SHARLA: Our last day in Quito, and in Ecuador, was a quiet, lazy day. It was Sunday, and we were staying downtown. Even though November 2nd is a big holiday here and this weekend is a celebration, too, downtown was very quiet. Most of the stores were closed, so we decided to go to Independence Park, and people-watch for a while. It's hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, right here in this very park, the police revolted against President Correa, and two of them died right here. You would never know it from the celebrations going on today.
We sat watching people from all walks of life stroll by, many more "gringos" than we've seen all month. The sun was bearing down on us, but as soon as a cloud swam under the sun, it cooled off drastically for a while. In the early afternoon, as is usually the case here, the clouds became thicker and darkened, and rain threatened. We were told by a local, Marcos, that we should go to the cemetery nearby, where there was more activity...bands playing and booths of food set up, where the indigenous folks buy the food for and sing to their dead relatives. We walked for several blocks, and asked directions from a police officer, but after a while, we gave up on trying to find it.
We decided to eat one last meal at Cafe del Fraille, and then head back to the hotel to pack and retire early. Our flight left at 6:30am the next morning, which meant we had to be at the airport at 4:30am, and be up by 3:00am. We did and, we made it home last night around 9:00pm.
There have been a lot of changes since our first trip to Ecuador in early 2009. It seems that the culture is much more Americanized....ball caps, where we had seen none before, Aeropostle and American Eagle clothing everywhere, not as much indigenous clothing worn by the locals...salt shakers on the tables, where before we were looked at as though we were crazy when we asked for salt for our food.
But, some things have not changed, NO ONE has change for a $10 bill, let alone a $20, even though the ATM only spits out twenties. And, I'm talking stores, and restaurants. Oh, except for the ATM in the airport next to the immigration tax booth where you have to pay $40.80 to leave Ecuador....that one spit out all fives! Why not have those all over Ecuador? And not just at the airport when you are leaving???
The people of Ecuador still seem somewhat suspicious of strangers, but we met some awesome Ecuadorians, who genuinely seemed glad we were there. The weather is great, and the scenery breathtaking.....those things haven't changed. I hope that the influx of retirees fleeing to Ecuador for a beautiful life doesn't change the true Ecuadorian spirit that is
Ecuador, because it is amazing and awesome just as it is.
Until next trip.....CIAO!!!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Last Days in Banos
SHARLA: After a wonderful night's rest in our new room at Posada del Arte, we got up and had their WONDERFUL juevos rancheros! Yummmmm....just as delicious as I remembered, and their staff was just back this morning from having two weeks off.
We were going to have a spa day, but we had one of those days I think everyone has that none of us could make a decision. So, instead we just sat under one of the umbrellas on the new patio between the original Posada del Arte and the new addition. They have really made the place look terrific and it looked great before!
After relaxing most of the day, we walked into town, and on the way, we noticed a FOR SALE sign on the side of large, old hotel. We were looking in the gate, and a gatekeeper came and let us in. He gave us a tour of the place. The rooms were huge, and the bathrooms were enormous. But, the place sort of gave me the creeps, and needs MUCH updating.
We made our way to Buon Giorno, no surprise there, and ate dinner. It wasn't as good as the other three times we ate there, and I was sort of glad, since now maybe I won't be craving it! We walked around town for a bit more, and ran into both of the rafting guides separately, and both invited us out to dance again. We declined this time. Travel day tomorrow (today).
This morning, we were awakened by the "wonderful" kids that were staying next door around 6:30am. Thank you very much! We kept trying to go back to sleep, and finally realized around 8:30am, they weren't going to be quiet, so we just got up and went back down for, you guessed it, juevos rancheros! We had a nice conversation with Jim, the owner, about purchasing property in Banos, and how it is to run a business there. We had talked to Marshia some last night about the same thing. Jim put us in touch with the contractor who built their addition, and he came to the hostel to talk to us. He took us to a hotel that is for sale that looked like crap on the outside, but was soooooo nice on the inside. And, then he took us to his property on the other side of the bridge. We didn't even know their WAS a bridge in Banos. It's still very close to town, but it feels like you are out of the city. Hey, it never hurts to look, right???
Camille has listened to us for two years about how much we love Banos, and our dreams of living here someday. She finally gets it! When we got on the bus to head for Quito, we all had tears in our eyes. It is such an amazing place....unlike any place I've ever been in my life.
Cotapaxi volcano gave us a nice treat on the way to Quito. We had a nice view of the snow-capped volcano for almost an hour! It was gorgeous!
Once we got to the bus terminal, we caught a taxi to Hotel San Francisco, got checked in, and headed to Cafe de Fraile. Seems like a lot of our time revolves around eating! When you find a good place, it's really hard to go somewhere else.
Back at the hotel, we are trying to get organized for our trip back to the U.S. on Monday...no small task!
Not sure what we have planned for tomorrow, but until then....HASTA LA VISTA, BABY!!!!
We were going to have a spa day, but we had one of those days I think everyone has that none of us could make a decision. So, instead we just sat under one of the umbrellas on the new patio between the original Posada del Arte and the new addition. They have really made the place look terrific and it looked great before!
After relaxing most of the day, we walked into town, and on the way, we noticed a FOR SALE sign on the side of large, old hotel. We were looking in the gate, and a gatekeeper came and let us in. He gave us a tour of the place. The rooms were huge, and the bathrooms were enormous. But, the place sort of gave me the creeps, and needs MUCH updating.
We made our way to Buon Giorno, no surprise there, and ate dinner. It wasn't as good as the other three times we ate there, and I was sort of glad, since now maybe I won't be craving it! We walked around town for a bit more, and ran into both of the rafting guides separately, and both invited us out to dance again. We declined this time. Travel day tomorrow (today).
This morning, we were awakened by the "wonderful" kids that were staying next door around 6:30am. Thank you very much! We kept trying to go back to sleep, and finally realized around 8:30am, they weren't going to be quiet, so we just got up and went back down for, you guessed it, juevos rancheros! We had a nice conversation with Jim, the owner, about purchasing property in Banos, and how it is to run a business there. We had talked to Marshia some last night about the same thing. Jim put us in touch with the contractor who built their addition, and he came to the hostel to talk to us. He took us to a hotel that is for sale that looked like crap on the outside, but was soooooo nice on the inside. And, then he took us to his property on the other side of the bridge. We didn't even know their WAS a bridge in Banos. It's still very close to town, but it feels like you are out of the city. Hey, it never hurts to look, right???
Camille has listened to us for two years about how much we love Banos, and our dreams of living here someday. She finally gets it! When we got on the bus to head for Quito, we all had tears in our eyes. It is such an amazing place....unlike any place I've ever been in my life.
Cotapaxi volcano gave us a nice treat on the way to Quito. We had a nice view of the snow-capped volcano for almost an hour! It was gorgeous!
Once we got to the bus terminal, we caught a taxi to Hotel San Francisco, got checked in, and headed to Cafe de Fraile. Seems like a lot of our time revolves around eating! When you find a good place, it's really hard to go somewhere else.
Back at the hotel, we are trying to get organized for our trip back to the U.S. on Monday...no small task!
Not sure what we have planned for tomorrow, but until then....HASTA LA VISTA, BABY!!!!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Our Ride to Puyo
SHARLA: Actually, the title should be our attempted ride to Puyo. We tried to get an earlier start this morning. Up at 7:30, dressed, packed all of our stuff and had La Petit Auberge store our bags for the day. Because, tonight....drum roll please....we get to check in to Posada del Arte, our FAVORITE hostel in Ecuador! If you want to check it out, go to . It was amazing last time we were here, and they have just added the Blue House, where we are staying our last two nights in Banos, and it is AWESOME!!! Okay, but more about that later....I got off track here.
We rented bikes from a different company today, because I didn't want to give one more penny to Wonderful Ecuador because of how they treated Marsha yesterday. The new place was the same price, $5/day per bike, and had better bikes. We made it about 15 minutes out of town, and Camille said she didn't want to go. She was sore and tired from yesterday, and didn't realize it until we started going up some hills. I tried to convince her to go with us, but she turned around anyway. But, as I caught up to Marsha, I realized she was behind us again. But, only for about five more minutes. We were riding up a pretty long hill and stopped in a shady spot to wait for Camille to catch up. We waited, and waited, and waited. For almost 20 minutes. I walked back down the hill a ways, and still didn't see her coming. It dawned on me that she must have turned back after all. The mother in me wanted to get back on my bike, and go find her and stay with her in Banos. But, the other part of me was mad because she hadn't said anything, and I was worried. Plus, she knew that this was the part of the trip that Marsha and I have been so excited about.
The rebellious side of me won out over the mom part, and I decided to go on with the ride. Besides, she is almost 21, and she tells me every day to quit worrying about her....so, that's just what I did. The wind was even worse today than yesterday. It was extremely hard to ride uphill against it, and there was no coasting downhill. We met a girl named Karen from Ireland about halfway between Banos and Rio Verde. She was probably in her early twenties, and she said her friend was sick, and she was biking alone today. We invited her to ride along with us to Rio Verde, and told her about the walk to the Pailon del Diablo waterfall. She wanted to stop there and go look at it even though she was going to try to go to Puyo, too.
About the time we met Karen, Marsha's front brake started locking up. What is it with her luck and bikes this trip? She said that it was like riding with her brake on the whole time. Oh boy...how much fun is that? At Rio Verde, we relaxed a bit, and had some more water to drink. We also a yummy, juicy, sweet orange. We left Karen to walk to the waterfall, and continued our way to Puyo.
We had asked several people what the road is like from Rio Verde to Puyo, and they all said about the same as from Banos to Rio Verde. Some uphills, but mostly downhills. Well, it turns out that it is quite obvious that NONE of these people have EVER ridden a bicycle on this road. Because, I would say 75% of the road is UPHILL. And, there aren't short uphills and short downhills. There are KILOMETERS of uphills, and there were a few long downhills, but definitely more challenging uphills. Even Marsha, who never admits that she's tired or it's hard, said it was the most difficult bike ride she's ever done.
We stopped a lot to look at the gorgeous scenery, or maybe that was just an excuse to rest. The further we got from Banos, the more "jungle-like" the terrain became. More palm trees, and even more lush if you can imagine. We stopped for a drink at the restaurant in Rio Negro where we ate after rafting the other day. The lady there said it was only about 20 kilometers to Puyo from there. We were so excited because we had made it there from Rio Verde in only an hour and fifteen minutes. Turns out she was wrong! And, there are no signs along the way that tell you how far it is either.
We had ridden quite a ways outside of Rio Negro, and had stopped on a bridge to look at a beautiful waterfall, when Karen caught up to us. She decided to continue to ride with us, even though by this time we were stopping and/or walking quite a bit. She had forgotten her sunscreen, and the sun was beating down on us now. She was really burned. We gave her some of our sunscreen, which may have saved her from frying, even though shortly after that, it started to get cloudy.
From this point, the scenery got prettier, but the uphills got longer and steeper. At some points, we were stopping every 20 to 30 yards. It was brutal! We felt like we had ridden forever, when we asked a lady working on the side of the road how far Mera was, which is 16 kilometers from Puyo. She said 7 more kilometers! Which really makes the lady in Rio Negro wrong since we still had 23 kilometers to go, and we had been riding forever since we left her restaurant!
The road is very curvy and windy, and Marsha kept saying just around the next bend, there's going to be a downhill. NOPE! Okay, around the next curve. NOPE! We just kept trudging along, because there was absolutely nothing else we could do. No bus or chiva would have been able to stop and pick us up because the road was only wide enough for two lanes, and it would have been too dangerous for anyone to stop. Too many curves. At one point, somewhere on one of these long uphills when we were actually trying to RIDE our bicycles, Marsha's chain came off. Oy vay! Poor thing. As she was putting it back on beside the road in some tall grass, she noticed that she had about 50 fly bites on one leg. Boy, are those suckers quick!
Back on the road again, Karen said she was probably going to head back for Banos from Mera....if we ever got there! That was the longest 7 kilometers EVER! In the back of my mind, I wanted to say for sure I was done in Mera to, but I wanted to go as far as Marsha wanted to go. After all, this has been our dream since the last time we were in Ecuador. FINALLY, we made it to Mera. There was a big sign over the road, and Karen hugged the pole, and Marsha kissed the road. I wanted to kiss the road, but I was afraid if I bent down that far, I would never get up again!
We rode into town, and bought some water. Right outside the store, the police were stopping drivers in both directions checking licenses which is a very common practice here. We decided this might be a good place to catch a bus or chiva back to Banos. (YAY! Marsha was ready to go back!) Finally, we spotted an empty chiva, and tried to flag it down, but they just passed us by. But, then I looked down the road, and I saw break lights come on! HALLELUJAH! I started literally running down the road to catch them. A lady jumped out of the passenger side, and she said yes, they were going to Banos. She consulted with her husband, and they decided on $1.50 per person. CHEAP! I was ready to pay $20....haha.
On the way to Banos, standing in the back of their truck, it began to rain. But, we didn't care, we weren't on those dang bikes anymore! What took us one hour to return to Banos in the truck, had taken us SIX hours on bicycle/foot. What a relief when we returned the bikes!
We returned to La Petit Auberge to retrieve our backpacks and other luggage, and Camille just happened to be there. She had spent her day people watching mostly, going from one park to the other and listening to her iPod. In the end, I think she made an extremely wise decision by not going with us....she would have been miserable. It was a really tough ride. Sorry, Puyo, we really gave it the 'ol college try!
We got checked into Posada del Arte, and boy, is this room nice! I actually have a really grown-up mattress! Our room as two nice double beds and a twin bed. Everything is sparkly and new, and smells good! We would have stayed here all week, but the owners are from the U.S., and took vacation for the month of October to let their staff have some time off, too. Marscia, who owns the hostel with her husband Jim, just returned to Banos two hours before we arrived to check in. Perfect timing!
We walked up to the thermal baths, and soaked our weary bones for about an hour and a half, and are now enjoying our wonderful room. We plan on sleeping in tomorrow morning, and then getting up to one of the great breakfast plates they offer here, especially their Juevos Rancheros! Yummy! Spa day tomorrow for our last day. YAY! Hasta manana!
We rented bikes from a different company today, because I didn't want to give one more penny to Wonderful Ecuador because of how they treated Marsha yesterday. The new place was the same price, $5/day per bike, and had better bikes. We made it about 15 minutes out of town, and Camille said she didn't want to go. She was sore and tired from yesterday, and didn't realize it until we started going up some hills. I tried to convince her to go with us, but she turned around anyway. But, as I caught up to Marsha, I realized she was behind us again. But, only for about five more minutes. We were riding up a pretty long hill and stopped in a shady spot to wait for Camille to catch up. We waited, and waited, and waited. For almost 20 minutes. I walked back down the hill a ways, and still didn't see her coming. It dawned on me that she must have turned back after all. The mother in me wanted to get back on my bike, and go find her and stay with her in Banos. But, the other part of me was mad because she hadn't said anything, and I was worried. Plus, she knew that this was the part of the trip that Marsha and I have been so excited about.
The rebellious side of me won out over the mom part, and I decided to go on with the ride. Besides, she is almost 21, and she tells me every day to quit worrying about her....so, that's just what I did. The wind was even worse today than yesterday. It was extremely hard to ride uphill against it, and there was no coasting downhill. We met a girl named Karen from Ireland about halfway between Banos and Rio Verde. She was probably in her early twenties, and she said her friend was sick, and she was biking alone today. We invited her to ride along with us to Rio Verde, and told her about the walk to the Pailon del Diablo waterfall. She wanted to stop there and go look at it even though she was going to try to go to Puyo, too.
About the time we met Karen, Marsha's front brake started locking up. What is it with her luck and bikes this trip? She said that it was like riding with her brake on the whole time. Oh boy...how much fun is that? At Rio Verde, we relaxed a bit, and had some more water to drink. We also a yummy, juicy, sweet orange. We left Karen to walk to the waterfall, and continued our way to Puyo.
We had asked several people what the road is like from Rio Verde to Puyo, and they all said about the same as from Banos to Rio Verde. Some uphills, but mostly downhills. Well, it turns out that it is quite obvious that NONE of these people have EVER ridden a bicycle on this road. Because, I would say 75% of the road is UPHILL. And, there aren't short uphills and short downhills. There are KILOMETERS of uphills, and there were a few long downhills, but definitely more challenging uphills. Even Marsha, who never admits that she's tired or it's hard, said it was the most difficult bike ride she's ever done.
We stopped a lot to look at the gorgeous scenery, or maybe that was just an excuse to rest. The further we got from Banos, the more "jungle-like" the terrain became. More palm trees, and even more lush if you can imagine. We stopped for a drink at the restaurant in Rio Negro where we ate after rafting the other day. The lady there said it was only about 20 kilometers to Puyo from there. We were so excited because we had made it there from Rio Verde in only an hour and fifteen minutes. Turns out she was wrong! And, there are no signs along the way that tell you how far it is either.
We had ridden quite a ways outside of Rio Negro, and had stopped on a bridge to look at a beautiful waterfall, when Karen caught up to us. She decided to continue to ride with us, even though by this time we were stopping and/or walking quite a bit. She had forgotten her sunscreen, and the sun was beating down on us now. She was really burned. We gave her some of our sunscreen, which may have saved her from frying, even though shortly after that, it started to get cloudy.
From this point, the scenery got prettier, but the uphills got longer and steeper. At some points, we were stopping every 20 to 30 yards. It was brutal! We felt like we had ridden forever, when we asked a lady working on the side of the road how far Mera was, which is 16 kilometers from Puyo. She said 7 more kilometers! Which really makes the lady in Rio Negro wrong since we still had 23 kilometers to go, and we had been riding forever since we left her restaurant!
The road is very curvy and windy, and Marsha kept saying just around the next bend, there's going to be a downhill. NOPE! Okay, around the next curve. NOPE! We just kept trudging along, because there was absolutely nothing else we could do. No bus or chiva would have been able to stop and pick us up because the road was only wide enough for two lanes, and it would have been too dangerous for anyone to stop. Too many curves. At one point, somewhere on one of these long uphills when we were actually trying to RIDE our bicycles, Marsha's chain came off. Oy vay! Poor thing. As she was putting it back on beside the road in some tall grass, she noticed that she had about 50 fly bites on one leg. Boy, are those suckers quick!
Back on the road again, Karen said she was probably going to head back for Banos from Mera....if we ever got there! That was the longest 7 kilometers EVER! In the back of my mind, I wanted to say for sure I was done in Mera to, but I wanted to go as far as Marsha wanted to go. After all, this has been our dream since the last time we were in Ecuador. FINALLY, we made it to Mera. There was a big sign over the road, and Karen hugged the pole, and Marsha kissed the road. I wanted to kiss the road, but I was afraid if I bent down that far, I would never get up again!
We rode into town, and bought some water. Right outside the store, the police were stopping drivers in both directions checking licenses which is a very common practice here. We decided this might be a good place to catch a bus or chiva back to Banos. (YAY! Marsha was ready to go back!) Finally, we spotted an empty chiva, and tried to flag it down, but they just passed us by. But, then I looked down the road, and I saw break lights come on! HALLELUJAH! I started literally running down the road to catch them. A lady jumped out of the passenger side, and she said yes, they were going to Banos. She consulted with her husband, and they decided on $1.50 per person. CHEAP! I was ready to pay $20....haha.
On the way to Banos, standing in the back of their truck, it began to rain. But, we didn't care, we weren't on those dang bikes anymore! What took us one hour to return to Banos in the truck, had taken us SIX hours on bicycle/foot. What a relief when we returned the bikes!
We returned to La Petit Auberge to retrieve our backpacks and other luggage, and Camille just happened to be there. She had spent her day people watching mostly, going from one park to the other and listening to her iPod. In the end, I think she made an extremely wise decision by not going with us....she would have been miserable. It was a really tough ride. Sorry, Puyo, we really gave it the 'ol college try!
We got checked into Posada del Arte, and boy, is this room nice! I actually have a really grown-up mattress! Our room as two nice double beds and a twin bed. Everything is sparkly and new, and smells good! We would have stayed here all week, but the owners are from the U.S., and took vacation for the month of October to let their staff have some time off, too. Marscia, who owns the hostel with her husband Jim, just returned to Banos two hours before we arrived to check in. Perfect timing!
We walked up to the thermal baths, and soaked our weary bones for about an hour and a half, and are now enjoying our wonderful room. We plan on sleeping in tomorrow morning, and then getting up to one of the great breakfast plates they offer here, especially their Juevos Rancheros! Yummy! Spa day tomorrow for our last day. YAY! Hasta manana!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Biking to Rio Verde and Hiking to the Pailon del Diablo
SHARLA: Well, we decided to stay in Banos tonight instead of trying to find a hostel in Rio Verde. We got sort of a late start, ate breakfast, and rented our bikes. It was 11:00am by the time we left Banos. We were recommended Wonderful Ecuador to rent our bikes. The bikes were old, and the lady working the desk wasn't too friendly. But, we thought since they were recommended and we were close to the highway where we would be riding, we would go ahead.
The wind was blowing extremely hard, right in our faces....so even on the downhills, the riding was tougher than normal. We made it past the first bridge, when Marsha's chain came off. She said that it had been slipping the whole time. She worked on it for a while, but we could tell there was not way she was going to make it the 20 kilometers to Rio Verde. We were right across from a bus stop, so she decided to catch a ride back to Banos, and told us to go on. We wanted to stay with her until she got a ride, but she told us to go on and she would meet us in Rio Verde. We hated to leave her, but we thought it might be faster for her to go alone.
We fought the wind, but the ride was beautiful. We saw some amazing waterfalls, and the mountains were ridiculously green. There were a lot of bikers out today. The area has grown so much and is catering a lot more to tourists since we were here two years ago. In a way, it's sad, but as Camille said, everybody should get to enjoy the beauty here.
We made it to Rio Verde and stopped for some water and to wait on Marsha. The little restaurant we stopped at has a trout pond right on the side, so I guess the trout here is extra fresh! Marsha finally found us, and we locked up our bikes and began our walk down toward the waterfall Pailon del Diable. This area has become much more touristy as well. Many more little stores, and a whole new building for local artisans to sell their handmade crafts and jewelry.
The walk to the waterfall is mostly downhill, but at the very end you start walking up and then you reach this amazingly beautiful, huge, roaring waterfall. You can climb up through a cavelike walk. You have to walk completely bent over, sometimes crawling, and climb up through a hole in the rock, before finally climbing the last steps where you can stand right behind the waterfall! Needless to say, we got drenched! It was awesome. The power of this waterfall is awe inspiring.
We walked across the bridge to El Otro Lado, a really cool hostel which recently closed. We tried for months to make reservations there, and none of the locals seem to know why it was closed. The bridge swayed quite a bit, and only five people were allowed on at one time.
Slowly, we climbed our way back out of the forest/jungle back to Rio Verde. We caught a ride with a local who threw the bikes in the back of the truck and took us back to bike shop. We stopped at Buon Giorno, and had some more amazing food, then back to the hostel to shower and relax. We are planning on renting bikes again tomorrow and riding all the way to Puyo. Gotta get an earlier start!
MARSHA: just adding my bike experience to sharias well written account of today. i was the lucky one who got a crappy bike. the gears kept slipping and finally the chain came off. i put it back on but it was beyond my ability to fix it on the side of the road so i sent sharia and camille on. i was gonna just catch a chiva back into town and trade bikes and meet the girls at the waterfalls in rio verde. well i waited and waited and every truck already had bikes or motorcycles or people in the back. finally a guy on a dirt bike came by and picked me up. i left the bike at the bus stop and tried to stick it as far out of sight from the road as possible. he took me to the bike shop where they told him i needed to catch a bus back out to where the bike was and catch another bus back into town (with the bike this time) finally the guy who picked me up convinced the guys at the bike shop that they needed to get a vehicle and take me out there to get it. i waited about 30 minutes and the owner of the bike shop showed up and was in a panic that i left the bike out there unattended. fortunately when we finally got there, it was still there. we traded the bikes and i headed out and met up with the girls at the waterfall entrance.
The wind was blowing extremely hard, right in our faces....so even on the downhills, the riding was tougher than normal. We made it past the first bridge, when Marsha's chain came off. She said that it had been slipping the whole time. She worked on it for a while, but we could tell there was not way she was going to make it the 20 kilometers to Rio Verde. We were right across from a bus stop, so she decided to catch a ride back to Banos, and told us to go on. We wanted to stay with her until she got a ride, but she told us to go on and she would meet us in Rio Verde. We hated to leave her, but we thought it might be faster for her to go alone.
We fought the wind, but the ride was beautiful. We saw some amazing waterfalls, and the mountains were ridiculously green. There were a lot of bikers out today. The area has grown so much and is catering a lot more to tourists since we were here two years ago. In a way, it's sad, but as Camille said, everybody should get to enjoy the beauty here.
We made it to Rio Verde and stopped for some water and to wait on Marsha. The little restaurant we stopped at has a trout pond right on the side, so I guess the trout here is extra fresh! Marsha finally found us, and we locked up our bikes and began our walk down toward the waterfall Pailon del Diable. This area has become much more touristy as well. Many more little stores, and a whole new building for local artisans to sell their handmade crafts and jewelry.
The walk to the waterfall is mostly downhill, but at the very end you start walking up and then you reach this amazingly beautiful, huge, roaring waterfall. You can climb up through a cavelike walk. You have to walk completely bent over, sometimes crawling, and climb up through a hole in the rock, before finally climbing the last steps where you can stand right behind the waterfall! Needless to say, we got drenched! It was awesome. The power of this waterfall is awe inspiring.
We walked across the bridge to El Otro Lado, a really cool hostel which recently closed. We tried for months to make reservations there, and none of the locals seem to know why it was closed. The bridge swayed quite a bit, and only five people were allowed on at one time.
Slowly, we climbed our way back out of the forest/jungle back to Rio Verde. We caught a ride with a local who threw the bikes in the back of the truck and took us back to bike shop. We stopped at Buon Giorno, and had some more amazing food, then back to the hostel to shower and relax. We are planning on renting bikes again tomorrow and riding all the way to Puyo. Gotta get an earlier start!
MARSHA: just adding my bike experience to sharias well written account of today. i was the lucky one who got a crappy bike. the gears kept slipping and finally the chain came off. i put it back on but it was beyond my ability to fix it on the side of the road so i sent sharia and camille on. i was gonna just catch a chiva back into town and trade bikes and meet the girls at the waterfalls in rio verde. well i waited and waited and every truck already had bikes or motorcycles or people in the back. finally a guy on a dirt bike came by and picked me up. i left the bike at the bus stop and tried to stick it as far out of sight from the road as possible. he took me to the bike shop where they told him i needed to catch a bus back out to where the bike was and catch another bus back into town (with the bike this time) finally the guy who picked me up convinced the guys at the bike shop that they needed to get a vehicle and take me out there to get it. i waited about 30 minutes and the owner of the bike shop showed up and was in a panic that i left the bike out there unattended. fortunately when we finally got there, it was still there. we traded the bikes and i headed out and met up with the girls at the waterfall entrance.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Canyoning in Banos
SHARLA: Slept in a little this morning...okay, well slept in is quite an overstatement for me. The mattress I have here is only about 3 inches thick. Marsha and Camille have normal mattresses, so I guess I have the kiddie bed. I have had achy bones every day at this hostel. Right now, I'm listening to a car alarm go off....for about the last 15 minutes. So much for peace and quiet!
Anyway, we had a really garlicy lunch here at the French restaurant attached to our hostel. Whew! It was good, but really....back off the garlic a little!
We got to the tour company at around 1:30, and were fitted for our wetsuits, shoes, and a jacket. We had two other people in our group from California who were in their late 20's. I was a little bit nervous, but I figured it would go away once we got started with the canyoning. We drove for about 20 minutes and turned off the highway onto a dirt road for about 10 minutes. We picked up a couple of school boys walking home and dropped them off at their homes. Can you imagine letting your children catch rides from total strangers? Apparently, it's an every day practice, and no one seems scared. That's pretty school. Hope that the innocence stays for a while here.
Once we got out of the van, we put on all of our gear, and began to climb up for around 20 minutes. And when I say up....I mean UP! These people climb up everything like mountain goats! It's hard for me I guess since where we live has NO climbing and is perfectly flat. We made it to the first descent just before the first waterfall, and got our safety lesson. My anxiety had disappeared, but guickly reappeared when I saw what we had to do to go down. My huge fear of heights didn't help much. Our first waterfall was about 4 meters (around 12 feet), and although I was shaky, I managed to get down pretty good. We had to walk a little between waterfalls, and it was a slippery slope in places! The second waterfall was about 15 meters (45 feet), and I was still pretty nervous. The guide asked me if I was ready, and I replied, "Do I have a choice?" He didn't understand the word choice, so I said, "Can I say no?" And he just laughed. Guess that's a no....gotta go down....no going back now! By the third one, I had gained some confidence, and went down much faster. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous! Everything was so green and lush, and looking back up at the top of the waterfall from the bottom was really satisfying knowing we had just descended from there.
The last waterfall was 30 meters, around 100 feet. It was definitely a little more challenging, but by this time, I knew what I was doing, and it was a blast! The guides were very patient, and very good about helping with the nerves. One of the guides went down face first off the tall waterfall, so it looked like he was running straight down! I don't think I'm ready for that yet...haha. At the end we got to slide down a pretty tall waterfall, with our ropes still attached of course. In the middle, on the way down, was a huge pool of water, and I wasn't expecting it. Woohoo! How fun! Then at the end, we slid down a smaller waterfall with no ropes and went flying at the end. It was a great day!
We had a sandwich when we got back, and ran into a couple of the guides from the rafting tour, who invited us to go dancing with them tonight. Sounds like fun....so I guess it's in the shower and then off to The Leprachaun! Biking tomorrow to Rio Verde or Rio Negro....whichever we feel like, and then on to Puyo the next day. May not have internet service, so I'll write when we get back to Banos!
Anyway, we had a really garlicy lunch here at the French restaurant attached to our hostel. Whew! It was good, but really....back off the garlic a little!
We got to the tour company at around 1:30, and were fitted for our wetsuits, shoes, and a jacket. We had two other people in our group from California who were in their late 20's. I was a little bit nervous, but I figured it would go away once we got started with the canyoning. We drove for about 20 minutes and turned off the highway onto a dirt road for about 10 minutes. We picked up a couple of school boys walking home and dropped them off at their homes. Can you imagine letting your children catch rides from total strangers? Apparently, it's an every day practice, and no one seems scared. That's pretty school. Hope that the innocence stays for a while here.
Once we got out of the van, we put on all of our gear, and began to climb up for around 20 minutes. And when I say up....I mean UP! These people climb up everything like mountain goats! It's hard for me I guess since where we live has NO climbing and is perfectly flat. We made it to the first descent just before the first waterfall, and got our safety lesson. My anxiety had disappeared, but guickly reappeared when I saw what we had to do to go down. My huge fear of heights didn't help much. Our first waterfall was about 4 meters (around 12 feet), and although I was shaky, I managed to get down pretty good. We had to walk a little between waterfalls, and it was a slippery slope in places! The second waterfall was about 15 meters (45 feet), and I was still pretty nervous. The guide asked me if I was ready, and I replied, "Do I have a choice?" He didn't understand the word choice, so I said, "Can I say no?" And he just laughed. Guess that's a no....gotta go down....no going back now! By the third one, I had gained some confidence, and went down much faster. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous! Everything was so green and lush, and looking back up at the top of the waterfall from the bottom was really satisfying knowing we had just descended from there.
The last waterfall was 30 meters, around 100 feet. It was definitely a little more challenging, but by this time, I knew what I was doing, and it was a blast! The guides were very patient, and very good about helping with the nerves. One of the guides went down face first off the tall waterfall, so it looked like he was running straight down! I don't think I'm ready for that yet...haha. At the end we got to slide down a pretty tall waterfall, with our ropes still attached of course. In the middle, on the way down, was a huge pool of water, and I wasn't expecting it. Woohoo! How fun! Then at the end, we slid down a smaller waterfall with no ropes and went flying at the end. It was a great day!
We had a sandwich when we got back, and ran into a couple of the guides from the rafting tour, who invited us to go dancing with them tonight. Sounds like fun....so I guess it's in the shower and then off to The Leprachaun! Biking tomorrow to Rio Verde or Rio Negro....whichever we feel like, and then on to Puyo the next day. May not have internet service, so I'll write when we get back to Banos!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Banos, Ecuador
SHARLA: We slept in this morning....it was awesome! We walked to the thermal baths a few blocks away. It is called Piscina de la Virgen, and is located directly beside a beautiful waterfall and surrounded on all sides by mountains. Absolutely beautiful location! I was trying to etch the memory of the experience into my brain, but it never works. The first bath we got into was SUPER hot....somewhere around 118 degrees! Needless to say, we didn't stay in that one very long! The other one was probably around 100 degrees, and was much more tolerable. We stayed in that one and enjoyed watching the locals trying to swim for about an hour, and then we headed to our appointments at the spa.
We were scheduled for 2-1/2 hours! We started out in the sauna for about 20 minutes, and then on to a mud bath, which consisted of them rubbing mud on us and then wrapping us in plastic wrap for about 10 minutes. They came and rubbed most of it off with a wet cloth and then letting us shower. Then, we sat in the jacuzzi situated on the second floor where we had a gorgeous view of the waterfall and mountainside while we sipped on fresh-squeezed orange juice. Then we were led to the massage rooms where we were treated to deep-tissue massage for about 1-1/2 hours. All of this for only $48!!!
Back at the hostel, we relaxed and played Scrabble before cleaning up and heading out for dinner. I had read about a good Italian food restaurant in The Lonely Planet called Buon Guorno. We had seen it while walking around the other day, so we decided to try it out. There was no one in there when we arrived, which we usually take as a bad sign, but we decided to try it out anyway. The music was nice and the place was clean. The waiter was super nice and very accommodating. As soon as we ordered, people started pouring in. By the time we got our food, there was not one empty seat in the place. After we tasted the food, we knew why! The pizza and the pasta were amazing! We will definitely be eating there again before we leave.
We walked around for a little bit after we left the restaurant, and decided we are going canyoning tomorrow. Canyoning is basically repelling down waterfalls. We signed up for a tour tomorrow afternoon. I'm a little bit nervous but even more excited! I'll write as soon as I can and let you know how it goes! Hasta luego!
We were scheduled for 2-1/2 hours! We started out in the sauna for about 20 minutes, and then on to a mud bath, which consisted of them rubbing mud on us and then wrapping us in plastic wrap for about 10 minutes. They came and rubbed most of it off with a wet cloth and then letting us shower. Then, we sat in the jacuzzi situated on the second floor where we had a gorgeous view of the waterfall and mountainside while we sipped on fresh-squeezed orange juice. Then we were led to the massage rooms where we were treated to deep-tissue massage for about 1-1/2 hours. All of this for only $48!!!
Back at the hostel, we relaxed and played Scrabble before cleaning up and heading out for dinner. I had read about a good Italian food restaurant in The Lonely Planet called Buon Guorno. We had seen it while walking around the other day, so we decided to try it out. There was no one in there when we arrived, which we usually take as a bad sign, but we decided to try it out anyway. The music was nice and the place was clean. The waiter was super nice and very accommodating. As soon as we ordered, people started pouring in. By the time we got our food, there was not one empty seat in the place. After we tasted the food, we knew why! The pizza and the pasta were amazing! We will definitely be eating there again before we leave.
We walked around for a little bit after we left the restaurant, and decided we are going canyoning tomorrow. Canyoning is basically repelling down waterfalls. We signed up for a tour tomorrow afternoon. I'm a little bit nervous but even more excited! I'll write as soon as I can and let you know how it goes! Hasta luego!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Banos and White Water Rafting
SHARLA: We left Hotel Tren Dorado a day early yesterday. Since, the train isn't running now, and we had our bike ride yesterday, we were ready to go to Banos anyway.....OUR FAVORITE PLACE in Ecuador!!! We did try to walk to the Saturday market in Riobamba before we left, but turns out it is just a smaller version, way smaller, than the one in Guamote. We caught a taxi to the bus terminal only to find out that there is ANOTHER bus terminal that has direct rides to Banos. So we caught another taxi, and this man was really nice....he didn't speak English, but we were able to understand him pretty well. About the time we drove the ten minutes to the other bus terminal, he asked us if we would be interested in him taking us for $30. We all conceded that it was a GREAT idea. It would be quicker than the bus, and we could see more, and he could take us straight to the hostel in Banos. He took us to a garage, and we traded the old taxi for a brand new Hyundai Tucson! So new, in fact, that it still had plastic on the seats....haha, funny how they do that here in Ecuador.
The ride was beautiful to Banos...the roads have improved tremendously since we were here two years ago. That is one of the things that President Correa has done since he's been in office. We made it to Banos, and after the taxi driver asked a couple of people directions, we made it to our hostel, La Petit Auberge. Very old, but very cute hostel, and for $11 a night per person, you really can't beat it. We dropped our bags off, and decided to walk around town. We were hungry, so we stopped for lunch first, and then walked to the square and the shopping. After walking around looking in many stores and stands with all sorts of cool, crafty things, and buying a few things of course, we went back to the hostel. Later, we went to the restaurant that we loved the last time we were in Banos, El Chozon de Molienda. It is apart from the main activity and it is a huge bamboo "hut," that has a big fireplace in the middle and swings around the bar. It is an awesome place. We weren't really hungry, and were just going to have a beer, but we found out that you have to order food, or you aren't allowed to stay for too long. So we decided to order a pizza, and I have to say, it may have been the best pizza I've ever eaten. Imagine what it would have tasted like had I been hungry!
On our way through town yesterday, we made reservations to go on a white water rafting tour for today. We got up around 7:30, and went to The Cafe Good to have some breakfast. And, indeed, it was good! Camille and I had omelettes, and Marsha had a pancake. We made our way to the tour company, and were picked up by the van and taken to another tour company. Apparently, they all work together so that they have full tours every day. We were fitted for wet suits...and I do use the term "fitted" loosely. Of course, Marsha and I were the oldest two in the group of 13, but somehow, we always manage to have fun! We drove about 45 minutes past Rio Verde to the Rio San Francisco, where we put on our wetsuits, helmets and "water" shoes (which turned out to just be Keds). Then, our guide, William, gave us our long safety lesson, which somehow he made interesting and funny. By the time he was through telling us all of the bad things that can happen, Camille was getting pretty nervous.
We launched the raft, got in and off we went on our new adventure! We went through several class 3 rapids and one class 4 rapid. It was awesome! William was an excellent guide. He had us pumped up with energy, and he took us through every rough spot so that we could experience every bit of excitement of the trip. I really thought the water was going to be freezing, and it was cold, but not so much to take our breath away. And, we did get drenched! We went through a couple of whirlpools, and "surfed" next to a giant rock. At halfway point, we stopped at a local "pool" near the river and everyone went under a short waterfall into a opening behind it. Then we floated on our backs through the pool, some of us hooked feet onto the next person's shoulders and formed a train. After the break, we loaded back on to the raft and continued on for the last half. The mountains and the waterfalls here are just breathtaking. There aren't as many waterfalls as the last time we were here, but we are in the dry season. All in all, everything is still very green!
It was an hour and a half on the river with only brief periods of slow water. Most of the time, it was rapids of some sort. After Camille got over her initial nervousness, she was ready to keep going. She said she would do it every day of her life if possible. And, these guys do it every day, AND get paid for it! After the ride was over, we peeled off our wetsuits, loaded up in the vans, and headed to Rio Negro for lunch. Marsha and I had chicken, and Camille had trout...both of which were excellent. Back on to the van, and back to Banos. What a great day! We are just resting now, and cooking up what our next great adventure will be!
NOTE: This should have posted yesterday, but the Internet service went down, so it's a day off.
The ride was beautiful to Banos...the roads have improved tremendously since we were here two years ago. That is one of the things that President Correa has done since he's been in office. We made it to Banos, and after the taxi driver asked a couple of people directions, we made it to our hostel, La Petit Auberge. Very old, but very cute hostel, and for $11 a night per person, you really can't beat it. We dropped our bags off, and decided to walk around town. We were hungry, so we stopped for lunch first, and then walked to the square and the shopping. After walking around looking in many stores and stands with all sorts of cool, crafty things, and buying a few things of course, we went back to the hostel. Later, we went to the restaurant that we loved the last time we were in Banos, El Chozon de Molienda. It is apart from the main activity and it is a huge bamboo "hut," that has a big fireplace in the middle and swings around the bar. It is an awesome place. We weren't really hungry, and were just going to have a beer, but we found out that you have to order food, or you aren't allowed to stay for too long. So we decided to order a pizza, and I have to say, it may have been the best pizza I've ever eaten. Imagine what it would have tasted like had I been hungry!
On our way through town yesterday, we made reservations to go on a white water rafting tour for today. We got up around 7:30, and went to The Cafe Good to have some breakfast. And, indeed, it was good! Camille and I had omelettes, and Marsha had a pancake. We made our way to the tour company, and were picked up by the van and taken to another tour company. Apparently, they all work together so that they have full tours every day. We were fitted for wet suits...and I do use the term "fitted" loosely. Of course, Marsha and I were the oldest two in the group of 13, but somehow, we always manage to have fun! We drove about 45 minutes past Rio Verde to the Rio San Francisco, where we put on our wetsuits, helmets and "water" shoes (which turned out to just be Keds). Then, our guide, William, gave us our long safety lesson, which somehow he made interesting and funny. By the time he was through telling us all of the bad things that can happen, Camille was getting pretty nervous.
We launched the raft, got in and off we went on our new adventure! We went through several class 3 rapids and one class 4 rapid. It was awesome! William was an excellent guide. He had us pumped up with energy, and he took us through every rough spot so that we could experience every bit of excitement of the trip. I really thought the water was going to be freezing, and it was cold, but not so much to take our breath away. And, we did get drenched! We went through a couple of whirlpools, and "surfed" next to a giant rock. At halfway point, we stopped at a local "pool" near the river and everyone went under a short waterfall into a opening behind it. Then we floated on our backs through the pool, some of us hooked feet onto the next person's shoulders and formed a train. After the break, we loaded back on to the raft and continued on for the last half. The mountains and the waterfalls here are just breathtaking. There aren't as many waterfalls as the last time we were here, but we are in the dry season. All in all, everything is still very green!
It was an hour and a half on the river with only brief periods of slow water. Most of the time, it was rapids of some sort. After Camille got over her initial nervousness, she was ready to keep going. She said she would do it every day of her life if possible. And, these guys do it every day, AND get paid for it! After the ride was over, we peeled off our wetsuits, loaded up in the vans, and headed to Rio Negro for lunch. Marsha and I had chicken, and Camille had trout...both of which were excellent. Back on to the van, and back to Banos. What a great day! We are just resting now, and cooking up what our next great adventure will be!
NOTE: This should have posted yesterday, but the Internet service went down, so it's a day off.
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