around Ecuador
english
08/10/2006
and here is the 6th travelreport...
Ecuador - Vilcabamba
after 4 days of doing nothing in Mancora i crossed over the border to Ecuador. after 2 hours on a minibus i got droped off at the border of Peru, 1 hour in a line for the departure stamp, further with a "mototaxi" to the border of Peru-Ecuador, by foot to the busstation, with a bus to the border of Ecuador, 1 1/2 hours in a line again for the entry stamp. "my" bus didn't want to wait, so i had to find an other bus. while i was waiting in the line i met 2 israelis, so i had some company on the bus ride to Vilcabamba. the ride was beautiful, right through the jungle. just one thing was very annoying , they played a song from "Scooter", a german techno band!
Vilcabamba, a place to relaxe. the locals get over a 100 years old and they are still very fit. once more i went on a horsetrip with a nice girl from the US and i had some beautiful days around Vilcabamba.
Cuenca
on the 29.07.06 i drove with the bus to Cuenca. visits of churches and museums had do be done here. also the Panama-hat-factory had to be done! did you know that the Panamahat is made in Ecuador and not in Panama?!
Puerto Lopez
my goal here was to see at least one whale. well, at the end i saw much more then one! they didn't care about us and were playing along, flying in gthe air and holding their tail fins up. totaly happy i ruturned to Puerto Lopez and a long walk along the beach followed. to go for swim it was a bit cold, so i skiped that.
Guayaquil
>>from the coast i headed towards Guayaquil, the biggest city of Ecuador. i stood here only for a night, i didn't like the city to much and after my search for a tour to the Galapagos also wasn't positiv, there was nothing to hold me here.
Baños
through beautiful landscape with lots of Banana-plantations and after 6 hours on the bus i came to Baños. Baños is located directly beneath the Vulcano Tungurahua, but the town is protected by a wedge-shaped mountain just before the vulcano. the locals belief that the "Virgen de Agua Santa" is protecting the town from the Vulcano.
wouw, here i like it, were my first thoughts. i got a good tip for a hostel, so i landed in one of the best hostels on my whole trip. the best beds, the best showers and this all for a little of money. Paul, the host, is a fan of exotic animals (check my photos) and was very helpfull with information and telling stories. his dog "Gringa" accompanied me on walks around the area. of course you could find here aswell hotsprings which i visited. i didn't miss the chance to go on a "canyoning" tour with 2 belgians and 2 colombians. oh, that was fun!! and now my best experience: at night i took a taxi with to americans siblings and an israeli up the hill opposite the vulcano. unforgettable adventure! we were sitting there drinking beer and watching the vulcano having little eruptions every 2 to 3 minutes. Lava and smoke was escaping the vulcano and we were so close watching all of this and the sound of it...
Quito
the street (also referred to the street of the vulcanos) from Baños to Quito goes along the vulcano Cotopaxi. after the vulcano Chimborazo the 2nd highest in the country (5897 a.s.l.). Quito it self is located on 2850 a.s.l. . i booked in a hostel in the old town and went afterwards to the new town to book my Galapagos tour (meanwhile i found a tour on the internet). in the evening we had a BBQ at the hostel and we were dancing salsa. the next day i went with a Kiwi, Mark, around the old town. we climed all 4 towers of the basilica from where you have a beatiful view over the city. afterwards we went to the "plaza de la Independencia" and to the church "la Compañia". appertently theys say that they have more then 7 tonnes of gold in there!! it looks also a big kitschy... at night i met with the siblings from the US and we went out for mexican food and had a look around the new town for nightlife. on saturday we all went by bus to the center of the earth (el mitad del mundo). there you find the line of the equator and they show you some tricks. very interesting!
Galapagos
yes, mis amigos, i went to the Galapagos!! on sunday, 13.08.06 my flight went from Quito to Baltra. there i boarded a boat named "Rumba". additional to the crew (which were 5 chicos), 10 persons fit. our guide was already 67 years old but still very fit. i shared my coach with a spanish girl, it was a bit narrow but for a week just fine. our first stop was "Bachas Beach" on the Isla Santa Cruz. there we found rusti boots in the sand and we discovered the first animals: peicans, iguanas, flamingos, blue footed boobies and much more birds, which i can't remember the names of. afterwards we drove to the "Canal de Itabaca" and we spend a quiet night there.
early in the morning our next destination was Islas Plaza and Isla Santa Fè (Isla Barrington) where we first met with sea lions. on the Isla Plaza we sadly witnessed a not so beautiful sight. we saw a sea lion which likely got hit by a boot and the half of his body was missing. the poor thing was still alive! but after our tour around the island it was gone... after dinner we left Isla Santa Fè and over night we went further to Isla Española (Isla Hood). we all had to fight with the seasickness and all the good food came out again (sorry...). well, we lerned from that and from now on we always took the pills 2 hours before!
we visited Punta Suàrez and the Bahia Gardner and of course we didn't miss some snorkeling. the under-water-world is fantastic!! hundreds of fishes, turtles, manta rays and reef-sharks. and of course we were swimming and playing all the time with the sea lions. amazing!!
at night we went on to Isla Santa Marià (Isla Floreana). after we snorkeled at "Corona del Diablo" (Krone des Teufels), we went on to Bahia de los Correos (Post-Bucht). there you can deposit a postcard and in return take an other one with you (from your own country). you take it home and send it from there. funny thing, but you just don't know if your card ever arrives. after everybody chose a card we climed in a Lavatunnel. it was pitch-black in there! they assume that pirates used as hideout...exciting! in the afternoon we drove towards Isla Santa Cruz, where we arrived in the late afternoon at the harbor Puerto Ayora. after dinner we went in to town to get some drinks and play some pool.
the next morning we visited the "Charles Darwin Station". there you can learn alot about turtles. in the afternoon we drove to the middle of the island and could observe huge free living turtles. we visited an other lavatunnel and two big holes, which emerged from a volcanic eruption.
over night our journey went on to Isla Ràbida. afterwards we went to Isla Santiago (Isla James) where we visited Bahia James and the Bahia Sulivan. at the last Bahia we walked over a huge lava flow and we could discover bizarre forms and figures. from the Sulvian Bay we went to Isla Bartolomè where you felt like on the moon. over Islas Daphne Mayor and Menor we drove to Isla Seymour where we spend our last night.
the last day was already here. we walked around the island and saw the birds "Fregata magnificens". then the boat took us back to Isla Baltra where we took the plane back to Quito
conclusion: the trip was worth it, but it is not that cheap! the food was top! the crew was very nice and looked after us very well. the other guests on the boat were very friendly and we had a great time together. but if you expect to be alone on the islands, then you are wrong. it is very touristy.
Quito
back to Quito, i booked into the hostel again in the old town together with the 2 american girls. the next day we went into new town to book a tour to the jungle. a british boy joined us. the 4 of us were running around to organize everything. yes, we wanted to be prepared!
Cuyabeno Reserve
we drove with the bus from Quito to Lago Agrio. the driver must have been related to Michael Schumacher, then he was racing the bus. for some passengers was that to much and so there was bad odor floating through the air. legs high, backpack on the knees and not to deep inhale. after about 8 hours we arrived in Lago Agrio. the next morning we took of, after 3 hours by bus and 2 hours by a motorized canoe we arrived at the camp "Payaguaje". i shared the "cabaño" with the english guy, very basic but enough to survive, a bed with mosquito net and a privat toilet, everything open to the nature. after inspecting the cabaño we had our first terrific meal out in the jungle.
because the cabaños are open to the nature you have often company of creeping animals. before you get your shoes on, you always have to check for cockroaches and spiders. or before you sit down on the toilet you had to clear the ring of huge ants. or when you hear in the night little steps behinde your head on the wood, then this are no mice but tarantulas which are out looking for some food. good luck we are not on their menu! 3 nights and 4 days this adventure lasted. on the program were hikes through the jungle, incl. playing Tarzan, to "lick" ants, war painting, survival tips and alot more, swiming in the Cuyabeno river with "pink river dolphins" and anacondas, piraña fishing, visit of a shaman with explanations to several "medicaments" of the jungle and canoe trips early in the morning with lots of bird watching. of course we saw also alot of monkeys which swung them from tree to tree.
Quito
after 4 days in the jungle i was happy to go back to Quito. at the hostal i met with Mark, the Kiwi. he wanted to go to Baños, so we went there together. the last time i liked it so much, so i wanted to go back...
Baños
in the meantime the vulcano Tungurahua erupted and destroyed some little villages towards Riobamba. in Baños it self nothing happend then the wedge-shaped mountain protects it however they got also some dust. before you get to Baños the "new" road although goes directly over 7meter high of lava/mud. prette impressive!
we went on an other hike with "Gringa" to the "Mirador de la Virgen del Auga Santa" and we made a bike-tour down the street towards Puyo on the road of the waterfalls. and of course a visit to the hot springs couldn't be missing! also we visited the basilica, where you can see abstract pictures of people who got safed by "Virgen del Auga Santa" so as car accidents or burnings.
Quito
for the 4th time i went back to Quito! this time i wanted to check out the canadian embassy, to try to get a working visa. but this is not to easy. the embassy gives no visa without a joboffer and the employer dosn't give a joboffer without a visa. you sea, not that easy!
Otavalo
so without any luck at the can. embassy i continued my trip to the north. Otavalo is a city in the north of Ecuador imbedded in a dale surrounded with the vulcanos Imbabura, Cotacachi and Mojanda. Otavalo is famous for its market, which especially on saturday gets packed with hundrets of tourists. the first two weeks of Septembre they have "fiesta del Yamor". i was lucky to be there for the opening. there was a big parade with colorful decorated trucks with good looking ladys on top. various ethnic groups danced through the street, fireworks, music all over and of course lots of Yamor, a non alcoholic drink made out of 7 different kinds of corn. because i was already here on friday i took the change to check out the marked "in peace". well, when i wanted i could have bought the whole marked, but where should i put everything?! i already had to buy an extra bag, to put in all the souvenirs.
on saturday we got up at 6.30am and went to the animal market. of course i didn't want to buy any pig, cow, chicken or any other animal, but it was very interesting to watch them all. after we went to the "normal" market. the prices were twice as much and you hardly could move through the streets.
at nigth we enjoyed the party and went out for some Salsa dancing. i enjoyed my last night in Ecuador very much!
the next travelogue will be over my adventures in Columbia... so stay tuned...
Posted by chrisarosa 3:22 PM Archived in Ecuador Comments (0)