Blogs from North, Ecuador, South America - page 14

Geo: -0.223151, -78.5127Given the printout of our weather forecast for the week, which I consulted several times during the short hour-and-45-minute flight to Quito, I fully expected to land in the midst of heavy thunderstorms. We were treated, instead, to a spectacular low descent in near cloudless skies, weaving our way through and past several mountain ranges. The airport is brand new, opening within the past year, and was quite impressive. We saw the former airport later during our tour, which was located close to downtown and which was surrounded, nearly to the runway edges, with homes, and which involved a tricky maneuver between two peaks when landing. Though located way outside town, we quickly appreciated the benefits of a new airport, clearly designed to handle (and impress) foreign tourists. As soon as we exited the ... read more

Tababela - Day 22 Breakfast was included in our stay at the hostel. Very friendly and accommodating place. They later gave us a a ride to the bus station. Tonight we stay in Tababela, a small town close to the airport. We leave for home at 7am tomorrow. The time has gone quickly. We decided to avoid the traffic and buses in Quito, and go around the east side of Quito, from Otavalo to Cayambe to El Quinche to Tababela. We found the buses quickly from Otavalo to Cayambe, and from Cayambe to El Quinche. A few minor problems asking for directions to the bus stop in Cayambe. People gave us conflicting directions, but we finally got settled on the bus. On the way we saw a beautiful view of snow-covered Mount Cayambe (5790M high). It ... read more

Mindo - Day 20 This hostel is so quiet. We heard only the birds and the falling rain this morning. It rained heavily during the night and early morning, but this is the rainy season here. The rain stopped midmorning and left the air really fresh. We decided to have an easy day and walked one of the town streets past town and past the river. Lots of noisy roosters and chickens as we got to the outskirts of Mindo. The dogs lay in the middle of the street until a car comes, then they may slowly move out of the way. Lots of potholes. We crossed the bridge for Rio Mindo. Many rapids along the river. A few houses high up on the side of the road looked like they might tumble down with the ... read more

I ended up having a pretty low key day for the most part. After sleeping in to around 9:30 I first got breakfast at my regular spot. I then headed out the the park Edijo to do some people watching, reading, and writing. It started raining so I gathered my stuff and started to head back to my hotel. Eventually it started to down pour (very very hard) along with thunder and lightening. I ducked into a whole in the wall to have lunch and wait for the rain to stop, but it never stopped. After lunch I threw on my rain coat and quickly walked back to my spot. I then took a nap and did some reading. Before I knew it, it was time to have drinks and dinner with my two Argentinian friends. ... read more

Woke up feeling more acclimated to the altitude. I grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed back out on foot. I walked to a famous park, ''Parque Edijo'' and sat down on a bench and people watched for about 45 minutes (did a little reading too). Eventually I walked out of the park and a double decker tour bus pulled up. On a whim I decided, ''why not''. I jumped on the bus and by the second stop I had made 5 new friends. 2 Argentine ladies (approx 50 years of age), 2 Venezualans (mid 30s), and a Cuban girl (around my age). None of them spoke a lick of English. The Tour was pretty awesome as it took us to many vantage points I otherwise would have never been too. We went through ''Old ... read more