Chitras on beautiful Carenero island

Chitras, Sand fleas, No-seeums.  

Whether you speak English, Creole, Spanish 

or a mix of all three 

these words bring terror to your ears.  

I am about to show you a verra, verra  humbling photo of my 

verra

 UGLY legs.  

Words cannot express how itchy these tiny bites are, and how long they last. 

I feel like I am 10 with the chicken pox again. 

All of these bites came from one afternoon.  

Our second day here. 

We ventured over to the beautiful 

tiny island of Caraenero in this water taxi.

Beaches are beautiful, 

surf is amazing and the snorkeling is great.  

I thought I was prepared.

I even bought this great oil for the bugs from 

the local guy George that everyone swears by. 

 A mix of coconut oil, citronella, and tea tree and eucaliptus oil.  

Not one boy got a bite.

They must have a preference for women.  

The locals see me and laugh-

Chitras love fresh blood, they say.  

Now I wear pants, especially on Carenero. 

 Dont let those beautiful, pristine beaches fool you-

we are still in the heart of the jungle.

As I pray and ask God to spare me from 

Leishmaniasis- the nasty tropical disease these things carry.  

I am reminded again to trust in the Lord for even if I do... 

I know he will work all things for the good of those that love him.

On the Road again....

I wasn't going to blog this trip. 

I didn't want to go on this trip.
Our family has been in a state of chaos since January. 

I am tired, overwhelmed,

 sad and more than a little in need of a daily chill pill- 

.... thankfully Will puts up with my  daily panic attacks,
he coaxed me into packing,
even scheduling a counseling session so a professional could back him up
and tell me that we were 

INDEED heading to Central America for the summer with the family.

Will is an optimist, but he also knows when our family needs to rest,
regenerate and let God do a work in us as we refuel.

I am grateful for Will leading our family and hopeful our boys will learn to lead like him.

No South America this time.  

My beloved Ecuador- nothing can compare you.  

Those mountains and their beauty. 

The people we encountered  stole my heart and 

I will continually long to return. 

But this year we needed to stay closer to home. 

So we are off to the tiny archipelago of Bocas Del Toro, Panama 
 The the island of Isla Colon to be exact.

Where you can't touch the frogs because they are of the poison dart frog variety 

and the monkeys in the trees will swing down and grab your food as you are walking.

And don't touch the sloths as they carry a flesh eating parasite.  

A little boys paradise

 “it was the furthest point west that Columbus reached off the coast of Panama, and perhaps because the South American Handbook stated with its habitual frankness, ‘No tourist ever goes there.’ ” 

This is what the Conde Naste journalist Steve Stevenson 

penned about Bocas that made it a 

MUST SEE on the Bannister Boys list.  

http://www.cntraveler.com/islands/caribbean/2013/01/bocas-del-toro-panama-islands-caribbean

So after 4 days of travel. 

 Spending the night in the Miami airport during a tropical storm.

ALL our luggage gone missing for 2 days.  

2 missed planes and a 

4:30 AM hopper plane we are finally here, 

 all boys are safe and sound asleep.  

In their new Casa by the sea.

The famous Otavalo Market

-I love to shop-

?shocked?

I have detoxed my shopping habit 

a bit by the grace of God.  

No Amazon.com or Target here.

But I have indulged in the Otavalan Indigenous Market a few times.

It's the South American version of our mall

you can buy food, art and crochet under ware all from the same family

In the bigger cities there are stores and malls, 

and although a sweet reminder of home, 

they are impersonal, overpriced and overstimulating

 and they don't 

have the charm of these street markets.

You can buy any part of the chicken you like

Or the hoof of a Cow

-My boys favorite stand- 

she roasts peanuts in panela

All types of people from all over the world 

come to see the treasures 

that are made and sold here

Our favorite Pizza on the Square

They make lots of adorable hats

And most are of American characters 

Lots of stands still have carved idols

 from the indigenous 

ancient worship of the Sun, Water and sky.

I lost more than one child in these huge stalls

Can you see Eli?

The women from Zuleta are known 

world wide for their embroidery skills

Some sellers are so primitive, 

and some rock Mac laptops

Rose is a teenager that sells drums.  

She has never gone to school.

She crafts these beautiful instruments during the week, 

then sells them in the market on Saturdays.

Her family has done this for centuries.

Behind every stand, you can watch the women 

working and making their crafts.

Maria was my favorite Jewlery maker and 

I bought many little treasures from her 

over the 2 months.

The center point of each squares in 

the town is a beautiful Catholic church.

The carvings are fantastic

And I think it is a very fitting place to be a focal point-

Just wish they were open and preaching more-

Traveling on....

Diversity is a huge part of Ecuador.

From the roads to the people to the climate.

Some of the volcanos even have their own microclimate.  

For such a small country you can drive to the beach, 

the mountains the jungle, and the plains all within 7 hours.  

Here are some of our most traveled roads.

A valley road around a mountain

Houses are set down on the side of the road almost underneath it

The back road out of the hacienda

We are here during the dry season

In the rainy season it will be impassable in a car

Road up Imbaburra Volcano

Road into our hacienda gate

This road is lined with a few beautiful entrance gates

Some roads have sidewalks with lots of bus stops

This lady just got off a bus with her sheep

Road to town

San Pablo city road

The boys loved riding their horses around town

Road into a Hacienda

Our road  through the pasture

Pan American Highway to Otavalo

Our favorite street in Otavalo

Colonial city of Quito

ALOT of traffic.  

The streets were not built for t

he huge buses that travel it.

Quitos ancient cobblestone streets are beautiful

A walking street in Quito.

Tons of shops and Ice cream parlors and all lined with trees.

Another fall...

Horses are dangerous.  

Haven't I said this before?

ALL my boys seem to be attracted to danger.

Stifling them does no good,

all I can do is try to limit their risks.

Thus all the riding lessons. 

I imagined that it would be safer and less 

risky to have them learn technique.

Well, not so...

because they are always going to be boys and 

always going to be reckless.

These are the horses our boys ride.

Here in Ecuador people use English saddles,

or smaller ones that are made specifically for jumping.

They are harder to stay in when the horse is 

bucking than a western saddle, 

as they have no horn in the front to hold onto.

I just learned the dangers of these small saddles.

Not content to just walk or trot anymore, 

the lessons they are now taking are all about 

playing polo (very popular here)

 running or jumping.

Bleu and Liam persuaded Julia today to let them run 

down the dirt road on the mountain.

They were going fast and loving it.  

Until Bleu's horse got too close to Julia's.

 Her horse kicked Bleu's.

Then the real rodeoing began.  

After hearing all 3 of them tell the story 

I am grateful I wasn't there to watch.

After Bleu's horse bucked from the kick, 

it began to sprint, 

then he rammed into the side of Julia's horse and

Bleu fell off the side.

But he was still hanging on to it's neck and mane.

 when the horse jumped again, 

he was sandwiched between the 2 horses

and he finally let go and fell off the side of the road.

Sound like a John Wayne movie?

Liam said it was the coolest thing he ever saw.

He was so proud of Bleu. 

SO very glad I was at home cooking.

Will encouraged him and soothed him.

"I'm proud of you, now it's time to dust 

yourself off and get back on that horse," Will said.

Once again he made him get back on and run his 

horse back down the mountain. 

Not sure that was wise after a bad fall and a blackout, 

but Will is determined to grow these boys into men 

and I trust him completely.

After about 30 minutes Bleu 

came back with a pounding head and body aching.

He's now asleep on the couch and I am constantly 

waking him to see if he is conscious.  

Overreacting I know, 

but high strung I am when 

it comes to my boys getting hurt.

The closest hospital is 2 hours away.  

If he starts throwing up we will be on our way,

 but until then Will says we wait.  

Nothing is broken so no harm done,

 just another battle story for my boys to tell.

Empanadas de Viento

Empanadas.... 

I have eaten many different variations from 

Mexican to Puerto Rican to Belizean, 

but the Ecuadorian version of cheese Empanadas 

has our whole family drooling.  

I am making them almost everyday.  

I use Erma's family recipe that she has shown me slowly, 

by mimicking her because she has no recipe. 

Everything she does is by sight and feel.  

So I make them while she watches and directs me.  

More, less or wait she dictates.

Proofing the yeast.  

Whatever is lying around is what we use as a top.

One thing I have learned and hope to hold onto

is that we doesn't need fancy William Sonoma gadgets to cook.  

Cooking has always intimidated me, but with Erma,  things stay so basic.

She prefers it that way.  

Simple.

I use about 1 kilo of flour

2 big spoonfuls of butter

and half a coffee cup of warm water.

The hardest part of making the empanandas

 is the kneading.  

But they are sooo worth it.

My kids love to make them, 

it is like play-do for them.  

After about 20 minutes of hard kneading and flipping of the dough 

( My muscles were actually sore the first few times I made these)

You then cover the dough with a kitchen towel

 and let it rise for at least an hour.

The dough is now ready 

 It last for about 18 hours.

So eat them for dinner, then again for breakfast! 

A plate of Empanadas Bleu and Liam made sitting ready to be fried.

WARNING! DO NOT LET YOUR OIL GET TOO HOT!

-This was my first unlucky batch- 

The mix of savory cheese and sweet powder sugar is very addictive so beware.

When the plate is gone, 

and it almost always is in no time this 

is what the kids look like.

-Everyone should try these at home- 

If you need a real recipe, here is a great one.  

It is fancier than mine, but very good.

http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/03/18/empanadas-de-viento/

And if you can wait until we get back, we can make them together 

because this is one recipe that is now a family staple.

.