Livin It Large In Ecuador: 10 Days At Caseteja

Happy New Year! Bare with me as I try to make up for my lack of posts over this past month.

I'll start with Colombia. I spent the final days of 2013 and the start of the 2014 in Colombia with Pablo (the nephew of Cristina, one of my mom's co-workers) and his fiancé, Paola, and had a wonderful time! We stayed at Paola's parent's house (and I use the word house loosely) with her dad, step-mom, two younger brothers, and grandfather. The house was in the middle of nowhere, just off the only road that connected the few small towns close by, and was surrounded by what seemed a bit like a jungle. It's pretty difficult to describe the house itself, as it was like nothing I've ever stayed in before. There were 4 different little detached buildings that made up the house: the kitchen and living room, the master bedroom and 1 kid's bedroom, 3 guest bedrooms, and the bakery. The "living room" walls were trees and the floor was gravel. The main light source was natural light. Both bathrooms in the house were outdoor bathrooms, maybe one of my favorite parts of the house! My bathroom was absolutely wonderful, with live plants, little birds on one wall, and even a parrot that would whistle at you when you were showering :) Even a simple shower could be a fun experience! The family had 6 rabbits, 3 parrots, multiple birds, 1 monkey, 3 dogs, and a large fish pond with over 100 fish. And the bakery, Paola's family runs Caseteja, which is a bakery type of rest-stop. All the sweets were made right there at the house, meaning there was always something to help with and always treats to be tasted.

Our days were spent relaxing at the house, helping out in the bakery, playing with Paola's younger brothers, reading in the hammock, and occasionally, taking day trips to local towns. Our daily excursions included trips to the local river, Curiti (a touristy town right along a river), and Paola's grandmother's house (where we needed to take a detour to the local hospital due to a cat bite).

One of my favorite parts of the vacation was New Year's Eve, which we celebrated a bit differently than I am accustomed to. First, we started off the evening by making our "Ano Viejo" (Old Year). It's basically a scarecrow representing your regrets from the year that you burn at midnight. The whole night was spent dancing and enjoying the time together with family. While dancing isn't my favorite activity, I definitely improved my salsa skills :) At midnight, after burning the Ano Viejo, we ate a huge dinner together, and then headed off to bed. It was a great way to bring in the new year!