ECUADOR, ama la vida (2)

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Hello everyone,

it has been two weeks already since we got back to Curaçao. I've been a little sick, a little busy and also a little bit lazy. I started working too last Monday. Therefore I didn't write my blog straight away after arrival.

Baños & Amazon rainforest
After Cuenca we took a long bus drive to the north. We had to change buses in Ambato and then continue forward to Baños. In total we spent 7,5 hours in the bus!

"Baños de Agua Santa" is a small city in the Tungurahua province, in a valley just next to a volcano which is also called Tungurahua. The city is a big tourist magnet; visitors come to visit its thermal waters, waterfalls, visit the Amazon rainforest and many other adventurous things to do such as canopy, rafting, rock climbing etc. The city has about 10.000 people and probably there are always more tourists in town than there are inhabitants. The town is small but nice. Many restaurants, hostels and clubs. While we were there, they had a referendum in which the locals had to vote "yes" or "no" for the major to leave. So the days before the referendum they issued "non-alcoholic days", during which is was prohibited to sell any kind of alcohol throughout town. Most clubs remained closed during these days. In Baños we met a couple of other tourist we hung out with, from USA and Colombia. During our stay we visited the "Mirador Bellavista" at night, from where you can see the whole city down in the valley. We also took a "chiva" (the local, coloured buses with music) which takes you along many waterfalls such as "Manta de la Novia" among others. During this tour we also did canopy. Giancarlo and I were the only ones from the bus who dared to do it. It was a 1km long canopy. The walk back up was heavy though. In Baños we ate "cuy", which is a typical plate in Ecuador. It's called "guinea pig" in English, and is a good source of protein. Walking past some restaurants, you see the cuy's on the grill and your first reaction would be "what is that? Yikes, it looks disgusting". We had the courage to try it and the taste isn't bad at all!

We spent 2 nights visiting the Amazon forest. Here we visited a local, indigenous community, we slept in the so called "cabañas" made from wood and leaves from the forest. It was a great experience and thank God we didn't had mosquitoes. The first day we went to an open market and wandered around there, buying some fruit and our guide also had to buy food to cook for us. Giancarlo bought a fresh fish which the guide prepared for him that same day. This was in the city of Puyo, in the Pastaza province. Then we continued to "Centro de rescate Los Monos" where the monkeys come to you, climb on your shoulders and your head. Giancarlo had some sweets in his pocket and a monkey stole them all from him and run away, climbed up and ate it, hahaha! Once we arrived at our first place to spend the night, we didn't do much. We relaxed, slept, ate and it rained a lot too. The next day we went for a long hike in the forest, we spent about 5 hours walking in total. The walk was unique. We stepped many times with our whole foot deep in the mud (we had special shoes on provided by the tour), walked though water etc. Several times I slipped but never really fell down. We visited gorgeous waterfalls where we spent half an hour When I get to a waterfall I usually don't want to leave. It's nice, I enjoy it to the fullest: the sound, the water, the tranquility, the nature....I just relax! The water is cold though, so in the beginning it always takes a while before I enter the water. During the walk you hear the noise animals make, especially birds. The next day we went for another walk but a much shorter one. This one lead us to a spot from where you can enjoy a great view of the forest, the Pastaza River and the Andes far in the background. Here they had a big, thick rope hanging down for a very tall tree and they made a big knot down on which you could sit and swing. Giancarlo didn't dare to do it, but I did it 3 times...it was awesome! Here our tour-guide, Carlos, thought us how to use a tube to haunt. The indigenous people put a small, thin arrow into the tube, with something like cotton around the middle part of the arrow, put it in the tube and then blow it strongly. The first time I did it, I hit a papaya in the tree. It was awesome to try this. Giancarlo also tried it and was successful.

Quito
After Baños we continued north to Quito, which was 3,5 hours in the bus. It's the capital of Ecuador and the country's second largest city with just less than 2 million people and lies on an altitude of 2.800 meters.
We arrived just after noon at the modern busterminal which is located in southern Quito. It took us about 45 min. (and US$ 10) in a taxi to drive to our hostel, which is located in the neighbourhood of Mariscal. Mariscal is the area where most tourists stay as it's filled with hostels, hotels, restaurants, internet cafe's, clubs, bars etc. Just 10 meters from our hostel there's a metro-bus stop. Metro-bus is the mass-transit system of Quito, with long buses driving on their own, separate way in the middle of the road. The first day we went to the Teleferiqo, a cable car which takes you up to 4.100 meters on the Cruz Loma. From the top there is an excellent view over Quito. It's quite cold up there and they have signs saying not to run due to shortage of oxygen. In the evening Giancarlo went out but I was tired and didn't join him. The next day we went to Mitad del Mundo in northern Quito. This is the place where the Equator crosses Ecuador. There is a big monument built on the site. Here you can stand with one foot on the Northern Hemisphere, the other foot on the Southern Hemisphere. According to the GPS, the place is not the exact place of the Equator, but it's located about 200 / 300 meters further north. Here there is a small, pretty museum called Inti-Ñan Museum. It's a museum about the indigenous history of Ecuador and here you'll also see the actual line of the Equator according to the GPS. Giancarlo and I both tried to balance an egg on a small nail which is exactly on the Equator and we both succeeded. Only on the Equator it's possible to do such a thing. The most interesting thing to me, was the water basin they used for a demonstration. The basin wad filled with water an had some small leaves in it, and underneath the basin there's a bucket to catch the water falling from the basin. When the water basin is placed on the Equator line, the water falls and the leaves fall straight down in the bucket. When they move the bucket just 2 meters north of the Equator, the water and the leaves make a counter clockwise motion when going down the basin into the bucket. And when they move the bucket just 2 meters south of the Equator, the water and the leaves make a clockwise motion when going down the basin into the bucket. On our way back to the hostel, we got off at El Condado Shopping Mall where Giancarlo bought some stuff and we had some food at their food court. It's a big, USA-style mall with 4 floors.
We also visited the old part of Quito on our last day in the city, area which is on the Unesco World Heritage List, just like Willemstad, Curaçao. It's a beautiful area with lots of colonial, Spanish houses, churches etc. The most beautiful and impressive for me was La Compañía church, its interior is fully covered with gold leaf. We got a short tour about the history of the church, it was very interesting! We also visited a large market in the area (forgot the name) where we also had some food. In the evening we both went out and had a good time. We had to wake up early the next day because out flight was leaving at 9:20am. Because we slept late, we were tired and we didn't hear the alarm I set at 6:00am. When we woke up it was 7:15am and I told the guy at the reception straight away to call a taxi. I had my things packed already and we quickly left without having a shower and brushing our teeth. At the airport I brushed my teeth, hahaha. These are things that can happen when you travel. After all we got to the airport in time, checked in, went through security and had the most expensive Subway sandwhich I've ever had (US$ 7).

That was all. I really enjoyed Ecuador and it's a country I'd recommend to everyone who'd like to try "something else" instead of visiting the same places over and over (Florida, Netherlands etc.) . I think I'd return one day in the future!

Regards,
Elton

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Comments

[Andie Quito]

Love the title of this blog!
I love the fact that you visited my country! It put a huge smile in my face to read your blog and to read the thing you had to say about Banos. I have gone to Banos many time as a little girl with my sister and cousins. An I'm really impressed you ate the cuy. :) So glad you enjoyed!! All of your blogs are interesting.... i'll keep reading.

[Paterson]

Lokoo...
i love to see people who have the courage to live their dreams!!!