Changing of the Guard

Each Monday at precisely 11:30 in front of the presidential palace on Quito's Plaza Grande Square you can observe the formal ceremony of the changing of the guard. This ceremony is performed with great solemnity and aplomb as dignitaries observe from above the presidential palace on a veranda. We took in the sights on the Monday after Easter with some other missionaries as the children were out of school for their 4 day weekend.

The guards (or Granderos de Tarqui) stand at attention for nearly 8 hours a day, day in and day out much like the Beefeaters of Buckingham Palace. The grenadiers are the guard of honor of the Presidential Palace, a building which dates back over 300 years and has been home to many Ecuadorian presidents, although the current president does not reside there. The Granderos de Tarqui along with the Liberators Simón Bolívar and San Martín were part of the patriot troops that drove out the Spanish in 1812.

The guards wear the same uniform they wore back in the 1800s replete with shiny brass buttons and black boots. Although they change guards twice daily, the ceremony with pomp and procession only occurs for the public on Mondays. We witnessed a few foreign dignitaries on the veranda along with the well loved vice-president of Ecuador, Lenín Moreno. Whenever the president is in town, he too attends this solemn ceremony in which all sing the national anthem along with other national songs.

One of our missionary friends who grew up here in Quito told us that there is always a group of the elderly Ecuadorians who come out to this park every day to socialize and watch the changing of the guard. We saw several of these "ancianos" sitting around and talking before the ceremony. There were street vendors selling ice cream and several children from local schools there to be a part of the ceremony. Right before the exchange of the sword to the guard coming on duty, we witnessed a drum corps and a bugle corps as well as the military band march to the center of the square. It was a really nice tradition that I am glad Ecuador has maintained. I hope they continue to carry this out as a reminder of their proud history of independence.

The Search for the Holy Week Fanesca

This last week was Semana Santa and most of Ecuador celebrates with a traditional soup called La Fanesca. It is prepared with a broth of sambo (a type of gourd) and zapallo (a type of pumpkin), fava beans and 12 different types of grains (chocos, abas, peas, corn, lentils, etc...) each representing the 12 disciples of Jesus. There is also a salt cod cooked in milk that represents Jesus. It is garnished with fried plantains, hard boiled eggs, parsley and herbs. I am told it is really good, so we decided to go search for this typical Ecuadorian Easter dish on Good Friday.

We packed up and headed to Parque Carolina. I looked at all the typical vendors in the area and found many typical Ecuadorian dishes, but no Fanesca. Ken went into a small restaurant to buy the kids some chicken and hot dogs and himself a churrasco (a marinated, pounded out piece of grilled beef over rice and topped with two fried eggs). I walked back towards the vendors and took my chances with a popular dish called Ceviche de Chocos. This comes with fava beans, a tomato and onion broth, herbs, lemon, ají (a spicy pepper here), fried plantains, corn, and small pieces of pork. It was very filling and tasty.

The children decided they wanted to take a paddle boat ride. Since we had the dog with us I stayed on land as they tooled around for a 30 minute ride around the paddle boat river. There were probably about 30 or 40 boats in the water. Ken said it was a lot easier with Connor helping him because he pulled his load, but Kayleigh got distracted by all of the things to look at. It's a pretty good bargain at $3.75 for 30 minutes of rigorous paddling.

Next of course came something I have been wanting to do since we came to Quito. The Caterpillar Ride. Basically this long chain of carts is attached to what looks like a modified Jeep. There is loud Latino music playing in the front and the driver takes the train around the entire park (about a 15 minute trip). The fun part is the driver is swerving and weaving all over the road like a caterpillar does including on the busy streets of Amazonas and Los Shyris (very busy side streets to the park). We had a couple of close calls with some buses and an ice cream truck. Snickers really enjoyed the ride in the fresh air with his nose held up high. I think I saw him smile! We decided it was a blast and we will no doubt make that a regular family activity.

Well, we never did find our Fanesca, but today I saw in my e-mail from our friend here Gail that we needed to go one block past the park. Sounds like another adventure today for the Nelsons!

Traditions

Easter has kind of snuck up on me this year. I have no idea what I will cook. My cupboards are bare and I really need to shop. I have not even bought the candy yet. It has always been a tradition for the kids to follow Easter clues Easter morning that lead them to their baskets. I haven't even started on that yet. I know all of those things are secondary to what Easter truly means. I believe this is the year that we will focus on the true meaning. Now before any of you write me and say, "No candy for the kids?" or "No Easter egg hunt????", no I do not mean I won't do that. I just mean that maybe this year I won't spend all my time preparing a large meal and clues and picking the perfect candy for Easter baskets. Instead I think we will read the Easter story together on Easter morning. Maybe I will have the kids help me make Tomb cookies Saturday night and then Sunday morning we can talk about the significance of the empty tomb. I am just looking for some new traditions that will emphasize more about why we celebrate Easter.

So I am asking some of my faithful readers to please share with me some of your favorite Easter traditions. I would love to get some new ideas that we can use here that bring home the message of Christ's sacrificial love. I would like to leave you with a beautiful poem I found that sums up what I want to convey.

THE RESURRECTION

We hold so close to our hearts

The cross where Jesus died
But so much more than the blood-stained cross
Is that Jesus came back to life

The stone's been rolled away The tomb lay open and bare
They looked for Him, and then the angel said
That He is no longer here

Oh what joy they must have felt
To see Him just once more
To eat with Him, to drink with Him
To receive Him back as Lord

So much did He accomplish
Through His death upon the cross
And in His rising from the dead
He reconciled us back to God

Nothing else could bridge the gap
That sin had wrenched apart
Now we can freely go to God
And receive Christ in our hearts