From the Jungle to the Middle of the World--Days 3 and 4

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 how the Ecuador people use the natural resources.  There was this spiky pod he showed us and said they use it as a brush.  We found out that they don't use toothbrushes they eat this tea leaf that supposedly cleans their teeth.  Our guide was so full of interesting knowledge and facts.  I think the best part of the trip was there was someone in our group that knew more than Scott.  If you know Scott like I know him, you know he is very intelligent and knows a lot of interesting facts.  Well during the hike the guide asked questions and every time Scott and this guy Christopher would give answers, Christopher was always right.  Of course I was always laughing and could barely contain myself long enough to look at Scott and say, "that's going in the blog".  When we got back, we decided to take a dip in the pool and relax with a cold alcoholic beverage.  Sitting by the pool you could hear all the animals making noises.  There are so many birds there it's hard to know what kind is making what noise.  We had another great meal for dinner and the guy whole stole Scott's shoes bought us a bottle of wine.  Off to bed for an early morning bus ride back to Quito.

SCOTT:  Well, I feel like I have to do some fact-checking here.  We were up for breakfast at 7, and finished and Christy was back in the room at 8.  Aside from some minor interruptions, we woke up at 12:50, just in time for lunch!  That's not 3 hours, it's nearly 5.  And by the way I was mostly right in the jungle, Christopher was making me want to punch him in the face (figuratively, of course, he's a nice guy).  I mean c'mon, he thought alpacas were a species of llama!  The only phrase I remember from the jungle hike was "hold my (walking) stick" to Christy when i wanted to take a picture.  No shoe drama today--I left them in the room during the hike!  Everything in the jungle is just big.

  

Then relaxing by the pool until dinner! After today, can you guess what Christy's two favorite things to do on vacation are? I'll give you a hint. As I'm writing this she just asked me, "How late can we go to our free breakfast tomorrow?"... It was a decadent, restful day but just what we needed.

 DAY 4

CHRISTY:  Today we woke up early to leave this beautiful place.  We were once again pleased with the beautiful breakfast they prepared.  I have to say it made me sad to leave.  Everyone there was so nice and worked hard to make our visit so memorable.  We took a  boat ride back to the bus stop and this time no locals were bathing in the river!  We saw so many beautiful birds along the way.  I was dreading the bus ride but at least we had some stops along the way before we reached Mitad del Mundo.  We stopped for a few bathroom breaks, snacks, and sugar cane juice.  It was really sweet, too sweet for me if you can believe that but it was a nice refreshing drink.  Five and a half hours later we arrived at Mitad del Mundo ("half of the world").  It was so cool to be standing in two different hemispheres at the same time!  This place had a lot of culture.  They had homemade gifts I had never seen before.  It was hard to decide what to bring back for souvenirs but I think I did ok because tomorrow we are shopping for a suitcase so I can bring them home!  After shopping and watching Scott balance and egg on a nail it was time to get on the bus for our 45 minute ride to our hotel.  Once back in the room we decided to do some laundry in the sink.  It didn't seem like much at the time but now we look like the locals with our laundry hanging up all over our room.  We ordered some room service and watched some of our shows.  Tomorrow is a day of rest and more shopping, I gotta fill that suitcase!

SCOTT:  Much like Christy said, but a couple additions to the observations.  The "few bathroom breaks" ranged in quality significantly.  I decided that I could hold it at this stop.

Back in the bus.  We stopped at an enchanting little stand that ground sugar cane into a juice.  Part of our group is a large group of really nice folks of Indian-descent.  I've had to listen for two days about how this sugar cane was the best thing I'd ever drink, and how in India they drink it all the time.  I was sure excited to try some.

Got myself a refreshing glass.  Not only did I get spontaneous diabetes, one of my feet popped off right there!  And for the next hour on the bus, my heart felt like I was doing a stress test at the doctor's office.. Couldn't finish it, but adding some lemon DID help.  

Mitad del Mundo was very cool, standing right there on the equator.  Christy had very good "luck" shopping, and I had luck buying a $1 ice cream.  But I DID stand an egg on a nail head.

 

Room service again in the room tonight, and tomorrow we have a day completely on our own to explore Quito. No telling WHAT kind of trouble we can get into.