Week 17
Sunday.
Border Crossing, the easiest one so far! We got up at 6:00am to catch
the 7:00am bus to Ipiales - the Colombian border town. Reading several
blogs we decided that this was the latest we should leave Popayan to
make our way to Otavalo in Ecuador.
The
bus dropped us at Ipiales at 4pm, where we caught a 5 minute taxi to
the Colombian border to get our exit stamp. We then walked over a bridge
to Ecuador to get our entry stamp and then jumped in a taxi for a 10
minute journey to Tulcan. Here we caught the bus to Otalavo. This
journey took us 14 hours in total and by the time we had reached our
hostel, we were both knackered!
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| Main square in Otavalo |
Monday.
After sitting on our bums for most of Sunday we both decided that we
needed some exercise. Researching for places to visit, we decided that Lago Cuicocha would be the best place to go for a day trip.
By
8:30am we had left the hostel and made our way to the local food market
to get some breakfast. We scoffed what seemed to be the locals'
favourite - cheese empanadas, deep fried tortillas, omelet and a hot
blackcurrant juice drink. All for $2! Bargain!
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| Pig head for breakfast? |
We
then caught the bus (25 cents - its cheap in Ecuador!!) to Quiroga and
caught a taxi to the starting point of our hike which was around volcano
crater, now occupied by a beautiful lake. The highest point was 3,450m.
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| Loved going down, hated climbing up!! |
Its
advertised that this should take about 5 hours to complete. Knowing
that we had to finish before this time to make it to our next
destination, we both zoomed round it in 3 hours!
After a quick hot chocolate break, we caught a taxi to Cotocacchi,
a small town famed for leather goods. I was hoping to buy a nice bag
here but didn't find one! I bought a lovely poncho instead!
We were absolutely knackered from our adventures today, and after scoffing our faces at Chimichangas, we went straight to bed!
Week 18
Tuesday. Our last day in Otavalo. Today Roland experienced the delights of stir fried pigs heart for breakfast! Gross! There were also other unidentified objects on the plate - best not to ask what they were so we just ate it!
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| The roast pork section was tasty |
After we wondered around the market, purchasing some handicraft goodies to send back home we caught the bus to the Ecuadorian capital, Quito.
While on the bus we had a´little incident´- my camera and money were stolen from my bag which was on the floor in front of me. I only realised this had happened when the conductor came over asking for money. Immediately I knew it must have been the man sat behind me, so I challenged him - this resulted in him giving back my camera (claiming he found it on the floor) and most of the money he had taken. Meanwhile while all this was going on, other passengers on the bus had called the police and the driver refused to let the man off the bus by keeping the front door closed. So as soon as the bus stopped, the man ran to the back of the bus and jumped out of the window (bum first) and ran away!
Anyway we finally arrived in Quito safe and sound, somewhat bemused by what had just happened and caught a taxi to our hostel. We spent the rest of the day wondering around Quito´s old town.
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| Where´s Wally? |
Wednesday. Ever since I was a little girl, after watching a TV programme about the equator, I always wanted to see water go down a plug hole without it swirling round! Today my dream came true! We made the hour journey to the exact location of the equator where I saw the effects of the Earth´s spin control water as it went down a plug hole! I was a very happy lady!
Note to other travellers - do not go to the `fake equator fun park´, otherwise known as Mitad Del Mundo. This a such a waste of time and money. About 300m further down the road is the much better Museo Solar Inti Nan where the exact equator is located and this is where you can do the fun experiments!
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| The only good thing about Mitad Del Mundo is having this picture taken |
In the evening we treated ourselves to a lovely posh dinner - loads of delicious meat and lovey wine, all for $65!
Thursday to Monday. We decided to attempt the Quilotoa loop so we caught a bus to Latacunga. The Quilotoa loop is a circular trek around lots of small villages in the heart of the Andean mountains.
The lady at our hostel, Hostel Tiana, was very helpful and with her advice we planned our route - no guide needed. I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about going on this adventure as I envisioned us getting lost somewhere in the middle of the mountains. However after a few wrong turnings during the first 12km hike, we made it to Chugchilán safe and sound.
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| Armed with a banana! |
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| Quilotoa Laguna - Formed in a volcano crater |
Chugchilan has a cloud forest nearby so we decdiced to ride horses there (didn't really fancy hiking uphill for hours at altitude). This was a great choice - we both had loads of fun with our guide Bernado. He was very knowledgeable about the medicinal properties of the surrounding plants and he showed us a number of plants that the Inca´s first used (and he still does!).
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| Roland experienced his first gallop!!! |
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| Inca earrings |
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| Hahahahah!!! |
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| Massive mushroom!!! |
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| ``Smell this´´ |
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| In the clouds |
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| The foal came with us, and was knackered by the end of the 4 hour trip |
The last leg of the Loop was a 21km hike to Sigchos. This was a beautiful walk taking us to the bottom of the canyon and following the river for most of the hike.
Luckily, for the last part, a passing truck driver offered to take us back up the mountain to Sigchos - free of charge. I was relieved as this saved us about 1 and 1/2 hours walking up a steep hill!!
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| Yay! |
We only had to wait in Sigchos
for an hour before catching the 2 hour bus ride back to Latacunga
.
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| I thought these were sausages! Take a closer look!!! |
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| Sigchos main plaza - the prettiest part of town |
We really couldn't face spending another night in Latacunga so we decided to grab our bags and get straight back on another bus to Banos.
Even though we didn't have a place booked, it was easy to find accommodation, thanks to our friendly taxi driver who took us to Hotel Banos - a budget hotel right in the centre of town.
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| The Basilica |
Monday. Today was a `nothing´ day. After all the travelling recently we needed to recharge our batteries. Roland spent the day snoozing in the hotel and I went to a nearby Beauty Spa and had about 2 and 1/2 hours of treatments for $45! I felt amazing afterwards.
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| Ionic foot detox - before photo |
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| 30 minutes later!! Dirty girl!!! |
Week 19.Tuesday. Banos is know for adventure activities so today we hired some mountain bikes ($7) and went on a 20km down hill adventure to see the Pailon del Diablo waterfall.
Luckily, on the way back, there was a truck waiting outside the waterfall car park which we quickly paid to take us back up to Banos for a fee of $10 - no brainer really! Not sure if our legs would have been able to survive the 21km uphill!
Wednesday. While we stayed in Banos we could hear the nearby erupting volcano (it sounded like thunder) but we could not actually see where the volcano was due to low lying clouds. While on the bus which we caught after breakfast, to head to Cuenca, we saw exactly where all the noise was coming from! Amazing!! Now I understood why all the cars in Banos were covered in ash!
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| Wow!!! View from inside the bus |
The ride to Cuenca only took 6 hours so we arrived in time to explore the city for a few hours in the evening - mainly admiring the churches. Afterwards we ate some delicious Thai food at La Joya Thai restaurant which satisied our chili needs!
Thursday. Cuenca is a lovely city and we both agreed that is was our favourite city so far in Ecuador. We wondered around the food and flower markets and walked endlessly around the pretty streets, finally settling down for something to eat at a nice Argentine restaurant, La Esquina for some serious steak and wine - delicious!!
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| Roland likes to think that he is a connoisseur - hehehehe! |
We were staying at the Alternative Hostel ($20) in Cuenca which is where I managed to add some decoration to the walls! Adding a powdered form of fruit cordial to a bottle of sparkling water was not a good idea! As soon as the powder mixed with the water, an eruption took place, spraying the entire room with frothy lemon flavour liquid - oops!
Friday. We decided to break up the journey to Vilcabamba and stay 1 night in a place called Saraguro. The journey to here took about 5 hours. We were hoping to see some interesting things here, including some beautifully dressed local Saraguro Indigenous people but unfortunately we only saw an ok-ish main plaza. The main day to visit is on Sundays when the village comes alive. Oh well!
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| Tried to take a sneaky photo of the lady to the left of Roland |
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| We were expecting to see more local people like these ... |
Saturday - Tuesday. On Saturday we woke early to make our way to Vilcabamba. By 9am we were on the bus towards Loja (1.5 hours, $3.5). Once at Loja we changed buses and an hour later ($1.5) we were at our lovely hostel Le Rendez Vous.
It was a lovely hostel and well worth the $35 a night which included a lovely breakfast. We had our own little cabin in the middle of the beautiful garden with a hammock to swing in while watching butterflies.
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| The butterflies loved this bush |
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| Avocado! |
Vilcabamba is know to the locals as the "Playground of the Inca" which refers to its historic use as a retreat for Incan royalty. It is also know as the Valley of Longevity and the area is considered to have the oldest inhabitants in the world!
We did see quite a lot of old people here, however they were not indigenous but mainly retirees from France and America!!
Many people come to Vilcabamba to relax and that is exactly what we did! We did manage to venture out for a couple of 3-4 hour walks in the surrounding countryside to earn some yummy food at the local restaurants.
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| "Get me outta here!!!" |
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| The onion rings were amazing!! |
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| "Hmmmm not sure about this snake juice!" |
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"Hoooooooooop" it was disgusting!! Pity there wasnt an after photo!
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Week 20
Tuesday. The bus to our next destination was not going until 6pm so we decided to make the most of the day and go on a horse ride to the Mandango mountain. We choose Holger's Horses to take us as so many people had recommended him and we were so pleased we did. The horses were absolutely lovely and in great condition - the best horses we have ridden so far. I rode a horse called Tornado (appropriately named!) and Roland rode a horse called Chocolatay.
Considering Roland had not ridden horses that much before our adventure, he is now starting to get the hang I of it! I think we may have a jockey in the making :-)
Now, I used to ride horses quite a bit about 20 years ago and I can honestly say I have never been tested as a rider as much as we have been on this trip. And this horse ride was another example! Tornado liked to go fast and as soon as I gave him a little squeeze he went for it. Whether it was on dirt roads, speeding round corners, on narrow rocky paths, 45% inclines up a mountain or foot wide paths on the edge of the mountain, he went for it (and I didn't look down!)! And so did Chocolatay when he was behind Tornado! Roland experienced his first real gallop - on the edge of a mountain and enjoyed it - there was a look of 'oh my god' on his face when he finally came to a stop behind me!
Holger's family live in the mountains and during a rest stop he took us to one of his farm houses. This is where it got all traumatic for about 5 minutes. Roland managed tread on a poor little kitten as he dismounted his horse! Poor thing! I quickly picked it up and nursed it better - after it let out a massive kitty yelp. I almost cried! Anyway the kitty soon forgave Roland and followed us up the mountain to get some great views of the valleys below.
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| Kitty came with us up the mountain |
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| The kitty forgave Roland |
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| Roland feeding the chickens some corn |
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| First time I have held a chicken! |
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| Our guide |
Wednesday. We arrived at the RERe Bed And Breakfast in Guayaquil at 6:30am and we were both very relieved that we could have an early check in - we went straight to bed!
Once we felt a little more human we explored the main tourist attractions of the city and in the evening we went to a locals haunt to indulge in deep fried fish goodies.
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| Las Peñas - lovely neighbourhood |
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| We stayed here |
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| On the water front |
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| Lighthouse on the top of the Las Piñas hill |
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| Plaza in the centre of town |
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| Iguana park ... |
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| ... there were loads of iguanas there! |
Thursday to Wednesday. This has to be one of the highlights of the trip so far. On Thursday we flew to the Galapagos islands! During our 6 day adventure we visited 3 different Islands; Santa Cruz, South Plazas and Isabella. The whole trip was organised by Galapagos Alternative - who did an excellent job ensuring that we didn't have to worry about a single thing during our adventure. We even had our own personal taxi drivers who carried our bags for us! A real luxury after 4 months roughing it!
Santa Cruz was the first Island we visited and we stayed at Mainao Inn for 3 nights. Much to the surprise of Roland and I, the main town was quite touristic with lots of restaurants and tour agencies. I think we both thought we were going to be the only ones on the island.
Our fist trip took us to the highland area on Santa Cruz. The main attraction for us here was to see the giant land turtles. They were HUGE! I really didn't expect them to be this big! Amazingly you could get right up close to them - you could hear them breath! Amazing creatures - I have now become slightly obsessed with them!
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| Admiring the giant turtles having a bath |
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| This one is over 150 years old! |
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| Didn't quite work out ... |
We also walked through massive lava tunnels and saw sink holes caused by collapsing lava bubbles.
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| Roland inside the lava tunnel |
In the evening we ate in an outside restaurant area where we had a delicious fish dinner!
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| Local fish market/ restaurant - with waiting sea lions and pelicans |
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| We ate the red fish - cant remember what it was called |
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| The outside restaurant area |
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| Leaving for the Santa Cruz bay tour |
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| First snorkel photo! - didn't sea much fish :-( |
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| Las Grietas |
After the tour we walked to Tortuga Bay Beach. The beach was gorgeous with loads of iguanas roaming about!
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| This is the only cactus in the world which grows like a tree |
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| Marine Iguanas on Turtle beach |
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| Very chilled out Sea Lion |
In the evening, Roland managed to completely surprise me by organising a romantic dinner at a posh restaurant to celebrate Valentines day - with the help of Galapagos Alternative. I was very happy to have an excuse to dress up and enjoy a few cocktails without thinking about the budget! The dinner was also very yummy!
On Saturday we toured South Plaza Island. The main highlight for us was watching the large sea lion colony and spotting a mixture of land, marine and hybrid iguanas.
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| Galapagos Gull |
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| On the way to South Plaza Island. |
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| Galapagos Shark!! |
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| Mum, Dad and baby |
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| Sea lion colony - most of them are in the pool area |
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| Each cactus had its own Iguana - waiting for the flowers to fall off |
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| Blue Footed Boobie |
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| Beautiful view from South Plaza Island |
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| Pregnant Sea Lion |
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| A Sea Lion, an Iguana and a Gull - cooling off under the cactus |
Sunday. We had an early start to make our way to Isabella Island.
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| On the way to Isabella |
Now this was more like it! Paradise! This is what we imagined the Galapagos to be all about! We had a ´free day´ today so as soon as we checked in at The Wooden House we grabbed some snorkel gear and headed to Concha de Perla. I had the most amazing experience of playing with a sea lion here! Absolutely amazing!
Afterwards, we walked along the 2km beautiful beach to soak up some rays and then headed out with Jasper for an Island tour visiting some flamingos, a turtle breeding area and the wall of tears.
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| Didn't expect to see Flamingos!! |
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| Checking each other out! |
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View point on Isabella
On Monday we had the morning to ourselves so we decided to spend it chilling on the gorgeous beach!
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| Graveyard on Isabella |
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| Bliss! |
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| I beat this crab to its hole - just so I could take this photo! |
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| Its a hard life! |
In the afternoon we went on a Bay Tour of Isabela (Las Tintoreras) and swam with marine turtles and rays for the first time! Superb! We also saw a couple of Galapagos penguins as well as nesting Iguanas!
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| Penguin, Booby and a Pelican |
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| How many can you spot? |
After our fun snorkeling, we went back to The Wooden House and enjoyed our last evening with a few drinks and a lovely dinner.
Week 21
Tuesday. 5am! Today was a day of travelling! A speed boat, 2 taxis, a flight, and an 8 hour bus ride ($17 each with CIFA) transported us from the Galapagos Islands to Máncora in Peru!
We have enjoyed Ecuador! The country has so much to offer - much more than just the famous Galapagos Islands. A one week adventure turned into 3 here. Now, onto Peru!
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