30.04.11 - 01.05.11 Vilcabamba

After leaving the disaster struck Banos we caught a bus south towards the Peruvian boarder to Loja. We arrived at 1am and after a 7 hour sleep we caught a local bus to Vilcabamba, famous for long life. Whilst rumours of 130 year old people are exaggerated studies have shown that the population of this little remote town live longer than anyone else on earth. Upon arrival it was easy to see why. This place was idyllic; a remote tropical town nestled between lush green valleys. The area benefits from an eternal spring climate with glorious sunshine and afternoon rain showers you could set your watch by.

Nearing the end of our trip, and having stayed in dingy dives, we decided to treat ourselves and opt for the best hostel in town, the heavenly Ischcayluna. This German run oasis was by far the best place we have stayed.  Hidden amongst tropical gardens overlooking the town and the surrounding hills the hostel consisted of lodge style cabins with balconies and hammocks. Perfect for a couple of days relaxing before the mammoth journey home and the impending bedlum of finding a house, a car, moving in and starting back at the ‘w’ word.

After chilling out for the first day I was starting to get a bit restless and the Manchango hills across the valley were calling out to be conquered. The following morning we woke to find huge golf ball sized lumps on Rachel’s hands where she had been bitten by, we think, ants. We managed to find a chemist where a guy gave us some tablets to reduce the swelling. Satisfied that Rach was going to be ok I decided to tackle the 4 hour ridge walk along the Manchango Loop. After struggling to find the path I cut my way through brambles in blistering heat and made my way to the first summit in under an hour and continued across the ridge which way only 2 feet wide in some places.

I had been warned of a barking dog near a farm house and was pleasantly surprised when I ran past in silence with only a few inquisitive looks from cows. After dropping down the valley and running through streams I made my way back towards the road when disaster struck. I came across a clearing and saw a huge dog spot me. Immediately it stood up barking running straight for me. To my delight it was tied up and it stopped short just in front of me. Then I heard more barks, within seconds another dog, this one untied, came running around the farmhouse barking and going fang-out crazy. I pretended to pick up a stone which did nothing other than almost put my face in the dogs mouth. I decided to run. The dog chased me off it’s property and to surprise I escaped without being bitten. I did the whole 4 hour loop in just 2 hours. I think the dog helped!

Back at the hostel I found Rach relaxing, we had lunch, relaxed some more, had dinner and slept ready for an early morning bus to Piura in Peru to catch a connection bus to Lima where we catch our flights home. Gulp!

27-30.04.11 Banos

Whilst Ryan was tackling Volcan Cotopaxi I headed off for the first night on my own to a little town called Banos.  The bus headed south between the two Andean mountain ranges the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central forming the 'Avenue of Volcanoes'.  As soon as the bus left Latacunga I was rewarded with spectacular views down the valley of the two mountain ranges and the sight of a large bloom of grey smoke heading out of the top of a clearly active volcano.  My initial excitement turned into apprehension as I pulled up into Banos under the shadow of the active volcano Tungurahua.

The smoking crater of Tungurahua 8km away from Banos

As soon as I checked into the hostel I got straight on the web to find out that Tungurahua had been active since 1999 and erupting on and off since 2006.  The last  major evacuation of Banos had been in Dec 2010.  No sign on the searches that the eruptions were in a critical state at present so I relaxed and spent most of the day wandering the town and eating lots of nice food.

Ryan arrived the following day and we made plans to hire out some bikes to cycle part of the 61km road from Banos to the jungle town of Puyo.  The next day we donned our lycra and helmets and cycled down the hill stopping at the Agoyan hydroelectric plant, several waterfalls and 'tarabita' cable cars on the way. 

Spectacular views down the valley

The Manto de La Novia (Bride's veil) waterfall

After about an hour or so of riding we stopped to watch some 'bridge jumping' which is like a bungee but from a bridge and you are left swinging instead of bouncing.  I asked Ryan if he fancied it and to my surprise he said yes!  After Ryan's adrenaline buzz we cycled a little further to the village of Rio Verde to walk the 2.5km down to the 'Pailon del Diablo' (Devils Cauldron) waterfall. 

Pailon del Diablo waterfall

 

A friendly 'freshly squeezed orange juice' vendor on the way down to the falls

During our ride we had heard about another bridge jump in the centre of Banos with a drop of 125m - much more than the first Ryan had attempted.  And so it was, two in a day.  We think after the failed attempt of Cotopaxi this was his way of 'blowing off steam'.  Crazy boy...

The following day we had an early breakfast in preparation for our walk to the villages of Bellavista and Runtun for some closer views of the volcano crater.  After breakfast, I was surprised to notice that it was raining.  Whilst I was packing the bag, Ryan went outside to collect the socks that were drying on the chair and came back in with a strange look on his face.  'It's not rain' he said 'it is falling ash'.  He went downstairs and checked the street outside and found that a fair amount of ash had fallen in Banos from the Volcano 8km away. 

Many of the communities in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador practice the tradition of 'minga' which is basically a community work project.  All these locals are helping the officials clear the streets of volcano ash.  It would be nice to see more of this in the UK methinks...

With our walk written off, we decided to leave the apocalyptic Banos a day early and head to Vilcabamba, 12 hours south towards the Peruvian border.  On our arrival we checked the British Government website to find there had been a natural disaster warning travellers not to visit the town of Banos due to volcanic activity.  Turns out that on the day I arrived in Banos, Ecuador's National Agency of Risk Control issued an orange alert for the immediate surrounding areas of the volcano.  Glad we left when we did!

23-27.04.11 Quilotoa & Cotopaxi

After a brief stop over in Quito on our way back from the jungle we caught a bus to the forgetful city of Latacunga, jumping off point for Lake Quilotoa and the Cotopaxi Volcano. Latacunga itself is a large city not worthy of words other than it sits within Ecuador's 'Avenue of the Volcanoes'. The following day we caught a bus to Lake Quilotoa, this 800 year old volcano crater lake is said to be one of Ecuador's must-see sights. We set off on the 4 hour circuit of the lake and after a few minutes were joined by a friendly German bloke called Marco. What we thought was going to be a rather leisurely stroll turned out to be quite an epic. At 3,800 metres the circuit continuously dropped and climbed 250 metres leaving us gasping for air. The views of the lake were stunning, at least for the first half until the weather closed in.  The heavens opened, lightening struck and thunder erupted. The mist gave way every now and then to tease us with views of the lake. Back in Quilotoa, where we started, we caught a ride in a pick up truck back to the bus stop to Latacunga. Despite the weather we had a fantastic day out walking and at the very least it was good to acclimatize for Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano is the world.

The 800 year old crater Lake Quilotoa, the circuit was a lot longer than it initially looked.

Rach around the half way point just before the heavens opened with German Marco in the distance

After a day of relaxing I booked a guide to climb Cotopaxi. Having been uncomfortable at altitude Rach decided to give it a miss and instead of waiting 24hrs for me to return she decided to head to Banos where I would join her after my climb.

Cotopaxi is 5,897 metres above sea level making it 1,000 metres higher than anything we have done. Acclimatization is crucial and should not be underestimated. I said goodbye to Rach and met my guide Emilio who drove us to the parking area 200 metres below the Jose Rivas refuge at 4,800 metres. Joining us in the jeep were 2 Norwegian girls and their guide. To my surprise they told me they had just come from the Galapagos Islands at sea level and were not acclimatized at all. After a 200 metre climb we arrived at the refuge at 3pm. After dinner we sorted out our gear and practiced with the crampons ready for the midnight ascent. Cotopaxi is climbed at night when it's cold so the snow and ice is hard to reduce the risk of avalanche. Being a near perfect cone shape an avalanche at the top would have no respite. We went to bed around 7pm. After not sleeping a wink in 4 hours we set off at midnight in pitch black armed with head torches, ice axes, crampons, harnesses, ropes the lot. I was advised that the ascent takes between 6 & 7 hours with a 3 hour descent.

My guide Emilio (left) and Paul, another guide, not favouring the conditions the evening before the climb

Arriving at the Jose Rivas refuge the evening before the climb

 Sunset from the Jose Rivas refuse around 6.30pm, shortly before going to bed

Midnight at the refuge, geared up and ready for the off

 

The weather conditions were horrendous. It was snowing constantly. The progress was slow and after 2 hours the Norwegian girls were forced to turn back due to altitude sickness leaving me and Emilio to plough on towards the glacier ice shelf. After a further 1.5hrs Emilio carried out some checks with his ice axe in the snow and said that conditions were very poor. He dug 2 foot into the snow only to find slush. This meant there was a significant risk of avalanche, not immediately but during the descent in the morning when the sun heats up the snow. Nightmare!! Roped together we decided to continue a further 30 minutes and carry out some further checks. To my horror after climbing a short way up the glacier a guy and his guide came the opposite way saying the risk of avalanche was just too high. We walked another 10 minutes determined to get as high as possible. Emilio decided enough was enough and made the call to turn back. In my head I know it was the right decision but in my heart I was gutted.  Having feared altitude sickness I actually felt really strong and didn't struggle at all, I wasn't expecting the weather to put a stop to things.

Putting on crampons, in the dark, at 4,800 metres took some effort. The light here is from my camera flash

We returned after only 4 hours walking and only reaching 5,300 metres due to the conditions. Way behind schedule. Back at the refuge I tried to catch some sleep but it was futile, my mind was racing. We set off back to Latacunga at 8am. The ride back was more terrifying than the climb. We dropped a couple of hundred metres in snow in an antique death trap jeep with bald tyres and no traction.

Loading up the death trap

Back in Latacunga I quickly got the rest of my gear from a storage room in the hostel and caught the first bus to Banos to meet Rach. On the bus my mind was still racing but I concluded with this thought; better to have tried and failed than to have tried and died. I totally respect the decision to turn back. Cotopaxi is not going anywhere in my life time. It can wait!

19-22.04.11 Amazon Jungle, Cuyabeno Reserve, Ecuador

After missing out on the Bolivian and Peruvian jungle due to floods and over inflated prices we decided to take the opportunity to enter the Ecuadorian Amazon region known as the Northern Orient and into the primary rainforest area of the Reserva Faunistica Cuyabeno. Reaching this remote area was always going to be difficult and time consuming but we thought it was worth it. We caught an 8 hour overnight bus to the ugly oil town of Lago Agrio 12 miles from the Columbian boarder. The contrast between this town and the bewildering natural beauty just beyond exemplified the ongoing 40 year battle between the oil industry, who are eager to get their hands on the oil under the jungle, and conservation in the region. The UK government website said that the town had also been infiltrated by Columbian FARC guerillas and that the town was considered a dangerous area. In other words not a place to hang around looking like lost gringo's.  Upon arrival we quickly jumped in a taxi to a restaurant where we met our transport to the Cuyabeno reserve. After a 3 hour bus ride followed by a 3 hour ride in an open canoe down the Cuyabeno River we arrived at the stunning Nicky Amazon Lodge, our home for 3 nights.

Our boat driver looking suitably impressed as we fumbled around with our gear

Our lodge was fantastic. Built on a raised wooden platform with completely open sides and palm roof it really gave the impression of being outdoors in the wild. To Rachel's delight, the bed had a hanging mosquito net to keep away nocturnal nasties. After dinner we went on a short jungle night walk around the camp. It's the rainy season here so much of the jungle floor was flooded. Armed with wellies we waded through the dense jungle in awe of the cacophony of sounds from whatever is was that was watching us.

The Nicky Amazon camp, our home for 3 nights

Rach on our first night's jungle walk

As we retired for the night we got back to our lodge to do the routine checks for any creatures that might have fancied a bit of company. At the side of the bed a foot away from my pillow I found a frog chilling out and minding it's own business. The second night we found a salamander in roughly the same spot and a small tarantula in the bathroom on the look out for some insects. It was all part of the experience. The sounds that night were incredible. Birds, monkeys, crickets and other unknown creatures were calling to out each other throughout the night. It was pretty spooky but a sound I will never forget. Surprisingly Rach and I both slept really well, no doubt due to such a manic night bus, severe bends, a careless driver and a day of travelling. Well worth it though.

Frog next to our bed. Chilling out minding it's own business

The following days were spent cruising the local rivers and lakes with the help of our expert yet incoherent Ecuadorian guide Patick and the rest of our group. Once again we had fantastic company by way of two German lads (Armine and Daniel), two Aussie Ladies (Jo and Catherine) and a family from Los Angeles (Brent, Kalene and Erin).  We were quickly spotting groups of squirrel monkeys, howler monkeys and pocket monkeys, all of which were super fast and impossible to photograph. At one point whilst our guide Patrick was explaining the behaviour of the squirrel monkeys Brent spotted a snake in a tree directly in front of us. It was around 1.5 metres long and whilst it was incredibly secretive and good at hiding Patrick soon identified it was a Amazon Rainbow Snake. However, I was a bit suspicious because it looked very grey to me!

The second day was an early 5.30am start to get to the top of a nearby bird tower to watch macaws and parrots. Or so we thought, Patricks daily itinery was constantly changing and something that on he was party to. If Patrick said we were going bird watching, that meant a boat trip. If Patrick said we were going swimming, that meant we were going for a jungle walk. It was actually pretty funny and the source of much banter amongst the group. That afternoon we visited a local community and had a look where the children go to school followed by a visit to a local family who gave us a tour of their gardens. The lady of the house proudly showed us her home grown cacao, coffee beans, papaya fruit, coconut and root vegetables which we all tasted to varying levels of enjoyment. Everything was going great until their pet monkey jumped on Rachel's head and sank it's claws in. Fortunately Rach was ok if not a little shaken and glad to be back on the boat heading for another jungle walk.

The Amazon community we visited on the second day

The dense jungle beneith the canopy

The walking palm. This bizarre tree 'walks' up to 1.5 metres in any direction towards the light

Squirrel Monkey - I think. They were really fast and very difficult to photograph

During the trip I really wanted to see a snake, preferably the elusive Anaconda. I actually saw two snakes so I guess the box was ticked. Unfortunately one of them was 3 metres way and the one I did get to see up close was tiny. It was more like a worm in fact. As expected the jungle has it's fair share of mosquitoes. Even when smothered with repellent the mosquitoes here still bite. They even bite through clothing drawing blood. After the second day we were covered in bites and poor Rach got the worst of it. Not surprisingly her skin must taste a lot better than mine and she was covered in itchy bites, one of which swelled up like a golf ball. We are both taking anti-malaria tablets so were not too worried and now we are out of the jungle the bites are starting to disappear. Phew!

Me with the snake (more like worm) we caught swimming in a lagoon off the Cuyabeno River

The culprit that jumped on Rachel's head

All in all the jungle trip was a fantastic experience. Putting up with the humidity and the mosquitoes was well worth it. As we left the lodge it started to rain, Amazon style. We set off in the canoe for our 3 hour boat ride up river back to meet a bus back to Lago Agrio. We were given heavy duty ponchos which the rain pierced through in minutes. Well, this is the rainforest I suppose.

16-18.04.11 Mindo

As a bit of a respite from the city of Quito we headed to a little town called Mindo situated in the pristine Bosque Protector Mindo-Nambillo tropical cloudforest for a spot of bird watching and adventure.  After a brief visit to view a room in a not very pleasant house (in which resided 7 dogs) we found a room in a lovely hostel called the Birdwatchers House.  True to it's name, there lived a birdwatcher who displayed fantasic colourful photos of the local birds throughout. The hostel included a bird garden where in the morning and afternoon there was a frenzy of hummingbirds fluttering about the bird tables.  It was amazing, if only we had a decent camera to take some 'in flight' pictures.  

Humming birds in the garden of Birdwatchers house

Unfortunatley, the evening was wiped out by the daily rain storm but we booked ourselves a tubing trip down the Mindo River and Zip-lining for the very next day.

We caught a lift with the agency to the start of the tubing spot, not quite knowing quite what to expect.  Turns out we were in a group of 4 and the 'tubing' was 6 tractor inner tubes tied together with two guides literally running us down the river.  It was such good fun hurtling down the 3km stretch of river in the tropical sunshine, even when Ryan's tube burst we couldn't stop laughing!  Well worth the $6 we paid for it.

 After the action, tubes in the background...

Next stop, approx 2km walk up the hill was Mindo Canopy Adventure for the zip lining.  There was 13 different lines which were arranged into a sort of assault course with a spot of walking though the cloudforest inbetween.  The lines ranged from 20-400m in length and upto 250m off the valley bottom.  Although I have no problem with heights, a was pretty aprehensive about flying unassisted for such long distances.  Safe to say after whizzing down the first 350m line I got well into the swing of things, although not as much a Ryan flying upside down and in the superman pose.

After a morning of adventure, we continued up the hill through the cloudforest in search of the cable car which would carry us across the river bottom.  Not sure if we didn't walk far enough of was on completely the wrong road but we never found it and turned back to the town.  The heavens opened for the daily downpour and we hitched a lift with a friendly local to sit out the rain in our hostel.

A couple of 'action' shots

After the previous day of adventure we had quite a tame morning by visiting the local butterfly farm 'Mariposa de Mindo'.  When we arrived it was full with the blue rinse briggade that had just jumped off the latest tour bus.  We nearly didn't enter but after the 45min walk in the sun it would have been silly to have turned back.  We were glad we didn't and after a brief introduction by the butterfly boffin (curator come guide) about the different phases of a butterfly's life we turned into butterfly spotters for the next half hour.

A couple of piccies of the beautiful species...

The one below has an eye on it's back to trick it's predators into thinking it's a snake

14-16.04.11 Quito

At 2,850 metres above sea level Quito is the second highest capital city in the world. It is home to 2 million people. The thought of another large city didn’t really appeal to us but passing through is essential as it’s the primary transport hub in Ecuador. That said, the city itself is pleasant and a visit to the old town, known as El Centro Historico, was a must.

We caught the guided Metrobus from the gringo filled Mariscal in the new town and headed towards the Plaza Grande and the Plaza San Francisco in the old town. Both fine examples of colonial architecture with beautifully preserved churches, monasteries and cobbled streets. As the bus arrived we were greeted with a wall of facial flesh pressed up hard against the glass. It was heaving and there was no way anyone was getting on or off. The next bus came and went squeezing perhaps 2 more people on, next up it was our turn. After letting some granny fight her way off with a corn on the cob we squeezed on for the 10 minute journey. It was very intimate indeed. A pick pocket could have literally strip searched me and I wouldn’t have noticed.

The Plaza Grande

 The Plaza Grande

After exploring the Plaza Grande we walked up the hill to admire the gothic grandeur of the Basilica del Voto National. It was a bit like Notre Dam but the grotesque gargoyles have been replaced with animals from the Galapagos Islands. I was amazed that this church in only 120 years old. We climbed the unnerving steep stairs and ladders through the roof structure up to the 110 metre high tower. The views across the city were spectacular. I turned around to savour the moment with Rach but she had already disappeared back down the ladder with trembling knees and a case of the shakes.

Rach high up on the exteral ladder of the Basilica del Voto

Gargoyles replaced by creatures from the Galapogos Islands

 The following day we caught a bus 20km north to the town of Mitad Del Mundo (meaning middle of the world), aka the Ecuator. Here there is a complex with different pavilions describing the experiments of the Frenchman Charlres Marie de la Condamine’s which proved the position of the Equator. It was pretty mind blowing to say the least. The centre piece of the complex was a tall monument and of course a long line running from west to east splitting the planet into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Naturally we took ‘the photo’ of each of us straddling the Ecuator. 

Me with one foot in the Northern hemisphere and one foot in the Southern Hemisphere, 

or not as it turns out!!

Now here’s the funny bit… The location of this line and monument was decided in the mid 1900’s based on mathematical triangulation carried out over 200 years. Imagine how frustrated they we when some clever dick used a GPS in the late 80’s which actually put the Ecuator 200 metres down the road.  At the real Equator we visited a small but fascinating museum where we were shown a number of bizarre Jonny Ball-esque demonstrations.  These included water running down the plugholes clockwise and anti-clockwise 1m each side of the ‘real’ Ecuator and without a vortex at all on the line. Gravity also does some strange things.  For example, I was able to balance an egg on a nail point but unable to walk along the line with my eyes closed without swaying. We learnt some pretty interesting facts too. At the Ecuator it gets light and goes dark exactly the same time every day all year round, there is no equinox, there is no shadow at noon, hurricanes or typhoons are physically impossible and there are only 2 season each year. Wet and dry.   

Me in the Southern Hemisphere, Rach (mostly) in the Northern Hemisphere at the 'real' Ecuator

Jonny Ball knows all... A range of fascinating experiments along the Ecuator

Things then turned even more surreal. During this visit we were shown how to make a shrunken head. This bizarre ritual was carried out by the indigenous Shuar people who shrunk the heads of their dead enemies and used them as trophies. Perfectly rational behavoir I thought. They shrink to less than a quarter of the size. So, if ever you need to shrink someone's head this is my step by step guide. 1. Cut off the head leaving the neck on. 2. Remove the skull. 3. Hang it upside down. 4. Steam it for a couple of hours over a medium heat. 5. Sew up the mouth. 6. Insert hot coals into the head to retain the shape. 7. Display as a trophy of war. 

Genuine shrunken human head on the right. Head of a sloth on the left. Nice!

I think that's an appropriate place to end this post.

12-13.04.11 Guayaquil, Ecuador

After speaking with a number of bus companies, we quickly found out that the only direct buses to Ecuador were via Guayaquil in the south-west instead of our preference of Loja in the south.  We changed our itinery at the last minute and booked a bus ticket for the next day.

It turned out that the ‘direct’ bus ticket we were sold entailed two different bus companies and 3 hours in the northern city of Piura, Peru and no food as promised.  The less said about that journey the better and 18 hours later we arrived at Guayaquil.  The humidity of the coastal jungle hit us as soon as we jumped off the bus and after a quick bite to eat we were flying down the highway in a taxi through one of the most modern looking cities we have travelled through to date.  With no reservation and very few budget hostels mentioned in our guide book, we headed for the ‘Parque Seminario’ where most of the hotels seemed to be located.  Ryan (a man with expensive taste) suggested we head for the Continental Hotel which turned out to priced at around $95.  Although he did his best at haggling, with the best will in the world they were never going to drop their prices by 70% so we headed back out in the heat to continue our search.  On the way out the bellboy asked our price range and he kindly took us to a more suitable but still over priced hotel.  The central location was great though and enabled us to get straight out exploring.

Catherdral, Parque Seminario

Our first stop was the Malecon Project which was definitely a highlight of the city.  Completed in 2000, the 3km long waterfront project along the River Guayas includes a botanical garden which houses more than 300 species of coastal plants, numerous plazas, the La Rotunda monument commemorating South Americans liberators, IMAX cinema and a number of food courts to mention but a few.  A really successful urban design project (although some of the architecture is questionable) which is well used both day and night by the locals as the cities’ amenity space.

La Rotunda Monument commemorating Simon Bolivar and San Martin, South America's liberators

At the end of Malecon is another recent renovation project of the artists’ area of Las Penas.  With a similar feel and look to Valparaiso in Chile, old cobbled streets and steps wind their way up to Cerro Santa Ana providing some great views across Guayaquil.  A real bonus for both projects is that a significant number of security guards are on watch protecting both the locals and tourists from inevitable street crime of a relatively poor district.  

Ryan posing in Las Penas

We ended our day by wandering through the city in search of a restaurant to eat which was a surprisingly difficult task.  We were obviously looking in the wrong area as all we could spot were shops, cafes, churches and the odd Chifa (Chinese).   

One of the many colourful churches of Guayaquil

We walked through the Parque Seminario on the way back to the Malecon Project and were pleasantly surprised to see loads of Iguanas crawling about amongst the people and pigeons.  It was crazy that they were so tame and ‘urbanised’.  The one thing we couldn’t work out though is how they knew not to leave the park into the danger of the surrounding traffic?!

Urban Iguanas in Parque Seminario