Ecuador!!
I am excited to say that I love Ecuador! I'll be honest, before this trip I pictured Ecuador as being dirty, polluted, run down, and not very pretty. Oh my was I wrong! Who knew that a third world country could be such a gem!
When I arrived, I was welcomed with rose petals on my bed from Matt along with a cute surprise, and a big bouquet of fresh flowers (compliments from Matt’s parents.) Flowers are my favorite so I loved it! Being thoughtful must run in the fam.
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| What a lucky girl I am!!!! |
The next day was New Year's Eve and it was my favorite day of the trip for obvious reasons… See engagement post!
Anyways, at the welcome dinner they hosted the next night, for the incoming missionaries, you could tell that Matt’s parents loved being mission presidents and missionaries loved them already. They are so looked up to which isn't surprising after getting to know what great people they are! I was glad to be apart of it, even though most of it was in Spanish!
(Good thing Matt was able to translate for me the whole time! J)
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| A few of the missionaries we ran into in Ibarra, Ecuador |
Brian & Sue took a few days off from their mission responsibilities to take us to some of the prettiest parts of the country. We were really in for a treat.
Our first night away from Quito was at an amazing lake front hotel that looked like a cute cabin with flower beds outside the top window!
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| Looking out the top window of our CUTE cabin! |
It was very homey, especially with a wood burning fire in the cabin and when you looked out the window, you could see the moonlight reflecting off the lake… it was even more beautiful than it sounds!
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| Lago San Pablo by day and by night! |
The next morning we rowed a canoe in the lake surrounded by volcanoes and lush green forests and meadows. This was especially fun for me because Matt rowed the entire time and was huffing and puffing while I was basking in the sun…best fiancé award! Haha okay, he wasn't huffing and puffing, but it really was hard to row especially at the high altitude. To make matters worse, each oar weighed 70 pounds… I tried for 2 minutes and we turned in a full circle and that was the end of my rowing career!
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| My champion rower! |
Our next destination was
Ibarra, which was my favorite place of the whole trip. Our hotel was above the clouds (pretty sure it was right above cloud 9) and was literally the prettiest view I have ever seen in my whole life! I couldn't believe my eyes looking down from the tippy top of what felt like the highest mountain in the world!
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| ...no caption needed for this view |
It was incredible and we got to stay in a room with a huge window to enjoy the view our whole stay. It was even prettier at night with all the lights down below in the city. I'm STILL in awe at the view and we left weeks ago…
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| Matt loves jumping pics... |
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| Looking down through the clouds, is this real life?! |
A fun part of the trip was playing games and laughing every night. It was so fun to get to know Matthews family better! His sister Andrea has the cutest laugh, and is a little sassy (reminds me of myself), but is so sweet! It's exciting to think ill have another sister so soon!
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| Dinner on top of the world with this awesome fam! |
Ecuador is known for its woodwork and leather so naturally some shopping was in order! I found a few keepers and can't wait to do more shopping next year.
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| Ottavalo lady demanding money after I snapped this pic of her, oops, not as sneaky as I thought I was. |
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| Little cutie eating a mango. |
Although we went to some jaw-dropping places and saw spectacular views, I have to say my favorite part of the trip was the company. Good company makes awesome trips even better!
