Blogs from Centre, Ecuador, South America

I eventually left Quito and got myself on a bus to Banos. It is situated 3 and a half hours south of Quito and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Ecuador. One of the interesting facts about Banos is that is has an active volcano right on its door step called ‘Tungurahua’ which means ‘Throat of fire’, the last major eruption was in October 1999 but has had activity ever since so makes it a pretty interesting place to be. Seeing as Banos is a popular tourist place as you would expect there are a lot of tour agencies around as well as numerous souvenir shops but there are still a lot of locals around too! There are also tons of hotel’s and hostel’s so was tough to know where to go, in ... read more

5/1/12 Flew from Panama City to Quito. This time we stayed in the Centro Historical (Old Town) in a hostel called La Posada Colonial. We spent the afternoon wandering around the town checking out all the old buildings, there are so many churches! We then went to a cafe called La Vista Hermosa. There we had a very expensive hot chocolate and chicken empanada, it was worth it though as it had started raining and we were both freezing! 6/1/12 We got up and had breakfast at a café then walked along a street called ‘La Ronda’. The houses in the street have all been restored and there are posters on the wall telling you about the history and the people that lived there. It was a shame we didn’t go there the night before as ... read more

So I am mostly making this blog post for the pictures but I should maybe write a little about what we've been up to. In Latacunga I got sick and slowed down our adventure for a couple of days. There they have the worlds second largest active volcano and we saw it slightly less obscured by clouds one of those days. Moving on to Banos, think an Ecuadorian Jasper/Banff. Again a town overlooked by another active volcano of which we heard and felt but due to the clouds never saw. The elevation in Banos was just under the 2,000m mark so the jungle was starting to take over. We had some of the best meals of our trip there and went on a kart adventure down a highway with cars, buses dirt bikes and whatever else ... read more

Baños soi Maanantaina lähdettiin Quitosta kohti Bañosta ja saatiin bussi suunnittelematta ilman odotteluja. Monenmoista myyjää tuppas bussiin sisään aina pysähdyttäessä. Matka meni lepposasti uudehkossa bussissa. Puolivälissä matkaa huolta tuotti bussinvaihto-operaatio, mistä ei juuri hirveesti ymmärretty. Varmistettiin, että rinkat seuraa meitä oikeeseen bussiin ja sitten köröteltiinkin mukavasti perille. Tutustuttiin matkalla lontoolaiseen Richardiin, joka oli sapattivuodella töistä. Oltiin etukäteen varattu Bañoksesta pieni parvekkeellinen yksiö. Emäntä toimi Mayra-niminen espanjankielen opettaja. Koulu löyty samasta kerroksesta meidän kanssa ja alempana asusteli Mayra miehensä ja kolmen lapsensa kanssa. Alimmassa kerroksessa oli Mayran hollantilaismiehen oma pienpanimo. Tehtiin illalla kevyt kaupunkikierros ja tultiin pian takasin, kun meikäläistÃ... read more