I'm still trying to catch up from all the bustlings of the first week, so this happened on Sunday. In Sucre many people still work on Saturdays for about half a day, but Sunday is the day when everyone relaxes and is a big family day for church, activities, etc. There was no church for this family today... instead we took a trip to the neighboring city of Ayatuka.
Ayatuka seemed like a sleepier version of Sucre -- narrow one way streets, some cobblestone, and a small square with a few food vendors. After parking we walked for a few minutes and knocked on a non-descript door. Upon entering an entirely different world appeared, filled with grass soccer fields, swimming pools, and even a few water slides. Apparently many of the Sucrean middle-class families spend their weekends in such places: I think a good description of this one would be the every-man's country club.
Before jumping into the pool we worked up a sweat on the soccer fields. This one was roughly 1/4 the size of a full field, which was perfect for someone still getting used to the altitude adjustment. It may not look amazing, but I was very impressed with the field: a mostly-green lawn and three large posts to form a sturdy goal. I remember playing in a few parks when I was younger in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Ecuador and nothing matched the condition of this field - usually it is dirt or patchy, dead grass. We began our game with me, Monica (my host mom), and Fabiana (my host sister) on one side vs Juan Pablo (host dad) and Coco (host brother) on the other. At first we were weaving our way through about 15 young children playing various versions of their own games, but soon the different kids started joining sides and we had a full fledged game. I managed to restrain my competitive Hyde and play like how someone is supposed to play with children less than half their age.
After lunch we moved to the pool with the water slides. Unfortunately the slides are not working today -- I've always enjoyed a good waterslide -- but the pool is chillingly refreshing. The family's twin cousins took turns holding onto my shoulders as I towed them around the pool, and considering my impecable swimming skills I was very grateful that neither weighed more than 40lbs. I discovered the batteries to the GoPro were dead right after jumping into the pool, so you'll have to take my word for it that it was quite an adventure.
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