We spent one night in the beachside hotel, that evening we just chilled out, had a very nice dinner and then sat by a bonfire on the beach before heading to bed, The one down side was the beds were absolutely rock hard, it was horrible. They also believed in working with nature so they don´t like to waste water, so the tap water is cold and if you go to the toilet you can´t flush, instead you wash you hands in the sink which pours down into a bucket and then you pour that bucket into the toilet and eventually it drains away, It was quite unpleasant. The next day we skipped all the optional activities and just opted for relaxing by the beach. We left there at 2.30 and took a bus to some place i don´t know the name of. The problem is that we kept moving on so quickly that i´m struggling to keep up with where we are going. The bus ride was cool though, Anthea and i managed to get seats in the front row and because the driver was on the first floor and we were on the second we just had a massive window in front of us, which made us feel like we were in the driver`s seat. It had its pros and cons, we got an awesome view, but we also got very hot in the sun and we could see the near misses from our driver. The views were amazing, it was a strange mix of very dry desert and mountains and then lush paddocks and palm trees that looked like an oasis.
After 7 hours we were pretty over the bad driving and were relieved to get off to our new beds, which were a definate improvement on the night befores beds but still hard. It was 10pm and i was still drowsy from the bus so i went straight to bed. The next morning we went to a museum that showed the tombs of some ancient people. (i´ll be honest with you, i woke up with a sore neck and a sore back so i spent most of the time in that museum just wishing for a seat so i may have missed the finer details, like the name of of the musuem. Also the guide´s english was tricky to understand at times, and yes i am aware i am making alot of excuses) Nonetheless it was interesting to see all the jewellery clothing weapons and burial rituals of these people: we saw the real bones of some of the lords and guardians as well as many replicas of the bones. Anthea now tells me it was the Tomb of Sipan.
That afternoon we bussed to our new hotel, a beachside hotel outside the town of Trujillo. That evening we walked down the the beach to watch the sunset then had dinner at the hotel. We also indulged in a swim around 9pm just because we wanted to make the most of the first place we`ve stayed with a pool.
The next day we went for a tour of the ancient city of Chan Chan. The entire city is massive with 9 palaces but they have only restored one of them so far and haven`t even finished it. The stuff they haven`t restored just look like dirt hills in a sandy desert because all the walls were made of clay and they have worn away over hundreds of years. We went into the restored palace and it was very impressive. the walls were all patterned with either animals or diamond shapes, the courtyards were huge and the well looks so strange- a lake with green reeds and plants surrounding it in a place that is otherwise just clay and sand, it looked quite out of place. The walls of the palace 10metres high in someplaces and 2 metres thick with a boulder foundation1 metre under the surface. the only annoying thing was all the barriers and scaffolding which took away from the ancient feel of the place.
After Chan Chan we went back to the hotel swam in the pool and spent some time on the free internet. we also went out on a mission to find chocolate, i found a snickers bar and dam was it good!! just cos decent chocolate is rare in peru so its exciting to find it, makes it taste soo much sweeter. That evening we went for dinner at a beachside restaurant, the food was good but the service was less than average and it was pricey.
the next day we had a massive day of travelling, we left the hotel at 7.30 and arrived in Lima at 6.30. We were told it would be 6-7 hour bus ride so we were going crazy by the end of it. The views out the winsow were cool, massive dry deserts, mountains, beaches and cliffs, plus we had movies on the bus and 2 meals but we were still exhausted by the end. Our hotel is the fanciest one we`ve stayed in yet. We`re not really a fan of these hotels, although luxury can be nice we had hoped to be in hostels where we can meet people and have more fun. The hotels make us feel out of place. As a standard we will get a twin bedroon with ensuite, a tv, airconditioning, towels and breakfast. We don`t want to know what we are paying for these rooms. Last night we just had dinner at a fast food restaurant called Bembos. Went to the supermarket on a search for more chocolate and then to bed.
This morning we went to the San Fransisco Cathedral, underneath the church was the catacombs and it was fascinating to see all the tombs of bones. They had been sorted by the type of bones, pit of skulls, pits of leg bones, pits for assorted pelvic bones and ribs. Then we took a bus to Miraflores which is a nicer area of Lima, we had lunch a a little sandwich ship and i was very impressed with my sandwich seeing it was quite cheap. And I got a freshly made frozen lemonade made with real lemons. We also tried the churros from another restaurant and it was delicious and later Anthea and i got a cookie each. I was also going to get an icecream from this fancy helados shop but i decided i had had enough treats. We went to the Miraflores shopping mall and it was very nice, its built on a cliff overlooking the ocean and all the levels have no roofs so it was very sunny which equaled very hot. We wandered around for an hour or so but then we were exhausted so caught a taxi back to the hotel.
Tonight we are hoping to go to Chabuca Grande Park to experience some tradtional peruvian music and dance.
21 March, 2009
20 March, 2009
Cuenca
Ok so following on from my last blog... After our night salsa dancing we got up at a reasonable 9am and David took us for a city tour where we walked by the river that seperates the old town with the new town which is typical of most cities in Ecuador. Then we went to meet Alberto who is the master weaver of Panama hats, apparently he is quite famous and he was in a national geographic documentary. His vocal cords have been damaged from when he used to make the hats with sulpher so his voice is almost completely gone. But he was a lovely man and he showed us around his house and we tried on some of his hats.
We then were shown around the market place where people sell fruit, veges, medicinal herbs and meat. David taught us about the different uses for all the herbs and Steve got to try a protein shake that had a mixture of nasty looking ingredients including a eggs, malt drink, honey and a natural viagra. Walking through the meat section was fairly disgusting both for the eyes and nose.
We checked out the new cathedral, built in the late 1800s and then walked past the flower market and a crafts market.
From here we went to a museum to see a ethnographical room which showed all the different people of Ecuador which David recommended we see. It was really interesting, there was abut 15 different indigenous groups each with their own distinct looks, clothing, traditions, ceremonies and beliefs. We even saw some real shrunken heads and learnt the process of shrinking.
We then went to the mall and supermarket where we had lunch, claire and i struggled with all the choices and ended up getting burger king. The supermarket floor was marble and very slippery and my shoes have no grip so i had a ball of a time sliding all over the place.
That evening we went out for a final dinner in Ecuador, we went to a place called eucalyptus and they were meant to speacialise in dishes from other countries. So i got the Thai green curry, as i have been craving it for a while and was very disappointed to get something that tasted nothing like it, they had failed to add coconut milk or use jasmine rice rather just overloaded it with lemongrass. We presented david his tip for the 10 days he had been our tour guide and took a few group photos. David had then arranged for us to go play pool and most of the group went along. As this was our last day in Ecuador we were all down to our last few US dollars as they aren´t much good to us in Peru. I had $2, Claire had 5, Jill had 1 so we didn´t do much drinking that night. Claire and i were able to afford one Tom Collins between the two of us. We played pool for a few hours, Claire and I won maybe one game and although we failed to win anymore David help me sink a few good shots so we still had fun. Finally around12.30 we headed back to the hotel, the streets were absolutely dead so we taxied cos apparently it was too dangerous to walk.
The next day we took a 5 hour bus ride to the border of Peru. I personally found it hard leaving Ecuador and David because they made up my best experiences so far. David had been hoping to come with us to Peru for one night but the hotel didn´t have any free rooms. We met our Peruvian guide Diana on the Ecuador side of the border and we had been warned that the area was dangerous but we were surprised a how careful they were being. It was the most serious we had seen David the whole trip, he made us walk in a single file line, close together, with diana at the front and him at the back with our day packs on our fronts. Apparently they had had some bad experiences in the past. We said our goodbyes to David and then got in mini van to head into Peru. I felt like everyone was still being very cautious as we arrived in the first town to get money out but after we reached a really nice beachside hotel away from all the towns. It was nice to be able to relax at the beach after quite a few very busy days. It was the first time we were able to swim in a beach since Rio.
Anyway i´m still not caught up but there´s a pool in this hoteland its beckoning me...i´ll finish this tomorrow!!
We then were shown around the market place where people sell fruit, veges, medicinal herbs and meat. David taught us about the different uses for all the herbs and Steve got to try a protein shake that had a mixture of nasty looking ingredients including a eggs, malt drink, honey and a natural viagra. Walking through the meat section was fairly disgusting both for the eyes and nose.
We checked out the new cathedral, built in the late 1800s and then walked past the flower market and a crafts market.
From here we went to a museum to see a ethnographical room which showed all the different people of Ecuador which David recommended we see. It was really interesting, there was abut 15 different indigenous groups each with their own distinct looks, clothing, traditions, ceremonies and beliefs. We even saw some real shrunken heads and learnt the process of shrinking.
We then went to the mall and supermarket where we had lunch, claire and i struggled with all the choices and ended up getting burger king. The supermarket floor was marble and very slippery and my shoes have no grip so i had a ball of a time sliding all over the place.
That evening we went out for a final dinner in Ecuador, we went to a place called eucalyptus and they were meant to speacialise in dishes from other countries. So i got the Thai green curry, as i have been craving it for a while and was very disappointed to get something that tasted nothing like it, they had failed to add coconut milk or use jasmine rice rather just overloaded it with lemongrass. We presented david his tip for the 10 days he had been our tour guide and took a few group photos. David had then arranged for us to go play pool and most of the group went along. As this was our last day in Ecuador we were all down to our last few US dollars as they aren´t much good to us in Peru. I had $2, Claire had 5, Jill had 1 so we didn´t do much drinking that night. Claire and i were able to afford one Tom Collins between the two of us. We played pool for a few hours, Claire and I won maybe one game and although we failed to win anymore David help me sink a few good shots so we still had fun. Finally around12.30 we headed back to the hotel, the streets were absolutely dead so we taxied cos apparently it was too dangerous to walk.
The next day we took a 5 hour bus ride to the border of Peru. I personally found it hard leaving Ecuador and David because they made up my best experiences so far. David had been hoping to come with us to Peru for one night but the hotel didn´t have any free rooms. We met our Peruvian guide Diana on the Ecuador side of the border and we had been warned that the area was dangerous but we were surprised a how careful they were being. It was the most serious we had seen David the whole trip, he made us walk in a single file line, close together, with diana at the front and him at the back with our day packs on our fronts. Apparently they had had some bad experiences in the past. We said our goodbyes to David and then got in mini van to head into Peru. I felt like everyone was still being very cautious as we arrived in the first town to get money out but after we reached a really nice beachside hotel away from all the towns. It was nice to be able to relax at the beach after quite a few very busy days. It was the first time we were able to swim in a beach since Rio.
Anyway i´m still not caught up but there´s a pool in this hoteland its beckoning me...i´ll finish this tomorrow!!
17 March, 2009
Ive been slack
A quick disclaimer to start with...
I don{t seem to have an apostrophe, theres a key that looks like an apostrophe but its actually a bracket. So thats my excuse.
On our only full day in Banos we went on a waterfall tour in the morning which was nice, we were in a open bus and it was quite a cool day in the mountains so was a bit unpleasant and the waterfalls were pretty but iguazu falls really changed my perspective of waterfalls so nothing can compare. We went in a cable car across the canyon for $1 which was fun but we were disappointed when we couldnt get off on the other side to look around. we just pulled up at the platform, a woman took our tickets and then we were sent straight back again.
That afternoon Claire and Katrina went paragliding but i, after much internal struggle decided to go quad biking instead as anthea wanted to go and i was torn between the activities. We had an awesome time, we were timid at first driving through the streets of Banos. To be fair we didn{t really know the road rules of banos and they dont bother telling you, all they say is this is ignition, this is accelerate this is brake and off you go. We knew enough, i.e that we drive on the right side, which was a novelty and and felt very unnatural. Once we got to the main road out of banos we wenta bit harder on the accelerator but as our bike had no odometer we werent sure how fast. We went up a track up a mountain called bella vista and it was so amazing, the views over banos were excellent and there was so many beatiful things to look at on our way up. When anthea was in front of me she would point out things to look at, a dog there, pretty flowers there, waterfall over there. the paved road turned into a cobbled road and then a dirt path and then eventually just disappeared. I tried to continue on the grass but got stuck and as they hadn{t shown us any reverse function we had to push the quad bike to turn it around. Going back down the mountain was sooo much fun, we accelerated as much as possible and it felt fantastic. (it wasnt too fast mum :p)
That only took us one hour and we had two hours so we decided to head up a different mountain that david had suggested for a different view of banos. We were driving up for about 10mins when we hit the clouds and it became freezing. we kept going for a couple of minutes but the acceleration was a very stiff lever and my hands were so cold i was struggling to hold it down. plus we had dogs barking at us and we could hardly see. This is where things got interesting. Anthea carried on down the mountains no problem but i was struggling, i felt like i was rolling too much like the gears werent slowing me down at all so i kept gaining speed quickly and my brakes were bad so everytime i hit them my bike would skid, Anthea was so far ahead i couldn{t see her because of thick cloud but i found if i kept pumping the brakes i sayed in control. Anthea was waiting for me a bit further ahead and i found she was not having any issues so we just carried on very slowly. On the edge of the road was a sheer cliff face so i was being very careful. After a couple more minutes i stopped and turned the engine off and then attempted to start it again and the engine wouldn{t turn over. So my bike was officially dead. I rolled it to the closest driveway and got on the back of antheas bike. When we got back to te office with just one bike the woman hardly looked surprised, we told her it had broken down and she just said ok, how far away is it? It felt like this was a fairly standard occurence for her. But thats south america for you, no real safety standard. But the good news is i didnt die and i had a great time!
That evening we us 4 girls, plus jill and patricia and david went out drinking. We went out for dinner first and I had a baked zucchinni cheesy dish. Then we went to a bar called the leprecaun which was really cool, through the main bar is an outdoor bar with an open fire as well as an upstairs bar. We were given a welcome shot called A Bob Marley and then we each got a cocktail. I choose sex on the beach and it was fairly nasty. Then we met up with terry and ken two guys from our tour and terry bought claire and i antoher drink. After about 4 drinks we were about ready to dance so we went upstairs where we had such an awesome time. Guys in south america really know how to dance. So us girls just alternated partners and they taught us how to salsa. Even thouh i was fairly hopeless at dancing i still loved it, they would dip us and spin us and they were so good at leading you hardly had to do anything. It was the most fun i{ve ever had dancing and now i want to take salsa lessons. At 4.30am the bar was closing so we had to leave although we were very reluctant, and we walked back with david to the hotel.
The next morning we had to be up by 7 to go white water rafting and even though i had drunk 2 bottles of water before bed the night before i wasn{t feeling fantastic, especially seeing we had had less than 3 hours sleep. but turns out white water rafting is a good cure for a hangover. The cold water really wakes you up. We were only level 3 rapids and it was a great first experience for rafting but now im ready to try level 4+ or 5 because i found myself wishing the rapids would be bigger while we were doing it. But we still got a few good rapids that would wipe us out with water although we never fell in, I was surprised at how steady i felt sitting on the edge of the boat because i assumed it would feel unstable. A couple of times we were told to jump out of the raft just so we could practise the technique of pulling us back in again. The water was cold but with the wetsuits it was unbearable. We rafted for about 2 hours and by the end we were feeling exhauted. So when we got back into the van after i was absolutely wasted. i struggled to stay awake during lunch and then we had to go back to the hotel collect up our things and get on the bus the riobamba. That was about a 2 hour bus ride, of which i don{t remember much anymore, it was fairly uneventful. I was very much just looking forward to seeing a bed.
We got to our hotel and decided to go out for dinner as a group so david took us to an italian restuarant that had fantastic pizzas. On our way home they had a performance of traditional ecuadorian music at the train station so we stopped to watch for a while and they sounded amazing. I was so impressed with the guitars and the flutes, it sounded so perfect that if we couldn{t see them performing we would have assumed it was a recording. We went to an internet cafe but i lasted all of 5mins there because i was feeling quite sick, i think a mix of lack of sleep, rafting exhaustion, change of altitude, and perhaps drinking a bit of river water from the rafting (i couldn{t avoid it) caused me to feel quite unwell so i went home and talked to claire who read me a chapter of her book, the poisonwood bible and then i went to bed.
The next morning we had to be u at 5.30 and i still wasnt feeling fantastic and it seemed we were all suffering from some cramps but fortunately they seemed to pass during the day. It was a bit disappointing because we were due to go on a train ride from riobamba to cuenca passing through the devils nose that day but due to landslides we had to bus for most of the trip. We took a bus in the morning to Alausi and from there took a tram like train to the devils nose just to see it and then back to Alausi where we bussed to Cuenca. The scenery on the way to alausi and on the tram was very beautiful, greem hillsides with the indiginous people wearing there brightly coloured traditional outfits. It was so interesting to see these people, and we saw alot more of them in Alausi as we walked through the markets. I think they were as fascinating to us as we were to them. Our bus ride to Cuenca was horrible, we had scattered seats all overthe bus just wherever we could fit so I had noone to talk to, the engine brakes sounded like a kettle boiling over and they were almost constant throughout the trip as we seemed to be going forever downhill. People were standing in the aisles and they have no idea of personal space so they would lean right over you and one man pretty much used my head as a tripod when he was pointing something out to anther person. Another man had incredibly bad breath so i lept praying he would stop talking. Outside everything was white as we were driving through cloud so there was nothing to see, my mp3 payer was dead, i didn{t have a book. i would occasionally fall asleep and then wake up when someone bumped me, my neck would be aching and id usually find a boy staring at me. One little boy who walked past had the dirtiest stickiest hands as he was eating a lollypop and he kept overbalancing and reaching out for me. So i was incredibly relieved when those 4 hours were over. It seemed that a lot of our group were equally miserable and its not comforting to know the buses will get worse in bolivia.
Our hotel in Cuenca, where i am now, is so fancy looking. We feel like it is too fancy for us but its nice all the same. Again we decided to go out for dinner as a group but we had 2 hours free before that so i used that time to have a shower, feel fresh again and have a quick nap. Afterward i felt soo much better. So that evening we went out to a nice ecuadorian restuarant and David told us about our options for the next day. Afterward he asked us if we would like to go out for a drink at a bar so claire and i went with Henry, a tour guide from a different company and david would meet us there. Henry was so nice, very charming which is also very typical of south americian men. At one point he was telling us a story and then he just stopped talking and looked completely shocked. then we realised some of his tour group had come into the bar and he had told them he was feeling sick and wasn{t coming out that night so we had to move to a table in the corner. David would call every 20mins to tell us he was on his way. We stayed at the bar til it closed at 11.30 (sunday) and thats about when David showed up. Fortunately we found another bar that was still open and we stayed there for a few more hours, didnt drink quite as much as the other night but we cleared a space so we could pratise some more salsa. It was another great night and this time we got home at a more reasonable 1.30.
Ill have to finish there, but i also have to say i have absolutely fallen in love with Ecuador, the traditional people and rich culture, mix of old towns and new towns, the markets, the beautiful scenery, the amazon, music, charming guys, salsa dancing, its just incredible, and David who made it all so much more interesting due to his massive knowledge of the plants animals, landmarks people and culture. He has been a fantastic guide and i dont know how any other guide will ever be able to compare. Knowing that tomorrow i have to leave is a bit painful even though im moving on to Peru which is meant to be equally amazing. It feels like this every time we move on somewhere new becase we can{t believe that anything can top the experiences weve had.
I don{t seem to have an apostrophe, theres a key that looks like an apostrophe but its actually a bracket. So thats my excuse.
On our only full day in Banos we went on a waterfall tour in the morning which was nice, we were in a open bus and it was quite a cool day in the mountains so was a bit unpleasant and the waterfalls were pretty but iguazu falls really changed my perspective of waterfalls so nothing can compare. We went in a cable car across the canyon for $1 which was fun but we were disappointed when we couldnt get off on the other side to look around. we just pulled up at the platform, a woman took our tickets and then we were sent straight back again.
That afternoon Claire and Katrina went paragliding but i, after much internal struggle decided to go quad biking instead as anthea wanted to go and i was torn between the activities. We had an awesome time, we were timid at first driving through the streets of Banos. To be fair we didn{t really know the road rules of banos and they dont bother telling you, all they say is this is ignition, this is accelerate this is brake and off you go. We knew enough, i.e that we drive on the right side, which was a novelty and and felt very unnatural. Once we got to the main road out of banos we wenta bit harder on the accelerator but as our bike had no odometer we werent sure how fast. We went up a track up a mountain called bella vista and it was so amazing, the views over banos were excellent and there was so many beatiful things to look at on our way up. When anthea was in front of me she would point out things to look at, a dog there, pretty flowers there, waterfall over there. the paved road turned into a cobbled road and then a dirt path and then eventually just disappeared. I tried to continue on the grass but got stuck and as they hadn{t shown us any reverse function we had to push the quad bike to turn it around. Going back down the mountain was sooo much fun, we accelerated as much as possible and it felt fantastic. (it wasnt too fast mum :p)
That only took us one hour and we had two hours so we decided to head up a different mountain that david had suggested for a different view of banos. We were driving up for about 10mins when we hit the clouds and it became freezing. we kept going for a couple of minutes but the acceleration was a very stiff lever and my hands were so cold i was struggling to hold it down. plus we had dogs barking at us and we could hardly see. This is where things got interesting. Anthea carried on down the mountains no problem but i was struggling, i felt like i was rolling too much like the gears werent slowing me down at all so i kept gaining speed quickly and my brakes were bad so everytime i hit them my bike would skid, Anthea was so far ahead i couldn{t see her because of thick cloud but i found if i kept pumping the brakes i sayed in control. Anthea was waiting for me a bit further ahead and i found she was not having any issues so we just carried on very slowly. On the edge of the road was a sheer cliff face so i was being very careful. After a couple more minutes i stopped and turned the engine off and then attempted to start it again and the engine wouldn{t turn over. So my bike was officially dead. I rolled it to the closest driveway and got on the back of antheas bike. When we got back to te office with just one bike the woman hardly looked surprised, we told her it had broken down and she just said ok, how far away is it? It felt like this was a fairly standard occurence for her. But thats south america for you, no real safety standard. But the good news is i didnt die and i had a great time!
That evening we us 4 girls, plus jill and patricia and david went out drinking. We went out for dinner first and I had a baked zucchinni cheesy dish. Then we went to a bar called the leprecaun which was really cool, through the main bar is an outdoor bar with an open fire as well as an upstairs bar. We were given a welcome shot called A Bob Marley and then we each got a cocktail. I choose sex on the beach and it was fairly nasty. Then we met up with terry and ken two guys from our tour and terry bought claire and i antoher drink. After about 4 drinks we were about ready to dance so we went upstairs where we had such an awesome time. Guys in south america really know how to dance. So us girls just alternated partners and they taught us how to salsa. Even thouh i was fairly hopeless at dancing i still loved it, they would dip us and spin us and they were so good at leading you hardly had to do anything. It was the most fun i{ve ever had dancing and now i want to take salsa lessons. At 4.30am the bar was closing so we had to leave although we were very reluctant, and we walked back with david to the hotel.
The next morning we had to be up by 7 to go white water rafting and even though i had drunk 2 bottles of water before bed the night before i wasn{t feeling fantastic, especially seeing we had had less than 3 hours sleep. but turns out white water rafting is a good cure for a hangover. The cold water really wakes you up. We were only level 3 rapids and it was a great first experience for rafting but now im ready to try level 4+ or 5 because i found myself wishing the rapids would be bigger while we were doing it. But we still got a few good rapids that would wipe us out with water although we never fell in, I was surprised at how steady i felt sitting on the edge of the boat because i assumed it would feel unstable. A couple of times we were told to jump out of the raft just so we could practise the technique of pulling us back in again. The water was cold but with the wetsuits it was unbearable. We rafted for about 2 hours and by the end we were feeling exhauted. So when we got back into the van after i was absolutely wasted. i struggled to stay awake during lunch and then we had to go back to the hotel collect up our things and get on the bus the riobamba. That was about a 2 hour bus ride, of which i don{t remember much anymore, it was fairly uneventful. I was very much just looking forward to seeing a bed.
We got to our hotel and decided to go out for dinner as a group so david took us to an italian restuarant that had fantastic pizzas. On our way home they had a performance of traditional ecuadorian music at the train station so we stopped to watch for a while and they sounded amazing. I was so impressed with the guitars and the flutes, it sounded so perfect that if we couldn{t see them performing we would have assumed it was a recording. We went to an internet cafe but i lasted all of 5mins there because i was feeling quite sick, i think a mix of lack of sleep, rafting exhaustion, change of altitude, and perhaps drinking a bit of river water from the rafting (i couldn{t avoid it) caused me to feel quite unwell so i went home and talked to claire who read me a chapter of her book, the poisonwood bible and then i went to bed.
The next morning we had to be u at 5.30 and i still wasnt feeling fantastic and it seemed we were all suffering from some cramps but fortunately they seemed to pass during the day. It was a bit disappointing because we were due to go on a train ride from riobamba to cuenca passing through the devils nose that day but due to landslides we had to bus for most of the trip. We took a bus in the morning to Alausi and from there took a tram like train to the devils nose just to see it and then back to Alausi where we bussed to Cuenca. The scenery on the way to alausi and on the tram was very beautiful, greem hillsides with the indiginous people wearing there brightly coloured traditional outfits. It was so interesting to see these people, and we saw alot more of them in Alausi as we walked through the markets. I think they were as fascinating to us as we were to them. Our bus ride to Cuenca was horrible, we had scattered seats all overthe bus just wherever we could fit so I had noone to talk to, the engine brakes sounded like a kettle boiling over and they were almost constant throughout the trip as we seemed to be going forever downhill. People were standing in the aisles and they have no idea of personal space so they would lean right over you and one man pretty much used my head as a tripod when he was pointing something out to anther person. Another man had incredibly bad breath so i lept praying he would stop talking. Outside everything was white as we were driving through cloud so there was nothing to see, my mp3 payer was dead, i didn{t have a book. i would occasionally fall asleep and then wake up when someone bumped me, my neck would be aching and id usually find a boy staring at me. One little boy who walked past had the dirtiest stickiest hands as he was eating a lollypop and he kept overbalancing and reaching out for me. So i was incredibly relieved when those 4 hours were over. It seemed that a lot of our group were equally miserable and its not comforting to know the buses will get worse in bolivia.
Our hotel in Cuenca, where i am now, is so fancy looking. We feel like it is too fancy for us but its nice all the same. Again we decided to go out for dinner as a group but we had 2 hours free before that so i used that time to have a shower, feel fresh again and have a quick nap. Afterward i felt soo much better. So that evening we went out to a nice ecuadorian restuarant and David told us about our options for the next day. Afterward he asked us if we would like to go out for a drink at a bar so claire and i went with Henry, a tour guide from a different company and david would meet us there. Henry was so nice, very charming which is also very typical of south americian men. At one point he was telling us a story and then he just stopped talking and looked completely shocked. then we realised some of his tour group had come into the bar and he had told them he was feeling sick and wasn{t coming out that night so we had to move to a table in the corner. David would call every 20mins to tell us he was on his way. We stayed at the bar til it closed at 11.30 (sunday) and thats about when David showed up. Fortunately we found another bar that was still open and we stayed there for a few more hours, didnt drink quite as much as the other night but we cleared a space so we could pratise some more salsa. It was another great night and this time we got home at a more reasonable 1.30.
Ill have to finish there, but i also have to say i have absolutely fallen in love with Ecuador, the traditional people and rich culture, mix of old towns and new towns, the markets, the beautiful scenery, the amazon, music, charming guys, salsa dancing, its just incredible, and David who made it all so much more interesting due to his massive knowledge of the plants animals, landmarks people and culture. He has been a fantastic guide and i dont know how any other guide will ever be able to compare. Knowing that tomorrow i have to leave is a bit painful even though im moving on to Peru which is meant to be equally amazing. It feels like this every time we move on somewhere new becase we can{t believe that anything can top the experiences weve had.
13 March, 2009
Amazon jungle continues
I have 50mins so lets see how much more i can write.
So we left the animal shelter by changing into our togs and floating down the river on tubes back to our lodge. It was awesome, we had competitions to see who could stand on their tube for the longest, spinning competitions, tested out all the possible ways you can float on a tube and even threw the tubes away and swam for a bit. Officially it wasn´t the amazon river we were in but one of the smaller rivers that forks off the Amazon. We all swallowed a bit of water accidently but so far we seemed to have gotten away with it. We got back quickly got changed and then had lunch. This time we had broadbean soup, sounds bad, tasted great. and then cucumber salad, tuna cassarole (and i actually ate it mum) rice, lentils and fruit salad for dessert. We all felt pretty sleepy after that meal and an active morning so we had an hour to nap and relax before our afternoon activities so i chilled out in the hammock.
We headed back out at 3 down to the river where we used the canoe to get to the other side which is called Anaconda island. we went for an hour walk where we were hoping to see a stinky chicken. It´s not actually a chicken its a large strange bird but it is stinky. And unfortunately we didn´t see one. We tried seeds from a cacao tree, which are kinda gooey and sweet but taste nothing like chocolate. We learnt the process of how they turn this plant into chocolate which basically was drying or roasting the seeds then turning them into pulp, then add cocoa butter and sweeten it. (at lest i think that was it). We also found a plant they use for war paint and this was demonstrated by painting Anthea´s face. We were shown a vine that is used as a drug that can get you high for 12 hours, we didn´t get the try that one funnily enough. The natives use it more as a painkiller.
We saw the banana plantations and learnt that each banana plant only ever grows one bunch and then dies so they need to continuously replant them. David demonstrated a nettle plant that causes a bad reaction on the skin by rubbing it on a small patch on his arm. 30mins later he had about 5nasty litttle red lumps on his arms. Apparently it was completely numb in that area so he couldn´t feel it though. The native people use it as an anesthetic and also as a punishment for people who lie or steal. if you softly rub the plant over your arm it doesn´t hurt but the skin goes numb but if you do it hard it stings and becomes irritated. The island was beautiful and looked just as i had imagined the Amazon would do.
The walk ended up at a villager´s house and we were invited inside for chicha which is a traditional drink. David told us about how the houses are built and the roles of each family member and then we passed around a bowl of chicha. It didn´t taste fantastic, kinda yeasty. Originally it was made by chewing the chicha plant for hours to ferment it, then spitting it into a bowl then drink it and it was quite potent. fortunately the stuff we drank hadn´t been fermented with saliva. After our drink we went outside and tried using the blowgun to shoot a target. i was hopeless at it and my dart went into the forest somewhere. A few of the group managed to hit the target but none of us girls.
That evening we had drinks at the bar before dinner, i tried a passionfruit and rum drink and they actually went and picked and pulped a passionfruit while i waited. Doesn´t get much fresher than that! we sat on the swingchairs next to the river and had our drinks.
Dinner wasn´t as nice that evening, the meat was very salty and tasted like mustard and there was tamarillo which was very bitter. The soup was very nice though, this time it was mushroom. We had a flan type dessert with a strange fruity cream that seemed to be egg whites. It was actually quite nice.
That evening we played jumbling tower, more commonly known as jenga, we only lasted 3 games and then we sat out in the dark by the river for a while, the moon gave off alot of light but i still managed to put my hand on a MASSIVE bug.
Today we got up at 7 as we had to be out by 8am. I was sad to leave because i really loved the amazon and that lodge. We caught one bus to Tenna and then another from there to Banos, which is where we are now. Banos means bathroom in Spanish and its written on the side of all the toilets in South America so we associate the name with toilets. But its meant to mean Bath of the gods, or something like that anyway. It´s a really nice town, surrounded by mountains and theres plenty of adventures sprots to do. Tomorrow we are hopefully going paragliding and going for a walk/cablecar to a waterfall. and if there´s time quadbiking. And then on saturday we´re going white water rafting which i´m pretty excited about because i´ve always wanted to try it.
We didn´t do alot today, settled into the hotel and went out for lunch at a pizza place. There´s a cafe on the side of the mountain so we tried to walk up to it but we must have taken the wrong path cos the track got steeper and narrower til there was pratically nothing left to it so we turned around and went back again. We found a different path but we were concerned that it was going to get dark soon and we didn´t want to be the stupid tourists who got lost on a mountain at night. So we wandered around town and got dinner.
And that´s about it.
So we left the animal shelter by changing into our togs and floating down the river on tubes back to our lodge. It was awesome, we had competitions to see who could stand on their tube for the longest, spinning competitions, tested out all the possible ways you can float on a tube and even threw the tubes away and swam for a bit. Officially it wasn´t the amazon river we were in but one of the smaller rivers that forks off the Amazon. We all swallowed a bit of water accidently but so far we seemed to have gotten away with it. We got back quickly got changed and then had lunch. This time we had broadbean soup, sounds bad, tasted great. and then cucumber salad, tuna cassarole (and i actually ate it mum) rice, lentils and fruit salad for dessert. We all felt pretty sleepy after that meal and an active morning so we had an hour to nap and relax before our afternoon activities so i chilled out in the hammock.
We headed back out at 3 down to the river where we used the canoe to get to the other side which is called Anaconda island. we went for an hour walk where we were hoping to see a stinky chicken. It´s not actually a chicken its a large strange bird but it is stinky. And unfortunately we didn´t see one. We tried seeds from a cacao tree, which are kinda gooey and sweet but taste nothing like chocolate. We learnt the process of how they turn this plant into chocolate which basically was drying or roasting the seeds then turning them into pulp, then add cocoa butter and sweeten it. (at lest i think that was it). We also found a plant they use for war paint and this was demonstrated by painting Anthea´s face. We were shown a vine that is used as a drug that can get you high for 12 hours, we didn´t get the try that one funnily enough. The natives use it more as a painkiller.
We saw the banana plantations and learnt that each banana plant only ever grows one bunch and then dies so they need to continuously replant them. David demonstrated a nettle plant that causes a bad reaction on the skin by rubbing it on a small patch on his arm. 30mins later he had about 5nasty litttle red lumps on his arms. Apparently it was completely numb in that area so he couldn´t feel it though. The native people use it as an anesthetic and also as a punishment for people who lie or steal. if you softly rub the plant over your arm it doesn´t hurt but the skin goes numb but if you do it hard it stings and becomes irritated. The island was beautiful and looked just as i had imagined the Amazon would do.
The walk ended up at a villager´s house and we were invited inside for chicha which is a traditional drink. David told us about how the houses are built and the roles of each family member and then we passed around a bowl of chicha. It didn´t taste fantastic, kinda yeasty. Originally it was made by chewing the chicha plant for hours to ferment it, then spitting it into a bowl then drink it and it was quite potent. fortunately the stuff we drank hadn´t been fermented with saliva. After our drink we went outside and tried using the blowgun to shoot a target. i was hopeless at it and my dart went into the forest somewhere. A few of the group managed to hit the target but none of us girls.
That evening we had drinks at the bar before dinner, i tried a passionfruit and rum drink and they actually went and picked and pulped a passionfruit while i waited. Doesn´t get much fresher than that! we sat on the swingchairs next to the river and had our drinks.
Dinner wasn´t as nice that evening, the meat was very salty and tasted like mustard and there was tamarillo which was very bitter. The soup was very nice though, this time it was mushroom. We had a flan type dessert with a strange fruity cream that seemed to be egg whites. It was actually quite nice.
That evening we played jumbling tower, more commonly known as jenga, we only lasted 3 games and then we sat out in the dark by the river for a while, the moon gave off alot of light but i still managed to put my hand on a MASSIVE bug.
Today we got up at 7 as we had to be out by 8am. I was sad to leave because i really loved the amazon and that lodge. We caught one bus to Tenna and then another from there to Banos, which is where we are now. Banos means bathroom in Spanish and its written on the side of all the toilets in South America so we associate the name with toilets. But its meant to mean Bath of the gods, or something like that anyway. It´s a really nice town, surrounded by mountains and theres plenty of adventures sprots to do. Tomorrow we are hopefully going paragliding and going for a walk/cablecar to a waterfall. and if there´s time quadbiking. And then on saturday we´re going white water rafting which i´m pretty excited about because i´ve always wanted to try it.
We didn´t do alot today, settled into the hotel and went out for lunch at a pizza place. There´s a cafe on the side of the mountain so we tried to walk up to it but we must have taken the wrong path cos the track got steeper and narrower til there was pratically nothing left to it so we turned around and went back again. We found a different path but we were concerned that it was going to get dark soon and we didn´t want to be the stupid tourists who got lost on a mountain at night. So we wandered around town and got dinner.
And that´s about it.
The Amazon Jungle
I think i left you just before my salsa class last time, and its no surprise for me to learn that i still can´t dance. i got the moves down eventually but with none of the style or elegance of the instructor. I also got very dirty blistered feet. After class we went to our favourite restuarant for dinner where claire and i shared a chicken lasagne and a fruit salad, both were delicious but i was sad to find out they had no brownies available that day cos i really wanted to try one.
The next day we were up at 6 to head to the Amazon. We opted for a priviate van rather than public bus because it meant we could stop at the hot springs on the way there. After 2 hours driving we arrived at the pools in the middle of the mountains. It was quite chilly in there so we rushed into the nearest pool to warm up but it was only luke warm. We were told the smaller the pool the hotter it is so we braved the cold and ran to a smaller pool. this one was much nicer and we chillaxed in there for some time. The pool next to it was 45deg which was ridiculous and the best any of us managed was one foot in that pool. It was far too hot. Apparently going from hot water to cold water is invigorating and good for the blood circulation so we all plunged into the cold pool for a split second before racing back into the hot pool and i could feel my legs tingling for some time after, it was quite a shock to the system. The clouds cleared for a moment and we could see a volcano in the distance covered in snow. Once our hands were well and truly pruney we got out, had lunch and carried on.
We got back in the bus and headed into the Amazon Basin. We were staying in the upper basin but apparently the lower basin has far more animals so we´re pretty sure we will squeeze in a trip to the lower basin when we get to Bolivia. We travelled down dirt roads for about 20mins before getting out and walking down to the river where we boarded a river canoe and rode down to our lodge. On our way we saw a family of monkies travelling through the trees which was awesome.
We arrived at the lodge and it was soo beautiful. I fell in love with the place instantly. the main dining room was all open so you were surrounding by jungle and the seats were all carved like animals, the surrounding fences were made from twisted wood, the roof was made of bamboo and flax and grass weaved together and heavily layered. There is no electricity but they did have hot showers. The rooms had candles in them and each twin room had its own ensuite. And the rooms had balconies with hammocks looking out to the jungle. It was perfect.
That evening we just settled in and had dinner which was delicious, we had a green banana soup with banana chips in it and david taught us to put chilli sauce and popcorn in it which was great, i know how weird it sounds but it was good. We also had chicken, lentils, salad and then chocolate moouse for dessert. Then we got our gumboots fitted and headed into the jungle for a night walk. This was a very unnerving but fun activity. We didn´t see any animals but saw plenty of massive bugs. Every time a branch would brush past I shivered because i had seen the bugs and i definately didn´t want them on me. We saw spiders bigger than my hand, of the scorpian, and jumping variety. One was a relation of the tarantula. Overall i handled myself quite well with the spiders, i didn´t mind seeing them on the trees and plants but David brough one right up to us to see and i freaked out cos he was getting way to close. we also saw grasshoppers, beetles, stick insects, massive wetas (althought they´re not called wetas)and a few tiny frogs.
The track was quite difficult especially as we were advised not to touch the trees as we could put our hand on a bug, there was deep mud the walk through, a lot of big steps and even a few little rivers to cross. Katrinas torch died half way through so i had to light the way for both of us which was tricky at times but we made it. We took the river canoe back to the lodge and they turned the motor off so we just silently floated down the river listening to the sounds of the jungle. It was a full moon so everything was illuminated and it was amazing. That evening we sat by the bar and talked to david for a while then headed to bed fairly early.
The next day was our only full day in the amazon so we wanted to make the most of it. In the morning we did a 1 hour jungle walk, as we went through David and our other guide (she was just a little ecuadorian woman with a very large machetti) showed us the plants the native people used for food and medicine. She showed us how they weave a flax plant and she turned it into a crown which she put on my head. I didn´t wear it for long because it would get caught on the branches. she also made a bracelet, she showed us the plant the make panama hats with, that only grows in the amazon (go figure) we saw a tree that has sap as red as blood with is used as an antiseptic and when rubbed on the skin it turns white. David demonstrated how termites are used as a natural insect repellant and rubbed some on his skin. He offered us ants to lick as they taste like lemon...and they really did. Then he got us to try an actual lemon and it was bigger than an orange and incredibly sour. We reached a view point where we could see the forest and river and then continued on. We saw a boa constrictor, (fairly small, about 1-2 metres long) it had just been released from the wildlife rehab centre. and then we reached the centre where we were shown around by an american guide. Here we saw a few different species of monkies, four capabarras, wild pigs, massive colourful parrots, toucans and maccaws as well as a anaconda, an ocelot (small leopard type cat) a cat that was a relation of the puma but looked a bit like a weasel, and turtles. The cutest animal was the pigmy monkey that was soooooooo gorgeous and tiny. It´s the smallest monkey in the world, smaller than guinea pig, it moved very slowly and cautiously then it would spring up incredily quickly. Also around the centre squirrel monkeys could run free and a wolley monkey went up to anthea, officially we´re not meant to touch them because they´re not supposed to get used to human contact but we couldn´t help it if they touched us
Right i´ll have to leave it at that because we´re heading out for a walk (i´m in Banos now) So i will continue this tomorrow, some time between paragliding and quadbiking (sorry i couldn´t resist throwing that in) Ciao!
The next day we were up at 6 to head to the Amazon. We opted for a priviate van rather than public bus because it meant we could stop at the hot springs on the way there. After 2 hours driving we arrived at the pools in the middle of the mountains. It was quite chilly in there so we rushed into the nearest pool to warm up but it was only luke warm. We were told the smaller the pool the hotter it is so we braved the cold and ran to a smaller pool. this one was much nicer and we chillaxed in there for some time. The pool next to it was 45deg which was ridiculous and the best any of us managed was one foot in that pool. It was far too hot. Apparently going from hot water to cold water is invigorating and good for the blood circulation so we all plunged into the cold pool for a split second before racing back into the hot pool and i could feel my legs tingling for some time after, it was quite a shock to the system. The clouds cleared for a moment and we could see a volcano in the distance covered in snow. Once our hands were well and truly pruney we got out, had lunch and carried on.
We got back in the bus and headed into the Amazon Basin. We were staying in the upper basin but apparently the lower basin has far more animals so we´re pretty sure we will squeeze in a trip to the lower basin when we get to Bolivia. We travelled down dirt roads for about 20mins before getting out and walking down to the river where we boarded a river canoe and rode down to our lodge. On our way we saw a family of monkies travelling through the trees which was awesome.
We arrived at the lodge and it was soo beautiful. I fell in love with the place instantly. the main dining room was all open so you were surrounding by jungle and the seats were all carved like animals, the surrounding fences were made from twisted wood, the roof was made of bamboo and flax and grass weaved together and heavily layered. There is no electricity but they did have hot showers. The rooms had candles in them and each twin room had its own ensuite. And the rooms had balconies with hammocks looking out to the jungle. It was perfect.
That evening we just settled in and had dinner which was delicious, we had a green banana soup with banana chips in it and david taught us to put chilli sauce and popcorn in it which was great, i know how weird it sounds but it was good. We also had chicken, lentils, salad and then chocolate moouse for dessert. Then we got our gumboots fitted and headed into the jungle for a night walk. This was a very unnerving but fun activity. We didn´t see any animals but saw plenty of massive bugs. Every time a branch would brush past I shivered because i had seen the bugs and i definately didn´t want them on me. We saw spiders bigger than my hand, of the scorpian, and jumping variety. One was a relation of the tarantula. Overall i handled myself quite well with the spiders, i didn´t mind seeing them on the trees and plants but David brough one right up to us to see and i freaked out cos he was getting way to close. we also saw grasshoppers, beetles, stick insects, massive wetas (althought they´re not called wetas)and a few tiny frogs.
The track was quite difficult especially as we were advised not to touch the trees as we could put our hand on a bug, there was deep mud the walk through, a lot of big steps and even a few little rivers to cross. Katrinas torch died half way through so i had to light the way for both of us which was tricky at times but we made it. We took the river canoe back to the lodge and they turned the motor off so we just silently floated down the river listening to the sounds of the jungle. It was a full moon so everything was illuminated and it was amazing. That evening we sat by the bar and talked to david for a while then headed to bed fairly early.
The next day was our only full day in the amazon so we wanted to make the most of it. In the morning we did a 1 hour jungle walk, as we went through David and our other guide (she was just a little ecuadorian woman with a very large machetti) showed us the plants the native people used for food and medicine. She showed us how they weave a flax plant and she turned it into a crown which she put on my head. I didn´t wear it for long because it would get caught on the branches. she also made a bracelet, she showed us the plant the make panama hats with, that only grows in the amazon (go figure) we saw a tree that has sap as red as blood with is used as an antiseptic and when rubbed on the skin it turns white. David demonstrated how termites are used as a natural insect repellant and rubbed some on his skin. He offered us ants to lick as they taste like lemon...and they really did. Then he got us to try an actual lemon and it was bigger than an orange and incredibly sour. We reached a view point where we could see the forest and river and then continued on. We saw a boa constrictor, (fairly small, about 1-2 metres long) it had just been released from the wildlife rehab centre. and then we reached the centre where we were shown around by an american guide. Here we saw a few different species of monkies, four capabarras, wild pigs, massive colourful parrots, toucans and maccaws as well as a anaconda, an ocelot (small leopard type cat) a cat that was a relation of the puma but looked a bit like a weasel, and turtles. The cutest animal was the pigmy monkey that was soooooooo gorgeous and tiny. It´s the smallest monkey in the world, smaller than guinea pig, it moved very slowly and cautiously then it would spring up incredily quickly. Also around the centre squirrel monkeys could run free and a wolley monkey went up to anthea, officially we´re not meant to touch them because they´re not supposed to get used to human contact but we couldn´t help it if they touched us
Right i´ll have to leave it at that because we´re heading out for a walk (i´m in Banos now) So i will continue this tomorrow, some time between paragliding and quadbiking (sorry i couldn´t resist throwing that in) Ciao!
10 March, 2009
Quito-city of the straight sun
Yesterday we went to see the equator- which you can´t leave equador without doing. So we caught two buses in the morning to get out there, its about 45km out of town so took just over an hour. We went into this park which felt very tacky and touristy. There was a big statue which apparently marks the equator but its not accurate. So we took a few photos of the statue then were about to leave when a woman asked us if we would like to go on a tour to Pululahua- the worlds largest inhabited active volcano. So we decided it was worth a look but as we were driving up to the volcano we saw cloud coming over very fast which meant our views would be obscurred.
Claire and Anthea went to the viewing platform and Katrina and I did the hiking tour with a guide. Our guide really knew his stuff and he showed us plants used as antiseptics, for coughs, relaxion and even a berry that helped the indigenous people speak with the gods, i.e a hallucinagenic, and then he asked if we would like to try one. We both ate one but it had no affect as i assume you´d need alot of it before you feel anything. We walked up the hill a bit and i was relieved we didn´t go too far up cos the altitude causes me to get breathless so fast. We sat on a small ledge on the crater wall and looked down into the crater floor. It was very green and lush. The clouds were still moving very fast and it meant one minute we could see the whole crater the next minute everything was white. Apparently 40 families, or 100 people live in the volcano and they live up to 120 years old. they have electricity as well as spa and sauna down there so they´re not doing too badly for themselves. Every day they get the same weather, in the morning they get warm winds from the pacific and in the evenings it gets cold usually down to 0 deg. They have one road but they dont use it, instead opting to walk up a steep path which takes them 45mins. They grow all their own food and usually just leave the area to sell goods at the markets. If the volcano erupted they would have about 30-60mins to get out. They have a plan for such an event though, which is to pray.
While we were sitting on the ledge our guide played us song from a traditional instrument of his people (i don´t remember what its called) It was very peaceful.
We walked back down and he showed us another plant which was a hybrid of mint and lavander plants, we could see the mint plant and the lavender plant and this plant sat in between and smelt really good. We met the others and went back to the park where we had lunch and saw hummingbirds at the window, they are such amazing little birds.
Next we went to a museum next door where we found the real equator. We can´t understand how the first park is soo popular when its not the real equator, all it has is a statue and a bunch of tacky stores and restaurants. The museum was fantastic, we were given a guide who showed us around and taught us about how the Andean cultures live. We learnt that men only are allowed to sleep in hammocks woman and children sleep on the ground, which apparently is beacuse it means the man can get up quickly to defend his family which i found questionable. In the main room of a house they kept guinea pigs because they believed they had great energy and can recognise bad energy on others so if the guinea pigs start squealing the person would be asked to leave. The houses are built with low roofs so that people have to bow to come in. To get married woman need to make a meal in which the mother in law has to approve. whereas men have to build a boat from one tree approx 12 metres long that can float and fit 8 men (i think) Chiefs have multiple wives and when they die they believe they will be reborn so they are buried in a round tomb (which represents the womb) they have food buried with them and their favourite wife must drink a cactus juice which cuases them to fall asleep and they are put in the tomb where they suffocate to death. Some chiefs are buried with all their wives and servants.
Our guide then demonstrated that water on the equator will drain straight down, he showed us the same experiment 1 metre into the northern hemisphere and it went anticlockwise, and then 1 metre into the southern hemisphere and it went clockwise. Katrina and i both managed to balance an egg on a nail head which apparently is only possible on the equator and we also did balance tests by trying to walk in a straight line with our eyes shut on the equator line-its much harder than anywhere else. It was a very interesting museum and our guide was very informative. After this we went back to our hotel and we met our tour group and guide. Our guide seems cool and he has a hilarious laugh. It always makes us laugh cos its so bizarre.
This morning we met with our tour guide again and we explored Old Quito, we had already been briefly but we thought it would be good to go agfain with a guide. We went up to a statue of the virgin mary that overlooks the city and then we walked down into the town. We tried some sweetened coconut from a stall and it was delicious. We then went into a beautiful cathedral called La Compañía de Jesús. It had baroque style decorations which put simply means leave no space undecorated. It was incerdible, we weren´t allowed to take photos but every inch of the church was decorated, mainly in gold, painted with gold leaf. It was great having a guide cos it meant we were learning about the places we were going not just looking at how pretty they are. Of course i have a bad memory so i can´t relay anything i learnt from that church so i´m thinking of carrying a notebook with me so i can jot down interesting facts.
Here´s a link to a picture i found of the church http://www.travel-images.com/ecuador10.jpg
So we carried on from there down to the presidential palace to watch the changing of the guards. It apparently occurs every monday at midday and its a very elaborate ceremony. There are marching bands and guards on horses and the presidents family stands on the balcony of the palace and there are guards it bright blue everywhere.
Then we found a really cheap. delicious and traditional ecuadarian food for lunch. it was chicken, lentils and rice and we also had a roasted corn cob with cheese on top and a pepsi (not so tradtional) and all of that cost 2.50!! it was awesome.
Then we left our tour guide because they were going to see the equator which we had already done so we went to see the Teleferico which is a gondola ride up a hill overlooking all of Quito. It was a great view and we were lucky because clouds were coming over but they didn´t block our view. The city looks absolutely massive but apparently it is only 5m wide, and 45m in length with a population of 2.5 million. which seems much smaller than how it looks. We´ve just arrived back from there and we´re having a quick internet catchup before getting a salsa lesson and then going out for dinner at our favourite restaurant with some of the people from our tour. And then in the morning we leave at 7am to go to the Amazon jungle and on the way were going to some natural thermal pools which our guide reckons are the best in all of South America so i can´t wait!!!! But i don´t know when i´ll next have internet so could be a while before my next blog, but hopefully it´ll be a good one!!
Adios!
Claire and Anthea went to the viewing platform and Katrina and I did the hiking tour with a guide. Our guide really knew his stuff and he showed us plants used as antiseptics, for coughs, relaxion and even a berry that helped the indigenous people speak with the gods, i.e a hallucinagenic, and then he asked if we would like to try one. We both ate one but it had no affect as i assume you´d need alot of it before you feel anything. We walked up the hill a bit and i was relieved we didn´t go too far up cos the altitude causes me to get breathless so fast. We sat on a small ledge on the crater wall and looked down into the crater floor. It was very green and lush. The clouds were still moving very fast and it meant one minute we could see the whole crater the next minute everything was white. Apparently 40 families, or 100 people live in the volcano and they live up to 120 years old. they have electricity as well as spa and sauna down there so they´re not doing too badly for themselves. Every day they get the same weather, in the morning they get warm winds from the pacific and in the evenings it gets cold usually down to 0 deg. They have one road but they dont use it, instead opting to walk up a steep path which takes them 45mins. They grow all their own food and usually just leave the area to sell goods at the markets. If the volcano erupted they would have about 30-60mins to get out. They have a plan for such an event though, which is to pray.
While we were sitting on the ledge our guide played us song from a traditional instrument of his people (i don´t remember what its called) It was very peaceful.
We walked back down and he showed us another plant which was a hybrid of mint and lavander plants, we could see the mint plant and the lavender plant and this plant sat in between and smelt really good. We met the others and went back to the park where we had lunch and saw hummingbirds at the window, they are such amazing little birds.
Next we went to a museum next door where we found the real equator. We can´t understand how the first park is soo popular when its not the real equator, all it has is a statue and a bunch of tacky stores and restaurants. The museum was fantastic, we were given a guide who showed us around and taught us about how the Andean cultures live. We learnt that men only are allowed to sleep in hammocks woman and children sleep on the ground, which apparently is beacuse it means the man can get up quickly to defend his family which i found questionable. In the main room of a house they kept guinea pigs because they believed they had great energy and can recognise bad energy on others so if the guinea pigs start squealing the person would be asked to leave. The houses are built with low roofs so that people have to bow to come in. To get married woman need to make a meal in which the mother in law has to approve. whereas men have to build a boat from one tree approx 12 metres long that can float and fit 8 men (i think) Chiefs have multiple wives and when they die they believe they will be reborn so they are buried in a round tomb (which represents the womb) they have food buried with them and their favourite wife must drink a cactus juice which cuases them to fall asleep and they are put in the tomb where they suffocate to death. Some chiefs are buried with all their wives and servants.
Our guide then demonstrated that water on the equator will drain straight down, he showed us the same experiment 1 metre into the northern hemisphere and it went anticlockwise, and then 1 metre into the southern hemisphere and it went clockwise. Katrina and i both managed to balance an egg on a nail head which apparently is only possible on the equator and we also did balance tests by trying to walk in a straight line with our eyes shut on the equator line-its much harder than anywhere else. It was a very interesting museum and our guide was very informative. After this we went back to our hotel and we met our tour group and guide. Our guide seems cool and he has a hilarious laugh. It always makes us laugh cos its so bizarre.
This morning we met with our tour guide again and we explored Old Quito, we had already been briefly but we thought it would be good to go agfain with a guide. We went up to a statue of the virgin mary that overlooks the city and then we walked down into the town. We tried some sweetened coconut from a stall and it was delicious. We then went into a beautiful cathedral called La Compañía de Jesús. It had baroque style decorations which put simply means leave no space undecorated. It was incerdible, we weren´t allowed to take photos but every inch of the church was decorated, mainly in gold, painted with gold leaf. It was great having a guide cos it meant we were learning about the places we were going not just looking at how pretty they are. Of course i have a bad memory so i can´t relay anything i learnt from that church so i´m thinking of carrying a notebook with me so i can jot down interesting facts.
Here´s a link to a picture i found of the church http://www.travel-images.com/ecuador10.jpg
So we carried on from there down to the presidential palace to watch the changing of the guards. It apparently occurs every monday at midday and its a very elaborate ceremony. There are marching bands and guards on horses and the presidents family stands on the balcony of the palace and there are guards it bright blue everywhere.
Then we found a really cheap. delicious and traditional ecuadarian food for lunch. it was chicken, lentils and rice and we also had a roasted corn cob with cheese on top and a pepsi (not so tradtional) and all of that cost 2.50!! it was awesome.
Then we left our tour guide because they were going to see the equator which we had already done so we went to see the Teleferico which is a gondola ride up a hill overlooking all of Quito. It was a great view and we were lucky because clouds were coming over but they didn´t block our view. The city looks absolutely massive but apparently it is only 5m wide, and 45m in length with a population of 2.5 million. which seems much smaller than how it looks. We´ve just arrived back from there and we´re having a quick internet catchup before getting a salsa lesson and then going out for dinner at our favourite restaurant with some of the people from our tour. And then in the morning we leave at 7am to go to the Amazon jungle and on the way were going to some natural thermal pools which our guide reckons are the best in all of South America so i can´t wait!!!! But i don´t know when i´ll next have internet so could be a while before my next blog, but hopefully it´ll be a good one!!
Adios!
08 March, 2009
Leaving Panama and arriving in Quito
Man i am doing well with my blogging if i do say so myself :)
So after i claimed my free pancakes we left Luna´s and caught a taxi to the airport and we had such a cool taxi driver, he spoke english and he was telling us about a band he was in and then he played us one of his songs. and he was singing along and pretending to play the piano and guitar (all while driving) and then he wrote down his band name and his email and told us to look up his band on you tube. then when we were arriving at the airport he also gave anthea his phone number in case she ever comes back to Panama and was looking for a place to stay!! It was hilarious. and then after he gave us our bags he gave us each a hug and kiss, friendliest and most flirtatious taxi driver we´ve ever had. But the guys in Panama were very impressed with us. From the moment we arrived we got honked and whistled at, approx 30times a day, and thats not an exaggeration, it got old quite quickly. They would stare at us as they drove past and it was particularly bad when we passed construction sites. If they were passing us in the street they would say HI hello!!! or Hola! It was crazy!!
We got on the flight and the flight attendant who was on our Brazil-panama flight was on this flight too. On the last flight he sitting across from Anthea and I at the back of the plane and another flight attendant was behind the curtain making mooing sounds with a megaphone (we have no idea why) but this flight attendant told us there was a cow in the back of the plane so they could have milk for the coffee. Which we might have believed if we hadn´t just been given powedered milk in our coffee.
So anyway as this flight attendant was giving out custom forms he asked us about our stay in panama and then 10 mins later he came back and gave me a napkin with his email address on it and said if i´m ever back in panama I should send him a message. And did i mention he was very attractive? So i was feeling very chuffed and once he walked away us girls all had a wee giggle :p
So we arrived in Quito and were very relieved to feel the air was cooler here. It was still warm but not like the sweltering heat we were accustomed to. We were also very pleased to find everything is very cheap in Quito and its also a very beautiful city. We´re at an altitude of 2800m so we find walking the 4 flights of stairs to our room leaves us breathless but otherwise we haven´t been affected by altitude sickness so thats a relief. Our room is more like a hotel than a hostel which is awesome and it only costs us US$12 a night including breakfast which is awesome!! We have a four bed private room with ensuite and TV, it´s fantastic.
We didn´t do too much yesterday cos the gude books advise to take the first day easy to prevent making ourselve sick. So we went on the internet had dinner at an amazing cafe that was sooo cheap sooo delicious had a great atmostphere and the most lovely woman who served us. It was perfect. So good we went back today for lunch and we´ve yet to be disappointed with anything we´ve ordered. After we went back to the room and just chillaxed and i think i was in bed by 8pm cos there wasn´t really anything else to do.
Today we got up early, claimed our free breafast and went to check out the markets. the taxi only cost us $3, which we later found out was quite expensive! We spent about an hour wandering around the markets, admiring the artwork, buying a few things and trying but generally failing at bargaining. It just doesn´t come naturally to us. Then we crossedc the road past an ambulance and a crowd of people and we were very shocked to see a dead body on the road wrapped in two garbage bags, it was very disturbing. We have no idea what happened but it was scary to see.
After another delicious lunch we went to check out Basilica del Voto Nacional which was described as the deadliest view in Quito. It was alot of fun, the basilica was very impressive to look at and then after climbing about 8 flights of stairs, a spiral staircase and then 4 ladders we reached the top of the steeple. The floor was just metal supporting bars with mesh over it and the mesh had holes all through it, then you can climb out the window onto a small ledge which gives you an amazing view and a rush of adrenaline. As we sat up there we could hear the drumming of a ocal marching band which was soo loud it sounded like gun shots echoing through the valley, it added to the atmosphere quite well. It was amazing and quite freaky at the same time sitting up there. Check out facebook for some photos. It was the kind of thing that health and safety would never allow in NZ or aus. then we headed back down, i rang the bell three times on my way past and then taxied back home for $1.30!! It was awesome. Then we went out for brownies and sundaes at a chocolate cafe and then came here. Now i´m up to date!!
So after i claimed my free pancakes we left Luna´s and caught a taxi to the airport and we had such a cool taxi driver, he spoke english and he was telling us about a band he was in and then he played us one of his songs. and he was singing along and pretending to play the piano and guitar (all while driving) and then he wrote down his band name and his email and told us to look up his band on you tube. then when we were arriving at the airport he also gave anthea his phone number in case she ever comes back to Panama and was looking for a place to stay!! It was hilarious. and then after he gave us our bags he gave us each a hug and kiss, friendliest and most flirtatious taxi driver we´ve ever had. But the guys in Panama were very impressed with us. From the moment we arrived we got honked and whistled at, approx 30times a day, and thats not an exaggeration, it got old quite quickly. They would stare at us as they drove past and it was particularly bad when we passed construction sites. If they were passing us in the street they would say HI hello!!! or Hola! It was crazy!!
We got on the flight and the flight attendant who was on our Brazil-panama flight was on this flight too. On the last flight he sitting across from Anthea and I at the back of the plane and another flight attendant was behind the curtain making mooing sounds with a megaphone (we have no idea why) but this flight attendant told us there was a cow in the back of the plane so they could have milk for the coffee. Which we might have believed if we hadn´t just been given powedered milk in our coffee.
So anyway as this flight attendant was giving out custom forms he asked us about our stay in panama and then 10 mins later he came back and gave me a napkin with his email address on it and said if i´m ever back in panama I should send him a message. And did i mention he was very attractive? So i was feeling very chuffed and once he walked away us girls all had a wee giggle :p
So we arrived in Quito and were very relieved to feel the air was cooler here. It was still warm but not like the sweltering heat we were accustomed to. We were also very pleased to find everything is very cheap in Quito and its also a very beautiful city. We´re at an altitude of 2800m so we find walking the 4 flights of stairs to our room leaves us breathless but otherwise we haven´t been affected by altitude sickness so thats a relief. Our room is more like a hotel than a hostel which is awesome and it only costs us US$12 a night including breakfast which is awesome!! We have a four bed private room with ensuite and TV, it´s fantastic.
We didn´t do too much yesterday cos the gude books advise to take the first day easy to prevent making ourselve sick. So we went on the internet had dinner at an amazing cafe that was sooo cheap sooo delicious had a great atmostphere and the most lovely woman who served us. It was perfect. So good we went back today for lunch and we´ve yet to be disappointed with anything we´ve ordered. After we went back to the room and just chillaxed and i think i was in bed by 8pm cos there wasn´t really anything else to do.
Today we got up early, claimed our free breafast and went to check out the markets. the taxi only cost us $3, which we later found out was quite expensive! We spent about an hour wandering around the markets, admiring the artwork, buying a few things and trying but generally failing at bargaining. It just doesn´t come naturally to us. Then we crossedc the road past an ambulance and a crowd of people and we were very shocked to see a dead body on the road wrapped in two garbage bags, it was very disturbing. We have no idea what happened but it was scary to see.
After another delicious lunch we went to check out Basilica del Voto Nacional which was described as the deadliest view in Quito. It was alot of fun, the basilica was very impressive to look at and then after climbing about 8 flights of stairs, a spiral staircase and then 4 ladders we reached the top of the steeple. The floor was just metal supporting bars with mesh over it and the mesh had holes all through it, then you can climb out the window onto a small ledge which gives you an amazing view and a rush of adrenaline. As we sat up there we could hear the drumming of a ocal marching band which was soo loud it sounded like gun shots echoing through the valley, it added to the atmosphere quite well. It was amazing and quite freaky at the same time sitting up there. Check out facebook for some photos. It was the kind of thing that health and safety would never allow in NZ or aus. then we headed back down, i rang the bell three times on my way past and then taxied back home for $1.30!! It was awesome. Then we went out for brownies and sundaes at a chocolate cafe and then came here. Now i´m up to date!!
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