WEEK 3 : THE AMAZON - CUYABENO RESERVE, QUILOTOA LOOP, BANOS

Ok so I have ten minutes to do a quick post ( the hostel here in Banos has a time limit for the internet so I will probably add to it on the next week or so! 

DAY  15 - 18  -  THE AMAZON

After a nightbus from Quito arriving in a town on the outskirts of the amazon  called Lago Agrio, then another 2.5 hour bus from there and a two hour boat ride up the river we arrived at our Lodge. We went with a budget lodge which had no electricity, so it was candles and torches at night. This added to the experience I thought. It is one of the only places where I have experienced true darkness, totally pitch black. With all the bugs around it was probably fo the best - ignorance is bliss as they say!

All in all it was an amazing experience, something which I have dreamed about doing for a longtime, it deffinitely lived up to my expectations and will take some beating on the top life experience list!! I think next time I will go mad and buy a boat and go down it myself! Whose with me?

PS: sorry for the probably horrific spellings, spanish spell check is no good for my english, also having to do this quickly!

 A Toucan

 Spot the Saki Monkey

DAY 19 - 21 : QUILOTOA LOOP

 YAY We´re inside a volcano

WEEK 2

DAY 8  -  QUIROGA, COTACACHI, LAGUNA DE CUICOCHA

In the pick up truck on the way back - who needs a rollercoaster??

 DAY 9 - Spent organising our trip

DAY 10 - COTAPAXI NATIONAL PARK AND VOLCANO

We did this as a day trip from Quito

 Me feeling sick from the altitude!

COMMENTS:

 WOW

Food: We were given Coca tea to help with the altitude sickness, it really works! These are the same leaves they use to produce the drug Cocaine!!

Hostel: Colonial House hostel in the Historical district in Quito, very different from La Mariscal!

DAY 11 - 13 QUITO - MINDO 

Mindo a town set in a 'cloud forest' was only a 2 hour bus away from Quito and it couldnt have been more different! It was a lot warmer and more humid as its about 1500m lower than Quito.

Room with a view

 On the way to waterfall Reina

At the butterfly farm..

 COMMENTS:

Design: Very creative timber and sheet metal roof, deconstructivist some might say...

17th Feb HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DAD AND NICOLA!!

Happy Birthday from Quito!

WEEK 1 CONTINUED

 Sorry for the delay, computers are in demand in the Hostels. To be quick, I think we are going to upload pictures from each day with a short comment! After all, pictures speak 1000 words

DAY 3  -  Quito

After the same brekkie as the day before we headed to the old town through a lovely park called park El Ejido ...

 We encoutered some strange doggey behaviour in Plaza Del Teatro

 And took a taxi and lots of crazy steps to la Virgin de Quito on a mound called little bread loaf. Its a viewpoint and monument made completely out of aluminium!

 We decided to get the bus back as its only 25Cents each, a fraction of the taxi price although that was just $4. The bus termional had some very interesting pedestrian ramps... lookeds a bit like a first year architecture project...edgy and industrial!

We had another stroll in the old town

A street called La Ronda

 The view of the Virgin from the modern art museum

 DOG OF THE DAY:

they can sleep ANYWHERE

COMMENTS

Food: The same breakfast as yesterday saw us through till dinner where we went to a local ecuadorian restaurant with no menu, luckily we went with people from our hostel who could speak spanish! we went for a few drinks with them in various bars around La Mariscal.

Design: The bus terminal ramp has to be todays pick for being the most bizzare looking construction seemingly going no where...

Hostel: Vibes hostel

Weather:  Sun, cloud rain!


DAY 4  -  Quito

We didn't do much due to the previous night out, but here is a bit of what we saw...

 The Observatory - the oldest in Latin America

DAY 5  -  Quito - the equator

COMMENTS

Design:  The monument for the equator is in the wrong place, the real equator is about 300m down the road....still its nice for some pics!

So after getting rather lost on our way back from the equator, we eventually found our way! Once we got back to Vibes, we packed and left for Otavalo a town famed for its traditional markets about 2 hours north.

DAY 6  - Otavalo

 

 

Animal Market

 

 The view from our hostel called Hostel Chasqui

 Crafts Market - Tom making a deal!

DAY 7  - Otavalo

 

Walk to Cascades de Peguche

 

 Very scared on bridge

 

Well I'm afraid we've taken as much time up as we can on the internet, there is an eager queue behind us!

We will try and finish the next installment : WEEK 2 tomorrow before we head off to the AMAZON!!