July 17 - Quito
Made it in late last night after three flights from the US. Had stops in Chicago and Miami - the MIA flight was an hour late, but all in all GREAT! Flew first class on frequent flyer miles because believe it or not, it was cheaper - 30K for first but 35K for economy! And I splurged and spent 60K to come home - I think for the hot mixed nuts, it's worth it...)
Got in at 11:45 and waited half an hour for immigration - luckily I walked fast to get there because right after we got there, two more flights landed and the line went out the door. Pushed through to get luggage - horrid signage (ie, there was none), and someone went through my stuff and took my short lens and an extra SD card! DANG! Hopefully that was all they took, but I can't be sure. Oh well, I can make do. Also, my watch stopped working on the plane - figures. So now my portable timepiece will have to be my pedometer. Nope, check that. It's not here either. Forgotten? Stolen? Who knows...
Quito airport is right in town - so we drove around a few streets to the hotel - simple but clean, not too noisy. Hotel Cayman, in the Mariscal District. Dennis kept showing/pointing out all these local hotspots - bars, clubs, etc. As though I'm going to hit one before going to bed - it was 1:30AM already by the time I got cleaned up in my room!
Dennis seems nice - does these tours for a living, has 2 kids who live with their respective moms. The only weird thing was that he asked me to bring a car part for him from the US - not a big deal, but mades him seem less professional. Didn't work out though, so I didn't have to lug this giant heavy car part through customs.
Tomorrow we're going to Mindo Cloudforest - for hiking and birdwatching. Its kind of cold here - 50ish when I flew in, but today seems clear. It rained all week last week, so... who knows!
July 18 - Mindo
First full day in Ecuador! Fun, but jury's still our on Dennis - he was late picking me up and I'm not sure yet...
Woke up at around 8:30; had breakfast at the hotel - coffee, juice, and rolls - simple but good. Showered and packed, then waited about 1/2 hour for Dennis. He ran a few personal errands on the way out of town, as well as taking some calls and reading texts. So we'll see if that bugs later.
Stopped first right outside northern Quito and had local helado - sorbet - I had guanabana and mora. Pretty good. Then we went to Mitad del Mundo - to the Intiñan Museum rather than the actual site, mainly because the actual site isn't actually on the equator. There is a nice, small museum with some indigenous cultural displays, including a shrunken head. At actual latitude 0°0'0", they have a bunch of random experiments - kind of hokey but fun, like balancing an egg on the head of a nail and showing the Coriolus effect with some leaves in a draining tub of water. Weirdly, it actually worked - they moved the same tub to the equator, 5ft N of the equator, then 5 ft south. The leaves really just floated at the equator as opposed to spinning in an eddy.
After that, we drove to see the crater Pululahua, a 5km caldera that exploded about 30,000 years ago. Now people farm inside the crater because the soil is so good.
Had lunch in a local town - platos tipico - fried pork, homily, yucca, and plantain - pretty good, but all fried so I'm sure it was just a heart attack on a plate. Finally, we drove in to Mindo and check into the hotel - Biohostel - which looks clean but smells really musty (with the humidity here, I'm sure they can't help it, but man it reeks!) Plus, what sucks is I know the cost of the room is something like $12, even though I paid way more. DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!!
Dennis said we could go ziplining but I wasn't really interested - I wanted to go see nature and do a hike, so he drove us over to these cascades along the Mindo River - to cross, we had to go on a hand-ferry tram thing. Hiked into the cloud forest, which was great, but we started the hike around 4:30 and it started raining around 5 and it was going to get dark.
We went the wrong way and never saw the cascades, and I kept asking Dennis - do you have a flashlight? How far is it if it gets too dark to see? It was clearly quite steep and slippery in spots and we probably shouldn't have been out there that late in the afternoon, especially since it wasn't a trail he knew. Did not inspire a lot of confidence in me. It ended up being fine, but he did say we might have to cross the river by wading across, and it did not look like a little stream - more like 20 yards across. We made our way back to the ferry tram (thank goodness it was a loop). It's now raining but not too badly. I'm meeting Dennis for dinner at 7:30...
Had a nice shrimp dinner at a local restaurant. Tomorrow, meeting at 9!
July 19 - Otavalo
Met Dennis for breakfast today at 9 - ate at the hotel - coffee, juice, rolls, and scrambled eggs. The hotel was really musty - smelled it all night (whoever says you get used to a smell after 10 minutes was seriously WRONG!) Even all the clothes that I tried to dry out from the rain are still all moist. Feel like I didn't sleep much last night, even though I was tired.
Right next to the hotel was a small 'nature reserve' - went in to see the butterflies (all stages, from baby caterpillars to butterfly) with lots of different species flying around. They also had a little hummingbird area where you can get pretty close to the feeders and see several types of hummingbirds. Hard to get pics though, because they move around so fast and the camera can't zoom into them. Also saw several varieties of bromeliads and orchids, although it's the wrong season for blooms.
From there we drove to Otavalo on some 'new route' that Dennis wanted to try out. Bumpy, unpaved roads, which would have been OK but took too long so we skipped lunch and I had to pee in the road. Dennis didn't really know the way so it was slow going. We did get to see a wild agouti (looks like a giant guinea pig/hamster/rabbit mix), plus some nice birds - kestrel, condor. Drove through very small towns, which was interesting to see.
Got in to Otavalo at 3:45 and had lunch/dinner of grilled chicken, which was the only real meal. I'm glad I brought some snacks, as I'm having them now for dinner! Walked over to the Plaza de Poncho crafts market - some vendors were breaking down, but it was still fun to see the native women in traditional dress and all the local handicrafts. I bought a white alpaca scarf - she started at $7 and I got it for 4. Actually, I probably should have bought more! We drove from there to Cotacachi, just 5-10 minutes from Otavalo on the Pan Am Highway, known for being a UNESCO 'city of Peace" as well as for their leatherworks. Personally, I think Dennis took me there to shop at his friend's store, but I told him beforehand that I wasn't interested in shopping and that I still just wanted to see it.
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| Crafts Market |
Drove back to Otavalo and checked in to the hotel - Hotel Coraza - not bad, and at least it doesn't smell. Got in around 6:15 - I went out and walked a few streets just to see what the town was like. Cool seeing women in traditional clothes - a straight black or dark blue skirt, embroidered white blouse with lacy sleeves, and a black scarf/shawl that they tie diagonally across their body during the day and wear as capes when it starts getting cold. These native people are really prosperous and do very well - may even have pretty nice new cars.
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| Traditional dress |
Tomorrow hopefully we'll see all the places we missed today!
July 20 - Baños
Long day today... got up at 8ish and had breakfast at the hotel. Was due to meet Dennis at 9, so I decided to walk down to the spice market - lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, spices, meat, flowers, plus food stands where locals were eating.
Met Dennis at 9:15ish, who forgot to tell me I needed to pack a lunch, so I went to a local Tia Supermarket and got chips and crackers. On the way out of Otavalo, we stopped at a lookout point to see a lake. Dennis had 5 espressos so while I waited, I tried a bowl of lupine beans with dried corn. It was pretty good - supposed to give energy.
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| Cara cara hawk |
From there we drove to Antisana - stopped for a pitstop in Antisana town at the bakery, so I bought some bread to try - one regular and one sweet. Kind of dry, but not bad. Then we drove into the private lands that is by Antisana Volcano. It's a very cool tundra area, with lots of birdlife. On the way in, we saw and Andes Rabbit, and in the park we saw tons of birds like the Cara Cara Hawk, lapwing, and lots of finches.
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| Wild horses |
There are also wild horses that we saw. We drove up to 14,100 feet, went pretty off-roading (I think Dennis liked it more than I did - kinda boring after a while). At the end, we had our snacks but it was very cold and windy and it started to snow!! So I ate in the trunk. Hiked up the volcano for a bit - really hard uphill and I got breathless very fast. Started getting desolate - all rocks and fine powder. Then it was time to turn back - too bad, because it was a good hike.
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| Cotopaxi Volcano |
Drove back out to the Pan American Highway - nice views of several volcanos, including Cotopaxi (which Dennis had to point out a billion times - like it was going to move!) The view was really quite amazing though.
Stopped for dinner at this old 18th century hacienda - beautifully restored and with a nice restaurant. I had a steak dinner, then walked around the hacienda for a bit. We then drove into Banos - about 2 hours from the Hacienda Cienega. Tomorrow, horses (no dennis!) and biking.
July 21 - Baños
Holy cow I'm tired! Today was activity day - had breakfast in the hotel, then met Christian at 9 to go horseback riding. Horses here are small, sturdy ponies that have a bit of a messy look to them. Went with another group of 9 people - saddled up in town. While we were waiting for everyone to get on, we saw the big steam/smoke cloud coming from the nearby Volcano Tungurahua. A bit disconcerting...!
Rode through town (on a lot of paved roads, unfortunately) to a waterfall. We had a short hike, then rode back. Nice thing was they let us trot on the way back, which was much more fun.
It was past noon when I got back to the hotel - noon was when I was supposed to meet Dennis - but when I got here, there was a note - he had to go back to Quito because his business had been robbed! He'd arranged for Edison to take me biking and canyoning, and he was coming back on Friday to pick me up. And he was going to pay for the biking and canyoning because of the 'issue'. Funny thing is, I was pretty happy to not be with him for a couple days!
Had lunch at Cafe Good - black beans with carrots, cheese, and avocado - pretty good. It took a while, so it was 1:15 by the time I was ready to meet Christian again. Good thing Edison was late too. He's great - probably 20 or so, and very nice and interesting. Much more fun than Dennis. We got bicycles and went over to Puente San Francisco, where people go puenting - freefalling off the bridges. Nobody was doing it, so we went out of town towards Puyo along the Ruta de las Cascadas. Mostly downhill, along the river Pastaza Gorge. Beautiful scenery, and an AWESOME day - blue skies, gorgeous.
Along the way, we passed a hydroelectric dam, plus, several tunnels (most of which we took the dirt by-way because the tunnels are small, dark, and long. Dangerous - you mostly share the road with the crazy Ecuadorian drivers.
We stopped several times to view different waterfalls, and stopped to cross one of the old cable cars that takes you across the Pastaza River Gorge. They're called tarabitas, and they pretty much run on an engine - pretty scary! But very cool - they go pretty fast.
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| Checking out the back side of water! |
Stopped for water in Rio Verde, then went to see Pailon del Diablo, the waterfall of Rio Verde right when it reaches Rio Pastaza. 15 minutes downhill hike to the waterfall; to view it, there is a rickety old bridge (max 5 people!!). Then you can climb up and actually view the waterfall from behind it - the backside of water! Its a really tight, low tunnel to get behind it, so you kinda have to crawl - good thing Edison had me put my helmet on or I would've gotten conked for sure!
Climbed back up - my legs by then were
so tired! So we stopped several times. At the top, a truck was waiting to take passengers back to Banos - so we loaded the bikes, then went over to the River Verde Bridge to wait. Edison is so nice - offered to buy me snacks, and when I said no, he still bought me some galleta de leches. We waited about 20 minutes or so, then jumped in the back of the truck with 3 others for the
very bumpy ride back.
For dinner, wandered around town a bit before settling on a random restaurant - Cana Mañdur - which ended up being pretty good. Great soup to start, then grilled pork with salad and potatoes.
Waffled back and forth between going back to the hotel or the baños; I even turned to go to the hotel then changed my mind last minute. I
am in Baños, after all... Went to La Virgen Spa/Bath, which has hot pools. All are natural mineral water pools heated by the volcano - the hottest one (which I didn't try) starts at 122°F. I hadn't brought a towel so it was kind of a cool walk home, but not too bad all in all. The warm (spa temp) bath was chock full of people, so I only stayed about 10 minutes. Would probably be better during the day, when the sun's out.
July 22 - Baños
Last full day in Baños - the morning was total adrenaline junkie! Had breakfast again at the hotel - eggs, roll, and fresh guava juice (yum!)
Met the group at the Team Adventure office - same group as yesterday, and Edison as the guide. Got into our gear - wetsuit over the bathing suit, nylon jacket, canvas shoes, and climbing harness. Then off for canyoning!
Canyoning is basically rappelling (abseiling) down a waterfall. We drove over to the same waterfall that we ended up at yesterday with the horses (Cascada Chamana), and hiked up to the top of the lower falls - about 15 meters. I went first - strapped in, then you walk backwards as you lean back and let yourself slowly down. It's really slippery in the water so its pretty scary at first, but the reality is the guide is carrying a lot of the weight so even though you are controlling the speed, Edison was the one lowering us down.
The water was pretty cold but you're thinking so much about NOT falling that you don't really feel it until you're done.
The second falls was 6m high - a short hike down the river. This one was not as steep, so we did it kind of like a slide - sitting, with Edison lowering us down.
The last was by far the coolest - and scariest. 45m, the first 3m or so was regular rappelling, then there was a small break and then a 40+ meter drop - with no rock - just going down into nothing! The scariest part was that because we started at the top, you have NO CLUE whats below you until you actually start going. The first part of the big drop was the scariest - you start on your knees and lower down until you're just hanging in thin air, and lower yourself down. In the meantime, there's water coming down all around you and sometimes you swing into the flow. Plus, you're spinning around as you go down. Behind the waterfall was really pretty - lots of plants growing out of the wet rock. The rest of the group was waiting at the bottom, and at first they all looked like teeny ants and all I wanted was to be done with it. My arm actually got tired pulling the rope to get down, but then at the end it seemed so easy and we wanted to go again.
It was actually pretty physical - one much larger woman chickened out, and after thinking about it, I think it was probably good she didn't go. The hike back up the waterfall to the road probably would have killed her - there was one part with a rickety old ladder that we were all scared of - not sure she would have been able to make it up!
After we got back, I had lunch with the older Australian couple and the big lady - we found a random restaurant and I had the set menu - chicken/rice soup and grilled chicken. Then went up to the hot springs (since I was already in my suit anyway). Tried the medium pool (comfortable like bathwater, but crowded), the hot pool (a bit too hot), and dunked my toes into the cold (TOO COLD!) Oh, and before going to the spa, walked just to the side to see the virgin shrine - I think the water has healing powers.
Then back to the hotel for a bit of a rest, then a snack at the chocolate shop - hot chocolate and orange cake.
Went to go see Christian to find out when Dennis was coming but he wasn't there, so I wandered around town for half an hour to see if he'd show, and when I got back, it was closed. I went back to the room to relax and read, then went out for consommé - chicken and rice soup - for dinner. Don't know when Dennis is coming tomorrow...
July 23 - Quito
OK, so it wasn't Dennis but someone named Wilson and his wife, Veronica. Very nice people, but they didn't come until 10:45. I packed my things then went down to get a new watch battery since my watch stopped working on the plane - great timing, eh?
It was about a 4 hour drive to the thermal hot springs at Papallacta (I don't get timing around here - Wilson said 3 hours - you'd think they'd know...) Stopped for lunch at this funny cafe - Cafe de la Vaca, where everything has a cow motif. I had lorca - a potato soup with cheese and avocado.
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| Thermal baths at Papallacta |
Made it to Papallacta - at 11,000 feet, it was very cold and drizzly. But the thermals are nice - the water was very clear, unlike in Baños where the minerals make the water seem muddy. It wasn't too crowded, which was nice. I tried 4 of the pools - one was WAY too hot - the water comes from a volcano. Yeowch.
Got into Quito and the hotel at around 8PM - had a quick shower then dinner here at the hotel of fish with salad and fried plantains. Am in the process of arguing with Dennis - I want some money back, and we'll see if he caves. I already posted a negative review on Tripadvisor!
Meeting up with the ROW group tomorrow. Oh, and ps, the Stubel is AWESOME - so comfy and clean, with a king sized bed that is wider than it is long. Hooray!
We went by bus first to a park with a view of the whole city, Itchimbia. There's a glass conservatory at the top where we stopped to see the art exhibit. From there, we drove to the Old Town. We started in the Basilica del Voto Nacional - a big gothic (but sadly run-down) cathedral. Instead of gargoyles, there are different animals - turtles, iguanas, birds, etc. We climbed up to one of the old bell towers via some ladder-like stairs for a great view of the city.
From there we drove to the Plaza Grande. Saw the Presidential Palace on one side, then walked over to see the old monastery turned library. From there, we walked to the ridiculously gilded La Compañia de Jesus Church. Built starting in 1605, it has something like 2 tons of gold inside, and when you walk inside, it absolutely gleams. Walls, columns, ceiling, altar - everything is gilded in solid gold. Walked over to Plaza and Church of San Francisco - so not as impressive after being in a practically solid gold church! Had lunch at the Plaza Grande Hotel - fancy! Starter of ceviche, steak entree, and ice cream served in a bowl with dry ice so that it smoked - very impressive.
From there, we went to get wetsuits. Dennis said that mine was a bit thin, so I got a thicker, long-sleeved/legged one. Took a water taxi to the catamaran that brought us to the campsite - Puerto Grande, about 1 hr 15 min from port. Its in a nicely sheltered bay, and when we got there we saw 4 eagle rays in the shallow waters by the boat. Got help off the boat so I didn't have to wade - Mauricio the Captain carried me. Got set up in our tents, then watched the boobies diving for fish until dinner. Talked a bit with Danny, our local guide. Dinner was good - grilled chicken with pasta and green salads, and a kinda dry chocolate cake for dessert. It gets dark around 6:30 here, so soon after dinner we all went to bed. I had my own tent, which was nice.
Went to the hotel in Puerto Villanil, Casa de Marita. We had big, spacious rooms, but again since we're beachfront, everything is slightly damp. First thing on the agenda was to take a shower. Phew! Lunch was really good tuna, salad, and soup here at the hotel. Then we went to the tortoise breeding center and saw all stages of tortoise life.
We drove up to the base of Volcan Sierra Negra, a large caldera that last erupted in 2005. We hiked up to the rim of the caldera, then along the edge to an area called Volcan Chico, parasitic volcanos on the northeast side of the main caldera. There was dramatically different landscape, with fields of aa lava and very little vegetation. Up near the top, there was even a sulfur smell. It was quite hot and dusty, but with great views.
We speedwalked back down the mountain - which was exhausting - a total of about 8 miles roundtrip. We stopped at a small ranch to see the grounds - its a fairly eco-friendly ranch and tortoise rescue. Along with tons of orange, papaya, banana, and guava tress, we also saw chickens, tortoises, and even a small barn owl nesting inside a huge hollow tree. We're going back for dinner tomorrow night.
The next snorkeling area was at Tintoreras Grotto, a narrow channel, maybe 5 feet wide, where reef sharks rest. I swam through twice - Jason and Henry counted 64 and 60 sharks - resting on the bottom only a few feet below us. Felt like if I had reached down as far as I could, I could have touched them. It was quite an experience - made putting a cold, wet wetsuit on all worth it.
We dropped off our things at the Angermeyer Waterfront Inn - a very pretty, nice hotel with a great view of the bay. Then we went straight to the highlands to see wild giant tortoises.
From there we drove to a huge lava tunnel and walked in about 100 yards - they estimate it at about 3 million years old. At the entrance was another barn owl (but it faced the other way so we only saw feathers).
After breakfast at the hotel (Angermeyer Waterfront Inn), we took a fishing boat out to go snorkeling. On the way, we saw a family of humpback whales, so we decided to chase them instead. Henry really wanted to swim with them, so Tommy, Ron, and eventually Thad and Forrest went from our boat. We actually got great views of the whales from the boat - a baby and a mom, then a huge one we figured was the dad. One time, the baby swam right under the boat!
We went by bus first to a park with a view of the whole city, Itchimbia. There's a glass conservatory at the top where we stopped to see the art exhibit. From there, we drove to the Old Town. We started in the Basilica del Voto Nacional - a big gothic (but sadly run-down) cathedral. Instead of gargoyles, there are different animals - turtles, iguanas, birds, etc. We climbed up to one of the old bell towers via some ladder-like stairs for a great view of the city.
From there we drove to the Plaza Grande. Saw the Presidential Palace on one side, then walked over to see the old monastery turned library. From there, we walked to the ridiculously gilded La Compañia de Jesus Church. Built starting in 1605, it has something like 2 tons of gold inside, and when you walk inside, it absolutely gleams. Walls, columns, ceiling, altar - everything is gilded in solid gold. Walked over to Plaza and Church of San Francisco - so not as impressive after being in a practically solid gold church! Had lunch at the Plaza Grande Hotel - fancy! Starter of ceviche, steak entree, and ice cream served in a bowl with dry ice so that it smoked - very impressive.
From there, we went to get wetsuits. Dennis said that mine was a bit thin, so I got a thicker, long-sleeved/legged one. Took a water taxi to the catamaran that brought us to the campsite - Puerto Grande, about 1 hr 15 min from port. Its in a nicely sheltered bay, and when we got there we saw 4 eagle rays in the shallow waters by the boat. Got help off the boat so I didn't have to wade - Mauricio the Captain carried me. Got set up in our tents, then watched the boobies diving for fish until dinner. Talked a bit with Danny, our local guide. Dinner was good - grilled chicken with pasta and green salads, and a kinda dry chocolate cake for dessert. It gets dark around 6:30 here, so soon after dinner we all went to bed. I had my own tent, which was nice.
Went to the hotel in Puerto Villanil, Casa de Marita. We had big, spacious rooms, but again since we're beachfront, everything is slightly damp. First thing on the agenda was to take a shower. Phew! Lunch was really good tuna, salad, and soup here at the hotel. Then we went to the tortoise breeding center and saw all stages of tortoise life.
We drove up to the base of Volcan Sierra Negra, a large caldera that last erupted in 2005. We hiked up to the rim of the caldera, then along the edge to an area called Volcan Chico, parasitic volcanos on the northeast side of the main caldera. There was dramatically different landscape, with fields of aa lava and very little vegetation. Up near the top, there was even a sulfur smell. It was quite hot and dusty, but with great views.
We speedwalked back down the mountain - which was exhausting - a total of about 8 miles roundtrip. We stopped at a small ranch to see the grounds - its a fairly eco-friendly ranch and tortoise rescue. Along with tons of orange, papaya, banana, and guava tress, we also saw chickens, tortoises, and even a small barn owl nesting inside a huge hollow tree. We're going back for dinner tomorrow night.
The next snorkeling area was at Tintoreras Grotto, a narrow channel, maybe 5 feet wide, where reef sharks rest. I swam through twice - Jason and Henry counted 64 and 60 sharks - resting on the bottom only a few feet below us. Felt like if I had reached down as far as I could, I could have touched them. It was quite an experience - made putting a cold, wet wetsuit on all worth it.
We dropped off our things at the Angermeyer Waterfront Inn - a very pretty, nice hotel with a great view of the bay. Then we went straight to the highlands to see wild giant tortoises.
From there we drove to a huge lava tunnel and walked in about 100 yards - they estimate it at about 3 million years old. At the entrance was another barn owl (but it faced the other way so we only saw feathers).
After breakfast at the hotel (Angermeyer Waterfront Inn), we took a fishing boat out to go snorkeling. On the way, we saw a family of humpback whales, so we decided to chase them instead. Henry really wanted to swim with them, so Tommy, Ron, and eventually Thad and Forrest went from our boat. We actually got great views of the whales from the boat - a baby and a mom, then a huge one we figured was the dad. One time, the baby swam right under the boat!
