Blogs from Ecuador, South America - page 633

Cuenca - the cultural Mecca of Ecuador After our amazing hike on the Inca trail to Machu Picchu (see Discovering the lost Inca city), we caught the plane to Lima on Friday 21 January. Lima is supposed to have great surf beaches but considering that we live in Sydney there was little point in trying to verify this claim. Rather, being pretty exhausted from the four day hike, we just had a walk down to a viewpoint over the beach, where some surfers were enjoying the waves, to have an icecream. The night was spent in a Mexican restaurant before we went to bed early for our next day flight to Quito, the capital of Ecuador. That flight turned out to be a long one - flying with Copa Airlines, the plane took us first to ... read more

Hola, Wow what a fantastic....while. I think the last time I wrote was in Cuenca, so I will pick it up from there. From Cuenca Tessa and I booted it to Guyaquil, Ecuador's largest and most "feo" (ugly) city. A port city, Guyaquil really didn't have much to look at except concrete and black-smoke, not to mention the polluted brownish-green water. However, always one to try to make the best of any situation, Tessa and I took a nice walk along the reconstructed waterfront, which did have some fun things to take a look at. Stopping for dinner, it started to pour rain and, shoeless and in normal clothes, Tessa and I rain around a pedestrian area with some local kids (who were happily and comfortably wearing garbage bags to help, somewhat hopelessly, with the pouring ... read more

I´m Back Y´all So you´ve probably been asking yourselves.... How does my hair look? Does he/she like me for me, or only my stunning good looks? Can it really be, has Chris Penn left us for good? Were thirty-six roses enough, or should I have gone for fifty? Well allow me to give you a short respite from your everyday problems, with another entry from my travels which are ironically becoming increasingly domestic. About twelve days ago now I was starting to plan my exit from Quito when the unexpected happened. I met a girl. Her name is Vanessa and she has swept me off my feet in that kind of unreal romantic/comedy way, so surely much drama will follow. She is a medical student here and dropped by my Spanish school to use the computer ... read more

Executive Summary: After embracing my inner Peter Pan in Canoa, I finally traveled on down the coast to Puerto Lopez and Montañita for quick visits before heading on to the harrowing border into Tumbes, Peru. Couple observations on local marketing and the coffee quandary. Puerto Lopez Puerto Lopez has just lately become a bonafide destination, thanks to the clever local PR engine that has dubbed nearby Isla Plata 'the poor man's Galapagos'. How close that comes to the truth I'm not sure, being too poor to compare, but the real draw seems to be the humpback whales that put on a show from July to September. It's always a bit strange and melancholy to travel off-season through a destination known almost exclusively for an activity you'll have to miss. But in reality the nearby National Machalilla ... read more

Executive Summary I took a couple extra weeks and stayed around Canoa to learn paragliding. I survived and loved learning to fly. My instructor was one of several gringoes I've met who have 'got stuck' down here. I often feel a mix of happy and guilty when it comes to being a wealthy tourist in an impoverished land. Finally, and not to be missed, a recipe for local dish "bolon de verde". Meeting the "Locals" There's a Hotel California effect down here, subtly tugging at many travelers' heart and purse strings. In Canoa I met quite a few Europeans and North Americans who fell in love with the ocean, often a local Ecuadorian too to seal the deal. There's Calvin, from Winnipeg, who if you ask how long he's been on the road he'll say "Oh, ... read more