Ivan in Ecuador: Mom visits

Dropped my mother off at the airport this morning (at 6am, gah) after she spent a wonderful week here visiting me. Props to my mother for having the wherewithal to visit her son in a tiny village in Ecuador. It was a great week. But let me step back to the beginning.

After returning to Quito from Canoa via night bus I went to a wonderful hostel in central Quito called the Secret Garden. This was the best hostel I've ever stayed at, not super cheap, at 8.80 a night, but wireless Internet, clean and comfortable, with a beautiful terrace with a spectacular view of Quito and free coffee and tea all day. Good food as well, at reasonable prices. Stayed there for two days, with Nina leaving for Colombia on the first day. Went to the Cathedral in Quito with some other explorers, and the next day to the Mitad del Mundo, the center of the world, and then to some restaurant Andrew Zimmern ate a Cuy (Guinea pig) at.

Afterwards I stayed at the Duchicela's house in order to meet my mother at the airport. She arrived in the evening right around sunset, and the Duchicela's were nice enough to take me to the airport to get her. She was excited to get here, and her flight went off without a hitch.The next morning we drove to Katcha near Riobamba, Chimborazo province with the Duchicela's, including Olgita, Lucho's mother, who is a truly wonderful person. We spent the day doing tourist stuff. We went to a lagoon, saw some local weavers, spent a lot of time driving around. In the evening we drove around Riobamba and saw more things. It was about 10 hours in the car over the day. Too much. But fun to see that stuff nonetheless. Back to Quito, then off to Las Tolas the next day.

My mom loved LT. When we got in the whole family was there, and I mean the whole family. There were maybe ten people watching us eat dinner. This was slightly strange. I made a lot of jokes to try and ease the tension, and everyone joked about me being loco. They are probably right.

Went to the farm the next day, in the Lechero. Spent the morning walking down to the waterfall, and then climbed back up and had a lunch of fried tilapia, rice, boiled yucca, and salad. I had really wanted my mom to have a motorcycle ride back to the village, but there was only one bike, and it's not powerful enough for two people. I was pissed, but I didn't show it. She rode back in an afternoon lechero, and I rode the bike back.

Spent the evening chilling with Marianna and Rene, with my mother buying a bunch of Jewelry.

Went to Mindo the next day, and wandered around, saw the butterfly and hummingbird museum. In the afternoon we took the cable car up the mountain to see some waterfalls. It was a tough hike, and we got kind of lost at some of the forks, but we managed to see three or four waterfalls and hiked back. Stayed in a ludicrously expensive hotel (43.00$ a night!!! But its ok, mom paid), and then back to Quito the next morning at 6:30. Yuck.

Spent the morning in Quito seeing the Guayasamin museum and the Capillo del Hombre again, and then in the evening explored the old city. It was fun. Saw my mom off the airport this morning, and now I'm taking a lazy day before heading back to the village tomorrow. Good stuff. Thanks for coming mom.