the one headed in the direction we wanted to go. It went in the right direction for a while …but came to a roundabout and turned around. Oh well. At least we were seeing the other side of the street. After a bit, we were going by the homes that clung to the side of the mountains. The close up view made me wonder even more how they managed to keep from tumbling down the mountain and how one could walk from point A to B without sliding down. A young girl behind us tried out her English on us…and confirmed that eventually the bus would head back to where we wanted to go…but then a man next to us told us that we needed to get off this bus as it was going to stop in the unsafe part of town. …he would get us on a better bus. So the next stop, our new buddy (who was a HS teacher) and we got off that bus and waited until the right one came along. He talked to the driver and then ushered us on. Unconditional kindness again. It must have been Take Your Family to Work Day as next to the driver stood his wife holding their sleeping little boy, a 7 or 8 yr old was taking the fare money and an older daughter who sat behind them reading a magazine. At red lights, the dad & 7-8 yr old were playing some game on a pad of paper which must have been fun cause it made them smile lots. At some point, the driver’s family waved bye and got off. We did finally arrive at our destination and the driver made sure we got off. All this for just the 25 cent cost of the bus fare!!!
Bus Ride Notes
Government buildings, banks and pharmacies are by far the nicest buildings. Price of gas is $1.46 regular and $1.04 for diesel…and an attendant pumps it for you!!! The space next to ramps are filled with well groomed areas often with statues and water fountains. On side streets, trash is piled on corners and picked up by the city trash trucks…not sure how often.
The bible lesson we are now doing is about the storm that Jesus calmed while out with his disciples. It’s solid message of keeping your faith and letting Jesus calm your storms . Rog has cut plastic water bottles to make boats and added screws to mount a sail and adds a prow. We have them color and add a cut out of Jesus & the disciples. The kids have loved putting it all together. I play musical chairs and a balloon game and Tatiana plays a memory game . We make a good team! I pray the lesson will surface for them when they face a life crisis.
Day Off
After many days of lessons and prepping, we got a day off. We decided to visit the museums. The Historical was the best. It included a section of rebuilt buildings, a zoo with area terrains & animals and an agricultural section with gobs of gorgeous flowers. Colorful parrots flew around freely squawking and entertaining us. Many school kids were there…and while we took pictures of the animals…some took pictures of us!! We responded to many “Hi, How are you?” We also enjoyed a museum that had dioramas of the development of Guayaquil. The modern art museum was strange—just what we expected. I also enjoyed having day to eat American food…Rog is loving Sonnia’s cooking & I am okay with it but was ready for something more familiar…so I ordered a hamburger! Well, it was a “ham”burger…some type of sausage/ham mixture. But as always, the fries were delicious!!!
Bus Ride Around Town
It was time to hop on a bus. We’d been using only taxis to get around but wanted to have “the real thing” so we checked out the destination flashing on the front of the buses and jumped on the one headed in the direction we wanted to go. It went in the right direction for a while …but came to a roundabout and turned around. Oh well. At least we were seeing the other side of the street. After a bit, we were going by the homes that clung to the side of the mountains. The close up view made me wonder even more how they managed to keep from tumbling down the mountain and how one could walk from point A to B without sliding down. A young girl behind us tried out her English on us…and confirmed that eventually the bus would head back to where we wanted to go…but then a man next to us told us that we needed to get off this bus as it was going to stop in the unsafe part of town. …he would get us on a better bus. So the next stop, our new buddy (who was a HS teacher) and we got off that bus and waited until the right one came along. He talked to the driver and then ushered us on. Unconditional kindness again. It must have been Take Your Family to Work Day as next to the driver stood his wife holding their sleeping little boy, a 7 or 8 yr old was taking the fare money and an older daughter who sat behind them reading a magazine. At red lights, the dad & 7-8 yr old were playing some game on a pad of paper which must have been fun cause it made them smile lots. At some point, the driver’s family waved bye and got off. We did finally arrive at our destination and the driver made sure we got off. All this for just the 25 cent cost of the bus fare!!!
Bus Ride Notes
Government buildings, banks and pharmacies are by far the nicest buildings. Price of gas is $1.46 regular and $1.04 for diesel…and an attendant pumps it for you!!! The space next to ramps are filled with well groomed areas often with statues and water fountains. On side streets, trash is piled on corners and picked up by the city trash trucks…not sure how often.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Hi and thanks for all the birthday wishes!! What a treasure! I have sure been slacking on my writing... so I will try getting caught up...
Visitor in the Night--Chan!
One of the strangest thing about being gone so long and in unknown places, is never running into anyone you know. We are use to being surrounded by family and friends and running into them everywhere we go. So what a treat to have our niece come for a visit! Chan was to arrive sometime around 1 am so we sat by our window watching for her taxi. Around 2 am we saw a van driving slowly by, turn around and drive by again and we happen to see Chan inside...so I hung out the window waving my arms and Rog went down to chase them down. Chan had met some people at the airport who insisted on driving her to us. What fun to have her here!
Sunday Worship
The pastor at the church school where we have been working, invited us to church. Since it started at 10, we were ready at 9:15 knowing that Sonnia would have a big breakfast for us first. We waited...and waited. Around 9:45 we were called to breakfast and everyone leisurely ate while asking Chan lots of questions. Finally, I could not stop myself from looking at my watch...10:20. Sonnia noticed and asked if we were still interested in going to church...we said it was up to her. Much discussion followed...she said it would be a loooong service and the one she usually went to was just one hour...more talk about various services...time passing...again she asked us and we said it was her decision...about 11 she said, let's go. So we picked up the dishes, people put on Sunday clothes and we made it to the church about 11:30. We were ushered to the front row where they had saved seats for us. Dancers were performing The sermon was looooooooong but it must have been good as several times everyone clapped, said Amen and at one point, joined the pastor up front with tears running down their cheeks...pastor too. Then we were introduced and something was said about us...we assumed it was good as we got lots of cheers and applause. It ended about one and we were hugged all the way out the door. Sonnia introduced us to many...including a pastor from another church...and you guessed it...we will be doing lessons there too!! Tomorrow!
Fortin Church
Out in the sticks, we found the Fortin church. We had no idea how many kids or how long we'd have them but we have become experts at punting. We had about 34 kids...of all ages... for about 2 1/2 hrs...but luckily we had Chan & several local helpers also so we once we demonstrated the crafts and games, we let them take over...they enjoyed that as much as the kids! It was hot and humid and we were drenched but the kids were having a ball. Little Georgie had us in stitches asking us over and over...where's the sheep??? As we were cleaning up, we asked the helpers if they wanted to make sheep mask...you never saw such excited "big kids." They offered to bring us home...and here's that story....
Ride Home (think of Twas the Night Before Christmas)
Twas the time to go home...and we had just settled down for the long, sweaty wait, when out in the street we heard such a beep, we sprang from our chairs to see what came to get us...and what to our wondering eyes should appear but a miniature car for the 6 tired adults...with a hefty old driver so placid and plump...we knew in a moment, we'd not make it over the speed bumps. So out we all jumped and more slowly than turtles, he drove as we walked behind...and the children all shouted, "Hola, Hola" (You just can't pay for experiences like that!!) Fortin Church wanted us tomorrow too but Sonnia had other plans for us...
Prince of Peace Orphanage
We finally got to Prince of Peace which is where we thought we were going when we first planned to go Guayaquil but plans change and you just have to go with the flow. Sonnia is the president of the foundation that runs Prince of Peace. The current gov't shut down all the foundations in October as they want to set common rules ...put the kids in gov't run institutions...but It's election time in Ecuador and that means nothing is happening. You can imagine how sad that was for Sonnia. So today, we crawled in the back of their pickup with buckets & brooms for the 25 minute ride, passing some gorgeous new sub division, shopping centers, fields, cows and many poor areas. The orphanage has about 5 dorms (one named Michigan because many volunteers have come from Michigan), a school, volunteer house, kitchen & dining hall and a huge church. Sonnia showed us around and you could see the pain in her face as we dodged bats and saw how filthy things get when no one is there...the roofs have large open vents and things are not built tight. She had ordered a water truck to come and as soon as it pulled in, we got to work in the church...knocking down cobwebs, brushing off screens, and sweeping the floor. The water helped keep the dust to a minimum. It felt good to clean it up. Sonnia is going to offer to let the locals use it. She prays next April when the kids start school again...she can welcome the kids back to a cleaned up Prince of Peace. We will pray for that also and ask for your prayers too. We left thinking of how different our time here would have been...Prince of Peace is so rural & quiet with the same kids each day...and we are in the middle of a huge city with different kids every day!!!
Chan & Tatiana
Tatiana is loving having someone her age around. They are buddies already comparing their cell phones, music, life styles, likes & dislikes and just razzing each other. Tatiana usually spends lots of time with just her parents and her adopted sister, Alexandria...who is special needs in many ways...so I imagine it is a welcome change for her. She laughs lots more!
Compassion International
Compassion International runs a program during the kids summer break time (which started last Fri) giving needy kids a place to get tutoring, bible lesson and free lunch. Their homes are the shacks that seem to cling to the mountain sides that surrounds Guayaquil and we hear often collapse during heavy rains cascading down. Again we walked in not knowing much...we were told to arrive at 9...we got there by 9:30...kids started drifting in around 10...we were told rain delays everything...it rains almost daily sometime....we started a little after 10....our numbers kept swelling but we just worked them in...repeating important parts of the lesson...and soon we had about 25 till around noon when lunch was ready. We called on Chan whenever we needed a break and of course, we put her in charge of doing the games with the little ones who have the most energy and shortest attention span!! We walked home for another great lunch, a quick rest and then back for another round in the afternoon with another group of about 20. We are getting pretty punchy with our sheep lesson now and ad lib lots which keeps everyone laughing.
Me Justo vs. Me Justa
Both of us are becoming much better at Spanish....though one of us much faster than the other. ..only because he DID have four years of spanish just 50 yeas ago!! Most Spanish words seem to be at least 3 syllables and often I can only remember two so...like Chan...I just put O at the end of words. At lunch, I proudly pointed to a dish of potatoes, broccoli and who knows what else and said, Me Justo..one of the few words I had been saying quite regularly because I thought it meant-- I like. Tatiana cracked up. I asked why and found out it means--I like me. Me Justa means I like ... Hey, at least I try!!!
My Birthday
What a unique birthday... two sessions with fun kids...singing in Spanish...a phone call to all my kids...lots of emails and notes on facebook (first time I checked it since we left...and then off to LATTE for cheese cake with my whole Ecuadorian family and Chan. Bummer Jimmy--the jolly waiter who we had befriended--was not there but we met his sister and of course, l loved the snickers cheese cake!! Soon after we got home, Chan was off the the airport in hopes of getting home by morning...which she did. It was great having her with us!!
Visitor in the Night--Chan!
One of the strangest thing about being gone so long and in unknown places, is never running into anyone you know. We are use to being surrounded by family and friends and running into them everywhere we go. So what a treat to have our niece come for a visit! Chan was to arrive sometime around 1 am so we sat by our window watching for her taxi. Around 2 am we saw a van driving slowly by, turn around and drive by again and we happen to see Chan inside...so I hung out the window waving my arms and Rog went down to chase them down. Chan had met some people at the airport who insisted on driving her to us. What fun to have her here!
Sunday Worship
The pastor at the church school where we have been working, invited us to church. Since it started at 10, we were ready at 9:15 knowing that Sonnia would have a big breakfast for us first. We waited...and waited. Around 9:45 we were called to breakfast and everyone leisurely ate while asking Chan lots of questions. Finally, I could not stop myself from looking at my watch...10:20. Sonnia noticed and asked if we were still interested in going to church...we said it was up to her. Much discussion followed...she said it would be a loooong service and the one she usually went to was just one hour...more talk about various services...time passing...again she asked us and we said it was her decision...about 11 she said, let's go. So we picked up the dishes, people put on Sunday clothes and we made it to the church about 11:30. We were ushered to the front row where they had saved seats for us. Dancers were performing The sermon was looooooooong but it must have been good as several times everyone clapped, said Amen and at one point, joined the pastor up front with tears running down their cheeks...pastor too. Then we were introduced and something was said about us...we assumed it was good as we got lots of cheers and applause. It ended about one and we were hugged all the way out the door. Sonnia introduced us to many...including a pastor from another church...and you guessed it...we will be doing lessons there too!! Tomorrow!
Fortin Church
Out in the sticks, we found the Fortin church. We had no idea how many kids or how long we'd have them but we have become experts at punting. We had about 34 kids...of all ages... for about 2 1/2 hrs...but luckily we had Chan & several local helpers also so we once we demonstrated the crafts and games, we let them take over...they enjoyed that as much as the kids! It was hot and humid and we were drenched but the kids were having a ball. Little Georgie had us in stitches asking us over and over...where's the sheep??? As we were cleaning up, we asked the helpers if they wanted to make sheep mask...you never saw such excited "big kids." They offered to bring us home...and here's that story....
Ride Home (think of Twas the Night Before Christmas)
Twas the time to go home...and we had just settled down for the long, sweaty wait, when out in the street we heard such a beep, we sprang from our chairs to see what came to get us...and what to our wondering eyes should appear but a miniature car for the 6 tired adults...with a hefty old driver so placid and plump...we knew in a moment, we'd not make it over the speed bumps. So out we all jumped and more slowly than turtles, he drove as we walked behind...and the children all shouted, "Hola, Hola" (You just can't pay for experiences like that!!) Fortin Church wanted us tomorrow too but Sonnia had other plans for us...
Prince of Peace Orphanage
We finally got to Prince of Peace which is where we thought we were going when we first planned to go Guayaquil but plans change and you just have to go with the flow. Sonnia is the president of the foundation that runs Prince of Peace. The current gov't shut down all the foundations in October as they want to set common rules ...put the kids in gov't run institutions...but It's election time in Ecuador and that means nothing is happening. You can imagine how sad that was for Sonnia. So today, we crawled in the back of their pickup with buckets & brooms for the 25 minute ride, passing some gorgeous new sub division, shopping centers, fields, cows and many poor areas. The orphanage has about 5 dorms (one named Michigan because many volunteers have come from Michigan), a school, volunteer house, kitchen & dining hall and a huge church. Sonnia showed us around and you could see the pain in her face as we dodged bats and saw how filthy things get when no one is there...the roofs have large open vents and things are not built tight. She had ordered a water truck to come and as soon as it pulled in, we got to work in the church...knocking down cobwebs, brushing off screens, and sweeping the floor. The water helped keep the dust to a minimum. It felt good to clean it up. Sonnia is going to offer to let the locals use it. She prays next April when the kids start school again...she can welcome the kids back to a cleaned up Prince of Peace. We will pray for that also and ask for your prayers too. We left thinking of how different our time here would have been...Prince of Peace is so rural & quiet with the same kids each day...and we are in the middle of a huge city with different kids every day!!!
Chan & Tatiana
Tatiana is loving having someone her age around. They are buddies already comparing their cell phones, music, life styles, likes & dislikes and just razzing each other. Tatiana usually spends lots of time with just her parents and her adopted sister, Alexandria...who is special needs in many ways...so I imagine it is a welcome change for her. She laughs lots more!
Compassion International
Compassion International runs a program during the kids summer break time (which started last Fri) giving needy kids a place to get tutoring, bible lesson and free lunch. Their homes are the shacks that seem to cling to the mountain sides that surrounds Guayaquil and we hear often collapse during heavy rains cascading down. Again we walked in not knowing much...we were told to arrive at 9...we got there by 9:30...kids started drifting in around 10...we were told rain delays everything...it rains almost daily sometime....we started a little after 10....our numbers kept swelling but we just worked them in...repeating important parts of the lesson...and soon we had about 25 till around noon when lunch was ready. We called on Chan whenever we needed a break and of course, we put her in charge of doing the games with the little ones who have the most energy and shortest attention span!! We walked home for another great lunch, a quick rest and then back for another round in the afternoon with another group of about 20. We are getting pretty punchy with our sheep lesson now and ad lib lots which keeps everyone laughing.
Me Justo vs. Me Justa
Both of us are becoming much better at Spanish....though one of us much faster than the other. ..only because he DID have four years of spanish just 50 yeas ago!! Most Spanish words seem to be at least 3 syllables and often I can only remember two so...like Chan...I just put O at the end of words. At lunch, I proudly pointed to a dish of potatoes, broccoli and who knows what else and said, Me Justo..one of the few words I had been saying quite regularly because I thought it meant-- I like. Tatiana cracked up. I asked why and found out it means--I like me. Me Justa means I like ... Hey, at least I try!!!
My Birthday
What a unique birthday... two sessions with fun kids...singing in Spanish...a phone call to all my kids...lots of emails and notes on facebook (first time I checked it since we left...and then off to LATTE for cheese cake with my whole Ecuadorian family and Chan. Bummer Jimmy--the jolly waiter who we had befriended--was not there but we met his sister and of course, l loved the snickers cheese cake!! Soon after we got home, Chan was off the the airport in hopes of getting home by morning...which she did. It was great having her with us!!
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Peruvian Dream
Peruvian Dream by Roger
While visiting Peru I was greatly impressed by the craftsmanship and the industiousness of the Inca who built Fortaleza at Ollantaytambo and also the terraces and temple at Machu Picchu. I was still thinking about this after we had returned to Cusco. On the streets of Cusco we saw many people celebrating Epiphany by purchasing beautiful dolls that they would take to their homes and place in a special altar in honor of Christ.
That night I had a dream that proved to be the most memorable of my life. Jane and I were searching around Cusco for a spot that gives out tablets which contain the wisdom of our fathers. We located the place and viewed hundreds and hundreds of tablets stacked high against a stone wall. As we were gven a tablet for Jane's Dad the rest of Jane's family suddenly showed up in Cusco to share in the seach and discovery. Attached to the front of the tablet were many tiny booklets which were difficult to detach as they were wired on to the tablet (Thanks, John!) We finally managed to remove one booklet from the tablet and opened it. The pages of the booklet immediately crumbled to dust as did all of the remaining booklets. We should have been greatly disappointed, however, it was clear that his wisdom had already been passed to us through the example he provided by the way he lived his life. He was a quiet man who worked hard and long. He was persistent and managed to start a business which supported his large family. He was a loving father and grandfather who delighted in his family. We can only hope that this wisdom is passed on to generation after generation.
If he had been a modern Catholic Peruvian he would have been purchasing baby dolls to place in a family altar.
If Inca he would have been a tireless worker who contributed more than his share of the work required by the King.
Guest house
Food by Roger
We had green banana for dinner last night. It wasn't green and it tasted like potato. In fact it was very much like mashed potatoes mixed with cheese and onion then formed into a patty and fried like a potato pancake about the size of a large burger. We also get large glasses of juice for all meals... pineapple, raspberry or strawberry. One night for dinner we had a huge bowl of fruit--watermelon , cantaloupe, banana, guava, kiwi...too much to finish! Also bread and butter, jam, coffee,tea and more! Another meal was pork fried with a sauce of marciano cherries and honey served with cold mashed potatoes & as always, rice. Alexandra does much of the food prep and Sonnia does all the cooking.
Add to the juices ...Lemonade, watermelon,papaya, all very good and sweet. Lunch today was Spaghetti and chicken legs served with Parmesan cheese and white rice. We have had a lot of white cheese that is very mild in both Peru and Ecuador. I suppose that all this talk of food is making you hungry (hambre) Tengo hambre means, " I have hunger". Not to be confused with hombre which means "man". Fortunately they say spaghetti very much the way we do.
Competition between Roger and Rodrigo
It seems Roger has met his match! The father, Rodrigo loves to eat as much as Roger and each night they politely tell the other they can have what's left in the serving dishes...but usually they just split it. Both seem to love each bite they take and refuse nothing.
Our Guest Home
We have been graciously treated by our host here. They have opened their home to us where we are free to grab a banana, use their computer, wash our clothes, help with dishes, keep a Diet Coke in the frig...or take an afternoon shower & nap in our room. We are served 3 meals a day...all generous and in the dining room and always followed by relaxing conversation. What more can you ask? The home is surrounded by a tall wall and then a moat like area filled with huge plants. We have done most our cutting out there. The first one you enter is the living room...their centerpiece...nice furniture covered with plastic, huge gold trimmed mirror, many ornamental glass knick knacks sitting on elegant tables with lacy cloths and a chandelier lighting reflecting off the white marble floor. (Can you picture Roger in this room!!) Dining room is similar with several large cabinets filled with fancy glass dishes. The rest of the house...quite a bit more basic with lots of rough edges. Kitchen cupboard plywood & not built in, small gas stove, pots & pans used for many years, two big frigs...one cold and one just to store food (pesky ants). All windows and doors on main floor are have bars and locks. They have several TV's but haven't seen anyone watch them...we turned the one on in our room for a short time just to check out what's showing. Not much. It's quite noisy outside...we're on the corner with one road yielding to the other which means they beep every time they see another car....and lots of dogs barking...but we've gotten use to it and sleep well. A maid comes about 3 times a week...mostly when we've been gone. It truly is a great opportunity to become part of an Ecuadorian family.
Lost Sheep
99 cute little sheep to cut out, 99 cute little sheep. Cut one out, stack it up, 98 cute little sheep to cut out...1 cute little sheep to cut out, 1 cute little sheep. Cut it out, stack it up....NO MORE CUTE LITTLE SHEEP TO CUT OUT!!! After cutting our 225 sheep mask...it was exciting to finish. It is also a warm feeling knowing that when we leave here, we leave a flock of 225 kids who have heard that if they ever get lost...bad decisions, mean behavior, drugs or alcohol, loneliness, poor...they can find comfort and strength in their Good Sheperd who will always find them and care for them tenderly. This flock will also know that people from USA care about them too. And since most of them have also heard the story Mary had a Little Lamb and told to like the lamb in the story that followed Mary...they should follow Jesus.
We had green banana for dinner last night. It wasn't green and it tasted like potato. In fact it was very much like mashed potatoes mixed with cheese and onion then formed into a patty and fried like a potato pancake about the size of a large burger. We also get large glasses of juice for all meals... pineapple, raspberry or strawberry. One night for dinner we had a huge bowl of fruit--watermelon , cantaloupe, banana, guava, kiwi...too much to finish! Also bread and butter, jam, coffee,tea and more! Another meal was pork fried with a sauce of marciano cherries and honey served with cold mashed potatoes & as always, rice. Alexandra does much of the food prep and Sonnia does all the cooking.
Add to the juices ...Lemonade, watermelon,papaya, all very good and sweet. Lunch today was Spaghetti and chicken legs served with Parmesan cheese and white rice. We have had a lot of white cheese that is very mild in both Peru and Ecuador. I suppose that all this talk of food is making you hungry (hambre) Tengo hambre means, " I have hunger". Not to be confused with hombre which means "man". Fortunately they say spaghetti very much the way we do.
Competition between Roger and Rodrigo
It seems Roger has met his match! The father, Rodrigo loves to eat as much as Roger and each night they politely tell the other they can have what's left in the serving dishes...but usually they just split it. Both seem to love each bite they take and refuse nothing.
Our Guest Home
We have been graciously treated by our host here. They have opened their home to us where we are free to grab a banana, use their computer, wash our clothes, help with dishes, keep a Diet Coke in the frig...or take an afternoon shower & nap in our room. We are served 3 meals a day...all generous and in the dining room and always followed by relaxing conversation. What more can you ask? The home is surrounded by a tall wall and then a moat like area filled with huge plants. We have done most our cutting out there. The first one you enter is the living room...their centerpiece...nice furniture covered with plastic, huge gold trimmed mirror, many ornamental glass knick knacks sitting on elegant tables with lacy cloths and a chandelier lighting reflecting off the white marble floor. (Can you picture Roger in this room!!) Dining room is similar with several large cabinets filled with fancy glass dishes. The rest of the house...quite a bit more basic with lots of rough edges. Kitchen cupboard plywood & not built in, small gas stove, pots & pans used for many years, two big frigs...one cold and one just to store food (pesky ants). All windows and doors on main floor are have bars and locks. They have several TV's but haven't seen anyone watch them...we turned the one on in our room for a short time just to check out what's showing. Not much. It's quite noisy outside...we're on the corner with one road yielding to the other which means they beep every time they see another car....and lots of dogs barking...but we've gotten use to it and sleep well. A maid comes about 3 times a week...mostly when we've been gone. It truly is a great opportunity to become part of an Ecuadorian family.
Lost Sheep
99 cute little sheep to cut out, 99 cute little sheep. Cut one out, stack it up, 98 cute little sheep to cut out...1 cute little sheep to cut out, 1 cute little sheep. Cut it out, stack it up....NO MORE CUTE LITTLE SHEEP TO CUT OUT!!! After cutting our 225 sheep mask...it was exciting to finish. It is also a warm feeling knowing that when we leave here, we leave a flock of 225 kids who have heard that if they ever get lost...bad decisions, mean behavior, drugs or alcohol, loneliness, poor...they can find comfort and strength in their Good Sheperd who will always find them and care for them tenderly. This flock will also know that people from USA care about them too. And since most of them have also heard the story Mary had a Little Lamb and told to like the lamb in the story that followed Mary...they should follow Jesus.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Guayaquil by Roger
Guayaquil by Roger
When we arrived in Guayaquil it felt like a blanket was thrown over us. The temperature has been constantly warm with high humidity. Fortunately the sky has been cloudy most of the time so it is usually very comfortable . We have welcomed the rain nearly every day…for an hour or two and also often it rains at night. We sleep with large windows wide open and drapes thrown back to get any available breeze and are surprised that bugs, animals, or birds have not entered the room in the night or day. The main problem with the open windows is the traffic noise which begins very early and also the neighborhood dogs which sleep all day so don’t seem to need any rest at night.We have adequate time to walk and explore the part of the city where we are staying and have found many stores, restaurants, and even a shopping mall with a large supermarket. Sonia and Tatiana assure us that it is safe to walk around this area and we are feeling more comfortable as we venture out more. Alexandria, adopted 29 year old daughter, has enjoyed helping us prepare materials for the classes that we have been teaching in the school. She seems to enjoy getting hugs from Jane and is a willing worker. She was adopted by this family when she became too old to continue at the foundation where Sonia is director. Sonia tells us that she prays for patience and also that God should bring her love.
Bible Lessons
We're in full swing now...worked with about 105 kids now.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Behind the Walls
Bible lesson with Ninos
After double checking our supplies, we jumped in a taxi for a short trip to the Plenitud De Dios school. Ten little ninos were sent to the hall where we had set up our lessson. We did the same Good Shepherd lesson we'd done last Saturday so we had it down pat. It took some coaxing to get them to play Follow the Leader but once they caught on, smiles lit up. Two more groups of ten arrived and we enjoyed each and every one. Too quickly it was over and we packed up and walked home satisfied...knowing that each child had heard the message that the Good Shepherd, Jesus would find them if they felt lost. After a short rest, we were back at the cutting table...
Behind the Walls
As we always hope, we have managed to get behind the walls, gates, electric wires, locked doors, barred windows, dogs and security guards... into a home...and live as the locals live. Total immersion. An open window to understand a bit...appreciate more...and build a stronger and more authentic relationship. We are blessed. And though the distance to the school is short, each block we get away from the main street and each turn down a side street takes us deeper into the reality of how most live here. The road quickly changes from smooth paved to deteriorating, pot holed muddy dirt alleys. And even the clothing seems to fade and age before your eyes. But the sincerity of their smiles and greetings remains the same. We are blessed.
After double checking our supplies, we jumped in a taxi for a short trip to the Plenitud De Dios school. Ten little ninos were sent to the hall where we had set up our lessson. We did the same Good Shepherd lesson we'd done last Saturday so we had it down pat. It took some coaxing to get them to play Follow the Leader but once they caught on, smiles lit up. Two more groups of ten arrived and we enjoyed each and every one. Too quickly it was over and we packed up and walked home satisfied...knowing that each child had heard the message that the Good Shepherd, Jesus would find them if they felt lost. After a short rest, we were back at the cutting table...
Behind the Walls
As we always hope, we have managed to get behind the walls, gates, electric wires, locked doors, barred windows, dogs and security guards... into a home...and live as the locals live. Total immersion. An open window to understand a bit...appreciate more...and build a stronger and more authentic relationship. We are blessed. And though the distance to the school is short, each block we get away from the main street and each turn down a side street takes us deeper into the reality of how most live here. The road quickly changes from smooth paved to deteriorating, pot holed muddy dirt alleys. And even the clothing seems to fade and age before your eyes. But the sincerity of their smiles and greetings remains the same. We are blessed.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Starting to teach!
We're off the the races!
As life often goes, just when you wonder what you are gong to do next...the bomb hits. We went to a near by Christian school where the pastor-principal is a friend of Sonnia's. He asked us many questions...about our church, our mission vision, Obama, school shootings, our educational backgrd & experience, religion in our home town, etc....and then took us on a tour of the school. Sparse but 106 happy kids some thrilled to greet us in English. We met the pastor's daughter who is the English teacher and his wife who made the arrangements for our visits in classrooms and with two groups that come sponsored by Compassionate Int'l. Also, she scheduled visits at their sister church which is on the other side of town. So basically, she scheduled us to teach classes most every day for the next two & a half weeks!! And with Sonnia & Tatiana's help, we will prepare the lessons and all the materials we will need to teach them....and we thought cutting out 40 sheep was time consuming! We need to cut out 195 more, plus more boats, more arks, more animals...more everything! I did convince Sonnnia to use construction paper instead of the foam board so at least we can cut out more than one at a time!!! So you know what we'll be doing. We start tomorrow...and I can't wait...
As life often goes, just when you wonder what you are gong to do next...the bomb hits. We went to a near by Christian school where the pastor-principal is a friend of Sonnia's. He asked us many questions...about our church, our mission vision, Obama, school shootings, our educational backgrd & experience, religion in our home town, etc....and then took us on a tour of the school. Sparse but 106 happy kids some thrilled to greet us in English. We met the pastor's daughter who is the English teacher and his wife who made the arrangements for our visits in classrooms and with two groups that come sponsored by Compassionate Int'l. Also, she scheduled visits at their sister church which is on the other side of town. So basically, she scheduled us to teach classes most every day for the next two & a half weeks!! And with Sonnia & Tatiana's help, we will prepare the lessons and all the materials we will need to teach them....and we thought cutting out 40 sheep was time consuming! We need to cut out 195 more, plus more boats, more arks, more animals...more everything! I did convince Sonnnia to use construction paper instead of the foam board so at least we can cut out more than one at a time!!! So you know what we'll be doing. We start tomorrow...and I can't wait...
Monday, January 14, 2013
Cuenca
Last Night with Bob & Elsi
After returning from the church activities, Elsi jumped in the pool and did 10 laps while the rest of us sat soaking our feet and counted them. Then we played a bit more bridge and made our last trip to the food court...eating one more delicious cheesecake at LATTE served by our new best friend, Jimme. We exchanged emails and Elsi suggested he have a flag made so his customers could travel with it. We loved his genuine smile...watching him work...and mostly his cheesecakes!!
Off to Cuenca
Tatiana & her parents arrived at 5:15, threw our bags in their truck and we piled into a taxi and all headed to a bus station. For two hours and a half hours, we rode through another side of Ecuador: poor small villages much like we've seen in other countries, passing many on horseback, avoiding cows and rocks in the road, seeing healthy crops of rice, bananas, cacao (cocoa) trees, mais (corn) and sugar cane. We climbed many switchbacks to reach a Nat'l Park that was dotted with lots of lakes and waterfalls. Then sped downhill to Cuenca--a quaint traditional town full of churches and ice cream! We ate a huge breakfast which included a most popular dish called montipillo--maiz (pronounced like mice) cooked with rice...sorry Joyce Boyce if that made you lose your appetitie! We took a city tour on a two decker bus & when we came to some of the electric wires, a man with a towel lifted the wires so we could get under them. We are far from USA standards. We also got a treat as they were celebrating the Divino Nino (Divine Child)...so we got to watch a procession of small kids dressed as kings on decorated horses with a pig head on a platter behind them , angels on floats, and what looked like Cleopatra eating grapes. Our ride back was literally, in a cloud...raining...and as soon as we got out of the cloud, sunny again.
Good bye Bob & Elsi
As soon as we got back to Sonnia's, Bob & Elsi took a quick shower and after much hugging...Tatiana took them to the airport. We're sure going to miss them...
Dinner with Sonnia's Family
While we waited for Tatiana to returned (therefore no translator), we looked at pictures. Sonnia & her husband, Rodriga showed us their pictures from their trip to Dallas for a Gideon convention. It was fun hearing the excitement in their voices even though we only understood a little of what they were telling us. After Tatian returned & we'd settled our things in Tatiana's bedroom (which she has given up while we are here), we were called to dinner. Fine china and a tablecloth, fish, rice & a salad of tomatoes & radishes & onions greeted us. We ate and visited for almost two hours. We shared stories about our famlies, learned more about a young crippled girl, Alexandra whom they adopted when she turned 13 because she could no longer stay at the Prince of Peace Foundation that Sonnia is the president of, (adoption here is rare) and shared our hopes of helping bring God's love. In the end, Sonnia told us she had been praying constantly that we would be friendly people...and her prayers were answered. We were touched.
Cutting Projects
Since the pastor doesn't work on Monday, we could not visit the private school we hope to help at...so we worked on preparing a Bible lesson for next Saturday when we'll be at the church we were at last Saturday. Our lesson will be on the storm that Jesus calmed so we cut boats out of water bottles, made mast and drew a pictures of the disciplines & Jesus that we'll photo copy. We got all that done by lunch...so after aspargas soup & ceviche (raw fish dish...we took a walk checking out what's close. When we got back, Sonnia had another project ready for us to prepare...Noah's ark. We cut out 50 of many pieces and almost finished before dinner. Again, we ate and visited over an hour learning much more about the Prince of Peace foundation and Garret, a volunteer who has comes twice a year for 17 years, stays for a month and is a work-a-holic. It was a good days work...but I'm anxious to spend time with some kids!
After returning from the church activities, Elsi jumped in the pool and did 10 laps while the rest of us sat soaking our feet and counted them. Then we played a bit more bridge and made our last trip to the food court...eating one more delicious cheesecake at LATTE served by our new best friend, Jimme. We exchanged emails and Elsi suggested he have a flag made so his customers could travel with it. We loved his genuine smile...watching him work...and mostly his cheesecakes!!
Off to Cuenca
Tatiana & her parents arrived at 5:15, threw our bags in their truck and we piled into a taxi and all headed to a bus station. For two hours and a half hours, we rode through another side of Ecuador: poor small villages much like we've seen in other countries, passing many on horseback, avoiding cows and rocks in the road, seeing healthy crops of rice, bananas, cacao (cocoa) trees, mais (corn) and sugar cane. We climbed many switchbacks to reach a Nat'l Park that was dotted with lots of lakes and waterfalls. Then sped downhill to Cuenca--a quaint traditional town full of churches and ice cream! We ate a huge breakfast which included a most popular dish called montipillo--maiz (pronounced like mice) cooked with rice...sorry Joyce Boyce if that made you lose your appetitie! We took a city tour on a two decker bus & when we came to some of the electric wires, a man with a towel lifted the wires so we could get under them. We are far from USA standards. We also got a treat as they were celebrating the Divino Nino (Divine Child)...so we got to watch a procession of small kids dressed as kings on decorated horses with a pig head on a platter behind them , angels on floats, and what looked like Cleopatra eating grapes. Our ride back was literally, in a cloud...raining...and as soon as we got out of the cloud, sunny again.
Good bye Bob & Elsi
As soon as we got back to Sonnia's, Bob & Elsi took a quick shower and after much hugging...Tatiana took them to the airport. We're sure going to miss them...
Dinner with Sonnia's Family
While we waited for Tatiana to returned (therefore no translator), we looked at pictures. Sonnia & her husband, Rodriga showed us their pictures from their trip to Dallas for a Gideon convention. It was fun hearing the excitement in their voices even though we only understood a little of what they were telling us. After Tatian returned & we'd settled our things in Tatiana's bedroom (which she has given up while we are here), we were called to dinner. Fine china and a tablecloth, fish, rice & a salad of tomatoes & radishes & onions greeted us. We ate and visited for almost two hours. We shared stories about our famlies, learned more about a young crippled girl, Alexandra whom they adopted when she turned 13 because she could no longer stay at the Prince of Peace Foundation that Sonnia is the president of, (adoption here is rare) and shared our hopes of helping bring God's love. In the end, Sonnia told us she had been praying constantly that we would be friendly people...and her prayers were answered. We were touched.
Cutting Projects
Since the pastor doesn't work on Monday, we could not visit the private school we hope to help at...so we worked on preparing a Bible lesson for next Saturday when we'll be at the church we were at last Saturday. Our lesson will be on the storm that Jesus calmed so we cut boats out of water bottles, made mast and drew a pictures of the disciplines & Jesus that we'll photo copy. We got all that done by lunch...so after aspargas soup & ceviche (raw fish dish...we took a walk checking out what's close. When we got back, Sonnia had another project ready for us to prepare...Noah's ark. We cut out 50 of many pieces and almost finished before dinner. Again, we ate and visited over an hour learning much more about the Prince of Peace foundation and Garret, a volunteer who has comes twice a year for 17 years, stays for a month and is a work-a-holic. It was a good days work...but I'm anxious to spend time with some kids!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Cusco
Churches in Cusco
Massive. Elaborate. Ancient. Gorgeous. Sacred. Laden with gold, silver & flowers...and Everywhere...barely steps away from each other. The churches in Cusco dominated the squares and seemed to demand my attention. So I stepped in and felt myself shrinking as I look around at the grandeur that surrounded me. Hardly an inch all the way to the domed ceilings, was without intricate paintings, wood carvings, statues with princely clothing, mirrors meant to reflect your soul, stain glass windows, altars lining both sides with a central altar that overpowered it all. The most important was the Cathedral built on the Inca palace foundation which took over 134 years to build starting in 1534 and was flanked by two more huge churches. It has survived the 1650, 1950 & 1986 earthquakes. It houses the first cross brought to S. America and many original artworks including the last supper where guinea pig & papaya are shown on a platter. Judas' face has the coloring & features of a Moor. Mary is adored and often the central figure symbolizing her many roles and involvement in the lives of the Spanish. The most idolized crass has a blackened (by smoke) Jesus and legend is this cross stopped the tremors in the 1650 earthquake. Every year, it leads the Corpus Christi procession followed by many other saints (taking the place of the Inca mummies) . Another impressive sculpture was a silver plated pelican whose breast was bloody...gauged by the pelican herself in order to feed her young...symbolizing God's devotion to us. The audio tape I listened to emphasized the fact that the Inca & Spanish art and traditions were merged in the churches to help united the people...though the Spanish & European influence was by far greatest. In spite of that, the most attended mass is the 5 a.m. Easter service entirely in Quechua. The words I hope to bury in my heart were about the massive organs...the sound of their music is the cathedral breathing. It was most certainly breathtaking!
Last day In Cusco
While I visited the churches, Bob & Elsi finished up their shopping & then Elsi laid down as she must have eaten something that didn't agree with her. Rog checked out a couple more museums and right after lunch at McDonalds, we went off to the airport. Since we were heading to warmer weather, Roger donated his fluffy, bright yellow vest to our taxi driver. He was almost as happy to get it as I was to have Rog get rid of it. While we sat waiting, we got in a little more bridge.
Lima
We had to make the most of our one night in Lima, so after checking into our hotel, we took off toward the Miraflores...nice section. The taxi ride took us between the ocean and the 100-150 ft. sandy bluff. We checked out a restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet...thought we could do better so kept walking. It was a pleasant night. After a bit, we asked a man for directions and he went out of his way to direct us to a shopping center that was built on the bluff going down toward the ocean...under a park. We lucked out again! We enjoyed delicious seafood overlooking the ocean!
Guayaquil
Sonnia and her daughter, Tatiana were smiling, waving and holding a sign when we came out of the airport! We'd made another connection!! After we got to our hotel, we visited a bit and then discussed plans for the next several days. I had been a bit nervous about this whole part of our trip as so many things were not clear...but God directed us to the right place and had a plan. Next we went out for dinner & Sonnia & Tatiana went home & we all hopped in the hotel pool!!! First pool we'd seen. AAAhhhh! It's much hotter here so it felt wonderful. Sonnia had given material to cut out 40 sheep mask to use in telling the story of the last lamb on Saturday at a local church...so we got started tracing & cutting. Felt like old times to me. Around 9, we quit and walked down to a food court. All is well.
Tour of Guayaquil
Tatiana (who speaks great English) took us on a tour of the city. First to the market...much like the ones in Peru...and then up 444 steps along side newly restored houses which led to a chapel & great view of the city. We all were so hot...on the way Jane, Elsi & Rog asked a man who was watering his plants to run water over our heads. Gotta love my short hairdo! When we got down, we recovered in an air conditioned restaurant --diet coke & fries never tasted better. Then we walked the Malecon--wide sidewalk along the ocean that was had parks & gardens meticulously manicured. It only seemed right to be licking an ice cream cone.
Dinner at Sonnia's
The table was set in fine china and dinner ready when we arrived at Sonnia's home. We had a delicious meal of rice, beef like swiss steak, a cold pea, potatoes & carrot salad...and juice they called tomatoes but was thick & sweet. Next we worked out plans for tomorrow's lesson...practicing the song...learning the Spanish words we'd need. Sonnia showed us the felt board story she'll be doing. With plans all set, we went back to the hotel...Rog, Jane & Bob jumped in the pool and Elsi fell into bed. Yesterday, we'd told Sonnia we'd paint at the church after our tour but this a.m. she said we couldn't since something was going on there. Can't say any us were disappointed. We did come to work--but we are already at S. American pace. The heat & humidity here demand it.
Massive. Elaborate. Ancient. Gorgeous. Sacred. Laden with gold, silver & flowers...and Everywhere...barely steps away from each other. The churches in Cusco dominated the squares and seemed to demand my attention. So I stepped in and felt myself shrinking as I look around at the grandeur that surrounded me. Hardly an inch all the way to the domed ceilings, was without intricate paintings, wood carvings, statues with princely clothing, mirrors meant to reflect your soul, stain glass windows, altars lining both sides with a central altar that overpowered it all. The most important was the Cathedral built on the Inca palace foundation which took over 134 years to build starting in 1534 and was flanked by two more huge churches. It has survived the 1650, 1950 & 1986 earthquakes. It houses the first cross brought to S. America and many original artworks including the last supper where guinea pig & papaya are shown on a platter. Judas' face has the coloring & features of a Moor. Mary is adored and often the central figure symbolizing her many roles and involvement in the lives of the Spanish. The most idolized crass has a blackened (by smoke) Jesus and legend is this cross stopped the tremors in the 1650 earthquake. Every year, it leads the Corpus Christi procession followed by many other saints (taking the place of the Inca mummies) . Another impressive sculpture was a silver plated pelican whose breast was bloody...gauged by the pelican herself in order to feed her young...symbolizing God's devotion to us. The audio tape I listened to emphasized the fact that the Inca & Spanish art and traditions were merged in the churches to help united the people...though the Spanish & European influence was by far greatest. In spite of that, the most attended mass is the 5 a.m. Easter service entirely in Quechua. The words I hope to bury in my heart were about the massive organs...the sound of their music is the cathedral breathing. It was most certainly breathtaking!
Last day In Cusco
While I visited the churches, Bob & Elsi finished up their shopping & then Elsi laid down as she must have eaten something that didn't agree with her. Rog checked out a couple more museums and right after lunch at McDonalds, we went off to the airport. Since we were heading to warmer weather, Roger donated his fluffy, bright yellow vest to our taxi driver. He was almost as happy to get it as I was to have Rog get rid of it. While we sat waiting, we got in a little more bridge.
Lima
We had to make the most of our one night in Lima, so after checking into our hotel, we took off toward the Miraflores...nice section. The taxi ride took us between the ocean and the 100-150 ft. sandy bluff. We checked out a restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet...thought we could do better so kept walking. It was a pleasant night. After a bit, we asked a man for directions and he went out of his way to direct us to a shopping center that was built on the bluff going down toward the ocean...under a park. We lucked out again! We enjoyed delicious seafood overlooking the ocean!
Guayaquil
Sonnia and her daughter, Tatiana were smiling, waving and holding a sign when we came out of the airport! We'd made another connection!! After we got to our hotel, we visited a bit and then discussed plans for the next several days. I had been a bit nervous about this whole part of our trip as so many things were not clear...but God directed us to the right place and had a plan. Next we went out for dinner & Sonnia & Tatiana went home & we all hopped in the hotel pool!!! First pool we'd seen. AAAhhhh! It's much hotter here so it felt wonderful. Sonnia had given material to cut out 40 sheep mask to use in telling the story of the last lamb on Saturday at a local church...so we got started tracing & cutting. Felt like old times to me. Around 9, we quit and walked down to a food court. All is well.
Tour of Guayaquil
Tatiana (who speaks great English) took us on a tour of the city. First to the market...much like the ones in Peru...and then up 444 steps along side newly restored houses which led to a chapel & great view of the city. We all were so hot...on the way Jane, Elsi & Rog asked a man who was watering his plants to run water over our heads. Gotta love my short hairdo! When we got down, we recovered in an air conditioned restaurant --diet coke & fries never tasted better. Then we walked the Malecon--wide sidewalk along the ocean that was had parks & gardens meticulously manicured. It only seemed right to be licking an ice cream cone.
Dinner at Sonnia's
The table was set in fine china and dinner ready when we arrived at Sonnia's home. We had a delicious meal of rice, beef like swiss steak, a cold pea, potatoes & carrot salad...and juice they called tomatoes but was thick & sweet. Next we worked out plans for tomorrow's lesson...practicing the song...learning the Spanish words we'd need. Sonnia showed us the felt board story she'll be doing. With plans all set, we went back to the hotel...Rog, Jane & Bob jumped in the pool and Elsi fell into bed. Yesterday, we'd told Sonnia we'd paint at the church after our tour but this a.m. she said we couldn't since something was going on there. Can't say any us were disappointed. We did come to work--but we are already at S. American pace. The heat & humidity here demand it.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Quechua
Quechua
Today's descendants of the Inca (which once numbered about 12 million) are called Quechua. Their presence is very strong here. As we travel about, many are in traditional clothing and speaking their own language. Domingo (taxi driver) told us his grandparents live a 10 hrs walk up the mountains...after the road stops. They only speak Quechua (he speaks 3). And to think I feel bad about some of my grandkids being a 5 hr car trip away! We were able to enjoy soak up lots of the cultural music & dancing at the Cultural Center. Each day we dig a bit deeper and gain more appreciation for Peru!
Weather
We are just south of the equator but since we're high in elevation, it's a bit chilly in the am & pm and about 70 in the afternoon. This is actually considered their summer but weather is about the same all year. It's also rainy season so we've had several heavy rain storms...even one with hail--luckily we took cover in a nice restaurant where they gave us complimentary Pisco Sour (traditional drink) and we only got a little wet, Seems most roofs leak!
Pisac Ruins
We had one more ruin to check out--Pisac. We lucked out again with a great guide who proudly told us that Pisac ruins are older and higher in elevation than Machu Picchu. This Inca settlement was mostly for farmers so was surrounded by many terraces where root crops were grown. Our guide played a flute with a llama mouthpiece and picked several plants as we walked to the site...one was for dying clothes, another that helped with stomach problems, altitude sickness & prostrate (which he happened to sell) and another that when you rubbed it under water...it turned to soap. Really! Those Incas had lots figured out. Since they had such a healthy diet (quinoa, maiz, black potato and lean meats) most lived to be 100. The guinea pig which is very high in protein & low in fat, was raised right under the floor of the homes. When they wanted one, they'd just put some greens in front of the hole...out would come supper!! When they did die, they were mummified and put in a hole in the side of the mountain facing their settlement. They did not mourn the loss as they felt that their family was always near. The terraces facing the graves were filled with flowers. Our guide pointed out the many holes in the side of mountain (that had been ramsacked by the Spanish), he faced the burial and reverently played a song that filled me with such peace as it traveled over the valley between us and the burial site. It was raining & the wind was blowing...but nothing could diminish the beauty of that song. (Elsi bought the flute...how could she resist??)
Pisac Market
Perhaps the real reason we made the 45 min trip to Pisac was their famed market. Our taxi driver was friendly and we all learned a bit more...he, English and us, Spanish. He dropped us at the entance of the market and told us he'd meet us in about one hour at the end. So off we went...down what seemed like miles of tables laden with temptation. Though most were a repeat of the ones before...several had a few new items. The Boyce's found a few great finds but since it was one of the Sly's last opportunity to get gifts, they were wheeling and dealing and carrying lots of bags when our driver came looking for us almost two hours later. Not sure how long we'd stayed if he hadn't herded us out. We all rode back to Cusco with smiles.
Correction
Need to clarify my comment about the coca tea--it is made of the same leaf cocaine is made from but many steps & ingredients need to be added before it is actually cocaine...
Monday, January 7, 2013
Aguas Caliente and Headed to Peru
Thoughts..
It seems I can barely keep up with my writing...and miss writing about so many things...we are bombarded by sights & experiences constantly and feel like we're in fast forward...and loving it!!! We do miss our family & friends lots and love hearing from them via email.
Morning Walk in Aguas Caliente
With no real plans until our 2:30 train trip, we decided to meander toward a botanical garden our hotel clerk told us about. We discovered an array of interesting things on the way...light poles made out of railroad rails stamped 1926...a bird on a nest just inches above the roaring river...huge marble slabs fallen from the mtn above...gravel quarry...an old lady sitting on the tracks in what seemed like the middle of no where selling snacks so we bought candy bars. When we finally found the botanical garden at the end of an unworn path, the mossy steps, rickety handrail & mosquitoes made us question going in. As we tried to decide, a guy showed up asking for $4 each--we said no & he then asked for $2 which made us wonder if he was even official. So in the end, we turned back. On the way back we made a point of noticing the huge variety of flowers & flora we passed. Guess we did see a "botanical garden" after all!
Run to the Train Station
We dawdled around our hotel playing on computers & watching TV while we waited for the rain to stop. It lightened up but we thought it would quit so we waited. Someone noticed the time--2:00 so we had to take off quickly to make the train. Just as we stepped out the door, it started to pour llamas & alpacas!!! We put on our ponchos & covered up our suitcases and took off down the hill arriving just in time to board our train. Ironically, it was the same scenario as when we arrived.
Peru
On our train ride, we had a nice visit (between being awed by the passing views) with a gal from Peru who has lived in US for the last 7 yrs. She said things have really improved in Peru though there are still many poor. The economy is stable and there is less unemployment. So far, we have seen old & poorly construction...obviously no building codes...but not trash. Our taxi driver, Domingo was 21 and studying to be a tour guide. Though his spoke some English, trying to carry on a conversation was, as Elsi said, like playing charade. None the less, we did learn lots from him & we taught him some too! He said all kids K-12 are taught English every year. He will need 3 yrs University to be a guide, teachers & nurses need 5 and doctors & engineers need 6. He explained that the many unfinished houses were because they might want to build on later. We asked about the tall bamboo sticks with red plastic bags tied on the top in front of some houses. We learned that's where chichi (corn liquor) was ready to sell. As always, Roger asked about # of tractors. Domingo said there's 1 tractor for about 10 - 12 farmers. It was a sunny Sunday and we enjoyed seeing central parks full of people and lots of soccer games being played in the shade of the mountains.
Cusco Epiphany & Museums
We're back in the Royal Inca hotel. Everyone here was celebrating the Epiphany carrying around baskets with dolls depicting Jesus in them. The dolls were dressed in various ornate & detailed outfits which were being sold on the street. After a good night's sleep, we took off to hit the museums. After having been to Machu Picchu & Ollantaytambo, all the ruins & information we read was so fascinating. One museum was the original site of the Inca Sun Temple that was mostly destroyed by the Spanish who built a church there using some of the Inca structure. Another showed the chronilogical events from 15000 BC to 1600AD comparing different parts of the world. We learned about Tupac Amaru who 250 yrs after the Spanish took control, tried to re-instate the Inca rule. A clergy sat next to a cross as he was quartered in Cusco. When the clergy tried to return the cross, the nuns refused to accept it. We also read about deVega who wrote a detailed book about the history of the Inca. Most disgusting were some skulls showing how some royal babies' heads were bound so they were disfigured & could wear special head dresses. My favorite was about Pachacutec's (Inca leader) life. These words written on one display seemed to sum up so many of the feelings we'd been having about this great leader & the Inca people: Early in the 15th century, Pachacutec stamped his mark of genius on Machu Picchu...the Inca's heart beats in each rock of the sacred city and in the hearts of people all over the world. It now beats in ours.
It seems I can barely keep up with my writing...and miss writing about so many things...we are bombarded by sights & experiences constantly and feel like we're in fast forward...and loving it!!! We do miss our family & friends lots and love hearing from them via email.
Morning Walk in Aguas Caliente
With no real plans until our 2:30 train trip, we decided to meander toward a botanical garden our hotel clerk told us about. We discovered an array of interesting things on the way...light poles made out of railroad rails stamped 1926...a bird on a nest just inches above the roaring river...huge marble slabs fallen from the mtn above...gravel quarry...an old lady sitting on the tracks in what seemed like the middle of no where selling snacks so we bought candy bars. When we finally found the botanical garden at the end of an unworn path, the mossy steps, rickety handrail & mosquitoes made us question going in. As we tried to decide, a guy showed up asking for $4 each--we said no & he then asked for $2 which made us wonder if he was even official. So in the end, we turned back. On the way back we made a point of noticing the huge variety of flowers & flora we passed. Guess we did see a "botanical garden" after all!
Run to the Train Station
We dawdled around our hotel playing on computers & watching TV while we waited for the rain to stop. It lightened up but we thought it would quit so we waited. Someone noticed the time--2:00 so we had to take off quickly to make the train. Just as we stepped out the door, it started to pour llamas & alpacas!!! We put on our ponchos & covered up our suitcases and took off down the hill arriving just in time to board our train. Ironically, it was the same scenario as when we arrived.
Peru
On our train ride, we had a nice visit (between being awed by the passing views) with a gal from Peru who has lived in US for the last 7 yrs. She said things have really improved in Peru though there are still many poor. The economy is stable and there is less unemployment. So far, we have seen old & poorly construction...obviously no building codes...but not trash. Our taxi driver, Domingo was 21 and studying to be a tour guide. Though his spoke some English, trying to carry on a conversation was, as Elsi said, like playing charade. None the less, we did learn lots from him & we taught him some too! He said all kids K-12 are taught English every year. He will need 3 yrs University to be a guide, teachers & nurses need 5 and doctors & engineers need 6. He explained that the many unfinished houses were because they might want to build on later. We asked about the tall bamboo sticks with red plastic bags tied on the top in front of some houses. We learned that's where chichi (corn liquor) was ready to sell. As always, Roger asked about # of tractors. Domingo said there's 1 tractor for about 10 - 12 farmers. It was a sunny Sunday and we enjoyed seeing central parks full of people and lots of soccer games being played in the shade of the mountains.
Cusco Epiphany & Museums
We're back in the Royal Inca hotel. Everyone here was celebrating the Epiphany carrying around baskets with dolls depicting Jesus in them. The dolls were dressed in various ornate & detailed outfits which were being sold on the street. After a good night's sleep, we took off to hit the museums. After having been to Machu Picchu & Ollantaytambo, all the ruins & information we read was so fascinating. One museum was the original site of the Inca Sun Temple that was mostly destroyed by the Spanish who built a church there using some of the Inca structure. Another showed the chronilogical events from 15000 BC to 1600AD comparing different parts of the world. We learned about Tupac Amaru who 250 yrs after the Spanish took control, tried to re-instate the Inca rule. A clergy sat next to a cross as he was quartered in Cusco. When the clergy tried to return the cross, the nuns refused to accept it. We also read about deVega who wrote a detailed book about the history of the Inca. Most disgusting were some skulls showing how some royal babies' heads were bound so they were disfigured & could wear special head dresses. My favorite was about Pachacutec's (Inca leader) life. These words written on one display seemed to sum up so many of the feelings we'd been having about this great leader & the Inca people: Early in the 15th century, Pachacutec stamped his mark of genius on Machu Picchu...the Inca's heart beats in each rock of the sacred city and in the hearts of people all over the world. It now beats in ours.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
From dad
We had a great day hiking Machu Picchu. We liked our guide and found the inca ways fascinating. The buildings and terraces were so beautiful and well planned that it is hard to believe that it is just the ruins of their homes and fields from more than 500 years ago. Bob celebrated his 75 birthday hiking to the top twice and then to the Inca Bridge with me. We couldn't cross but the hike was exhilirating. Today we head back to Cusco and will be there for several days before heading back to Ecuador. Love, Rog/Dad
Bobs birthday
Birthday Dinner & Ice Cream
I just had to write a bit more((which I could about most everything!) about Bob's birthday dinner & ice cream. While we were eating at a street side table, a local band set up on the street right in front of us. I told Bob that I had hired them for him. He said he'd believe me when they started playing Happy Birthday. After quite a loud & long performance, they went from table to table collecting money & moved on down the street...where we enjoyed the backgrd music and could visit recalling past birthdays & all the cakes that Roger liked (hint: couldn't name one he didn't). Just before we left, the band played up "Feliz Cumpleanos a tu!" Bob had noticed a rare ice cream store on an earlier stroll so we headed to it. The refrigerated cart was so close to the steps leading in that we had to take turns teetering on them and avoiding the large hole in them to order what was really tasty ice cream. After the server finished dishing our order, he started cementing the hole in the steps only to be interrupted by another customer. Somehow that didn't diminish the taste of our ice cream!
Guinea Pigs
Another story...earlier when we were at our hotel in Ollantaytambo, we thought the "little casa" in the court yard was sooo cute. Later, we saw the cook carrying a large knife run out, pull a live guinea pig out from one of the "cute little rooms" and go back into the kitchen. We checked out the menu and sure enough, guinea pig was on it.
I just had to write a bit more((which I could about most everything!) about Bob's birthday dinner & ice cream. While we were eating at a street side table, a local band set up on the street right in front of us. I told Bob that I had hired them for him. He said he'd believe me when they started playing Happy Birthday. After quite a loud & long performance, they went from table to table collecting money & moved on down the street...where we enjoyed the backgrd music and could visit recalling past birthdays & all the cakes that Roger liked (hint: couldn't name one he didn't). Just before we left, the band played up "Feliz Cumpleanos a tu!" Bob had noticed a rare ice cream store on an earlier stroll so we headed to it. The refrigerated cart was so close to the steps leading in that we had to take turns teetering on them and avoiding the large hole in them to order what was really tasty ice cream. After the server finished dishing our order, he started cementing the hole in the steps only to be interrupted by another customer. Somehow that didn't diminish the taste of our ice cream!
Guinea Pigs
Another story...earlier when we were at our hotel in Ollantaytambo, we thought the "little casa" in the court yard was sooo cute. Later, we saw the cook carrying a large knife run out, pull a live guinea pig out from one of the "cute little rooms" and go back into the kitchen. We checked out the menu and sure enough, guinea pig was on it.
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
We've seen a million pictures, read the story and seen ruins in many places--but nothing prepared us for the site of Machu Picchu. Many artist have created great works of art carving wood, ice and stone...but the Inca carved a massive, granite mountain to create an entire city...all in about 100 years. We spent almost nine hours in awe and took hundreds of pictures and yet as we left, I couldn't help take yet one more look. In hundreds of years, Machu Picchu will probably still be a wonder...what have we created in the last 100 years that will awe generations to come? What an amazing amount of work the Inca had accomplished. Seeing Machu Picchu made us admire the Inca...and be dismayed that the Spanish conquistadors destroyed their cities...melted their magnificent golden statues &jewelry...and crushed a glorious civilization.
I could write mountains about today...but I'll try to hit the highlights & record a brief history. We were up at the crack of dawn peering out the bus ride that climbed about 900 ft turning sharp hairpin curves several times. Our guide, Peter gave us a brief history lesson as we passed by the plaque commemorating Hiram Bingham, the American who discovered Machu Picchu 100 years ago. He spent years leading work teams who cut through the vines, photographed the find and collected over 46,000 artifacts which were shipped to Yale Univ (which was to be given back to Peru but is still at Yale though Peru is hoping to get them back soon--shame on Yale!) Because of Bingham's meticulous work, 97% is original. A section has been left totally unescavated for the future perhaps with better methods. For the next two hours,Peter led us through many of the structures pointing out details, explaining reasons why & how things were built and creating a vivid picture of what Machu Picchu (translates old mtn) was like the early 1500's. He was very knowledgeable. I wondered if he had Inca ancestry It was the great Inca Pachacutec who greatly expanded the Inca empire with Cuzco as it's capital. Though no one is certain, he had Machu Picchu built as a summer palace and trade & education center and sacred ceremonial site. It's location is on the mountain exactly in the center of 4 other, one each facing NSEW. Built high so as to be closer to the sun god and included several temples honoring the condor (outer), puma (physical) and snake (undergrd). Pachacutec combined all these nature gods and worship the creator of all: apu kontiti pacha yachachi tecse illa wiracocha pumchao (try to say that--it translate to mtn, elements &knowledge power, mother of water, duality god) Inca rulers were mummified and carried to ceremonies & important meetings so as to help with decisions. A seasonal dial was carved out of the pinacle of the mountain which told them when to plant & harvest. Many of the building incorporated the mountain itself and all the other rock was quarried right from the mountain. (First green build) The work was done by the Inca people who were require to work for 3 months each year (their form of taxes). The soil that filled the terraces was carried up from other places on the back of the llama & these honored animals were also often used as sacrifices. (today they just have to keep the terraces mowed). About 1000 people lived there for about 100 years and then fled in fear of the Spanish though the Spanish never discovered it which is why it was not destroyed.
After Peter left us, we wondered about freely. The clouds that had engulfed us were beginning to melt away giving us grand views...and then erasing it all like an etch-a-scetch. About noon, we went to the picnic area to eat the peanut butter/jelly sandwiches we'd packed & Rog bought Bob a beer. When we opened our m & m bag--we sang Happy Birthday to Bob--75 yrs young--and the crowd joined in. After a nice visit with two Navy girls, Helen & Jennifer, we headed back into the park and were treated to a clear view of Machu Picchu and the mountains that surround it! It was like seeing it all again!! More climbing up to the top to see panoramic views, more pictures and more climbing down. The guys took off down a trail on the side of the mountain to find the Inca bridge..cliffs & sheer mts sides. They met up with Helen & Jennifer so they took turn taking pictures of each other. Finally, after almost nine hours, we were exhausted so we headed out. Rog spotted some leaf cutter ants on the hill beside us and we admired how hard they worked with such strength & determination--much like the Inca!!
We all took a nap when we got back to our hotel but by 6 we were ready to go out to have a birthday dinner & ice cream. Could a day get any better!!!
We've seen a million pictures, read the story and seen ruins in many places--but nothing prepared us for the site of Machu Picchu. Many artist have created great works of art carving wood, ice and stone...but the Inca carved a massive, granite mountain to create an entire city...all in about 100 years. We spent almost nine hours in awe and took hundreds of pictures and yet as we left, I couldn't help take yet one more look. In hundreds of years, Machu Picchu will probably still be a wonder...what have we created in the last 100 years that will awe generations to come? What an amazing amount of work the Inca had accomplished. Seeing Machu Picchu made us admire the Inca...and be dismayed that the Spanish conquistadors destroyed their cities...melted their magnificent golden statues &jewelry...and crushed a glorious civilization.
I could write mountains about today...but I'll try to hit the highlights & record a brief history. We were up at the crack of dawn peering out the bus ride that climbed about 900 ft turning sharp hairpin curves several times. Our guide, Peter gave us a brief history lesson as we passed by the plaque commemorating Hiram Bingham, the American who discovered Machu Picchu 100 years ago. He spent years leading work teams who cut through the vines, photographed the find and collected over 46,000 artifacts which were shipped to Yale Univ (which was to be given back to Peru but is still at Yale though Peru is hoping to get them back soon--shame on Yale!) Because of Bingham's meticulous work, 97% is original. A section has been left totally unescavated for the future perhaps with better methods. For the next two hours,Peter led us through many of the structures pointing out details, explaining reasons why & how things were built and creating a vivid picture of what Machu Picchu (translates old mtn) was like the early 1500's. He was very knowledgeable. I wondered if he had Inca ancestry It was the great Inca Pachacutec who greatly expanded the Inca empire with Cuzco as it's capital. Though no one is certain, he had Machu Picchu built as a summer palace and trade & education center and sacred ceremonial site. It's location is on the mountain exactly in the center of 4 other, one each facing NSEW. Built high so as to be closer to the sun god and included several temples honoring the condor (outer), puma (physical) and snake (undergrd). Pachacutec combined all these nature gods and worship the creator of all: apu kontiti pacha yachachi tecse illa wiracocha pumchao (try to say that--it translate to mtn, elements &knowledge power, mother of water, duality god) Inca rulers were mummified and carried to ceremonies & important meetings so as to help with decisions. A seasonal dial was carved out of the pinacle of the mountain which told them when to plant & harvest. Many of the building incorporated the mountain itself and all the other rock was quarried right from the mountain. (First green build) The work was done by the Inca people who were require to work for 3 months each year (their form of taxes). The soil that filled the terraces was carried up from other places on the back of the llama & these honored animals were also often used as sacrifices. (today they just have to keep the terraces mowed). About 1000 people lived there for about 100 years and then fled in fear of the Spanish though the Spanish never discovered it which is why it was not destroyed.
After Peter left us, we wondered about freely. The clouds that had engulfed us were beginning to melt away giving us grand views...and then erasing it all like an etch-a-scetch. About noon, we went to the picnic area to eat the peanut butter/jelly sandwiches we'd packed & Rog bought Bob a beer. When we opened our m & m bag--we sang Happy Birthday to Bob--75 yrs young--and the crowd joined in. After a nice visit with two Navy girls, Helen & Jennifer, we headed back into the park and were treated to a clear view of Machu Picchu and the mountains that surround it! It was like seeing it all again!! More climbing up to the top to see panoramic views, more pictures and more climbing down. The guys took off down a trail on the side of the mountain to find the Inca bridge..cliffs & sheer mts sides. They met up with Helen & Jennifer so they took turn taking pictures of each other. Finally, after almost nine hours, we were exhausted so we headed out. Rog spotted some leaf cutter ants on the hill beside us and we admired how hard they worked with such strength & determination--much like the Inca!!
We all took a nap when we got back to our hotel but by 6 we were ready to go out to have a birthday dinner & ice cream. Could a day get any better!!!
Saturday, January 5, 2013
More in Ollantaytambo
Our last day in Ollantaytambo was slow--giving us time to take in this unique village that has many parts much like it was when the Inca's designed it. We spent time in the local markets filled with everything from alpaca sweaters to skinned bull heads complete with eyeballs. Jane played Ring around the Rosie with three little ones, counted jumps to 53 to a young girl jump roping and of course, handed out more balloons. We followed a path the locals take along the river as Bob & Rog examined their fields. It started to rain in the afternoon which gave us an excuse to play some bridge...Bob & Elsi have been teaching us...usually we only play a few hands but the rain encouraged us to play several hands. We made a meal of various things we'd packed and hit the sack early.
Train to Aguas Caliente
Two moto taxis (motorcycle with a buggy attached) picked us up & off we went to the train station. While waiting in line to get on, Bob noticed a man with a Michigan sweatshirt on so he let out a "GO BLUE!" The man turned around only to tell us he was from Australia...meantime a woman asked us if we were from Ann Arbor. Replying that we were from Dexter, she said, "No way--my brother lives in Dexter!--David Laird." Of course, we all knew David and now we know his sister, Susan. Soon we were chugging along as the train followed the muddy, tumultuous Rio Urabamba between the massive peaks that poked through the clouds. Two hours of spectacular views around every bend.
Aguas Caliente
Plenty of aqua but just a little caliente (cold). It was pouring when we arrived and dragged our luggage up the hill to our hotel--no motor vehicles in town. In a short time, we dried out & the rain stopped so we ventured out to check out this very touristy village filled with people speaking so many languages & wearing a wide variety of outfits. We lucked out on selecting a great restaurant for dinner. Jane had stuffed potatoes (safe bet), Bob-garlic trout, Elsi-garlic chicken and Rog-always the adventures one--a Peruvian dish called ceviche (cold raw trout with onions, sweet potatoes & very hot peppers.) Our guide for tomorrow's BIG day met us at our hotel to pin down plans...things were not as we'd thought we had set us with the travel agent in Cusco so there was a rather long and unpleasant phone call but in the end, we got what we had been told we would--a private, two hour guide. It's only 9 p.m. but we're all in bed (me with Bob's laptop)...excited to rise at 4 a.m. to board the bus to Machu Picchu!
Our last day in Ollantaytambo was slow--giving us time to take in this unique village that has many parts much like it was when the Inca's designed it. We spent time in the local markets filled with everything from alpaca sweaters to skinned bull heads complete with eyeballs. Jane played Ring around the Rosie with three little ones, counted jumps to 53 to a young girl jump roping and of course, handed out more balloons. We followed a path the locals take along the river as Bob & Rog examined their fields. It started to rain in the afternoon which gave us an excuse to play some bridge...Bob & Elsi have been teaching us...usually we only play a few hands but the rain encouraged us to play several hands. We made a meal of various things we'd packed and hit the sack early.
Train to Aguas Caliente
Two moto taxis (motorcycle with a buggy attached) picked us up & off we went to the train station. While waiting in line to get on, Bob noticed a man with a Michigan sweatshirt on so he let out a "GO BLUE!" The man turned around only to tell us he was from Australia...meantime a woman asked us if we were from Ann Arbor. Replying that we were from Dexter, she said, "No way--my brother lives in Dexter!--David Laird." Of course, we all knew David and now we know his sister, Susan. Soon we were chugging along as the train followed the muddy, tumultuous Rio Urabamba between the massive peaks that poked through the clouds. Two hours of spectacular views around every bend.
Aguas Caliente
Plenty of aqua but just a little caliente (cold). It was pouring when we arrived and dragged our luggage up the hill to our hotel--no motor vehicles in town. In a short time, we dried out & the rain stopped so we ventured out to check out this very touristy village filled with people speaking so many languages & wearing a wide variety of outfits. We lucked out on selecting a great restaurant for dinner. Jane had stuffed potatoes (safe bet), Bob-garlic trout, Elsi-garlic chicken and Rog-always the adventures one--a Peruvian dish called ceviche (cold raw trout with onions, sweet potatoes & very hot peppers.) Our guide for tomorrow's BIG day met us at our hotel to pin down plans...things were not as we'd thought we had set us with the travel agent in Cusco so there was a rather long and unpleasant phone call but in the end, we got what we had been told we would--a private, two hour guide. It's only 9 p.m. but we're all in bed (me with Bob's laptop)...excited to rise at 4 a.m. to board the bus to Machu Picchu!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
3
Update #3
Mate de Coca Tea
While we waited for our taxi, Jane went in search of a Diet Coke while the rest drank yet another cup of Mate de Coca--an ammenity our hotel provides. It is suppose to help us deal with the 11,000 ft altitude of Cusco. Since it’s made from cocaine leaves, it may also be why we’ve been so happy here in Cusco! Jane did find her d. coke but the lady in the store insisted she also take a bag filled with --yup--Mate de Coca!
On the way to Ollantaytambo
We crammed into a taxi--think of sardines-and headed to our next destination--Ollantaytambo. It was two hours of white knuckles and speed bumps. At least at the speed bumps we could take pictures. We raced through several small villages where the house were made of adobe and by corn fields. Somehow the cows on the side of the road knew not to move even an inch closer. The mountain sides were crisscrossed with sheep and goat trails. Since it’s rainy season, everything is a shade of green. Gorgeous!
In Search of Our Hotel
Though our driver had the address of our hotel in Ollantaytambo, when we arrived, he asked for directions. He got lots of blank looks, several head shakes and a few who pointed up the hill. So up we went...the cobblestone road getting narrower and the walls of the houses on either side getting closer. We came to a rock in the middle of the road so Rog got out and directed the driver. He had about 6” of clearance. About then several dogs began to snarl at us. A broken down 3 wheeled tuk tuk stopped us. We started backing down the hill. Finally, we saw a flag at the bottom of a long stairway. We stopped and sure enough, we'd found it. I don't know who was happier, us or our
driver! It was more than worth the effort to find it. It was a gem! Tucked in the side of the bank of a stream with a panoramic view of the Inca fortress ruins high on the mountains across from us! We wondered if we’d gone over one of the cliffs on the road--and were now in heaven. Our room was built around rocks & even had a tree truck which had new shoots coming out of it. We sat on the lawn chairs in front in awe.
Checking out the Ruins
Just a few block from our hotel was the path that led to some ruins. The path was crude with loose rocks with barely room for two feet...but that didn’t stop us. We explored and admired the ruins and wondered how & why the Inc built so far up the mountain. Elsi did find a great spot part way up to sit and soak it all in.
Dining with a View
We happened upon a spot to eat that had a balcony overlooking the village square. We watched all the local happenings as we ate. Bob & Rog had “poor man’s” steak--big, paper thin and tough as cardboard. When the waiter brought the corn soup, he called it “mice supa”--it was lots better than it’s name implied!
A group from Chile sat next to us and we chatted. They told us that many S. American countries strongly held on to their ancient tradition but also added new ones brought to them by the Spanish and now immigrants. Example: on top of most homes you see the Spanish cross with sacred bulls on each side.
At one point we discovered that they were all musicians. That made Elsli excited! One was the conductor for the National Symphonic Orchestra of Chile, another the concert master on violin. Two were partially deaf. Another great find!
Correction: Mindo chocolate factory I wrote about earlier is in Dexter (not AnnArbor).
Up to the Ollantaytambo Ruins
The next day, Rog & Elsi bought walking sticks and then we were ready to tackle the higher ruins we’d been just looking at from our window! Up, up, up we went marveling at the precise placement of huge rocks fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle. There were dozens of terraces with water channels used for farming and rooms & paths with alcoves probably for torches to light the way. Around every bend, a view that hypnotized you! We spent about two hours just gawking. We didn’t really want to come down, but it was almost lunch time...
Multi-tasking
While we were coming down, Elsi was telling us how to say "right" in Spanish, when she stumbled and let out a scream--which caused Jane to scream. After we'd calmed down, a couple walking by told Elsi she should try to practice her Spanish while she was walking! That made us all chuckle.
Mate de Coca Tea
While we waited for our taxi, Jane went in search of a Diet Coke while the rest drank yet another cup of Mate de Coca--an ammenity our hotel provides. It is suppose to help us deal with the 11,000 ft altitude of Cusco. Since it’s made from cocaine leaves, it may also be why we’ve been so happy here in Cusco! Jane did find her d. coke but the lady in the store insisted she also take a bag filled with --yup--Mate de Coca!
On the way to Ollantaytambo
We crammed into a taxi--think of sardines-and headed to our next destination--Ollantaytambo. It was two hours of white knuckles and speed bumps. At least at the speed bumps we could take pictures. We raced through several small villages where the house were made of adobe and by corn fields. Somehow the cows on the side of the road knew not to move even an inch closer. The mountain sides were crisscrossed with sheep and goat trails. Since it’s rainy season, everything is a shade of green. Gorgeous!
In Search of Our Hotel
Though our driver had the address of our hotel in Ollantaytambo, when we arrived, he asked for directions. He got lots of blank looks, several head shakes and a few who pointed up the hill. So up we went...the cobblestone road getting narrower and the walls of the houses on either side getting closer. We came to a rock in the middle of the road so Rog got out and directed the driver. He had about 6” of clearance. About then several dogs began to snarl at us. A broken down 3 wheeled tuk tuk stopped us. We started backing down the hill. Finally, we saw a flag at the bottom of a long stairway. We stopped and sure enough, we'd found it. I don't know who was happier, us or our
driver! It was more than worth the effort to find it. It was a gem! Tucked in the side of the bank of a stream with a panoramic view of the Inca fortress ruins high on the mountains across from us! We wondered if we’d gone over one of the cliffs on the road--and were now in heaven. Our room was built around rocks & even had a tree truck which had new shoots coming out of it. We sat on the lawn chairs in front in awe.
Checking out the Ruins
Just a few block from our hotel was the path that led to some ruins. The path was crude with loose rocks with barely room for two feet...but that didn’t stop us. We explored and admired the ruins and wondered how & why the Inc built so far up the mountain. Elsi did find a great spot part way up to sit and soak it all in.
Dining with a View
We happened upon a spot to eat that had a balcony overlooking the village square. We watched all the local happenings as we ate. Bob & Rog had “poor man’s” steak--big, paper thin and tough as cardboard. When the waiter brought the corn soup, he called it “mice supa”--it was lots better than it’s name implied!
A group from Chile sat next to us and we chatted. They told us that many S. American countries strongly held on to their ancient tradition but also added new ones brought to them by the Spanish and now immigrants. Example: on top of most homes you see the Spanish cross with sacred bulls on each side.
At one point we discovered that they were all musicians. That made Elsli excited! One was the conductor for the National Symphonic Orchestra of Chile, another the concert master on violin. Two were partially deaf. Another great find!
Correction: Mindo chocolate factory I wrote about earlier is in Dexter (not AnnArbor).
Up to the Ollantaytambo Ruins
The next day, Rog & Elsi bought walking sticks and then we were ready to tackle the higher ruins we’d been just looking at from our window! Up, up, up we went marveling at the precise placement of huge rocks fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle. There were dozens of terraces with water channels used for farming and rooms & paths with alcoves probably for torches to light the way. Around every bend, a view that hypnotized you! We spent about two hours just gawking. We didn’t really want to come down, but it was almost lunch time...
Multi-tasking
While we were coming down, Elsi was telling us how to say "right" in Spanish, when she stumbled and let out a scream--which caused Jane to scream. After we'd calmed down, a couple walking by told Elsi she should try to practice her Spanish while she was walking! That made us all chuckle.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Update 2
Hi all and hope you had a great New Year's Eve & Day!
Can't believe all we've managed to squeeze in already! Realize some of you may not know that we are traveling with our Bob and Elsi Sly for the first couple weeks. They traveled with us to Thailand...and guess we all loved our time together so we're doing it again. And upfront you need to know that the keyboards here are different, there's no spell check & I'm not going to take the time to make corrections myself--sorry. So here's what we have been up to-
Quito-Ecuador Info
At 8 a.m. sharp our driver, Silvanna who was recommended by one of Rog's co workers Buzz Hastings, opened the door to her van and we climbed in and headed to Mindo. On our two hour ride, Silvanna filled us in on a wealth of Ecuadorian information: religion (85% Catholic), politics, health care, salaries (average $300 mo w/ health ins), housing cost, and holiday traditions. Overall, she thought Ecuador was improving in the last 30 years. There are fewer poor and they are receiving quite abit of government assistance. There is strong support for their current president. Their economy has really stableized since they started using US dollars for currency. Ecuador has it's own oil, plenty of clean water & farm land. Family size is 4 to 5. Crime, Columbian immigants & low salaries are the main problems. There...all you ever wanted to know about Ecuador!
Mindo: Orchids, Butterflies & Hummingbirds
Our route to Mindo had us climbing, descending & meandering through the volcanic mountains that surround Quito like a gigantic field of upside down ice cream cones! The valleys were often so deep we couldn't see the bottome. Trees clung to the sides...with occasional homes balancing over the edges. We stopped at an orchid farm to admire the many varieties of orchids that grow in the wild here. Some so tiny we had to use magnifying glasses and others as big as our hand. (Paige, you would have been in heaven.) But my favorite was watching and listening to to the many hummingbirds whose colors seem to glow. Next we went to a butterfly farm where our heads, arms and even noses were resting places for the multitude of butterflies. Hundreds of crysalis were carefully hung on a board and we witnessed several miracle births. I don't think I've had lunch in a more gorgeous spot. We ate on a platform over a fast flowing stream in the middle of gigantic flowering jungle plants. Trout from the stream were stuffed with veges, wrapped in a banana peal and baked to perfection. Mmmmm. No peanut butter today!
Mindo Chocolate Factory
Our last stop of the day was the REAL treat: the El Quetzel Caoca operation owned and operated by my neice, Annie's aunt and uncles. Her uncle, Francisco Mesa had been working elsewhere but came back to give us a personal tour. I will appreciate chocolate even more from now on. He began with the history: over 2000 BC the Olmecs used the beans in a drink known as the drink of the Gods. It wasn't until 1830 that Van Houten of Holland discovered the process that led to today's chocolate. About 50-60 beans grow in a pod on a tree that takes 7 yrs to mature...though scientist have developed a vairety recently that matures quicker but the chocolate is not as good. After the pod ripens, beans are fermented and then dried and finally crushed into nibs. That{s what they export mostly to Switzerland and Holland...and their own Ann Arbor factory. Next it will be ground, mixed with sugar, & boiled. All of this information was given as we walked among the cacao trees, holding the pods, crunching the beans between our teeth, munching on the nibs, tasting the powder and finally feasting on the 100% chocolate! (Hershey is 30%) We also mixed the chocolate with ginger & hot peppers. We tasted two of the latest by products they have developed: BBQ sauce and a sweet vinegar. And finally, we sunk our teeth into the best brownie ever! Francisco also took us through his garden of lava beds where we tasted lemon grass (choc flavoring), stabia (fake sugar) and with much excitment, he showed us his crop of dulcamara (a plant that slows cancer cells). We invited Francisco to Michigan to see Bob's maple syrup & Rog's pumpkin operations. After hugs and pictures, it was Adios!
New Year's in Cusco
Our ride home from Mindo was often interrupted as we came through small villages where young men dressed as sexy women held a rope across the road forcing us to stop so they could collect coins. Tonight, many large puppets sybolizing the old year, will be burned in the streets and these sexy women are pretending to be their widows and thus deserving support. The many laughs we got were sure worth the coins we gave out. After we got back to our hotel, we rested a bit then took off to the center of town to check out the puppets and more sexy women. It seemed pretty quiet & we were too tired to wait up till midnight so we went back to our hotel...and enjoyed the huge, dazzling fireworks & watched some puppets turn to ashes from our hotel window. Feliz Ano Nuevo!
On to Peru
We were on an early flight to Lima and then on to Cusco, a quaint village loaded with churches and museums. The cobblestone streets and narrow sideroads made pleasant walking before dining on pizza. This next morning, we spent time organizing our trip to Machu Picchu and so we'll be off soon!
Can't believe all we've managed to squeeze in already! Realize some of you may not know that we are traveling with our Bob and Elsi Sly for the first couple weeks. They traveled with us to Thailand...and guess we all loved our time together so we're doing it again. And upfront you need to know that the keyboards here are different, there's no spell check & I'm not going to take the time to make corrections myself--sorry. So here's what we have been up to-
Quito-Ecuador Info
At 8 a.m. sharp our driver, Silvanna who was recommended by one of Rog's co workers Buzz Hastings, opened the door to her van and we climbed in and headed to Mindo. On our two hour ride, Silvanna filled us in on a wealth of Ecuadorian information: religion (85% Catholic), politics, health care, salaries (average $300 mo w/ health ins), housing cost, and holiday traditions. Overall, she thought Ecuador was improving in the last 30 years. There are fewer poor and they are receiving quite abit of government assistance. There is strong support for their current president. Their economy has really stableized since they started using US dollars for currency. Ecuador has it's own oil, plenty of clean water & farm land. Family size is 4 to 5. Crime, Columbian immigants & low salaries are the main problems. There...all you ever wanted to know about Ecuador!
Mindo: Orchids, Butterflies & Hummingbirds
Our route to Mindo had us climbing, descending & meandering through the volcanic mountains that surround Quito like a gigantic field of upside down ice cream cones! The valleys were often so deep we couldn't see the bottome. Trees clung to the sides...with occasional homes balancing over the edges. We stopped at an orchid farm to admire the many varieties of orchids that grow in the wild here. Some so tiny we had to use magnifying glasses and others as big as our hand. (Paige, you would have been in heaven.) But my favorite was watching and listening to to the many hummingbirds whose colors seem to glow. Next we went to a butterfly farm where our heads, arms and even noses were resting places for the multitude of butterflies. Hundreds of crysalis were carefully hung on a board and we witnessed several miracle births. I don't think I've had lunch in a more gorgeous spot. We ate on a platform over a fast flowing stream in the middle of gigantic flowering jungle plants. Trout from the stream were stuffed with veges, wrapped in a banana peal and baked to perfection. Mmmmm. No peanut butter today!
Mindo Chocolate Factory
Our last stop of the day was the REAL treat: the El Quetzel Caoca operation owned and operated by my neice, Annie's aunt and uncles. Her uncle, Francisco Mesa had been working elsewhere but came back to give us a personal tour. I will appreciate chocolate even more from now on. He began with the history: over 2000 BC the Olmecs used the beans in a drink known as the drink of the Gods. It wasn't until 1830 that Van Houten of Holland discovered the process that led to today's chocolate. About 50-60 beans grow in a pod on a tree that takes 7 yrs to mature...though scientist have developed a vairety recently that matures quicker but the chocolate is not as good. After the pod ripens, beans are fermented and then dried and finally crushed into nibs. That{s what they export mostly to Switzerland and Holland...and their own Ann Arbor factory. Next it will be ground, mixed with sugar, & boiled. All of this information was given as we walked among the cacao trees, holding the pods, crunching the beans between our teeth, munching on the nibs, tasting the powder and finally feasting on the 100% chocolate! (Hershey is 30%) We also mixed the chocolate with ginger & hot peppers. We tasted two of the latest by products they have developed: BBQ sauce and a sweet vinegar. And finally, we sunk our teeth into the best brownie ever! Francisco also took us through his garden of lava beds where we tasted lemon grass (choc flavoring), stabia (fake sugar) and with much excitment, he showed us his crop of dulcamara (a plant that slows cancer cells). We invited Francisco to Michigan to see Bob's maple syrup & Rog's pumpkin operations. After hugs and pictures, it was Adios!
New Year's in Cusco
Our ride home from Mindo was often interrupted as we came through small villages where young men dressed as sexy women held a rope across the road forcing us to stop so they could collect coins. Tonight, many large puppets sybolizing the old year, will be burned in the streets and these sexy women are pretending to be their widows and thus deserving support. The many laughs we got were sure worth the coins we gave out. After we got back to our hotel, we rested a bit then took off to the center of town to check out the puppets and more sexy women. It seemed pretty quiet & we were too tired to wait up till midnight so we went back to our hotel...and enjoyed the huge, dazzling fireworks & watched some puppets turn to ashes from our hotel window. Feliz Ano Nuevo!
On to Peru
We were on an early flight to Lima and then on to Cusco, a quaint village loaded with churches and museums. The cobblestone streets and narrow sideroads made pleasant walking before dining on pizza. This next morning, we spent time organizing our trip to Machu Picchu and so we'll be off soon!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Arrived in Quito!
Hard to believe just 48 hours ago, we were putting Christmas decorations away and shoveling snow. Since then we had an easy flight to Miami and then just 4 hour flight to Quito...then stepped into a totally different world. We quickly found our hotel...a gem in it´s hay day with lots of decorative wood and gilded ceilings. Our window opened to a small courtyard and perfect view of volcanic mountains that surround this city of about 3 1\2 million people. Quito is the highest in elevation of all capital cities. We all crashed and woke up ready to explore Old Town. The city square soon filled with musicians, dancers, vendors, shoe shiners and the locals. Seeing a crowd gather, we joined in and were treated to a End of the Year parade of costumed characters...lots of them devils...frolicking down the street. How lucky! Then we were awed by the 4 tons of gold decorating the Cathedral Campania de Jesus. Ornate beyond compare. Interesting fact was since the Incas built it, it also encompassed lots of Inca symbols. We also went into a couple other Catholic churches all filled with gorgeous stain glass and unique Nativity scenes. Finally, we decided to get an overview of the whole city by taking a cable car ride up to 13, 287 ft. Now that was an amazing view! Talk about ending the day on a high!!!
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