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2017 A to Z Reflections #AtoZChallenge
I survived the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge and earned a badge! It is tradition for participants to post reflections after the Challenge. These are my 2017 A to Z reflections. How it started In the last week of March, author Donna B. McNicol asked if any of her friends were participating. I said yes! I had been wanting to get into blogging and figured this was a great opportunity. Why not sign up and learn as I go? Theme I wrote about Ecuador since I live in a country that is not well known globally. Topics On April 1, I had a list with a topic for…
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Zoo – I live in one! #AtoZChallenge
Someone told me it’s all happening at the zoo. — Paul Simon When I wrote my first post for the A to Z Challenge, I did not know the what the remaining posts were going to be about. While blogging about my life in Ecuador for the past month, I realized that I live in a zoo. A natural, wild, amazing zoo! Let’s recap what is in my zoo. Wildlife in my zoo Throughout the month, I introduced the following zoo residents: (click link to open post) Blue-footed boobies Humpback whales Iguanas In a park At my home A Monkey Owls A Frog Sea Turtles Rounding out my zoo…
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Yuletide at the Olon Orphanage #AtoZChallenge
The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others’ burdens, easing others’ loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of the holidays. — W. C. Jones December 24 is my favorite day of the year. I spend it at the Fundación Santa Maria de la Esperanza Orphanage, or Olon Orphanage, as it is called. The children give a performance for donors and volunteers who have assisted them throughout the year. It is their beautiful way of saying thank you. Here are some highlights from the 2016 performance. Nativity Reenactment Mary and Joseph, seeking accommodation Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus are…
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Xanthophobia, Xenoepist, Xyzlacatosis #AtoZChallenge
The author suffered from xyzlacatosis. — grab.com Merriam-Webster publishes a list of user submitted new words & slang in their open dictionary. They remain there until they make it into the dictionary. Three words beginning with X caught my eye. First I list the submitted word with definition. Then I use it in a sentence. xanthophobia (adjective) : the fear of the color yellow. One of the primary colors on Ecuador’s flag and national fútbol team is yellow. If you suffer from xanthophobia, Ecuador may not be the best place for you. Yellow shirts are common in Ecuador xenoepist (noun) : someone who speaks with a foreign accent With my…
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Water. Clean Drinking Water #AtoZChallenge
Drinking tap water in coastal Ecuador is a great way to get parasites. Or worse. — EJB A few weeks after the April 16, 2016 7.8 Ecuador earthquake, Tennessee pastor Gary Vance arrived in Puerto Lopez. He had a suitcase full of water filters and a plan – provide clean drinking water for those who needed it. Clean water welcomed in a tent camp Photo courtesy of Gary Vance He offered to install a water filter for the Olon orphanage. We went there the next morning. Gary installed a filter and trained a thrilled staff on maintaining it. Water filter installed at the Olon Orphanage Photo courtesy of Gary…
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Vegetable Ivory – Tagua #AtoZChallenge
Thinking in generations also means enabling our young to have a decent standard of living. — Paul Tsongas Tagua, sometimes called vegetable ivory for it’s resemblance to elephant ivory, is a nut from the Tagua palm tree. The hard white inner nut can be carved and polished like ivory. Artists carve it into jewelry, figurines, and many other products. My friend Marianne Fry in Puerto Lopez has been designing and exporting hand-carved Tagua products for 18 years through her company, Feel Good Exports. Each piece is hand crafted by artisans living in remote areas. These products afford families an opportunity to make a decent life for themselves who could…
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Underwater Endangered Testudines (a.k.a. Sea Turtles) #AtoZChallenge
The beach is in our blood. Everyone in our family returns to the beach instinctively, just like the sea turtles. — Sandy Archibald Four sea turtles species live off the coast of Ecuador. Green Turtles, Leatherbacks, and Olive-Ridley are endangered and Hawksbills are critically endangered. People are working to improve their numbers and chances of species survival. Sea Turtle Isla de la Plata, Manabí, Ecuador Sea turtles live the majority of their lives in the ocean but are born on beaches. Female sea turtles return to the beach where they were born to lay eggs. Each egg nest is marked to prevent human damage. Each nest is marked with caution…
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Tide Pools in Puerto Lopez #AtoZChallenge
“Despite the sea being wild and the waves rolling away from the shore, the tide always returns.” ― Katherine McIntyre, By the Sea The Puerto Lopez tide pools are a popular family weekend destination. Kids can swim in the ocean without worrying about being swept out to sea. Puerto Lopez, Manabí, Ecuador (Click on photo to increase size) During low tide, the pools are naturally protected from waves by large rocks and a curved southern shore. Puerto Lopez, Manabí, Ecuador Crystal clear water warms while the tide is out. Tiny fish enjoy a temporary reprieve from larger prey. Puerto Lopez, Manabí, Ecuador As the tide starts coming in, everyone packs…
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Sunsets near the equator #AtoZChallenge
“Are you dreaming? Stop dreaming; come and watch the sunset, it is better than all the dreams!” — Mehmet Murat ildan Sunsets near the equator come and go quickly. A few minutes after the sun begins coloring the ocean and sky, it has set. Dusk lasts a few moments, then it is dark. November 9 The sun sets almost perpendicular to the horizon instead of diagonally as seen closer to the north and south poles. The further north or south you go from the equator, the longer a sunset will last. March 12 The north and south movement of the sun throughout the year is quite evident near the equator.…
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Reinventing a 2.4 km beach front boardwalk #AtoZChallenge
I want to run the beach’s length, because it never ends. –Deborah Ager Ecuador recently reinvented the Puerto Lopez malecon (beach front boardwalk). From beginning to end, construction covered a two year period. The 2.4 km malecon is completely upgraded and unrecognizable from it’s former self. New malecon from Victor Hugo Hotel April 2017 What was wrong with the old Puerto Lopez malecon? A deteriorating road, crumbling sidewalk, and no public restrooms made up the old malecon. Two rivers had to be waded through during the rainy season to walk across them. During the dry season when no water flowed, we all drove through their dry bed to reach the…
