moving around the island...

Our house is a mile outside of town on 

the one road that runs around Isla Colon.

We are on a beautiful bay and have acres of jungle behind us.  

So far, we have used many different modes of transportation.  

My favorite is when we can walk out of the house 

and wade in the ocean for a water taxi ride.

to visit Carenero island it is 1$ a person. 

Wills favorite..

At first he tried to pump Liam this way and mama said no way..

It is only a 10 minute ride to town.  

You have to ride very straight however because the road is 

very narrow and the taxis pass you with about 6 inches of room to spare..

The baskets are great for when we grocery shop in town.

Sometimes we walk.  

It is dusk and Zeb is afraid of bats 

so he walks with his hand on his head.  

Although there are vampire bats here, they don't 

commonly swoop the streets and bite little boys heads...

We are heading to town to get a water taxi to 

visit Bastimentos island today.  

They have an organic chocolate 

and coffee farm there I want to tour...

Beautiful Feet...

Beautiful feet are the feet that bring the good news Jesus said.  

And  a woman named Vivianna brought it to me today.  

She is a traveling pedicurist,  A mother of 5, 

grandmother of 1, and a strong christian Baptista.

She has lived in 

Bocas del Torro all of her life.

Today she brought me the good news.  

A reminder of Jesus' love for me 

and his gift of himself.  

He will never leave me nor forsake me.  

Jesus himself IS the Good news and Vivianna was his messenger today.

AND she gave me beautiful feet while we visited!  

There has been NO hot water since arriving on the island over a week ago.

But oh sweet mercy she boiled some water in our kitchen for my nasty feet.

Feet that walked all over town barefoot

 looking for new flip flops after a shoe blowout.

This is the center of Bocas town.

Not very clean to say the least...

I found some great gold flip flops for 3$ here..

And now I feel all clean and right side up again.

Heres to another day in Bocas!!

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.