Jason in Palmar
Our friend from NYC, Jason, came to visit us in Ecuador! He and Paul first went to the coast before returning to Quito. A PCV in the Philippines several years ago, Jason took the opportunity to teach the Brigadistas in Palmar about his experience including some Tagalog vocabulary.
Holiday Crafts
I enlisted the help of Paul and Jason to help finish the handmade holiday tree (made form cardboard) I made while they were on the coast. Stay tuned for more photos of the finished tree and a link to the tutorial from Instructables.
Thanksgiving
We were so lucky that Jason could share Thanksgiving with us and 8 other Ecuadorian friends. We had a blast and the hats that we also made last year for the youth foundation (see here for last year’s Thanksgiving pics) were a big hit. We had turkey with all the trimmings including Mari’s first attempt at pumpkin pie with homemade crust!
The Teleférico
Quito is a sprawling city of 1.6 million people that seems small when you’re walking around but you can see just how big it is when you take the cable car Teleférico up one of the bordering mountains. You can get out once the cable car reaches the top to hike and enjoy the scenery.
In addition to some beautiful horses, we also met some alpaca on our walk around the grounds that are a designated national park area.
While we were there we saw a school group walking around. Jason is exploring one of the thatched roof huts that are probably used for school groups
Shopping in Otavalo
We found amazing gifts in Otavalo – it was our own “Black Friday” shopping trip. The largest market in Latin America, Otavalo is located a couple of hour’s drive outside of Quito and boasts everything from textiles, Panama hats, and artwork to cows, goats, and pigs.
We had a great time sharing our Ecuadorian experience with Jason. We hope he had fun, too!