Downtown and Old Town Quito

We took Lucia's advice and had Seco de Chivo for lunch, if you were to google translate that, you would find it "dry goat"...great, right? But in actuality it was a stew-ish meal with rice, potato and salad. Lucia said sometimes it is goat, but it could also be lamb. It was tasty, but I am craving seafood...still cold, and really missing the beach.

We ate lunch on the other side of this square, then toured a couple churches. (No photos allowed, but yall have seen the inside of a church). The Presidents house is here on this square as well.

After we walked Old town a bit, we ventured to another neighborhood called La Ronda. It is closed to vehicles, and was a beautiful little area. Takes you back in time...

A little more walking around, and then Our next stop on todays tour, the angel monument up on top of that hill.

This was crazy, La Ronda is known for their enormous empanadas! Wow!

Back in the car, and up to Panecillo. She was quite impressive! And the view from up there!!!

A great place for kites (cometos) and the kids were really enjoying it.

In every direction house upon house, amazing! The government gave people paint to spruce up their houses, which is why there are many the same color. What an awesome day of sightseeing, but we are exhausted! Tomorrow we head to Banos, so stay tuned...the adventure continues!

Quito, the Middle of the World

So, the next day we got up had breakfast at our hotel and Lucia picked us up for another fun filled day. We headed to the other equator monument first. Such a nice area, many cute little shops and wonderful smelling resturants, green space for sitting, and things for children to play on. There were these cute hummingbird benches everywhere, and they all were painted differently.

Another beautiful day, as you can see. Glorious blue sky and those clouds!

The cute little shops, and a petting zoo! What fun for the kids...

This monument gave some information on Solstice, and why the sun played such an important roll in, well, everything. Life...

Another fun painted sculpture, this was done with fiberglass. And the "shrine" to one of the virgins, we found out from Lucia, that every town has their own virgin they are devout to. This is why there are so many churches. They are all Catholic, but similar to the different denominations in Christianity.

On the way out Lucia pointed out the big building across the street, it is what they consider to be the South American United Nations building. Diplomats, and such meet here to improve South America.

Next stop downtown and old town Quito. But first...some lunch. So stay tuned, the adventure continues!

Trip to Quito

Well y'all are probably wondering what happened to me...I've been on gasp...vacation! My mother flew in and I fly up to Quito to meet her. On Friday afternoon our friend and guide Lucia Grande took us sightseeing, if you have been following since the beginning you'll remember when I flew into Quito originally three years ago, I was with a broken ankle and could not do much, so this was fun. We went to see a crater lake, Cuicocha, Otavalo a big market and one of the Equator monuments.

And another picture I took from the Internet from above. There are boat rides, but it was too windy and cold.

Then to the cute town of Cotacachi and the Otavalo market. We chose to go on Friday, rather than Saturday for the crowd factor. There was still plenty to see, and buy.

Cute place, could have spent all day wondering and shopping, but we had much to see, oh and did I say it was cold and windy? I was freezing in my light weight beach clothes!

From there we continued to drive thru beautiful scenery, different landscapes than at the coast or in the "jungle" as we were in the Sierra region. Beautiful blue skies and big puffy white clouds, natives in tradtional clothes on the streets selling everything, and animals everywhere. Next stop was one of the two equator monuments. We arrived after hours, so there was nobody to do demonstrations, but that was ok. (They balance an egg on the equator, and show you how the toilet flushes backwards)

On the way back to the hotel and dinner, a stunning sunset Sierra style. What a great day, but Mom and I were exhausted, (I had been up since 4:45 am, and she had flown all night) we stopped for pizza and beer before hitting the sheets, and boy they felt good.

Tomorrow is another day, so much more to see and do...so, stay tuned, the adventure continues!

Life goes on

Every couple days I think about writing a post, and lately it doesnt seem like anything news worthy is happening in my little town. But, this week big news! I got my own internet installed, I had been "borrowing" my neighbors, but could only sit on one side of the apartment to use it.

Yesterday I decided to move furniture around, which meant sweep and mop all the floor, but I must say, I am very happy with the result.

This was where the bed used to be, now I have a living room, and the bed is on the other side of the apartment.

And view from the front...

My mom is coming next month, and having somewhere other than my bed or the kitchen to sit will be so nice. As evening wore on, Perry decided to check put the new couch...

But honostly, he is happier closer to me...

What I woke up to after a nap the other day, haha what a sweetie. But as much as he loves a soft place to sleep, I found him in the gutter one day, getting some sun.

Low tide this morning, better get another cup of coffee and get to it. Perry loves his beach walks! So, stay tuned, the adventure continues!

Speaking of Gifts

My newest thing is being commissioned for House signs. It really isnt as popular here as in Mexico, or other Latin countries, but the Gringas like their house to have a name. (Might as well, we have no addresses)

Patricia who helped with Perry, wanted me to make one for another Gringa who was buying her first house, after many years of renting. She told me what name, and "lots of colors"... front, and bonus back

When Patricia gave this wonderful gift, two people in the crowd, promptly asked who painted it, and within a couple days I had two more orders. Again, got the name wanted, and jist of their idea. But really I run with it...

New Beginnings, and one for our old landlord Dave. His tenant liked it so much, he asked about prices for my murals...hmmm.

another picture I found, I forgot to post. Sign for Debbie's house, when she moved back full time. The board is decoupaged with paper napkins. (She loves red)

Oh, and one more I made for Kimberly for her Birthday last month... (made one for me too)

My current project is for Cynthia and her jungle yoga retreat. This was my original gift to her, when we visited for the open house last year.

And three of the four commissioned for the yoga studio, they are still in process..

At $20 a sign, I would say Im doing pretty well. Did talk to another Ecuadorean muralist, sign painter and he told me my price for Freddie was waaay too low. So, I will up my price to $35 for a mural (per day).

so...as always stay tuned, the adventure continues!

Everyday is a Gift

Please forgive my lapse in posts, this time last week I was told my youngest sister was killed in a car accident. She was 38 years young and...well is gone too soon. So much more life she could have lived. I try to learn something from every situation, whether good or bad, the lesson...LIVE! We dont know if this is our only life, and we are not guarenteed tomorrow, so...Buy the beach house, eat cake, kiss someone special and live life as if it is your only one, enjoy!

The outpouring of love from my ecuadorean neighbors has been great. I have been brought food, both prepared and not, and people checking on me if they havent seen me in a day or so.(even if that means coming to peek in my kitchen window) Fresh "lobsters" brought one day.

Those pescky crabs that were ruining the catch are gone, and this picture from Facebook was nice to see. What amazing creatures live under the sea...

Also on Facebook a group of our youngsters went on a trip to Peru, and along the way found this bridge. What a great shot! Remember...you are only as young as you feel, and your limitations, may just be in your mind. See the good in everyday, even if you have to look a little harder. Everyday is a gift...

Stay tuned loved ones, the adventure continues...

Congrejo y Construction

My little town is growing again. Marco and Karina are finally getting the new hotel built, and Jenny is building a pharmacy next to her store.

Jenny's best friend runs the pharmacy two store fronts to the east of her store. Jenny's son Xavier and his wife Gisella both work there part time. My guess is that when they move into Jenny's they will either not have to pay rent, or pay Jenny, instead of whoever owns the other building. Neighbors helping neighbors.

The fishermen have been having a hard week. These crabs are swarming in huge schools, and making a mess of the nets and catch!

By the time the boats return to shore with their catch, the crabs have eaten it! Not to mention getting them untangled from the nets is a real pain. Some boats didnt even go out the last couple nights because they knew the crabs were still out there. This is what the nets are supposed to look like...

Fish, not a jumble of crab and half eaten fish. They take it all in stride. Hey, they had a couple more nights off. I'm sure they made the best of it, they always do. At the moment it is low tide, so Perry and I and a Cup of coffee are going to enjoy a beach walk, so stay tuned...the adventure continues!