Machachi, Ecuador - Days 3 & 4
Tuesday, January 25
Today was a work day for Andi and a chance to catch up on traditional schoolwork for Tory and Aden. Andi set up shop in a corner nook of the hotel lobby to work this morning. The kids and I met up with him around 8:30am to eat breakfast in the restaurant. There aren’t as many people staying at the hotel today, so they served breakfast to order. We all had eggs, toast and fruit.
After breakfast, Tory, Aden and I walked outside to the horse pasture for a horseback riding lesson. Papa Gayo offers several activities for guests, which is perfect to keep the kids and I entertained while Andi works most of the next two days. I don’t have any experience riding a horse, but Tory and Aden have done it a few times while visiting friends in Kentucky. Around 10:00am, we set off on horseback around the hotel property with an instructor and his young son.
Tory is a natural on a horse. The instructor kept saying, “La nina es tranquil” meaning Tory was very relaxed. I can’t say the same for myself! My horse kept trying to run every time the instructor let go of its reins, so he held on tightly to both my horse and his own. Tory and Aden trailed behind the instructor and I on their own horses and the young boy rode in last on a donkey. Since my horse was pulled in close to the instructor’s horse so he could keep a firm grip on its reins, my leg was pinched between the two animals. It was not very comfortable. And, my butt hurt sitting on the hard saddle. Horse riders make this look so easy!
Tranquil Tory …
We rode on horseback out of the farm’s main property and onto the dirt roadway around it. It’s beautiful countryside around the farm with a large rose-growing operation on one side of the road and rolling hills on the other. We took it slow on horseback and all was going well until we turned around to head back to the farm.
Suddenly, the boy on the donkey who was last in our chain of riders took off running down a big hill. I didn’t see it happen behind me, but Aden said his horse took off running after the donkey. In the process, Aden lost control and fell off his horse. I heard Aden crying somewhere behind me and realized he was laying on the ground. His horse was standing next to him. The instructor rushed over to Aden and helped him to his feet. Aden was visibly shaken, but physically he was OK. There was no way he was getting back onto that horse though!
Eventually, the instructor convinced Aden to ride back to the farm on his horse instead. With Aden back in the saddle, the instructor mounted Aden’s horse and now had to hold onto both my horse’s reins and Aden’s. I felt so badly for the instructor — he had his hands full with everything that was going on & I was no help. I also felt bad for Aden. He whimpered the whole ride back to the farm. Meanwhile, Tory’s horse mosey along peacefully in front of us all. How was she so good at this?
Eventually, we made it back to the hosteria. I thanked the instructor for his time and then Tory, Aden and I bee-lined it back to our cabin. I could barely walk my legs were so sore, and poor Aden scraped up his back pretty badly when he fell. Fortunately, I traveled here with a small first-aid kit, so I cleaned and bandaged the scratch on his back the best I could. The hotel felt terrible about the whole experience. Evelyn, the manager, brought me some cream to put on Aden’s back. It wasn’t anyone’s fault though. I think the horse started running and Aden lost his balance. He said in one blink he was on the horse and the next blink he wasn’t. “I’ll pet a horse, but I won’t be riding one anytime soon!” he said.
Not a deep scrape, thankfully, but a big one down one side of his back.
Tory and I made Aden comfortable in bed with his phone, some water, and strawberries. In the end, he was fine. Aden was re-telling the story with more gusto as the day went on.
Because I’m a mean mom, I still made the kids do school that afternoon. Aden tried to tell me his back hurt too badly to focus, but he was perfectly fine. I cozied up next to him in bed and we did his schoolwork together. The whole horse riding experience gave him a good story to journal about today!
Inca the dog waited patiently for Aden to come out of our cabin all afternoon. I think he missed his buddy.
Around 5:00pm, Andi finished work and returned to our cabin. Then, the four of us hopped into a cab so that we could go into Machachi to get some dinner + go to the pharmacy to buy bigger bandaids for Aden’s back. Our taxi driver was so considerate, following Andi and Aden into the pharmacy to help translate what we needed in Spanish. We can’t get over how helpful and kind everyone we’ve met in Ecuador has been.
After the pharmacy, Andi picked a restaurant close to the hotel for dinner. After we were seated inside, we figured out it was basically the Ecuadorian equivalent to Pizza Hut. Regardless, we had great service at Pizzeria El Hornero. Tory and Aden were over the moon that their kids meals came with a balloon and KinderJoy chocolate. Andi ordered a steak and I had the beef lasagna. The food was actually really good.
Aden was all smiles now ... nothing a balloon can’t fix.
Wednesday, January 26
Today was another work day for Andi and a school day for Tory and Aden. Andi found his same table in the hotel lobby to work for the day while Tory, Aden and I took our school work outside into the awesome treehouse at Papa Gayo. It was even more special when Inca the dog joined us for a lesson.
At 11:00am, we took a break from school and joined the Papa Gayo chef in the kitchen for a cooking class. He didn’t speak any English, so I’m not sure what we made (some sort of dessert?) but it was interesting nonetheless to listen to him speak about cooking in Spanish.
After the cooking lesson, the kids and I returned to the treehouse to finish our school work.
I let Tory and Aden have some downtime the rest of the afternoon while I worked out, took a shower and gathered together our things. Not every minute of our travels is an adventure. Sometimes, we all need a quiet day to relax. Aden and Tory talked to friends from back home on Kids Messenger & played Roblox with them. An employee of the farm came to our cabin around 5:00pm to light a fire in our wood-burning fireplace. As the rain fell outside, I took a moment to reflect on our past 5 days at Papa Gayo and what a nice place this was to stay. All the staff at the hosteria was so friendly and helpful, and Tory and Aden especially loved the kids activities and all the animals.
Tomorrow, we’re saying good-bye to the Cotopaxi region and heading off into the Amazon Rainforest to stay with a local family there. We’ll be without any phone or internet connection for a few days, so stay tuned for more blog posts after we return. It should be an amazing adventure!
