sayhitojohn

Sunday May 29. Today we just poked around and went to some of the surrounding villages to check out what they produce, like various weavings, hats and leather. Not a super eventful day and really a clue that maybe we stayed to long at this spot.  It's so hard to know when planning ahead and planning ahead is what we have been doing with the kids along. It works out 95% of the time. I did catch this fine dog pack image. The dogs are everywhere. The are not ratty and nasty as you might expect, but some seem to be even very well groomed. From what we understand, most of the dogs have a home, they just get to wander and hang it with their buddies all day. We have only met one mean one. He was on the way down to town from the place we are staying. Pretty vicious sounding. Even chased one of our cabs up the road sounding like he was going to tear the tires off. Patti has been at Def Con 1 ready to give that dog the old monkey kick. We had a laundry fail here. Or, as Patti might relate

This sweet 2.5 Turbo even has The Doors. Flat Panel, Oven/Range, Refrigerator, and Motorcycles - t he new wave of Big Box Store. Horrified, Riley pulls a giant bread worm from her intestines. Does this mask make my teeth look big? I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride... Chucky is back! Posted via Blogaway

Saturday May 28 Today we woke much like we did yesterday to the sound of roosters crowing, dogs barking, general busyness around the hostel and 20 minutes of celebration music starting at 6:30. The owners warned us and apologized in advance to which we said no problemo. Now we know why they were apologizing. We we were first unpacking our bags when we noticed there was a Gideon's Bible on every nightstand, not something you see that often anymore. I had to ask the owners if they were followers of Christ which the affirmed in very broken English. We talked with them for quite a while about this and learned that many Christian Missionaries stay at their hostel while they hold Bible classes around Otavalo. After more conversation we learned that the matriarch of the hostel, Matilde, was from a native tribe of Ecuador and spoke the native tongue, Kichua, as well as Spanish.  It was this combination, as well as being a Christ follower, that led to her being asked to translate a Bible

On Toilet Paper specifically. Again, I wonder why I think about these things. Maybe it is because I do not have the occasion to back home and have not really ever thought of it apart from Asian and South American travel. This post is a long time in coming. My first experience with toilet paper not being for the toilet came in China. That was just odd and gross in my estimation but I dealt with it. Now there are better experiences then others when it comes to not flushing the T.P.  First, there is the handedness issue. Which side of the toilet is the receptacle?  On the right if you are a righty is preferred, otherwise a midflight hand switch must take place which is always risky. Second, what type of lid is on the receptacle?  Open or none is preferred for placement but then you have open container issues to deal with until the next time your waste basket is emptied. Lifting the lid off might be the next best, although it involves touching the lid handle, gross anyone? Another lid

Friday May 27 Today we woke to the sound of roosters crowing, dogs barking, and general busyness around the hostel. It is only happening like that because I am sleeping great. I thank God for that. After some breakfast we headed down the hill to find the bus station and to play our hand at the 'getting there is half the fun ' game. We had a rough idea about where we were going and thought public transport would be a more interesting, and cheaper, way to travel then private cab. We wandered into the chaotic bus depot looking, I am sure, a little bewildered, wondering where we might buy some tickets. We did not find that, but we did have a few folks hawking rides to here and there. Finally we spotted a bus with Cotacachi painted on it. Cotacachi was not exactly where we wanted to go, but it was close and could serve the purpose. So we got on and away the bus sped, and we thought "well, here we go... s omewhere". When the bus commander came around to collect the dinero

Thursday May 26 We slept in once again and milked our primo Sheraton room. We even watched some awesome High School Musical 3, in English, as we slowly gathered ourselves. Still feeling it from our late arrival the day before we were OK killing some time. I was perusing my Ecuador feed on Flipboard and after I thumbed through the myriad of soccer (futbol) stories about Ecuador's defeat to the U.S. I discovered that there were more earthquakes, large aftershocks, that caused damage, injury and death once again. This country is not that big, yet life just goes on out here further West where they are largely unaffected. We checked out and left our bags at the hotel while we grabbed a quick bite at Subway. Sounds kinda lame, but it was close, the kids like it, and we can get salads there. After lunch the plan was to grab a street cab to the bus station and take the adventurous route to Otovalo. But...this is the Sheraton, and before we knew it we were in a classier cab and on our way

I am the just the best flavor. Only the best mold for our bread. Taking Milk and Cookies to a whole 'nutha level. Where is that darn kitchen sink? Mixed messaging. Posted via Blogaway

Wednesday May 25 Today we left Peru for Ecuador. We arrived at the airport characteristically early to find it full of folks which eased the painfulness of our punctuality. That is, until one of the gates opened up and everyone, I mean everyone left. I guess we were a little early ;-). We had late night flights with a layover in Lima which ended up with our arriving in Quito, Ecuador at 3:15 on the morning. We almost did not make it out of Lima as Patti forgot a can of sunblock in her day pack. Security screening caught it and the first guard was trying to make heads or tails of it, then called his supervisor who also could not figure it out. Then in very broken English asked if we needed this. We did, but we needed the headache less. Our touch down in Quito came with the biggest bounce that any of us had experienced and scared the passengers so much they clapped when we finally came to a stop. We arrived at the hotel at 4:00 where we would have gone promptly asleep, but this was a

Tuesday May 24 Today was moving on day as we checked out of our place in Cusco in the morning, left our bags with the desk and headed out for the day. We met our driver Mario, or was it Mad Max, as we were walking down the hotel stairs and he ushered us to his one man road owning machine. He was about the rudest driver that we had encountered on our trip so far. We have had aggressive drivers, but this guy was something else. Not rude to his passengers, but to everyone and everything not seated on his bumper car. Riley and her tummy have not been taking to the crazy roads in Peru so she usually gets shotgun along with some ginger or Dramamine. We were taken to some interesting sites today that were unique in their own right.  The Inka built the Salineras de Maras, salt pans, and they are still in operation today. It is an ingenious use of local mineral content, availabile water, and the terrace structure that we have seen in so many other places. We were able to walk right down amon

Found... Bat-mo-Trike You know you're in touble heading over the mountain passes...when your cab has roll bars. Street Lunch. R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Popped Maize vs. Popped Corn. 7 Free pieces of bano paper with every toilet purchase. Here Dinner Dinner. There Dinner Dinner. Posted via Blogaway