Guatemala 8/6/2017

Sunday 8/6/2017 - Our Final Day in Ecuador

There was a big fiesta somewhere in the village last night, and we could hear the music until around 4 a.m. Then it started up again at around 6 a.m. With a poor night's sleep and following a busy day of activity in the equatorial sun and in hot springs yesterday, Craig was a bit worse for wear. He had overdone it yesterday and he would unfortunately pay for it today.

We ate breakfast of patacones (slices of plantain flattened and fried), fried eggs, bread, papas fritas, and blackberry yogurt. The kids were subdued today because they know we are leaving soon. The separation anxiety is difficult for all of us, but we always assure them that we will return as soon as we can.

After breakfast, Craig went back to bed with a stomachache, feeling tired and weak. We would have a long day of travel ahead of us tomorrow to get back to Panajachel, so it was important for him to gain his strength back. Antonio and Yupanqui went for a walk to pick some herbs to make a medicinal tea for Achi Taita.

Rosa was pre-treating some laundry in a plastic tub before putting it in the washing machine. Yupanqui functioned as the agitator. With bare feet and his pants rolled up, he stomped the laundry like he was stomping grapes. Paulina, Rosa, and I were quite entertained by this. Making chores fun makes kids want to participate.

Antonio tuned up his charango (a beautiful stringed instrument) and played a bit, sitting outside in the yard. The instrument has a delightful sound, like a jangly 12-string guitar. Then he tuned up his violin and played some traditional sanjuanito melodies.

It was incredibly windy today and there was no internet all day. (The signal comes from an antenna on a nearby mountaintop, and is easily disrupted by windy or rainy weather). It was a good thing that it wasn't a work day for me.

For lunch, we had quinoa soup, chochos (lupins), corn, melloco, and beans. These are all locally grown food staples. We joked with Shina because when she was younger, she sometimes refused to eat anything but chochos. We teased her with her catchphrase at the time: "Solo chochos" (only lupins).

Craig remained in bed, as his stomach was still bothering him. The kids played outside in the back agricultural fields. Eddy caught a butterfly and brought it into Craig's room to cheer him up. I took a photo, and Eddy immediately requested that I include that photo when I create a video for this trip. This made me feel good, because I know how much he enjoys watching the videos that we have created from other trips. He's looking forward to having a video record of his first international trip, and he is already thinking about the things that he wants to remember.

I spent some time packing my clothes to go home and putting things away into Rubbermaid totes to leave at the casita. Then I joined the kids in the kitchen and gave them bilingual English/Spanish fairy tale books: "Three Little Pigs" for Shina because she loves "lobos" (wolves), "Wizard of Oz" for Sisa, and "Jack and the Beanstalk" for Yupanqui. Craig started to feel a bit better in the late afternoon, and joined us in the kitchen for story time.

I read all three books aloud in Spanish. Shina listened carefully and repeated the fun passages. She also always said "LOBO!" when the pigs first saw the wolf's tracks.

Sisa is a very good reader, and she read "The Wizard of Oz" aloud in Spanish. Then she and I read "Three Little Pigs" aloud in English. The early childhood educator in me loves spending this time with the children, fostering a love of learning.

Craig was able to eat a small bowl of quinoa soup for dinner, but passed on the marinated chicken breast, pasta, rice, and beets. Rolando has been working on teaching the kids manners, including saying please and thank you, and we always reinforce it as well. In the midst of our last supper of this trip, Shina turned to me and pleaded, "Achi Mama, Achi Taita, no te vayas POR FAVOR!!!" She knows that she gets better results when she says please, so this is her last ditch effort to try to convince us not to leave.

It's always hard to leave them. They want us to live with them permanently. We explain to them that I have to work. Although I can work remotely when we visit, I can't do that 100% of the time. They understand, especially Sisa, who is wise beyond her years in concepts of household economics. But they are sad, and so are we, when the time comes to say goodbye.

We all went to bed at around 8:15 p.m. Rosa, Antonio, and the kids would be coming with us to Quito in the morning because Shina had an eye appointment, and they could kill two birds with one van ride. Unfortunately for them, it meant that they needed to leave the house at 4 a.m. in order to get us to the airport on schedule. So we all went to bed early to maximize our rest. Before Craig and I went to sleep, we had to finish packing, preparing to close up the casita until our next visit.