My Favorite Place in Quito, Ecuador

My husband's family lives in Quito, Ecuador. We traveled for 10 days during the holidays last year to see them. This was Emma's first trip to Ecuador and my second one. This trip was only 20 days after coming back from Colombia and I also took a short work trip in between. I was exhausted! 

One of my biggest fears about traveling with Emma is that she will get sick. We arrived to Quito on Christmas eve and Andre's niece got sick that night. The day after we arrived, Emma got sick with a nasty virus that felt like the flu. She had a high fever for one day and after that she started to get better. I got sick the following day and Andre survived. He wasn't that lucky, he got e-coli and ended up in the ER one day. As you can imagine, we didn't do much. The only thing that we did was to spend an afternoon in the historic downtown. This is my favorite colonial downtown and I wanted to take some pictures of Emma and walk around after recovering from our tropical virus. 

Just like it happened in Colombia weeks before, Emma wanted to be carried just by me. I was prepared with my ergo baby and I walked around all of downtown with Emma on my back. She even took a nap there. The altitude in Quito is 2,900 meters and I felt sick most of the days that we were there. It was hard, but I was happy to be out after feeling sick for several days.

For new year's eve, you are supposed to burn the "old year" at midnight. We did this in Colombia too. It's fun to make it and also to burn it and make some noise to welcome the new year. Some people make a full size doll and fill it with fire works. In Ecuador, you can buy a mask and use it for your año viejo. Some of those are local politicians. You can see the masks for sale on the pictures below. 

We don't have any plans to go to Ecuador in the near future, but I am sure we will be back soon. Hopefully we won't get sick again! 

Lessons Learned: Traveling with small kids

If you’re a parent you’ve probably learned by now that vacationing with kids is really not a vacation at all. As someone who loves to travel, I was delusional thinking about traveling with Emma before she turned 2. I wanted to take advantage of not paying for her plane ticket. It turns out, I didn't really want to travel. When we did, it was rough and it has taken me almost 3 years to finally get excited about planning a trip. The best part is that I'm happy to pay for her seat. Flights with a lap baby are terrible mostly because economy seats are tiny and we both got hot from having her on top of me the whole time. I still seat her on my lap for short periods of  time but we have room to move with the additional seat. She likes to seat by the window and look out when we take off and land.

I recommend taking a small backpack full of toys,  snacks, crayons, and coloring books. Download a lot of kid friendly Apps that don’t require Internet. Take her favorite toys, but try to only use on the plane the ones that you can wash. Emma loves books and I always try to bring several ones for the trip and hide a few for the flights back. 

One time, she decided to go #2 in a flight from Atlanta to Oklahoma City. Since this was a smaller airplane, they didn't have a changing table in the bathrooms. I had to get creative and change her standing on the toilet seat and hoping that nothing will get out of the diaper. At she she was old enough to stand up. I would want to do this on the bathroom floor. Try to pack extra clothes; not just one set of extra clothes because you will need more than that. We have lots of souvenir PJs for this reason. 

There is always an "adventure" happening when traveling with kids. Flying is never easy, there is so much to pack and check-in (car seat, stroller, bags, food, diapers) that is easy to forget something. You can read about my adventure traveling alone with Emma when she was 15 months here. I always forget something: my charged iPad at home, or the diaper bag in the car to notice only when we got to security, bringing pants for me for 10 days in Colombia, or the stroller at home. We have been lucky and everything works out at the end, but it's stressful while is happening. 

Now that she is older, it is easier to travel and have a normal flight. Plus there are no bottles to sterilize. However, the problem is the food. If it is possible, I try to spend time cooking for her so that the food tastes the same as it does at home. She ate so many apples in Ecuador that she now hates apples. Our last challenge was in Mexico. She didn't want to eat! not even bananas! She is picky and I know it, but the resort where we stayed had many options that she would normally like. She just didn't want to eat. We had some snacks from home and eventually ran out. She drank milk like a new-born. She didn't even want cake for breakfast!!! I never take her to McDonald's, but when I saw one in town I got her a chicken nuggets happy meal and she DEVOURED it. I don't know what is it about that place that kids like it so much.  

We just came back from Washington DC and it went so well that we are traveling again on January 1st. This time it will be just Emma and me going to Charlotte to visit a great friend and meet her baby. She loves airplanes and she now drinks something for her ears instead of using the pacifier. I'm only waiting for her to be potty trained. Traveling is not the same as it was before. We have to take it slower and let her play or go hiking with her on my back. However, we still enjoy it and for us is more than enough when we go to bed before 9:00 PM. 

Salento Part 2 & Valle del Cocora, Colombia

Last year, during thanksgiving week, we went to Colombia. It was Emma's first trip to my home country and my first one in over 3 years. We went to the coffee region for 2 days and I fell in love with my country even more. One of the most popular places in the region is a little town called Salento. You can read about our trip and where we stayed here. The town is beautiful and it is close to a place called Valle del Cocora (Cocora Valley). I always wanted to go and see the wax (cold weather) palms. We went to the town mirador (lookout) the first day and to the Cocora Valley the second day. 

Emma was very good during the whole trip. She didn't want to walk more than 5 minutes and she wanted to be carried ONLY by her mom. I did what every mom would do: take her on my back with the ergo baby. At the time Emma was 31 pounds!!!! The 2,400 meter altitude is OK; except when you are going uphill with a toddler on your back. After a long recovery from a broken leg just a year ago, I felt really proud of myself.  

These are some of my favorite pictures from the mirador in Salento:

We hired a tour guide and he took us to the most wonderful walk. You can rent horses or just walk. We decided to walk to the river and back. We were supposed to go to the palm forest, but I was exhausted from carrying Emma after a long walk and that mean really going up the mountain. We will return when she can walk alone!! These are some of my favorite pictures from the Cocora Valley:

If you ever have a chance to visit the Colombian mountains don't miss these places. The pictures don't really show how beautiful everything is. I can't wait to return to this beautiful place! 

Colombia Trip 2014- Part 1

I'm going to try to catch up with our trips from last year. I have a lot of pictures and stories to share. I've been busy at work and the little time that I have left is to spend it with Emma and André. In 2013, exactly on November 20th, I broke my leg. I had to cancel our family trip to my hometown just one week before traveling. I got a refund in the form of travel vouchers valid for one year. We couldn't decide where to go during the year. At first, I was in crutches and recovering. After I got better André got surgery and had 6 weeks of recovery time. Time just flew last year: we just went back to our original travel plans. We would go to Cali, Colombia for 9 days. 

On thanksgiving day, we started our trip to Colombia. This was going to be Emma's first time there and my first time in over 3 years. I was excited and nervous. It didn't help that right after our vacation I was going to travel for work to the North East.  I literally had to catch a flight from Miami to Pennsylvania.  I had to take a suitcase full of work and winter clothes to Colombia and back to the U.S. 

The first issue we encountered on our way there was that I left Emma's diaper bag in the car. My sister took us to the airport with plenty of time. We got the bags out, the stroller, the kid and went to our gate. When we were putting everything through security, I realized what I had done. I forgot the diaper bag in the back seat. Emma's diaper bag was loaded with diapers, food, antibacterial wipes, regular wipes, 1 set of extra clothes, sweater, bottles, milk, sippy cup, toys and everything I wanted to have during the flight. We called my sister and she drove back to the airport. André went (ran) outside to pick it up. He made it in time to come back inside the gate before it was time to board. I really thought that I was going to have a panic attack. In the mean time I went to look for diapers inside the terminal. I found some but they only sell one size (4) and Emma is a size bigger (5). It was not a huge difference but soon after using the smaller size, her pants got wet. I was lucky to have the diaper bag with us again and our additional set of pants saved the day. I'm so relieved that we had time to spare that day. I don't think that we could have survived without her diaper bag. 

The second mistake I did that morning was that I forgot my iPad loaded with apps and movies for Emma at home. I wanted to charge it until the last second and as a result I completely forgot about it. Emma was addicted to YouTube and watching the wheels on the bus was her favorite past time. We were OK during the first flight which was only 30 minutes and at the airports because I had internet. However during the long flight, there was no wi-if available. We made it with books, coloring books and a few apps that I had in my phone. It was hard but we survived the 3 hour flight without an iPad. 

We finally took a break during our layover and had lunch and a Juan Valdez coffee. If I fly in or out of MIA's D concourse I have to have one. I had to buy souvenir pants for Emma because she got her second pair of pants wet and I had no dry clothes with us. It was a Minnie Mouse PJ with shorts instead of pants. Apparently when you can only find shorts in Miami. At least they we're dry. 

I tried to feed Emma some real food during the long travel day. I got her lunch and dinner at La Carreta, a Cuban restaurant located in MIA. Emma didn't want any of it and she just ate fruits and snacks. When we got to Cali our cousin had dinner ready for us. I had never seen Emma eat her dinner so well like she did that day. She was so happy there. She was excited to see motorcycles. I didn't even know that she knew how to say "moto". The first thing that I ate when we arrived at home was a granadilla. This fruit is sweet and is one of my favorites. A trip to Colombia is not complete without my daily granadilla. We went to bed after midnight exhausted and ready to relax for a few days. 

Salento, Colombia

For several years, I wanted to visit Salento. Not Salento, Italy; Salento, Quindio, Colombia. This is a small town in the middle of the Colombian coffee region located 3 hours away from Cali. It was isolated for a long time and as a result, the traditional architecture was preserved. We finally planned a short trip last December while we were in Cali. It took us almost 4 years to get there. Emma was amazing. She didn't cry or complained except almost at the end. We had to improvise her lunch making a quick stop on the road. Luckily, highways are very interesting in Colombia. You drive through the towns and there many things to look around. She got car sick and as a result we had to continue our trip with the windows down. That was all part of the "adventure". 

I fell in love with Salento and with the beautiful mountains around it. After living in Florida for 15 years, I get very excited to see mountains and green landscapes. We had the typical food lunch: trout and a huge green fried plantain. André loves his tostada as you can see below. 

The best part was having a Colombian coffee right in the middle of the mountains where it's produced. The coffee shop was antique and everyone makes you feel welcome. If you want to go, it's on the left side of the church if you are looking  at it from the town's main square or plaza. The barista has been the same for over 20 years and he has pictures to prove. 

Our hotel was only 2 blocks away from the Main Street (5th) and I would recommended it for anyone who wants to go. It's called Salento Real. It's a new building, but it was built to reflect the typical architecture. The rooms are small but comfortable, and the service was incredible. 

There are 3 big reasons to visit Salento and stay a few days: the town, the mirador (overlook) and visiting the Cocora Valley. I will share lots of pictures to share what we did in 2 days. It was enough time to see what we wanted to see, but sadly 4 hours each way is a long way to go and we were too exhausted. I would recommend staying for 2 nights instead of only one night. 

On the road again...

I have less than 4 hours to sleep tonight and I'm so nervous about tomorrow that I can't get any sleep. Emma, André and I  are traveling to Ecuador tomorrow morning. I've never traveled on Christmas Eve. I always travel on Christmas Day and the airports are empty. I wonder how it will be tomorrow. 

We just got back from Colombia 2 weeks ago and I also took a short work trip right after we came back. We finished packing and we are supposed to be asleep. I keep running my to-do lists in my head. I was a mess packing for Colombia and I don't want to do the same for this trip. I have to write a list of things I learned from our last trip with a toddler (the hard way of course). I had too much work before Colombia and I had a normal work load this week so I was able to plan with more time what to pack. I might have over packed as a result of my lack of planning from last month. The good thing is I tend to forget my stuff instead of Emma's. It is easier for me to improvise plus we are trying to potty train her and she uses a lot of pants every day. 

I have tons of pictures to share from our trip to Colombia. Those 10 days are still fresh in my mind. I will enjoy this week off because it will probably be the last one in a while. I'm using all of my personal time off with these 2 vacations in one month. 

Feliz Navidad! :) 

Anniversary No.3

Today is my third wedding anniversary. I can't believe that it was only 3 years ago. We have been through so much together that I feel like it has been longer. I am happy to say that our wedding day is still fresh in my memory. Our wedding was probably the best party and one of the best days of my life. Having our friends and family with us was priceless. I will be eternally grateful to all of those that came out of the comfort zone and traveled to Colombia. It really meant the world to us to see everyone dancing, drinking aguardiente and having fun. I wish we could do it again and have everyone travel. I really miss Colombia and my hometown of Cali. I haven't been there since we came back from our wedding. 

Happy anniversary my sweet André. You are the best husband and father I could ever ask for. I love you. We are planning a short trip to celebrate this day. Emma will start paying for a plane ticket in January and I want to take a couple trips before the end of the year to take advantage of her "infant" status. 

If you want to see some old posts about our destination wedding and honeymoon in Hawaii click here and here.

Photocredit: Efeunodos

Oklahoma City for the Weekend

Last month, over the 4th of July weekend, we went to Oklahoma City. This is not the typical vacation spot but one of my childhood friends lives here. I decided to use 70,000 delta miles (35,000 miles each) to get 2 tickets to OKC. I can never find seats for 25,000 miles using Delta. We had a 1 hour flight to Atlanta and a less than 2 hour flight to OKC. I decided to pay a little extra for economy comfort seats. It was only $19 per flight per person and It was worth it. Having a lap infant who is not a baby anymore can make things a little tight. I will continue to upgrade when possible even when Emma is no longer a lap infant. I have to say that Delta was great!!!! The 4 flights were on time, they let families with small children board first and the seats were comfortable.

Emma did great the whole time at the airports and during the flights. The only problem was that she decided to go #2 in the flight from Atlanta to OKC. Since this was a smaller airplane, they didn't have a changing table in the bathrooms. I had to get creative and change her standing on the toilet seat and hoping that nothing will get out of the diaper. There is always an "adventure" happening when traveling with kids. 

My friend and I hadn't seen each other since 2006 so this was a special trip. Since we became mothers, our friendship has grown even stronger. When I couldn't travel for her wedding in 2009, I promised her that I would go meet her first baby. I always assumed she would have babies first. I ended up having a baby before her and it was too complicated for me to visit. Emma, André and I finally packed our bags and traveled to meet Grace, my adopted niece. I fell in love with this little girl. She was happy, smart and full of love. Emma was not too happy with her and she would run away from Grace when she saw her coming. It was funny to watch. We were together to watch the Colombia-Brazil World Cup game. We painted our faces with the Colombian flag, wore our team jerseys, listened to "Ras-Tas-Tas" (the Colombian team song), drank lots of wine, and did a BBQ to celebrate our second Country. We didn't go out too much because Grace and Emma had their naps at different times and it was hard to plan something. My friend and her family will be moving to England this fall. I dont know when I will see them again. I hope that we can stay part of each other's lives no matter how many miles are between us. We love you very much Maria and Grace. I'm really happy that we spent these days together. 

PS: Era gol de Yepes!!!! (Yepes scored a goal that got annulled by the referee and it was a goal!!!!!!) 

Weekend Cruise to Bahamas, Day 2

About 8 years ago, I went on a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas and I enjoyed it. However, after coming back I concluded that I would rather spend 4 full days in an island instead of just a few hours in each port. Since my priorities have changed so much, I now consider cruising a great option for traveling with kids. There are many things to do, food options just in case you have a picky eater like my daughter, a child care center (for kids older than 3) and when you get to a port you only need to bring the basics for the day. 

Our plan for the day was to spend the day at the beach at the Atlantis Resort. I had been there before but I wanted to return. My friend had never been there and Emma loves the beach. We paid $10 for the taxi from the port and $69 each (Emma was free) for the beach/hotel access and lunch. Emma absolutely loved the paradise lagoon inside the resort, she didn't want to go anywhere else. I wanted to go to the beach at least to see it but it was almost Emma's nap time and then it was time to go back to the ship. Having a stroller was not easy around the outdoor areas of the hotel; the ramps were far and the elevators sometimes didn't work. This was a relaxing day and I loved every minute.  

Paradise Lagoon

We took a taxi back to the port for $4 per person, we shopped for some souvenirs and rum cake in a store close to the port and headed back to the ship. We decided that we wanted to go to the sit down restaurant that night. The food was good and the service was great. However, the "difficult hour" of the day for a kid is typically around dinner time. I have to confess that thanks to YouTube and Baby Einstein videos I can eat dinner many nights. I had my ipad but with no internet connection I was not fully prepared to keep Emma entertained for that long. She didn't eat anything for dinner except a few pieces of banana. We went to bed early again and this was basically the end of our cruise. The next morning, we woke up in Miami and we needed to be out of our room by 7:00 AM. We stayed a little longer, until around 8:00 AM. On our way back to Tampa, I upgraded to first class for $45 and it was a completely different travel experience. I was exhausted by the time I came home; nonetheless, I was proud of Emma for being such a good traveler and of myself for traveling alone with her.