Before I begin to relate the events of today, I just have to tell one more story about our day in Machala yesterday. I was not expecting the men to pass the collection plate for the contribution during the worship service. Olen and I had determined to contribute some money after the service, so I had none available to contribute during the service. However, when they began to pass the plates, I felt like I should put something in when the plate passed me. I thought I had a dollar in my pocket, so I reached my hand down in my right pocket, but the money was not there. Then I ran my hand down in my pocket on my left hand side, and finally located my dollar. However, a little girl sitting behind me must have been watching my struggle, and before I could come up with my own money, she tapped me on the back and discreetly handed me a dime. It almost brought me to tears. Such a thoughtful gesture, as I knew that a dime was a lot of money to her.
Today we were blessed with perfect weather once again, and we are so thankful for that blessing. In fact, the weather was so spectacular that Diane amended our plans, and we went first to the Teleferico lift to the top on Pichincha, a dormant volcano overlooking the city of Quito. We were taken by gondolas to the top of Pichincha for a spectacular view at the top.
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From the top, at over 13,000 feet, we could see all over the city and even view several of the volcanoes in the area. The girls enjoyed taking photos of each other jumping for joy at the view.
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They stood side by side to take in the view, as we all did.
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While there overlooking the beauties of nature that were around us, Olen led us in a brief devotional centered around the twenty-third psalm, and following that we all sang the song that is based on those verses. Incidentally, it is not an easy task to sing at that height in the thin air!
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From Teleferico, Diane took us to Pululohua, a crater in a volcano that is used for a farming area by local people. It is the only volcanic crater in the world that is farmed, and it receives no rain at all. The very successful farms in the crater are watered only by mists (cloud-cover). When we arrived, the crater was clear and beautiful, but while we were there we got to witness the cloud cover moving in and were made to understand how it waters the crops.
While we were there we visited with a couple of local llamas, and Gary even herded one of them when the llama attempted an escape.
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We had lunch at El Crater Restaurant, a lovely five-star restaurant with unobstructed views overlooking the crater. The food was wonderful, and the view was perfect. We all enjoyed this stop very much.
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From there our next stop was at the equator. We went to the Middle of the World Museum, located right on the equator.
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We had a guide who told us many facts about the equator. One of the most interesting demonstrations was of the water going down a drain. He demonstrated the water going down the drain directly on the equator. It went straight down. Then he moved the sink about five feet north of the equator, and the water swirled clockwise down the drain. Next, he moved the sink about five feet south of the equator, and the water went down the drain while rotating counter clockwise. Fascinating!
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Several members of our group attempted to balance an egg on end while standing directly on the equator. Taylor did her best, but wasn’t quite able to make it work. Mckenna finally made her egg stand on end, so the experiment does work.
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A few minutes down the road we stopped briefly at the Mitad del Mundo, the monument to the equator.
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When we arrived back at the hotel, Diane took four of the girls out to get Equadorian manicures, while the rest of us walked to a restaurant called Crepes and Waffles, famous for sinful desserts.
It was a full day of enjoying the beauties of nature and the joys of spending time with delightful people. Such blessings we are enjoying and sharing. We hope each of you are sharing time with delightful people. Make memories today. This is the day the Lord has given us.
Today we were blessed with perfect weather once again, and we are so thankful for that blessing. In fact, the weather was so spectacular that Diane amended our plans, and we went first to the Teleferico lift to the top on Pichincha, a dormant volcano overlooking the city of Quito. We were taken by gondolas to the top of Pichincha for a spectacular view at the top.
From the top, at over 13,000 feet, we could see all over the city and even view several of the volcanoes in the area. The girls enjoyed taking photos of each other jumping for joy at the view.
They stood side by side to take in the view, as we all did.
While there overlooking the beauties of nature that were around us, Olen led us in a brief devotional centered around the twenty-third psalm, and following that we all sang the song that is based on those verses. Incidentally, it is not an easy task to sing at that height in the thin air!
From Teleferico, Diane took us to Pululohua, a crater in a volcano that is used for a farming area by local people. It is the only volcanic crater in the world that is farmed, and it receives no rain at all. The very successful farms in the crater are watered only by mists (cloud-cover). When we arrived, the crater was clear and beautiful, but while we were there we got to witness the cloud cover moving in and were made to understand how it waters the crops.
While we were there we visited with a couple of local llamas, and Gary even herded one of them when the llama attempted an escape.
We had lunch at El Crater Restaurant, a lovely five-star restaurant with unobstructed views overlooking the crater. The food was wonderful, and the view was perfect. We all enjoyed this stop very much.
From there our next stop was at the equator. We went to the Middle of the World Museum, located right on the equator.
We had a guide who told us many facts about the equator. One of the most interesting demonstrations was of the water going down a drain. He demonstrated the water going down the drain directly on the equator. It went straight down. Then he moved the sink about five feet north of the equator, and the water swirled clockwise down the drain. Next, he moved the sink about five feet south of the equator, and the water went down the drain while rotating counter clockwise. Fascinating!
Several members of our group attempted to balance an egg on end while standing directly on the equator. Taylor did her best, but wasn’t quite able to make it work. Mckenna finally made her egg stand on end, so the experiment does work.
A few minutes down the road we stopped briefly at the Mitad del Mundo, the monument to the equator.
When we arrived back at the hotel, Diane took four of the girls out to get Equadorian manicures, while the rest of us walked to a restaurant called Crepes and Waffles, famous for sinful desserts.
It was a full day of enjoying the beauties of nature and the joys of spending time with delightful people. Such blessings we are enjoying and sharing. We hope each of you are sharing time with delightful people. Make memories today. This is the day the Lord has given us.
Fascinating day. Thanks for sharing!
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