Prr prrr Peru!!!!

Hola mis amigos y familia! Sean, Jono and I have now arrived in sunny, warm Peru!!! Needless to say after all that cold and thick layers we are very thankful for some warm weather and ocean fun....

Ahhh so where to begin?!?! We have had a very adventurous and busy week since Jono has arrived. We had carefully planned his itinerary prior to his arrival, so really he has had it pretty easy since we just tell him where we are going and what we are doing. He arrived late last Friday night in Quito where we met him with a warming welcome sign at the international airport. The following day we woke up early and caught a bus to Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world) where we stood on the line of the equator for a short boring minute before heading 2 hours north on a stuffy bus ride to Mindo, also known as the ¨cloud forest¨. This small, small town lies on the outskirts of the Amazon rainforest and is known for its zip lines above the tree tops. We spent most of our day getting silly on the zip lines with these two awesome Bolivian women who thankfully spoke both english and spanish and were able to translate all the do´s and dont´s for us. It was an amazing experience and a perfect first day for Jono. After a late lunch we headed back to Quito and found ourselves emersed in a weekend party that filled the streets of the La Mariscal district. The following day we packed up our things and headed two hours southwest for Cotopaxi, a province named after the enormous active volcano that is capped with a glacier year-round. This trip was probably the only thing we had previously planned before leaving for Ecuador and so needless to say I was more than exstatic to get my groove on there.

We were picked up on Sunday morning by a private car arranged by the hostel we were about to stay in (we had to take a private car because buses don´t go that far!!!). As we drove farther away from city the scenery around us became more and more country like. Domesicated and wild animals romed the rolling hill sides, homes became less frequent and paved roads turned into dirt and stone. Sean, Jono, Alisha and I were enthralled to be somewhere that looked so different from where we had just come from. As we arrived at the Secret Garden Hostel I fell in love with the place at first sight. The dirt rode turned into a gravel driveway with horses, lama´s pigs, dogs, cats and you name it on both sides. The red adobe houses were littered with hammocks, flower gardens and ponds. And the best part of the whole thing is every view from anywhere on the property looked directly out at the looming glacier covered volcano... Words really cannot describe how amazing this place is. The hostel is run by a young inspiring Australian and Ecuadorian couple. An hour away from the closest city they purchased 2 hectares of land from a wealthy dairy farmer and settled right against the slope of an extinct volcano (there are three volcanos that wrap around their property). Looking around us there were unlimited places to be discovered and tons of things to do and so upon our immediate arrival Sean, jono and I looked at each other and uninamously decided that we needed to stay three days rather than two. After eating a lunch prepared by the hostel staff of fresh garden vegetable plucked straight from the back yard and home made bread we slapped on a pair of gum boots (knee high rubber boots) and heading into their backyard where we hiked for an hour or so to check out two waterfalls. We returned later that night and gathered in the common room with the other 4 guests and sat around the fire place trading stories and making plans until a family style dinner was prepared for all of us (again with organic home-grown vegetables and... Yes, home-grown organic meat)... Then Sean, Jono and I all nestled into our honeymoon suite :-)

The following day we rose early to find a hot breakfast waiting for us on the table and a car waiting to take us to the Cotopaxi National Park where we would hike to the the starting point of the glacier that covered most of the mountain (at a 15,912 foot elevation). The hike was no walk in the park! We hiked directly up a vertical slope in ankle deep dirt and gravel and high winds threating to send you sliding back down the hill. (It took us about an hour and a half to walk less than a mile, to give you an idea of how slow we were walking!) After returning back at the base of the mountain Sean and Jono hopped on mountain bikes and proceeded out of the National Park on a downhill ride. We returned back to the hostel where we jumped in the jacuzzi and played board games for the rest of the night.

On our second day there 10 of us set out on horses towards one of the extinct volcanos for a 6 hour round trip ride. Within the first 5 minutes of riding Sean turned to Jono and told him ´Im deathly afraid of this 2,000 lbs animal´.... I think Sean probably would have turned around if there was a chance of refunding his money, but that option wasn´t available so he contiuned on in what later became absolute misery! On the other hand Jono and I were having the time of our lives. We were given the liberty of doing whatever we wanted with the horses and going off by ourselves if we wished. Taking full advantage of this we raced down streets and charged up hills... It was so incrediable riding a horse through all this plush, green, open, deserted land! Once we reached the top of the volcano, three hours later Sean was blue in the face and ready to walk his horse home. We had some banana bread and let the horses rest while Sean, Jono and some others hiked to the top of the volcano. On our way back down Sean was dying but decided that he would rather get it over with than stay on the beastily animal so five of us charged down the long, long driveway and headed home. It goes without saying we were dying of pain after being on a horse for six hours so once again we headed to the jacuzzi and stayed there for quite a while before dinner....

On our third day there we signed up for a 6 hour hike up to the remaining unconquered volcano. Holy smokes this one kicked my butt! For three straight hours we hiked directly straight up the sides of mountains in a 13,000 foot altitude heading for the highest peak we could see. Although the wild animals weren´t in abundance we did manage to come across a herd of wild horses mixed with lama´s and countless birds. Once we reached the top it was incredible! We could see Quito, which was 2 hours away in front of us and behind us was a 900 foot drop through the clouds (yes we were higher than the clouds!). After a pinic lunch of pig head sandwiches we bounced around taking pictures. After returning we packed up our stuff and bid goodbyes to all of our new friends and headed for the bus station and headed down South.

The next morning we woke up on a bus in Montanita and I was the sorest I have EVER been in my life! It was the first time we had seen the beach since we arrived in Ecuador and it was a beautiful sight. The town was four streets wide each directly and filled with hippies, surfers and night clubs. It was also the closest town to the island Isla de la Plata (known as the poor man´s Galapagos)...


Unfortunately we´ll have to share more of our adventures with you when we arrive in Cusco, Peru (in 2 days)... my time at the internet time is up and we have a bus to catch (40 hours on a bus yay!) I promise once we get there we will update you and add pictures!

I hope all is well with everyone! Nos Vemos!