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| Casa, sweet casa. |
WE MADE IT...I think. Yesterday was our first official day of being on our own in Cotacachi, Ecuador. Around mid-day yesterday, as Laura was sitting on a window ledge in our house looking out at the sun gleaming off the mountains and one massive volcano, she asked me in a very concerned tone, "Is this a dream?" I had to stop and think for a second because I wasn't quite sure myself. I looked out the window at the view and watched as Eli was outside playing with a large brown beetle and still wasn't convinced we were actually here. However, today is a different story. I know where we are...I know how we got here...and I am wide awake.
This first post is going to be pretty long so I won't recap the whole past month right now as it is pretty intense and I might have to deliver that in small flashbacks peppered here and there. If life is truly all about the journey and not the destination, I could argue for both sides after what we've gone through to get here. I will say that sitting here at this beautiful place in this beautiful house with my wife and child that this was truly worth every second. That being said, my Spanish really sucks!
We arrived in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, late Saturday night after a long delay in Miami from Chicago. I'm just going to throw this out there and this is just strictly my opinion, but American Airlines is the worst...except for maybe Delta, but I digress. Anyway, we arrived at the Quito airport to masses of people coming and going and waiting...and lots of balloons. The airplane off-loading area was a massive bottleneck going through the customs area which is right next to the baggage claim which is right next to the transportation area. Laura and I tracked down all but one of our five suitcases. And, of course, it was the biggest one which held all of Eli's toys. The sweet attendant at the baggage claim checked the claim ticket and found that our suitcase was on a later flight and that we could come back in the morning to retrieve it...no worries! Side point, I'm still trying to figure out how our suitcase got a later flight...curious. Getting through customs turned out to be a breeze for us because of good ol' Eli on our hip. Apparently, the Ecuadorians are very sympathetic to travellers with small children and you immediately are led through security. They didn't even scan our bags or ask to see a passport. Needless to say, we felt pretty cool. We were, however, a bit concerned because of the 3-hour delay of our flight that our per-arranged driver would not be waiting for us on the other side of customs, but to our utter shock and delight, he was there with a big smile on his face...amazing!
Our room for the night was perfect. It is called the Hostel Charles Darwin and is located in north Quito, which is the "upscale" part of Quito. After a great night's sleep we had a wonderful, but simple breakfast and waited for our driver, Jose, who was to take us two hours north to Cotacachi. All of these plans and arrangements were based solely on the recommendation of our new landlord, Peter. The drive to Cotacachi was just as we remembered it from our previous visit, breathtaking. We arrived at our rental house and were greeted very warmly by Peter and his friend from Utah, Fritz. They had been at the house for two weeks preparing the house for us. It looked amazing! We spent the next couple of days hanging out and bonding with Peter and Fritz. I'm just guessing, but Peter is around 67 years-old and Fritz is in his mid-50s. The conversation came very easily...it was like we were old friends who hadn't seen each other for awhile. Both of them share a love for skiing and being outdoors. Peter had some great stories that he freely shared with us. We missed Peter and Fritz when they left us on Monday, but knew that our paths would cross again someday.
We were referred by Peter to a tremendously helpful and sweet local guy, Mauricio. He with his father and our driver, Jose (yes, the same Jose), and his 5 year-old nephew (who rode on Mauricio's lap in the front seat without a seat belt and wasn't injured or didn't go flying out the window...amazing!) went with us into a larger town called Ibarra about 20 minutes from Cotacachi to help us buy a cell phone to use while we are here as our smart phone is a little too "smart" for these parts. Mauricio speaks almost perfect English which was self-taught. Jose does not speak English, but has an incredibly kind face with a smile that speaks volumes...I felt like I understood him even when he wasn't talking. All of them are indigenous people and wear their hair long in a perfectly braided ponytail. I had to explain this one to Eli as he kept referring to them and the nephew as "she."
I couldn't help but feel completely useless and inadequate listening to him secure a phone for us and translating the conversation back to us. Why didn't I take the time to at least learn the basics of their language before we came here? Good question. I choose to blame it on a lack of time over the summer...not a great excuse, but it works for me. The cell phone store was located within a very American-looking outdoor mall that had Ecuadorian versions of common American stores, such as Payless Shoes, Kentucky Fried Chicken (which, curiously, has hamburgers) and The Gap (which was not called The Gap but sold very Gap-esque looking clothes...actually the name of the store could have been the Spanish word for "gap" but since my Spanish stinks I couldn't know for sure). We spent most of our time in a grocery store called Super Maxi which is a nice place to get the necessities and a bit more. There is a bigger version of Super Maxi called Mega Maxi which, according to Mauricio, is too big...makes perfect sense. All in all our visit to Ibarra was great and we learned a lot from our new friend, Mauricio. We had a common interest in soccer and he has even invited me to play in an organized game this weekend. I might have talked myself up a little too much, but I have played consistently for over 30 years...it'll be fun to play with the locals, so we'll see how it goes. I'm just going to have fun and try not to get hurt!
As I am writing this current blog, and presumably, any and all subsequent blogs, I keep thinking of all the great details of the past couple days. I will attempt to remember them all in a timely manner, but I am guessing that I will remember them in no particular order or timeline. Thanks again to all our family, friends, acquaintances and co-workers whose support and guidance has gotten us to where we are today. We miss you all desperately and wish you could be here with us...cheers!
