Ecuador 11/16/2019 - 12/1/2019 |
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Sunday, November 24, 2019 - Shopping in OtavaloFor breakfast we had scrambled eggs, patacones, ham, cheese, bread, juice, and coffee. We heard quite a ruckus from the pigs out front to find that they were being tormented by a neighborhood dog. It was trying to bite one of the piglets. I ran out to scare it off and it came charging after me. I was afraid I would get bitten but Rosa came out and threw rocks at the dog until it ran away.After breakfast, we went to Otavalo with Rosa, Aida, and the kids to do some much needed shopping for them. We took a camioneta to Quiroga, and from there took the bus to Otavalo. We started off in some small shoe stores to buy play shoes for the kids. Shina and Sisa got variations on the same style of pink unicorn loafers. Yupanqui got a pair of sneakers. Next we went to the municipal market to buy traditional clothes: white pants and a white collared shirt for Yupanqui, anakos (traditional skirts) for Sisa, and espadrille shoes for all three. We bought many vegetables and fruits, and then we walked back toward the plaza. We stopped at a home goods store to buy a dozen drinking glasses, one aluminum cooking pan, a pair of tongs, and 6 Xmas bulbs. We also ran into the pet store and bought 10 pounds of food for El Señor Chipikins. By now it was almost 3:30 p.m. We hadn't had lunch yet, and nobody was waiting at home since Antonio was working today. We suggested eating a late lunch at a restaurant, so that Rosa wouldn't need to cook when we got home. We entered Sabor Imbabureño Restaurante during the lull between lunch and dinner. They were still serving their lunch special of the day in addition to the regular menu. Rosa, Aida, and the kids ordered 3 specials to split between the five of them. This consisted of juice, soup, salad, a choice of meat, and a dessert. Craig and I got the "chicken gordon blue" [sic], which turned out to be enormous and delicious, served with fries, salad, and fried plantains. I had a Fanta, and Craig had a Pilsener, which of course spawned more jokes about Sisa ordering a Pilsener with feigned conviction in the Galapagos. The entire meal cost just $28 (and most of the cost was Craig and my meals), and allowed us to regroup and relax after a busy day of shopping and carrying heavy purchases. We insisted on taking taxis home to Morochos. Everyone was exhausted, and we had so many parcels! It would be way too much of a hassle to make several bus connections and then a camioneta to get back home, and it would take forever. Ever thrifty, even when we were paying, Rosa insisted that we could fit in a single taxi, and convinced the driver of this as well. All seven of us piled in, Sisa and I in the front, and the others in the back. In less than 30 minutes we were delivered to our door for $10. Rosa argued that it is normally $8, but the driver said that he needed to charge more because there were so many of us, causing the car to be heavy on the already challenging roads. We thought this was totally reasonable and happily paid him. We unloaded all of our purchases and helped to put them away. Then we retired to our casita for a rest. But there was no rest for Rosa. We could hear Yupanqui shouting "Arbol de Navidad" (Christmas tree), and we looked outside to find the family decorating the bush in front of our casita. Diminuitive Rosa stood on an inverted wash basin to string lights on the top of the tree, and Aida and the kids assisted from below. Yupanqui wrote a nice note on the whiteboard thanking us for everything that we do for the family, which was very sweet of him! Craig and I assumed that there would be no dinner tonight; that they would just prepare something small for Antonio when he got home from work. But the family can't do that; they always make food. They toned it down by not making soup tonight, though. I was still stuffed from lunch, so I didn't eat, but the rest of the the family did: chicken, rice, red cabbage, veggies, and pineapple juice As we walked back to our casita for the evening, the normal outdoor lights were turned off. We were guided to our casita by the colorful lights of the arbol de Navidad shining in the darkness. |
 Lunch: Sisa, Rosa, Shina, Achi Taita, Yupanqui (hiding), Aida  Rosa, Aida, and the kids putting lights on the Christmas tree  Arbol de Navidad See all photos from November 24 |
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