June 26, 2010

I finished this end table this morning. All of the wood is from pallets I picked up a while back While the design is mine, I got my inspiration from my friend Mel Barlow's end table in Brooklyn.





June 17, 2010

For the most part, the two played together beautifully. Unless Stella wanted the toy or meal Miles was enjoying, they shared seamlessly. Miles spent much of the time trying to mimic Stella's walking capabilities, making it across the room several times, all the while grinning from ear to ear in pride. In a mischievous retaliation move, Stella got on her hands and knees and crawled around the living room. The highlight of our 30 hours together was on Tuesday night, when they played together on the porch for a few hours and talked, kissed and laughed together like old buddies.







June 11, 2010

Day 5: Our entire stay in Banos was marked by Volcán Tungurahua, which went off every half hour or so. Not only could you hear each eruption, some of them shook our hostel. On the clearest day, we took a taxi up to the power lines opposite the volcano for a better look. A video of one of the blasts follows the pictures and volume would help. Later in the day, we boarded a bus for Puyo, a jungle town deemed the "gateway to the Amazon." We found a monkey rescue center and spent several incredulous hours with the monkeys, who climbed and played all over us.











June 10, 2010

Day 4: This particular day was probably the most fun I've ever had in a 24-hour period while traveling. We biked the scenic Banos to Puyo route for 35 kilometers and had several stops along the way: the four of us jumped off a bridge in the first hour, hiked up behind the raging El Paílón del Diablo waterfall in the second hour, had a memorable trout lunch at a local Rio Verde cafe in the third hour and hitch-hiked back to Banos (with our bikes) in the late afternoon (on the back of a flat bed truck).

















June 9, 2010

Day 3: Spent the day wandering around Banos, a beautiful mountain village in the heart of the Andes (we purchased a recycled tire flower pot from the woman pictured). We also hiked for several miles up towards the active Volcan Tungurahua and spent time in a 120 degree thermal bath later in the evening. I couldn't help but photograph the mind bending street graffiti...









June 8, 2010

Day 2: We zip lined across a valley, hiked several miles into the cloud forest near Mindo (on the equator) and spent the day climbing and swimming under waterfalls. The beautiful Dragonfly Inn was the location of our memorable 4.5 hour dinner and was one of the best hostels I've ever stayed in. On the ride from Mindo to Banos (taxi!), we caught clear views of Volcan Cotopaxi...










June 7, 2010

Day 1: Walked Quito's Old Town and then taxied to Mindo because Volcán Tungurahua erupted and closed the road to Banos...which ended up working out perfectly.










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