Ecuador y Sacramentos

Greetings from Chimbote!
I wrote last week just prior to our trip to Ecuador -- and we made it there and back safe and sound. Though the bus trip was long (15 hours including immigration stops) the bus was the nicest I`ve ever been on, more like traveling on the train in terms of space to stretch out. Also, there was a bathroom on board and decent meals were served. Though the majority of the trip both ways was at night, I did get a picture of what the north coast of Peru is like. The terrain and climate continue quite dry most of the way, at times quite desolate with exception of a sleepy (it was 7:00 am) beach town of Mancora. As we neared the border of Ecuador, however, the humidity increased significantly and more plant life was in evidence. Except for paying an unexpected fine upon leaving Peru for overstaying our visas (we thought we`d received an extension), the exit/entry went smoothly on the way up. Machala, our destination, was described in the guidebook as the `Banana Capital of the World´, though we missed the late-September Banana Festival with the Banana Queen beauty pageant. Indeed, banana plantations lined the highway for the final hour or so of the trip. It turns out that our bus wasn´t actually scheduled to stop in Machala, which lies a few miles off the Pan American highway. So, instead of arriving at a bus terminal we were dropped rather quickly at a gas station, the attendant pointing to the left to indicate the direction of Machala. Fortunately, we joined up with a couple young travels from Britain to take a cab to the city center and then took another cab to the Consulate of Peru where our visas were waiting. We arrived at 1;20, just as the last employee was leaving for lunch, so we waiting for a couple hours in a pleasant nearby park, and then waiting a couple more hours in the office before everything was okay with our visas. We found a motel in Machala near the green, attractive central plaza and ate pretty good pizza for dinner, and began our trip back the next morning. A few reflections on the journey:
- Machala was at least one level up economically from Chimbote -- cleaner, more paved streets, and more private cars.
- The official currency of Ecuador is the US $, so it was weird to spend dollars again for a day.
- The markets were bustling but a bit less chaotic than in Chimbote -- more permanent stalls, fruit stacked nicely, etc.
- We saw our first Christmas decorations of the season in Machala, both for sale in stores and hanging various places, including a Santa Claus printed with `Merry Christmas´ on our hotel room door. We hadn`t seen any sign of Christmas in Chimbote, though a few small traces have appeared this week. Maybe the increase US influence and/or higher economic level of Machala increased the Christmas commercialism there.
- Machala seems a bit more ethnically diverse than Chimbote, with small but significant black population and a larger number of people with stronger indigenous roots.
- The heat was more intense, made worse by the high humidity. The benefit of this was a lot more greenery and less dust.
- When I got off the bus with other travelers to go through exit procedures at the Ecuadorean border, I grabbed my bag but left my pillow and fleece jacket, thinking it would be a quick off and on. To my surprise, as I disembarked the bus promptly pulled away to drop off/pick up passengers at a nearby town. Though the bus returned, by pillow and jacket didn`t. A bit frustrating but not a huge loss -- summer is coming anyway :).
- We had a several hour layover in Tumbes, Peru, a half hour from the border. The food was cheap (soup, chicken, rice and beans for three of us for $4 total), the plaza there was quite impressive and the town overall a bit more developed than Chimbote, including a raised promenade along the river. There was an anniversary celebration for a local school, including an exposition of student arts and crafts. The young people, primary and secundary, loved talking with us, showing us their work, and asking questions about English and the United States. I took a walk around town and when I returned a crowd of at least ten youth were crowded around Nicole and Emily, who were obviously a bit tired from the extended Spanish.
- We now have an official religious visa and have 30 days to do the paperwork for our Carnet, or residency card. We will need to travel to Lima in December for a couple days to complete the process.

The second part of this entry concerns the events of first communion and Confirmation at the parish, both of which were held this past Sunday (10 am First Communion, 7:30 pm Confirmation). I assisted in a more-or-less crowd control capacity for both events, as well as assisting with pre-ceremony Confirmation preparations and attending the `compartir` afterwards. This after celebration had the same joy and smiles of the parallel gathering in Corvallis, except that here they served tamales, brought out a radio and had a dance. Also similar to Corvallis -- I was there to the end (though not the only one) sweeping and cleaning up :).

I feel significantly this week a combination of being very glad to be here (two months as of two days ago) as well as missing family and friends with the holiday season upon us. I wish you a wonderful season of Advent!

The second