Friday, August 1, 2008

Day 10

Ellie: Today Lindsey and I were both feeling better!! Yeah!! We started the day at the construction site and finished up some work there, such as moving roof tiles, painting murals, sweeping and cleaning up a bit, etc. (Lindsey: Below is one of the murals we painted, showing the local condor, sun, volcano & several muchachos with typical instruments and corn.) The school LOVED it and were so excited!

Here's another one that the kids got a kick out of! It's a llama relaxing in a hammock with lemonade! Good times!

After a few hours of work we got to see an entertaining presentation by the Ecuadorian children from the school. It was so nice of them to put together a presentation to thank us! The little kids were so darling in their traditional Ecuadorian dress and there was even a little boy in an Indian headdress and the whole bit. So much fun! They did a traditional style dance for us first, which we all enjoyed. It was followed but some audience participation. Lindsey got chosen to partner with an older gentleman in our group to do a dance where they had to put a tomato between their foreheads and dance in a circle without letting the tomato fall! It was hilarious! Lindsey and her partner came in second in the little competition. (Lindsey: let me just say one word...AWKWARD!) The next one was an eating contest; two of our guys participated and we were all a little worried that the fruit they were eating would make them sick - who knows?! The last, and most entertaining activity was a sack race. First all the little Ecuadorian boys competed against each other and then all the grown boys/men in our group competed. It goes without saying that it was hilarious and there were a few scraped knees and entertaining falls. Just as we were boarding the bus to go back to our hotel for a delicious meal while avoiding the guinea pig (cuy) lunch we were offered, the Ecuadorians surprised us with even more graciousness. They brought out a huge bag of the cutest and most colorful beanies - they had one for each of us and they were hand made! There must have been 40 or 50 of them and the women of the village had to have made them all the night before. Amazing, impressive and so sweet of them.
I have to say one of the highlights of today was finally getting to divulge in some Coquiero ice cream. Lindsey and I had been trying to have this delicatessen for days but we weren't feeling well and/or didn't have time, etc. We both devoured ours. A Coquiero ice cream is one of the Top 10 treats to try in Otavalo (or at least we were so told) and since Ecuador struggles in the sweets department, Lindsey and I were on the search for something delicious. While eating our ice cream we did a bit more shopping with some friends, I am sure you are all shocked to hear that news! Then we went back to our rooms to pack our bags and make sure all our souvenirs would fit in our luggage so we could get it all home. It was our last night in Otavalo!

That night the Ecuatorians put on a special show for us and a fancy dinner. It was at a 'nicer' hotel and they had a banquet room all prepared for us. We had a delicious meal while two local bands serenaded us. One band came in first and went around to each table and played a song for us. Then the second band came in played at the front of the room for everyone and the dancing ensued. After a while of dancing, presentations were made; Our leaders thanked all of our local Ecuadorian contacts with gifts and flowers and then they thanked us for our service and invited us back. They gave each person a shawl or scarf, a bag/purse, and a book of stories in Spanish (so we could learn for our next trip!). They were so nice to us and gave us everything they had - they are an amazing people. We look like twin Pocahantas' but we were very appreciative! After some more dancing, jokes, pictures and laughing we headed back to our hotel for one last night of sleep in our matrimony room.

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