TWO YEARS ON!!!!
Time passes!! |
It is not that the missing two years have been empty and not worthy of postings. On the contrary those years have been filled. It is just that this blog writer has little time to himself. Where John is, so are the children! By the time the children are in bed at 8:00 pm, John has no energy left for anything except to get himself to bed as well. So those late night postings don't happen.
I guess the biggest event of the missing years has been the forced change of house in Lumbisi. Our beautiful and peaceful half hectare beside the quebrada was sold from beneath our feet and we were given short notice to leave. Fortunately a British School Quito family have a weekend cottage very nearby and we could move in. I now pay rent to one of my students! The plot of land is surrounded by orchid greenhouses and this has made the move all the more worthwhile. The orchids are collected and cultivated - even hybridized - in labs in Tumbaco, and then planted out in the greenhouses. The project is both scientific and commercial, and is trying to develop an export market for the miniature orchid cultivos. It is fascinating to help in this project.
Toby, with Robbie and Maia on the beach near Tasaste August 2011 |
Mónica, with Robbie, Maia and Julie |
Leticia, Robbie, Maia and Julie, and here with her daughter-in-law, Viviana (from Cali) and her new baby |
So, one way and another, we are pretty well set up in our Lumbisi home now. It isn't huge but gives us the peace and space we need, as well as the added interest of the orchids. Like all of Lumbisi, which just two years ago was not much more than a village perched on the side of a mountain, but is now a big town, this urbanización, called Huertos Ilalo (Ilalo Orchard) has gone from a few houses to 20 now, and more are on the way. That is life on this eastern side of Quito, where the new airport has turned Tumbaco/Cumbaya into one HUGE construction site.
Robbie and Maia continue in Pachamama. They are now both in Primary - Robbie in his second year and Maia in her first. I will try to post some blogs about Pachamama and what the children do there. It is a lovely place, high up on Ilalo, with a good international community. Of course its main strength is its Montessori style of education. Robbie and Maia both love their school. So does John!
John took several steps down at The British School Quito and is now a classroom teacher (of Biology, of course), with just a few other responsibilities such as Head of Sciences, the Year Book, and some administrative functions in Secondary. It is nice to be able to breathe again! BSQ is growing fast and there is great pressure on space, which means there is an in-house review going on, evaluating all the possible scenarios for the future, to enable the growth to continue successfully. Who knows how BSQ will be in a few years time?
As a family we have been visiting our usual haunts. We go to the jungle often, staying either in Hakuna Matata or Establo de Tomás in Tena, or with Tom Larson at Arajuno Jungle Lodge (see link). We have been up on Cotopaxi, sometimes camping or more recently staying at a high altitude refugio on the South side, Cotopaxi cara sur (see link) - highly recommended. And we get to the coast as often as possible, always in the northern parts of Manabí. We have been lucky to be able to stay in a little, remote beach house, owned by a BSQ family, near Tasaste. Three Christmases in a row have now been spent in Samvara Eco-lodge (see link), not far from Tasaste. Between Tasaste and Samvara, we have also stayed at Punta Prieta (see link). These days, when we travel, we try to take Toby Thomas with us. He absolutely loves both the high sierra and the beach. We managed to get to England in 2010 and it was so lovely to be able to spend good time with Grannie (now in her 102nd year!!!) and the family.
Robbie and Maia in the Chilterns July 2010 |
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Up on Cotopaxi, with friend Phil and his daughter, Hannah |
Asha - always full of life. Here in Establo de Tomás, Tena |
You will guess from all this that we are quite well settled here in Ecuador. That is right! No need to think about moving on. Kenya calls, most especially because a part of the children's family and genes are there. Fun though that might be, it is not really an option for us.
John, you are a natural writer! your blogs will bring such joy. I, for one, very much enjoy them.
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