Towards the middle of the earth: the journey through Ecuador

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The last border crossing

Another early morning and a hard pack up due to it being so hot and everything including the tents being covered in sand! But we were eventually away and off on a two hour drive towards the border in Ecuador. The border crossing was actually quite an interesting one. We did the whole entering the Peruvian immigration side to hand in our visa slips (only Charlotte had lost hers this time and luckily the fine was not as hefty as the Brazilian one!). We then hopped back onto Swampy and drove along onto the Ecuadorian side. Now, usually the border crossing is just a bridge etc. We drove for a good 15/20 mins to get to immigrations in Ecuador and it was in the middle of nowhere, on the outskirts of town. I think you could quite easily enter Ecuador without having to go through immigrations, but never mind! We thus got our Ecuador visas and hopped back onto Swampy for the drive to our first destination: the colonial town of Cuenca.

Back to the city

Cuenca is actually Ecuador´s third largest city, though I had never heard of it before arriving here. We arrived at our hotel at about 5pm and after a rush to hand in laundry, we got changed and headed down to a bar called Cafecito for their happy hour between 5-7pm and a hurry to get lots of cocktails in! We were all very excited about being back in a city again having not been in one since Lima and as a result everyone got a little too tipsy too early. We then headed set off to find the restaurant we were due to meet others in called Cafe Eucalyptus, however we got slightly lost on the way and then had to take a detour due to students of the local university rioting down one of the streets! We eventually found the place though and ordered some nice food before heading back to the hotel for the evening, ready to spend our next day in Cuenca shopping!

After brekkie the following day, Caroline and I went to use the internet for a few hours before we were due to go on our Panama hat factory free tour. So at 11ish we met everyone back at the hotel and walked down to the little local factory where they showed us how they made the hats etc and then we got the chance to try them on. Unfortuantly, I fell in love with this one hat which I know I can only wear for weddings and to the races etc but everyone told me it was so beautiful so I had to buy it. And it only cost me $25 where it would be twice more expensive in the UK so i´ve justified myself! We then had a quick tour around the city and went to look in one of the cathedrals which was beautiful and where we saw Renee light a candle for her Grandma who she lost a few days ago which was sad but a beautiful place to do it in. I then went with Caroline and Grace clothes shopping which was a bad idea but I restrained myself to buying only one top! We then had some lunch and went back on the internet for the afternoon before heading back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the evening! We ended up going back to Cafe Eucalyptus, well some of us did, which was a much better night as there was salsa dancing on, so I learnt how to Salsa which was pretty easy but gets you easily out of breath!

The spa town of Baños

So the following morning we piled back onto Swampy for another 8 hour drive to Baños, a very popular spa town here in Ecuador. We arrived at our campsite and being a naughty girl I decided to upgrade to a dorm room for several reasons: firstly Kat was upgrading and I didn´t want to put the tent up on my own again; secondly it is only 6 pounds for 3 nights, and finally we´re on the edge of the rainforest so it rains a lot and there are lots of bugs. Caroline got stung by a scorpian in her tent last night so I decided to upgrade for these reasons. We then chilled out in the lounge and watched some dvds of the activities we could do in Baños whilst the campsite provided a BBQ for us which was amazing. After getting the dogs (and Marc) to check Grace and Carolines tent for bugs, we had some messing around fun seeing how many people we could fit in a budget expeditions tent before going to bed to prepare for the next day: Canyoning!

Facing my fear: Canyoning

This was actually a very spontaneous activity for me as I was planning on doing nothing in Baños but after watching the dvd I decided to give it a go. Not sure why as it involved a lot of water! So we get kitted up in the wetsuits and head down to the meeting point where we swap harnesses and lifevests etc with the group before and head up to our start point where were taught how to tie the rope to our harnesses for abseiling. And then it was time. Getting into the water to begin with was pretty hard as it was very cold! The first section we had to stand backwards with our arms crossed infront of us whilst the guide pushed us off the rocks! Scary enough but the second section we get to this huge waterfall (well not really huge, about 5m but it seemed huge) and I´m standing there thinking I can´t do this when the guy picks me to go first. So I have to jump off this waterfall into water with my legs sticking out in front of me. I actually did it to my suprise but it scared the hell out of me. It was then onto some abseiling sections which I found fine though on one occassion I got stuck when my rope wrapped around another girls rope! We then had several more water sections before reaching the final jump which was pretty high and everyone was terrified of hitting rocks, but after being assured there were none we all did it and survived! Such a great 2 hrs 30 mins and although we were freezing by the end of it, we all had such an amazing time.

We then headed back to the campsite where after a nice warm shower it was finally time for my group to cook dinner after 10 weeks. We had a really fun time doing it though seeming we had lights, music, and a kitchen which annoyed the other groups. We made lasagne which will amaze mum but I actually made it (with James´help) I was in charge of the bolognaise sauce which I could do and I then had to make the lasagne by doing all the layering and stuff! It tasted really nice too so bravo to my team! It was then off to bed again after watching Milton and Mette make the most amazing card pyramid thing (we find the weirdest things to entertain us after this long!).

The next day it was off to Misahualli and to the rainforests of the Amazon basin for three days. But first stop along the way was 5 minutes down the road, and it was an activity that involved us jumping off a bridge: the bridge swing! The best way to describe it is that it is like a bungee jump but you are in a seat harness rather than being tied at your feet and you only fall a short way before the rope kicks in and then you swing back and forth under the bridge. So we all went along to look at it and we could decide there and then if we wanted to do it. Joss, our tour guide went first and watching him climb over the other side of the bridge and dive off made pretty much everyone who had never done a bungee want to do it. Climbing over the bridge was not that hard it was throwing yourself off that took courage. It was a lot of fun, though a bit short and i go a tiny bit of rope burn on my chin from when the rope kicked in, but other than that it was amazing. There were a few girls who had some tears before they did it and then loved it afterwards! So after that exciting experience, it was off on another long drive day to the jungle.

The rainforest

So we arrive at Misahualli, the village where Swampy was going to be parked for three days whilst we would pick up our motorised dugout canoes to take us to our lodge on Anaconda Island. So we jumped into the canoes for an hour and a half journey down the Napo River to our lodge where we were split into rooms and then it was time for dinner and an introduction to the lodge and island by the owner, Adonis. We soon find out that there are no Anacondas on the island, nor in the entire area we were in due to the river being too fast flowing, however the lodge did have a Boa Constrictor in a cage which had been found only two weeks prior to our arrival. It was then off to bed to prepare for our following day.

The next day it was my groups day to see the human side I guess you could call it of the rainforest. So we travelled for 20 mins upriver and had a 2 hour walk through secondary rainforest having a look at cocoa plants and other features of the rainforest before arriving in a little village where we got to visit a school and playcentre and play around with some children before being taken into someones house to see how they make their local tea made out of a potato. Interesting but kinda strange. We then walked back through the rainforest to the river where we got chance to travel downstream on some traditional balsa rafts which was a lot of fun especially going over rapids as this rafts were only held together by some rope. We did not however get chance to ride the rafts back down to the lodge due to the low river levels so we got back on the canoes and rode back for lunch before heading out again to another community where we saw the locals make pottery and woodcarvings. All in all very interesting and of course most of us bought some local stuff before heading back to the lodge for the evening to cover up with clothes and deet to avoid the sandflys and mossies!

The following day was our hardcore day where we did a four hour trek through the rainforest into some primary rainforest areas looking at the different plants, trees and bugs of the rainforest. We got to swing on some vines, eat some plants that tasted of garlic and cinnamon, and look at creatures such as the most poisonous tree frog in the world and giant ants which was all fascinating. We then had to wade in the river for 30 mins to get back to our boat. I say wade, we´d had a thunderstorm the night before so at one point we had only our heads above the water and the floor was covered in rocks so we kept slipping! We eventually got back to the canoes though to dry off and have some lunch before heading o another island for a quick museum tour, looking at local traps to catch animals and have our go at dart blowing before going to see an animal sanctuary.

Otavalo and the infamous market

So we got back onto Swampy and endured our last long drive day of 8 hours to the town of Otavalo. The journey was unbelievably boring and the fact that we had to go through Quito to Otavalo got everyone a bit annoyed. However we eventually arrived and had to unpack on the other side of town from where the hotel was as Swampy couldn´t get there. So just as we started walking with all our stuff, the heavens opened. And I mean opened it was a proper tropical downpour and within minutes we were soaked through to our underwear. We eventually got to the hotel though and turns out it was a different hotel from where we were supposed to be staying so Swampy could have taken us there afterall! Typical. So we got into our rooms and had to unpack everything because everything we owned was soaking wet. Turns out Otavalo is not a great place to dry things as during the two days we were there nothing dried!

The next day was saturday and the town was completely taken over by a huge market. Bad news being that most of us didn´t have that much money left to spend but at least it was then end of the trip so we wouldn´t have to carry it around with us for long. But we ventured out into the drizzle to browse around shops and barter for some goods. After being with 3 other girls who spent ages buying hammocks and chair hammocks, I wandered off on my own for a bit before purchasing some goods and spending time of the internet. I then headed back to the hotel for abit where we chilled out and packed all our wetstuff before heading out for a meal and a fairly earlish night!

Quito - the final stop

The next morning, we were to pack up and load Swampy for the very last time! As the journey to Quito was only about 2/3 hours we decided to have a bus party. So armed with some alcohol and Nicky's play list, we set off for our final destination. However, we had to make a quick stop first just a short way down the road at one of the many equator monuments in the country. So after taking dozens of photographs as usual we set off again and shortly arrived in Quito, ready to unpack for the last time. It took us a long while to sort out rooms as we sorted out due to who was staying till what date but it was eventually done and us lucky few who hadn't been selected for truck cleaning (each group got to choose their laziest membet) headed off for some KFC and chill out time before our last big night.

We thus got all dazzled up, especially the girls and headed on down to the new town of Quito, where we were to have our last meal at a Mongolian Barbeque. Wrong continent but there you go. So we headed in and found it was an all you can eat and drink buffet for a very cheap price. So lots of cocktails were ordered (though they were heavily watered down, not suprising seeming how much money we were spending had we been paying on drinks). The meal was really nice though and afterwards we headed out to the only place open on a sunday night which did a mixture of old school english music and salsa music. It wasn't really a big night though seeming the only mixer they did was coca cola. Hmmmm not very useful for me! Plus they didn't evening sell still water. So we stayed for a good couple of hours and then headed back only to find James having a very mini room party which he was trying to convince Dixie and I to attend. After saying no repeated and stealing Tim for some amusing tickling therapy it was time for bed.

The next day soon dawned and it would be a day to say goodbye to the first of our many people. Caroline, Milton, Charlotte, Kat and I had decided to head to Mittel del Mundo (the middle of the earth) to see the official Equator monument and visit the museum. So we said goodbye to Debs and headed out to find the bus that would take us there. After about 15 mins of wondering up and down the same street, we asked a police officer who took us to the tram line instead! So we paid 25c to get on the tram for about half an hour where we swapped onto a bus for the remainder of our journey. We eventually arrived at Mittel del Mundo and spent a good couple of hours wandering around all the shops as it was so quiet. It had been beautiful weather whilst we had been shopping but typical just as we were to head to the monument, it started to pour down. So we had some lunch and luckily by the time we'd finished, it had stopped!! So we headed over and took lots of photos before heading inside as we thought this was the science museum. Turned out it wasn't so we'd paid another 3 dollars to enter a building! We decided to make the most of it though and took the lift to the top to get some good views. We almost didn't make it up mind as the lift doors, which had no sensors, closed on Miltons head! Poor boy. We then left the monument village and headed, after getting some directions, to the science museum . Turns out when we get there that the monument had been built so long ago and when GPS was actually used, turns out it was in the wrong place!!! So the science museum was where the actually GPS equator line was. The tour was also really interesting and included 4 experiments to show how weak the gravitational pull is at the equator:
The water test - there was a sink and some water and on the north side of the equator the water spins in one direction down the plug hole and on the south side it spins the other direction. On the equator itself there is no spin, the water just goes straight down the plug hole.
The strength test - on either side of the equator, two people did a test, for example trying to open up someone elses hands. On the equator itself people lose their strength and a little woman was able to open up the hands of man.
The egg test - due to the lack of gravitational pull on the equator, you can balance an egg on the flat end of a pin. We all did it.
The straight line test - We had to close our eyes and place one foot carefully infront of the other and walk along the equator line. Everyone veered off to either the north or the south.

It was all completely fascinating. Our tour guide then showed us all about traditional Ecuador, a lot of which we knew already, but she showed us the tradition of some tribes to shrink heads to the size of a fist which was pretty disgusting!! It was then time to head back to Quito on a bus journey that seemed to take forever but we eventually got back just in time to say goodbye to the sisters who were leaving for the airport. The evening was spent going out for a thai meal which I should probably get used to which was an ok meal but it had tipped down on the way to the restaurant so we were all cold and wet!

The next day we got up at 5am to wave off Chelsey, Jordie, Clint and Kira before heading back to bed for another 4 hours! A large group of then decided we were going to venture down into old town. So we headed down towards the tram line that would take us there. Old town is so much nicer than new, all old historic and colonial buildings make it a really beautiful place especially with all the amazing churches around. We found a nice outside cafe to have some lunch in and then we split off into smaller groups to look around the time. My group was pretty much trying to waste an hour before being able to go into a church that Joss told us we just had to go in. However, by the time 4.30pm came around, it turned out there was a service on and no tourists were allowed!! Typical. So we decided to head back and get ready to go out for an early meal so we could do the pub quiz at the Irish bar at 8pm. Turns out the food wasn't amazing there though so a small group of us girls headed to this gorgeous little Italian place before heading out to do the quiz. My team (the mother truckers) consisted of two english girls, a welsh girl, a kiwi, and two australians so we thought we'd have a good chance and turns out we were 2nd half way through! Unfortunalty in the end we slipped down to 4th out of 15 because we sucked at the general knowledge round. Some of the questions though, I mean most of the geography questions were in face history ones like which country used to rule Vietnam and which country was closest to Titanic when it sank! Hmmmmm.

So early the next morning my alarm went off and I finished the rest of my packing, said goodbye to everyone and headed off to the airport for my 3 flights home to London. In 6 days I'll be back on the plane again and heading in the opposite direction to Bangkok!

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Photos

So true
A funny sign hanging at the Baños campsite

Bridge Swinging
Me about to jump off a bridge!!!

Holding another Boa
but this one is a wild one!!

On the equator
North vs South