Leaving our bikes behind and saying hello to ECUADOR!
Why Ecuador, you may ask. It's a pretty simple answer - it has mountains, the Galapagos islands and the Amazonian rainforest. However, that's only part of it; we'd be lying if we said our choice wasn't partly driven by this 90s banger:
There are definitely better places to catch 40 winks
Taking the moneybelt out of retirement
The mountains in Ecuador look pretty cool from above
Not very Ecuadorian, but such a nice spot!
If we thought Slovenia had a lot of trees, Mindo made us think again!
This looks like a reliable for of transport... right?!
One of many waterfalls you could walk between
Spot the hummingbird
Cheap meals out - yay!
"How many bears can I fit in my bag?!"
Beautiful blue waters of Laguna Cuichocha
https://youtu.be/9cQlVww0zKo
After a relaxed ten days touring round family and friends in the UK, we started our journey. It was going well and we enjoyed a nice meal out on our short stopover in Boston (thanks, Andrew, for the recommendation!). I thought I'd check the news and my heart fell as I saw the top read story was the assassination of an Ecuadorian presidential candidate in the capital city of Quito, our destination in less than 12 hours. We weren't sure what this tragedy meant for travelling, and weren't too sure of our options. We checked the FCO advice, but it had no updates. We decided we'd continue our journey to Quito, and get to our accommodation, and see how it felt when we arrived. As our flight was descending into Quito we were both struck by the beauty of the mountains and began to feel more excited about our trip, despite our nerves.
When we landed in Quito I had an update about FCO advice, which was to avoid political rallies, but it didn't say not to travel. We were more than happy to comply with that, and decided we'd enjoy our trip as best we could, whilst being cautious. We were very happy to arrive at our hostel, about 36 hours after we'd left my sisters flat in the UK.
It was wonderful lying down after only some snatched scraps of sleep at Boston Airport (we didnt want to pay for a hotel to have to leave it to catch a 5am flight!), and on the flights. Having arrived at 3pm, we decided we'd take day one very easily and only ventured out to a supermarket to stock up on supplies. We thought we'd just have a little nap at 6pm, before going to make dinner; five hours later, we woke up, more than a little confused! Perhaps we wouldn't make dinner afterall! Luckily we managed to sleep for another seven hours, through to morning - we must have needed it.
Our first full day in Quito and we were intrigued as to how the city would feel. Armed with my money belt saved from my previous travelling days - 10 years ago to India, we set out. We headed to the Basílica del Voto Nacional, one of the largest neo gothic cathedrals in South America. We had a fantastic time going up the towers - some of the stairs were pretty steep and exhilarating, and the panoramic views were impressive! There were some photos showing the building of the cathedral and it was novel seeing how much concrete it was made from, rather different from Europe's historic churches, but it was a pretty stunning building nonetheless. In the church itself, some friendly police officers gave us some security tips for travelling round, which we mostly understood (hopefully we didn't miss anything crucial) despite our very limited Spanish.
Pretty great views of Quito
We wandered over to the historic centre, but we found it rather overwhelming. It was very busy with loads of armed police everywhere, which was a little disconcerting. We explored a little before finding a little quiet courtyard with some lovely cafes. It felt like a lovely retreat! We're trying to minimise getting our phones out in busy places, and are missing the ease of Google maps to find nice restaurants, so were very pleased to have stumbled on this gem.
Our final sight for the day was the national museum. There wasn't a lot of info in English, bit it's nice to have somewhere where you can be a little less vigilant, and have a relaxing mooch around.
Following a couple of nights in Quito, we headed to Mindo, a small town in cloud forest (these tend to be higher in altitide than rainforests). Again, we'd read some worrying things online concerning safety, particularly about thefts occurring on the Quito - Mindo bus journey, but were relieved that the two hour journey went smoothly. The security guard at the station even took us under his wing, found us some seats in the waiting area, and made sure we got on the bus okay. All in Spanish, of course!
Mindo itself felt a world away from Quito. It has a bustling highstreet, but otherwise you're surrounded by the forest, complete with the mesmerising sound of insects. From our accommodation we could spot hummingbirds and pretty butterflies. We explored the cloud forest on a fantastic run/walk that utilised the slightly scary cable car, powered by an old car engine that takes you to some waterfalls. We were pleased it was quiet when it was our turn, as there were just six in the car. We saw them squeezing it at least ten people at other times!
You could take a dip in the waterfalls and it was pretty blissful! It was a really wonderful way to explore this special habitat. We had grand plans of doing further activities in the afternoon, but once we'd got back, we enjoyed relaxing in the hammocks, watching the birds.
We enjoyed the atmosphere in Mindo so much we extended our stay by a day. We visited the butterfly sanctuary and were impressed by the beautiful blue morphos flying around. You could also see butterflies emerging from their chrysalis, which is a pretty impressive sight. It's good to be reminded of how incredible a butterfly's life cycle is! We spent some time wandering round, playing with the slow mo settings on our camera phones. We were pleased to see more hummingbirds in the grounds - they're such stunning birds!
Blue morphos flying around
Following this excursion, we couldn't resist visiting the chocolate shop and ordering hot chocolates. We weren't disappointed- they must have been some of the best hot chocolates we've ever had! They were incredibly rich, but we were provided with sugar, so you could adjust the taste to find your perfect sweetness. Bliss!
Sticking with an edible theme, we've been enjoying the incredibly affordable Ecuadorian cuisine. Lunch deals (almuerzos) cost only around three dollars for two courses and a juice - pretty fantastic value! It's pretty exciting to eat out every day - a far cry from our cheese and tomato rolls, sat on a bench by a bin.
We were sad to leave Mindo as we'd felt very relaxed in the forest. Our next stop was Otavalo, famed for its incredibly large market, and with some great walks on offer too. We had to take two buses (via Quito) to get there, but we think we're beginning to get the hang of public transport. However, my nerves weren't helped by the bus playing a thriller on the TV (the Call, starring Halle Berry), which definitely added some unnecessary suspense, as I was gripping onto my chair!
Otavalo seemed like a very pleasant sized city and we enjoyed exploring the markets. We hadn't expected to want to buy very much, but we soon developed a sizeable shopping list for another day!
We spent our full day there by running/walking around Laguna Cuichocha, a crater lake at around 3000m in altitude. It was a beautiful place, and was also good to have a bit of a test of our fitness at this altitude. We felt okay at 3,500m, which was reassuring, but some of the mountains are a lot higher. We made it to the lake via a bus and a taxi, utilising our secret weapon - chatting to fellow tourists. It's great to split the price, get recommendations on where else to visit - and utilise their better Spanish!
We've now been in Ecuador for a week and are really enjoying it. Our travel style, due to a lack of Spanish, can definitely be described as "muddling through" but it's fantastic being somewhere so different to home!
Next stop, the Galapagos islands, for what is definitely the fanciest/most expensive week away we've ever done!
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