Ecuador
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Our transportation
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Kings of the World
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Greeting committee
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Max discussing the origin of species with our guide.
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These guys were everywhere.
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This was a massive hole from where the origins of a volcano collapsed back into the earth.
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While on the mainland we stayed in Quito, the Capital of Ecuador.
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Quito has a population of over a million people sprawling out over a mountain terrain 4 miles wide by 20 miles long. The elevation took a bit of getting used to (9,350 ft).
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The pool at our hotel (a key feature for the kids).
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A tree at the hotel we referred to as the Giant Pineapple.
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A view of Quito from our room.
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Although there was lots of poverty, it did not convey the sense of sadness you might expect.
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On our way to Otavalo we were invited to stop off for breakfast at a farm.
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As it turns out, this was the home of one of the largest and most prestigious rose producers in the world.
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The main house contains 3,000 fresh cut long-stem roses, which are replaced on a weekly basis.
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There were roses everywhere and they were perfect.
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An old mission church located on the property.
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Two girls we met at a gas station. We ended up giving them a ride to the market in Otavalo.
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Max being Max
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Everywhere we went the landscape and terrain was different.
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Wild horse and cattle
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Notice anything different about this weathervane?
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This was on our last day. We took our bus to a jungle region, then caught a ride in the back of a pickup which hauled us to the top of a mountain. From there we hopped into this basket which carried us over a massive gorge.
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Even though it's hard to see the basket in this photo, you can get a sense of the scale. This was several hundred feet above the trees, spanning an enormous distance.
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And this is the guy and machine we trusted with our lives. Interestingly enough, by that point in our trip it didn't seem to be that big of a deal.
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