Otavalo is a city of about 50,000 that has figured out how to balance its indigenous identities and being economically prosperous. On one side is the volcano Imbabura. About 15 km away is the town of Cotacachi with its eponymous volcano. Cotacachi is the woman, and Imbabura is the man. They split up a while ago and […]
We hopped on the Quito bus tour two blocks from our hotel. It is a double-decker bus that hits the main points. We went through the old town, new town, and up to the winged madonna up on the hill. We hopped off at La Ronda, a restored colonial street. This is where we ate lunch, […]
Quito has a beautiful new airport that is quite a ways out north of the city. We took the $25 taxi ride, as it was only a few dollars more than the shuttle. One comes into the city along a great highway that has new businesses on the sides. Eventually, the taxi goes around a […]
We got the all clear, spent a few more days chilling, and then headed out. It was about 10 or 15 minutes before sunset the night before leaving. Susan had gone to Manglaralto and was meeting us for dinner in Montañita. Eric, the Quebecois plumber who lives in the casita behind the house came in and […]
It’s been a while, but we have great news! Ellen’s surgeon has cleared her to travel, with the proviso of regular trips to the doctor for dressing changes. We’d been discussing what to do next, but even so it took a bit of getting used to the idea of actually leaving the beach. We’re starting […]
Health Update: Ellen continues to make progress, although we are still traveling to Salinas every other day. Chances are we’ll be here another 1-2 weeks. I’m not going to lie, we are getting a little antsy, even though we are in a lovely place. There is a lot of Ecuador to still see, and we […]
This post may be a bit brief in deference to Ellen’s privacy. Toward the end of last week, Ellen suffered from some pain in her gut. By Saturday sunset we headed to the emergency room at the hospital in Manglaralto, about 15 minutes south of where we are staying. If you are thinking it is […]
Mary asked for more details on living arrangements. I didn’t really take many photos of the first two situations. But here is a quick briefing: You got to see the Mejia house in the Christmas post. Richard’s apartment was quite roomy, had 2.5 baths, and a nice kitchen (albeit without an oven). By far […]
Last Friday we left Cuenca for a weekend in Loja, about 3 1/2 hours south by van. From Wikipedia: The city of Loja was founded by Field Marshal Alonso de Mercadillo in 1548, and it is named for his hometown of Loja in Spain. Originally located near La Toma in the Catamayo canyon since 1546, […]
Sunday morning we headed out to check out the city. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the air is clear. Turns out, most of the businesses (including restaurants) are closed on Sundays. We walked past a plaza with vendors selling primarily Christmas stuff – lights, manger figures, etc. This, by-the-way, is the route that […]
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