Mid April of 2014, I experienced Latin America for the first time. My partner Leta and I flew to Quito, Ecuador where we met my friend Patrick, a current residence of this small country. With only nine days on the ground, we ventured from north to south, skipping in and out of the Amazon and Andes climates of Ecuador.
Quito
The capital city of Ecuador, Quito flies at an elevation of 9.350 ft, making it the highest capital city on the globe. Standing atop Quito's Mt. Pichincha not only provides an incredible overlook of the city, but with it's close proximity to the equator, allowed my feet to be further from the core of Earth than ever before.
Mindo aka Cloud Forrest
After a night and afternoon trekking Quito with Patrick, we hopped on a bus and rode into the small town of Mindo, which is also referred to as the cloud forrest. We slept in a humming bird sanctuary, hiked through the rain forrest and swam under waterfalls.
Cuenca
After four days in northern Ecuador, we hopped onto a 45 minute flight down to Cuenca, a vibrant city smiling with hats and Ex-pats.