July 4th in Ecuador

We spent the 4th of July with our dear compadres in Ecuador this year.

Here are some posts that we made to Facebook about the trip. Full trip diaries coming soon to the main website!

7/3/15

Even though Barefoot Yoga Shala is closed for the holiday, we did an hour plus long practice with our godchildren in Ecuador this morning. Although I am not a licensed teacher, Craig thinks I did a pretty good Jenny Ravikumar impression. He thinks she would have been proud 

wink emoticon heart emoticon With Craig's MS, the stretching really helps, so we decided to incorporate our practice into our vacation as well. And all 3 kids loved it!! Craig was feeling really run down before we came here, but lots of rest and healthy food and fresh air have done him wonders, even at high altitude.

 

Yoga practice: Craig and Sisa in tree pose

Craig and Sisa practicing yoga

Max the dog joins practice, just like Apollo Ravikumar at Barefoot Yoga Shala!

Sisa in proud pigeon with Yupanqui and Tayanta

Yupanqui, Sisa, and Tayanta in supta baddha konasana

Craig, Yupanqui, Sisa, and Tayanta in happy baby pose

Craig, Yupanqui, Sisa, and Tayanta in Figure Four

Steph practices her headstand

Craig practices his headstand

7/5/15

We had another great day yesterday with our compadres in Ecuador. We helped with chores around the homestead, did another yoga practice, and played with the kids. I plucked my first chicken, and the family hosted a nice family from Holland for a homestay.

Steph in mermaid pose

Steph in wheel pose

Craig in headstand

Group savasana at the end of yoga practice

Craig plays Jenga with the kids

Steph and Tayanta

Steph plucks a chicken

Steph carries the chicken to Rosa for butchering

Dinner with Dutch guest

So, Papa Francisco (the Pope) has arrived in Quito, and the airport is closed for a couple of hours today with many road closures. He is supposed to fly out tomorrow morning, and as far as we can tell, our flight tomorrow at 2 p.m. should still be on schedule, but who knows. I guess it qualifies as an act of God (literally) if our flight home is postponed?

7/7/15

The Papal visit to Ecuador did not impact our flight home yesterday.

We watched his arrival at the Mariscal Sucre airport on TV on Sunday night. As soon as he stepped out of the plane, his cap went flying due to the high winds. He was very good-natured about it. After a welcome ceremony on the tarmac, his Popemobile (or Papamovil, in Spanish) drove him to Quito. Half a million people lined the streets to see him.

Papa Francisco rides to Quito in his Jeep Papamovil as we watch on TV

It's a really big deal for a country whose population is 80% Catholic. There hasn't been a Papal visit to Ecuador since 1985.

Apparently he spoke about the need for a more inclusive Catholic Church.

As Popes go, Papa Francisco is pretty cool!

When we flew out of Quito yesterday, we could see the red carpet area of the tarmac where they had held the welcome ceremony.

Here are more photos from the trip:

Tayanta meets us at the airport

Sisa and her Achi Taita get reacquainted on the ride home from the airport

Tayanta

Sisa

Yupanqui

Full moon over Volcan Imbabura, viewed from the 3rd floor of the house

Craig and Tayanta

Tayanta

Volcan Cotacachi, viewed from our morning walk

Volcam Cayambe, viewed from the 3rd floor of the house 

Rachel (the local Peace Corps volunteer) comes for a visit!

Sisa surveys the family farmland, a short walk down the road from the house. Quinoa and lupins are planted here. The soil was very dry, but luckily they got 2 days of rain after we returned home.

Rosa, Tayanta, and Sisa

Sisa, Tayanta, and Yupanqui return home from the store

Rosa and Tayanta

Abuelita in her outdoor kitchen

Aida and Tayanta

Tayanta and Antonio at breakfast