Yesterday we were invited to Chelsea and Brian's for lunch. I got my wires crossed and thought we were supposed to meet them at the park. We waited and waited, the whole while watching another parade line up in front of the church. There were a lot more horses this time. The park was packed. Finally we decided to head home and give them a call. That was an adventure in itself because the phone wouldn't work and we had to wait for someone to call for us. Finally we figured out that they were still waiting for us where she had initially told me to go. I felt so bad. We jumped in a taxi and headed there. They were very gracious and did not make us feel bad about it, although Chelsea did urge us to get a prepaid cellphone. I didn't think it was going to be necessary, but it probably would have helped this week.
We met their two children, Anaya and Yonggi. Anaya is from China and Yonggi is from Korea, so we have a lot in common with their family. They actually used the same Chinese agency as we did for Tali's adoption. Chelsea made lunch while we talked with Brian about things like good places to live, who to know, how to go about doing things, places to shop, etc... We then had a very nice lunch and then the kids disappeared upstairs for the next three hours. At one point Yonggi fell asleep (it was the day after all of the New Year's eve festivities and they had gotten home late) and Anaya took Finn and Tali up to the park to play for awhile. We ended up talking the whole time and had a great time with Chelsea and Brian. We didn't leave until around 7:00. When we got home Pat and Mark went to a tienda and got some things and then made french toast for everyone.
Today we decided to go to the falls at Giron, only when we got up it was very cloudy and the mountains were shrouded in clouds. So, we decided to go to a breakfast place that Brian had told us about. It was about a 20 min. walk but we had gotten up too early so nothing was open. We found out that the owners of the restaurant had left town for the holidays. We ended up at Coffee Tree for breakfast and it was very good. I had eggs, fruit and toast with cheese. I was really craving some protein after all of that bread. Finn was very happy to see a huge bowl of fruit put in front of him. After breakfast the sky started to clear so we decided to try to go to Giron after all. We took a taxi to the bus terminal and then an hour bus ride to Giron. Once you got out of the city the scenery was stunning. Lots of farms with tons of cows set amongst the tree covered valleys surrounded by the peaks. Very beautiful. Once we got to Giron we had to take another 5 min. taxi up to the falls. They have a very nice restaurant and a little tienda. We really wanted to take the hour and a half hike up to the second lookout point, but it was very, very muddy and the guide did not recommend it. So, we settled for the 5 min. hike and he was right. It was a mud bath. We slipped and slid climbing up there, but we made it. The falls were glorious and very powerful. The spray was a strong blowing mist. Some people stood right in the way and soaked themselves even though it was cold!
We decided to have lunch at the restaurant. Finn, Pat and I had a thin-sliced butterfly pork chop. Tali had chicken. All the dinners came with popcorn (an appetizer in Ecuador), rice, beans and a salad (which we don't eat). $3.50 While we were waiting for the cab we decided to try a local alcoholic beverage. It is called canelazo and it is served warm. It came in a small, metal pitcher, with tiny plastic cups and you could smell the fumes coming off the top of the pitcher. It tasted like rum apple cider and it warmed all the way down! We realized that even with the three of us drinking it we would not be able to finish the whole pitcher so we invited some of the other people in the restaurant to have a glass. They accepted with a lot of gracias! and we all smiled at each other as we sipped and made faces. It would have been a nice relaxing ride home on the bus after all that rum except that the bus was full and we had to stand the entire ride (even the kids). An hour. I have to say the two of them have been troupers. Finn has his moments, but we are doing so much walking! The other day we walked for 4 1/2 hours. Today we walked half an hour to breakfast, half an hour back, hiked to the falls and then stood an hour on the bus. I give huge kuddos to my kids!
We got home around 4:00 and Javier was out front cutting down some of the pine tree. Pat offered to help and then they started a fire with the cut branches and the kids (Javier's and ours) roasted marshmallows. I was upstairs loading pictures when Finn walked in with a look on his face and told me that a marshmallow had hit his eye. It sure did! It seems the marshmallow flung up and hit him on the eye while it was burning. Luckily it did not hit his actual eye. He has a nice burn on the lid and some burns under his eye where the marshmallow clung to it. The eyelid is puffy and his skin is pink and sore looking. Poor guy. I read fairy tales to him while he held an ice pack on it. He seems to be feeling a bit better, but he is swollen and sore. I put some Neosp0rin on it, but I think he is going to be feeling pretty bad for a few days.
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