December 21, 2014: My parents and I left to our first family vacation in years. Working with an amazing agent at American Airlines, who made this entire trip possible (after I deleted the original itinerary I had booked by accident--whoops!), we flew from Chicago-Miami-Quito, Ecuador. We decided to drive to the airport and parked at a nice new lot, called "PreFlight." I surprised my parents by upgrading them to first on the Chicago-Miami segment, which happened to be on a 767-300ER, which meant that they got to taste the luxuries of an international business class product on AA before I did--go figure! We landed in Quito and immediately cleared customs, rushed to the taxis, took a taxi to the zigzagging bus to Tena to yet another taxi (this one more of a pickup truck, typical of Ecuador's small towns, after a bit of a slip-up on the hotel's pick-up), and found ourselves in the middle of the Amazon in the country's east.
December 22, 2014: After checking in at 6 AM to our hotel, Cotococha, we were able to go on some day trips, including a walk through the jungle. Our guide wielded a machete like no other and knew every nook and cranny of that forest. We also took a boat ride to the nearby local village. I got to attempt blow darts! That night, we lit the Chanukkiah with another Jewish family happening to be spending the night, thrilled that we brought one with us. We also saw a guide there make chocolate straight from the cacao plant, from initial processing, grinding, adding milk and sugar, and cooking, giving the opportunity to taste it along the way. The seeds are large and slimy, and the ground powder is so extraordinarily bitter. Whoever came up with the idea of chocolate as we have it, God bless you. We then had dinner and headed to our lodge. While there was no electricity in the hotel, the night sky and sounds of living nature more than made up for it.
December 23, 2014: After a hearty breakfast, we made our way to the thermal bath town of Baños. We took a taxi tour for the day, requesting time to hike down to Pailon del Diablo--a beautiful waterfall outside of town--followed by an evening in the El Refugio spa (it was interesting--they lock your body in a steam box for a half hour, pouring cold water on your head every few minutes; not sure I'd do that again). On our hike, we even made a doggie friend! I named him Chuchi. We then made our way to our hotel, up the mountain in Runtun.
December 24, 2014: We saw a few llamas and colorful parrots before leaving the lovely Las Orquídeas hotel. We made our way to Quito by hired car (after stopping at the swing at the edge of the world, just five minutes from the hotel--picture below). First, we stopped in the Cotopaxi area, and were blessed with an incredible view of the volcano. We shared pita bread and tuna with our driver (who had never tried it) and hit the road. Quito, the ancient capital of Ecuador and the oldest of the region, was bustling with shoppers and churchgoers, trying to bring families together in the spirit of the season. While we didn't hit Mitad del Mundo, we were able to tour the city center, see the exquisite architecture of the old churches, and get caught up the crowds before making our way to the hotel. No Chinese food this Christmas Eve...we had to deal with pizza.
December 25, 2014: An early morning wake-up was needed to pack up and fly west to Baltra, the airport seated north of Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz. A pleasant flight of over two hours, with a quick stop in Guayaquil, took us peacefully over the Pacific Ocean to these distant islands. A miserably long check out process from the airport took over an hour, all in all. While Baltra itself was a wasteland, after the plane to bus to boat to taxi, we were able to see the greenery arise. We stopped at "Los Gemelos" (two twin former volcanoes), a refuge for island turtles, and a volcanic cave, before making our way to our hotel of five nights. We did a little shopping and walked around the Darwin research station before sleeping for the night.
(Better late than never!)
December 26, 2014: We walked around the city center, exploring our options. We entered a mangrove area, a beautiful little enclave with fish and trees. I took a ride of the bay and its surroundings, seeing some ridiculously photogenic animals, snorkeling among seals, jumping into canyon waters, and viewing small areas around the main island. We then rushed back to our hotel, lit candles, and made ourselves a little Shabbat dinner.
December 27, 2014: On this lazy Saturday, we walked over to Tortuga Bay, a beautiful beach laden with iguanas and clear waters. We sat near the water, relaxed, and burned in the sun. After a good walk of over 2 kms in both directions to get there, we headed back sleepy to our hotel. Later that evening, we headed out to get some dessert. My mom managed to trip and hairline fracture two fingers, so we got to experience the local healthcare.The doctors were well trained, and wait times were less than they would be in the US. However, when it came to bandaging her up, they told me what type of casts to get from the local pharmacy, and I was instructed to go and buy it and bring it back. I retrieved it, they bandaged her up, and let us go. For free. Yes, that's right. It cost $8 for the casts, and that was it. However, when it came to getting an X-ray printout, they told me to take a picture with my camera phone, "porque somos pobres." It's a different world, but they took good care of us.
December 28, 2014: Another day, another beach! We took a cap to El Garrapatero beach, which was a bit underwhelming and poor for snorkeling, especially compared to the clear blue water of Tortuga Bay. We made a plan change to leave from the airport on San Cristóbal island, requiring us to travel by speedboat instead of our other plans to take a boat to Isabela island. (More things to see someday!)
December 29, 2014: Laundry day! In truth, we were getting a bit bored. I think we dedicated to much time to this island. After debating what to do, we took a taxi around other points of the island, to a place in which they made juice and clear rum straight from sugarcane (it was strong!). A donkey walks around a machine, and the force is used to grind the machine's gears. They also had wild coffee plants. We then headed to another part of the island with huge craters left by inactive volcanoes. It was a very misty day, and the views were poor. After the refreshing morning, we lazed away the afternoon and evening, picked up the laundry, and went to bed early.
December 30, 2014: A very early morning was necessary to catch a 7 AM "lancha," or speedboat, from Puerto Ayora to San Cristóbal. It was over two hours of hell--a totally choppy, no control, speedboat ride. So happy we only had to do that once. When my dad and his family came over to the US, he said that they were on a boat like that for seven days. I could only imagine...but I guess you have to get used to it. He laughed, and our backs hurt, but it was overall a miserable experience. We landed, arrived at our hostel by taxi, and then took a tour of the island. The weather was clear and excellent by the time the afternoon came along, allowing us splendid views of the island. We explored, saw more turtles, visited Puerto Chino beach, and my father and I climbed up into a local tree house, complete with bed and shower. We then tried some of the local fish, which was delicious.
December 31st, 2014: My parents went down to the boardwalk while I hiked to the Interpretation Center and Punta Carola. I had a wonderful snorkeling experience (despite nearly being pulled out to sea), visited the small and lovely museum on the return walk, and then we headed to the airport. We landed in Guayaquil for a long layover, letting us take a taxi tour around the city, in which we were able to donate some goods for the local children at the oldest church in Guayaquil, absorb some phenomenal views of the city, visit to Iguanas Park, and attempt to visit Malecón 2000 (and getting caught up in New Year's traffic along the way), before we had to turn around and head back to the airport.
January 1st, 2014: After flying through New Year's, we arrived in Miami. I sought out the LAN lounge, hearing good things, and we were not disappointed. We took showers, had breakfast, used the business center, and took short naps before heading out to see Miami. We visited my family's bakery (Almani's, highly recommended), bought my father some new shoes (he couldn't find size 10-11's in Quito), and went to see The Hobbit before returning to the airport for our flight home. We thought they had lost our luggage, but to our relief, they did not, and we arrived home safe and sound. But I was not home for long.
Part 3--U.K. and U.A.E. coming up soon!!!
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