Ingapirca--Incan ruins in Ecuador.

Sunset in Vilcabamba where people live the longest in Ecuador.

Cascada Pailon del Diablo near Baños (photo by Oscar).

Cuyabeno National Park at sunset.

The Park again at sunset. Each night we took a boat from our lodge to a nearby lake to swim under the setting sun and rising moon.

 Fishing for piranhas! We went fishing at sunset, because that is when they bite the most. The bait was raw pieces of meat, and our fishing poles were long sticks with a string and hook. With the help of our guide, we bobbed the tempting meat up and down hoping for a bite. Hannah caught the most piranhas, but I had the biggest catch of all! To really see the strength of their jaws and sharpness of their teeth, we put a stick in the fish´s mouth which it easily snapped in half. Merely 20 minutes later we were swimming in the same body of water, constantly on the lookout for piranhas coming up from the depths of the mirky water.

 Hanging out in a tree in the Cuyabeno forest.

 Monkeys in tree (note similarity to above photo).

AN ANACONDA we spotted one day while paddling in the lake among the trees. Right before sighting this massive snake we were commenting on how the environment was eerily similar to that of the Anaconda movie...

Emerald boa--supposively a very rare spotting.
Other animal spottings include river dolphins, turtles, many birds, four types of monkeys (including the smallest in the world), piranhas, caymans, frogs, spiders, and many many more. A biologist´s paradise.

Making pan de yucca (yucca bread)--yucca was the only ingredient.

Passion flower on our hike in Vilcabamba.

Hannah and Katie enjoying one of Quito´s many many museums.

Graffiti in Cuenca. "Water is worth more than gold."

Again enjoying a museum exhibit that is made up of shirts of people from all over Ecuador.

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