Follow The White Rabbit

This second family business I would mention.

Noe is Elena’s brother in law who has a very successful chain of Sushi restaurant’s. All I can say is delicious! I Would have taken more pictures of the food but I was to busy eating and enjoying. He started in Cumbaya where we ate and expanded from there. If you like good food including sushi, steaks etc. I highly recommend.

Disclaimer: I have not received any compensation for this endorsement but I would whole heartedly accept any food given!

I took a bus to Cotacachi to visit a friend the other day. I visited the town briefly last year and was looking forward to going back. It is a pretty area and expats from all over the world have decided to make their home here.

I met Bill in the Galapagos last year. He is from the Midwest and has lived in Ecuador close to eight years. His home is between Otavalo and Cotacachi. He is a great host and took time to show me around the area. I can see why he loves it here.

I am so looking forward to ” Jason and Ashley’s Wedding ” in May upon my return to the US. Should be a blast!

Congratulations JD and Amanda!

Well this first month in Ecuador has flown by not the way I planned but that’s life.

My second day here Mateo had little mis hap on his motorcycle so I got to see the inside of the public hospital. I have to say I was impressed for the care he received and quickly. He was sore for a few days but is doing fine now. I taught him a new American term ” road rash “. I did get a good chuckle when while waiting for the doctor he asked if anything like this ever happened to me. I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count the times.

So Mateo is laid up for a couple of days and Rosario is staying here also after having surgery on her shoulder then I go and sprain my ankle. I thought no problem just a little pain. Monday my first day of school I put on my ankle brace (yes I brought one with me) tighten up my boot and off I go. No big deal, 1km walk on a rough road to the bus stop, catch 2 buses (yes, I’m on the short bus) and a short walk up hill to the school. An hour and a half each way, I got this. Well Tuesday no way I could walk any hill. So It was my turn to visit a doctor. My doctor is from Cuba and was very good, even got me to bang my head on the wall while checking out my ankle (when he twisted it I did feel the pain). That what I get for telling Mateo ” el dolor es tu amigo ” (pain is your friend). Doctor visit $35.00 and x-rays $19.44, nothing broken, take it easy for 2 or 3 weeks and your set. I didn’t hear the take it easy very well. The next week put my brace on and made it to school 3 days before I had to take some more time to heal. Everything is working well now as long as I don’t get reckless. The funny thing is I don’t remember twisting that ankle, I remember twisting the other ankle but not the one that hurt.

Most of the family has been born and raised in the Tumbaco area. Tumbaco is known for avocados and guaba’s. Rosario is showing me what is ripe to pick and the avocados are huge! Everything grows here. Everyone here also has at least one dog it seems. In this home there are 6 dogs and one cat that just had five kittens.

People ask me where I am staying so here is a little information about the “Casa Kirei Family”.

Edwin the father, is an Electrician and Construction supervisor from Atahualpa about 2 hours away from here by car, 3 hours by bus. He has shown me pictures of the town and where he lived. I really want to go and check out the area. It looks really beautiful. In June the town has a 10 day party with dancing all day every day and looks like a very good time. Very beautiful country.

Elena is the mother and a tour guide. She is from Tumbaco. She is fluent in Spanish, English and Japanese. When not guiding she is always doing something around the home, with the church or taking care of family and friends.

Rosario is Elena’s mother. She is from Tambuco and raised her children here. She has an avocado orchard and runs her own store. She is very nice with a big heart.

Daniela is the oldest of the children. She is studying at the university and is really enjoying mountain climbing (maybe she will share some pictures of some of her adventures). Second in line is David. He is a very accomplished dog groomer and would like to become a veterinarian or doctor in the future. Next is Mateo. He is currently going to school to become a chef. All 3 are very nice young adults following their dreams.

The food in this home is very fresh and organic whenever possible. Most everything is made from scratch. Lots of soups, salads and Edwin’s fresh bread. Ecuadorians like to eat!!! It’s always eat more Randito. I had been here about 3 weeks when we stopped at Kentucky Fried Chicken the most popular fast food in the country. The chicken tasted the same but they have different sides. No mashed potatoes and gravy but rice and planta. The Pepsi was ice cold and tasted awesome, my first soda in weeks. After KFC I had to stop and try McDonalds on the way home one day. Big Mac was better than the states but not the fries and prices were similar to USA which are expensive here. I think the people who own these franchises are racking in the dough. At Senora Bachita’s restaurant in town you get soup, main course with salad, and desert for $2.50 that is very tasty.

The mosquitos are a pain. They are so small you don’t see them coming but boy they bite quick and leave a bite as big as their larger cousins. I tell everyone that I am “carne fesca” (fresh meat) because they love me so much, lucky me.

This is the rainy season here but I haven’t seen much rain. Yesterday one hard downpour other than that just a few sprinkles. Temps are usually in the 50’s at night and upper 70’s during the day. Pretty darn nice.

I am having a wonderful time. My Espanola is horrible. I need to stop thinking in English!!!!! The Spanish school I am attending is Vida Verde in Quito. It is very good and the people are great but again “I” need to stop thinking in English.

The families here are all doing well and I can’t say enough about how welcome they have made me. Edwin and Elena and the kids have just been super! Their family and friends that I have met all have been so welcoming.

I hope that all my family and friends in the good old USA are doing well also. Miss you all.

And a special Happy Birthday wishes for me amiga Trish! Looks like you had a grand old time in the big city. A big hello to my friends in Georgetown.

Love Randito

PS. If your click on the picture there is a description.

Well I start school tomorrow. I am really looking forward to it. 1 km walk to the bus stop, two buses then a 15 minute walk. It is in the La Floresta part of Quito. Should take a little more than an hour each way and 2 hours of classroom time.

Been raining some days or as some say brutal sun other days or both. I need to get used to the allitude so I can do some more hiking. Living in Tumbaco at 7700ft (2346 meters) and the school in Quito is at 9300ft (2835 meters).

We eat real healthy in this home, organic produce, and home made bread. Edwin is an excellent baker. yummmm! They had a big get together on Saturday. Cooked roast pig in the wood oven with lots of fixings. The picture is of Elena and her sister Patricia preparing food the day before.

All of the people have been so friendly and welcoming. I look forward to being able to have a good conversation in Española soon.

Well I made it back to California on the train. I spent 3 months getting rid of more stuff and planning what would be next. Had a wonderful time visiting family and friends. Jaden my great niece is now up and walking, and she is cute as can be. I am so lucky that everyone in the family is doing well.

Amanda and JD bought a home and I want to thank them for accepting stuff that they will never use! Made it way easier on me.

My best friend Ken turned 98 and is going strong. Karlon and Bill are giving him love and great care so no worries there. He will be around for a while longer that’s for sure. Ken and I went out for dinner before I left. When the waiter asked if we wanted to start out with a margarita and Ken’s reply was “sure” I admit to having a beaming smile on my face. He is forever a good friend that I look up to.

I left California on January 14, 2020. It was an emotional time for I have really picked up roots. I have been around the Divide since 1983 and bought my first home there in 1987. It is a wonderful place to live. Beautiful country and wonderful people. I will miss the people most, lots of good friends.

I stopped in Wyoming on the way to Illinois. A big thank you for the hospitality givens by the Wilson’s! Had a great but short time visiting. Lots of love there.

For those that have never driven across the Midwest in January you are missing a treat. Wyoming was warm compared to Nebraska then it just kept getting cooler the closer to my sister’s I got. Try 9 degrees for the high of the day then dropping to 0 degrees at night. That’s not including the wind chill factor.

Had a wonderful time visiting Sis and the kids. Sis and I went by to see Aunt Ev who is 99 years old. She always makes me smile. The Rock river froze over while I was there also, brrrrrrrr!

I left Moline on the 20th a heading back to Ecuador for 4 months. Edwin and Elena showed up with the all the family in the middle of the night to greet me. It was a very nice surprise and totally unexpected. Wow!

So I plan on going to Spanish school during my visit and maybe teach some English also. A little more exploring will be fit in that’s for sure.

I want to thank all my family and friends. You truly have all made my life blessed!

I will keep updating as I can. Again “Thank You All So Much”

Love Randy

I have always wanted to take the train across the Continental divide so here I go. Caught the California Zephyr in Galesburg Illinois heading west. Stopped in Glenwood Springs, Colorado for a few days. Nice town full of friendly people. Been starting or ending my days visiting one of the hot springs. The original hot springs pool is the largest in the world with over a million gallons. Hiked to Doc Holiday’s supposed grave and others like Kid Curry in the local cemetery. Weather has been chilly with low teens at night and day highs in the 30’s.

43 railroad tunnels between Denver and Grand Junction. One took about 10 minutes to go through. A kind fisherman showed us why the area we were passing is called Moon Canyon. 2139 miles in 48 hours.

I have been living in Rock Island for the last couple of weeks. My Aunt offered me her home and it has worked out great. I have been seeing friends and relatives and some of the local sights in between.

Went to Arsenal Island and visited the National cemetery and Museum. It is still an active military base and the second oldest arsenal in America. The arsenal still is very active. Here they upgraded the M14 to modern standards for our troops in the middle east and also make the armor kits for the Humvees. The history here is amazing. They have rifles from the Little Bighorn that they have dry fired and matched with casing found on the battle field. Cannons captured during the revolutionary war and many others. The collection of small arms is huge. The National Cemetery has been there since 1863. There is a Confederate Cemetery also. A very solemn place to pay respects.

I stopped in Wilton at Iowa’s oldest soda shop. I’m a sucker for old soda shops. Lynn and his wife have owned it since 2016. It was a slow day and Lynn and I shot the breeze for a couple hours. He is full of local history and I suggest stopping in if your in the area.

I’m heading back to California soon.

I had a great time in Ecuador. Made some good friends. In total I visited 7 provinces out of 23.

The few days that were between the coast and the Andes were especially beautiful. An hour inland I really liked the area around Jipijapa (pronounced hippiehapa to cool) and south. Lots of orchards and farm land. Nice weather and only an hour from the coast. Lomas de Sargentillo was celebrating 27 years of independence for the province. It was September 5th a Thursday, the whole town and province was shut down for the parade which was huge and great fun. Every school in the province had dancers and marching bands in the parade. Lots of smiles and laughter.

Driving through the village of Pilalo which was just below the clouds was very pictureqes. When exiting the clouds it was so different then other parts of the country I had been in. Small population with mostly indigenous people. Driving livestock down the middle of the road. Pack horses and mules are just tied together after dropping off their packs and sent home by themselves. Through Zumbahau into Quilotoa where the lake is in the crater of a volcano. Spent the night in Chugchilan which is the end of the road. Dark when we arrived and in the morning I watched parents walking their children to school. I could easily spend a month or two exploring this area.

All in all I would like to go back to do some more exploring of this country.