Friday, April 11, 2008
Friday was our last day in Quito and it was a bit sad for everyone. It was hard to say goodbye to our teachers and friends we have made there. I would not say we were sorry to leave the home we were staying in (it got a bit stifling in the end, the kids had to be so quiet all the time and there were a lot of rules) but we will miss the people who were there. Not much else to report. We had classes in the morning, spent the afternoon packing and did a walk in the neighborhood one last time. We bought dessert for every one for our last dinner and Paul, Jamie, Steve and I had a good chat before going to bed.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
We left Quito this morning and have entered a whole new world and it is fantastic! As cold and rainy and busy and chaotic as Quito was, Puerto Lopez is just the opposite. We are wearing shorts and t-shirts and sandals, we spent the afternoon at the beach (three blocks from our cabanas at the school) and have walked the whole town already and met some great people.
I will admit, when we first arrived I was a bit worried about what I had gotten us into. The cabanas are very rustic, the town has dirt roads and we found out there was only one other student here besides us. One of the things we really enjoyed in Quito was having lots of conversations with people who spoke English. (Our Spanish conversations can only go so far). Turns out Richard is British and is very nice. Raquel, who runs the school here is great and is very, very patient with our Spanish. We have settled into the cabanas and the kids have lots of places to play.
We made our reservations to go to Isla de la Plata tomorrow. It is called The Poor Mans Galapagos. We will ride a boat out to the island, hike around it, snorkel, have lunch and generally relax.
While walking around Puerto Lopez we met a man named, and I am not joking, Winston Churchill. He is Ecuadorian and runs a charter tour business (as well as a corner store.) We are going sea fishing with him on Tuesday afternoon. He had several notebooks full of reviews from people who had gone on tours with him and they raved about how great it was. Besides, how can we not? It is not often you get the chance to go fishing in Ecuador with a man name Winston Churchill!
This afternoon there was a truck driving around P. Lopez blasting a message through a loud speaker. We could not understand it but when walking around town we saw a tent. There is a circus here tonight! It starts at 9pm and cost $2, $1 for the kids. The tent is small and it will probably be very hot in there but, again, how can we not go?! I am sure a circus in Ecuador will be an experience we will not soon forget.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Well, I was right about one thing. The circus was an experience we will not soon forget, unfortunately. It was supposed to start at 9pm, which was pushing it for our kids but knew we could sleep late in the morning so no big deal. It did not actually start until 10:15 and the first act was two very scantily clad women dancing suggestively to loud music. From there it was all downhill. We finally sneaked out at 11pm and never looked back.
The trip to Isla de la Plata was good. An up and down experience. Nobody felt sick on the boat ride out but we left an hour late. It was very, very hot on the island but in the shade the breeze felt nice. The people from France were not nice, but the girl from Canada was. The kids could only walk so far, so we did not get to see the whole island like everyone else, but we found a neat tide pool area on the beach and had a lot of fun playing there until everyone got back. Lunch was a fruit and a tuna sandwich that I was sure was going to give us all food poisoning. After lunch we snorkeled for about 30 minutes. We saw huge colorful fish, large sea urchins, an eel, and some coral. Not great, but I have had worse snorkeling. As usual, snorkeling made me sick to my stomach so I felt bad the whole rest of the boat ride back. Like I said, an up and down day and we paid a lot of money for the experience but overall I would say that it was worth it.
We had classes this morning and I think they will be good. My teacher is Freddy, Raquel’s husband, so he lives here at the school too. He speaks English very well so that is good. The kids’ teacher is young but I think they wore her out today. Tate did well but Cora was bothering him so we had to have a talk with her. Steve can’t remember his teachers name but he likes her.
In la tarde (the afternoon) we went to Agua Blanca. It is the home of an indigenous people. They have a museum and guides and you can soak in a sulfur spring during the tour. The water smells awful, like rotten eggs, but was cool and inviting after a hot walk. We were told to slather the sulfuric mud on our skin and let it dry. I covered myself and my face and when I washed it off I was so soft and smooth! It was fantastic! I wish I could have bought some to bring home.
Friday was our last day in Quito and it was a bit sad for everyone. It was hard to say goodbye to our teachers and friends we have made there. I would not say we were sorry to leave the home we were staying in (it got a bit stifling in the end, the kids had to be so quiet all the time and there were a lot of rules) but we will miss the people who were there. Not much else to report. We had classes in the morning, spent the afternoon packing and did a walk in the neighborhood one last time. We bought dessert for every one for our last dinner and Paul, Jamie, Steve and I had a good chat before going to bed.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
We left Quito this morning and have entered a whole new world and it is fantastic! As cold and rainy and busy and chaotic as Quito was, Puerto Lopez is just the opposite. We are wearing shorts and t-shirts and sandals, we spent the afternoon at the beach (three blocks from our cabanas at the school) and have walked the whole town already and met some great people.
I will admit, when we first arrived I was a bit worried about what I had gotten us into. The cabanas are very rustic, the town has dirt roads and we found out there was only one other student here besides us. One of the things we really enjoyed in Quito was having lots of conversations with people who spoke English. (Our Spanish conversations can only go so far). Turns out Richard is British and is very nice. Raquel, who runs the school here is great and is very, very patient with our Spanish. We have settled into the cabanas and the kids have lots of places to play.
We made our reservations to go to Isla de la Plata tomorrow. It is called The Poor Mans Galapagos. We will ride a boat out to the island, hike around it, snorkel, have lunch and generally relax.
While walking around Puerto Lopez we met a man named, and I am not joking, Winston Churchill. He is Ecuadorian and runs a charter tour business (as well as a corner store.) We are going sea fishing with him on Tuesday afternoon. He had several notebooks full of reviews from people who had gone on tours with him and they raved about how great it was. Besides, how can we not? It is not often you get the chance to go fishing in Ecuador with a man name Winston Churchill!
This afternoon there was a truck driving around P. Lopez blasting a message through a loud speaker. We could not understand it but when walking around town we saw a tent. There is a circus here tonight! It starts at 9pm and cost $2, $1 for the kids. The tent is small and it will probably be very hot in there but, again, how can we not go?! I am sure a circus in Ecuador will be an experience we will not soon forget.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Well, I was right about one thing. The circus was an experience we will not soon forget, unfortunately. It was supposed to start at 9pm, which was pushing it for our kids but knew we could sleep late in the morning so no big deal. It did not actually start until 10:15 and the first act was two very scantily clad women dancing suggestively to loud music. From there it was all downhill. We finally sneaked out at 11pm and never looked back.
The trip to Isla de la Plata was good. An up and down experience. Nobody felt sick on the boat ride out but we left an hour late. It was very, very hot on the island but in the shade the breeze felt nice. The people from France were not nice, but the girl from Canada was. The kids could only walk so far, so we did not get to see the whole island like everyone else, but we found a neat tide pool area on the beach and had a lot of fun playing there until everyone got back. Lunch was a fruit and a tuna sandwich that I was sure was going to give us all food poisoning. After lunch we snorkeled for about 30 minutes. We saw huge colorful fish, large sea urchins, an eel, and some coral. Not great, but I have had worse snorkeling. As usual, snorkeling made me sick to my stomach so I felt bad the whole rest of the boat ride back. Like I said, an up and down day and we paid a lot of money for the experience but overall I would say that it was worth it.
We had classes this morning and I think they will be good. My teacher is Freddy, Raquel’s husband, so he lives here at the school too. He speaks English very well so that is good. The kids’ teacher is young but I think they wore her out today. Tate did well but Cora was bothering him so we had to have a talk with her. Steve can’t remember his teachers name but he likes her.
In la tarde (the afternoon) we went to Agua Blanca. It is the home of an indigenous people. They have a museum and guides and you can soak in a sulfur spring during the tour. The water smells awful, like rotten eggs, but was cool and inviting after a hot walk. We were told to slather the sulfuric mud on our skin and let it dry. I covered myself and my face and when I washed it off I was so soft and smooth! It was fantastic! I wish I could have bought some to bring home.
Comments
Do you think their idea of a circus and ours is a bit different???
Wish you could bring some of that mud back........
Love to all and give Tater and Cora a big hug from the G.