Leaving Cuenca...Trip & Language Snafus; Beautiful Baños

Lindsay´s volunteer work wrapped up nicely. She began to connect with several of the older women who could communicate and looked forward to visiting with them in the mornings at the Hogar (home). In the afternoons, she was working with one little girl in English specifically and had a hard time saying goodbye to her. Our American housemate will take over the English tutoring and we´ll continue praying for her as we travel.

Mark completed his Spanish classes and ended up learning all the Spanish verb tenses in his six weeks of study! His language skills have improved immensely and comments from our host family and teachers indicate that his language ability is impressive. Though advanced, language mistakes are always likely to occur, and one happened the other day.
Mark: ¿Usted tiene huevos? (Do you have eggs?)
Shop Attendant: Sí. (Yes)
Mark: ¿Cuánto cuestan los huevos? (How much do they cost?)
Shop Attendant: Doce centavos cada uno. ¿Quiere? (12 cents per egg. Do you want?)
Mark: Nunca ahora... (Never now.)
Shop Attendant: [facial expression appears disturbed]
Mark: Después. (After.)
Shop Attendant: [facial expression returns to gentle smile]
*Mark wonders about the facial expression change, and then realizes that he should have used ``Nada ahora.´´ (nothing now) in place of ``Nunca ahora.´´ (never now) and begins to laugh.

On Tuesday, we departed Cuenca for Riobamba where we hoped to ride on La Nariz del Diablo train that switch-backs up a mountain and has beautiful views. Tourists have been known to ride on top of the train, which (of course) we wanted to do. We had heard you could buy tickets the day before so we departed Cuenca a day before schedule to get tickets. As it turns out, you can now email ahead of time to reserve tickets, so tickets have been sold out for weeks. Oops...should have looked into that more. We also learned that people have been unable to ride on the top of the train for over two years now. We will be emailing Lonely Planet and Footprints (travel guides) to update them on both parts of the information learned.
*Lesson learned: Do not rely completely on travel guide information that could be several years out of date. Always double check any important schedule/travel information!

After learning that we could no longer ride the train, AND Mark learned that Parque Nacional Sanguay access points were almost 2 hours away by bus, we decided to depart Riobamba (an industrial town) for picturesque Baños. Two hours by bus and we were in nature-lovers paradise: Baños. In the shadow of active volcano Tungurahua, Baños is located in a valley, completed encased by green mountains all around. These three pictures are views from our hostal (name: Llanovientos) room windows.

About the volcano,
don´t worry...Baños is protected by a hill between the 5000 meter volcano, so we expect to have time to evacuate if necessary. While here, we are enjoying the amazing hikes, mountain biking, cascadas (waterfalls), food(!), and baños (thermal baths heated by the ground beneath the volcano) that Baños has to offer! See pictures below.

A view of our hostal from above. Our room was the one on the far right corner, top floor (pinkish building in the center-right of the picture).

We had two huge windows through which strong mountain breezes blew.

Another view of our hostal room. We had a TV for the first time in over a year!!!

To start our day, we typically headed to Mark´s favorite breakfast spot: Rico Pan. We had eggs or fruit salad, freshly-baked bread, a freshly-squeezed juice of our choice, coffee/tea/hot chocolate, and jelly to go with our bread. It was a great start to a hiking day!
Off to hike...
Break during a hike to La Casa del Arbol, up the hill that shadows Baños from the volcano.
Mark looking up another mountain we hiked. After a long hike, the best thing for sore legs was a dip in the thermal baths...

Shown above is the bigger warm pool in Piscinas El Salado.

The Piscinas El Salado had five pools total, all different temperatures. The blue pool is regular water (not a thermal pool) and was quite chilly with the strong valley breezes blowing through.

A note about food. Lindsay has missed having loads of vegetables and Mark has missed a good steak. For our 10-month anniversary, we headed to Mariane´s where Lindsay enjoyed a beautiful salad, and shared Mark´s steak dinner with him. For dessert: chocolate & mora (blackberry) crepe. Yum!

Happy 10 month!
Yummy steak!
Beautiful salad!

Last week, we volunteered for a day on a WWOOFing farm at the base of Tungurahua and they had several avocado trees. Take a look at this HUGE avocado!! (Notice: It is filling BOTH Lindsay´s hands.)
Another common thing here in Ecuador is roast pig (chancho a la plancha). The one catch is that they roast the WHOLE pig and eat the skin and all. Look at the size of this thing, compared to 6´1´´ Mark!

The Least of These

[I (Lindsay) have now completed my Spanish language review and am volunteering during the day.]

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'

And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

- Matthew 25:34-40 (ESV)

The past few days, I have experienced a touch of what He meant by``the least of these´´ in my volunteer work at a Catholic-run home for girls and older folks. In the morning specifically, I have been working with folks who are older, who do not have much money, and who do not have much mobility or control over their bodies. This means that they own very little, have to wear a diaper, have to be washed, and have to be fed. Basically, these folks have been taken in by a group of nuns and are cared for daily.

I never appreciated my ability to chew, to bathe myself, to have privacy, or simply to move around on my own. Take a moment, rub your tongue over your teeth, and appreciate these beautiful bones that help you chew your food. Aren´t they wonderful gifts?!

Last Thursday, I was asked to assist in bathing these older folks and it was one of the hardest things I´ve had to do in my life because I was forced to face this difficult phase in life. Why do the nuns do this each day? Perhaps to improve the last phase of life that these older folks live and to love these people that maybe are forgotten. Honestly, I did not want to face this difficult life phase. It made/makes me very sad. But I also realize that these people have lived long lives, and still are present, living. They simply don´t have their faculties about them as much any more. To love on them and treat them like people, like God´s children is a responsibility. Just because I have abilities and have my faculties about me shouldn´t mean that I deserve more respect or love.

Through this work, I am gaining a better understanding of LOVE. I have understood that it can be tough to love someone who is difficult or irritable emotionally. But is loving those who are physically challenged or incapable also difficult at times? It was difficult for me because I did not want to think about this phase of life. (I know, selfish thought.) But even this phase is still life. How much have I been loved and am loved every day? Do I appreciate this love or recognize it enough to allow it to overflow from me in difficult situations? Do you?

I so eagerly wanted to know these folks´stories; however, many of them do not have their mental capacities any more, so they cannot hold a conversation. BUT, I could care for them, love them, touch them, look into their eyes and see their history, and pray that they would experience the Lord´s LOVE still.

It is not pleasant, it is not pretty, but it is life, and we all have to live it. This past week, I faced ``the least of these´´ and I can´t say I enjoyed every moment, but I did hear my Lord say, ``This is what I mean by `the least of these´.´´ I was saddened at not being more honored to show love to them. I am confident that I am a child of God like all of you, but I certainly did not feel like the ``righteous´´ to which the scripture above refers. However, I am learning and pray that God is making me more humble, appreciative, and loving through each of these experiences.

Cuy (Guinea Pig)

Cuy (Guinea Pig) is a food here.

Yes, I know, it is also that little cuddly animal that lived in a cage in your house when you were 10, but here, it is a food, and we tried it this past Friday night. It is roasted and it often appears as though it was caught in mid-stride, and cooked just like that.

It tastes like salty chicken, and because you pick its body apart to eat it, it was tough for me to eat easily. Mark enjoyed it, and even tried the brain, which was not as tasty as the body...

Lindsay´s uncertain...

La mesa entera (the whole table)

La gente (the folks)

Mark is ready, head and all!

Afterwards...pile of bones.

Well, bones and meat in Mark´s stomach.

We then, went to Turi, which is a mountain overlooking the beautiful city where we live. ¡Viva Cuenca!

Parque Nacional Cajas

This past Sunday, we hiked...again, and this time, our legs were not sore. In fact, we feel great today-Monday (the day after). Perhaps, this is a sign that we are accustomed to the altitude finally...or the hike was simply easier than last time.

Parque Nacional Cajas was indescribable. Mark continously stopped, looked around, and said, ``This is beautiful!´´ We did hike #3 (estimated at 6 hrs, 55 minutes). We began at 9:10 and ended about 3 pm, with several breaks along the way. Hopefully, the pictures (below) will give you some idea as to how beautiful it truly was. We saw various people on horses or donkeys for the first hour and then we saw NO ONE for the next 4 hours. It was peaceful, romantic, memorable! We would both love to return, if we have time.

Video of our lunch break may be seen here.

Looking forward at the start of the trail.

Looking back at our start: the tiny ranger station in the distance.

We were to follow a very long trail, marked by these little blue markers on rocks. It was actually VERY easy to follow and we did not need a guide in any way.

Need I say more...we were in God´s country.

Following the trail...

Can you spot Mark? He is wearing a gray jacket.

Deep breath...(it was cold, hence the hat)

Waterfalls surrounded us throughout the hike.

More waterfalls.

Lindsay feels insignificant among these towering mountains.

These trees were like those from the Brothers Grimm fairytales.

Up close, you could see the red bark peeling off...incredible!

Almost finished!

The last sign, indicating the starting point, if we wanted to have another go!

#30

Folks have asked what has been the hardest adjustment so far, and for me, it has been being away from family and friends. I definitely took for granted the ease of picking up my US cell phone and calling anyone at any time.

So I have to admit, I was nervous about spending my 30th away from family and friends. Our Schwarz family gave me a beautiful birthday celebration in January before our departure, and I can still see the smiles of the family and taste the smooth chocolate cake on my tongue (one of the best cakes I have had). Our Hauser family will celebrate when we visit in August, which I look forward to immensely!

To my surprise, I actually was more sad a week before my birthday than on my actual birthday. I anticipated feeling lonely, but Mark decided to cook dinner for not just me, but the entire family of 20.

Mark and cuñado (brother-in-law) peeling avocados.

The final product: tuna salad-stuffed avocado on a bed of lettuce with a side a achote-spiced rice. YUM!

Thus, I was surrounded by the family with whom we are living and the smiles, (Happy Birthday song, in Spanish) was a nice taste of home.

To see a video of the family singing to me, please click here to be linked to youtube. I love Mark´s expressions in the video!

One thing that is a little unusual is that after they sing Feliz Cumpleanos, they then sing a song (``Te estas poniendo viejita...), which roughly translates into,``You are becoming an old person...´´ A different culture, but with a sense of humor! Of course, I don´t get hung up on age, unless it prevents me from doing something fun. The number 30 is actually quite a fun number.