Saying Goodbye to Azogues

In January, after much deliberation, we decided to say goodbye to our good friends in the wonderful community of Azogues and spend a couple of months traveling southward on the Panamerican Highway to Argentina where we will spend the remainder of the year.  We were so fortunate to have been accepted with such open arms by the people of Azogues and will cherish the friendships we developed there. 

Leaving the kids’ school community was especially difficult.  The teachers were so supportive of Hans and Annalise and many of the children in the school became special pals.  A few of us were quite teary-eyed on the last day of school.  A Smurf cake and a dance music celebration eased the blow however.

Working with the medical community in Azogues and Cuenca was incredibly rewarding for Patricia and me.  We will miss the friends/colleagues we worked with, as well as the  overwhelming gratitude from the patients we saw.

During the last couple of weeks in Ecuador, we were able to get together with nearly all of our family friends for numerous going away celebrations.  After all of the Christmas holiday celebrating that people did in December, I think everyone was ready for a rest after we left!

Orphanage in Azogues

A friend of ours, Steve Lee, who is a dentist in Indiana, sent a bunch of dental supplies with Mom when she came to visit in December.   Here are some photos of kids from an orphanage in Azogues where we brought the supplies.  

We missed a picture of one of the younger kids doing a great job of brushing her teeth during a session on proper brushing technique, who then she decided to use the toothbrush to straighten up her hair!

Cuenca and Quito during the Holidays

During Christmas and New Years, we spent several days in the Andes between Quito in the north and Cuenca/Azogues in the south.  Both cities have preserved many of their 16^th Century buildings and many of the streets are narrow, cobble-stoned routes through the city. 

One of the most important events of the year in Cuenca is the 

procession of a statue of baby Jesus through the city on Christmas Eve day.  30,000 people participate in the parade that winds through the city during a 6 hour period.

People, big and small, dress in a variety of costumes for the event.

There is always an assortment of street vendor fare.  BBQ-ed chicken feet are a special treat!

Back in Azogues we had a holiday feast, featuring a dainty pork dish for 30!...8 Pessl-Wimberlys and almost every living member of the Jenny Cosgrove family in Ecuador, only a few of whom are pictured below.  John, Liese, Finn and Mom are now honorary members of that wonderful clan.

While in the northern Andes near Quito, we took a quick trip to Otavalo, a beautiful town near a mountain lake that is surrounded by huge smoking volcanoes.

On a walk to the Condor  Center, outside of Otavalo.

 

 The cherished, though slightly ugly, Andean Condor.

And finally, a pass through Quito for New Years Eve

Dinner out later that night...

           ...tuckered out the following day.

A highlight of our time in Quito was visiting Patricia's first grade teacher who taught at her elementary school in Walnut Creek, California, just a few years back!

Las Islas Galapagos

Over the Christmas/New Years holidays, Grandma Annie joined us, along with Liese, John, and Finn to tour the Galapagos Islands.

The Galapagos are in a beautiful South Pacific setting, but in addition, there are animals all around you.  These animals are ones that most of us have only seen in a zoo, but in the Galapagos, they’re wandering around in their native environment.  It reminds me of an equatorial Yellowstone Park, but with a few more numbers and variety of animals. 

The Islanders and Park officials have been careful to make sure that no one feeds the animals, so they’re not camp robbers or garbage hounds, they’re just living their normal life while we watch.  And since humans have not hunted there for many decades, the animals are not afraid of you, which is one of the reasons you can get so close to them. 

Snorkeling with Whitetip sharks.  Our boat captain corralled the critters while I was the sitting duck in their way with the camera!

It was so special to take a trip with Grandma Annie.  It’s not often anymore that we get to do an adventure trip together with 3 generations of the family.

Yup, that's a tortoise turd!