south america

Though we were excited to read many books and travel brochures before we escaped here to South America, appreciating the culture of South America through dance was an unexpected living moment of history for us.

Cuenca recently celebrated their independence and the full party and parade came right down the street we were staying on.

So sweet because even the little children get involved by dressing up and practicing the dance of their heritage.

The dances weren’t the traditional dances of South America like the tango and salsa, but were a tribute to the local customs like agriculture and farming.

Local traditional clothing are ponchos, embroidered  blouses and skirts.

In the few short months we have been here, we have learned that some dances are just celebrations.

More Appreciating the Culture of South America Resources

• Free Machu Picchu Mini Book & Completed South America Lapbook
• 6 South America Country Notebooking Pages
• How to Memorize the Countries of South America & Mountain Climate Zones Minibooks
• South America Unit Study– Colorful Free Printable Map
• South America Geography Salt Dough Map + Printable Pennants
• South America Unit Study resources

At the end of the celebration, you see many artists here practicing their type of art and you can get a portrait for a bargain price.

Of course local traditions cannot be celebrated either without savoring the local cuy or roasted guinea pig.

There were so many traditional dances and costumes that we could not see them all, but we tried.

Check out my other posts on living in Ecuador.

• 8 Small Things About Traveling to Cuenca, Ecuador that Make a Big Difference
• 5 Things I Love About Cuenca Ecuador
• Everyday Life in Cuenca, Ecuador
• We Arrived in South America!!!!

Also, look at these minibooks which come in the free South America lapbook 27 page download.

• Animals of the Galapagos fan book which includes the Giant Tortoise, Lava Lizard, Marine Iguana, Green Turtle, Galapagos Penguins, Magnificent Frigate Bird, Blue-Footed Booby, and Blue-Banded Goby.
• Comparing Mountain Climate Zones
• Simon Bolivar Copywork
• Map of South America to label and one labeled
• Machu Picchu – Lost City of the Inca
• Negrinho – A dessert from Brazil
• How to Memorize the Countries of South America and Dependent
• Map Flags to put on your salt dough map
• 2 – The Galapagos Island layered book. One prefilled with facts and one blank to add your own information.
• Vocabulary Pocket and Vocabulary Words

How to Get the Free South America Printable Lapbook

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First, I have missed you! But after a year or more of planning, packing and selling our  junk stuff for months on Craig’s List, we have arrived in Ecuador, South America.  I have tons of photos coming your way today.

We are at an altitude of 8,400 feet here in Cuenca, Ecuador.  Going from dungeon sea level in Texas to a mountain altitude, we were expecting a bit more sickness.  Thankfully, none of us have had any of that sickness.  Sure, we get winded quicker, but are still taking it slow.  But I just couldn’t wait to get an internet connection to start sharing our journey with you.

Since we had to fly out of Florida, we made a quick stop in Orlando to check out Universal Studios.

Then after a few more sprints to the local drug store in Florida for altitude sickness medicine, we were on our way.  Well not so fast.  The flight started off a bit wonky when we were all ask to deboard because one of their crew members did not show up.  Uhmm, it was the copilot.  Of course that didn’t go over well in calming our nerves, but soon they got another copilot and it was smooth sailing.

Since we wanted to see a bit of the Ecuadorean countryside, we decided to fly into Guayaquil, which is on the coast and so it’s sea level and then drive to Cuenca.  It would give the Mr. a chance to rest up some before we had the 4 hour drive and also we would be able to see more of the countryside.

(Guayaquil, Ecuador airport)                          (Holiday Inn Guayaquil/Airport was super nice!)

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Guayaquil which had some beautiful showcases showing the heritage and products of South America.  We didn’t have to go far to start learning and have a “field trip”.

Then of course, not to be missed is the chocolate here. Oh my goodness, it is the most fresh and organic (it’s true) to die for chocolate.  I have to put it away when the Mr. brought some to our apartment because I am trying to not add to my rotundness.  I am trying to lose weight here with all the walking.

Then, we headed up to the mountains of Cuenca on the third day. 

Guayaquil is more industrial and does not have quite the quaint and colonial feel that Cuenca has, but then again it has more modern hotels and a big mall.  Okay, well Cuenca has a huge mall too.

(banana plantation)                                                                            (a drive “in the clouds”)

It did give us a chance to see where some of the fruit like the banana trees are grown.  I tried to take the picture of the banana tree as we were riding in the van so that you could see a bag wrapped around the bananas.  We have so much to learn but we read that the bag protects the bananas from insects and from ripening too soon.

Soon we left the industrial city of Guayaquil and headed for the “city in the clouds” or at least we felt that way as we headed to Cuenca.  The day was clear but as we climbed higher and higher, more clouds covered the road.  A few places along the road were nail biters because the clouds completely covered the road and we had a drop off on one side and could hardly see but a few feet in front of us. 

Thank goodness, the driver we hired was a local and use to the area but we still had claw marks on the seats.  Next time, we will fly to Cuenca from Guayaquil though without the drive we might have missed this beautiful scene.

I also took this picture as we were driving and it reminds me of a post card.  Such stunning views of majestic mountains as we kept driving up and climbing in altitude.  Though the culture, food and climate are different, we have already began to fall in love with this country. 

Some local expats call this area “eternal spring” and I couldn’t agree more.

The Mr. and I have both been so weary with the hot Texas weather that we both wanted a change and in just a few short days I am elated.  There is no a/c in the apartment because none is needed.  

Sleeping with the windows open to let in the 40 to 50 degree weather at night with a cool mountain breeze to the almost perfect day weather of 70 degrees is beyond refreshing.  We probably have about 2 or 3 hours of what I call hot, but nothing that a small fan won’t cure and then it’s cool again for the evening.

Here are a few pictures of the 2 bedroom apartment we are staying in on the third floor while we house hunt and the view we have of very old colonial architect.

Our apartment is a L shape and so I am hanging out one window shooting a picture back at the other side. Of course this is all roof top and we still have people’s patio above us.

And then of course, the night lights so far have been breathtaking and it doesn’t hurt to see the beautiful mountain ranges too.

We have only been here just a few short days and can’t wait to explore the museums and history here along with of course finding a place to live.  I will be creating pages on my blog to give some tips too for living abroad, homeschooling and finding a place to live. 

So many things I want to share with you as we get our school year started and try to concentrate on it while we learn all about the culture of the many Latin American countries around us.

Missed ya, hugs and love ya,