Finally got to see the Portland Timbers play. Every time Lou-Doo comes and visits he comes down with a different item of Timbers paraphernalia. So we wore everything we had (scarf, T-shirt, nikko has a shirt, and Kai has some pants) up to Portland to watch them play the NY Red Bulls. Lou-doo really hooked it up for us as we had a dinner with the kids at his sister's place, then Kimbo and I hopped on a loaner bike and cruised into to downtown to watch the game. He got us tickets in the Timber's Army section... which is basically 1/3rd of the stadium... and his brother in law saved us some seats (not that we sat down at all). We had a great time cheering, drinking, and watching shenanigans.
earlier in the day at a rest stop somewhere south of Portland. See the Timber's attire? Oh, we didn't bring the kids, but the Army section is fairly kid friendly.... other than the fact that they wouldn't be able to see. I guess I should say baby friendly. We saw a bunch of babies.
X-sing the bridge into downtown. Watching a wake surfer in the Columbia.
Fire truck!
Check ou tthe beer holder that goes in the seat. That's how often you sit down here...
felt like we were right in a European game.
proper Army attire
great beer selection inside...
These guys don't watch the game. They just coordinate the yelling.
OK, back to posting about a trip from 8 months ago... this is quite painful, but this is the last post!
A quick flight... a short drive... and soon we went from the heart of the jungle to the thin air of Ecuador's mountains. We rented a car from the airport and drove to El Chaupi where Fernando, a friend of Dres runs the Hostal Andes Alpes. We only had a day in the mountains with him, so we just went on a half day stroll up to the Refugio on Cotopaxi.... actually it's closed as the volcano is too active, so that's about as high as you can get these days.
Here's a soundtrack for ya. Loved going to Mars Volta shows in college...
He's got a nice view...
The next morning after a quick run we went up to Cotopaxi National Park.
second highest in Ecuador at 19,347 ft! Cotopaxi is quite active and has erupted more than 50 times since 1738.
The last eruption lasted from Aug 2015 to January 2016...
And since then Cotopaxi has been officially closed for climbing.
no trees... Lorax sad...
This made the trek quite windy.
Almost up to the refugio...
Huzzah!
Tea at the hut to warm up. I think I had every single layer on that I brought.
The Jose F Ribas Refuge was built in 1971 and updated in 2005.
Elevation of 4800 m! Almost 16,000 ft. From the jungle to 16,000 ft... quite a difference. One the draws to Ecuador it this ecological diversity.
Not sure who this was, but he was important... and came with an entourage.
Including a few of these guys.
Wild, wild, horses...
after the hike, we bid farewell to Fernando and drove back to Quito.
Returned the rental car...
And made it to the White House (Estadio Casa Blanca)! I love going to soccer games in foreign countries...
For some beer with ice...
and some Ecuadorian food tipico...
Barcelona vs LDU Quito
That's the LDU Quito fan area... lots of flares...
after the game we got some street food...
This might have been the best meal of the trip...
and soon enough we were back home with our boys....
