Art class

Jen took me to an art class yesterday. I didn't hold out much hope because I can't even draw a stick person. I draw a lot on the board to illustrate the vocabulary word or concept I am trying to teach, but I am pretty sure that the students are secretly laughing at my attempts. Here are the results from yesterday. Try not to laugh!

I think it kinda looks like the eagle it is supposed to be. My grandson recognized it.

My interpretation of a crow. My hills became volcanoes in later pictures.

And the volcanoes begin to appear.

This is a pile of squash. I know, hard to figure out.

Our newest backyard critter

Jen and I were moving lumber around in the backyard today. The dogs think that under every piece of wood is something interesting and today they were right. It's not very often we find a salamander anymore and this one is huge.

Critters from around the world

This is what the cleaner found under Dave's desk in Indonesia

and this is what I found in my compost bin in Yarrow, BC

I like my opossum find better than his scorpion. Mine is cute and helpful around the garden and his is "a little bit poisonous" Dave's Indonesian friend told him. The scorpion was released unharmed and the opossum disappeared on his/her own. 

Fall in the valley

Here are a few of the must do things for fall:

Visit a pumpkin patch

Go to a petting zoo (bonus if it is at the pumpkin patch)

Find your way out of a corn maze by answering riddles

Chordeleg, Ecuador

Our return flight left in the afternoon, so in the morning we did our last tour. We drove with a guide 20 miles from Cuenca to visit a market and have a snack.

Love this method of cooking

This is what happened to the pig we saw along side the road

Here's our pig again

Good bye Ecuador. We had a great time!

Ingapirca

Ingapirca, "Incan Wall", is an archeological site well off the beaten path. We left the Pan American highway to wind our way through farmland and around the new road construction. I hope the new road will make a big difference for future visitors.

Ingappirca is the largest known Incan ruins in Ecuador. It is not as large or grand as Machu Picchu or Sacsayhuaman, Peru but we found it a worthwhile trip as we are on the hunt for all things Inca.

Sacsayhuaman, just outside of Cusco, Peru

Me at Machu Picchu

The most significant building in the Temple of the Sun which is positioned with the solstice in mind

Map of the site. As with all of the pictures on the blog, double click if you want to enlarge the picture size

The entrance fee to the site is $6USD

The Temple of the Sun is build in the Incan way without mortar

The Canari people were farming this area before the Inca arrived 

Around Cuenca

We visited a very interesting church that was built into the side of a mountain in the Bilian area. Our guide told us that it was the Sanctuary of the Virgin del Rocio and was built because of some miracle

Along the highway there were a lot of people taken up with this activity of scraping a pig. We saw the results at a market the next day.

A stop at a local artisan family's home. They do back-strap weaving and make their own dye. In our guide's hand is crushed bugs mixed with water that creates different colours.

These are different pots of base materials used to create different colours.

She is hand knotting

This is a view of their home/studio from an upper level

A back-strap loom that is only operated my men

Cuenca, Ecuador

After staying 10 days in the Galapagos, we flew to Cuenca in the southern highlands. The city is 2500m above sea level and its centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its buildings.

Flower market

We stayed in Hotel Victoria near the old city centre and did a lot of walking to see the old buildings and abundance of parks.

San Cristobal Island, Galapagos

We were visiting the islands in June and there were not a lot of tourists. On this island, the cruise ships passengers were in town after breakfast and then went back to the ship for dinner. We didn't find a lot of choices on where to eat dinner here. I guess because the cruise passengers were on the ship, the restaurants didn't have a lot of customers. Another good reason to for a land based Galapagos vacation; support the local economy!

We went on a full day snorkelling boat tour to Kicker Rock which is the remains of a lava cone, split in two. We snorkelled between the two rocks and saw rays and sharks. The water was pretty rough.

Kicker Rock

On the last day, we took a walk up to the Interpretation Centre. The  buildings provide a lot of information about the history of the Galapagos.

A stop at a beach on the way to the Interpretation Centre

On a series of walkways above the centre

A snorkel spot you can reach by the walkways

And one last shot of a sea lion before we leave the islands.