Trippin' in Ecuador

Well here it is finally.  The recap from our Christmas vacation along with some xtra large photos since many of you have been asking for more pictures. We were fortunate to have Roberta in country to help us celebrate Christmas and bring in the New Year. We had a great time together exploring Ecuador.... well, most of the time. Anyhow......

Our first day in Quito we did the regular tourist thing including a brief visit to the central basilica. Roberta had a hard time with the hills as Quito is ove 9000 ft. in elevation. Loja is at around 6200' so Sara and I had an easier time. It was nice to feel a little cool air once again.

We had been looking forward to this trip for many reasons. One of them was to enjoy a good beer that actually has some flavor. Salud!

After a 3 night stint in the big city we headed out to the Ecuadorean coast for some relaxation and sunshine. We stayed in a great little town called Canoa where the mood is quite "tranquilo". Our hostel was called Balloo and is owned by a British ex-pat. We were at the edge of town in a quiet little cabana with a beachside view. Good stuff!

We celebrated Christmas by renting surfboards and taking some lessons. As you can see the waves were HUGE so it was a good time. We were both able to stand up while on the waves but don't look for us in the X-Games anytime soon.

The only logical thing to do after visiting the beach is to ride 10 hours by bus up into the mountains. As you can see it was well worth the trip. We stayed at the Secret Garden which had an absolutely incredible view of Cotopaxi, one of Ecuador's many majestic and active volcanos.

The Secret Garden keeps "wellies" on loan for their guests. We took full advantage as we explored the area.

We  paid for a guide to shuttle us up to one of the nearby peaks. We then walked up another 300m and topped out at around 3800 m or around 12,000 ft. This place made us feel out of breath.

Being the extreme sports enthusiasts we are, we decided to ride mountain bikes back down. Really it was more painful than scary.

Sara feeling at home with the horses on the property.

Next stop was Laguna Quilotoa and the Black Sheep Inn. A really spectacular, emearld green lake in the crater of an active Volcano. They say the center is so deep it cannot be measured

The Black Sheep in is owned and operated by some American Ex-Pats who have done a fantastic job supporting the local community while making gringos feel at home with hot showers and great food. It is also known as an exceptional eco-lodge because of their many efforts at water conservation, farming, and land management.They also happen to have a super kick ass disc golf course. Our friends Erik and Alisha also visited this place a couple of years ago.

We lucked out and got to spend the new year with the black Sheep Inn and the town of Chugchilan. Its a small community of about 250 people but they had a great fiesta. This is perhaps one of the rowdiest Ecuadorean holidays. Everyone makes an effigy of something from the old year they want to get rid of. Our host had a few English students that she was hoping would improve their behavior in the new year. Here we are posing with them. At the end of the night the effigies are tossed on a large fire and the old years bad juju is burned up.

Here are some folks posing with the effigies in town. Many of the local kids wondered if it was them that was being burned.There was a huge celebration in town and they welcomed us with open arms. Fireworks, bands, dancing and of course lots and lots of drinking. We could hear them still partying at 7 in the morning.

And last of all, no one had bothered to mention that busses would be extremely hard to find on New Years morning. Christmas morning, no problem. But New Years people are simply too tanked to handle anything in the morning. Needless to say our trip home was nothing short of misearble. Lots of waiting for this and that. Traveling from one place to the next until we finally made it back. Whew.

Happy New Years all! May 2010 be an awesome year for all.