THURSDAY, 17 November 2016

Got packed - had to get another suitcase!  Lisa had some extras so she gave us one.  So now, four bags to check, about 40 pounds each, and two carry-ons, plus my briefcase.  Jenny has her purse but it fits in her carry-on.  Said our good-byes to the missionaries, staff and boys around 2:30 then Pastor Ken took us to the Terminal Terrestre (bus station).  The fare: $8.00 per person.  We left there for Guayaquil close to 4 PM.  They had some air conditioning problems but got them resolved so the trip went well; no restroom break at about half-way though as I had been told by Expats on the Yahoo group.  Upon arrival at the GYE Terminal Terrestre, we caught a cab to the airport ($4.00), waited until AA counters opened, checked in, then waited for Immigration to open; processed without a problem then to the gat for our flight.  Last year, my name was called for a more thorough luggage inspection (that's when Jenny's tablet disappeared) but looks like I'm not going through that hassle this time.

WEDNESDAY 16 November 2016

Ran off some church brochures while Jenny washed our final load of clothes here.  Raul and Chelita came to tell us good-bye and brought us a beautiful parting gift - not exactly sure what the correct name for it is but it is a miniature carving in wood of the front of a house.  Raul does them himself; he took it on as a hobby after he retired and he is very good. Would love to decorate our home with more but we don't have room in our luggage for them because they are very fragile and needs to be well padded for protection. So, I hope we did a good job doing that.

Went to El Centro to jewelry shop; this time, I actually spent money on myself and bought two rings - one silver with cubic zirconia stones; the other silver with a cat's eye stone. One was about $55, the other about $35, I think.  Sure can't buy anything like that in the States.

Lisa asked us to find a couple of things for her - key chains and beaded necklaces.  We found the key chains but no necklaces for what she wanted to pay.  We actually shopped in the San Francisco Plaza, then to El Arenal, then back to SFP but no luck.

We got back about 30 minutes before Church started so visited with a few friends who got here early.  Pastor Mario, from the Shekina Church that Pastor Ken started last year gave a salvation message then baptized a recent convert - Silvia Paredes' son.  We fellow shipped and said our good-byes to our friends. Jose and Ruth gave each of us nice parting gifts - a desk plaque that has a typical Ecuadorian house and "Ecuador" on it for me, a stringed necklace for Jenny.

During Church, Pastor Ken recognized us for our work for the past six weeks.

TUESDAY, 15 November 2016

Worked all morning and early afternoon printing up Church brochures and packed a couple of our two big suitcases.

About 4 PM, we went to Karina's home for what was supposed to be coffee and a snack but it turned into dinner and a long visit until about 8:30 or so.  It was great to spend time with Karina, Amy, and Karina's mom (she has been in Guayaquil since we've been here so we haven't seen her).

MONDAY, 14 November 2016

Jenny washed clothes, I printed out about 150 Church brochures.  Around 2:30, we went to Cecilia Duran's apartment for a late lunch of typical Ecuadorian food. Found out she is the daughter of Ricardo Duran, who has the street near us named after him.  We did not meet her husband because he (an attorney) had a doctor's appointment then hung out with other attorneys.

Got back to the apartment around 6:30, had supper (chili that Inez had prepared - it was delicious!), played several rounds of Mexican train dominoes with Inez - Desiree and Antonio joined us for a couple of games, then to the apartment; watched a couple of episodes of Supernatural; Jenny went to bed, I got caught up on this blog, now I'm going to bed.

SUNDAY, 13 November 2016

Up and at 'em - I got up at 5:10, Jenny at 5:30, finished packing and luggage set outside the door for the crew to take to the airport on Baltra Island. Ate a light breakfast, although there was the normal full course buffet - still recovering from a little stomach too full episode last night.  We departed the boat at 7:00 in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island. We then got on a bus and drove across the island, stopping on the way at a tortoise (tortuga) farm near Chato where the huge tortoises are.  For the most part, they roam free on these large farms (I think our guide said there we six of them).   The farms are owned by individuals but the tortoises do not belong to them; they belong to the government conservation department. Those farmers have agreed to "keep" the tortoises and meet government standards of care by allowing them free roam; they do not feed them, nor can they use any kinds of pesticides that could harm the animals. The farmers do this to protect the species and, in the case of the farm we visited, open the farm to tourists and charge fees.

After spending about 45 minutes there, we boarded the bus to the North side of the island where we left the bus and boarded a ferry for the short trip across the bay to Baltra Island and the airport.  We left late but made up a little time to Guayaquil airport, met our driver, then off to Cuenca.  The Cajas mountains were covered with clouds and we even had rain.

We made it back just in time for Church! Some people we saw for the last time because some don't go on Wednesday nights, which will be our last service.  Pastor Ken announced during the service that he is curtailing the Sunday night services for the future because he and Lisa are so busy with the Dayspring Home.  He also wants to begin a new church so will, once started, have them meet on Sunday nights.  They need much prayer!

FRIDAY, 11 November 2016

Started the morning with rough seas after the boat got underway for our next port of call, Suarez Point on the island of Española. 

I was up for a beautiful sunrise.  After breakfast, a beautiful morning for a walk along rocks at Suarez Point to see sea lions and their babies, marine iguanas, masked (AKA nasca) boobies, albatrose, a blowhole, and other species of birds. We literally had to watch where we were walking because the iguanas lay on the path, on the rocks, basking in the sun to get their body temperatures up before going into the cooler waters to eat algae off the rocks, put there during the night as the tide rose.  It was very, very rocky; luckily Jenny and I carried walking sticks – they definitely helped us maintain our balance.

That excursion over, back to the boat for some ice cream, a little rest, then lunch.  While eating, the boat relocated to Gardner Bay, still Española Islands.

There was a deep water snorkeling excursion but it was cloudy and the air temperature was cold so we decided to skip that one.  Jenny slept in the cabin; I went to the upper deck and napped a little there.

After the deep water snorkeling “excursioners” got back, the next one was to the white sandy beaches, where we could either swim or walk along the beach – we chose the latter.  The sand is a beautiful white with sea lions, all huddled in one area.  It was easy to identify the alpha male because he, when we got there, was in the water but came out soon after to interact with all the females and babies.  An interesting display of hierarchy.

After an hour or so, back to the boat for a bar-b-que! 

THURSDAY, 10 November 2016.

When we woke up, we were still in the bay at San Cristobal. Soon after, we began our journey to Curro Burro (check pic on camera!) where we toured the bay by dingy.  I learned a valuable lesson today – actually two!  Even though I didn’t think I would need my glasses, I did because I could not see the screen on the camera; therefore, I missed a picture of a blue footed boobie while going around the bay.  Second lesson: always take my cap!  Even though it was very cloudy when we left the Coral II, the sun came out later.  I don’t think my head burned but we’ll see. We then went ashore and walked the beach.  We saw many sea lions, some yellow warbler birds, a couple of lava gulls.  As explained by our guides, the animals here have no fear of humans because they have never been hunted or abused by “us”. They pretty much ignored us.

After walking the beach, we returned to the bay where we had exited the water; there I snorkeled for the first time in my life.  It took some practice (at first, I got lots of ocean water in my mouth!), but after I got the hang of it, it was fun but tiring.  Jenny stayed on the beach and waded.

After lunch, we had time to rest then to Punta Pitt island where we hiked up the volcanic mountain to see red & blue footed boobies as well as the other kind (I’ll look up the name later); it is not a color.  Although blue footed boobies are the most common to see in the Islands, the red is more populated but because they live in hard to access areas, they are not seen as much.  It was definitely a difficult hike, as originally told to us by the guides but we made it.  The near death (greatly exaggerating for effect here!) was when we got back into the dingy; a huge swell came up, caught the dingy and turned it sideways.  All aboard at the time got much wetter than we had intended; lucky neither of my cameras got wet.  All survived though and we made it back to the boat.  After everyone was on board, we headed to our next destination, although we won’t have an activity until tomorrow.  Rest and relaxation time until dinner.

Quiet evening after dinner, some time spent on the upper deck after Jenny went to bed, then bed for me.

WEDNESDAY, 9 November 2016.

This is being written aboard the good ship (actually boat) Coral II and it’s been a long day!  We got up at 5:30 and got ready to meet our transportation at the church @ 7:00 for the trip to Guayaquil where we got on an Avianca plane to San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos Islands.  The driver picked up four more people whom I thought would be gringos but they were Ecuadorians.  Cesar is the leader of the group; his brother works for Southland Touring. Cesar’s mother, Esperanza,

 is with him, then another mother(Cecilia)/son (Javier)couple.

We arrived in San Cristobal around 3:15, was met by our guide, Allejandro, who is actually a conservationist for the Islands.  After lunch, we got on a bus and went to the other side of the island to the Galapagos tortoise breeding and protection area.  Allejandro told us a lot of the history of the tortoises – their near extinction and  what the government conservationists and scientists from all over the world are doing to preserve the 11 species.

After a very quick walk through part of the city, we boarded our dingies and went back to the boat, for supper, some rest & relaxation on the upper deck, where we talked awhile with Cesar.

As stated at the beginning, it’s been a long day so I’m going to bed; it will be another long day tomorrow – up at 6:00 am!  Will report more tomorrow night. I may have mentioned earlier that the boat holds 20 passengers + crew so she’s a rocking in the waters of the bay!

MONDAY, 7 November 2016

Stayed around the apartment all day, mostly making copies of the church ministries flyer; with the slow printer, it takes a lot of time. I probably got about 150 copies run which, because there are two flyers to a page, equals about 300 total flyers.

Inez prepared supper for the boys, the Weavers, and us so after all was cleaned up, she, Jenny and I played Mexican Train dominoes until time for her to go home and we to our apartment.  Watched an episode of Supernatural; Jenny is now in bed and I'm headed that way soon.

SUNDAY, 6 November 2016

A good day!  Got a little shower before church but quit in time for the services.  Services were good; attendance was down a little because I suppose people didn't want to get out with the possibility of rain.

After church, we went to Jeff and Cathy's for lunch - a genuine tasting spaghetti dinner! It was delicious.  After lunch, we played Mexican Train dominoes until time to head back to the apartment for a few minutes then ready for church.

SATURDAY, 5 November 2016

A day full of activities, as well as an issue involving one of the boys.

First, the issue involving a boy.  In an earlier post, I talked about a 16 year old who was in the hospital with psychotic issues - well, he seemed to be doing okay but after the incident yesterday, he apparently ran away!  As I write this late Saturday night, Kevin is no place to be found. Pastor Ken called the police, a special division that deals with run-aways so they are looking for him but nothing yet. Don't know if they notified anyone in the courts.

We had expected to have lunch with José and Ruth but did not hear from them so thought something had happened and they forgot to contact us. So, we went to El Centro to walk around and window shop.  While there, José called and wanted to know if we available for lunch; we agreed so he and Ruth picked us up and went with them to one of their favorite authentic Ecuadorian restaurants.  We had grilled pork, chicken, soup, two different styles of their corn, one mixed with scrambled eggs, the other cooked in pork fat.  While eating, we discussed our plans of things to do before we leave Ecuador so our desire to go to Chordeleg came up; we felt we may not make it up there because we actually, because of the trip to the Galapagos Island, have only a few days left in Cuenca.  Well, José offered to take us there! I tried to mildly protest but he insisted it would be a good time of fellowship. So, we agreed.  But, before we left for Chordeleg, we had to stop for some ice cream! :).

Once in Chordeleg, we parked a couple of blocks away from the square and walked, window shopping as we went.  When we got to the square, we went into our "family" jewelry store - lo and behold, there were Juan and Diane Moreno!  They had some relatives visiting so they took them there to get the best deals on silver jewelry. We had not expected to see them because they are very busy during the remaining time they have left here (they leave the 18th of November) so it was a very pleasant surprise to see them and talk with them while their relatives were shopping.

Chordeleg is the place to get silver jewelry! (Of course, we knew that already) We had priced some jewelry in Cuenca that would have cost over $100; we got it there for about half! So, I think we're through shopping for jewelry, except for a piece I had to pick up at the fiesta grounds in Cuenca.

José and Jenny needed another ice cream fix before we left Chordeleg then back to Cuenca.  On the way, we stopped by the house that José is having built; he is retiring in a year and a half and wants to live a little ways out of the city.  It's a very nice place with a terrific view!

A very good day spent with friends!

FRIDAY, 4 November 2016

An active day. The boys are out of school for Cuenca week so they were gone all day, except for Kevin who misbehaved and chose not to go with the rest.

We took a bus to El Centro and went to Mercedes's shop to say hello. I told her I was looking for short sleeved shirts for the cruise; she had some!  I bought three very nice ones for a total of $28; they even have pockets so I can enjoy wearing them when we get back to the States.  I told her we were also looking for Ecuador futbol atletic shirts, which she does not have, so she showed me a store a couple doors down from hers that has them. We went there and, lo and behold, there was a lady from Church! She recognized us immediately and we recognized her; think her name is Bianca but I'll confirm on Sunday.  Jenny also bought an alpaca poncho @ the plaza.  We walked to Gran Columbia to look at some more jewelry but all of them were closed - I guess they took time off for Cuenca Week.  I hope they'll be open tomorrow because we need to get a couple of things that our other jewelry source doesn't have.  If not open tomorrow, we'll go later. While waiting for the bus to take us from El Centro, we "met" another person from the Church who lives only a few blocks from church. He paid our bus fare! He spoke sufficient English that we carried on a viable conversation, with his English and my Spanish, until we got back to Ricardo Duran near the church. We actually missed our stop but got off with him at the next one and walked back to near ours then to the church.  His name is Rórulo Flores, he's almost 41 and married.  Interesting thing though; he likes our church because it's friendly and people greet him; his wife, however, goes to another church because she doesn't like that! That surprises me because of the overall friendliness of the Ecuadorian people.

After a brief stay at the apartment to leave our purchases, we got back on the bus and back to the special Cuenca week area that I talked about yesterday, or day before.  Jenny got some more jewelry; one piece, which will be part of her Christmas present, was a little long so the owner is going to shorten it and I'll pick it up tomorrow. She also bought an alpaca throw to put on our bed here and at home; it is hand made and very lightweight. The lady gave Jenny an alpaca scarf as a gift!  She also got a multi-colored lamb's wool sweater.

Enough shopping! We came back to the apartment, I had supper (Jenny had already snacked on other foods so didn't want any), we watched a couple of episodes of Supernatural, then Jenny went to bed.  Just a note here: I usually always stay up awhile after she goes to bed to check Facebook and my email accounts, and read some news accounts.

THURSDAY, 3 November2016

Tried to meet up with Jeff and Cathy for a walk up the Turi stairs but wires got crossed on phone numbers and email addresses. Talked with Inez about getting together for games later today but she has an Ecuadorian friend visiting so they'll spend the day together.

Chelita and Raul came by to drop off a blouse (or two?) that she had tightened up the neck on so I visited a little with Raul; he is feeling much better after his shot and medication on Sunday but he was anxious to get back home, out of the Cuenca bus/auto fumes.

Pastor Ken, Lisa, Desire, and Dana (full-time helper w/the boys), took all of the boys to lunch at a restaurant owned by one of our church members; it wasn't Silvia's so I don't know who it is.  It was very quiet around the property so we finished the laundry and I printed, cut, and folded about 200 informational brochures/tracts.

We headed to San Francisco Plaza (SFP) to look for some short sleeve shirts I can wear on the Galapagos cruise but didn't make it. On the way (riding a bus), we saw a special area set up with awnings for Cuenca week so we decided to check things out. There was a live music stage, lots of food booths, carnival rides for children, clothing booths, and one silver jewelry booth - of course, Jenny found that one right away! :-) So, she bought several pieces of jewelry (or sets), two for friends and a couple for herself.  I may have mentioned in a previous blog that we looked at some turquoise on Gran Columbia that was about $80 for just a set of earrings; she bought earrings and a necklace for $43.00! We also got a silver cross w/necklace for Rita, our neighbor for thirty something dollars, matching earrings/pendant (she has a chain at home that will work), and a pair of silver earrings with a local stone. We got everything for a total of $150.00 - not his starting asking price!  Since I had only expected to go to SFP, I did not take a lot of money so we had to go back to the apartment, get more cash, and return to settle up with the guy; he has a jewelry store in Quito. Not sure if we could have gotten a better deal on the silver in Chordeleg but we had already checked with friends there; they told us the merchants there did not sell turquoise. We felt we got really good deals so that's what matters; besides, not sure if we'll make it to Chordeleg since we actually only have a few days left in Cuenca because of the "break" to go to Galapagos.

It was getting nigh onto the hours of darkness when we finished that experience so we decided it was too late to go to SFP - we'll probably do that tomorrow, so we went back to the apartment.  Pastor Ken was taking all of the boys to Pizza Hut for supper; we were not invited (not enough room in the van, I'm sure), so we walked to the nearest pizza place on Las Americas and 2 de Agosto and had our own.  It wasn't the best, (probably the "worst") we've had here but it was okay and filling - got a medium tropical (ham and pineapple) for $6.00.  It was already dark by the time we finished but we walked back to the apartment without any reservations for our safety; 2 de Agosto is very well lit and Inez had already told us she walks that way after church to her apartment all the time.

We watched a Netflix movie, and episode of Supernatural, then to bed. Jenny is much better, although still coughing some.

WEDNESDAY, 2 November 2016

Normal morning but a different and fun afternoon.  We had lunch with Mónica Brito, her husband Danny Tello and their three children: Juan David, Daniel, and Camila then went to the Parque de Paraiso - Paradise Park.  We enjoyed walking around the park and especially seeing the children enjoy themselves running around, climbing on rocks/boulders, and swinging. Most families do not have yards big enough, or at all, to accommodate swings so they usually have to go to parks, of which there are many in Cuenca, of all different sizes. Paraiso Park is the largest in Cuenca. The three rivers that run through Cuenca converge here and there are lots of trees, flowers, vines, a wooden bridge and places for children to play!  Camila was exhausted and fell asleep almost immediately after getting in the car to go back to the apartment - she's a little over two years old. We actually went to her 1st birthday party when here last year.

This week is a celebration of Cuenca's independence from many years ago so the schools and government offices are closed, which means the boys are home as well - more monitoring and stress for the Weavers!

TUESDAY, 1 November 2016

Really nothing memorable to write about between my last post; pretty much the same.  Jenny is still sick - I say a cold but she says allergies so who am I to argue???  She is taking a Claritin equivalent that helps; she is also doing a breathing treatment involving hot water, Eucalyptus oil, and a towel to clear her nose and sinus.  It seems to help but after awhile she has drainage again, which causes her to cough a lot.  I wanted her to get some antibiotics (no prescription needed) or even a shot but she refuses.

Today, we made reservations for a cruise around the Galapagos Islands.  We decided against the Island off the coast of Puerto Lopez because of the difficulties to get there and a Facebook friend told us we would not see nearly as many species of wildlife there.  So, we're all set to leave on Wednesday and return on Sunday.  Hate missing church, our last Sunday service here, but this is something Jenny really had her heart set on.  Although still more expensive than an island hopping or one island tour, we were able to get a last minute, half-price deal.  It will also be less hectic and stress because we will "live" on the 20 passenger boat from Wednesday evening until Sunday morning and visit six or seven islands, see at least 12 different species of wildlife, have all meals provided on the boat, and be much more relaxed.

We will not have internet access during those five days, once we leave Cuenca so I will have to take some paper to write down our experiences to post and publish after we get back.  Although I'll write them on the same day, I'll post them as individual days.

Things are okay with the group home.  Pastor Ken and Lisa stay stressed; today was no exception! Boys who have had very little discipline in their lives are difficult to teach the basics; some just have bad attitudes and don't want to learn. It seems there's some headway in the right direction then one or more does something stupid.  One issue today was homework; they do it daily after school but they don't turn their work in at school! So, the school blames the home staff because they either are being told the boys (by the boys) are not doing their homework or the teachers are not asking.  We just pray that the boys will absorb some of the love the Weavers and staff show them, including the discipline part.  Remember, discipline is not bad; we all need it in our lives to function and succeed.

Buenos Noches!