Day 9 - Travel day to the Pacific Coast

Today was a long day of riding on the bus. We got up and had breakfast AT 6:30, then left the lodge in Mindo by 7:00. We traveled West through Ecuador, and stopped about 2 hours into the trip at an African Palm Tree farm, owned by our guide's friend, Xavier. We got to see the tall palm trees and learn about their uses. The owner sells the palm fruit to the processing companies that will make the palm oil. The trees last about 30 years, and will make fruit every year. After that time, they chop them down to plant new ones. The new ones will be ready to make new fruit after 3 years. Pretty neat to see these up close.

We got back on the bus for a long drive. We stopped about every 2 hours, and even ate lunch on the bus. We headed West through Ecuador, then traveled down the Via del Sol (road of the Sun) toward our destination of Ayampe. Below is a picture of what they use for taxis in the small ocean towns:

We finally arrived at the hotel around 5:00pm. We checked into our rooms/cabins, then met up for a walk down to the beach. The sand is darker than we expected, but the water was warm (for those that wanted to swim in the ocean). As promised, my picture of the group on the beach:

 The sun set on our first day at the Pacific coast:

Supper was at 7:30, so most just talked and used WiFi until then in the lodge area. Today is Taylor's 21st birthday, so we had the hotel bring a cake for her to celebrate. Happy Birthday, Taylor!

After supper, the sky was extremely clear, so we hung out on the upper deck to look at the stars. Since we are now in the Southern hemisphere, we do not see the same constellations as we see from home. Pretty awesome! Tomorrow we hike the Machalilla National Forest, and swim at some beaches. Don't worry - we have plenty of sunscreen to go around!

Day 8 - Mindo, Ecuador

Good evening! Today was a little less strenuous than the others, since we only had a morning hike around the grounds of our lodge. We met at 7:00 for breakfast (yes, all of your children were up at AND ready by that time) then went to our hike around 8:00. We saw some more native plants, walked down some pretty steep trails, then up some more steep trails. We crossed a really pretty water fall/bridge area. At the top of a hill, our guide surprised us by pulling out a rope swing! Very cool! We all took turns swinging and yelling like Tarzan (no, not really, only some yelled). After the hike we had several hours to relax, swim in the pool, read, walk around the other parts of the lodge area to see birds and flowers, or take a nap.

 Above - picture on the bridge during our hike; Below - picture of the waterfall (taken by Hannah)

Above: Dr. Crater swinging in the trees; Below, lunch outside at our lodge, overlooking the valley.

After lunch, we went for a drive into the nearby town called Mindo. This area is well known for activities such as rafting, tubing, zip-lining, bird watching and a butterfly farm. We rode around the small town and stopped to tour a chocolate "factory." It is not what you would think of as a factory, since it started as a restaurant, and they developed it into a factory with small tours. We saw what happens to the cocoa (pronounced here like ku- COW) plants, how they ferment and dry the seeds, where the roast the seeds and break them into little pieces (called nibs). From there they melt it in a hot room and mix it with sugar and then the cold room where they separate it into bars. We got to peek into some of the rooms through glass windows  - reminded us of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!"  At the end, we got to taste some 100% chocolate, mix it with some sugar or ginger or chili peppers. We also tasted chocolate honey. At the end, we got a small chocolate fudgey brownie that was like heaven!

After the tour, we bought some souvenirs for home, and got back on the bus. We went into another nearby town, Los Bancos and visited another hostel, Mirador Rio Blanco that overlooks a nearby canyon.  We got a chance to walk around a little, see some birds and buterflies, and talk to some other Americans that were staying at this hotel on a bird-watching trip. They had some pretty extensive camera set-ups that made several of our students quite jealous!

We left for our lodge, had dinner, and relaxed in the lodge. Since this is only place with WiFi, students seem to be hanging out here more than in their cabins. Some are playing games, shooting pool, or reading. We have a VERY early morning tomorrow - breakfast at 6:30am and on the road by 7:00. We have an 8 hour drive to the coastal lowlands, and will be stopping along the way for one excursion.  Hopefully on the next blog I can show pictures of the beaches! Yeah!

Some silly pictures of today...:
Kara, Tia, Skylar, Evan and Logan in one of the cabins:

Above: Taylor and Brianne with chocolate "stuck" in their teeth; Below, our version of "blue footed boobies" outside of the Galapagos Islands... (can you guess whose feet are whose?)

Day 7 - The Cloud Forest

We said good bye to Quito for 2 weeks, and traveled West to the cloud forest. We first stopped at a volcanic crater, the only one in the world where people have built a settlement. It is called Pululahua Volcano Crater.
Students taking a "selfie" at the crater...

After a short hike to see the crater (and yes, I did take a selfie with the "crater" in the background...) we got back on the bus for another hour drive to our hiking spot. We stopped at the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve. We saw several different kinds of orchids, some insects and lots of other native plants. We got another awesome surprise - a giant waterfall!!!! It seemed about 30 feet high with very strong water.

 After the hike, we rode to our hotel. Sachatamia in Mindo, Ecuador, for lunch and an afternoon excursion.  We rode the bus to an archeological site of the Yumbo native people and saw some hieroglyphics and stone ceremonial baths on the grounds near Tulipe. We learned about what the symbols mean and a little about the customs of these people (run out of the area by the Spanish invaders around the 1600s). We were followed by some local dogs that wanted to follow the bus back to the hotel.

It was a calm night, just eating supper (yeah - some celery soup and spaghetti) and hanging out in the lodge. Some were on their iPhones with the Wifi, others read, played pool, etc.  Relaxing evening, but we have to get up for breakfast at 7:00 for our 8:00 hike around the grounds.

(Adam and Brianne trying out for the PGA - pool game academy)

Day 6 - Travel day back to Quito

We are safely back in Quito after a long drive from the rain forest See the picture above, the students walking in the primary forest). Let me catch you up on what we did yesterday afternoon, then finish about today.

It did stop raining after lunch, and we set out on our hike into the rain forest. We saw all different types of native plants that are used for medicinal purposes to the native people. It was quite interesting to touch some of them, and see what other uses they can have. We had a great surprise - crossing a small "canyon" in a zip-line chair! Each student got to cross, and once on the other side got to hold the rhinoceros beetle (it was about the size of your hand!). We also ate some ants that tasted like lemon - really, we all ate them and the actually did taste like lemons! To cross back over the canyon, we walked on a swinging bridge. We finished our hike and road back to the lodge in the canoes. To cool off, most of us went for a swim in the pool - quite refreshing after the humidity of the rain forest. We ate dinner in the lodge, and many hung around to play "Heads Up!"  (Quite entertaining, I must admit!)

Today (Wednesday, May 14), we left the lodge in the rain forest, and headed back to Quito. We were supposed to stop at a town square to see wild monkeys that live in the trees, but it was raining pretty hard, and the monkeys were hiding in the trees. We hopped back on the bus to head back up the Andes. We stopped for lunch (and a bathroom break where one of the students got stuck in the bathroom...), another traditional Ecuadorian meal. Actually, most of the students ate hamburgers which I don't think is traditional Ecuador food.  For desert, we had banana with a thick chocolate sauce - YUM!!!! I loved it so much, I ate most of the students' extra sauce on their plates. I LOVE Ecuadorian chocolate!!!!

We returned to Quito at about 4:00 this afternoon for some free time in the city for dinner. Tomorrow, we start to head West to the cloud forest. I am having problems with the internet in the hotel, so I will try to post some pictures later. Sorry - I know you want to see what is going on! :(

Dinner at the lodge:

 Breakfast, saying "good bye" to Casa del Suizo:

 Walking across the Napo River to the town of Misahualli:

Days 4 and 5

Buenos tardes from Ecuador! My apologies for not writing yesterday, but we have to purchase internet by the minute here in the Amazon River Basin, so I waited to blog about 2 days worth of information to save my minutes.

Yesterday (May 12) we spent in the bus traveling to the Amazon Basin. We left the hot springs at 8:30, and rode in the bus about 3 hours. We got a great surprise as we were riding down the Andes Mountain range - we got to clearly see a volcano!!! We pulled the bus over and climbed  a hill on a person's land to see a better view. Quite spectacular!

We rode further through the cloud forest to a town called Tena, where we got out of the bus to walk around a local market. We talked with a native "medicine woman" who showed us a variety of natural methods for healing, and we actually bought some palm tree grubs. We were told we could either eat them raw or cooked, and we opted for cooked. We walked across the street to have a local store fry the grubs over a fire (kabob style). We also bought some free-range chicken that was smoked in banana leafs. Great food, and the grubs tasted like fried bacon. (I will send pictures later when I have better internet).

Once we got to the Napo River, we boarded motorized canoes to take us 15 min down the river to Casa del Suizo, our stay for the next 2 days. We checked into our rooms for about an hour, then we had lunch. After lunch we went for an afternoon hike to a local home, learned about native plants, and drank some chicha (fermented drink of the natives). We talked to the local family, and met some girls who gave us all bracelets woven out of palm fronds.  Our last adventure for the day was to learn how to use a blow gun! Some of the students have a hidden talent! After we got back, we had a chance to chill out before dinner then a free evening!

Today (Day 5, May 13), we had a morning hike in Amazoonica, a wild life preservation center that houses hurt animals or ones that were trying to be sold to different countries. On the way down thee river, we got to see monkeys that were not in the preserve! We saw lots of native animals, and some that we would not get a chance to see elsewhere. We returned to the hotel to change into cooler clothes, and walked to a butterfly farm, a local pottery shop and a balsa wood carver. It is now time for lunch and a heavy down pour of rain just blew in. Later this afternoon, we are going on a hike through the primary and secondary forests, and hopefully the rain will stop!

I will send pictures tomorrow when we return to Quito. :)
As promised.......
The grubs we ate in Tena:

 The canoe ride to the lodge:

 Painted Amazon warriors:

 The woolly monkey we saw on the way to Amazoonica: (look in the middle...)

 Watching the demonstration of the balsa wood carver:

Day 3 - Antisana Volcano

Today we spent a lot of time on the bus, driving to the volcano. The weather was not very agreeable, since it has rained most of the day. We started out driving North from Quito, then East toward the volcano. Along the way, we passed a village that has traditional Ecuadorian "cowboys" and we stopped to take a picture with some.

We arrived at the paramo of the volcano (Andean plains) that is filled with grassy vegetation and no trees. First, we walked to a small lagoon (a lake in the middle of the paramo), then hiked around the paramo in search of different plant and animal life. It was raining for most of the hike, and quite chilly.

We had a traditional Ecuadorian lunch and listened to some native live music in honor of Mother's Day. "Viva las madres!"  All of the students would like to tell their mothers, "Happy Mother's Day from Ecuador!"

We drove to our next stop - the thermal hot springs in Papallacta. The springs are heated by the volcano, and each one is a different temperature. As I write this, they are all completing a thorough study of each of the springs around our cabins. Later, we will go to dinner in the hotel restaurant, then more studying of the hot springs and their therapeutic properties.

Photo op with the some local "cowboys" going to a competition:

 In front of the lagoon at the Antisana Volcano:

Hiking on the Paramo:

 On the bus after lunch:

 Studying the therapeutic effects of the hot springs:

Day 2 - Quito

Good afternoon! We are on our 2nd day in Ecuador, since the first day was spent traveling here. The flights were fine, just a little late leaving ATL.  We arrived at the airport at about 10:50pm Ecuador time (11:50 HPU time), then actually got to our hotel at around 1:00am!  We were some tired travelers!

We met for our day in Quito at 8:45am with our guide, Enrique, and drove toward the equator. We stopped in a small village called Pomasci and went to a market

We went to the Intinan Museum, which sits on the equator. We got to observe and try out some different experiments (balancing an egg on a nail, for one) on the equator, as well as joining in a native dance.

We drove back to downtown Quito to have lunch and visit the Old Town Quito. We walked around the Franciscan monastary, the Gold Church, and saw the President's Palace. We are now back at the hotel to relax before dinner. Tomorrow - hiking around the Antisana Volcano (13,000 ft elevation) and going to a hot springs spa.
Market:

Group at the Equator:

 In the Monastery

 Group in Independence Square: