The Road Trip To Otavalo

 

Yesterday we left Quito and headed north on the Pan American Highway towards Otavalo which would be our next stop. Our driver is absolutely wonderful and very knowledgeable of his country. We started by driving through the Occidental mountain range which was an absolutely beautiful landscape of mountains, volcanos, amazing foliage and lush fields. The countryside seemed to go on as far as the eye could see and the hills had so many different shades of green that they looked like a patchwork quilt.

Views From The Pan American Highway

We stopped along the way at a vantage point to take some photos and the minute we stepped out of the car a group of stray dogs approached us. The dogs were very shy and kept there distance except for one very sweet female dog that immediately ran up to Mom and laid at her feet for belly rubs. This dog knew how to work it and as soon as we got back into the car, she stood at the door and just looked at us with the sad dog eyes. We just knew that if we had called her into the car she would have happily jumped in without a second thought. There are a lot of stray dogs in the more rural areas and that’s hard to see. Mom and I both agreed that if we moved to Ecuador we would have to start a dog rescue mission.

The Dog We Wanted To Take Home

There were so many sights to see along the way that we were snapping pictures left and right. We kept seeing cows, sheep and llamas staked on the side of the road. When we asked our driver about this he explained that a lot of the indigenous farmers don’t have a lot of land for their animals to graze on, so every day they lead their herds to a different spot on the mountainside and stake them so that they can graze. It was really strange to see cows standing right along the side of the road. One of the places we stopped to take some pictures had some little stalls that sold goods to the tourists. Outside of one of the stalls was a Llama. It seems that the  animals go where ever their owners go.

Llama

We then drove up to the equator and actually stood right on it with one foot on each side. There was a sundial that had been erected fairly recently using GPS to ensure it’s accuracy. A tour guide explained to us how the seasons work in accordance with the earth’s rotation.  It was very fascinating to learn how everything works together and to find out that what we had originally been taught in school about the earth’s rotation was not correct.

The Top Of The World

As we worked our way down into the valley, Carlos stopped at a couple of small roadside stores to let us taste some of the local food. We first ate what they call Bizcochos with Dulce De Leche. The Bizcochos were somewhere between a bread and a cookie and were just slightly sweet. You then spread the Dulce De Leche on the Bizcochos and eat them. They were quite yummy.

Mom trying A Bizcocho

We stopped at another roadside store and tried Chochos Beans, a dish that the Ecuadorians consider “Fast Food.” Carlos explained to us that the beans are somewhat toxic and must be soaked for several days and than thoroughly rinsed before consuming. They than make what they call a Ceviche out of the beans by adding pickled onions, tomatoes, roasted corn and a little bit of hot sauce. It was served in a paper bowl and we took it with us. Mom and I both found this dish to be very tasty as well.

Chochos Beans Ceviche

As we drove down from the mountains and in to the valley below we came across  one of the many beautiful lakes in Ecuador. Carlos suggested we stop for lunch at a restaurant on the lake and enjoy the view. When we pulled up I think Rod got weak in the knees. The property had rental cabins situated on it with a view of the lake and the mountains that would rival anything you saw in the U.S.

The Lake Restaurant

Cabins By The Lake

After An Enjoyable Lunch

Chefs Carrying Fresh Herbs

After a relaxing lunch we got back in the car and headed towards the famous woodcarving village of San Antonio. The village streets were lined with little shops and woodcarvers busily carving there next masterpiece. Mom and I found some pieces that we absolutely fell in love with, but we made the mistake of not snatching them up right away. When we decided to go back to make our purchases the shops had closed for Siesta. We left empty handed, but Carlos said he would take us back the next day. On the way out of the village we stopped at a woodcarver’s workshop and the gentleman gave us a tour of his small shop and told us that he had been carving since a small child. It was really amazing to see how many tools he needed to complete his project.

 Woodcarver In San Antonio

Our day was now drawing to a close so Carlos headed to the town of Otavalo where we were to stay for two nights at a local Hostel. When we pulled up to the place where we were to stay, we noticed that it was situated right on a very busy, noisy street not unlike the hotel we had our first night in Quito. We decided to go ahead and brave it hoping that once we got inside of the Hostel we would be wowed by the surroundings. We checked in, got our keys and headed to our rooms. Yikes, our room was right over the street. It was dark and dingy and didn’t even have any hot water. With visions of the first night in Quito still dancing in our heads, we handed the keys back and left as fast as we could, forfeiting the money we had already spent for two nights worth of reservations. We asked Carlos to find us another Hotel and after a few phone calls he had us settled into another quieter hotel that had hot water (Yea).

Carlos The Most Patient Driver On Earth

After Carlos dropped us off at the hotel and helped us unload our luggage, we decided to run to the textile market, which is what Otavalo is famous for. It was a bit overwhelming with all of the stalls and the merchants were all trying to sell us their goods, but of course we couldn’t understand them. Once again the language barrier became an issue. We returned to the hotel for the night feeling a little frustrated and disappointed in yet another hotel fiasco and the town of Otavalo itself seemed like just another dirty noisy town. After a bottle of wine and much conversation the mood lightened up and we decided to change our plans once again and have Carlos book us another hotel for the next night in a quieter area of the countryside.

Textiles At The Market

We all went to bed in a much better mood with high hopes and looking forward to the next day and another adventure.

A Day In Quito

 

Our first night in Quito was rocky and had us questioning our decision to visit Ecuador in the first place. After several cups of coffee, a nice breakfast and some good laughs over the previous nights antics we were able to forget about the past and look forward to a new adventure. Our driver wasn’t going to pick us up for our tour of Quito until 3:00 that afternoon, so we decided to brave a taxi ride into the historic center of Quito and take in some of the sights.

Government Building In Quito

After another frightening taxi ride, we set off on foot to do some exploring. We actually had no idea where we were going, but that didn’t stop us. The taxi dropped us off  near the Plaza which is a beautiful public park surrounded by some of the most amazing architecture I have ever seen. We just started walking taking in as much as we could and as we walked through the narrow streets and alley ways our senses were taken over by the amazing sights, sounds and smells that surrounded us.

A Building Just Off The Plaza

We were absolutely dumbfounded by the beauty and the architecture that surrounded us. Everything we had read prior to going to Quito told us to get out of there as fast as possible and after the first night we were inclined to agree. This was not what we had expected at all and in spite of the language barrier we felt very comfortable and safe in this very large city. There were a great deal of uniformed police officers in the plaza and we were free to roam as we pleased.

The Meticulously Manicured Grounds Of The Plaza

There were street vendors stationed in every nook and cranny of the buildings that lined the streets and they were peddling every thing imaginable. On one of the streets that we were walking on there was a small framed man carrying a washing machine and dryer on a dolly down a very steep hill. It was so interesting to watch how he carefully worked his way down the steep hill navigating through the crowds with that heavy load on wheels. I think the washer and dryer weighed more than he did. Apparently this is not uncommon and the standard way of delivering such goods in the city.

Man Carrying Washer & Dryer Through Streets Of Quito

 


After taking in the sights for a while we worked up an appetite and decided to stop for lunch. We figured that a hotel would be a safe bet, so we came across one that looked very nice. We climbed the marble stairs to the restaurant area and sat down. The waitress handed us menus and we soon realized that the menus were written in Spanish. Feeling daring we decided to go for it and between Bob’s sign language and sound affects we managed to order our meals, but we had absolutely no idea what we had ordered. We did however figure out that it was a three course meal consisting of soup, entree and a  dessert.

It still wasn’t determined what came out on our plates, but it was quite good and the soup was delicious. When the bill came we about fell out of our chairs. The total bill for a three course meal for all four of us including tip came to $11.50. What a deal and we soon figured out the best way to go is to order what the special of the day was.

After lunch we decided to do some more sight seeing around the Plaza. We viewed the Government buildings and watched the local entertainment and even passed by the public library which was absolutely spectacular. The stair case leading to the patio was beautiful and the library was solid glass that looked out onto the street below, very modern looking amongst all of the period details surrounding it.

Library Stairs Leading To Patio

We viewed several breathtaking churches that I can’t even begin to describe the beauty of, but the most impressive church of all was the La Compania Church. It was breathtaking and actually brought tears to my eyes as we walked through the hand carved wooden doors. This particular church was built by several Jesuit priests between 1605 and 1765, inspired by two emblematic Roman Jesuit temples. The central nave is topped by a vault built in brick and pumice stone, and adorned with plaster, polychrome, and mudejar figures in gold leaf. The facade of the church is a baroque work, all carved  on volcanic gray stone. Every space is covered  with the finest engraved motives - flowers, angels, archangels, ecclesiastic symbols and several representative images. It was absolutely one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

Interior of La Compania Church


 

It was getting close to the time to meet our guide, so we headed back to the hotel, only the taxi driver took us to the wrong hotel and we had to call another cab from there to get us back to the correct hotel. Carlos our driver met us a little after 3:00 and explained that he was late because he had gone to another hotel (the first one our cab driver had taken us to) to pick us up only we weren’t there. It turns out that the driver that picked us up at the airport took us to the wrong hotel and we never knew the difference. Both hotels were owned by the same company so that really made it confusing. We decided to transfer to the hotel that we were supposed to be at in the first place especially since we weren’t looking forward to another night in Hooker row.

The Very Cool Bathroom In Our New Hotel

 

 Our Quaint Room

We packed up all of our luggage loaded it into Carlos’s vehicle and headed to the second hotel. This turned out to be a great choice as our second hotel was much nicer than the first and also much quieter. The rooms were lovely and very quaint and the staff was very friendly.

A Beautiful Statue In The Lobby

Carlos then took us for our afternoon tour of Quito. We drove through the most beautiful parts of the city as well as the very poor areas and it was all quite intriguing. Houses were stacked one on top of the other and all different architectural styles. The traffic was unbelievable and the bus fumes were noxious, but the views were breath taking. We drove way up in the hills to see the Virgen de El Panecillo monument. The 45m-high (148-ft.) La Virgen de Quito is an enlarged copy of Bernardo de Lagarda's La Virgen de Quito sculpture that is on display on the main altar in the San Francisco church. The Panecillo stands at about 3,000m (9,840 ft.), so you can also see the sculpture from the center of Quito.

Virgen de El Panecillo Monument

We then toured the upscale part of Quito. We were amazed at how cosmopolitan this are of Quito was. It was just like being in New York City with all of the high end retail stores and high rise apartments, condos and fine restaurants. I would venture to say you could find anything here that you wanted.

After viewing the sights of the city, Carlos dropped us back at our hotel and we caught a taxi to a restaurant just a couple of blocks away in the heart of the tourist center. We were served a bowl of roasted corn for an appetizer that has fast become one of my favorites and then enjoyed an American meal. We walked back to the hotel in the nice cool evening breeze and enjoyed the perfect ending to the perfect day in a  nice quiet hotel room.

My New Favorite Appetizer - Roasted Corn

A Perfect End To A Perfect Day

Where Are We Staying?

 

Last night at approximately 10:30 pm we finally arrived in Quito. The plane ride was five and a half hours, but it seemed more like ten and a half because we were all exhausted from all of the planning and preparations of the previous weeks. There was a beautiful sunset that we could view from the window on our side of the plane and I had to snap a photo. When we landed in Quito I was actually surprised at how easy it was getting through customs. It was more difficult to leave Houston than to get into Ecuador. The first thing we noticed when we landed was how close some of the houses were to the runway. Our plane was literally just yards from people’s backyards.

 

The Sunset From Our Window

Once we retrieved our baggage, we headed to the reception area where a driver was waiting to drive us to our hotel. After we had loaded all of our luggage into the driver’s very small SUV, Bob decided to take a picture and went to fish his camera out of his duffel bag only to realize that it wasn’t there. After digging for quite some time he finally figured out he had either left it at Pappadeauxs or on the airplane, we’re just hoping it’s not gone forever. Unfortunately the pictures of the beginning of our trip were on Bob’s camera. What a way to start our trip. 

We survived a harrowing ride to the hotel. The Ecuadorian drivers sure do like their horns and the prefer to drive in the middle of the road, not the lane mind you, but the road. They also like to go really fast, make hard stops and weave in and out of traffic. When they pull up behind another vehicle at a red light, they honk even though the first vehicle can’t move. What’s the point in that? Of course my seatbelt wouldn’t buckle, so I just hung on for dear life. I think by the time we got out of the vehicle our knuckles were white and we all had a few more wrinkles and gray hairs.

Upon driving through some very narrow streets and passing some very run down buildings, of course all the while thinking that we will soon be arriving at the better side of town where our hotel is located the driver pulls up in front of our hotel. O.K. so were not in the best neighborhood, but the hotel looks quaint other than that uniformed security guard standing out front.

 Our Quaint Hostel

At this point we’re just so glad to get to the hotel and as long as it has beds and hot water we don’t care. The driver opens the car doors and we are immediately swarmed by a pack of prostitutes in tight mini skirts, stiletto heals and not much else. Of course as soon as they see Mom and me get out of the car they quickly disperse. All Rod kept saying is “AND WE ARE STAYING WHERE” he really started to sound like a blithering idiot he said it so many times. All the while Mom and I were laughing hysterically (we find humor in the strangest things). A few minutes later as we regain some of our composure and are dragging our luggage across the street, I hear a woman yelling and all of a sudden the ladies of the night are running as best they can in their 6” stilettos and ducking into alleys and doorways as the local police cruise the streets.

Rod and Bob are wondering what Mom and I have gotten them into. Can they possibly book a return flight home tonight? but it’s now midnight and we have no choice but to stick to the original plan. We check into our quaint hotel with the uniformed security guard and the lovely ladies of the night and head to our rooms. The guard helps us carry our baggage up to our rooms as we meander through hallways and stairwells. We finally get situated in our simple, yet clean rooms and immediately realize we have not one bottled water between the four of us (a necessity for brushing teeth). Rod, Mom and I head back down the stairs to ask the receptionist for some bottles of water, but it seems the security guard has turned off all of the hallway lights on his way down and left us in the dark. We feel our way down the stairs flipping switches as we go and finally make it to the desk and purchase our water say our good nights and slump off to bed.

Three Of The Four Flights Of Stairs That We had
To Navigate In The Dark.

By this time I’m so interested in watching the ladies outside that I’m flattening myself against the wall of our balcony, camera in hand waiting for the perfect shot. The police are constantly patrolling the streets and each time they drive by it’s a game of hide and seek. One Hooker in particular that I am watching stays hidden behind a wall and jumps out to wave at the potential customers every time a car drives by and then quickly ducts back behind the wall. It’s quite entertaining and I find it hard to go back to my room and leave this fascinating show.

Hooker Alley (They’re All Hiding)

I finally give in to the thought of sleep and go back into the room to shower and brush my teeth. I immediately stick my toothbrush under the faucet and of course put it in my mouth. What was I thinking? I quickly rinse off the toothbrush with bottled water and then pour mouthwash over it hopefully killing any harmful bacteria. When I get out of the shower I head to my twin bed and lie down only to hear a myriad of car alarms, police sirens, buses zooming by and motorcycles that sound like plane engines taking off. All night long this went on and by 5:00 a.m. the morning traffic started and the trash trucks began making their way down our street dumping the dumpster contents into their trucks and making sure to bang the lid against the bin a couple of times before placing the dumpster back in place.

 We all met up in the restaurant the next morning to compare stories and try to revive ourselves with mass quantities of caffeine. Come to find out Mom and Bob had a party going on in the room next to theirs and had to call security in the wee morning hours to  put a lid on it. We are all bleary eyed and half stupid from lack of sleep, but today is another day and we will see what is in store for us.

We Are Finally On Our Way

The big day has finally arrived and we fly out to Quito this afternoon. Last night Mom and Bob drove in from Flatonia and on the way hit a massive rain storm with hail. They had to take an alternate route to somewhat avoid the storm and ended up getting lost. By the time they got to the house Mom just had one thing to say.. “Do you have any wine” They were both quite frazzled and glad to be at their destination. I opened a bottle of wine and we talked about our plans the next day, made more lists and enjoyed a good home cooked meal that Rod’s mom had prepared.

The six of us had enjoyed conversation and each others company and before we knew it the time had slipped away from us and we decided we had better turn in and try to get a good nights rest. I laid there for what seemed like an eternity with my brain going about a hundred miles an hour wondering what I had already or would soon forget to pack. I finally drifted off to sleep and at 7:30 was awoken by Dad’s dog Pepper jumping all over the bed.

Rod cooked us all a good breakfast and we started tackling our lists. Our flight left at 4:00 pm and we needed to be at the airport by 2:00. After we cleaned up the dishes and ourselves it was off to the drugstore to find Mom a pair of reading glasses. Before she left Santa Fe she had gotten a new prescription lens in her glasses and realized to late that the prescription wasn’t correct. It was going to be impossible for her to read maps and that is not a good thing when you are in unfamiliar territory. We couldn’t find a pair of suitable readers, so Bob and I said that we would read the maps and any other fine print for her.

Next it was off to Kinkos to make copies of our drivers licenses, credit cards and to print out our airline tickets. Usually I bring a portable printer with us when we go on the road, but we were already packing so much stuff that I didn’t really want to fool with it. Now I’m kind of wishing I had because I had to transfer everything to a flash drive and then take it to Kinkos to print it out.

We returned home and started madly packing those last minute items and deciding what needed to go where. Dad decided that we should leave even earlier than planned in case there was a wreck on the freeway, so now it was double time and we looked like a bunch of chickens with our heads cut off.

Rod’s Dad, Bob, Mom, Rod and myself all piled into Bob’s Excursion and headed off to the airport. We made it in really good time, but once we arrived at the airport there was mass confusion over which terminal we needed to be at. It was determined before we left the house that terminal E was for international flights, but once we got to the airport there were signs pointing to both terminals D & E and they both had international flights. Poor Bob was driving and we were all shouting directions to him at the same time only none of us were agreeing. Bob finally stopped in the middle of the road until we could all make up our minds.

Once we got to the correct terminal we unloaded the car and said our goodbyes to Dad who was probably glad to see us go by that time. We wheeled our luggage into the terminal check in and got our boarding passes. So far so good. We got in line at security and began to unload our jackets, shoes, laptop, bags, etc. into the bins. I was the first to go through and of course as I waited patiently on the other end of the conveyor belt to retrieve my belongings I heard the x-ray technician call out to another that she needed someone to come look at something. Well you know that something had to belong to me. The security person first carried my laptop off for testing. What the heck? I have never heard of that. I was wondering what kind of test they run. Were they looking for secret information? Next my carry on bag was pulled to the side and opened up for inspection. Oops I forgot to take my liquids out of my bag and put them into the bin.

Finally we got through security and put our clothes back on and headed towards our gate. We were approx. two hours early so we decided to grab a bite to eat. Of all the luck there just happened to be a Pappadeauxs right next to our gate (Yipee). We sat down and Rod and I ordered some drinks and Mom and Bob proceeded to order two glasses of wine. The waiter explained that you could order a bottle instead and if you didn’t finish it, he could cork it and you could bring it on the plane with you. Well that sounded like a super idea since purchasing a little bottle of wine on the plane isn’t cheap. We had a great meal and yes I ordered the Greek Salad again. Needless to say the bottle of wine never made it on the plane.

Mom & Bob Celebrating

It was now time to board the plane and begin our adventure.

On The Road Again

Today is the day we leave for Houston. I woke up at 4:45 (ughh) in order to start my pre departure routine. As many times as we have been on road trips this year, I’m getting quite good at this.  After making my coffee (important things first), I administer a half dose of tranquilizer cleverly  hidden in a piece of cheese to Buster. For some unknown reason he has developed a phobia of being in the car and I don’t know why as he rides into work with me nearly everyday. In any case whenever we go on a trip we now have to give him Doggie Valium just to make the trip tolerable.

Buster and I then head out on our walk which gets the blood flowing in both of us and moves the tranquilizer through Buster’s system a little more quickly. When we return I chug a cup of my beloved coffee and hit the shower. I packed all of our suitcases last night and Rod managed to barely squeeze them into the Corvette. He says we’ll need a crow bar to get them out again. Can you believe we got all those suitcases in the Corvette trunk? At 5:30 as usual Rod is telling Buster that I’m running late and holding up the train. We go through this every time. The night before we leave on a trip, I ask Rod what time we will be leaving and he normally says 6:00 am, but somehow the time magically gets pushed up about 30 minutes by the morning and he swears he didn’t tell me we were leaving at 6:00.

After I shower, dress and put just enough makeup on so as not to embarrass myself I start throwing things into the backpack and making a last minute check. Lindsay slumps out of her room to say goodbye and sheds a few tears. She hates it when we leave and says it’s because she hates being alone. Rod and I are still trying to figure this one out because when we are home we may only see her twice a night. Once when she cruises into the kitchen for a snack and another time when she comes out to say good night. The rest of the time she spends in her room watching T.V. or on her computer.

We leave at 6:00 on the dot. I throw the backpack, pillow, my travel purse and Buster into the car and off we go. Buster does his usual routine for about the first hour and frantically paces and pants continually, all the time breathing his dog breath on us. The tranquilizer finally takes affect on Buster and the lack of sleep on me and we both succumb to a nap.

Buster Riding Shotgun

Every time we drive to Houston and the weather is cool enough to leave Buster in the car. We stop at one of our all time favorite restaurants, Pappadeuxs. We always start with oysters on the half shell and Rod usually gets a seafood platter. I always get the same thing, a Greek Salad with everything in it. Pappadeuxs has the best greek salad ever, I don’t know if it’s the fresh lemon juice they squeeze on it before dressing it or the house made Greek dressing. Rod was feeling adventurous this time and decided to try something different. Out came a beautiful plate with stuffed lobster and crawfish etouffe, boy was he glad he got that it was delicious.

Oysters On The Half Shell

Greek Salad

After dinner we piled back in the car for the last hour and a half of our trip. By the time we pulled into Mom and Dad’s driveway we had to be peeled out of the car. After welcoming hugs and kisses Rod sat down to watch the remainder of the Super Bowl and I of course sat down to my computer.

All The Last Minute Details

 

 I can’t believe in one more day we will be driving to Houston to stay with Rod’s Mom and Dad until we catch our flight to Ecuador on Tuesday. I spent the better half of today just trying to tie up all of the loose ends at the business and going over the to do list with Lindsay and our manager Craig. It’s always a scramble to get everything lined up before we go out of town.

After a conversation with my mother last night we settled on exactly how much cash and in what denominations to take. Apparently Bob had called her and was unsure as to how he would carry the cash that he had. Per our instructions he had gathered 100’s worth of 1’s, 5’s and 10’s. Remember we said not to take big bills? Well none of us realized just how thick those stacks of small bills would be and it just so happened Bob was the first to find out. Rod and I laughed at the thought of Bob looking like he was ready to hit the strip club.

We ended up agreeing that we would take half of our money in 20’s and the rest in 5’s, 10’s and 1’s. So it was back to the bank for Bob the next day to once again change his money. He did have an ingenious idea of vacuum sealing the bills which compressed them and made them easier to carry.

I decided to return to the Apple store one last time just to ask a few last questions about my blog before we left town. There was another lady there at the same time working on her website. It was a tribute to her husband that had passed away. She took some time to show me her site and I couldn’t believe it was her first attempt. It was so beautiful and she was putting it together for her deceased husband’s son, only he had no knowledge of the site and it was going to be a surprise. I thought that was such a wonderful gesture and I’m sure her step son will absolutely love it.

Tomorrow I will spend the day packing, doing laundry and doing some housework. Sunday morning bright and early we will start our drive to Houston where we will stay with Rod’s Mom and Dad until our flight leaves on Tuesday. My mother and Bob will be joining us on Monday evening and we will all spend the night at Mom and Dad’s house so Dad can drive us to the airport the next day Yipee!

It Just Keeps Getting Better

 You know how they say that bad things happen in threes? Well there is definitely some truth in that statement.

My Mother called tonight to give us the O.K. to go ahead and pay their part of the tour expenses. Since the last fiasco with paypal, Rod volunteered to log in and make sure the invoice was paid using her credit card this time. I handed Rod my laptop and then sat next to him as he navigated through the paypal site. I held my breath as he hit the “Pay Now” button all the time worrying he would somehow hit the wrong button and once again the payment would be sent using the dreaded bank account. I breathed a sigh of relief when he remembered to change the funding option to the credit card. We were in the home stretch now, the only thing left to do was hit the submit button. Rod had saved the day and was our soon to be hero as he hit the enter key...

  

What was this? a message that the transaction could only be completed using an e-check (aaaaargh). The credit card option was now completely grayed out. Were the planets out of alignment? Was there a full moon last night? I slumped to the phone to call my mother and tell her the bad news and that she would have to make the dreaded call to paypal. After we hung up I patiently waited for her return phone call to see what paypal had to say. It wasn’t too long before my phone rang and my mother informed me that paypal had basically locked down her credit card because of the previous stop payment and the cancellation that the tour company had placed on the invoice. Apparently all of the mishaps with the previous payment attempt had thrown up a red flag and now the only way to pay was through the bank account. After much thought we did come up with a work around and the invoice did get paid so Mom and Bob didn’t have to ride the Chicken bus.

If all that wasn’t enough, then it turns out that my mother had an abscessed tooth and had to go to the dentist the next day for a root canal. Rod told her to wait until we got to Ecuador because dental procedures are so much cheaper than in the States, but she wasn’t to keen on that idea.

The very next day I made an appointment at the Apple Store to take my laptop in and find out why my pictures kept moving within my blog. I would work on a page and place my pictures just so, but when I went on line to view my work, my pictures had shifted, some of them so much that they were creeping up into the text. I walked up to the Genius Bar for my 15 minutes of technical support confident that my problem could be solved in the first five minutes. I was sure the problem was purely operator error.

 

As I sat down, I turned on my laptop for the technician and we waited and waited and waited for my computer to boot. We sat and watched the beach ball spin round and round. Now my laptop has been slow to boot and usually I start it up and walk away, get a cup of coffee, throw a load of laundry in the machine and load the dishwasher before it is up and running. This time was different though and we just sat there staring at the screen what seemed like forever. Needless to say the floating pictures took a back seat to this new problem.

On day two I received a phone call from the Apple Store informing me that my computer was ready to be picked up. I drove as fast as I could to the store and found out that my backup program was the culprit. It has been removed and now I’m back up and running at a much better speed. As far as the floating pictures go, after a three hour session that issue was resolved as well, but not without many off color words muttered under my breath and much frustration.

Hopefully the mishaps are at an end and we will have smooth sailing at least for a couple of days, but then again we are talking about Dorie and Shelly.