October 2017 – Outbound Blonde

My latest adventure took me to Ecuador. My childhood bestie, Kristin (as seen in my Norway posts!) invited me to join her family at her brother’s wedding in Quito and of course I could not turn down a reason to visit a new country. I may have semi-invited myself but I like to think she was also happy to have me. 🙂

Traveling to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands was a trip of a lifetime. I am so lucky to have a best friend who invites me to join things like this family celebration. Our initial plan included the two of us continuing on to travel after the wedding, but due to extenuating circumstances Kristin had to head back to the US. I, on the other hand, decided to take advantage of my company’s “unlimited” vacation policy since the wedding was in July and that happens to be one of our slowest months. Plus, there’s no way I’m flying to Ecuador and not exploring! When else would I have a reason to buy a flight down there?

I always had the Galapagos Islands on my radar as a bucket list trip, but I never thought I’d be crossing it off my list so soon! Once I knew that I’d be venturing out on my own after the wedding I started researching how to travel throughout Ecuador and how to get myself to the Galapagos Islands. One of the biggest challenges I quickly realized would be standing in my way – I don’t speak Spanish. I took about 6 years of French so that doesn’t help and despite living in California the extent of my Spanish does not go far beyond “Yo queiro Taco Bell” (I had to google the spelling of that) and huevos rancheros, no queso – which is delicious. In parts of Ecuador very minimal English is spoken. I’m all about immersing yourself in a new culture, but realized that it would be safest for me to join a tour group. My concern was that this would make the trip too “touristy” but as you’ll come to see this was not a problem at all!

The next major problem was traveling solo. When I book my own solo travel I just have to account for the fact that I’m not splitting any costs. When you book with a tour company, especially the ones running through the Galapagos Islands, they were charging me based on a double room. This means that I would have to pay for myself and depending on the company up to 90% of the cost of the other person who would have shared my room. That alone could make the trip over $6,000!

Hours of research later, I discovered Contiki. They’re a tour company geared towards 18-35 year olds and solo travelers. They organize everything and assign roommates so you can join a trip without having to find people to come along. I was very skeptical, but watched many youtube videos and read some other blogs that spoke highly of Contiki. They were hosting a trip that left the day after the wedding traveling through mainland Ecuador and out to the Galapagos Islands over the course of 12 days. I took advantage of their customer service and called to ask questions about missing part of the first day because of the wedding, etc. and after speaking with my contact for about 25 minutes I was already giving her my credit card for a deposit.

So that’s how I ended up on a 17 day trip to Ecuador! We fit A LOT into this trip so there will definitely be a post dedicated to each day… and maybe more than that because this trip was jam packed with amazing sights and experiences.

First up – Quito and Mindo!

Nicole

Lauren and my Labor Day Weekend activities didn’t end with The Color Factory. Having never visited wine country together, we planned a day that included visiting some wineries and catching some sun. I couldn’t guarantee SF would be warm so I concocted the idea to visit a spa and use their pool.

I landed on a GiltCity deal for The Calistoga Motor Lodge and Spa and was easily sold. If we did a 50 minute treatment (or 2 that added up to 50 minutes) we could have access to the Moonacre Spa and pool for 2 hours before our appointments. We decided this was the weekend of “treat yo self” and booked their “Perfectly Muddled” and “Splish Splash.”

The heat continued through the weekend so we scrapped our plans of pool time and stuck to enjoying the spa. We ended up being the only people in the spa at that time so we got lots of extra attention.

From the moment we walked in, the spa was made to be photographed and was “inspired by the tradition of American roadtrips in the 1950’s” with a modern twist and offerings.

Walking through the changing room into the general spa waiting area

A close up with a cheeky “how-to” partake in the different spa activitiesThe water station where you could choose which infused option you’d like including one infused by crystals. Spencer Pratt would be all over this, but I’m sure he already puts his beloved crystals in the water he drinks.

Before starting our “perfectly muddled” treatment, we began with exfoliating ourselves in these glorious outdoor showers

Then, our lovely host mixed up a bowl of mud for each of us to coat ourselves, beginning with just the front side of our bodies. We laid out and nearly fell asleep before we were back to the showers to rinse off.

This is the part were I could insert a picture of us laying out while our mud dried, but I’ll save your eyes this time. We then repeated this by coating our backs as best as possible before laying down and having them finish painting us. Repeat the nearly dozing off and we were back to the showers.

Try not to be jealous of our robes (they were actually cozy) or our sweet sandals they provided (which purely served as function).

Next they brought us into the most glorious bathing room where we picked the salt we wanted for our baths (from the options on the wall as we walked in).

We were left to lay in our nice warm tubs and relax for the next 30 glorious minutes before our time was up. We tried for the steam room, but unfortunately I went full panic mode and thought I couldn’t breathe… so that brought our trip to an end.

All in all, I cannot wait to go back up and fully intend to find a weekend to stay overnight and fully enjoy the hotel. As Travis from Clueless would say “Two thumbs, way up” Just a quick forewarning though, it is close to the Calistoga speedway so there was some noise, but it was only noticeable at first. As we left, the staff filled us in that they’d only been open 3 months since full renovations! *pats self on back for finding this still hidden jewel*

Next I’m going to FINALLY talk, in very great detail, about my trip to Ecuador! Stay tuned, because we fit in A LOT in the 2 weeks I spent there.

Month: October 2017

Checking Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands off My Bucket List as a Solo Traveler

Photo Diaries: The Calistoga Motor Lodge and Spa