Blogs from Otavalo, North, Ecuador, South America - page 25

We had much more luck on Sunday. We drove up to the Laguna de Cuicocha in the back of a pick up - sorry mum! We then walked around the crater lake. The walk took about 4 hours. The views were absolutely amazing. On one side you had the view over the countryside on the other the crater lake. In the distance there were many mountains including volcano Cayambe. I took lots of photos of the lake but they don´t even begin to describe how spectacular it was. After our walk we went to the local town of Cotacachi. This is the town all the locals in Otavalo go for Sunday lunch. Their traditional dish is something called coloured meat. Of course we had to try it no matter how untasty it sounds! I´m really glad ... read more

Tentative numéro 1 pour mon nouveau blog. Puisque Jonathan passe 2 heures chaque jour sur son blog et que bon je suis un peu jalouse de son blog, j'ai décidé de m'en partir un aussi ! Donc voilá, je vais resumer bien vite les premiers jours puisque jo a fait une bonne job là-dessus ! Escale à Miami Party in the city where the HEAT is on ! OH QUE DE CHALEUR !!!! Si j'ai pas sué 5 litres, j'en ai pas sué 1 ! C'était débile la chaleur !!!!! C'est quand même plus agréable de voir la mer que de voir l'aéroport... Arrivée à Quito Wow, même à la noirceur c'était magnifique ! Tout s'est bien déroulé jusqu'à ce que je me rende compte que mon sac à dos n'était pas là. Mais il ne ... read more

Nous avons quitté Quito vendredi matin après un autre délicieux petit déjeuner à l'hôtel Eugenia (j'ai mangé la même chose les 3 jours). La station d'autobus est assez bizarrement faite et on ne comprenait pas vraiment où on devait aller. Un petit monsieur qui avait l'air de travailler là nous a mené jusqu'à notre bus pour la ville de Otavalo, au nord de Quito, site du plus grand marché en Amérique du Sud. Nous avons donc expérimenté les bus longues distances sud-américains pour la première fois. Otavalo n'est pas si loin que ça (56 km), mais ça prend quand même 2 heures. Pour 2 raisons principales: 1)C'est très montagneux et il y plusieurs cols. 2)Pendant 40 minutes, on arrête à tous les 50 mètres pour prendre des passagers au bord de la route. On était 10 ... read more

Hola amigos We´re all very happy because we now know which way the water goes down the plughole in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Yesterday we visited la Mitad del Mundo, the equator just north of Quito. We all stood with one foot in each hemisphere and did the touristy experiments, but it was all very interesting (and very hot). On the way we picked up the new volunteers who will be working in the local communities with a company called Global Vision International, teaching the children who otherwise cannot get to school. It´s a wonderful thing they´re all doing, and it was good for us to see that their anxieties were the same as ours were two weeks ago. A short postscript to Saturday´s birthday party report - the one who won the big prize ... read more

Yesterday we were driven through beautiful Andean mountains to the middle of nowhere, to find an idyllic hot springs area in a steep-sided valley, beautifully maintained. After paying, you walk down a flower-lined pathway to a number of hot pools of different temperatures, the hottest at the top. We sat soaking in relaxing waters with stunning views down through the valley. There was hardly anyone else there. On the way back we had to really pinch ourselves to make sure we really were here, bumping along through narrow cobbled roads high in the Andes, children playing without any toys or modern equipment. Signs for the local cockfight. Dusty villages, with lovely plazas in the middle of them, and of course the obligatory church. Huge prickly cacti and aloes clinging to the sides of the dry mountains. ... read more