One day I dream of walking the moors of Scotland.
And exploring castles...
And enjoying the magnificent scenery!
Until then, it is only a dream. For
now I am content to travel within and discover my country and all of the facets
of color and variety that exist. In Wyoming there are cowboys to discover (gee
darn!), in San Francisco "Chinatown" has its own draw, Florida is
filled with alligators and Disney World and New York has…a lot of everything!
There are so many cultural and spectacular things to discover right here in the
U.S. of A.
That being said, I did venture outside of
this nation a few years ago. My husband and I traveled to Ecuador to pick up
his son Bryan who was serving an L.D.S (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints) mission there. We witnessed vast cultural differences in many areas of Ecuador to say the least.
We started in Guayaquil and visited tourist shops, walked up the mammoth staircases there-one that led to a lighthouse- and discovered the local lizards, some hanging in trees where they slept at night or walking around the city center plaza looking for food.
We then flew on a puddle jumper to Loja where we discovered a huge station of transferring missionaries from our church. Our son was in heaven seeing so many familiar faces. We went to the zoo there and visited some former investigators. We also hiked up to a castle and the overlook was spectacular!
After Loja we journeyed-by a seven-hour bus ride- to Cuenca. (This will always be quite the memory!) We discovered Cuenca to be a very “European” type of city. Here we happened upon a local quite by chance. His name was Carlos. He was so nice! He decided to take the day off work and show us around. I am still amazed at the unselfishness of this man. We saw ruins, had the local pizza (don’t bother if you are looking for American pizza!) and went shopping.
We then returned to Guayaquil and attended church at a ward that our son had served in. Everyone was so warm and welcoming to us. Later that evening we attended a farewell dinner at the Mission President's home. Several missionaries were leaving the next day, returning to their homes in many countries. The spirit was very strong and peaceful as we enjoyed testimonies and songs in Spanish from the the missionaries, elders and sisters alike.
What great memories we will always have of the people we met and the wonderful culture we were able to participate in.
We started in Guayaquil and visited tourist shops, walked up the mammoth staircases there-one that led to a lighthouse- and discovered the local lizards, some hanging in trees where they slept at night or walking around the city center plaza looking for food.
We then flew on a puddle jumper to Loja where we discovered a huge station of transferring missionaries from our church. Our son was in heaven seeing so many familiar faces. We went to the zoo there and visited some former investigators. We also hiked up to a castle and the overlook was spectacular!
After Loja we journeyed-by a seven-hour bus ride- to Cuenca. (This will always be quite the memory!) We discovered Cuenca to be a very “European” type of city. Here we happened upon a local quite by chance. His name was Carlos. He was so nice! He decided to take the day off work and show us around. I am still amazed at the unselfishness of this man. We saw ruins, had the local pizza (don’t bother if you are looking for American pizza!) and went shopping.
We then returned to Guayaquil and attended church at a ward that our son had served in. Everyone was so warm and welcoming to us. Later that evening we attended a farewell dinner at the Mission President's home. Several missionaries were leaving the next day, returning to their homes in many countries. The spirit was very strong and peaceful as we enjoyed testimonies and songs in Spanish from the the missionaries, elders and sisters alike.
What great memories we will always have of the people we met and the wonderful culture we were able to participate in.
This is what the lizards look like that sleep in the trees near the town square in Guayaquil.
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The views were stunning!
This particular walk may not seem very steep but I guarantee you it was a workout! The stairs had numbers on them. This particular walkway led to the lighthouse at the top that also served as a church for the local people there. We started at the bottom and walked our way to the top.
For now I will continue to "persuade" my husband to visit and uncover more of our nation's hidden wonders!
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