Feliz Navidad from Guayaguil, Ecuador

Guayaquil

Happy Holidays to all.  It has been almost two months since I posted and I regret that it has been so long. As to why - a quick summary of all the things that are relatively uninteresting – I have been very sick ( just my chronic stomach issues-nothing exotic like an Ecuadorian parasite ), and it took all the energy I had to do the teaching and preparation.  Also, I have moved to a new house and that took some time and energy.  There were a lot of other time hogs during this time – but some of them are actually interesting/funny and I will go into these misadventures in more detail in a later post.

I finished my first cycle of teaching ( I will do a total of four 8-week cycles) on Dec. 22.  My general schedule for this cycle was Spanish lessons three times a week from 1-3 followed by teaching from 4-8. Not only did I finish this routine on Dec. 22 , but  this is also the day I moved to a new host family. On Dec. 24 I flew to Guayaquil. Guayaquil is a coastal city so is hot, humid, and at sea level  as a contrast to the Sierra which is 10,000+ ft high and cool. On Dec. 27.  I will leave Guayaquil and take the train back to Quito, so my train ride will be  from the “coast to the clouds.”

El Tren

This is a special luxury gringa tourist train and I am really looking forward to it.  I love trains and when I go to a country that has trains I always make it a point to take a train trip.  I don’t think Ecuador really has a good train system currently, but my understanding is that earning money from tourists is an attempt to raise money to bring back trains as transportation to Ecuador.  I don’t know enough to know if they still have their rail system intact so that they can bring back trains, or if they are like the States and have given up the rail system for other purposes.

       Cuenca

After arriving back to Quito, I will fly to Cuenca another sierra city.  Here I will hang out for about two weeks taking Spanish lessons with the same school I use in Quito.  Cuenca is supposed to have all the charm of Quito without the big city hassles. So beautiful architecture in a sierra climate with quiet ( not constant traffic hassles).  It is also one of the main expat centers in Ecuador, with many people from the USA and the UK retiring to Cuenca. I have heard it even has an English language newspaper.  I have toyed with the idea of moving here, but I have never seen the city.  So we will see if it is still a fantasy after having been there for about two weeks.

I planned all of this vacation in early November and in some ways it was a reaction to my then living situation which I assumed would always be my living situation.  I was looking for a bit of solitude, quiet, easy, simple  food, and a lot of outdoors.  So I find myself in a lovely B&B way up on a hill looking over Guayaquil. It is so quiet and lovely I just may find myself hanging out here reading and watching English TV and movies for two days. I haven’t really been eating very much in Quito due to my stomach, but here I have been eating and sleeping and in general feeling really good!

As my health is improving, my energy increasing, and my work duties non- existent until January 15 - I hope to return to blogging more regularly.