Monday November 1

 

Well it is p-day and really cloudy, but it isn’t raining. It is a holiday here. November 1 is the same as Memorial Day for us. They put flowers on graves and have the day off.  The elder’s quorum president and his wife wanted to take us on a trip so we set off. Arriving at their home he showed me the sausage they are making. It has cut up pork and spices and they smoke it till it gets hard and then it lasts a year or so.

This is in the house part of the kitchen. These sausages are a little like pepperoni sticks only they slice them up. Some are okay, some not so much. We left heading out to visit an old village. We stopped at one spot a view point but it looked familiar and after a short stiff climb it turned out we had been here before. We continued on our way and grandma needed to use the restroom, the only one we could find open on the way was in the golf course.

We still had a way to go and leaving the main highway we went on a back road. It is shorter in distance and a lot less traveled. Huge dairy farms few houses. One little cluster of homes they stopped to look at had an impressive house.

We continued on and joined back up with the main road for a while but then went off on a real back road. We drove through a river crossing.

We drove on dirt road until we could go no further and started walking down to

We walked down hill until we arrived at the start of an older town. We turned off on a hiking trail to see a waterfall.

More hiking.

There were free ranging chickens, and more hiking than the waterfall.

The president stacked a pile of rocks. Not sure what this is about perhaps left over from all the rock stacking that they did to build fences.

The hike out was just as difficult, lots of climbing and then lots of going down. I helped grandma most of the time going and coming. My shirt was completely wet before we were done. Now for their version of a ghost town. They are restoring some of it. It has become a popular tourist destination. Much was still in good repair. The only way to visit is by foot as the narrow steep cobblestone path up from the city in the bottom of the canyon is too steep even for horses and the road down from where we left the car is to steep and rough for anything less than a jeep. 

They have banana trees the village water has sinks with wash board out of concrete in one rinse in other.

As we went to head down the president went back up to bring the car around and down. Good idea but by the time we walked down for a mile maybe going back up would have been easier, but we would have missed the rest of the experience.

And it came to pass we arrived down as the van was pulling in, great timing. Their son and family live here in this small town located down in the hoie at the bottom of the road. We visited many places and ate.

Another church with lots of stairs for Drew, they must want you to really have to work to attend. A whale ramp and metal posts for dragging them out, a whale statue nice waves. All I need is a picture of grandma and flowers.

While eating we noticed the wall behind me was covered in lizards.

They took us to visit their daughter in law’s work place, a bar.

Back and visited the son and family, then started back home passed rabbits in the road, I love the rural areas they remind me of Pingree. Without the ocean views. We walked just 4.3 miles according to my phone, but it was the hardest walk we have done so far. I hope this blog makes up for some of the smaller ones. We love you all.

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Gail halloween is similar to ours candy costumes. Dia dos mortos is in the spring part of marty gra. Although not much participation. This holiday today is I think a little of the old traditions of spirits and ghosts and such but now people buy flowers to put on graves and do cookouts.