Our lifes have started to reach some sort of normalcy. We have been living in Otavalo, Ecuador for the last week with a family and taking Spanish classes. We can speak a little better, but still can´t understand a thing. We have had a daily routine of sleeping in as long as we can, waiting for our "mother" to make us some coffee and fresh fruit juice (we aren´t really allowed to do anything in the kitchen by ourselves). We then walk about 25 minutes to class through the streets of Otavalo. We have class for 4 hours in the morning then walk back home. Lunch is the most important meal of the day in Ecuador which we have around 1;30. Lunch usually consists of a thin, brothy soup to start, followed by a plate of plain white rice, some sort of flat, fried meat, and a small salad. The afternoons consist of another 2 hours of class followed by "Jamie and Keith venting time." Everyday after class we go to a restaraunt and order two beers and talk about how hard and frustrating it is to learn a new language in such a short period of time. We then go home for dinner (leftovers from lunch). We have been to some amazing places with our spanish teacher. His brother owns some property near the Columbian border in the cloud forest with fruit trees, trout ponds, and chickens. Next to the house is a river that falls pure and clean out of the mountains. There are at least 20 waterfalls on this one river. The first is about a 5 minute walk from the house. The picture above is from a hike we took to some lakes this morning. We started hiking at approx. 12,000 ft. The peaks are quite a bit taller here than in the states. We have one week left, then we are planning to check out the Galapagos and spend some time in our bathing suits again. We finally have some pictures posted. Please click the link on the side of this page for "Honeymoon and Wedding Photos."

We felt a little silly carrying around our big backpacks full of winter clothing in Costa Rica, but are we ever glad we have them now. We have been in Quito, Ecuador for a few days now and have had a chance to wear all of our clothing, including wool hats. It has rained every afternoon since we have been here which has really dropped the temperature pretty low. We spend most of our time walking around the city. The buses are pretty easy to use, but we have time, so we walk. We explored the churches and plazas of Old Town, the museums and shopping malls of New Town and ate soup with floating chicken feet in the park. This afternoon we are heading North to Otavalo for two weeks to study Spanish and stay with a family. It will be nice to get out of the city for a change.

The first part of the Jamie and Keith World Leisure Tour is coming to a end. We have had very nice time touring around Costa Rica, what a great country. We visited three different beach towns and surfed a bit. Mal Pais was nice and quiet. We had a relaxing weekend with Dave and Amy who live in San Jose. Next we rode on buses and two ferries to reach Nosara which might as well be little Telluride on the Beach. Thanks to Juan Surfo for the all the help with board rentals and cabinas. After that was Quepos and Manuel Antonio Nat. Park. I do have to say that ant-eaters are very cute. They move pretty slow with their bow-legged, pigeon-toed little waddle. We were able to see one very close up, along with a few slothes. Not to mention the monkeys, both Howlers and White Faces Capuchins. Last stop on the tour was Dominical. My favorite little surf town. It offers everything you would need within close proximity, but is still a nice intimate small town. Waves were beautiful. Now we are back at Dave and Amy's house in San Jose preparing for our next adventure. Tomorrow we head down south to Ecuador. Should be exciting.