Geo: -0.373471, -78.1363It's Sunday and we just had to get out of town so we hired a driver to take us to Termas de Papallacta for the day. It's touted as Ecuador's most luxurious hot springs. To get there we passed through some cool little towns and somewhere along the way got a view of 5,897 meter (19,347 ft) Cotapaxi, too--one of the highest active volcanoes in the world.The drive over the pass was really lovely even though the mountains were shrouded in uncompromising clouds and I didn't get to see Volcan Antisana at 18,875 feet. Still, the pass was something to see--that high altiplana is so different from any of our high mountains. Course, we don't have anything that high in Montana--even our mountaintops are lower than this pass.Papallacta itself sits at 3,300 meters, or ... read more

Geo: -0.223151, -78.5127When I see a mountain sneak peaking out from the clouds I absolutely squeal, I'm so excited. I don't know if any of you do or not, but if you do, you may enjoy sharing the view out my window. Our flights were from Cusco to Lima, then another to Guayaquil and the last one to Quito. The one from Guayaquil to Quito flew over the spine of the Andes mountains we'd not been able to see for 2 1/2 months.That's right. We've been here almost 3 months and have never gotten to see these--not even any part of them--so I was thrilled beyond giggles when they started coming into view.I couldn't stop taking pictures!But anyway, we're back in Quito now and have found a good dentist we're happy with. We'll be going to ... read more

Geo: -13.2646, -72.2658Taking off on this day long tour with our spanish speaking driver Hector, the intent was to grab an English guide at each archaeological site we visited. Wrong. The whole day was in Spanish, but it was delightful. You know how much we loved Machu Picchu, but as we wander through this culture, we're finding MP was only one mind boggling site among many. MP is the poster child of an entrancing history, and rightly so, but it alone cannot tell the tale.Questions like, what can you grow at this altitude? How do you water it? What should the soil consist of?Hidden deep in country accessed only by muddy roads not fit for 4x4's lies a most unique sight that can supply part of the answer. It's famous for it's amphitheater like appearance made ... read more

Geo: -13.1628, -72.5158It's something we never thought we'd see. It's up there with the Great Wall and the Pyramids, but really, we think it's the most unbelievable of all.It's built on the top and down the straight sides of a mountain by people with no tools, no iron, and no horses but with tremendous talent for planning and ingenuity.Hype aside, Machu Picchu is not the lost city of the Incas. There's so much misinformation out there about it, like it was the center of the Inca world etc., but that's simply not true and it doesn't diminish the grandeur of the place one whit.The center of the universe was Cusco. Machu Picchu was either a resort complex, halfway house or a spiritual center----or all three. The Incas had a network of trails snaking through these impossibly ... read more

Geo: -13.52, -71.99We happened on a Festival de Bambinos this afternoon in the Plaza de Armas.... read more