Ecuador 11/16/2019 - 12/1/2019

Saturday, November 30, 2019 - A Visit from Javier and Family, Farewell Dinner at Lago Cuicocha

Shina and Yupanqui were at catechism when we woke up. My stomach was still bothering me this morning, so I only ate a bologna and cheese sandwich. Craig had a fried egg and fries as well. We both had coffee and lemonade with chia.

They also gave me two cups of special tea from the garden for my stomach.

After breakfast, we went to our casita to pack for our departure tomorrow. We need to pack our clothing to bring home, and also to pack away the toiletries and items that we leave in storage here.

This afternoon, our mutual friend Javier would be stopping by with his family. They expected to be here between 2 and 3 o'clock. It would be nice to see them all again.

Some young men from the community came over to the house to use Antonio's musical equipment while he was at work. They set up amps and a keyboard on the patio and started to practice.

Antonio came home on his moto and shouted something, and Rosa kicked into gear as he sped away again.

A little while later, Rosa told us that there would be four Belgian tuorists coming at 5 p.m. This explained the sudden burst of activity. Tourists are unfortunately few and far between these days, and any opportunity to host them for a homestay is appreciated. The family changed the linens and cleaned the guest rooms in preparation for their arrival.

Rosa also mentioned that the family would go to Cuicocha for lunch. This was a surprise to us. We had never done that before.

It seemed to really be cutting it close time-wise. Going up to the lake and eating lunch at a restaurant would probably mean that we would then need to race home to meet Javier and his family. And it's never easy/fast to find transportation.

Add to that the fact that my stomach still wasn't feeling well and the last thing I wanted to do was eat. It seemed like we had just eaten breakfast.

We told Rosa that I wasn't well enough to go, and that they should go without us. We apologized and she said that it wasn't a problem.

We continued to pack and expected them to leave soon. But they didn't leave. The kids seemed a bit sad, but that wasn't unusual given that we would be leaving tomorrow. They always held out hope that one day we will just stay forever.

Abuelita was behind our casita saying prayers and changing the clothes of her Virgin Mary statuette.

Craig and I tried to help in preparations for tonight's guests, and we dried and put away dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.

The kids came into the kitchen and Rosa fed them some reheated rice. I guess they weren't going to lunch after all. We gave the kids some coloring books, including some we had gotten for free at the airport in Reykjavik.

We had also bought them a cat-themed coloring book by Moshow the Cat Rapper. I explained to them that Moshow is a real performer who loves cats, and we showed them his Facebook page. We showed them a video of him rapping as he gave his cat DJ Ravioli a bath.

The kids started to color in the cat coloring book. I took a photo and posted it on Moshow's Facebook page, saying hello from his Indigenous Ecuadorian fans. He replied immediately "This is so dope! Can they take a picture all standing together holding the front cover? I want to use that picture. [Heart emoji]".

So we took the kids outside, and posed them in front of the casita holding up the coloring book. We explained to them that Moshow wanted their picture and they were very excited.





We gave the kids a book about the Galapagos in English. It had maps in it and Shina immediately started to study the map, identifying islands and countries.'

Yupanqui was really hyper, and Shina immediately ran to get one of the mind jars we had made with them last year. These homemade jars of water, glitter, and sequins are meant to be shaken up like a snowglobe, and watching it settle back down is meant to calm you down. We were impressed that the kids remember this coping strategy a year after we taught it to them.

We played the concentration game that German tourists had given them while awaiting Javier's arrival. Javier sent us a message saying that they would be a bit late because the road to Morochos was temporarily closed due to a horse race coming through town. You can't make this stuff up, and your certainly can't count on roads being open, as we had seen several times on this trip alone!

Javier and his in-laws Diego and Norma arrived at 3:20 p.m. His wife Jess was at a friend's birthday party in Quito and couldn't make it. They brought lots of food supplies for the family.

Antonio called, and the family spoke to Javier in Spanish. He then translated for us, saying that if we wanted to go up to the lake for dinner we could. We explained that my stomach hadn't been well, and now that they were here visiting it didn't really make sense to go now. And the Belgian tourists would be arriving soon.

Javier explained that he and Diego and Norma could go with us. Then he explained that what the family was really trying to do was to have a goodbye dinner in our honor at the lake. Now it was all starting to make sense. There is always some degree of confusion since Spanish is their second language, and we are not totally fluent, so nuances get missed.

I had started to feel a bit better after drinking the tea, and we realized that this was really important to the family, so we decided to go.

As we were getting our things together, the Belgian tourists arrived early. We all introduced ourselves. Aida stayed home and got the tourists settled while the rest of us piled into Diego's Grand Vitara and left the house at 3:50 p.m. for the short drive to Lago Cuicocha.

We have been to the lake numerous times. It is a beautiful crater lake with two small islands, and is essential to the Kichwa creation story.

As we parked and approached the visitor's center, we could see Antonio in his traditional clothes tending to the tourist boats and passengers. We felt a sense of pride for him.

He came to greet us and asked if we wanted to take a boat ride. We (and the kids) had taken several boat rides here, and it was obvious that the kids were eager to be in the boat with Papi at the helm. So we bought tickets and boarded the boat (Norma, Diego, and Javier watched from the shore; we think that the cool temperatures had something to do with it).

It was great to see Antonio in action, getting passengers seated, piloting the boat, and explaining the natural and cultural history of the area. He joked with the passengers with deadpan humor and they responded well. He kept them entertained.

We passed between the two islands and saw many birds roosting in nests that they had made in the reeds. We had never seen this before, and it was very cool.

When we got back to shore, we had a complimentary drink of hot canelazo, to which Craig added some alcohol. I usually do as well, but with my precarious stomach situation I decided to pass on the alcohol.

Antonio secured the boat and then accompanied us inside to the restaurant. It was fancier than we had expected, and had lovely view of the lake.

Antonio had ordered five meals (not originally knowing that Javier, Norma, and Diego would be with us). The meals consisted of four courses, so there was plenty of food for everyone.

I was starting to feel hungry, but made sure to only eat a little bit in case my stomach started acting up again. The first course was palmetto ceviche. This was followed by amaranth soup. Then came the main course: a plate of pork chicharrones, mote, avocado, salad, llapingachos, and a cheese empanada. It was all absolutely delicious! We had juice and coffee to drink. Dessert was a fig in molasses sauce, topped with cheese.

It was a great farewell dinner, and we were so happy that Javier, Norma, and Diego were able to join us as well! As we walked back to the car, the kids went down a slide in the playground area. Rosa went down the slide too, and many giggles ensued.

We arrived home shortly after 6 p.m. We said our thank you's and goodbyes to Javier, Diego, and Norma, as they returned to Ibarra.

We noticed that there were only four piglets out front and got nervous that one had escaped. Rosa told us that they had actually sold one of the male piglets today, unfortunately for a low price.

The young men from the community were still here practicing music on the patio.

We went into the kitchen, where Aida was preparing dinner for the Belgian tourists. We chatted with the Belgians: Jara, Mitchell, Melinda and David. They were quite friendly, and took a group photo which they e-mailed to us.

As they sat down to eat at 7 o'clock, we said our goodnights. We wanted to give them the opportunity to enjoy the family's company, and we needed to continue packing for our early morning departure.

As we walked across the patio toward the casita, Abuelita came to say goodbye to us. She was talking up a storm, with a big smile on her face. She said in Kichwa that we come and go too soon, and she wants us to come again soon. She made an airplane takeoff gesture with her hand. It was so adorable that even the young men who were practicing music on the patio giggled. Abuelita sure is a gem!

We returned to the casita and packed and cleaned up. Craig moved the towel that he had placed beneath the roof leak when we had arrived two weeks before. There hadn't been any more leakage since that first night. He got quite a shock to find a small black scorpion hiding beneath the towel! We did not know that scorpions survived at this altitude / climate. In 10 years of visits, this was the first we had encountered.

We tried to comfort ourselves with the fact that it was small, but then we remembered that small scorpions are more dangerous. There had been spiders, slugs, and millipedes which had entered the casita in the past, and we realized that we have to add scorpions to the list of potential creepy crawlies to look out for. It was not a fun discovery, and I was sure to be thinking of it as I tried to fall asleep tonight.

The band was still practicing. We wanted to go to bed very early in preparation to wake up at 3 a.m. for our ride to the airport. But with the loud music, that would be pretty much impossible. We wondered how late they would be practicing. But as soon as we shut off our lights (around 8:30 p.m.), they immediately started to pack up, for which we were grateful.

It had been really great to see Antonio in action at his job at Lago Cuicocha today. The fate of the lake will be decided soon...on Thursday, lawyers from municipality and UNORCAC will meet to determine whether the lake's tourist infrastructure can remain under indigenous control (and whether Antonio can continue to work there).
Abuelita

Abuelita

Antonio guiding a boat tour at Lago Cuicocha

Antonio guiding a boat tour at Lago Cuicocha

Achi Mama, Shina, Yupanqui

Achi Mama, Shina, Yupanqui

Sisa and Achi Taita

Sisa and Achi Taita

Birds at Lago Cuicocha

Birds at Lago Cuicocha

Antonio, Sisa, and Yupanqui Lago Cuicocha

Antonio, Sisa, and Yupanqui Lago Cuicocha

Diego, Norma, Javier, Sisa, Rosa, Achi Taita, Shina, Antonio, and Yupanqui

Diego, Norma, Javier, Sisa, Rosa, Achi Taita, Shina, Antonio, and Yupanqui

Rosa going down the slide at Lago Cuicocha

Rosa going down the slide at Lago Cuicocha

Belgian tourists visit the family

Belgian tourists visit the family

See all photos from November 30





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