How To Get Started

  If you are new to the hobby of Almost FREE Family Travel, how do you get started? I recommend beginning with just 1 or 2 credit cards until you get the hang of it. You also want to figure out where you want to go in order to get the most bang for your buck. If you just collect miles and points with no destination in mind, you may find that you don't have enough points on a certain airline or with a certain hotel chain to take that dream trip.

My daughter and I volunteered near La Laguna Coicocha in Ecuador

If you are not sure where you want to go yet or how you want to use the miles, then the most flexible card is actually one of my favorites, Chase Sapphire Preferred. This card unlocks a world of value. The current sign up bonus is 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points (valued at $625) and can be transferred to different hotels and a variety of airlines. The minimum spend is $4,000 in the first 3 months and the $95 annual fee is waived for the first year. Besides transferring the points to hotels and airlines, you can get cash back. Cash back is not the best value for the points, but you have that option.

Most of the time, Chase Ultimate Reward points transfer to partners at a 1:1 ratio so you can see how valuable these points can be. Imagine spending 2 nights at the Hyatt Aruba ($545 per night or 25,000 points) for FREE.

The bottom line is that you are spending money everyday, but if you spend it with a plan, you can earn Almost FREE Family Travel!

So dream big, where do you want to go?

Getting Started

I was going to write about some new credit card offers that are floating around. Then I thought I will write about my frustration with Starwood. I signed up for their business card two weeks ago for a 25K bonus and now they are offering 35k bonus. When I called to ask for an adjustment, they said no. I checked the boards and they are denying everyone. Bad customer service. Surprising from Starwood, but now they are merging with Marriott so I guess this is the first of many changes to come.

But I digress.
I actually want to write about how many people I meet who don't use their credit cards to earn miles, points or cash back. And how many people I meet who shop online and don't shop through a portal to get cash back or earn miles.
This is like parking your money under your mattress. You are saving your money, but you are not earning any interest on it. Make it work for you. You are spending it anyway so why not save money and earn miles so you can take trips for a discount or even free. It's so easy yet so many people leave these points, miles and cash back on the table.
So I am making it my goal this year to teach people how to take advantage of the portals, credit card offers etc. so everyone can travel for almost free!

                                     Family photo at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa

Volunteering - Our last week

Our time at the San Roche preschool/daycare is quickly coming to an end. It has been such an amazing experience. The children can be so sweet and loving. Every day when I arrive, I am a greeted by a chorus of holas and ciaos and followed by hugs. 

They smile and are open to learning. We work on puzzles and building legos. I have been able to teach them how to put the puzzles together and find similar pieces of legos to fit together. 

Their puzzles are missing pieces and their legos are broken, but they don't care and enjoy the learning process. 

They enjoy dancing and singing songs. I have been able to teach them Simon Says, Freeze Dance and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. 

We even got to celebrate the January birthdays with the children. 

And then you get so caught up in the moment and the children look up at you and smile, and only then do you notice that they have no teeth or rotting teeth. 

That their clothes do not fit or have holes or are just filthy. 

And then I remember that these children have little to nothing. 

And I give them an extra hug or rub on the back because they are children. 

I recently closed my indoor park for children who are nearly the same age. I brought some of the mini notebooks and bubbles with me and the kids love them. 

It means a lot to know that My Kids Clubhouse was able to share some love with these children. 

When I return to San Diego, I plan to prepare packages to send to the school. The teachers need pens and pencils and they love my Renew lotion. The kids need extra clothes, backpacks, art supplies, puzzles, dvds and those rope walkers. 

I am hoping to make an annual package to send to the school. If you would like to make a donation, please email me at mykidsclubhouse@gmail.com 

The "real" Mitad Del Mundo

When you are in Quito, you will quickly discover there are probably half a dozen places claiming to be the Mitad del Mundo or the equator half the world. We checked out 3 of them. One was very scientific on the road to Otavalo, one is just outside of Quito with a giant statue and the other is behind the second one and looks like a little village.
I will touch on all 3 and then you can decide for yourself which one you would like to check out or perhaps you will check out all 3 like we did.
The first one we visited is on the road to Otavalo and our tour stopped there. It cost $2 each person and a guide gave a 20 minute presentation about the equator and the solar system. Very scientific and very interesting. The donation/charge goes to maintain the site and to the scientific organization to continue their research.

The second Mitad del Mundo is about 20 minutes north of Quito. You can take a bus from Ofelia bus station or find a bus in the city that says Mitad del Mundo on it. The bus will cost you about 40 cents. To get to Ofelia, you probably want to take a taxi that will cost you $5. You may be able to find a taxi to take you all the way to Mitad del Mundo for $15-$20. Once there, you can buy a partial pass for $3.50 or a full pass for $7. We just bought the partial pass and walked to the monument. There were also some dancers and stores selling souvenirs with surprisingly reasonable prices. Interesting about this Mitad del Mundo is that people say it's actually in the wrong place and not on the equator at all.

The third Mitad del Mundo is behind the second one. If you exit and walk north about 1/2 block, you will see the sign for Initian Museum. Turn left and walk up the dirt road. The museum costs $4 per person and I personally think this one is worth every penny. There is a 1 hour tour included in your entrance fee. Take the tour. The tour is given in English and Spanish.

The Initian Museum or the "real" equator

The guide explaining cultural traditions of the Indigenous people

The guide will explain how the Incas and Indigenous people lived, show you replicas of their homes and then take you to the "real equator". On the line, he will show you how water spins different directions, ask you to balance an egg, walk a straight line and explain why this happens.

This is a video of the water draining on the equator

                      This is a video of the water draining north of the equator. Can you see the difference?
The bottom line is there are many different places to stand on the equator and each comes with its own experience. But whichever one you choose, the fact that you get to stand on Mitad Del Mundo is just amazing. Enjoy!

Day Trip To Mindo

Quito is so central that there are lots of day trips just hours away. One of those is the small town of Mindo located in the nearby cloud forest.
You can get to Mindo by private car, day tour or by bus. Private car is about $50 each way. Day tours vary by company though we found most tours went to Mindo on Fridays. We took the bus which was surprisingly easy, quick and comfortable. The bus leaves from the northern bus terminal Ofelia. A taxi to Ofelia costs about $6 and you should ask the driver to drop you off inside the terminal. The area around the bus station is not safe. You can only buy bus tickets at the ticket office at the Ofelia bus station, but the bus schedule is online. We recommend you arrive at the bus station 30 minutes early to buy your ticket. You can only buy your return ticket at the office in Mindo. We recommend you buy it immediately upon arrival. We took along toothbrush and toiletries just in case we couldn't get a ticket to return and ended up spending the night in Mindo. No problem though.
The 2 hour drive to Mindo is beautiful as you wind through the mountains and into the clouds.

Main plaza in Mindo

Main street in Mindo

There are lots of restaurants, tour companies and souvenir shops on the main street and around the plaza. There are also numerous hostals in Mindo if you want to spend the night. Some activities in Mindo include ziplining or canopy, river rafting, a chocolate factory tour, orchid gardens, butterfly farms, bird watching and hiking to waterfalls. The tour companies along the main street can arrange any tours for you. I would recommend spending at least one night in Mindo. We only spent the day and we could have used more time and would have enjoyed having a hostal so we could relax in a hammock and enjoy the quiet of this small town.

The chocolate tour at El Quetzal

In our day there, we toured an orchid garden, ate Quinoa pudding and ice cream and took the tour of the chocolate factory. We found both tours to be very interesting. The orchid garden was located near the football stadium. It cost $3 per person and a guide showed us at least 30 different types of orchids.

Beautiful orchid

Tour of the chocolate factory

Quinoa pudding with mango and banana ice cream at Mishqui Quinde next door to the chocolate factory

We also took the tour of the El Quetzal chocolate factory where they make Mindo chocolate. It cost $10 per person but included not only the 1 hour tour, but tastings of different chocolates and toppings, cafe or chocolate tea, one of their world famous brownies and a cup of pure chocolate. I can't say enough about how great this tour was. You can also buy chocolate and coffee in their store at the factory.
We ate lunch at a pizzeria just off the main square which was very reasonable and tasty.

If we did this trip again, I would recommend spending the night in Mindo. There is a 6pm frog concert at Lago Mindo that I would have liked to participate in. Also on the way back to Quito, the bus goes right by Mitad Del Mundo and it would make sense to hop off the bus there to tour the Initian Museum at Mitad del Mundo. Check my next post for information on this wonderful hidden gem.

Visiting Quito

Quito is noisy and smoggy, but it also has a certain charm about it. We are living in Quito for 3 weeks while we volunteer at a daycare/preschool. I talk about our volunteer experience and our accommodations in other posts.

This post I want to talk about Quito. Like other big cities, I have visited, I would recommend only a few days in Quito and then using it as a base for daytrips outside the city like to Cotopaxi, Mindo, Otavalo and Los Banos. The Basilica in the old city is amazing to visit. You must climb the narrow stairways to the top to look out over the city. You need to buy two tickets at the Basilica, one to see the inside and one to climb to the tower. 

The Basilica

The amazing stained glass windows inside the Basilica

The view of Quito from the tower at the Basilica

You can easily walk the 6 blocks to see the  La Iglesia de La Compania de Jesus. This church is covered with gold on the inside. There were a number of tours going on inside when we visited so we were able to listen in and find out some of the history. It's an amazing church. There is also a small museum attached. There is a charge to visit, but they offer student discounts. There are different prices for foreigners and Ecuadorians though no one checks your passport. 

Speaking of passports, there are numerous warnings in Quito from just about everyone about pickpockets. We were advised to carry a copy of our passport instead of the real thing just in case. Also seasoned travelers know to wear their money etc. on them and not in a purse or backpack. Be careful on the buses too especially the crowded ones. By the way, the buses cost 25 cents per person per ride. There is a half price discount for students under 16 years old. 

We did not visit El Panecillo. If you decide to go there, we were told to take a taxi due to a large number of thieves hanging out on the stairs to climb up there. 

There are numerous plazas in the old city and a number of churches to visit. We walked through the Plaza de la Independencia below on our way to the Basilica. But we will be going back to the old city this weekend and I will add another post then. 

Plaza de la Independencia in the old city of Quito

Another view of the same plaza in the old city of Quito

Day Trip Out Of Quito

Much of the handicrafts you see in Quito are made in a town called Otavalo. We decided to take a daytrip out of Quito to visit this town and the largest open market in South America. The best day to visit is Saturday. The market actually starts early around 6am with a live animal market. I have heard that this is not for the faint of heart, these animals are being sold for food. We decided to skip this part of the market and arrive later around 11am.
You can get a public bus to Otavalo from Quito for just a few dollars, but I have heard that it is often very full. Otavalo is a 2 hour bus ride so be prepared if you go by public bus.
We booked a one day tour with Ecuatraveling.com. They have 5 stars on Tripadvisor and replied to my email within minutes. Betsy was excellent at answering my questions and sending me an invoice so I could book online.
We left Quito at 7am from Plaza Foch. The bus was small with just 17 people from all over the world; Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and the United States. The bus was new and very comfortable. One driver and a bilingual guide named Omar. Omar had a lot of stories and good information. There was also a supply of fresh water on the bus.
The first stop was at Mitad del Mundo. There are several Mitad del Mundos near Quito. This is the scientific or real one. The one closer to Quito we are told is for tourists.
We paid $1-$2 for an informative tour about the equator and astronomy. No demonstrations of water spinning different directions, but good information about how we all see the world the wrong direction.
Second stop was in Cayambe, a town known for biscochos or biscuits that you eat with dulce de leche and cheese that comes wrapped in a banana leaf. It is delicious and I highly recommend stopping here.
Next, we stopped at a vista Mira Lago to see the view and to purchase Panama hats for cheaper than in the market. They demonstrated how they make the hats and the different types of hats.
Then it's off to the Otavalo market for shopping. Bargaining is a must here and it's a great place to buy all your souvenirs to take home. There are jackets, scarves, mittens, socks, hats, hammocks, jewelry and much more. You could spend hours here shopping. Be sure to take an extra bag to bring home all your goodies.
After the market, we headed to the town of Cotacachi for lunch. Cotacachi is known for its leather shops and all along the main street are leather shops. Lunch was included on our tour which was a nice touch. It was a traditional Ecuadorian meal with a soup, entree (chicken, fish or meat) and juice. There was also a bowl of popcorn on the table to munch on.
Our guide, Omar, suggested buying some ice cream at the local shop after the meal. The ice cream is more like a sorbet. We tried Taxo flavor which is a local Ecuadorian fruit. It was delicious.
Last stop on this tour was Cuicocha lagoon. It is a volcano that erupted 300 years ago and then filled with water and fell in on itself. It exploded again 100 years ago and two islands appeared in the middle of the lagoon. I wouldn't make a trip out of Quito just to see the lagoon, but it was a nice stop.
The day tour cost $50 per person which included lunch. We had to pay for the entrance to Mitad del Mundo and for the bizcochos which cost $4 approximately depending on what you ordered.

Gorgeous view of Cayambe Volcano 

We are standing on the equator at Mitad del Mundo

Bizcochos with dulce de leche and queso in Cayambe

The largest market in South America in Otavalo 

The Laguna Cuicocha