The Parents came....and left.

Amber, our guide, and my parents at Ingapirca

On the first of February my parents arrived in Ecuador.  The following day we dove right in and took them to our huge outdoor market.  Here we showed them all the different foods we have available and how inexpensive they can be.  We introduced them to the Quito bus system also, which is a good way to see the city for cheap.  The following days were spent touring Old Town Quito and trying Ecuadorian food.  On Thursday, I suggested they go to a town that's a couple hours south of Quito named Saquisili.  It is known for its large indigenous market every Thursday, and I thought it would be a good day trip for them.  Amber and I had to work, but I helped them get to the south bus terminal, where they can find a bus to the town.  Actually, there was no direct bus to the small town of Saquisili, so they had to go to Latacunga, another city nearby, and catch a bus from there.  I was pretty nervous just sending them out to find this place on their own, but they made it there and back with no problems.

The second weekend in February was a long one for us, so we took a long trip south to see the city Cuenca.  The total bus trip between Quito and Cuenca takes around 10 hours.  However, we stopped about 2 hours north of Cuenca in a city named Cañar and stayed the night in a cheap hotel.  We chose Cañar because we wanted to see the nearby Inca ruins named Ingapirca.  We caught a bumpy bus ride with a beautiful view of the countryside from Cañar to the ruins.  Admission was $6 per person and well worth it.  It included an English speaking guide.  After touring the ruins, we caught a bus that goes directly to Cuenca.

Inside the Sun Temple

While in Cuenca we walked around a lot and toured the city.  We got cheap breakfast and coconut juice at our favorite market, Mercado 9 de Octubre.  One of the highlights in our time in Cuenca was finding some people on the street grilling guinea pig.  In Quito, I paid $20 for one, fried, but here they were only $6.  Cheap.  We had to get one so my parents could say they ate a guinea pig.  It was pretty good for being so inexpensive.  The last day was devoted to riding the bus.  We made the 10 hour journey from Cuenca to Quito with only one break.  My parents loved being able to see the country this way.

Johnny helping cook the guinea pig

When we got back to Quito, my aunt and uncle arrived in Quito from Georgia.  They were here to see some of Ecuador and to join us on our upcoming Galapagos tour.

The Galapagos cruise was the best trip of our lives and will have to be a separate blog post.

After the cruise, my parents and Aunt and Uncle went to the Amazon Jungle for the week.  We had to work, so we couldn't join them, but it sounded like they had a great time.  We'll make it to the jungle sometime before we leave.

Eating Guinea Pig

When they got back the family toured more of Quito, and I took them up to the cable car.  The views of the city from the top of the cable car are amazing.  My aunt and uncle were leaving soon, so our last place we took them was the cloud forest near Quito called Mindo.  My aunt is a very serious bird watcher, so Mindo is a great place for her.  We hired a guide who took us out early in the morning to see some of the unique birds to the area.  The strangest bird we saw was the Cock-of-the-Rock.  It's an odd looking bird that has a weird call and funny shaped head.  We also saw several toucans that day and some other tropical birds.  After Mindo, it was time for my aunt and uncle to go back to Atlanta, but my parents still had another week and a half.

Much of their remaining time was spent exploring the streets of Quito.  Their final out-of-town visit was to the market town of Otavalo. On Saturdays in Otavalo, the streets shut down and fill up with vendors selling their crafts.   We spent the night there Friday, so we could wake up early and see the morning animal market and catch better deals from the craft sellers.  My dad got a large llama blanket for only $22.  That's better than what we paid for ours.  About 20 minutes away from Otavalo is another town called Cotacachi.  Cotacachi is famous for its leather.  Amber and I wanted to see if we could get a fair deal on some leather jackets  so we  took a bus there from Otavalo.  We found two jackets made by a guy named Gustavo in a little shop with no name.  It seemed like the right place to buy, and they were the cheapest we found.  We really had to let go of our frugalness, but I'm glad we bought them.  Mine was $70 and Amber's was $60, but the same jackets in the States would probably be $200 or more.

Us with Gustavo

After Otavalo and Cotacachi, my parents spent their last few days relaxing.  They had a perfect trip and were very happy with how everything went.  They took us out to dinner several nights, which we really appreciated because we got to try some new restaurants in Quito.  It was really nice to see them down here and nice to see some familiar faces.  I'm really glad the came and really happy everything went perfectly for them.  Even the weather held off.  It's supposed to be our rainy season, but they had great weather while they were here.  As soon as they left, it started raining every day.

Interesting Fact:  Every Sunday in the Old Town of Quito, they close the road too all traffic.  It really nice to walk around there on Sundays because you don't have to worry about getting killed by the crazy drivers.  Old Town is usually pretty busy on Sundays so it makes it a good day for people watching.