Ten Days in Ecuador: Day 10

I'm off to New York today. Before I left I had a great morning of sight-seeing. I got a chance to go shopping in downtown Guayaquil and really see the city. It's a holiday here plus it's Sunday, so everything opens up pretty late. I originally left the hotel with the intent of buying some Ecuadorian chocolate, but my cab driver really took me on a tour of the whole city.

 First, we visited the Parc Iguanas in Guayaquil. It's a small square in the middle of the city where some of the largest iguanas live and roam free. They're huge, seriously!

 I can tell just by looking around that there's so much more I haven't explored here. So many shops I haven't been to, and activities I haven't done. I guess that means I'll have to come back to Ecuador! Until, then I'll have my pics & blog posts to remind me of my amazing time here.

Ten Days in Ecuador sponsored by Latitude International & LAN Airlines. 

Ten Days in Ecuador: Day 9

9am: Today is my last full day in Ecuador! I'll be heading back to the states tomorrow afternoon. We'll visit two museums today and then start heading to Ecuador's largest port city - Guayaquil! I've been dying to get to Guayaquil, it's the biggest city in Ecuador. While here. we're supposed to take a trip to a cocoa hacienda to see how fresh chocolate is made - yum.

Museum Sumpa (museum of lovers)

11am: We just finished up at the Lover's Museum. I'm normally not a big museum person, but it was pretty interesting. I think my mind is more focused on getting to Guayaquil. Can't wait to see the city.

Tapestry at Lover's Museum

My friend wanted to take this tapestry home, but of course it's not for sale. It's a permanent fixture at the museum!

6pm: Tonight we're having dinner at the Hotel Oro Verde. It's an amazing luxury hotel in downtown Guayaquil. They have amazing service, and they're rated one of the best hotels in the world. I'm off to freshen up for dinner - it's my last one in the country!

Ten Days in Ecuador sponsored by Latitude International & LAN Airlines. 

Ten Days in Ecuador: Day 8

9am: We're off to Isla de Plata today. It's supposed to be a mini version of the Galapagos Islands. We have to drive to the port then take a one hour boat ride out to the island. I'm praying to baby Jesus that it won't be canoes. If I see another canoe, I might cry. No seriously.

12pm: So it wasn't a canoe. I feel like it was worse though. We took a super bumpy ride through the ocean in a 17-passenger motorboat. It felt like a never-ending roller coaster at a water park. But without seat belts. On the bright side, we saw dolphins! They were the cutest thing ever. Just a-swimming along the ocean right near the boat. It was really amazing. Apparently our group is pretty lucky with animal spotting because these dolphins aren't supposed to still be here. They should've left in September according to the tour guide. *shrugs* Works for me!

3pm: *heaves in heavy & coughs up lung* Soooo they didn't tell us we'd be going on a 2 hour hike! I've officially burned off every bit of caloric intake from the last 7 days I've been here. Seriously. Anyway, outside of the fact that I almost fell off a cliff (not really, I'm dramatic in case you haven't caught it yet) - there were beautiful blue-footed boobies all over the island! They were amazing. These beautiful blue footed birds who nest on the cliffs of Isla de Plata. Now we're off to go watch sea turtles and snorkel at a coral reef. My fave activity - can't wait!

5pm: I went snorkeling! That might be my favorite vacay activity outside of eating & beach-side lounging. I love tropical fish. the water was actually warm, to my surprise. And I found Nemo! Wouldn't mind returning to Isla de Plata one day, it wasn't half bad.

Ten Days in Ecuador sponsored by Latitude International & LAN Airlines.

Ten Days in Ecuador: Day 7

8am: Just woke up for breakfast. This is the first day we're getting up post 5am. Praise baby Jesus. Today is a day of relaxation & pampering for us. We're headed to the prettiest beach in all of Ecuador - called Los Frailles! I cannot wait. That's why I came here - to lounge beachside, not to fight monkeys & tarantulas in the Amazon jungle. All is well again in my world.

10am: We've just arrived at Los Frailles. It is gorgeous here. There are mountains framing the sea on either side, with rocky cliffs. And in front of us is turquoise water and sand. The sun is intense here, but I love it. On top of it being beautiful, we spotted a whale! It was doing flips above the water and blowing water through it's blow hole. Not too far from where we were so we could see everything without binoculars. Absolutely amazing.

Next up, were headed to gourmet lunch and after that we'll be going to a sulfur lagoon to take a bath in the hot springs. So thankful for today.

1:30pm We're having lunch at this beachside restaurant called Magico Del Fin in Salango, Ecuador. The food is absolutely amazing. I can't even explain. This is some of the best seafood I've ever had. They just served us fried plantains, garlic shrimp, fried fish and langostini (which I believe is baby lobster). I literally licked my fingers. This restaurant is a must if you're headed to the Pacific Coast.

6:00pm: I'm at Machillala National Park! Yeah, I didn't know what it was either. It's cool. Apparently it's a national park where a number of Ecuadorian indigenous peoples live. Many of these folks live here & farm. They're supposed to be direct descendants of the Inca! While here we swam in this sulfur lagoon that's said to be really therapeutic and amazing for the skin. Smelled like rotten eggs, but it felt great! They also had this natural clay from the ground. So all of us smothered ourselves in this clay, waited for it to dry and then rinsed ourselves in the sulfur lagoon. Very cool. Now we're headed back to the hotel for dinner. I'm exhausted but refreshed. I'm glad we got pampered today.

Ten Days in Ecuador sponsored by Latitude International & LAN Airlines 

Ten Days in Ecuador: Day 6

Today we're flying from Quito to the city of Manta to tour the Pacific Coast. First we're visiting this place called the Isla Corazon or Heart Island to see the mangrove trees that grow there. It's another nationally preserved area. We'll have to take a canoe ride to get there. Apparently, they give you a refreshing snack after your tour. I think I'm more excited about the fried shrimp than I am about the mangroves.

Next stop - Hotel Casa del Ceibo! It's a boutique hotel in the beachside coastal town of Bahia de Caraquez. We were greeted in the reception with warm towels and blackberry passionfruit juice. This hotel only has 18 rooms, and specializes in personal service. Ceibo is the type of tree that grows out front.

We're having lunch here today! Casa Ceibo is known for it's world-trained culinary specialists. Today's lunch special - grilled fish with yellow rice, potatoes and veggies. I told you they feed us alot! No complaints.

After lunch, we have an incredibly long ride along the mountains of Manta to get to our hotel. It's called Hosteria Alandaluz. Despite the 5 hour ride back to the hotel, I do love that this place is comfy and has no bugs inside. It's like a luxury lodge. Someone in the group said it looks similar to Disney's Polynesian Resort. I've never been there, but I imagine it does.

Most important, it's a beachside resort with a pool! Yes. Civilization. It's crazy how much roughing it without the normal luxuries will make you appreciate them when you get them back.

Ten Days in Ecuador sponsored by Latitude International & LAN Airlines

Ten Days in Ecuador: Day 5

9am: We finally left the jungle. Goodbye and good riddance to the Amazon. It was fun the first day but...I prefer the concrete jungle! Today we're flying back from Coca to Quito. I love it there, it's such a beautiful city. Upon landing we're heading to this hilly village in Quito for lunch.

12pm: We're in Quito! I met a llama named Poncho (pictured above). The mountains in Quito are breathtaking. We're headed to the old city of Quito now to visit this place called the "Middle of the World", which is actually the exact middle of the world considering Ecuador falls on the equator line. There are gift shops there - can't wait to buy souvenirs. I must get a Panama Hat while I'm here.

3pm:  We're off to tour the Jesuit cathedrals downtown. One of them is apparently the oldest and most fascinating churches here.  The insides are paved in gold!

5pm: Finally, we're headed to the Swissotel in Quito to settle in for the night and get ready for dinner. They...eat a lot here. We've had at least 5 meals a day for the past five days - three course meals for breakfast, lunch & dinner then two snacks. Not complaining - the food is good. But I will clearly be living in spandex when I get back to the states.

Ten Days in Ecuador sponsored by Latitude International & LAN Airlines

3 Things Left on My 2011 Bucket List

So the year is officially coming to an end. This weekend marks the last weekend in October, then comes November and sooner than you know it New Year's Eve will be staring us in the face. That was fast, right? After college, it seems like the years pass by at an accelerated rate. Whomps.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is two-fold. First, I needed this post. When I first began this blog, back in 2009, before the online features and the cameos on Essence.com and the fancy advertising you see above (lol), I started it for me. I started it at a time when I was frustrated in life and needed a creative outlet to express myself. I also wanted to document the wonderful life of a 20-something fashionista in the big Apple, unapologetic about being curvy & fab. So, to bring it back to it's original roots, I needed to write this post so that I can document on this fine day in October, what I'd like to do with the rest of my year (and hopefully have something to refer back to when I accomplish them).

Second, you needed this post. Somewhere between July 2009 and now, my blog has evolved into this thing that's WAY bigger than me. And I love it. I can't tell you how many emails I get from you lovelies about how something I've done or said or featured on my site has made an impact on your lives or inspired you to be bigger, better and greater than you were before. Getting responses like that makes it all worth it. So, with that, here are the three things left on my 2011 bucket list. Hopefully this list will inspire you to re-evaluate some things in your life today and make a list for yourself:

1. Redecorate my apartment.

I've literally been talking about this for the past 12 months. "One of these days, I'm gonna HGTV the hell out of my place!" It still hasn't happened. I've been spending hours scouring sites like ApartmentTherapy.com and more to figure out exactly what I want to do with it and I even got the process started two weekends ago by adding a few chairs and a new comforter to my room. I would say I'm 40% of the way there. Hoping to be completely done by the end of December. (any suggestions? Hit me up in the comments!)

2. Become a mentor.


In 2005, I went to Ocho Rios, Jamaica on a cruise with my older sisters. As most tourists do, we headed to Dunn's River Falls to climb up the beautiful mountain. In order to get to the top, everyone in our tour group had to lock hands in a single line, and the excursion leader would literally "pull" us up to the top as a group. As you took one step, you had to pull the person behind you and the entire group moved along in that fashion. This is how I feel about youth mentorship. As you move up the ladder of success, you should take others with you. Finding a great non-profit to support, or gathering up a group of girls and having a chat with them once a month - that's definitely on my list this year. Mentorship has always been something I've wanted to do more of so I'm hoping to get more involved before the year is up. (Any NYC-based folks involved in youth mentorship programs? Leave me a comment!)

3. Take an extended trip outside the US.

Me studying abroad in France, 2008

Last but not least! Death to the weekend getaway. Since the beginning of the year, I've promised myself that this year I'm going to get out of this country, at least for a 5-day trip. No such thing has happened. Instead I've been taking mini weekend getaways around the US to ease my travel itch. As a college student, I left the country AT LEAST once a year for Spring Break. And in my Junior year, I spent an entire semester abroad in France. So international travel is in my bones. And LUCKILY my 2011 trip is on the horizon! Tomorrow I'll be embarking on a 10 day trip to South America! I'm touring the beautiful country of Ecuador from the capital city of Quito to the coastal cities of Manta and Santa Elena. 

 I'm super HYPED. I'll be updating you guys as often as possible while I'm away so stay tuned!

In the mean time, what's still on your 2011 bucket list? Tell me in the comments section!