We sleep okay (well, Zoila obviously is going to keep waking up every 2 hours for her chichi even in Ecuador) and I get up at 9 a.m. I feel like crap and remember it's only 6 a.m. in SF.
It's a sunny day in Quito and it's warm. I am amazed I don't have to wear a jacket and socks in the house like at home. I can even wear short sleeves. Emilie is the happiest, she can finally wear a summer clothes. And Zoila too! She loves being able to crawl around half naked. She actually goes faster without her 3 layers!
We have a light breakfast. We have to remember that we are at 4000 m of altitude and we don't want to get altitude sickness. We have to drink lots of water and eat just enough to feel satisfy. We have a very slow morning. In the afternoon, Emilie gets to play with her cousin Sebastian, Meri's son. He is 5 and he was at school. It' so funny how kids become friends, we should learn from them (or should I say, remember). They quickly become good friends and I don't have to worry about Emilie anymore.
Zoila of course gets the most attention from all the visitors coming to greet us. And of course, she gets to hear billions of "Es tan gordita!!", she is so big!
Before lunch Galo, Emilie, Zoila and I go for a little walk around the house. We are in a gated community. Nothing very "Ecuadorian". We quickly run out of breath. We still need to get acclimated to the altitude. Meri fixes us a light lunch (some soup and chicken). I want to call my family or send them an email, but apparently we arrive in Quito the day they decided to change their power system and shut down the power the entire day. No light, no phone, no computer, nothing. This is Latin America!
We decide to hire a mini van so we can get to Ambato today. We leave Meri, Sebastian and Quito at 4 p.m. Ambato is about 2.5 hours away from Quito. The girls decide to take their afternoon nap and miss half the trip (to our own satisfaction). It gets a little cooler on the way and it even rains a little. We pass a couple of old craters...Ecuador, tierra de los volcanes, I love it! Tungurahua, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Sangay...names I remember from my las trip 7 years ago, images that have faded since but will clear up again soon.
It's night when we get to Ambato. We arrive at Nana Celia's house on Garcia Lorca street. The house is very dusty because of the nearby Tungurahua volcano that erupted in January. There are ashes everywhere. Galo quickly cleans our room and the living room so the girls can have a place to play and relax. Nana Celia fixes a soup and we're ready for our new beds. There are only one queen and a twin bed. Emilie gets the twin and Galo, Zoila and I sleep on the queen. We'll have to find another arrangement because this queen bed is way to small for the 3 of us. Galo has to give up our bed and find refuge with Emilie in the middle of the night :) Good night Ambato.
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