Hacienda Primavera

Here's another late post...but definitely a fun memory for us.

We trekked out to the northern most province to visit a hacienda that was a hidden – very hidden – gem. In the middle of lush banana plantations was Hacienda Primavera, where the boys rode horses, fished for trout, and generally enjoyed themselves. (That's it in the back of the second picture!)


On the first day, we took a four hour ride to a river. The boys loved being on the horses, and certainly playing in the river.

The variety of bananas were amazing; our guide explained that there are more than 100 types in Ecuador. Who knew? I always assumed there were only “too green to eat”, “yellow, let’s eat them”, and “turning brown, make banana bread.”

That afternoon we went “fishing” at a trout farm. They caught four large fish, and were delighted with the process.

In this picture they were proudly answering the question “Who caught these fish?”


On the second day, we went for a three hour ride through the banana trees up to a water fall. It was a pretty steep ride in many places, but the boys weathered the trip valiantly.

We ended the trip with a ride on the newly-restored train between Salinas and Ibarra. The boys were delighted to be on a train, and we loved seeing the countryside of this part of Ecuador.

Los Toros!

(One of our "we did this a while back, but I didn't blog it..." entries)

We again joined in the Quito Days celebration by going to the bullfights – several times. Truth be told, the matadors were not that great, nor were the bulls. That said, it is always an interesting and exciting event.


One reason that at least one of the matadors may have been off is that he was heading to the Plaza at the same time we were…running late?

Here are a few highlights:

People were in great spirits and the pomp and circumstance was not lost.





The courage and artistry was amazing…


There were a few moments when we thought the bull might win

All in all, a lot of fun.

Happy New Year!

Before we toasted at midnight, we had a “kid’s toast” with several families in our neighborhood at 8pm.

The men dressed, as is tradition here, with masks of various famous people. The masks are burned at midnight.

Aside from tradition, the kids just loved the ice cream and sparklers.

Visit of the abuelos - the fun food part!

But naturally there was plenty of focus on eating too…

The boys loved making pasta with their grandfather. Timothy leads the family in eating his weight in pasta. I think I came pretty close though too!

We had an all-male meat grill fest (surprising for those of you who know Santiago, no?)

And topped it off with a suckling pig, which utterly delighted the boys. Jacob pays homage to the coal that brought up all such joy.

Santiago’s mom is, of course, the chef extraordinaire behind it all!

What a wonderful visit!!