Oh the Places We Go

Today was our last day in the Caribbean, so we had to cram in all the things we wanted to do, but had not yet. That included sleeping in! So, we got a late start, leaving our hotel around 10:30. We decided to spend the morning snorkeling at 3 different sites. We went up to Cemetery Beach first. There is a reef about 20 yards off the beach. It was teeming with all kinds of fish! We had read that people bring food for the fish, so when they saw us, they swarmed (assuming we had food). At first, it was kind of scary and gross! Huge fish were inches away, a few even touched me. Ugh! Then, after you got used to it, it was neat to see fish that up close. At one point, ... read more

Today, we were up early again. Bryan got ready for his second day of diving. Today, he was going to the much more calm West Wall, instead of the choppy waters of the North Wall, so he was happy about that. While he was out exploring the ocean, I headed back to the beach for a few hours. I grabbed a somewhat shady spot, set my chair down and relaxed. When Bryan returned from diving, we got cleaned up and drove to the West Bay area. We ate lunch at the Caylpso Grill, which I had read tons of fabulous recommendations about (especially their sticky toffee pudding dessert). I ordered the fish and chips, Bryan got a bacon and brie sandwich. I have to say, I was not impressed with my meal. A disappointment after the ... read more

We woke up refreshed this morning about 7:30 AM (which is really sleeping in compared to most of our vacations). We took advantage of our free continental breakfast :) and got ready for the day. Around 10, we arrived in George Town, the capital of the Cayman Islands. It is also where the cruise ship port is located. Today, there were only 2 ships (6,000 people) in port. We spent most of the day just walking around and doing my favorite vacation activity, shopping for souvenirs! It was quite interesting to see all the Christmas decorations already up around town. Stores were even playing reggae versions of Christmas carols. :) The main thing the Cayman Islands is known for is their Tortuga rum (even though it is actually distilled in Jamaica). There is, however, a Tortuga ... read more

We were back in Quito for our last day in South America. Again, we got up early and were on the bus by 8 AM. Our tour today included a two hour drive through the Ecuadorian countryside to Otavalo and then on to Cotacachi. Our main stop on the way to Otavalo was the Equator! Basically, there is a tourist attraction called La Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world) that is a large, orange monument marking the Equator. The marker sits on a large stone design. Together, the monument and the stones create a large sundial, used to mark the solstices and equinox. After a brief presentation about how this spot on the Equator was found by the Inca, we had time to take pictures. It was pretty cool to be standing in both ... read more

Day One: We arrived at the airport in Cusco, Peru at 8 AM (2 hours before our flight). We had to travel back to Lima, then we would go on to Quito, Ecuador. Let's just say our trip to Quito was a bit stressful! --Our flight to Lima was canceled. So, all 33 of us in our group had to take an earlier flight that left at 8:35 AM, which we were not booked on. --7 of us (Bryan and I included) were not issued boarding passes initially for our new flight. That left us wondering if we were in fact going to make it to Quito! --When we finally got boarding passes, after the flight was supposed to have left (they held the plane, thankfully!), we did not have assigned seats. This wound up working ... read more