Our 9 day adventure with my parents was a trip I will never forget. We started off by renting a car in Quito, and then heading back to my site in Zumbahua for a few days. We stopped by Cotopaxi National Park, the largest, and active volcano in Ecuador. They got to know my site here in Zumbahua, visited the hospital, and even went out hiking in the communities with the malnutrition program. From there, we embarked on a 7 day road-trip doing a loop from the central highlands where I am, down to the Amazon rainforest, back up through the cloud forest, and ending in the northern highlands. We had diverse accommodations, from roughing it in a modest wood walled hut with mosquito nets and bats flying overhead, to a beautiful hotel at a thermal springs spa.
The wildlife we got to see in the rainforest we incredible, and included crocodiles, frogs, many species of birds, monkeys, spiders, and snakes. Our guide kept us busy with day and night time hikes, canoe rides, and jungle handicrafts. I even caught a piranha!
Jungle handicrafts
Cocao - the fruit that has the seeds that we use to make chocolate
I caught a piranha!
Mike's favorite friend of the trip.
At the thermal springs in Papallacta.
What an amazing trip! Thank you for all the trip planning. Ecuador is such a gorgeous country with beautiful people.
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