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Avocados!!

We are fortunate to have an avocado tree in our front yard. It produces a voluminous amount of the best tasting fruit.

I’ll save the avocado lecture here though this evergreen has many very interesting characteristics. One that we have to deal with is that the fruit doesn’t ripen on the tree. In our experience it takes about a week in a closed bag in the pantry for them to ripen to a perfect texture and flavor. I believe our variety is the “Fuerte” in the Guatemalan race.

Luz loves avocados and when she sees one on the counter will often start yelling “cate’, cate’“ which sounds like cafe with a t. This comes from Spanish for avocado which is aguacate.

We have developed a good system where Tomu, Jade and I (and sometimes Luz) climb the tree every couple of days and pick a few for the following week. We also have a fruit picking pole to help with the harvest. Sometimes we just pick up the ones on the ground which have fallen due to the wind...if the birds and ants haven’t gotten there first. When we forget or get behind we have to resort to buying avocados, which are relatively cheap but never as tasty, from the market....so sad.

Avocado ladder and harvest crew ready for work.

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Patagonia

As lovers of mountains, Patagonia has loomed large in our imagination as a travel destination. We decided to make the trek to Patagonia while living in South America, figuring we were about 50% closer. Luckily my dear friend and climbing partner Mo also wanted to go to Patagonia, and Mo was game to backpack with us & our three kids! What a good friend!

It was tricky to plan the trip, as you have to book the camping sites in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile about 6 months in advance. We decided to do a modified W trek in 7 nights and 8 days. I did my best to plan an itinerary that would allow Tomu  (age 6) & Jade (age 4) to hike the daily distances comfortably while also allowing the adults to see the most spectacular parts of the National Park, since it is a loooong way to get there, as well as expensive. As always when traveling or hiking or climbing with kids, it’s a compromise.

I realize that to most people, backpacking for 8 days with 3 small children sounds like a completely mad idea. I think that because I was a backcountry ranger in Olympic National Park in my 20’s, I have the idea that I can do it. That I can do hard things in the backcountry—I can carry a heavy pack, because I’ve done it before. In the months leading up to the trip, I went through all kinds of scenarios in my head for how we were going to do it. How would we carry 6 sleeping bags, 6 sleeping pads, many layers of clothes for 6 people, 2 tents, 8 days of breakfast & lunch food, 40 diapers, a potty, and a 23 pound baby between 3 adults? To me it sounded horrible to have a heavy pack, a baby on the front in a carrier, and walk at a 4 year olds pace. So I considered 2 adults hiking quickly, then one coming back to get the third pack, while one adult set up tents, and the last adult walked slowly with the 3 kids. Our kids have hiked a lot in Cajas, including one training hike the same length as our longest day in Patagonia (5.7 miles), and they have camped a lot; however, our previous longest backpacking trip was 1.3 miles to spend two nights at Third Beach. Also, Luz hadn’t slept in a tent in 7 months, so I wasn’t sure how she would do. So, there were a lot of unknowns for the trip…

We decided to buy dinners at the huts, rather than carry and cook our own food with the rationale that the savings in weight on our backs was well worth the $42 per dinner. That was definitely a good decision!! The dinners were 4 course meals, and they were delicious.

While packing for the trip in Cuenca, we were worried as we looked at the weather forecasts for Torres del Paine—every day rain! Mo said that sounds like type II fun for sure. We waterproofed our boots and rain jackets, fearing 8 days of rain and wind.

Our trip started early on a Thursday morning with a 3.5 hour van ride to Guayaquil, followed by a 5 hour flight to Santiago, Chile. The following day Mo met us at the Airbnb, and Tomu & Jade instantly jumped on her with giant hugs. That day in Santiago we went to a beautiful giant park called Quinta Normal. The following day we had to wake up at 4:30 am in order to meet the taxi driver at 5 to get back to the airport. It’s no fun waking up small children very early! We took a 3.5 hour flight to Punta Arenas, followed by a 3 hour bus ride to Puerto Natales, gateway to the park. Tomu, Jade, and Luz busied themselves with sticker books on the plane rides.

In the Guayaquil airport with strawberry milk.

Early morning baggage ride for Jade.

Bus buddies Jade & her godmama.

The crew in windy Puerto Natales.

Then we had one day to provision for our trip. Mo had brought a lot of food down from the States, but we had to fill in the holes for 8 lunches and 7 breakfasts. Unfortunately, that day Luz had a very cloudy pee in the potty, and Mo suspected a UTI, so I took Luz to the ER at the local hospital, leaving Mo & Riki to do the shopping with Tomu and Jade. Luz also had been constipated since we left Ecuador, as well as having an eye infection. They took a urine sample at the hospital, which came back negative for UTI, but the doc prescribed her antibiotics anyways, telling me to buy the antibiotics and he would text me in two days to tell me the results of the urine culture. Back at home, Luz had a fever of 102 degrees, and Mo said, give her the antibiotics anyways. Mo is a flight nurse, and I trust their medical advice! Needless to say, it was a VERY stressful day, dealing with a sick 1 year 9 month old while trying to prepare for a big backpacking trip.

One of our logistics problems was where to leave our extra baggage during the trip. The Airbnb said it wasn’t possible to leave it there. Here we were blessed by the kindness of a stranger. I had asked a woman, Carolina, in the airport in Punta Arenas if she knew of anywhere we could leave our bags, and she had replied no. Turns out her house was two doors down from our Airbnb, and we ran into her on the sidewalk, and she offered to store our bags for us. So kind! So we went over to her house at 10 pm, finally packed for the following day, to drop off our bags.

Day 1

We got up at 6 am in order to make our 7 am bus. It was a 2 hour ride to the park. When we got to the park entrance, it was raining. We all shuffled into the park building to watch a video about Leaving No Trace with about 75 other people. We were the only ones with kids, and we were the focus of a lot of attention. I’m sure they all thought we were crazy with our big packs and our three small people. We used the video time to put rain gear on and give Luz her antibiotics and eye drops. As we filed into the room next door to pay our park entrance fees, I said to Mo, “Look, another kid!” And Mo replied, “Day hiker”. I laughed.

We took a shuttle to the real park entrance, and Riki and I drank lattes while we waited for the rain to abate before beginning to hike. The lattes were from one of those machines where you just press the button, but they tasted great.

Finally, here we were. We set off hiking around 10:30 am. Luz is in a very clingy Mama stage—basically no one else can hold her if I am around. So that settled who would be carrying Luz; which is only fair since the trip was my crazy idea.

We hiked 3.5 miles that first day, mostly uphill. Luz at times complained about being in the carrier, so I let her walk some, which felt like a break for me. It turns out my pace with Luz & my pack was not that much faster than Jade’s pace after all; however, generally Riki would hang back with Jade. I was always surprised with how quickly they arrived at camp. It was really windy as we crossed Windy Pass, and Luz was fussing as we neared camp. I sure was happy to see the sign for Chileno camp!

At Windy Pass--Jade loved the wind!

Turns out that hiking in Torres del Paine is definitely not a wilderness experience—there are SO many people! Also, you can only camp in designated spots, on wooden platforms, that you have to pay for. And at each camping spot, there is a hut (resembling a small ski lodge) that serves beer, pisco sours, quesadillas, eggs & bacon, and $16 burgers. So if we ever felt like we were still hungry after lunch, we could just go into the hut & order some food. I brought 400,000 Chilean pesos (equal to $505) into the park, thinking it would be more than enough for the park entrance fee, the catamaran rides, and any food we wanted to buy. We spent all of it!!

A major bonus for us were the flush toilets and showers at each campsite. We managed to throw all of the wet diapers in the garbage cans of the bathrooms, so we didn’t have to carry 40 used diapers around. We brought the potty because Luz has been pooping in the potty almost exclusively since she was 6 months old, and we figured we would rather dig a hole and bury her poop than carry it with us. Luz was still constipated on the trip, so it helped for her to be able to sit comfortably on her own potty when doing her business. 

Mo and Riki set up the tents while I stayed with the three kids inside the hut, out of the wind.

Celebrating a successful first day with Pisco Sours.

Day 2

This was a planned day hike day, up to the lookout for the Torres del Paine (Paine Towers), the most famous image from the national park. Mo sped up to the lookout alone, then came back and watched the three kids while Riki and I hiked up to the lookout. We saw a fox right by the lake, but unfortunately it was pretty cloudy when we arrived at the towers. Tomu, Jade & Luz had fun playing by river.

Actually that was one of my highlights of the trip—seeing how easily the kids amused themselves with their imaginations in nature. They made beds for leaves, turning over rocks and filling the holes with soft stalks of plants. They sent boats of bark or leaves down the rivers.

Jade burned herself on the wood stove at the hut this evening. She burned 3 fingers on her right hand, and they blistered immediately. She cried alternately during dinner, and we kept applying wet cold paper towels.

Day 3

We had to hike 3.5 miles back out the same way, then catch a shuttle to the bus to the catamaran. Mo began hiking with Tomu and Jade as soon as they were ready, about an hour before Riki, Luz and I left. For me, a highlight of this day was the reactions of the other hikers when they saw our kids hiking, and when they say me carrying Luz. One woman said to me, “when I get my baby, I’m going to do that, too.” Another woman said in Spanish, “Es mujer? Increíble, qué cabrona! Qué chingona!” I don’t think she knew I understood, but I smiled to myself—“Is that a woman? Incredible, what a badass!”. Almost everyone smiled at Luz when they saw us on the trail, and many had looks of amazement on their faces as they were struggling up the trail, then they saw us doing the same thing with 3 kids.

We made it back to the entrance station in time for our shuttle, and everyone got a treat drink: for Riki it was beer, for Mo it was Diet Coke, for me it was coffee, and for the kids blueberry juice.

On the one hour bus ride to the catamaran, Jade fell asleep. As I looked out the window at the amazing mountains, I thought, this is why we are here, for the love of mountains. They were just stunning.  Jade woke up grumpy and coughing, saying she just wanted to sleep more. So we made her a nest and she kept sleeping while we waited an hour for the boat. We moved her onto the boat and she just kept sleeping. Riki carried her off the boat, and she fussed and cried. It was super windy at Paine Grande, and again I left Riki and Mo to set up the tents while I took the 3 kids inside the hotel. Jade promptly fell asleep again on the couch in the lobby.

It seemed obvious that something was wrong with Jade…we tried to wake her for dinner, but she just wouldn’t wake. I took her temperature, and it was 102.5 degrees. Poor kid. The only medication we had to bring down kids’ fever were some suppositories the doc in Puerto Natales prescribed for Luz. So, while I held up a jacket to shield them from view of the folks in the dinner line, Mo gave sleeping Jade the suppository. Once again, nice to have a nurse friend. When we woke Jade up to go out to the tent, she was actually chipper and energetic. She didn’t want any food, but we had some hope for the morning. The next day was our longest day of walking at 5.7 miles, and I was worried that sick Jade wouldn’t be able to do it. I asked at the campground if we could stay an extra night, and they said they would let me know in the morning.

When I took Luz out to the tent, she freaked out because of the high wind. The rainfly was flapping like crazy, and she was so scared. I thought she might calm once we got in the tent, but no. So I grabbed all my existing cash, and took her into the hotel to plead for a bed. The young woman at the desk said she could give me a bunk bed in room with 3 young women, and that she wouldn’t charge me! Wow, once again, so kind. I slept on the floor in my sleeping bag & pad next to Luz, and I was so relieved not to be in the windy tent with a crying baby.

That night was one of the low points of the trip—so stressful!

Day 4

Jade awoke cheery, with energy, and said she was ready to hike, so we decided to go for it. Mo set off with Tomu and Jade at about 10 am. Riki, Luz and I left around 11 am. It was so windy—like gusting to 50 knots an hour, judging from the spray off the waves on the lake. I was buffeted by the wind, often staggering to the side. Riki was hiking behind me, and he kept trying to hold on to me to support me. Luz hated the wind, and cried when it gusted. After an hour, we stopped, and Riki took the sleeping pad off my pack hoping that I would have less windage. As we walked, and Luz cried, I repeated a mantra to her: “No llores Luz, no llores. No nos gusta el viento, pero seguimos caminando porque somos fuertes y somos increíbles.” “Don’t cry Luz, don’t cry. We don’t like the wind, but we keep walking because we are strong. We are incredible.”. I was talking to myself as much as to her! The scenery was stunning this day, but I really hardly noticed. I was just intent on getting there.

We finally caught up with Tomu, Jade and Mo after about 2 hours of walking. I can’t believe Mo did that stretch alone with the two kids. Once the wind blew Jade down, and blew Mo over too. Mo had to jump over Jade so as not to squish her! I asked Tomu what his technique was when the wind gusted, and he replied to get into a ball like a rock. We ate a lunch of chicken packs, crackers, and baby bel cheese, and continued on. About a mile before reaching Italian camp, Riki said, let me take your pack for awhile. So he walked with my pack on his front, leaving me with Luz and Jade. Jade’s energy was fading, so I carried her piggyback with Luz on the front. Then Mo came back to get Jade. It was a real team effort this day. We took a second break at Italian camp, and then hiked the final 1.2 miles to French camp.

That night at dinner Jade complained of not feeling good, and she would hardly eat anything. She had a fever of 102.5 again, and just wanted to go to bed. I gave her some chewable Tylenol (a present from some Chileno hikers with kids), and took her to bed. As she lay in bed, I told her how strong she was, how she can do anything when she gets big, to hike so far in the wind being sick. Wow. I was so impressed by her. I also felt guilty—like was it too much? Was the very hike making her sick?

Day 5

Another planned rest day for kids/day hike day for adults. Mo set off to the British Lookout, in a basin at the head of the French valley, a 10 mile roundtrip hike. I had no energy and no desire to do the hike, nor did Riki. It didn’t matter that we had come such a long ways, that I probably wouldn’t come back to see that sight. I just didn’t have it in me, and I was fine with that. We stayed in camp, had pizza for lunch, played the card game castle on the picnic tables, and just relaxed with the kids. After dinner we all walked down to the lake to skip some rocks and play. The Chileans at French camp were so kind to us—they gave the kids peaches, chocolate, and chips. Luz turned into a chocolate addict on the trip, eating the chocolate chips out of the trail mix.

Day 6

It rained in the night, so we had to pack up wet tents, but we had just a short hike of 1.5 miles to the campsite called Cuernos, or Horns. It was actually sunny and hot while we hiked. My friend Steph, who had hiked the O loop, recommended Cuernos as the most beautiful camp site in the park. And I agree—it is just beneath the distinctive mountains, with their black bands on the top, and 3 waterfalls coming down. The kids were happy playing in a small sand patch next to the river before dinner.

Luz sleeping in her nest while we set up the tents.

Day 7

It rained again in the night, and my tent was wet inside at the foot of the tent. Both Mo and I had diarrhea in the night—I didn’t even make it to the bathroom (but I made it out of the tent at least!). Mo woke up really sick—they didn’t sleep hardly at all, their body ached all over, and they felt horrible, with alternate chills and feeling hot. Oh no! Riki and I took a little extra weight, and Mo managed to make it the 1.5 miles back to French camp. Mo slept all afternoon, and felt slightly better by the evening.

Day 8

Our last day—we had to hike 5.7 miles, back through the windy territory. I was hoping for no rain and no wind. We wanted to be in Paine Grande by 3 pm, in order to have time to get some food before the catching the catamaran at 5 pm. We figured on 7 hours, the amount of time it took Tomu and Jade for this stretch before. We left around 8 am. Mo carried their normal load and set off with the kids. At one point, Luz and I passed Mo & the kids, and then I realized that her boot had fallen off while she was sleeping. Luckily Jade found it! Luz hiked quite a bit this day. Luz liked to smush these red berries in her hands, so I was constantly on the lookout for them. It was a challenge to keep her entertained in the carrier, and whenever she fell asleep I tried to hike faster.

It wasn’t windy until the last .5 miles or so, and not nearly as strong as before. The kids did great, and we arrived at 1 pm, shaving 2 hours off our previous time.

Jade feeling sick again, and Luz copying her while we waited for the catamaran.

The kids played by the lake and watched a goose family. We had pizza, and as we were waiting in line for the catamaran Jade started to complain that her ear was hurting. She was crying from the pain. Poor kid. She slept again on the catamaran. I feared an ear infection, and finagled a seat on the 6 pm bus back to Puerto Natales for Jade and I, leaving the rest of the crew to take the 7 pm bus, which we had tickets for. I held Jade on my lap as she slept alternately and cried alternately. I told her stories of Princess Jade who liked to travel, and all the places she went. I told her I would take her to the doctor when we got back to Puerto Natales…but she said, no my ear is better now. She’s afraid of doctors because she thinks they will give her shots. She went to bed calmly, but cried a lot that night. Upon arrival in Puerto Natales, Mo went immediately to a pharmacy to get some antibiotics—their throat was killing them, and they knew it was strep throat.

Tomu was such a joy on the trip. He didn’t complain once about being tired—he seemed to have boundless energy, dragging sticks to make trails, picking berries for Luz, etc. He also walked the whole way in these cheap plastic Ecuadorian rain boots, which made some lines on his shins & calves where they rubbed. He carried his own backpack the whole way.

Jade was also amazing, especially considering she burned her hand and got sick! Jade had had a constant snotty nose since leaving Cuenca. She walked almost the whole way, also carrying her own backpack most of the time.

Luz did so well sleeping in the tent, and tolerating being in the carrier for long stretches. She would generally wake up once or twice every night, but go back to sleep when I breastfed her.

The following morning, after we showered, I took Jade to the ER of the hospital. They said she had a sinus infection, with a red inner ear. They gave me antibiotics, plus anti-histamine, and ibuprofen for pain, and a nose spray.

Then we got on a bus for Punta Arenas. We arrived in Punta Arenas with no idea how to get ahold of the Airbnb host or where the Airbnb was located, because Airbnb sent me a reminder with a wrong number for the host. That was pretty stressful. But I scrolled down to find the right number, and we made it there safely. Then another early morning flight back to Santiago the following day.

Watching a street performer in Punta Arenas.

A building in downtown Punta Arenas burned by protesters the week before we visited.

The kids were really excited about riding the underground train (the subway). I had promised them we would do it upon our return to Santiago, and they didn’t forget. We took the subway to the big park again, and the kids played in the spray park area. Mo, Luz and I had a nice dinner our last night, then I went out with Riki later after the kids went down for a second nice dinner.

Luz became a chocolate lover on the trip. She ate all the chocolate chips out of our trail mix, and chooses chocolate for her ice cream flavor.

In Santiago every available wall space is covered in graffiti, mostly anti-government and anti-cop. Also, there is a strong leftist culture—lots of folks with blue or green hair, tattoos, and lots of bike commuters—all things lacking in Cuenca.

“Until dignity is a habit”

“Blind we fight on” A large number of protesters in Santiago have lost an eye due to rubber bullets fired by the police.

“I have more rage than money for bread”

“Damned be the uniformed who wields his weapons against the people”

I almost lost it in the airport as I was walking with the three kids to our gate, and they were pestering me to buy them stuffed animals, and I had a roller bag and my backpack and I was hungry. (Riki had stayed back to buy some Crown at Duty Free). We arrived back in Guayaquil at 1:30 am Chilean time, woke up our 3 sleeping kids, walked through the airport, got a taxi to our Airbnb. And then the van back to Cuenca—we were all so happy to be home!

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Holidays

The holiday season is a special time in Cuenca with interesting traditions. The 24th of December is the “Pase Viajero del Niño”, a parade through the historic center of town where people dress up as different Biblical characters (Virgin Mary, Wise Men, Joseph, shepherds) as well as in traditional indigenous dress from various towns in Ecuador. People rent horses for the day to ride, and decorate them with all manner of sweets and also cuy (cooked guinea pigs—the local delicacy).

We saw the Pase del Niño with our friends Mónica & Felipe, and their kids Juliana y Ariel. 

For Luz’ daycare, she and I dressed up as Otovaleñas, from the town of Otovalo, for her Christmas program. Jade dressed up as an angel and sang a christmas carol with her school. Tomu decided not to participate in his class song. For Luz early development classes with my friend Lore, she dressed up as the Virgin Mary. All of the kids got “fundas navideñas” or Christmas gift bags, which were full of candy and cookies—probably more than the average Halloween haul.

The municipality of Cuenca decorates the town and the river with tons of lights. We went out one night to walk around & see the lights.

New Year’s Eve is actually a bigger holiday than Christmas here. Everyone burns a monigote, or año viejo, an effigy that represents last year, at midnight. First you should kick it and jump on it. That is to let the old year go, and bring in the new year with a fresh start. The city has a contest of monigotes, and different neighborhoods elaborate scenes of giant effigies that comment on the political happenings of the year. We went out around 6 pm on New Years Eve to check out the contest, and they were so interesting.

And finally, I brought in the New Year at my friends’ Lorena & Juanito’s house with their extended family. I brought caipirinhas, and we danced from about 10 pm until 2 am. Everyone was intent on teaching me cumbia, salsa, and an Ecuadorian dance that I don’t know the name of. We took a break at midnight to go outside and burn the monigotes & set off fireworks. At midnight, everyone hugs and wishes each other a happy new year. Lorena & her granddaughter came out at midnight dressed as “viudas”, or widows. It was a blast!

New Year’s Day Riki and I hiked to the summit of Guaguazhumi, the mountain where he dislocated his shoulder, while my mom watched the kids. We got caught in a major rain and hail storm, with lightning nearby. But we had fun—it’s always good to start the new year outdoors.

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Po Po comes to town

Po Po means grandmother on your mother’s side in Cantonese. So that’s what my mom, Candace is called. She came to visit us for November & December. We had planned a trip to Bolivia to see the Uyuni Salt Flats, La Paz, and Lake Titicaca; however, we had to cancel our trip due to the political unrest there. Evo Morales was forced to resign the day before we were due to travel. 

Since we weren’t going to Bolivia, I had the thought that my mom could do some dental work here in Cuenca because it’s much cheaper than it is in the States. She proceeded to have 3 root canals, 11 crowns, a bridge, and a sinus lifting surgery in order to be able to put in implants. She will come back for two more visits, for two weeks in May, and a month in November (though we will be back in the States by then). 

Between dental visits, mom sewed Jade two princess dresses, sewed Tomu a cheetah costume, cooked some delicious Chinese meals, read lots of books to the kids, and spent many hours babysitting so Riki and I could have date nights or date hikes in Cajas. Here are some photos from her visit, almost all taken by Po Po.

5:15 am wake-ups are the worst!

Best buddies

My friend Fabiola & I

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Ultimate Frisbee

Our Sunday mornings are usually spent at Parque Paraíso. I play Ultimate, and Riki watches our three kids, plus often three extra (older kids).

When my mom was here, Riki played for two weeks, and even bought cleats. 

Ultimate is so fun! It’s hard on an aging body, but so far I have not sustained any serious injuries. I’m just sore from Monday to Wednesday, and I’m knackered Sunday afternoons/evenings. There’s a fun group of players, most of whom are Venezuelan, a few Europeans, a Canadian couple, and a few Americans. Some players are quite good, and we also have people play who are trying it for the first time. One of our players tore his Achilles, and during his recovery he’s been coming & taking photos of the games.

The “long arm of the Pratt” in action.

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Princess (phase?)

How does it happen? How do young girls decide they like princesses? I mean, I know, media, Disney, but we’ve been trying to limit those influences. Jade has seen 4 movies so far in her 4 years of life: Incredibles, Incredibles 2, Monsters Inc, and Moana. She doesn’t watch any tv or videos on youtube. We’ve never purchased any pink clothes for her.

And, she is pretty obsessed with princesses. It must be a phase, right? I knew she would love a fancy dress for Christmas, so her present was to pick out a dress. While we were in the dress store, she said, “I love love love this dress. I love it more than I love you, momma.”

Now she asks me all the time, “momma, can I wear my you-know-what?” 

She even wears dresses to bed (but not the unicorn one). 

Her favorite color is pink. The other day she asked me, “Momma, why didn’t you get me a pink bike?”

She also told me she wanted me to pierce my ears. Ha! She has noticed that all the other girls in her class have pierced ears, and asked me why she doesn’t.

In this video she is wearing the “fairy” outfit her Po Po (my mom) made her. It has her name in pink sequins on the front. 

She also climbs the avocado tree, loves hiking, talks a mile a minute in Spanish or English, loves making art, loves listening to Jack & Annie books, and has recently started riding her bike home from school. And she is very good at expressing her feelings. She’ll say, “I’m sad” if you raise your voice or get frustrated with her. My response, depending on the time of day (I have less patience later in the day), is sometimes, “well, I’m annoyed”.

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First piano recital, after which he said he wanted to keep taking piano forever. Then 2 weeks later he decided he wanted to stop taking lessons. But he did play while we sang Cumpleaños Feliz to Jade. 

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Chimborazo

On Sunday evening, Riki and I had the opportunity to attempt to summit the volcano Chimborazo, Ecuador’s tallest volcano at 20,534 feet. The summit of Chimborazo is also actually the closest point to the sun (closer than the summit of Everest), because of the bulge at the Earth’s equator.

I wasn’t too sure about our chances, seeing as we hadn’t trained at all. The points in our favor: we live at 8,500 feet so are a little bit acclimatized; Riki rides his bike a lot; I play Ultimate Frisbee once a week; Riki summited Cotopaxi, at 19,350 feet in 2007; I have some mountaineering experience having summited Rainer twice. My previous highest altitude was 17,800’ at Thorong La pass in Nepal, and I didn’t feel very good that day. I had a headache, came back down & vomited, and decided to descend further in order to escape the malaise I felt.  The points against us: Riki was sick the week before, he had gotten a blister on his bunion on his right foot during our hike in Cajas the weekend before, Riki’s shoulder is still recovering from his reconstruction surgery, and I am pretty out of shape.

My mom is visiting right now, and she volunteered to watch the kids so Riki and I could do the three day Chimborazo trip. She managed to get all the kids to Tomu’s soccer game, take Tomu & Jade to school and pick them up Monday, and even take Luz to her child development class at my friend Lore’s on Monday morning. Tomu & Jade spent Saturday night at a friends, and Luz wouldn’t let my mom pick her up out of the crib Sunday morning when she realized that Po Po was the only one there. She kept asking: mama? Papi? Momu? Jade?

We booked a guide and a tour online. The tour included 3 meals, one night’s stay in the hut in the National Park, and all the gear needed for climbing (ice ax, crampons, helmet, headlamp, balaclava, mountaineering boots, gaiters, harness, etc.).

Saturday morning we left at 8:30 am on a bus to Riobamba. All the buses in Ecuador seem to play violent action movies at either super loud volume, or too low volume to hear. This bus ride Wolverine was playing. The road is so windy, and the bus drivers take the curves so fast that your body rocks back and forth in the seat, so you have no chance of sleeping.

We got to Riobamba & took a cab up to Chakana Mountain Temple, our first night’s lodging. The tour company recommended that we stay there to begin the acclimatization process. Our cab driver was so interesting. I asked him how the strike had gone, and he said, “bastante bien” (pretty well). He told me that Chimborazo province has the most indigenous people in all of Ecuador, and that they were really strong during the strike. He said he was a strike leader, and they had captured 16 of the Ecuadorian policemen and held them hostage for 6 days until they would admit that the policemen had killed two protesters. Then he told me how 200 buses left from Riobamba, a city of about 500,000 people for Quito to protest. The military blocked their way with tanks, and they burned the tanks and kept going. Man! Talk about badass. The taxi driver caught me up on the current talks with the government, and said he didn’t think there would be any more strikes because elections are coming up in 2021, and if President Moreno continues to try to implement these economic measures, there will be more strikes and it won’t be good for his re-election.

We arrived at Chakana, at 13,780’, and it immediately began to downpour. So we sat by the fire in the dining room, played cribbage, drank coca tea & ate popcorn. Riki won—I think I’ve beaten him perhaps once in my life at crib. We listened to an episode of The Moth Story Hour, and they talked about having a Pitch Line, where you could pitch your story in two minutes. Riki asked me for my story pitch, and I began talking about my aunt Evi. Do I start with her being lost at sea on the Niña? Maybe that grabs the listeners’ attention best. Or do I start with a million other stories that show what a unique, trailblazing person she was? I just talked, and ended up crying of course.

I had to pump milk in order to keep my milk supply going for Luz. It’s so convenient to be able to help her sleep while traveling by breastfeeding, and we have a few long trips coming up. While pumping, I felt so grateful that I haven’t had to do this every day since Luz was born, as I had to when Jade was a baby, while working full-time. This was my first night sleeping away from Luz since she was born.

On Sunday morning we took a twenty minute walk into this gorgeous canyon where about 15 people were rock climbing! It was a tight canyon, with green grass & a waterfall at one end. Most of the routes were sport routes, and it was cool to meet Ecuadorian climbers. I saw the same light and joy in Matias’ eyes that I know shines in mine when I’m climbing, or thinking about climbing, or talking about climbing.

Unbeknownst to us, our lodging sat on the rim of the canyon above the climbing wall. Chakana lodge is the red roofed building. Surprise!

At noon Sunday our guide Patricio, whose nickname is Pato (duck) or Don Patito (Mr. Duckling), showed up right on time to take us into the National Park. He was a short bald man, 51 years old, with huge calf muscles. I asked him how many times he had summited Chimborazo, and he said he had lost count. He began climbing mountains at age eleven. I figured that was a good sign. In this week alone he was guiding Chimborazo Sunday, another mountain nearby Monday, Cotopaxi Tuesday, and Chimborazo again on Friday.

We made it up to the Carrel refugio, elevation 15,750’, around 1:30 pm and began trying on mountaineering boots and sorting the rest of the gear. Pato made us a light lunch of guacamole, bread, tomato, and cheese, then sent us off on an acclimatization hike to the Whymper refugio, 650’ further up the mountain.

Chimborazo graveyard

We had dinner at 4 pm, and laid down to rest at 5 pm, with our alarms set at 9 pm. I had a slight headache, and took an ibuprofen before going to sleep. I fell right asleep, but Riki didn’t sleep at all (maybe 15 minutes!). In contrast to Cotopaxi, which often has 20 parties attempting to summit on a given day, there was only one other party attempting to summit with us. Pato said that Cotopaxi is more popular because the summit is lower and therefore more accessible, and it is not as steep.

After eating a banana, we filled our thermoses with coco tea, donned our gear, and set off at 10 pm. While we rested, there had a been a storm, with lightning, which dumped about a foot of new snow. Another party who were planning to sleep in tents at the High Camp, at 17,390’, had to abandon their plan and hike out because of the storm. But the sky was mostly clear, with some clouds. A gibbous moon shone down on us. Riki said to me soon after we began: “Sabes qué? Te amo.” Do you know what? I love you. I felt like hell for the first 1,300’ or so, until we stopped to rest. I still had a slight headache, and I felt nauseous, and the snow kept balling up under my left boot, which was annoying me. I had my headlamp on also, which made me focus on the bit of illuminated snow in front of me, and prevented me from taking in the beauty of our surroundings.

After a short rest, some coca tea, and a piece of dried mango, I remarkably felt a lot better. My headache and my nausea went away. I turned off my headlamp and the beauty of climbing above the clouds, by moonlight and starlight, really helped me and gave me strength. We kept on through the fresh snow, heading up. We roped up & put crampons on just before traversing beneath a jagged rock band called The Castle on steep snow. Pato led the rope team, I was in the middle, and Riki last. On top of the Castle the views were amazing, just vast openness, rocks jutting up from the cloud layer. We passed the other party, who were headed down because one of their party was sick. As we got higher, I had to really concentrate on doing the rest step, and exhaling audibly and forcefully, which in turn makes you take deep breaths in. To me it was so interesting how your world can shrink to just putting one foot in front of the other, just keeping up with the rope leader. Riki later asked me what I was thinking about, and said he was thinking about so many things, about sailing, about other hard things he had done in his life. I can’t remember what I thought about, I just felt present in the moment, happy to be in such a beautiful place, and hoping I could keep going and make it to the top. Riki said to me at some point, “I”m going to remember this forever. Te amo.”

We reached a short, steep snow section that was pretty sketchy because of the snow conditions being so soft and unconsolidated. We stopped, and Pato went up to set up some protection. I was nervous for him! Then it was my turn, and I was nervous for me, even though I was on belay. I used the pick of my ice ax to dig in the snow, my crampon toes to dig in the snow, and my hand to grab rocks on the left hand side. Riki seemed to come up the scary part with ease.

We continued up until we got to the glacier, at 18,810’. Pato dug a snow pit to check the snow for avalanche conditions. He didn’t like it, saying that we could potentially get up the glacier, but it would be too dangerous coming down, and would likely avalanche. At this point it was 3:30 am and we had been climbing for 5 1/2 hours. He said that we were in good physical condition, we were making good time, and that had it not been for the snow condition, we would have made it to the top. I guess you never know…but the summit was still 1, 700 feet away! That’s a lot of rest steps and deep exhales. I was bummed that we had to turn around, but also a tiny bit relieved that the decision to turn around was made NOT because I (or Riki) wasn’t able to keep going. :)

On the way down, I went first on the rope, then Riki, then Pato. It seemed to take forever to get down, plunge stepping on the steeper parts, and following our tracks from the way up the whole way. That steep section was scarier going down, though I was on belay. We needed our headlamps now, because the moon had been covered by clouds. We finally got back to the hut at 6:15 am, and I had nothing left. I collapsed on my bed to sleep for a few hours before beginning the journey back home to Cuenca. We had some gorgeous views as we neared the refuge again in the dawn light, but we were too tired to stop and take a picture. It looked like we could see to the Pacific Ocean, though I’m sure that’s not true…just layers and layers of blue mountains sticking out above the clouds.

We packed up our stuff, had breakfast, and headed out. Then we had to wait for 90 minutes at the park entrance for the agency’s truck to come get us. That was pretty annoying, when we just wanted to get home, and we knew we had a long bus ride ahead of us. Finally the truck came and took us to a town outside Riobamba where we could catch a bus to Cuenca. The bus to Cuenca came within 5 minutes…and it was the exact same bus we had taken 2 days before. Same driver, same ayudante, and yep, Wolverine was playing again. This time I was so exhausted I did sleep for a few hours. We got home at 5 pm, and it was pretty sweet to see the kids again. A huge thanks to my mom for watching the kids so we could have a 3 day mountain adventure!!

[svguavajelly]

El Paro Nacional

El paro means strike or stoppage, and it comes from the verb parar, to stop.

It began on Thursday October 3rd, the day after President Lenin Moreno announced a "paquetazo" that stopped gasoline subsidies, cut government workers’ vacation in half & cut their pay as well. The paquetazo was created to comply with the International Monetary Fund’s requirements for receiving a loan. Suddenly from one day to the next, there were no taxis or buses running in Cuenca, and many intersections were blocked by taxis, just parked there. My sister Libby arrived in Cuenca that day for a visit. Luckily our friend Franco took me to the airport in his car to pick her up; otherwise I would have had to walk!

The paro lasted until Sunday night, October 13th, when the indigenous CONAIE leaders met with the President, and the President agreed to revoke the paquetazo. The President, Lenin Moreno, agreed to create new policies together with the CONAIE leaders that would still fulfill the austerity measures ordered by the IMF, which gave Ecuador a loan this past spring.

But those 10 days were pretty trippy! All the roads leading in and out of Cuenca were blocked by indigenous protesters, who threw rocks if people/cars got close, and burned tires. So we couldn't get any food--I mean, the supermarkets were empty! I could still get fresh fruit & veggies at the outdoor market, but it was a bit worrisome. And school was canceled for 8 days, which was driving us nuts having all 3 kids at home! And lots of things were canceled, soccer practice, etc.

Buses ran sporadically during the strike, taxis were available most days, but we couldn't leave the city to go to Cajas NP for example. Also a lot of people were worried about propane gas tanks--you couldn't get new tanks...they flew a plane from Guayaquil to Cuenca with food & medical supplies b/c nothing was getting in. Those are some bad ass indigenous people!! I am impressed by what they accomplished! Imagine in the U.S. protesters paralyzing the country. They also took over some oil plants in the Amazon & cut the country's oil production by 70% or something. The protests got violent in Quito & Guayaquil especially, with looting, and the President declared a state of emergency so the police could use force. Oh, and they put a national curfew in areas near govt. buildings.

“Politicians sell the homeland”

It was so nice to have Libby here visiting during the paro. She helped so much with the kids—she has amazing patience, as Tomu & Jade wanted to play with her nonstop, every day, all day long. Libby brought some of the Magic Treehouse series books, and Tomu & Jade got hooked instantly. Actually, the characters in the book, Jack & Annie, have similar personalities to Tomu and Jade. After reading Night of the Ninjas, Tomu, Libby and Jade would play ninjas, dressed in black with their swords, looking for Samurai.

Post-Cajas town excursion, hence the long johns.

Poncho presents from auntie Wub

It felt strange during the strike, the uncertainty of not knowing how long it would go on, if there would be school the next day, if there would be food in the market, etc. But it also felt like a vacation, because all activities were canceled, and we couldn’t leave Cuenca or go into the city center because it was too dangerous (especially with kids), so we mainly hung out at home. And we watched three seasons of “La Casa de Papel” (Money Heist), a Spanish Netflix series. Every night we would watch 2 to 3 episodes, and Libby and I would always debrief them afterwards. During Wub’s visit, Riki was still sleeping in his pillow nest in the guest bedroom/library because it was hard for him to sleep lying down post-surgery, so Wub slept with me. It was nice because it gave us the chance to have some un-interrupted conversations.

Picnic at Parque Paraíso

We did manage to bike to Parque Paraíso, as well as to visit the Municipal Cemetery and the Museo Pumapungo. Libby and I biked to play bridge a few times, and we frequented Sinfonía, my favorite coffee shop, as often as we could. We hiked at Guaguazhumi, the infamous (in our family) mountain where Riki dislocated his shoulder. We ate helados at our favorite helado store (Helados La Tienda).

And the strike stopped just in time to do a day hike in Cajas—Libby flew out that night. We were all so sad to see her go.

**all photos in this post (except the ones that Libby is in) were taken by Libby Pratt, professional photographer with a nice Iphone camera! 

[svguavajelly]

School ends and begins again

Tomu and Jade had an end of the year celebration at the Pumapungo Museum. Jade was overjoyed to wear the white dress they required, and was bummed that we only rented it.

We found out in July that their school was closing because of a lack of funding from the Ministry of Education, so we began hunting for a new school. We found one called Corel. Their classes are in the basement of a 3 story cement building, and their recess is in an inside room with fake grass. So not an ideal space, but it was conveniently located on the bus line, still bike-able, and the selling point: the kids do swimming lessons once a week through the school, so we could have our Saturday mornings back. Jade also starts ballet next month. One friend from the old school is going to the same new school, which turned out to be a real blessing. Franco took me shopping for the school books & school supply list, which made a daunting task easy. We bought 2 new uniforms each (sport uniform & daily uniform), including 2 new pairs of shoes for each kid. Then we had to have their names embroidered on any piece of clothing they might take off (sweaters, jackets, hats).

Jade’s preschool teacher is pretty intense. She told us during the parent meeting that she grades them on having shoes shined and hair brushed. However, Jade likes her and has made her several cards. When I asked why she was making her teacher cards, she said it was because her teacher gave her homework. Each class has a WhatsApp group chat where we often get last minute notices, like bring a yellow balloon tomorrow.

Tomu looks a lot like his namesake, my father Tom in this photo. First day of school, daily uniform. Jade loves skirt days (Mondays).

Sport uniform, used Tuesday - Friday. 

[svguavajelly]

Comings and Goings

I guess part of the expat life is making new friends, saying goodbye to them, and then making new friends again. Of course our Cuencano friends are still here, luckily! :)

June was a rough month for us, as first our Alaskan buddies moved back home on June 10th, and then our friends Steph & Nic moved back to Stevens Pass, WA on June 28th. I miss having coffee and one-on-one time with Steph on Friday afternoons. And we miss hanging out with Ashley, Scott, Cormac & Story for Easter brunch, birthday parties, camping trips, and family dinners. Family friends are the best, when kids get along and parents get along…

Nic & Chef in the airport in Mexico City.

McVans in Baños de Ambato.

In July my bridge buddy Rachel & her family moved back to Baltimore. Jade says she misses Millie, Rachel’s 9 year old daughter, and she wants to go visit her as soon as we move back to the States. :)

Rachel, Jon, Millie & Ben

We met some new friends through Steph in July: Kari & Chad & their daughters Serena & Ali had lived in Cuenca for 18 months, moving back to South Carolina about 4 months before we got here. They were back in Cuenca for a month, and we had a wonderful time hanging out with them. It was kindof like falling in love, as a whole family! We hung out with the Carsons 5 out of the last 7 days they were in town. Kari is a Spanish professor, and all nine of us spoke mainly in Spanish with each other while hanging out.  The day Riki dislocated his shoulder, Kari & Chad & the girls were coming for dinner. They came anyways, and put the kids down to bed while I went to the hospital to see Riki. What lifesavers!

Carsons & Praileys at Le Petit Jardin restaurant

[svguavajelly]

Accidents Will Happen

It’s our one year anniversary in Cuenca and I wake up in the hospital. Quite different than our planned celebratory dinner as a family because as we all know…shit happens. There was no regular path to this moment, instead a series of accidents and bad luck. The good news is the surgery is behind me and now the slow healing process begins.

It all started over a couple of months ago when I had a planned adventure for the kiddos while Hannah was away at her weekly afternoon of playing bridge. Getting outside is imperative because the three wee ones trapped in the house can be a challenge. The week before I had ridden my bike a couple of hours out of town, up a valley road to this visible summit on a ridge. Guaguazhumi (pronounced Wawashumi) seemed like a good way to spend an afternoon with the kids.

That nipple on the ridge is the summit.

We took a 1/2 hour taxi ride ($6) to the trail head. We were a determined team with Luz in the chest carrier, my backpack full of rain gear, hats, water, snacks, a change for Luz, camera and a couple of small toys, and Tomu and Jade hiking. They are very experienced for their age and keen to explore.  We were prepared…after all, what could go wrong?

The trail immediately began with a steep ascent and would continue for the duration of our hike. I picked the more direct, steeper, shorter route with the intention of having a longer leisurely descent with the sights of Cuenca and Cajas always in our view.

Trailblazing Jade the Fearless

There wasn’t a soul in sight for our hour climb and near the summit we had to push through some overgrown brush and criss-cross through a gully….challenging for anyone, yet Tomu and Jade were excited to push for summit. I stepped up a small slope and suddenly, without warning my foot slipped downward a couple of feet. I instinctively put my left hand up to protect sleeping Luz’s head and my right hand out to catch my fall.

THWACK…my foot went down with my arm extended, stretched over my head immediately dislocating my shoulder. I knew it right away when I stood up and checked on Luz. She was crying as this woke her and I noticed my right arm was a few inches longer. The pain was intense though with the adrenaline pumping I remained calm, telling the kids we had to go down and wouldn’t make the summit. They knew something was up even though I downplayed my injury. We walked back to a flat spot where I took off the heavy pack (OUCH), took Luz out of the carrier (OUCH), took off my shirt (OUCH) and evaluated the situation.

Clearly dislocated as I could see the odd shape of my shoulder and the ball of my humerus bone in my armpit. Made a small attempt to reset it by holding onto a tree and pulling backwards….like in the movies. No luck. Checked cell phone…no service, not that I could really call anyone to help me though speaking with Hannah would have made me feel better. I knew we had to get to the remote dirt road, an hour down a steep trail with the 3 helpers.

I explained to Tomu and Jade that I was OK but hurt and they would have to help themselves to get down. Tomu valiantly offered to help Jade down the tricky parts of the trail and he assisted in getting Luz back in the carrier and the pack on my back (OUCHY-OUCH). I thought about ditching the pack and returning for it later but since I had to carry Luz regardless I thought the pack would provide counter-pressure to Luz’s carrier…kinda holding my shoulder together….but not really.

We managed to get down fairly quickly and the sun came out blazing when we reached the road. It was no surprise that there were no cars in sight so we started walking. I thought about knocking on a door of one few houses for assistance but decided against it. Luckily within a few minutes a mixto (taxi pick-up truck) passed and agreed to take us home. 

Happy to be off the mountain I had a moment to let it all sink in and the pain came on strong as well as many emotions during the very bumpy ride home. I was mad at myself for putting the kids in a potentially bad situation, for getting hurt and realizing the consequences of it all. Injured, unable to help around the house, the slow recovery….crap.

I finally got ahold of Han and she was going to meet us at the house to watch the kids and I would carry on to the hospital to get my arm reset. The best thing about this day so far was the kiddos and their attitude. They all were beyond helpful by listening and acting accordingly after the accident and before with their eagerness to do some crazy exploring with Papa.

Han arrived at the house and the second phase of this debacle began. Figuring out which hospital to go to and how to progress with emergency care and long term help. I couldn’t really think about anything except putting my shoulder back in the socket. The pain had intensified as it had been a few hours since the accident by the time I reached the hospital.

They immediately put me in a room and gave me a lot of attention with questions, blood pressure, x-rays, etc. but no indication of getting my shoulder set. After an hour and much struggle with the language, calls to and from Han and many different people coming in and out we heard the trauma specialist was on leave (he just had a baby). More confusion and delays, saying I would have to go to another hospital, finally they informed me a doc would come and help me.

Hours more passed before he actually arrived, during which I had been admitted, prepped for surgery, IVed, lightly drugged (not enough) and left alone in a room while I writhed and tried to get a comfortable position to relieve the pain…no luck. Han arrived as the doc was trying to manipulate my arm back in the socket, without success. It was an extreme anterior dislocation that was difficult to reset so they put me under and minutes later it was in place.

When I awoke the pain had all but disappeared. After more x-rays, paperwork we were free to go. The prognosis was it would take awhile to recover but with time and rehab it should heal fine.

Fast forward a month. After rest and a couple of rehab sessions things had gotten better for the first couple of weeks then much worse for the last couple of weeks. I sought a second opinion and subsequently third opinion, got an MRI and the diagnosis was two major tears in the supraspinatus (top shoulder muscle), and the labrum (shoulder socket). Surgery was scheduled for the following week. We found out later, while performing surgery there was a 3rd major tear on the subcorpularis (shoulder blade muscle).

As happy as I was to finally know what was happening with my body, the actual news itself was pretty grim. A month had gone by since the dislocation which set recovery back. I had been relatively active during the month while my shoulder was barley attached with activities like biking daily, playing ball and roughhousing with the kiddos…all the normal stuff. There was some pain but compared to when it was dislocated for 5+ hours and after it was reset it seemed minimal.

The afternoon before surgery I went to a 90 minute relaxing massage to loosen things up before I was laid up. It was a brilliant idea and upon leaving my session I felt better than I had in a couple of weeks. I pedaled my bike home from the other side of town on one of the designated official bike lanes just like the ones in Seattle with the little bumps separating it from the road and painted with that red, textured, rubbery coating and the familiar bike logos stenciled on. Also, all intersections have the pedestrian crossing lights except changed to show a rolling green bicycle when we have the right of way.

From experience I know there is no established formality for 'right of way' in Latin America and I often say when urban riding “I don’t want my epitaph to say ‘But I had the right of way’”. The nice smooth lane I had to myself combined with the gentle downhill or the post massage, semi-euphoric state of mind or the lack of traffic on the one-way road…I dunno but I was riding fast with my perfectly connecting lights flashing the rolling green bicycle and that bliss quickly ended.

In the distance I saw the small white car approaching my clear intersection and prepped to brake (even though I had the right of way) and I saw it stop before turning into my lane. Perfect, they are waiting for me and I continued my fast pedal cadence when at the last second they turned and crossed my path. It happened in slow motion in my mind and by slamming on the brakes I managed to scrub some speed before the bike collided with the drivers front bumper and I flew cartoonish over my handlebars, over the car hood and landed some meters away, tumbling into the bike lane.

FUCK, FUCK, FUCK I yelled, more scared about further damage to my shoulder than anything else. It hurt…really badly and consciously I had managed to not land directly on my existing injury….the night before my morning surgery.

Many people gathered and the woman driving the car came over crying (I think she thought she killed me). Soon the police and ambulance arrived even though I called no one except Hannah. It was difficult to dial with shaking hands and the service wasn’t good so many dropped calls later she left Jade at Tomu’s soccer practice and arrived with Luz in tow to find me in an ambulance.

We talked for a minute and I assured her I was going to be sorta OK. While I received suspect care in the ambulance, Hannah was negotiating the compensation with the woman who had no insurance but had the backing of a dozen colleagues from where she worked across the street. Hannah had the backing of Luz who was bawling due to all the commotion. I was useless and no help.

After much debate we agreed the ambulance would transport me to the free, public hospital for x-rays and evaluation. The woman and some entourage, including Hannah and Luz would follow and pay for the x-rays. I did confess that I was previously injured and was getting surgery the next day…it seemed like the right thing to do. We creeped through rush hour traffic, listening to the driver and EMTs argue about the best route and Hannah and Luz followed in another car.

When we finally arrived at the hospital later I was frustrated and done with everyone and the last thing I wanted to do was spend hours waiting for x-rays the night before my surgery. I stepped out of the ambulance in front of the emergency entrance and said “adios…I’m going home”. I got in a taxi and picked up Tomu and Jade who were patiently watching the next soccer practice. They are on their best behavior when things are at their worst…they really rise to the occasion.

So happy to be home, Han soon arrived with Luz after riding with the woman and her entourage. The police had been following but were released en route when we agreed, via recorded video, that the $50 cash compensation was sufficient…which it wasn’t but what can we do?

The next morning, lying on the operating table, I was surprised by the large size and sparseness. It was virtually empty except for a couple of metal shelves, a garbage can and a free standing closet. Staring at the two huge, modern octopus-like lights which hung from the ceiling above me I witnessed people slowly filling the room by rolling a dozen types of electronics, scanners, computers, monitors, drills, and a cart with all the ominous looking sharp things…one by one over the next hour.  The anesthesiologist came in and sent me to dreamland.

So back to the start of this blog…our 1 year anniversary and when I awoke in the hospital I was happy to see Han and the kids. I got some sweet homemade cards and they all wanted to climb on the robot bed. Lovely to have my main support group in attendance. Our dear Cuencano friends Lore & Juanito came by as well. Unfortunately the doc made me stay overnight…ugh. They came in frequently to wake me and ask how I was doing?!?

The doc came by late and gave me the news of the surgery. From the MRI he knew about 2 of the damaged areas but was surprised by the severity once he was inside. He also found a 3rd major tear that didn’t show on the MRI and took care of that as well. My new internal hardware includes 4 composite screws anchored into bones to give extra support for the sutures which repaired the severed tendons. Overall he said it went very well and eventually, with proper therapy, I should be 100%.

After a difficult night of sleep…the first of 100+ in a row to date, we finished up some paperwork and final check up and I was ready to go home. I had to go downstairs and pay before they would officially release me and remove the IV. I settled my tab, about $3900, not including the screws which we arranged to buy direct from the supplier to avoid the hospital mark-up as advised by the surgeon to save some $$ since this was all done without insurance. My research shows the similar extensive repair in the US may have cost up to $30,000 or more.

As I write this I am 6 weeks post-op and progressing on schedule while seeing 2 different physical therapists per week not counting Libby who was my in house therapist while she was visiting....Thanks Wub!  Their styles differ and I’m benefiting from the variety with Jose and his specific exercise regimen and Carla and her stretching and shoulder manipulation. The loss of strength and complete atrophy of my upper body is shocking. I stepped on a scale yesterday at rehab and I weighed 144 pounds! I haven’t seen those numbers since middle school football. I couldn’t lift my arm for weeks and have recently began using the smallest dumbbells made…and seeing progress which is so measurable at this stage. I’ve started riding my bike this week which changes my attitude immensely. I did enjoy the leisurely walking pace to experience my neighborhood and the city these past few weeks…but nothing like biking in Cuenca, which I love.

My first goal was to be ready for our 3 week Bolivia trip which departs in a couple of weeks. Patagonia trip in January will be more demanding as we are backpacking and camping with the kids and I think that’ll be OK as well. Lastly I hope to resume the annual Squamish, BC trip to rock climb with Han when we return to the PNW next summer. With every painful stretch and struggle with every rep and grunt I close my eyes and imagine climbing that big wall again.

[svguavajelly]

Colonias vacacionales

In English: summer camps.

 Tomu and Jade had July & August off from school, and after about one week, we were ready for them to go back to school! :)

So we looked into some summer camps to get them out of the house for some time each day.

The first one was on a farm outside of Cuenca. The kids rode horses, went swimming, had an espuma fight (like silly string that you spray from a can, which they typically do at Carnaval here), and generally had fun. A “buseta”, or mini school bus, picked them up & dropped them off each day. I was impressed by their willingness to try new things—off they went to camp for the day, without knowing anyone except each other, with no complaints.

In August we signed them up for an hour a day of music lessons, for two weeks. Jade studied piano, and Tomu studied piano and violin. The buseta driver wasn’t very reliable, so we ended up getting some extra hours for his tardiness. For a price point reference, the music lessons were $5/hour per kid. Riki got a keyboard so the kids can keep playing at home, and we are looking into ongoing piano lessons for Tomu. Jade isn’t interested in continuing with piano lessons. See videos below.

Then, with two weeks left to go before school started, we found a camp at the last minute which they really loved. It was a rock climbing & silks camp for 3 hours a day.  The first week there were 5 kids, and the second week Tomu & Jade were the only students with one teacher. They both loved the silks. Tomu was so excited to show me his “impressive tricks”. The gym shares a glass wall with a Turkish café, so I went a few times to watch them.

[svguavajelly]

Quito & Mindo

We went on a quick 5 day trip to Quito & Mindo, which is a 2 hour bus ride west of Quito. We opted to fly to Quito rather than do the 8-10 hour bus ride.

Riki had visited Quito in 2007, but the kids and I hadn’t been yet. We figured it was worth checking out, and we timed our visit to coincide with my friend Adriana’s visit to Quito. Adriana ives in Olympia, WA, but was visiting her parents in Quito. Unfortunately her grandfather passed away, and then Adriana got quite sick, so we weren’t able to meet up.

However, we had a great time in the big city. We rode the cable car up above Quito to get some great views. (Jade called it “the zoomer” and said it was her favorite part of our trip to Quito). It was freezing up there, and windy. The kids enjoyed the swing in the clouds.

We climbed the towers of the Basilica church, which was a fun adventure. The church was stunning.

We met up with Benito, Cliff & Jonathan for a final hangout at Parque El Ejido & had some delicious Venezuelan arepas for $1.00 each for lunch. The next day we checked out another big park, Parque Carolina.

My favorite part of Quito was discovering the Parque Cumandá, which is an urban park built inside an old bus station. It was like a mix of an art museum and a YMCA, but more art museum. We played some fuse ball.

on migration

While traveling with the kids, it seemed like everyday highs and lows of life with 3 kids were amplified into wonderful times and horrible times. One low for me was in Mindo, waiting for 45 minutes or so in a restaurant for our dinner while trying to keep the kids quiet. Meanwhile, I was hungry, I had a splitting headache, and I was exhausted.

Luz had a blowout poop in the ice cream store, and Tomu accidentally peed his pants so we bought new ones.

A high of the trip was one day in Mindo, when we were hiking on a brilliantly sunny day through the cloud forest to a waterfall. We got to the waterfall and played in the pools. Riki went down a big scary slide into the river. The kids swang on a giant swing, and coerced several butterflies to land on them. Luz upped her walking game there at Nambillo waterfall, and I thought she would just start walking everywhere (but, nope). After the waterfall hike, we had yummy coffee in town. I prefer an afternoon coffee, an iced latte if possible, to a morning coffee. And when traveling, an afternoon coffee is almost a necessity! Then we played at the local park, had a delicious dinner at the Arepería (the best arepas I’ve had—filled with beef, chicken, beans, cheese, avocado, and pico de Gallo—for $2 each), and were home with kids in bed by 7:00 pm. Sometimes it seems like everything goes perfectly, or easily anyways, one thing after another.

Luz loves to stick her head out the window like a dog.

[svguavajelly]

Benito & crew come to town!

My dear friend Benito came to visit us for three weeks in July. He came with an entourage: his husband Cliff, his co-parent Jeffers, their son Jonathan, friend Josh, and in-laws Papa David & Nana Barbara. Benito and family would like to live in a Spanish speaking country for a year in the future, and they were checking out Cuenca as a possibility.

We had such a great visit! Tomu and Jonathan really hit it off. We shared dinners at our house or their AirBnb, played in parks, went up to Cajas for a day hike, checked out the Dali exhibit at Pumapungo Museum, ate out in fancy restaurants, played music, played bridge, made art…and in general enjoyed each others’ company. We don’t get to see each other very often, so it was a real treat to have a long visit.

Benito, Jeffers & Luz at Le Petit Jardin. Benito & Cliff treated us to two fancy dinners there!

One night we went out dancing, Benito, Jeffers, Josh and I. We went to the gay club in town, danced up a storm for an hour straight, then went home. It reminded me of our Peace Corps days 16 years ago, dancing with Benito in Guatemala City & Antigua—that guy can shake a tail feather!

Jonathan wanted to have an art-making day, so Benito hosted us at the Airbnb one morning. The kids painted planets and made owls out of plastic bottles. He introduced Tomu and Jade to the hot glue gun, which we inherited after art-making day. Now sometimes I find myself hot glue gunning with Jade at 6:30 am with Luz on my lap…

Cutie pies!

Our day hike around Laguna Toreadora was epic. It rained the whole time, at times lightly sprinkling, at times more steady rain. It was also pretty windy. I have never seen the trail that muddy or slippery. For most of the way, Tomu and Jonathan hiked together at the front, playing and talking and having a great time. When we were about 3/4 of the way around the lake, Tomu started crying. He said he was cold, and he wished we had never come to Cajas today. When we got inside the restaurant, we stripped off our rain gear, and I saw he was completely soaked underneath. I had to buy him new pants & a new sweatshirt from the restaurant in order to help him warm up. Papa David made it the whole way around, at 76 years old!! Wow. The adults had canelazos (warm shots with cinnamon) and locro de papas (potato soup) and the kids had hot chocolate.

Before...

During...

After: Papa David with a well-deserved canelazo!

After: Benito, Cliff, Jonathan & Tomu

[svguavajelly]

Ma Chin turns 70!

Luz and I flew back to Washington State in June for my mom’s 70th birthday party, while Riki held down the fort in Cuenca with Tomu and Jade. Have I mentioned what a rockstar of a partner and father Riki is? My Ecuadorian friends are so impressed with Riki’s ease, ability, and willingness to take care of the kids, cook dinner, clean the house, and do all things domestic. I know, I’m really lucky.

It was a quick trip: 8 days in the U.S, and also a long way to go with a 14 month old. We were 24 hours en route from Cuenca to Seattle (3 flights). But it was so worth it!

I got to see my closest friends in Tacoma & Olympia, spend the weekend with my sibs, nephew, sister-in-law & my mom in Port Townsend, and hang with my cousins and aunts & uncles the last night in Seattle.  I also did a culinary tour of food that you can’t get here (well, you can, but not near the same quality of food): we went to dim sum twice, Chinese food at Little Chengdu in Seattle, and sushi. Yum!

Four sibs at Finn River, Chimacum WA

My mom’s party was amazing—so many people from different eras of her life, old and newer friends, family, Buddhist members, and Y-WE (Young Women Empowered) fellow volunteers, employees, and board members. I was struck by the number of my mom’s friends who are in their 20’s and 30’s, as well as by the cultural diversity of her friends. There was a time for sharing stories, and it was touching to hear how important mom is to so many people. One friend, who is from India, said that mom is grandma to her kids, since her own parents are far away. Susha asked everyone to raise their hand if they had ever received a bag, or a rice sack, or had clothing mended, or a meal cooked by my mom, and more than half the people raised their hands. Mom’s friend Devin said, “We all know how Candace loves the queers…” and told a story about how mom has always been a great ally and a strong support for her. Weston aka DJ Lunch Lady made sure the dance floor was hopping!

I’m proud to be my mother’s daughter, and I hope that when I am old, I am as young at heart as she is with such a marvelous and gorgeous collection of human beings to call my friends.