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."
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.
