Feliz Cumpleaños Abuela!

My favorite photo of my Grandmother and me.

Today is my loving Grandma’s Birthday. For my entire life she has been a constant source of support and understanding and I am deeply grateful for all the special gifts she has given me. Her passion for travel and adventure spurred my own, and without her encouragement, I don’t know if I would have had the nerve to set out of this trek around the world.

A wild orchid in the Cloud Forest in Ecuador. Orchids are one of my Grandmother’s favorite flowers and it was amazing to see them growing in the wild.

Something else that I definitely inherited from her is her love of plants and flowers. My grandmother can make anything grow and I have loved the times we spent walking through gardens and parks, with her telling me about all the different plants. These have been incredibly special times to me, talking and laughing, and I only hope that when I get back to the States and have a garden of my own, her knowledge will have rubbed off on me. (Or at least she’ll be by the phone ready to answer my millions of questions!)

These beautiful flowers will slowly grow wonderful and delicious fruits from their centers. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite grasp their names well enough to try to spell them!

During this trip we have seen some incredible and exotic flowers. There were wild orchids in the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest, gorgeous hibiscuses in the Galapagos, and crazy and wacky plastic looking flowers in the Amazon. Flowers are everywhere and their beauty is universal, allowing me to often bond with locals as they tell me a bit about their gardens.

Some of my favorite flowers from the jungle. The bottom one especially was incredible and about the craziest flower I have ever seen.

So this post is dedicated to you, Grandma, thank you for everything you have given us. We love and miss you so much and while we can’t be there today, know that we are definitely thinking of you. Have an amazing Birthday and a wonderful year til we see you again!

 Some wildflowers in Ecuador.

 These exotic flowers grew all over the jungle and had the loveliest perfumes. 

Just a few more of the wacky flowers from the jungle.

This gorgeous tree was in bloom all over the Galapagos. It often seemed like it was snowing delicate, orange petals as you were walking around in the town. 

Happy Birthday Grandma! Love, Chris and Mindy