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Published: October 26th 2008
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Puerto Lopez was a lovely sleepy coastal town with a bit of a Carribean feel to it - loads of beach-side bars with palm trees, hammocks and deck chairs, serving fresh juices and cocktails, with a bit of Bob Marleyesque music thrown in for good measure. Instant relaxation, and we stayed a day or two longer than planned. The whales were the principal reason for coming, and I wasn't really sure what to expect (previous whale knowledge limited to Star Trek IV). They'd cruise along for awhile, spurting water, body just visible, then disappear for a few minutes, presumably diving down for something to munch on. Then suddenly they'd leap up out of the ocean. Fantastic to see (though quite difficult to photograph!).
We visited Isla de la Plata, known as the poor man's Galapagos. We saw mainly Nazca and blue-footed boobies (all hanging out in couples - very cute) and an albatross, all nesting. The males and females both help out with the protecting of the laid eggs (the way it should be of course) and we witnessed one very cute couple of Nazca boobies changing shifts!
It was several bus journeys to the next destination, and we
discovered that Ecuadorians never actually need to go shopping - they just get on a bus, and the shops to come to them. Throughout the day we were offered fruit & veg, crisps, chickens (dead ones), water & juice, sweets & chewing gum, ice cream, empanadas, corn on the cob, personal stereos and torpedo-shaped alarm clocks! A couple of hours into the third bus journey of the day, the ticket guy suddenly informed us we'd missed our stop - get off with these two girls (selling a variety of culinary delights) and they'll help you. Thought we'd have to wait for a bus back in the other direction but then they managed to arrange a taxi (plus a free ride for themselves). Only once we'd got going we noticed the bottle of spirits in the driver's hand, and the roads were quite steep and winding. Then he started laughing and muttering something about Gringos and money. Great, so if he doesn't kill us he'll rob us. Got out as soon as possible and got a nice, safe, proper taxi to Quilotoa.
Walking around the rim of the Quilotoa crater lake was not quite the flat circular walk I'd envisaged.
Then I remembered we'd travelled from sea level to 3500m altitude in one day, so I had a valid reason for being rubbish. From Quilotoa we headed to Cotopaxi, arriving late on a Sunday - only thing open was a little Italian restaurant and our very sweet 12 year old waiter was delighted when we left him a tip. Decided against hiking to the top of Cotopaxi volcano in favour of a little 3 hour hike, past a deep canyon formed by lava flow 130 years ago, followed by some (mostly downhill - the best sort) mountain biking.
Spent a couple of days in Quito, possibly the most modern-feeling city we've visited in South America: very clean, nice parks, shopping malls (always pleasing), good bars, decent beer (a pleasant change) and of course the old colonial part of town to wander around. The Basilica de Voto Nacional was an enormous church whose clock tower you could walk up inside for great views over the city. The last destination was Otovalo - famous for its Saturday markets (more shopping!!!). The early morning animal market felt a bit like a country fayre: bit of an auction going on; people mulling around
Albatross
guarding its egg with their sheep, pigs, horses, cows and goats; and food stalls, mostly serving pork dishes from a whole roast pig, face still intact. No wonder all the little live pigs were a bit restless. There was a plentiful supply of chickens, all hanging upside down from the people who'd purchased them (still alive). And of course there were loads of cute dogs wandering around. It was a hard trying to determine who was buying and who was selling - luckily I was doing neither so it didn't really matter.
The rest of the market was a mixture of food (fruit & veg, beans & pulses and more roast pig) and handicrafts. There were hats & gloves, jumpers, stripey trousers (still resisting the urge to buy a pair of those delightful things), alpaca blankets, bags, necklaces, bracelets & earrings, cuddly toys, and an endless array of souvenirs and ornaments. I limited my purchases to a bracelet and Russ to a not entirely necessary alpaca blanket. Next stop.........the land of drug cartels and machetes...........
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