Tim's Visit

On December 28, only a few days after returning to Cuenca from Peru, I flew to Quito to meet my oldest brother, Tim, who arrived that evening from CT.  His 10-day visit was the first time we spent any extended period of time together, just the two of us.  It was a real gift to have this time to get to know him in a new way.

We spent 3 nights in Quito in the historical district.  Although I spent many days in Quito during my 2011 trip, I had a more favorable impression of the city this time around.  The sunny weather helped a lot as well as the fact that we stayed in the historical center of the city.   Our colonial-era hotel was on a quiet street only a few blocks from “Plaza Grande”. 

Casa San Marcos, Quito

View of Quito from hotel 

The town was getting ready for New Year’s Eve.  An important New Year’s Eve tradition is to burn paper effigies--muñecas-- that represent the old year.  Everywhere we went we saw these muñecas—on balconies, in front of restaurants (a marketing tool), and even sharing a meal with a family!

Muñecas for sale

We flew to Cuenca on the 31^st, just in time to participate in Cuenca’s celebration. Another New Year’s Eve tradition here in Ecuador is for men to dress as women and extort money from passersby.  Tim joined in the fun by dressing up in my purple wig and dress.  He made a hit at our neighborhood party at the local park.  I think my neighbors got a real kick out of this VERY tall gringo playing the role of a “viuda” (widow).

Partying it up in the neighborhood!

Tim dancing with two other neighborhood "viudas"

My housemate Ann and her hot date

At midnight, the muñecas were tossed into a pile and lit.  They made quite a bonfire.

Tim and I played tourists in Cuenca and took two day trips:  one to our local Inca ruins, Ingapirca, and the other to the national park, Cajas, just west of town.

Ingapirca

Temple at Ingapirca

Cajas lake (one of hundreds in the park)

Newborn llama and mama llama

I was sad to see Tim leave on January 6.  Now I’ve settled back into a routine of English teaching.  I have 3 classes and I’ve started volunteering at the only Montessori School in town.  It’s fun to dip back into my earlier career as a Montessori teacher!