Adventure Seekers+Geo Tours Ecuador+Canyoneering=Great!

Off to find an adventure. Rafting, mt biking or canyoneering?

We made it Banos! Currently drinking a micro-brew. I think we found Bend in Ecuador!

Adios Ali Shungu

Buenos dias! Today we're sad to leave our moutain lodge. It's sunny here and we perfect views of the volcanos all around. We'll have to come back here sometime.

The horseback ride yesterday was interesting. My horse, named Carolina, had a mind of her own. At one point, Andy and Jose Maria turned left while Carolina decided to go straight. I had no idea how to get her to turn around or stop. Luckily, Jose Maria realized that I was gone and came back for me. That was my first time on a horse!

We're headed to Banos today. Don Manuel Valenzuela is going to come and pick us up in his taxi and drive us to the bus station in Quito. From there we're going to take a bus to Banos. The whole trip will take us about 5 hours total.

Puedo usar la sopa en el rio?

It's another beautiful day at 10,000 feet! We woke up this morning to an awesome view of a snow- capped volcano that we can see from our cabana. A super nice couple from the States owns the rancho that we're staying at. They have a partnership with the local indigenous community. Manuel is always stopping by our cabana to put more lena, or wood, on the fire. Paulina and her mom have made us 2 delicious meals so far. Today we're going for a short hike around the rancho and then doing some horsebacking riding later. Tomorrow we're headed to Banos!!

p.s. Andy tried to ask Fernando, our rainforest guide, if he could use soap in the river. Instead he asked...Can I use the soup in the river? That explains the title of this post. Very funny.

Otavalo!

We've arrived in Otavalo! We spent most the day wandering around the market and eating/tomando cervezas. We had a traditional Ecuadorian meal at one of the corner restaurants. Meals here have at least 2 courses with soup always coming first. The second plate is usually rice and beans with some sort of fried meat. Juice always comes with the meal too. Most places just have one option for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So far it has all been great! The place we're staying is on top of a moutain with awesome views all around. We did some serious off roading in our taxi on a dirt road to get there. Tomorrow we´re going to do some horseback riding around the moutain that we're staying on. Right now we're headed back to the lodge for dinner! Buen provecho!

We´re off to Otavalo!

We were woken up today by what sounded like a parade right in front of the hotel. We couldn´t see what was going on because our room was on the other side. Who has parades at 6am on a Saturday? Our flight leaves from Coca today at 8. The hotel is going to pick us up at the airport in Quito and then drive us to Otavalo (about 2 hours). Now we´re off to breakfast!