Day 41: Saturday 9th August - Colonial Cuenca Cuenca is Ecuador's third city (after Quito and Guayaquil) and its colonial beauty is supposed to rival that of Quito's old town. Enjoy a walk around the town in the morning, and I have to say that whilst it is very pleasant I think Quito's old town has the upper hand. Although a city of some 400,000 people, Cuenca is relatively compact and you can easily walk around. We try to visit some Inca ruins which are closed.....can see them from behind the fence and they don't look up to much though. Chill [View Full Entry]

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Day 39: Thursday 7th August - A day with a few twists and turns As I awake today I'm planning to cyyle the 60km from Banos to Puyo on the edge of the Amazon jungle. I'm planning to do this with a guy in my dorm and then catch a bus late in the day to Riobamba to ride on the famous train ride that goes from there. However, its a wet morning and I'm still feeling the effects of Cotopaxi so decide to knock on the head the ride to Puyo. Its a shame as its supposed to be the [View Full Entry]

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Day 38: Wednesday 6th August - Bathing in Banos Still feeling tired after the exertions of Cotopaxi the day before so its going to be an easy day for me. Start by returning to the hot baths at the end of the street for another soak to ease my weary bones. Banos is in a beautiful setting, in a valley surrounded by hills and there are numerous adventure sports on offer......cycling to the jungle, quad-biking, white water rafting, horse riding etc. There wil be time for all of these at some point on my travels but at the moment none appeal.....I [View Full Entry]

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Day 33: Friday 1st August - Acclimatising (?!?) on Illiniza North Cotopaxi is the goal at 5897 metres, but first we must acclimitise by climbing Illiniza North at approximately 5200 metres. I'm joined on my climb my Joe, an American guy and our guide Nicolas. We have an early lunch and then drive an hour or so into the Illiniza National park and start our climb at around 4000m. We make the refuge at 4700m in good time, and after dropping most of our gear off we decide to press on to the summit. Almost as soon as we step out [View Full Entry]

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Day 30: Tuesday 29th July - A close escape from a landslide As part of my acclimitisation programme for climbing Cotapaxi I've been recomended to travel the Quilotoa loop as its between 3000-4000m above sea level. The ride around the loop is supposed to be through spectacular scenery. My destination today is Chugchilan which is half way around the loop. Getting there is half the problem, there is only one bus per day in either direction around the loop and it leaves around noon from Latacunga which is a 2 hour bus journey south of Quito. I make it to Latacunga [View Full Entry]

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Day 26: Friday 25th July - Goodbye to the Northern Hemisphere I've got to get up in the middle of the night (4am) for a transfer to Guatemala City airport. My flight isn't until 8am but Antigua is an hour from the airport. I have to catch a connecting flight in San Jose, Costa Rica to Quito, Ecuador. All goes smootly as the flights are on time. On the flight from San Jose I get talking to a guy from Los Angeles whose family are from Ecuador, and who is travelling to Quito for his cousin's wedding. He ends up inviting [View Full Entry]

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Day 20: Saturday 19th July - Charming Antigua I'd decided to get the cheapest nightbus I could from Flores (I've been hanging out with my good friend Mr Patrick too much, he of the old adage, the cheapest is always best!!) 3 Hours into the journey after stopping every 10 minutes and getting wet from the rain due to some unfathomable leak, I'm starting to regret the decision. Thankfully I fall asleep and the remaining 6 hours pass okay. I arrive at Guatemala city at 6am and need to get a taxi to cross the city to get a bus for [View Full Entry]

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Day 18: Thursday 17th July - 3 Countries & a long bus journey Its a shame to be leaving the hostel in Tulum behind, after the one in Oaxaca its probably been the best one. Unfortunately my sunburn is killing me and the reason to hang around here is the beach - which I think will be off limits to next week due to the extent of my burns. I hatch a plan to get to Guatemala by the end of the day, I don't know if its feasible, but if not I'll stop somewhere on the way. First leg is [View Full Entry]

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Day 22: Monday 21st July - Lake Atitlan Its an early start today, I'm being picked up at 7.30pm to get a bus to Lake Atitlan, a couple of hours west in the highlands of Guatemala, in the south west of the country. Fortunately the water is back on when I get up so manage to get a welcome hot shower, but the gear I was wearing from the Volcano climb is still wet. Arrive at Panajachel, the main town on the lake at 10am. A local at the bus station takes me to a guesthouse....its basic but at less than [View Full Entry]

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Day 16: Tuesday 15th July - Tulum Beach and Ruins When I got to Tulum around 6pm last night I decided to head for a hostel which I have a leaflet for - its a good 25 minute walk from the bus station. Unfortunately when I arrive I get a shock when they want 800 pesos a night not the 100 pesos I have come accustomed to paying. Decide to walk further on to the beach thinking its only another 10 minutes, except in ends up being an hours walk from the bus station by the time I get down there. [View Full Entry]

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