Blogs from Central Highlands, Centre, Ecuador, South America

You might have noticed a passing reference to El Nariz del Diablo in our last blog. WELL this amazing feat of engineering deserves at least a blog spot of its own and maybe more than one! In the late 1800s the Ecuadorian government decided to build a railway from Quito to Guayquil to link the two main areas of the country and stop every one fighting with everyone else. They started in Guayquil on the coast and proceeded splendidly through the coastal plain until they hit THE ANDES. The Andes are one heck of a obstacle and the railway ground to a halt and over the next few years began to be overgrown and abandoned. The story goes that an English born financier, Archer Harman, who had a brother John who was a civil engineer, was ... read more

Before getting to Ecuador we had a few things to see in the south of Colombia and celebrate Alice´s 30th birthday! Alice´s big day saw spent in the small town of Popayan which was a slight anti-climax after all the cool places we´ve been; but she got to have a good chat with her family - it was also a positive to have something of an enforced rest day which is something we´re not very good at giving ourselves. The reason for being there is we were on route to the even smaller town of San Agustin way off in the hills and pretty far off the main tourist trail. SA was home to a per-Colombian civilization who built hundreds of statues of men, women, animals and animal-human hybrids deep in the Colombian cloud forest. A ... read more

After a day hike from Quito to test my ability at altitude, it was time to hit some of Ecuador´s snow-capped mountains. My first stop was Cotopaxi - the world´s second highest active volcano. I stopped at an amazing hostel (Secret Garden) which was pure luxury: delicious food, the best views and a jacuzzi to soak in after a day trekking or cycling. On arrival we were taken on a guided walk to a waterfall. Our guide packed a towel and said anybody who jumped in would be rewarded with a free beer. This offer was irresistible on a number of levels and so I took the plunge into the icy pool with gusto! I´ve never swam so hard and fast to get out of a pool in my life and it took at least ... read more

To be surrounded by stars so vivid, dark so black, sounds so pure, smells so scented, water so….brown was the absolute best contrast to the wildlife seen days before in the Galapagos islands. A flight out from Quito, after 2.5 hour delay due to foggy conditions in Coca (eastern Ecuador) began this sojourn, arriving in time to greet the 2nd La Selva staff member that day, Luis. Coca, a town of approx. 20,000 people, sits aside the Napo and Coca river confluence, and our 2.5 hour long boat ride downstream to the lodge went by quicker than planned, thankfully. The conversation topics were fast diminishing with only 2 of us, the captain, and his crew of diesel supplies and meat for the hordes already there. 6 tourists evidently failing to come, I got the welcome star ... read more

Hola todos! Nou, die dierenmarkt in Otavalo was nog wel een hapening. Heel de omgeving loopt uit met z´n koeien, varkens, hondjes, kippen, eenden enzovoort om die voor een aantal dollars te slijten aan kopers. Een drukke bedoening met krijsende varkens, loeiene koeien en blije kopers met twee kippen in de hand terug naar huis. Ik geloof dat ik voor de prijs waarvoor ik een trui op de toeristenmarkt heb gekocht ook net zo goed twee varkens had kunnen kopen als Ecuadoriaan zijnde, maar ja..... Vanuit Otavalo ben ik naar Latacunga gereisd: de uitvalbasis voor tochten rondom de Quilotoa Loop en Cotopaxi. Beide wilde ik graag gaan doen, dus meteen maar wat info gaan zoeken. Die vond ik bij een aardig hostel en daar vertelden ze me dat er op dit moment geen georganiseerde tour naar ... read more