Website blog working again...

I know...don't hold your breath - it might be offline again next time I try to update. But for now, to make life easier for you and me it's up and running. Please try to leave your comments directly on the website. I'm going to have a go now to make sure that it works.

We are now in Guayaquil (with a great internet connection hence the website fixing) just for the night after a beautiful bus trip from Cuenca through the Parque Nacional Cajas reaching almost 4000m in altitude. Guayaquil is on the Ecuadorian coast and is not really a tourist town but we're hoping for a good meal by the water tonight. Fingers crossed.

Tomorrow we catch the bus for our epic 24 hour journey to Lima. Think of us as you sink into your comfy beds for the night :)

S

Cuenca and the Montecristi

We thought we'd left ridiculously early mornings behind us when we left The Beagle and her 'sunrise breakfasts' in the Galapagos. However, in order to capitalise on the cheapest flights we had to catch a very early one to Cuenca on Wednesday morning. Cuenca was originally in our itinerary and was then dropped due to time constraints and added once again when our plans for travelling to Peru changed from air to overland. Cuenca was one city that I had always been really keen to see and so I was really pleased that we were able to squeeze in a flying visit on our way south. After a 5am start with hot coffee and filled bagels to take away, provided by the Magic Bean hostel, we made our way to the airport and on to the 7am TAME flight to Ecuador's most beautiful city.

During our stay in Ecuador so far we have felt somewhat cheated that due to low cloud we had yet to see the high peaks and volcanoes that the highlands of the country are so famous for. Simon even managed to get very close to the top of one without ever actually seeing it in all its glory. We were thrilled then that an early morning flight above the clouds afforded us a spectacular view of the high Andes. We witnessed the top of Ecuador's highest peak, Volcan Chimborazo; the beautiful beast that is Volcan Cotopaxi; the jagged cresent peaks of El Altar and the clouds of steam and ash billowing from the crater of 'Little Hell' or Volcan Tungurahua which can be seen in the picture above. The view certainly made up for the somewhat bumpy ride and landing that often goes hand in hand with small commuter plane travel.

And so to Cuenca, the colonial jewel of the south. In 1999 Unesco declared the centre of Cuenca a World Heritage Site and it does not take long to work out why. Beautiful architecture lines the cobbled streets and domed churches nestle comfortably amongst the red tiled roofs of whitewashed buildings. Upon leaving the airport it was instantly obvious that this city is different from any other we've visited so far. It feels less frantic and is 'cleaner' somehow. The parks are beautifully maintained and there is a feeling of greater wealth amongst its population. Although a relatively popular tourist destination we saw very few gringos roaming the city's streets. Obviously equipped to deal with the busy tourist months though, the city owns one open top bus which it uses to take passengers on a tour of the city and up the hill to a viewing point. Although the tour was entirely in Spanish, we did hop on board and made the most of seeing as much of the city as we could in the short time that we had.

Tour over we went in search of Cuenca's most famous export...the Montecristi hat. Globally known as a Panama hat, this woven sombrero de paja toquilla (toquilla straw hat) actually originates in Ecuador. It's 'Panama' name dates back to the 1800s when Spanish entrepreneurs began exporting them to Europe via Panama and workers on the Panama canal used them as protection from the fierce sun. Cuenca is home to the 'Panama' hat museum, several large export companies and many independent, traditional hatters. Keen to sample the local trade we briefly visited the museum and then made our way to the Casa del Sombrero Alberto Pulla. Alberto Pulla is a Cuencan in his 80s who learnt the hat trade from his father from the age of 6. He both refurbishes old hats and finishes new ones and we were thrilled to find him in his workshop. He showed us the hats that he is refurbishing and then took us upstairs to his shop so that Simon could find the perfect Montecristi for himself. He is a delightful man who, although unable to speak, conveys his intentions and delight perfectly when he fits Simon with his handiwork. After demonstrating how to roll the panama up to fit into a pocket or in our case a small wooded box for travel, he signs and dates the box to Simon mi amigo. What a special souvenir!

Quito old town and New Years Eve

Having returned from our trip to Cotopaxi National Park we have spent the last two days back in Quito, staying in The Magic Bean hostel and doing the sightseeing we missed out on when we first arrived. Yesterday we spent most of the day in the 'Old Town' which is very different from 'Gringolandia' where we are staying. The old part of Quito is beautiful. It's full of magnificent colonial architecture along with large plazas where people gather to sing, dance and generally people watch. We visited churches, museums and a wonderful cafe set high above Quito with incredible views over the city. We've also been really lucky with the weather over the past couple of days and have been enjoying almost unbroken sunshine, the first we've seen since we arrived in the country.

Today is New Years Eve which is a very big deal here in Quito. Preparations started very early this morning and many roads have been closed for the day. New Year celebrations begin a few days before the 31st here in Ecuador with processions, dancing and music. During our walk around the old part of town yesterday we bumped in to a procession on it's way to the Plaza de San Francisco. It was made up of bands, dancers, drummers, clowns, men on stilts and the obligatory men dressed as women (it seems to be a new year theme of sorts here!). Today the main street in our area of Quito is closed and effigies line the pavements alongside bands both traditional and modern and food stalls. The streets have been packed with whole families in fancy dress and an inordinate number of police and security guards. Having been warned of the dangers of Quito at night, we decided to take a look during daylight hours and stick to our hostel after dark. Hopefully we'll catch a glimpse of the effigies burning as they are set alight at midnight. These 'puppets' represent all sorts of well known people and characters and we've seen everything from Bart Simpson and the Ecuadorian football team to Fidel Castro! The celebration seems to be an opportunity to vent political frustrations and as a result George Bush becomes is a regular sight when strolling down Ave. Amazonas!

Early tomorrow morning we leave for an 8 day cruise around the islands of the Galapagos. This is a part of the trip that we have been especially looking forward to and having checked the weather forecast it looks as though we're in for a warm and sunny week. We will be based on a yacht called the Beagle and will sail between the islands finding out about their unique habitats and wildlife. We won't have internet access while we are there but plan to write blog updates offline and upload them when we get back to Quito. We're particularly looking forward to the photo opportunities - be sure to check out our photo galleries when we get back.

Today was also a day of administration. Due to the ridiculous price of flying between Ecuador and Peru we've decided to change our plans a little (check out the itnerary on my website for more details) and travel overland to Lima by bus - should be an interesting 24 hours!

I hope you all have a wonderful new year's eve and wish you all a very happy 2008. I'm just off now to buy Simon a dress...while in Rome!

Cotopaxi...the refuge and the mountain

After a relatively luxurious stay at The Black Sheep Inn, we got a lift to our next port of call - Hostal Valhalla (just outside Cotopaxi National Park). We arrived late in the afternoon and the place was shrouded in cloud, cold and damp. It wasn't the best introduction in the world and was not bettered when the manager was not aware of our booking. After some firm gesticulating (on Simon's behalf) and a few serious phone calls (on his behalf) he finally relented and agreed that we had indeed booked and paid!

Hostal Valhalla is owned by the agency that we had booked for our attempt to climb Cotopaxi (Agency Moggley) and is more functional than beautiful. In fact, it is a large, bright orange/pink concrete block in the middle of the countryside and certainly won't be winning any design awards. Also staying there were a group of English guys who were to be our climbing partners. We only stayed at the hostel for one night and were met by our mountain guides the following lunchtime. They'd returned from climbing Cotopaxi with another group of travellers who were all looking distinctly worse for wear (only 2 of their group of 8 reached the summit) and were turning around and heading straight back there with us! After handing out our kit (ice axes, crampons, glacial goggles, plastic boots etc) we piled into a transit van for the very bumpy hour or so to the final dropping off point for Volcan Cotopaxi. The 'parking lot' is an area of volcanic soil at 4500m in altitude. We then had to drag ourselves and our packs up a further 300m in altitude (on a 45 degree slope) also on volcanic soil...two steps forward and one backwards the whole way. By this time I was really feeling the altitude (as you can probably tell by the grimace on my face in the photo above). My head was pounding and the nausea was beginning to set in. I really had to give myself a good talking to in order to make it to the 'refugio' at 4800m. I did eventually get there but had (during my good talking to) already decided that there was no way that I was going to be able to attempt the climb. I was struggling with the altitude and wasn't really in the right frame of mind. I was also conscious that I didn't want to be the reason that anyone else in my group had to turn around, therefore denying them the opportunity to summit. With that decision made, I concentrated on keeping myself hydrated and warm.

Simon, who had very patiently stayed with me on the climb up to the refuge, was feeling fine. He did not appear to be suffering at all from the altitude and was really looking forward to the experience. Late that afternoon, he went out on to the glacier with the other (by now only two) climbers in our group and the guides. He was shown how to effectively use his ice axe and crampons and climbed a little higher to aid his acclimatisation. After an early and basic dinner we headed up to our bunks on the top floor of the refuge (which sleeps over 70!) and were tucked into our sleeping bags (and in my case all of my clothes too) by 7.15pm - a record even for us!

At 12 midnight Simon and the other climbers got out of bed and readied themselves for the task ahead. After a snack and kit check they hit the mountain. I remember saying goodbye, telling him not to be too macho and to come back if things looked too dangerous. I also remember hearing the wind...it really was blowing a gale out there. For details on the climb itself check out Simon's blog where I'm sure he'll relay the cold hard facts. He arrived back at the refuge at about 7am the following morning looking like a broken man. I don't think I've ever seen him so close to tears as he was that morning. Exhausted both physically and mentally and no doubt by then suffering the ill effects of altitude himself, he really was at rock bottom. Coming down in altitude, rehydrating and forcing himself to eat, slowly enabled recovery and by the time we arrived back at The Magic Bean in Quito in the early afternoon he was getting back to his usual positive self. He has said that climbing Cotopaxi was the most challenging task he has ever undertaken but if I know Simon, by the time he updates his blog, it will also be one of the most rewarding!

Christmas at the Black Sheep Inn

Christmas away from home is always difficult for me. Growing up, Christmas was something that we looked forward to for months and Mum and Dad managed to make it last not just one but several days. I am still such a big kid when it comes to the day itself and really enjoy the process of buying and giving gifts (I'm quite partial to receiving them too!) so this year was always going to be hard. We are not only miles away from home but quite literally in the middle of nowhere here at the Black Sheep Inn. While that is its great appeal we found that it didn't feel at all like Christmas here. We had decided to have a relaxing day as we'd done a couple of long hikes on the days before but with hindsight we probably should have planned an activity as a relaxing day can make for a long one when you're not really where you want to be. Don't get me wrong, we're having a lovely time but I really felt the distance yesterday and I think it dawned on me that we 're going to be away for a really long time.

It was not all doom and gloom though. Simon surprised me with a lovely gift (a gift token for Mallory jewellers to be used on our return) and we had a wonderful dinner with the other guests here on Christmas evening. The dinner was also topped off by a big sing song lead by a very musical family who were staying here. The day certainly ended better than it began!

We decided, after much deliberation, to travel with our laptop and it has really proved it's worth over the past couple of days with both Simon and I being able to call home via Skype to wish our families a happy Christmas. It was wonderful to be able to talk to them all (despite the delay on the satellite line) and it really made our day. I must say that the 'internet cafe' here really beats any I've ever been to before. We sat in the treehouse overlooking the hills and clouds below us to make our calls and check our email. This really is testament to the speed with which technology is making advances...that we can sit in a treehouse in the high Andes of Ecuador and call the UK via a wireless satellite connection! We were even able to lend out our laptop so that another couple here could call home and surprise their families which was lovely.

Today is 'Boxing Day' (although no such thing exists outside the UK) and we decided to go for a long walk to keep ourselves busy and get in some more acclimatisation for our Cotopaxi climb. We walked in a big loop from the Inn, passing through a small village, following the river past an unusual sand bar and gorge to a suspension bridge (which tested my nerve - see Simon's photos) and finally visiting an Italian mission and word work studio. The walk was again breathtakingly beautiful but we were caught out by a huge downpour on the steep ascent out of the valley. The walk was about four and a half hours long in total, with the first hour and a half being all downhill and the last two and a half hours being all uphill! We were both thoroughly exhausted and absolutely drenched by the time we made it back to the lodge at the Black Sheep. A hot shower, some food and a couple of cups of tea later, I feel revived.

We leave the Black Sheep Inn tomorrow morning to make our way to Cotopaxi National Park in preparation for our attempt at the summit of Volcan Cotopaxi on Saturday morning. We are hopefully going to share a lift in a truck to Latacunga and then make our way by bus to Hostal Valhalla tomorrow (that would surely beat the 4am bus out of Chugchilan, which is our only other option). We will sleep at Hostal Valhalla tomorrow (Thursday) night and then meet our climbing group on Friday morning. We then travel together to the edge of Cotopaxi, walking the last 45 minutes to the refuge which is at 4800m in altitude. Friday afternoon is spent doing some basic training in the use of crampons and ice axes on the edge of the glacier followed by some food and a very short nights rest in the bunkroom. We leave the refuge at 12 midnight and climb through the early hours of Saturday morning, hopefully making the summit 6 - 8 hours later! I'll let you know in a few days whether our attempt at the summit was a success (many people fail to reach the top due to altitude and exhaustion - we've been told it's a case of mental strength...not sure where I stand on that one!). Wish us luck.

S

Hiking to Laguna de Quilotoa

After a bone shaking four hour bus journey we've arrived safe and sound at the Black Sheep Inn. It's absolutely beautiful here and we are enjoying the relative luxury of the hotel. We arrived to a very warm welcome from the owners and staff and have been enjoying good food and good company ever since. The hotel is set in the middle of nowhere (quite literally) and it feels amazing to sit looking out of the window into the clouds while uploading my blog via wireless internet!!! Our room is really pretty with a wood burning stove which kept us warm during the cold night. We woke this morning to a pancake breakfast and then set off in a large group of 12 to hike around the Laguna de Quilotoa. We rode in the back of a pick-up truck to get up to the lake which was a bumpy but fun hour and a half long! When we got there it felt as though we were on top of the world. The temperature had dropped considerably and we felt very lucky that although it wasn't sunny, there was not rain and little cloud. We were therefore able to enjoy what was a spectacular view of the lake. The hike back to the hotel took us four hours and was at times quite gruelling. The altitude makes what would normally be fairly easy, a bit of a struggle. However some of the climbing that we did would have been challenging at any altitude. It's good acclimatisation for our attempt to summit Cotopaxi in a weeks time though.

We were fairly exhausted when we arrived back at the hotel but had that wonderful post-exercise feeling that we'd really earned our dinner this evening. After a hot shower and a cup of tea, I'm sitting in the lodge of the Black Sheep Inn which really feels like a home away from home.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the cloud forest and hunt for orchids. We've decided to take a truck up to the forest and hike back down - giving ouselves a bit of a break after today's adventure. In the meantime I'm looking forward to a hearty meal served around a big table and getting to know some more people who've just arrived.

Signing off...exhausted but happy.
S

Farewell Latacunga

This view from our hostel window is perhaps a little misleading as far as demonstrating Latacunga to those of you back home. I will admit that in order to take it, I had to stretch out of our 5th floor window and zoom in to exclude the other more common, and less picturesque buildings, in view. Latacunga sits at the base of Cotopaxi and has in fact been destroyed by her eruptions, and subsequently rebuilt, three times over the course of time. The history of the town is therefore not all that old and the buildings that do stand represent a real mix in architectural style an age. Latacunga itself does not feature heavily on the tourist/backpacker trail other than as a gateway to Cotopaxi National Park and the starting point for the treks that are frequently undertaken in the area. Arriving by bus from Banos along the Pan-American Highway, Latacunga appears split both by the highway itself and the Rio Cutuchi river. It is a busy market town that clearly thrives on local trade out of the several bustling markets (see Simon's pictures for a taste of the market in full swing) quite unlike the relaxed and rather touristy Banos.

This time my Spanish had paid off and again we had successfully reserved the correct hostel for the correct number of nights.! The hostel is exactly as described by the Lonely Planet in that it is cheap, clean and the owners are friendly. Predictably though it lacks any sort of character which is a shame after our stay at the very pretty hostel in Banos. What the Lonely Planet failed to point out is the fact that the hostel is in an extremely noisy location and we were kept awake long into the night by car horns, shouting and one very irritating barking dog which even our earplugs failed to quieten.

Luckily we'd picked up a leaflet in Quito about a recently opened backpackers hostel and cafe in Latacunga which we hot-footed our way to immediately after check in. We've spent quite a bit of time there since and it has provided a welcome haven from the hustle and bustle of this town, along with good coffee, delicious cookies and a helpful owner.

I'm sure that this post will differ wildly from Simon's...we really are in the same place, I promise! This is the kind of town that makes me feel a little homesick...not much to do or see and a feeling of treading water until we move on to our next destination.

Latacunga has been interesting but is not somewhere I'd hurry back to. On the plus side...we're off to the Black Sheep Inn tomorrow, where our room has a wood burning stove; there are no roads; we'll eat great vegetarian food (I certainly need that after today's market experience) family style with the other hostel residents; we can take beautiful walks and we can enjoy Christmas. Apparently they do have internet so hopefully we'll be able to write all about it. Stay in touch, I love reading the blog comments and receiving emails.

Sarah x

Website blog back up and running

Just a quick note to say that the website blog is now back up and running so you can access the blog and post comments directly to the site by going to: www.mybigwideworld.com
We are now in Latacunga (just on the edge of Cotopaxi National Park) and we're moving on to The Black Sheep Inn tomorrow. We're not sure if we will get internet access there or not (we're thinking it's quite unlikely) so if not...we hope you all have a very Happy Christmas!
Sarah

Video as promised

Hope you enjoy the video, it should give you a feel for our canyoning experience. My abseiling skills are far from honed as you can see but I had a fantastic time nonetheless. Our guide (ever so slightly crazy in my opinion) thought he'd test his own skills by undertaking a couple of front-facing descents that were even scary to watch!

I'd wondered all afternoon why we were all wearing slightly strange looking PVC 'nappies', but found that they were put to very good use as we slid down the final two smaller waterfalls in to deep pools of water...lots of fun.

We´re off to Latacunga today and so we embark on another bus journey and a change of location. I've really enjoyed Baños but in the true spirit of travel, I'm ready for another new experience.

S

Canyoning in Baños

Today Simon and I went canyoning just outside Baños. Until this week I had no idea what canyoning actually was but it seems that I'm being inducted into the world of adventurous water sports at quite a rate on this trip. Having abseiled only once before and being a little nervous of heights, canyoning ticked all the right boxes to have me scared out of my wits and at times it did just that. I must admit that I wasn't too keen on changing into my wetsuit at the tour company office in the middle of town but as the pickup truck dropped us at the end of a dirt track and we realised that we had a bit of a climb on our hands I'm glad that I didn't have to carry all of my things. My poor legs are still suffering from yesterday's hike so the 15 minute scramble to the top of the waterfall wearing my wetsuit, plastic jacket, harness and helmet was more than a little uncomfortable! The descent consisted of abseiling down 5 waterfalls, starting with the shortest and finishing on a 40 metre whopper!

Despite the nerves and the destruction of our 'white collar' hands (Simon spent a while suggesting that the guide offer gloves to the next group...such a delicate little flower that he his!) we had a brilliant time and felt as though we were in very capable hands. Our confidence grew as we gained a bit of experience and just as we thought we'd really got the hand of it, our guide showed us how it should be done!

I'll post a video of the experience tomorrow.

Bye S

Trekking in Baños

After a disappointing start to the day when we were told that we could not trek up to view the volcano due to a big eruption during the night, Simon and I went to the tourist information office to check how long the hiking routes would be closed for. The woman there told us that we'd been misinformed and that the routes were in fact open. She told us that the volcano regularly erupts to the degree that it did last night and that we should not be unduly worried about it. We took her advice and set out walking at lunchtime. We decided (well Simon did actually as I'd wanted to go the slightly easier route!) to walk up the steep steps to the Virgen de Agua Santa (a monument positioned half way up the mountain on the slopes of Volcan Tunguruhua). We really felt the altitude as we ascended very slowly up the near 45 degree slope! The locals on the route whistled past us having barely broken sweat in the heat of the early afternoon. Our slow pace paid off and we made it in one piece to the top where the view of Baños town and the surrounding countryside was beautiful. Sadly no volcano to be seen as the top of the mountain was again shrowded in cloud as it has been since we arrived.



The weather lower down the slopes was beautiful though and we continued to walk high above Baños around the mountain to another viewing point. The diversity of the plants and wildlife here is breathtaking. Flowers of vivid reds, pinks and oranges are visited constantly by enormous numbers of butterfly. They seemed totally unperturbed by our existence and danced around us for most of our walk.

We got back to our hostel in mid-afternoon and both felt as though we'd had a good workout (good preparation for the longer treks to come). After putting our clothes on to wash in the hostel's washing machine we headed out for a hard earned iced coffee...this is the life!

S

Baños

We arrived in Baños on Sunday after a 4 hour bus journey from Quito. Again the bus was on time and the journey uneventful. All bus journeys here seem to take on the feel of a mobile market as street sellers jump on board at every stop (or even when the bus driver merely slows at the lights) hawking thier wares. We were offered all sorts from the predicatbale fruit, sweets and crisps to CDs and so on. Our 'direct' bus to Baños turned out to be a little less direct than expected and the Baños Express (as they laughingly called themselves) not very quick at all but we've already come to expect that in the short time we've been here. Baños is a relaxed place with lots of travellers both American, European and Ecuadorian - here to swim in the hot baths and try one of the various outdoor pursuits that are readily on offer. I guess it's the equivalent (relatively speaking) of Bath at home with its hot springs and it literally translates as such too.

Our attempts to book our hostel ahead of time over the phone from Quito paid dividends when we turned up at 'Le Petit Auberge' to find that they were indeed expecting us! Our limited Spanish enables us to reel off sentences and requests fairly easily but we often find ourselves at a complete loss when the well meaning local in turn reels off their very rapid response - to which we normally nod and utter 'Si, Si'. The hostel is quite rustic and very pretty. It has beautiful garden and the room comes with a fireplace which we intend to crank up tonight as it does get pretty chilly in the evenings here.

We spent our first afternoon exploring the town which is quite small and easy to get around. There are an enourmous number of internet cafes and tour companies lining the streets amongst the bars, restuarants and many hostels and hotels. We can't get WiFi here so we're having to use the internet cafes to blog and check our email which is working out ok despite the exceptionally slow internet connections that seem to be the norm here.

We had already decided that we wanted to do some of the activities on offer in the town and having heard some horror stories about the reliability and safety of some companies offering such activities we decided to stick with the Lonely Planet's recommendation and booked up to go white water rafting with a company called GeoTours. Their reputation was well deserved and we had a brilliant day. Having never rafted before I must admit that I was a bit nervous beforehand and terrified at some points on the water. We did a grade 4 river which is the most challenging I can ever imagine wanting to do! Our leader was fantastic and really knew his stuff. We had a short briefing before we got on to the river and then, dressed in some very flattering neoprene (no pictures of this you'll be relieved to hear), we hopped on board the raft and took to the water. Simon was sat at the front of the raft (as was I until I decided just before setting off that I'd rather sit in the middle...I'm such a chicken!) and coped admirably with the huge white water that we battled through. I found it difficult enough to remember my right from my left as the instructor shouted commands from the back of the raft. I made it to the end (without falling out - although there were some close calls!) though and am very glad I tried it.

Yesterday evening we bumped in to (and had dinner with) a guy who'd been on our flight from Houston to Quito/Guayaquil, and his girlfriend. Simon had met him while waiting for some free food at our unexpected overnight airport stay. They (randomly enough) are staying in the same hostel as us, in the room next door (it's a small world!).

Today we were supposed to be trekking up the mountain to the volcano viewing points. Baños is located at the base of Volcan Tunguruhua which is an active volcano. The last big eruption was in 1999 with smaller eruptions in 2005/6. Apparently it is has been fairly active recently (which was apparent to us as we approached Baños by bus...we could see the top of the volcano spewing ash into the sky which was pretty spectacular) and it's possible to walk or take guided trips to see the volcano both at day and at night. We were planning to head off this morning for our trek but were told that the volcano had erupted last night and that all the trekking routes and roads are now closed. Apparently it sounded like a jet taking off and considering the distinct lack of airport in Baños it must have been quite scary (Simon and I didn't even stir from sleep...typical!). So we now have some time on our hands today and I thought I'd make good use of it by posting my blog and trying to upload a few pictures of the hostel where we're staying.

Tomorrow we are going canyoning which is basically (as far as I can work out) abseiling down waterfalls. Apparently we begin by practising on waterfalls of about 4-6 metres in height and as we gain experience and confidence the height of the waterfalls increases. Finally we are supposed to tackle a couple of waterfalls of between 40 and 60 metres in height...we'll see! We're able to take our camera tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have some hilarious photos to upload over the next couple of days.

We think we might rent a quad bike this afternoon and drive out of town on the scenic waterfall route. This might be the only opportunity to see the falls from the comfort of dry land!

Check in again soon

S

Otavalo Market

On Saturday morning we were up early as we had a bus to catch to Otavalo Market which has a reputation as the biggest and best in South America. You know me...if there’s an opportunity to do some shopping I’m there (however early I have to get out of bed!). Actually getting up was extremely easy as the jet lag ensured that we were both wide awake and ready to go by about 5am! We managed to snooze for a little longer and after a very temperamental shower we indulged in our Magic Bean complimentary breakfast. A couple of pancakes and some yoghurt and granola later we headed to the bus station.

It turns out that bus travel here is fairly cheap and really easy to negotiate. You pay about a dollar for each hour of the journey. Having said that, the driving leaves a little to be desired. Again Simon’s hand bore the scars of my intense gripping as we hurtled at break neck speed up and down winding mountain roads (Dad you would have loved it!!!). Two and a half hours later we arrived at Otavalo and made our way to the ‘Plaza de Ponchos’ which is home to hundreds upon hundreds of brightly coloured stalls selling (yes you guessed it...) ponchos, along with hats, clothes, embroidered goods, arts, crafts, hammocks, jewellery, toys, and more interestingly fresh foods and spices. It was indeed Gringo heaven as the hoards of American exchange students bartered for their must have ethnic jewellery and the items of clothing which they are sure never to wear again! We managed to contain ourselves and bought very little (I know that may seem hard to believe) as we were very aware that this was only day 2 of our trip. We bought a couple of presents (Becky G your christmas present will be winging it’s way to you from Ecuador - not sure how long it will take though) and a little painting. The bus journey back was almost as torturous but Simon kept his hands well away from me and noone suffered any injury.

The altitude is affecting our appetites somewhat and on Friday night we didn’t eat dinner. On Saturday we couldn’t eat lunch but by late afternoon they had restored themselves somewhat and we ate at a Steak House just down the road from our hostel. Without wanting to sound dramatic or caught up in the moment, it was probably the best steak I’ve ever eaten...cooked to perfection and delicious. We treated ourselves to dessert and coffee back at our hostel where a band were playing. Either old age or jet lag (I’m hoping the latter!) forced us to retire very early again and we were both tucked up in bed by 8.30pm!

As I write this it is before 6am on Sunday morning and I’ve been awake since about 3 (dozing on and off since!). We leave for Baños this morning which is a three and a half hour bus journey. We attempted last night to book our hotel in Spanish...not sure if it’s reserved or not. I guess we’ll find out how successful we were when we arrive.

Fingers crossed.

Sarah

An eventful 36 hours!

We are finally in Quito, Ecuador. The good news is that we made it in one piece and our bags WERE successfully reunited with us when we arrived at Quito airport (my experience in China has made me very nervous about parting with my bags especially with a fairly tight connection to make). The other side of the story is that we made it to Quito a day later than we were supposed to. Most of you know that I am a nervous flyer to say the least (ask Simon about a now infamous flight on a smallish plane back from Scotland if you need verification of the level of my nerves and what I put him, and the other poor passengers close enough to hear me, through!) and I am happy to report that the first leg of our journey (Gatwick to Houston, Texas) was pleasantly uneventful. We took off and landed on time and the flight was blissfully smooth if punctuated by some interestingly laid back Continental Airlines staff! Arriving in Houston ten and a half hours later afforded us welcome relief as we had an hour and a half to get off the plane, stretch our legs and eat some relatively edible food.

It was all going too smoothly and we were obviously being far too smug about the whole affair. We again boarded our connecting flight to Quito on time if a little anxious that we would be sitting next the (relentlessly) screaming child. The flight gods blessed us again and we were in fact at the opposite end of the plane, again a self satisfied smile must have crossed my face as we were repaid in abundance by the events that followed! The five hour flight is notoriously (I have subsequently discovered) bumpy and a little unreliable (in fact I was told today that 80% of flights in the last two months have suffered a similar fate to ours...shame we didn't know that before we booked it!). As I sighed a (barely audible) sigh of relief that the pilot had again (in my humble opinion) accomplished the impossible and made it to cruising altitude without any drama and the flight attendant was telling us that food would shortly be served, the flight gods decided that our run of luck was coming to an end. As the plane appeared to plummet by about a kilometre (I know, I know...Simon also tells me it's much less but I'm going on 'feel' here!) my barely audible sigh turned itself into a very sharp (and very audible) intake of breath as my nails plunged into poor Simon's hand. The flight attendant, also obviously a bit shaken, tried to turn of the microphone pretty pronto as machines started beeping all over the show. When the plane recovered its position (tenths of a second later I'm sure) the other passengers again struck up their conversations but there was a distinctly nervous edge to their chatter.

We then went through considerable turbulence until we were about half an hour away from Quito, at which point we were informed that bad weather conditions and in particular very low visibility due to fog was putting our landing at Quito airport into question. If you are unfamiliar with Quito, it is situated in bowl surrounded on all sides by mountains. Luckily for us we had a very informed fellow sat behind us who proceeded to explain to the entire cabin (you know the type...talks very loud and knows it, laughs hysterically at his own jokes and clearly enjoys being the one who's been there and done that) that due to a recent accident on landing at Quito airport which apparently damaged the instrument landing system, the pilots are understandably a little anxious about landing there. He also helpfully educated us on the difficulties of landing at the airport in general and explained that pilots have to specially trained for the privilege...GREAT! As you can imagine this all added to the pleasure of my flying experience...

Anyway to cut what is becoming a long story just a little bit shorter, we were informed after half an hour in a VERY bumpy holding pattern outside Quito, that the airport had been closed and that we would be diverted to Guayaquil. And that is exactly what happened. We arrived, and by that time the original screaming baby had very understandably been joined by several other screaming babies (I did really feel for their poor parents but it was not fun nonetheless) which made for quite a noisy cabin full of tired and grumpy passengers. The cabin crew by this time were skulking in first class where they cleverly avoided the need to answer questions from the aforementioned customers. You would think that if this has in fact happened to 80% of flights in the last two months that someone would have implemented a system for such an event. Well you might think that...we thought that as did the many new friends we had made by this point. Guess who had all the answers? Oh yeah he certainly did! 'We'll be sleeping in the terminal' he informed us ('we have four hotels organised', one of the flight attendants finally offered); 'they won't let us have our baggage', he continued (PLEASE SHUT UP, I thought!). Rather unfortunately for all concerned, he was in fact fairly well versed in (almost inevitable) outcome of this diverstion. We did indeed sleep in airport terminal although sleep is probably not the best word to use for the way I spent those hours. And, we did not get our baggage! The airport was light, bright and noisy all night as you can probably imagine. As it is indeed the festive season the staff were kind enough to play 3 or 4 Christmas carols on a continuous loop for approximately 12 hours (only occasionally broken by the announcement of a flight (never ours) that was about to depart 'on time'!).

Back to the beginning then I guess. We did eventually make it to Quito late this morning. We have checked into our hostel which is called The Magic Bean and seems to be great. I"ll add a link to my links site when I get a minute. As you can imagine, no photos to show you of any interest today but I thought I'd include the one at the top so you can see how I spent my first night in South America.

I'm stopping now.

Sarah