Coming Back

In which, we revive our blog

So as you can see, we are absolutely TERRIBLE about updating this blog. The last post was July and we're now almost halfway through November. EEK.

While there's a lot that's happened, there's also a lot that's been normal. We've pretty much settled into a daily routine, with the occasional adventure. August was pretty tame, as we were trying to settle in after our June/July adventure to the beach. At the beginning of September, we met up with the proofreading guru herself,  my friend and sensei, Caitlin Pyle! She and her husband Ben were here in Ecuador for 3 months (they've since moved on to Argentina) so we met up down in Banos for a weekend trip. That was really fun and involved an afternoon trek to Pailon del Diablo (Devil's Cauldron) and the zoo! Check out their blog over at The Work Anywhere Life - they've got some really great pictures and videos of the weekend.

Taking a tarabita over the river valley

Pailon del Diablo - the actual waterfall is DIRECTLY to the right

On a bridge, looking back at Pailon del Diablo

After that, we spent the rest of September putting our lives together for our big trip home in October. That involved several weeks of prep for Jethro as well as a last-minute trip to Quito/Otavalo for some gifts.

Raw, local honey!

We also made a little side trip to Ibarra, about 45 minutes north of Otavalo, for el Caceria del Zorro, which is basically, the fox hunt. Only in this particular hunt, it's a rider dressed as the character Zorro, and everyone chases him down. We weren't able to stay for the actual race but we did get to see the parade. There were over 600 riders in the parade, which meant a LOT of horses, which made my inner 9-year-old girl so very, very happy.

There are actually several race categories, for both younger and older riders to compete and chase the Zorro. Seeing them all in the parade was exhilarating, with the variety of horses and riders. Some were beautiful, other were extremely talented and well trained. I really hope we get the opportunity to come back and see the race someday!

After this last trip, it was nose to the grind. The apartment needed cleaning and we had to ensure that our housesitters had all the information they needed to make their stay as easy as possible. We had made arrangements for a retired American couple living in Panama to come and stay in our apartment with Jethro so we didn't have to leave him at the vet for the entire time. Clyde and Terry were AMAZING and you can follow their adventures at Along the Gringo Trail. 

With those arrangements made, we headed home to good ol' South Kackalacky (South Carolina, for the uninitiated amongst us) for Will and Amanda's wedding in Charleston as well as a chance to visit with our friends and family.

Aren't they just ridiculously good-looking??

For those who don't follow me on Facebook or Instagram, I won't relive our ordeal to even get back home (TL;DR - it was a version of hell on earth), but at the end of the day we made it back. We had a great time visiting with everyone, catching up with our families and spending quality time with those we love. We were in the States for about 3 weeks, from October 7th - October 29th. We got in all the good Southern cooking we'd been missing and did some shopping for some of us (...me) to correct our wardrobe shortcomings.

That time my sisters and I were all on the same continent, in the same state, city, and room!!

It was a great time, and for those we didn't manage to see, we're sorry! We'll be in Ecuador for 7-8 more months though, so feel free to come see us!

We made it back to Quito on Thursday, the 29th, and the trip back was MUCH more pleasant than the trip home. Even so, by the time we pulled up to our apartment the next day, I was pretty much ready to never travel with checked luggage again. It's nice to have all those things when you settle in, but lugging two 50# duffel bags is no joke.

We had a bit of a snafu with Clyde and Terry's transportation to Quito, but they finally got underway at about 6pm. A little later than they hoped, but they made it there safe and sound and enjoyed several adventures over the holiday weekend.

Pan de guagua and colada morada

Oh yeah, did I mention we arrived back on a holiday weekend? November 2nd is Dia de los Difuntos, or Day of the Dead. They celebrate it here in Ecuador a little differently than what you might expect. There's special bread (pan de guagua) and drink (colada morada) that everyone makes based on their own family recipes. There's fireworks and parades, and here in Ambato they have one of the biggest fairs in the entire country. On November 2nd itself, many families go to the cemeteries to remember their loved ones. It becomes a family outing, with food and games abounding.

We didn't go to any of the cemeteries, but we did check out the fair since it was literally 3 blocks from our apartment. We went Saturday morning to avoid the crowds. It was a beautiful, bright sunny day and it was a perfect re-introduction back into Ecuador and Ambato. There are vendors and artisans from all over the country selling their wares. There's also a CRAP ton of food from all over the country, which is just another way of spelling happiness.

Basically, to keep MILs away... ;)

Since then, we've basically been settling back in, trying to adjust to the altitude and finding a schedule again. 

This past Thursday, Ambato celebrated the 195th anniversary of its declaration of independence from Spain. There were parades and commemorations and people all over the place. It also coincided with a South American World Cup Qualifying match between Ecuador and Uruguay. We went to watch the match at a small restaurant with our downstairs neighbor, Andrea, and had the pleasure of seeing Ecuador win! It was an exciting game, and it was fun to watch it with the locals. As you might imagine, they were VERY animated. 

So that's it. We're back and once we get fully acclimated to the altitude again, we'll start looking at some more adventures. Banos is in the books (always), as well as Quisapincha, Puyo, and Riobamba. Who knows, maybe we'll get really adventurous and try the beach again?