Retroblog 1 - From the Oriente to the Coast

Here's a bit of retro-blogging (July 8-13th):

We came out of the rainforest and travelled by bus back to Quito. We stopped on the way in Papallacta for our anniversary. The Papallacta hot springs are a "must" on your Ecuador visit list especially if you are flying into or out of Quito (which is recommended so that you can grab an easy 30 minute flight to Portoviejo or Manta, each about 45 minutes driving from Crucita and 50 minutes from San Jacinto). The Hot Springs complex is beautiful and well-maintained. Aftern having spent a month tromping through mud, crossing slippery logs and generally roughing ourselves up a bit, we decided to spoil ourselves with a night at their hotel. Our room included a semi-private hot spring soaking pool... which we had all to ourselves!

We then headed straight for Quito to wrap up office-related loose ends for our water project. Then it was off to Guayaquil to meet my parents! The flight from Quito to the coast is breathtaking on good-weather days. I was pasted to the window watching the volcanic mountain ranges passing underneath then dropping off to the broad coastal plains. Ecuador is truly an incredible and diverse place!

Leaving the "Valley of the Volcanoes" from Quito

A close-up of one of the many volcanic peaks that divide the coast in the west from the Amazon basin in the east.

We landed in Guayaquil in the early afternoon with plenty of time to get set-up in a hotel and get ready to receive my parents, Walter and JoAnn Saunders, at the airport. They are here for their first trip to Ecuador!