Blogs from Centre, Ecuador, South America - page 96

After a few too many Mojito cocktails the night before we all got up and Andrea and me went for a steam bath in the hostel. Basically, you sit in a wooden box and turn up the steam until you can take no more! Several of these sessions interspersed with being towelled and hosed down with cold water is supposed to help your skin and detox you - don´t know if it did that but it was damn nice anyway and the guy jet washed some on my bruises which I am covered in at the moment and they are disappearing now! We then had breakfast and were chatting to Jen and Kevin an Irish couple we had met the night before. We decided to attempt the Baños to Puyo bike ride - 60km of supposedly ... read more

More photos for your delectation! Horseriding was great - Hannah hadn´t done it since she was 13 so we were hoping to take it easy but in true Ecuadorian gaucho style we set off at a full pelt gallop with me feeling slightly guilty and hoping she would be ok. Wasn´t like that the whole way - just most of it! We were probably the nuisance of all the villages we galloped through - Ecuadorian equivalent of Boy Racers on Southend sea front. The guide Wilson was on a very fast horse and I kept trying to race him - unfortunately Rocillo just couldn´t cut the mustard! The horses were really well looked after and we got back to some food and also chatting to Marcello (4 years old who I put a photo up of) ... read more

Another week. Another blog. I’m sure you must be bored reading all this by now… ;-) Last week’s instalment was a bit of an epic, and this week’s threatens to be just as longwinded. So, to help the easily confused (including myself), I’ll give a quick summary of the last seven days instead: Saturday and Sunday - Took a bus (or three) through the central highlands to a little market town called Guaranda high in the mountains with two of the new volunteers. The roads to and from this town are famous in Ecuador for their beauty, and have amazing views of the extinct Volcano Chimborazo. The town itself is quiet and friendly, with beautiful views of the surrounding countryside from a viewpoint on the edge of town. The road to Guaranda rises to over 4000 ... read more

Dear all... May we continue the story...when we last spoke I was clinging to the roof of a train... Surviving the Devils Nose... Fear not! I survived to tell the tale! In fact it was not the James Bond style escapade I was imagining. We queued as instructed at 6am; it was a cold and drizzly Andean morning and only the brave boarded the roof. They rented seat pads for 1$ a piece; much needed but not enough! Neither were the 4 layers of clothing, gloves, woolly hat and scarf I was wearing. We scoffed at the rich folk in their $140 heated coach as they scoffed back and took photos of the gringo idiots on the roof in the rain. The weather had finally eased up as we got to the 'nose' and a series ... read more

Well, we have once again reached Quito, for the fourth and final time, flying back to Lima tomorrow afternoon. The Quilotoa Circuit was safely negotiated, with a lovely two night stay at the Black Sheep Inn in Chugchilán. Now, back to our story. Taking it slowly, we waited until morning to pack and ate breakfast at our hostel. Though we were told to catch an early bus, our desire to do so was tempered by our desire to sleep. The compromise was an 9am bus arriving in Latacunga at 11am for a 12pm bus to Chugchilán. Once again, it seems no one in Ecuador cares to get to the terminal, as there were only 3 others that bother to show up. Instead, we got a whirlwind, 45 minute tour of Quito, driving the street while the ... read more