Bottoms in Ecuador (Our FIRST Visitors!) - Galapagos: The Boat

Hats were ready and we were pumped on the way to the islands.  We landed and panicked only momentarily until we found Andres with a sign that read 'King of the Sea.' (Confession: I was only 50/50 on whether we'd have a boat waiting for us at all....)  In truth, as I told several folks before our departure, I was very worried about our boat.  Javier and I did some shopping around travel agencies in Quito and more than one said that they did not sell the King of the Sea because they didn't trust it....yikes!  But it was the cheapest boat in the Galapagos which matched the Cabezas/Bottoms budget for an Xmas visit.

So when we boarded the dinghy and headed out for the boat it was with some mixed emotions....

the boys were cool....per usual

and we're enthused

and there she was....

We climbed aboard and received our room assignments.  The rooms were really small, but I think that is expected for any boat.  It was the bathroom that surprised me a bit...toilet, sink and shower head were all kind of stacked on top of each other in a closet far smaller than any port-a-john I've been in.  (And let's be honest...I've seen my share and probably some of your share of port-a-johns)

Javier Bob Barker Beauty style showing off our room

And here is the bathroom which appears deceivingly large in this photo (shower head on the left, toilet in the center and sink hovering over the toilet)

I've claimed top bunk

We decided the Bottoms' room was a bit less roomy....

it could have been that their window was a bit smaller.....or just that it was smaller...

I'm sure you're dying to see the rest of the boat (they can't have hidden all the glory in these delightful suites...)

Here are Javs and Scottee enjoying the top deck (where we might have played a hand or two of cards...)

This is us hanging out at the dining table after our New Year's celebration in port (which is why I look seconds from being asleep) but it gives you a good feel for the social space inside.  This is also where we ate 3 square meals a day.

The dining room also included a dry erase board that told us the schedule for each day.

It took us a while to figure out, but the front of the boat had a little sitting area that was good for hanging out while we were moving.  (It is supposed to help your sea sickness to keep an eye on the horizon.)  It was a little windy, but also made for a really beautiful view.

not a bad sunset right?

here we are hanging at the front of the boat (note the wind blowing Scottee's hair)

also sometimes watching the horizon wasn't enough and some of us still felt a bit sick causing us to lie down

Honestly, if you asked me how the boat was, I would tell you that it was FINE.  It was small and certainly not luxurious, but it never broke down (which was my biggest worry).  Our biggest issues were: the Cabezas room did not have power for about 24 hours.  This certainly wasn't convenient and meant I sported that head torch more than a time or two, but in reality we didn't spend that much time (awake anyway) on the boat.  The other was that the Bottoms had some toilet flushing problems.  Meaning that sometimes it did and sometimes it didn't.  Luckily they knew some other folks on the boat and abused that bathroom when theirs was not functioning.  I'll let you decide how bad these issues are....I felt that in the grand scheme of things they were pretty minor.  The boat turned off the power every night anyway (which meant that the Bottoms head torch became quite the commodity) so it wasn't just the Cabezas cabin that was sans lights.  And we were in the water enough to take care of business there....in addition, the crew was incredibly helpful and nice.  Also, the food was delicious and plentiful (something else I was worried about).  And Andres (our guide) was incredibly knowledgable and funny.  Sooooo if you're looking for a cheap option to see the amazing sights of the Galapagos, I would 100% recommend the King of the Sea.

secret shots in a cramped and dark King of the Sea cabin

Besides, swimming with sea turtles and sea lions can make up for a lot of power and bathroom loss, too....

Bottoms in Ecuador (Our FIRST Visitors!) - Quito Touring

Ecuador has a lot to see, and we wanted Scott and Kelsey to experience some of our fine city too!   We were all a bit exhausted from our adventures the previous day so we started slow with brunch :)  There is a cute brunch place with a view that Javier and I hadn't tried so we headed to Warmi for some grub.

We stopped to take some scenic pictures overlooking the valley.

Here we are at brunch :) 

After brunch we took a taxi up to El Panecillo.  We had seen it from afar, but never taken the trip up the hill to see the Virgin of Quito up close!  Since it was Christmas, there was actually a full nativity set up on the hill (we later learned it is the highest nativity in the world).  And the view of Quito from on top of the hill is incredible!

We walked around a bit on the hill.  There are booths with vendors selling souvenirs and lots of tourists hanging around. 

We also decided to pay the $1and climb to the top of the statue.  Each level inside includes a little museum exhibit of how the statue was erected.  I'm not sure if it was only because of the Christmas season, but the exhibits also included nativity scenes from around the world (or maybe just South America...I can't remember now...).  It was interesting to see the variety of scenes (some including devils and others with flocks of angels).  In addition to the exhibits, I quickly saw that I was getting a bit claustrophobic as we climbed (something I've experiences in other tight, spiraling climbs).  So when we got to the top I made a quick lap all the way around (to see the view) and headed rather quickly back down.

We did get this good group shot of us at the top looking over the city!

And then this one that illustrates how we were each actually feeling at the time.  (Mine looks a bit realistic eh?)

After we made our way down the Virgin and the hill, we decided to walk around Centro Historico a bit.  The area has such a fun colonial feel and is also good for people watching.  Typical of Catholic invaders, it is also packed with churches.  We were able to go into Iglesia de San Francisco and Iglesia de Compania.  Iglesia de San Francisco is the church I told you the legend about from when we went to the fire show/concert one of our first weeks in Quito.  The churches are all beautiful and each has a unique story or design to peak tourists' interest.  

Here we are being the demons that built Iglesia de San Francisco.

We walked from Centro Historico to the Basilica (which in hindsight was probably a mistake for our visitors that were still adjusting to altitude and had already walked around all day.....you learned some lessons with your first visitors!).  It cost money to go in so we just walked around the outside.  The architecture is beautiful and the Basilica is a sight that can be seen throughout the city.

From the Basilica we walked to Parque El Ejido to do a bit of shopping (more walking...hindsight again....).  There is a market that is open on weekends and artists that set out their work to sell.  Some souvenirs were purchased (yay Ecuador tourism!) and we headed home somewhat exhausted.  And HUNGRY!  Which called for some traditional Ecuadorian cuisine.

A Gonzalez Suarez Hot Dog!!!  They're delicious and come with crumbled potato chips on top.....AWESOME

The rest of the evening was spent packing for the GALAPAGOS!! (And playing cards and a little of the below as well....in typical Bottoms/Cabezas fashion!)

Bottoms in Ecuador (Our FIRST Visitors!) - Mitad del Mundo and MINDO

Christmas was great, but this year's December 26th brought a special treat that would top any gift from Santa....our first visitors: Scott and Kelsey!!!  We know it made for a bit of a stressful holiday for them, but having my sis and bro-in-law so quickly after Xmas day certainly made for an exciting holiday.

Don't we look excited?

While our Galapagos adventure was certainly the main event, we also wanted to cram as much of Ecuador into their two days prior to the boat trip as we could.  Which meant an early morning after their midnight arrival in Quito so that we could start where all journeys should...the center of the world! Or Mitad del Mundo!!  Even though the equator is only 25 minutes outside of Quito, Javier and I had yet to make the trip and therefore joined the Bottomses in their touristy joy at discovering the wonders of the invisible line...

We started with some standard Cabezas in the southern hemisphere, Bottomses in the northern hemisphere shots

The picture above is at the grand monument built roughly 30 years ago to mark the invisible line, but more recent measurements seem to indicate that this line is actually off.  But it's quite beautiful and picturesque so we joined the crowd in taking the standard straddle the line picture.

Just 200 or so meters away, another museum commemorates the sacred line down the center of the world.  Not wanting to miss out on all the center of the world has to offer, we also attended this attraction.  While it didn't include a flashy monument, our tour did walk us through several tests to prove the gravitational pull from one side of the line to the other.

Like balancing a fresh egg on the head of nail - possible on the equator.

a demonstration of how the pull effects your strength and resistance on the line.

an attempt by Scottee to walk the line with his eyes closed and arms out (a surprisingly difficult task...)

And another split-by-hemisphere picture just incase this location is actually more accurate.

After some touristy fun, we jumped in the car to head to Mindo for a day of further adventure.  As you read, we were big fans of Mindo and looked forward to sharing some of its beauty with the Bottoms.  But first...we were hungry and wanted the Bottoms to try some authentic Ecuadorian cuisine.  This required a stop along the way to try some fritada, empandas, and bolones de verde.

Kelsey was trying to capture the atmosphere of the restaurant.  It was packed and, as usual in Ecuador, open to the air (you can see the bright sun shining in from the front wall that was completely open to the street)

And here is our fritada....it's not necessarily good to look at, but it's delicious and salty and goes perfectly with that roasted plantain you see in the bottom there.

After some twists and turns we arrived in Mindo.  Remember, Mindo is a cloud forest which means lots of lush scenery, beautiful flowers and wildlife!

We spent the first hour or so in Mindo watching hummingbirds and drinking beers.

I attempted about a million pictures, but none seem to capture the multitude of birds that we were watching.  Here I managed to catch two hummingbirds (left: you can see how different their coloring is...) and a finch (right: that, though beautiful, seemed to be the bully of the bird feeder)

After some relaxing we decided it was time for a more active look at Mindo.  Since Scottee and Kelsey were less than 24 hours into their altitude ascent, we decided that hiking might not be the best option.  Instead, we opted for a ziplining adventure that would allow us all to enjoy the scenery from the air :)

Here we are all helmeted up and ready for ziplining.

Here is Kelsey trying the mariposa (butterfly) position on the zipline

And Scottee coming in quick!   (Can you see the spray of water from his line? It started raining and everything...everything was a little wet.)

Here we are a little wet and a little dirty after flying through the air in the rain.  (PS I still haven't gotten all of the mud out of that pink jacket...)

We tried to go see the butterflies, but the exhibit was closed so we headed to the chocolate factory to get a hot beverage and warm ourselves up.  The chocolate is delicious so we ordered a brownie to split too!

It was a rainy trip home, but we had packed a lot into the first day so naps seemed warranted.  As much fun as the day was, we kept reminding ourselves that everything pre-galapagos was gravy!

Christmas in Quito

It's a long post, but I promise it's also picture heavy!  Javier and I spent our first Christmas away from family this year (although when I say that he gets upset since in reality the two of us are a family...but you get what I'm saying....)  

 

Sometimes I'm sad that Javier and I didn't think of some sort of really awesome tradition to start at Christmas when we got married.  I want something unique and special to us that we could repeat each year.  And I seemed particularly aware of this missing tradition this year.....I think I have this fantasy that whatever we came up with would just make Christmas (no matter where we were or what we were doing), but that's probably a bit movie-esque.  In truth, we've taken some of the traditions from his childhood and some from mine to create a hodgepodge of events and foods and things that mean Christmas to us.  (Maybe when we have some kiddos we'll think of that magical tradition I'm in search of...) I was a bit worried about how I'd feel on Christmas this year (particularly without my magic bullet Christmas tradition...) but the truth is, we really enjoyed it!  We spent the time as we've spent most of our time here: having some new experiences while maintaining some sense of home and who we are.

 

I've tried to provide a photographic report of our holiday season so that you can see what I mean...

First up: DECOR
As silly as it sounds....we were starting over with our Christmas decorations which required some exciting purchases from the Christmas markets that popped up all over to make our home feel Christmasy!!
On top of the bookshelf you can see our little trees, some fake snow and the advent candles Jody sent to us!
On the bottom left shelf you can see the two advent calendars my parents sent us (a Staples family Christmas tradition!)

Many of the markets were selling these cool wooden and brightly painted nativities.  We thought they were pretty neat and were happy to purchase a small one that we could bring back to the US as a souvenir!

Two stocking were purchased to be filled by Santa and decorate our big window. 
We also strung up lights on the window that could be viewed by passersby on the street.

My Aunt Charlotte gifted me with this 'JOY' when I went home for Thanksgiving.
 It totally brightened up our bookshelf and helped the place feel like CHRISTMAS!

Here is my little Feliz Navidad Santa that I bought to hang on our door.  (But he kept falling off so I ended up propping him up on our gate....which makes it look sort of like I put Santa in jail....but I promise that was never my intention!) 

and CHRISTMAS CARDS!!!  Sending Christmas cards was a tradition that I hugely missed this year!  While I am SO excited to receive Christmas cards every year, I was particularly pumped to have this little collection when so far away from home.
(Confession: I took this picture yesterday...as in...I still have my Christmas cards hanging up on our door.  But they make me SO happy!!  and some were hand-delivered by Kelsey and Scott so they haven't even been up that long....OK...I promise I'll take them down by February......)

We got a notice from administration at school that we could not decorate our classrooms.  (Since Colegio Menor is private, but not religiously affiliated) But the school did put up one tree in our Rotunda that was decorated for Dec!

While I missed out on the card sending, we did make up for it by treat making and baking and sending.  Here is our dining room table covered with Christmas goodies to be wrapped up and delivered!

I also got my kiddos a little sweet treat for the holiday season. (It's amazing how crazy my 9th graders go for candy....)

We also spent some lovely evenings with friends at holiday parties. (But in Ecuador they can be roof parties!) 

On Christmas Eve we hosted a little dinner for any other Colegio Menor teachers that didn't have family in town.  

We ended up with a bit of a crowd which was perfect by us. 

It helped make the day feel more like Christmas to have a full and bustling house!

We even attempted Grandma's eggnog recipe for the event (thinking some eggnog might happily remind everyone of Christmas at home).  And when I say 'we' I really mean Javier (because he did it all!).  It was incredibly time consuming and difficult, but SO worth it!!  The eggnog was delicious and certainly made me think of Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we watched A Muppet Christmas Carol (another Staples family tradition)...thank GOODNESS it was on Netflix!! We were also able to Facetime with family to wish all back home a Merry Christmas!

And on Christmas morning, we discovered that Santa was able to find us even all the way in Quito!!

Here we are on Christmas morning, all dressed up to head into the city to see what Quito looks like on Christmas.

We went to mass at Iglesia Santo Domingo downtown.

Downtown Quito is packed with churches and each one takes your breath away when you walk in...

And all had a very intricate nativity set up for the season.

While at church we learned about another Quito tradition...almost every family carried a small doll (ranging from palm size to actual baby size) that represented the baby Jesus.  Some were cradled in arms, others in baskets surrounded by flowers and lace.  At the end of mass, all gather at the altar, holding high their baby Jesus to be blessed by the priest.  Apparently most take them home to add to their nativity for the holiday season.  It was super interesting to witness (hey! maybe I found our new Christmas tradition?)

We were also surprised by the number of people that were out and about.  Most shops and restaurants seemed open (many of them selling baby Jesus dolls) and the streets were crowded with people.  Very different from the US! 

And for Christmas dinner we ordered a whole chicken from our organic market.  When they say 'whole'...they mean whole.  Here is Javier holding our chicken by his feet before butchering.

I totally chickened out (pun intended) and made Javier cut off his feet and head....I just couldn't do it...but after that we roasted him up and celebrated our lovely and relaxing Christmas together.

I'm sure it helped to know that Kelsey and Scott were arriving the next day, but we really did have a happy Christmas!  We enjoyed Quito and spent time with each other (Javier got an assortment of games from Santa because he knows Javier so well...so we played those).  We drank eggnog and savored the short-sleeve weather.  We gazed out our big window at a volcano and listened to Christmas carols on Songza.  We adhered to old traditions and (maybe) started some new ones.  It was a very happy and merry Christmas.