There is was a phrase often repeated on Bob Ross 'Joy of Painting' 'There are no mistakes, only happy accidents' I feel that our trip to Ecuador is one of those happy accidents. Our original intent was to take a trip to Peru making the iconic journey to Machu Picchu. In a rather typical fashion of late our intent to really plan early, just didn't jive with reality. While not last minute, we did box ourselves in with our available time frame. After searching many options for curated destinations, we found ourselves circling back to G Adventures. It just so happened that the had a trip that met our desires and timetable, waited just a little too long to hit the Book It button. When our first choice didn't pan out, the company suggested a Highlands and Volcano tour in Ecuador. After reviewing the itinerary and our dwindling window to make a decision, we opted to make the commitment. Other the the Galapagos Islands and the presence of the Equator, we had little to no knowledge of the country and what to expect. Much in contrast to a trip to the Galapagos the bulk of our trip was spent at elevations of 8000ft and higher. Flying into Quito, the world's second highest capital city, we make our way west to the home the largest open air market in South America at Otavalo. Moving from here to the volcanic hot springs at Papallacta, traveling to the lowest elevation of our trip at a Jungle Lodge outside the Tena, the gateway to the Ecuador Amazon. Circling back to the adrenaline center of Ecuador, Banos. On our journey back to Quito we stopped at Cotopaxi, the world's tallest active volcano. Here we had one our few disappointments of the trip for Cotopaxi was nothing but a misty haze. Given that our visit was during the rainy season, a few weather related duds were to be expected. Amazingly this was our only weather mishap. An appealing aspect of G Adventures excursions is the emphasis on the cultural immersion, and much of this would not be possible without our fabulous guide - Maria Sol. Being a Ecuadorian native and a seasoned guide, she was able to adjust our stops and experiences on the fly. Many of the highlights of the trip were add-ins and side excursions directly a result of her knowlege of the country. While it was a tour, our group was quite intimate at 8 people and geographically diverse. The only notable asymmetry was that, outside of our driver, I was the only male. As you can see from the number of photos, we were in awe for much of the trip at beauty of the landscape and variety of plants and animals. So thank you G Adventures and Maria Sol for sharing with us all that is beautiful and amazing about Ecuador