A whole lot of Ecuador

This blog contains a fair few places - Guayaquil, Manta, Montanita and Ayampe. The reason they are all crammed in to this one post is because for the most part of these areas, I didn't have my camera with me - massive regret, but there we go. Hopefully I can set the scene well enough for you...!

So from Cuenca we headed to Guayaquil, which is the biggest city in Ecuador - and that is evident as soon as you arrive at the bus station. A giant shiny building complete with shopping centre, food court, a whole floor just for buses, connected to the local metro and also the local bus station with huge bridges and staircases. We were here as a stopping point to get to Manta, and also because Charlie wanted to visit his Grandad who lives there. So Dave and I decided we'd let Charlie do that on his own, and we stayed in a 'cheap hostel' (another thing about Guayaquil, there is NOWHERE cheap to stay) - we spent about £50 on one night...however they did bring us breakfast in bed, so that was a BIG plus. In the morning we waited outside for Charlie, whose Uncle had picked us up from the bus station the day before and whisked Charlie off for a frenzy of family meeting good times. Waiting there, and after a couple of minutes a big people carrier with Charlie smiling away in the back, two Aunties and an Uncle seated up front. He told us we were being taken to lunch at another Uncles house, and off we went. Cruising round in the car, we were shown a bit of Guayaquil, most notably the Malecon. The Malecon is the name given to the new pier/boardwalk area of the port, spanning approximately 2.5k. It's strikingly modern, as it was revamped in 2000.

When we arrived at Charlie's other Uncles house, we were greeted by an array of cousins, aunties and uncles, and were made to feel very welcome (and also very tall - especially the boys!) immediately. We settled down for some chats, and were invited to have lunch at the table. Lunch was a special dish of Ecuadorian Cuisine; Encebollado de Pescado. It was delicious, a fish soup with chili and coriander, yucca, pickled onions and rice. After both Dave and I accepting seconds and filling our bellies to the brim, it was time to part ways with the lovely family and head off on our bus to Manta, the biggest seaport in Ecuador - and also the place where our Lovely Charlie was born! 

We were met from our bus in Manta by Charlie's cousins, who welcomed us with open arms, and took us back to his Aunt's house. These ladies showed us the most beautiful hospitality; one vacated her flat and let us sleep in it for the duration of the stay, and every day we were invited and encouraged to share breakfast, lunch and dinner at their home. We were even escorted on our walk back to the flat at night by them (they are clearly well respected throughout the neighborhood!) becuase we - especially Dave and I - stood out like a sore thumb among everyone else there. We spent a great couple of days in Manta, visiting various beaches recommended to us by the family, eating delicious food, and wandering around the streets. At one point we were in the plaza, sitting on a bench and soaking in the vibe, when we saw and Iguana across the plaza. Now Dave and I had seen a fair few Iguanas by that point, but Charlie was very excited. So I started to tell him the story of the Iguana that shared our campsite in Huanchacho, and how he lived in a tree. Curiously, Charlie peered up among the branches of the trees above us, and peering right back at him was a giant green Iguana - I am one step closer to being the next David Attenborough! 

Charlie told us how his Mum always takes back pots of the special Aji that his Aunt makes - basically a pureed chilli - a tiny orange chilli which grows locally - which you can use as a condiment, straight if you have a ridiculously high spice tolerance, or mixed up with mayonnaise, ketchup, corriander, onions and other yummy things to create a delicious sauce. The lovely ladies of Charlie's family did not disappoint in creating loads of jars for Charlie to pass on to his mum, and also even presented Dave and I with a jar each to take home, and a little jar between us to use while we were travelling (we finished it within the month!). When the time to say Goodbye came, we were sad to be on our way again, as we had been made to feel right at home and welcomed into the heart of a big and beautiful family. But the party town of Montanita was calling, and the weekend was drawing near...

When we arrived at Montanita we had been recommended a couple of hostels from various travellers. The towns reputation preceeded it as THE place to party. It is constantly compared to Mancora, as the two are so close together (Mancora is in Peru) and renowned for the party scene. Upon arrival we found the place is fairly bigger than Mancora, and was buzzing with people. All the hostels we had been recommended were full, and to avoid paying above average, we befriended a heavily dreadlocked man who escorted us to a cheapy hostel round the corner. In the tiniest room of all time, which just about fit two bunk beds in it, is where we settled. We had an ensuite bathroom, which tested all of our friendships as all that separated the room from the toilet was a small shower curtain... We went to Montanita with one aim in mind, so quickly went out and explored the bars. One of the main roads turns in to a cocktail heaven at night, with loads of independent stalls opening up and competing in cheap prices and strong cocktails. On our first night we preferred to buy our own bottle of rum and head to the beach, where we found loads of like-minded people doing the same thing. After a while we stumbled up the main strip until we found a little club with a live reggae band playing, so setlled ourselves in there for the evening, before crawling home in the early hours. As we were attempting the journey home, we looked up above us, and a chill went through to our bones. I have told you before about the low hanging and tangled electrical wires which are all over South America, and these ones were covered in birds. Like, I mean, thousands and thousands of birds lined up along the wires, cawing at passers by. Birds. Birds who looked organised and ready to go. Luckily we weren't dive bombed or attacked, and we manage to run home to safety and sleep it off.

Each day and night at Montanita was much of the same; the next night we hit the independent cocktail bars, I found myself a new favourite (short lived) cocktail, the Coco Loco, a milky coconutty rummy deliciousness. Four cocktails deep and our vision starting to blur, we spied a familiar figure on the horizon. As he came closer, we were overjoyed to see Matty Denaro, our main man from Kokopelli, sauntering down the road with a lovely lady on his arm. Reunited at last and introduced to Amber, we drank the night away catching up, and agreed that Dave and I would accompany them back to Mancora when Charlie started on his return journey. The next day I was suffering beyond belief (hence the short lived favourite cocktail, if I ever see another it will be too soon) so we took it easy and arranged our next adventure - whale watching! 

The next morning we set off on our journey to Ayampe. Matt and Amber had met other friends from Kokopelli in Montanita, and Nikki - a tall Californian travelling with his surfboard, who we'd met in Mancora - was working at a hostel in Ayampe, about an hour North of Montanita. We arrived at that hostel, and on Nikki's recommendation ate a full and delicious breakfast there - with b a c o n ! We were in love. And ready to go see some whales.

Puerto Lopez is the main place to go whale watching within Ecuador, but Nikki had heard through some people of a small town not far from Ayampe, where you could go to a restaurant called Pelicanos, and ask for a tour. So that is exactly what we did. A couple of minutes later we were in life jackets racing through the water, and sure enough after about half an hour - there they were. Magnificent and incomprehensibly huge; we were suddenly alongside a pod of eight whales. It was so surreal to be surrounded by these majestic mammals,  I was completely unable to take any pictures and was spellbound. Whenever one did a full dive and their tail rose above the water we all cheered - it was an unforgettable sight. After we had watched the whales for a while, and a couple more boats started to appear, we left them to it and our captain whisked us off to near an island inhabited by sea-lions. Here we donned snorkels and jumped off the boat. Until this moment, I had completely forgotten that I actually really, really love snorkeling, and I was off chasing any fish I could see. Which was a lot.

When we eventually got back to land we were all exhausted, and headed back to Ayampe for some showers and relaxation. On route back, Nikki took us to a small restaurant by the bus station for an Ecuadorian delicacy - Corviche. It's mushed up green plantain (similar to banana), stuffed with tasty things like onions, fish/prawns, cabbage, peanut butter and corriander. You eat it loaded with onions and Aji, and it is mouth wateringly yummy. 

That evening we rented rooms in the town and went out for dinner (another spectacular meal of garlic prawns), and as it was our last evening together, Dave, Charlie and I went out to Ayampe's only bar afterwards. It had a great vibe, very laid back and surfery, and we stayed there sipping rum and cokes and sitting on beanbag chairs until last orders, when (this is starting to sound familiar) we stumbled home. The next morning it was unfortunately time for us to part ways - Charlie was heading back to his family in Manta before heading onwards to Quito, and Dave and I were heading back to Mancora. 




All pictures used in this blog are from Amber and google!

Cuenca

After a wam farewell to Deklan who was off to the Colombian coast, we hopped on board a bus to Cuenca - a UNESCO Heritage site (we're fond of those!) in the higher regions in Southern Ecuador. The buildings in the city are beautiful, the streets lean in on each other and are littered with balconies, and we found a hostel with a huge kitchen (including a blender and a sandwich toaster, so we were very happy!). The city has two cathedrals, one old and one new - and it was here I snapped one of my finest photographs - the portrayal of graffiti on a cathedral, something I haven't really seen before.

We spent a day wandering around the city, and particularly enjoyed sitting watching the BMXers practice their jumps around a plaza. In the market buying our food supplies we even found these strangely pastel coloured eggs! The vibe of Cuenca was pretty busy, and every local we spoke to complained about the huge number of tourists cluttering their streets (we were with Charlie though, so decided not to feel guilty).

Also in the main city there is a small area of ruins - described as Inca, although only a very small percentage actually is Inca - and with no context at all - and with a busy city either side of the small walls - the ruins were pretty unimpressive! However, the next day we made our way for the day to the ruins of Ingapirca, which were the complete opposite. The largest Inca ruins in Ecuador, the most incredible structure is the Temple of the Sun, situated at the end of a small city of ruins. The temple was made so that on each of the solstices the sun would fall directly into the doorway (it amazes me how so long ago this type of architecture was possible - it is the same at all the Inca sites we have been to - the precision is astounding). The ruins are set out a bit like a castle, and is one of the first Inca ruins where a fully functioning acuaduct has been found which would have provided water for the whole compound.

After our tour we ventured in to the surrounding town of El Tambo, and were directed to a brilliant cliff face which looks remarkably like a face!

Close to Cuenca is a National park, El Cajas. So we packed up rucksacks of water and snacks, donned our hiking boots and set off to have a day of natural beauty and trekking. Upon our arrival we were handed a map, and the lady at the tourist office recommended us a route to go on. We had researched before, and were warned there, of a mist which rises around the park at around 3pm, and many people have been lost to the park - which is huge, and has very little done to it - it is truly beautiful. The lady recommended us a pretty difficult route - and we couldn't work out why, as the big group before us had been recommended the easier one - perhaps it was Charlie's Ecuadorian charm, or Dave's shaggy traveler hair, or the battered (I prefer 'loved') state of my hiking boots - but either way we decided to go for it.

We found ourselves lost after about 15 minutes, but luckily Charlie was able to navigate the ginormous map we had been given (look at the picture, and our trail was about an inch squared of that. I do not jest) and we were back on track. The hike took us through a magical forest of papery trees, rock climbing up pretty sheer heights, strolling through meadows, trudging over the ridges of cliffs - and through some truly breathtaking viewpoints.

Our trail was pretty poorly marked along the way, and there were some points when I felt we were never going to get out alive...but eventually we came to the bottom of the mountain we had climbed, and began to make our way back to the tourist office. It was here we saw a sign for our route, pointing from the way we came (the sign says 'very difficult, 4 hours'). Well we were chuffed because it had only taken us four hours, but were pretty unimpressed that she had sent us the wrong way round the route - looking behind us it was pretty easily marked with splodges of green paint on various rocks that way! However we made it, and it made it even more impressive really that we had made it - and we felt exhilarated and extremely pleased with ourselves. Especially Charlie who had managed to do the whole thing in pretty fashionable boots, not really designed for trekking - as it was his first ever trek! So glad we could share that with you C-Blag.

The Banos Blowout

The next stop on our Ecuadorian adventure was the city of Banos. We arrived here knowing little about the city, other than knowing it was popular for its supreme natural beauty - it is a gateway in to the Amazon, and home to more than 80 waterfalls - the perfect place to take a tour of the jungle, or perhaps go white water rafting. Well...having just done both of those excursions rather spectacularly in Tena, we didn't feel they could be topped, so we settled in to have our own little Banos Blowout - sampling the restaurants and the drinks. Here we had pad thai, chicken wings, chai lattes, an obscene amount of rum, and sampled our first meat fondue (on Charlie's recommendation) which was amazing. On the night Dave got to chose where to eat we ended up at COMIC BURGER - a mix of two of his favourite hobbies - reading comic books and eating cheeseburgers.

Those Spanish speakers reading this will know that 'Banos' literally translates as Baths (and is also used as 'toilet'). Banos the city is home to some natural hot and cold baths, which Dave and I went to early one morning. We arrived at 5.30 and the queue for entry was already down the road! We were pleased with our tip to go early though, as the queue consisted mainly of Ecuadorian locals, and not tourists, which made it feel pretty authentic. The baths opened at 6am and in we piled. Everyone is made to buy a little hair cap, and in you go! The baths range from freezing cold to really hot - we couldn't bring ourselves to try the cold plunge pools at such a time in the morning, but settled in a warm one to watch the sunrise over the waterfall which was next to us. It was a beautiful experience.

After having spent a few days in Banos without really doing anything, we decided it was time we got up and went out. The boys were up for renting a little quad bikey type thing and bombing around the mountains in it, and I was quite keen to have a spa day - Banos is famous also for the massages and beauty treatments. So I booked in for the works - full body massage, manicure, facial and waxing - and then the boys rented a full on jeep with enough space for me in - so I got the best of both worlds!

We had intended to only be out with the jeep for an hour or two...but after attempting to get it up a hill and hearing the noise of the engine, it came to light that the jeep was a lot less fully equipped than advertised. With Charlie braving the Ecuadorian mountain roads, we made it to a mirador across the city and the mountains, where the vistas were beautiful. We then attempted to find our way to the next poorly signposted place - and ended up getting the thing well and truly stuck.

It took us the best part of an hour, a lot of engineering work - using boards of wood, mud, stones - anything we could find - NOT using the 4-wheel drive because (unsurprisingly) it didn't work - and a lot of positive thinking - we eventually got the vehicle unstuck, and raced back to the city so I could be back in time for my massage (and much needed manicure after that!).

The next day Charlie's friend from home, the lovely Deklan met us in the city and we rented bicycles and away we went on a tour of the waterfalls. We chose the worst morning to do this on - torrential rain making it difficult for us to see where we were going, and making landslides a real threat - we even crossed a rather perilous one with said bikes. Throughout the day we saw a number of waterfalls. The first, Manto de La Novia, which was once just one waterfall, but a huge storm caused a landslide which made a second one open up next to it (and destroyed a hotel which once sat below).  

The most spectacular one we saw was the end. After we had satiated ourselves with a cold beer overlooking the river (the rain had cleared by then), we trekked to the Palion del Diablo (cauldron of the devil) and were suitably stunned by the awesome power and speed and sheer amount of water gushing over the cliff edge. The noise of it filled our ears, the spray hit us all in the face, and we even crawled through damp rocks to have a glimpse behind the cascade too. Thoroughly impressive - and I have a great video which shows it, but unfortunately it's taken two hours just to upload this handful of pictures, so they will have to do!

Being Extreme in Tena

From Quito we headed to Tena, a city located in the Amazon Rainforest, famous for jungle tours and water sports. So on our first day there we went out and booked a day of  white water rafting, followed by a four day jungle trek. 

The rafting we booked through a company called River People, which is a family business (we booked with the sister, the mother prepared the lunch, and the two brothers took us rafting) and extremely well run. We were picked up the next day and driven about an hour out of the city to a remote area. Unfortunately a group of fifteen 18 year old English boys doing their World Challenge had also signed up for the day (they paid five grand each for a month in Ecuador, and when asked about it - 'the rainforest was boring, the public transport is disgusting, the people don't understand English, I have too much money so I'm eating six meals a day to spend it all' - a pretty vile group of boys) but luckily the lovely lady we booked from warned us to make sure we got our own raft. When we arrived by car we then hiked down for about 45 minutes to the river - and by hike I largely mean squelch through mud, run over log-bridges and scramble down jungle pathways - which left us all giggly and pumped for action. After a brief safety talk we were set to go - Dave, Charlie and I were quick to team up with two American expats living in Quito, an Austrian woman, and we also managed to steal away the World Challenge leader, an ex-army 50+ Yorkshireman with a great sense of humour, who seemed very happy to have been given some time away from his boys.

During the morning we rafted down the river Jondachi, then paused to have lunch on the rocks before continuing to where the river joined the Hollin. The rapids were grades 3+/4, and fantastic fun. Our team worked well together throughout the day, ending in no casualties or capsizing! We were given chances to swim in the river, even to be taken down a rapid (feet first, head back!), jump off rocks, swim in and climb a waterfall. The jungle walls towered above us as the river took us in full force; the remote setting allowed us to pass over ten waterfalls cascading from high into the river, and numerous jungle birds (and some GIANT spiders - luckily none came into the raft!) not to mention the tropical trees and vines swinging into the waters. We left exhausted from the adrenaline, feeling like we had really experienced some remote jungle time, and were pumped for our trek beginning the next day.

We booked the jungle trek through a company called Akangau, because they were the only company we found which offered tours deep into the jungle. There were plenty of tours offering to show us indigineous villages and tribes, but we refused these on the basis of our Lake Titicaca Floating Island experience - people who live in that way should be left to live happily in that way, and not have white faces gawking at them and sticking expensive cameras in their faces. We wanted to see wildlife and giant trees and weird bugs, and this company seemed to tick all of those boxes. We met our guide, Jamie (pronounced Hi - meh), who looked like he had stepped straight out of the jungle - his no nonsence face, tank of a body brandishing a machete and long dark ponytail made us feel yet again we'd made a good decision! We left late at night on a 7 hour journey to a place called Limoncocha, nearish to the Colombian border. Here we were taken to stay at the house of a Shaman (who was also a park ranger, and owned a farm in Tena, and had a very friendly face!). The house was as expected, basic and wooden and on giant stilts (to stop the creepy crawlies and poisonous snakes from getting to us). We slept for a couple of hours, and then set about our first jungle day.

On our first day we were taken on a tour of our immediate surroundings, and were taught about the various uses of plants, from being used for clothes, medicine and aphrodisiacs! The jungle was glittering with butterflies - some huge, some small, and all vibrant bright colours. Jamie also showed us traps that people set to capture animals, and the tracks of wild jungle boars. He told us that hoards of hundereds of boars stampeed across the jungle, and you have to try and climb a tree as quickly as possible to get away from them so they don't knock you down and tear your flesh apart. Luckily, we only saw their tracks! After lunch we were able to swim in a part of the river where there were no pirhanas (though Caymans come there at night...) we were all a bit giggly at swimming n a secluded area of the jungle, and jumpy whenever anyting touched us - Charlie got his nipple nibbled by a fish and was completely on edge after that!

The next day we were excited to go deeper in to the jungle. We walked to the Limoncocha reserve, Jamie leading the way by hacking our path with his machete, sending insects, vines and plants flying everywhere (so much for ecotourism...). We fought our way deep in to the jungle, crossing rickety log bridges, wading through mud and crawling over giant fallen trees, our ears alive with the incessant buzzing of thousands of bugs, calls from birds and monkeys echoing above us - I have never felt so aware of all of the living things surrounding us. Jamie managed to find us some monkeys - squirrel monkies high in the trees, swinging from the treetops and vines. Eventually we came across one of the most magnificent things I have ever witnessed - an absolutely enormous tree. Enormous doesn't even really begin to cover it, the trunk was the size of a small house, and it stretched higher than the eye could see. With echoes of my mother reading 'the magic faraway tree' to me as a little girl in my mind, the best thing about the tree was it was completely covered by jungle - five minutes of walking away from it and I'd never be able to find my way back to it.

After having lunch at a spot by the laguna, we piled in to a canoe to go fishing for Piranhas. Although fun, the experience was filled with false hope, as we managed to catch a grand total of zero fish. We did however spot plenty of 'watsins', or as we nicknamed them 'jungle turkeys'. And as the sun set, we were taken out again on the shallow canoe in search of Caymans - which was successful! You can spot them from the red gleam that hits their eyes with the torch, and as they eerily ease through the water, the prehistoric scales shine in the moonlight. Creepy. Upon our return to shore it became evident we were going to do the return hike in the pitch black of the night. Prepared as ever, we donned our head torches and off we set. Needless to say the noises were more prominent without the use of sight, the paths all the more perillous, and the intrusive logs blocking the pathways even more of an obstacle. The log bridges were almost impossible, and the whole experience was hilarious and exhausting. It was along this route we saw my favourite creature from the jungle, as unexpected as that is even for me, a tiny little glow worm.

On our third day, the Shaman joined us for our outting. It began with our faces being painted with achiote (which Charlie identified straight away). The tone for the day was playful (see our 'toucan nose' petals). We were taken in shallow canoes down the river, and were taken on land to be shown more plants and trees. We were shown bark which can heal UTIs, branches which cure rhuemetism and epilepsy, leaves for headaches and tummy cramps, saps for skin conditions, and also sampled some jungle-grown ginger, basil and a jungle onion! As we walked around the Shaman told us tales from his ancestors, including one of the rain tree, where people would dance around it in a ritual, and sure enough three days later it would rain. We went to visit the rain tree - and as we got there, the heavens opened and we were soaked! Suspicious...The leaves and plants of the jungle are so jurassic that we were able to use leaves as umbrellas - which left me feeling a bit like Thumbalina!

The highlight of this day was the activity of vine swinging over a giant tree, the Tarzan experience. Although the urge to shout  STOP DEFORESTATION as Jamie and the Shaman cleared a huge space for this activity proved unstoppable, the experience was great! Charlie and Dave even managed to swing from one vine to another, quite the monkey men.

Needless to say by the end of the four days, we were all exhausted and half eaten alive by mosquitos - but left feeling exhilirated and extremely happy!