...don't know when we'll be back again. :( :( :(
Well today was a day of "last times" - last time walking downtown, having lunch, walking along the river, ... etc, etc.
Today a pioneer couple we know dropped by and gave us a little going away present - dolls for me and Greg and Lisa got a little kitchen scene wall hanging. It was very sweet of them. We had some stuff to give them as well - food, cell phone, toiletries and other stuff we can't take back so they were happy too.
We will miss Ecuador - the time has flown by. Goodbye and we'll see you in a few days in Ottawa. Lisa will be in Nova Scotia on Monday.
Adios amigos.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Countdown
Well, it is hard to believe that our time here in Ecuador is almost over. In 3 days we will be on a plane (red eye) back to Canada.
Last night the congregation had a going away party for us. They had me and Lisa up dancing to Ecuadorian music and trying out their "moves". It was very fun and funny to watch I am sure. (Of course, Greg doesn't dance, plus he wasn't feeling well - stomach problems). We ate around 8 p.m. - typical Ecuadorian food - rice, meat and a salad.
When we were leaving they all wanted their picture taken with us. We must have had our picture taken more than 10 times with different families. The custom here is you go around at the beginning and ending of a gathering (or meeting for that matter) and shake hands with the brothers and kiss the cheek of the sisters. As you can imagine, saying goodbye can take a while.
Our party invitation.
Boogieing down in Ecuador.
Dinner with friends.
There are so many things we will miss about Cuenca. First and foremost, the friends we have made here in Laguna congregation, but much more ... the perfect weather, mountain views, the 25 cent bus rides, $2 taxis, $2 lunches, and the sights we constantly encounter when we're out and about ...
The kids love having their picture taken. These ones kept coming back for more ... so cute!
Talk about your "high" fashion. How long could you walk in these shoes? ha ha
Fresh milk anyone? This is one of the goats they milk on a downtown corner. Only 50 cents!
Quite often you see men having a siesta on the sidewalks. Could the fact that you can get a 40 oz of vodka or rum for under $3 have something to do with it?
Last night the congregation had a going away party for us. They had me and Lisa up dancing to Ecuadorian music and trying out their "moves". It was very fun and funny to watch I am sure. (Of course, Greg doesn't dance, plus he wasn't feeling well - stomach problems). We ate around 8 p.m. - typical Ecuadorian food - rice, meat and a salad.
When we were leaving they all wanted their picture taken with us. We must have had our picture taken more than 10 times with different families. The custom here is you go around at the beginning and ending of a gathering (or meeting for that matter) and shake hands with the brothers and kiss the cheek of the sisters. As you can imagine, saying goodbye can take a while.
Our party invitation.
Boogieing down in Ecuador.
Dinner with friends.
There are so many things we will miss about Cuenca. First and foremost, the friends we have made here in Laguna congregation, but much more ... the perfect weather, mountain views, the 25 cent bus rides, $2 taxis, $2 lunches, and the sights we constantly encounter when we're out and about ...
The kids love having their picture taken. These ones kept coming back for more ... so cute!
Talk about your "high" fashion. How long could you walk in these shoes? ha ha
Fresh milk anyone? This is one of the goats they milk on a downtown corner. Only 50 cents!
Quite often you see men having a siesta on the sidewalks. Could the fact that you can get a 40 oz of vodka or rum for under $3 have something to do with it?
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Puerto Lopez and back to Cuenca
Just a few more details/pics about our trip to the coast:
The main town close to where we stayed was Puerto Lopez, a fishing town and you know fishing is the main employment by the smell. We were down at the beach one morning and the fishermen were gutting and cutting up their catch from the night before.
Fishermen cutting up swordfish. Do you notice the man showing off his belly. If men have big bellies they are worth showing off! You see this a lot here in Ecuador, men with their shirts up showing and patting their big stomachs, ha ha.
The fishermen caught a whole school of small hammerhead sharks. Weird fish - look at the eyes on the outside of each "hammer".
Huge manta ray.
The local taxis were like motorcycle rickshaws.
Typical street in an Ecuadorian town -- always construction happening somewhere.
On the way back to Cuenca we decided to hire a driving service to Guayaquil to save time and 2 buses. Big mistake. This guy was the worst driver ever. Not only was he breaking all along the way for no reason, but he could not keep the gas pedal steady like a normal driver, he was constantly pumping the gas pedal, up and down, making us speed up and slow down, even on the main highways. Lisa was feeling very nauseated and wanted to either throw up on him or strangle him, ha ha. Along the way we got delayed by a parade. They blocked the main road and there was no way around it (we tried) so we ended up being in the parade for 10 minutes or so - another first for us, ha ha. After 3 hours of enduring this terrible car ride and wishing we had taken the bus, we arrived in Guayaquil and guess what - the driver didn't know where the terminal was! He stopped and asked direction but he was in no way qualified to drive in the city traffic. Somehow we made it there. What a relief! We got the bus to Cuenca around 3:30. Not a good one. We sat close to the back and it had the strong smell of a urinal. Half an hour from Cuenca the bus stopped. We sat there for a whole hour - road construction. People on the bus started playing their own music - we had 3 different songs going on at the same time plus a crying baby in front of us. We gave her some Oreo cookies and that seemed to help for awhile. We were never so happy to get back to our apt.
We were in an Ecuadorian parade. They are always parading for some reason so it had to happen eventually.
The main town close to where we stayed was Puerto Lopez, a fishing town and you know fishing is the main employment by the smell. We were down at the beach one morning and the fishermen were gutting and cutting up their catch from the night before.
Fishermen cutting up swordfish. Do you notice the man showing off his belly. If men have big bellies they are worth showing off! You see this a lot here in Ecuador, men with their shirts up showing and patting their big stomachs, ha ha.
The fishermen caught a whole school of small hammerhead sharks. Weird fish - look at the eyes on the outside of each "hammer".
Huge manta ray.
The local taxis were like motorcycle rickshaws.
Typical street in an Ecuadorian town -- always construction happening somewhere.
On the way back to Cuenca we decided to hire a driving service to Guayaquil to save time and 2 buses. Big mistake. This guy was the worst driver ever. Not only was he breaking all along the way for no reason, but he could not keep the gas pedal steady like a normal driver, he was constantly pumping the gas pedal, up and down, making us speed up and slow down, even on the main highways. Lisa was feeling very nauseated and wanted to either throw up on him or strangle him, ha ha. Along the way we got delayed by a parade. They blocked the main road and there was no way around it (we tried) so we ended up being in the parade for 10 minutes or so - another first for us, ha ha. After 3 hours of enduring this terrible car ride and wishing we had taken the bus, we arrived in Guayaquil and guess what - the driver didn't know where the terminal was! He stopped and asked direction but he was in no way qualified to drive in the city traffic. Somehow we made it there. What a relief! We got the bus to Cuenca around 3:30. Not a good one. We sat close to the back and it had the strong smell of a urinal. Half an hour from Cuenca the bus stopped. We sat there for a whole hour - road construction. People on the bus started playing their own music - we had 3 different songs going on at the same time plus a crying baby in front of us. We gave her some Oreo cookies and that seemed to help for awhile. We were never so happy to get back to our apt.
We were in an Ecuadorian parade. They are always parading for some reason so it had to happen eventually.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Isla de Plata (Silver Island)
We did a tour of Isla de Plata which is called the poor man's Galapagos because it has a couple of species of birds that are found on the Galapagos Islands, including 3 species of boobies and albatross. There are only 12 pairs of albatross there. They live to be 50 years old and mate for life. They reach sexual maturity at age 7 and mate only once every two years, laying one egg. They are an endangered species. We did see one but we were not able to get a picture.
We took a boat to the island which is 23 miles off the coast. The landscape was rugged and very dry although this is only the beginning of the dry season. Immediately, we felt the intense strength of the sun. With only a 500 ml bottle of water, we had a 3 hour hike ahead of us. There were about 12 in our group and 2 women dropped out almost at the beginning.
The trail was not as steep or long as other trails we have been on in Ecuador but the heat and sun made it the most difficult for me and Lisa. I had a jacket with me which I used as a tent to cover myself most of the way. We felt like we were in survivor mode at the end and just wanted it to end so we sprinted back to the boat and shade. On the way back Greg and Lisa snorkeled for 40 minutes or so on a small reef. End of another great day in Ecuador...
The landscape is very dry with no flowers, mostly brush.
Pacific Island Beach-wow!
Blue footed booby
Baby Boobies
Two month old chick
Paradise!
We took a boat to the island which is 23 miles off the coast. The landscape was rugged and very dry although this is only the beginning of the dry season. Immediately, we felt the intense strength of the sun. With only a 500 ml bottle of water, we had a 3 hour hike ahead of us. There were about 12 in our group and 2 women dropped out almost at the beginning.
The trail was not as steep or long as other trails we have been on in Ecuador but the heat and sun made it the most difficult for me and Lisa. I had a jacket with me which I used as a tent to cover myself most of the way. We felt like we were in survivor mode at the end and just wanted it to end so we sprinted back to the boat and shade. On the way back Greg and Lisa snorkeled for 40 minutes or so on a small reef. End of another great day in Ecuador...
The landscape is very dry with no flowers, mostly brush.
Pacific Island Beach-wow!
Blue footed booby
Baby Boobies
Two month old chick
Paradise!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
To the coast and Alandaluz
We got an early start on Monday morning - out the door by 6 a.m. Three buses and 11 hours later we arrived at our destination on the coast - Alandaluz. Actually, they forgot to tell us when to get off and we ended up going 20 minutes farther than we should have and then had to take a bus back, so I guess that makes 4 buses.
Back to the tropics - heat and humidity, but not as hot as Playas in February. The place we stayed at was called Alandaluz which is an ecological resort on the coast. We were the only ones there the first day we arrived (besides the staff, of course).
This is the cabin we stayed in.
It had an "open air" feeling as you can see from the bathroom.
... which of course made mosquito nets a necessity ... here is Lisa in her cocoon.
Bamboo restaurant all to ourselves.
The beach was beautiful - a feast for the eyes. But not quite paradise because of the sand fleas, plus Greg and Lisa both got stung by jelly fish while we were walking along the beach (not serious, stinging only lasted 1/2 hour or so). Of course, for me and my "dulce sangre" (sweet blood), it was the mosquitoes -- even though I covered up and wore repellent.
Even though this is the cooler part of the year, we found it very hot and humid and it was hard to sleep at night because the mosquito nets didn't allow for any air circulation.
Beach at dusk.
The power of the ocean was the strongest we have ever felt. We didn't go in over our knees and even then it was hard to keep your balance because of the pull of the waves!
Even the sun seems to bulge at the equator.
Back to the tropics - heat and humidity, but not as hot as Playas in February. The place we stayed at was called Alandaluz which is an ecological resort on the coast. We were the only ones there the first day we arrived (besides the staff, of course).
This is the cabin we stayed in.
It had an "open air" feeling as you can see from the bathroom.
... which of course made mosquito nets a necessity ... here is Lisa in her cocoon.
Bamboo restaurant all to ourselves.
The beach was beautiful - a feast for the eyes. But not quite paradise because of the sand fleas, plus Greg and Lisa both got stung by jelly fish while we were walking along the beach (not serious, stinging only lasted 1/2 hour or so). Of course, for me and my "dulce sangre" (sweet blood), it was the mosquitoes -- even though I covered up and wore repellent.
Even though this is the cooler part of the year, we found it very hot and humid and it was hard to sleep at night because the mosquito nets didn't allow for any air circulation.
Beach at dusk.
The power of the ocean was the strongest we have ever felt. We didn't go in over our knees and even then it was hard to keep your balance because of the pull of the waves!
Even the sun seems to bulge at the equator.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Back in Cuenca.
We arrived back in Cuenca last night. We left Latacunga around 8:30. The bus to Riobamba was quite new and comfortable. We took another bus to Cuenca, this one with "flavor" as two young Canadian guys we met called them. Oh the smells one encounters while travelling, ha ha.
It was back to back kung fu movies in Spanish all the way to Cuenca :) Time flew!!
Well at least some knew what to do ...
I have updated a few of the blogs with pictures ... enjoy. It's a long process. The Cotopaxi blog, which will be dated May 3, will be posted soon and then we are caught up. Time to plan another trip before we head back to Canada in 3 weeks.
It was back to back kung fu movies in Spanish all the way to Cuenca :) Time flew!!
Well at least some knew what to do ...
I have updated a few of the blogs with pictures ... enjoy. It's a long process. The Cotopaxi blog, which will be dated May 3, will be posted soon and then we are caught up. Time to plan another trip before we head back to Canada in 3 weeks.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Cotopaxi
We headed north to the town of Latacunga which is a city close to Cotopaxi. The hostel, Tenia, was a bit like camping. We had to share a bathroom with others there and there wasn't much hot water. Not as nice as the last one, for sure, but it was only for 2 nights. The city has no touristic value whatsoever, crowded and dirty, but the reason we are here was for ...
... hiking in Cotopaxi National Park and seeing Cotopaxi, elevation 19,347 ft. If you measure from the earth's core it is the highest mountain in the world. You can summit the mountain in two days, but we just wanted a look. :)
This is the second most visited destination by tourists, after the Galapagos. We asked the tour guide what he recommended and he said the south face of the mountain as it was beautiful, very few tourists, plus you save the $10 entrance fee to the park on this tour.
We started out at 8:30 with a 1 1/2 hr ride in a 4WD up a very rough road. The day was cloudy, not a good sign, but we hoped for the best. We started out at about 4,000 m (13,100 ft) and climbed to 4500 m (14,800 ft). Some people have problems at this altitude and they recommend "acclimatising" a few days before climbing. We were okay because we have been living in Cuenca for 3 months at high elevation and we are in great physical form after all the walking we do, ha ha ha.
Great scenery from the get go. Lots of different plant life too. This park is more rugged than the Cajas. It is full of volcanic lava and we pretty much followed the path it flowed in 1904 which was the last time it erupted.
They supplied us with coats and we were glad they did because it got cold and started to rain and hail on the way back. It was a wet and cold ride back in the truck but we had a great day overall. Ecuador is so beautiful!!!
Let the climb begin!
The trail on the way there. The path was like walking on sandy gravel and they basically carved the path by making a 2 foot ledge along the side of the mountain.
The clouds lifted briefly and we got a glimpse of snow on the mountains.
Waterfalls.
This looks like blowing snow but it is actually clouds. You can see a bit of snow on the mountain. Cotopaxi is hiding behind these clouds, boo hoo. We never got to see the summit but as you can see from our photos, it was not too much of a let down.
Hail marks the trail on the way back.
The lava flowed through here in 1904.
Some of the plants along the way ....
This ground cover had no roots, it just layed on top of the ground like flakes.
... hiking in Cotopaxi National Park and seeing Cotopaxi, elevation 19,347 ft. If you measure from the earth's core it is the highest mountain in the world. You can summit the mountain in two days, but we just wanted a look. :)
This is the second most visited destination by tourists, after the Galapagos. We asked the tour guide what he recommended and he said the south face of the mountain as it was beautiful, very few tourists, plus you save the $10 entrance fee to the park on this tour.
We started out at 8:30 with a 1 1/2 hr ride in a 4WD up a very rough road. The day was cloudy, not a good sign, but we hoped for the best. We started out at about 4,000 m (13,100 ft) and climbed to 4500 m (14,800 ft). Some people have problems at this altitude and they recommend "acclimatising" a few days before climbing. We were okay because we have been living in Cuenca for 3 months at high elevation and we are in great physical form after all the walking we do, ha ha ha.
Great scenery from the get go. Lots of different plant life too. This park is more rugged than the Cajas. It is full of volcanic lava and we pretty much followed the path it flowed in 1904 which was the last time it erupted.
They supplied us with coats and we were glad they did because it got cold and started to rain and hail on the way back. It was a wet and cold ride back in the truck but we had a great day overall. Ecuador is so beautiful!!!
Let the climb begin!
The trail on the way there. The path was like walking on sandy gravel and they basically carved the path by making a 2 foot ledge along the side of the mountain.
The clouds lifted briefly and we got a glimpse of snow on the mountains.
Waterfalls.
This looks like blowing snow but it is actually clouds. You can see a bit of snow on the mountain. Cotopaxi is hiding behind these clouds, boo hoo. We never got to see the summit but as you can see from our photos, it was not too much of a let down.
Hail marks the trail on the way back.
The lava flowed through here in 1904.
Some of the plants along the way ....
This ground cover had no roots, it just layed on top of the ground like flakes.
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