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    Go Big Or Go Home: Round the World Edition We quit our jobs to go exploring before we are too old to hike up mountains and mountain bike down volcanoes. We may be a little crazy but we like it that way!

    Photos from Ecuador

    There are [44] photos from Ecuador

    Danielle trying on a turtle shell for size. She says this is her spirit animal. Views[723] Pelicans waiting in line at the fish market on Santa Cruz. Views[505] Penguin standing next to pelican. We were told a better photo would of been Penguin standing next to cactus but we were unable to capture that one. Views[606] How many Marine Iguana's can you see? They certainly do an excellent job blending in with their environment. Views[635] Some flamingos hanging out just down from our hotel. Views[569]
     
    We love boobies! This is the famous Blue Footed Boobie. The girl boobies love the boy boobies that have the bluest feet, it's a sign of good health. Views[507] We hiked up and half way around this volcano crater. It's 12 miles across and last blew in 2002. The guide said he was in his car at the time and it made the car jump. Views[396] Evolution at work. Views[492] We arrived in Galapagos today and thought we were transported to another planet. We checked into our hotel room and opened the balcony only to find seals and iguanas laying around us snoozing. All of the animals are so tame you have to be careful not to trip over them. We went kayaking and saw Blue Footed Boobies and Marine Lizards that let crabs crawl all over them. Our guide took us to this amazing watering hole to swim and snorkel. We saw sharks, eels, sea turtles and when we got back our guide said that was just a warm up for what is to come. We can't wait for tomorrow! Views[839] Last stop on the Ecuador mainland tour was the market at Machachi. It was gigantic. Trying pure sugar cane juice was about as brave as we got. We were tempted to try the guinea pig but decided against it. We also passed on the opportunity to try lamb head soup. Can you blame us? Views[495]
     
    The mountain bike trail lead us to a bull ring that is used by the locals. Funny story but on the way up to the bull ring, Amechi the dog that lives at the hacienda came with us. We were told about how he hunts rabbits and brings them to his master who cuts them open and feeds him the guts. Well his master wasn't with us when he caught one and brought it to me. I didn't have a knife but I had a camera so I took a picture that is too sad to post..Later at the bull ring we got another close look at condors circling the area looking for the dead rabbit. Thanks Amechi! Views[633] We finished off our last day at Bella Vista with a mountain bike ride. Views[472] By popular demand introducing Jane. Views[510] This part of the park was very interesting. Wild horses roam freely and boulders spit out by the Cotopaxi volcano litter the landscape. They tell us it blows approximately every one hundred years and it's been longer than that since it last blew. Long story short if it decides to blow anytime soon the hot lava, mud, rock and ash will follow this trail right to Quito. Views[439] Another stop at the National Park included Limpiopungo. It was a lagoon with a walking path around it. Took about 45 minutes. Pretty lame. Views[319]
     
    Our journey up Cotopaxi was a difficult one. Danielle says the title should be Fire and Ice. Brutal ABN winds blowing shards of ice in our faces on the way up. No views to be had with the cloud cover, only the satisfaction of making the hike to the retreat where we enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate and laughed at the other sorry souls trudging their way up the trail. Views[323] Danielle conquered all three peaks! Views[334] Not the easiest place to get to but you were rewarded with a great view and Condors! Views[336] Once we got to the top of the volcano we were treated to Andes Condors soaring around us. We were told this was very rare to see them this close since there are only 108 of them left in Ecuador.. Even better was having the camera ready to take this picture. The guide Jose was very excited and asked for a copy of it immeidately. Views[481] Lunch in the grass at Pasocha. Views[534]
     
    Walking along the craters edge. They just don't have the regulations. Views[383] My horses name was Gomez. I called him Gomer because he was. Views[330] A long ride up to Ruminahui. We are officially bowlegged. Views[374] Danielle's horses name was Carbon. She said he was always trying to eat. Views[359] We arrived at our hacienda for some hiking and horse back riding and were outfitted with a poncho and llama chaps. Views[351]
     
    So after a big day of bird watching we descended the trail and low and behold there was a gym with concrete weights for me to lift. Views[330] Nope I didn't cut my finger. That's the sap from the Blood Dragon tree. If you rub it into your skin it turns white and is used for many different purposes such as sun block (think zinc on the nose) acne, and an antiseptic. Of course this lead to mass harvesting of these trees for the sap. Views[529] Me Tarzan. Me not so good at being Tarzan. Views[377] We had heard from other bird watchers there was a Tucan in the area. On one of our hike we were able to see two of them hanging out in a tree together. Views[347] At Bella Vista we even saw some really cute mammals. I can't remember what this one was called but I recall the guide saying it was part of the weasel family. Views[553]
     
    Our bike ride took us to a place called Bella Vista where bird watchers from all over the world unite. We didn't really know that but we joined the flock for some serious bird watching. Apparently Ecuador is a one of the best places in the world for doing this and our guide pointed out at least 15 different kinds of birds in the first 20 minutes. Hummingbirds galore and some really cool ones like this Tangier. Views[515] Mountain bike riding the Bella Vista cloud forest. Lots of downhill for most of the day until we got crushed with 9km of nothing but up to polish off the day. Awesome views all day long. Views[467] Fun pic of the day. Guy named Steve with lotsa ferrets. Views[494] Had to do the cheesy equator thing and straddle hemispheres. Views[486] So our guide Fernando seemed to be a pretty well connected guy. It became obvious once we rolled into town and he honked at every other person on the street not to mention gave the Shaman a hug and a kiss and moved us to the front of the line to be blessed. Views[536]
     
    Here we are at probably the highlight of the tour. It's one of two inhabited volcano craters in the world. Words can't describe the view and experience we had perched up high looking down at this area were they still use oxen to plow their fields. Our guide Fernando played a tune on some instrument he had hanging around his neck that gave us goosebumps. Views[404] Can you spot the last Inca Emperor sleeping? Views[459] This is our tour guide Fernando. He was pretty awesome. Local guy who loves his country and explained everything so well not to mention he had the coolest ride in town. Starter didn't work so he strategically parked at every stop so we could roll down a hill and pop the clutch. Better yet he even has this bad boy posted on his website. Views[513] Danielle loved this little church and had to have a picture of it. It looks very simple almost like a kindergarten however it signifies something of great significance. This church in the Cuidad Mitad del Mundo shows the relationship between the ancient people and Catholicism. The two towers represent the two mountains they call The long trip to the top of Panecillo was to see this partial view of a angel statue on top of the mountain overlooking the city of Quito. After this the rain really started coming down so we made our way back to our room to wring out our clothes and get warm. Views[342]
     
    A portion of the long set of stairs. Altitude at 9000 ft was definitely a factor. Views[429] Made the pilgrimage up a long set of stairs to get a brief view of the city of Quito before the clouds came in. Views[461] La Campinia aka Old Town Market in Quito. Tried the street meat. No ill effects reported as of now. Views[467]  

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