Hiking to Cafe del Cielo

Today we found a nice place to eat breakfast. At around 10:30 we went on the hike "Sendero de Bella Vista" which we had started the day before. It was much higher than we thought. At Bella Vista there is a huge cross that is lit up at night and you can see it from the town below. We continued on up the mountain on a paved road for another couple of km and we ended up at a place called Cafe del Cielo. It is a spa and restaurant with the most spectacular view. Altogether we walked 2 hours uphill, what a workout! We had a cerveza at the restaurant and then headed back down a different path. It was a very steep descent and our legs felt like rubber when we got down.


Sendero de Bella Vista


Hiking up, up, up.


View of Banos from Bella Vista.


Where is this freakishly smooth road leading to?


Cafe del Cielo, a spa and restaurant overlooking the city.


View of Banos from inside the restaurant.

In the afternoon walked through town a bit more and found a very nice artisan shop and we bought a tapestry for the wall. Love it! After supper we went to the Banos hot baths but it was quite crowded. The hottest pool was too hot for me so we spent most of the time in the 38 degree pool. Just what we needed for our aching legs and feet. Should sleep well tonight.


Walking around the town of Banos.


There are lots of places to stay in Banos. We decided not to stay at this "hotel palace", ha ha ha.


Our tapestry. It is a hummingbird or picaflor in spanish. The artist is a 3rd generation weaver. It takes 5 days to make one this size which is about 4' x 2.5'.

Waterfalls

Today was a great day. After breakfast we hiked up the mountain on the "Sendero de Bella Vista" trail. Actually, we only went part way and then headed back to town because we were thinking of going to another hostel. We checked a few out but decided to stay where we were because of the price and they had fixed the hot water problem (we had to go to another room to shower because there was no hot water in our room).

We walked around town and checked out what there was to do. You can do white water rafting (no), canyoning down the face of a waterfall (no, no), bungy jumping (no, no, no) and waterfall tour (YES). So that is what we did today. We had a fabulous time. They took us in a safari type open bus (capacity 35) and it was just the 3 of us onboard. By the way, the cost of this 4 hour excursion was $5 each - you can't beat Ecuador prices!

The trip took us on a road overlooking the valley and river below. We went through 5 or 6 tunnels dug through the mountains (and yes cars pass in the tunnels). We stopped and took pictures of about 7 different waterfalls. The last one we got out and did a major hike down the mountain to the bottom of the falls. It was very jungly with tropical plants and trees. The falls were fantastic and then we had to climb all the way up, but the path was very good with wooden and rock steps alot of the way. On the way back our driver drove like a maniac (seems to be a theme here).


Great view of the falls from here ... but if you really want a close look ...


For $1 you can take this tram ... .


Looking down from the tram.


Looking up at one of the falls close to the road.


River that cuts through the mountains.


The legend of these falls is that there was a wedding and the groom didn't show up so the bride jumped from the falls.


The trail down to the last falls.


The last waterfall we visited.

After supper at a Mexican restaurant we walked around town and found out where the Banos (hot baths with water heated from the volcano). There are 2 pools, one 38 degrees and one 42 degrees. It is about a 5 minute walk from our hostel so we are going to do that tomorrow. Plus we are planning on doing a big hike in the morning to the Bella Vista location where they take you to see the active volcano. They usually take people up at night by car to see the fire from the volcano but the clouds are thick right now and you can't see sometimes. Hopefully we will get to see it before we leave.

Good night and hope to blog more tomorrow but internet is not reliable at this hostel.

Banos

Yesterday we were up early to get the 6 a.m. bus to Ambato. Made it there to the bus station with time to spare, bought our ticket, and waited. At 6 we found out the bus was cancelled (mechanical problems they said) so we got our tickets refunded and took the 7 a.m. bus on another bus line. It was a long trip, and it was an old, smelly bus. Of course, they stop along the way from time to time so people can sell snacks or food to passengers. The guy Greg sat beside bought this greasy bowl of choclo (corn) with roasted pig, with a big chunk of thick deep fried pig skin. He chowed down on that for about an hour and then he fell asleep. We finally made it to Ambato at 2 p.m. There was, of course, beautiful mountains to enjoy along the way, so who's complaining? From Ambato we got a van to Banos, and the driver was a maniac on the road, not to mention a good part of the road was under construction.

We arrived at our hosteria, the Chimena, around 3 p.m. Not a bad place for $8.50 per night per person, although the pool was not in use. We walked around the town and it is a very touristy place. It is a lot nicer than many of the other towns we drove through on the way, like Riobamba or Ambatos which were very run down. There are tons of hostels, hotels and restaurants in Banos and this is the low season so not a lot of tourists. We would say this is the Banff of Ecuador, with hot springs and mountains all around and we are happy to be here.

I have taken a lot of pictures but not able to post them here so I will try to do a bit of writing and fill in with pictures and more details when we get back to Cuenca.

On the road from Cuenca to Ambato ....







There was a papaya tree outside our hostel and this is the flower.

The scarf

For Ecuadorian women the scarf is a very important part of the wardrobe...they tie it around their neck or wear it around their waist as a belt...but more often...


They use it to carry their wares to market (yes, that is also a dead rooster she is carrying).


... as a hat


... to carry babies.


How adorable!

Tomorrow we are heading north to Banos (8 hrs on a bus). Not sure if we will have access to internet so it may be awhile til the next post. We are planning on staying 4-5 nights.

Ingapirca

Today we went to the largest Inca ruin site in Ecuador, Ingapirca, which is about a 2.5 hr bus ride from Cuenca. The site is approx. 1000 years old, and was first settled by the Cañari people. It was then conquered by the Inca 500 years later and they rebuilt on top of the site. The only original part is the Inca Sun Temple. The rest is a replica of what it was like. There was a museum onsite which had original artifacts taken from the area.

After the tour we had almuerso and wandered around the area. Great views of the Andes. The bus was supposed to be return to pick us up at 3:45 but it didn't show up so we walked to town (only about 10 minutes) and caught a bus to another town where we transferred to another bus back to Cuenca.


Ingapirca.




Wall of the Sun Temple. The Inca cut the stones with such precision you cannot even get a knife blade between the stones.


Llamas roamed freely on the site. This one was a "spitting" llama.


The flower of this tree is used to make a powerful drug. When the Inca royalty died their servants were drugged and buried alive with them to serve them in the afterlife.


Human skeletal remains in museum.

Dia especial de asamblea

Today we went to the Special Assembly Day here in Cuenca. There were about 1500 in attendance with approx. 17-18 baptized (they didn't announce the number but that is what we were told when we asked). Five were baptized from our congregation (Laguna).

We were hoping that this was the same assembly day as the Haines but they had theirs the day before ours. We only met one other gringo at our assembly, she was from Wales and lives at Bethel with her husband. The other half of the circuit have more English speaking families. Oh well, the brothers told us that makes us "more special". :)

At lunch everyone went outside to eat and most ate in their cars. A friend of ours told us they they eat outside so the smells of the food don't linger in the hall. They bring typical almuerso for lunch with big containers of rice, chicken and cuy (guinea pig). Much different from Canada - sandwich and fruit. They also serve sweetened coffee (no milk) and water.


Assembly Hall, Cuenca. There is also a Kingdom Hall attached to it and an apartment for the caregivers.


1500+ in attendance.


They projected the baptism on a screen so everyone could see.

Chordeleg

Main square in Chordeleg.

Yesterday we took a bit of break from our routine and did a day trip to a town about an hour and a half from Cuenca. It is known for its silver jewelry at very reasonable prices. There was shop after shop of jewelry. Lisa bought a couple of things but I am not much for jewelry, especially the fancy, ornate kind there and Greg of course was bored and was hoping to find a guitar store but there were none to be found. :<

When you take a bus trip you can always expect someone to be selling something and this one was no exception. First this guy did his "spiel" and then he handed out a package of mints to everyone on the bus. Then later he came by again and collected 25 cents from everyone. Now that's a salesman! Sometimes disabled people (i.e. deaf or lame) get on the bus before it leaves and ask for money.

We had lunch (and yes, beer too) at a restaurant in the main square. Lisa and I had grilled corvina, a very mild white fish. It had a very firm texture, almost like chicken and it even tasted a little like chicken. It was very good. Greg had shrimp.


View from Chordeleg.


Ceramic shop in town ... familiar framed "artwork"?

The resourcefulness of the Ecuadorian people to eke out a living is at times impressive, as was our encounter with a "singing busboy" on the bus back to Cuenca. A young boy sang for the passengers while his grandfather accompanied him on guitar...this little guy is a real showman! Who could resist giving him a little money? Check out the video we took "the singing busboy" by copying the link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCqXHd-mbqM

You know your turning into an Ecuadorian when....

Every country has its customs and ways that make it unique. Our intention here is not to make fun of the Ecuadorian people, but to share some of the differences in culture with you.

You know your turning into an Ecuadorian when...

You feel cold when the temperature dips below 18 Celsius and walk around with a down parka and scarf.
You don't wait for the bus to stop completely, you just jump off.
You have to shake hands with or kiss (women) everyone who enters a room, including your parents.
You eat your entire meal with a tablespoon.
You think that $2.25 is too much for lunch at a restaurant (including soup, juice, main course and dessert)...when you can pay $2.00 down the road.
You drive with your lights off at night to save gas and the battery.
You drive on the wrong side of the road because its paved better.
You go to the store to buy 2 aspirins and 1 garbage bag.
Your let your dog take itself for a walk.
You ignore your home or car alarm and let it go off for hours.
You play volleyball with a soccer ball and a 10 foot high net. (Ecuabally-second only to soccer in popularity)
You become accustomed to risking your life every time you have to cross the road.
And finally, despite all this, you have no desire at all to leave Ecuador because its one of the nicest places on Earth!
:)

What's worse than eating a hot dog?

Answer: Eating a deep fried one ...

When I ordered papas (potatoes or fries) they asked if I wanted Salchipapas. I thought maybe it was some sort of sauce (like ketchup) so said ok. It turned out not to be sauce but a deep fried wiener.


Salchipapas - deep fried hot dog with fries.

The food in Ecuador can only be described as the good, the bad and the ugly. First the good ...


Our favorite cafe.


Special almuerso - filet mignon, whipped potatoes, veg, wine and dessert - $7.50 ... delicious.

The bad ...


Anyone for a cone of coloured meringue that's been in the sun all day? Yum!


Street food - your guess is as good as ours as to which parts of the animal they use.

And the ugly ...


These snails on the sidewalk are sold to cure arthritis. Not sure if you eat them or what?


Yummy piggy for lunch.



Lost in translation. On this menu, among other things, was "one dry male goat" and "I suck of fish". (We didn't order that, ha ha).

copy these links to watch videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63vzNjs41II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuC8z7UJ9J4&feature=channel