Here is to a year filled with helmets, lifejackets and wetsuits

Woke up in Quito bright and early Sunday morning... a taxi and bus ride, two flights sandwiching an obnoxious layover, shuttle and finally Uber from LAX, we hit the pillow last night in lovely Mission Viejo.

Our usual trips are at least 3 weeks long. This trip was 10 days... a highly concentrated shot to the system with no down days (days just lazily chillin' on a hammock or catching a badly dubbed movie).

I suppose both have their charms... 

Ecuador reminded us of the wonderful experiences that await us in South America.

We learned a ton from our fellow backpackers about Columbia, Peru and Chile, plus there was many things missed in Ecuador that will certainly have us back.

Thanks again to our friends and family, diligently putting up with my bad writing and still improving photography skillz. 

To our new friends, the Bacchus spare bedroom is yours whenever you need it and Heather and I will play guides to the fun filled Southern California playground.

Heather and I can be contacted directly at either our email or mobiles (heatherzhere@hotmail.com / 949 887 5693 and riad_bacchus@hotmail.com / 714 931 3985.
Peace, love ya
H & R

definitely does NOT taste like chicken

Before I put a nail in this year's hi-jinx and fun, I have been asked by several people "Why are you such a clown?"... wait a second... umm sorry, wrong question... what I meant to say is many people are asking "What did you eat whilst traipsing about Ecuador?"

Heather is grumpy smurf until she receives her morning cafe latte fix...

Of course, given we are in the tropics, tropical fruit abounds.
We snacked all day on a wide variety of interesting shaped, and tasty yummies.

 Fruit stand in Banos...

Riad going B-A-N-A-N-A-S...

Again with the giant phallic fruit... ugh... looks like a peapod from the Land of the Lost, actually a guarana.

On occasion, we would be exhausted, and simply could not fathom the grueling grind of peeling our own fruit... luckily there was plenty of fruit saladarias about... yep, just like one would go for frozen yogurt in SoCal, in Ecuador, you go for a colorful fruit salad.

Our staple meal was pollo a la planche (chicken breast beaten into a thin sheet of deliciousness) and chicken sopa (chicken soup for the soul)...

Although we were in the Andes and the jungle (not along the coast), there was plenty of ceviche and we dove right in...
A small Cevichochos, serving up maize, unpopped corn, white fish ceviche with onion and pico...

And this folks, is the most perfect bowl of ceviche we have ever tasted... a tiny little hole in the wall in Tena, the afternoon of NYE... shrimp in a broth, beautifully seasoned, with a hint of spicy... magic in your mouth... I cried a single tear on our last scrumptious spoonful.

After the day of rafting, our guides Tovias and Daniel took us out to THEIR Ecuadorian local restaurant... again, a little divey hole called Toro Asado down the street from the bus station.

In keeping with its name... a giant slab of carne asada... "umm excuse senor, there must be some mistake, I ordered the LARGE steak?!?!"

And of course, our ole favorite, sopa, but instead of straight up chicken, it is served with the chicken "parts"... foot, liver, heart... I connected with this chicken after eating this soup...

So before I write the last note on food, may I just say... cuter the animal does not mean less delicious.... and further, just because our Western sensibilities claim to "connect" to certain four legged friends, other countries do not share the same ideas.

Cuy is the Kichwa (indigenous community) word for Guinea Pig and is considered a delicacy.
And with deep respect and apologies to my dear friend Janine, who shares her work space with her little buddy Guinea Pig... I had had had to try it...

The Cuy is roasted outside on a spit, then served with potatoes and a light side salad.
What does it taste like... a gamey pig...

So after finishing up the Cuy plate, I was left with the head, which included the tiny little guinea pig brain... yep so at the encouragement of a nutty American from New Orleans, Daren... 3 of us actually tried Guinea Pig brain... the brain is that white stuff at the end of those knives...

YES... Guinea Pig brain tastes exactly as how you would imagine Guinea Pig brains might taste like... AWFUL...

I actually apologized to two pigs outside later, begging for their forgiveness...

somewhere in the Andes, there is a naked Alpaca

When backpacking, you travel light, with everything ideally fitting into the backpack... makes it super easy to jump into a bus, or hitch or walk across town in search of a room.
Any and all major shopping is reserved for the last day.
And as luck would have it, one of the most famous artisan markets in the world is located a few hours outside Quito in the small town of Otavalo.
The Otavaloans are master weavers, specifically of Alpaca hair blankets, scarves, sweaters etc.

Congrats moms, you have some beautiful blankets on the way...

The rest of the market was your standard developing world market, mostly filled with trinkets and random crap (made in China).

Lots of "super foods" like quinoa, chia seeds, cinnamon...

Heather takes her mango negotiation very very seriously...

Serious banana envy...

Cool hat, but she wasn't sure she had the right shoes to make it work at home.

Lucha Libre ski mask? for the discerning cold weather Mexican wrestler?

One store, motorcycles, refrigerators and washing machines... "Excuse me senor, I need a new bike AND a front loading washing machine, oh and you wouldn't also happen to have a side by side fridge with bottom freezer?"

The local indigenous are very proud people... there was a small ceremony / parade paying homage to Ruminahui, the last Incan general to hold out against the Spanish conquistadors.

Happiness is an afternoon nap under the shade of a tree, whether you have 2 or 4 legs.

After an exhausting blitz of buying native goods, we sat down for a bite in the food market.
Ariel shot of Andy (our ole Aussie friend whom we caught up with at the market), yet another Aussie, and the front end of lunch...

Added to the market crew were Daren and Tim, our friends from the Tena rafting trip.
We actually spent the entire day with these guys, even staying at the same hostel.
Absolutely great guys, could not have asked for a better bunch to spend a fun filled shopping day with.

All kinds of lines were crossed

There were a few spots we missed the first time around in Quito so we decided to travel back for a few days prior to flying home.
To maximize our time, we decided to take the 6 hour overnight bus. Usually with these buses, there are at least a few stops to stretch, snack, pottie break... we naturally assumed this would be no different.
Heather has, what has been medically verified, to be the tiniest bladder known to mankind, it is literally the size of a dime and holds approximately a thimble full of pee.
So it came as no surprise, when about an hour into the drive, she had to go... "No worries sweetheart" I assured her.
The bus will obviously stop soon... hour 2, hour 3, hour 4... Heather's eyeballs are swimming, I am offering constant support... "breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth, easy easy"...
Both of us have come to the startling realization that this freakin' bus is not stopping, not until Quito, not until at least 2 hours from now.

As a matter of course, we always carry plastic bags with us on trips... a few Ziplocs of various sizes as well as straight up grocery bags, cuz you just never know when you need a bag.
I will simply state this... it was dark, the bus was moving, the seats were full and everyone was sleeping, yet my wife spilled not a single drop.
That my friends, is the definition of control.

And this is the definition of an awesome husband... tying it off, double Ziploc-ing it and holding for 2 hours before final disposal in the appropriately labeled "Organica" trash bin.

Ecuador is named after the Equator, which runs right smack dab through the country.
Back in the 16th century, Issac Newton (an Englishman) suggested that the Earth was not perfectly round, but flat at the poles and bulgy in the middle.
The French could not handle the ludicrousness of this suggestion and sent a team to the farthest reach-est of the world to verify...
The expedition lasted over 10 years, culminating in the identification of the precise line (0'00'00' latitude) called the equator.
A monument was established to represent the specific location where the final measurements were confirmed, La Mitad del Mundo.

Heather has the same picture except in front of the Greenwich Observatory at (0'00'00 longitude).
Not exactly sure why that is cool, but 0 degrees feels cool.

Part of the monument complex includes busts of all the major expedition team members.
This guy must have really pissed off the crew... he is the only one with a distinct frown.
It is like his anger is set in stone...

Of course this is super cheezy, but why wouldn't we go nuts with the half and half photos.

Half of Heather in the Northern Hemisphere, Half of Heather in the Southern Hemisphere...

Riad in the Northern Hemisphere, Heather in the Southern Hemisphere...

Half of Riad in the Northern Hemisphere, Half of Riad in the Southern Hemisphere...

I could do this all day... and we actually did...

Man I am going to miss glancing over my shoulder and seeing yet another dormant volcano.
A stones throw away, in the National Park of Pululahua, viewpoint of ... wait for it, wait for it...
yet another dormant volcano...

Super bonus factoid... Throughout the trip, at various tourist shops, we noticed the famous Panama hat for sale.
Initially, we just assumed that it was being marketed to silly Gringos who think Latin America or "Panama" is just all the same "down there".
Actually, the Panama hat is not Panamanian at all...
During the construction of the Panama canal, thousands of Ecuadorians came up to work and of course, wore their hats, a beautiful woven white hat to keep the sun out of their eyes, and bingo bamo, it became known as the Panama hat.
Sheesh.. you would think someone woulda asked, "Excuse me senor,good looking canal, so ummm where did you get the smart looking hat from?"

Piranhas love fruit NOT feet

After a relaxing NYE (YES, for context, when you almost lose your life in a raging jungle river / waterfall; men in drag, kids with explosives and a city on fire is a relaxing time), we decided another shot of adrenaline was in order.
With a forecast of rain, we opted for the class III / IV river, vs. upstream to the harder stuff.
See mom I can be reasonable and prudent.
The Ecuadorian version of "Once upon a time" is "A long drive, deep into the jungle"...

Heather is a natural paddler...

A hop skip and a jump over mud strewn trail...

... lead to the good ship Ducky...

Given it was New Years Day, there was only a handful of us on the river... allegedly there may have been some light drinking going on the night before... crazy kids.

Our safety kayaker captured this video of one of the rapid runs...

The first section of the river was peppered with Class III rapids and stretches of easy paddling, while taking in the breathtaking surroundings...

We stopped for a light lunch at a small indigenous village. We were very careful to stay close to the shore as the locals were not particularly fond of Westerners traipsing around their village.

Heather and the rafting gang... from the left, Gary and Colin from Portland, Daren and Tim from New Orleans and in back, Tovias our safety kayaker.

A little further down river, we were able to stop at a small jungle waterfall...

So we are in the Amazon, in a boat on a river, again, in the freakin Amazon... and we have all seen at least one Piranha movie (the best being the latest with the Hoff)... so we had to ask, are there Piranhas in the river and if so, wont they eat us???
Every trip, without fail, I learn a stunning new fact about the world... this is the Ecuadorian entry... Piranhas actually eat fruit, so if there were Piranhas in the river, no worries... as long as your pockets are not stuffed with mangos and bananas, you are totally covered...
Heather took this little new factoid to heart and jumped right in...