baños
we arrived today in the city of baños. i spent all of yesterday sleeping and watching subtitled american movies in our room. i haven´t been feeling all that great, but think i´m beginning to recover. i did, however, watch win a date with tad hamilton, die hard, mean machine, and object of my affection, which were all good! cass did a great job of taking care of me, bringing me treats and checking on my progress. we left early this morning, thinking we would catch a bus to baños. turns out, there are no buses. we had a choice between a six dollar ride in a pickup truck with a tarped canopy over the back, or a twenty dollar cab ride. we opted for the cab because sometimes adventure just isn´t appealing. i was holed up in the corner, clutching my manta (blanket) as we drove through bright green fields and adobe homes with worn down corners pasted with advertisements blue from age. as we drove along, the mountains begin to rise up, and the colors became richer and more tropical. our driver honked and waved to many friends as we drove along, and we picked up a little boy, who sat on the console between the driver and a young ecuadorian guy who was also riding with us. a pick up full of people was stopped with a flat on the side of the road, and all three guys jumped out to help. other cars also pulled over, and it became a fix a flat party. later, the road was under construction and we had to wait for a half hour for a tractor to move. as we drove along, we had to wait again for another mud issue. finally, through our driver´s expert maneuvering, we were on the way again, when the car in front of us got stuck in a mud gully. another flock of men came to help push the car out as it spun its tires fruitlessly. other people came to watch, and when the car was finally through the puddle, all the onlookers began filling the road with rocks, and we were able to cross safely. the road then branched into two. cass and i watched as a car went over a tiny little bridge that looked as though it had been constructed with popsicle sticks. cass said, i would not do that! and then our driver met a steep ravine through the path we had chosen. so he threw the car in reverse and headed toward the bridge; i had to cover my eyes. finally, we made it to the town of baños, which is beautiful and tropical and has a thousand little cafes we can´t wait to try. today, we ate lunch at cafe hood, where the food is always good. it´s a colorful place with beautiful murals and pictures plastered all over the walls. and the food was good, we each had a delicious hot sandwich of onions, tomatoes, avocados, and cheese. i think it made me feel better as it was the first thing i´d eaten in a while, besides crackers and mandarins. we hope to make it to the forest within the next couple of days. i realize this is not a thrilling entry, still i wanted to let everyone know where i was and that i love you all very much. 
Tags: Travel
August 2nd, 2005 at 10:25 pm
We are all VERY SORRY to hear you are not doing good. You should be here so you could receive the good care I gave you when you were little. Do they have yogurt there ? Depending on what you have just toast and tea does good. I doubt if they have chicken noodle soup. Maybe Nicole at the clinic could help you. Is there a way to phone her. I’ll talk to Grandpa for you, ok ? Lona and I got the sheets and mattress pad done today and now I am clean again. With this muggy weather you don’t feel very clean. Your Dad wrote another article for the Julian paper this week. Actually he wrote it a year ago so you have probably seen or read it already. Tomorrow night we go to your house for dinner. Dad has invited Mr Bailey and his wife. It may serve as Dad’s birthday party until you get home. But no one has said that. Thank you for writing even though your are not doing good. I will be thinking about you a WHOLE LOT. Please get well soon. Of course you will if you have anything to day about it. Tell Mama Cass thanks for helping to pull you through. I’m glad you are with her. I’m closing for now but like I said I will be thinking about you. Take care little girl and come home soon. With love G and G.
August 2nd, 2005 at 11:51 pm
Darcy,
It looks like there is one universal truth in this world. Cab rides are an adventure all by themselves. Remember Seattle from the train station to the hotel? As soon as David Caterino gets done with jury duty, Friday maybe, we are going to meet to discuss doing the archaeological dig in the cemetery. I have bigger cemetery news coming but I can’t say anything until the rocket leaves the pad. It was beautilful tonight out in the yard, a picture perfect sunset. Time for daddy to browse ebay.
Love, dad
August 3rd, 2005 at 6:20 pm
Pobre Darcy! I’m glad you feel better. It’ll be good to see you. Linda and I shopped yesterday and saw a wild nasty movie. We shopped at our favorite store today. I seldom go but each time I’m amazed at what nice and new things we find. We got a lot of cute baby clothes, etc. , a picture, and two new photo books that I really like. One is of and for babies and the other flowers. Michelle has scedules her cesarean.
I don’t know your plans after Quito but be careful. I think flying back to Lima is good. We can’t wait to see you. We’ll never be able to keep you down on the farm after this trip. ha XXXOOOMeemo
August 4th, 2005 at 3:04 am
Hope you are A okay by now. We had a very nice evening at Mom and DaD’S Tonight. The Bailey’s are very nice people. Mom amd Lu went to a lot of trouble on the food.Ardith and Roy were there too because Ardith, Somehow is related to a Bailey person. Anyway a good time was had by all. Your poor Mom has to get up real early tomorrow. Lu too. They are going on a bus to LA to see Mr. King Tut. Hope they have some energy left for the trip. This letter is a mess but I wanted to write and say we love you. Not too many more days and we can see you for REAL.It’s late so I will close. Tell Mama Cass thanks for everything. Love you G-G
August 5th, 2005 at 12:43 pm
Hi Darcy! I was hoping I would be able to write before your next entry. Laura and I went down to Encinitas on Tuesday. I had an eye appointment, and it lasted 90 minutes. The best news is I don’t need glasses! I did get a very nice pair of sun glasses, and I need to bump up my over-the-counter pair of magnifying glasses to a 1.75. The next day Laura and I prepared for the dinner party for Richard and Jane Bailey, Grandma, Roy and Ardith, and, of course, the three of us. We had a nice time, and we learned so much about how Julian was long ago. I’ll tell you more when I see you. Laura and I didn’t get to bed until 1 A.M., and then we were up to catch a bus in front of the Town Hall for a trip to LA to see the King Tut Exhibit. The best part is we were with the cousins… and a lot of friends (Kendy, Debbie, Babette, Linda Stamets, Jan B., and so many more). I thought about you as we cruised in our luxury bus with air conditioning, movies, free snacks- drinks, cookies, fruit, delicious muffins, and baked goods. The three hour trip went by so quickly! We had a super time… and Debbie took us on a tour of the La Brea tar pits. The exhibit was good, but it was so crowded. We went and saw other exhibits after the Egyptian artifacts. I actually preferred a Japanese exhibit. We had an excellent time, and arrived back in Julian before 10 P.M. I was exhausted this morning, and I actually slept in until 9 A.M. Today is Dad’s birthday, and it also lets me start the less than ONE WEEK count down until your return home. We miss you Darcy. Please be careful! See you Thursday. Love, Mom HOPE YOU ARE FEELING BETTER!
August 5th, 2005 at 5:45 pm
Still miss you lots. Still love you more than lots. G and G
August 6th, 2005 at 9:33 am
glad to hear from your mom’s email that you wil be home soon! realized i put my note last night on one of your old entries again…. wishing you a safe and easy trip home. we love you! aunt and uncle t & t
August 7th, 2005 at 3:12 am
Sure glad I got to talk to you. I never expected to have that happen. Please say a little “help grandma” word for me on the 8th. Mom takes me to Esc for my Driver’s license renewal and I will need all the good thoughts I can gather up. Haven’t had to take the written test in years, my eyes are at 0 and if I have to do more than that I’m dead in the water. Again I say that talking to you made me feel better but I’ll take being able to see you anydayof the week. We are all making the countdown. Keep safe and hurry home. I doubt if we let you lose after this. Like we have a choice!!!!!! It’s late and I must close. Love from this end G and G.
August 7th, 2005 at 3:13 am
Sure glad I got to talk to you. I never expected to have that happen. Please say a little “help grandma” word for me on the 8th. Mom takes me to Esc for my Driver’s license renewal and I will need all the good thoughts I can gather up. Haven’t had to take the written test in years, my eyes are at 0 and if I have to do more than that I’m dead in the water. Again I say that talking to you made me feel better but I’ll take being able to see you anydayof the week. We are all making the countdown. Keep safe and hurry home. I doubt if we let you lose after this. Like we have a choice!!!!!! It’s late and I must close. Love from this end G and G.
August 7th, 2005 at 3:15 am
I’ll learn how next trip. G Dork
August 10th, 2005 at 8:34 pm
It’s like waiting for the shuttle to come back to earth. I hope you can call from Lima before you start home. I will leave the same message on your Email. With love G and G