That time my parents came to visit!

Yikes, has it really been two months since my last post? For those of you who don't already know, my parents came to visit! It was surreal picking them up from the airport as they were my second visitors in Ecuador and I had gotten so used to seeing them over Skype. Their first day here, my parents came downtown to see me teach and they got a front-row seat to the chaos that is second grade. My class was so cute trying to pronounce "Scott" and "Maureen" and they were in complete awe of my Dad who is about 6'4" which, in Ecua height, might as well be 12'8". It happened to be the last day of the semester so we were reviewing colors, numbers, clothing, and family members! My parents were so cute walking around the classroom helping the kids with their worksheets. Before they arrived, my Dad reassured me that if we ever got separated while in Ecuador, they would be just fine because "he took Spanish in high school." Really, father? You took a little Spanish? Tell me ONE sentence in Spanish. "Me llamo, Scott." Well...that was awesome...but NO ONE CARES WHAT YOUR NAME IS! I'll give him credit, he did remember more than I thought he would but he wasn't exactly ready to start chatting it up with a cab driver or better yet, a police officer when they inevitably got taken. 

(Second grade in its prime)

After English class we walked around Old Town where we visited the original center and the Basílica del Voto Nacional. Our "guide" for the morning was Marcia, a CMT faculty member, and the nicest woman alive. Marcia doesn't speak English so I was the official translator for the morning which made me feel like a Spanish-Warlock because I was able to show off my newfound Spanish skills to my parents. In reality, Marcia could have been reciting her family's secret recipe for spaghetti and my parents wouldn't have known the difference but they enjoyed the visit and we had amazing views of the city. 

(Climbing to the top of the Basilica with my Dad who is apparently afraid of heights)

(Marcia with two gringo giants)

Later that afternoon we were back at Center #2 and my parents got to hang out with my Girls Program kids. They came bearing gifts from my family back home which I used as leverage for the kids to shower faster and be on their best behavior because "we cannot show our true dysfunctional colors when we have company!" Among other things, the bags included colored pencils, coloring books, hair accessories, stickers, and NAIL POLISH! If you read my blog about Girls Program, you'll know that my girls LOVE makeup and nail polish. My Mom did their nails and they have been obsessed with their newfound accessories ever since. 

After two days in Quito, we began our travels with a trip to Papallacta (natural hot springs). My Mom did an amazing job of planning the entire trip so we had drivers pick us up instead of having to take a bus or taxi everywhere. Our drive up the mountains to where our hotel was took about twice the time we expected because it was foggy/raining and our driver was driving 10 mph. Looking back, I'm glad he was overly cautious because it would have put a real damper on the trip if we had all died driving off the side of the mountain. 

The hotel was beautiful and we had private hot springs right outside our room. Across the road were more hot springs that were open to the public but once you've been in one hot spring, you've been in them all. The weather was cold and rainy but that was perfect because who wants to be sitting in a pool of hot water when it's 80 degrees outside? We had a beautiful steamy view of the mountains and after a challenging semester of teaching, I was ready to relax. For Christmas, my Dad bought my Mom and I massages at the hotel's spa, all-in-all it was a great day. 

(Looking out the door of our hotel room)

(The public hot springs)

We woke up early the next morning to hike before we had to get in the car for another four hours. It was raining and cold but we had packed for cold weather so we were prepared to brave the elements. The hike was along a river and provided beautiful views of the mountains. 

(My father...a man of great mystery...apparently on a mission to prove that it's absolutely possible for your kids to die of embarrassment. The hat was my divine retribution for making fun of the rain suit.)

After Papallacta we drove a few hours to Baños where we stayed at an eco guest house called Casa Verde. The house was beautiful and right on the edge of a river. Every morning we were spoiled with a freshly-made organic breakfast and the other guests staying there were very nice. The first afternoon we rented bikes and rode to El Pailon Del Diablo (The Devil's Cauldron). My bike was a complete POS and kept sporadically changing gears but the ride was beautiful and we were able to see some smaller waterfalls before "the big show." The hike up and down the waterfall was pretty grueling so when we were finished we threw our bikes in the back of a canvassed pick-up truck and sat huddled together in the trailer with a group of girls my age as we drove back down the mountain and back into town.  

 (My Mom being brave on the bridge to the waterfall)

We were pretty tired from our travels so we called it an early night. The next morning we went white water rafting and it was a lot of fun! For weeks I had been stressed about taking my parents rafting because my first experience was exciting and fun but my second experience was terrifying and cut short because it was too dangerous. My siblings kept messaging me "don't kill Mom and Dad"...NO PRESSURE. Luckily, the river conditions were ideal for our experience level (exciting but not quite scary) and nobody drowned. My Dad and I sat in the front of the boat and I asked everyone to call me Captain...they didn't. My Mom sat in the back with the guide and four other randos filled the rest of the boat. It rained for most of the trip but we were already wet so it didn't matter. The air was warm and for the first time, I didn't fall out! The pictures from rafting were taken on a Go-Pro so they aren't the best quality but, you get the idea. 

The next stop on our trip was to Cotopaxi. We stayed at Hacienda La Cienega which is over 400 years old! The hotel staff built us a fire in our bedroom fireplace and the hacienda grounds were gorgeous. 

We relaxed for about an hour and then took a guided hike on Cotopaxi which is an active volcano. On a clear day we can see Cotopaxi from the bus as we drive to school in the morning but usually it's covered by clouds. We really lucked out that the weather was conducive to hiking and we were able to see the volcano and not just a wall of clouds. Our guide's name was Danillo and he was awesome. He spoke English and he was very patient as we slowly made our way up the volcano. When I say "we" I really mean "my parents." Hiking at high altitude is not my jam so after about 20 minutes I called it quits and took a nice warm nap in the car while my parents trudged up the volcano enjoying the freezing cold and low oxygen (not sorry I missed it.) Since the volcano is active, tourists are not allowed to hike to the top (and even if they wanted to, it's an actual hike that requires a lot of training and skill), so the popular stopping point is at a refuge about one hour up. At the bottom of the volcano is a beautiful national park with a small lake, amazing scenery, and wild horses. 

 (SO close...SO embarrassing...)

 (Way to go, guys!)

(Mom and Dad after the hike with Danillo)

That night, we were tired from hiking so we relaxed by the fire and had a nice meal at the hacienda. Around 3:00 am I woke up with violent food poisoning from the spaghetti I had ordered and I was completely out of commission. The next morning we were all supposed to go to Otavalo but I was still really sick and there was no way I was going to be able to make the trip. Our driver arrived around 10:00 am and I could barely move. Backtracking a bit, my Dad had lost his passport in the airport when they arrived in Ecuador. As soon as we realized it was missing, he and I went to the airport to pick it up from the Delta office (thank God someone turned it in), but it was Saturday so after about an hour of run-around from airport staff who couldn't understand half of what I was saying, we found out the offices were closed on the weekend. My parents were leaving that weekend so we had one more opportunity to go back to the airport and pick up his passport so despite wanting to die from whatever monster was currently residing in my stomach, we had to drive 2.5 hours to the airport before I could go home. 

Since Otavalo was the last stop on the trip, my parents reassured me they would be fine on their own (I wasn't entirely convinced) but there was no way I was making the five hour car ride in my aforementioned condition so I gave them a big hug and took my own taxi home to sleep for the next two days and think about my life decisions (like ordering an entree with ground beef in Ecuador.) To this day, I can't eat ground beef here, even seeing it makes me ill. Fun fact, my "food poisoning" turned into full-blown stomach parasites. I was sick on-and-off for about a month until a second round of anti-parasite medication wiped them out for good. I'll spare you the gory details but it was not fun. 

Despite my reservations for letting my parents travel alone, they had a really nice time and made it back in good spirits! They ended up staying at a farm-house about two hours north of Otavalo and their pictures looked like a lot of fun. I also had fun, eating Saltine crackers and crying into a bottle of Gatorade. 

 (My Dad ignoring all of my advice and making friends with two stray dogs)

 (The house was right alongside a river)

(Learning how coffee is made)

By the time my parents made it back to the Center I was feeling slightly better so we went to the Teleférico and bought some souvenirs at the Foch market.

Although it was stressful at times, being in a third-world-country with my parents and being the only one that could speak Spanish, I'm really glad my parents were able to come visit and see what I've been up to! My kids are still asking when they are going to come visit again (I think the nailpolish won them over) and every time they see a white person over the age of 40, they ask "ARE THOSE YOUR PARENTS?!"