Family Visit

I spent the past two weeks with my whole family in Ecuador, showing them my new home and all the wonderful people I have come to know here. It was a very special experience indeed. My two families, Ecuadorian and American, both fell in love with each other and hope to spend more time together in the future. I would like this too:) The following pictures give a glimpse into my life these past weeks.






(My two families, Shirley wandered into the photo too:)






(A view down the steps of El Parque Itchimbia with the historical district of Quito visible afar. I took them all on a walking tour their first full day here and they handled the 10,000ft of altitude like champs! We ate lunch at a little local place for $1.50 a plate and then walked around the historical district where a mime made fun of us, good times!)






(Our next stop was Banos, here is a shot looking down on the town from a trail that winds up one of the valley's sides.)







(The town of Banos from the viewpoint at the end of the hike. The last portion of the hike we were accompanied by three children who live in a little shack in the hillside. It's amazing the inclines people live and farm on here, no way one could ever use a tractor!)






(When I asked the little girl of the trio what she had in her book she said "airplanes." I didn't get it until we summited and they started making paper airplanes! We joined in too, it was great.)






(We took a one day jungle tour starting from Banos. We only had enough time to make it to secondary rainforest but this was impressive and exciting nonetheless. The day before there were record rains and all the rivers had flooded, wiping out the trail in sections and destroying all the bridges. Thus, we got the "adventure" version of the tour, complete with sketchy river crossings such as this one, adrenaline rush you bet!)






(He we are with our guide Carlos, if you click on the pic to view it larger you can see the designs painted on our checks using a local dye known to indigenous peoples for centuries. It washes off easily with water.)






(A family shot in front of a large tree. The strange coating on several faces is the result of mixing a certain clay with water, it is reportedly similar/better to the substances people pay excessive amounts of money for in spas.)






(Patrick with the goal of our hike in the background. The hike took about an hour longer than normal due to the treacherous conditions but the waterfall at the end was incredible, almost too big to get in a single photo!)







(Many rainforest plants and trees have enormous leaves. These can be used to wrap meat for cooking, build a roof, or cover privy parts.)







(Family shot overlooking the Pastaza river and surrounding rain forest.)







(Another view from the same outcropping, showing more of the Pastaza river as well as a bit of the Puyo river feeding in on the right side.)






(Back in Banos we wandered the town one afternoon and came across a family of textile producers with whom we chatted for over an hour and bought some amazing wall hangings and hammocks.)







(Our next destination was the coast of Ecuador where we resided for Christmas. The surroundings were so unChristmas-like for me I didn't realize it was "the day" until about noon. I guess that's what 80 degrees and tropical plants will do.)







(It was cloudy a few of the days but still plenty warm. My brothers and I made a sand fort like we usually do on the Washington coast, the locals didn't get it but then again most people in the US don't understand either.)






(The place we stayed at, Alandaluz, is a world renowned eco-lodge and was an incredible attraction in its own right. This is a shot of the restaurant, constructed entirely from easily renewable resources, in this case bamboo.)






(Eating fresh seafood right on the beach, amazing)






(My bros and I took a long walk down an uninhabited part of the beach, we found many animals washed ashore, such as this turtle with no head.)







(Exploring a ship wreck we found far down the beach on our walk, no gold though.)







(The way we ended most every night, all listening to the Harry Potter books through Matthew's ipod.)