Visit from Hannah's parents

It was nice to have a visit from Hannah's parents September 16 - October 1.  It was their first international trip and they were a little anxious about it.  We let them know as best we could what to expect, and my mom, based on her recent trip in August, sent them some notes on what to expect as well.  Thankfully they made all their connections and arrived here safely with all of their luggage.  A lot of what was in the luggage was for us so we were thankful about that too!

Here they are arriving after a long day of travel:

And they were tired the next day:

We had just purchased our vehicle the day of their arrival, looks like the backseat is comfortable!  

They got to experience a lot of Quito driving, and both of them were quite certain they would never want to drive here.  It is definitely a challenge and you have to have some daredevil in you in order to survive.  There are so many cars on the road, so many people at the intersections, and so much bad driving that you can hardly blink without endangering yourself.  But surprisingly, we really don't see many accidents.  It seems everyone expects the unexpected so we can all drive badly together.

For Hannah's mom, it's hard enough being away from her daughter, and since Hannah is also her hairdresser it's a double whammy.  So one of the first days they were here Hannah gave her a perm.

Changing of the Guard

Every Monday at 11:00 AM at the Presidential Palace there is a changing of the guard ceremony.  Hannah and I had not gone before so we decided to go there with them.  A convenient way to get to that area of town is to take the "trole" (trolly), which basically looks like a bus, not like a real trolly.  The trole only costs $.25 and there are many different stops from the north end of Quito to the south end of Quito.  The trole is generally pretty crowded and we have heard many reports of theft.  You just have to be aware of your surroundings and belongings at all times.

Trole station

A few pictures and videos:

It was a very sunny day so Hannah and her dad bought matching hats

Markets

We took them to a nearby artisan market, simply called "Mercado Artesanal", and we took them to a big open air market in Otavalo, 2 hours north of Quito.  They had a lot of fun looking at all of the different items at the shops and booths.

Mercado Artesanal in Quito

Mercado Artesanal in Quito

The market in Quito has over 10 aisles/rows and over 200 different booths.  Some people can spend all day here, and others need to sit on the bench and wait for them.  :)

On Saturdays in Otavalo they have a huge open air market at the town plaza.  We thought it would be fun to take Hannah's parents there.  It is a a 2 hour drive with a lot of mountain scenery.

We made a reservation at a hotel near Otavalo and we had planned to drive to the hotel, drop off our things, then spend a good amount of time at the market. However, it did not go as planned.  We arrived in Otavalo just fine but it took us another 2 hours to find the hotel! I talked to the hotel owner 3 times trying to figure out the directions.  We drove up and down the main road 3 times trying to find the correct turn off.  We found the sign he told us to look for, but the arrow indicating which way to go was mis-marked.  Coming down the main road from the other direction, we saw the sign, which we had missed the first time because it was somewhat covered by trees, and the arrow was correct.  Finally, we were able to find the hotel.  We still were able to get to the market and have a good amount of time there, but the extra time trying to find the hotel put a little damper on the trip.

Teleferiqo

We went to the Teleferiqo (cable car up the mountain) with them.  Unfortunately it was kind of a cloudy day (like it was when we went with my parents) but we were able to see part of Antisana Volcano.

Antisana Volcano

Mitad del Mundo (Center of the World)

One of the most popular tourist destinations is the Mitad del Mundo.  The name "Quito" is an old Indian word that means "center of the earth".  The Mitad del Mundo is where the equator separates the northern and southern hemispheres.  The equator line is a few miles north of Quito, about a 45 minute drive.

Interestingly, there are two equators.  The first is the original Mitad del Mundo tourist attraction that has a big monument, shops, and restaurants.  The equator line at this site was calculated a long time using man-made instruments.

The other equator line is very close to the first one at a site called "Museo de Intinan".  They say this equator line is the official line since it was calculated with GPS.  At this site you pay for a tour and you can learn some history of Ecuador as well as do some experiments right on the equator line.

One of the experiments is to balance a raw egg on the top of a nail head.  The pillar/post is directly on the equator line and there are 2 nails on the top.  Supposedly the gravitational pull directly on the equator causes the yoke of the egg to move in such a way that it is easier to balance it.  Hannah and I were able to balance the egg, but her parents were not.

It was fun to have them here so they could see our ministry at the guesthouse and experience some of Ecuador.  Next time they will know what to expect.