Courtney, a friend of mine from my triathlon training group in Boulder, is currently living with her husband Jed in Montañita, Ecuador for several months. Courtney and Jed are also on a bit of one-year sabbatical themselves posting up for three months at a time in four different locations around the globe. They were conveniently in Ecuador where we were and they were nice enough to invite us to visit.

They´ve got a great pad within blocks of the down-town area and the beach. Montañita is a tiny little town that caters to tourists – both local and not-so local. There are lots of different languages being spoken, lots of fruity cocktails to drink and lots of dreadlocks. Though very different than the rest of our Ecuador experience, I have to say that it was quite a treat – almost like a vacation from a vacation.

We ate delicious and inexpensive seafood every night. Courtney and Jed got us out on surf boards and shared some tips. We enjoyed several of the fancy drinks they make there with our favorite being the hard to pronounce capiroska (vodka, sugar, lime juice and limes). They make a similar drink with sugarcane alcohol but Courtney recommended the vodka version!

Ted and I were also lucky enough to take a whale watching tour. We were told that we were nearing the end of the season so it might be hard to find the whales. Also, if we did find them they might not be breeching or as exciting as they are in July and August when they are trying to attract mates. However, we not only saw LOTS of whale, we saw them close up, we saw them far away, we saw them jumping, the whole works!

A huge thank you to Courtney and Jed for their hospitality! I should also thank Courtney for her help with the police report because her Spanish is fantastic and came in SUPER handy.  It was such a treat to visit your little paradise and I hope we can rendez-vous again with you on your next stop in Argentina!

July 14-28: Two weeks in Michigan. Amazing times – our first nephew is born (welcome Gavin Benjamin Martens!), quality time with the families in Ann Arbor and northern Michigan, Cottage Weekend, etc.

July 29-31: Move out. Everything into storage or friends’ basements/garages. Note to self – moving takes longer than you think it will, even with the help of friends and family. Trying to work during moving is also difficult.

Aug 3: Last work day for nearly a year! Amazingly good feeling, except that I wasn’t done with work obligations yet (and won’t finish until after week 1 in Ecuador).

Aug 4: Work and pack. Work and pack. Tie up loose ends.

Aug 5-8 : The world trip begins in Colorado. First, we drive to Durango where we head into the Weminuche Wilderness area for some backpacking in the Chicago Basin. Having not had the opportunity to get into the backcountry at all this summer, we had to squeeze in at least one trip before taking off! This was a special one – the Chicago Basin is one of the most amazing landscapes in all of Colorado, and it’s only accessible by the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (or by adding an extra day of hiking in).  The DSNGR ride is an experience in itself. Operating continuously since 1887, this steam engine used to provide access to the mines in the Weimenuche region. Today, it’s a tourist attraction and super-cool backcountry access vehicle.

After a 2.5 hour train ride, we arrived at the trailhead, which led us up to the Chicago Basin over 6 fairly steep miles. The Basin, surrounded by three 14,000ft peaks, was as majestic and picturesque as we had hoped. On day two, we slugged our way to the top of our 4^th 14er, Mt. Windom.

The unexpected excitement of the trip was our regular and very close interaction with a few families of mountain goats. The Chicago Basin is very highly visited, and the mountain goat population has grown fond of the delicious salty clothing and urine of these frequent visitors. We knew of this issue before arriving, but somehow, we managed to choose the campsite that intersected their daily migration patterns, and they took a liking to us. These guys had no qualms in coming as close as 5 feet from our sitting position, and would occasionally let us know that we were unwelcome guests by marking their territory while looking in our direction.  Fortunately, we made it out without incident, and now it makes for a good story.

Aug 9-10: Telluride. For the 3^rd time in 2010, I had the opportunity to visit Colorado’s most picturesque town. This time, it was to see two nights of my favorite band, Phish, and they rocked that box canyon. Joined by great friends in the best live music venue around, it was a killer way to kick off our big adventure.

Aug 11-13: Pack and work. Goodbye happy hours and parties. Way too much to do before leaving…

Aug 13: Our final night in Colorado, and one hell of a goodbye party and show. Despite a lengthy break from the previous performance, Zen Mustache members all brought their A-game, and we played a rockin show. Aside from friends and family, I will miss playing music with these guys more than anything else.

Aug 14: Without sleeping a wink after the show (and running a 4:30am last-ditch attempt to find our vaccination cards (unsuccessfully), we head to the airport at 6am. The adventure begins…

Though please don’t interpret this as complaining, the last couple weeks in Colorado were some of the most stressful and emotional that I’ve had to deal with in my recent memory. The logistics and planning involved in moving, taking a leave of absence from work, organizing bank accounts, purchasing insurance, and oh, how the list goes on, is certainly complicated. And as family, friends and fun are so important to us, Ted and I juggled our insane To-Do lists with trips to Michigan and SW Colorado as well as happy hours, ‘family dinners’ and concerts with our favorite people.

For anyone that saw or hung out with us in the last month or so – thank you! We not only love and appreciate you, but you probably have done or are doing us some sort of favor!

For letting us stay at your house after our lease was up; for letting us store anything from musical instruments, a foosball table to a CAR at your home; for helping us move; for letting us borrow a truck; for making us lasagna; for taking us to the airport; for coming out to say goodbye at the Boulder happy hour and Zen Mustache show; for volunteering to drop off our car in SE Parker and encouraging us to stay and have a beer instead; for keeping our mail and bills and life in order while we are away; for picking up extra projects at work in our absence; for your phone calls and hugs and supportive words; for everything I’m failing to mention here but that made our trip a reality – THANK YOU!

Those two words do not do justice to the enormous amount of appreciation we have for the people in our lives that we love – but we mean them from the bottom of our hearts and are 100% positive that this trip would not be possible without you.

Now, come visit.