I Go Out Walking...In the Morning...With Fanny

As with most Wednesdays and Saturdays, I spent most of my day in the Plaza de Ponchos. I was talking with a friend/contact/collaborator, who told me her niece was leaving the next day for Mexico, which was news to me, despite her niece also being my friend/contact/collaborator. So, I marched over and demanded to know what was going on. She relented that she was in fact leaving the next day and would probably be in Mexico for a year or so to sell handicrafts/artesanías there. I actually hadn't met her in person until this visit because she had been in Mexico before selling handicrafts. She also told me to keep my voice down because the neighbors were gossips, or chismosas. Funnily enough, that's also the word to refer to the iconic image of indigenous Ecuadorian woman, generally seen from behind, huddled together. Chismosas feature heavily in paintings, tapestries, cards, etc. [visit my house to see a chismosas painting in the living room]

I was sad to not have more time together, but happy her aunt let it slip so we could spend one last day together. I'm also happy for her because she enjoys selling crafts in Mexico and learns a lot when interacting with people debarking from cruise ships.

Wednesday afternoon, I headed to San Antonio for a get together with Fanny and some of her friends (aka ladies' evening). We once again made yucca bread, but this time, there were more ladies and they made two other kinds of bread. It was sheer misery to sample them all and wash them down with my chocolate flavored [instant] coffee, I tell you. ;)

Welp, Fanny struck again. She asked me if I wanted to walk with her in the morning, which led to a 5K walk with 4 of her friends (3.44 miles according to my vivofit; made it to 5.9 miles for the day!!) in Parque Boulevar in Ibarra. Thank God we stuck to the flats and didn't brave the hellish bridges! It also helps that I've had over a month to (somewhat) acclimate to the altitude (it takes 3+ months to fully adjust) so I didn't have a near death experience like 2014 (see "Friday" on http://ecuadorkate2.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-journey-begins-bienvenida-ecuador.html).

I regret not taking my camera with me because all of the surrounding mountains were surprisingly visible -- even Cayambe, who is often hidden in the clouds because he's farther away. I mean, crystal clear visibility of the tops of all the mountains. I guess that was my reward for getting up in time to drive to the park and start our walk by 7am (kill me). Thankfully, he peeked out again, and I snapped a few photos and did a Google search so y'all can see him in all his glory.

The downside of the walk (aside from the early morning, pre-caffeine, barely functioning, focusing on my breathing and heart rate, probably walking slower than the group likes parts) was that it was freezing and I foolishly (should've known I'd get into walking) didn't bring the proper attire on my overnight trip, so I was in my pjs (t-shirt and soccer shorts) and rain jacket. Whoops. Definitely not going to win any fashion awards here. Or probably at home, either. But definitely not here.