It’s wonderful to travel to far-off places, but even better when friends join us.

Jo (left), the photographer and fellow bird watcher; and Louise (right), knowledgeable about arts, plants, and fluent in Spanish, too
Jo and Louise had only met once before, but we four shared many interests that made the trip a delight.

We traveled up to Otavalo for the indigenous market. While we waited for our pie at a little café, we snapped some photos of activity on the street.

We strolled through the plaza by Quito’s National Theatre and saw others resting on the bench.

We don’t think most pedestrians noticed the roofers, high up on a building facing the Plaza de San Francisco in Quito. What a commanding view of the plaza and city they must have had!

We four judged the painted buildings near our Quito hostal to be works of (bold! and fun!) art.

We took a last look back at Quito.
We think our good friends, Jo and Louise, added a lot to our experience in northern Ecuador. Likewise, old friends from our days living in Maine, Ethel and Warren, had joined us for our trip to the Galapagos Islands at the beginning of our trip and turned it into a grand reunion. Lucky us!

Warren and Ethel on the Ecoventura ship off Rabida Island, the Galapagos.
July 2016
Beautiful photos!
Four pairs of eyes to take in the sights, then great conversation! Off to Peru?
We’ve often travelled with friends and it’s so much fun. Each person has something different to offer. We usually spend our evenings sitting around the table long after dinner is finished, talking and laughing together.
Looking forward to catching up with you in the future.