Ecuador Trip Highlights Version Uno

Flying stand-by is a whole lot like childbirth.
You think it is going to be a good idea, or even better than the last time, and yet, when it comes down to that final stretch--you find yourself remembering why you swore you would "never do this again."

And then, a couple days removed from the trauma, when you are looking at the photos of the trip (or into the sweet face of that innocent newborn) you realize it was all worth it.

Ecuador was beautiful.
(Please excuse the photos that are crappy)

It is more off the beaten path than Mexico, but a lot about it reminded me of Mexico. The street vendors (although, they were not the in-your-face vendors like Mexico, and I was intrigued by the traditional Ecuadorian clothing:

the food (jumbo shrimp, anyone?)-

Tripe? <---and yes, I tried it. It tasted just like the poop it was stuffed with. Vomitrocious.

the typical tourist trinkets. (Shayne is going through a little bit of a cheesy/nerd stage)

But it was cleaner. And the people seemed friendlier. My blond-haired, blue-eyed kids sure stood out! There were several times that I watched Ecuadorians take photos of my girls with their camera phones. And there was this time:

When Jayden got stopped on the street, to hold this baby so the Mom could take a picture of the baby in the arms of a REAL! GRINGO!!

Other highlights included:
The market, especially the MEAT! MARKET! Where the kids were sufficiently grossed out, and I am sure will appreciate the agony of shopping at our air-conditioned grocery store.


We stopped one evening and got all the kids (and Dad) a haircut at an Ecuadorian hair shack. It was fifteen bucks for four heads. We didn't even dicker. We probably could have gotten her down even lower. But really, fifteen bucks? Suck on that Supercuts! The place was supervised by cockroaches, but hey, the haircuts weren't too bad! You can see Jayden is thrilled. He has wanted to grow his hair out ala Zach Efron for a while. Mom still has the power to say H to the ell "NO" to that idea.

Then there was Iguana Park.
I am not sure if that was the official name, it is a plaza in the center of town in Guayaquil. If you click on this photo (a must, you won't believe it), you can see it bigger, but all the trees were literally covered in iguanas. The would drop out of the tree, and scoot across the pavement on the ground. The kids were in heaven, Mikayla was a little freaked out at first. She got over it.



And wow.
This is a pretty long, and photo heavy post.
I will continue the saga hopefully tomorrow.

Sorry about that pigs head.