PrologueWe planned this trip to Ecuador as somewhat of an experiment. Now that our compadres have reliable internet access, I received the go-ahead from my employer to try a working vacation. I would work full time over the internet while visiting the family. A three week trip would only require a single vacation day - the day that we traveled down there. It seemed like this would be the best of both worlds, allowing an extended visit with the family while still being able to fulfill my work obligations. We hoped that it would work out successfully, so that this could become something that we do regularly in the future. Now that Craig is retired because of his MS, we only need to worry about my work schedule. Proving that I could be an effective remote employee could open up new possibilities.Friday, October 16, 2015We had booked an early flight, which meant that we had to wake up at 2 a.m. Craig's Mom was very kind to drive us to the airport at 3 o'clock in the morning. We had a lot of luggage (we were bringing some things to leave down there permanently in our casita). The luggage carts at the airport cost $4 (!!!), so we decided to use a Skycap for the first time. I'd rather give a tip to a person for a service rather than throw that much money away to use a cart for 5 minutes. We had checked in online, so the process of checking the bags at the curb was very convenient.Our flight took off ontime at 5 a.m., and we caught our connection in Miami. When we arrived at the Quito airport, the whole family was there to greet us: grandparents Antonio and Rosa, mom Aida, and the three kids: Sisa (age 7), Yupanqui (5), and Tayanta (3). They were eating orange creamsicles as they waited for us. The kids seemed as excited to see us as we were to see them. They gave us spontaneous hugs and kisses all day. It only took Tayanta about 10 minutes to fully warm up to us this time. Yupanqui helped Antonio to push our luggage cart across the street and over to the parking lot. We took a van back to Morochos (the driver brought his 2-year-old daughter Cori along, and she was adorable!). Sisa and Tayanta were dressed in their traditional clothes. They looked beautiful. However, Tayanta seemed obsessed with her skirts. She was always standing up, smoothing down the skirts, and sitting back down. Later Aida would tell us that Tayanta doesn't enjoy wearing the traditional skirts, and that she much prefers pants. When we arrived in Morochos, we were greeted by Max the dog, and welcomed by Antonio's mother, "Abuelita." We got settled into the casita. This is a comfortable little cottage that the family built for us two years ago. It contains two beds, a table, and a private bathroom. A suitcase and Rubbermaid that we had purposefully left here on our last trip had been placed in the casita waiting for us. We unpacked those things, along with everything that we had brought this time, to create a comfortable and functional home for the next three weeks. I connected my computer to work via the wireless router and a VPN connection. All seemed well, so I would be good to go on Monday morning. We played with the kids, and it was cute to see how Tayanta (who still insists on being called Mi Nina - a nickname meaning "my baby" which was coined by Yupanqui when she was born) is now old enough to fully engage in play with her siblings. She looks up to them and imitates their behavior and games. The kids watched some Otavalan music videos on the computer. Some of them were very modern music, but the performers in the videos were dressed in traditional Otavalan clothing. The videos contained very cliched plot devices, but were geared toward women's empowerment, which is an interesting cultural shift. For dinner, we had wheat soup with cabbage and potatoes, meat on the bone (this is the first time we ever ate marrow, and it was quite good), potatoes, rice, broccoli, and caulifower. They made fresh mora (blackberry) juice, which is Craig's favorite. Tayanta hugged us throughout dinner, touching our faces. Perhaps because she was blind at birth, even now that she has sight she is very tactile. Antonio said that she loves caressing people's faces. The kids know Craig as Achi Taita (Godfather), and I am Achi Mama (Godmother). Tayanta was calling us both Achi Taita, which was very cute. She talks and sings to herself often. Sisa read to us after dinner. She is doing very well in school. When we said our goodnights, Yupanqui couldn't stop hugging us. It was so nice to be with our compadres again! |
 Tayanta, Yupanqui, and Sisa enjoy ice cream at the Quito airport  Tayanta, Steph, and Sisa on the ride to Morochos  Sisa, Craig, Tayanta, Antonio, and Aida on the ride back to Morochos  Playing with the kids 
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