Feliz Navidad!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Amazon Jungle Pictures

Cabanas to sleep in.

Parrots.

Rainforest.

Monkeys that kept crawling in Doug´s shoes.

Caiman aligator.

The Jungle

Hi Everyone. We have been so busy traveling by bus the last few days. We wanted to make it to a certain town before Christmas and we just arrived today. It´s called Montanita and it´s on the west coast of Ecuador. It´s an old fishing village turned surfing town. Lots of travelers(and hippies) come here so there are lots of shops and bars. Fun! We´re staying in a place with a great view of the ocean and a private deck with a hammock. The waves look good and big, so Doug will be renting a board.
So we survived the Oriente (jungle). We went on a three day, two night trip. From Baños we took an hour bus ride to Puyo, then were picked up and drove another 45 min. to a lodge in the jungle. Our guide´s name was Tony. He spoke english pretty well. Very nice and knowledgable about animals and plants. He studied the Oriente for a few years and then lived with Indians for a year.
Our first day we hiked to a waterfall and swam. It was beautiful. Along the way Tony pointed out plants used for medicine and different things. I kept expecting a python to strike out at me, but thankfully that didn´t happen. We did see lots of birds including parrots, tiny monkeys, a caiman(alligator) , frogs, and butterflies the size of small birds! And way too many hidden sneaky bugs and insects that you think is a leaf or stick.
The second day we hiked again to another waterfall. It was a long, hard treck with pouring down rain. Even with our rain gear, we got totally soaked. And the jungle floor got very slippery. I had fun sliding around, but Doug was somewhat miserable because they don´t make boots his size here, so he had to wear his shoes which were not very good for the jungle. The waterfall was very fun and worth the trip though.
When we got back we took a canoe ride to another camp where we stayed our second night. Two families live at this camp. Lots of dogs, cats, chickens, and monkeys hanging around. (you can imagine how much Doug loved this).
We walked around exploring the area and Tony taught us how to use a blowgun. The trip was a very cool experience.
We will post pictures soon! Take care everyone.

Pictures

Audrey´s relative Eduardo and Patricia at their ranch.

The market in Otovalo.

How the protestors close the roads.

Old town Quito.

The hot spring mineral baths in Baños.

The waterfall in Baños.

BAÑOS

AFTER WE LEFT THE RANCH, WE HEADED BACK TO QUITO. WE WANDERED AROUND THE CITY SOME MORE, THIS TIME CHECKING OUT THE OLD PART OF TOWN. THERE ARE SO MANY BEAUTIFUL CHURCHES THERE THAT ARE 500 YEARS OLD. WE CLIMBED ALL THE WAY UP TO THE BELL TOWER OF ONE AND SAW AN IMPRESSIVE VIEW OF THE CITY. (AND THEN WE ATE SOME MORE HOMEMADE ICECREAM).

YESTERDAY WE TOOK TWO BUSSES FROM QUITO TO THE TOWN BAÑOS, WHICH MEANS BATHS. OH- ON ONE OF THE BUS´S, WE WERE THE TARGET OF A THREE PERSON ROBBERY. BASICALLY SOME YOUNG GUY ¨HELPED" US ONTO THE BUS, EVEN SHOWING US WHERE TO SIT AND TRYING TO HELP WITH MY BAG. I THOUGHT HE WAS JUST WANTING MONEY BUT WHEN HE STARTED TALKING TO DOUG AND THE BUS STATRED MOVING I KNEW SOMETHING WAS UP. SO I HAD MY BAG BETWEEN MY FEET AND I FELT A SLIGHT TUG. THERE WAS A GUY BEHIND US KINDA HIDDEN. AND ANOTHER OLDER MAN ACROSS THE WAY. WE SWITCHED SEATS. WHEN THEIR MISSION FAILED THEY ALL GOT OFF AT DIFFERENT STOPS.

HERE IN BAÑOS THERE IS AN ACTIVE VOLCANO AND SEVERAL HOT SPRINGS. TODAY WE TOOK A SOAK IN THEM, WHICH THE RESIDENTS HERE SAY CURE MANY AILMENTS- THE ONLY ONE I COULD UNDERSTAND WAS ARTHRITIS. I´M HOPING THEY CURE MY BUG BITES. WE HAVE BEEN EATING DIFFERENT DISHES, THE MAIN TYPE OF MEAL IN ECUADOR IS CALLED AN AMUERZO. IT IS A FULL MEAL (SOUP, CHICKEN AND RICE, VEGETABLES, AND FRUIT JUICE) AND DRINK AND COSTS ABOUT A $1.50.

THIS TOWN (BAÑOS) IS SET UP FOR TOURISTS. THEY HAVE BOOTHS EVERYWHERE OFFERING HORSEBACK RIDING, RIVER RAFTING, HIKES TO THE VOLCANO (WHICH OUR GUIDE BOOK TOLD US NOT TO DO BECAUSE, WELL ITS A VOLCANO), AND JUNGLE TOURS. SO WE SIGNED UP FOR A THREE DAY JUNGLE TOUR. IT SOUNDS PRETTY COOL, BUT I MIGHT REGRET IT WHEN I´M SLAPPING BUGS AWAY AND WALKING IN MUD FOR FIVE HOURS. WE LEAVE TOMORROW AND GET BACK SUNDAY. WISH US LUCK!

Hola!

Hi Everyone. We are still at Patricia and Eduardo´s hosteria. It is beautiful. They have been so hospitible. We have been the only guests, so it´s like we have our own staff. The ranch has four small cabins for guests, the main house with a restaurant below and a golf course. It is located on a lake surrounded by mountains. Okay, so we are not quite roughing it yet....
Saturday we went to the town of Otavolo. It is known for its famous market. For many street blocks there are Indian vendors. It was pretty cool to see. They are most known for Alpacca knit wear and beautifully embroidered clothes. It was fun for Doug to bargain. I bought an Alpacca scarf for $4.00 and hat and gloves for $4.oo. That´s about all I can fit in my backpack.
Yesterday, Pat and Lalo took us to San Antonio to look at sculptures and a modern art exhibit. They had amazing woodwork at very cheap prices. Unfortunetly, it is too expensive to ship to the states and we can´t carry anything else. I think not shopping is going to be the hardest part of the trip for me!
After that, we had a huge lunch where Pat and Lalo invited some friends over to the ranch. It was nice because they all spoke English. They gave us many good tips on where to stay throughout Ecuador.
So today is strange because all the main roads are closed due to stikes. We heard on the news that this might be the case because students, teachers, and a lot of other political groups are not happy. I guess this sometimes happens for half a day, a few days, or weeks! So we might be ¨stuck¨ here for awhile. Doug and I walked into Ibarra today. By ¨closing¨the roads, they just drag trees and burning car tires across the road. Cars that try to pass get rocks thrown at their windsheilds. The government does nothing. CRAZY! We will post pictures soon. We are going to get some famous Ibarran icecream and walk back to the ranch and play some golf. Our plan is to leave tomorrow and head back to Quito to arrange a tour into the jungle. We´ll see if the roads are cleared.

Arrived in Ecuador

Well, we made it to Quito. It took two full days of travel stopping in Dallas and Miami for the night. Met a nice Aussie that we shared a cab with from the airport to a hostal. We are staying in a small backpackers hostal for the night. (which costs $8 total) Our room is tiny with an even tinier single bed. I was worried about walking outside at night but the area seems okay. Dougs Spanish is coming in very useful. Tomorrow we take a bus north to my relatives (Patricia and Eduardo) golf resort. Its in a very cool area with lakes and popular markets nearby. So far, so good. Hope you are all well!