LoSkee

Lauren came to visit and I convinced her that she should run a half marathon with us.  She is a trooper.  It wasn't that I didn't think she could run 13.1 miles, because she definitely can, it was her running in the heat and humidity that I was concerned about.  Training in the cool 30-50 degree weather in Seattle was not going to prepare her for the climate here in Panama.  We did a couple short practice runs earlier in the week.  The first one was a shocker to her system.  The second one was better.  She was ready...and we survived :)

Not sure how she's jumping after 2 hours of running

We even made a showing in a clip on the internet.  Check it out! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkDg_N9DNto

Lauren was able to enjoy herself a bit while she was here as well.  When she flew in, we took her straight to an all-inclusive resort for two nights with some of our other friends. 

Unfortunately, I had to work most of the week, but Alex was able to take her to the canal, and I took one day off to explore Casco Viejo with her.  I even dragged her to my school Holiday Party!

We loved, loved, LOVED having the LoSkee visit.  She can, and should, come back anytime....soon!!! 

Holiday Adventures

Instead of going home for Christmas, Alex and I decided to take advantage of our time down here and travel a little. Our good friends, Jill & Brad, were planning a trip to Costa Rica with their girls Samantha and Libby. Our other good friends, Anna & Santiago, were planning to visit family in Ecuador. So, crashing both their trips is exactly what we did :).

Alex & Libby 

We started in Costa Rica and met the Fishers in Monteverde, which is about 3 hours northwest from San Jose.  Taking a bus was going to be a big pain in the butt, so we opted for a shared shuttle, which picked us up from our hotel and took us straight to our MV hotel. Easy peasy. We stayed at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Lodge, and it was wonderful. It was a little bit outside of town, but was quite, clean, relaxing, and in the rain forest. The staff there was super helpful and friendly as well. They even made sure to reserve the TV for us so we could watch the Hawks destroy the Cardinals. While in Monteverde, we enjoyed hiking around the Cloud Forest Natural Reserve and went zip lining with Selvatura Tours . 

We checked out the town, which has lots of shops and restaurants. It's a touristy place, but all the locals are very friendly and helpful.  Some great places we ate at included Taco Taco (Mexican Food and a nice hostel), Sabor Tico (typical Costa Rican food....delicious!), and Stella's bakery. We had some inside information from our friends Talia & Gerardo, who live in Panama, she's a teacher with me, but they used to live in Monteverde, and they told us about a hidden fig tree to check out. She gave us some vague directions, but luckily it was close by our hotel. We wandered into the rain forest off one of the main roads, and found the most amazing tree we've ever seen. This Fig tree, called the Strangler Fig, had wrapped around a tree, killed it, and what was left was a huge, hollow tree, basically just of branches strung together. You can climb all the way to the top inside the tree. It was the coolest, most natural thing I've ever seen. And it was free! Nothing is free in Costa Rica.

It was really awesome to spend time with Jill, Brad, and the girls. The girls are growing up so fast, which always makes it hard to be away. Jill & Brad were so generous to allow us to tag along with them for a few days.  We miss them, and look forward to seeing them over the summer!

We caught a shuttle back to San Jose, spent the night in a ridiculously overpriced Hampton Inn next to the airport, and flew out Christmas Eve morning to Quito, Ecuador.  While it was only about 4 hours of flying, it took allllll day, including 8 hours in the Bogota airport. So boring. We finally arrived in Quito at 10pm, and were greeted by our lovely hosts, Santiago and his dad, Eduardo. We headed straight to their family party at Santi's uncle's house in the Cumbaya neighborhood. It's a very exclusive neighborhood, gated with security guards and big houses. In Ecuador, they share their holiday dinners together at midnight, so we were lucky to arrive just in time for a nice big Christmas dinner. Santi's family was very nice and welcoming, and we were even able to practice our Spanish with some of them.

Christmas Eve is more celebrated than Christmas Day, so on the 25th, we went and explored some of the huge city of Quito. We went up the Teleferico, which takes you up to the top of the mountain via gondola, about 13,000 feet, where you have an amazing view of the whole city. Man, were we huffing and puffing! It was high up there!

We went to dinner in old town and tried some typical Ecuadorian food - empanada de viento (big ass empanada with cheese) locro de papa (soup with potato, cheese, and avocado) and currasco (grilled steak) Yummmm.

Empanada de Viento in the back, and locro de papa in the foreground

The next day, we headed back to the airport to catch a $93, 45 minute domestic flight to Cuenca. Cuenca is a cool little city with TONS of churches. We enjoyed walking around the city, exploring the fresh fruit and vegetable markets, as well as the artisan markets, and visiting the river. 

We took one of the city bus tours, which brought us up to a great look out spot.

Alex and I took off on our own one day to go to the Cajas National Park. We were going to take a bus, but when we got in the cab to have him take us to the bus stop, the driver offered to drive us instead. Sweet. We hiked around the park for a few hours and it was beautiful yet slightly eerie. 

The trail looped around and dropped us on the highway. We didn't see any animals on the trails, but we did on the street.

We caught the bus on the way back for $2 each, even though we had to stand because all the seats were full. 

The next day we all rented a van and driver and went to some surrounding towns, three to be exact: Gualaceo, Chordeleg, and Sigsig.  In addition to the basic crafts seen everywhere, each town also specializes in a particular craft.  Gualaceo is known for its leather, Chordeleg for its silver and jewelry, and Sigsig for the one and only, Panama Hat.  Sigsig was super cool.  A foundation of native women make the hats and we were able to see how they press them and the different hat molds, and understand the difference between the $20 hats and the $700 hats.

Big ass Panama Hat

We took another day trip to Ingapirca, which is covered with beautiful ruins you can walk on along trails.  Really pretty. 

We finished up in Cuenca and all flew back to Quito for New Years.  During the day, we visited both equators (did you know there are two?!) with Santi, Anna and Francy.  The main attraction is the original equator, discovered pre-GPS technology.  The second, smaller monument is located 240 meters north of the original line.

The original equator

The equator based on GPS

After the equator, we made a point to find cuy for lunch!  Traditional Ecuadorian cuy is fried, or VERY well cooked, guinea pig.  Anna and I decided the boys could share that and we would just try it.  It wasn't that bad, actually.  It tasted like really greasy chicken.

New Year traditions in Ecuador are awesome.  Some include: boys in their 20s dressing up like women and dancing in the streets for money; stuffing paper mannequins with your sins from the year and lighting them on fire at midnight; jumping over said burning mannequin to leave the old and start anew; fireworks; running around the block with a suitcase to bring more travel to your new year.  

There are many more, and tons in Central and South America, and I really appreciate being able to experience these traditions.   

With the help of Santi and his dad, we headed to the bus station the next morning to catch a ride to Banos.  Being with Santiago’s family was so great, and they were so welcoming.  We were so sad to leave them all, but it was time to keep moving.  Thank you so much, Aguilars, for the wonderful local Ecuadorian experience!

After a four hour, pretty painless, bus ride, we arrived in Banos.  We stayed at a super awesome eco-lodge, La Casa Verde. Owned by an Aussie and a Kiwi, with two kids, both born in Ecuador, this place was comfortable, had friendly service and a beautiful view of the river, and included breakfast, all for $50 a night.  In my head, I was imagining a small, quiet town, with some tourists who have heard about this place called "bathrooms." Well, we put our bags down and headed to town, and Banos. Was. Packed. I couldn't believe how many people were in one little town.  Foreigners and local tourists. Everywhere.  Luckily, it cleared out after a day or two, but, unfortunately, the crowds deterred us from going canyoning and soaking in the thermals the first two days.  It wasn't a big deal to us, because we would just go at the end of our time there, but I ended up getting a pretty nasty cold and spent the last day and a half snuggled up in bed.  Before that, we were able to go on some hikes....and meet some friends....

Alex thought about bungee jumping for a second, then realized, it's probably not the safest thing in the world...

Thermals....seemed a little gross after seeing all those people in there throughout the weekend...

Of course we found the one and only brewhouse in town.  We chatted and met many friends.  Believe it or not, we met an Aussie Kate&Alex.  Her name's Kate, and he's Alex!  AND, she's a fourth grade international teacher too!  Small world! 

Alex, Kate, Alex, Kate! 

Our Central & South American adventure was super awesome.  The major downside, of course, was missing out on our own traditions with our family and friends. Having experienced two holiday seasons away now, it never quite feels like 'the season.'  All we can do is live it up as best as we can, while we have the chance.  

Cheers!