Family visits Ecuador!
Trip Start
Jan 04, 2011
1
15
18
Trip End
May 16, 2011
Quito, Mindo, Otavalo, Cotachi, Banos, Puyo, Ecuador
Thursday, April 14, 2011
On Friday morning we went to visit my San Francisco, my school in Cumbaya. My family got to experience what I have to deal with going to school, the vendors and everything. After this we went to the Centro Historico and saw many of the churches and sites that I had seen and enjoyed before. We ate at a place called Hasta la Vuelta Senor, my family's first taste of Ecuadorian food, and they loved every bite. We also climbed up the basilica and my Dad was scared the whole way up. They also enjoyed riding the crowded trolley which is always fun. After we had dinner with Gilberto and Lucia at the Cuencanian place I had eaten at before with the Alemans (went to the beach with them). Of course I had to translate everything. That night we stayed in Quito.
The next day we woke up bright and early and headed to the Mintad del Mundo (Equator) and I watched my parents and brother stand at the center of the earth. We had a little food there and headed back to go up the teleferico. The teleferico is a huge gondola project which runs all the way to the top of Pichincha which lies along the west of Quito. Going up you could see the whole city laid out before you but when we reached the top we were shrouded in clouds. At the top we walked along the paths and my family was breathing hard as they were affected by the altitude (4,100 meters about 13,000 feet). After spending some time at the teleferico we headed back down and jumped in a taxi back home. In the taxi on the way it actually started hailing. This was the first time I had even seen this happen in Quito. It was a really crazy storm. When we finally got back we headed to my house for a little dessert with the some of Gilberto's sons and daughters and the grandchildren. My mom and dad enjoyed talking to Carmen and her husband in English. My brother played some games with Pedro, Carmen's son. Again that night we slept in Quito.
The next day (Sunday) we headed to Mindo on a bus that left around 9:20. We got to Mindo and had some lunch. I showed my family the amazing fresh trout they have in Mindo and they enjoyed another Ecuadorian meal. After this we went tubing down the river like I had done before. We had a lot of fun doing that but after that it started raining hard and we didn't get to do much after that. We ate some of the pizza in Mindo and headed back to Quito after that. On the way back to Quito we were stopped by a landslide that blocked the whole road! It took them 2 hours to clear it and finally we got on our way. It was so crazy for that to happen when my parents were here. That night we slept in Quito again.
The next day on Monday we headed to Otavalo In Otavalo we ate an almuerzo for 2 dollars each and headed to the market. At the market my family bought a lot of interesting things with me bargaining for them every step along the way. We got a lot of good prices and a few not so good ones but overall we did really good. That night we stayed in Rose's cottage (the place I had stayed before) and met a little dog that wanted to stay in our room for the night. The next day we headed to Cotocahi and Cuiocha lake. The lake was really beautiful and the lakes in the middle are said to look like guinea pigs. We climbed around the whole lake which took about 4 hours. The route around the lake was up and down and had beautiful views all around. You could even see Cotocahi shrouded in clouds. We almost actually got separated on the when the trail suddenly ended and we had to walk on a road. Finally after 4 hours we made it to a restaurant that was overlooking the lake. There I finally had Cuy (Guinea Pig) for the first time. My dad and brother even had some. It was actually pretty good. After that we headed back to Otavalo and headed back to Quito. When we got back we had a delicious dinner with Gilberto and Lucia. My family really enjoyed the home made cooking I have been having my whole stay here.
The next day (Wednesday) we headed for Banos. In Banos we ate a quick lunch and headed out to do the ruta de las cascadas (the route of the waterfalls), the same route I had ridden before when I was in Banos. After a whole lot of exercising and seeing all the beautiful waterfalls we headed back to Banos for a really good actually Italian dinner. From there we caught the bus to Puyo and met up with my friend Lauren and her Mom. We stayed in Puyo that night.
The next morning we headed out on our jungle tour. After a ride to out from Puyo our guide Kory took us to an indigenous Quecha village. There we talked to an indigenous shaman and saw all their handmade crafts. After that we started walking down a river through the jungle. The river was beautiful and really relaxing. Along the way we covered ourselves in this type of mud they use in spas. It can literally be used on your whole body. After walking down the river and a few trails we ended up at a beautiful waterfall. There we went swimming in the waterfall. From there we walked back and had a delicious lunch. My parents had some fresh tilapia that looked like it just came out of the river. After lunch we headed to canoe in the river Puyo. Along the way we saw some small monkeys climbing in the trees. We canoed down the river which actually went through some white water. We ended after about 30 minutes and headed to a look out point. From here we could see across the whole jungle along with the mountains in the distance. We could also see the large Rio Pastaza. It was really beautiful. After this we headed to a monkey rescue center. Here they keep rescued monkeys and other animals that were either pets or trafficked illegally. The monkeys were very friendly and a lot of them climbed right up us. This finally ended the tour and we drove back to Puyo.
That night we had to head back to Quito but the road was closed for a religious procession through Ambato. So we had to take a different way through Tena. This event only happens once a year and it had to be the day that we had to go back. Since the tour lasted all day we didn't get to leave Puyo until about 5:30 pm and we didn't get back to Quito until about 12 am. And we still had to get back to north Quito. By the time we did that it was about 1 am. At this point my parents didn't bother staying in the hotel and they packed up their stuff and took some of mine. They headed to the airport for their 6:30 am and said chou to Ecuador.
It was quite an adventure that we had filled with a lot of surprises, but we still managed to get everything I wanted to do done. It was great to be able to show my family Ecuador and how much my Spanish has improved. There were a lot of snags but we had a great time. It was an adventure all along. Check with my mom for more pictures.
Saludos,
Jose
Comments
It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and full of exercise, adventure and fun thanks to my son!! SALUDOS!
Joseph:
Thanks for an exciting tour thru Ecuador. I enjooyed your desciptions and great photos.
Love,
Uncle Frank