Quito and Otavalo - Ecuador. Popayan - Columbia

I left you last in Quito and it seems im falling behind in my writing as we have now crossed another border and are in Columbia...but more on that later. I want to give Ecuador the space it deserves, for it really was a beauiful country and we wish we could have stayed longer. Apparently you cant do everything, but i am still in denial of this.

Ecuador seems to be doing quite well economically in South American terms. The country is more developed and has better instrascture than Bolivia and Peru in particular. The roads are finished, and there is less litter and rubble on highways indicating a level of education and government expendition in such areas. Ecuadorians are proud of their ecological diversity and fertile landscapes which produce some of the juicest fruits and healty foods that we have eaten so far. In fact, we have given the title of ´Best Food´to Ecuador, with particular mention to their fantastic cheap breakfasts. We have also given the title of ´Fastest Drivers´ to the bus drivers as we have risked our lives around many speedy bends and turns in this country.

Of note in Ecuador, was the amount of Americans travelling here as a result of obvious political ties with the States. There was lots of students studying in the excellent Spanish schools, and retirees looking to buy property. Ecuador changed its national currency to the US dollar in about 2000, apparently with a lot of local resistence. Nonetheless, it went ahead and it is a likely reason for the American travellers. Another Americanism, was the streets and hostels and shop wordings in English. Not often, but certain words such as ´happy´and ´fast food´and general store...which we have not seen anywhere else.

So a quick rundown on our recent happenings....we spent 3 days in the capital Quito which is a nice city, entirely sprawling with buildings which we took in from the city´s cable car called TeleferiQo. Unfortunately, when we got to the top (4100m) , we were above the cloud line and it was a white out. So we got back inside the cable car and took in the urban junglle landscape on the way back down. We checked out a snake musuem which was filled with snakes mostly native to Ecuador, and we also walked around the entire Old Town section which narrow streets and a preseverd antiquated feel. Like most South American cities, the city sites and planning revolves around churches which are usually stunning exmaples of architecture blending Spanish and indigenous styles. The most striking church in Quito is called Voto Nacional and we climbed right ùp the top of this church to the bell towers (and rang the bells, not sure if you´re supposed to but who could resist!) and the basicilas towers which has grafitti and very little fencing and in other coutries would be major puclic liability. Very cool views and quite strange to have such free reign in a church.

The next day, we set off on public transport (they have a really efficient electric bus system called the Trole making it easy to get around Quito) to the Equator. At the hemispheric line (Mitad del Mundo) there is a huge monument marking the designated spot (which is actually incorrect by about 250km since the inception of the GPS system). We took photos and then skipped across to the Museo Solar Inti Nan which is now the actual equator line and a very intersting musuem. We jumped back and forth from the north to the south and were shown fasinating tricks on the line. For example, water has no centrigual force at the Equator and so it flushes straight down rather than in a circular motion. We balanced an egg on a nail head and got a certificate for it, and we also played around with out weight and balance as you apparently weigh 2.2% at the equator and have less resistence to gravity. On the actual line of 0¨00´00, its really difficulty to stop someone pulling your arms and hands apart. Also, walking in a straight line is incredibly difficult with no direct magnetic pull.

Next day we left Quito for the northern highlans and an area called Otavalo which is the largest markets in South America. Its starts to crank up early on Saturday morning and it was really quite overwhelming. The Otavalenos have steadfastly maintained their indigenous roots, and the traders and local folk wear their tradiotional dress all the time. It consists of long dark skirts for the ladies, with trimmings and delicate, frilly blouses, gold chains in the repitive neck fashion of African women, and often a floppy, folded hat. The men wear white baggy trousers with navy ponchos, and together they make a stylish and elegant impression. We had been waiting til now to buy things (well, sort of...we have definitely acquired things along the way!), so we shopped til we dropped and now have an extra bag of things to carry around. Well Jeb does anyway!

I mentioned we are changed our flights and are now spending nearly a month in Columbia, which is where we are now. Yesterday we spent all day on the bus, crossed borders (which again was really simple and we have had no problems at all so far), and ended up in the town of Popayan, Columbia last night. This town is beautiful. All the buildings are white and even inside the church is white. Due to many earthquakes, it has been mostly rebuilt and restored since 1983, making it very clean and tidy and breathable. There are no tight, polluted streets or high rise buildings, the climate is pleasant and the people are really modern. We have already started to see more black people which will continue as we go north and is a result of African slave labour in the caribbean area. We are moving on to the city of Cali this afternoon, so i better go eat some something....ciao

Cuenca and Banos - Ecuador

Cuenca is the 3rd largest city in Ecuador, and whilst we have preferred to spend time in smaller towns, this really was a nice city to visit. But at our cracking pace, we only had one day and night so we set out exploring the cobblestone streets and white buildings of this charming tidy city. We walked along the river and had a great Middle Eastern meal (how very un-Sth American!), before taking another night bus to the town of Banos. With a bus change at 4am in the morning, and arriving about 6am, we were a little spaced out and went to sleep before tackling this town of adventure.


Banos is at the foot of an active volcano and a waterfall that is visible throughout the whole town. The word Banos means baths (some people may remember this from our toilet sign at home!) and at the base of the waterfall there are thermal baths. Unintentionally arriving on a weekend and also Mothers Day, the town was really busy and we subsequently avoided the very crowded baths. Instead, we rented bikes and set of for a full day of biking (67km) on the spectacular road to Puyo that leads into the gateway of the upper Amazon Basin. Accompanied by endless buses and Chevrolet trucks filled with extended families enjoying the Sunday ride, we passed by many waterfalls, cable cars and through pitch black tunnels on this highway ride. Which i must say, is not all downhill as claimed...for the record, there are alot of flat parts and uphill too! Add to this, the hardest seats you have ever sat on...ouch! But the sore bum was very worth it as we passed through local communities selling the freshest of fruits and sugarcane, and outdoors resturants selling bbq corn on the cob with cheese (a common food here) whilst watching the Amazon river tributaries meet and bulge at the Rio Negro (Black River). And dont forget folks, its the tropics and to complete the day, we got absolutely drenched in an Amazonian downpour with only 5km left to our destination! Cerveza (beer) well deserved, we boarded the next bus back to Banos with our bikes underneath, and slept well that night.

But this town is ¨Full Action¨...or so we were told by our hostel/tour operator. And so 9am the next morning we were getting kitted up with wetsuits, harnesses, helmets etc and off we went for a half day of canoning down 5 waterfalls. The base of the waterfall was in a fruit orchid and the setting was serene and dense and hidden. Abseiling down waterfalls and also sliding down some parts like a rough slippery dip was great fun, really enjoyable day. But its FULL ACTION folks, so next up was Swing Jumping...similar to bungee but with a big circular swing motion afterwards. Having bungee jumped once in my life, i did not feel the need to do it again, so Jeb was on his own here. The bridge is a regular bridge with cars that drive along it and no permanent jump set up. Within minutes, there were all the necessary ropes and cords and harnesses and jump platforms. At a height of 80 metres and a flowing river below, Jeb had the look of excitement in his eyes and did not hesitate at the countdown. Pure adrenalin, he loved it.

All actioned out, we left Banos for Quito, the capital of Ecuador which is where we are now. We were originally flying out of Quito to Santiago, Chile and from there, fly back to Sydney. However on our travels, we have met so many people people who have told us how awesome Columbia is and also how safe it is now. So we have adjusted things and are no longer flying out of Quito, and instead Bogota on the 15th June. More on Quito and Ecuador later...im hogging the hostel computer.

Mancora, Peru and Vilcabamba, Ecuador

Mancora is small beach town set amongst some fairly arid scenery. The desert landscape on the bus trip here was stark and arriving in Mancora was a relief to see that there is actually a beautiful blue water coastline here. The surk break is small but perhaps it was just during our stay. Restuarants and bars line an area of the beach and whilst this is a tourist destination for gringos and Peruvians alike and there is lots of development in the works, it is still a small town with alot of space to yourself. We stayed at a very cool hostel at the far end of the town which had its on private beach and bamboo cabanas right on the sand. You take motorised scooter taxis to get around, in between lazy about at the beach in the perfect sunny weather. Sacrificing the hostel pet for a travellers feast, we enjoyed a pig on the spit, complete with salads, rum punch, good company and special memories. And then we changed countries again.

Taking another overnight bus (although this time, not quite so comfortable and with some unexpected lag time in between), we took off for Ecuador crossing the border after midnight. As we approach the equator, a few things have become noticeable. The promotion of biodiversity in both plants and animals, and green lush humid scenery is now all around us. And then of course, the feeling of getting asconded by mosquitos. Our first point of call in Ecuador is the very chilled out town Vilcabamba. The valley here is renowned for its water source which is really high in magnesium and other minerals and is said to responsible for the longevity of its residents who often live beyond 100 years. We hiked today to find the source called Agua de Hierro, however a big flood in the recent rainy season has washed away the end of the trail and we were not able to access it. But no worries, as we have been staying in a Ecolodge here which comes complete with a jacuzzi with natural herbs, a steam room filled with pine, sauna, swimming pool, and hammocks and needless to say, we are chilling out and increasing our lifespan at the same time! And all for the very reasonable backpacker price of $9 US a night. We have also been enjoying some other thrills here like homemade Snake Juice which is 80% alcohol and distilled in a jar with a venomous snake. You drink it like Tequila with lime and salt...i was hesitant (Jeb obviously was not..."snakes and alcohol together!!!") but it really was ok and we are still alive.
Another good point to Ecuador so far is the existence of brown bread! For our whole trip, we have only been getting white bread filled with air, so im very happy about this. Sometimes, its the small things...

Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru

One of our highlights of this trip, and the only real thing we had booked, was the 4 day Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu. It did not disappoint. After spending several days in Cusco checking out the Inca ruins around the city, we set off with our tour agency and 14 fellow trekkers in the early hours of Friday morning. It takes a couple of hours drive to the start of the trek where there is a bit of official paperwork required and passport stamping, and porter weigh ins. And then we were off for the first day of quite easy hiking. Spending several weeks at altitude and hiking the physically gruelling Colca Canyon had certainly improved out fitness levels and we cruised through the day passing Andean wilderness and other Inca sites along the way. The weather was perfect, warm during the day, cold at night but with an abundance of stars and a feast of food perpared for us the chaskis ...aka the fleet foot runners... who carry everything from the tents, food, chairs etc.
Day 2 was the toughest day with a mostly uphill climb covering 1200 ascending metres that day, and going through the pass known as Dead Womans Pass. It was hard going, but again, our new healthy bodies carried us through leading the group to the top. The campsite was at 4200m so it was a cold night but in such a beuatiful valley with high Andean mountains surrounding us.
Day 3 was the longest day but walking through cloud forest and several Inca sites was fantastic and we could walk at our own pace for the most part and so we often found ourselves alone to appreicate the stunning mountain scenery which at times verges on rainforest with varying degress of humidity.
Up early on the last day...4am...to join the line of other hikers waiting at the last checkpoint of the Machu Picchu National Park. On our way at 5.30am for the final hour or so hike to the famous Inca city...althougb it should be said that it is neither the biggest or the lost or the last city of the Incas. The biggest site is in the same general area although another good 5 or something days hike and not promoted well. The lost city is still lost and though to possibly be in the Amazon basin. But Machu Picchu is the most well known and were stoked to be there and so it was slightly disappointing to wake after 3 days of perfect weather hiking to discover rain and cloud and when we finally reached the Sun Gate for the ´postcard photo´ of Machu Picchu...there was nothing to see...thats right...nada. Continiuing on, we hiked down to the main centre and took a break and prayed to PachuMama ...Mother Earth in South America...for some clearance on the clouds...and it soon happened, yeah!!! and we set off to explore the site.
Machu Pichu is bigger than i expected and so perfectly preserved. The Incas really were smart guys as the buildings they made in the 15th century have withstood several earthquakes and remain today as an outstanding relic of architecture and workmanship. We learnt from our great guide David, and saw for ourselves that the Incas knew about toilets and drainages systems, we saw their lock systems and housing for the noble plus the villagers, watch towers and ceremonial rocks. It was so rewarding to be there, until the hoards of tourists started to arrive on the buses, and having been there since 6am and perhaps unfairly feeling like we deserved the place to be less packed after 4 days of hiking, we took in the site and retired down to the town of Aguas Calientes for lunch and then a soak in the hot springs with a pisco sour brought to us the pools. Ah...so well deserverd.
All up, we hiked 42km and by the 4th day, my body was feeling weary. The Inca Trail is well worn and for the most part fairly easy underfoot, however I enjoyed it more than i thought as I had a feeling there may be too many people on the trail. The Peruvian government has strictly limited numbers on the trail nowadays, however, they could do with limiting the numbers at Machu Picchu as well. But its a prime tourist attractrion and the cost of a coffee alone was an slap in the face reminder that they are raking it in here. Intersting to see what happens in the next few years as Machu Picchu is sinking at a rate of 1cm a year and there is talk of building viewing bridges around the site to prevent people walking on it. But if its cloudy like what intially happend to us, then you cant see anything til it lifts and you walk lower.
Anyways...we left very satisfyied and tired and I thoroughly enjoyed my massge the next day back in Cusco before taking an overnight bus to Lima the following night. The 18 hour bus trip was more than 22 hours but Lima is not really that nice a city and my bout of food poisoning was probably well timed as there is little we want to see here anyway. Feeling better now, but spent most of the day in bed except to venture out into the weird of blanket that coats this city, and book another bus ticket tommorrow night. Another 18 hours, but this time we get off close to the Ecuadorian border at a beach town called Mancora. No more mountains for awhile...should be a nice change.

Cusco, Peru

After our best bus trip so far, we arrived the ancient Inca city of Cusco 3 days ago. The main plaza as you can imagine is filled with toursit restuarants and tour agencies, but surrounding all this is a beautiful city of cobblestone streets, archways, old churches, and Inca architecture. Inca stonework remains perfectly in tact in street walls and buildings including the Iglesia de Santa Domingo church. Back in the 158th century, the Spanish conquistadors tore down structures that were lined with gold and then rebuilt parts. The excellence and finery of the Inca stoneworks is evdidently far superior with perfectly straight lines and very thin limestone bindings.
Yesterday we had a full day of visting Inca sites around Cusco, including Pîsaq (citadels perched high over the villages), Moray (circular terrace experiments in farming), Salineas (the natural salt terraces of the Incas), an Chincero (huge ruins in perfect condition).
We head off on the Inca trail tommorrow...will write more on this post later as i have to get soe things together.

Isla Del Sol - Bolivia. Puno, and Arequipa - Peru

We have been busy since the last time i wrote...changed countries, diets and currencies, hiked canyons and visited floating islands. Here´s an update...

From the coastal town of Copacabana, we took a boat for an hour and half to the tranquil island of Isla Del Sol which sits in the middle of Lake Titicaca on the Bolivian side. It was a beautiful blue sky day and we walked around this big island which has remained fairly unchanged by tourism. Villagers seve coffee in their front yards alongside their llamas, and trails are rocky leading through hills of sheeps and donkeys and plantations of quinoa which is kind of like couscous or rice and is added to soups and mashed like potato. Famous for trout, i enjoyed a change of diet from the regular Bolivian dishs of rice and chicken, and ate trout for 4 days straight. The island was really realxing so we stopped and just sat for a couple of hours on a cliff side in the sun. Being Easter Sunday, or possibly for a wedding celebration or something, there were fireworks over the lake at night before the skies turned and a tremedous storm took place overnight. We left the next day for a 3 hour bus trip across the border to Peru which was a simple process, and this is where we are now.

Arriving in Puno we could see the change in lifestyle quickly. Peru is more accustomed to tourism and people are a little more forward and friendly with travellers. Roads are more likely to be paved, toilets come equip with toilet paper (although not always), and things are just a little more organised. The food so far has been fantastic (alpaca meals have been suberb, and just new menu and market choices...woohoo), and we are throughly enjoying pisco sours which is a alcholic beverage made of pisco (white grape brandy), egg white, sugar syrup and...? Delicious.

We stayed in Puno and visted the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca, which is the floating islands of Uros. Super touristy, but something to be seen regardless. People live and make a living on approx 80 reed islands on the lake. Its quite fascinating to get off the boat and be on a island made entirely of reeds which is soft underfoot. People fish for trout and make crafts and build reed boats as part of a very old culture and lifestyle which has been monopolised by tourism, but is still really special and intersting.

Off to Arequipa next which is where we are now. Arequipa is really quite stunning. It is the nicest city we have been in so far, however more Spanish than indigenous Sth American. Surrounded by huge snow capped volcanoes and mountain ranges, the city centre is remininscent of somwhere in Europe. The plaza is super clean with palm trees and gorgeous churches, the people and restuarants are trendy and the climate is warm.

About 6 hours from Arequipa, lies the worlds second deepest canyon called Canon Del Colca. We have just completed a 2 day/1 nights trek into this canyon (15km all up). It begins at an elevation of 3280m and plummets to the river at 2160m. So the first day is a steep drop of over 1000m, crossing the canyon and walking through local villages which are really quite remote. There are no roads here, so everything is transported by foot or mules or produced locally. We stayed overnight at the bottom in a lodging with a pool but with no electricity, and then of course...what goes down, must come up (the reverse of this saying still works here!) The trek up is said to take about 3 hours and we completed it in about 2 hours, 15 mins which is damn good going if i must say myslef, however my calves are definitely feeling it today! At the end, we visted the hot springs which, at a toasty 39 degrees, was good for the muscles. Another very cool part of this trip was a stop off at the Cruz Del Condor where condors glide through the valley and make spectacular viewing. Their wing span grows to up to 3 metres long and they come really close to the viewing point. We saw several cruise by, very impressive.

Tommorrow night, we are taking a bus to Cusco where we will spend 3 nights before beginning the Inca trail to Machu Picchu.

Tiahuanaco, Sorata, and Lake Titicaca - Bolivia

Feliz Semana Santa...or Happy Easter! For this holiday period, we find ourselves in Lake Titicaca - along with the majority of La Paz residents who escape to the seaside (well, lake) for a 4 day break. The timing was not something we had planned, but its been entertaining in many ways. Arriving here on Good Friday was an adventure in itself as we scrambled along the roads with thousands of other vehicles crammed with as many people as there is physical space. With only milimetres spare, drivers would barge on through, and the dual lane road became just one direction with every leaving the city. Intially coming the other way, we were literally run off the road in our bus (which is really a van with seats in it which somehow can fit up to 18 or so people), and got directed on a detour through peoples fields and paddocks kicking up a storm of dust and rocks along the way. The second bus trip enroute to Lake Titicaca was better and we overtook everyone before arriving at the lake where we had to get off the bus so it could get carried over on a barge with the hundreds of other holiday-goers cars. We got on the people barge and then only just found our bus on the other side. A close call.

Lake Titicaca is a place where Catholic pilgrams flock to so on Good Friday evening, there was a candle parade through the town. Cars here get blessed here everyday, not just Easter, so there are cars everywhere sprouting colourful flower decorations. People camp out anywhere and bring their pets along for the holiday season too, including monkeys and llamas. The lake is filled with paddle boats, row boats and kayaks, and so we thought we would holiday with the Bolivians and hopped in a lovely swan paddle boat for some fun this afternoon. Tommorrow we are heading across to the Isla del Sol for the day and night.

Before arriving here, we spent 3 nights in Sorata which is a zen like town surrounded by lush green mountains of plantations and farming families. Great hiking, and we did a full day hike to a place called Gruta San Pedro. It was a huge cave with a biug underground lake and small bats that live inside.

Another day trip in the past week was a venture out of La Paz toTiahuanaco which is Bolivias most significant archaelogical site. A civilisation thought to have risen about 600BC and is older than the Incas. The site is still very much being excated, and it was great to see a work in progress with local people carefully sifting though the site which already has uncovered large and well preserved pyramids and ceremonial grounds.

We are heading to Peru in 2 days so will write next from there.