December 31

It will easily take 2 or 3 entries for this day. Only because I have edited close to 200 pictures for this day. I will not show you all of them. But I will show you a lot of them.

Breakfast was fairly normal. Scrambled eggs with ham, rolls that remind me of Europe (hard on the outside, crumbly and soft on the inside). There were several juices we were unable to identify, instant coffee, corn flakes, and milk. (I just had eggs and a roll, and what looked like orange juice, but tasted more like a satsuma).

Our hotel, Hotel Finlandia




First was a tour of the city. This included some plazas and a church and some high vantage points for viewing a nice panorama. The pictures are captioned with more detail (if I can actually remember it).

At a high vantage point, people selling their wares


The crew taking pictures from this high vantage point


Views from this vantage point






a conquistador


a shot from the bus, of someone’s house/castle


we took some stairs up to this




passed some of these



inside there was an exhibition about New Years traditions




you should wear yellow panties


people jumping over burning puppets (more on this later)


the view looking away from this glass building gave us a great panoramic of the city. Unfortunately, I don’t have all the photo-editing software I would like on this computer (yet) so none of them are stitched together. Deal with it.







random Gothic church


look at me! I’m in Quito!


Frank took this picture of me taking pictures (although at that moment I was checking the playback)


drive-by of that random Gothic church




a city plaza…I don’t remember which one








a convent


bottom of statue


top of statue










a church that we were not allowed to take pictures in


the entire inside is gilded in gold, like this door


thanks to Google’s image search, I can show you this picture of the inside


this place is named San Francisco (and at this point our blue skies turned somewhat grey)




this looks somewhat like Bourbon Street, with two men (dressed as women) flagging down the bus


one of them boarded, and collected money


Now would probably be a good time to explain that Ecuador is not rampant with trannies. It’s part of the New Years celebration. I’ll copy and paste this: The tradition in Ecuador is burn an effigy of the old year and in so doing clear the way for good fortune in the new year. These effigies or puppets are sold all over Quito. They are strapped to the front of cars, beaten and abused, called unpleasant names and finally stuffed with fireworks and obliterated. There are also legions of cross-dressing party-hopefuls called "The Widows" who wear women's cloths and beg for money with which to party away the night of New Years.

There are lots of fun pictures to come of the puppet burning. Also lunch. So stay tuned… Read more!

December 30

Day 1 (traveling to Ecuador) was rather uneventful. I was dropped off at the Baton Rouge airport at around 11:30am. My suitcase was half a pound under the weight limit. Remind me on the way back to put my jeans in my carry-on.

Sat around as people slowly showed up. Met a resident of the airport.



Flew about an hour to Houston. Called my mother to let her know I was in town and if she drove by I’d wave out the window. Grabbed a quick bite at the Panda Express, and then hopped on the plane bound for Ecuador. Only about a 5 hour flight (much better than that 13 hours to China). Watched Hairspray for the first hour or so, and then read a book in the last hour or so (Simply Divine by Wendy Holden).

Grabbed all our bags, met our tour guides, and loaded up our bus for the 15 minute ride to the hotel.




Had some late night pizza, and then crashed around 1:30am. The hotel(s) have no heating or air conditioning. But it’s no matter, because the weather is the same all year. From 50 to 72 during the day…and dropping to 40 or 45 at night. Who wants to move? *raises hand*

We just cracked the window open for some airflow. Then of course we had to listen to the noise on the street, but we obviously fell asleep at some point. And of course they have 12 hours each of day and night, so at 6:30 am it was full on brightness through the unsubstantial curtains, which had me awake and thinking I had 15 minutes to be ready. Really I had 3 hours.

Tidbit: The reason we go to Ecuador in the first place is that the MBA program has a former student (from the executive program) that lives in Ecuador. So he and his wife have been around a bit, not as guides, but just to join us for the fun. His wife’s name is Margarita (probably not spelled like that though) and she’s super fun. She also owns a spa so we’re probably going to check that out later in the trip. Our actual guide/translator is named Miguel (LSU always gets the same one) and I think a guy named Sebastian is showing up on Wednesday. Read more!

I'm going to Ecuador

prepare to be insanely jealousized.

Day 1
Leave Baton Rouge
We will arrive in Quito and spend the night in the beautiful Villa San Francisco hotel. This is the courtyard:


Day 2
City Tour, Afternoon Lecture and Salsa Lessons
We will begin with a tour of the beautiful city of Quito. Quito is rich in culture and history. The city was named a Cultural Heritage Site for its classic colonial architecture and 16th-century religious art work. There are numerous vista points throughout the city that provide breath-taking views of the Andes. The tour will include a cable car ride to the Pichincha volcano.

We will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant in plaza de San Francisco

and then head back to the Villa for an afternoon lecture followed by salsa lessons. We will conclude the day with a New Years Eve party.

Day 3
Afternoon Lecture & Salsa Lessons
We will ease into the day with an afternoon lecture. In the evening, we will head back to the dance floor for more salsa lessons.

Day 4
Mountain Bike Ride, Afternoon Lecture, & Salsa Lessons
Day four will begin with a mountain bike ride through the Interandean valley, along the old railroad runway.

The trail descends into the Chiche river canyon and through numerous tunnels. This is one of the local’s favorite day trips because of its spectacular scenery. We will head back to the villa for lunch and an afternoon lecture. And then its back to the dance floor for one last night of salsa lessons.

Day 5
Lecture & and PM Activity
Day five will consist of a lecture and some stimulating activities.

Day 6
Flower Plantation and Cuicocha Lake Hike in Otavalo
On the morning of the 4th, we will head to the Otavalo area, also known as “the province of the lakes”. The area is named after the Otavalo Indians who are famous for their weaving. Since roses are Ecuador’s most well known export, we will begin with a tour of a local flower plantation. We will have lunch by the Cuicocha Crater Lake

and then hike along a portion of the crater’s rim. Later that day, we will check into the hotel, freshen up, and reconvene for a cozy dinner by the San Pablo Lake.

Day 7
Otavalo Market Day
We will enjoy a day of shopping at the famous Otavalo market.

The market is renowned for its exotic selection of meats, vegetables, and ponchos. It will take you several hours to see it all! We will have lunch in the near-by town of Cotacachi followed by more shopping. Cotacachi is well known for its leather crafts. At the end of the day, we will head back to Quito and have dinner in the Villa.

Day 8
Rafting the Blanco River
An early, hardy breakfast will prepare us for the highlight of the day: whitewater rafting down the Río Blanco River! The river winds along the western slopes of the Andes and into the coastal tropical region of Ecuador. Prepare to get wet!

The day will end with dinner at the Villa.

Day 9
Morning Lecture, Flight to the Beach & Alandaluz
After a morning lecture, we will fly to Manta, located along the central coast of Ecuador. A bus will be waiting to taxi us to the exquisite Alandaluz Eco Hotel, located right on the beach.

We will arrive in plenty of time to enjoy a little sand and surf. Then it’s back to the hotel to cheer for the Tigers in the BCS Championship.


Day 10
Morning Presentation, Los Frailes Beach
Our day will begin with a presentation from a local business owner. Then we will head to the Los Frailes beach for more fun in the sun. The beach is part of the Machalilla National Park.

At the end of the day, we will drive back to the hotel for dinner.

Day 11
Isla de La Plata
We will begin this action-packed day with an early departure to the town Puerto Lopez. Upon arrival, we will board a fleet of motorized boats and embark on a two-hour tour along the coast. Our destination is Isla de La Plata, a unique island paradise that supports a healthy colony of exotic birds.

Once we reach the island, we will take a hike and even do a little snorkeling! In the afternoon we will head back to the hotel.

Day 12
Afternoon Lecture & Farwell Dinner
After breakfast, we will drive to Manta’s airport to catch the flight back to Quito. In Quito, we will do some last minute shopping and then return to the Villa for our farewell dinner.

Day 13
Papallacta Hot Springs
The day begins with a drive up the Eastern slopes of the Andes. Once we reach an elevation of 13,200 ft, we will begin the decent down to the natural springs of Papallacta, located at the entrance of the Amazon basin. The rest of the day will be spent soaking and relaxing in the hot springs. We will spend the night at a resort near the springs.


Day 14
Papallacta Hot Springs and Back to Quito
We will enjoy our last morning in Ecuador with a second dip in the hot springs before heading back to Quito. We will have lunch at a local restaurant in the Villa and then prepare to leave.

Day 15
Arrive in Baton Rouge Read more!