Peru & Ecuador - Part 9

Friday, December 5th was our last full day at Kuyana Lodge. The options for excursions that morning included a hike through the jungle, which the guide said would be much longer and harder than any we had done so far, or a hike through a cave. In light of the described difficulty, my family opted to do the cave trip.

I have no fascination with caves in general, but once he said that the water would be chest-high in places, my decision was made. Chest-high water on most people equates to being over my head. I also did not relish the thought of slogging through water in knee-high boots, which would immediately be filled at that depth. While I brought water shoes for the Galapagos portion of the trip, the sand had rubbed the tops of my toes raw on the last expedition we did there. All that combined made it easy for me to say that I would remain at the resort. 

As no other guests had arrived at the lodge yet, I again had the place to myself. We had been told that more people were coming that night, and it was obvious from the staff activity that more guests were expected. I took the time to rearrange all my belongings in the suitcase and backpack for the next morning's departure before strolling around the resort snapping photos. Then I parked myself at the pool until my husband and daughter returned. They both agreed that I had made the correct choice in staying behind as the cave hike was dark, cold, and strenuous.

around the resort

The rest of my family returned in time for lunch. We then spent time at the pool. An afternoon rain shower came in, so I entertained myself by taking pictures of the rain drops on the pool water surface.

rain on the pool

For our last dinner there was a marked difference in the dining area. Now that other guests had arrived, there were different place mats, the napkins were folded all fancy, and there were candles on the tables, along with a large leaf with the guest's name on it. Those things actually made us feel pretty insignificant since we didn't have them for the other meals while we were there. Ramona was also brought out of her living quarters for the meal. From other reviews that I have read, I think this is a frequent occurrence while guests are there. She was not previously brought out to dine with us, only to join us on the one hike.

last dinner

Following dinner we returned to our cabin. We had to pack for the next morning's departure and get through one last tepid shower. In the morning we enjoyed one final delicious meal before the prearranged car arrived to pick us up for the three and a half hour drive back to Quito.

last breakfast

sunset out the hotel room window

We elected to stay at a hotel near the airport as we had a fairly early flight out the next morning. Luckily the restaurant for the included breakfast opened at 5:30 so we were able to eat before heading out on the airport shuttle. Everything went smoothly at the airport, and we left on time to Miami, where we would catch the plane for the last leg of our journey. Our daughter was on the same flight to Miami, so it was nice to have some final time with her on the plane and in the American Airlines lounge in Miami.

We all made it home safe and sound. It was an amazing adventure, and one that we will be talking about for years to come. Super big bonus was that none of us got sick, either on the trip or after we got home. That is always a concern with travel, especially in cold and flu season. Now - where to next?

Family Trip to Massanutten

our Massanutten lodging

Last month we rented a house in Virginia at the Massanutten Resort for a family vacation. We had not known of the resort before but were looking for some place that would be an easy drive for our son and his family to make, and not too long of a drive for us either. When I asked on our community page if anyone had visited the area, I was amazed at the number of comments I received. Apparently there are a large number of time share units in the development, and some people here still own theirs while others recalled fond memories of traveling to the resort as children. 

With the positive feedback in mind, I booked a four bedroom, single-family home for our small group. The house gave us the privacy we desired without sharing common walls as in the condos. It was perfect as it gave some separation for the adults, and had a nice playroom in the lower level. A bonus for Jim was that it also had a pool table down there.

We found plenty of things to do at the resort with the two recreation centers, multiple pools and playgrounds, pickleball courts, miniature golf, etc. The surrounding area had good restaurants when we didn't want to cook, as well as wineries to visit. Nearby Shenandoah National Park offered a beautiful drive and the opportunity to put a new stamp in our National Park's book. 

infection

The only negative thing that occurred on the trip was the fact that my recent ED&C became infected despite all my efforts to keep it protected with Aquaphor and bandages. I even used waterproof bandages while at the pool, and the doctor had okayed me going into pool water. I reached out to my dermatologist's office, and they sent a prescription to the local Walgreens. A week of using the ointment cleared it up with no additional issues.

While we enjoyed our visit to Massanutten, I think we all agreed that we would like to try someplace new next year. I'll keep looking in Virginia as that makes it easy for the kids while not being too bad of a drive for us.

Sandals Royal Barbados

Barbados

Last week we escaped the cold temperatures with a trip to the all-inclusive Sandals Royal Barbados. This was the second time we have stayed at a Sandals, but our first time visiting Barbados. We had a direct flight from Charlotte to Christ Church, Barbados, and were blessed that no one occupied the seat between us. Entering the country was quite easy, and we had a short 15 minute drive on the Sandals bus to our resort.

The Barbados property actually contains two Sandals resorts side by side, giving us access to 21 dining options and multiple bars and swimming pools. We stayed on the Royal side, which is newer, and had an end room on the top floor (5th) of building 7. This afforded us a partial ocean view, which was great to enjoy from the large balcony. Our location also enabled us to listen to the live music each evening from the privacy of our balcony if we so desired.

Some of the online reviews of the resort were fairly negative, but I tried to keep an open mind going into the trip. I'm glad I did, because one thing I have learned is that people like to complain. We found the staff to be almost overwhelmingly helpful and friendly, most of the food was very good, the drinks were tasty and for the most part not watered down, and housekeeping took great care of our room.

Was service sometimes slow? Yes, but you are on island time so just accept it. Our one try at room service was dismal. The food took over two hours to get to us (we were told 40 minutes), my sandwich was nearly inedible due to being soggy and they forgot to include a spoon for my soup. But that was just one meal, so no big deal. The food at the specialty restaurants exceeded our expectations, and we particularly enjoyed our experience at the Japanese restaurant.

Kimonos

We took advantage of the snorkeling trip offered by Sandals. Unfortunately the boat was not located at the resort, and it took way longer to get to the boat and back than the actual time we spent snorkeling. That is one area I might mark them down a little. At other resorts we have typically been taken to a couple different areas to snorkel. In this case they took us to one, and it was fairly crowded with other excursion boats. Nevertheless, it was cool to see the sunken ship, the fish, and especially the sea turtle!

snorkeling

We hired a private driver to give us a tour of the island. Barbados is only 166 square miles, but the road system and traffic make it impossible to get anywhere fast. So in our four hours we traveled from our location in the south up the west coast to the north coast and back. We saw a little bit of Christ Church, then visited St. Nicholas Abbey and its rum distillery. The tour of the house and the rum operations was very interesting.

St. Nicholas Abbey

Overall we had a wonderful time in Barbados. We met some nice people from Great Britain, Canada and the United States, enjoyed the resort grounds with its wildlife, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and made some great memories.

Sandals sunset

Vacation Was All We Ever Wanted

Some friends from college invited us to join them at the Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach (PBSB) in Cabo San Lucas last week. They and a couple other family members own time shares at the resort. We have been to Cabo only one other time, and that was a day stop on a cruise of the Mexican Riviera that we took a couple years ago. As we went on a snorkeling excursion at that time, we saw little of Cabo other than the marina.

To be fair, PBSB is not actually in Cabo, but is instead perched on the side of a hill west of town on the Pacific Ocean, about a 20 minute cab ride from the center of Cabo. We flew early February 27th to Phoenix, and from there to Los Cabos International Airport in San Jose del Cabo. The airport is about 30 minutes north of Cabo. Everything went smoothly, and we waited at one of the bars outside the terminal for our friends to arrive. Their flight was scheduled to land an hour after ours, so that gave us time for our first margarita.

San Jose del Cabo Airport, Mexico

The taxi ride to the resort took about an hour, and we arrived early enough in the afternoon to see the sweeping views of the ocean and the lush landscaping on the immense property. It is absolutely gorgeous! We were both put in rooms in building 26, us on the fifth floor and them on the sixth. Our friend's dad and his wife were already there, and they were on the second floor of our building. We had easy access to the pool outside our building, and though the walk to the lobby, market and restaurants was all up hill, it was doable. Golf carts were always available if you were going farther or just didn't want to walk.

Our room was huge with a galley kitchen and a lovely balcony. All rooms face the ocean, so you are guaranteed a view. It was one of the nicest rooms we have ever stayed in. We did not select the all inclusive package, but it is offered. We wanted the flexibility to be able to eat in town or on the road. With several restaurants and a market, there is no need to leave the resort if one doesn't want to, however. Though the resort has a beach and is on the Pacific, there is absolutely no swimming in the ocean. The riptides there are very dangerous, and the water drops off quickly. While that meant whales would come swimming very close to shore, and boats hovered close for fishing, it was a bit of a bummer not to be able to enter the water and snorkel or swim.

Pueblo Bonito at Sunset Beach

The day of our arrival we hung around the pool for awhile before having dinner at the resort. The next morning we walked up to the market for breakfast, then explored the resort for a bit before heading to the pool. The water was a bit too cool for me, so I enjoyed reading my book under an umbrella. Later we took a shuttle to the Pueblo Bonito Rose resort, which was also beautiful. From there we could walk on Medano Beach to the more touristy area of Cabo. We found a fun restaurant called The Office, where you can have your feet buried in the sand while you dine under their blue umbrellas. When we were finished we grabbed a cab and had the driver wait for us while we picked up provisions at a massive grocery store.

Medano Beach, Cabo

By Thursday I had connected with a man I met online (and doesn't that just sound wrong!), and Jim and I joined two couples for a few pickleball games. They were way out of our league, but were very kind in letting us play with them. The couple from San Diego was leaving the next day, but the couple from Seattle was staying until Monday, so we managed to play with them two additional times. It was so great, and we appreciated their gentle instruction on how to improve our games.

That night we took a cab into San Jose del Cabo for an Art Walk. It was colorful and fun, with many galleries open and serving wine and traditional music and dance going on in the town square. Our driver took us to a favorite restaurant of his for dinner, and we had a great evening.

Friday was Jim's birthday, and we celebrated at the resort as we could not get reservations for a sunset catamaran cruise until the following night. We played pickleball in the morning, and hung around the pool in the afternoon. While the temperature was in the 70's the whole time we were there, the pool water did not warm up enough for me to get in until Friday. It was very pleasant from then on.

We had dinner at The Bistro on site, sitting outside at a lovely table overlooking the ocean. While it was dark and we couldn't see the water, it was lovely to hear the waves crashing down below us. The wait staff brought Jim a piece of celebratory cheesecake, and sang happy birthday to him. He was only missing a sombrero. Ha!

Saturday we finally made the trek down to the beach. The sand is not as fine as Jamaica, and I found myself being thankful I had my flip flops on to protect my feet. In all fairness, I'm not sure what the sand was like before the hurricane took away the beach several years ago. They had to replace the beaches in the area. From there we made our way to the pool before getting ready for yet another cab ride into Cabo. Once we arrived at the marina we had some time to kill while waiting in line for the sunset cruise, so Jim and I walked the boardwalk to get some pictures.

Marina Cabo San Lucas

The cruise itself was very fun, with drinks and snacks served on board. We saw an amazing show put on by a couple of whales, who seemed to think it was their job to provide entertainment for the boats. I've never seen them so active. The sunset somehow seemed anticlimactic, but it was beautiful as well.

sunset catamaran cruise

We began Sunday with a light breakfast followed by an hour and a half of pickleball. The rest of the day was spent around the resort. Late in the afternoon we all took a cab into Cabo to have dinner at a nice restaurant called Alexanders. We were celebrating the birthday of our friend's dad.

Monday was our last full day, and we took a private tour vehicle that our friends had used before. Our driver Daniel picked us up at the resort, and took us first to a glass blowing factory in Cabo so we could watch the artisans work.

Glass Factory

From there we headed north along the coast, with our final destination being Todos Santos. Along the way we found the Blanket Factory, where blankets, rugs and other items are woven on site. The colors are just magnificent!

Blanket Factory

Our next stop was at Playa Los Cerritos, a well-known surf spot south of Todos Santos. It was fun to watch the surfers trying to catch a wave, though I suspect the surf was pretty tame the day we visited.

Playa Los Cerritos

Finally we arrived at Todos Santos, an artsy community on the Pacific Ocean. The driver gave us a tour of the town, and then we stopped at the Tequila Sunrise restaurant for a late lunch. As we had to wait for a table, we popped across the street to visit the Hotel California. While it is actually not the inspiration for the song of the same name by the Eagles, it was still an interesting place to explore. Jim and I thought our meal at the Tequila Sunrise was the best we had in Mexico, with the exception of the steak and lobster dinner at Alexanders in Cabo.

Todos Santos

After lunch we headed back to our resort. All in all, it was a fabulous day and we appreciated being able to see a little more of Mexico than the touristy spots we had been to so far.

Tuesday was our travel day, and we got a shuttle back to the airport at 10:20. We arrived with enough time to catch an earlier flight back to Phoenix. As we originally had a short one hour window in which to go through customs and catch our next flight, we appreciated having the additional time in Phoenix.

And so the sun sets on another wonderful vacation. Adios, Mexico!