Travel Blog Posts
August 27th 2010
We are home safe and sound. Everyone enjoyed a restful sleep in their own beds with no honking horns, ringing church bells, traffic whistles, or hooting and chirping of birds to wake us up. Brian’s comment was he was looking forward to hearing the buzz of the “Henday” traffic instead and being able to flush the toilet paper. In Ecuador, similar to south-east Asia (so we weren’t surprised), you can’t flush the toilet paper because of their sewer systems. You just place it in the garbage can beside the toilet. The flight from Ecuador home was long - for the most part we all sat on our own because the flights were full and Continental Airlines is certainly not a luxury airline by any means…basic food and NO tv/movies except on the first leg of the ... read more
August 24th 2010
Yesterday we took a day trip to Mindo. It is a 2 hour drive (but only 80 km from Quito). Along the way we stopped at the equator. There was an interesting museum where you could see how the water drains straight down on the equator line and then drains counter clockwise or clockwise, depending on which side of the equator you stand. You could also balance an egg on the top of a nail head and see how the pull of gravity is effected by the equator when you walk in a straight line with your eyes closed - it’s hard to keep your balance. The sun was very intense and Brad and Alysia managed to get sun burnt in the short time we were there. Mindo is located in the cloud forest region of ... read more
August 22nd 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010 Friday afternoon, we left the coast (Puerto Lopez) by bus to Manta which cost us $3 each . The bus ride took us about 2 and a half hours (45 minutes of that were spent waiting in Jipijapa...pronounced “hippy-hapa”). We arrived at the Manta bus terminal about 3:30pm and wandered around a bit before heading to the airport. Manta was considerably warmer than Puerto Lopez, and the sun was even shining! Ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant...weren’t sure what we were ordering which was an adventure on its own but turned out alright. Not knowing any Spanish has made getting around and communicating very difficult. Not many people know English. Getting to the airport was another adventure...Brian, Alysia and Coulton rode in one taxi, which apparently drove 140km all the way. Our ... read more
August 19th 2010
Isla de la Plata - Silver Island Yesterday, we took a day trip to Isla de la Plata, 20 miles off the coast of Puerto Lopez. It was about a 1 and a half hour boat ride to the island. Along the way we stopped to watch the humpback whales just meters from our boat. At first there were only 2 whales, but apparently the sound of the boat motor “calls” to the whales so in the end there were about 5 or 6 whales swimming near the boat. There are enormous creatures (3-4 tons). It was very neat to see. On the island there are two different paths you can take, each path is about 7-10km in length and takes about 2-3 hours to walk. Because of the national park regulations, only one boat load ... read more
Off to see the whales and blue footed boobies
Published: August 18th 2010South America » Ecuador » West » Puerto LópezAugust 18th 2010
Today we are off for a full day to Silver Island. It is about 20 miles off the coast of Puerto Lopez. Should be a fun day. Everyone is feeling better but the weather is not that great - cloudy and only about 20c. ... read more
August 17th 2010
Monday, August 16....Puerto Lopez...the weather is overcast and about 23c....not overly warm (we were hoping for a little more heat as it’s not really beach weather). It’s some sort of provincial holiday here today - we watched the parade go down the dirt road in front of the hotel. We spent the day exploring the town and walking along the beach. The kids went for a swim in the ocean and collected sand dollars. Not sure what our plan is for tomorrow as a couple of the kids are suffering from upset stomachs. Love to all, Brad, Kathy, Alysia, Brian, Kirsten, and Coulton ... read more
August 16th 2010
Sunday, August 15 ....we’re heading to the coast to find some sunshine and heat! After two sleepless nights in Banos, we are back in Quito awaiting our flight to Manta and then onto Puerto Lopez on the Pacific Ocean. Banos was an interesting place to see but two days was enough...especially with rainy, cold weather and the bar below our hotel room. The first night the music didn’t stop until 3am and then we were awakened at 6am by noise of the backpackers who couldn’t find rooms and slept in the lobby. The next night wasn’t much better. Brad and I took a 3 hour tour of several waterfalls around Banos while the kids explored the town and rode go-cart around town. We took the 9am bus from Banos to Quito which turned out to be ... read more
August 15th 2010
Sunday, August 13....This morning we left the peace and quiet of the Ecuadorian rainforest and travelled about 150 km south-west to Banos. The bus ride took more than three hours as we twisted and turned through the Andes. The scenery is incredible! We have now arrived in what appears to be the party capital of Ecuador. Our hotel room is above a night club and there is a fire juggler in the street lighting up our room - may not get much sleep tonight. This weekend is an Ecuadorian holiday so the streets are filled with both locals and tourists and the hotels all have “no vacancy” signs posted. Thankfully our wonderful host at the lodge booked us a room in advance, though the place looked nicer on the internet. The weather is cold and ... read more
August 15th 2010
We are ok but this site isn't. Will try again in a day or so. Brad Kathy & Kids... read more
August 12th 2010
Hi All, Just wanted to let everyone know that we are fine and were not affected by the earthquake. Apparently the epicenter was only about 50 km away from where we are staying and it was rated a 6.9 on the Ricter Scale. We felt tremours but nothing major. Our beds vibrated and that was about it. Today we went splunking through the Jumundy Caves. Seen stalagties and stalagmites & the brave ones dove into a 5m black hole. Tomorrow we head to Baños. We will update you from there. Lohners + Coulton... read more
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