ecuador // part iv

the morning of christmas eve we had some free time before all the holiday festivities began so we decided to maximize our time in quito and visit the home and museum of oswaldo guayasamin. once we arrived at the former home and museum we knew we were in for a neat experience due to the key position of his home and museum which overlook the city. the style of art that guayasamin created was unlike anything else we had seen and we felt very fortunate to be able to wander around his home, which included his personal art collections from around the world, as well as his museum which houses many of his original pieces. below are a few photos from our morning! 

following the museum we wandered around a bit, ran into a random cow, then grabbed a quick lunch before heading back to prepare for midnight mass. 

spending a holiday away from home was a first for my family and it brought mixed emotions. in many ways it was difficult to know that we would not wake up in our warm and cozy house, stay in our pajamas all day while opening presents, then eat a big meal, but in another sense having such an untraditional christmas was a welcomed distraction to the fact that one key person, my father, was missing from such an important holiday. below are a few photos from the three christmas masses we attended, as well as the celebration at the center. it was humbling to be around such an inspiring group of people who don't have any presents under the tree but still manage to celebrate the holiday for it's true meaning.