From Quito on public bus to Papallacta Hot Springs!!!

What a blast!  Everyone in our group is fantastic!!  We are all from Denmark - Ann and Sidsel, Switzerland - Rose Marie, Wales - John and Katie, Poland - Matthew, Northern Canada - Theresa and Colleen, England - Gaven, Ecuador - Giovanni, and Idaho - ME!

Won't be able to post pics until Friday or Saturday in Banos.

Quito Ecuador Photos

Passing off glorified pig ears in "Gringolandia!"

Ok, now I just saw a flashy young Ecuadorian dude wearing - platform tennis shoes!!  I've got to get a picture of those things!  crazy looking.  And he was the height of fashion!  That's how these hipsters roll in Marsupial Sucre, otherwise known as "Gringolandia!"  I feel very unsafe.  That's it.  I have no intention of cruisin around on a Saturday night in Gringolandia!""  I ate my first Ecuadorian meal (wanted to take a picture but thought I'd be pushing the "image" to it's edge) that was pork, mysterious crispy thing (pretty sure it was a glorified pig ear), corn popped like a vegetable you'd take to the movies and a cheese grit type thing shaped like flan.  It was all pretty damned good!  I left the mysterious crispy thing thinking all the while of ol' Spike.  I'd definitely be taking that home to him if if if.    One thing that cracks me up - no matter where I go, I forget how much other countries like their water "with gas."  Ecuadorians are no different.  I had my gaseous water and burped all the way back to the hotel.

Anyhow, my thought of now is that the old historic area of Quito is far safer and cooler than this place.  In every respect!  If I were to come back I'd stay at the San Fransico Hotel for about $40 a night right in among all of those gorgeous churches.   Sometimes paying less isn't worth it.  I liked Colonial House but the walk was down the steepest cobblestone hill and back up another huge a** hill and man!  We're at over 9,000 feet and you FEEL it!

My sweet little Jeeter died...

Extremely hard to pack after having to have put my Jeeter-cat down yesterday.  For those of you who don't know, he got attacked by bully cats and it ripped a hole in his cornea.  His kidneys have been really bad (but he's been a purring dream and you'd never know it!) so he couldn't survive operation to remove his eye.  I would've loved to have my sweet Jeeter as a pirate cat.... So needless to say, I'm blue.  I keep thinking he'll pop up, cruise around the corner or that my midnight blue bath towel will suddenly move.  His timing (fate, universe, God's timing was impeccable in that I got to hold him tight and cry my head off. I was with him at the end...I miss him so. 

OK - tomorrow I fly out to Salt Lake and then Mexico on Saturday - just wait til you see those pics!!!  Now I travel alone cuz no one can ever join me BUT if someone I know fairly well out there, sees this, I have a place in Nueva Vallarta with a kitchen and 3 miles of white sandy beach, wave pool, infinity pools and on and on if you care to join!  2 weeks of blobbing it!  Nice start!  Delta gals - the invite is wide open!!

Getting ready for this trip is tough!!...but exciting...

I'm packing for a great adventure!  My laptop is waiting for me to clean it up for all of the photos soon to eat up all of its space and my wetsuit is 2 sizes to small.  Auto pay takes a decade to set up and credit cards versus debit cards in case of fraud...arghh!  When time runs out, it's out.  So what!  Let the adventure begin!

I have an incredible opportunity that has a lot of "what ifs" attached.  I am able to fly anywhere Delta flies until June 7, 2012 so I'm off to find the most appealing place that is C  H  E  A  P!  I feel that by moving from America for awhile, I'll be able to withstand the depression (why the hell do they keep insisting it's a recession?).  Back to the "what ifs" - Delta has cut back on flights and when there is one, it's packed,  Sooooo, that means my itinerary will be like throwing darts at a board (another blog title I almost used).

Plan is to leave Thursday morning, visit friend in Salt Lake and catch flight to Nuevo Vallarte for a cush 2 week chill-out at fancy timeshare I bought 5 years ago.  Mojito-induced purchase.  After that...who knows?

So back to packing, downloading, copying addresses, web sites, passwords, etc...... I love it.  :  )