A memorable weekend to say the least!!

How quickly we are making memories as a family of 6!! We had so much fun and are thoroughly exhausted. On Saturday, we drove ~75km along curvy, mountainous roads to Otavalo; the trip took nearly 2 hours. Once we arrived, we witnessed one of the largest, well-known artisan markets in Ecuador. Crafts included hand-made everything, sweaters, hammocks, pan-flutes, charangos (looks like a 1o string ukelele)...and lots more. The people, the food, the crafts, the sights, were all amazing. Once we left the market, we drove a bit to a nearby "cascada". We parked the car, then hiked for about 20 minutes or so to arrive at a beautiful waterfall. It was a beautiful sight.

From there, we drove through the town of Cotacachi and on to the reserve Cotocachi-Cayapas. There we saw the Laguna Cuicocha. This lagoon was formed by a vulcano that imploded into itself. Then some other eruptions formed two island peaks in the middle of the lagoon. We took an awesome boat ride around the lagoon and stopped near the islands to see the sulphur springs bubbling up from below the water's surface. This was a stunning sight to say the least. Saturday was a long day, pretty much 8 am to 8 pm. All enjoyed and were exhausted.

Sunday, we took the kids to the zoo and saw many animals. It was a nice zoo with many varieties of animals, big small, etc. After that, we headed to a state park to let the kids run around and have fun. There was a nice play area and a cold (and somewhat dirty) pool. Although today was tiring for all too, the kids really enjoyed a day of kids-focused activities.

The link to all the photos in our library since last weekend's gallery posting can be found HERE. Also, I compiled some video from this weekend for a few highlights.



A couple of funny coincidences....while in a shop in Cotacachi, a young boy started talking to K in perfect english. He explained his aunt owned the shop and he was visiting her; he lives in Hudson County, New Jersey (where K and I lived shortly after being married). Then, while at the park today, a woman started talking to us in english; one of her children was born in New Jersey. Small world!