Bob L Braendle: Left this world like he entered it... pihranna fishing. Missed by all.

Were in Quito, Ecuador!
It was hard but we finally left Colombia.
The people, the scenery, the food, and the night life, nothing compares and I will return without a doubt.
We spent almost three weeks there and had an amazing adventure. The sailing trip you have all read about, the manic bus rides through treacherous mountain passes and the incomparable hospitality. We thoroughly enjoyed Medellin and met some great people who showed us the city in ways we never would have on our own. We met a great guy named Oscar who took us to all the local bars and who spent a great deal of time looking out for our well being, maybe some day he will visit us in the states and we can return the favor.
We bussed to Bogota and spent a week living with an amazing family who gave us a room to stay in and fed us more often than we would have fed ourselves. Sofi was our host and showed us the local wonders which I have taken dozens of pictures of and am in the process of posting to the Flickr page. We explored the country daily and saw many incredible sights, Ill hit the highlight and let the pictures tell the rest.

We climbed to the top of Monserrate and visited the church at the top which overlooks the entire valley. The climb was exhausting, assisted by the extreme elevation in Bogota. Hand-laid stone stairs lead up the winding path and once you reach the top one can't help but feel as though penance has been paid for you sins and no confession is necessary at the summit.

We also visited the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá, an amazing underground salt mine which contains an enormous network of tunnels and religious sites unlike anything I have ever seen. Truly one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The pictures will blow your mind if I ever get them posted.

We flew out of Bogota and made a quick stop in Medellin before making the jump to Ecuador. Travel by air is preferable to the long arduous bus rides. We arrived here in Quito last night and proceeded to meet an interesting mix of English, Irish and Danish fellows. As per usual we went walking into the city around two in the AM until we came across a little Irish pub where we proceeded to drink the place dry. And once last call was announced we set off again on foot for some local cuisine. Our journey brought us to a restaurant where we procured some amazing burgers and our loud raucous "conversating" ensured that we were most likely not welcome back. Somehow we managed to load five of the eight of us in the back seat of a poor unsuspecting cab and reached our hostel The Secret Garden. A few short hours later Bob and AJ were inexplicably awake and after some much needed coffee we ended up talking with the travel guy here who showed us the Amazon river trip they offered and we were immediately sold. So now it seems were getting on a bus headed across Ecuador into the deep jungle where we will take a hand-made canoe deeper still into the wild darkness of the worlds most imposing rain forest. Bus leaves at ten tonight so if you don't hear from us for the next four or five days fear not, and if anyone asks or it all goes badly, AJ made us do it.

There has been so much going on and many more stories to be told and this brief correspondence does my readership great injustice. However I consider it acceptable for now and my excuse being that I went drinking with the Irish last night and couldn't possibly produce anything more. So please stay tuned for more updates, hopefully Sunday morning or so. Thank you all for your support and hospitality and new found friendships.
Check out the pictures.
Enjoy the stories.
Pray for Bob.

Until next time
-Dean