1. Welcome to Peru.
From Loja (Ecuador) we traveled by bus to Huaraz (Peru).
Here you can find a short story about a long bus ride.
The pictures of Piura and the luxurious bus are poster here.
2. Huaraz and Chavin.
Huaraz is a city located 3090m above sea level at the base of the "Cordillera Blanca". It is the most popular starting point for treks in the Andes. It therefore carries the nickname "the Katmandu of the Andes".
Chavin is located on the other side of the first ridge of the Andes from Huaraz. It is the site of the ruins of the oldest known civilization of Peru. We visited the remains of the Chavin culture.
Read about our experiences in Huaraz and the trip to the Chavin ruins here.
The pictures are located here.
3. The Santa Cruz trek in the Cordillera Blanca.
We tested our fitness be hiking the Santa Cruz trek in the Cordillera Blanca. This trek is the most popular one in the Andes. For 4 days and 3 nights you are amazed by the landscape in the middle of the Andes, while constantly trying to breathe at an altitude in between 3800 and 4500m.
Wij waagden ons aan de Santa Cruz trek in de Cordillera Blanca. Deze trek is een van de meest populaire treks in de bergketen.
This link directs you to our experience of the Santa Cruz trek.
The pictures are found here.
4. Lima.
We visited the capital of Peru, Lima.
Here you will find our impression.
The pictures are located here.
5. The Oasis of Huacachina.
The Peruvian coast mainly consists of desert. In the south you will find small cities such as Pisco (yes the Pisco sour), Ica and Nazca (the Nazca lines). Instead of visiting these cities, we choose to relax at the oasis of Huacachina, close to the city of Ica. Besides relaxing at the oasis or at a pool this place also offers great sand-buggy and sand board opportunities. Marvellous!
Follow this link to find out how we experienced the oasis, the buggy ride and the sand boarding.
This is where you will find the pictures.
6. Cuzco
Cuzco is the place to be if you are interested in the Inca culture. It used to be the capital of the Inca Empire and became the first and most important city upon the arrival of the conquistadores.
The details of our cultural experience are hidden behind this link.
The pictures are located here.
7. The Inca trail and Machu Picchu
We embarked on a 4-day trek partly on original Inca roads to Machu Picchu, the world famous ruins of an Inca-city high in the mountains.
All details about the Inca trail and Machu Picchu (and our opinion on both) can be found here.
The pictures are located here.
8. Arequipa and the Colca canyon
Arequipa is the second largest city of Peru. It is patched with a large number of colonial buildings made out of white lava stones, hence its nickname, the white city. We can confirm the color of the stones.
The Colca Canyon, a canyon deeper and larger than the more known Grand Canyon, can easily be reached from Arequipa. We descended the canyon. A challenge!
Our view on Arequipa and the story of our descent into the Colca canyon are found here.
The pictures of Arequipa as well as the Colca canyon are located here.
9. Puno and Lake Titicaca
Puno is the most important Peruvian city at Lake Titicaca. We went on a two day expedition to the Peruvian islands in the highest navigable lake in the world (Islas de los Uros, Amanti en Taquile).
Our story is posted here.
The pictures are located here.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Puno and Lake Titicaca
Saturday the 13th of November 2010
The bus ride to Puno was exhausting, but brought us through some marvellous landscapes. The last stop before Puno, a "fixer" got on the bus and recommended a hostel and some Titicaca lake outings to us. The hostel was cheap and looked great and also the trips the guys offered looked interesting to us. Half an hour after arriving in Puno we were thus on a boat to Las Islas de Uros. These islands are also called the floating islands. It is a group of about 60 islands floating in Lake Titicaca at 20 minutes from Puno by boat. We docked at one of the islands where the locals were waving us to their homes. On the islands some kind of puppet show was put up for us to explain how the people built these islands. The bases of the islands are large clumps of floating roots (1-2m thick) of the long grassy plants that grow in the lake (what are these called again?). These clumps are tight together and covered with the grassy plant. Finally the islands are anchored with long sticks to prevent them from floating too far away. On the islands all facilities are present, little huts, kitchens, a small green garden, a pond with trout, etc. The islands can only be reached by boat. Similarly you need a boat to get from on island to the other, or for example to school (also on an island). Every island (5-6 families, or approximately 20 persons) owns a few boats, bigger ones (mainly to transport tourists), smaller canoes and a small motorboat for fishing. After learning how the islands were constructed we could walk around on the island to see the huts, the kitchen, etc. Soon, however, the locals drew our attention to the artefacts they had prepared and were selling. We didn't buy one of those, but decided to go on a short boat trip in one of the traditional boats, which offered great views on the Uros islands at sun set. The trip was too short, but very relaxing thanks to the very quiet manpower propulsion. Later we made a short stop on another island with hotel and restaurant before returning to Puno.
Sunday the 14th of November 2010
On Sunday we left for a two day tour to the different Peruvian islands in Lake Titicaca. We first stopped at the Uros islands that we had visited the day before. We docked at a different island this time, but the story was exactly the same, as were the souvenirs. After the obligatory stop at the island with the hotel and restaurant we sailed off to Amanti, the largest Peruvian islands in the Lake.
It was a long journey (3h) to Amanti, more due to the slow boat than to the distance. On the island we were welcomed by some local families that would be our hosts. We would stay with the family of Florencia and Eusebio. Their youngest daughter led us to their house. The hour of free time before lunch we used for a short dip in Lake Titicaca that at 3800m above sea level was filled with surprisingly warm water.
After lunch we met up with the group of tourist we were on the boat with at the main square for a walk to the top of the island. The views on the Peruvian and Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca and its Andean shores from up there were astonishing, as was the free sunset.
We returned to our family for dinner, but came together at night for a "cultural" experience in the local meeting house. Everyone, including all tourists, was dressed in the local traditional outfit and was dancing on the tunes of a local band, playing traditional instruments. After the party we returned home guided by the bright moonlight and a night sky like I had never seen one before.
Monday the 15 of November 2010
We spent what must have been the quietest night of our trip. There is no traffic on the island, you can get from one place to the other only on foot. Early morning (6h15) we were already enjoying the fresh lake air and saw the island slowly wake up. Breakfast consisted of what I can only describe as "smoutenbolle" which is the Flemish name for it. Greasy, but nutritive! At 7h30 we took place in our little boat for a one and a half hour trip to the next island (Taquile). There we walked to the main square on a path that took us in a large half circle around the island, constantly exposing new views on the Lake. On the square we witnessed some local tax inning, cash and with large notebooks, and had a nice coffee before meeting in a restaurant. There we were finally explained why all the guys were wearing hats/beanie and these oddly looking clothes. The Taquile people are well known for their textile and the hats and clothes immediately tell the matrimonial status of the people that wear them. Additionally the clothes tell you if the guy wearing them is in the local politics, has a police task, or just doesn't care... The clothes make the man. After lunch we set sail for Puno again. The trip was long, very long. Happy to be back in Puno we soon went to bed, because our bus to Copacabana, Bolivia, would leave at 7h the next morning. We would leave Peru. It had been amazing!
The bus ride to Puno was exhausting, but brought us through some marvellous landscapes. The last stop before Puno, a "fixer" got on the bus and recommended a hostel and some Titicaca lake outings to us. The hostel was cheap and looked great and also the trips the guys offered looked interesting to us. Half an hour after arriving in Puno we were thus on a boat to Las Islas de Uros. These islands are also called the floating islands. It is a group of about 60 islands floating in Lake Titicaca at 20 minutes from Puno by boat. We docked at one of the islands where the locals were waving us to their homes. On the islands some kind of puppet show was put up for us to explain how the people built these islands. The bases of the islands are large clumps of floating roots (1-2m thick) of the long grassy plants that grow in the lake (what are these called again?). These clumps are tight together and covered with the grassy plant. Finally the islands are anchored with long sticks to prevent them from floating too far away. On the islands all facilities are present, little huts, kitchens, a small green garden, a pond with trout, etc. The islands can only be reached by boat. Similarly you need a boat to get from on island to the other, or for example to school (also on an island). Every island (5-6 families, or approximately 20 persons) owns a few boats, bigger ones (mainly to transport tourists), smaller canoes and a small motorboat for fishing. After learning how the islands were constructed we could walk around on the island to see the huts, the kitchen, etc. Soon, however, the locals drew our attention to the artefacts they had prepared and were selling. We didn't buy one of those, but decided to go on a short boat trip in one of the traditional boats, which offered great views on the Uros islands at sun set. The trip was too short, but very relaxing thanks to the very quiet manpower propulsion. Later we made a short stop on another island with hotel and restaurant before returning to Puno.
Sunday the 14th of November 2010
On Sunday we left for a two day tour to the different Peruvian islands in Lake Titicaca. We first stopped at the Uros islands that we had visited the day before. We docked at a different island this time, but the story was exactly the same, as were the souvenirs. After the obligatory stop at the island with the hotel and restaurant we sailed off to Amanti, the largest Peruvian islands in the Lake.
It was a long journey (3h) to Amanti, more due to the slow boat than to the distance. On the island we were welcomed by some local families that would be our hosts. We would stay with the family of Florencia and Eusebio. Their youngest daughter led us to their house. The hour of free time before lunch we used for a short dip in Lake Titicaca that at 3800m above sea level was filled with surprisingly warm water.
After lunch we met up with the group of tourist we were on the boat with at the main square for a walk to the top of the island. The views on the Peruvian and Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca and its Andean shores from up there were astonishing, as was the free sunset.
We returned to our family for dinner, but came together at night for a "cultural" experience in the local meeting house. Everyone, including all tourists, was dressed in the local traditional outfit and was dancing on the tunes of a local band, playing traditional instruments. After the party we returned home guided by the bright moonlight and a night sky like I had never seen one before.
Monday the 15 of November 2010
We spent what must have been the quietest night of our trip. There is no traffic on the island, you can get from one place to the other only on foot. Early morning (6h15) we were already enjoying the fresh lake air and saw the island slowly wake up. Breakfast consisted of what I can only describe as "smoutenbolle" which is the Flemish name for it. Greasy, but nutritive! At 7h30 we took place in our little boat for a one and a half hour trip to the next island (Taquile). There we walked to the main square on a path that took us in a large half circle around the island, constantly exposing new views on the Lake. On the square we witnessed some local tax inning, cash and with large notebooks, and had a nice coffee before meeting in a restaurant. There we were finally explained why all the guys were wearing hats/beanie and these oddly looking clothes. The Taquile people are well known for their textile and the hats and clothes immediately tell the matrimonial status of the people that wear them. Additionally the clothes tell you if the guy wearing them is in the local politics, has a police task, or just doesn't care... The clothes make the man. After lunch we set sail for Puno again. The trip was long, very long. Happy to be back in Puno we soon went to bed, because our bus to Copacabana, Bolivia, would leave at 7h the next morning. We would leave Peru. It had been amazing!
Arequipa and the Colca canyon
Sunday the 7th of November 2010 until Tuesday the 9th of November 2010
After a long night my first stomach issues in South America were almost gone and I felt capable to cope with a 10h bus ride. So, at 8h we were on a bus to Arequipa. We quickly found a hostel there and spent the rest of the evening exploring the center of the city.
The next day we had planned a quiet day. We took our time to visit the "white city". The city has been given this name because of the white color of the volcanic stone that has been used to construct 90% of the historical buildings of the town. We wandered through the streets, visited some of the most important places and arranged everything for the next stage of our trip: the Colca canyon.
The next day we were on a bus to Cabanaconde. The first part of the road brought us through the magnificent South-Peruvian landscape, very desserty with now and then a small, apparently disserted village, large herds of lama's, alpaca's and vicunas (another kind of lama). We even passed some lakes with flamingos. The second part of the road led us along the Colca Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world, second only after the canyon in Cotohuasi, a few 100km further and thus larger than the Grand Canyon. We arrived in Cabanaconde just before dusk and found a place to stay in a beautiful hostel owned by a Belgian-Peruvian couple. They supplied us with the necessary information about trekking in the Colca Canyon while we enjoyed an excellent dinner with a nice couple from New-Zealand. After dinner, Nele however started feeling like I did on the train from Machu Picchu to Cusco, which resulted in a too many visits to the toilet at night.
Wednesday the 10th of November 2010
Nele had spent a horrible night and we decided not to descend into the Canyon on Wednesday. Nele took some more rest in the morning, while I explored the canyon from the top. From where I walked I could make out several of the villages that we would have normally visited that day; Sangalle, also known as the Oasis, all the way down at the Colca River, and Malata and Tapay. I had my first encounter with an Andean Condor. Marvellous animal. Around lunch time I paid a visit to the sick one that by then felt brave enough to go and see the condors at the view point Cruz del Condor in the afternoon. During our short walk along the canyon at this point (that we reached with a 30 eurocent worth bus ride) we were constantly accompanied by 4-5 condors. Not only the presence of the condors pleased us, but also the magnificent views of the canyon were worth the trip. Satisfied we returned to Cabanaconde an hour and half later in a minivan that we stopped along the road. We met 4 nice, retired Frenchies that would go to the Cruz del Condor the next morning. We had a good pizza later on in the hostel, again with the Kiwi's. Luckily the pizza was much too big for our evening stomachs so that we immediately had our lunch for the next day.
Thursday the 11th of November 2010
We were ready for our descent into the canyon. Our goal was Llahuar: a "pueblo" of maybe 10 souls where a side river flows into the Colca. We first followed the trail on the edge of the canyon, than steeply descended the 1200m down into the canyon. At the river we had our pizza lunch. In the meantime a young (18 and 20) French couple had caught up with us and together we admired the geysers next to the bridge we just crossed. We only had one and a half hour to walk to Llahuar after lunch. We passed a real ghost village, if three houses and a barn can be called a village, on our way. At 14h we checked in at the Colca lodge in Llahuar were we warmed ourselves in the thermal bath after a short dip in the river. Lovely to relax in a hot bath at the bottom of one of the deepest canyons of the world after walking for 4h and half.
After beading we decide to make our contribution to dinner. All guests sit together at the dinner table in the Colca lodge. On the menu.. Trout... if, however, the guests catch enough trout in the nearby river. By the time we took the fishing rod in our hands trout dinners was already assured by two French guys that caught a dozen. We relieved another French couple from its duties (Peru seems to be a very popular country for Frenchies and Francophones, you meet them everywhere) and contributed one extra trout to the dinner.
Friday the 12th of November 2010
The next morning we left early after breakfast. By 8h we were walking through the canyon together with Brandon, a Canadian travel writer that was sent down the canyon by a travel magazine to do a story. We were heading for Sorro, a small village, maybe 5 families large, where we would get into a truck to Cabanaconde. The path to Sorro passed, without a doubt, through the nicest part of the canyon that we have seen: steep cliffs, big, round boulders in the river and along the shore, fields of cactus, terraces filled with corn, etc. An Indiana-Jones like bridge brought us to the open spot where the truck brings supplies to the village in the canyon twice a week. Shortly after we made it this place the truck arrived with in its cargo 10-15 locals with what they brought from Cabanaconde. After they all disembarked, we got on the truck, or better in the back of the truck, ready for a beautiful ride up. On our way up we now and then picked up extra passengers with their latest harvest. Man and crops were assigned the same place in the truck and after a while the truck was well filled with people and vegetation. At around 12h30 we made it to Cabanaconde where we were just in time to book a seat on the packed bus to Arequipa that would leave an hour later. We spent one more night in Arequipa and then got on a bus to Puno. Lake Titicaca was waiting for us.
Have a look at the pictures that go with this story.
After a long night my first stomach issues in South America were almost gone and I felt capable to cope with a 10h bus ride. So, at 8h we were on a bus to Arequipa. We quickly found a hostel there and spent the rest of the evening exploring the center of the city.
The next day we had planned a quiet day. We took our time to visit the "white city". The city has been given this name because of the white color of the volcanic stone that has been used to construct 90% of the historical buildings of the town. We wandered through the streets, visited some of the most important places and arranged everything for the next stage of our trip: the Colca canyon.
The next day we were on a bus to Cabanaconde. The first part of the road brought us through the magnificent South-Peruvian landscape, very desserty with now and then a small, apparently disserted village, large herds of lama's, alpaca's and vicunas (another kind of lama). We even passed some lakes with flamingos. The second part of the road led us along the Colca Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world, second only after the canyon in Cotohuasi, a few 100km further and thus larger than the Grand Canyon. We arrived in Cabanaconde just before dusk and found a place to stay in a beautiful hostel owned by a Belgian-Peruvian couple. They supplied us with the necessary information about trekking in the Colca Canyon while we enjoyed an excellent dinner with a nice couple from New-Zealand. After dinner, Nele however started feeling like I did on the train from Machu Picchu to Cusco, which resulted in a too many visits to the toilet at night.
Wednesday the 10th of November 2010
Nele had spent a horrible night and we decided not to descend into the Canyon on Wednesday. Nele took some more rest in the morning, while I explored the canyon from the top. From where I walked I could make out several of the villages that we would have normally visited that day; Sangalle, also known as the Oasis, all the way down at the Colca River, and Malata and Tapay. I had my first encounter with an Andean Condor. Marvellous animal. Around lunch time I paid a visit to the sick one that by then felt brave enough to go and see the condors at the view point Cruz del Condor in the afternoon. During our short walk along the canyon at this point (that we reached with a 30 eurocent worth bus ride) we were constantly accompanied by 4-5 condors. Not only the presence of the condors pleased us, but also the magnificent views of the canyon were worth the trip. Satisfied we returned to Cabanaconde an hour and half later in a minivan that we stopped along the road. We met 4 nice, retired Frenchies that would go to the Cruz del Condor the next morning. We had a good pizza later on in the hostel, again with the Kiwi's. Luckily the pizza was much too big for our evening stomachs so that we immediately had our lunch for the next day.
Thursday the 11th of November 2010
We were ready for our descent into the canyon. Our goal was Llahuar: a "pueblo" of maybe 10 souls where a side river flows into the Colca. We first followed the trail on the edge of the canyon, than steeply descended the 1200m down into the canyon. At the river we had our pizza lunch. In the meantime a young (18 and 20) French couple had caught up with us and together we admired the geysers next to the bridge we just crossed. We only had one and a half hour to walk to Llahuar after lunch. We passed a real ghost village, if three houses and a barn can be called a village, on our way. At 14h we checked in at the Colca lodge in Llahuar were we warmed ourselves in the thermal bath after a short dip in the river. Lovely to relax in a hot bath at the bottom of one of the deepest canyons of the world after walking for 4h and half.
After beading we decide to make our contribution to dinner. All guests sit together at the dinner table in the Colca lodge. On the menu.. Trout... if, however, the guests catch enough trout in the nearby river. By the time we took the fishing rod in our hands trout dinners was already assured by two French guys that caught a dozen. We relieved another French couple from its duties (Peru seems to be a very popular country for Frenchies and Francophones, you meet them everywhere) and contributed one extra trout to the dinner.
Friday the 12th of November 2010
The next morning we left early after breakfast. By 8h we were walking through the canyon together with Brandon, a Canadian travel writer that was sent down the canyon by a travel magazine to do a story. We were heading for Sorro, a small village, maybe 5 families large, where we would get into a truck to Cabanaconde. The path to Sorro passed, without a doubt, through the nicest part of the canyon that we have seen: steep cliffs, big, round boulders in the river and along the shore, fields of cactus, terraces filled with corn, etc. An Indiana-Jones like bridge brought us to the open spot where the truck brings supplies to the village in the canyon twice a week. Shortly after we made it this place the truck arrived with in its cargo 10-15 locals with what they brought from Cabanaconde. After they all disembarked, we got on the truck, or better in the back of the truck, ready for a beautiful ride up. On our way up we now and then picked up extra passengers with their latest harvest. Man and crops were assigned the same place in the truck and after a while the truck was well filled with people and vegetation. At around 12h30 we made it to Cabanaconde where we were just in time to book a seat on the packed bus to Arequipa that would leave an hour later. We spent one more night in Arequipa and then got on a bus to Puno. Lake Titicaca was waiting for us.
Have a look at the pictures that go with this story.
The Inca trail and Machu Picchu
Wednesday the 3rd of November 2010
We woke up early morning on Wednesday for our most touristy (and most expensive) four days of out trip. At dawn we got on the bus that would take us to the beginning of the Inca Trail. In the bus we met An, a nice 58 year old lady from Londen, Frederico and Patricia, a couple from Buenos Aires, and two dutch guys (Michiel and Lucas). Together with them and our two guides (Elias and Jose) we would spend the next four days on the path that so many Inca pelgrims and tourists followed before us. We made a short stop in Ollantaytambo before reaching the start of the Inca trail. Here we crossed the Urubamba river, the river that flooded in Februari this year and cut off the way between Aguas Caliente (the little town at the end of the Inca Trail and at the base of the Machu Picchu mountain) and the rest of Peru, blocking the return route for thousands of tourists.
The first part of the trail brought us through dry forest and passed impressive Inca ruines. Half an hour from these ruines we stopped for our first lunch break. The meal and service was very promising. Our porters, 11 local farmers in total, had passed us on the trail and had set up the kitchen tent and comedor and prepared a delicious three coures meal for us. The guys welcomed us with freshly prepared juice and before taking our seats at the table we were all presented our individual boil with warm water to wash our hands. To dry our hands we used paper towels offered to us in the most humble way be one our shy porters. Even moving our chairs appeared to be the job of the porters, because when trying to move them ourselves one of them would jump up and take over the job. They porters clearly considered this part of their job, we had to get used to being served in such a humble way. Anyhow, the lunch and service were excellent. After filling our stomachs we had two hours more to walk to Wayllabamba, our first camp site. Again the readiness of the porters was overwhelming and the meal astonishing. Before going to bed early (20h30) we played cards all together to finish off a perfect first day.
Thursday the 4th of November 2010
Following a nice quiet night we were woken at 6h by a team of two porters with tea (coca, the standard in the mountains). A third porter followed with our individual washing bowl and the paper towel. Half an hour later we were enjoying an extensive breakfast. Our working ants had already brought down and packed all the tents and were waiting to pull down and pack the rest of the equipment we were still using. Day two of the Inca trail is generally considered the hardest of all days because you pass the Warmiwanusca or dead women´s pass (=4200m - 1000m higher than our camping spot). We were adviced by our guide to walk in our own pace and stop at predetermined points to regroup. I remembered the tips of our guide on the Santa Cruz trek, found my ritm and walked to the meeting points in one breath keeping a decent pace. Nele followed at a short distance, the Dutch guys followed a bit further down, closely followed by An (58 years of age... chapeau!). Frederico and Patricia needed twice as much time as us to do the distance, but because they are twice as old as we are, that can be considered an absolutely normal situation. The last few hunderd meters to the pass were really killing everybody, step inca stairs that make you feel like you can drop backwards any time. Additionally you should consider the altitude and the lack of oxygen it implies. I constantly found myself among the porters, which gave me a reasonably good feeling I must admit, in the knowledge of the reputation of Inca trail porters as being speedy little guys. I should honestly admit that the porters carried more weight up than I. Their load usually weighs in between 20 and 25 kg, while I was carrying "only" 15kg (all Nele's stuff ;-) ). From the pass it was a two hour downhil walk on the Inca steps to our next camp site. There we witnessed the same lunch ritual as the day before. It didn't take us very long to get used to it. Later, before dinner, the porters introduced themselves to us (and vice versa). It was somewhat of an ackward group ritual, just little kids that meet for the first time in kinergarden and have to say their namens. The yongest porter as 18, the oldes 58, ... they all carried 25kg, impressive.
Friday the 5th of November 2010
Day 3 brought us over another mountain pass into the rain forest. The landscape and our direct surrounding looked completely different now and was even prettier than the days before. We also passed more Inca ruines, the Machu Picchu obviously came closer. Our little group stayed nicely together and in every ruine we encountered Elias learned us a bit more about the Inca's in his own funny, honest way. Often he would draw something on the ground, but afterwards carefully erase what he had drwawn. "Are you clearing the evidence, Elias? No, but another guide might have another theory." And in fact, that is the way it is with the Inca's. Because they did not leave any written testimony (they didn't know any writting) a lot of what we know about the Inca's is based on some guesses or stories orally transmitted stories. From our lunch spot we could see the backside of the Machu Picchu mountain. Our camping spot was 2 hours away and 1000m downhill. The way down went over 90% original Inca steps, some of which were carved from the rocks. Pretty special, knowing you are walking over 700 year old steps that were only known to a wider public some 60 years ago.
Saturday the 6th of November 2010
The last stage to Machu Picchu started really early. The wash-bowl barrier woke us up at 3h45. No time for tea this moring, the porters had to make it to the 5 o'clock train back to Cusco. After breakfast we had a bit of time left to wake up and then lined up for the entrance to the last kilometers of the Inca trail. The path passes through a magnificent piece of nature here, Orchides and humming birds everywhere. At 7h30 we reached the sun gate from where you have a magnificent view on the remains of Machu Picchu... That is if the clouds allow you this view. We were looking at a misty mountain landscape, but couldn't make out any ruins. However, 5 minutes of patience made a whole difference. The clouds slowly opened and it was as if a curtain was slided open and slowly revealed the most famous Inca ruines in the world. Magnificent!
After this show of nature and culture we walke down closer to the ruines. Our guide excellently explained us not only about the site, but also about the discovery of it with a personal touch/opinion (e.g. in his opinion the discoverers of the site under guidance of Bingham had destroyed the place but not taking into account the basics of archeology (write down what you take away where and do not tear down any construction). Despite the force with which he explained it all, our guide constantly reminded us of the fact that things might have been different, because of the reasons I mentioned above.
After visiting the site, we dropped down into Auguas Calientes. A city at the base of the mountain that only exists because the Machu Picchu ruines were discovered. We relaxed in the thermal bads of the town and later got on the train back to Cusco. The train ride is supposed to be very nice, but I cannot confirm that because I was trying to keep my last lunch in my system. I failed; near the end of the train ride I witnessed all the symptoms of someone who had ate somehting he shouldn't have. Back in Cusco, Nele therefor had to take care of all stuff, such as finding a hostel and carrying equipment. Once we found a bed, I passed out in it immediately. There was no change I was going to get on a bus the next day...
The pictures belonging to this the text are found here.
We woke up early morning on Wednesday for our most touristy (and most expensive) four days of out trip. At dawn we got on the bus that would take us to the beginning of the Inca Trail. In the bus we met An, a nice 58 year old lady from Londen, Frederico and Patricia, a couple from Buenos Aires, and two dutch guys (Michiel and Lucas). Together with them and our two guides (Elias and Jose) we would spend the next four days on the path that so many Inca pelgrims and tourists followed before us. We made a short stop in Ollantaytambo before reaching the start of the Inca trail. Here we crossed the Urubamba river, the river that flooded in Februari this year and cut off the way between Aguas Caliente (the little town at the end of the Inca Trail and at the base of the Machu Picchu mountain) and the rest of Peru, blocking the return route for thousands of tourists.
The first part of the trail brought us through dry forest and passed impressive Inca ruines. Half an hour from these ruines we stopped for our first lunch break. The meal and service was very promising. Our porters, 11 local farmers in total, had passed us on the trail and had set up the kitchen tent and comedor and prepared a delicious three coures meal for us. The guys welcomed us with freshly prepared juice and before taking our seats at the table we were all presented our individual boil with warm water to wash our hands. To dry our hands we used paper towels offered to us in the most humble way be one our shy porters. Even moving our chairs appeared to be the job of the porters, because when trying to move them ourselves one of them would jump up and take over the job. They porters clearly considered this part of their job, we had to get used to being served in such a humble way. Anyhow, the lunch and service were excellent. After filling our stomachs we had two hours more to walk to Wayllabamba, our first camp site. Again the readiness of the porters was overwhelming and the meal astonishing. Before going to bed early (20h30) we played cards all together to finish off a perfect first day.
Thursday the 4th of November 2010
Following a nice quiet night we were woken at 6h by a team of two porters with tea (coca, the standard in the mountains). A third porter followed with our individual washing bowl and the paper towel. Half an hour later we were enjoying an extensive breakfast. Our working ants had already brought down and packed all the tents and were waiting to pull down and pack the rest of the equipment we were still using. Day two of the Inca trail is generally considered the hardest of all days because you pass the Warmiwanusca or dead women´s pass (=4200m - 1000m higher than our camping spot). We were adviced by our guide to walk in our own pace and stop at predetermined points to regroup. I remembered the tips of our guide on the Santa Cruz trek, found my ritm and walked to the meeting points in one breath keeping a decent pace. Nele followed at a short distance, the Dutch guys followed a bit further down, closely followed by An (58 years of age... chapeau!). Frederico and Patricia needed twice as much time as us to do the distance, but because they are twice as old as we are, that can be considered an absolutely normal situation. The last few hunderd meters to the pass were really killing everybody, step inca stairs that make you feel like you can drop backwards any time. Additionally you should consider the altitude and the lack of oxygen it implies. I constantly found myself among the porters, which gave me a reasonably good feeling I must admit, in the knowledge of the reputation of Inca trail porters as being speedy little guys. I should honestly admit that the porters carried more weight up than I. Their load usually weighs in between 20 and 25 kg, while I was carrying "only" 15kg (all Nele's stuff ;-) ). From the pass it was a two hour downhil walk on the Inca steps to our next camp site. There we witnessed the same lunch ritual as the day before. It didn't take us very long to get used to it. Later, before dinner, the porters introduced themselves to us (and vice versa). It was somewhat of an ackward group ritual, just little kids that meet for the first time in kinergarden and have to say their namens. The yongest porter as 18, the oldes 58, ... they all carried 25kg, impressive.
Friday the 5th of November 2010
Day 3 brought us over another mountain pass into the rain forest. The landscape and our direct surrounding looked completely different now and was even prettier than the days before. We also passed more Inca ruines, the Machu Picchu obviously came closer. Our little group stayed nicely together and in every ruine we encountered Elias learned us a bit more about the Inca's in his own funny, honest way. Often he would draw something on the ground, but afterwards carefully erase what he had drwawn. "Are you clearing the evidence, Elias? No, but another guide might have another theory." And in fact, that is the way it is with the Inca's. Because they did not leave any written testimony (they didn't know any writting) a lot of what we know about the Inca's is based on some guesses or stories orally transmitted stories. From our lunch spot we could see the backside of the Machu Picchu mountain. Our camping spot was 2 hours away and 1000m downhill. The way down went over 90% original Inca steps, some of which were carved from the rocks. Pretty special, knowing you are walking over 700 year old steps that were only known to a wider public some 60 years ago.
Saturday the 6th of November 2010
The last stage to Machu Picchu started really early. The wash-bowl barrier woke us up at 3h45. No time for tea this moring, the porters had to make it to the 5 o'clock train back to Cusco. After breakfast we had a bit of time left to wake up and then lined up for the entrance to the last kilometers of the Inca trail. The path passes through a magnificent piece of nature here, Orchides and humming birds everywhere. At 7h30 we reached the sun gate from where you have a magnificent view on the remains of Machu Picchu... That is if the clouds allow you this view. We were looking at a misty mountain landscape, but couldn't make out any ruins. However, 5 minutes of patience made a whole difference. The clouds slowly opened and it was as if a curtain was slided open and slowly revealed the most famous Inca ruines in the world. Magnificent!
After this show of nature and culture we walke down closer to the ruines. Our guide excellently explained us not only about the site, but also about the discovery of it with a personal touch/opinion (e.g. in his opinion the discoverers of the site under guidance of Bingham had destroyed the place but not taking into account the basics of archeology (write down what you take away where and do not tear down any construction). Despite the force with which he explained it all, our guide constantly reminded us of the fact that things might have been different, because of the reasons I mentioned above.
After visiting the site, we dropped down into Auguas Calientes. A city at the base of the mountain that only exists because the Machu Picchu ruines were discovered. We relaxed in the thermal bads of the town and later got on the train back to Cusco. The train ride is supposed to be very nice, but I cannot confirm that because I was trying to keep my last lunch in my system. I failed; near the end of the train ride I witnessed all the symptoms of someone who had ate somehting he shouldn't have. Back in Cusco, Nele therefor had to take care of all stuff, such as finding a hostel and carrying equipment. Once we found a bed, I passed out in it immediately. There was no change I was going to get on a bus the next day...
The pictures belonging to this the text are found here.
Cuzco and the holy valley of the Inca's
Thursday the 28th of October until Tuesday the 2nd of November 2010
Cuzco is one of the touristiest places we have passed on our journey, but it is also one of the nicest cities. All over the town you can still find original parts of Inca walls and the place is covered with colonial buildings. Because there is so much to do in and around Cuzco we decided to stay in the city for three days. We purchased a tourist ticket that gave us access to a number of colonial buildings and another one for the sacred valley of the Inca's, close to Cuzco. In the city itself the Cathedral appealed most to us, as it is one of the first cathedrals in Peru and it is filled with pieces of art from the Cuzcan school - Catholic stories told with Indian images.
To visit the sacred valley we joined a day tour that normally brings you to 3 Inca ruins. The first stop on this tour is Pisac. An incredibly large site with numerous terraces, a whole bunch of administrative and military buildings (among other function, the site of Pisac was there to control the people coming in from the jungle on their way to Cuzco) and the largest know Inca cemetery in the flanks of a nearby mountain. Because the idea of the organized tour is to see as much as possible in as little time as possible, we only stayed in Pisac for little over an hour. Way too short to really enjoy the beauty, history and culture of the site. After lunch, our next stop was Ollantaytambo. Before embarking on the tour we had already made up our mind; we would stay in Ollantaytambo to give this site the attention it deserves. We followed the guided tour in the ruins of Ollantaytambo with the group, but spent another hour on the site when our van had already left the place. The city of Ollantaytambo is the only one in Peru that is entirely build on the foundations of the Inca city that was there before. The layout and water supply system is therefore identical to that of 600-700 years ago. The Inca city of Ollantaytambo was - like Pisac - a place for soldiers, pilgrims, messengers, the Inca, etc. to rest along the spread-out Inca road system (all towns ending in tambo served the same purpose by the way). After visiting the terraces and (unfinished - the Spaniards were there too quickly) temple of the sun, we climbed the flank opposite the agricultural, military and religious site to the barns from where we had a great view on the whole place. The next morning, we visited the site that was now beading in the morning sun, again.
After this quick visit we headed for Maras, a small village in the sacred valley from where you can visit the historical site of Moray. In the days of the Inca's Moray was a site for agricultural science and experiments. The Inca's built terraces here at different heights to see which crops grew best at which heights (and therefore temperatures). From Morray we were lucky enough to be given a ride by an older couple from Lima back to Maras, where we had lunch in an improvised restaurant on the town square. After lunch we walked 7 kilometers to a place called Salinas de Maras. At this spot people are still "mining" salt in the same way as they did in the times of the Inca's and even before. The approach to the Salineras is pretty impressive. You are walking through a Wild West scenery and suddenly you see over 4000 white, yellow, grey, brown, salt basins. You can walk in between the basins, see the locals at work collecting the salt from them after all water has evaporated, etc. Pretty nice experience. After visiting the Salinas de Maras we walked towards the main road in the sacred valley where Julio, a guy from Cuzco gave us a lift to Chinchera, the next site worth visiting in the area. Again we were stunned by the remainders of the Inca-terraces. We surely do believe now that the people were never hungry under the rule of the Inca's. The colonial church that was built on the place where the temple of the sun used to be - as so often - did not impress us that much. The last bit of road to Cuzco we did by collectivo - a shared taxi ride.
The last full day in Cuzco we spend separately. Nele wandered through the small streets of the cozy San Blas area, while I visited the ruins of Tambomachay (the sauna and whirlpool resort of the Inca), Puka Pukara (a slightly outlying defence post for Cuzco), Q'enqo (a temple complex partly cut out of the natural rock surrounding) and Sacsayhuaman (the military and administrative center of Inca-Cuzco) close to Cuzco. All that was left then was preparing our backpacks for the 4-day Inca trail trek to Machu Picchu. We were ready...
Cuzco is one of the touristiest places we have passed on our journey, but it is also one of the nicest cities. All over the town you can still find original parts of Inca walls and the place is covered with colonial buildings. Because there is so much to do in and around Cuzco we decided to stay in the city for three days. We purchased a tourist ticket that gave us access to a number of colonial buildings and another one for the sacred valley of the Inca's, close to Cuzco. In the city itself the Cathedral appealed most to us, as it is one of the first cathedrals in Peru and it is filled with pieces of art from the Cuzcan school - Catholic stories told with Indian images.
To visit the sacred valley we joined a day tour that normally brings you to 3 Inca ruins. The first stop on this tour is Pisac. An incredibly large site with numerous terraces, a whole bunch of administrative and military buildings (among other function, the site of Pisac was there to control the people coming in from the jungle on their way to Cuzco) and the largest know Inca cemetery in the flanks of a nearby mountain. Because the idea of the organized tour is to see as much as possible in as little time as possible, we only stayed in Pisac for little over an hour. Way too short to really enjoy the beauty, history and culture of the site. After lunch, our next stop was Ollantaytambo. Before embarking on the tour we had already made up our mind; we would stay in Ollantaytambo to give this site the attention it deserves. We followed the guided tour in the ruins of Ollantaytambo with the group, but spent another hour on the site when our van had already left the place. The city of Ollantaytambo is the only one in Peru that is entirely build on the foundations of the Inca city that was there before. The layout and water supply system is therefore identical to that of 600-700 years ago. The Inca city of Ollantaytambo was - like Pisac - a place for soldiers, pilgrims, messengers, the Inca, etc. to rest along the spread-out Inca road system (all towns ending in tambo served the same purpose by the way). After visiting the terraces and (unfinished - the Spaniards were there too quickly) temple of the sun, we climbed the flank opposite the agricultural, military and religious site to the barns from where we had a great view on the whole place. The next morning, we visited the site that was now beading in the morning sun, again.
After this quick visit we headed for Maras, a small village in the sacred valley from where you can visit the historical site of Moray. In the days of the Inca's Moray was a site for agricultural science and experiments. The Inca's built terraces here at different heights to see which crops grew best at which heights (and therefore temperatures). From Morray we were lucky enough to be given a ride by an older couple from Lima back to Maras, where we had lunch in an improvised restaurant on the town square. After lunch we walked 7 kilometers to a place called Salinas de Maras. At this spot people are still "mining" salt in the same way as they did in the times of the Inca's and even before. The approach to the Salineras is pretty impressive. You are walking through a Wild West scenery and suddenly you see over 4000 white, yellow, grey, brown, salt basins. You can walk in between the basins, see the locals at work collecting the salt from them after all water has evaporated, etc. Pretty nice experience. After visiting the Salinas de Maras we walked towards the main road in the sacred valley where Julio, a guy from Cuzco gave us a lift to Chinchera, the next site worth visiting in the area. Again we were stunned by the remainders of the Inca-terraces. We surely do believe now that the people were never hungry under the rule of the Inca's. The colonial church that was built on the place where the temple of the sun used to be - as so often - did not impress us that much. The last bit of road to Cuzco we did by collectivo - a shared taxi ride.
The last full day in Cuzco we spend separately. Nele wandered through the small streets of the cozy San Blas area, while I visited the ruins of Tambomachay (the sauna and whirlpool resort of the Inca), Puka Pukara (a slightly outlying defence post for Cuzco), Q'enqo (a temple complex partly cut out of the natural rock surrounding) and Sacsayhuaman (the military and administrative center of Inca-Cuzco) close to Cuzco. All that was left then was preparing our backpacks for the 4-day Inca trail trek to Machu Picchu. We were ready...
Huacachina
Tuesday the 26th of October 2010 - Wednesday the 27th of October
From Lima we would originally travel to Pisco to visit the Paracas National Parque nearby, but we were not amazed by the view of Pisco and the impression the local tourist officer made on us. We therefore quickly took a next bus that would bring us to Ica from where we immediately went on to the oasis of Huacachina. This is a fairy-tale like oasis in the middle of the Peruvian desert at a few kilometers only from Ica. We found a hostel that allowed us to set up our tent in their garden, right next to the oasis. The oasis by the way is featured on the note of 50 Peruvian Nuevo Sol. We signed up for a sand buggy ride the next day that included some time for sand boarding down the massive dunes. Just to be prepared we tested the sand boards on Tuesday on the dunes around the oasis. It turned out not to be too easy, but we had had the bonus of the nice view on the oasis and a fabulous sun set from the top of the dunes.
On Wednesday morning we enjoyed the rest of the oasis in the swimming pool of the hostel and prepared our stuff to leave the place again in the evening. In the late afternoon we took place in the oversized sand buggy for an awesome ride in the desert. Our driver, Antonio, didn't stay clear of steep dunes (up as well as down) or sharp turns. We all absolutely loved it, except for one passenger in our buggy that came dangerously close to seeing here lunch again. In the middle of the desert our buggy stopped for some sand boarding. The smaller dunes we went down standing up, which worked more or less. For the bigger ones (especially the last one was massif) we decided to lie down on our belly. This was not only safer, but also much faster and more fun. Unfortunately the sand buggy trip only took 2 hours. Back in Huacachina there was not time to waste as we were scheduled for an 18 hours bus ride to Cuzco..
From Lima we would originally travel to Pisco to visit the Paracas National Parque nearby, but we were not amazed by the view of Pisco and the impression the local tourist officer made on us. We therefore quickly took a next bus that would bring us to Ica from where we immediately went on to the oasis of Huacachina. This is a fairy-tale like oasis in the middle of the Peruvian desert at a few kilometers only from Ica. We found a hostel that allowed us to set up our tent in their garden, right next to the oasis. The oasis by the way is featured on the note of 50 Peruvian Nuevo Sol. We signed up for a sand buggy ride the next day that included some time for sand boarding down the massive dunes. Just to be prepared we tested the sand boards on Tuesday on the dunes around the oasis. It turned out not to be too easy, but we had had the bonus of the nice view on the oasis and a fabulous sun set from the top of the dunes.
On Wednesday morning we enjoyed the rest of the oasis in the swimming pool of the hostel and prepared our stuff to leave the place again in the evening. In the late afternoon we took place in the oversized sand buggy for an awesome ride in the desert. Our driver, Antonio, didn't stay clear of steep dunes (up as well as down) or sharp turns. We all absolutely loved it, except for one passenger in our buggy that came dangerously close to seeing here lunch again. In the middle of the desert our buggy stopped for some sand boarding. The smaller dunes we went down standing up, which worked more or less. For the bigger ones (especially the last one was massif) we decided to lie down on our belly. This was not only safer, but also much faster and more fun. Unfortunately the sand buggy trip only took 2 hours. Back in Huacachina there was not time to waste as we were scheduled for an 18 hours bus ride to Cuzco..
Lima
Monday the 25th of October 2010
Immediately after the Santa Cruz trek and the same day (Sunday) we took a night bus to Lima where we arrived at 7h in the morning. We were not fully ready for the busy capital of Peru after spending 4 days in the beautiful and quiet scenery of the Cordillera Blanca. For a minute we debated if we would not just continue to our next destination, but in the end decided to give Lima a chance. It certainly turned out to be the right decision. Many travellers we had met before didn't find Lima that interesting, but that is probably because they focussed on the modern (and North American like) Mira Flores. We stayed in the old, colonial part of the city that can easily be visited in one day, if you skip the museums. This part of town is not too busy and is flocked with nice colonial buildings, pleasant plaza's etc. At 12h we watched the change of the guards at the presidential palace together with a large amount of tourists and local. We saw the guards that were there before leave the terrain, but did not see other guards come in. It looked like the disappearance of the guards to us more than to the change of the guards.
The afternoon we filled with a visit to the Fransico-church with catacombs where you can still see thousands of bones. We further took a mini-van to the top of the San Cristobal Mountain that offers nice views on the entire city. Before returning to our hostel we had, as it should be in the capital of Peru, a pisco sour. We had really enjoyed Lima and would tell another story to the people that we would meet further on than the one that was told us.
Immediately after the Santa Cruz trek and the same day (Sunday) we took a night bus to Lima where we arrived at 7h in the morning. We were not fully ready for the busy capital of Peru after spending 4 days in the beautiful and quiet scenery of the Cordillera Blanca. For a minute we debated if we would not just continue to our next destination, but in the end decided to give Lima a chance. It certainly turned out to be the right decision. Many travellers we had met before didn't find Lima that interesting, but that is probably because they focussed on the modern (and North American like) Mira Flores. We stayed in the old, colonial part of the city that can easily be visited in one day, if you skip the museums. This part of town is not too busy and is flocked with nice colonial buildings, pleasant plaza's etc. At 12h we watched the change of the guards at the presidential palace together with a large amount of tourists and local. We saw the guards that were there before leave the terrain, but did not see other guards come in. It looked like the disappearance of the guards to us more than to the change of the guards.
The afternoon we filled with a visit to the Fransico-church with catacombs where you can still see thousands of bones. We further took a mini-van to the top of the San Cristobal Mountain that offers nice views on the entire city. Before returning to our hostel we had, as it should be in the capital of Peru, a pisco sour. We had really enjoyed Lima and would tell another story to the people that we would meet further on than the one that was told us.
Santa Cruz trek in the Cordillera Blanca
Thursday the 21st of October 2010
6am Thursday morning Max was awaiting us in the lobby of our Hostel. He led us to the mini-van that would take us to Cashapampa, the starting point of our trek in the Cordillera Blanca. After a descent breakfast and a journey of about two hours (slowed down by a colourful procession in the mountains) we reached the point of departure. About one km before reaching this point our driver had addressed a man that later turned out to be our arriero. The arriero is the donkey-driver. We would begin the trek with 3 donkeys that would carry all the cooking and camping equipment.
The first kilometers of the trek were very promising, we immediately climbed up the sides of a gorge to a riverbed in the mountains. Our guide, Lucas, explained us from the start that it is important to find your own pace when walking uphill. He encouraged us to keep this pace for about an hour and then to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Lucas' "pace" was pretty challenging for most of us. Our group of 6 (Lucas (PER), Sam (FRA), Nick (SUI), Johannes (AUT), Nele and I) nevertheless managed to stay as one on that first day.
That day we walked 4h to our first campground at 3760m above sea level. A few moments after arriving we were all pretty impressed by the timing of the members of the Galaxie-expeditions team. Not more than 5 minutes after our arrival our cook, Umberto (PER) and our arriero with his 3 donkeys arrived. Ten minutes later our three tents, the comedor (dinning tent), the "cocina" (the kitchen) and the toilet tent were erected. We were thereafter served our first coca tea of the trip. The coca leaves give you the necessary strength to recover from the exertions at high altitude or the strength to deliver the efforts. To the local population coca leaves are an essential part of their diet. The dark side of the product lies in the production of cocaine, which mainly happens in Colombia (were the coca leaves are not, or rarely grown). For 1kg with powder, you would need about a ton of coca leaves. Another interesting fact about the leaves is related to the most popular soft drink worldwide. Coca cola is in fact based on "mate (tea) de coca"...
The tea and cookies were nice, but when we interrupted our game of cards at around 6 for our dinner we knew for sure we were hiking with an excellent team. The meal we were being served was the best we had eaten up to that point in our South American journey. Everybody in our company (some of them already travelling for 6 months) thought about it just so. We had enjoyed a beautiful, sunny first day in the Andes, our stomach was nicely filled, a full moon and 3 little donkeys guarding on us and thus we went to bed early but satisfied for what would be quit a cold night.
Friday the 22nd of October 2010
To take full advantage of the morning sun, the Andes wake-up call coincides with sun rise. At 6h30 our guide knocks on our tent (if that is at all possible) and at 7h we are having breakfast. By that time, our backpacks are ready and all the tents have been arranged. At 7h30-8h we take our first steps towards the next destination. On day two we are following the same river that is responsible for the gorge we climbed the day before, we are passing a couple of seemly lost horses en encounter the first mountain lakes of our trip. The snow-capped Andes peaks (some of them higher than 6000m) are approaching. The solidarity in the group has dropped compared to the day before. It will be a though day and Lucas recommends us to walk at our own comfortable pace. Nick has some trouble with the altitude (and from a digestion that works a bit too quickly) and follows at a small distance. Nele is doing fabulously as the only female in the group but has to give in 10-20m now and then. I am hovering in between the head of the pack and the photographer on duty (Nele). At regular intervals we stop to regroup, to learn about the surrounding mountains, the local beers, culture, politics, the country, or just to enjoy the scenery.
The first league of that day we were advancing swiftly, Lucas thinks we all still look pretty good and therefore we decide to make a 7km detour towards a viewpoint and a glacier lake. Once embarked on that road it turns out not to be just a simple detour, but a detour that brings us much higher in a short time interval. Quite a climb that means. The view however, once we reached the next plateau, is amazing. A bit further we reach the glacier lake, where I cannot resist a very short and very refreshing skinny dip. We have our lunch while gazing at the roaring and cracking glacier and then set course for camp 2 at the base of the Taullirahua (5380m) mountain. The last league of the day’s route lies a bit higher on the flank of the valley, which offers a nice view on the road we had traveled that day. Apart from being impressing, it gives you a big feeling of accomplishment to see how far you have walked.
Our donkeys and cook had in the meantime arrived on our camp site and 5 minutes after our arrival we were having coca tea while we were jointly demonstrating how flexible we are. I won the competition as I was, by far, the least flexible of our company. I am working on it. Later that day, a game of cards, a full stomach, all our clothes put on (it can be cold at night at 4250m above sea level) and in our sleeping bag. Day two had been even better than day 1.
Saturday the 23th of October 2010
At 7h30 we are already heading for the pass next to the Taullirahu that we would cross that day. The first two hours of that day would bring us 500m higher. Lucas again gave it his best and, in the knowledge that after the pass all would be downhill, Sam and I decided to try to keep up with him. Absolutely exhausting, but it makes you feel so alive. Two hours after leaving camp 2 we regrouped at Punta Union (the mountain pass) for a magnificent view across the Santa Cruz valley. We had crossed the Cordillera Blanca. A glimpse at the map was reassuring, from here on, downhill. The landscape across this first range (as said, three ranges in the Andes at this point), was different but as beautiful as the one we were hiking through before. The biggest difference maybe, one that you will no notice immediately, is that all the water we saw flowing from now on was on its (very long) way to the Atlantic Ocean. Before all streams ultimately lead to the Pacific Ocean.
The altitude (Nick) and improper shoes (Johannes) caused big distances between the members of our expedition, increasing also the waiting time when regrouping. We saw our donkeys pass safely and were assured of a good coca tea upon arrival. We further crossed another group that was doing the same trek but in the opposite direction. They were looking much less happy than we were. In the other direction the trek must be twice as hard, because you are climbing for 7-8 hours on day 2. We were descending all the way to our final campsite where we were welcomed by the local population with coca cola and beer at Andes prices. Nick couldn't resist, but the rest of the group was satisfied with the regular coca (without the cola).
Sunday the 24th of October 2010
Sunday, so we can sleep a bit longer; we thought,.. but no. Our arriero would have to start the way back today en so we helped him a bit by not leaving too late. On our way at 7h30 that means. We obviously had entered the inhabited world again and made frequent encounters with domesticated animals. In Valqueria - the finish of our trek - we waited 3 to 4 hours for the van that would take us back to Huaraz. Our little donkeys were already on their way home, 45 km in two days through mountainous terrain. We had walked 52km the last 4 days (including the 7km detour) and that we considered far enough.
The ride home was far from boring. We passed the Pisco, a +6000m peak. Two years ago an American skiing world champion tried to ski it down... He didn't make it back to the US. We witnessed global warming at work in a glacier that had obviously melted in the last few years, passed an impressive (and terrifying) mountain pass and stopped at a beautiful lagoon (Churup). After a 6 hours ride we arrived in Huaraz. We had experienced a beautiful 4-day trek that - without a doubt - was (and will be) one of the highlights of our trip.
6am Thursday morning Max was awaiting us in the lobby of our Hostel. He led us to the mini-van that would take us to Cashapampa, the starting point of our trek in the Cordillera Blanca. After a descent breakfast and a journey of about two hours (slowed down by a colourful procession in the mountains) we reached the point of departure. About one km before reaching this point our driver had addressed a man that later turned out to be our arriero. The arriero is the donkey-driver. We would begin the trek with 3 donkeys that would carry all the cooking and camping equipment.
The first kilometers of the trek were very promising, we immediately climbed up the sides of a gorge to a riverbed in the mountains. Our guide, Lucas, explained us from the start that it is important to find your own pace when walking uphill. He encouraged us to keep this pace for about an hour and then to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Lucas' "pace" was pretty challenging for most of us. Our group of 6 (Lucas (PER), Sam (FRA), Nick (SUI), Johannes (AUT), Nele and I) nevertheless managed to stay as one on that first day.
That day we walked 4h to our first campground at 3760m above sea level. A few moments after arriving we were all pretty impressed by the timing of the members of the Galaxie-expeditions team. Not more than 5 minutes after our arrival our cook, Umberto (PER) and our arriero with his 3 donkeys arrived. Ten minutes later our three tents, the comedor (dinning tent), the "cocina" (the kitchen) and the toilet tent were erected. We were thereafter served our first coca tea of the trip. The coca leaves give you the necessary strength to recover from the exertions at high altitude or the strength to deliver the efforts. To the local population coca leaves are an essential part of their diet. The dark side of the product lies in the production of cocaine, which mainly happens in Colombia (were the coca leaves are not, or rarely grown). For 1kg with powder, you would need about a ton of coca leaves. Another interesting fact about the leaves is related to the most popular soft drink worldwide. Coca cola is in fact based on "mate (tea) de coca"...
The tea and cookies were nice, but when we interrupted our game of cards at around 6 for our dinner we knew for sure we were hiking with an excellent team. The meal we were being served was the best we had eaten up to that point in our South American journey. Everybody in our company (some of them already travelling for 6 months) thought about it just so. We had enjoyed a beautiful, sunny first day in the Andes, our stomach was nicely filled, a full moon and 3 little donkeys guarding on us and thus we went to bed early but satisfied for what would be quit a cold night.
Friday the 22nd of October 2010
To take full advantage of the morning sun, the Andes wake-up call coincides with sun rise. At 6h30 our guide knocks on our tent (if that is at all possible) and at 7h we are having breakfast. By that time, our backpacks are ready and all the tents have been arranged. At 7h30-8h we take our first steps towards the next destination. On day two we are following the same river that is responsible for the gorge we climbed the day before, we are passing a couple of seemly lost horses en encounter the first mountain lakes of our trip. The snow-capped Andes peaks (some of them higher than 6000m) are approaching. The solidarity in the group has dropped compared to the day before. It will be a though day and Lucas recommends us to walk at our own comfortable pace. Nick has some trouble with the altitude (and from a digestion that works a bit too quickly) and follows at a small distance. Nele is doing fabulously as the only female in the group but has to give in 10-20m now and then. I am hovering in between the head of the pack and the photographer on duty (Nele). At regular intervals we stop to regroup, to learn about the surrounding mountains, the local beers, culture, politics, the country, or just to enjoy the scenery.
The first league of that day we were advancing swiftly, Lucas thinks we all still look pretty good and therefore we decide to make a 7km detour towards a viewpoint and a glacier lake. Once embarked on that road it turns out not to be just a simple detour, but a detour that brings us much higher in a short time interval. Quite a climb that means. The view however, once we reached the next plateau, is amazing. A bit further we reach the glacier lake, where I cannot resist a very short and very refreshing skinny dip. We have our lunch while gazing at the roaring and cracking glacier and then set course for camp 2 at the base of the Taullirahua (5380m) mountain. The last league of the day’s route lies a bit higher on the flank of the valley, which offers a nice view on the road we had traveled that day. Apart from being impressing, it gives you a big feeling of accomplishment to see how far you have walked.
Our donkeys and cook had in the meantime arrived on our camp site and 5 minutes after our arrival we were having coca tea while we were jointly demonstrating how flexible we are. I won the competition as I was, by far, the least flexible of our company. I am working on it. Later that day, a game of cards, a full stomach, all our clothes put on (it can be cold at night at 4250m above sea level) and in our sleeping bag. Day two had been even better than day 1.
Saturday the 23th of October 2010
At 7h30 we are already heading for the pass next to the Taullirahu that we would cross that day. The first two hours of that day would bring us 500m higher. Lucas again gave it his best and, in the knowledge that after the pass all would be downhill, Sam and I decided to try to keep up with him. Absolutely exhausting, but it makes you feel so alive. Two hours after leaving camp 2 we regrouped at Punta Union (the mountain pass) for a magnificent view across the Santa Cruz valley. We had crossed the Cordillera Blanca. A glimpse at the map was reassuring, from here on, downhill. The landscape across this first range (as said, three ranges in the Andes at this point), was different but as beautiful as the one we were hiking through before. The biggest difference maybe, one that you will no notice immediately, is that all the water we saw flowing from now on was on its (very long) way to the Atlantic Ocean. Before all streams ultimately lead to the Pacific Ocean.
The altitude (Nick) and improper shoes (Johannes) caused big distances between the members of our expedition, increasing also the waiting time when regrouping. We saw our donkeys pass safely and were assured of a good coca tea upon arrival. We further crossed another group that was doing the same trek but in the opposite direction. They were looking much less happy than we were. In the other direction the trek must be twice as hard, because you are climbing for 7-8 hours on day 2. We were descending all the way to our final campsite where we were welcomed by the local population with coca cola and beer at Andes prices. Nick couldn't resist, but the rest of the group was satisfied with the regular coca (without the cola).
Sunday the 24th of October 2010
Sunday, so we can sleep a bit longer; we thought,.. but no. Our arriero would have to start the way back today en so we helped him a bit by not leaving too late. On our way at 7h30 that means. We obviously had entered the inhabited world again and made frequent encounters with domesticated animals. In Valqueria - the finish of our trek - we waited 3 to 4 hours for the van that would take us back to Huaraz. Our little donkeys were already on their way home, 45 km in two days through mountainous terrain. We had walked 52km the last 4 days (including the 7km detour) and that we considered far enough.
The ride home was far from boring. We passed the Pisco, a +6000m peak. Two years ago an American skiing world champion tried to ski it down... He didn't make it back to the US. We witnessed global warming at work in a glacier that had obviously melted in the last few years, passed an impressive (and terrifying) mountain pass and stopped at a beautiful lagoon (Churup). After a 6 hours ride we arrived in Huaraz. We had experienced a beautiful 4-day trek that - without a doubt - was (and will be) one of the highlights of our trip.
Huaraz en Chavin
Tuesday the 19th of October 2010
Upon arrival in Huaraz, we were welcomed - like always in Peru - by a number of guys that try to drag to a certain hostel or sell you a tour of some kind. We are not great fans of these "fixers", but nevertheless decide to follow Max to a hostel he proposed. The second one he showed us, pleased us and we were set for the night. Max also came up with an interesting proposition regarding the Santa Cruz trek in the cordillera Blanca that you can do from Huaraz. We decided to sign up for the trek and managed to achieve a good deal that also included a day trip to the ruins of the Chavin of Huantar. A culture that is several 1000 years older than the Inca civilization.
With our first real trek coming up, we decided to do some gear-shopping in the afternoon. After some negotiation I bought a "North-face" fleece and rain-jacket for 150 sol (50$). It is doubtfully the real stuff, but after the first tests that by now have been performed, I do not complain.
We finished the day with some grocery shopping at the local food market that we found much less appealing and structured than those we had seen in Ecuador. The guinea pigs, goat-head, entire pigs and their intestines made it nevertheless worth the visit.
Wednesday the 20th of October 2010
Little is known about the Chavin culture. The same is true for the ruins of this civilization found near Huantar, which makes a visit to these ruins even more mystical and interesting. To reach the ruins from Huaraz we had to cross the first ridge of the Andes that consists of three ranges here. We did this in a mini-van accompanied by a local guide (Spanish only) and about ten Peruvian tourists. The 3 hours ride was luckily interrupted with a few stops. The first one at the beautifully bleu Querococha lake at an elevation of 3980m above sea level. The lama's made the picture complete. Later we passed a tunnel that brought us to the other side of the mountain range where the weather was much less pleasing. We therefore rushed to the ruins in an attempt to beat the rain. The fact that you realize that the ruins you are looking at are the oldest found on the continent makes the visit rather special. I was particularly intrigued by the hydraulic systems the guys had designed. They would divert a river into a system of hoses and tubes (all out of stone) that had several openings to the top. The whole thing acted as an oversized flute that was used to signal the people living in the area or to scare off enemies. We had a close look at the main temple and descended in the tombs of the complex before leaving the site after a visit of about 1.5h. The 3h ride back to Huaraz was exhausting, but gave us a first impression of the incredible scenery of the high Andes. Back in Huaraz we did not wait too long to go to sleep. The next morning we would leave for a 4 day trek in the Andes and we would better be fit.
Upon arrival in Huaraz, we were welcomed - like always in Peru - by a number of guys that try to drag to a certain hostel or sell you a tour of some kind. We are not great fans of these "fixers", but nevertheless decide to follow Max to a hostel he proposed. The second one he showed us, pleased us and we were set for the night. Max also came up with an interesting proposition regarding the Santa Cruz trek in the cordillera Blanca that you can do from Huaraz. We decided to sign up for the trek and managed to achieve a good deal that also included a day trip to the ruins of the Chavin of Huantar. A culture that is several 1000 years older than the Inca civilization.
With our first real trek coming up, we decided to do some gear-shopping in the afternoon. After some negotiation I bought a "North-face" fleece and rain-jacket for 150 sol (50$). It is doubtfully the real stuff, but after the first tests that by now have been performed, I do not complain.
We finished the day with some grocery shopping at the local food market that we found much less appealing and structured than those we had seen in Ecuador. The guinea pigs, goat-head, entire pigs and their intestines made it nevertheless worth the visit.
Wednesday the 20th of October 2010
Little is known about the Chavin culture. The same is true for the ruins of this civilization found near Huantar, which makes a visit to these ruins even more mystical and interesting. To reach the ruins from Huaraz we had to cross the first ridge of the Andes that consists of three ranges here. We did this in a mini-van accompanied by a local guide (Spanish only) and about ten Peruvian tourists. The 3 hours ride was luckily interrupted with a few stops. The first one at the beautifully bleu Querococha lake at an elevation of 3980m above sea level. The lama's made the picture complete. Later we passed a tunnel that brought us to the other side of the mountain range where the weather was much less pleasing. We therefore rushed to the ruins in an attempt to beat the rain. The fact that you realize that the ruins you are looking at are the oldest found on the continent makes the visit rather special. I was particularly intrigued by the hydraulic systems the guys had designed. They would divert a river into a system of hoses and tubes (all out of stone) that had several openings to the top. The whole thing acted as an oversized flute that was used to signal the people living in the area or to scare off enemies. We had a close look at the main temple and descended in the tombs of the complex before leaving the site after a visit of about 1.5h. The 3h ride back to Huaraz was exhausting, but gave us a first impression of the incredible scenery of the high Andes. Back in Huaraz we did not wait too long to go to sleep. The next morning we would leave for a 4 day trek in the Andes and we would better be fit.
Welcome to Peru
Sunday the 17th - Tuesday the 19th of October 2010
From Loja an excellent road (again: Correa is doing a great job in terms of infrastructure) leads to the border crossing with Peru in Maracas (Ecuador). To get through all the administrative steps of leaving Ecuador and entering Peru we had to leave the bus for 10 minutes. Those ten minutes were enough for me to accumulate about 9 mosquito bites... Welcome to Peru.
We had left Loja at around 23h (on Sunday) and entered Peru at 4h15 in the morning (on Monday). At around 8h we arrived in Piura (Peru). There we about 5h to explore this small, but charming industrial city in the north of Peru. In the center of the town we could admire a procession of the patron saint of Peru and we further visited the house/museum of General Grau, a Peruvian hero in the war on the Pacific Ocean that was fought between Chile on one side and Peru and Bolivia on the other.
After lunch we left for Trujillo. We spent over 8h in the bus that I used to write the first English texts for our blog. When looking up from my pc now and then, I was stunned by the landscape. I was expecting a lively, green patch of land, instead we saw a raw, empty, desert like landscape as far as the eye can reach. Since then we have traveled further south in Peru and we found out that the whole coast of Peru is pretty desertisch. Beautiful, but very dry. In Trujillo we switched buses. This time we embarked on a night bus. It was our first encounter with the luxurious buses that you can find in Peru. De roads in Peru are generally worse than the fresh ones in Ecuador, but on the other hand, the buses are that much better. We felt in first class of an Emirates Airlines flight, including steward. After a journey of 10h we arrived in Huaraz, our first real stop in Peru. It was now at around 7h in the morning on Tuesday....
From Loja an excellent road (again: Correa is doing a great job in terms of infrastructure) leads to the border crossing with Peru in Maracas (Ecuador). To get through all the administrative steps of leaving Ecuador and entering Peru we had to leave the bus for 10 minutes. Those ten minutes were enough for me to accumulate about 9 mosquito bites... Welcome to Peru.
We had left Loja at around 23h (on Sunday) and entered Peru at 4h15 in the morning (on Monday). At around 8h we arrived in Piura (Peru). There we about 5h to explore this small, but charming industrial city in the north of Peru. In the center of the town we could admire a procession of the patron saint of Peru and we further visited the house/museum of General Grau, a Peruvian hero in the war on the Pacific Ocean that was fought between Chile on one side and Peru and Bolivia on the other.
After lunch we left for Trujillo. We spent over 8h in the bus that I used to write the first English texts for our blog. When looking up from my pc now and then, I was stunned by the landscape. I was expecting a lively, green patch of land, instead we saw a raw, empty, desert like landscape as far as the eye can reach. Since then we have traveled further south in Peru and we found out that the whole coast of Peru is pretty desertisch. Beautiful, but very dry. In Trujillo we switched buses. This time we embarked on a night bus. It was our first encounter with the luxurious buses that you can find in Peru. De roads in Peru are generally worse than the fresh ones in Ecuador, but on the other hand, the buses are that much better. We felt in first class of an Emirates Airlines flight, including steward. After a journey of 10h we arrived in Huaraz, our first real stop in Peru. It was now at around 7h in the morning on Tuesday....
Ecuador
1. Quito, Otavala & Mitad del mundo.
Both carrying a small and a big backpack we left our apartment in Montréal on Thursday the 23rd of September. Approximately 15 hours later we arrived safe and sound in Quito, Ecuador’s capital. This would be our home for the coming 8 days. The first three days we visited Quito and its surroundings, the last 5 days we spent in a Spanish school in the colonial, historical part of Quito combined with a home stay.
You can read all about Quito, Otavalo & Mitad del mundo here verder over Quito, Otavala & Mitad del mundo.
Follow these links to find the pictures of Quito,
Otavalo and Mitad del mundo.
2. Cotopaxi
The Cotopaxi is the second highest volcano of Ecuador and one of the highest active volcanos in the world. We biked down the slopes of the volcano, camped where the lava once flowed and hiked up the flanks of the volcano to an altitude of 5000m.
Read all about our adventures on and around the Cotopaxi here.
The pictures can be found here.
3. Quilotoa loop
Quilotoa is a small town in the center of Ecuador that is known for its crater lake. The place offers magnificent hiking possibilities, around the crater and through the valley to nearby communities. We tried it out.
This is where you can find our view on the hike.
Pictures are available through this link.
4. Baños and Puyo
Baños is a small town close to the Tuguranhua volcano that provides the water for Baños' thermal baths. Puyo marks the boundary between the "inhabited" world and the Amazone rain forest, the perfect place for a jungle-trip.
We biked from Baños to Puyo, you can find our story here.
This is where you find the pictures of Baños. Pictures our biking adventure are found here.
5. Shuar family
From Puyo we visited a Shuar family.
You will find all information about our stay in the Amazone rainforest here.
The pictures are located here.
6. Montañita and Isla de la plata
The first weeks of our trip had been hectic and we could use some rest. Where can you better rest than at the coast.
Here you can read the story about our stay at the Ecuadorian coast and about our trip to Isla de la Plata.
This is where the pictures are.
7. Cuenca and Cajas
After our relaxing stay at the coast we travelled to one of the most beautiful historical cities of Ecuador, Cuenca, and visited the Parque Nacional de Cajas.
Read our story here.
Have a look at the pictures here.
8. Vilcabamba and the road to Peru
Before heading for Peru we stopped in Vilcabamba, a city where people grow very old (according to a popular documentary broadcasted some years ago that made the place turn into a resort).
You will find more here.
These links bring you to the pictures of Vilcabamba and the road to Peru.
Both carrying a small and a big backpack we left our apartment in Montréal on Thursday the 23rd of September. Approximately 15 hours later we arrived safe and sound in Quito, Ecuador’s capital. This would be our home for the coming 8 days. The first three days we visited Quito and its surroundings, the last 5 days we spent in a Spanish school in the colonial, historical part of Quito combined with a home stay.
You can read all about Quito, Otavalo & Mitad del mundo here verder over Quito, Otavala & Mitad del mundo.
Follow these links to find the pictures of Quito,
Otavalo and Mitad del mundo.
2. Cotopaxi
The Cotopaxi is the second highest volcano of Ecuador and one of the highest active volcanos in the world. We biked down the slopes of the volcano, camped where the lava once flowed and hiked up the flanks of the volcano to an altitude of 5000m.
Read all about our adventures on and around the Cotopaxi here.
The pictures can be found here.
3. Quilotoa loop
Quilotoa is a small town in the center of Ecuador that is known for its crater lake. The place offers magnificent hiking possibilities, around the crater and through the valley to nearby communities. We tried it out.
This is where you can find our view on the hike.
Pictures are available through this link.
4. Baños and Puyo
Baños is a small town close to the Tuguranhua volcano that provides the water for Baños' thermal baths. Puyo marks the boundary between the "inhabited" world and the Amazone rain forest, the perfect place for a jungle-trip.
We biked from Baños to Puyo, you can find our story here.
This is where you find the pictures of Baños. Pictures our biking adventure are found here.
5. Shuar family
From Puyo we visited a Shuar family.
You will find all information about our stay in the Amazone rainforest here.
The pictures are located here.
6. Montañita and Isla de la plata
The first weeks of our trip had been hectic and we could use some rest. Where can you better rest than at the coast.
Here you can read the story about our stay at the Ecuadorian coast and about our trip to Isla de la Plata.
This is where the pictures are.
7. Cuenca and Cajas
After our relaxing stay at the coast we travelled to one of the most beautiful historical cities of Ecuador, Cuenca, and visited the Parque Nacional de Cajas.
Read our story here.
Have a look at the pictures here.
8. Vilcabamba and the road to Peru
Before heading for Peru we stopped in Vilcabamba, a city where people grow very old (according to a popular documentary broadcasted some years ago that made the place turn into a resort).
You will find more here.
These links bring you to the pictures of Vilcabamba and the road to Peru.
Vilcabamba
Saturday the 16th of October 2010
We reached Vilcabamba late at night and spent some time looking for a hostel. We finally found one complete with swimming pool, sauna and Jacuzzi. After settling down we returned to the center of the town for dinner. We found the center in a party atmosphere. The local soccer team had won the (provincial) soccer league for the first time in its history. On such an occasion, things would look different in Mieve city, but the locals seemed to enjoy the DJ (of the kind that in Belgium, you would only find in a small village when the farmers daughters marries the local bakery’s son, or at the color party in Stevoort) as much as we enjoyed the food.
Sunday the 17th of October 2010
We planned nothing else but to relax on Sunday. We were looking at a long bus ride to Peru in the evening. So we took our time in the sauna, the whirlpool and the swimming pool. I spent some time writing on the blog and met the author of this blog in the pc room. Not long thereafter we found ourselves discussing the authors of the 9-11 attacks and the control of world power. On a travel like this you meet more people that want to change the world or have somewhat different opinions on stuff. In this view, we also met a German-Canadian that kept us busy for at least 45 minutes explaining his life. He started talking to us because he found we looked friendly. We let the guy (+75 years old, moved to Canada from Germany after the war and living in Vilcabamba since a few months) finish his story to complete our good dead for the day and contribute to world peace. After his story, we moved to the bus station where Vilcatours brought us to Loja. From there we would take a night bus to Piura (Peru). Our Ecuadorian adventure had come to an end...
We reached Vilcabamba late at night and spent some time looking for a hostel. We finally found one complete with swimming pool, sauna and Jacuzzi. After settling down we returned to the center of the town for dinner. We found the center in a party atmosphere. The local soccer team had won the (provincial) soccer league for the first time in its history. On such an occasion, things would look different in Mieve city, but the locals seemed to enjoy the DJ (of the kind that in Belgium, you would only find in a small village when the farmers daughters marries the local bakery’s son, or at the color party in Stevoort) as much as we enjoyed the food.
Sunday the 17th of October 2010
We planned nothing else but to relax on Sunday. We were looking at a long bus ride to Peru in the evening. So we took our time in the sauna, the whirlpool and the swimming pool. I spent some time writing on the blog and met the author of this blog in the pc room. Not long thereafter we found ourselves discussing the authors of the 9-11 attacks and the control of world power. On a travel like this you meet more people that want to change the world or have somewhat different opinions on stuff. In this view, we also met a German-Canadian that kept us busy for at least 45 minutes explaining his life. He started talking to us because he found we looked friendly. We let the guy (+75 years old, moved to Canada from Germany after the war and living in Vilcabamba since a few months) finish his story to complete our good dead for the day and contribute to world peace. After his story, we moved to the bus station where Vilcatours brought us to Loja. From there we would take a night bus to Piura (Peru). Our Ecuadorian adventure had come to an end...
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Cuenca and Cajas
Thursday the 14th of October 2010
After about 8,5 hours on the bus, we arrived in Cuenca, one of the most beautiful colonial villages in Ecuador. We quickly found a hostel and enjoyed a long and nice dinner in ‘café Eucalyptus’. Afterwards we decided to go for a short evening walk along Rio Tomebamba. There we ran into Tim, a Belgian guy who shares a house in Cuenca with 5 other Belgians. They’re all making their thesis from the Catholic University of Leuven, in collaboration with the University of Cuenca. The areas of interest are quite different though (engineering, forest management, food industry ea). We sat a while with him in his house and we met the others later in the pub ‘Wunderbar’ where we planned our trip to the National Park of Cajas. First we wanted to skip this park, but when we passed it on our way from Guayaquil to Cuenca, the beautiful scenery made us change our minds.
Friday the 15th of October 2010
On Friday we planned a visit to the historical sites and the markets of Cuenca. The first stop was the cosy hat museum, Barranco. Here we learned everything about the fabrication of Panama hats. By the way, the heads have little connection to Panama, they are a full Ecuadorian product. The term Panama originates from the fact that the hats were exported through Panama.
We were pretty interested in the local market in Cuenca, that much even that we returned to it twice that day. The first time we returned for lunch (1.5$ per person for a big meal…), the second time to buy fruit to prepare our delicious salad for that evening and the next day. Now and then we managed to obtain a better price for the products than initially proposed by the ladies selling their crops. The most impressive landmark in Cuenca, however, is without a doubt the New Cathedral and the beautiful Parque Calderon that is situated right in front of it. The whole town made us think about Italy in a way, with all its squares and churches.
In the afternoon we ran into Maarten en Diewertje, a Belgian couple that we met before in Ecuador, in the Pumpapungo museum. I knew Maarten’s face from somewhere, which is not surprising since he lives in the city next the village I grew up in. From all the exhibitions in the museum, the one on Ecuadorian ethnical groups was most appealing to us. Ecuador is such a small country, yet so diverse in its people (and nature). Especially the Shuar part of the exhibition triggered our attention since we stayed with a Shuar family before, although the Tzantza’s (shrunken skulls) were a little bit scary. In the garden of the museum we further visited some of the Inca ruins you can find in Cuenca.
In the evening we met up with Maarten en Diewertje again for a beer and later we met a bunch of people that once went on a holiday to Ecuador and never returned to their home country, being the US, Germany and Wales. We would have to admit, it is a nice place to live.
Saturday the 16th of October 2010
We woke up early on Saturday to take an early bus to Parque Nacional de Cajas. The driver first dropped us of a little bit too far, but luckily we were picked up by a bus that took a larger group on a private tour. They dropped us of at the starting point of our walk, the Toreador laguna. The view along the trail was absolutely beautiful. The fact that we were constantly walking at an altitude of about 4000m, made it sometimes hard to climb, but it was surely worth it. We passed some magnificent polylepis forests, blossoming cactus and beautiful rock formations. A little bit after lunch time we reached the end of the trail and took a bus back to Cuenca and later via Loja to Vilcabamba.
After about 8,5 hours on the bus, we arrived in Cuenca, one of the most beautiful colonial villages in Ecuador. We quickly found a hostel and enjoyed a long and nice dinner in ‘café Eucalyptus’. Afterwards we decided to go for a short evening walk along Rio Tomebamba. There we ran into Tim, a Belgian guy who shares a house in Cuenca with 5 other Belgians. They’re all making their thesis from the Catholic University of Leuven, in collaboration with the University of Cuenca. The areas of interest are quite different though (engineering, forest management, food industry ea). We sat a while with him in his house and we met the others later in the pub ‘Wunderbar’ where we planned our trip to the National Park of Cajas. First we wanted to skip this park, but when we passed it on our way from Guayaquil to Cuenca, the beautiful scenery made us change our minds.
Friday the 15th of October 2010
On Friday we planned a visit to the historical sites and the markets of Cuenca. The first stop was the cosy hat museum, Barranco. Here we learned everything about the fabrication of Panama hats. By the way, the heads have little connection to Panama, they are a full Ecuadorian product. The term Panama originates from the fact that the hats were exported through Panama.
We were pretty interested in the local market in Cuenca, that much even that we returned to it twice that day. The first time we returned for lunch (1.5$ per person for a big meal…), the second time to buy fruit to prepare our delicious salad for that evening and the next day. Now and then we managed to obtain a better price for the products than initially proposed by the ladies selling their crops. The most impressive landmark in Cuenca, however, is without a doubt the New Cathedral and the beautiful Parque Calderon that is situated right in front of it. The whole town made us think about Italy in a way, with all its squares and churches.
In the afternoon we ran into Maarten en Diewertje, a Belgian couple that we met before in Ecuador, in the Pumpapungo museum. I knew Maarten’s face from somewhere, which is not surprising since he lives in the city next the village I grew up in. From all the exhibitions in the museum, the one on Ecuadorian ethnical groups was most appealing to us. Ecuador is such a small country, yet so diverse in its people (and nature). Especially the Shuar part of the exhibition triggered our attention since we stayed with a Shuar family before, although the Tzantza’s (shrunken skulls) were a little bit scary. In the garden of the museum we further visited some of the Inca ruins you can find in Cuenca.
In the evening we met up with Maarten en Diewertje again for a beer and later we met a bunch of people that once went on a holiday to Ecuador and never returned to their home country, being the US, Germany and Wales. We would have to admit, it is a nice place to live.
Saturday the 16th of October 2010
We woke up early on Saturday to take an early bus to Parque Nacional de Cajas. The driver first dropped us of a little bit too far, but luckily we were picked up by a bus that took a larger group on a private tour. They dropped us of at the starting point of our walk, the Toreador laguna. The view along the trail was absolutely beautiful. The fact that we were constantly walking at an altitude of about 4000m, made it sometimes hard to climb, but it was surely worth it. We passed some magnificent polylepis forests, blossoming cactus and beautiful rock formations. A little bit after lunch time we reached the end of the trail and took a bus back to Cuenca and later via Loja to Vilcabamba.
Montañita and Isla de la plata
Sunday the 10th of October 2010
The first two weeks of our trip had been very intense, hence we were both longing for a little bit of rest and which place can be better for that than the beach. After a night bus from Puyo to Guayaquil and one early in the morning from Guayaquil to Montañita, we arrived in the Ecuadorian surfers paradise on Sunday morning. The relaxed, almost hippy, little town was still asleep when we started looking for a hostel at 9 o’clock. We found one in the small, but cosy centre of the town, with a hammock on our balcony and a beautiful room in bamboo.
One of the reasons why we choose Montañita as our beach destination was the nearby location of Isla de la plata, commonly referred to as "the galapagos of the poor". We arranged a trip to the island for the next day and spend the remaining part of the day enjoying sun, see and beach. I tried body-boarding for a few minutes, but the waves were a bit too impressive and my technique not good enough to make it to the front page of the next surfers magazine.
Monday the 11th of October 2010
At 8h30 on Monday morning we waited for over half an hour for a bus to Puerto Lopez, from where our boat to Isla de la Plata would leave, that never came. Our man at Machilla tours however, quickly solved the problem by hiring a taxi so that we would make it to our boat in time. From Puerto Lopez we sailed out for Isla de la Plata together with the crew of two, our guide, a guy from Leuven, two slow Mexican women, a couple from Switzerland, a French guy and a couple from Germany. The island itself is known for its large colony of bleu-footed boobies that show off with their bright blue feet to impress the ladies. It is funny to see them dancing around kicking their feet in the air all the time, as if they want to say: “ Hey, look how nicely blue my feet are…” Beside the blue-footed boobies, that all the time stubbornly stay in the middle of the road, we encountered a huge albatros chick. The extremely dry island further houses frigat birds and piqueros enmascarados (masked boobies).
Before we left the island, we all took a swim near the coral reef that surrounds the island. Despite our limited experience with snorkelling we enjoyed our moment in between the fish.
Back in Puerto Lopez we stuck around a bit to see the Pelicans jump over the breaking waves in group (instead of flying a bit deeper into the sea where they could just keep on floating) and to see the frigate birds at work steeling the fish from other birds (the feathers of the frigate birds are not water resistant, the guys rely on steeling fish because they cannot fish themselves).
On our way back to Montañita, the bus driver dropped us of at the Kundalini hostel where we arranged our stay for the next night.
Tuesday the 12th of October 2010
Tuesday was a beautiful day with clear blue skies, ideal to relax in the sun the whole day with a refreshing dip in the sea now and then. We both liked it that much that we decided to stay yet another day in Montañita. This also allowed us to finally get the blog online that was a long time coming. We were on the road for over 2 weeks now without too much information to the home front. We therefore exploited the wifi-availibility to skype with our family with a view on the beach. At the end of the day we relaxed all day taking full advantage of the sunshine and the blog was postponed for another day…
Wednesday the 13th of October 2010
On Wednesday the weather was slightly worse than the day before, finally we found the right moment to set up this blog. Nele started typing the first texts, while I retreated towards the beach to drink a “mate” with the Argentinian guys that stayed in the same hostel. In the afternoon, the roles were turned around, Nele enjoyed the sun, sea and beach, I fought a fearless battle with blogspot to get our messages online in a more or less structured way.
Near sunset we rented a surfboard for an hour as we figured we had to try before leaving. The waves were – for what we are concerned – huge, but after a lot of trial and error, I nevertheless managed to reach the beach standing on the board on at least two occasions – good enough. Nele quit earlier, mainly because the waves played with here rather than that she played with the waves.
Thursday the 14th of October 2010
On Thursday we left our excellent hostel in Montañita and headed out for Cuenca through Guayaquil.
The first two weeks of our trip had been very intense, hence we were both longing for a little bit of rest and which place can be better for that than the beach. After a night bus from Puyo to Guayaquil and one early in the morning from Guayaquil to Montañita, we arrived in the Ecuadorian surfers paradise on Sunday morning. The relaxed, almost hippy, little town was still asleep when we started looking for a hostel at 9 o’clock. We found one in the small, but cosy centre of the town, with a hammock on our balcony and a beautiful room in bamboo.
One of the reasons why we choose Montañita as our beach destination was the nearby location of Isla de la plata, commonly referred to as "the galapagos of the poor". We arranged a trip to the island for the next day and spend the remaining part of the day enjoying sun, see and beach. I tried body-boarding for a few minutes, but the waves were a bit too impressive and my technique not good enough to make it to the front page of the next surfers magazine.
Monday the 11th of October 2010
At 8h30 on Monday morning we waited for over half an hour for a bus to Puerto Lopez, from where our boat to Isla de la Plata would leave, that never came. Our man at Machilla tours however, quickly solved the problem by hiring a taxi so that we would make it to our boat in time. From Puerto Lopez we sailed out for Isla de la Plata together with the crew of two, our guide, a guy from Leuven, two slow Mexican women, a couple from Switzerland, a French guy and a couple from Germany. The island itself is known for its large colony of bleu-footed boobies that show off with their bright blue feet to impress the ladies. It is funny to see them dancing around kicking their feet in the air all the time, as if they want to say: “ Hey, look how nicely blue my feet are…” Beside the blue-footed boobies, that all the time stubbornly stay in the middle of the road, we encountered a huge albatros chick. The extremely dry island further houses frigat birds and piqueros enmascarados (masked boobies).
Before we left the island, we all took a swim near the coral reef that surrounds the island. Despite our limited experience with snorkelling we enjoyed our moment in between the fish.
Back in Puerto Lopez we stuck around a bit to see the Pelicans jump over the breaking waves in group (instead of flying a bit deeper into the sea where they could just keep on floating) and to see the frigate birds at work steeling the fish from other birds (the feathers of the frigate birds are not water resistant, the guys rely on steeling fish because they cannot fish themselves).
On our way back to Montañita, the bus driver dropped us of at the Kundalini hostel where we arranged our stay for the next night.
Tuesday the 12th of October 2010
Tuesday was a beautiful day with clear blue skies, ideal to relax in the sun the whole day with a refreshing dip in the sea now and then. We both liked it that much that we decided to stay yet another day in Montañita. This also allowed us to finally get the blog online that was a long time coming. We were on the road for over 2 weeks now without too much information to the home front. We therefore exploited the wifi-availibility to skype with our family with a view on the beach. At the end of the day we relaxed all day taking full advantage of the sunshine and the blog was postponed for another day…
Wednesday the 13th of October 2010
On Wednesday the weather was slightly worse than the day before, finally we found the right moment to set up this blog. Nele started typing the first texts, while I retreated towards the beach to drink a “mate” with the Argentinian guys that stayed in the same hostel. In the afternoon, the roles were turned around, Nele enjoyed the sun, sea and beach, I fought a fearless battle with blogspot to get our messages online in a more or less structured way.
Near sunset we rented a surfboard for an hour as we figured we had to try before leaving. The waves were – for what we are concerned – huge, but after a lot of trial and error, I nevertheless managed to reach the beach standing on the board on at least two occasions – good enough. Nele quit earlier, mainly because the waves played with here rather than that she played with the waves.
Thursday the 14th of October 2010
On Thursday we left our excellent hostel in Montañita and headed out for Cuenca through Guayaquil.
Shuar family
Friday the 8th of October 2010
From Puyo we decided to visit a
Shuar family that organizes jungle stays in their community. We took a bus to Macas, direction jungle, and got of at the Arútam reserve in the middle of the Amazone. We were immediately welcomed by a few Shuar 'warriors'. One of them was limping slightly, a soccer injury he took on during a game against a neighbouring family. The welcome committee further consisted of two Scotish girls that had been crazy enough to sign up for 3 months of volunteer work with the Shuar.
Our new friend Timothy (Shuar) showed us our hut for the coming night and later we joined the family, i.e. the men of the family, for dinner. We were served our first “Chicha”, a slightly fermented drink the Shuar are famous for. Later we found out that the stuff is prepared by the women in a rather traditionally way. They chew on a yucca and then spit it in a bowl with water, let it sit for a day to ferment and your drink is ready, nice…
The family we stayed with is the offspring of a single man and his first wife: 12 children and some grandchildren. During our stay the father stayed with his other wife a few kilometers down the road. At that place he too had arranged enough working hands. He was also the teacher in the little school that educated both communities.
In the afternoon Timothy took us on our first jungle trip. Large animals, such as anaconda’s and monkeys are rarely seen during daytime in this area, but insects including tarantula’s crossed our path more than once. Near the end of our walk we picked our salad for dinner in one of the many “gardens” of the family. We would have fresh leaves of the yucca plant. It was lovely by the way, almost like spinach. The gardens I refer to are bare parts of the jungle (the guys chop down all the trees) on which the Shuar women grow there fruits and vegetables in an – at least to us – rather unstructured way.
Before going to bed we visited the hut of the volunteers for a little chat with them. At that moment there were two Americans and two Scottish girls helping with the work of the Shuar (making roads, building cabins and huts, building a kitchen for the school, etc.). I didn’t quit figure out wether the volunteers liked or hated their stay and work. For the three of us (Martijn stil joined us) it was clear, not our cup of tea. One overnight stay will do..
Saturday the 9th of October 2010
Alex (15 years old) took us on our second jungle trip the following day, one that would lead us to a waterfall. Waterfalls are sacred to the Shuar as they contain all the information from the forest and because the Shuar believe that the Creator of the World -Arutam- lives in waterfalls. A shower underneath the falls should purify our souls. It was at least a welcome refreshment. On our way to the falls (and back) we were decorated with the war signs of the Shuar en Alex taught us which plants to use for a flew, a cold, pain, diarrhea or a constipation, how to get water from a bamboo tree, etc. For a boy of 15, he knew a whole damn lot about the jungle. On the other hand, Ecuadorians and especially Shuar normally get married around that age. They appear to grow up a bit faster than we do. We had our lunch with a beautiful view on the rain forest. An aunt and niece of Alex had left slightly earlier than we did and were already preparing lunch when we all of a sudden encountered a hut in the middle of the jungle.
Once we returned to our point of departure we took a refreshing shower and later waited for the bus together with our guide of that morning. The little guy suddenly looked different, somewhat like a little punk that tries to be too though with his Walkman, jeans and only a t-shirt while he is actually freezing. We hence saw two sides of the Shuar culture in the 20th century.
Nevertheless we all left with a tremendous respect for the culture and for what the family is doing to preserve its heritage. If you read a bit more about the Shuar you will find that they are one of the few tribes or communities that withstood the Inca’s and the Spanish and even drove them back when they tried to invade their territory. Further do they seem to like hallucinating plants (to the extreme) and did they indulge in the practice of skull shrinking (literally shrinking the skulls of killed enemies to use them as necklaces). All of this fits in their strong believe in the forces of nature. Alex told us that one of their drinks allows them to talk to trees and see their future, it reminded me of Avatar in a way.
Later that day we said goodbye to Martijn who had been travelling with us until then. We took a night bus to Guayaquil and from there set course for the beach.
From Puyo we decided to visit a
Shuar family that organizes jungle stays in their community. We took a bus to Macas, direction jungle, and got of at the Arútam reserve in the middle of the Amazone. We were immediately welcomed by a few Shuar 'warriors'. One of them was limping slightly, a soccer injury he took on during a game against a neighbouring family. The welcome committee further consisted of two Scotish girls that had been crazy enough to sign up for 3 months of volunteer work with the Shuar.
Our new friend Timothy (Shuar) showed us our hut for the coming night and later we joined the family, i.e. the men of the family, for dinner. We were served our first “Chicha”, a slightly fermented drink the Shuar are famous for. Later we found out that the stuff is prepared by the women in a rather traditionally way. They chew on a yucca and then spit it in a bowl with water, let it sit for a day to ferment and your drink is ready, nice…
The family we stayed with is the offspring of a single man and his first wife: 12 children and some grandchildren. During our stay the father stayed with his other wife a few kilometers down the road. At that place he too had arranged enough working hands. He was also the teacher in the little school that educated both communities.
In the afternoon Timothy took us on our first jungle trip. Large animals, such as anaconda’s and monkeys are rarely seen during daytime in this area, but insects including tarantula’s crossed our path more than once. Near the end of our walk we picked our salad for dinner in one of the many “gardens” of the family. We would have fresh leaves of the yucca plant. It was lovely by the way, almost like spinach. The gardens I refer to are bare parts of the jungle (the guys chop down all the trees) on which the Shuar women grow there fruits and vegetables in an – at least to us – rather unstructured way.
Before going to bed we visited the hut of the volunteers for a little chat with them. At that moment there were two Americans and two Scottish girls helping with the work of the Shuar (making roads, building cabins and huts, building a kitchen for the school, etc.). I didn’t quit figure out wether the volunteers liked or hated their stay and work. For the three of us (Martijn stil joined us) it was clear, not our cup of tea. One overnight stay will do..
Saturday the 9th of October 2010
Alex (15 years old) took us on our second jungle trip the following day, one that would lead us to a waterfall. Waterfalls are sacred to the Shuar as they contain all the information from the forest and because the Shuar believe that the Creator of the World -Arutam- lives in waterfalls. A shower underneath the falls should purify our souls. It was at least a welcome refreshment. On our way to the falls (and back) we were decorated with the war signs of the Shuar en Alex taught us which plants to use for a flew, a cold, pain, diarrhea or a constipation, how to get water from a bamboo tree, etc. For a boy of 15, he knew a whole damn lot about the jungle. On the other hand, Ecuadorians and especially Shuar normally get married around that age. They appear to grow up a bit faster than we do. We had our lunch with a beautiful view on the rain forest. An aunt and niece of Alex had left slightly earlier than we did and were already preparing lunch when we all of a sudden encountered a hut in the middle of the jungle.
Once we returned to our point of departure we took a refreshing shower and later waited for the bus together with our guide of that morning. The little guy suddenly looked different, somewhat like a little punk that tries to be too though with his Walkman, jeans and only a t-shirt while he is actually freezing. We hence saw two sides of the Shuar culture in the 20th century.
Nevertheless we all left with a tremendous respect for the culture and for what the family is doing to preserve its heritage. If you read a bit more about the Shuar you will find that they are one of the few tribes or communities that withstood the Inca’s and the Spanish and even drove them back when they tried to invade their territory. Further do they seem to like hallucinating plants (to the extreme) and did they indulge in the practice of skull shrinking (literally shrinking the skulls of killed enemies to use them as necklaces). All of this fits in their strong believe in the forces of nature. Alex told us that one of their drinks allows them to talk to trees and see their future, it reminded me of Avatar in a way.
Later that day we said goodbye to Martijn who had been travelling with us until then. We took a night bus to Guayaquil and from there set course for the beach.
Baños and Puyo
Wednesday the 6th of October 2010
We were more than ready for a relaxing day. Baños is the perfect place for that. It is a small, quiet town in the center of Ecuador in the shade of the highest active volcano of the country. The biggest touristic attraction of the town – beside the magnificent view on the volcano – is the presence of several thermal, mineral rich baths, which again are only there because of the volcanic activity in the area. In the afternoon we (Martijn, Nele and myself) walked around in town, which has some funny, but also worrying, signs previously unknown to us that indicate the escape routes in case of a volcanic eruption. In the evening we headed for “Thermales de la Virgin” were we enjoyed several warming up and cooling down cycles by changing from the nicely warm to freezing cold waters. Lovely! We met two nice French couples that would join us the next day for a mountainbike trip to Puyo.
Thursday the 8th of October 2010
It is about 61 km from Baños to Puyo. Most of it is downhill, but occasionally it went uphill quite steep. Luckily we allowed ourselves some rest the day before. The first part of the route is nicknamed the “route de cascades” (the waterfall route), a nickname that it certainly deserves. Around lunchtime we reached the most famous of the falls, the devils falls. To reach the falls you have to walk down the jungle about 10 minutes (back up takes longer). Once down you can admire the massive falls from different angles, from a hanging bridge, from close by and from very close by:from behind the falls. For the last step you have to crawl a little bit, but the refreshing waterfall shower in the hot jungle is worth it.
The Frenchies took the bus back to Baños after lunch, but Martijn, Nele and I were determined; we would make it to Puyo. The next waterfall we encountered was already more than worth to continue. Again we had to walk down, this time down some stairs; it was rather steep going into the valley. At the bottom of the valley we gazed up on a massive fall with a small natural pool at the bottom; an invitation by nature that we had to accept. For a second it makes you feel one with it all if you are swimming in a pool in the middle of the jungle right underneath an absolutely massive waterfall. We stayed here for about an hour and then headed for Puyo.
This part of the road announced itself much more difficult than what we had experienced until then. The last 15-20km’s were flat again. Taken it all into account, it was an exhausting trip, but surely worth it. At around 18h, we arrived in Puyo, generally regarded as the last city before the Oriente, i.e. the city where the jungle starts. We spent some time finding a hostel and waiting for our luggage to arrive from Baños and afterwards enjoyed a magnificent meal in El Jardin (a little bit more expensive than what we are used to, but we figured we had deserved it).
Before finally going to bed, we did some research on jungle trips from Puyo. Something that was on our schedule for the coming days…
We were more than ready for a relaxing day. Baños is the perfect place for that. It is a small, quiet town in the center of Ecuador in the shade of the highest active volcano of the country. The biggest touristic attraction of the town – beside the magnificent view on the volcano – is the presence of several thermal, mineral rich baths, which again are only there because of the volcanic activity in the area. In the afternoon we (Martijn, Nele and myself) walked around in town, which has some funny, but also worrying, signs previously unknown to us that indicate the escape routes in case of a volcanic eruption. In the evening we headed for “Thermales de la Virgin” were we enjoyed several warming up and cooling down cycles by changing from the nicely warm to freezing cold waters. Lovely! We met two nice French couples that would join us the next day for a mountainbike trip to Puyo.
Thursday the 8th of October 2010
It is about 61 km from Baños to Puyo. Most of it is downhill, but occasionally it went uphill quite steep. Luckily we allowed ourselves some rest the day before. The first part of the route is nicknamed the “route de cascades” (the waterfall route), a nickname that it certainly deserves. Around lunchtime we reached the most famous of the falls, the devils falls. To reach the falls you have to walk down the jungle about 10 minutes (back up takes longer). Once down you can admire the massive falls from different angles, from a hanging bridge, from close by and from very close by:from behind the falls. For the last step you have to crawl a little bit, but the refreshing waterfall shower in the hot jungle is worth it.
The Frenchies took the bus back to Baños after lunch, but Martijn, Nele and I were determined; we would make it to Puyo. The next waterfall we encountered was already more than worth to continue. Again we had to walk down, this time down some stairs; it was rather steep going into the valley. At the bottom of the valley we gazed up on a massive fall with a small natural pool at the bottom; an invitation by nature that we had to accept. For a second it makes you feel one with it all if you are swimming in a pool in the middle of the jungle right underneath an absolutely massive waterfall. We stayed here for about an hour and then headed for Puyo.
This part of the road announced itself much more difficult than what we had experienced until then. The last 15-20km’s were flat again. Taken it all into account, it was an exhausting trip, but surely worth it. At around 18h, we arrived in Puyo, generally regarded as the last city before the Oriente, i.e. the city where the jungle starts. We spent some time finding a hostel and waiting for our luggage to arrive from Baños and afterwards enjoyed a magnificent meal in El Jardin (a little bit more expensive than what we are used to, but we figured we had deserved it).
Before finally going to bed, we did some research on jungle trips from Puyo. Something that was on our schedule for the coming days…
The Quilotoa loop
Monday the 4th of October 2010
Together with Martijn en Nienke (NED), who we met the day before in Latacunga, we took an early morning bus to Quilotoa. Upon arrival we checked in in the hostel and restaurant Cabañas, were the meals are served for all guests at the same time. It feels like you are all one big family, which creates a very enjoyable atmosphere. After checking in and having a quick bite, we walked to the crater lake Quilotoa is famous for. Full of energy we decided to walk down the crater all the way to the lake. Walking down was not a big problem, going back up was much harder. Quilotoa is located at about 3500m above sea level and the path is pretty sandy… tough! For the remaining part of the day we restricted ourselves to a walk in and around Quilotoa – again the landscape was stupefying. At night we played a game of carts and went to bed early in our woodstove heated room.
Tuesday the 5th of October 2010
We woke up at 7 in the morning and felt more or less ready for the 12 km hike from Quilotoa to Chuchillan – we didn’t sleep to well because of a baggy mattress. Nienke decided to take a bus, but she was quickly replaced by Vanessa, a girl from Hong Kong who we met the evening before. The altitude, the terrain and the lack of sleep the night before made it a pretty hard walk. Especially the last part was tough, but also the nicest. We walked down a valley on one side to walk up again on the other side. This was after our lunch break in Guyama where we arrived at the school playground right at lunch time for the kids at school, allowing us to have lunch altogether. We arrived early in Chuchillan (14h). Vanessa decided to stay overnight and walk to Isinlivi the next day. Martijn and the two of us decided to get in a pickup and try to catch the next bus to Latacunga in the next town 40 minutes down the road. The view during the entire bus trip was postcard worthy again.
Together with Martijn en Nienke (NED), who we met the day before in Latacunga, we took an early morning bus to Quilotoa. Upon arrival we checked in in the hostel and restaurant Cabañas, were the meals are served for all guests at the same time. It feels like you are all one big family, which creates a very enjoyable atmosphere. After checking in and having a quick bite, we walked to the crater lake Quilotoa is famous for. Full of energy we decided to walk down the crater all the way to the lake. Walking down was not a big problem, going back up was much harder. Quilotoa is located at about 3500m above sea level and the path is pretty sandy… tough! For the remaining part of the day we restricted ourselves to a walk in and around Quilotoa – again the landscape was stupefying. At night we played a game of carts and went to bed early in our woodstove heated room.
Tuesday the 5th of October 2010
We woke up at 7 in the morning and felt more or less ready for the 12 km hike from Quilotoa to Chuchillan – we didn’t sleep to well because of a baggy mattress. Nienke decided to take a bus, but she was quickly replaced by Vanessa, a girl from Hong Kong who we met the evening before. The altitude, the terrain and the lack of sleep the night before made it a pretty hard walk. Especially the last part was tough, but also the nicest. We walked down a valley on one side to walk up again on the other side. This was after our lunch break in Guyama where we arrived at the school playground right at lunch time for the kids at school, allowing us to have lunch altogether. We arrived early in Chuchillan (14h). Vanessa decided to stay overnight and walk to Isinlivi the next day. Martijn and the two of us decided to get in a pickup and try to catch the next bus to Latacunga in the next town 40 minutes down the road. The view during the entire bus trip was postcard worthy again.
Cotopaxi
Saturday the 2nd of October 2010
On Saturday we left our Spanish school, our family for one week, and Quito and started exploring the rest of Ecuador. The first destination was the Cotopaxi volcano, the second highest (5897m) and still active volcano in Ecuador. To get to the volcano we registered on a “biking Dutchmen” tour. Our guide, Fernando, picked us up with his jeep and drove us to the parking lot on the flank of the volcano (4500m). From there we biked down into the valley. The view was amazing and the reliable equipment we rented made it a most enjoyable trip. We continued to a laguna where we had lunch and then set course for Tambopaxi past a herd of at least 200 lama’s, meeting wild horses and domesticated cows and bulls on the way. Tambopaxi is the only hostel within the boundaries of the National Park and it offers camping possibilities. We did not let this change slip by and quickly set up our tent. Before dinner, we made a short walk in the valley without turning our eyes away from the majestic volcano.
Sunday the 3rd of October 2010
The next morning we woke up with a magnificent view on the volcano. Absolutely astonishing! After breakfast and a short morning walk we got in the pickup we organized together with Pierre-Roland (SUI) and Johan (SWE) who we met the evening before. At the same parking lot we started our ride down the day before, we now jumped out of the open cargo part of the pickup (great ride up!) ready to climb another 300m to a refuge on the side of the volcano and from there on to the bottom of the glacier (5000m above sea level). At this altitude every step is at least five times harder than at sea level, making the hike up challenging, but very rewarding. 2 hours later we jumped back in the back of the pickup to be dropped of at the Panamerican highway where we took a bus to Latacunga. Pierre-Roland and Johan continued to Baños, while we stayed in Latacunga, which would be our home base for a trip to Quilotoa.
On Saturday we left our Spanish school, our family for one week, and Quito and started exploring the rest of Ecuador. The first destination was the Cotopaxi volcano, the second highest (5897m) and still active volcano in Ecuador. To get to the volcano we registered on a “biking Dutchmen” tour. Our guide, Fernando, picked us up with his jeep and drove us to the parking lot on the flank of the volcano (4500m). From there we biked down into the valley. The view was amazing and the reliable equipment we rented made it a most enjoyable trip. We continued to a laguna where we had lunch and then set course for Tambopaxi past a herd of at least 200 lama’s, meeting wild horses and domesticated cows and bulls on the way. Tambopaxi is the only hostel within the boundaries of the National Park and it offers camping possibilities. We did not let this change slip by and quickly set up our tent. Before dinner, we made a short walk in the valley without turning our eyes away from the majestic volcano.
Sunday the 3rd of October 2010
The next morning we woke up with a magnificent view on the volcano. Absolutely astonishing! After breakfast and a short morning walk we got in the pickup we organized together with Pierre-Roland (SUI) and Johan (SWE) who we met the evening before. At the same parking lot we started our ride down the day before, we now jumped out of the open cargo part of the pickup (great ride up!) ready to climb another 300m to a refuge on the side of the volcano and from there on to the bottom of the glacier (5000m above sea level). At this altitude every step is at least five times harder than at sea level, making the hike up challenging, but very rewarding. 2 hours later we jumped back in the back of the pickup to be dropped of at the Panamerican highway where we took a bus to Latacunga. Pierre-Roland and Johan continued to Baños, while we stayed in Latacunga, which would be our home base for a trip to Quilotoa.
Quito, Otavalo & Mitad del Mundo
Both carrying a small and a big backpack we left our apartment in Montréal on Thursday the 23rd of September. Approximately 15 hours later we arrived save and sound in Quito, Ecuador’s capital. This would be our home for the coming 8 days. The first three days we visited Quito and its surroundings, the last 5 days we spent in a Spanish school in the colonial, historical part of Quito combined with a home stay.
Friday the 24th of September 2010
On our first day in Quito we explored the city. In the colonial as well as in the touristic part of the new part of the city, everything appears to be within walking distance. To travel from one (the old) to the other (the new) part of town the cheapest solution is to take the overfull Troleybus. The colonial part of the town clearly was our favourite. Life seems to be very quiet in this area and everywhere you can find small “tiendas” (shops) and restaurants where you walk in and out as you please. This part of town is filled with churches and buildings that date from the times the Spanish settled in Quito. A beautiful example is the Presidential palace that we visited in the afternoon. Visits to the palace are free of charge, one of Rafael Correa’s initiatives in his vision of “Ecaudor ya es de todo” (Ecaudor now belongs to everyone). This slogan was printed on the free picture of us in the Palace that we were offered by the president. Later we encountered it throughout Quito and Ecuador.
Saturday the 25th of September 2010
A 2 hours bus ride from Quito liess the little town of Otavala that is known for its indigenous community that fills the town in their traditional outfit and for the craft market. I couldn’t resist buying a typical Ecuadorian panama-hat. It was our first real experience with the bargaining that is common in this part of the world. We are still trying to get used to it.
I particularly enjoyed our lunch. At a small table in the middle of the market place we sat together with an indigenous couple and savoured the pieces of pork that were freshly cut off a pig roasted as a whole and that was lying right next to us.
Sunday the 26th of September 2010
On Sunday we embarked on one of the most touristic trips you can make from Quito, we set sail for Mitad del Mundo. Mitad del Mundo is something of a touristic complex that is supposedly located exactly on the equatorial line. In fact the equator lies a little bit north from where all the pictures with one foot in the northern hemisphere, one foot in the southern hemisphere are taken. Visiting the place on Sunday means that you can enjoy local, indigenous dance performances, making the whole thing even more touristic.
From within Mitad del mundo we decided to make a small excursion to the nearby Pululahua crater. In this crater lives a community of about 150 souls from crops they grow on the fertile land. We arrived at the edge of the crater at around 14h45, just in time to catch a glimpse of what can be found in the crater. 15 minutes later, the clouds set in and the bottom of the crater remained hidden for us. Although an occasional brise opened the cloud cover and exposed the farmlands below. Our guide, Frederico, turned the trip in somewhat of a spiritual experience as well by telling us about (and performing some of) the rituals of “his” indigenous community. Very enthusiastically, he talked about purifying rituals performed by the ‘Shaman’ at the latest solstice (a few days ago) where the Shaman apparently had drunk a very spicy, very alcoholic drink through his nose. You could clearly feel that Frederico still was impressed by the performance of the Shaman and the influence it had had on him. Before leaving our marvellous viewpoint at the edge of the crater, he further thanked Mother Nature by playing a little tune on his miniature flute: a pretty special experience. Back in Mitad del Mundo we briefly met the 85 year old Shaman our guide just talked to us about.
Monday the 27th of September 2010 – until Friday the 1st of October 2010
The first full week in Quito we devoted ourselves to the Spanish language. Every day we followed 6 hours of Spanish (4 hours in the morning, 2 hours in the afternoon). For lunch and dinner we returned to the local family we stayed with and the Spanish lessons continued in a more informal way (although the real lessons were rather informal as well). We visited a few schools before deciding to go for the Quito Antigua Spanish school, because our teacher and the director of this school, Freddy, made the best impression on us. It turned out to be a good choice. In one week we studied the basic grammar of South American (!) Spanish and built up the necessary vocabulary to make ourselves understandable and understand (if they don't speak too fast, which they normally do) the locals.
The nice thing about the school was that everything happened in an informal and enjoyable atmosphere. We learned a lot about the Ecuadorian culture and kitchen as well. For this part, our teacher was assisted by his good friend Johny that always accompanied us for our outings to the indigenous fruit and vegetable markets. They took us to places where tourists normally do not show and where Ecuadorians buy their fruit, veggies and meat (including the popular guinea pigs – sold alive). Cats and dogs (2$ - not intended for consumption, I think…) are sold alongside the geese, and other poultry.
On one occasion we returned from the market to a small apartment owned by Freddy to cook a local dish. In fact, Johny did most of the cooking and we enjoyed the result. Later that week, Johny attracted the flu. He claims it happened on the day we cooked, he had spent too much time with his head in the fridge he said…
Not only did we enjoy the Spanish course, also the family stay was an interesting experience. We stayed with Rina and her 30 year old son, Malik, in a house in the colonial part of the city at a few minutes walking from our school. Rina and Malik now and then referred to themselves as being “un poco loco” (a little bit crazy) and we both agreed. Breakfast, lunch and dinner looked (and tasted) like a Christmas meal every time again. We assisted our hosts in cooking as much as we could, which made us feel part of the family for the time we stayed there. It was nice being able to return to a place we “knew” every evening. We had our own bedroom, living room and bathroom in the house that was colourfully decorated with paintings by our host.
You might have heard about the attempted coup on Thursday of the week we were in Quito. Part of the national police was not very happy with planned cuts in the budget for the police force. The police went on strike, which cause chaos in part of the city. When President Correa tried to talk to the striking police force he was more or less kidnapped and held in the police hospital in the north of the city. Later that day, the military that always kept supporting the president, liberated him from the hospital in a pretty spectacular action that could be followed live on TV. All that time we found ourselves safely in the old part of the city were people were gathering on Plaza Grande in front of the presidential palace to support their president. We joined the “celebrations” when the president was still in the hospital and later just after his speech from the balcony of the presidential palace. In short, for us this was a great experience, we felt part of history and yet we never felt insecure or in danger, despite the stuff that was going on in the north. Because we felt that the (international) press only broadcasted the 'action' that was going on in the north of town (and made it all look more dangerous and spectacular than it was for us), we decided to write a little article with our perspective on the whole thing and sent it to the Belgian newspapers. Our article was published on the website of Mo* Magazine, you can check it out here, although it is in Dutch...
One day later, the crisis was all over and live returned to normal. Our Spanish teacher predicted this by the way. He ensured us on Thursday already that there was no crisis as long as the military is supporting the president. To him this was just a small uprising of some guys that are not happy with a law that is about to be voted and approved. These things are normal in South America. People are much more passionate about everything here, he said.
Friday the 24th of September 2010
On our first day in Quito we explored the city. In the colonial as well as in the touristic part of the new part of the city, everything appears to be within walking distance. To travel from one (the old) to the other (the new) part of town the cheapest solution is to take the overfull Troleybus. The colonial part of the town clearly was our favourite. Life seems to be very quiet in this area and everywhere you can find small “tiendas” (shops) and restaurants where you walk in and out as you please. This part of town is filled with churches and buildings that date from the times the Spanish settled in Quito. A beautiful example is the Presidential palace that we visited in the afternoon. Visits to the palace are free of charge, one of Rafael Correa’s initiatives in his vision of “Ecaudor ya es de todo” (Ecaudor now belongs to everyone). This slogan was printed on the free picture of us in the Palace that we were offered by the president. Later we encountered it throughout Quito and Ecuador.
Saturday the 25th of September 2010
A 2 hours bus ride from Quito liess the little town of Otavala that is known for its indigenous community that fills the town in their traditional outfit and for the craft market. I couldn’t resist buying a typical Ecuadorian panama-hat. It was our first real experience with the bargaining that is common in this part of the world. We are still trying to get used to it.
I particularly enjoyed our lunch. At a small table in the middle of the market place we sat together with an indigenous couple and savoured the pieces of pork that were freshly cut off a pig roasted as a whole and that was lying right next to us.
Sunday the 26th of September 2010
On Sunday we embarked on one of the most touristic trips you can make from Quito, we set sail for Mitad del Mundo. Mitad del Mundo is something of a touristic complex that is supposedly located exactly on the equatorial line. In fact the equator lies a little bit north from where all the pictures with one foot in the northern hemisphere, one foot in the southern hemisphere are taken. Visiting the place on Sunday means that you can enjoy local, indigenous dance performances, making the whole thing even more touristic.
From within Mitad del mundo we decided to make a small excursion to the nearby Pululahua crater. In this crater lives a community of about 150 souls from crops they grow on the fertile land. We arrived at the edge of the crater at around 14h45, just in time to catch a glimpse of what can be found in the crater. 15 minutes later, the clouds set in and the bottom of the crater remained hidden for us. Although an occasional brise opened the cloud cover and exposed the farmlands below. Our guide, Frederico, turned the trip in somewhat of a spiritual experience as well by telling us about (and performing some of) the rituals of “his” indigenous community. Very enthusiastically, he talked about purifying rituals performed by the ‘Shaman’ at the latest solstice (a few days ago) where the Shaman apparently had drunk a very spicy, very alcoholic drink through his nose. You could clearly feel that Frederico still was impressed by the performance of the Shaman and the influence it had had on him. Before leaving our marvellous viewpoint at the edge of the crater, he further thanked Mother Nature by playing a little tune on his miniature flute: a pretty special experience. Back in Mitad del Mundo we briefly met the 85 year old Shaman our guide just talked to us about.
Monday the 27th of September 2010 – until Friday the 1st of October 2010
The first full week in Quito we devoted ourselves to the Spanish language. Every day we followed 6 hours of Spanish (4 hours in the morning, 2 hours in the afternoon). For lunch and dinner we returned to the local family we stayed with and the Spanish lessons continued in a more informal way (although the real lessons were rather informal as well). We visited a few schools before deciding to go for the Quito Antigua Spanish school, because our teacher and the director of this school, Freddy, made the best impression on us. It turned out to be a good choice. In one week we studied the basic grammar of South American (!) Spanish and built up the necessary vocabulary to make ourselves understandable and understand (if they don't speak too fast, which they normally do) the locals.
The nice thing about the school was that everything happened in an informal and enjoyable atmosphere. We learned a lot about the Ecuadorian culture and kitchen as well. For this part, our teacher was assisted by his good friend Johny that always accompanied us for our outings to the indigenous fruit and vegetable markets. They took us to places where tourists normally do not show and where Ecuadorians buy their fruit, veggies and meat (including the popular guinea pigs – sold alive). Cats and dogs (2$ - not intended for consumption, I think…) are sold alongside the geese, and other poultry.
On one occasion we returned from the market to a small apartment owned by Freddy to cook a local dish. In fact, Johny did most of the cooking and we enjoyed the result. Later that week, Johny attracted the flu. He claims it happened on the day we cooked, he had spent too much time with his head in the fridge he said…
Not only did we enjoy the Spanish course, also the family stay was an interesting experience. We stayed with Rina and her 30 year old son, Malik, in a house in the colonial part of the city at a few minutes walking from our school. Rina and Malik now and then referred to themselves as being “un poco loco” (a little bit crazy) and we both agreed. Breakfast, lunch and dinner looked (and tasted) like a Christmas meal every time again. We assisted our hosts in cooking as much as we could, which made us feel part of the family for the time we stayed there. It was nice being able to return to a place we “knew” every evening. We had our own bedroom, living room and bathroom in the house that was colourfully decorated with paintings by our host.
You might have heard about the attempted coup on Thursday of the week we were in Quito. Part of the national police was not very happy with planned cuts in the budget for the police force. The police went on strike, which cause chaos in part of the city. When President Correa tried to talk to the striking police force he was more or less kidnapped and held in the police hospital in the north of the city. Later that day, the military that always kept supporting the president, liberated him from the hospital in a pretty spectacular action that could be followed live on TV. All that time we found ourselves safely in the old part of the city were people were gathering on Plaza Grande in front of the presidential palace to support their president. We joined the “celebrations” when the president was still in the hospital and later just after his speech from the balcony of the presidential palace. In short, for us this was a great experience, we felt part of history and yet we never felt insecure or in danger, despite the stuff that was going on in the north. Because we felt that the (international) press only broadcasted the 'action' that was going on in the north of town (and made it all look more dangerous and spectacular than it was for us), we decided to write a little article with our perspective on the whole thing and sent it to the Belgian newspapers. Our article was published on the website of Mo* Magazine, you can check it out here, although it is in Dutch...
One day later, the crisis was all over and live returned to normal. Our Spanish teacher predicted this by the way. He ensured us on Thursday already that there was no crisis as long as the military is supporting the president. To him this was just a small uprising of some guys that are not happy with a law that is about to be voted and approved. These things are normal in South America. People are much more passionate about everything here, he said.
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