Fun times with Carla and Lauren

We returned to Quito after the Galapagos to meet up with friends from SF, Carla and Lauren whom Matt has known since grade school. Carla arrived two days before Lauren so we went to the Equator or "Mitad del Mundo" which was a monument set up displaying the equator and the four directions, North and South being most exciting because you can stand with one foot in each hemisphere. I know that doesn´t sound that exciting-I guess you have to be there. We had a lot of fun with that all lining up with our bodies divided by the equator as seen here:

Unfortunately, the monument and themepark were built before GPS so its technically not on the equator. Its 00"00"07" south of the actual equator. After our fun in the park taking pictures and eating awesome ice cream sundaes, we headed to the real equator that runs through the highway and then onto a wall in an empty lot. Its a lot less glamorous than the monument close by but we took pictures with it anyway.

The actual middle of the world!

The next day we took a three hour bus trip (one way) to the Termas de Papallacta, which seemed like a rediculous day trip but ended being an excellent. We began our trip on the trolley in the wrong direction because we got the names of the terminals mixed up. Once we realized our mistake we found the trolley going the right direction. It was a forty-five minute ride with about 30 giggling school girls and a blind man who caressed Jason's head as he was looking for a place to hold on. The two hour-bus ride after was reasonably uneventful except for the overturned gas tanker in the middle of the road that required the bus to turn around and navigate the tiny dirt roads along the main highway. When we arrived in Papallacta a camioneta picked us up and took us the rest of the way (another 5 minutes).

The thermal baths were amazing! We had our choice of about 25 pools varying in degrees for $7 a person. The pools were spotlessly clean and set in a lush green valley with views of snow-capped peaks. There was a river that we would jump into when the pools were too hot. Matt, Carla and I made a bet on who could would get out of the cold river first with the loser buying the two winners a beverage. Matt and I enjoyed our well-deserved Fantas. This is where Carla received her awesome new nickname. There was an older gentlemen who was also soaking in the baths who out of nowhere told Carla and I that we were "Leche and Café." He went on and on and Matt tried to get in on the action by saying he also was café but the man corrected him and said that he was more of a cafe con leche.


Lauren arrived that evening so the following day we headed to Otavalo (again for Matt and I) for some shopping. We all bought great souvenirs and Christmas presents and ate at the best pie shop in Ecuador. We entered the pie shop during the final minutes of a football game. Two Ecuadorian teams were playing each other to advance in the Copa de la Americas. The older woman in charge of the pie shop was really into the game and told us to wait 5 minutes until the game was over and then she would take our orders. We couldn´t even ask her question about the game -- when we tried she waved us back. When we finally did order, she nodded approvingly at all of our orders except Carla, who said she didn´t want ice cream with her pie. Obviously the wrong choice, Carla then said she would take ice cream. It was amazing blackberry pie!

A Christmas Tree in Otavalo!

Mindo was our next stop. We arrived during a good rain and all piled into the back of a camioneta down the road to the little town in the cloud forest. Our first mission was to check out the coffee plantation. It was a small plot of land but nobody was there to give us a tour so we did it ourselves and then had a nice cup of coffee for the road. Carlito arrived that day so the fun could really begin.
Our next morning we wasted no time getting into the trees. I had never been ziplinning before but I would definitely do it again after this experience. Our guides were awesome and entertaining and gave me the nickname of "girl who screams a lot." We did a total of 10 lines varying in height and length. We did many of them the "normal" way and had a choice of various other options to make our way down the line such as the "superman," "butterfly," and upside-down. I, of course, could never get it right and swung backwards half the time. They also played a mean trick on me for one of the lines-I was connected to the guide and he was pointing at where I was going to see a waterfall. The other guide than pushed me off the platform and of course I screamed then grabbed onto the guide´s leg I was so scared. Oh yeah and Lauren recieved a proposal!


Later in the day we went on a tour of a chocolate "factory" where we were told the history of cacao and how chocolate is made. The information was interesting but the samples were even better. We each got to try 100% cacao and my favorite, a brownie with chocolate ice cream.
The next morning we woke at 3am to catch the 4am bus. We must have woken up everyone in town because all of the dogs started howling and barking. One of the dogs who was really sweet during the day started nipping at our heals while we tried to board the bus. Thankfully Matt saved me by scaring him away.

This is our hostel in Canoa, the Coco Loco!

We arrived in Canoa about 8 hours later to begin our 2 week stay on our vacation from traveling. We are currently nearing the end of week 2 in Canoa, and our next post will be all about our Christmas by the beach.