Everybody showed up for Lydia´s birthday
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Settling In
Transit to Ecuador went smoothly. With all hoops jumped through, luggage collected, we arrived like movie stars walking down the red carpet. In Ecuador it is an event when someone arrives at the airport; the whole family comes and squeezes along the aisle to see who just came from the States. Even though we were strangers, so many people smiled at us with geniune warmth. It took me by surprise. Although raging panic gripped me in the quiet hours of travel, this completely soothed my nerves.
We were driven by van, the following day, from Guayaquil to Cuenca. We had never been in this area of Ecuador before, and I found the drive to be fascinating. Just out of Guayaquil, it really looked like the "banana republic," with banana trees, plantations, and fruit stands along both sides of the road. There were a lot of police checkpoints, so you knew you were definitely not in Hawaii.
Then we ascended into the cloud forest, a breathtaking, car sickening, and sometimes terrifying experience, because at some points it looked like the driver was going by memory, since sight was not possible. I've concluded one thing: Ecuadorians are insane drivers!!!
Terrain changed from tropical to desolate paramo in Las Cajas national park. We actually saw llamas! And it hailed a little. Once through that stretch of terrain we began to descend into the valley of our destination. The sun had come out and the view awed me to tears. I heard exclamations of awe from Nathan and Taylor and I knew the journey was worth it.
We are staying with a very gracious family in very congested downtown Cuenca. Their residence is on a narrow, cobblestone street, and looks like nothing from the outside. Open the door and it´s like Mary Poppins magic bag. A grand foyer downstairs. Upstairs, the kitchen, three or four living rooms and dens, six bedrooms, and maids quarters. On the down side, the two bathrooms we have access to are marginally functional. (I no longer have the expectation of having a truly hot shower for six weeks.) They have two storefronts; one is a cafe they just opened called Mr.Food; the other is an upscale clothing store called Gemelys. The way they operate their businesses is very efficient. Three of their daughters work with their mom Nora in the store. The fourth works with dad Rolando in the cafe. They close in the early afternoon to come upstairs for lunch, then reopen again and work until eight. We try to keep out of their hair during the day, but it is fun to go down and have ice cream and hang out with the family in the evening at the cafe. There are two babies in the family, and Diana Ortiz (sister of Nora) and her family are here visiting, so we see them often.
Curtis Gee, Unsion TV network general manager, shared his testimony with us over a cup of coffee. While we are here Blake will be doing a little consulting with his marketing manager. Also,we plan to join Curtis and his family on their routine Saturday visit to a local orphanage. We will have to wait until mid-August to meet John Guido from Verbo church, since he is out of the country.
I suppose we will do a little exploring in the mean time. Pray for continued health and safety for all.
trudenski
We were driven by van, the following day, from Guayaquil to Cuenca. We had never been in this area of Ecuador before, and I found the drive to be fascinating. Just out of Guayaquil, it really looked like the "banana republic," with banana trees, plantations, and fruit stands along both sides of the road. There were a lot of police checkpoints, so you knew you were definitely not in Hawaii.
Then we ascended into the cloud forest, a breathtaking, car sickening, and sometimes terrifying experience, because at some points it looked like the driver was going by memory, since sight was not possible. I've concluded one thing: Ecuadorians are insane drivers!!!
Terrain changed from tropical to desolate paramo in Las Cajas national park. We actually saw llamas! And it hailed a little. Once through that stretch of terrain we began to descend into the valley of our destination. The sun had come out and the view awed me to tears. I heard exclamations of awe from Nathan and Taylor and I knew the journey was worth it.
We are staying with a very gracious family in very congested downtown Cuenca. Their residence is on a narrow, cobblestone street, and looks like nothing from the outside. Open the door and it´s like Mary Poppins magic bag. A grand foyer downstairs. Upstairs, the kitchen, three or four living rooms and dens, six bedrooms, and maids quarters. On the down side, the two bathrooms we have access to are marginally functional. (I no longer have the expectation of having a truly hot shower for six weeks.) They have two storefronts; one is a cafe they just opened called Mr.Food; the other is an upscale clothing store called Gemelys. The way they operate their businesses is very efficient. Three of their daughters work with their mom Nora in the store. The fourth works with dad Rolando in the cafe. They close in the early afternoon to come upstairs for lunch, then reopen again and work until eight. We try to keep out of their hair during the day, but it is fun to go down and have ice cream and hang out with the family in the evening at the cafe. There are two babies in the family, and Diana Ortiz (sister of Nora) and her family are here visiting, so we see them often.
Curtis Gee, Unsion TV network general manager, shared his testimony with us over a cup of coffee. While we are here Blake will be doing a little consulting with his marketing manager. Also,we plan to join Curtis and his family on their routine Saturday visit to a local orphanage. We will have to wait until mid-August to meet John Guido from Verbo church, since he is out of the country.
I suppose we will do a little exploring in the mean time. Pray for continued health and safety for all.
trudenski
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Welcome!
We are titling our blog site "volcanoes & cathedrals". Literally speaking, the highlands in Ecuador can be described by these two words. Figuratively, I'm sure we'll experience some "volcanoes," considering we will be traveling with small children, in a third world country, barely knowing the language. My hope is that we will also encounter the "cathedrals," the awe inspiring moments, the connections with people, and the broadening of our perspective.
The first two volcanoes occurred already. One, I was floored by the cost of travel immunizations. Our bill topped $1,100. Just Yellow Fever was $85 per person, and that is required if you want to get back into the USA. Two, though we ordered passports 11 weeks ago, they were not arriving. Suddenly, the extra cost of expediting was, in hindsight, pretty worth it. Our option now was to go do all the paperwork over again, pay all the fees again, by going downtown to get temporaries. Only, all the appointments for that were booked. Blake didn't sleep much for about a week, and if he was up at 3am, he'd call the place where they were processing our passports back east. "They answer right away when I call then." In contrast, if you are calling later in the day, and you choose any option but the operator, you basically get hung up on! "Sorry, call volume is too high. Good-bye." Click. The passport people knew him by name because he was persistent, and, told him, "oh, you still have plenty of time!" Well, OK then! A luxurious six days before we travel, the beautiful fed-ex package arrived.
See you south of the equator.
-Trudenski
We are titling our blog site "volcanoes & cathedrals". Literally speaking, the highlands in Ecuador can be described by these two words. Figuratively, I'm sure we'll experience some "volcanoes," considering we will be traveling with small children, in a third world country, barely knowing the language. My hope is that we will also encounter the "cathedrals," the awe inspiring moments, the connections with people, and the broadening of our perspective.
The first two volcanoes occurred already. One, I was floored by the cost of travel immunizations. Our bill topped $1,100. Just Yellow Fever was $85 per person, and that is required if you want to get back into the USA. Two, though we ordered passports 11 weeks ago, they were not arriving. Suddenly, the extra cost of expediting was, in hindsight, pretty worth it. Our option now was to go do all the paperwork over again, pay all the fees again, by going downtown to get temporaries. Only, all the appointments for that were booked. Blake didn't sleep much for about a week, and if he was up at 3am, he'd call the place where they were processing our passports back east. "They answer right away when I call then." In contrast, if you are calling later in the day, and you choose any option but the operator, you basically get hung up on! "Sorry, call volume is too high. Good-bye." Click. The passport people knew him by name because he was persistent, and, told him, "oh, you still have plenty of time!" Well, OK then! A luxurious six days before we travel, the beautiful fed-ex package arrived.
See you south of the equator.
-Trudenski
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