Friends and Family:
Greetings from Loja! I'm sitting here in the computer nook outside of our bedroom listening to a neighbor blaring the Flashdance soundtrack from his terrace. I have to wonder whether he understands any of the songs. While the lack of space between houses here has its downsides, it certainly creates funny moments!
A few weeks ago, Doug and I were blessed with the arrival of our Moms to Quito (one with her luggage intact, one without). We had flown up from Loja earlier that day, so we could be there to meet them at the airport. As they each came through the door from the baggage claim area, they brought with them the comfort of home. Their presence definitely eased the homesickness that each of us was feeling (whether we admitted it or not!).
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| The Basilica in Quito |
We spent the first few days of their visit touring Quito, the capital of Ecuador. We stayed at a wonderful mission guest house run by a very friendly couple from Texas. During the days, we exhausted ourselves with vigorous sightseeing. Even though the Moms had gone from sea level to 10,000 feet in just one day, we showed no mercy (just ask them). They were excellent sports and even climbed countless stairs inside the towering Basilica on our first full day in Quito. We saw museums, churches, and plazas and ate some melt-in-your-mouth Argentine steak at Los Troncos. The best museums (in my opinion) were the watercolor museum, which featured the work of a single artist (whose name escapes me at the moment) and was set in an old renovated house in Quito with an interior courtyard, and the Museo del Banco Central, which houses astonishingly well-preserved artifacts from the Incas and other indigenous civilizations, including a whole room dedicated to their gold and silver works.
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| At the top of the Teleferico |
On our second day, we rode the "Teleferico" (like a gondola) up the side of a mountain that looks over the valley in which Quito lies. The altitude at the top is about 14,000 feet, and temperature dropped probably 20 degrees during the ride up (which I, in my thin windbreaker, had failed to consider earlier). Oh well. The view from the top was just gorgeous, and we spent some time walking along a trail overlooking Quito. The Moms were definitely struck by the altitude and had to take the walk one step at a time. Again, they were great sports! The best part of the view was that we could see the snow-covered summit of the Cotopaxi volcano (elev. 19,307 feet) peaking out between the clouds. From the ground in Quito, it isn't visible when there are clouds. After coming back down the Teleferico (and thawing out), we took a taxi outside of Quito to "Mitad del Mundo," a park that lies on the equator. We took the obligatory pictures straddling the equator and enjoyed some time walking around looking at the artisan shops.
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| In two different hemispheres! |
After thoroughly exhausting ourselves in Quito, we flew down to Cuenca. Cuenca is another large city in Ecuador, though not on the same scale as Quito. It lies in the South of Ecuador between Quito and Loja, only about a 4-hour drive from Loja. Its architecture is reminiscent of Spain, and the combination of its beauty with its low cost of living has in recent years attracted large numbers of foreigners to retire there. Personally, I don't blame them. If I were to retire anywhere I've visited so far in Ecuador, Cuenca would win hands down.
We had more time for leisure in Cuenca and could easily walk most places from our hotel. Taking advantage of the variety of food, I think I ate more during our 3-day stint in Cuenca that I had eaten in the previous month in Loja- not a grain of rice for 3 whole days (except for one meal when rice was served with the curry I had ordered, but try finding curry in Loja...it was worth it!). Thanks to a couple of friends from our mission team, we had one of the best meals I've ever eaten at Tiesto's- remember that name if you ever come to Cuenca. Thanks a million Chandra and Anna! (
Note: In the past, I never would have devoted an entire paragraph to food, but this is what 6 months of white rice every day has done to me).
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| Sporting our newly-purchased Panama hats |
One of the non-culinary highlights from Cuenca was the Panama hat museum and factory, where we got to see how the hats are made. "Panama hat" is actually a misnomer- they're Ecuadorian. Somewhat like the French fry, I guess. Fran went home sporting a lovely white hat, and Doug and I each bought one for ourselves. My mom opted out but bought one for my Dad. We also visited the workshop of one of Ecuador's most famous ceramic artists, Eduardo Vega (www.ceramicavega.com). His pieces were amazing, and the Moms each bought a ceramic tile to take home. Finally, we took a day trip out to Ingapirca, a well-preserved site of Inca ruins.
After three days in Cuenca, we piled ourselves and our luggage into a van en route to Loja. The driver, in typical Ecuadorian fashion, made the 4-hour trip in 3 hours. While being thrown from side to side in the van along the windy road, we admired the beautiful mountain scenery. Thanks to the abundance of rain in Ecuador, the mountains always seem to be green. Once in Loja, we got the Moms settled in their guest apartment at the ministry building and enjoyed cooking dinner together.
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| Dinner at home with Fredy and Maria |
The weather in Loja is notoriously unpredictable. It will go from morning sun to afternoon rain (or vice versa) on any given day. However, the weather was surprisingly consistent during the week of the Moms' visit: rainy. Fortunately, there isn't much to see in Loja in terms of sightseeing, so we were able to spend more time together indoors reading, talking, etc. We took the Moms to work with us as well, and they willingly pitched in! They washed dishes and chopped veggies at El Sendero, colored pictures with the kids at our Saturday-morning kids' club, and led a group discussion at our Wednesday-night English class. Our host family was hospitable beyond words and cooked a nice dinner in the Moms' honor. They also took us out to their vacation home in Vilcabamba on Saturday to spend the afternoon relaxing. On the Moms' last night here, we went to a Superbowl party at a friend's house in place of our Sunday night English group. Even though the power went out about 5 minutes into the first quarter and didn't come back on until half-time, we still managed to enjoy ourselves in the dark.
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| Coloring with the kids. |
Thanks to the Lord, the Moms made it home safe and sound! For me, their visit gave me some much-needed refreshment after being away from home for 6 months, as well as additional energy and motivation to finish out our last three months here. Thank you God for bringing them to see us! It was a tremendous blessing to have them here for two weeks. The time is still flying by, and before we know, we'll be back in California with them and the rest of our family and friends!
In the meantime, we will continue our work here!
Lots of love from Loja,
Kim
