Hi Folks,
Great you are enjoying yourselves and all is going well. Having a little snow here today and calling for freezing rain so fun, fun. The pictures are great and really enjoying them so keep them coming. So hi and take care and will talk later.

Hi brave travellers! Really enjoying your itinerary notes and great photos.You make it so easy to realize how people live in SA. Will add this site to "Favorites" Take care and safe travelling/exploring/eating/drinking!

it rained over the holidays, skiing sucked.
then we got enough snow for them to groom the trails across from kents', been out twice a day everyday since.
wish you were here,
glad to hear you're both doing well and having fun,
keep up the good work

Left Ipiales and headed for the Columbian boarder early yesterday...spent a great evening in a brand new bar opened by some local boys called the Abril...stumbled upon it completely by accident...it is not in the Lonely planet but it should be. We finished off our pizza conniseurs tour of Columbia with some amazing pizza...even had tomato sauce this time...we both polished off our entire pizzas in no time and washed them down with a few Corona's. Best pizza in Columbia! The atmosphere was very Canadian like, although the crowd was relatively young...they played old English tunes straight out of the 80's and before...cool though that they put this music on when we got there... we got a kick out of it. Stayed here most of the evening insted of heading out to another venue as planned - ordered even more food and really did it up. Ipiales has not much going on so we felt very fortunate to have found this place...only 3 blocks from Hotel Bellmonte. Went to bed early but neither of us got much sleep...I actually slept in my sleeping bag instead of the sketchy bed...lucky for us we were treated to an insanely cold torpedo shower in the morning and this definitely woke us up. Headed to Rumichaca on the Columbian side of the boarder around 9...you would not believe the line up. Lucky for us we got pulled out of line and directed to the front and got our stamp in about 1/2 an hour...then you throw your pack on and walk across the bridge to the boarder...this was the second time that morning as apparently our taxi driver has never left Columbia and is not familiar with the procedure...good exercise though. The Equadorian side of the boarder was lined up all the way out the back of the building and down the side...for no obvious reason. We sailed though without incident, another stamp, but only after another 2 hours and 15 minutes in line...it was now 11:45. Ferg said he has never spent this much time crossing any boarder...the only exception being when the boys were refugees at the Mongolian boarder for a night. We then exchanged our pesos for good old US dollars...the common currency in Equador - an attempt to stabilize the currency I am told. Caught a super jammed mini bus into Tulcan which only took about 20 minutes in total. It is crazy to be a foreigner here because as soon as they see you get out they want to grab your gear and get you to buy tickets for the bus...they even want to show you the bus and bargin to get you to buy...I guess they must work on commision. This drives Ferg crazy and I am not far behind...it really is too much, especially when you are constantly keeping an eye on you packs...even after they have been personally stowed under the bus. Ferg had a beer after this while we waited for the bus to depart...bus station had American snacks though and I couldn't resist the M&M's and Pringles. Ironically our snacks cost 7.80$ and the 6 hour bus ride was 8$US. Was completely unprepared to experience Equadorian transport...there were 14 people on the bus when we left & within 30 minutes there were people standing in the isles, as well as 6 more sitting up beside the bus driver. Constantly people are getting on and off. The bus literally stopped every 50m sometimes. Not exactly condusive to sleeping, we thought we scored great seats as it looked like Ferg would be able to stretch out his legs...instead he frequently had people almost sitting on his lap. They let vendors on and off the bus...some of these guys should sell time shares! We decided between us that a conservative estimate for stops would be between 150 - 180 times. Unbelievable!! was great to get off and stretch our legs after almost 6 hours of this craziness. Can't wait for the next bus ride tomorrow. Arrived in Quito and it is very high and very huge - approximately 1.7 million people live here. Were also very happy to see that our packs arrived...everyone along the way is constantly under the bus loading and unloading huge bags of produce and luggage...I don't know how they carried some of these bundles. Ferg's research on the internet really paid off and we are staying at a fabulous hostel this time...called the Chicago. The girl at the desk grabbed us 2 Coronas and we talked with her while they prepared our room. She spent 2 years in an exchange program in Ontario and her English is very good...had some good advice on where to visit. Our room is great and has warm water with a huge terrace overlooking the city on the 4th floor. Breakfast is included and you can eat out there and enjoy the view. Talked with a very nice girl from Peru over fresh squeezed fruit juice...so good I had 2 glasses. Finally got a real great sleep, unfortunately, when I woke up this morning I was not feeling too hot from the altitude...really serious headache but Dr. Ferg has been putting the water to me all day and I feel much better now. He seems to be unaffected, but I have never been up this high before...Rockies or no Rockies. We have gone from 63m above sealevel in Boston to 3900m in Quito - second highest capital in South America...LaPaz, Bolivia is number one...Bogata is number three. Had lunch at "Central Burgeur" - was really yummy...shrimp and rice for me and 1/4 chiken for Ferg. Then we went wandering around and had Cappicino & Tiramisu at the Pasaje Espejo y Garcia Moreno = the Centro Cultural Metropolitano...what a beautiful building. Visited another huge and beautiful church and bought a neat little painting from 2 little boys on the street. They should have been actors but I was able to bargin them down. Went further towards the end of the city and took some photos of the statue of an angel up on the hillside...then visited a local artisans market selling some cool handicrafts. Ferg found internet with a USB connection this morning while I was sleeping off my headache and we are back here now loading up some more photos...he is really doing a great job as it can be really slow and frustrating. Well hope you enjoy the photos, not sure what we are up to tonight but for any of you following in the Atlas it looks like we will be heading to Banos tomorrow. This place is small but has lots to offer - natural hotsprings, jungle setting, and a 60 km bikeride that is almost all downhill. Then on to the coast and even closer to the equator. The ride goes past many waterfalls and the best part is that a bus at the end will transport you back to civilization...my kind of ride. Hope they have internet too! Ciao.

What`s up, shout out to everyone, Mom and Dad, Capital boys, Pheonix x-country ski team and our new superstar Wes Ward, Kate it´s probobly alot warmer here than in Goose Bay, Anyone need snowboard lessons check Lee out at Crabbe he´s gone pro, Em what´s up at the bookstore, I´m screwed now cause you guys didn´t have the Ecuador lonely planet, I´ve got to go and copy a bunch of stuff from a borrowed one right now. Hope you like the pics It´s hard for me to get them on cause I´m not so smart. Columbia was awsome not dangerous at all, super cool cause there were barely any other travelers there at all only about 3 or 4 others at the festival in Pasto which was some of the craziest action I´ve ever seen probobly aboput 50,000 people crowding downtown all in the streets and two big squares where there were concerts going on non-stop, our hotel was on the main street so as soon as we left the place we were in the middle of insanity. It´s good people are so scared of Columbia cause noone goes there, there no mass tourism, no one tries to rip you off people acutally gave me money back when I overpaid them. If your not some guy working for an oil company, or hooked up with some rich columbian dudes your going to be OK for sure, It´s alot easier to kidnapp some local for ransom than try and arrange and international money transfer for some dirtball backpacker. People see some 15 second clip on the National about Columbia after a six pack of Alpine and automaticly become an authority on the security situation telling you how dangerous it is when they don´t know diddly. Ecuador seems nice, we´re going to a place called Banos tommorrow it´s funney cause that´s the spanish word for bathroom. There is an active Volcano there, people were evacuated from the town for over a year in 2000/2001 cause they thought it was going to blow, I´m trying to get Krista to go on a 60km Bike ride(it´s all downhill) but she says she´s just going to sit in the hot springs. After that it´s to a national park on the coast called Manchillia, then some beach/surfing on the coast then Peru but thats later Fergus P.S. The Altitude here gives you a hangover

Awesome pictures We're jealous!!!!!!!!

Hey guys. Hope you're having fun. It sounds awesome.

I just got in to Happy Valley- Goose Bay. It's cold here. Turns out that next week I am going to a place called Nain. At 56º it's the northernmost municipality in Labrador.

Sounds like you guys are having a blast, can't wait to see more pics, travel safe.

Great update - sounds like you two are having a fantastic time. As Wes said Fredericton is exactly the same - so we are all doing vicarious south american travelling through your updates. gets the old gypsy blood pumping though...

Have fun, stay safe

Scott

Well internet in the mountains sometimes turns out to be a challenge...we could not find anything in Pasto where we have been for the last 2 days...everything closed for the festival...if you want to know the original definition of the Gong show it definitely has to be the Festival y Blancos et Negroes in Pasto...where the celebration originated. It dates back to the days of Spanish rule and on the 5th of Jan. the negroes were allowed to celebrate with their masters permission...they painted their faces white...the next day approval was shown when their owners painted their faces black. Both of us freely admit that we have never seen a party of this magnitude before...population of Pasto is 320 000 and we are pretty sure that they were all out for this party. After a 6 hour bus from Popayan we discovered that our hostel was located exactly on the main party strip with massive squares blocked off for concerts on either side...nothing like being right in the action...we didn't even make it into our hostel before we got hit...packs and all. The nature of the celebration is mass choas...vendors sell bags of white powder- with which people either fill up squirt bottles or massive torpedo tubes or simply throw with their bare hands. This alone would not be too bad, unless you get it in the ears or eyes or mouth, however, they also sell aresol cans of white foam. The foam sucks and Ferg almost puked the first time because it smells so bad. I was super not impressed when I stepped out of the cab and got an earful right off the start...our packs are still covered. People show no mercy and you pretty much wear sunglasses for protection even at night & even that does not work. We were easy targets at first when we were super clean but that lasted about 2 blocks...bought some super cool hats made out of banana leaves from this guy on the street...everyone loved the hats but even they turned out to be heat as they attracted the attention of the locals simply as a curiousity. Lots of compliments though. I bought a super neat poncho as an extra layer of defence and for warmth...it can be pretty cool at night as we literally were up in the clouds.
The drive to Pasto was incredible...Ferg got some video and I hope it does it justice. I was super tired and fought to stay awake on the ride because I didn't want to miss a thing...we were up so high...first hour I thought the wine of the night before might do me in...Ferg said it was the most turns he had ever see on one road. (Night before after dinner we found this bar- the Iguana Afro Club that was super cool...played salsa and cuban music while showing videos on an old school projection screen- graet atmosphere.) We travelled on the top and edge of the mountains for hours before decending into the fertile Atiz Valley where Pasto lies. People live up here and farm way up on the mountain slopes...ledge style. The flowers even along the road are breathtaking...morning glories (same color as on your deck Mom), roses, clematis and many more I could not name. I am completely captivated by the flowers and trees here...cacti are at least 20 feet high. We even stopped at a roadside diner for lunch...Ferg said the chicken special of the day was tasty but I was not really up for eating and stuck to the Agua.
First night of the festival we attended a concert in the square and got completely covered in paint...people spot us and then say gringo...then smile then paint you up...at least after they gave us a shot of this stuff they call nectar...like scnapps, not bad. Ferg definitely got it worse than I & he wins for sure in the cool factor for how he handled it...some people walk right up to you and spray you full on in the face or down your neck...others are friendlier...you will laugh when you see the photos of the 2 of us. The music was awesome...especially by this white girl's rhythmically challenged standards...we had a lot of fun and ate homemade chips from vendors on the street. Day 2 we found a great parade almost by accident...huge floats with musicians and dancers...all ages...carrying towering paper mache(sp?) figures you could see coming for blocks...and you would not believe the colors...tonnes of neon and fabulous costumes all coordinated. It has to have taken hours of effort to produce this spectacle...was the highlight of Pasto for sure. It was around lunch time and most people were well on their way to becoming hammered...they definitely know how to throw a party down here. Wandered around all afternoon having a cerveza here and there...part of my coping mechanism...and then explored the North end of the city where we encountered a cool cat juggling machetes in the street. People are driving around with truckloads of passengers in the back just covering people with white stuff...extra love for Ferg for taking hits on my behalf...for the girl who isn't into Halloween it was getting to be hard on the head. We literally had not showered since we left the Monastery palace of luxury in Popayan...it would have been an exercise in futility. Hopefully the photos will give you some idea...but it was really unbelievable. All in all though it was a truly unique experience and a party we will likely not forget anytime soon. The streets are at least an inch deep in white powder and even the police are covered...no one escapes the madness.
This morning we caught the bus to Ipiales...about 2 hours & very pretty...now we are very near the Equador boarder...Ferg is doing research beside me as I write this. We found the boarder crossing in Rubarachaca and when we get there in the morning we will have to cross on foot. We are staying in a tiny hotel run by a nice Columbian family and found lunch at a place near by that was clean and fast...the service here continues to be great. Knowledge of spanish menu is also improving although the old pick and point prooves to be the most fun. Last night I ordered more Pescado (fish)...Trucha in fact, (trout)...when it showed up it was of course deep fried...head and all...now minus disintegrated eyeballs...but was also stuffed with bacon. Thankfully Ferg keeps rescuing me from the heads and kindly waits until I am finished before showing me how big their teeth are. He delights in stealing from Homer and teases me by saying "from living life...to my fork and knife" - Funny!Perhaps a new menu option for Canadians...nice big fish and I was hungry so conducted a science project and ate it anyway after handing the bacon over to Ferg who was having chicken wrapped with bacon covered in cheese sauce and mushrooms...although an adventurous eater by any ones standards he has had fillet mignon for breakfast the last 2 days. We are also Columbian pizza connaseurs(sp?). Today I am no worse for wear...Ferg calls it building up a tolerance for the countries to come. This afternoon we visited one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen...just outside of this boarder town is Las Lajos. A church was built there over a river where the virgin Mary was reputed to have been seen. People come from all over the counrty to visit this site and there was definitely a crowd...we took quite a few photos and walked down deep into the gorge below the waterfall. It was nice and sunny and definitely worth the trip. People were lighting candles and there were many little girls dressed in communion gowns with thier entire families. Also here are many plaques placed by people who have attributed miracles to the virgin...they cover the stones the entire way down the steep decent to the church. We are happy to be back on line and it make the day to hear from all of you at home...Tomorrow will be another country and the adventure continues...thrilled to have you all with us...Miss you! Kris & Ferg

Hey guys, how are things? Fredericton is the same as always. Joey and I went sking today for the first time. The conditions were really good. It took me a while to catch on to it, but after a while I got the hang of it. Soon I ll be sking circles around Joey. The bar is going well, had a good couple of weekday nights. Hopefully this weekend will be good. take care wes

Happy New Year's guys! Glad to hear you are having a blast! This site is great. can't wait to see more pictures. Take care. we'll talk to you soon.
Love Alana & Cory