Ecuador 4/23/2016 - 5/15/2016 |
|
Friday, 5/13/2016 - Working RemotelyI woke up and got ready for work. When I flushed the toilet, I realized that the tank didn't refill. Surprise! We had no water.We told Antonio and Rosa, but they weren't surprised. They explained to us that the water had been shut off, and will remain so for three days! Three days?! We'll be going home in two. This means that we won't be able to take a shower between now and when we fly home on Sunday? Apparently, the unintelligible (to us) garbled announcements over the loudspeaker last night informed the community of this. The family apparently put aside some water for cooking/laundry/dishes, but hadn't explained the situation to us. We certainly would have showered last night prior to the shut-off had we known. And we also would have put aside some water for toilet flushing as well. The language / culture barrier strikes again...sponge baths it will have to be, I guess! It is Friday the 13th after all, so what do we expect?! For breakfast, we had scrambled eggs, bread, patacones, coffee, and juice. Shina didn't want anyone to style her hair this morning, but I did it for her and she behaved well. She helped Rosa to sweep the patio. She held a heavy shovel. Rosa swept the debris into the shovel, and Shina carried the heavy load over to the compost area. What a good helper she is! Lunch was soup, tuna, cabbage, and rice. After lunch, Rosa did some sewing. Her sewing machine was set up in front of the guest houses. Well, as irony would have it, after three weeks with no gas, the gas truck showed up today. So, we could have heated showers again...well, if we had water, that is! Also, on my last day of working remotely, the internet is suddenly much speedier and more reliable. Antonio had his electrician friend Jose Manuel over again today and the two of them installed some wiring and outdoor lighting. They ran some conduit underground over to the avocado tree, to provide lighting to the outdoor kitchen and the cement patio. In the afternoon, Antonio did a little magic with the plumbing and hooked our bathroom up to the water tank rather than the public water supply! This meant that we had a limited supply of water in the casita bathroom. Hooray! Antonio hooked up a newly delivered gas cylinder to our water heater, and Craig and I each took a quick, hot shower. This would be our last shower before heading home. At 4 o'clock, Antonio went to a community meeting about sewer hookups. Shina found a little piece of wire on the ground from the electrical work and asked me what it was. I had no idea in Spanish, so I said in English (Boston accent in full swing) "It's a little piece of wire." Shina parroted back, "Little piece-a wiya." She is so adorable! In the late afternoon, hummingbirds are often seen around the property. Today, Craig was watching one and even managed to get a picture of it. I did my last load of laundry of the trip...washing clothing items which would be staying here in our new wardrobe. The family always has a basin full of water for activities such as laundry, and I sparingly used what I needed to get that clothing clean, despite the water situation. The kids thought they heard the song of the Cosmic Cat Ice Cream Truck approaching. We waited at the bench across from the house, but it never showed up. The sound might have been echoing from another part of the community. By now, the kids had their hearts set on ice cream. They asked if we could walk up to the community store to buy some. We agreed; after all, we had been here nearly three weeks and hadn't yet gone up to the store. When we arrived, the store was closed. The family who runs it must have been at the same meeting as Antonio. Or, just Friday the 13th striking again. Shina ate "solo chochos" (only lupins) for dinner, while the rest of us enjoyed cauliflower, rice, and beef stew. Rosa did dishes at the outdoor sink under the new lighting before we all called it a night and went to bed. |
 Shina and Peluchin  The elusive gas truck finally arrives!  Waiting for the ice cream truck that never arrives See all photos from this day |
|
 |
|
 |
