Ecuador 4/23/2016 - 5/15/2016 |
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Tuesday, 5/10/2016 - A Visit from FelipeRosa is sick, having apparently caught the cold/flu that Shina Tayanta had several days ago. Nonetheless, she cooked us breakfast over the fire: patacones that she served with bread, juice, and coffee. She always works so hard, and never gets a day off.We are not adept at cooking over a fire, and if we try to help with that, we would make more work for Rosa. She is nimble at all kitchen tasks and gets them done quite efficiently. She can peel a potato in a continuous string with a knife. We just can't really offer much in terms of food prep help. But we helped with the chores that we could do. We fed the pigs. Craig did the dishes. We lost internet temporarily, so while I was unable to work, I swept the kitchen. This is always easier said than done. The kitchen floor is made of concrete, and dirt hides out in every little crack amd crevice. Although I am becoming more adept at hand-washing and line-drying clothes, I was really missing my washer and dryer today. I decided to do some laundry while the sun was shining. It is much more pleasant than doing it when it is cold and cloudy, not to mention the fact that it will dry faster. Craig was in the shower, and I absent-mindedly grabbed a pile of his clothes and washed them. Craig emerged from his cold shower (there has still been no gas truck to provide fuel for the stove or the water heater) calling to me, "Where are my clean clothes?" Unfortunately, rather than washing his dirty clothes, I had washed the clean clothes he was about to change into! They were now soaking wet. I had inadvertently left him with no dry jeans to wear! Luckily, he had a pair of yoga pants he could fall back on. So then I did a second batch of laundry - his clothes that were actually dirty. Just as I finished hanging them to dry, the clothesline snapped and all of the clean, wet clothes landed in the mud. Back to the drawing...er...wash board... Lunch was simple: ears of corn, tostado, potatoes, chochos (lupins), melloco, and habas. Rosa didn't eat, as she still wasn't feeling well. After lunch she took a nap. I did Shina's hair. She hadn't gone to school today. The kids took blankets and hung them from a tree, creating a tree fort replete with hammocks. This afternoon we reunited with our dear friend Felipe. We were on a tour with him when we first met Antonio and family in 2010. Since then, we have seen him and his lovely wife Maria Jose at Sisa and Yupanqui's baptisms. They were our saviors when Craig fell ill here in 2013 with his first full-fledged MS attack. Today he brought a group of five American tourists to Morochos, and Antonio guided them on a hike around Cuicocha Lake. They stopped in at the house to enjoy a traditional lunch. The family had brought the kitchen table outside on the patio, underneath the roof. Sisa and Shina helped to set the table. It turned out that Rosa had made enough lunch to feed all of the visitors, despite not feeling her best. Antonio serenaded them with his violin while they ate. It was great to see Felipe again and to catch up on what has gone on in one another's lives since 2013. He and Maria Jose now have a daughter who is turning 2 next week, and he showed us some adorable photos. And Felipe won a well-deserved Top Guide award from REI Adventures ! Felipe was amazed to see the changes in the house and property that have taken place in the past 2.5 years, and to see how much the kids have grown up. We enjoyed meeting the travelers and trading stories. We explained some aspects of Morochos culture, and gave them a tour of the property. Rich and Maggie are from the Phoenix area, and there was also a couple from outside Philly (apologies for not remembering their names right now.) The fifth person was a young woman who unfortunately was suffering from altitude problems, so she spent most of the time resting in their bus. It was a great visit! We only learned about it a few days ago, and we are so happy that it worked out! Later in the afternoon, the kids were sitting at kitchen table watching videos on the laptop. Shina was being super cute, sitting with the dog. Suddenly, she fell off the bench and hit her head, scraping her ear on the way down. She was crying hysterically. We tried to calm her. Craig gave her a glass of yogurt. She stopped crying, but wouldn't sip the yogurt, even when we placed a straw between her lips. Her eyes started rolling back in her head. We started to get concerned. We tickled her belly. No response. That never happens. We couldn't get her to speak. We called Rosa, who at least got her to respond in Kichwa. We got her some cookies. After about 5 minutes, she regained some liveliness, ate the cookies and drank the yogurt. Soon she was speaking and laughing. After a second glass of yogurt, she got down and called "Chao!" and ran out of the room. Phew! We had been worried about her! Yupanqui fell asleep long before dinner. We had chicken soup, cabbage, rice, peas, and plantains...all things that are relatively easy to cook over the fire. Then we all went to bed, hoping that Rosa would feel better tomorrow. |
 Rosa makes breakfast in the outdoor kitchen  The kids make hammocks out of blankets  Craig, Felipe, and Steph  Antonio plays violin for Felipe and the tourists See all photos from this day |
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