Quito from above!

View from the gondola.

Quito is huge!

First view of Cotopaxi.

Beautiful view!

Our family!

Fun bridge! And shaky.

Sydney and Alex.

Eve and Alex.

Last day in Quito!

For my final day, Sydney, Heather, Alex, Eve and I went up to Teleferiqo, a big lookout over the city on top of Mt. Pichincha that offers a view of the surrounding mountains and entire city.  You take a 20 min gondola ride from the base and can hike around, ride horses, or bike.  I loved the view of Cotopaxi, the sleeping volcano over-looking the city, and we had fun exploring the different views and little buildings on the summit.  It was a wonderful way to end my trip, getting to see everything that we've been exploring as a whole, and be with our group all together.  I won't go into full reflection just yet, we're still enjoying the day in the house and having another movie night tonight after dance class!  I'm very excited for that!  And then I head to the airport at 4 am tomorrow morning, definitely going to be an early night.  I'm posting the pictures after this, they're much more fun!

Photos with Sixto!

Bonding over the stamps.

Learning from Sixto.

Just a few laughs.

I am awestruck by him.

Old campaign poster.  And he did win.

Sixto Durán-Ballén, one of the best men I have ever met.
All photo credits to Sydney, thank you!

Sixto Durán Ballén

We just had an incredible night.  First to just catch up on the day though (save the fun stuff), we went to the supermercado this morning to stock up on food and made a good lunch of fresh salad with avocado and tomatoes, lasagna, and my favorite new juice, mora.  Afterwards we had a bit of a slow early afternoon, Alicia is leaving for the coast with her family tomorrow and was getting everything settled, so cleaned up, made fresh cinnamon bread, and read.  However, after, we went with Alicia to her parents' home in northern Quito, and as I recently learned her father was actually the president of Ecuador from 1992-1996!  Everyone knows him as Sixto, and he spent his whole life in public service, as a congressman, minister of housing, mayor of Quito for two terms, President, Prime Minister, and Ambassador to the U.K.  He is an incredibly sweet and humble man, now 91 and happily living with his wife of 67 years, Fina.  They met in New York when they were in school/training, she is a nurse from New Orleans, and they have nine children.  Still happily married and affectionate, they are quite an inspiration.  We spent the afternoon with them talking, looking at his awards and memorabilia, and his expansive stamp collection.  It was so fun to look through everything, including pictures with Queen Elizabeth, old campaign posters, plaques and many awards.  And what's in their house isn't everything!  They also have an awards room at their home on the coast and there is currently an exhibit at a local college dedicated to him!  He is so highly decorated that Alicia said when he went to meet the Queen in full dress he had to remove some of his medals because no one can enter who is more decorated than her!  He said being mayor of Quito was his favorite office, Fina's too, because he could visibly see what was and wasn't getting done and Fina was able to handle the health and family agenda which is her speciality.  Likewise, being an ambassador was the most fun with the least amount of work.  His stamp collection was also stunning.  He began it when he was 8 or 9 and has 150 books full of stamps from around the world.  They acquire each one thru an actual letter or trade.  I learned there are clubs and societies where you meet people from other places who also collect and begin corresponding to help each other get the stamps.  I couldn't believe how many he has, dating back to the 1800s.  His son Sixto has been helping to get it all organized and they plan on passing it down through the family. We were certainly awestruck and humbled by him, and it was an honor to sit and listen to him talk and learn about his stamp collection.  I can only hope to do a fraction of what he has accomplished.

Lago San Pablo

Lago San Pablo in the morning mist.

Puertolago on the right.

Delicious fruit canoe.

Front of Puertolago with Alicia.

Best papaya EVER! From 235.

235

The beautiful valley.

I spy 235.

Envious of their beautiful flowers.

The first of many roosters and chickens.

235's resilient bridge.  It's crazy to think the water rose over the sides to flood the crops. 

The old railroad 235 sign with Sheyla and Baggie.

Papayas.

Tomatoes.

A new friend.

The school.

A young king atop his castle.

Mucho pollo.

Cute and strong buddy.

The girls.

Alicia and Edmundo.

Lemons.

Surreal.

Very fun bridge.

The Salinas Valley.

Much needed update from 235!

There's much to tell from the past few days!  Alicia and I spent the night at her daughter's apartment with her family in northern Quito on Friday.  It was very fun for me to be there, it being so much like home with the kids eating and getting ready for bed and everyone coming home from work.  We went to bed early and climbed into Gustavo's car with Baggie at 6 am Saturday morning, headed north for 235.  We passed through much of Ecuador until we stopped at Lago San Pablo, a large lake with a beautiful Inn called Puertolago where we had breakfast.  We had fresh juice, fruit in a very fun wooden canoe, eggs, and bread while overlooking the lake, the sun just coming up as the fog cleared.  It was unbelievably beautiful, I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Ecuador.  From there we stopped in Otavalo, the city and home of the Otavalo Indians who make beautiful crafts and have had great success industrializing their city and talents.  We walked through the artist's market, looking at everything and had fun bargaining for a few keepsakes.  I loved the drawings and paintings they had of the people and landscapes, and the famous intricate pictures on small feathers.  They also use banana peels, leaves, and other natural pieces to create images.  Their famous alpaca sweaters were everywhere as were beautiful scarves and wall hangings.  We also found Indian coffee, which smells unbelievable and I'm not normally crazy about coffee, and Ecuadorian dark chocolate, yum.

From Otavalo we continued on to 235, through the Salinas Valley.  I immediately thought of East of Eden and the dozens of pages John Steinbeck spends describing the Salinas Valley in California.  I have not seen the one in California, but if it's anything like the one here I understand why he spends that long painting it for the readers.  It is possibly the most beautiful place I have ever seen, and as I am not Steinback I'm not going to try and describe it very much as only the pictures can come close to describing it.  Just the Andes on either side with the sun reflecting through the clouds and casting shadows on the red earth, it is magical.  The word "salinas" has something to do with salt, and plants and villages litter through the hills as you look down.  It was a beautiful drive up to 235.  Once there, Gustavo let us out to walk down and over the river, the "real" way to 235.  We went down and met Sheyla, a young girl from the village who lives across the river joined us the rest of the way over.  The bridge crosses the river which has flooded several times, and is a bit shaky but stands strong.  It's invigorating to walk across, feeling the river rushing by and the bridge swaying in the wind.  We followed the path and finally arrived at 235, where we were welcomed and quickly found the kids and several of the women Alicia knows well, including Lenny's mom.  We followed the kids up to the school ("mas arriba") and met Edmundo, the village leader whom we sat down with to discuss our ideas.  We found out another village farther north, Rio Blanco, had just starting growing, harvesting, and processing coffee.  They have a full irrigation system and processing plant, and Edmundo is interested in doing the same at 235 knowing it will grow well in their soil.  We discussed irrigation, costs, and possibly processing in Rio Blanco, making it a joint venture.  We know this will be a long process, but plan to have Lenny go back to 235 and Rio Blanco to see what they have going on and talk to the engineers and trainers there about helping in 235 as well.  From there we can figure out what we need, how much, and how to start.  I will hopefully see him before we go and if not will leave something for him with Alicia.  We know he is very interested in helping his village and would love to start this.  Additionally, the railroad that was built from Quito to the northern coast is currently being redone, and it goes right thru 235 (this is where the name came from).  It hasn't been used in years, but they have restored it up to Salinas, and plan on continuing to the coast.  This makes it so much easier for the people to bring their fruit to market, get to jobs, and sell their products.  By the time the coffee is harvested, we hope the railroad will be back.

A bit more about 235 though.  It is a small village nestled in the side of the valley of about 200 people, most of whom are related.  They have a school that runs 1st-6th grade, and the nearest high school is in another village.  When Lenny went to high school about 10 years ago there were 10 boys from 235 with him, no girls, and only he and one other boy graduated.  This year, about 10 boys and 10 girls are going to high school.  Silvana, Edmundo's daughter, just graduated from high school and is planning what to do next.  We hope she and Lenny can help with the coffee and take the lead on the ground there.  As may be assumed 235 is an agricultural village and they grow tomatoes, papayas, bananas, lemons, yucca, potatoes, and pineapples, all of which is unbelievably good.  We had a delicious lunch of rice with fresh tomatoes, potatoes, and chicken soup with lemonade.  They have tons of chickens who just run around the village, truly cage free, and are a great source of protein for them.  We brought back papaya and pineapple that was so sweet and juicy, completely unlike the ones we get up north. Our hope is to continue planning for the coffee, but immediately get a loan for them to plant more pineapple bushes.  They are like cacti, needing little water and attention, but grow incredibly well around the village.  Between that and papaya 235 could sell even more and start making money to invest in the coffee.  We will assess that with Lenny as well.  After lunch we walked up to see the lemon trees, looking at the land and spring that flows from the mountains and thinking of ways to get water up there.  Walking along that side of the hills looking over the river and around us was unbelievable.  It is breathtakingly beautiful with fresh air and wind and just a completely different way of life.  Everyone in the village is happy and welcoming and willing to do anything, and never ask for more or want something else.  Such a simple life that makes them happy and healthy.  It puts into perspective the crazy lives Americans lead that allows us to lose the importance of family, resting, and enjoying ourselves.  I learned a lot from being there only a day.

After our visit we headed back towards Quito, making a quick stop for famous bizcochos, the best biscuit/biscotti-type bread I've ever had.  They are very simple, $1 buys nine one inch by 3 inch treats.  They are dry and crispy but come out fresh and warm, perfect with hot chocolate and often served with cheese.  I wasn't sure what to expect but they were perfect, and we had more this morning that were left over.  By the time we returned to Quito everyone was exhausted, and headed for bed (Alicia and I back in the apartment for another night).  This morning was very nice, we had the left over bizcochos, fresh pineapple and papaya from 235, and the Indian coffee and waited for Julia and Jose Tomas, Alicia's grandchildren to return from their other grandparents' home.  We spent the morning talking with them and watching the kids (who loved the fruit), and then played with Tomas after they left to go to the cloud forests nearby with Gustavo and Baggie (Gustavo is Jose Luis--Alicia's son-in-law's brother).  We took him up to the terrace and went to get fresh bread from the bakery, a norm here as bread is a large staple and keeps the bakeries in business.  When Alicia's daughter returned we caught up with them and headed back to Casa Victoria.  It feels great to be back here, currently doing laundry and did a terrace workout with Heather and Sydney and settling in for a more relaxed night, a lot to catch up on.  Tomorrow we are going to the market and then get to meet Alicia's dad, the former president of Ecuador, Sixto.  I am so excited to meet him it will be incredible.  Only a few days left!