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After 14 years I decided to return to Ecuador for my honeymoon. I arrived last Saturday the 2nd, after taking the redeye from LA through Panama and finally arriving in Quito. Quito has grown, and is spectacular. More beautiful than I had ever known it to be. So much has changed but yet the integrity of the city remains the same. You don't see the garish advertisements as in the US or the mass amounts of fast food chains. It's remained historically intact and flourishes with family owned businesses.

We've been here now almost 6 days and yesterday was by far was the most invigorating / terrifying day ever. Monday mid day we left Quito for the south. As we approached Baños on Tuesday we could see Tungurahua (Ecuador's active volcano) exploding ash into the sky. We found it fascinating. We've been looking forward to being a part of this historical event. We made reservations to stay along the mountainside of the volcano at this beautiful eco-friendly spa called Luna Runtun. As we slept that night we heard the constant rumble of the volcano and felt the room shake with explosions every 15 minutes. I kept dreaming of lava soaring down the hillside. What kept us calm was that we were told the noise was normal and that we were safe.

At about 6 AM i received a frantic call from my aunt in Quito telling me that the volcano had started to erupt and that the area was now in the 'red' danger zone. Matt and I quickly sprang up from our bed and began packing. We barely brushed our teeth and we're out of our room within the 1/2 hour. I tried calling the reception desk but it didn't open until 7AM. As we were rushing out we noticed no one else was leaving so we began banging on doors and telling everyone the news we had heard. By the time the staff arrived they were calm and assured us there was nothing to be concerned with. Matt and I took no chances and continued south.

There were rumors of the roads south being closed so we decided to head east towards the jungle town of Puyo. The scenery was amazing. The landscape changed dramatically from a dry pines to a lush rain forest. We stopped to take a hike and ran into a couple traveling from the US by truck to the southern tip of Chile. They advised us that the roads were open so we turned around back towards the volcano and continued south once again. Baños was eerie as some locals walked out of churches with ashes on their heads while others jumped in caravans with suitcases and their families. The army had roadblocks into the area but we were able to get out.

The next town we visited was Riobamba. We had reserved a hotel there but continued on as the air was ashy and my asthma was aggravated. Everyone in the town was wearing masks. As we continued towards Cuenca we saw some of the most amazing scenery coupled alongside recent mudslides.

As we got higher into the mountains our ears popped and we entered a deep fog of clouds. We could barely see 3 ft in front of the car and the terrain was muddy and terribly pot-holed. I held my breath as we drove on both sides of the road, alongside a huge cliff the whole time. Fortunately we had been upgraded to a 4x4 (by luck) in Quito, which kept us from sliding too much or getting stuck.

As night began to fall we had no where to stay and no clear destination. There were only a few indigenous farmers and drunks alongside the road. After a couple of unpromising towns we decided to push through to Ingapirca- an ancient Inca town that had some tourist accommodations and ruins to visit the next day.

Today we finally settled in Cuenca. A gorgeously historically town where we're far from the volcano and disintegrated roads. On Saturday, we're headed to the coast towards Guayaquil were we've heard there have been massive floods. We hope that we can avoid further natural disasters...if not, we'll be able to have another great story to tell.

A honeymoon to remember.