January 21

Our first day of travel was extremely blessed. We met some very kind people and practiced our Spanish. After packing all night the night before, we were a bit tired, but everything went so smoothly, we had to marvel. Of all the things that could go wrong, not ONE of them did, although I left behind a hairbrush and a pair of moccasins.  We are so happy to be here--we look around at the mountains, the flowers, the palm trees, the broad vistas and say, "Are we really here?" This evening we arrive in Cuenca by plane, where we will study Spanish for about a week before beginning our interviews of artisans engaged in fair trade. Exciting!!! There must be a better word--maybe in Spanish?