Blogs from Baños, Centre, Ecuador, South America - page 6

Greetings from rainy, cold Banos! For the past 3 weeks it has rained almost constantly, causing massive mudslides which have blocked the roads down into the Amazon. Temperatures have dipped to record lows, one night dropping into the 40’s! Banos is in a subtropical zone, halfway down the eastern slopes of the Andes; nonetheless some of the rain has been more like sleet, icy needles of sideways rain. And the winds!! Every night hundreds of guavas are blown off the trees beside my driveway But allow me to backtrack a bit – in my last blog entry I wrote about “fighting City Hall” about the bars on the beach. Well, I’m happy to tell you (cue the music) “I fought the law and I won!!” The hotel owners were very grateful for all I did, above ... read more

Geo: -1.47201, -78.327We all slept very well during our second night in the Amazon..that is until around 5:30am. We were all roused from our sleep when we heard the steadily growing sound of what sounded like an earthquake. It was still dark and I was disoriented, so I could not make out what I was hearing or from where it was coming. Just as I was getting out of bed to investigate, the sounds of what could have easily been a waterfall thundered around me. I looked outside the screen wall and could see that there was a solid wall of water pouring from the roof and down the far side of our balcony. The original noise had been a downpour of rain beginning. As it built, the water started to pour down the steep roof ... read more

After less than 3 weeks at home in Banos I set off for Quito to pick up Sue at the airport. She arrived well after midnight, so I was glad that I'd booked a room at a family-run ranch in a nearby village. Quito's new airport is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but little by little lodging options are popping up to meet the needs of late-night and early-morning travelers. I arrived at Hosteria San Carlos in the afternoon and used the free time to finish and publish my previous blog, watch a movie on the flat-screen in-room TV, and take a quick dip in the icy cold swimming pool (brr!!) Sue's flight was delayed (of course) but since I'd been following its progress online (ain't technology grand?) I didn't have to wait too ... read more

"Ecuador –> It is here, the hemispheres meet. It is here, the earth’s circle is complete and the entire planet is embraced." (from a blog by Sarah - her last name wasn't posted) I was really glad to get back home after my three week visit it California, but as I walked off the plane I really felt the altitude, suffering an alarming shortness of breath (Quito lies at 10,000 ft). I was starting to feel faint when I saw an airport employee and struggled to form the words to ask if there was a doctor on duty. As he got on his radio, he took my arm and led me to the nearest chair where I slumped down with my head lowered. It's normal to feel out of breath while climbing stairs during the first ... read more

Wednesday was a pretty tranquil day. After my typical morning routine I headed out to walk around town. There was people lined up everywhere on the streets, this was around 10:00 am. I soon realized there was a parade going on in town. All the schools had there own little routine in the street parade. Kids dancing, otheres dressed in traditional garb, and lots of school bands playing the music. The military had a cool little routine as well. I watched th parade which lasted close to 2 hours. I then walked to the park and spent a couple of hours in the park reading my book in one of the parks and talking to locals and travellers alike. I had lunch and then walked went on a little hike with the French couple I had ... read more