Today marked Cotacachi’s 151st birthday! There were people in the parade from all over – as far away as Intag (great coffee from there btw).
And a parade it was – this morning for over two hours
Dave & I stood and watched it go past us – the children are the cutest!!
Even a version of the RCMP – sort of
We mentioned before that today we were going to get our first Organic Produce delivery, right to our door, this morning. Well I just brought it into the house. I’m not sure if it all will show up in the picture so let me list what we received for $5.00 and it completely filled a grocery bag.
1 – bunch Basil
2 – heads leafy lettuce (Red Sail to be precise)
1 – bunch Carrots
1 – bunch Beets
1/2 – lb. Cherry tomatoes
4 – small Zucchini
1 – bunch Swiss Chard
1 – bunch Radish
1 – bunch Cilantro
And here is what it looks like laying on a counter in our apartment:
This is the Site if you want to learn a bit more about this farm http://www.everyoneweb.es/kurikindi/
I must admit this wasn’t the first time to meet Dolly Lama and it has never been like a religious experience or anything either. It has always been just a casual meeting, nothing formal, and not much is said either. I am sure this is the next incarnation though, as this Dolly Lama is very young indeed. In fact Dolly is just 2 or 3 weeks old. Now that I have you totally confused let me straighten it out for you… Well to shorten up the story…
This is Dolly…
Dolly started to be a sad story but things got better fast due to some very nice people, Tim and his wife Mari. You see her mother rejected her right after birth and Tim and Mari took over and brought Dolly into the house. They have a dog that now thinks Dolly is her puppy. If you don’t believe me look at this…
As you can see Dolly has a nice home right now and seems to be having a great time. Who would have thought to find Dolly inside a house being protected by its mother (a dog) and supported by a great couple (Tim and Mari).
What is going to happen to the Lama world I ask you!!! Will this lead to the end of Lamas grazing all day in the pasture and just enjoying their grass? In other words, change Lama culture as we know it? Or, will it lead to a deeper understanding within the Lama Culture and change life as we know it for all life forms on the planet? Only time will tell… But in this observers view… we have yet to see the depths of the rippling effects.
To begin our trip we loaded up to head to the Airport here is our 9 pieces of luggage. As you can tell it is being heavily guarded by our youngest grandson. I can tell you at about 1 yr and a half he packs a wallop so don’t underestimate the protection.
We arrived in Quito and stayed in this room, my it was a long trip to get here with all the airport delays. But we made it.
When we arrived in Cotacachi we went to the market as soon as we could. This shows what we bought for $4.50 We filled a normal sized grocery bag. We actually got 2 full meals out of that giant Cauliflower.
By chance, we met up with our Ecuadorian friends, Marco and Teresa, and they invited us to there house. Yes these are the same people that let us view their Rammed Earth home last time we were here. They had made a minor addition to this bathroom – can you see what it is? We will give you a hint, think Crown for the throne.
The office looks like it is being lived in…
The view looks about the same as the last time we were here. That is Mt. Cotacachi you see with the clouds on the top of it.
What is this in town? It is a celebration, this one each village is represented and this is one of them dancing in the streets on the way to the central square, all dressed up in the finery.
Today we went with Ramiro, the all knowing one about building Rammed Earth, to some of his projects around town. This one will be finished in about a month and has a view similar to ours actually.
This a picture of inside the house, as you can tell things are looking a little finished – it won’t be long.
The people that are having the house built are living in this Casita. We got to look inside it and it is very nice.
All in all it was a great day and we did see some great places. Thought you might want to see some of the highlights. If we tried to put all the highlights in here – we would run out of space 🙂
The Amici Cannis (Friends of the Dog) Foundation is pleased to announce the granting of full legal status, according to Ecuadorian and International Treaty Law ( Acuerdo No. 129-MIES- I/2011) of the equivalent of a 501c(3), non-profit corporation, complete with RUC/Tax I.D. number for tax-deductible donations.
After 1 ½ years of laying the legal, logistical and practical groundwork, The Foundation is now poised to begin preliminary operations. Getting born was a lengthy process because it was done correctly in all aspects and will prove worthwhile in the future to have constructed the foundation slowly-but- correctly.
Our ‘mission’ is to rescue, heal, rehabilitate and adopt-out as many as possible of the countless dogs on the streets of the city and canton of Cotacachi. In addition, we hope to ‘ raise the consciousness ’ of our local neighbors in this county regarding the treatment, propagation and maintenance of ‘ man’s best friend ’.
The Foundation’s first grant and financial asset has been an anonymous and very generous donation of approximately 10 acres of land, located 15 minutes from the heart of Cotacachi. There, The Foundation will construct a shelter consisting of kennels, dog runs, a medical / veterinary facility and a canine rehab training center.
The Foundation’s second gift is a substantial cash donation from the newly-appointed Ambassador from Ecuador to El Salvador, His Excellency Segundo Anrango, the brother of His Honor, Mayor Anrango, of Cotacachi.
While waiting for the legal status of the Foundation to be completed, Directors and friends of The Foundation have been preliminarily ( and at their own expense, combined with small donations) rescuing, treating, neutering and adopting-out approximately 20 dogs to-date.
The Foundation’s initial Board of Directors is comprised of the following members, listed in alphabetical order: Maria del Carmen Romero Anda; Pablo Arpi ( Secretary); Maria Jose Burbano ( Treasurer); Peggy and Lee Carper (Honorary Board Members); Michael d’Addio ( Founding President); Andres Jara Dominguez; Marco Antonio Proano; Rick Serafino (Honorary Board Member and Chief of Public Relations); Jennifer Phillips Rios.
Best wishes,
Michael d’Addio, President
Amici Cannis Foundation (Fundacion 062011)
contact us: amicicannis@yahoo.com
