Spa Day - 2011

Well we brought spa day back again this year for the Tías (caregivers). They loved it last year and have been enjoying it the last couple days that we have been doing it. Tomorrow is our last day. So far we have had 17 women. We should have another 13 tomorrow. It’s great to see the Tías get a break from their normal routine and have some time to relax. The Tías work 24 hour shifts. They start at 8 AM and work until 8 AM the next day. Most times they don’t leave until a little after 9 AM. Many of these women between 1 ½ to 2 hours away and they take multiple buses to get to work. They vary in age from 24-60. Some have been working here for over 10 years. There are mothers and daughters who work here together. The orphanage is an amazing organization and it runs so smoothly in large part to all of these women who put in countless hours for the children. We had requests for haircuts, back massages, and peeling off of face masks. Most of these requests (except for the haircuts) were met. The Tías were able to get a manicure, pedicure, and facial done. They also had some fun snacks to eat! It has been a success thus far!

Swinging

Everyday Sharon takes two of the special needs kids for some one on one time. Normally they play outside or swing on the swings. The other day I joined in to take part in some swinging action. I forgot how fun it is to swing. Me and one of the teenagers had a contest to see who could swing higher. We ended up with four special needs children and it was so fun seeing them smile and just look relaxed. One of the girls who is often screaming and bites, had a big grin on her face as I would push her really high and run under her swing (aka an underdog). If you are having a bad day, I would suggest going for a swing.

Mindo: Cloud Forest

This is one of my favorite spots in Ecuador. I have been there four times now. It is nice because it is only a 2 hour bus ride from Quito. As you look out the bus window the scenery changes drastically. You go from being surrounded to mountains and volcanoes to lush vegetation and just greenness everywhere! We are in rainy season right now, which means rain pretty much every day. The cloud (rain) forest was no exception. It rained a lot! I did not have an umbrella or raincoat which made for very soaked clothes. Each time that I have gone I have stayed in the same hostal, which reminds me of a tree house. There are fun hammocks to swing in and the shower has an opening at the top part of the wall which allows for some beautiful viewings of the surrounding area as you shower. I was excited to see that 3 different natives remembered me from the last times I’ve been there (one of them was the owner of the organic chocolate place, you can guess how often I ate there…. The highlight of the trip was an afternoon hike that we took. We walked through the rainforest to visit six different waterfalls. The hike consisted of us tramping through very muddy areas, crossing rivers knee deep with our sneakers on, avoiding fuzzy caterpillars (apparently they are not safe to touch), and crossing wooding cable bridges with many wooden boards missing. It was a fun weekend because I got to spend time with friends from last year who are visiting, friends who live about an hour away, a friend from college, and my roommate. So it was a big group of us and a nice change of pace.