Christy and Scott's Travel Spot

  CHRISTY: Today was a nice relaxing day.  I ate breakfast in the hotel while Scott had coffee and then we went off to explore the city and buy souvenirs.  We found this really cool craft market and bought some unique gifts made with alpaca fur.  We found so many great things to buy that we had to buy another suitcase because it wouldn't fit in our suitcases.  After shopping we came back to the hotel and watched some TV.  I decided to get a workout in but after about 40 minutes I thought I was gonna pass out.  Scott said it was probably the altitude being 9,350 feet!  It took awhile for me to feel better but when I did we decided to go find somewhere to eat.  As, we were walking around we stumbled across an Venezuelan restaurant that looked pretty good from the pictures so we went in.  This place was the best place we have eaten at so far!  We tried Arepas and they were delicious.  There are these corn meal tortillas stuffed wi...

DAY 3 CHRISTY :  We weren't caught up on our sleep yet from the days before but we had to get up early for breakfast.  They only serve it at one time and they want you to go with your group.  I guess you could sleep in and miss breakfast, but breakfast is my favorite meal so we got up and went.  During breakfast the guide leader talks about the activities you can do for an additional cost if you want to.  Scott and I decided to try and take a much needed nap.  I honestly thought it would be difficult to fall asleep because it was so hot but the last thing I remember is Scott saying "I don't think I can sleep" and then 3 hours later we woke up in time for lunch.  During that 3 hours the maid came and tried to make up our room and I thought I would never fall back asleep but somehow I managed.  We had a wonderful lunch and then got ready for a 2 hour hike in the Amazon Jungle.  We saw many different plants and flowers and learned a lot about ho...

CHRISTY:It has been a crazy few days. The flight here was long because we had to fly to Miami first and then fly to Ecuador. It also didn’t help that our flight from L.A. was delayed which made us almost miss our flight. We literally ran through the airport terminals past 60 plus gates. They actually held the plane for us! It was only a 4 hour flight from Miami and we arrived in Ecuador at 12:30 a.m. and found our shuttle bus to the hotel. Once in our hotel it was around 1:30 a.m. and we were starving so we ordered room service. I had a beef tenderloin pita sandwich and Scott had an Italian sub. I’m not sure if I was just starving or what, but that was the best $7.50 sandwich I have ever had! At about 3 a.m.I was awoken by a loud siren that can only be described as the purge commencing. Scott was sound asleep so I didn’t want to wake him but I was pretty scared for about 1 minute until I fell asleep again. Day 2 was quite an adventure. We started the day with a wonderful Ecuador buffe...

Now normally, Christy and I would post separately, from our different perspectives. But since it is 1:30 (EST) in the morning and we just got checked into our hotel and it was a crazy day, just a short summary today. Our morning started in Los Angeles but our flight left late to Miami which turned our 51 minute connection time to a 17 minute connection time, two terminals away. Christy said she hasn't seen me move so fast, which I think is rude, but nonetheless they were nice enough to unlock the jetway door for us to get on the plane. Unfortunately all I've had to eat today is kibble from the plane so we ordered room service and are waiting for it now before we go to bed. Tomorrow we meet in the lobby at 8:00 so it's going to be another long day, but I'm looking forward to seeing Ecuador in the daylight!

We're packing our bags and grabbing our passports.  Next week, we'll be taking off for Ecuador, where we will be visiting two cities, staying in an eco-lodge in the Amazon Rainforest, and spending several nights on the Galapagos Islands.  Stay tuned for updates.

 Christy and I have always had the travel bug.  Ever since we met, we have been having adventures--big and small--together and with the whole family.  Since I retired as Sheriff of Sacramento County last year, and Christy finished her culinary program, we've really amped up our adventures.  In the past year, we've been to Mexico several times, Tennessee, San Antonio, Hawaii, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Southern California and Oregon.  And we have more fantastic trips on the books (see next post!).  We thought it would be fun to invite our family and friends to 'travel with us' on our adventures, and this blog will hopefully be a real-time accounting of the highs, lows, humor and craziness of our journeys, from each of our unique perspectives.  I hope you enjoy following our exploits!