Blogs from South, Ecuador, South America - page 67

Well, to start off with we got taken like a farm boy playing the shell game in the New York subway. We could not get a bus to Cajas from Cuenca´s main bus station, like all the guide books swear you can, so we ended up hiring a taxi to take us all the way there (45 mins) for 15 bucks. We chatted with the guy the whole way there and had a great ride up into the mountains. He brings us to this gate and says it is the entrance to the park all we have to do is walk through, and drives off. Snookered. He dropped us off at a chapel at least an hour walk uphill from the park and drove away with a tip to boot. Luckily we got a ride with ... read more

Foreword: this is Martina writing. Josh has to work for a couple of hours so this promises to be a long and detailed - and naturally, less funny - account of our last couple of days. But don´t worry, I promise you'll be graced with his hilarity on Monday when we´re back from camping. After writing y'all yesterday we headed up to the Instituto Geografico Militar, which is this really neat place on top of a hill in Quito where one can obtain amazing maps of Ecuador. We had to go there to get trail maps for two national parks we'll be camping in over the next week. They are huge, incredibly detailed maps, and only cost two bucks a piece. On our way out of the building to head to the airport an officer in ... read more

Yes, that´s right. Day one of mini-vacation here during my vacation. This whole week there´s no school and so we begin our small tour of Ecuador: the Southern Sierra. Day One: ¡Bienvenidos a Cuenca! MONDAY (7-24) Cock-a-doole-doo! A we were up at the crack of dawn. Our bags were packed up the night before, so all we did was dress before hittin´ the long road to the Sierra. On our way to south, we went through Duran, Km 26, Churute, El Mango, and stopped in Puerto Inca to fill up on gas and eat some breakfast. I really had to go bathroom, though I was charged 10 cents to do so! At least they were clean... We were on our way again. Passing through Tama Rindo, Hierba Buena, San Pedro de Yumate, Los Tintos, and a ... read more

We arrived in Ecuador the night before their historic World Cup win over Costa Rica. The match was screened at 8am local time and after they secured their place in the next round, Ecuador erupted..... There was singing and dancing in the streets, drums and music, and eveyone, even the busdriver, wore their country's colours. That afternoon, we were wandering around Quito, visiting the stunning Plaza de Independencia and other such picturesque plazas and choice churches, when we found ourselves in the middle of one such impromptu party. We were soon adopted by a few local lads, held 'hostage' and forced to dance and party-on with the Ecuadorians! From Quito, we headed to Portoviejo. It's not an attractive town by anyone's standards so I therefore have no pictures to post! However, we were not here on ... read more

I think that leaving Arequipa marked a turning point in my travels. With only three or so weeks left, I felt that I wanted to start taking it easy and winding down my travels before my impending return. To that ended I decided to splurge on a stay in the Galapagos Islands before my flight home from Quito. However, this meant getting up to Ecuador pronto, and so in true road trip fashion "we've got a lot of driving to do!!” I broke up the journey north for one day at the tiny desert oasis of Huacahina, in order to both watch the England match against Ecuador, and partake in some dune-buggying. I was really looking forward to Huacachina, as sand dunes and desert are one of the landscapes that I had never viewed on my ... read more