Quito - Ecuadors Capitol

Michael and I travelled from Banos to Quito on the Bus. It only cost 3 dollars so we were impressed. Much like the Peruvians the Ecuadorians also like to eat Guinea Pig. As usual they had chickens and guinea pigs bundled up under the bus with the luggage. When we arrived to Quito the bus driver opened the compartment below to get our bags and we saw this guinea pig literally fly out and start to run. It reminded me of that animation film chicken run where the chickens plan an escape from the farm before they get killed. This poor guinea was so close but the bus driver went after it and picked it up by the scruff of it neck and laughed as he placed it back in the cage. Its poor legs where still dangling as he plopped it in. I bet the bus driver thought himself lucky, he almost lost his dinner there.

So first thoughts was that Quito was another big dirty city. It is divided by the old town and new town. The old town is considered a UNESCO world heritage site so most of the buildings are listed. The new town on the otherhand is all new and modern and this is where the hostels are situated. It is next to a lively square with lots of restaurants and bars.

It was important that Michael went back to Cusco so me and the other Jo spent our days together. We went to the Ecuator line which is situated just outside Quito. We took the local bus there and went to the first site. Now I call it the first site as when the French came to Ecuador (They are the ones that gave Ecuador its name) the french scientist had got the ecuator line wrong. They didnt know this at the time so they built a big centre with the yellow line on the ground but its not actually the real equator line. However, this site is still open and millions of tourist visit this place on the pretense that it is the real line as they dont advise you other wise. We only happened to know as Jo had been told by a friend that the real line is 300m away and to make sure she goes there. We asked where the real line was and the staff looked at us as if we were slightly bonkers and told us that we were here, where it is. We explained that we knew that this wasnt really it and there was another place to visit but we where still met with the same `Are you stupid` gaze.. Finally we went to a bug centre in the first site and the staff their told us we needed to exit here and turn left, walk 10 minutes and we will find it and we did. Hurray!

Here are pics of the first site ......

After holding a few bugs we headed to the 2nd site. We soon found it and for a cheaper price we even got a guide in English which was brilliant. We were told about the indigenous people of Ecuador, cultures and rituals. She told us that the tribes men use to chop the heads of their enemys and shrink it using potions from the Jungle (it us unknown to this day what they are as they keep it secret). They would then put the head on top on their canes, they would also do this for their loved one as a token. They would have the shrunken head of their loved one around their necks as part of a necklace. To this day the tribes men still practice this but only on sloths as it was made illegal to do on humans after the early 90s.

Here are pictures with information we learnt.

Typical creatures that live in the Ecuadorian Jungle

You are told not to wee in the Amazon rivers as this bad boy will shoot up your private parts
and it can only be removed by operation- OUCH!

On the left is a sloth still made to this day to enable the tribe to pass on the tradition.
Right: The shrunken head of a 13 year old who died and his family did this as a token (Thats his actual head!!!!)

This is the tribes mans gear. He wears his penis up like that so when he swims that insect will
not enter his penis! What a life!

Arrgggghhh!

So after all this information we then went to the REAL ecuator line that was later confirmed by GPS and did some experiments. We balanced an egg on a nail, it has to be a raw egg as its the ecuators force pulling the yoke down enabling for it to balance. We then got told to walk the line with our eyes closed and walk straight and for the life of us neither of us could to it, we wobbled all over the place. The lady said this was the effect of the ecuator. We then did an arm wrestle (because in the ecuator you can seem stronger than you are) and I won over Jo which proves the theory true as me and Jo have wrestled before and I am definately the weaker challenger normally. But here I won, shes still trying to live that one down. We also did the water flushing test and found that water went down without swirling around when done on the Equator line. It was really interesting and learnt a lot of new facts. Overall very impressed with the REAL line. Here are a few pics, unfortunately my camera died of battery so couldnt take pics of the experiments, gutted.

This is a clock that the indigenous people created back in the days. They were really clever and predicted the correct time. The time we use to today is actually a few minutes behind from the real time, hence we have a leap year.

The actual ecuator line

Here are pictures I took out and about in Quito.

Luna Runtun Hotel - Ecuador

Luna Runtun is a 4 star hotel situated in the hills on Banos, overlooked by the volcano. We found Luna Runtuns advert on a place mat in a restaurant. It was soon our anniversary so we thought we would ditch our backpacker status and `Flashpack` instead. For what it offered it was actually reasonably priced, In England you would probably get a nice room for the same price and only that. Here they boasted private terraces with Jacuzzis.

Having made a reservation for one night we headed up to hills. Luna Runtun also has a spa connected to the hotel that guest could us. Check in was not until 2pm so we took full advantage of this. When it was time for check in we were pulled to one side and the receptionist pulled a face giving away bad news instantly. The people in our suite had disappeared and had not checked out so our room wasn’t ready…BUT.. . they could upgrade us to the best room in the house. Which was an amazing solution presented on their behalf and we quickly confirmed we would be happy to take the new (better) room with no hesitation.

The upgrade room turned out to be somewhat of a Honeymoon suite. Petals where scattered everywhere when we walked through the door. The man was very helpful and showed us how everything worked. They even had an umbrella by the door, just in case. We had bought a bottle of wine but had no corkscrew. I called room service who confirmed they will be round with one asap. A minute later we had a knock on the door by one of the staff who had our corkscrew in hand. This was brilliant, we had lived like peasants for the last 4 months, this luxury was almost too much.

The package even included a dinner and a brilliant breakfast. It really was a great deal sweetened with our upgrade. Here are some pics:

Beautiful Banos - ECUADOR

BANOS, translated to English is toilet, defined by dictionary.com as

'1. a bathroom fixture consisting of a bowl, usually with a detachable, hinged seat and lid, and a device for flushing with water, used for defecation and urination'

So it took some convincing when Jo our Asian trekking friend mentioned Banos as her next destination in Ecuador, after heavy negotiations we decided to go along to see what the crack was about. 

To be fair after two weeks of sitting on the glorious beaches of Mancora and Montanita, and only consuming cocktails and beer it was time to get back to some nature and real exercise rather than just lifting our right arms from the table to or mouths to deliver the good old cerveza. 

On our 22nd long distance bus, we get stopped by police in the middle of nowhere and get told to get off the bus and wait outside. Girls one side and boys the other, a copper points at me and towards the bus, me thinking he wanted me to open the luggage compartment I go to grab the handle at which point he grabbed both my hands and spread me against the bus! A thorough pat down and a bit of a shoving and I'm all clear to now have my bag checked. 

Back on the coach I ask Jo about her vigorous search, to which she replied 'nope just had to open my bag and show the coppers as they all asked 'hey how are you doing ladies'

So I get felt up and Jo gets chatted up, happy days!!

Day 1 - jump after three!!!

Anyway we arrive in Banos, and it was nice to be back in rolling hills and glorious mountain air. It reminded me a bit of Switzerland, so I knew it would be a good place. 

Our hostel, Great Backpackers, was exactly that and immediately we felt at home and made new friends as well as meeting up with Jenny and Jo. 

With only the afternoon left the four of us headed to the bridge connecting the still active volcano and another mountain. The reason, to bungee off the 100m drop over the Pastaza river. My Jo, t'other Jo and me were all going to do it with Jenny our official photographer wimping out. 

As we walk towards the bridge and the drop we are about to endure, and as it becomes more imminent, our braveness starts to diminish. 

First on up! arrgggh!

Only 100m - no big deal

Getting on the platform getting ready to jump

The other Jo and Michael

1,2,3 ....go!

Jo goes next!

Me next...YAY...not!

Thiking, god thats high!

The man trying to go after me after I jumped at the wrong time!

Hanging around

We approach the chap and I decide to go first, being the bravest out of us three and wanting to show the girls how it's done I get strapped in. I climb over the railings and onto a man made perch, hoping that Ecuador's health and safety department have thoroughly passed the set up with flying colours!!

Now standing there looking down with the wind blowing, I hear the man count down from three, I say to myself you need to jump straight away or else you'll never do it. To my surprise on the count of three I've supermaned off the ledge and I'm flying screaming like a girl!! The rope catches me and I swing under the bridge!! Only at this point did I realise what I had just done, taking in the glorious views around me!! 

I run up back to the bridge and t'other Jo is getting strapped in and off she goes. All safe and sound she comes back up with a big smile on her face, high fives all round and it's Jo's turn. 

I head off to the view point to capture Jo and film her doing the jump. I see her jump and and hear a little scream as she flies through the air, I get a little wave for the camera and off I go back to the bridge  to meet he as she comes back up. 

As I get to the bridge Jenny and t'other Jo are pissing themselves laughing, I ask why and what happened was that Jo had jumped before the countdown had even begun, with the guy trying to grab her as she jumped but couldn't reach her. Luckily Jo was all strapped in correctly and she made it!! Jo had later told us that she had asked the guy if everything was ok to which he had replied yes as in yes nearly ready for countdown. But Jo took this as ready to jump and jumped!! Crazy!!

So another thing ticked off the bucket list and what a great experience. We're already looking for the next big jump on our travels!!

Day 2 - Buggie wuggy and searching for waterfalls

We look at the map and see the plentiful waterfalls to explore in the area. Still unfit from our beach bum days we decided to rent a Buggie to drive to the falls. 

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Along the way we pass the waterfalls all getting bigger as we go along, with the last requiring a 20 minute hike to get to. It's name Pailon del Diablo, was huge, roaring and very wet!! We managed to get right underneath it by crawling through man made tunnels and caves, getting completely soaked in the process and as a bonus getting our clothes washed for free! 

Here are some pics...

One of the first waterfalls on our route

Buggying through tunnels

We had to crawl to get close to the big waterfall Diablo

So close and got really wet

The sheer force of this waterfall was amazing

We whizz back on our buggies and head back to the hostel. 

Tungurahua Volcano - kabooommmmm

Not having read up about Banos before our arrival we were very excited to hear that there was a still active volcano pretty much sloping upwards from our hostel!! 

The name meaning throat of fire, we can see why with it still emitting gusts of smoke during the day. Back in March there was a big eruption so this was the real McCoy, supported by the evacuation signs dotted all over of the town of Banos instructing people where to run when it is a big one!! 

So that night we decided as a group to head up to one of the viewpoints to watch the volcano, as we heard that sometimes you could see lava coming out of the crater at the top. 

We arrie at the viewpoint, a big mountain directly opposite the volcano, perfect for seeing, that's if the dam clouds disappear. Half an hour or so waiting and we see in the darkness a plume of grey smoke but no lava. We will the volcano to clear it's throat, and with no notice suddenly a shot of lava fills the sky and the side of the volcano 'woooooooooooo' we all scream, as a couple of seconds later we hear the bang!  Majestic and something I never thought I would see in my life. 

We watch for another half an hour, when we see imminent clouds about to spoil the view. At this point we decided to head off when suddenly the biggest eruption of the night shooting huge rockets of lava into the sky WOW, what a sight as we wait for the bang, which came five seconds later and was louder than any firework I have ever heard!  Amazing. Here's a pic a guy caught of the eruption on his slr cam...

Day 3 - motorbike time. About time!!

We rent a motorbike, my first chance in a while to ride a motorbike, not quite the same as my baby back home, but still a 250cc scrambler and Honda so I was pleased we head off to another viewpoint to see the volcano in daylight. Up windy roads we race up with Jo whining in my ear to slow down!! Ignoring her we get up in record time, avoiding dogs all the way up as we fly past them!!

Here's a few pics....

We loved our stay in Banos, one of our favourites, and as it happened it was also our 6 year anniversary. So we decided to book one night in a snazzy hotel we had seen an advert for. 

Read next post for more details...

Montinita - Ecuador

We decided to continue our beach time by making our first stop in Ecuador, the renown beach town Montinita. We had heard amongst other travellers that there was a street called cocktail alley where all cocktails where only $2.00 each. Excited of the prospects of more good times with our friends on the cheap we left Mancora on an overnight bus. 

This consisted of a long boarder check stop from Peru to Ecuador. Mainly due to 200 people arriving and only one man working behind each station, typing your border stamp by hand and printing it on each persons passport. 

During our wait we encountered quite possibly the strangest person we have ever met. He happened to be queuing behind us so we had the pleasure of hearing his whole strange conversation with his Ecuadorian wife. He was an American called John and we actually noticed his first outburst before we arrived at the border check. The bus had come to a stop (this is pretty standard in South America so no one cared much). Then suddenly this loud American voice could be heard shouting down the passage way "Its a road block, the farmers are at it again! GOD DAM! Blocking roads and making women and children walk across the deserts for miles. If we get 10 men together me can move this GOD DAMM BLOCKAGE!!" 

Everyone looked around awkwardly, no one moved. John looked aggrieved "C'mon guys we can't let the farmers win, we have to stop them." At this point we heard the wheels come to life and the bus moved, continuing with our journey. Turns out we were just waiting in traffic. John soon returned to his seat without a sound. 

Half asleep at the border check que I noticed 'John' was in front of us. I heard him ask his wife if there was toilets at which point she said she didn't know. He started yelling "Are we a team? Are me and you not a team here?" More stares followed. He was then questioned about his immigration slip at the Peru side as he did not have it (everyone who enters the country is given this and it is stamped when you leave) John had obviously lost his but instead he began to shout at the officer saying he thought this was a conspiracy. His poor wife dragged him away embarrassed and joined the que for the Ecuadorian side. The whole time he was muttering and swearing. His wife then pointed to a fly on the wall and said "Look John it's a fly, you like flies" which to my surprise John replied back with "You know I don't care about flies, I only like Mosquitos!!!!!" Well, me and Michael and our friends were now beside ourselves. Soon after it was Johns turn and we heard he did not have the correct visas and would have to return in the morning. At this point it was all too much for John and he stormed out with his wife lagging behind him. We all thought this was a sign that she should maybe just part with John, life without John would probably be better for everyone.

Anyway, crazy John got on the bus and crossed the border anyway. Beware Ecuador he is out there somewhere!

We parted with John the illegal and took another bus to the seaside town. 

When we arrived we dumped our bags at the cheapest hostel we could find, well we thought it was cheap. It took us a while to think in dollars the curreny in Ecuador and not Peruvian sole. We headed to cocktail alley which was indeed $2.00 for any cocktail freshly made by ladies behind a que of pop up stalls surrounded by plastic tables and chairs. 

Montinita is very small, consisting of a handful of hostels, restaurants/bars and surf shops. Montanita is renown for its good waves and held a surf competition only a few months earlier. We had a great time, by the first day I got a hippy braid by a rasta man that looked like Jimmy Hendrix,I thought I was really cool and Michael thought it was funny. Most days were spent in cocktail alley and relaxing on the beach so nothing much to report on tours or expeditions. We just chilled and reminisced about crazy John. Here are some pics. 

Sign hovering over cocktails alley

Our cocktail shaker behind the stall

Cocktail alley for a few drinks

Cocktail Alley in the day - they make great sandwiches also!