A Place So Beautiful It Invites You To Die (Sailing Curiosity)

Well guys I have a confession to make we've been up to a lot the past couple of days and we've not filmed any of it. There's a reason for that. All right so let's catch up. Thing number one we're on a mooring ball. Why are we on a mooring ball? We're going on a road trip. Road trip! Where are the chains? This traffic is intense. Don't wait for me. Traffic jam what are you gonna do about it? That's a mule. Sorry. In the road. It is just true. Just like Africa. Just like Africa. Except for it would be a lion. Or a zebra. Good girl. Seven hours and a good night's rest later we have finally arrived. We're here. We're here. So we rented this little apartment and it's got good wi-fi which is good for research and internet and work and all that good stuff. But the big question is where are we? Well we are in... They like coffee and I asked them if I could watch their pour over and so they brought it to the table. So this is Quito. We are in Ecuador in case you forgot. This is the capital of Ecuador, Quito. It's full of history but why are we here? Well we're here because we have to visit a French embassy and apply for our French Polynesian visas which is kind of a whole hubbub. It's a long drive to get up here. We thought we should do some sightseeing so we're going to be here for two weeks not here in Quito but kind of exploring Ecuador and that is what we're doing. A stout and a bourbon barrel stout. It's not light but it's pretty darn good. One to ten? Seven, six from what I've had in the past. I would agree with that. Nice mouthfeel. Let's score it. Look at all that fog. No that's not cool. Okay guys we're in Quito because my nerves are on high alert. We've spent the past, I don't know, two weeks researching, planning, printing documents for French Polynesia. We're trying to apply for a one to two year extended stay visa. That's why we came to Quito because the French embassy here takes a long time to get the approval. Anyway yeah I'm kind of nervous. Are you so nervous? I don't know. I'm excited. I guess maybe it's more excited to have it done but while we're in Quito we thought we should look around. We should take a couple road trips so later this afternoon we're heading super north like almost to Colombia and then we'll come back to Quito and play. I promise. Gotta leave cameras behind. All right that was easy enough. They just took our paperwork. Watch out behind you. And that was it. Payment $122 bucks and like 22 cents and yep yep all there. Okay that's it. You'll hear from us by whatsapp. Okay. All right. It's like all that preparation and it was like two seconds. I don't know. Felt like he should have asked me more questions or something. Fingers crossed it all goes well. Stress break. Gas is cheap here like $1.40 for like regular gasoline, $1.00 for diesel. The ride so far smooth. Pan American Highway. This part is just like butter like fresh tarmac. Great vistas. Just desert like if you've ever been to California or Oregon like deserty mountains. It's gorgeous. And where are we going? Tocon. Tocon. I don't know why. There's like some gardens up there. They're supposed to be really cool. It's like on the border of Colombia. We can't go into Colombia because we had to give away our passports to the French embassy. They kept them. But we're going as close as we can. It's supposed to be like this really cool little town and we've got this crappy expensive hotel that we're staying at. So it's gonna be an interesting couple days. I don't know if you can see how he was doing like juggling. You see it all the time but people you pay and some you don't. And how good your juggling is. He wasn't great. But he was happy. He was happy. He was a happy juggler. And I'm today. Look at that view. I thought it was gonna be a small town. I know, right? This is like legit. Tolcan at night. What? What? This is it. This is the reason we came to Tocon. This place right here. And what's the guy's name? Jose. Jose Franco. Jose Franco which was like 1936. Yeah. So he started this in 1936 because he was the caretaker of the cemetery. And it has evolved into this major work of art. And he died in 1985 and so now his five sons have taken over. And they keep the place up. Yeah. So we're supposed to see all kinds of topiaries with like Incan influence. Yeah. Animals. Animals. He created it to be a place that is so beautiful. It invites you to die. So that was his. That was his thought behind it. They come to life if you juggle them. It's crazy. It just goes on and on and on. And then the the topiaries feel more like a park. And a little bit like Alice in Wonderland. And then you get over here to this. And this is so different. I don't know. It's definitely got my wheels spinning. It's visually striking everywhere I look. And I just can't wrap my head around it all. So I hope I'm getting good video. That's all I'm thinking about. Am I making this look as good as it really does? It's really pretty fascinating. Definitely it was worth the trip I guess. Just this one thing alone. If we do nothing else this was worth the four-hour drive. Plus the drive was fun. Yeah. What's your mental state? I'm pretty blown away by all the love and care and effort and creativity and thought that's been put into this whole place. And it's pretty special being around around here seeing how each family has made a effort for their family members. And it's really beautiful and special. Definitely worth it. This guy here needs more attention now. They're working on that plot up there. And then that plot's done. That one's done. And then they probably come back here. Can you imagine how many hours and days go into just keeping this maintained? I would think every day. Yeah. Super fascinating. It smells good too. Let's get crazy out there. Come back to the room. By the way, this is our room. See? Fabuloso. Fabuloso. $70 a night for the three of us. I know. And this, that's it. That's the room. That's the tour other than the bathroom. We came back. Stuff's getting crazy out there. People are throwing foam, like colored flour. But why? People with water because it's carnival. I'm sorry. I'm gonna scare the kids. You're making Kate laugh from the bathroom. Do I drop off everything? We can only carry the one little tiny camera that's waterproof because it's gonna get only crazier and crazier as the day goes on. Yeah. Welcome to our room. That's the story. We're going for coffee. Don't get me tingling. All right. Ant up for tonight. Party. Talk more. You gotta work first. No, you're not supposed to tell people that. She's gonna jump right into the party. I guess so. It is pre-carnival play time out there and there's a little bit of celebration going on here. We've heard that's quite intense and if you're not Ecuadorian, aka a bunch of white people, then you're basically a running target. So we are wearing our raincoats, not as an invitation, but hopefully as a little bit of protection. And we're hoping it's not too bad. But we've been told and we've read. It's bad. I'm scared guys.