AMBATOTILLA

Napolean's older brother Rodrigo lives in the family home in Ambato and they still own the family farm in Ambatotillo, the small village where they grew up. We spent one morning walking all around the village and the farm, met his aunt & uncle and cousin who still live there. The old farm house where he and his 6 siblings were born is still standing, although no longer inhabited. Napolean is planning to build a new house on his property so the family will have a place to stay in "the country."

AMBATO TO BANOS ON THE BUS

These photos were taken on our bus trip from Ambato to Banos. As you can see, it is a very narrow steep valley and the farmers take advantage of every inch. They have greenhouses on very steep slopes and we were told that the farmers actually secure themselves with a ropes to work the really steep fields. Volcan Tungurahua, also called the Black Giant, is one of Ecuador's most active volcanos. If you look close in two of the photos, you can see the most recent lava flow that wiped out the road and several small villages. Unfortunately, it was cloudy everyday we were there so we didn't get any photos of the 3 giant volcanos that surround the area or get to see the smoke and steam from Tungurahua.

When we arrived in Banos we searched out a bakery that had decent coffee and had some breakfast. Then we were off to the hot springs! We spent 2-3 hours soaking in the hot pool with an occasional dip in the "agua frio" to cool off. It was so relaxing to lay back in the hot water and look up at the beautiful waterfall. Even though it was overcast most of the time, we all ended up getting a pretty good sunburn...hard to keep sunscreen on in hot water. Good thing we were wearing sun visors to protect our faces, we forget how close we are to the sun here! Napolean peeled like a snake but since we still have the slight remnants of our Hawaiian tan, we didn't.

Click on image for larger format

AMBATO - Music, market & bakery

Our new neighbor, Napolean Sanchez, invited us to go with him to Ambato, about 80 miles south of Quito in the central Andes. He was born and raised in the small village of Ambatotillo, on the hill above Ambato. When Napolean was 18 he received a scholarship to go to the U.S. to study English for one year at a prep school in Massachusettes. At the end of the year the Headmaster of the school gave him the option of returning home or staying in the U.S. and going to community college. He offered to help him with his first semester and told him he would have to get a job to support himself. He opted to stay and go to college and he didn't return home to Ecuador for 16 years. After he got his degree in Latin American Studies, History & Literature, he was offered a job teaching at the college on the condition he continued to persue his graduate degree, which he did, eventually earning his Phd. During this time he met and married his wife Dotty and they had two children. He just retired in May and bought the house next door to us, where he and Dotty plan to escape from the cold winter months in Massachusettes.

Our first night in Ambato we had the pleasure of experiencing some wonderful authentic folk music at Rodrigo's house. One of his friends played beautiful music on his harp, which was made in Peru. We cruised around the markets, enjoying the local people and got to have tour of a local bakey. It has been owned by the same family for over 25 years and they have 2 large wood fired ovens where they bake thousands of rolls everyday. The man with the goats walked down the street every morning hollaring "leche de chivo," which means "goat milk." People would come out with their containers and he would actually milk the goat right there, now that's fresh! We also saw a lady in front of the hospital in Quito with 2 goats selling milk. (click on the image for larger photo's and captions)

SAMARI SPA, Banos, Ecuador

After spending several hours soaking in the hot springs in Banos, we took the bus to Samari Spa, a 5 Star Resort, Spa & Restaurant just 10 minutes east of Banos. The property was a Jesuit Monastery and the restaurant & reception are in the original building. Walking around the gardens you would think you were in Hawaii.

You can click on the image below to view photos in a larger format. Then if you click on "My Photo Gallery," you can view any or all of our Picasa Web Albums....Enjoy!