Tag Archives: Cotacachi
Out and about in Ecuador
To begin our trip we loaded up to head to the Airport here is our 9 pieces of luggage. As you can tell it is being heavily guarded by our youngest grandson. I can tell you at about 1 yr and a half he packs a wallop so don’t underestimate the protection.
We arrived in Quito and stayed in this room, my it was a long trip to get here with all the airport delays. But we made it.
When we arrived in Cotacachi we went to the market as soon as we could. This shows what we bought for $4.50 We filled a normal sized grocery bag. We actually got 2 full meals out of that giant Cauliflower.
By chance, we met up with our Ecuadorian friends, Marco and Teresa, and they invited us to there house. Yes these are the same people that let us view their Rammed Earth home last time we were here. They had made a minor addition to this bathroom – can you see what it is? We will give you a hint, think Crown for the throne.
The office looks like it is being lived in…
The view looks about the same as the last time we were here. That is Mt. Cotacachi you see with the clouds on the top of it.
What is this in town? It is a celebration, this one each village is represented and this is one of them dancing in the streets on the way to the central square, all dressed up in the finery.
Today we went with Ramiro, the all knowing one about building Rammed Earth, to some of his projects around town. This one will be finished in about a month and has a view similar to ours actually.
This a picture of inside the house, as you can tell things are looking a little finished – it won’t be long.
The people that are having the house built are living in this Casita. We got to look inside it and it is very nice.
All in all it was a great day and we did see some great places. Thought you might want to see some of the highlights. If we tried to put all the highlights in here – we would run out of space 🙂
Postcards from Ecuador
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- Cuicocha Lake
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- Falcon Park
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- Village Dancers
Legend of Mt. Cotacachi and Mt. Imbabura
I started thinking about how much we were using the names of these Mountains and thought I would pass on a legend about them. Now I can’t credit where I found this out, because I have read so much and searched so much information about Ecuador, I really don’t know the source. Ok now for the Legend…
Mama Cotacachi (the mountain) is a pale-skinned woman with long white hair, and took care of the children at her feet [read the people in the villages]. She was married to Papa Imbabura. When they argued the thunderbolts fell.
Imbabura cheated on Cotacachi with Cayambe, a snow covered mountain to the south. He gave Cotacachi grain, but gave Cayambe rain and water.
When Cotacachi found out about Imbabura cheating on her she cried and those tears formed the lakes at the bottom of Cotacachi.
From the lake is the birth place of the Inca nation – but that is another legend for another day
When in Ireland
We have been here for over a week now … and its been a fabulous time
Driving in Ireland 101 …. don’t do long trips (the roads here are skinny, no shoulders, there are rock walls and of course you are on the wrong side). Make sure you get an automatic. The GPS is not overly helpful but it can be an asset. Driving takes lots of concentration. So we recommend – short trips of 1/2 an hour or easy drives (on the main freeways). For the longer trips … hire a driver so you can relax and enjoy! We hired a fabulous driver while we were there for long trips, Tim. He is a great guy with a great sense of humor and we used him last time we were here. Check him out at www.irelanddaytours.com .
Taking the train somewhere? It seems that if you just walk up and by a ticket – its expensive. Just a little planning can save you lots of Euros! For instance we took the bus from Shannon this time (last time it was a taxi 40 euros) 13 euros for the two of us. It stops at the train station perfect! I bought our train tickets a few days earlier for a specific time and saved even more. 25 euro 80 for the two of us, right into downtown. From there with the help of some wonderful locals we quickly found our hotel. The hotel was right downtown and within walking distance of everything we wanted to do in Dublin. Even if you stay out of the main part of town the bus system is very inexpensive and everyone is very helpful with what bus to take where. Just be careful of asking for specific directions.
We had reservations for dinner and wine tasting one night at a FABULOUS restaurant called La Cuvee and asked the Hotel desk for directions. Once when we arrived and then again when we started to leave for the restaurant. Both times they told us the same directions. Just go down the street and turn left at the second set of street lights and it will be right there on the left.
Well first off it looked like it was going to rain so we brought an umbrella, just so we would be prepared. We walked out of the hotel dressed on our fancy go to eatin’ clothes and before we crossed the first intersection we pulled the umbrella out and crossed the street. Now mind you it wasn’t a very big umbrella. We stopped and huddled under the Umbrella trying to stay dry but couldn’t so…back to the hotel and I went to the room and got a rain poncho for Patrice. and off we went again.
To help condense this story let me summarize what we did;
Walked following directions.
Walked an extra four blocks past where we were told and then five the other direction.
Asked a Taxi driver – he didn’t have a clue other than we should be in the right area.
Asked two ladies huddling under a buildings awning and they called the restaurant on their cell phone.
Flagged a cab and gave him directions but he wasn’t sure so we gave him the phone number and he called for directions.
As it turned out the restaurant was in the heart of the financial district and no where near where we were originally were told. But it was so worth it when we got there. We posted a review of it look in places tab to see the review. There are some great restaurants in Dublin and we tried a few. The main ones we tried are in the places tab and we did a review of them. We do recommend them next time you are in Dublin.
Merry Xmas Everyone!!!!
Christmas Tree
This is our make-shift tree for Christmas Tree. What do you think? Just so you get an idea of size, it is a little over 6 ft tall.
We think we will be creating a fad in Ecuador. They don’t have the natural trees here. They have fake trees.
Don’t be surprised the next time you see pictures of Xmas in Ecuador you see a see of trees like what is in the picture…