ecuador: iguanas

everyone needs to visit a good iguana park now and again, and luckily, guayaquil has a great one. the iguanas there have somehow all congregated to this one square and they're everyone. i had to be careful where i walked as to not step on them. it's crazy. and you look up and they're all in the trees.

eveyone in the group sat down and fed them. besides me. i designated myself photographer and was more than happy to be on the sidelines...

here's how it works. you sit down, pull out food (preferably bananas) and up they come.


this was as close as i cared to get to one :)


ah, the animal lover


this guy gave odie a pretty nasty scratch


see how they blend in?

ecuador: ingapirca

we also visited ingapirca, which is ecuador's only major inca site with a building intact, the so-called temple of the sun. apparently it was erected in an eliptical form, coinciding with the movement of the sun. the site was mostly used for ceremonies and worship.




another one of the top five favs from the trip


ah, the one piece of clothing that odie took away from ecuador. compared to some pieces he was trying on earlier, this one is quite stylish. and it's amazingly warm. perfect for the ecuador sun.


random blind man playing the random instrument.


el presidente ridd (grayden's dad) along with a llama




the site from a distance. it was really neat to walk around


the main section

ecuador: cuenca part II

some more shots from cuenca:

reed giving his acceptance speech. this was the balcony attached to the room we stayed in.


this shot is so funny to me. these are the boys outside a cathedral with their candles they purchased for the intent of burning them to help grayden. you see, grayden has a fitness test coming up and they burned them in his honor :)


me and the view from our hotel

ecuador: cuenca

our second stop on the trip was the town of cuenca. cuenca is one of the top three largest cities in ecuador and is very colonial. i loved their cobblestone streets and the history, plus since it's a large city there's a great vibe.

here's the main church.


the gang at a lookout point




this still makes me laugh. odie was debating buying this under the idea that he could wear it in the winter. i can only imagine him sporting this down pennsylvania avenue.


view of cuenca below


jess had her sandal break, but no worries, odie found some dental floss and sewed them back together.


these boys are really too close...


watching the ecuador vs. colombia game


interesting poster






this is one of my top five photos from the trip. this man was too cute and i just HAD to buy something from him. so i purchased a red hammock :)


the boys in the market. i LOVE latin markets and haggling for prices.




i had probably around two gallons worth of ice cream during the trip. that and probably a pounds worth of "papas fritas" aka french fries.

ecuador: vilcabamba part II

thanks jess, for this cool shot


this is the life...


everyone celebrating a round of sprites for reed's new job. he received the call while we were in vilcabamba and we were so happy for him! please note how my hair looks sans a blowdryer.


reed's victory dance :)

ecuador: vilcabamba

vilcabamba was our first destination in ecuador. it's a charming town that's up in the mountains and known for it's longevity (apparently people there live to be very, very old). we stayed in a hostel that was actually pretty nice. each room had a porch with hammock and picnic table. we played many a game of skip bo there. probably my favorite part were the 75-minute massages for $18 that i had. those were heaven. minus the facial i had when i was sunburned. bad idea.

here's the view from our porch.


this photo is taken from the restaurant at the hostel. it was an amazing view.


we were walking through town one day when school got out. i love this boy's face.


ah yes, what would any trip be without some soccer matches. we just happened to be there when the ecuador v. argentina game was on. that was fun. well, it was fun watching people watch the game more than i enjoyed the game itself. apparently argentina is a pretty big deal on the soccer field.


this is grayden and jess at the hostel's restaurant.


these two are so close.



i love this picture of odie.


we were there when the church was having one of their first communion sundays.


this truck pulled up and the guy would get fishes out of the tank and the lady would gut them for you. you can't beat the freshness...

ecuador: transportation

when traveling, there are many modes of transportation. let's begin with the photo below. this is us on a bus. this how we spent most of our time traveling. my favorite trip was going from guaya to vilcabamba which entailed an overnight, 10 hour bus ride. that was fun. especially when we were right next to the bathroom and the guy in front of me took his shirt off and reclined so he was pretty much in my lap.

this is us on the bus headed, er, somewhere. don't remember. but i do remember being sunburned, thus the aloe.


or one can travel in a rented van...


a pirate ship is always a good way to traverse the seas...


naturally, horses are always a good option...


but let's not forget about our dear taxi driver. who wouldn't want a ride with this fellow?


and my favorite, bike riding. this is us going through town in vilcabamba. i think only two of our bikes had legit brakes which was fun when we went downhill...