After a two and half hour flight from Quito, we arrived at Baltra Island Airport. We knew that we'd be assessed a fee to enter the island - $100 per person, preferrably in cash, before we could leave the small airport, so we were prepared. We had arranged for a pickup and island tour with Mathias, the host of our AirBnB rental for the week. Mathias was waiting for us after we retrived our luggage, paid our fees and entered the main hall of the airport. I had been communica

We hired an Uber to drive us to the lodge I had booked, just outside the Cotopaxi National Park. The fare was very reasonable for the hour and half drive, which Google Maps showed as going by way of expressway through the town of Machachi. However, Uber directed the driver on a more direct route, but it ran along the side of the mountain on poorly maintained cobblestone. Ruts were everywhere and at one point I thought we were going to have to get out of the car and push.

We have been back from Ecuador for one week now and the laundry is done, we've stocked back up on food and are slowly putting away the travel memorablia. It also Christmas time - so we are preparing for a rode trip to the midwest to see family that we haven't seen in almost 3 years now. What can I say about Ecuador? We planned the trip really at the last minute after deciding not to go to Solvenia or the Carribean. So we didn't do a lot of planning and didn't know what too