El Regreso

After ten days viewing, hearing, and experiencing the wonders of this country, we have returned. The temple closing (for the first two weeks of February) has given us time to visit Banos and enjoy soaking in natural hot springs and view the mountains and volcanos of the Ecuadoran Andes with many water falls, Tena, a jumping off place for the upper amazon river canoe trip to visit indigenous villages and an animal shelter site. Then back into the mountains and on to Quito, the capital and Otavalo. We arrived about sundown at a hotel across from the plaza in Otavalo the night before the big "feria". From the third floor, we witnessed the many booths setting up for the big day of selling and buying the many natural products for which the Otavalans are world famous. The next day, (Sunday) we attended a local ward for indigenous members. Their dress was typical and beautiful. The women in white with a ruffle of embroidery across the top and a sleeve of lace that hangs down to the elbow. Their hair was braided down the back with a ribbon wrapped around the braid all the way down. The skirt is a long wool wrap around. The men do not wear ties. Their white shirt is unbuttoned on the top and they also have a long braid of hair in the back. I wish I could have taken a photo of the bishop, his counselors, and the Aaronic priesthood as they were sitting on the stand. The meeting was in the native language, Quichua, with an occasional word or phrase in Spanish. While walking through the crowded market (Saturday) we paused to meet a couple at their booth and discovered that they were members of the church. There were probably many members participating in the selling of their wares at the feria. Down the street we entered a shop and met the Otavalan stake president, President Campos. He had woven book of mormon scenes for sale, hanging in his shop. We look forward to seeing some of these people again as they come to the temple. Quito is a world cultural heritage site, founded many years before the spanish came in 1534. Before the Incas conquered Quito in the 1400s, there was an existing civilization, the Shyris. (I apologize for not using paragraphs, trying to save space) During two days in Quito, we visited "La Mitad del Mundo" the equator. While there we witnessed some very interesting demonstrations that verified that it was the equator like balancing an egg on a nail, watching water spiral clockwise south of the equator and counter clockwise a few feet to the north. Quito is surrounded by mountains. The valley is very narrow but is home to more than a million people. There are two stakes in Otavalo, five in Quito, twelve in Guayaquil and two in Duran (close to Guayaquil). There are thirty three stakes, ten districts and a branch at the Galapagos islands in Ecuador thanks to Devin Rigby and hundreds of missionaries like him who have labored here since President Kimball dedicated this land in 1966. The food is interesting. A typical Ecuadoran meal might include soup, a main dish of chicken prepared in various ways, or fish (tilapia, trout, deep fried and crusty) and rice or lentils. It is good food and nourishing but we found the same items on menu after menu in almost all of the cities we visited. Eggs are also added to meat dishes. Various breads are also available. (We love the bread) and fruits. This country has cold climate fruits and warm climate fruits. It is blessed with the greatest variety of fruits anywhere. Many of them we are just discovering such as mispero (a small fruit growing on trees here on the temple grounds), pitayhua (a pear size yellow fruit with a clear meat with black seeds and very sweet) zapote (brown like a coconut) and manei (also brown smaller with a dark red meat). There are also bananas, papaya, pineapple (Hermana Rigby's favorite) apples, pears, grapes, berries, mangos, and many more. Enough for now. Que El Senor os bendiga. Elder Rigby