I will surely miss this troop at Center One! The Tias put on a good party for us today … dressed up as skeletons, (something meaningful to Ecuadorian folks apparently) and did an interpretive song and dance in our honour …. they had a good fun day preparing, while we all went about our various chores of the day, feeling just a tad sad that it was our last day at the center. Our Barney Song was well received, both versions, but especially our Spanish one 🙂 … and we managed to get the children to smile if not exactly laugh out loud!! Fundac’s Elvita and the Tias presented us with lovely homemade thank you cards and decorative dough art work which Calderon is known for … someone cranked up the speakers and the dancing got underway! We jived and jimmied and generally let loose, having fun with the staff and children. Emotional day … and we were all somewhat subdued on the drive back to Sol de Quito.

Maggie thought we would enjoy Ronda Street in old town, for a different kind of dinner for our last together as a group ….. known for it’s streetside cafe hopping, live music, buskers and general party atmosphere …. a lively place certainly, on a Friday night …. giant cheese empanadas and beer at one place, fish stews, salads, washed down with canelazo, a local hot spiced berry and white corn liqueur drink at another … guitar, flute music and singing accompanied our dinner stops … a fitting end to our time together … emotional goodbyes and off to bed … exhausting, fulfilling weeks now behind us. Neal and Suzanne leave in the early morning for Banos Hot Springs for three days before heading back to San Francisco, Tom and Kate for home in Atlanta, Georgia, and I, to old town Quito for my last two days in Quito. Hasta Luego and much love to everyone but especially the Tias and children of Calderon ….