When we arrived at the border entry for Ecuador we joined a large group of Venezuelans. Most had fled Venezuela to find jobs and a way to feed their families outside of Venezuela. We have been encountering small migrating bands of Venezuelans throughout Colombia walking along the highways and selling small items to those passing by. The majority are single young men or young men with their wife and children in tow. It is sad to think that the country of Venezuela has lost (at least temporarily) such a large part of their next generation.
Our first stop was a small town named Tulcan that is famous for its topiary art. The number and diversity of the designs carved and lovingly created out of 100+ year old cedar trees was absolutely jaw dropping!
From there we pushed on until we reached the Equatorial Line. That imaginary line that rings the planet at the middle, halfway between the North and South poles. We were rather excited since it was the first time in our lives we had crossed into the Southern Hemisphere! Equator or not, it was rather cool out due to the altitude.
From here we continued on to the town of Machachi, near to Quito, to attend the biggest Andean cowboy festival in Ecuador. The parade was spectacular! We have never seen so many horses in our lives – at least 1,000 just in the parade. The traditional dances and friendly spectators made the experience unforgettable. You can even see one of the traditional Ecuadorian meals in the photos (guinea pig on a stick). After the parade there was an event at the local bullring that consisted of releasing a bull into the ring and anybody who was crazy enough was welcome to jump down there and face it. Some people received more than they bargained for – like a trip to the hospital.
The next section of our journey took us to a beautiful area known as the Quilotoa Loop. We spent several days enjoy the beauty of the scenery and visiting a gorgeous lake inside a volcano crater. We were also fortunate enough to meet a famous local artist and spend some time with him and his family. This artist invented a style of painting fifty years ago that now employs more than seventy local people! It was a real honor to meet him and hear his story (it was also cool because we had read about him in our guidebook). The pictures do much better justice to this region than any more word I could conjure.
On our way out of the Quilotoa Loop we stopped at the town of Sigchos which boasts one of the largest market days in the region. We saw everything from furniture, food, animals (to raise or to eat), cell phone chargers, and tires recycled into plant pots. Our senses were overwhelmed as we meandered among the hundreds of vendors hawking their wares!
Our next stay was in the town of Banos de Agua Santa (Baths of Holy Water). The hot springs were gloriously scalding at 110 degrees! Fortunately, they had ice cold pools for plunging into for frequent cool downs. We also rented bicycles here to visit seven different waterfalls. They came in all shapes and sizes, but were all beautiful. The biggest of the bunch was ‘The Devil’s Cauldron’ where stairs had been carved into the cliff face so you could climb behind the waterfall on your hands and knees and get totally soaked in the process! It was a blast!
From there we traveled to Ingapirca, a very small town located near the sight of pre-hispanic and pre-Inca ruins. The archaeological site was even more picturesque with all the llama wandering among the ruins (they get in free of charge).
Our last major stop in Ecuador was Banos, just outside of the city of Cuenca. We had an amazing AirBnB family that hosted us in their beautiful home that they had built themselves! We took multiple excursions to nearby Cuenca to visit the churches, museums, and plazas.
Our route from Banos to the border of Peru was an exciting one. It was full of dirt roads, landslides (fortunately always enough room for a motorcycle to pass), and a dusty border town at the end. We were exhausted when arrived in La Balza, but happy! Next stop – Peru!
Chris & Sharon
Happy to hear all is well; people helpful, gorgeous scenery, unique adventures and God going before you each step of the way! Miss you. Charis
Thank you so much Charis! How are you and what are your latest adventures? I miss everyone at work so much, please give them my love!!! Sharon
It’s so thoughtful of you to take time out of your adventure so that armchair adventurers like me can enjoy your trip vicariously. We are praying for you, and we are excited to see that your trip has been so successful.
Thank you for your prayers Curt and Gina – sometimes we feel like we use them up as fast as people are making them :). Glad you are along for the ride with us (in more ways than one). Occasionally, we would like to cozy up into one of those armchairs ourselves…hehehe We love and miss you both.
Wait, I feel cheated! What happened to the goatee between the Peruvian border and when we met up in Caraz? Awesome photos.
Hahaha! Sorry, the goatee didn’t make the top 100+ photo highlights of Ecuador – just not exotic enough :). Love and miss you and Carol – Chris & Sharon
Love it! I know and love many of these places. So fun to imagine you two there <3
Thanks Mara and thank you for all of your Ecuador advice! We definitely want to go back so we can see all the stuff we had to skip this time. Cheers!
You guys are amazing and a workmanship for the Lord. Pray for our CLC church in Spanish today especially over our pastor.
Thank you Dan! You are a wonderful man of God, husband and father. Got your message and we will be praying for CLC and for the family. We love and miss you.
Just came across your card you gave me when you were at Generational Hope Church over a year ago. I gave you a donation for you to use to go out to dinner and treat yourselves along the way on your adventure. Life has been very full as I have married since then and gone on missions myself! I just read some of your adventures and looked at the pics. Sounds great! Where are you now?
Hi Ruth! Great to hear from you! We have been praying for your daughter and grand daughter Jewel. Congratulations on your marriage and mission trip (where did you go?). If you saw the picture of our visit to the wildlife reserve in the Yukon – that is how we used the money you generously gifted us – Thank you again!!! We are currently in Huanchaco, Peru. One of our motorcycles has a blown engine and we are trying to get it repaired. So glad to reconnect with you. God bless!
Hi you lovely wonderers… I am living vicariously through the both of you and pretending I am in your front chest pocket peeking out at all the sights, sounds and smells along the way. I am in awe of the vibrance of the colors and crispness of the air. Although I would never choose to travel this way, I am excited to be wisked away along with you in my vivid imagination through your amazing letters and photos. I so love hearing from you 😊 you make my heart beat faster and I find myself smiling the whole time I am reading. It’s a great way to remind old people like me to keep you 1st on the prayer list 📃. Its been raining for days here, so not typical for Florida, and it’s still in the low 90°’s with 100%humidity. Im dyin’ and I’m totally over summer by about 2 months now….
It’s autumn in NYC and I’m longing for some yellow, orange and red… My family keeps sending me photos of our favorite spots from home so I don’t feel totally left out 😊.
Jill and Josh had their 3rd baby on July 2nd, his name is Zane Joseph. He has the sweetest spirit and a dimple in his right cheek. Too cute for words. Anna had her 5th birthday party on August 20th, and Joshua is 18 months of pure business. The boy does not stop moving for a minute. He is by far the funniest of the 3.
Miles is in 8th grade and is all teenager, but still loves his Noni. I love that kid 💗 He definitely is my ❤️. Joey is doing great, he is working as a prep cook at BUNKEY’S beachside, and is renting a room in a house in Satellite Bch. He is doing exceptionally well.
So that’s the scoop from the home front. Just thought I’d let you know. You are muchly loved and greatly missed. Keep the letters coming, id hate to be left stranded in Equator forever 🤣😂
Be safe, Be happy, Be wise
L❤️VE YOU BIG 💕 💖
Lovely Lita!
Thank you for your lavishly generous words! We are also so happy that you have joined us on this journey to lands unknown. We really appreciate being on your prayer list (we hope our #1 spot is due to our popularity and not how needy we are – nevermind, we don’t care why – we’ll take it any way we can get it :)!!!
We really enjoyed hearing about what is happening with your kids and grand kids. We look forward to seeing your updated photos when we come back to the States for a visit at the end of this trip. We hope the Florida weather cools off for you soon (you can always head to the Andes if you get really desperate…plenty cool up there).
We miss you and loved hearing from you!
Love,
Chris & Sharon