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Ecuador Honeymoon

May 1, 2010 we fly to Quito. Day 1 - What a great day walking around Quito Colonial with Cesar, taking pictures and admiring the churches (one lined on the inside with 18 karat gold throughout). Day 2 - hiking Pasochoa volcano I thought we were in the jungle, everything was so green and wet and lush. We had an Irish journalist with us who was doing an article about Ecuador for promotions in England. Day 3 - hiking North Iliniza in the rain. Glimpses of the mountain appeared through the cloud openings. It kept a mystery to the Andes for us.

Day 4 - mountain biking in Cotopaxi National Park passing herds of wild horses and eagles soaring eye level. The sky opened up when we got to our camp site that night...a beautiful, peaceful, spot by a lagoon surrounded by rolling hills and outside them are pastures of more wild horses. The best part was the view of Cotopaxi, the mountain we would climb next. Day 5 - we practiced with the crampons and a little ice climbing, had a hot meal, and went to bed early. Day 6 - wake up at midnight and start hiking. The best memory was seeing the glacier in the dim moonlight and all it's crevasses and caves. No one made it to the top that day as an ice bridge collapsed when the first guide crossed it.

Day 7 - rest day in Banos was spent canyoning down waterfalls in the jungle, 20 meters, 30 meters, 35 meters and lovin it, just to come back and sit in the hot springs. We were the only ones that spoke english. Day 8 - we knew we would not summit Chimborazo, but we still wanted to hike around the mountain. We stayed at the refuge 16,400 feet and woke at midnight to hear the winds howling. We were the only ones at the refuge. Not many people attempt this mountain. Wellington, our guide, said we would not make it past the ridge if this weather keeps up. We decided to wake at 3 to check, still no change. We woke at 5 and started to climb. Pellets of rock and snow blasted our helmets. It was a challenge to make it past the ice waterfalls and rock walls. Coming down was steep, but again we saw glimpses of the mountain through the fast passing clouds.
Canyoning in Banos

Eagle in Cotopaxi National Park
Hiking Pasochoa

Tombs below Chimborazo
North Iliniza refuge
A Vicuña in Chimborazo National Park
Wild horses in Cotopaxi National Park

The best camping spot in the world...the Santo Domingo Lagoon below Cotopaxi
Alpaca at La Alegria Hacienda
Los Chagras
Pasochoa farms
Chimborazo ridge line, our summit.

Chimborazo refuge 16,400 feet

Cotopaxi

Pasochoa
Quito Colonial and lastly Chimborazo panoramic...

Pictures posted in no order. Next stop...The Galapagos Islands

Las Vegas 2010

I did it again. Decided I would go away on a trip... and left on a plane 12 hours later. When I got to Las Vegas with just a small backpack, Tim's friends picked me up from the airport to bring me to a bbq where I would surprise my brother. It was an awesome trip. He took me to Lake Mead for the first time (where I got the underwater pictures below to give comparison to the sky pictures). We went out a couple nights, which of course provides interesting entertainment. One day we did a hike out near Red Rocks. It was so green for being a desert with all the rain they've had. Tim and I
Carp kissing the air
Duck
Lake Mead
Grand Canyon

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony" ~Mahatma Gandhi

More pics to follow...

Jakarta - Indonesia

Ancol - 7:00 am

Fisherman coming in with their days catch that you can buy straight from their decks.

The Vespa

Boats that will carry you out to the thousand islands.

Juice semangka, jeruk, belimbing, alpukat, all very good, I wish we had more in the states.

I tried it all, but was glad to come back to american food. Mostly it was the rice dishes with meat for breakfast that was too much. I like the simple pastry or cereal. Did love the 90 degree F weather though. Most people were covered though being a muslim country. Down in a little tavern I met up with my Australian friends. They kept me entertained as they took over the live band on stage singin' and playing the drums, and dancing till close.

People were very nice, even when being checked for security, mirrors under the cars, dogs sniffing, trucks opened, gloveboxes checked, bags searched, and lastly making you walk though a sensor, they would open the door for you with a smile. Bottled water was offered everywhere as you even had to brush your teeth with it.

Being at the beach at 7 in the morning and finding hundreds of people there already was quite a shock. Everyone out swimming in the beach pool, and what don't you see...one swimsuit. Needless to say my bikini stayed in my bag. I'll save that for Bali or the other islands I would love to visit some day in the future. Beautiful pinwheel flowers kept my camera busy.

I can't explain the image there as it went from two extremes. Hopefully some of these pictures do a little justice. So, until the next trip...

"Don't be afraid to go out on a limb. That is where the fruit is."