A Happy Couple... and a Christmas Surprise

We are engaged! We wanted to share the news with all our loved ones, and we thought this was the best way let everyone know! We are hoping you are all still following our blog... :)

True Tony style, he has been planning this since July as I think many of you out there knew! (Great job keeping the secret) He asked my father to design the ring and it is absolutely perfect! The two stones on either side of the diamond are our birth stones and the band has two types of gold in a vine pattern intertwining... so beautiful! Unfortunately, I am going to have to send it home with my parents for safe keeping, but for 10 days I get to wear it!!!! He proposed after dinner by putting the ring in my dessert...he got down on one knee and asked and I said yes!!!

We are very, very happy and can´t wait to share our pictures and stories with all of you!

Love and a VERY WONDERFUL HOLIDAY TO ALL OF YOU!

Ecuadorian Coast!

So we headed out to Parque Machalilla on the Coast of Ecuador on the evening of the 17th... we left cold quito after getting our bus tickets pick-pocketed using the public transportation. Luckily all our valuables were hidden well enough and they only got the bus tickets (which we didn´t have to re-pay for) and my little notebook that had all my daily budget information in it... They were really quite good, but we were on to them as they shoved up against us on the Trole... sneaky and we thought we outsmarted them! But they were able to sneak into the breast pocket of my jacket without me knowing it! Well, once again, we were lucky! So much for cheap public transportation!

We caught a night bus and made it to Puerto Lopez by morning. It was a cold airconditioned ride, and a little bumpy, but we made it! We practiced our spanish in the local market where they were hacking at dead animal carcasses on wooden stumps, hacking through bones and meat...flinging raw meat everywhere...the stray dogs were loving it... I was a little grossed out! But we were on the coast and it was HOT! we got some information on the national park and took a moto-taxi (a contraption where a cart is attached to a motorcycle to carry passengers) to the park entrance. There is a picture of a few kids crawling on one...check it out....so we hiked into the park and saw lots of different animals like pigs, birds, horses, goats, and cows. We hiked to a town called Agua Blanca where a guide took us on a 2 hour tour of the area. We settled into our campground, the only ones, and enjoyed a nice evening.

The next day we headed to Los Frailles, which was another region of the park...a beautiful beach which we got to enjoy almost completely to ourselves...lots of sea life and we ran into a large iguana on the trail on our way out! We camped in the town on the beach and got up this morning and walked through the town´s morning fishing frenzy to catch some busses to Canoa. We walked along the beach as boats were bringing fish in, and women, and children were be-heading and gutting the fish to be sold in the markets. It was amazing and beautiful. There is a picture of one of the boats we saw. We are now in Canoa and have just enjoyed a free drink at the bar of our hostal because we each picked up a bag of trash on the beach. It is a hostal policy...so we helped the environment and got rewarded for it...good times here in Ecuador! We will enjoy the coast a few more days and then head back to Quito to meet our parents on Christmas Eve! I can´t believe it is almost Christmas...sure feels strange to be in another country... we would like to wish everyone a healthy and happy Christmas and an even healthier and happier new year!

In and Around Quito

So while we were at the Secret Garden we were able to explore in and around Quito. Here are some pictures of what we saw. Some of the places we went were... a beautiful park overlooking the city with a fantastic art gallery, also a wildlife refuge where Cassie got to see a jaguar up close and personal, and the amazing botanical gardens in Parque Carolina right inside the city! So many people were using the park, it was amazing seeing all the families and festivities! We also said good bye to the Secret Garden for a few days and traveled to the coast to see some more of Ecuador before the holidays. So we enjoyed a final night in Quito with some great friends we met at the Secret Garden. Maria, one of the amazing chefs, lovingly calls Tony ¨Fidel Castro¨we are gonna miss that place!

The Secret Garden

So in our first week of the Secret Garden three staff members have left and we have quickly become the ¨experts¨at the hostal! Go figure. We are having a lot of fun meeting travelers and helping the Secret Garden get organized because they are really really popular. We help out in the kitchen, serving breakfast and dinner, we are bartenders, and we also check people in and out of the hostal and everything in between. We are having to use Spanish more and more. Other than the free, drinks, food, and housing we have other perks like we can make commission on booking the other hostal they run as well as booking Spanish lessons, it is turning out to be a great deal.

This week was ¨Viva Quito¨week or the week of fiestas for this city a celebration of Independence Day. There are bull fights, and live music, parties and Chiva Buses that go around the city. Thursday night our hostal organized a Chiva Night and rented one. They are open air buses with a band on top that drive real slow around the city at night. Our Chiva bus came a little late and it was a bit of mayhem.... we are waiting for some people to email us pictures so we can post them for you. We forgot our camera that night. After the Chiva bus dropped us off, we went dancing at a salsa club.... later that night we ended up at a Mexican food place and had yummy burritos....reminded us of New Mexico!

I had my day off yesterday and Tito has his day off today, we have two new staff that we are training, two nice guys from Hawaii... Carlos and Anthony, we also work with another guy named Eric.... That´s all for now, not too exciting...we have been busy planning things and checking places out for when our parents arrive in a few weeks. It is nice to be able to unpack for a little while and not completely live out of our backpacks!

The pictures are of the Secret Garden Terrace Restaurant. It is where we spend most of our time right now... :)

Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season!

Quito, Ecuador!

So, we took a bus to Chimbote and checked our email and found out the Secret Garden Hostal needed us as soon as possible to start a month long volunteer position with them. So we took three more buses, two of which were overnight and by 8 AM Friday November 28th we had arrived to Quito. We stumbled into the Hostal a bit dazed and got a great free breakfast and told we were starting the following day. They showed us to the volunteer apartment housing and we got settled in. Our co-workers here are really great, a lot of fun, and very welcoming. We will be working 8 hour shifts 6 days a week for free room and board as well as 10 hours of free spanish lessons and if we want more lessons they are half price after 10 hours. We are hoping this opportunity will help our budgets so we can do things like go to the Galapagos Islands in January, and help us improve our spanish. We will finish our volunteership on Dec 23rd just in time for our parents to arrive. Also it will be an opportunity to get to know Quito before they arrive so we can be good tour guides!

We will put up some photos soon! Love to all, it was great talking to everyone on Thanksgiving. Hope everyone is enjoying the turkey leftovers... our tuna fish sandwiches just didn´t cut it as a worthy Thanksgiving dinner!

Hauraz has been touched and the void is filled

Hauraz Peru has turned out to be a great ¨home base¨for us the past week and a half. IT IS THE BEST HIKING/TREKKING YOU CAN COME TOO AS FAR AS MY TRAVELS HAVE GOTTEN ME. Tomorrow we are off North and we may be going to Ecuador quicker than we thought! We got offered a volunteer position at a hostel called the Secret Garden in Quito, Ecuador. They would offer free room and board for free labor and they will throw in some Spanish lessons as well. We´ll keep you posted.

So last Thursday we visited a local coffee shop and a guy there invited us to play ultimate frisbee the following day... we took him up on it (Tito played, I watched to keep my feet from further injury) we met some great people. One of which ended up traveling with us to HuayHuash(whywash) for a three day trek, her name is Claire and she is from New Zealand. What a great travel partner and fast friend she has become in just a few days! We were grateful for company and Claire´s fluency in Spanish certainly helped us navigate the trek a little easier.

We also had a very special Guide on this trek. His name is Blanco... and yes he has four legs. He is fluent in spanish, english, french, and quechua! What a great protector and friend he became. We found out from locals at the end of the trek that there are about 5 dogs like Blanco (our name for him) that tag along with tourists while they hike. They bark at locals and just look after the tourists I guess. He was great. He enjoyed a little scratching from us every now and then. He would guide us along the trails and kept the cows/horses/donkeys at bay. He was a great dog actually and added asset to the trip. He will be missed. We hope the next tourist keep him safe.

Our trek began with us hiking up a road through a mining town. We had a lil rain for like 20 minutes and then it cleared. We came to our little valley with the help of some locals and we were off the road and hiking up to 4750 meters (that would be the next day). Not many people hike the direction we went because the circuit is like 10 to 12 days. We could only to do a 3 day portion so we were going backwards. We camped up close to the mountains the first night about 3 hours from the pass. It rained that night a little. We awoke to clouds and windy weather. We started our second day trying to find the trail, which we never found a trail. It was tough going picking our own way up to the pass. We zig zagged and switchedback until we finally saw a trail about 15 minutes from the pass. It was tough but the views were our reward. Fantastic turquoise lakes and snowy high mountain peaks. We sat there for a while.

Our New Zealand friend Claire had only been in Peru for 3 days and was feeling a little altitude sick so we went down to about 4100 meters to a beautiful lake and glacier from the mountains. Then continued hiking down to about 3900 to 4000 meters for the night. The entire day Claire did not feel the greatest but she made it through. The next day we came up to another pass around 4300 meters and there were no clouds and you could see they whole HauyHaush range. It was gorgeous. Our Blanco would always lead the way and wait for us. We finally made it down to LLamac after the pass. It was a steep 1000 meter descent. Hard on the knees. We made it to town. Said our farewells to Blanco and the locals and took transport back to Chiquin then to Hauraz. We met a woman that had been traveling for 5 years from Holland. She was good company on the ride back to Chiquin.

We had another glorious chicken dinner with Claire and have rested until tomorrow when we leave to head North. NORTH TO WHERE is to be determined by tomorrow.

We want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving in the states. Enjoy the holiday. Of course they don´t celebrate that holiday here so we will be celebrating a different occasion. That occassion would be Cassie and I´s first anniversary since we have been dating. As of Thanksgiving day it will be one year. It has been tough..... For her mostly I am sure LoL´s!!! No, it has been quite easy. She is fantastic, wonderful, amazing, beautiful, and am so glad to have her in my life and sharing this amazing experience with me. I want to thank her for inviting me on her journey and allowing me to be a part of it. I love her very much!!! It has been a great year with her and I know year two will be just as good if not better. We love all of you and wish you the best with all your plans for the holiday. We will be calling/skyping our families on Thanksgiving so be ready. TTFN!!!

Touching the void Tito and Cassie Style

Cassie´s Injuries... poor toe... and beautiful scabby lip!

So we left Cuzco.....Finally....a 20 hour bus ride later we are in Lima with Nacky....We take a taxi to another bus company and our friend wants to stay in Lima and enjoy an REM concert. So Cassie, Nacky and I hang out in Miraflores for a day. Miraflores is a part of Lima along the ocean. It was a great day walking around that section of town. Then Cassie and I said our goodbyes to our fantastic Puerto Rican friend Nacky and we headed to Hauraz Peru!

Now, if you have not seen the movie Touching the Void, then you should watch this mountaineering movie. It is a great true story. Check it out. That movies location happened in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range. Cassie and I arrived in Hauraz after an overnight bus and decided to rest for 2 days.

WE researched local agencies and decided to hike on our own. THE SANTA CRUZ VALLEY TREK. Famous they say.......The pictures we put up will speak for themselves!! I have done a lot of trekking/hiking, Alaska, Colorada, British Columbia, Hawaii, New England, Southeast, New Mexico, Patagonia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Southern Peru.......but by far Northern Peru.....Cordillera Blancas......... this is the most beautiful backpacking I have ever done. The snowcapped mountains are every where. Towering over everything. Turquoise lakes everywhere. Mountain passes that look out in every direction. The weather was great. We hiked 4 days and did 75 to 80 kms which is about 44 to 48 miles. YOU HAVE TO GET HERE IF YOU LIKE BACKPACKING OR MOUNTAINS!!

We only had a few mishaps.......First We both were scared by a cows ass and we thought it was a Puma ass so we laughed about that for a while.
2nd...we passed up on a bridge that would have us crossing the river easily but we decided that was not it so we walked further up the valley and decided to camp for the night. In the morning we found places to cross the river but there was some jumping and Backpack tossing. Cassie decided to catch my backpack with her upper lip and was a little swollen and scratched up.
3rd...we did a lot of miles because the weather was so good. A trip that normally takes 4 days we did in 2 and half so decided to walk further and stay out longer and go up and over another pass to some beautiful lakes. With that both our feet are really sore. Cassies toe is blistered and all our muscles are tight.
But overall we are back, thankful, resting, to take on a 3 to 5 day hike in another area that is a little more remote and more beautiful. It is a circuit that could take up to 14 days but we only want to do a part of it. We will let you know.

Pics will be up soon. Happy Thanksgiving to all. Enjoy your holiday with the family. We miss you all. Love Cassie and Tito