So far we have enjoyed two days of costumes and can't wait for tonight's spectacle of Dia Delos Difuntos (Day of the Deceased). And, to think that I thought that I would miss one of my favorite holidays! Starting on Friday we have seen revelers on motorbikes, scary faces peering out bus windows, families and groups of friends all getting into the spirit of the holiday. There are face painting stations set up on corners and folks young and old enjoying the festivities. Tonight

One of the great joys of travel is discovering the kindness of strangers. Almost everyone that we have met on our journey has been welcoming and helpful. It seems that everyday simple tasks turn into a lesson on patience and kindness. Our trip to the Otavalo post office is an example of people helping us stumble our way through South America. Because we decided to do our Christmas shopping at the Otavalo market, we had to mail our market purchases back home. We went to the po

It was 9 am and when I looked down at my iWatch and it said that we had walked three miles. Three miles is the exact distance from the front door of our home in Mississippi to our neighborhood gate, which Ol and I walk regularly at about the same time everyday. We walk by our neighbors beautiful homes and farms. We see deer, cows, horses and a few dogs and birds. Today, I was thinking how different our morning walk was to Otavalo's Cascada de Peguche. Even though it was only

You might think that when hiking among active volcanoes that the most dangerous thing would be volcanoes. You would be wrong. And so, we spent our final two days in Otavalo hiking the beautiful volcanoes that circle Otavalo in the area known as The Avenue of Volcanoes. The Avenue of Volcanoes is a string of seven 17,000 foot mountain peaks in central Ecuador containing a few of the most active volcanos in the world. By comparison, the highest peak in the contiguous United Sta

One of the reasons we took a noisier street room ay Hostal Chasqui was to see the animals run down the street on their way to the famous Otavalo market from our private balcony. When the market it open, it is called "the most colorful place in the world." After getting up at the appointed time, I was more than a little disappointed to see one lonely pig. Today they must have taken a different route. However, the rest of the day didn’t disappoint. The Otavalo Market has taken

Our host at Hostal Chasqui, Roberto, told us that the best outdoor activity in the Otavalo area was hiking around Laguna Cuicocha, a stunningly beautiful volcanic lake. He said that many tourists are duped into paying a tour company nearly $100 for a trip to the lake. He told us to do it on our own and save $100 dollars. We took Roberto’s advice and hopped on a city bus for a twenty minute ride to the town of Quiroga. The cost for the bus ride was .35 cents a person. In the t

I knew that our stay in Otavalo would be different when at check in, our host Roberto warned “If you see the Shaman he will be drunk, just take photos, don’t drink his potion or eat the “magical” egg.” I knew that the Hostal Casqui was the right place when Roberto ran out the door and grabbed our bags and gave us a warm greeting. He invited us into our new home. He gave us a wonderful tour and our choice of several rooms. We had our choice of the rooftop with a lovely courty

On our last day in the rough port city of Buenaventura we decided to venture out of the small tourist center for a meal in the one restaurant that was recommended to us. We carefully made our way a few blocks from our hotel for some local seafood. The meal did not disappoint. As we navigated back to the hotel down the gritty streets we heard someone call our names. “Oliver, Jennifer!” We didn’t know anyone in this town and no one even knew we were here. Then, we noticed a you

We said our goodbyes to Alberto and his family in Coffee Country and headed off to the Pacific coast. The whales were still off the coast but would be migrating south in another week. If we wanted to see them we had to go now. We were just four hours away. We decided to become reacquainted with the Colombia bus system as flights to the area took twice as long. It would be difficult as we had gotten used to Alberto’s wonderful hospitality in chauffeuring us half way across the

Our trip to coffee country with Alberto and his family was off to a great start, despite the fifteen hour drive the previous day. The coffee plantation was beautiful. Our hacienda was a large suite of four rooms and a covered porch. There were two well appointed bedrooms, a spacious bathroom, and a room with large glass windows, rocking chairs, and a hammock. It was lovely. We were too tired to do anything but clean up and get in bed. But, just as we turned out the lights we