Weeks 43 to 44
16 May to 5 June
We left Punta Viejo and headed towards San Jose ready for our flight to Ecuador. Before leaving Costa Rica we visited Volcan Poas, travelling through beautiful countryside and coffee plantations to reach the entrance to the national park. After a short walk we reached the steaming crater which was very pretty.
We flew to Quito, Ecuadors capital city stayed in Quitos old town as the new town has a bad reputation for crime. The old town is lovely with lots of beautiful old buildings and squares. One day we were walking through the main square and saw a queue of people and, being British, decided to go and find out what they were queuing for. We were pleased we did when we found they were giving free tours of the Presidential Palace, and wow, what a building. We were allowed to look around the Cabinet Office and Banquet Hall which had a huge table which seats 60 people. Along the corridors there were glass cabinets displaying gifts the President had received from different countries, although we did not see one from Britian! On our way in we had to hand over our passports and have our picture taken, which we thought at the time was for security reasons. However, on our way out we were each give a photo of ourselves standing in the Palace gardens with the date of our visit on it!
We caught the bus north from Quito to Mitad del Mundo, the centre of the earth where the equator is supposed to be at 0 degrees. However, on arrival there is a man who tells you that, in fact, when the scientists set the site they were actually about 240m out and the official centre of the earth is just down the road!
21 May 2008 CONGRATULATIONS to Hannah and Lee on their Wedding Day
22 May 2008 CONGRATULATIONS to Sarah and Yasir on their Wedding Day
We left Quito on the bus and headed for Latacunga. Sadly, on arrival at our hotel in Latacunga we discovered that someone on the bus (most likely the man in the seat behind us) had managed to get into our rucksack and steal our money, credit cards, camera and various other items. As you can imagine, we were less than impressed! The next couple of days were spent making phone calls to cancel cards etc and attending the police station to make a report (an interesting experience with our limited Spanish and no-one being able to speak English, it was a bit like a game of charades as we described what had been stolen!). Not a very nice experience but we were the lucky ones, we have met many people who have been robbed at knife and gun point! You will be pleased to know we have bought a new camera so the pictures will still be coming!
We went to a local market in Saquisilo where all the women wear the national Ecuadorian dress which is very colourful with fancy Panama hats (which are actually made in Ecuador and not Panama as you would expect!).
Next stop Banos, a lovely little resort, surrounded by beautiful hills (and a volcano) and hot springs. We hired mountain bikes and cycled along the Cascada route which is through a picturesque valley with lots of beautiful waterfalls. We were going to do a trip up the volcano to see the red glow at night but sadly the weather was not too good. Just as well as a couple of days after we left Banos the volcano erupted and the surrounding area had to be evacuated!
From Banos we caught the bus to Riobamba ready to catch the train the next day to Nariz del Diablo (Devils Nose) which is a hair raising ride along the side of a very steep mountain. You are allowed to ride on the roof of the train to make it even more thrilling!! However, on the day of the train trip we headed off as planned at 6.30am but after about half an hour the train started heading back to town due to an engine problem. After a 4 hour delay (during which time we witnessed a dog give birth to puppies) we were off again but sadly by now it was pouring with rain so we went inside the train rather than on the roof. After about 2 hours the train stopped again, there had been a landslide and the track was covered with rubble and impassable, so back we went again and then had to get a bus on to the next place as the next train was not for a few days.
As we need to keep heading south we have been taking lots of overnight buses to give us more time during the day for sightseeing and trips. The last overnight bus in Ecuador got us over the Peruvian border into Trujillo. Whilst here we tried guinea pig which is a bit of a delicacy in South America. It is very tastey but sadly there is not much meat on one, as even the locals will admit! Some of the overnight buses are pretty luxurious with blankets and pillows, English movies and they bring round a tray of food just like on an aeroplane!
Off again on an overnight bus to Huaraz which is famous for its trekking in the Cordillera Blanca. We booked into a lovely homestay and then booked ourselves on the 4 days Santa Cruz Trek the following day, and what an amazing time we had. We headed out of town and up and up into the mountains. We were dropped off at about 3,200m and met our donkeys who would carry our camping equipment etc. Our guide, Edit, took us up through the most amazing scenery. We were surrounded by beautiful green and snow capped mountains. We walked for about 3 hours on the first day before setting up camp for the night at about 3,700m. It was pretty cold at night but our guide made sure we had plenty of warm bedding and plenty of good food! Up at 6.00am to start again and up and up we went for 7 hours. Today we reached 4,250m at Tulliapama and the next day, after another 7 ours we made it to 4,700m at the Punta Union which was a great achievement. The scenery along the way was just spectacular with beautiful lakes and amazing mountain ranges covered in snow. On day 4 we had our first sight of the mountain Santa Cruz and then made our way back down the mountain and back to our cosy homestay and nice warm bed. We went out for dinner with our guides and a group of French men and a guy from Canada who we met on the trek. We had a great evening of eating, drinking and dancing!
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