La Noche Buena!!

Christmas Eve here in Ecuador is called "Noche Buena", literally "good night".  On Christmas Eve afternoon we set out to see some lakes that are about 2 hours from us in the mountains above us.  We exchanged our attire of shorts and t-shirts here for sweatshirts and "long pants" as well as jackets.  The lakes were beautiful!!

 The fog was just starting to move in as we got to the lakes.  The legend is that on one island in the middle of the lakes prisoners were sent.  The had two choices:  die of starvation on the island or swim to the mainland (probably perishing from hypothermia in the process)

We saw many small waterfalls along the way.

My brother-in-law/social studies teacher was quick to point out the small waterfall that was the start of our Urupano river.









We came to a small town and saw that the houses of the area had thatched roofs.  It was a beautiful green valley.











There we found a great restaurant that served local fresh corn on the cob with cheese, hot chocolate, great grilled cheese with home made bread, and fresh trout.  Below is the mountain that we could see from the restaurant.  So different from the Amazon valley where we live!! It felt like I was in Ireland!!






We started back down the mountain to drive across a small river we had had to drive through before it got dark (always about 6:30 here).  After driving for an hour, we came to the river.  The bus in front of us stopped and someone said "I don't remember seeing rapids in the river before!"  Some workers came and let us know that the river had risen while we were up in the mountain and it was not passable.  We could stay for a couple hours to see if it would go down, or turn around.  Our boys were quite upset, knowing that their Christmas presents were at home waiting for them!!  Well, we chose to drive back up the mountain to a city 2 hours from the river called Rio Bamba.  We found a hotel, a few clothes a the local market, bought a tooth brush, and enjoyed the city lights there on Christmas Eve.  As we drove up the mountain they boys said "this is not Noche Buena, this is Noche Mala!!"  But, when we arrived at the city they were enchanted by all the Christmas lights and fireworks!!  The next morning we saw some small processions celebrating Christ's birth through out the city.

 We had to take another route home on Christmas that took about 5 hours driving.  We drove by the Tunguragua volcano and, as you see below, it was erupting!!  Throwing lots of ash into the air.  We enjoyed celebrating Christ's birth with views of Ecuador, lots of small towns in celebration and more unexpected sights!!  What a wonderful Christmas!! Even the boys said "this is my best Christmas yet".  Sometimes God gives us unexpected gifts that are much better than our plans!!  James 1:13 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Santiago!! Our trip to the "jungle"

This weekend we were able to take a couple of days off due to Ecuadorian holidays here...able to catch up on laundry, sleep and school projects.  We were also able to take a day trip to Santiago.  The road was completed to Santiago this year and it is about as jungle as the road will go inside the province of Morona Santiago where we live.

I am not really a jungle exploring kind of mom, but I decided to slather myself with sunscreen and bug spray and then be ready to head out.  I hate being bit by bugs and seem to have a slight allergy to their bites.  We picked up a few more relatives in another town after our first hour drive.  Then we turned off on the road to Santiago.  A few miles down we found a waterfall where the boys were able to get wet with Tio Henri!!

Playing in the waterfall!!

We went through a little downpour and ate some great chicken and rice at a restaurant.  Then we drove another hour to Santiago.  What INCREDIBLE beautiful green jungle.  We kept passing small villages and lots of small creeks.  When we finally made it to Santiago, it was hotter than Macas and we were ready for a swim.  We found the BIG river Santiago to be nice and not too cold.  GREAT after the drive!!  We crossed a

scary suspension bridge to get to the swimming hole.

The boys LOVED the river!!

In the town of Santiago, Robin asked a lady what the population of the town was.  She said "there are quite a few of us".  We have been laughing about this ever since.  We got some great ayampacos (chicken cooked in a banana leaf) before we headed out to drive back.  What a great day!!

In EVERYTHING give thanks!!

We finally have the school year up and running and I thought I would stop by and write something on my blog.  I have a bit of a head cold today and need to finish some lesson plans for next week.  This will be a spattering of the wandering I have done lately... 

Since my last post in August, I kept sane while preparing for a busy school year by reading five Jan Karon Mitford books that were given to me by a volunteer who came down in July.  I was able to finish them just as our school year opened in September.  What a GREAT author.  I truly recommend them to anyone who likes to read stories of every day life.  Father Tim is a GREAT character and somehow you feel like you might know him...The one pictured below was the last book and my ultimate favorite...It is an encouragement to keep pressing on in prayer and in "doing good" to ultimately only see the results our lives make in the future.

 Next I would like to finish the next book that I can get through a digital library...I started it last Spring but know it will make a lot more sense now that I have read the whole Mitford series.  "In the Company of Others"

 
The last book I want to share is one I have been reading this month given to me by one of our short term workers, Laura.  It is called "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp.  It is teaching me to be a more thankful person.  I am not done with this one yet, but highly recommend it.  
And I am learning to be more thankful for the gifts that God gives...for the 80 little children I teach English to here in Ecuador Monday to Friday morning.
  This has been an unexpected gift with the exit of a volunteer teacher who was to teach these classes this year.  But, a gift none the less.  Also very thankful for my two boys and special moments they gift to me like the time last week my 5 year old came out of his room saying "Look mommy, I am a duck!!" with his duck costume on...or the way our 7 year old quotes from the movie "Rio" that they want to watch over and over and does the exact faces of the cartoon characters.  The gift of watching our seven year old learn to ride a bike last week and our five year old improve his handwriting through daily practice...It is definitely a challenge to look for these gifts daily and take the time to treasure them!  Hope you will also be able to see the gifts you have been given today and will stop and also say thank you.