Sabbatical

Crazy Gringos at a LDU vs Barcelona Match

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:45:00 +0000

So we all went to the Liga game versus Barcelona, the two biggest teams in Ecuador. Lara and are are leaving with Joan, Katie, and Chris for the coast tonight. We will then head off to Mexico on Sunday and then I´m heading back to the USA and Lara is coming back to finish her teaching.

Cumpleaños Feliz

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:49:00 +0000

I have the best wife! She made me a B-day cake and an amazing dinner.

Viernes Santos

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:45:00 +0000

Here are a few pictures from the procession on Good Friday.

Swimming at the Exclusive Club

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:42:00 +0000

Our host family took us to a private club that they belong to that is 45 minutes outside of Quito. I had to buy a speedo and a swim cap in order to go into the water. I saved you all the horror and decided not to post those pics!

¡Vamos Ecuatorianos!

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:37:00 +0000

I got tickets to the World Cup Qualifying game against Paraguay. 36,000 fans going crazy! We had to get to the game 4 hours before hand just to get a seat. Ecuador was up 1-0 until the 90th minute when Paraguay scored to even it out. This result makes it nearly impossible for Ecuador to qualify for South Africa.

Jungle Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:25:00 +0000

San Juan Bosco

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:20:00 +0000

Here we are in San Juan Bosco where the Andes drop down into the jungle. We´re getting ready for our crazy excursion with Jungle Dave.

To the Jungle

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:18:00 +0000

On the way to the jungle we passed the weekend get-away-town of Gualeceo where we stopped for a quick lunch before heading up and over the Andes, getting amazing views the whole way.

Animal Market Outside Cuenca

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:12:00 +0000

We visited the animal market outside of Cuenca. It was a pretty incredible experience as we saw cows slaughtered (pic above of them waiting in line), and as bad as it may seem, it was a good experience to actually see where our food comes from. I was surprised at how humane, and quick the whole process is. There were also old horses (pic) that will soon become sausage.

Touring around Jima

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:03:00 +0000

We toured around Jima with Tom, Marnie, Michael and Paqui, including a visit to a Cuy-Farm.

Family in Cuenca

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:59:00 +0000

We walked up to a church overlooking the city of Cuenca.

Back in Ecuador

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Pics of bus ride and then a walk in the park in Cuenca on a rare nice day.

Back in La Habana

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:52:00 +0000

Trinidad...In Town

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:43:00 +0000

Trinidad...Resort

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:25:00 +0000

Havana

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:11:00 +0000

Better 6 Month Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:04:00 +0000

We surprised each other by agreeing to go to Cuba for our 6 month anniversary!

We found out last Wednesday that Lara did not have classes on Thursday or Friday, so we headed to Cuenca with the idea that we were going to get out of the cold mountains and somewhere sunny. We went to a travel agent and well, with only a few tickets left to Cuba leaving the next morning at 6am, we couldn´t pass up...actually it was a steal of a price. So we pulled out some money, borrowed some more, hoped an overnight bus to Guayaquil and found ourselves in Panama City for a 12 hour lay over, which gave us some time to get a bit of sleep. By 11pm that night we were in the sunny, commy paradise.

6 Month Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:58:00 +0000

I surprised Lara by picking some fresh flowers and making some makeshift vases for our 6 month anniversary.

Pictures from the Coast

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:02:00 +0000

We went to a beach just south of Puerto Lopez for the organization´s mid-service meetings.

Jima for New Years

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:28:00 +0000

So New Years in Jima. The best part was that Lara and I hiked up to the church overlooking the town while we were waiting for midnight. Everybody in the village was dressed up in costumes and dancing all over the place, which was very odd, considering they most of the people are usually so reserved. At midnight, everyone threw into a big fire, giant dolls, signifying that they are starting the year anew.

Cuenca

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:25:00 +0000

This picture is for Jef...finally gots some nachos!

Quito

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:24:00 +0000

Back in Quito before flying down to Cuenca for New Years!

Quilatoa

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:18:00 +0000

The pictures are from our trip to Quiloatoa, which is an extinct volcano with a lake. At 12,000 it was a bit of a hike around, about 7.5 miles and 4 hours of sweat, but well worth it. Lara and I then hiked down into the volcano and to the lake.

Banos

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:35:00 +0000

Jungle

noreply@blogger.com (Sabbatical) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:50:00 +0000