The Devil's Nose - Ecuador

The main reason for making the long trek to Alausi was to ride the rails on a scenic train ride through the mountains.  The train trip is called Nariz del Diablo (the Devil's Nose).  It was a wonderful and exciting 2.5 hour trip in a old wooden train through the lush green canyons.  We also found out there is a 3 day trip you can do from the mountains to the sea.  Next time!

Morel Season

My friend Miklos is an amazing guy.  He's a sculptor and a fantastic cook.  This year he finally took me with him on an annual foraging expedition.  Our prey was stealthy. We went foraging for morel mushrooms in the wilds of Illinois.  I won't say exactly where we did it, as foraging grounds are a prized and guarded secret, but i will say that we were mighty successful.  We found lots of mushrooms and had a ton of fun doing it.

Alausi, Ecuador

Sometimes getting around in Ecuador can be a chore.  A trip that you expect to be 5 hours of driving is really 8 hours.  Then when you factor in stops for lunch and sightseeing, it drags out to 12 hours.  Such was the case with our trip to the beautiful little town of Alausi.  Once we were there, however, it was all worth while.  Alausi is a quaint little mountain town with friendly people and stunning views in every direction.  

Ecuador - Llamas

While traveling through Ecuador and visiting the South American side of Sarah's extended family, we got to see some incredible places.  On one of our first afternoons we went to lunch at a beautiful restaurant near Mitad del Mundo.  The restaurant overlooks a beautiful valley.  Or at least, that is what we were told.  When we were there low lying clouds filled the valley and sadly we couldn't see into it.  But the food at the restaurant was delicious and when we walked up to it we were greeted by a welcoming committee of a couple of tethered llamas.  We saw llamas all over Ecuador, they are a common livestock, but these two were particularly photogenic.