Ecuador

Back in Quito we slowly recovered from our virus. We heard that also those who weren’t sick on the boat, got sick afterwards. Therefore nobody was untroubled by this virus.

We spent 2 days in Quito because we were still tired and weak. Nevertheless we did some sightseeing. Koemi from Japan joined us. We visited old town were most of the interesting sights are located. Our first stop was at "Plaza de la Independencia". Practically every main square in South America is very nice and well maintained. The government building and the cathedral are located around this square. The "La Compañia" was impressive. Almost everything is covered with gold, even the altar. San Francisco church is the oldest catholic church in South America and also worth a visit. This church had been started building in 1553.

In spite of enjoying nightlive in Quito, we thought it was time to leave. We drove south along the "Avenida Vulcano" to Latacunga. This road is famous for its many vulcanoes which are lying on the way. Especially Cotopaxi with its 5'897 meter was impressive. It is the biggest active Vulcan in the world. Because of our weakness, we decided not to climb it. Also the weather wasn’t that great either. Next day we caugth a bus which headed to Quilotoa-Circuit particularly there was nothing to do in Latacunga. We read in our guidebook, that this Quilotoa-Circuit is on of the poorest but also one of the nicest areas in Ecuador. We decided to take the further way via Zumbahua to Chugchilan. Locals told us the bus ride will take approximately 4 hours. We do have more than 250 hours experience of bus rides in South Ameria, but this ride we will never forget. It was one of the worst. Because of presidential elections almost every Ecuadorian was on the move. It is the law, that every Ecuadorian has to vote and everybody can only vote were he/she was born. Our bus was so overcrowded it was almost unbelievable. Every cm/inch was occupied. When we say every, we mean every. On this account the controller of the bus didn’t have room and was kept to hang outside the bus. Not only it was pouring down we also stayed on an altitude of 4000 meter (feet). People had mercy and lent him their scarves because of ice-formation in his face.

We were so thankful, when we finally arrived at the hostel Cloud Forest, which we can recommend. Especially because of a cozy warm living room and a nice helpful family. Actually in the evening local girls entertained us with a few dances. Next day the owner of the hostel drove us to the Quilota Crater. We hiked from the Quilotoa crater lake back to Chugchilan. The crater lake on a sunny day is almost turquoise. First it was a bit cloudy but we were lucky and the fog cleared up as soon as we were on the crater. We had bit problems to find the way down, but finally with local help we made it to a small town. (We are still hillbillies) We could feel, that the locals do not meet a lot of “gringos”. However they were very nice. We guess, they don’t understand why people voluntary walk through mountains. The hike was beautiful and we gained a bit insight how people are living. We were happy to get back to a warm.

By the way, no new president was chosen by the elections. We are happy that the next voting is as recently as in November. Even if we wonder who is going to win; the rich Noboa or the populist Correa. However most locals don’t think anything is going to change. How can something change, if there will be the 7th president within 10 years.

After Chuchiglan we went further to Baños, which is also a vacation destination for locals. We knew that the vulcan Tungurahua is active. However it was frightening to see its huge cloud of ash coming out of the top. The vulcan erupted in August and since then this volcano is spitting lava from time to time. Despite of that we stayed some days in Baños. If you are lucky you can see lava at night. However it was too cloudy. We didn’t spent some time in the pools although Baños is famous for it. As soon as we saw the “brown” water and the crowd we decided not to go for a swim here.

After Baños we went to Riobamba, which is famous for the train ride to Alausi. This ride is really special, due to the fact that passenger are sitting on the roof. Which is fun however we were lucky with the weather though. We had a good few to "Chimborazo", a 6'310 meter high Vulcan. Actually it is the “highest” mountain in the world. Due to the bulge at the equator Chimborazo's peak reaches furthest into the all. (If you measure it from the centre of the earth) After almost 6 hours and several switchbacks we reached devils nose. It was a nice ride but after 7 hours we definitely had enough.

In Alausi we only had a stopover for an hour and caught the next bus to Cuenca. We arrived Cuenca exhausted in the evening. Cuenca it told to be the nicest town in Ecuador. We spent 3 days relaxing and planning our trip to the Amazonas as well as another Spanish class in Quito. Yes we are crazy enough to do another Spanish class. We also visited a shop (which also provides a small museum) where they make the famous panama huts. Yes, they are from Ecuador and not from Panama. We also met Koemi from Japan again, which was really nice.

After another few days city life we went further to the Amazonas through Baños. The route via Macas was too tediously and we were not in the mood to stay more hours in a bus as necessary. We were happy when we finally reached Liana Lodge http://www.lianalodge.ec/ . The lodge is located about 1 1/2 hours away from Tena. We were surprised how nice our cabin was. We didn’t expect this kind of luxury in the jungle. We had our own bathroom and even a hammock on our balcony. Also there are no mosquitoes at night. Do we really need something more? Yes good food, and we got plenty of it.

It was not cheap but on the other hand it was really relaxing. The Lodge is a Non-Profit-Organization. They invest their profit in other projects. During our stay we could learn more about all those projects.

Angelika (CH/D) und Remigio (Ecuadorian) give all their efforts to save the rainforest and animals in danger. It's amazing what they have been doing. On the first day we visited Amazoonico. http://www.selvaviva.ec/amazoonico/ We learnt a lot about animals who are living in the jungle. It was so humid and hot for this reason we were looking forward to jump in the cool river. It was relaxing to swim back on swim tubes.

We also learned about plants and how people live in the jungle. Our guide showed us which plants can be used for what. Without doing something we were sweating. Especially on the 5 hour hike up to the mirador. Luckily we could relax another time on the swim tube after the hike. This was great. Also we were looking forward to have a cold drink as well. We definitely can recommend this place.

After 5 days we went back to Quito where it was much colder than in the Amazonas. We had Spanish classes in the morning, where we refreshed Grammar and “Subjontivo”. Baeh. There was always a thunder storm in the afternoon. We didn't care. Our hostel was nice and we had a nice living room and kitchen therefore we spent some time at "home". It was also nice to meet Nick, our Galapagos guide, again.

For our last weekend we went to Otovalo. This town is very nice. It is famous for its market. They sell textiles, art crafts and even animals. It would have been nice to spent more time in this area however our time in Ecuador came close to an end. Therefore we had to go back to Quito.

The era in South America is over. Despite of all prejudice (crime etc.) we never felt insecure in the whole 7 months we spend down here. On the contrary we not only enjoyed the landscape but also the friendly locals, who were very hospitable. Even travelling around was easier than we first thought. We are looking back to a very good time. Luckily we still have 3 weeks left on our trip. We are looking forward to the warmth in Costa Rica.

Galapagos

Our flight from Denver to Quito, Ecuador was early in the morning. Adi & Tamara, our friends from Switzerland, took a lot of our spare stuff to Switzerland. Therefore we can travel much lighter, thanks. We had a short stop over in Miami before we arrived in Quito. Our Spanish has to improve though, but we do have time the next few weeks.

Following day we flew with Nick, our Guide from New Zealand, and other tourists to the Galapagos Islands. Our group was really good. Lisa and Helen from England were lovely, also Koemi from Japan and Boris from the States. Our first stop was on San Cristobal Island. Soon after lunch we went for a bike ride. After that we got good information in the Interpretation Center.

Next day we visited Islas Lobos (Sea lion Island), were we observed a lot of Sea lions very close. It is amazing; those animals do not fear humans. Also, there where Iguanos (lizards) and Blue Footed Bobbies (They really have blue feeds). Of course, we couldn't resist jumping into the cold water. The sea lions were so playful and they also enjoyed swimming with us. After a short boat ride we arrived at Kickers Rock, which were formed from a Vulcan eruption. The ocean here was very rough, but we didn't care and jumped another time in the ocean. And we can tell it was worth to do it. We saw a lot of rays, sharks, even hammerhead sharks. Although, we were happy afterwards, when we went in calmer sea. We relaxed a bit at the Cerro Brujo Beach and observed Sea lions, Pelicans and Lizards, which it seemed they enjoyed the quite beach as well.

We got four more people on board, next day. Especially Manolo, from Spain, was a fun person. The crossing to Floreana Island und Isabela Island was very rough. However we saw some albatrosses, Dolphins and even whales, which lightened our trip a bit.

The Wall of Tears was impressive; however it was built from convicts under extreme hard circumstances. A lot died under exhaustion or they got killed. After that we walked back to the village we stayed. On the way back we saw a lot Footed Boobies and lizards. In the afternoon almost everybody went for a kayaking tour where they could see some penguins. Helen and I spent the time with fever and stomach ache in the bed. But soon after the kayak tour more got sick, including Peter. Its not funny to share a bathroom if both are sick. It seemed 11 out of 13 (also the Crew) got a virus. Just a few could climb the Sierra Negra Vulcan next day. In Quito we heard the rest of our group had at latest problem back in Quito as well. Therefore everybody had some problem, some a bit more, some a bit less.

Luckily everybody felt a bit better and we could continue to Santa Cruz Island. In our opinion this Island is too crowded. But on the other hand to see this tortouise in there natural habitat was very impressive. Some of this huge animals are more than 100 years old (!) alt. We walked in the dark through an 800 meter long lava tunnel. It was impressive. The top crust had been cooling, while the liquid lava still had passed trough.

We went further to San Cristobal, which we like more than Santa Cruz. On the way we stopped on a beautiful lagoon where we once again jumped into the water. Again the sea lions played with us. The Macho (See lion male) was not as excited as the females and scared them of. At that time he passed Simone very close. I just can say, this was a huge one, wow. On the last day we enjoyed a stroll on the beach to a lighthouse.

The trip was absolutely perfect. We definitely can recommend this tour with Galakiwi www.galakiwi.com. Nick our guide did a good job and we like to thank him for the good time we had.

Back in Quito we all went to an Argentine restaurant and celebrated the tour. But know are other adventures waiting for us in Ecuador.