Popayan to Ecuador, Ibarra

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After our lovely time in Popyan and Colombia in general we were off to Ecuador. Colombia was a very nice surprise and summed up what is great about traveling, you cannot have too many preconceived ideas of what a place is like until you have explored and experienced it yourself.

Our first stop in Ecuador was Ibarra and we wanted to come here to sample the famous ice cream which we have read about. To get here we had to get 4 buses and a taxi so not the easiest way of getting from one place to the next. No major hiccups apart from the hour wait at Ecuador’s immigration as the computers were on the blink and at one point after re booting for the 100th time the guy said one more time and if that doesn’t work you will have to come back tomorrow, that would of been a right pain in the arse, luckily it worked and then back on the blink just after us, not sure what happened next as we got on the bus! What happened to the old fashioned stamp. For one it’s a lot easier and for two it makes your passport look very colourful and impressive!

Ibarra and its ice cream. Going from the lonely planet, Heladeria Rosalia Suarez is famous for it’s sorbets that are still made by hand in a large copper pail, which is spun on a bed of straw and ice stirred with a spoon to make the sorbet with a number of different flavors. We didn’t see the process but tried a few, my favorite being the blackberry (Mora), MMmm! All for about 25p a cone or pot. You maybe thinking it’s a long way to go for ice cream and your right, but what attracted me to this place was how the ice cream was first made in 1897. The same process as before but where did they get the ice as no fridges back then. Well, she used ice carried down from Volcan Imbabura about 10 k away. I just couldn’t imagine the hard work involved just to make a bit of ice cream and because of that had to go and sample some. The ice is now from a fridge but I just loved the idea and not surprised it was a woman. We all know how obsessed they can get with sweet things and the things they do to get them!!

Ibarra itself was a nice enough town some pretty buildings and parks but nothing special. One of the highlights was one of the cheapest feeds yet. 1 pound for a plate of steak, chips, rice and salad and it was a huge portion. Hopefully the prices will be a sign of how cheap Ecuador will be. Ecuador uses the US dollar for its currency so makes everything a bit easier especially compared to Columbia when everything was priced in the thousands and a bit of a mouthful. e.g. Cincuenta y cinco mil quinientos, that's 55,500 (about 12 pounds) saying it for one is hard, but trying to understand somebody else blurt it out and 100 mph is even worse! Being back to where everything mostly costs between 1 and 20 is a lot easier and with the British pound being very strong at the moment makes things even cheaper, happy days!!

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