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Published: June 26th 2010
After our wonderful trip to the Galapagos, we landed in Guayaquil, a huge metropolis, with more stories of violence, robbery and kidnapping than we were comfortable with. We immediately got on a bus and got out of town! We had a long bus trip to Cuenca, and were very tired of the road after that. We only spent one day exploring Cuenca, mostly because it’s very compact, lots of churches and 600 year old buildings. I for one enjoyed them, but interest for most wanes after the 3rd or 4th church!
Then we climbed aboard another bus for another long trip, to Loja, and on yet another bus to Vilcabamba. There we found a wonderful oasis, in the hostal Izhcayluma. Set in the hill above the town, it’s a lovely property with a small pool, gorgeous view, breakfast included and a laidback feel. They were even good enough to give us a family rate of $50 a night. We had one mattress on the floor in our 4 person room, so I guess that was fair enough. The view was simply stunning. The next day we went horse back riding on the most responsive, well-trained horses, which were just raring to
go, but obedient enough not to take off on us. We did get a lot of galloping in though. We went with a fellow named Holger and I recommend him highly. There was an unfortunate accident though, when a boulder came tumbling off a cliff, narrowly missing Lisa, and striking the foreleg of her horse! The poor thing was in a great deal of pain, but we were in the middle of nowhere and after Lisa joined the guide on his horse, the injured one had to hobble behind us all the way back to town. He isn’t sure if it will ever be ridden again, but we are hoping for the best, as there was a chance it wasn’t going to lose it’s hoof.
The next day we took a hike up into the mountains, and what a hike it was. Straight up, and then along a knife edge ridge where every step could have been disaster. 360 degree views, very spectacular, very scary. We lost the trail on the way down and had to make our way down cow trails….
Steven had a Zen oriented archery lesson that day, and he can let loose an arrow with his
eyes closed now. Watch out everyone!
Then it was back to the busses unfortunately. This time we had to make a stop in Guayaquil, but we did find a lovely hostal there too, a real oasis in the midst of the city. Hostal Iguanazu I think, with a swimming pool. Guess what, more buses the next day.
We are currently in the sleepy coastal town of Canoa. During the months of December through March, the waves here are great for surfing, and the tourists come in droves. Now the waves are more beginner size, so it’s pretty quiet around town. There’s only one paved road, and the rest are sand/packed mud. The houses are bamboo and thatch, and the living is easy. There has been little sun, but it’s a lovely 27c most days so we’re all enjoying it, though Katrina was really hoping to improve her tan! But she and the others are doing a great job of improving their surfing! After one or two lessons they are all up on the board and coming home pleased with themselves, but bruised and several times there have been jelly fish stings. We are also doing a bit of volunteer work
at the schools in the area. We’ll be here 2 weeks, and then move on to our last place, which will likely be a farm. We’ll be sure to stay in touch.
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