Blogs from Riobamba, Centre, Ecuador, South America - page 8

Finally left Banos today after waking up in the night with the whole room shaking and doors banging. All morning the volcano was rumbling ominously so after cancelling our parasailing we got on a bus to riobamba. 2 hours later upon arriving here we look back and can see an enormous plume of volcanic ash hanging in the sky so it looks like we made a lucky escape. I dunno we leave london and the next day the whole plane system goes up the spout and now we leave banos and the volcano blows. Beware the good people of Riobamba (where we are now) we leave in 2 days. Next up is a ride on the top of a train into the andes...... 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

Hola, Hello again everyone. Today I am in Cuenca in southern Ecuador enjoying a sunny day on the cobblestone streets of this small colonial city. Two days ago, in Baños, Tessa and I ended up doing a one-day horseback riding trip (because our 2 day was cancelled due to weather) and having an amazing time. Meeting our extreme-sports enthusiast of a guide, Jose, at about 12:00 noon we geared up and mounted our horses (mine's name was Pinto, don't remember the rest) at Jose's ranch just on the outskirts of town. The first thing we did was ride through the streets of Baños, sometimes trotting, getting ourselves positioned to start on the trail accross town. Soon, though, we were on the trails happily trotting and cantering along a slim, winding road which offered some fantastic views ... read more

Une trentaine d'heure de car pour arriver a guayquil et graviter en equateur. Nous partons en particulier dans la sierra, a Riobamba, pour prendre un train qui passe par des chemins extrêmement escarpés, a tel point qu'il doit faire des marches arrières dans une descente trop raide pour faire des virages, et située sur les flans du mont "le nez du diable". 7 heures de voyage sur le toit du train pour découvrir une petite partie de la sierra equatorienne. Après ça on galère trois quatre jours à Guayaquil pour trouver le moyen le plus économique d'aller dans les îles Galapagos et d'en profiter vraiment. On s'embarque finalement pour une croisière de 5 jours à bord du Cormorant. Les photos parlent d'elles même en ce qui conserne le spectacle sur terre. Pour ce qui est du ... read more