Carla: Air dancing with Tia Elcy

Cununyacu

Just found out that we don't live in Tumbaco, but in Cununyacu which is the name of the hot springs across the street, down beside the river. Not a town...just the name of the area...Tumbaco is 3km away. Quito is about a 1/2 hour by bus and Maria will go up there tomorrow for the 1st time to pick up a race package for a 10km race Saturday: Ruta de las Iglesias....route of the churches...thru the historic centre. I've been relegated to babysitting duty, esp since the race starts at 7pm. Have a look at the photos www.rutadelasiglesias.com and click on 'entrar'

I have an extra 10 days off, as the Ecuadorian gov't has stated all schools must start Sept 7...no exceptions. The school had to change its calander for the year and shortened our xmas and November holidays. So just hanging in the hammock...watching Ramon run around the yard and chase chickens; watching Carla who is beginning to crawl...while admiring the glistening glaciers of Cayambe, 25 km to the north, thru which the equator passes thru its highest elevation on the planet.

The volcano in the photo is Cotopaxi....by biking 8km behind the small, extinct volcano Ilalo that we live beside, I'm rewarded with this view.

The excellent black and whites of Ramon were taken by Nicki, the year 4 teacher.

We have orchids in our yard...some that grow up trees, like the purple one. Peaches look ready too! Pics of the kitchen as requested...and others of the garden outside.

Ramon playing with his 3 year old cousin Sarita. Carla learning to swim. Some Ecuadorian traditional dancing and lastly, Ramon found a 3 inch long bug that looks like a leaf...on the front porch!

Our little house in the Ecuadorian countryside

Having trouble with the script, so I'll type this in now and it will hopefully end up at the bottom of this post. So here we are in Tumbaco, Ecuador...about a 20-30 minute drive down from Quito, to the east. It's been quite warm here...about 26-27 everyday and down to 5-6 at night...like a Kelowna summer day...all year long! Taking our truckload of possesions across the border was quite an adventure...the customs officer wouldn't let us through without a pile of paperwork and surprisingly, wouldn't accept $50usd to go through, as is the standard way doing this. Fortunately, our driver knew a backroad route, paying a couple of farmers to pass through their fields! We arrived in Tumbaco expecting to move into the house I'd chosen a month earlier, but a couple of teachers who we'd met in Bogota, had found us an even better place, 1 block from the school! A 3 bedroom country bungalow, with a separate 2 bedroom guesthouse outside. Huge fenced property with bananas, avacado, peach and mandarin trees among others, with a crop of corn having just been harvested. I promised Ramon I'd buy him a wheelbarrow when we got to Quito and he's been going around the yard, picking up oranges, avacados and squash. A little girl from next door came to visit...just walked right in the house and asked if I was her new teacher. She then asked if there was anything to drink and proceded to help herself to what was in the fridge. This must be part of country living, and getting to know your neighbours! This is exactly what we were hoping for and this is just where I want to be at this point in life. Signed a two year lease, but hope to stay 4-5 years. After getting the house set up over the weekend, I'm now in the process of setting up my next classroom! PLEASE COME AND STAY WITH US!

Summer in Pasto....continued