Retreat

We had a great retreat with a group of folks from our church. We went out to a great retreat center in Papallacta, about 1 1/2 hours from Quito. Great to get out of the city and have some good conversations!

Road Trip!!!!

So we decided to take a roadtrip - a 6 day roundtrip from Quito to Cuenca. We knew we would either be undertaking a great adventure or ensuring that our two boys resign from the family. Fortunately, the trip was tremendously fun and our boys are still officially in the family. (Neither Santiago nor I resigned either!)

Ecuador is a gorgeous country with so much to see, and we have been eager to see more of the Sierra, the central mountain region. (The other 3 major regions are the jungle to the east, the coast to the west, and the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific. We will get to those one day!!)

Before describing the trip, a few notes about the boys. Jacob loved the adventure, particularly the diversity of farm animals we saw on the way. He yelled "Hola, Moo" or "Hola, Llama" as we passed by. Politely, he always bid farewell with a "Ciao, Ciao, Baa!" as we departed. He learned the words "bumpy" and "oy!", given the roads in certain areas. Timothy slept for much of the trip, but enjoyed "talking" to us for the times he was awake. He is starting to get on all fours, so he was happy to get out of the car seat periodically to show off his new moves.

Day I Quito to Riobamba
We headed out toward Riobamba, a moderate sized city about 3 hours south of Quito. Riobamba sits in the shadows of Chimborazo, Ecuador's largest mountain, a formerly active volcano. Plans for hiking were foiled by the rain, but at least we got from great views of Chimborazo and a quick tour of Riobamba itself.

Day II Riombamba to Ingapirca
A bit of a longer driving day, Thursday was spent winding our way further south toward Ingapirca, a small town which is home to the largest Inca ruins in Ecuador.

We stopped in Guamote, a predominently indigenous town, to see market day. What a great sight to see.










We stopped in Alausi, another small town along the way, known for its famous train rides through the Nariz del Diablo (the Devil's nose).













Most interesting were simply the sites along the way.


















In the afternoon, we visited the Ingapirca ruins. These ruins combine buildings from the Canari, a native group that was dominant in this area before the Inca conquered this area. This area was the second largest Inca settlement after Cusco, Peru. Once the Spaniards conquered the area in the 1530s, this site was abandoned.















Day III Ingapirca to Cuenca
After spending the night in a lovely old hacienda, we got up and took a hike up the hillside. We walked through a fairly remote village, which likely doesn't see a lot of traffic. We are fairly certain that the local folks don't usually see a 6 foot tall African American woman with a baby strapped to her chest walking with a Argentine guy with a funny kid strapped to his back. We have a feeling that they are probably still talking about the aliens in their midst!
















Once we finished our hike, we enjoyed the posada a bit more and continued the ride to Cuenca.















We arrived in time to see the Good Friday processional in the Old Town.












Day IV Cuenca
Cuenca is a beautiful old colonial city, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, in order to preserve the old Spanish architecture. Here are a few of the beautiful sites:














We also spent a half day hiking in Cajas National Park, Ecuador's largest. No worries, Mom. Timothy was not cold!


















We stopped into a store which makes Panama hats. (Panama hats are actually Monticristis, which originate from and are made in Ecuador.) The outlet also sells locally-grown coffee, which Jacob enjoyed playing with, while he wasn't kissing his hermanito. Jacob looked great in their hats.






In the evening we went to beautiful Santa Lucia restaurant, just off the main plaza. Santiago used the opportunity to share some Argentine knowledge with Jacob, i.e. how to entertain yourself in a restaurant with a cork.
















Day V Easter Day - Cuenca to Lasso
We rose early on Easter morning to start our trip back. Our main goal was to see the amazing Chimborazo, Ecuador's largest (albeit inactive) volcano. It was truly an amazing site to behold.
























After driving for many more hours, we arrived in Hacienda Cienega, our favorite place to overnight in the area near Cotopaxi.







Day VI Lasso to Quito


On our last day, we went to El Boliche Park for a quick hike and then headed back to Quito. Jacob was just a wee bit sleepy by this point!

















What a tremendously fun adventure with our little boys!

22 plus 7

I've been trying to get a good picture to mark Jacob's 1 year and 10 months and Timothy's 7 months.

Here are 2 failed attempts...













So it took some team effort - me taking the picture and Santiago bribing Jacob with keys and making faces behind my head. Here's the best we could do this month!











And here's another one of our littlest one. He's all smiles these days. Maybe it's his 2 new teeth.