040515_Festival of Eostre/Returning Sun/Resurrection

Festival of Eostre (Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility)

Festival of the Returning Sun

Festival of Easter/Resurrection (Christian)

Dennis and I have made our home in Cotacachi, Ecuador; we've been here for four months. Ecuador is - at least nominally - 98% Roman Catholic. Though in recent years there has been a large influx of many other forms of Christianism. Today is the Sunday of Resurrection, the most important "feast". Dennis and I walked all over town this morning. We found a great breakfast at a local restaurant of Huevos Rancheros with guacamole and pico de gallo (I) and a breakasft burrito of huevos revueltes with torcino (bacon!). And good coffee:  yum!

There were very few people about mid-morning. We heard the church bells at the main church in Matriz Square; but it seemed that almost no one was around (or in) the church. I've asked locals if many people "go to church"; they say not too many.

But of course, Roman Catholicism has been part of the culture of Ecuador and of Latin America since the Spanish conquest, including the indígenos peoples. As with most such situations, the pre-christian religions remain in many ways part of the cultural life.

Good Friday was memorable! I had a terrible cold, but Dennis and I, with my new, excellent Canon high telephoto lens camera, went of to Matriz Square, where the main church is.

We got there about 9:15am. I would say that there were maybe 50 people there, most sitting on the church steps. The people from this church were getting ready for the procession.

The Shrine particular to this church - Neustra Señora de los Dolóres - was almost ready, the last flowers (including beautiful antherium) being put in place. The young people, mostly indigenous young women in their traditional dress, and young men dressed in white, were getting ready. The shrine is carried on the shoulders by (I think) specially chosen men, for whom it is an honour. I don't understand or speak enough Spanish (yet!) to be able to find our when these statues were made; my guess is sometime in the 18th to 19th centuries; none of them looked old enough to be 17th or older, but of course the style is from that period.

About 10am, the procession left the square, to join up, I was told, with other processions from other local communities, all of whom have their own particular version of the Virgin, or other saints, or various depictions of Jesus. 

In the next hour and a half, the square slowly filled with people. Unlike my experience in North America, the atmosphere on this Good Friday was not solemn or meditative. It was rather carnival-like. There were actors in white-face acting out a play; no one around me could tell me what it was about. There were lots of people selling every kind of food: coconuts, corn, candy, pizza, candy-apples, helados (Ecuadorians are very fond of ice cream and ices - they are sold at all bus and other terminals, and vendors get on all the buses selling things to eat), cotton candy, chicken, etc. Families sat and talked and laughed and ate. Vendors were selling balloons, flags, shirts, hats. 

One thing that interested me was that, unlike other such religious events in other part of the World, I never saw, either in the square, the procession, or the church, any priests or other clergy at all. I wonder why?

Slowly the number of people in the square grew. By 11:30, I would guess there were about 500 or more. Then a procession with Roman-soldier guards, Jewish High priests, etc appeared, and Jesus dragging the cross, followed by Joseph of Arimathea, and the women, one carrying the cloth with the face of Jesus imprinted on it. 

Another large cross was lying on the ground in front of the church. There was a rather charming (I thought) moment when a little boy came up and used it as a road for his toy truck; there was a nice meditation in that!:

Jesus - yes, a real person acting the part - was stripped, and then placed on the cross. It was lifted up and placed in the ground. After a minute or two, a microphone was raised to Jesus' lips, and he uttered the words "Father, forgive them". People were crowded all around. He was then taken down, and wrapped in a sheet, and taken away towards the local cemetery.

I was watching people. One never knows what is going on in peoples' hearts, I guess; but I saw no one who seemed moved by this portrayal of the crucifixion. People took pictures. As soon as it ended, the festive mood continued. In the church, a large crucifix was placed in the middle of a canvas painting that had the two other crucified thieves on it. I saw only a few people go in. Again, I couldn't help but reflect on the very different mood that has been the "norm" in all the decades I led congregations in the keeping of Good Friday.

An hour went by. Then I looked up the main street, Simóon Bolívar, and saw a huge mass of people and many shrines coming down the street. By the time that all these came into the main square and into the surrounding streets, I would guess that there were perhaps 5000 or more people. Here are some pictures:

I had a strong sense of the tradition, of there communities gathering, with pride in their communities and in the saints and shrines they lovingly made and cared for. Some of these people had carried and accompanied their shrines kilometers from their pueblos, and I was told that they carried them back with some not arriving back until the early hours of the morning.

We didn't stay in the square; we went to lunch and had our "traditional" Friday Fish & Chips at Trebol, a wonderful tiny restaurant owned and run by Eric (an American) and his wife Patricia (Ecuadorian). That night, Dennis and I didn't hear much late music - a loud norm on many weekends!

Sábado Santo was quiet. About 4pm, we set out for The Bar/El Bar; it's owned by an American and a great musician, and his daughter Kassi runs it. (and she knows how to make the perfect Black Russian for me!) We had heard that a fine fine group of young indigenous musicians, whom we have heard before, were playing. They were terrific: they play (and each of them seems to play several instruments) traditional Andean flutes, and modern guitars (electrified), and one an amazing high-tech modern electrified violin. In my opinion, they could play anywhere in the World they are so good and so creative. They then went to Matriz Square, where a big stage had been set up, with huge screens, etc. Dennis and I and our new friend Candace followed. 

Those of you who know me well will know that I can be uninhibited! So, as they played (their music has a kind of disco heart-beating beat, but slower) Candace (who is "our age", with flaming red hair with a feather in it, cowgirl skirt, soft-leather cowgirl boots with Navajo ankle bracelets) and I (your near-69 year old plump guy in Colombian pants and Ecuadorian shirt), alone in front of a crowd of local people, danced away! It was great! When the next piece started, a small circle of young indigenous people formed a circle and started to dance. They moved one way, turned, and went the other. Candace and I joined them; they made an opening for us. Then, when the next piece started, they formed another circle ... only this time it had several rings, and they moved in different directions. Some had little babies. We joined in. No one said anything to us .... but I like to think that they were happy to see us "expats" sharing with them. I certainly felt delighted to participate in the life of our new home!

It's the afternoon of the Sunday of the Resurrection/Sun Return/New Life as I write. Dennis and I had a long walk through town and then home. I've gotten the fountain going, and we are drinking vino tinto. Soon it will be time for a Black Russian on the back gallery. We'll be calling family. By then, the fabulous pork shoulder that Dennis has had simmering in the slow cooker for hours will be ready, with his home-made corn tortillas, and we shall have a fine dinner of which Elizabeth David and M.F.K. Fisher would be proud!

I think Dennis and I are suited to be here in Ecuador. We are flexible; we understand that change is the only constant in Life and that changing and adapting makes Life an Adventure. We are open and willing not to try and impose a former Life on our Life here. And we are willing and able to appreciate what presents itself to us here. 

Whatever path you are following, may it open to you new vistas for a richer, deeper, more free and accepting Life! Especially if you are our age .... it's easier to "let go" !!

02252015 - On words from e.e. cummings

e. e. cummings wrote:

We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that something 

deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, 

sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, 

wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.

Every now and then, a human being - if we are fortunate - will come along and do this for us. But, it will be a temporary thing. In some way, every human being will disappoint us ... that is the nature of humanity. Ourself included.

The need we have to be affirmed of our value, our "worth listening to", worthy of our trust, "sacred" in our minds and feelings, is why we invent "God". "God" does, will do, all those things for us ..... and never betray us. 

If, of course, one has invented the right deity. There's the rub.

Alas:  there is, in the World today, only a remnant who know such a deity and who follow the way of love and acceptance and affirmation. Most give only lip service; their actions betray that the god they know has essentially betrayed them.

+++++++

Cotacachi has been lovely these past few days. A little rain (and it is the rainy season), but lots of blue sky and warm sun. We have been here nearly 3 months now, and are glad we are here. It is a very freeing thing to get completely out of one's setting and "risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit". 

My decision not to watch "news" is a real part of this freedom.

Here you can buy these wonderfully comfortable cotton pantaloons; I like the bright colours! (It's difficult to take a selfie of one's lower legs!)

We finally got the fountain going ... I really enjoy the sound of the water, and this fountain reminds me of the Piazza Navona!

02152015 - My Father Jim McHugh, on his 98th Date of Birth

It's Sunday, Feb 15, 2015. Dennis and I heard fireworks last night in Cotacachi; Carnival is going on, to climax on Monday and Tuesday, before Christians begin Lent. So far, all I've seen are little kids with spray cans, running around squirting adults with a white foam ... and a few school kids throwing water balloons and balloons of a white powder. We'll see what happens on Monday and "Fat Tuesday" before Ash Wednesday!

Today's my father's 98th anniversary of birth. I really didn't know my father; we had very different temperaments, I was gay, and I "left home" at 16 really when I went to university, and then left to live for the next 47 years in the USA. I saw him perhaps once a year until he died in 1996. Anyway, I remember and honour him on this birthday. I think he was a handsome young man.

Here is my Dad, age 24, in the uniform of the Royal Duke of York 17th Hussars

and here with my mother in Verdun, I think before they were married, c. 1940

At my brother Allan & Sheila's wedding, 1972

here, about 1997, with my brother Allan, in Markham ON

I am now a Permanent Resident of Ecuador; I got that 2 weeks ago, and last week got my Cédula, the National Identity Card that every citizen and resident has. Dennis is still getting some documents, so hopefully he will have his visa and Cédula in the next month. 

In late June, we are planning to travel. If all works out, we will go to Santorini for about 10 days; and I hope to visit the island on which the poet Rupert Brooke was buried. Then a week on the Italian coast. And then a train trip from Athens, dropping in Germany whence came Dennis's family, and on to the English Lake District and the Scotland. 

I'm reading Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage". Ever read it?  Depressing!! 

In my opinion, the "protagonist", Philip Carey, is one of the most stupid, self-abusive characters I've ever come across. If I were reading it in a book and not on my iPad , I'd have thrown it across the room!

012915 - Madge McHugh; Cotacachi Garbage Trucks

Yesterday was the 94th anniversary of my mother's "cumpleaños". She was born on Jan 28, 1921. Here is her Cradle Roll Certificate at Taylor Presbyterian Church, Montreal, and a picture of her, in Montreal; I'm not sure exactly where it is - people moved around a lot within the city, Verdun, Rosemount  -  and I'm guessing she is about 6 or 7. She is sitting with her mother, Margaret Harker Angell.

Here she is at about age 21, in Montfort, Quebec

And here she is with my father in 1972 at my brother Allan's wedding to Sheila Parsons

I left Canada in 1967, age 21. After that, I saw my parents maybe once a year. I didn't really know them. The image in my mind of my mother is somewhat mythological. She represented, and still does, gentleness and a natural kindness, and, somehow, vulnerability, as well as a certain strong inner sense of reality. It was good to think of her yesterday!

Getting to know another country and culture and people is really interesting. Dennis and I now live in Cotacachi, Ecuador. Lots of other "expats" live here too, and in this town of (I am told) about 8000 people, English is heard a lot on the streets. All my Life, I have embraced the maxim Comparison is odious. Here, I try hard not to compare what's here to what it is like other places I have lived. Yesterday someone was "complaining" that the local lunches were "the same", and why couldn't restaurants do things differently .... meaning why can't they make food the way "WE" would like it. I say nothing. I just want to be open to the way it's done here.

Ecuador is a Catholic country .... though there are many other forms of religion. Every Wednesday early evening, over loudspeakers that can be heard throughout the town, there is the recitation of the Rosary, accompanied by "contemporary" music. It goes on for about a half hour. Loudspeakers are part of life here! Many things are part of public life here that just aren't in most of North America.

The other thing are garbage trucks. They start collecting before 6am around town ..... and they play loud music! Someone told me that it's to warn people that the trucks are coming, and to get their basura out if they haven't already. Good idea; for one thing, if you out it out early or the night before, the large packs of dogs that roam Cotacachi have it all over the place! Interestingly, one seldom sees cats. Someone told me that cats are eaten here .... that may be an "urban legend"! Guinea pigs are apparently eaten in Ecuador ... but I haven't seen it on a menu yet!!

So:  Happy 94th Mum. I hope your atoms are enjoying their journey being redisbursed throughout the Universe. And Ecuador:  I'm looking forward to living here and learning about and getting to appreciate the way Life is lived here!

01222015 - Coffee & Reflexology in Cotacachi

Well! Catching up. Dennis and I had a nice trip to Mindo last week. It's touted as a great birding area, but I must say that I think I didn't do enough research. There was a nice place called El Descanso, where we could watch birds from the balcony. Great hummers and tanagers. I think I need to find out from my friend Martin, wh has friends who come to Mindo frequently, how to do it better the next time! (We had van trouble on the way back .... broke down in Quito; but we managed by taxi and bus and got home without much stress!

Today, I am waiting for Dennis; he is having reflexology; I'll go after him. Then we will try a new place for lunch! I'm having a Caffelatte at Cafe Rio ... excellent place.

I'll write more later today. And Oh:  we are actually looking at a little house to perhaps buy! It's "in construction" now; right in town, part of a 6 appartment, 3 story place. Stay tuned!!

B

01102015 - The Drama of Illness (Intestinal!)

Well, Friends. Want to know what the last week has been like?? Well, here it is. Proving:  An Adventure has its challenges. Hope all who read this are well and enjoying Life. We are thinking of our friends Theresa and Patrick; Patrick developed an infected foot; much of it had to be removed! So look after yourselves! Love to you all! Blessings in 2015!

~~~~~~~~~~

I am now feeling better, as, for the first time in days, I am sitting at the laptop and not languishing in bed! Though I wanted to be said languishing because yesterday, after much carry-on, our ropa de cama electrico arrived via DHL from the States. Dennis took the bus to Ibarra [we travel by bus; 45 minutes to Ibarra costs 45 cents] and found the DHL facility and brought it home. We should, of course, have brought our electric blanket  with us, but we had no room, since we sold everything and moved with 2 suitcases. Now, I do not like piles of bed clothes on top of me (Dennis doesn’t mind); I am glad that he has “adjusted”! In bed at night here (as the house has no heating/cooling) it is cool. (Other things we should have brought are flannel sheets!) Last night was perfect! Toasty warm … and adjustable. And, after some soup for dinner, followed by 3 short bouts of diarrhea, I slept through the night until 7:30am. 

I had had diarrhea, aches, fever for several days. There  was blood in the stool  -  always frightening! Like blood in a spinal tap. (One should never talk about aging and health issues with young people; but with elder equals it’s interesting, I think.) This moved me (pun intended) to send D to the farmacia for the correct plastic cups needed to gather a stool sample (cost: 45 cents) … now just liquid. The local lab had the results in 3 hours. Diagnosis:  the Rotavirus. At least it wasn’t parasites. Of course I looked it up online; I read the rather amazing statistic that almost every child born will have it before age 5. It is highly contagious. It lodges in the feces, and contaminates anything it comes in contact with. Adults get it from cleaning up feces and vomit, or, coming in contact, including through food handled by a contaminated person. Etc. 

So then, a lovely woman here, who came 6 years ago, a nurse, with the Peace Core to work in the local hospital, then stayed, got me an appointment with Doctora Luz Merina Conejo, a superb indigena .. who waited at her office for me (Imagine!!). She was a striking woman in her 50s (what is the correct way to punctuate this??), in full indigena dress (which most indigenous woman wear, except I see that the young are beginning to abandon it), and her white doctor’s coat. Mary (the nurse) came with us to translate …. very helpful; she does it for $10 an hour for people in need on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and in emergencies whenever necessary …. nice gift to the gringo community, I think. (Though I must say that my Spanish is getting better!) 

So, I am now on the diet for 10 days and treatment that children follow when they have this virus. I was, of cours, dehydrated … hence the listlessness, fatigue, etc. Tuesday and Wednesday I had to drink 3 bottles of Pedialyte (electrolyte replacement) … and I am feeling much better. I take 1 pill Every 12 hours for abdominal pain/cramps … it is plant based, is not a pain-killer per se, and just calms body spasms; one pill every 12 hours to replace all the “good” bacteria in my system, which has been leached out. The diet (for 10 days) is bland:  rice, pasta, no dairy, veg well cooked, water boiled. Wine is acceptable. Chicken, no other meats. Quinoa OK. I had taken a Bactrim (antiobotic, strong) because I had visions of my colon rupturing 10 years ago, and thought this was a bacterial parasite, and could not entertain the thought of it happening again! But, it’s a virus. So, as of yesterday morning, I am having slight diarrhea when I eat anything, but an definitely getting better! Have to wash my hands well and often and use that gel everyone uses today (even here) and not to touch anyone. An aside:  it is amazing where explosive diarrhea can get! No more need be said!

By the way: Dra. Luz's fee?  $15.00  !!

I have gotten my Resident Visa, or at least will when I see our lawyer on Monday and complete the process. It looks as if Dennis will have to return for a bit to NM and get his Criminal Background checks redone …. this time not only the State Police, but an FBI one, with fingerprints. I am in touch with 2 other local people who do visa work, and they will let me know if there is a way to do it without having to go back. But, we do want to be here, so we will do whatever is necessary. This is purely bureaucratic harassment; I go mine at the same as Dennis, and apostilled at the same time (granted, they were both NOT within the 90 day limit, about which we knew not!) and they granted mine and not his! Well, we will do whatever necessary, and if D has to go back, he can bring a huge valise full of the drugs and other things we need/want! Including flannel sheets!

[A neighbour, a very feisty Peruvia lady who just separated from her husband, and who owns houses here, in Lima, and in Florida … aren’t people amazing! just came by with a bag of organic potatoes a friend of hers (her’s?) grows on her hacienda and would like to starting selling them. Nice. I can eat potatoes.]

Today, Saturday, I finally worked up the courage - taking a roll of toilet paper with me - and went out with my husband to shop. No problems! My doc, Dra. Luz - Dr. Light! I love having a doctor with that name  -  said that being careful about what I ate was critical, and she was correct. Anyway, I am feeling much better!

I see our lawyer about my own Visa on Monday, and we begin the process of seeing how to get Dennis's documents with the least amount of time and money spent. We both want to spend our full year here in Ecuador, so we are willing to do what is necessary. But:  if it is absolutely crazy, we'll head somewhere else after 6 months.

p.s. I'm getting better at not listening to news from up north. I'll be writing more about this .... but basically I am convinced that America is headed down the proverbial drain.

Cheers!

Here is the view from our front gallery, of Mt. Imbabura volcano

December 12, 2014 - First Posting from Cotacachi, Ecuador

It has been months in planning, this move to Ecuador! Dennis retired, and we decided that we wanted Life to be an adventure in our "advanced age". We looked at several places that we thought we could afford, and have an adventure, and - though we had never been here - we decided for various reasons on Cotacachi, Ecuador. [We had first thought of Cuenca, but a few bloggers' remarks convinced us that we didn't want to live in a city of over 350, 000 people which was also becoming more and more polluted.] We connected online with many people who had moved to Cotacachi, and we liked what was being said. Of course, we Googled and read everything we could find.

We decided to keep our wonderful little house in Silver City and rent it out. [Silver City is a funky, fun, high-desert place to live in the far SW corner of New Mexico. If we decide to return to the States, we would be happy to live in SIlver City; we loved our three years there.] We decided to sell everything - and we did, except for a few things we put in a small storage unit - which will cost us $360 a year - something I said I would never do, it being (to my cynical mind) such a crass consumerist materialistic thing to do (!) done by millions of people:  stuff, stuff, stuff and more stuff! Maybe I'll start a storage unit business ..... like products for old people and booze, it is lucrative and will have a big clientele for a long time to come barring a complete economic/political collapse!

Being an accomplished procrastinator, Dennis and I were taking the last few things to storage an hour before we were to leave! I have learned to "go with the flow" on this:  I really do work better under pressure! Much of the process was fun; we had Estate sales and plied people with wine and other drink, and we sold things on the street for a few days and chatted with people. Now lots of people have our stuff, and there are many houses of our friends with things that will remind them of us, and us of our former possessions if/when we visit them!

Have you ever heard of an apostille? It's a protocol that authenticates documents if you need them for other countries ..... though of course Canada does not participate in the Protocol, so I couldn't get my birth certificate apostilled. [That may cause some problems.] We had to get documents verifying our monthly income, and we had to have police reports from the NM State Police, and our marriage licence (which is not recognized in Catholic Ecuador, but which they will accept as proof of our domestic partnership which, laudably, Ecuador has) affirming that we were not criminals. Everything has to be notarized. One gets the records from the appropriate bureaucrats; then sends them to the Secretary of State from which they originated, who "apostilles" them. THEN you have to send them to the Ecuadorian consulate, and they issue appropriate documents authenticating the apostilled documents .... and of course mucho dinero changes hands at every level!! We finally got the last needed things on Dec 2, and we decided to leave on Dec 9. I won't go on ..... but it worked, and we bought our Business Class One-Way tickets [Yippee; first time we have ever done that and it was great!] and after 4 nights of little sleep worrying about what could go wrong with the weight of bags, immigration officials, etc., we sailed through everything and our driver brought us to our lovely house in the San Miguel area of Cotacachi. A lesson relearned about Worrying accomplishing nothing! [The only point of Worry is to get one to ponder what alternatives there might be if Plan A fails.] So: enough of this. WE ARE HERE! We have rented a wonderful house - BIG! - for a year. Now to live in a new setting, learning a new language - I can manage so-so with the basics, but I intend to get much better!

Here are some pictures:  This is our view from our front gallery [the Quebec word for a porch when I was a boy]. Cotacachi is right on the equator, so flowers and vegetables etc grow all year round. To the right is Mt. Imbabura, an extinct [so I'm told] volcano to the southeast. The Cotacachi volcano is to the northwest.

Here's our house from the front:

And here's the fountain in our back yard. The back yard, planted with fruit trees, is big enough for Queen Elizabeth to have a Tea for 500 people!

Here's Dennis in the kitchen ... all marble, as are the bathrooms, which have huge showers and the Master Bath a tub big enough to do laps in!

Our "neighbours" out the windows are Maria's cows! Rather thin, but they smell great as they are fed on grass!

So: more later. We live in a gated community. Our mentors, Patrice and Dave,who used to live in this house until they built their own, have been terrific, getting us acclimatized, where to find things, etc.

We are looking forward to our year in this wonderful new place, and once we get our Permanent Resident Visa (6-8 weeks), we will begin to travel, exploring Ecuador and other South American and Central American countries ..... though we may take 10 days of loafing on Santorini in May.

Cheers! Dennis is roasting chicken with fresh carrots and onions, and we are imbibing Chilean white wine ..... just fine, as we have uneducated and unsophisticated tastes, thankfully in line with our beer-budget level!