Flowing River Resort

Flowing River Resort is the name of our dear friend Cynthia's dream come true. It has been at least five years in the making, and as any property, there is always more to do. Here are some pictures of the inside of the hotel, of course most of the rooms were occupied, so just know they are all different decorated. There is a Yellow Submarine room, with groovy mural painted on the wall, a Pink and girly room and more...

Entrance, lobby area and beautiful local artesian wood work on the stairs.

And what's behind the bamboo wall?

Jacuzzi tub! But wait, there's more!

The river view from the tub! We take bathing suits and use it like a hot tub, I was worried about wasting water, but Cynthia told me it was river water (tested better than US tap water) and so I didn't feel bad. It was so relaxing...

Some of the rooms, and bathrooms. Everything is really put together.

Our room, the I Love Lucy room (it has a Lucy pillow)

Common areas with wifi, tv, computer and printer for guest use.

Mosaic "rug" in entrance area

Another cute decoration in another hallway. She has a massage table, and tanning bed, so guests can schedule as desired, also mani/pedis and facials are available upon request.

Loaded exercise room with tv, but with this view from the treadmill, who needs it?

Dining room for large parties

Other dining room, with wonderful views of river and landscape.

And off the back patio, soon to be completed natural pool.

The soon to be screened in yoga studio, or event space has wonderful views too...

For the Opening weekend party, she hired local musicians, and we all had a great time!

Cynthia is in the gray.

The band played, we danced, ate a wonderful meal, then...

Fireworks! It was amazing, and then more music. The band played on and a good time was had by all.

What a beautiful place, and such a gracious host. Flowing River Resort and Cynthia will hold a special place in my heart for years to come. Just three hours south west from Quito, there is so much to do and see in this part of Ecuador. So, stay tuned...the adventure continues!

Jungle Fever

We were invited to the jungle again, and went. Our friend Cynthia has a property she has been working on for five years, she has toyed with the idea of it being a hotel, and we went for a "dress rehearsal" if the "hotel" was open and had guests. This post will be about the property and landscape.

This is the entrance, some plants have been moved and more added. The vestibule is getting tweaked, and there may be an awning so if it's raining, one doesn't get too wet unloading the car.

Behind you, (if you were looking at the entrance) there is an expanse of green, look close and you see this is a huge tree stump, over grown with orchids and other plants. One instance where pictures just don't do justice.

Work in progress, caretakers housing on the bottom, and what will be Cynthia's house on top.

Walk up the road, and see the property from a distance.

Farther up the road, and you see this land is part of a nature preserve...

Way back when, I took Horticulture in college, and am totally loving all the landscape and scenery! I wish I could just shovel up a bunch of plants and bring them home, but I know they would NOT enjoy the change of climate.

Flowers everywhere!

Wild begonias and lantana...

Huge ferns, and snails! Plants growing on any surface.

On the other side of the hotel, the river babbles onward...

And more flowers, planted in old tree trunks, love this!!

The ruins of the old caretaker cottage, and what is soon to be the yoga studio, or event area. (More photos of that next time)

The humming birds would come and drink from these flowers, where rain collected in them. They are called "microphones", can you see why?

Walk out to the road, the other direction, and we got to see some horses.

The one thing we get tired of is the lack of sun. It's not always rainy, sometimes it's just slightly misting, but after several days we felt very damp.

Of course the rain/moisture is why the landscape is so lush. We are blessed to have a friend such as Cynthia to invite us up for a change of scenery. But, as always, we are happy to return home to the beach.

And Pancho, the caretakers dog is always happy to see us, even if he does think the Chihuahuas are weird for wearing clothes. He wants to play with Shadrach, but Shad isn't sure either, so they just whine at each other, maybe someday. I'll gather the newest photos off the phone and post inside pictures and opening weekend pictures another time. So...stay tuned, the adventure continues!