Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Although we were away from our families for Christmas, we were very lucky to have run into several other people in the same situation. We managed to have three Christmas dinners in a row. The first was at a house in a residential area where a group of people we met the week before were living, the second took place at the Verde Limon hostal, and the third in our new apartment with a couple and their visiting great aunt. We had a quiet Christmas day. We opened stockings late in the morning, went for a walk to call our families, and made breakfast at 1:30 in the afternoon. We bought a small tree for $1 at the flower market at the Plaza San Francisco and decorated it with beads from a small arts and crafts store. It wasn't your typical Canadian Christmas tree, but it certainly made it feel like Christmas for us here in Ecuador. We are looking forward to the new year and wish everyone all the very best in 2008.