Camping with the Kids

Late last night I got back from a camping trip with my students. Man, it was a doozy. I went on a similar trip last year to Cotopaxi National Park and while cold, it was a great experience. This one, wasn't so much.

Leading up to the trip, we were getting conflicting information from the company on a variety of fronts. Were we technically backpacking or just camping at a spot and hiking from there? What should we bring? What would the temperature be like? How many people fit in each tent. We were receiving a lot of information, some consistent, some not. So I did what I always do, try my best to prepare and be ready for any curveballs.

Prior to the trip, my colleagues and I worked out a shift schedule for our trip. I needed to be back by Wednesday to prepare my basketball team for an upcoming tournament and it was a more equal distribution of supervision coverage if we each took a few days. It was after-all 24 hrs of student supervision. It was decided that my teaching partner and I would go Monday-mid day Wednesday and then two other teachers would meet us at a specific campsite to cover Wednesday night-Friday when they would all return. It all matched up with the information that the company we hired set up as far as our itinerary and would work out perfectly.

The morning we left, we all met in the courtyard of the school to leave. When I told the guide about the supervision plan he looked at me as if I was crazy and said "Yeah, I don't know if that's the plan anymore. We might not get to that campsite until early Thursday morning." Well, things were off to a great start with some mis-information.

We rolled along anyway, unsure of our return time and got on the bus. After a two hour drive we got to a hacienda in the paramo cloud forest of a small town called Lloa and it started to rain. As a reminder, the cloud forest is an area that is high enough elevation wise to be amongst the clouds but also full of dense rain forest vegetation. It was around 10:30 when we were getting off the bus and I asked the guide, "So will we have tarps under the tents like last year to keep the kids as dry as we can?" He looked at me again as if I was the idiot and said, "No. We don't have tents. We have tarps. That is all." Then they set up our "tents" which consisted of a nylon cord and tarp. There was also a tarp floor.

Setting Up

Now this is fine. It's a nice way to go camping. I have done this before when I was a youngster in Boy Scouts. It is, however, NOT a good plan when you are camping in a rain forest. Here is why. There are two things rain forests are known for, tons of insects, and tons of rain. These things don't often go together well with the whole "no shelter" thing. The tents left about a foot of space as a gap on the two sides that actually include a wall-type structure, and no reprieve from these things otherwise.

Being the teacher and the chaperone on this trip, I was determined to put on a happy face and pretend it was all good for the kids. I didn't want my negative opinion of our accommodations to be transferred to the kids.

The rest of the day, about 9 hours of it or so, was spent doing absolutely nothing. The kids took refuge under two roofs scattered around the hacienda and we sat there doing nothing at all except for swatting the not so occasional mosquito.

Sweet Sweet Jimmy

That night, we all retired to our quarters (a big piece of trash bag) and sat under the rain, squashing bugs at every turn. I woke up at about 2am with a puddle in my sleeping bag. It was too cold outside to not be in the sleeping bad, but wet inside. Quite the dilemma. I ended up going with an angry sleepless stewing inside of my sleeping bag broth and woke up the next day still soaking wet and sleepless, full of vigor, enthusiasm, exhaustion, fury, optimism for a better day.
The day started off well enough. We went hiking for a few hours and along the way we were joined by a stray yellow lab who, while female, the kids named Jimmy, because middle school kids are weird sometimes. Jimmy came along as we enjoyed the beautiful vistas of the rain forest. We eventually came across a river that was simply too rocky, fast, and deep to pass. Luckily for us, there was a pulley system set up with a wooden plank to serve as a chair. We made our way across, one kid at a time, until 2 and a half hours later, we were all across where we had a delightful lunch. As the last person (me) passed, Jimmy swam across to the delight of the kids.

Rope Pulley

After we started hiking again, the deluge of the day started. At least we had three hours of sunlight. Little did we know that the sunlight we had would be the last for our trip. We hiked along in the rain through the various depths of mud along the way. It all looked uniform in color and appearance. One step would be an inch or two, and the next would be thigh high. Needless to say, everyone's everything was soaked. Sleeping bags, clothes, and "tents" were all wet. We eventually realized that the rain wasn't going to let up and the guides veered off of the path in the middle of no-where into a field of waist high grass. The kids stood and shivered collectively in the rain with faces of despair and exhaustion as the guides set up our nylon cords. They laid down some of the tarps and we all climbed into our respective areas.

Home Sweet Home

Remember, that we're in the rain forest. Also please remember that we're in waist high grass. These are both known to be favorite locations for mosquitoes. Little did we know we all knew we were choosing to walk right into the door of a mosquito love dungeon breeding ground swinger's party. The night was spent with rain slamming upon our tents, (collapsing the boys' tent at one point) and mosquitoes feasted upon our faces and bodies as if we were seasoned and placed upon spits for them. Kids and teachers alike went to the bathroom in the tall grass, acquiring nice big ole bites on our nether regions along the way. (At least I can speak for myself) Jimmy the dog, curled up on the grass next to our camp and spent the night with us. After another long night of no refuge, we all woke up soaking wet again, but with newly acquired face and body welts. One boy had a bite of some kind that was red and swollen, about the size of a fist, right in the middle of his chest.

Farmer Wasn't Happy

We were eager to get moving and get out of the love dungeon so we began packing up. While we were folding tarps, a man in a hard hat with a machete came out and confronted our guide, upset that we were camping on his farm land. Through the deluge, we didn't see that there was a small farm house about 100 yards in the distance. To be fair to him, I wouldn't want 50 middle school kids anywhere near my home laying in the grass. As he gave our guide the business, we quickly did what we could to get out of there and eventually set off to hike again.

While on the road, we came across a river that was clearly higher than normal, judging by the faces of our guides. They strung together the nylon rope and we all walked across with our backpacks, that for many of us had tripled in weight due to an absence of dry stuff and water weighing down everything. So, we went white water walking with our packs, which took another two hours. We nearly lost one kid when he slipped and fell and his backpack nearly took him under. Luckily for him, he held on to our "tent" and was able to get to his feet again. Once safely across, we waved goodbye to Jimmy who was trying terribly to come with us across the river. It was simply too dangerous for her and our kids waved goodbye as they caught one last blurry glimpse of her walking away through their tears.

White Water Walking

We continued for another two hours until we came upon a slick rock wall. The guides used our tents again to string up a pulley and rope system that we used to climb up to the top of the rock wall. It was pretty cool, but rather difficult with 90+ lb. backpacks. This process included putting people in harnesses and slowly, one by one, hauling them up the rock face. This took about four and a half hours to complete. When we were done, due to the continued rain and cold, many kids were losing feeling in their fingers and shaking uncontrollably.

We got back to hiking and the rain wouldn't quit. The mud got thicker and thicker. The rising mud levels transformed our hike to a crawl. The mud was this dark, murky, daunting terrain. It was the kind of mud that you looked into and saw the reflection of your own life's regrets. We hiked through the night, with one kid falling and putting a nice sized gash in his knee. We came across a tarantula the size of my hand on the path that freaked the kids out.

We hiked deep into the night (3 hours of darkness or so). The guides were getting increasingly agitated as they looked for a suitable place to set up our tents but quickly realized that the unrelenting rain had caused the entire terrain to turn into a swamp. My own headlamp filled with water and then stopped working. We were screwed. We were cold. We had no where to camp and no other choice. We kept trudging on. The crash of thunder and howling of the wind drowned out the crying of the kids. Honestly, there was nothing I could do for them anyway to ease their concern or suffering.

One of the guides hollered for us to stop and we did. We stood their, with our heavy packs, weary legs, and wet everything and waited. And waited. And waited. The guide eventually came back to tell us that he found a farm house nearby and the farmer had agreed to let us stay in his basement. The house was build on stilts and his basement consisted of a large area about the size of a half of a tennis court. It was nothing more than wooden planks, but it was dry, and it was ours. We all thanked the man, Farmer Juan, on our way in and as we passed his eyes got wider and wider at the sad sorry sight of 40+ soaked, swollen, and half digested faces. I feel that he immediately regretted his decision, but we were grateful nonetheless. After a dinner of crappy powdered soup and a whispered rendition of "Happy Birthday" for one of our students, we all collapsed on the floor into our wet sleeping bags. I was fortunate enough to be smack dab in the middle of two dozen pungent middle school boys. Thank you Farmer Juan and I'm sorry for what those kids did to your non-working bathroom. You have my condolences.

The next day, we started out early. We all woke up to new bite marks,  swollen body parts, and blood streaks that served as proof of mid-sleep mosquito assassinations. My teaching partner's left eye was swollen shut from a particularly poorly placed bite. We got our packs back on and went into the still raging rain storm. The guides swore that our walk would be no more than two hours, even with our heavy packs and weary children. We set off and after four hours more, we were still walking. Walking with wet feet is one of the worst feelings in the world. When you've been doing it for three days, no matter what kind of boots you are wearing, you will have blisters and dead skin. It was tough.

We finally got to the bridge that would signify we had one hour left and it was washed out. It had begun falling apart during the storm. The guides rigged up a harness system for the kids and they precariously crossed the bridge even though it sort of resembled the twisted helix of a DNA strand. I waited as they shuttled the kids across and saw four or five toucans flying around in the canopies of the trees.

As I stepped up on the bridge, and opted for no harness to save some time, the guide warned me to step in the middle of the twisting boards because they weren't nailed in. I slowly shimmied by way across and when on the other side, found a truck ready to relieve us of our packs for the last bit of the hike. I gladly accepted the offer and continued to walk with a group of kids and adults to the final location. The relief party had arrived, only 30 hours or so later than we originally agreed upon. The two teachers would be there for the last night of the trip for the kids. Not a lot of pictures from here on out because it wasn't safe to take out the camera.

As we were walking we came across a rive that was about thigh deep. The truck came rumbling behind us, full of our backpacks. One of the adults with me explained that on the way, the river was about two feet deep and they drove through it with no problem. The rain had caused the river to rise, but the guide who owned the truck had no choice but to power through the river. Miraculously he made it across, but as he rolled over the last rock, my teaching partner's bag went flying into the river. A quick thinking friend of mine ran after it, slid on a rock and grabbed it mere inches before it went flying. I'll say that again, he ran into a white water river, slipped on a rock, and saved the bag somehow.

After an hour or so, we arrived at the bus that was to take the kids for one more night of tarp camping in town. We were able to convince the principal of the school to arrange for them to actually have a roof and hot water before they staged a mutiny, and we went on our way. All in all, nothing was dry including my wallet, a book I foolishly brought with me, or any clothes. It was a really tough trip but the kids impressed me immensely with their fortitude and toughness. It was a hell of a journey, but we all came out on the other side, swollen and water-logged, but better for it. Next time I go camping, I'm going to require a tent.

Sister Visit Pt. 2

Shannon and Meagan

Well, I thought Shannon was going to be writing the second half of this post. Turns out she is too busy with her swim season wrapping up and some other stuff going on, so as much as I'd like to provide a different voice to this story, whoever reads this is going to have to put up with mine again. Don't worry, she'll write one soon.

Alpaca Lunch

When we got back from Otavalo, we had a nice afternoon to rest and relax before starting on Part 2 of the Sister visit. The next morning, we had to leave before  7:00am due to the previously mentioned Pico y Placa rule in Ecuador. We had to clear Quito city limits before 7:30 so we rolled out of bed and into the car for another journey. Our next stop was Papallachta.

Last year, we had a failed attempt to visit Papallachta that resulted in us ending up in the back of a police car and having our car towed down a mountain. Earlier this year, we were able to get there and go hiking, see the paramo, and soak in the hot springs. We absolutely loved it, so it was our mission to bring Meagan with us to see it all.

I'm Watching You...

We arrived around 9:00am at the lodge. Shannon had previously called ahead to arrange for a tour guided hike around the paramo. When we got there, it was pouring rain and cold. We weren't deterred though. It was going to be a beautiful hike and we were prepared with rain gear. So we had the receptionist call the guide for us. Then we listened to the conversation in Spanish as the guide (presumably warm at home in bed) tried everything he/she could to convince the receptionist that we shouldn't go. "It's too cold. It's too rainy. The trail will be flooded. There will be mud everywhere." When we saw that this person was not going to be persuaded to come to the previously made appointment, we set out on our own for a short hike.

Along the way we saw lots of beautiful plants and hiked along a rushing river. It was incredible. As we came around a bend a half hour into our hike, we came across some alpacas grazing in a field. Meagan was excited to be seeing some in their natural habitat, but I was sure to keep an eye on them. As many of you know, I have a history with these untamed beasts of the wild.

Hiking the Paramo

We found our way back to the lodge after our hike and went to a little hut that Shannon and I had previously visited for lunch, which was a whole fried trout, with rice, fries, and a salad for $3. It was delicious, and even better as we were chilled to the bone and a little tired from our early start and our hike.

After our lunch, we went over to the lodge again and spent the afternoon napping (the girls), soaking in the thermal tubs, and reading. The water for the tubs are heated by a nearby volcano and piped in. Each set of cabins has its own courtyard with three to four pools varying by temperature. It was glorious. When we were done with the tubs, we went back to our fish shack and ordered more fried trout.

Welcome to the Jungle

The next morning, we set off for the Amazon Rainforest. After a three to four hour drive, we arrived at a nondescript parking lot (dirt clearing) and a guy who swore he would call a canoe for us. We took him at his word and a half hour later, a motorized canoe was waiting for us to shuttle us up the Arahuno River to our lodge.

When the canoe ride was over, we arrived at the lodge, which was beautiful. There was a nice swimming pool, a restaurant with a beautiful view, and a great room overlooking the river. We settled in and unpacked before heading out for dinner.

After dinner, we threw on our headlamps and got ready for a night hike. Let me say that again. We were going to hike a trail, in the dark, in the Amazon. The GOAL of this hike was to see all sorts of dangerous nocturnal animals. I was all about it. The girls were into it, but a little trepidatious. The trail was very narrow and we had another couple joining our hike so we followed our guide, single file throughout the trail. I was relegated to the role of caboose for this hike so I didn't hear much of what the guide said.

At times I am a bit of an exaggerator. Often in the name of entertainment for a story's purpose, but I assure you none of what I am about to say is even slightly exaggerated. Along our walk, among the first things we saw were spiders the size of your palm, centipedes the size of a pencil and three times as thick, and some of the most unique and interesting insects I've ever seen. A

Jungle Viper Lurking in the Dark

About ten minutes into our hike, Shannon pointed out to the group that sitting coiled up on a giant leaf no more than 8 inches from our path, and from our bodies as we walked, was a venomous viper. I have no idea what kind it was, nor could I understand the translation of the name from our guide but it was either a small breed, or a baby. It was curled up, but I would estimate that if it were stretched out, we would see that it was no longer than 15 inches long. Nonetheless, apparently very dangerous.

Giant Tarantula

We continued along and saw a wide variety of other jungle night creatures. As we approached the end of the trail, our guide picked up a small stick and poked it into a hole on the side of the trail. A hole that none of us would have been likely to see. After about ten seconds, he pulled out the stick and attached to it was a gigantic tarantula. Hold out your hand and look at it. Spread it out wide and stretch out your fingers. That is about the size of this hairy jungle beast. Naturally, Meagan and Shannon recoiled with horror and after a few photos and squeals, the spider was left to return to it's nefarious ground dungeon of evil.

Poison Dart Frog

The next day, we woke up and took a beautiful hike through the jungle and saw quite a few more incredible animals and plants. The majority of the animals we saw this day were birds as it was rainy most of the day. However, we were able to see some plants and trees, and vistas of the jungle. Our third day, we went and visited a local Quichua village. We were shown how they make chocolate from the cacao fruit and they showed us a traditional dance, that we were of course brought into. It was a little awkward and while it was great to see that slice of Quichua culture, a part of me felt like it was teetering on an awkward line of cultural exploitation.

After our dance, we all partook in a homemade Quichua meal complete with fruit, chocolate, corn

Tubing Down the Arahuno

humitas, fish cooked inside of banana leaves, and of course giant bugs on a spit. They were some kind of grub or worm that were the size and width of an adult thumb. I was the only one to partake in the bug eating, but it was a delicious spread of food for which we were all thankful. Then we (Meagan and I) took to some inflatable tubes to mosey down the river back to the lodge. It was relaxing and fun, as long as we didn't think about the fact that the milky brown water held some horrifically dangerous animals along the way.

Injured Tapir

The next morning, we were taken along with another group who had arrived, to witness a parrot feeding. We hiked up a small hill in the jungle and hid behind a pre-built and camouflaged wall and sat quietly for about fifteen minutes. Shortly after, a flock of bright green and yellow parrots flew in to feast on these gorgeous red flowers. I'm not a big bird watcher, but it was cool to see nonetheless.

Caiman Floating By

What's Up Buddy?

In the afternoon, we took a canoe to an animal refuge center in the middle of the Amazon called AmaZOOnico. It is apparently a place for injured, our outcast animals from throughout the Ecuadorian Amazon. It was structured like a zoo, with separate areas for caiman (crocodile like things), monkeys, birds, toucans, and various other animals. There were, however many monkeys just roaming around and hanging out. While we were there we saw an incredibly rare tapir, which is kind of a horse, pig hybrid. We also saw an anaconda (my favorite), some wild pigs, ocelots, and a ton of other interesting animals. I think the trip to AmaZOOnico was my favorite part of the trip.

The next morning, early on, we left for Quito where we spent the rest of the afternoon before driving Meagan to the airport. While she was here she got to be a part of the carnival festivities, hike around a crater lake, help us plan our wedding, soak in volcanic hot springs, and visit the Amazon. I would say it was quite a trip for her and for us.

Sister Visit! Pt. 1

This post is going to be written in two parts for a few reasons. First, it's how the trip was divided. Second, it will give both Shannon and I an opportunity to talk about some of the stuff that we did.

For a while we have been planning on hosting Shannon's sister Meagan for a trip. The primary purpose of this trip was to have her help us with some of the wedding planning, but of course along the way, we would be doing lots of cool stuff.

The day after she arrived, we drove up to Otavalo, the area of Ecuador where we're going to get married this July. We met with the woman at the property and had some conversations, and most importantly made some decisions for the wedding. I'm not going to spoil any of those decisions here since I imagine 100% of the audience who reads this blog will be coming to the wedding.

After our meeting, we had a nice lunch and checked into the hotel where we would regroup and head out for some adventures. When we got to our room, the strong musk of mold, dust, and decay filled the air. I went outside to sit in the hammock while Meagan laid down for a nap (she was very sick at this point), and after being folded in half 6 feet in the hair due to a poorly planned hammock hanger, we all realized that this place would simply not do. We checked out and found other accommodations. I spent the rest of the afternoon leisurely reading while the two ladies napped in an effort to recharge their bodies from sickness. At least in our new place, we weren't going to get even sicker.

Dude...Condors are Scary

The next morning, after a pleasant and restful night, we woke up early to do a few things. We started things off by going to the Ecuador's famous, Condor Park. We took a taxi up a winding cobblestone trail (note: NOT a road) and after about 20 minutes, we found ourselves at the park. It was a little underwhelming for me at first because the first part of the park is essentially a zoo of Andean carnivorous birds. It was cool to see a wide array of owls, hawks, and eagles but it seemed like just a really cool zoo with an incredible view. We had heard of a pretty impressive bird flight show and as we were making our way there, we saw an area with the big birds. There was an Andean Condor, which was the biggest bird I had ever seen. It stood perched on a log eying us up and down knowing that he could take us in a fight. Just standing on a log, the thing looked to be over four feet tall. These things are birds, and they have a wingspan range of 8-10 feet. Feet. That is like a bird that is wider than Shaq is tall. Anyway, after we saw the Condor we came across a few bald eagles which was really cool because, "Merica.

Go Gringa Go!

Then the flight show started just as we got to our seats. The show was actually pretty impressive. The backdrop of beautiful vistas in the Andes as hawks and different birds twirled and dive bombed and did all kinds of cool stuff was really incredible. The stars of the show were obviously the two bald eagles named Gringa and Gringo of course. It ended up being quite the adventure and definitely worth seeing.

Madness for Carnival

When we left Condor Park, we took another taxi over to Peguche Waterfalls. Our first sign that there was going to be trouble was when we pulled up and the cab driver said "Buena Suerte/Good Luck" as he pulled away. What we didn't realize is that it was Carnival. An Ecuadorian tradition during Carnival is to spray people with foam, dump buckets of water on them, throw colored powder on them, and generally create and promote general tomfoolery.

Victim

We walked through the little street with vendors selling food, beer, ice cream, and of course mischief making foam and powder. We got a few good natured foam sprays on us as we made our way to the waterfalls but left quickly when we arrived because it was becoming sanctioned street terrorism. We were all feeling a little uncomfortable so we decided to head back. On the way back, during our fifteen minute hike, we heard a teenager yell "Vamos, hay gringos!" (Let's go, there are gringos) and we were attacked with foam and water. Along the way, Meagan was water sprayed and had yellow powder thrown on her. Shannon had some punk kid smear black powder on her face. They largely avoided me aside from a few foam sprays.

Otavalo Market

We took refuge in a new taxi and watched as kids threw buckets of water from the rooftops on pedestrians and cars as they passed. We made our way to the Otavalo Market and were safe from then on. We wandered up and down the aisles of indigenous hand-crafted blankets, leather goods, sweaters, and countless other beautiful goods before making our way over to the famous Shanandoa Pie Shop where we ate a lunch of pie, ice cream, and coffee. After our lunch, we went back to the hotel where we were spending the next two nights.

When we got to the hotel, I made my way to the service counter to see if and where I would be able to watch the Super Bowl. I was given directions to the one television with satellite cable on the property and took my snacks and a few beers over there to watch. When Shannon and I got there we met a few other gringos and watched the game in Spanish while all cramped into a tiny room that was about 7 feet wide by 18 feet long. We enjoyed the company and the game throughout the night and Meagan joined us a short while later.

Cuicocha Lake

The next morning, we woke up and had breakfast before leaving to go on a hike. We drove up through more winding cobblestone roads and found our way to a national park center overlooking a huge volcanic crater lake called Cuicocha. As soon as we got out of the car and packed our pockets full of hiking snacks, we were on our way. About fifteen feet into the hike, the heavens opened up and it began pouring rain. We took refuge in a restaurant for fifteen more minutes before deciding that we were going to brave the hike and then we began. Shortly after we resumed, the rains lifted and the view was incredible. We hiked for a few hours before returning to the lodge to have a nice meal.

Cuicocha Lake

When we got back to the room that night, we used our in-room fireplace as a makeshift s'more station and roasted marshmallows. It was an incredible start to our time with Meagan. We did some wedding planning, got attacked, watched the Super Bowl, and went on a beautiful hike. Now we're back at home recharging for our trips the rest of this week to the hot springs of Papallachta and for our triumphant return to the Amazon Rainforest.

Santa Clara

Lamps and Tables

We were hosting some friends for lunch on our back patio one day when I realized that, while we had improved on our patio, it was still flush with potential and I wanted to make improvements. I mentioned to Justin that I wanted to make some changes and threw out some ideas. He thought it unnecessary, but being of active mind and ambition, I wanted to make this my project for the first part of our two week vacation.

Our first stop was Santa Clara. Santa Clara is a small part of town on the south end of Quito known for handmade wood furniture and furnishings. The actual market is no bigger than a couple of blocks and all of the furniture appears to be done in the same style. Big, heavy dressers and dining room tables carved from a dark wood. Everything is hand made and heavy. It's actual wood, rather than the particle board IKEA stuff that you can find at most places in the states. The artisans in this area also specialize in wicker and bamboo furniture and all types of woven baskets.

Wood Crafts

When you walk into a shop, there is about a 1.5-3 foot walking area, the rest of the surrounding area is nothing but wood things. Stacks and stacks of end tables from floor to ceiling. Kitchen tables from corner to corner. Stools, chairs, and everything else in between, all hand made. All heavy and all available for a negotiated prices. It's really an incredible experience to see it all.

As part of my back patio makeover project, I was looking for a small table to hold our potted herbs. We are growing rosemary, cilantro, and aji pepper. After browsing the shops for a quick half hour, I settled on a simple wire rack to hold the herbs. But, I just couldn’t resist some of the multicolored hand-woven baskets. We haggled a bit, as is done here and when we agreed upon some prices, I bought three of these used them as planters for the herbs. Now we have a bright, cheerful patio and homegrown herbs! After it was all said and done, Justin agreed that it was the right move.

Herbs and new Flowers

Guayasamin Museum

First I want to say that the delay in posting is yet again a combination of being busy and nothing new and TOO interesting happening. During our first year, everything was new. Everything was a challenge. This year, we have settled into our lives a bit more and we have been able to find some consistency in navigating our way around challenges. There are still times where we nearly pull out our hair in frustration, but we have largely been able to acclimate to the ups and downs of living in Quito.

That being said, there are still routine things that have kept us busy and preventing us from writing many posts. The October-March time frame is always a little rough for us since Shannon coaches swimming 5 days a week and I do the same with the basketball team. (Her team is doing great again and my boys have finished the regular season with a record of 8-6 and one last tournament coming up)

Soon our time will be freed up as those commitments will be ending and we will be moving on to other tasks and adventures.  Fear not, anyone who reads this blog with any semblance of regularity, we will be having a plethora of posts coming very soon. For one, Shannon's sister Meagan is here right now and we just wrapped up a trip to Otavalo. We will be spending some time with her the rest of this week in Papallachta and the Amazon, with stories to come. I will be going to Trinidad and Tobago with my basketball team for an end of season tournament in a few weeks, and I will also be going to Lima, Peru in mid-April. This all takes places as our wedding date rapidly approaches like a train and we have planning and coordination to take place along with it to match, just for good measure. Anyway, on to some of the stuff we have been doing in the meantime.

A Painting from his Age of Anger Collection

Ever since we arrived in Quito, we were told what a wonderful place it was and what wonderful culture it had. The highlight of the culture we were told, is the famous museum of Guayasamin, Ecuador's national treasure, and most famous artist. While we have heard wonderful things about the museum, and the location is no more than an 11 minute car ride, we had never made it there before this past week. Whether we had car trouble, they were closed for a holiday, or we were hiding under our volcano shelter (dining room table) for fear of impending doom, we just never could find our way into the museum.

The Temple of Man

Well, that has changed, and the place is incredible. A brief background on the man, Oswaldo Guayasamin is that he grew up the son of an indigenous and mestizo (mixed indigenous/Spanish decent) young man in an impoverished household. His father was employed as a carpenter. When Oswaldo was a young child, his father brought home a piece of pottery that he found along the road in Ecuador that turned out to be a pre-Columbian artifact (probable Incan). This sparked a great interest in Guayasamin in pre-Columbian culture, art, and society. This interest turned into a personal and professional focus on human beings. 

As a young artist, he focused his painting and sculpture work on human forms, specifically stages of emotion such as rage or anguish. He spent his life painting, sculpting, and portraying his infatuation with people through his art. His primary influence, which can clearly be seen in his art style, was Pablo Picasso. When he was close to the end of his life, he donated his Ecuadorian mansion as a museum and commissioned a separate art gallery on his property that would, when finished, be known as the Temple of Man. 

Casa de Guayasamin

We arrived at around 10am and took the tour of his home first. The house is an incredible mansion overlooking the city of Quito with work-spaces, libraries, pools, and smaller galleries. It is also home to one of the largest collections of pre-Columbian artifacts in Ecuador. There is ancient pottery, weapons, figures, and countless other artifacts displayed throughout the house, and being the history nerd that I am, I loved every second of it. Along the tour of the house, we learned quite a lot about Guayasamin and his life from a great and knowledgeable tour guide named Amanda. 

A Painting from His Age
of Tenderness Period

When we left the house, we walked over to the Temple of Man and perused his art collection, which was awe-inspiring to say the least. He had collections that focused on the black experience of slaves and former slaves throughout South America and the world. He also had collections that centered on anger, indigenous South Americans, and another focused on tenderness. Many of the paintings were more than 10 feet by 16 feet wide and the expression he was able to capture on his canvas was incredible. 

It may have taken us a long time to get there, but the Guayasamin Museum is certainly worth checking out for anyone who appreciates art.