Ecuador...random photos captured by my lens...

When we travel I take so many more pictures than what we post on this blog.  Here are some of my random photos that I just found interesting...I hope you enjoy them...

This Rambutan fruit was sold everywhere throughout Ecuador.  It's got a white fruit inside with a large pit.  You just kind of suck the fruit without really eating it.  Ha.

 Typical hair braid seen on many women and girls as well as men.

Corn, corn, corn...

Corn sellers in the market

These blouses are traditionally hand embroidered taking up to a month to finish one blouse.  Many are done by machine now.

Once the market is finished for the day, vendors pack everything up and haul their goods home until they return the next day.

Typical clothing today...

Highway toll station

This woman just filled up her gas cans to take home...her child was riding with her too.

This flyboarder was having  fun in the water...

Cactus flowers on the Galapagos

A 50+ year old tortoise on San Cristobal Island, Galapagos

Ancient stonework in Cuenca

Invasive grasses on all the roadsides... and we plant them...

Such a colourful market

Roasted pigs on spits...great for sandwiches and other meals...

Such a nice restaurant in Cuenca... this is where we ate 'cuy' or guinea pig

The pattern on skirts tells where a woman hails from

The Aboriginal flag flown around Ecuador... does it remind you of another flag?

Alpaca or llama?

I believe this is a Southern Yellow Grosbeak

This beautiful Angel Trumpet (Brugmansia) is seen all around Ecuador but it is highly poisonous!  The flowers are 15-25 cm in length.

A typical scene in the farming area of Ingapirca...

When a hat has two bobbles hanging from the front brim it means you are single.  If the bobbles hang on the back, you are married.

A nice wall message in a small coffee shop

Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Rosario del Agua Santa (Church of the Virgin of the Holy Water) was completed in 1929

Temperature inside our bus at 11:52 in the morning!! Luckily it cooled down once we got moving...

Plaza de la Independencia in Old Town Quito

A delicious fruit called Sweet Granadilla

That's it for now...

Yvonne

Chacala, Mexico...sometimes...it's good to go back....after Ecuador...

                               
                                                     Prologue

Chacala......the waves roll in....from somewhere far out in the Pacific Ocean, the gods of the seas push and play in the waters, sending swells our way...these 'pulses', like a heartbeat, pound our shoreline at journey's end....the 'beat' of the ocean never ceases.....we watch little children dance to the rhythm of the waters; playing a game of 'catch-me-if-you-can' with the gentle water at the edge.  Grandmothers lie in the shallows, getting wet and sandy....memories of their own mermaid youth shine from their beaming smiles. If you squint into the sun...we are all 16 again.

Chacala....where the young go to be inspired....and the old are re-energized....dreams are gathered in the last rays of the golden-yellows of the setting sun....while sillouettes of sailboats and catamarans gently bob in the glimmery-silver sequin waters of the Chacala bay....
 
Time slows here in this oceanside village...away from the distant mega-resorts on other beaches....the bands play on....old men trudge the hot sands burdened with guitars, drums and giant bass. Music competes for our attention from the beach side restaurants around us....

....we close our eyes....grab hold of the ice-cold Pacifico that just arrived at our table. The beer runs frio down our throat ...under the hot sun.....by the warm ocean waters...in the little town of Chacala.

                                 Sometimes, it's worth returning....

                         Chacala, Mexico

Our last stop on our two month journey... Chacala, Mexico......         a small Mexican fishing village two hours north of  Puerto Vallarta.

  Our apartment  at "La Posada Brisa Fresca" (The Fresh Breeze Inn) is on the bottom floor with a patio surrounded by beautiful tropical plants

our roof top terrace for relaxing and watching  spectacular sunsets

Ah, and the charming Chacala dirt road  that leads to a great beach...

'Main street' Chacala...

roaming bands on the beach...

good food and drinks from restaurants and vendors...

a lap pool in the ocean...

... friendly people everywhere...

What more do you need?!

You should give it a try!

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Travel Tips

Getting to Chacala....just about any bus heading north from Puerto Vallarta on highway 200 will stop at the turn off to Chacala. Collectivos (shared taxi vans), taxis regularly head down the 7km of road to Chacala. Just flag one down....or hitch hike in. Easy!

Rooms and Food....lots of room options for everyone's budget, along with a number of restaurants and little grocery stores. The beer is cold and the sunsets golden.
............................



Adios from one of our favourite beach towns in Mexico!!

Yvonne y Shayne

PS....that's a wrap...after 2 months on the road we are heading home. Until the next time!

Ecuador.....Odds n Ends after 5 weeks or so.....and now..... the end is here....we did it our way..

Prologue

Ecuador...what can we say...from the Andes, to the Amazon...to Isla Galapagos...it has been a blast....😎....5+ weeks of bumping around the country on local transport...going up and going down...spectacular sights and wonderful people...warm, kind and so gracious...we've eaten well and slept just fine. Where else can one get a 1hour shave for only $8 (US)....high altitude walking left us short of breath...but the $3 (US) wine bottle size beers help get us through....Come and visit here under the shadow of the volcanoes...

.........................

Enjoy the odds 'n ends of some of the moments that never 'made' the final edit of our Ecuador posts...Happy reading!

.......................

Follow the Music...

...cause you never know what you discover...

(This ended up being our most memorable moment in Ecuador....and, it happened on our first day in Ecuador....)

Within an hour of waking up in the small town of Yaruqui....we come across a school/community folkloric music/dance festival...

Some are in costume/traditional clothing and others are just dancing in a large circle...

Of course...Yvonne gets pulled up to dance by the 'head hombre'

Once that set of dancing was over, conversations ensued and group pictures were taken for their benefit and ours...

That's Yvonne in the middle

...then later she's presented with a handmade waist sash from these two lovely women...

After several hours of watching...sharing....dancing.....

we leave...with flowers in our hands...and tears on our cheeks...

OMG....if this is Ecuador ...we want more...

Shaving (this is way better than any beach massage)

Shayne gets a shave in Quito after 4 days in the jungle...

old school ... with a straight edge

...takes 1 hour...costs $8 US....face is bambino-culo (baby-bum) smooth...at least that's what Yvonne says...and the female barber beside me.

The Train to Nowhere

In tiny Alausi, high in the Andes is a little train ride called ....the Devil's Nose (Nariz del Diablo). We arrive to ride the train; called one of the most dangerous in the world. 

Tracks apparently run back and forth on what seems to be just a cliff face...

We say 'apparently' and 'seems to be', as we never did ride the train.  We woke up to a rainy, cloudy morning. There would be no 'staggering' gorgeous views, or 'heart-pounding' moments on this dreary day...we do see the train though...

So, we saved ourselves $35 US/person ticket, hopped on a bus out of town and went in search of cuy. Next time.

Murals... Beautiful Murals!!

These murals were sometimes found in the oddest places but they still caught our eye...

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Epilogue

(....inspired by Sinatra, Anka y several other writers...)

                                               .......And now, the end is near                                                        And so we face the final curtain                                                              Our friend, we'll say it clear                                               
                 We'll state our case, of which we're certain                                                    We've lived a life that's full                                       We've traveled  (almost) each and every highway                                                                    
                              And more, much more than this         
                                        We. Did. It.. Our. Way......

                                                ....................
             
                               Gracias.....Shayne y Yvonne