What a journey we had into Ecuador! We had heard great things about one of the smallest and often missed parts of South America. Little did we know we would fall in love with the place, get hospitalised and not want to leave.
After an early morning start we were cruising south to the market town of Otavalo. With a population of only 90,000 people, surrounded by farming communities, lakes and volcanoes, Otavalo is best known for being the best and biggest market in South America. Unfortunately we arrived on the one day a week it was closed for cleaning (don't ask us know which day that is!!). So instead of getting those last minute souvenirs for you all, we found ourselves in a cafe watching Ecuador try and make it into the world cup. It was here we met a lovely man called Washo (named after George Washington, abbreviated to just Washo for his buddies) who gave us all his details. He was an Inca and was very proud of his heritage and made a good cup of tea! We became instant friends and he quickly took us to the top floor to show us his new business venture - an amazing roof top restaurant with spectacular views.
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| Washington, EC |
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| Market delights |
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| Bargaining for Alpaca #1 |
The next day, we awoke to a shopping bonanza. Jen was in her element. We came away with several alpacas worth of clothing, which we tried desperately to fit into our packs. The market was everything we hoped for and more. So much colour, quality (and lesser quality of course) and woollen things for sale. Next stop was to the aptly named town of Baños (Spanish for bathrooms). Not for the squat and drop variety but for the spa bath variety. Much nicer and warmer (well more pleasant).
The drive south was spectacular. We avoided Quito and took the scenic route, directly past Cotopaxi and her neighbours towering bloody high and impressive. The tallest volcano in Ecuador is actually the furthest point away from the core of the earth given that it is so close to the equator - it is even further away than Everest.
In Ba
ños we stayed in a backpackers with the most amazing double room in Backpackers Los Pinos. Our first days in Baños were great - full of candy (handmade in the streets, probably not the most hygienic in hindsight), flirtatious tour operators and buggy rides through the mountains!
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| Hostel |
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| Bathroom cathedral |
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| Hygienic smoothies... |
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| Fashionable haircaps compulsory at the baths |
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| Delicious taffee! A new flavour to try every time we walked past (there was only one road in and out of town from our hostel...) |
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| Bike ride down to the Amazon |
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| Traditional shower Ecuadorian style |
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| Random zip-line joining two valleys. Much more fun to cross this way than on bike |
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| Party bus blasting out tunes, full of locals |
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| La Trucha... the beginning before the end |
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| Smiles all round |
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| Snake in a box |
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| Pailon del diablo |
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| In the spray of Pailon del diablo |
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| View from the cave beside el Pailon |
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| Drying off in the sun |
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| Banos from the cross on the hill |
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| Real food again!! |
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| Photo taken so that you can't see the homeless person bathing naked... |
We then had a few days in hospital and got very well looked after by Gerardo and his team. Another week after was recovery in a nice hotel and then hostel and the real job was being able to eat, walk and keep food down again! After all that, we were ready to continue on our adventure.
The 5 day amazon tour into Cuyabeno national park was insanely amazing.
Here's a selection of photos to illustrate what we did for 5 days.
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| TARANTULA! and Jesus (Heysus) |
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| Carlos taking us out of the driveway |
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| Piranha infested waters |
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| Useless fisherman |
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| Professional fisherwoman |
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| Sharp buggers |
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| DINNER (fish number three to Jenny, men = zero) |
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| La laguna |
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| Twilight swim in the Amazon |
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| Nice ass! |
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| Twilight in the Amazon |
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| Paradise |
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| Local indigenous village |
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| Natural face paint |
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| Making cassava bread |
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| Baby on board |
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| Mi familia ecuadoriana por cinco dias |
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| Local tattoo application |
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| Before it all began |
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| Public transport |
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| Dragonfly on steroids |
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| Primary rainforest |
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| The living area and kitchen |
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| Jesus |
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| Spider on steroids |
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| Mi mochila de la selba |
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| The lodge - our window is in the middle |
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| Caterpillar on steroids |
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| Stunning. |
The amazon is truly one of the most amazing places in the world. They say it is a life changing experience going there. It really is. It was one of the highlights of the trip and we wish we had spent 5 weeks there as opposed to just 5 days. Unbelievable memories include: hearing the squawking tucans and then seeing them fly away; watching scorpions battle; watching the red eyes of the 7m long cayman in the lagoon by the lodge at night; canooing around the tributaries and lagoons of the amazon in search of an enormous anacondo; birdwatching at sunrise; eating amazing food; spider spotting through the jungle during daylight and at night; witnessing what real rain and thunder that continues for minutes is like; having the time of our lives.
Ecuador te amo!!
