LISA'S VISIT (:

Well after a long hard trimester here at the Center, it is nice to finally have a two week vacation. I was even more lucky because the lovely Lisa came to visit (: She is only here for 4 short days but we have crammed a ton of fun things in.

Day One- We went to the Mitad del Mundo (equator) and walked around. Then we went to the La Marin Center #1 and Lisa got to meet some of my adorable students. Afterwards we walked around the historic district and saw the Presidential Palace and the very ornate church where the CMT actually started. Then we went to the Basilica which we learned is the third largest in the world! That made Lisa just a littleee bit terrified when we climbed up the ladder outside up to the top of the bell tower (:  After that we visited the artisans market and headed home. Since Andy, Joe, Alexis, and Megan were still all around the house we decided to hang out with them, watch a movie, get burgers for dinner, and play some card games all night. It was a jam packed first day!

Day Two- The "Extreme Ecuador" Tour continued by going to the Guayasamin Museum. He is the most famous artist from Ecuador and the museum is at his old house so it was kind of cool to see. Then we walked down to my favorite place, Parque Carolina, where we got some ice cream and rented pedal boats to go around the river in the park! It was super fun and Lisa and I were pro's making some 4 or 5 laps before our time ran out. Then it started to drizzle a little so we stopped in El Jardin Mall where Lisa had some authentic Ecuadorian Ceviche for lunch (I opted for the authentic McDonalds...haha it's been a while okay!) and we nosed around for some souvenirs. That night we cooked up a tasty pasta salad with all the Christmas Meal leftovers and had a feast!

Day Three- We woke up early and caught a bus to Mindo which is a town like 2 1/2 hours away. We didn't really know what to expect but once we got there we realized it was the coolest place on earthhh! The plan was to go ziplining but when we got to the tour company we saw an add for Canyoning and decided to do that instead. What is canyoning you might ask? It involves climbing a mountain and then repelling down it's waterfalls to get back to the ground level! It was amazing!! We both slipped many times and got soaked but that was part of the fun I guess! Our guide was super nice too and he had a cute little dog that was more adventurous than all of us! After we hiked back to the road we decided what better way to dry off than to go ziplining, right? So we thought we could squeeze in 3 cables in 20 minutes and still make it to our bus in time. We got to do 2 cables and it was the most beautiful view in the world!!! We glided over canyons filled with forests! It was a mad dash to get back to the bus in time but luckily we made it & got first class seats sitting on the floor in the aisle for the 2 1/2 hour ride back (: We went home, ate, showered,  and then I exposed Lisa to Ladies Night Ecuador-style! It was a very fun night with lots of dancing & we topped it all off with the worlds best burritos.

Day Four- Today is sadly Lisa's last day :( We are going to the TeleferiQ which is a cable car that goes up a mountain and gives you a great view of the city! Then we will ride horses around Pinchincha Volcano! We stopped at the market on the way home and picked up some souvenirs. Then we had dinner back at the house with the Madres and Padre before watching a movie and resting up after a long, busy, fun vacation.

 

the view from the top

 us caballeras with volcan pinchinca in the background

 It has been an amazing week with so many fun activities crammed in! THANK YOU THANK YOU LISA for coming to visit!!! I loveee youuu!!! Also I hope this has convinced some other people out there to come for a visit (: (: It's superrr fun (: (: xoxo