Spin the globe

Heather is my best friend.
She is joyful, impulsive and ridiculously fun to travel with, so there really isn't a wrong answer to the first most important question to answer when planning an overseas adventure... where the heck are we going???

So we decided what any rational, calm cool collected team would do when faced with a titanic decision... we spun the globe... and came up with Iran.. hmm best 2 out of 3? spun again, Ukraine, West Africa, Cleveland, North Atlantic... sheesh, this is hard... 36 spins later... BOOM Ecuador.
Totally random right?!?

Unfortunately there was zero chance taking another month off work, so 10 days it is.
The country is broken into 3 discrete regions... Beach, Mountain, Jungle
We live in SoCal, so Beach is not an issue... Mountain and Jungle it is.

Lonely Planet secured, Heather has crafted a rough sketch itinerary...
*fly into Quito via Mexico City
We are going to explore the oldest capital city in the Americas, dating back to the 1st century.
*train from Quito to Cotopaxi region
We are going to climb a volcano... so there is that, BAM
*bus from Cotopaxi to Banos
We are going to raft the Amazon.

Umm oh yeah, we are going to climb a volcano, KaPOW. Why do I keep doing that?

I will try to post every day while travelling.
Heather will also be updating my Instagram account (riadbacchus).

Oh and people always ask, aren't you going to miss Christmas?
No chance, we have a Merry little monkey keeping an eye on the fireplace...