A Park Walk Turned Flaming Forest Fire on the Autumn Equinox

On Sunday, some school friends invited us to go for a stroll through Parque Metroplitano which is about a 10 minute walk from our house.  Our day was warm with gorgeous blue skies.

Up at the top of the steep hillside, we passed by a full blown soccer game.

Along the path was a small village with a few stores selling popcorn, juice and other snacks.

And we were dismayed to meet the most unfriendly Golden Retriever just doing his guard dog duties.

On our way down, we stopped to admire the view.  Reid was obviously enjoying every minute ( :

The view of Cotopaxi filled Ed with remorse for not accompanying our friends who had summited the mountain earlier in the day.

After we returned home, a half hour later, I left our apartment to go buy groceries.  This is what I saw.  The green on the hill is Parque Metropolitano, the one where we had just taken a walk.  

Arson is suspected.  The fire is being investigated with rewards of $50,000 to $100,000 for any information. We spent the rest of the day watching and listening to the multitude of helicopters buzzing overhead fighting the fire.  Today was much of the same.  Most of today's recesses were spent indoors due to the poor air quality.  Fingers crossed for it to be totally under control soon.

May you be safe on your journeys,

TEAM MILLIS

15,696 ft. looking down on Quito

Reid and Ed decided to go to go for a "hike" on Saturday after our first Parh-te in our apartment.  Over twenty people gathered at the Millis homestead for pizza, charades and dancing.  Ed's famous G n T's were also a hit.

Riding the Teleferico (a.k.a. gondola) to the start of our first Volcano Climb, Pinchincha.

On the trail to the top of Pinchincha which is hidden in the clouds.

Here is a peek of Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano in the world and on the list to be climbed.

A church to stop and pray for safe travels on the way to the top.

A shot of an unidentified vulture-esque bird on the top of Pinchincha looking for handouts.

We made it to the top, but unfortunately we're surrounded by clouds.

On Sunday, we followed our fellow Ecuadorian's custom to go the park.  We went to Carolina Park where soccer, basketball, volleyball, kite-flying and...

SALSA DANCING LESSONS...Rae was aghast with the "dirty dancing"...forever "traumatized" in her words.

Time to relax....

Hope you make it to the top of your destined peak,

TEAM MILLIS

Gorillas, Virgin Mary, Indigenous People and Clowns

Last weekend we were invited to attend a festival in Guapalo.  After spending the day sorting through our 17 boxes from our shipment, we stepped out to explore a new part of town and enjoy a once a year cultural event.

Here is a view from our friends' apartment of Guapalo looking towards the east and Kumbaya Valley.  The new airport is off in this direction.  You can see the church of Guapalo down in the central part of the picture.

At this little tienda (store), we enjoyed homemade empanandas filled with beef and vegetables with a few olives thrown in to spice it up.

As we strolled down the cobblestone streets, we met up with these fellows heading for the parade.  Gorillas at an event to honor the Virgin Mary...hmmm not sure about this one. And then we saw these guys in a combination of an indigenous person/clown.  I'm still searching for information about the reason for all different costumes.

We reached the square at the Iglesia de Guapalo where the three parades of people came together.  There is a structure to the right of bamboo with fireworks attached to it that was lighted later in the evening.  Super cool but definitely dangerous with the numbers of people standing in close proximity!!  

Inside the church, we were awestruck by the intricate details and floral arrangements.  Ed sneaked in one shot before he realized he wasn't supposed to take any shots.

Just as the sun was setting and all the participants arrived we joined in the revelry and danced along to the music.

And...for $.25, we enjoyed a highly competitive game of foosball.  The R's beat the Hot Ladies by a BUNCH!!

Our cultural evening ended with hot dogs at Los Hot Dogs de la Gonzalez.  LOOONNNGGG hot dogs with a special sauce and crumbled potato chips on top.  A picture is a must for our next hot dog dining experience.

And...Remember...Follow your ADVENTURE dreams!!  Time is of the essence!!

TEAM MILLIS

Our "Rae" of Sunshine Shines in Mindo

This past Saturday, the day after Rae's birthday, we decided to surprise her with a day of fun and adventure.  The past week had been challenging with Ed and I at work all day and Reid and Rae pretty much at the apartment hanging out.  So, after consulting with our "tour director", Fernando, the director of transportation, we decided on Mindo, a town in the cloud forest.  We invited some of the folks who we have become fast friends with and off we went.

The first stop was the butterfly gardens where there were at least a dozen different species for us to admire.  The one above, "Owl's Eye" has great camouflage as you can see.  We tried to get one open in flight so that we could show its brilliant blue upper body.  

Can you see the one in mid flight?!?  Cool!!

Watching the butterflies chow down on nectar made us all hungry.  At Mindo Gardens, we dined right beside the Mindo River.  The noise of the rushing water reminded me of El Portal near Yosemite.  As you can see in the following pictures, Rae loved our lunch spot.  She had some cheese with a pizza while the rest of us dined on the special of trout in banana leaves.  Very tender and flavorful for around $8.

Jugo de Mora or Blackberry Juice-check out the colors!!

The waitress even brought Rae a brownie which is a local speciality due to the chocolate factory.

R and R used some team work to cross the "raging" Mindo River aka Indiana Jones style.

Then, due to Birthday Girl request, we donned climbing gear to brave the zip lines.  For our first time, we did three lines...and we are looking forward to doing 12 when our first brave visitors arrive...who will it be?!?

After a short hike where we saw these two beauties and much more, we made a quick stop at the chocolate factory to buy a few goodies.  We'll be back for the highly-recommended tour.  Then after a two hour drive back to Quito, Rae was quite anxious to open her birthday gifts.  Her favorite was the "llama made out of llama".

As I said on Facebook, since this beautiful "Rae" of sunshine came into our lives 12 years ago, she has filled us with smiles, laughter and joy.  Thanks for sharing your "radiance".

Happy Celebrating Life's Joys,

TEAM MILLIS