Hotel Aragosta Salinas

3rd September 2009<br><br>Hostal Condor Matzi, Zumbuhua, Ecuador<br><br>Sunny but cool<br><br>yesterday latacunga &#8211; just before Zumbuhua 55 kms)<br><br>quilotoa &#8211; Zumbuhua <br><br>14 kms)<br><br>yesterday was one of those days that seemed to go on forever. not that it was unpleasant, certainly at first, but it doesn't matter how good everything looks if you think you should be 'there' by now, wherever 'there' is, then everything just drags. <br><br ...

31st August 2009<br><br>Hotel del Sol, Ambato, Ecuador (14 usd)<br><br>The sun's out, and it's actually quite warm<br><br>Banos &#8211; Ambato (43 kms) approx 1000 m climb<br><br>It's official, I have a rash not bed bug bites, although what caused it is a complete mystery. I went to the farmacia while in Banos and showed the woman serving there my problema. luckily for me, there was a chap in the store who spoke both English and Spanish so he was ...

... into the sun and grimacing repeatedly. Yulexis Micaela taught me that persistence is the key. On the swing, she says, &#8220;Empujame amiga empujame amiga (push me!)!&#8221; 3 minutes later&#8230;&#8221;Empujameeee, empujameee, empujameeeeee (Pushmeeee, pushmee)!&#8221; but really the greatest thing Micaela taught me was how to hug! She always manages to climb on my lap, giving me the biggest hugs! Yuri Valeria has taught me how to be silly and free! All she has to do is take my ...

... hotel. Tried to find somewhere to eat lunch. That was a real communication breakdown. 4 out of 5 meals came out completely different to what we had ordered. But it was still pretty yummy and I got some salad. So missing my fresh fruit and veg. Had dinner at a fantastic Italian restaurant called DBaggio. It´s on the main strip Daniel Leon Ave, and has a nice little wood oven, which keeps the place nice and warm but also makes very tasty pizza´s.

... there are 37 but 2 you can drive to the summit) in only 60 days. Today was day 59 and Chimborazo was the last mountain standing. I'd love to say we sat around and swapped climbing stories but mostly I just tried to stay out of the way of the cameras, get my gear ready and go straight to bed. We did chat a little bit though and he seemed like a great guy. He was obviously very passionate about the mountains. Other than us and Santiago's team ...

We sailed from Panama City on Friday, February 1, leaving at 4 in the afternoon. We had spent the day provisioning fresh food, saying goodbye to friends, and making last minute Internet emails. At last we deflated the dingy and tied it on-board, pulled anchor, and motored away from Causeway Amador. A few people on other sailboats waved as we started our journey of 680 miles to Salinas, Ecuador. The captain wanted to motor to Tobago Island and spend the ...

Here´s another update from Ecuador after being here almost a week...we had a lovely time at our niece´s baptism and after-party on Saturday! Lots of friends and family came to celebrate with us and we drank, ate and danced until 8:00am!! I´ve really enjoyed spending time with Juan´s family and playing with Maret Valentina! She´s such a happy little girl with adorable giggles and curls! I´ve also enjoyed hearing the mango vendors ...

... we shook off the dust and our driver directed us to the top of the town to find accomodation for the night. Having settled in at the town´s only hotel, we set out to explore the coops on which the town earned it´s reputation. There are no tours or guides, you really just walk in the front door and wander around the operations. Some times the workers say hello, other times they just look at you curiously while you wander around. Imagine if someone ...

... is on the Ruta del Sol, which is a coastful of beaches on the southern coast of Ecuador. Although Salinas looks like a small wealthy Miami beach from afar because of the tall white hotels and condos lining El Malecon (the equivolent of a boardwalk), you can still get a plateful of fresh seafood for $5. Salinas brings in the wealthy from all over ...

The drive to Salinas was very nice. The highway from Guyaquil to the coast is under construction, with large chunks of it already completed. The sections that are completed are a beautiful, wide open road, while the few older sections are still a simple one lane road that quite often run through small villages and towns. Salinas was a disappointment. It ...