http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/miguel2006/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from miguel2006 en-us Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:34:33 +0000 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:34:33 +0000 The trip to Kuelap was an adventure. We decided to go after hearing from a few travelers and our guide book about how amazing it was. We heard that it was recently rediscovered and is the future Macchu Picchu of northern Peru just not as touristy and busy. So even though it wasnt in our original travel plans we decided to go for it anyway. The only problem was how we were going to get the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Amazonas/Ku-lap/blog-130094.html We finally arrived in Cajamarca after a long and bumpy bus ride from Chiclayo. Cajamarca is an old historical city in the andes of northern Peru and is most famous for being the place where the Incan empire began to collapse to the rule of the Spaniards. The Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizzaro ambushed and captured the Inca emperor Atahulapa and eventually executing him after he handing the Spa http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cajamarca/blog-129037.html Chiclayo After weeks of inactivity Irsquove decided to return to the world of blogging and try to remember what we did while in Peruhelliphellipif the words arenrsquot all there at least the photos are here to give you a bit of a visual idea of what my eyes saw while in Peru. So we begin with Chiclayo.We entered Chiclayo midday after a relatively short about 4 hours bus ride from Manc http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Lambayeque/Chiclayo/blog-113596.html Our entry to Peru from Ecuador was problemfree at the border. Stepping foot in Piura after a long overnite bus ride was another story. The first thing that we noticed that was different from Ecuador is that in Peru there are no Terminal Terrestres which are bus stations which hold spaces for all the bus companies. Instead we were told that we had to take a taxi to a different station where o http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Piura/M-ncora/blog-107944.html After 3 weeks in Ecuador we decided to move on with our journey into Peru. The border crossing in Macara was problem free as we arrived by our overnite bus at 2am. We were surprised that no questions were asked just our passports were stamped an exit one from Ecuador and an entry one from Peru. It was definitely different than border crossing in any western country as we did not get gr http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/blog-104726.html After Guayaquil we decided to go to Vilcabamba which is known as the valley of youth. Many people there grow to live much longer than most plus we heard that its very nice beautiful and relaxing so we just had to go and have a taste of what water they are drinkingWe took an executive 10hour overnite bus from Guayaquil to Loja the nicest one we have been on so far. Each passenger got a ba http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Vilcabamba/blog-104714.html After a fun weekend partying with our new friends from Guayaquil in Montaita we decided to take up their offer to show us around their city. We left Montaita by a 15 seater van with a couple of friends from Columbia and from Spain and arrived in sunny Guayaquil in time for dinner time. Guayaquil is Ecuadorrsquos biggest city and is much quicker and crazier than Quito. That first night we http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/West/Guayaquil/blog-102786.html We decided to take a bus from with the 2 swiss girls that we met during our jungle trip to Monta324ita a small surf village off the coast of Ecuador that is known to have a wild night life. We found that to be true when we arrived at midnight after a LONG trip from Ba324os which included having to switch buses at a crazy chaotic bus terminal in Guayaquil and being stranded in Salinas be http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/West/Montanita/blog-102783.html Arriving in Ba324os in the morning after a long overnite bus from the coast was a much welcomed surprise. Ba324os is a small town located in a lush green valley with an active volcano overlooking it and is full of adventure travel things to do. The first day we spent the morning catching up on lost sleep in the nicest hostel we have stayed in so far called Hostal Marquez. We got a spaciou http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Banos/blog-102772.html Last week we decided to do a jungle trip to the Ecuadorian amazon outside the city of Puyo. We hunted around Banos looking for the best deal in an all inclusive package and found the right scenario with a company with the help us a good friend named Xavier. We started our trip at 9am and met with our new group that we shared good times with for the next 3 days. We were lucky enough to be put i http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Puyo/blog-99863.html After an extended trip to Canoa the time had finally come for us to leave and move on with our adventures. We both had the itch to keep traveling even though we found it hard to say goodbye to the small little beach town of Canoa. The warmth of its people food and beaches will always hold a place in our hearts. The last couple of days found us hanging out with some locals swimming paragli http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/West/Canoa/blog-99856.html so after a long bumpy musicblasting overnite bus ride through the andes we arrived in san vicente on the coast of ecuador at 445am. from there we took a taxi to canoa a beautiful beach town only 15 minutes away. we arrived so early that we had to sleep in the hammocks outside of the hostal and watched the sunrise as we waited for our room to be ready. the people in this town are really http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/West/Canoa/blog-97173.html We finally arrived in Ecuador late sunday night after a long day of travel. We left Vancouver at 8am had a 5 hour stopover in George Bush International Airport in Houston and made in in one piece into Quito. Stepping off the plane we were full of excitment nervousness and not too sure what to expect. Our driver from the hostel wasnt there to pick us up so we jumped inside a cab and drove to http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-97161.html So Im just one day away from flying away to South America. Years of dreaming will soon become a reality as I will finally return to South America for the first time since I left when I was 4 years old. I tied up most of my loose ends finished my last day of work yesterday now I'm packing my bags and getting ready for an adventure of a lifetime.This is my plan so far Tommorrow I fly with my http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-95299.html As Morrocco was only 10 miles across the sea from Spain I decided to take a group tour to Tangier in Morrocco. It was an interesting experience full of aggressive street vendors cheap deals and great food and it left me with a small taste that will make me want to return and see more in the future. Here are some photos from my day trip http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Tangier-T-touan/Tangier/blog-94270.html Here are some pics from my trip to Spain in July 2005. I travelled to Bilbao and met up with my good friend German and his girlfriend Livia. We hung out in Bilbao and the surrounding areas for a few weeks then did a road trip down to Tarifa which is the most southern tip in Spain and Europe. Here are some pics from my time in Spain http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/blog-93794.html