Otavalo

August and September have been extremely busy months for us. After we arrived in Ecuador we spent a few weeks getting settled and getting the engine repaired before we took our first long bus ride to Quito. After 9 hours on a bus (this time included climbing out of the bus window because the driver went in a ditch on a cliff) we arrived in the seedy Quito bus terminal at night, just in time to catch our next bus to Otavalo. Luckily after this long day we had reservation at a cute hotel with a very zen room (just a bed) and a bano social. Otavalo is a beautiful city and is best know for it huge Saturday market. You can buy everything here from Alpaca sweaters to Guinea pigs (for eating). We walked and walked and I shopped for days. At night, along with our friends from s/v Moonsong, we enjoyed the local folklorico music. More details later but here are a few pictures of our trip to Otavalo.

One of those places..

On the way to Ecuador from Costa Rica we stopped here. Isla Gamez, one of the most western islands of Panama. The sand was pristine white. The beach covered in coconuts that just begged to be chopped open with a macheti. We swam to shore and picked at the shells and smelled the wild orchids the color of vanilla ice cream. You would never know from this picture but it rained so hard I shampooed my hair on the deck. On the edge of the world where there is nothing but us that day. A kind of place everyone should experience at least once.