The Eberts Visit Ecuador: Part 2

Hannah arrived one week after my parents and more adventures followed, thus Part 2: Hannah's Visit.

After arriving at 6am on Saturday morning, we headed to Otavalo(the artesian market) for a day full of shopping.  We ended up buying about 10 different textiles - I guess that's what happens when you bring an art major to the market.  We spent Sunday exploring Quito's old town, visiting millions of museums, and eating lots of street food and ice cream! 

Monday morning, we headed off to the galapagos (yes - I've now visited the galapagos twice).  Upon arriving, we took a 2-hr boat ride over to Isabela island, the largest island of the galapagos.  There, we spent 3 days biking, visiting turtles and flamingoes, snorkeling through lava tunnels, and tanning on the many beaches.  On Thursday morning, we took the 2-hr boat ride back to Santa Cruz, the most populated island and where I stayed with my parents.  Here, we visited Tortuga Bay, snorkeled with lots of sea-life and fishes, and visited Las Grietas (look it up - it's a beautiful place).  

We left the galapagos saturday morning, and instead of returning to Quito, we headed to Guayaquil (Ecuador's largest city, about 2 hours from the coast).  We spent about 3 hours in the city and were more than ready to leave, so we got on a bus and headed to Olon, a small fishing town right on the coast.  We spent 3 days here, tanning (or more appropriately burning) on the beach and drinking lots and lots of fruit milkshakes.  One day, we went to Los Frailes, one of Ecuador's most beautiful beaches.   On Tuesday, we headed further up the coast to Canoa, another small fishing coastal town.  We spent another two days here before heading back to Quito, nice and fried from all the sun.  

We spent Hannah's last day in Quito, relaxing in the parks and getting $5 haircuts!  For her final night, we went to the same jazz restaurant that I took my parents for one last typical Ecuadorean meal.  She left early Friday morning.  

Now it's time for me to get out of vacation-mode and back to volunteering-mode.  I have 2 months left in Quito and I plan to make the very best of all my time left here!

Textiles at Otavalo Market

The Eberts Visit Ecuador: Part 1

I've spent the last month spending time with my parents and Hannah, exploring the Galapagos, all about Quito, the coast, and Santo Domingo.  So here it goes - part 1 of the adventures: my parents' visit.

My parents visited for two weeks in total - we spent the first week doing "touristy" things in Quito and the Galapagos and the second week in Santo Domingo working with Timmy Global Health on a medical brigade.  

Week 1:  Matele, my host mom, threw my parents a welcome dinner for their first night in Ecuador.  My parents were able to meet my "Ecuador family", and lucky for me, they all speak English except for Matele.  We spent the next day wandering throughout Quito's Old District, checking out the many beautiful churches.  Monday morning, we headed off bright and early for the GALAPAGOS!!!!  We spent the next four days in the Galapagos.  We kayaked at the beautiful Tortuga Bay, visited the giant tortoise reserve, and snorkeled with sea lions, sea turtles, sharks, manta rays, and many tropical fish.  We had a fantastic time, just wished we had more days to continue exploring the islands.  Thursday, we returned to Quito and spent the evening at local restaurant listening to live jazz music - possibly one of our favorite meals the whole trip!  Friday was used for exploring more of Quito - we rode the teleferiQo up to the top of Volcano Pichincha (too bad it was quite foggy), followed by a visit to Museo Guayasamin (an Ecuadorean artist - look him up, we really enjoyed his work).  Saturday, we took the 2-hr beautiful trip through the Andes to Otavalo, the enormous outdoor market.  This trip marked the end of our "vacation", it was now time to start to work. 

Week 2:  Saturday evening, we met up with the rest of the volunteers for the medical brigade.  In total, there were 3 family physicians (including my parents), 1 dentist, 2 women's health pa's, about 10 student volunteers, and 3-4 translators (including myself).  Sunday morning, we headed down to Santo Domingo.  In spirit of Carnaval, after lunch and before getting down to serious brigade business, we had our own water-balloon and silly string battle.  After that, it was all business :)  We held medical clinics Monday through Friday at different sites throughout the clinic.  I LOVED translating for my parents.  It was cool to see them "in action".  Plus, it was pretty great to relax with my parents after a long day at the clinic! 

Overall, it was a wonderful two weeks with my parents.  I loved showing them bits of my life here in Quito - hopefully they enjoyed the time as much as I did!

Overlooking Quito

The beautiful Tortuga Bay

Check out my facebook for LOTS more photos from my parents' visit!