Waiting for more Snow, Rain, Freezing Rain, Ice

Dumbarton Oaks

I had wanted to see the preColumbian exhibit at the Dumbarton Oaks for months, and suddenly today, the opportunity presented itself, and I took advantage of it. I had volunteered to take care of Maya's friend Nathan for the afternoon, while Emily and Robert went to DC for a fundraiser. Emily had called yesterday to suggest we all drive to DC together, and while the children and I visited the museum, Emily and her husband would pursue their agenda.

Belina and Maya woke up early and were out playing in the snow before 7 AM. They built a fort and complained that the snow had changed from hardpack and heavy a few days ago, to powdery and absolutely useless for snowballs. They used a cardboard box to sled down the slight incline at the front of the yard. They would have preferred to spend all day in the snow, but I insisted that we meet Emily at a 9:30 yoga class. Belina was not thrilled, but once Maya got on her mat next to Sid, she was delighted. Belina left to read a book after a good 20 minutes of sun salutations, which is great, considering that the temperature of the room was almost 100 degrees! She read her novel (Twilight) and was happy enough.

Maya had a session with Jake while I drove home for a shower and Julien and Marius picked up Belina. Julien shamed me when he pointed out that I had yet to remove the snow and informed me that I was lazy and expected Eric to do these tasks. For an hour after Maya fell asleep, I used a regular shovel to remove show for most of my front walk so that the mail can be delivered. I did get sore by the end of the hour.

We arrived at Emily's in time for our drive to DC. At Dumbarton Oaks the children saw the collection in ten minutes while I took my time and absorbed every word of the explanations in the precolumbian section. The pieces were gorgeous, perhaps the best collection in the area. I was in heaven. The children were bored too soon and found games to play while waiting for me to finish.

WE arranged to meet for dinner in Arlington at Ron's favourite Indian restaurant, a strip mall take out place with amazing Indian food. I took a taxi with the children and almost missed the restaurant, which no longer has this long yellow awning it used to, which was much more identifiable. The food was delicious and generous, and everyone was happy with their choices.

The drive back is long and tedious, but Maya entertained us with Chinese stories she had heard in Ecuador and the time passed quickly.

I feel very accomplished now that I have removed so much snow from the walk and that people can now walk up the walkway and deliver mail.

Saturdays

I had little planned for the weekend, but as usual, the day was packed with activity. We were up early to arrive on time at Poly High School for the 8:30 exam. It was fun to see so many of Maya's old classmates and friends from her former school. I caught up with some of the parents I knew. There was just enough time to take a yoga class and return in time for the end of the exam to drive Maya to her orchestra practice.

The Enoch Pratt Free Library was just up the street from Peabody, so we joined and found better books on the violin. We then braved the mall to choose eyeglasses for Maya, and returned home to shower and change for our evening dinner party. Belina joined us at 7WEst, a Mediterranean restaurant near my work, where I met Rina for dinner. Rina had taken care of my patients while I was away in Ecuador for the year and for the course, so it felt good to catch up and share stories. Maya and Belina seemed happy to be 'grownups' in the 'bar' part of the restaurant. We sat on high chairs and ordered Mediterranean specialties and caught up with our lives. Rina works in a hospital and makes incredible amounts of money, but has little relaxation or fun in her life, It appears that our choices in life are entirely different. I was embarrassed when she came to see my very modest home in my very modest car. I guess I have chosen to live a simpler life at home so I can travel and play more often. If I did not spend so much money on adventure, I would have a nicer home, a more expensive car.

Belina and Maya had a raucous time with Emily, who came to visit after dinner. Emily does not do sleepovers, so left before bedtime. I was relieved that Maya used her room for the night. She has become accustomed to sleeping in my bed and spending all her time nearby. I almost missed her in my massive bed.

Snow Angels

Maya loves the snow and cannot get enough of it. She wants to be in the snow from morning until night. She builds forts and makes snowballs and goes sledding and gets wet and never wants to come in. I have to play the disciplinarian and insist that she do her violin and her homework before I let her loose. She cries and tells me it is not a 'real' snow day if she has to do any work, and I pause for a moment and wonder if she is right.

I could have slept in, but I was up at the usual time to check the status of city and county schools (all closed), which made no sense to me since it had not snowed during the night and the roads were clear. Baltimoreans are squeamish about snow and fearful of driving in all sorts of conditions. It takes very little snow to paralyze the city. I guess one just has to embrace the idea that school is canceled quite regularly, and to enjoy the freedom. Many patients cancel too, so my days at the office are calmer and more relaxing. I was able to get to a pilates and a yoga class, and visit the local library to look for books for Maya (she is working on a research paper on the violin). Maya spent the afternoon with her friend Sarah. The two got into all sorts of trouble for sledding onto the road (Sarah hit her head when she smashed into a car) so Sarah is unable to see friends for the next few weeks.

Maya's ballet class downtown had been canceled earlier in the week, but was on for tonight, I wanted her in bed early since she was to have a three hour qualifying exam for a special math and science intensive program next year.

It has been three days, and I have yet to shovel the snow from my walk or my driveway. The mailman has not visited me for three days, and it is clear that I must do something about the walkway at least. There is just enough cleared space in the driveway for my car to fit and a narrow path to the back door. I am not sure I can expect the snow to melt anytime soon, so somehow I will have to find the time and energy to shovel snow. I looked for a snow shovel in the garage, but either we have none or it is hidden. There are regular shovels to use, which look functional, so shoveling is a priority this weekend.

There are snow angels on the top of the snow, and evidence of joy and happiness all over the back yard. I am almost hoping for more snow and more snow day and more snow angels andjoy.

Snow

I have never experienced thunder and lightning in a snow storm, so last night was a first. We lost power a few times and made sure to have candles on each level. The moon was so bright and reflected on the snow so that even without power, we were able to move around and brush our teeth and get ready for bed. I gave up on my car after it got stuck in the driveway and decided to deal with it this morning.

Neighbours and tow trucks and snow plows were on the roads early this morning. Maya dressed in her snow suit and scraped the snow off the car, while I tried to start it and drive out. I was entirely stuck and unable to move the car. Maya's friend Emily's father and brother came by to dig the car out, so that I was able to get to a patient at 11:30. About half my patients showed up for their appointments. Maya spent the day in the snow with Emily. She is absolutely thrilled to have another snow day. the sun came out for a while in the afternoon, and the roads were not too icy in the evening.

Maya, Emily and I went to the movies for the evening. I am on my Oscar movie search. I always see all the Oscar contenders before the Oscar ceremony, and 'The King's Speech ' is up for all sorts of awards. Maya was not too interested in the movie, but joined me because Emily wanted to see it. I was happy to get back safely in my driveway. There may be more snow during the night and another snow day tomorrow, which is makes Maya very very happy.

New IMac

I was up several time s during the night to check on my new computer, and nurse it through its growing pains. I woke up to a smattering of snow on the ground, but this being Baltimore, that meant that the schools were closed for the day and that many Baltimoreans decided to make it a snow day. There truly was not enough snow for snowballs, so I took Maya to the office for the day. Most of my patients canceled, and Maya was sad that this was not a 'real' snow day, which traditionally means being in the snow and admiring it hands on.

She did spend the afternoon redeeming her snow day with her friend Emily, making snowballs with her snowball maker, taking shelter in the backyard 'fort' as the snow turned to rain, and the white ground became muddy and dirty. I returned to the office for a short time to see some final patients who were brave enough to venture out, and during that short window of time, the conditions changed and snow began to fall in earnest, large wet fluffy snowflakes descending like a blanket. Clearly the changing conditions didi not register with me, so I dashed down the street for a yoga class before meeting Maya, Emily and her parents at the Senator Theatre for a movie. I was impressed with the number of yogis in attendance as the blizzard manifested itself. It was easy to forget outside conditions while in downward dog, but when I returned to my car, it was buried and invisible and the parking lot was empty. I used a bottle to wipe the foot high snow off the car, and crept off slowly through the slippery ice rink parking area.

There were few cars about, but no one drove faster than 11 miles an hour. Visibility was nil, the roads were ice, yet I was still disappointed when I heard from Deb that going to the movie made no sense in this weather. I was too confident as I turned into the 'Giant' to buy a little food. The car was immoveable when I returned from my short trip to the grocery store. I rocked it back and forth patiently to get out of one stuck place before landing in another. Perhaps Deb was right about canceling our evening. I crept toward home, again the streets were empty, unplowed, and slippery.

I got stuck in my driveway, and nothing I did succeeded in moving my car. Where is Eric when he is sorely needed? I left the car, and waded through the snow and wondered what to do. Tomorrow is likely to be another and this time a 'real' snow day. I will not be moving my car until the snow melts!

Maya walked home in her snowsuit and took off several layers to reveal a very happy snowlover . She and Emily are thrilled to have another day in more snow than they could have hoped for. I have promised to join them in the snow tomorrow and so I most likely will forget about getting out and to the office or anywhere for that matter, and the city will be paralyzed for a few days as it digs itself out. Yay for snow days!

Courage

I bought my new iMac three days ago, but have been hesitant to set it up until Eric comes home. He is adept with computers and I am always befuddled. Because of his expertise, I have never learned much about computers and have always had him do anything of substance with regard to my computer, or fix any glitches, or do whatever confuses or challenges me. So I have been admiring the big box in the hallway since I brought it home Friday night. I could have returned to the Apple store to have a tutorial and get help with the backup, but the box was heavy, and I did not want to drag it through the parking lot and the mall and then wait for hours to get some attention and help.

I chose the biggest screen I could and it is beautiful. Stunning. This is my first desktop in a few years, and I am impressed with this machine. I carefully read the instructions and after unpacking and placing the computer on my new (Eric's old) desk in my new study (Maya's old bedroom, now that she has moved up to Tara's old bedroom but actually sleeps in my bed most nights), I plugged it in and added the 'Time Machine' backup drive. The computer seemed to know what to do with it, and has been uploading (downloading?) for the last three hours. I have had time to finally unpack from our most recent trip and sift through the mail that has accummulated since before Christmas. I found all sorts of surprises in the piles, and managed to create a pile of garbage as well.

I keep visiting the computer to admire its beauty and see if new clues are presented on the screen....but the transfer seems interminable. I have watched bits and pieces of the State of the Union address and am no more convinced of Obama's sincerity than I was during the campaign. By tomorrow I will finally have a computer, at least at home, and if I am lucky I will have transferred all my files, including my office billing information, my thousands of photographs, my list of addresses etc. I am hoping to resuscitate my old laptop by replacing the hard drive and use it for the office. I want to get the damaged hard drive examined and hopefully the eight thousand photos I took in Ecuador during our trip will be salvageable. There are companies that offer that service at great cost.

I have been managing with my iphone this past week, which is a computer, albeit a very small one. It does skype and email and webstuff etc, and in fact works just as well as a computer. I appreciate it so very much. Maya has also lent me her computer, so I truly have been less desperate than I expected. It is astonishing how dependent I have become on my trusty Macbook, and how much my life revolves around it. It was my lifeline in Ecuador last year, and I use it daily, in fact dozens of times daily. This despite the fact that I know nothing about computers or how to use them.

Whew, the transfer is complete and my old Macbook is now on my new desktop. Next, I will see if I backed up enough to get back on track with the office etc. Unfortunately all this takes too much time and it is late and time for bed....

No School Today!

I am always confused by the many days off that the school system provides here. I don't remember that when Tara was in school; I did not have to reschedule my days so often. I ought to be organized and have it in my agenda so that I take the day off as well, but I was surprised again today and took Maya to the office for the day. I know she is not too thrilled about doing the math and english homework I give her to supplement what does not happen at school, but we negotiated that between runs of exercises, she could watch a 'netflix' movie, each of which was conveniently 24 minutes, and worked as a well deserved break.

My office is set up so that there is ample room for Maya. She could have a whole group of friends with her if she wished. She spreads her violin and books and computer and toys all over the group room to make it her own, and goes from activity to activity rather haphazardly. I visit between patients and urge her to do this or that. She is somewhat compliant, or at least enough to satisfy me. I am always happy to hear her practice her violin, and once that is done, I feel that her work is done.

She had a parent teacher conference at 2:30, so we jumped in the car, grabbed a snack at Starbucks and arrived in time for our meeting. Her teacher never stopped talking to the parents signed up before me, so at 3:00 we simply returned to the office and missed our meeting altogether. Maya was happy to leave shortly afterward with her friend Sarah for their three hour ballet class nearby. I suffered through a long board meeting, during which the treasurer of the board was clearly in crisis and very unhappy in general. I always ask at such moments what I am doing on the board, but I survived the painful moments and was happy to pick Maya up and prepare a picnic dinner of beef bourgignon on the floor of the master bedroom. I wonder if I am still recovering from my trip, when I found myself asleep with Maya after lying down with her at her bedtime.

Never a Slow Sunday

Ballet and Violin

Crashing and Burning

Still Catching Up

Redeye and Home

Cock of the Rock

Mindo

Mindo

Otavalo

Sunshine and Fish

January 14

Our time in Galapagos has been too short. I like the boat and the eight day itinerary is the best, but the overall experience has been a little unfriendly and rushed. I feel that we are herded from activity to activity without as much explanation or opportunity to reflect. And we did not see enough, although the students are happy and uncomplaining. Greg, Eric and I organized and distributed the tips last night and I felt we were far too generous for what the guides actually do, but they expected more and I felt guilty about that. I also felt that they did not deserve what we gave them. The Sacha guides, especially the native ones, work so hard from morning till night, making sure our experience is amazing. In the Galapagos the guides do not seem to care about our experience and I am not sure why. They do the minimum.

That does not take from the Galapagos. I enjoy it as much as I do the rainforest. I learn something each time I visit.

Our wakeup call was early, and in no time we were at Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz, where I learned that Freddie 'zapatos locos' was still plying his illegal tourist trade and that nothing had come out of my complaints. I definitely heard that he would be removed from the island, but of course, that did not happen for long, and he is operating as usual. I had gone to the Ministry of Tourism in Puerto Ayora and in Quito when my friend Rebecca and I had been so poorly treated by Freddie and was assured he would no longer operate as a tourist guide on the island. So much for my efforts. I saw the mafioso harbor master starting the day with the boats and wanted so desperately to do something to change the reality, but I did nothing and do not expect anything to change anyway.

We drove to the highlands to see the huge land tortoises, and I tasted the coffee sold at the farm where the tortoises live. The tortoises are huge and shy and congregate in large groups in muddy water where they hang out and enjoy the cool mud and sunshine. I found finches and anis and cattle egrets and perhaps other birds but did not concentrate on the birds as much as I had earlier. Dr. Ball was thrilled to have seen a rare mockingbird on Floreana. When the rest of us were snorkeling he went on the glass bottom boat and then convinced the pang driver to take him to the Floreana shore where he found one of the few mockingbirds existing on the island. He was so delighted to have found such a rare species and was happy to tell us the story over and over again.

We were rushed to the airport and passed 'los Gemellos', huge sinkholes from collapsed lava tubes. We did not stop, but peered at what we could see from the side of the road. We had to traverse a canal to get to Baltra, and the airport experience was one of mass confusion, where we had to collect all passports which were not needed once we collected them all. It was a relief to get on the plane without incident, although we were the last ones to embark. The trip was uneventful.

We were met by Tomas at the airport, where we were whisked off to Cayambe to visit 'La Compania de Jesus' hacienda, once belonging to the Jesuits, but for the last hundred years to a family running a rose plantation. The house was full of roses, and beautifully furnished in early 19 century style, but warm and inviting rather that cold and austere. We were plied with desserts and coffee and were given a guide of the hacienda chapel and granary where roses were displayed. I thought we were to visit a rose plantation, but it was too late in the day and we had to drive to our hotel before too late. The alumni stay at Cusin, another lovely hacienda, while the students and professors stay at Las Palmeras' which is perfectly fine to stay in too.

Dinner was hardly necessary after our snacks at La Compania, but I stayed for the talk afterward, which was a review of what we had seen and experienced in the jungle and the Galapagos. Unfortunately I missed most of it because Maya had to go to bed and was too afraid to go to sleep on her own in our room. A hotel worker brought us hot water bottles to sleep with, which was a treat. Most rooms have fireplaces for the cold nights, but we have a suite without one, so a hot water bottle will have to do.

January 13

It was our last full day on the boat. I woke up early to watch the sunrise and did a half hour of sun salutations and meditation to welcome the day. We had anchored off Floreana Island, which has a colorful history of pirates, whalers, interesting characters who chose to live 'off the grid' and start a new world on the Galapagos

Islands which turned out to be more daunting than realized. Our guide Rocio had given us a lecture about the island inhabitants. A woman who claimed to be a baroness came with two lovers and took on a third, tried to create her own utopia on the island and one day disappeared along with one of her lovers and is presumed to have been murdered, but no bodies have ever been found. The Wittmers came with their children and lived in the old pirate caves in the highlands and lived off the land, again trying to design a new ideal world in what they believed to be a paradise. They persisted and now run a travel agency with three boats cruising the Galapagos.

Floreana has fresh water, so there have a handful of inhabitants who farm and fish. The island was full of invasive species such as rats and cats and dogs and goats and therefore much of the wildlife had disappeared when the islands became a park. The park rangers have worked hard to eliminate the goats, but the feral cats keep the birds high up in the trees and the rats still run wild. There is an effort to eliminate the invasive wasps so the original bees, which were responsible for pollinating all the plants on the island, can thrive and recover.

I had visited the pirate caves during my last trip to the island when I came with my friend Rebecca, and the giant tortoises as well. For today we focused on snorkeling and a short walk to look for flamingos on a lagoon. They had not been here this season because it is a 'la nina' year and there are no crustaceans in the brackish lagoon where they usually feed. The flamingos are such regal creatures. I love seeing them balance on one leg and scoop the bottom of the water with their curiously shaped beaks. I have been on this walk before and there have been several flamingos each time, so it felt unusual to see the lagoon deserted. Our guide focussed on the plants that are returning to the island and successful spreading and establishing themselves. Some finches joined us, and I took photos with the plan to identify those I saw later. I believe there are seven species of finch on Floreana, but I saw only a couple on our walk along with a yellow flycatcher, related to the one in the rainforest but smaller and tamer (staying high in the trees to avoid the cats). As opposed to Espanola where the finches were all digging in the dirt, in Floreana the only birds to survive are the ones that stay off the ground and away from predators.

We encountered a lava lizard unique to the island, camouflaged on a branch of a dried out palo santo tree (the path was full of them). He did not move as we watched him and photographed him and exclaimed about him.

Our guide led us up and down the path, focussing on the plantlife. On the other side of the island was a gorgeous fine sand beach, of the consistency of flour. The dunes were full of sea turtle nests, and the water dotted with stingrays. They like this spot, perhaps because the sand is rich in their preferred food, and I was terrified to venture too far in the water. A few sea turtles floated offshore, their heads peeking out occasionally to check us out. Sally Light Foot crabs scrambled around the rocks and I spent some time watching one of them gobble us some seaweed. It was remarkable to watch the crabs busy claws tearing up the seaweed and bringing it to his mouth, it almost looked human.

Our walk back was uneventful, but I tried to identify the finches that I saw. I want to stay close to Dr. Ball who is a birder and is better able to name each finch or bird we see, but the professors spread out and try to be available to the students in all groups, so I felt I had to stay where I was. Eric looked peaked and complained of chest pain. He has not been sleeping much this trip, but in truth he never sleeps much when we come to Ecuador anyway, but perhaps he is more stressed this year, or is older and more vulnerable. He did not want to join Maya or I in snorkeling for the latter part of the morning. I thought Maya would want to kayak, but she decided not to, so we snorkeled off the green beach (from lava remains of olivite) and saw fishes and a lovely sea turtle, whom I followed for a while snapping photos and admiring how gracefully and delicately it moved through the water. I love to snorkel and could stay in the water forever especially with a wetsuit so I never feel too cold. The sea is quiet and peaceful and full of life, and I lose track of time in the deep. I was thrilled to see penguins swimming in the bay. None of them swam near me, but their heads popped up while I was walking along the shore.

We had a lecture about Darwin after lunch. I listened but learned nothing new. I am always amazed when I hear about how ill he was and how miserable he felt traveling in the 'Beagle', thinking that he continued for five years in the boat, suffering and learning and contributing so much eventually to science and biology.

Our afternoon snorkel was in a deep water location , and it was the best of the snorkeling spots for us, off Floreana Island in Champion Bay. The fishes were numerous and colorful, and the sea lions swam with us, which is absolutely marvelous. Some people saw white tipped sharks, but they stayed away from me, which is not a bad thing, because they scare me. I am told they are well fed and therefore not interested in me, but I do not want to risk being dinner for one of them. Maya frolicked with Eric and me, and I was happy to get a few good photos.

We are rushed from activity to activity. There was a short break to shower and change and a panga ride and a walk to Post office Bay, where people leave postcards to be hand delivered by other travelers. A few of our group took postcards to bring to the addressees. There were none from Baltimore, so Maya and I did not take any. I had written a dozen cards and I wonder if any will get to their destination. The sun was sinking as we walked back to the panga and rode to the boat for snacks and drinks and a last look around as the sun disappeared. Our evening was rushed and over too soon and our last night in Galapagos was gone. I tried to identify stars in the heavens and saw Orion's belt and the southern cross and many more unidentifiable stars.

Snorkeling

Galápagos

Waking up at 3 AM was utterly insane. We had breakfast at the Sierra Madre anyway, or for those who felt at all that they could start their days with food that early! There was a huge confusion about the bags, so the suitcases that were to stay in the bodega at the hotel went with us at first and when it was discovered that an error was made, everyone had to get out of the bus and identify their suitcase that was to stay so that everything could be rearranged. One of the guests lost his and his wife's passport, so we called the Hotel Aliso, where the alumni were staying, and managed to ask that the wrong safe be looked at. When we were told that no passports were in the safe, there was desperate searching for the passports. Finally the correct safe was examined, and the passports were found and we picked them up at the other hotel. We arrived at the airport before the doors were open.

When we were checking through to get our boarding passes, we learned that our park tax had not been paid, which meant that we could not travel to Galapagos. It took some finagling to have that taken care of, so when we arrived at Baltra on the islands, we were allowed entry. Disaster averted again.

We arrived too early, and there was no one to greet us. We were to take a tour through Baltra, which was once an American army base, because our boat was not yet ready for us. We had an opportunity to learn a little about the local history, and introduce ourselves to the hot arid landscape of Baltra and Santa Cruz, and see a few finches and lava lizards.

Our boat was nearby and we embarked by the noon hour, but then waited for other guests to arrive and I fell asleep. It was noon and we had been up for nine hours!!!!

The boat accommodates 50 guests, and we took over most of the boat, much to the chagrin of the handful of other passengers. I imagine they feel overwhelmed by our gaggle of children. I like the boat. Maya and I were slated to sleep with one of the alumni, but when we entered the small confines of the cabin, she immediately called the manager and found herself another room nearby. The room was simply too small for two unrelated adults and a child.

The afternoon excursion was a walk around North Seymour, where frigate birds nest. We encountered our first sea lions and learned about seals versus sea lions. There were marine iguanas and land iguanas and lava lizards. The blue footed boobies were scarce, having had their babies and no longer nesting.

Out of the Jungle

Out of the Jungle

Rain Rain Go Away

Last Day to soak it all up.

Jungle Fever

I love our journey to the jungle, from the moment of waking up with anticipation early in the morning. There was mass confusion in the hotel lobby as each of the students identified the bag to go into the bodega and made sure that their other bag came with them into the bus. Jose and Tomas arrived early to herd us into the bus and get us to the airport on time. We met Jorge whom Eric and I had not seen in years; he was working for Sacha Lodge and would accompany us to the jungle. The plane ride to Coca was short and spectacular as we ascended above the city and through the clouds. We passed a few volcanoes peeking through the clouds, and then floated gently down to the jungle floor. The Napo and Coca rivers were visible from the air as muddly ribbons in the thick green background. The airport was unchanged except that the damaged airplanes were no longer scattered around the runway.

We met Lucy in the tiny terminal and loaded our bags onto a truck while the passengers boarded a bus to the staging area near the river. I introduced the handful of other passengers who would be joining us for our four day visit to the jungle lodge. A group of Germans and some English passengers took the boat with the luggage, while the students and alumni weighed down the other boat. Jorge informed us about Fransisco de Orellana's discovery of the Amazon, . Washo drove the boat, as he had the very first time I took this trip some six years ago. I liked watching his two assistants at the front of the boat and their hand signals as they 'read' the river and directed Washo so to avoid grounding the boat. I sat next to Greg, who pointed out birds flying along the banks of the river. It was a two plus hour ride downriver to the landing area on Sacha property. Many of the students slept or worked on their journals. Maya sat a the back with the students and worked along with her new friends. After a short rest and observing some birds with Greg along with the scenery, it was time for a 45 minute walk through a portion of flooded forest. I told the students that they would be surprised after our walk, where groups of six climb into canoes to be paddled through 'Pilchicocha' to the lodge. The lake is magical, starting with a narrow passageway with intense vegetation on either side, and then suddenly the lake opens up and the canoe slices through the glass covered water to the balsa and on to the entrance to the resort. We were welcomed by Tomas, who has been working for Sacha as manager for years.. In fact most of the workers at Sacha have been there for long periods of time. They are all men, (women not allowed! ) and clearly they must like the job, since they stay there forever. We were welcomed int eh bar, where Maya attached herself to a group of young women. THe students were separated into groups according to their interests. My group was the 'other' group, and Fausto, brother of Marcelo (unmistakeable) and Jose (native guide) would be guiding us. There was a monkey group and an insect group and a reptile group and a bird group. Most popular was the 'medicinal plants' group with Efrain and Segundo. We were welcomed with green cocktails and hor s'oeuvres. Almost everyone put their swimsuits on and jumped into the lake (full of piranhas and caimans!). Maya swam almost across the whole lake.

Our cabin was the same one we had last year, perhaps because it has three beds, and is far away from the noise and activity of the main lodge. Our neighbour was Mary, who is from Virginia and has horses on her farm and wants to go horsebackriding during our time in Ecuador.

Sacha does not change; the workers are familiar, the routine predictable. Every afternoon is a good time to swim in the lake, or catch piranhas, on the same dock with the swimmers. Eric set up his equipment and started his research immediately. He brought a student from Catolica with him. We tried on and chose our rubber boots for the day. Maya brought a group with her to the butterfly farm, where we admired the colours and delicacy of the creatures. Maya was busy guiding her friends to all the corners of Sacha, it now being so very familiar to her. She chose to join the monkey group and began bonding with her partners.

After a predictably amazing dinner, Fausto took my group out to the lake for our caiman search. Our canoe took a left into the rushes and we paralleled the edge of the lake and landed back in Orchidea without any sight of caiman, but we encountered bats flying above and around us and catching insects and fish. Returning to the lodge, there was a small caiman visible under the dock; of course that was where we were swimming!

Eric worked all night while the rest of us slept. He is under pressure to finish a grant before his deadline in two days. I don't believe he slept at all! It had been raining off and on from the time we arrived in Coca, but when we slept the rain began in earnest and the raindrops pounded onto the roofs to keep me up all night. Maya slept soundly, and I hope that meant she had caught up with her sleep. We both had a 5:30 wakeup call, so falling asleep before midnight was important for both of us.

Quito City Tour

I am trying to figure out how I feel after a day of exploring Quito with a group of tourists. I found myself as enthusiastic as ever. The sun was shining, the mountains were glorious, the streets were full of busy people living their daily lives colourfully and energetically. Part of me felt that I was at home, back where I belonged, knowing that I was once again a guest in this wonderful place. I know this city so well, having wandered the streets of the old town day in and day out. I visited every church, every museum, every plaza, each corner. I was relieved to have Tomas guiding us, because for me there was simply far too much to see and experience, too much to explain and describe.

Eric worked all night on a grant, and Maya and I slept soundly. We met the students for breakfast, and Maya again was busy getting to know their names and t heir stories. She had already made connections and had someone to sit with and share her meal with. Eric planned to stay in the hotel and continue working on his grant and take care of some errands while Greg and I joined the students in the Old Town. We picked up the alumni from their upscale hotel, where they enthused about their experience except that there was no hot water in the shower. Our breakfast had been simple and sparse, while they gushed about their generous and varied fare.

Jose was our bus driver for the day, and drove us to the Basilica de Voto Nacional, a neo Gothic structure with gargoyles of Galapagos and jungle animals. There was a huge creche at the front of the church, left over from Christmas, which reminded me of the time that we searched and searched for the right creche for our Christmas celebrations. We found a small and modest group of figures which worked for the season and made it back to Balitmore. I found creches all over Quito, in church after church during our visit. I was surprised they were not put away, but today would be the day anyway, it being Three Kings' Day, or Epiphany, but if there had been a celebration, we must have missed it. Our next stop was the Plaza Grande in the Old Town, where Tomas gave us basic information about Ecuadorian history and its independence from Spain. We ventured into the courtyard of the Presidential Palace and had fun taking photos of the guards who tried to look unmoved and impassive. The highlight of the morning was our visit to 'La Compania', the Jesuit church covered floor to ceiling in gold leaf. The place is so stunning, there are no words to describe it. We sat there overwhelmed, not really listening to our guide, just trying to absorb the ambiance. My favourite painting is a massive canvas (not gold!) depicting all the sins leading to hell. Many of the words are antiquated or obscure, but there are enough sins that make sense .My understanding is that when the priests came to Quito, they communicated with the indigenous by paintings and sculpture. It was their way to show the locals the story of the bible without words, since no one could read. The sculptures are lifelike and the crucifixes bloody and frightening, and very compelling. We walked up to Plaza San Francisco, where many of the students and alumni shopped at Tuanguez, an upscale souvenir shop under the monastery, where there had been a market for hundreds of years before the Spanish came. Mary, one of the alumni, was especially enthusiastic about shopping and managed to find bags full of wonderful gifts.

We drove up to the Panecillo to climb up to the top of the Dancing Madonna and look over the Old Town. It was windy and colder higher up. I remember when Eric and I had visited the madonna on a Sunday, and ran into dozens of children and their fathers flying kites off the hill behind the sculpture. Maya was introduced to Michael Jackson through a dance contest with a local radio announcer, with a gaggle of little girls and boys. For today, there were few tourists, and Maya joined a group of soccer players. She hit a police car with the ball, and they laughed with her, as did her newfound friends.

All of Quito spread out before us. I tried to identify all the churches in the old town, and Carolina Park was identifiable, along with the apartment buildings around in, including our own.

Lunch was back at the Plaza Grande Hotel, a very fancy hotel at the edge of the Plaza Grande, where the culinary hits were Quinoa soup and helado de paila presented on 'smoking' dry ice . Eric came to join us for the meal, and then left with Maya to visit Sacha Lodge and then return to the Sierra Madre to keep on working on his grant. The rest of the group took the bus to Intinan, a museum at the 'center of the world', which purports to be at the 'real' equator (the French scientists who came to measure two hundred years ago had erred by 200 metres or so). The original monument is not accurate according to GPS, but I prefer it because it contains an interesting enthnographic museum. Intinan is entertaining, with several interesting but perhaps inaccurate demonstrations of 'scientific' phenomena characteristic of the equator.

Maya spent the afternoon with friends in Cumbaya and arrived late to join the group after dinner. Santiago, Eric's colleague from Universidad Catolica, lectured to us about the 'Sixth Extinction' and the end of the world, which was suitably depressing. The alumni chose to eat yummy food at one of my favourite Quito restaurants near their hotel and assured me that they too discussed the end of the world.

The day was jampacked with activity, but felt satisfying. I felt right at home here in Quito, my adopted city.

Arrival in Quito

My habit before a trip, any trip, is not only to pack, but to organize everything in my life completely if not as compulsively as possible. That means that I balance my checkbook, make sure my billing is up to date at the office, answer all messages and take care of all prescriptions etc, clean every room of the house, put every bit of my life in order, and more. I watch myself with awe, as I try to accomplish an extraordinary amount of work. Because there is a time limit, I know that my list of tasks has an end, and that increases the pressure and improves my efficiency. I do not sleep as I whirl from one item on my list to another, and I feel a certain manic frenzy that is embarrassing. I pack for Maya and myself, and often pile up Eric's clothes as well. Eric is usually at the lab until the last moment, and has been working all night every night this week. I pack and repack and repack again, pouring through my packing list and start with double what I need and try to eliminate as much as possible.

By 3 AM, I convinced myself that none of this insanity was necessary, and turned off the lights and fell asleep immediately. Eric did not come home from the lab until it was time to wake up and get ready to go. We took a taxi to meet the students at Mason Hall at Johns Hopkins at 9 AM, which was a much better time than 6 or 7, which is the usual meeting time (when we leave from Reagan International instead of BWI). The bus was not yet there when we arrived, but the students trickled in. I liked meeting each of them, trying to remember their names. Maya is so much more adept at getting to know each and every one in no time at all. She was chattering with them and engaging them in minutes, as she usually does.

Today was to be a day of travel, with all the usual frustrations and boredom. I asked for passports and green cards before we left the university, but one student realized that she did not have her green card and had to take a taxi back to her dorm to get it and return to the airport just in time to catch the flight, not an unusual complication for our student groups.

We always start early and leave lots of time to manage mishaps, and plan for a long layover, this time in Atlanta, once again to give us time to take care of any obstacles. We lined up the students for a group photo. There has been a great exhibit of Zimbabwan sculptures between terminals for several years now, so several of us enjoyed them. I took the train to the terminal in the opposite corner of the airport to find a duty free shop, and suddenly it was time to board our flight for Quito. Maya and I were delighted to find individual screens in front of us, and each watched movies late into the night.

The skies were spectacular as we floated above the clouds and watched the sun set gradually, the reds and oranges and yellows spreading out beside us. I tried to take photos with my new point and shoot camera and hope that some worked out.

We landed late in the evening, and waited in a long line to get through passport control and customs. I ran into a group of medical workers visiting to set up a clinic in Tena, including a psychiatrist and a pharmacist and several young and idealistic students. I was happy to hear Spanish and start to speak it and found myself getting excited as we collected our bags, climbed onto the baggage transporter for a group photo, and moved through to the other side of customs. Our guide Tomas was there to greet us and lead us to our bus. The parking lot was unchanged with the same billboards and advertisements. We drove the five alumni who are traveling with us to the 'Casa Aliso' hotel, which is far superior to our modest 'Sierra Madre'.This is the first trip with mixed students and alumni, so it has a different flavour. Everyone is enthusiastic. By now, Maya has connected with each individual student and alumni, knows their names and something about each of them and will be reminding Eric and I about their names for the rest of the trip. She bonded with them through card games at the Atlanta airport.

I recognized the workers at the hotel, having visited many times. I was not hungry for the snack provided and was just eager to get to bed as soon as possible. Our wakeup time was to be at 7, and I had slept only three hours in the last 24. We never do sleep much during these trips, so I try to make sleep a priority when it is possible.

Quito felt very welcoming, perhaps because everything is so familiar for us.

No Sleep Tonight

Return to Ecuador!

Day One

I slept in until 9:16 and almost missed my yoga class. I rushed out of the house in a discombobulated state, and did not settle down for most of the class. I did enjoy it though, and felt that I had started the day and the year right. Three shots of espresso and a smoothie for breakfast felt good, followed by a long shower and a mask and time preparing my lecture. So far so good for 2011.

We were expected at a 'pig roast' in the Benichou's neighbourhood. We arrived when the pig was mostly consumed, but I enjoyed Daphne's family and Maya was happy to play with Belina. They set up a 'Kittyloversonly' blog, which I was impressed with.

Eric is stressed about getting his experiments ready for Ecuador and disappeared into his lab early in the day. I got regular updates; things are not going well for him and he is hyper frustrated (one text said 'suckious maximus'. I did get some work done on my talk, and started some packing. I left Maya with Belina for a while, and when I returned to pick her up, had a delightful time with Julien and his parents, Anne and Jean, who speak mostly French but understand English. I speak alot of Spanish to them!

I like starting the new year quietly, slowly, treading lightly, not my usual style, but appreciated today. I like 2011 so far.