This is a shot of the kids playing on a platform in the park. Ziplines in parks are all the rage here. Not terribly safe but very fun.
Apparently the park itself was well manicured and a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. Sad I missed it. Most of Ecuador is not well manicured like this.
After the salon and park, we all met up at ......get this......The MALL! Can you believe?! I'm not much of a mall person. And, I don't really like shopping. Target is about the only place I enjoy going besides the grocery store. Yet, when we pulled up to the mall and I saw that they had a PayLess Shoes, a food court with a KFC, and a MegaMaxi, my heart skipped a beat. I had finally left our small town and made it to the big time.
We started in the huge toy store where we found our husbands and the kids. They were taking the bikes and scooters out for a bit of a spin until a store employee came on the intercom and reminded all the customers that riding toys were for looking at and not trying out. Ooops.
Loli and I escaped the antics there and headed to the MegaMaxi where I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. It was as close to Target as Ecuador gets. It had nativity scenes out just in time for Christmas (just like home!), a sporting goods section, clothes for everyone in the family, shoes, homegoods, and best of all, a wonderful grocery section. I took my own sweet time and slowly strolled up and down every aisle. I smiled at seventeen kinds of pasta, jars of pickles, multiple cheeses (instead of three), a huge assortment of canned goods and I even found Campbell's Soup! There was a 28 oz. jar of Jiff Peanut Butter for $11.88--we got it for a steal at $10.59! Can you believe?! You know we're desperate for peanut butter when even Doug approved such a purchase.
I picked up canned tomatoes and canned beans each for less than $2.00 a can. I passed on the Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) because they were nearly $3.00/can. I grabbed more Barilla Pasta for just over $2.00 a box and I even found Bay Leaves!! Basamati rice, tortilla chips, microwave popcorn, and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (I didn't pick Kraft up but it was neat seeing the box anyway). I honestly had no idea that I liked packaged goods till I moved to Ecuador. I really thought I was a health food nut. I like granola and fresh fruits and yogurt and ground turkey. I try to lay off of the butter and fried foods and red meat. Yet, I have discovered that the things I miss the most are those things that you can only find in boxes and cans. Who knew?!
On the car ride over to Ambato we had tried some of Loli's snacks which included a bag of fried lima beans. I personally do not like lima beans and I think the rest of our family feels the same. Yet, when she passed them around and none of the Thompsons knew what 'Habas' were, we all gave it a shot. They were surprisingly good. So, we found those at MegaMaxi too and bought a few bags. It was a wonderful day!
On our ride home in the dark and amidst the rain, we experienced a flat tire right as we were headed into Banos. It wasn't nearly as awful as you would expect because we all had full stomachs since we had eaten at the food court before we left and we were fortunate enough to pull into a gas station to change the tire--stations are not on every corner here like they are there. We were a downright giddy little bunch having had a fun day away.
Praise God Loli and I both like our hair cuts--we forgot to take the "After" photo--, we now have a full pantry instead of one mostly barren, and we got to enjoy a bit more of Ecuador with gracious friends willing to spend the day with us.
Thanks for reading! Blessings, kim
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