Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

Been a busy few days.

Got "in-country" 12/22 without incident, no problems with customs or anything (surprisingly, as three of our checked bags will crammed with "stuff" ordered online from people down here!). A very long day - Got to MSP around 8:30am, landed in Quito (via Atlanta) at 11:45pm. Got settled and to sleep at Sam & Dome's apartment around 2:30am...

12/23 Day 1: Slept in, then went over to the JW Marriott hotel. (From what Sam tells me, this is where the artists & movie stars/bigwigs stay if they're in town - Elton John, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, etc.) Dome's mom is the manager of the spa & special events there, and we kinda got the "VIP" treatment. The girls & Johnny got massages, I lounged around by the pool.   That evening we went into town to the performing arts hall and watched "Jacchigua". It is a compilation of native dances & music that celebrates old ways of nature, mountains, air, fire, worship, etc.. This was really cool. The costumes and dancing were unreal, and I never thought I'd "rock out" to a guy playing Pan Pipes, but this guy was incredible.

12/24 Day 2: Drove over to the "Teleferico". If we weren't screwed up enough with the 9500ft. altitude, now we ride a cable-tram another 3000ft. up to the base of Pichincha. Man, you find out exactly how out of shape you are when there's NO AIR to breathe!! The views were incredible from up there. Got back to the apartment and took a nap, 'cause Christmas Eve is at Aunt Miryam & Uncle Luis' house, and they take celebrating to a new level. Christmas with the WHOLE family (30+ of us), 9pm arrival, socializing, dinner at 11, then gifts, dancing, music, drinks, etc.. We bugged out at 2am, party went on till 5:30.

12/25 Day 3: Recovery, and our own little (calm) Christmas celebration with just Sammy, Dome, Dome's parents and us. Around 11am we drove about an hour out to a hacienda for lunch, toured the grounds a bit, then back to the apartment to re-pack some stuff for an overnight excursion.

12/26 Day 4:  8am - Pickup by the tour bus for our trip "up north". Enter Oscar and William. William drives the bus, doesn't say much. Oscar is fabulous - he is our guide. About 35, and just a fun-loving great guy. Our tour takes us north through Cayambe, Miralago, Otavalo, Cotacachi, Iberra, Hoja Blanca, and finally Salinas. We stopped in Otavalo for a few hours to tour the open-air market. This thing is HUGE, and covers about a square city block. Hundreds of vendors selling Alpaca wool goods, jewelry, vegetables, spices, name it. Best part is bartering/haggling is expected. Never pay asking price. Sheryl got some beautiful jewelry, Johnny an Alpaca poncho & nic-knacks, but I held out for the next stop. We stopped for lunch at La Mirage, then into Cotocachi. Cotocachi is "leather town". If you want shoes, handbags, jackets, coats, belts, or even a custom saddle, this is where you go. A city street, 3-blocks long, with every store on both sides a leather goods shop. Make it in the back, sell it in the front. Both Sheryl and I got leather jackets that would be at least $500 each in the States for a 1/5th that (helps if you haggle "what if we buy two... CASH?". From Cotocachi we drove to Hacienda Pinsaqui to spend the night. Read about Hacienda Pinsaqui

12/27 Day 5: After breakfast we get on the bus, head over to Iberra and get on the train. This is a narrow gauge that was recently restored (basically for the tourist trade). The scenery is unreal. We just took a short leg of the run, ending in Salinas. William met us there with the bus, and we drove back to Quito.

That about sums up week 1. I'm gonna need a vacation from this vacation, or go back to work to relax.