We spent out last couple of days in Ecuador in Quito, where it all started. We got to go to the same ward we went to for our first three Sundays. It was so much fun to go back! I think having our Spanish complimented was so gratifying! (Now I need to the discipline to continue to practice!) We got to spend a lot of time with our good friends, the Gavilánez family. We feel so blessed to have had such wonderful, amazing and memorable experiences in Ecuador. Being members of our church and being able to attend church everywhere we were was a huge blessing. I especially appreciated knowing there would be a ward family everywhere we went. 

One big lesson we learned in Ecuador was that it only takes one person, one family, one friend to make a huge difference. We didn't make a ton of friends everywhere we went, but the people who did come into our lives and cared for us made a huge impact on us. I'm so grateful to those friends who welcomed us into their lives. 

For a couple days, we had some pretty cool upstairs neighbors. They are a family of 3 who have been living in Latin America for 8 months and will continue on indefinitely. We went out to dinner and ice cream with them one night because Conor and I both wanted to ask them lots of questions about their experience thus far. We had the best time swapping stories and laughing. What a treat to meet such a neat family! This will be us when Maeve is 12!

One of our last times with our dear friends Monica, Gustavo, Juanito and Nicole. 

We just had to visit this chocolate factory one more time. I think I understood that one day a week, older women come in a make chocolate using the traditional method, but maybe I didn't understand? Anyways, not to worry. This chocolate factory is incredible. We went with out friend that I met at yoga class in Cuenca. It's so fun to have real live friends! I bought some unsweetened chocolate. Hoping it makes it home ok with me so that I can make hot chocolate and ice cream. 

Holly and Greta wore their new traditional Cuencan outfits. Finding these skirts and blouses for a decent price was a big win! 

Last weekend, we drove from Cuenca to El Churro waterfalls. It was so beautiful, and lush, and muddy. I have a serious love for the Ecuadorian countryside in the mountains. It is breathtaking. While at this place, we heard a zipping sound and then we realized that there was a zipline set up here! At that point, we had to find out more. I'm not sure if the ziplines were 680m each, or 600m one way and 800m another, but they are the second longest in Ecuador and only $25 for 3 people. Conor and I convinced Gustavo to come with us. And Monica was a saint and watched all 5 of the children. The zipline was incredible and a definite would do again experience. We flew over a valley with a river flowing through it. We had to hike for about 15 minutes between the two ziplines and that definite rivaled the zipline itself. The land here is so beautiful! This was a real treat of a day!

After the zipline, we drove for a lake and got lunch. Fog kept blowing through and so most of the time we couldn't even see the lake. The afternoons in the mountains have very reduced visibility.