Ecuador Part Dos

So I actually don't have much more to say about the days we were at the beach, but that is where I took the most pictures, so here are a few more that didn't make it in the last post:

Danny riding a wave on the boogie board

Danny and his co-worker Eric with the boogie boards

 

Danny and I with our boogie boards

The sunset as we were driving to the beach house

We drove back to Quito on Tuesday morning and then we were so exhausted we just relaxed the rest of the day. Danny's co-worker, Eric, invited us over for dinner and then they taught me how to play Risk. I killed them! (I'm usually not a competitive person but I NEVER beat Danny in anything, so it has to be mentioned)

Danny took the day off of work on Wednesday so that we could go see a few places. We went to the market and bought a few things and then went to a restaurant I had been to when I was in Ecuador the first time called, "The Magic Bean." It seemed so surreal to be sitting in the exact some restaurant I had been to almost three years ago, but this time I was here with my husband. It was amazing.

Danny enjoying his smoothie (mine was better though)

My half eaten meal- random picture I know

So I guess I'll just throw in this little disclaimer now that kind of explains the remaining four days of my trip. Danny and I hadn't seen each other for over six weeks and while it was so exciting to be in another country together and we had made big plans to go see a lot of different tourist sites, a lot of that didn't happen. Because when it came down to it we could either call a taxi, be in a car for a few hours, be at a site for an hour, and then turn around and come home exhausted... or we could make dinner together and watch a movie and just enjoy spending time with each other. Which is what we chose to do most of the time. I guess when it came down to it I flew out to Ecuador to see my husband, not a bunch of touristy sites.

So with that being said here is a breakdown of the few more exciting things I did while I was there:

For those of you who don't know this, I spent the Summer of 2009 working in an orphanage in Quito (see my short-lived blog http://marztaylor.blogspot.com/). This was another huge reason I pushed for Danny doing this internship in Ecuador (little did I know I wouldn't be able to go with him). I wanted really badly to go back to the orphanage (ideally with Danny) because it holds such a special place in my heart. For a lot of different reasons I won't go into, I was only able to spend one afternoon at the orphanage, and Danny wasn't able to come. But it was wonderful and at the same time really hard to take. Most of the kids that I worked with while I was there almost three years ago are still in the orphanage. I remember them, I think about them all the time, they make appearances in my dreams on a regular basis. I will never forget the things they taught me.

However, none of them remembered me. And I did not expect them to, I was just another "Chica de Osso" to them that was there for 6 weeks and then in came another group of girls to take care of them.

As much as I knew they would not remember me, it was still a hard pill to swallow. It was fun talk to little Samuel, (who was always biting Mateo and just learning how to walk when I was there last) and have him show me how to make his bed, and ask me my name, and hear him say it out loud. It was incredible to see sweet, quiet, smart little Daniella get adopted (her adoptive parents were there to get her the day I was there). She looked at me for just a moment and I will never forget it, she reminded me so much of my niece Samantha. It was funny (and a little bit sad) to watch Pete (who apparently no one calls Pete anymore, only Pedro) ride his bike around and totally and completely ignore the strange white girl calling him Pete (that was me). It was a tender moment to hold Emily and try to calm her two-year-old temper tantrum when the last time I held her she was a newborn. I could continue, but it was such a great experience for me. But it was too hard to go back again, it was time to move on, these kids had their new "Chicas de Osso" and I will just have to go on dreaming about them, praying for them, and loving them from a distance.

(Sorry no pictures from the orphanage- it is a strict rule for the safety and security of the kids that pictures aren't taken)

And...transition back to normal Ecuador life: (that day in the orphanage felt like a dream)

Danny went paint-balling with a bunch of people from the Embassy on Saturday, and then we went to one of my favorite restaurants in Ecuador, "Crepes and Waffles" for lunch. 

The paint-balling crew

Danny in action

Awful picture, but I had to document the occasion

I left to come back to Utah late Saturday night, and when I got back to the SLC airport I was choking back tears until the time I pulled into my driveway in Logan. I'm pretty sure the Park N Jet shuttle driver thought I was crazy. But its good to be back and to have had that experience, and as of today only 6 MORE DAYS til Danny is home for good (I just keep telling myself that).

Thanks for reading. Come again.

Ecuador Part Uno

Danny has been in Ecuador since January 7th doing an internship for the US Department of State and will be there for 10 weeks total. I made it about six weeks and then decided I couldn't do it anymore so I bought a ticket and flew down to visit him. It was great to see him and so fun to go back to Ecuador. Here is part one of my week and half there:

On Friday, Danny took me on a tour of the Embassy and then we drove to the Jama where we stayed on the beach for a few days:
This is the panoramic view from the balcony off our bedroom: (on the bottom picture near the bottom on the left is the infinity pool)

We spent three days playing games, swimming, boogie boarding, eating, reading, and laying in the sun. It was incredible. (I got a little sunburned)

One night it was raining really hard (not unusual for a beach town in Ecuador) and apparently the drain got blocked in some way. So the rain all came through the house, in the form of a river. It was so crazy. Luckily nothing got damaged because all the bedrooms were up stairs. It just came in the front door, down the stairs, across the living room, and we swept it out the back door.

In the front door

Down the stairs

Notice the towel we put down- we grossly underestimated the amount of water that would come in

Out the back door

 Living in a way sweet beach house only a few feet from the beach was one of the most incredible things I have done. Everything was so beautiful, it seemed like a dream. I kept thinking to myself, "Is this real life?!"

Stay tuned for Part Dos.