despedidas

So as we’re getting ready to say goodbye to San Cristóbal, there are suddenly a ton of things to wrap up here… planning the next leg of our journey (we are asking everyone for advice on where to go, what to see, etc), seeing all of our friends one last time, training the new volunteers (and trying to get them to see the potential of the foundation and turn it into what it could be), trying to get to the beach one last time… and of course trying not to kill each other by spending too much time together.

So far this week we`ve gone on a picnic to the Lobería with our friends who we do yoga with in exchange for fruit and humitas (the woman who invited us has travelled much of the world, and has a half-Ecuadorian half-Swiss daughter). It was beautiful but rainy, and we tried to warm up by hula hooping and chasing the daughter around. The daughter is adorable and five years old, and she has taken quite a liking to me (she always wants me to come teach her English, though she can`t read or write or sit still very long). When we gave them our last yoga lesson last night, they surprised us with presents- beautiful souvenirs from the island, and a last humita (so sweet).

Afterward, we ran back up to our musician-friends` house to finish making a homemade pizza with them and their friends. I topped it with all kinds of yummy veggies (broccoli, zucchini, tomato, and onion) and it turned out quite good! It was nice to have dinner up there with the family one more time, and with a few of our other friends we`d met and wanted to hang out with more. After a glass of vino tinto we headed home, and today we are busy trying to figure out where to do laundry (there is no water at the house right now, of course!), which souvenirs and presents to give to whom and buy for whom. It is tough trying to remember everything (I`ve already forgotten two reuniones this week) but we are trying to keep our heads on straight and keep excited about the next leg of the journey instead of getting overwhelmed by all of the little details.