WARNING: Contains some gruesome content/photos (bullfighting).
I had big plans for my last days in South America, but the truth is after two weeks of going at it nonstop in the Galapagos and the jungle, and knowing I’m so close to going home, I’ve lost a bit of motivation and just become a bit tired. Especially after more than a month of traveling with others — the Aussie gals and then tour groups — it was harder to motivate myself to get up early, get a cab by myself, get a bus, find a hostel in a new place, etc. all when I still had to come back to Quito.
So after a couple mornings of being too tired to get up early for a bus (I had originally hoped I could find a daytrip so I wouldn’t have to really worry about any of the transport and details on my own), I gave up on my aspirations of going to the cloudforest in Mindo (even though I had been wanting to do the ziplining since I first planned this trip — I’ll just have to wait til I do a trip in Central America one day, where it’s supposed to be better anyways) and the markets in Otavalo (I settled for the markets in Quito instead).
My first day in Quito was supposed to be one of relaxation, but I felt a bit stressed and lonely. I was dealing with quite a transition after the past two whirlwind weeks, and I spent most of the day in bed on the computer. That and running back and forth to the agency trying to see if I was going to get a refund for my cruise or not. (In the past few days I’ve gone in there at least four or five times. FINALLY today I went in and they said, “I have some money for you!” My happiness was great, and doubled when they handed me $125! Woo! Now I don’t have to make another trip to the ATM before I leave!)
I had a whiny conversation on Skype with Oscar about how I just wanted to go home now and I didn’t feel like making any effort to go anywhere or meet anyone. He said to me, “Oh no, you’ll get off the computer and go to the common room and meet someone tonight, I know it.” And I said, “No, no. I don’t even want to meet anyone. I don’t even want to get out of bed.”
Well, of course he was mostly right. I didn’t have to get out of bed, but one of my fellow dorm mates, Claire, came in and we started talking, and she invited me to some bull fights the next day. But I did stay in bed the rest of that day…ha! I just couldn’t be bothered to do anything, I was so burnt out.
(It was a loud night though. Ecuador was playing Brazil and they had one the first game and needed to win or lose by less than four goals. They lost by three — so they won overall — which meant that everyone was out in the streets yelling and cheering and going crazy. I was glad I didn’t go out, because everyone came back telling stories of how dangerous it was, the fights and thefts they witnessed in front of their eyes. Even one gigantic British guy — close to 6 1/2 feet tall, and big, someone you wouldn’t mess with — said he got jumped by a couple guys!)
Then on Thursday I headed off to the bullfights with a group of four other people from the hostel. The sun was blazing down on us, but I was happy for it because I want to make sure I keep a bit of a tan until I get home!
The bullfight itself…I’m not sure how I feel about it. Claire loves them (she’d been to one that week already and is at another one today) and sees it as an artform, but I think the rest of us had mixed feelings. I’m glad I went, and I chock it up as a cultural experience, but I think it was actually even worse than I’d imagined.
They really do torture the bull, and it’s a bit shocking to actually watch an animal die before your eyes. Plus the bullfighters, to me, seem like haughty jerks. Just the way they stand, strut around, taunt the bull…all of it is this obnoxious show where they think they’re hot stuff, but I think they’re just full of it.
There were six fights in total. I had always thought it was just a showdown between a matador and a bull. Not so. There is the main bullfighter, but there are also a number of other “distracting” bullfighters. They run around waving their capes at the bull trying to confuse it, but then always run and hide behind this little gate so he can’t get to them and gets frustrated. Then two men on horses come out and the bull goes for the horses (who are blinded of course) while the men stab at the bull.
Then either the main bullfighter or another one comes out with two hooked batons and has to hook them into the bull’s back. He does this twice, so the bull has four of them in his back. So now the bull is bleeding and starting to get tired and distressed. At this point the very first bull that went on actually somehow totally broke/disconnected the bottom part of his foot (kind of like below the ankle, I guess). It was a bit disturbing, to say the least.
Then the main bullfighter comes out. He has a sword, and he spends what seems like FOREVER whipping his cape around getting the bull to run here and there until he’s exhausted. I have to admit, I was secretly always hoping the bull would be a bit of a smarter one and realize that there’s a person one inch away from the cape that he could go after, but they never did. Finally the bullfighter stabs the bull in the neck/back. Sometimes he has to do it a couple times if the sword doesn’t stay.
Then everyone’s cheering like crazy (I think we all kind of just stared in a kind of gruesome shock). The bull lays/collapses down, usually coughing up blood at this point. Then a guy comes out with a small dagger and stabs it in the neck somewhere that kills it instantly. Then the horses come out pulling a little cart thing and they load him on and drag him out.
So, you can judge by how it sounds as to how you’d feel about a bullfight. I can’t believe PETA wasn’t protesting outside!
The bullfights are just one part of a larger celebration here in Quito right now. Sunday is Founder’s Day, and here they begin celebrating the week before. So all week there have been bullfights and parades every day. As we approached the weekend, there’s more and more parades and dancing and singing in the street. Everyone is out on the streets, at restaurants, bars, etc. And they have these open-air party buses called chivas that everyone rides around in, blasting music and having a great time. It’s definitely an eternally festive air here in Quito.
I also attended a bear charity/benefit event the other night with some people from the hostel. They had a raffle (sadly, I didn’t win anything) and it was a good atmosphere. Lots of fun, and I got to bond with my hostel-mates a bit.
Today I went to do some last-minute souvenir shopping in the market here in Quito. It’s been nice just relaxing, catching up on sleep, having some time to be on the internet, and just hanging out with new friends here in Quito.
Tonight is basically my last night, as I have an early morning on Monday for my flight, so I’m sure we’ll do something special (well, every night is always someone’s last night!), not to mention that it’s one of the biggest days of Quito’s celebrations, and I’ll have tomorrow to soak in my last bit of South America. But I’m excited about going home as well, and every time I see a plane fly overheard I get a little bit more excited.
I know that after a while (though I’m getting to drag it out a bit since I’m only two weeks at home, then off to Sweden to see my Oscar which won’t get old very quickly!) I’ll miss my time here, but one thing I’ve realized on this trip is that traveling is in my blood, and I’ll always find ways to make another trip happen. You meet so many people on the road with different stories and situations, and you realize that anything is possible!
Last Thursday night, after I arrived back from the Galapagos and had a Thanksgiving dinner, my Dutch friend Maaike and I boarded a night bus to Lago Agrio. I also again ran into the Kiwi guy that I have been running into for the past month, as he’s been on the same route but about a day behind (and also went the Galapagos the same day as me, but on a shorter cruise) and he was of course on the same jungle tour as well!
Once we arrived in Lago Agrio the next morning we had a few hours to wait before we were picked up. Then it was the beginning (or continuation) of one very long day of travel. First we went in a truck for nearly three hours, half of which were on an unpaved road, to get to the port. It was a long drive.
Then we had a small lunch at the port (where there were some cute macaws and parrots hanging out!) and loaded into the motorized canoe that was to take us to our lodge. As my luck goes with jungle trips, it poured rain for the entire first half of the three hour boat ride. Luckily we were provided with ponchos, but that didn’t help the fact that we were going directly into the rain and it was pounding against our faces!
After a week in the Galapagos, I had grown so used to seeing animals everywhere, that it was hard for me to grasp that it’s not so easy in the jungle. I kept thinking I saw animals, but in the end it was always a log or something like that! And then when you do see animals, they’re often far and difficult to see, and definitely not so easy to photograph!
Finally we did arrive to the lodge. We were at the Nicky Amazon Lodge, apparently the only lodge you can book in Quito that is in the middle of the Cuyabeno Reserve and not on the edge of it. It’s used solely by the company Dracaena. It’s funny, actually, because when I had gone around looking at jungle tours before, this one was the only one that sounded a bit different and more interesting, but it was also $40 more than the other ones. But Maaike (and so I in turn) had booked it at another agency other than Dracaena — in fact one right around the corner — for the same price as all the other tours. Funny!
The lodge was empty when we got there and our group was only nine people. The lodge had seven cabins, each with two rooms that could hold up to three people. So they told us we could spread out, and all four of us that were solo-ers got to have our own rooms! I was excited to be able to have a huge double bed, but of course it ended up being a paper thin mattress and uncomfortable — but what should I expect in the jungle!
Overall it was very basic; only cold water (which is OK in the sticky heat of the jungle), no fans or a/c, no electricity at all (except for one solar-powered outlet area where we could charge batteries). That pretty much meant early bedtimes and lots of lounging in the hammocks in the main area, reading by candlelight.
The biggest downside was that it was harder to see and avoid bugs in the dark, and of course my flashlight decided to semi-break the second time I used it on the first day (it is a headlamp, but the button broke and you had to hold the button down to keep it on, which gets a bit painful and annoying, and totally defeats the purpose of having a headlamp!)
Anyways, the jungle trip started out with a lot of flashbacks. The canoe ride definitely had me thinking of my trip in Iquitos a few years ago. And the huts, mosquito nets, and hammocks all had me thinking of Southeast Asia.
Our first night we went on a short night walk in the jungle outside the camp. Here we finally saw some animals (though mostly a far cry from the cute and friendly sorts you see in the Galapagos!)
First we spotted a tarantula hanging out on a tree right outside our camp. This was followed by numerous other insect spottings: stick bugs, leaf bugs, cicadas, giant dragonflies, huge millipedes/centipedes, ants carrying leaves, etc. And plenty, plenty, plenty of spiders. I’m really just not a fan of spiders, and in the jungle they are big and they are everywhere. (Including in my hair one night when I was changing for bed!)
We also saw a snake, some frogs, lizards/iguanas, and some other things. An interesting night walk, especially with the sounds of the jungle echoing around you. In the jungle, the sounds of monkeys and birds are constantly going all around you. It’s pretty nice.
The next day we planned to get up early to go to a salt lick to see parrots, but it started to rain so we had a lazy morning napping in hammocks until later in the day when we went on another walk in the jungle down the river.
On the boat ride over (and all our rides on the river really) we saw tons of birds flying around — macaws, toucans, parrots, etc. But they are always far away, flying high above or sitting up high in trees so it’s impossible to get a picture of them. There was one interesting bird that can make fifteen different sounds, including sounds like a monkey and sounds like water dripping! We also saw some monkeys (I think in the whole trip we saw three or four different species) in the surrounding trees as we were in the boat, but again they try to stay mostly out of view. I wish I had brought binoculars!
Then we went on a hike in the jungle. There we saw all kinds of interesting plants and huge trees. We had a bilingual guide and a native guide, and the native guide showed us all kinds of interesting things about the jungle and how the indigenous people use it. Plants that cure this and that, giant tree roots that you can drink fresh (delicious and cold!) water from, and he also showed us how they use leaves to make things like crowns (used in wedding ceremonies) and backpacks!
We also saw plenty more insects — ants, centipedes, and some beautiful butterflies as well. There was one giant blue butterfly that we saw everywhere during the trip that was absolutely beautiful, but impossible to photograph!
I was starting to get a bit sick of the jungle though, wondering how I was going to make it through three more days! Mostly it was the bugs — you just cannot escape them. And despite my best efforts, I still had plenty of mosquito bites everywhere. Plus my room was basically all open; the roof is raised a foot above where the walls end, and my door didn’t even close all the way.
In our free time I liked to lay and nap or read in the hammock on my porch or a hammock in the main common area, but these loud obnoxious flies would buzz loudly all around you, driving me insane! I was also a bit anxious to sleep in a decent bed, take a hot shower, and just be away from the bland tour food and be able to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted again!
I was feeling better about things though in the afternoon when we went piranha fishing, using big sticks with fishing line and cut up pieces of meat. Maaike caught the first piranha, and I went on to catch three! I caught the most, with everyone else only catching one or none. It was actually pretty fun.
On the way back from piranha fishing we took our time and did some caiman spotting. At one point we pulled off to the side and our native guide caught a caiman and showed him off. Later we spotted a turtle and stopped off to look at it. It had just dug a nest and had laid eggs, and the guide picked the turtle up and picked out an egg to show us.
I was pretty bothered by this, I don’t really feel like they should be handling the animals, especially a turtle laying eggs! Apparently, though, the government here pays locals to go collect the eggs (supposedly so they aren’t eaten by predators) and hatch them in their communities, then they get 25 cents for each turtle. When we visited a community the next day we did see the big areas where they keep they keep the eggs/turtles.
The next day we were up bright and early for another chance to go visit the salt lick. It wasn’t quite what I expected, as it wasn’t quite as visible as I’ve seen pictures of other ones being. It looked like we were just stopped in front of a bunch of trees. There were a ton of parrots though, flying in and out of the area in huge numbers. But again we couldn’t get that close, you could hardly even tell the color of them flying up above against the sky.
Then we went to visit a local Kichwa community. We were going to visit the school, but it was Sunday so of course it was empty.
We found a bunch of kids playing soccer (with a big chunk of styrofoam!) in the main recreation area. A few of the people in our group joined them (they did find a real ball eventually).
It was interesting to visit the community and compare it with the one I’d visited in Iquitos. They were pretty different. This one was much smaller, and there were hardly any people around. I didn’t see any adults really, just lots of (really adorable!) kids. Who of course loved having their picture taken and getting to see themselves on the digital cameras.
But they community is not so isolated as you’d think. Yes, they have to go three hours in boat and three hours by car just to get to the nearest city, but they have solar powered electricity and television and computers with Internet (well, they did but apparently they weren’t there anymore when we visited).
Then we went to another area down the river where a family lives on a yucca/cocoa plantation, in a house away from the community. We had a nice little visitor then, an adorable monkey that comes and goes as it pleases.
He was a hungry little mono, but also not wanting to get too close to us, so he’d run around up on the rafters looking for food. At lunch he would take advantage of anyone who had their plate on the floor and run over and grab a handful of rice. In the end we set out some leftover fruit for him to eat. He was so cute, sitting there eating it right in front of us but kind of looking around afraid he’d get caught!
Then the family took us out and showed us how they harvest the yucca (a root, a bit like potato) and then how they make yucca bread out of it. It was really interesting; they make it using only yucca, nothing else is added. It’s a thin tortilla-like bread that is really delicious. They made tons of it for us and let us try it in different ways — with salt, sugar, marmalade, etc.
We took a short break at the lodge after this (it was the first blue-sky/sunny day and it was extra hot!) and then went out to this tower in the jungle to watch the sunset.
The tower, which is built around (but not attached to) a giant tree, is apparently 15 years old and was a bit terrifying to climb. It shook a lot and you can see clearly from the ground that it has a strange lean to it.
Parts were rotten or falling off, and I was definitely grateful to make it up and down without having any steps collapse beneath me!
The view from the top was nice, though. We were up high, and could see all the trees going out all around us, and a lovely sunset as well.
In fact, from the tower and during the boat ride back I probably took like a hundred pictures of the sunset, it was so gorgeous.
The next day was our last full day in the jungle (and a few people left who had only done a four day tour). We first went on a two hour walk in the jungle, but it was pretty uneventful and we didn’t really see any interesting plants or animals. We had a lot of free time to relax in the middle of the day, which I didn’t mind. It was nice to just relax in my hammock and listen to the jungle around me, enjoy the warmth of the air with a slight breeze. Try to ignore the flies!
In the afternoon we went out paddling (I think really this was just because both the motorized canoes were in use!) which wasn’t the most comfortable experience. One boat was basically sinking so they had to constantly bail out water, and our boat was just wooden benches very close to the floor so your knees were in your face and your butt was sore after just 15 minutes!
We paddled around a bit then went to do some more fishing. Eventually our two boats split up and the other boat (who had the native guide who is apparently specialized in fishing) went on to catch tons of piranha and catfish, which they cooked along with dinner that night. Our boat had much less luck (I caught one tiny catfish, no one else caught anything). But we did see some pink dolphins (which we had seen a couple times already, but they were closer and more active this time).
The next day our time in the jungle was done. I admittedly was pretty happy to get on the canoe and go. Of course, we still had a long, long day ahead of us. After the long journey back (again, three hours by boat, three by truck), we arrived in Lago Agrio with about seven more hours to kill until our night bus. And it’s not exactly the greatest town to have to kill time in.
Finally we boarded our bus, and I was happy to see that my seat actually reclined a bit! (On the ride up my seat was broken and didn’t recline more than an inch, which was miserable and I didn’t sleep at all.) As soon as I was basically asleep, the bus stopped, a military guy with a big machine gun got on, and we were all made to get off the bus. Some people were being patted down or their bags searched. We (a British couple, Maaike, and I) were the only foreigners on the bus, and they just waved us to a window where we had to show our passports and answer a couple questions.
I still have no idea why we had this random military check, but my best guess is that it was because we were coming from so close to the Colombian border. Lago Agrio is only like twenty minutes or something from Colombia, but it’s a really unsafe border. In fact, one guy in our group wanted to go to Colombia, and in order to do so he had to go all the way back to Quito, then go another five or six hours from there up to the one safe border crossing. Crazy!
It’s hard to believe I have less than a week left in my trip now! (Yes, originally I was coming home the 14th but changed it to the 7th, as I realized it would be better to allow myself two weeks at home to get things sorted and see family before I head off to Sweden.)
It’s amazing how time on the road goes. While I remember there were many times when it seemed to be moving so slowly, it now feels like it went by all too fast! Though at the same time, thinking back on my first day in Buenos Aires, or even back to Bolivia or southern Peru, seems like ages ago! While at the same time, it’s impossible to believe that Halloween in Lima was already more than a month ago. Strange how time goes.
I’m also having trouble grasping the fact that it’s going to be snowy and freezing when I get off the plane in Ohio. It’s so hot here at the Equator…and every time I see Christmas decorations up — a Christmas tree in a hotel, tinsel in the airport or on a small house in a jungle village — I first find myself thinking, “Weird that they have decorations up now for Christmas.”
Then I remember that it really is Christmastime! But it’s hard to feel it, without the rituals of putting everything up at home, going overboard decorating our apartment at school, hearing Christmas music everywhere you go, watching Christmas movies and TV specials…without all that it seems so strange!
I’m back in Quito now, trying to figure out how to spend my last few days on the continent. It’s also weird being alone again. The past month I’ve always been with people; I had two weeks with Lauren and Kassia, and then two weeks of Galapagos/jungle tours with groups and with Maaike (the Dutch girl who was my cabin-mate on the Floreana and was on the jungle tour with me). Now I’m back on my own, in the same hostel as I stayed in before in Quito, but without all the familiar faces. And I’m back to battling with my travel agency about a refund for the cruise. Before they seemed ready to hand it to me, now they are not sure if I will get one or not. So frustrating!
But I updated the Galapagos post, adding more pictures. I will try to get a post on the jungle up as well, but it might take a few days.

The Thanksgiving dinner attendees...can you tell me and Maaike? I didn't realize how tan we'd gotten!
Oh and also, I did attend a Thanksgiving dinner last Thursday, in the few hours between the arrival of our flight from the Galapagos and the departure of our night bus for Lago Agrio and the jungle. Both Maaike and I were exhausted and probably weren’t the most exciting dinner guests, but it was nice to be in a real home (it was the apartment of an Ecuadorian family that was housing the two American students hosting the dinner), and having a real Thanksgiving dinner.

Banos from the hostel roof
After another long bus ride we arrived in Banos. It’s a really beautiful town, entirely surrounded by gorgeous green mountains. We even had a great view of a waterfall right nearby from the roof of our hostel!
Walking to our hostel (after accidentally walking for a while in the completely wrong direction after I remembered one turn wrong) I noticed a couple restaurants with people eating by candlelight and thought it was strange how many romantic restaurants there were in such a small town. Then we arrived at the hostel and found that all the lights were off.
Our first thought was maybe we should find another hostel. Then we learned that because Ecuador is going through a kind of drought, the entire country had forced blackouts at different times, and it seemed to be Banos’s turn. We were too hungry to care that much, so after dropping our stuff we headed out to dinner at a placed called Casa Hood, which would quickly become “our place.”
We ended up having an excellent meal, leaving to find a place for dessert, not finding a place, and returning back to Casa Hood again for dessert as well. In the end we actually ended up eating there for dinner all three nights we were in Banos! Really great food and atmosphere – plus a gigantic book exchange which was nice.

Eucalyptus steam bath
The next day we decided to indulge and have this eucalyptus steam bath offered by our hostel. What an experience that was! First you go into this wooden box, with just your head sticking out, that has eucalyptus burning and full of steam. It gets realllly hot and you have moisture dripping all over you. My legs felt like they were on fire. Then you get out and you have to keep dipping this towel in cold water and running it all over your body. Then you get back in, sit for a while, then get back out and do the same thing again.
You do this two or three times, then the next time you get out you have to sit in this tiled bath/seat full of cold water, and you have to splash yourself with water and the assistant also splashes you with water. It’s FREEZING! Then back into the box again, then the next time out you do the towel again, then have to dump an entire bucket of water over your head.

Steam bath
Finally you get back into the box for the last time, and then comes the worst part of the whole experience. You get out and stand in this open shower. Then the assistant makes you turn around, front, back, sides, etc. while spraying you with this super strong/sharp water from a hose. He “massages” your abdomen and back back and forth for a while too and that REALLY hurts! It’s pretty painful. Then when he gets to your feet it’s just really ticklish!
But it was really cool overall. I’d definitely never done anything like it before. It must have relaxed us pretty well though because we ended up crawling into bed and sleeping for an hour and a half after it!
The rest of the day we spent wandering around Banos, booking a tour for the next day, and just relaxing.

We survived whitewater rafting!
The next day was an exciting one: whitewater rafting! Both Lauren and Kassia had done it before in Cusco, but this was my first time so I was a little bit freaking out. Once we got to the river and they started giving us the safety lesson is when I really started to get terrified. They were talking about what to do if/when you fell off the raft, the raft flipped, etc. and it really started to make me scared.
I had always thought that when you rafted you were actually sitting IN the raft, not ON it. So seeing that I was going to be sitting on the edge (the further to the edge the better) and holding myself on the boat only by wedging my foot as much as possible under a thing in the middle of the raft, I was becoming much less sure about the whole thing.
Once we were on the river, though, it was tons of fun (but still scary)! We were on 3-4 class rapids, and Lauren and Kassia had only done 2-3 in Cusco and they said this was way crazier. Right away we were into huge class 4 rapids. Almost first thing we had to follow the command “INSIDE!” which means throw yourself inside the raft and hold onto the rope around the side as tight as possible or else you’ll fall out! During the lesson when we we learned the different commands, Lauren and Kassia were like, “Oh you’ll never have to use that one, they just teach it to you in case.” Ha! We did it twice!
But it was definitely really thrilling! So much excitement! We even jumped the raft over a rock one time. And they would get us to row into rapids so we’d spin around and around. And many times the raft was totally full of water from crashing into rapids like crazy.

Kassia really happy to be alive
There was only one bad part. We were in some rapids and our guide told everyone to get out (he’d done this a couple times in calm water just so everyone could jump out and swim for a minute). I was still just getting comfortable with being IN the raft, so I stayed in.
But everyone else got out, and they had to just hold on to the rope on the side of the raft and float on the rapids, but Kassia wasn’t able to grab on and she started being carried away on the rapids. It was the scariest minute ever, because I could see her going and was just imagining how much I would be panicking if I were her, and it seemed like forever before the guide was able to grab her and pull her back. Luckily we were almost done rafting by then, but she was really shaken up by it (as she should be).
BUT, aside from that incident, the rafting was totally amazing. I’m not sure it’s something I would do again anytime soon, but it is something I’d definitely do again someday. It was a lot of fun and really, really exciting!

View from Cafe del Cielo
We had lunch with the tour, then went back to Banos to relax. Then we went up to a cafe, called Cafe del Cielo, way up in the mountains that had incredible views of all of Banos and the mountains and the volcano surrounding. We watched the sunset and had a really nice hot chocolate/coffee/snack.
The evening was again spent relaxing and then at Casa Hood for dinner. We planned to go out and get a glimpse of the weekend nightlife in Banos, but I think the early morning and crazy rafting experience had taken it all out of us and we ended up just going back to the hostel and hanging out for a bit before totally crashing in exhaustion.
This morning we woke up feeling the effects of the rafting. From the intense rowing and using everything I had to hold myself in the raft, all my muscles are crazy sore: lower back, sides, abs, butt, and to a lesser extent arms. Every time we have to sit up or move around, we all kind of groan and say “Owwww!”
Anyways, then we had a nice breakfast and a relaxing stroll around Banos before packing up and catching a bus to Quito. I probably could have spent another day or two hanging out in Banos, it was such a nice city, but I also am enjoying having someone to travel with for a bit and Kassia and Lauren were leaving today (they’re in a bit of a rush through Ecuador so they can have some time in Colombia before they flight out in a few weeks).
So the three of us are now in Quito. It was a bit of a shock arriving here. First off it only took three hours to get here, which is a) an INCREDIBLY short bus ride in South America, possibly the shortest I’ve ever had!, and b) an hour shorter than what we’d read the bus ride would be. Then we got off the bus to find ourselves at this shiny, super nice bus terminal/shopping center. This was not at all the Quito we were expecting!
Even on the long taxi ride into the New Town, everything seemed nicer than we had expected from Quito, which has a terrible reputation as being a horrible, dangerous, dirty city. So far it all seems OK! In fact, Ecuador overall seems much nicer than we expected. Though it is supposed to be just as poor as Peru, the buildings and cities seem nicer, the people seem to be generally better off — dressed nicely, etc. Of course it may be just that we’ve only been in nicer cities so far in our time here.
It’s also really, really weird using the American Dollar, which is the official currency of Ecuador. We kept looking at prices and wanting to divide by three (like soles to dollars) or something to convert to the “real” price, but the price we were looking at WAS the real price! It’s always a bit more shocking that way, seeing the price upfront like that. I’m still getting used to it. And it’s also funny because they have the same bills, but they use a mix of American coins and Ecuadorian ones (they have 50 cent pieces, as well as an Ecuadorian 25 cent and 5 cent used alongside the quarter and nickel). And they also use the one dollar coins a lot, which we loathe using in the States!
Overall, though, Ecuador has been better than expected, as none of us were really looking forward to it. I’m starting to get much more excited about the Galapagos as well (will go searching for a deal for a tour tomorrow after we visit the Equator!), as well as getting a bit excited for going home (and to Sweden to finally see my favorite Swede again!)
Accomodation: La Chimenea – $6.50/night for 4-bed dorm – mostly recommended; there’s wifi and computers, a pool (have to pay to swim though), a rooftop cafe serving breakfast (not included) that has great views of a waterfall and the surrounding mountains and town, OK beds/dorms (no lockers though) with ensuite bathrooms.

Mancora beach
After well over a month in Peru, it was hard to believe I was finally at my last stop in the country. And it was also one I’d been looking forward to for a while: the beach!
Mancora is known as being the beach to go to for travelers. It has great surfing as well as a reputation for being sunny and warm all year round. Luckily, it lived up to its reputation! After a couple days under gray skies in Huanchaco, I was happy to arrive, already, at 6 in the morning to a bright blue sky and shining sun.

Loki del Mar
I stayed at the Loki hostel in Mancora, which is brand new (actually celebrated it’s first birthday my first night there, with fireworks and everything!) and was built to be a hostel but looks like a resort. The buildings are blindingly white and funky-nice looking, and there’s a big pool with lounge chairs and a poolside bar all right in the center. So we got to feel like we were staying at a resort (minus the bunkbeds and lockers in the room) while paying hostel prices. Very nice!
There I met back up with two Australian girls, Lauren and Kassia, who I’d met in Lima and run into in Huaraz. I split my days between walking and relaxing on the beach and laying by the pool getting a tan. Not a hard life. The hostel itself was kind of a strange crowd, though, and even their big one-year bash wasn’t really that great. I hung out mostly with the Aussie girls and we didn’t really meet a lot of other friendly people (at least, of course, until the day we were leaving!)
It was nice to be by the beach and relax, though. Again I still felt that it would have been more fun if I’d been with friends. I was constantly thinking back to great times I’d had on beaches back home, in Southeast Asia, in Australia, etc. with good friends. Mancora just couldn’t live up to those memories!
The upside though was the sea was beautiful, I got a bit tan, and I finally started to feel like I was ready to actually DO something besides being a bit lazy. Though at the same time I wasn’t feel incredibly excited about Ecuador and the next five weeks (which I had quickly come to find was far too long to spend in Ecuador).
But lucky for me, the Australian girls were heading up to Ecuador the same day I was, to Cuenca as well. It’s always nice to have someone to share long (8-9 hour) bus rides and border crossings with.
So a little after noon we were on the Cifa International bus heading toward the border. This was the recommended bus by all the guidebooks, but that far from meant it was nice! First thing I was stuffed into a seat next to a woman with her naked baby, who was kicking me and screaming and breastfeeding all at the same time. Later it turned out that apparently she hadn’t paid for a bus ticket and she had to get up, at which time we discovered the baby had pooped everywhere, and it dripped on my seat as she left. Ugh. Not not NOT a pleasant experience at all — thank goodness Kassia had some baby wipes to lend me to wipe off my seat!
The bus ride was more bearable after the woman and the baby were gone, but it was still really crowded and uncomfortable overall. And then after we crossed the border out of Peru, they still made us switch buses! (The apparent reason for taking Cifa was that you didn’t have to do so.) Luckily the Pullman bus we switched into was much, much nicer and not at all crowded so I could have two seats all to myself. Then it was a matter of crossing the border into Ecuador (where they just print a bunch of numbers and words onto your passport instead of giving a nice stamp!) and another five hours driving up to Cuenca.

Main square in Cuenca
Cuenca is a really lovely city. You would never even know it was the third largest in Ecuador. It feels very small and safe, which we could tell immediately even arriving late at night. We took a taxi to a random hostel out of our guidebook, Hostal Monarca, where they only spoke Spanish so it was lucky I could understand most parts of it (though later one miscommunication about where to leave the room key meant we had to pay an extra $3 which was ridiculous.) The three of us were shown to a gigantic room that had four double beds in it (but room for probably ten!) and we all took a moment to collapse and roll around in our big beds.
Then it was out to see the town a bit and grab some dinner. We headed to a place called Blue Monday, where we had some fairly good (but incredibly filling) Mexican food. Then we grabbed dessert at an infamous hot chocolate place called Cacao & Canela. The guidebook had mentioned they had tons of hot chocolate flavors, including mozzarella. I decided I had to order it and see what it meant, but it turned out to mean they just served you a number of slices of cheese on the side. I even tried tossing a few into my (still incredibly delicious!) hot chocolate, but there wasn’t really much mozzarella flavor going on. It was still really good though.
The next day we decided to explore Cuenca. We visited the tourist information office, had breakfast, and walked around the main square, the markets, and along the river all in just a few hours. All of us were feeling just a bit tired and blah. After laying on the beach for a few days, the long hours of traveling and moving up in altitude were taking their toll on us.

Cinema!
Then we discovered the most perfect cure in Kassia’s guidebook: a cinema! And not just any cinema, but a cinema with a food court! Having felt a bit homesick the past few days, this was EXACTLY what I needed. We were so excited, we took a taxi to the place across the river because we couldn’t stand to take the time to walk. The taxi dropped us in front of every long-term-traveler-missing-home’s dream: a mini mall. We immediately grabbed lunch at KFC (which of course was absolutely nothing like the KFC at home, but still “popcorn” chicken and french fries hit the spot!) and bought tickets to see a movie.
We originally went to watch some Scrooge movie with Jim Carey that none of us had ever heard of, but because it was a kid’s movie it was in Spanish so we switched theaters and saw “I Love You Man” instead, which I had seen but it was a long time ago, in South Carolina, at a drive-in so it was almost like seeing a new movie! We walked out of the cinema an hour and a half later much, much happier and more rejuvenated people. And then on the walk home we ran into a guy we’d met in Mancora (well, actually the girls had originally met him in Argentina) and agreed to meet him for dinner later.
The rest of the day was spent doing more relaxing, and then going for a really delicious dinner at a tapas placed called Cafe Eucalyptus. Overall, it was a really great “breather” day for us all. And Cuenca was the perfect place for it. It was a very beautiful and tranquil town. Not at all stressful or overwhelming, a perfect way to begin our time in Ecuador.
Now I’m in Banos, and I already love it! So far we’ve already had some really amazing food and had a eucalyptus steam bath, which is an interesting but good experience. Now we’re off to see about some whitewater rafting and whatnot, but I’ll do a full Banos update later.

Huanchaco Beach
The past couple days I have been in Huanchaco, a small beach town outside of Trujillo. The main reason people visit either of these towns is to visit the surrounding ruins.
I arrived on the night bus from Huaraz with two French guys and a Spanish guy, so we decided to visit the Chan Chan ruins together. I have to admit, I wasn’t overly impressed. Part of it was surely that we decided not to spend the extra money to hire a guide (being that there wasn’t a common language between all of us that we could listen in), and so we were basically wandering around a big mud-adobe area that was, well, pretty ruined. You could only sort of imagine what it must have been back in the first century when it was built.
The main complex, the museum, and two huacas (temples) are all included in the entrance ticket, and crazy us decided to try walking between them all. It was a LOT of walking, and we ended up skipping out on the last huaca because we were pretty unimpressed and the ruins had thus far not been worth the effort!
So we all separately made our ways back to Huanchaco. I spent some time walking along the beach. It was nice to be on the ocean, but I have to admit that it really made me miss a lot of people from home, our random trips in college to Charleston or Myrtle Beach, or spring breaks in Florida. It would have been nice to have someone to share it with.
There’s really nothing much to do in Huanchaco, so by 9pm we were all back in our dorm, all on our netbooks just making use of the hostel’s wifi!

Murals in Huaca de la Luna
Today Oriol (the Spanish guy) and I headed out early to buy our bus tickets for tonight and to visit the Huacas del Sol y Luna. These were much more impressive (to me) than Chan Chan. The Huaca del Sol is just a huge pyramid. The Huaca del Luna you can actually go inside, and what I liked about it was how well preserved all the murals were. They were all over, and many still retained their color! It was definitely more interesting.
We took lunch in the Plaza de Armas in Trujillo, which is surely the only nice place in the city! The buildings around it are colorful and it looks really nice! The lunch was different. I got the famous Peruvian dish, aji de gallina, which was fine enough. But the soup I got before (it was a cheap 4.50 soles set lunch) came out complete with an entire chicken foot still in it. The little chicken claw was sticking out of the soup staring me down the whole time and kind of made me lose my appetite!

The beach, with a tortora boat (Huanchaco is famous for them)
Then it was back to Huanchaco again. While it is definitely nice staying by the sea rather than in Trujillo, it is a bit of a pain getting the collectivo back and forth between them (about 30 minutes each way). The collectivos get very crowded, and the seats are so close together it is impossible for someone with even slightly long legs to fit in them! Today we somehow found ourselves squeeze into the back seat multiple times, which meant crushed legs and banging heads on the ceiling!
All in all, Trujillo was a pretty necessary stopover on my way up the coast, but it’s been gray and the ruins weren’t exactly life changing, so I am read
y to head up the coast to Mancora tonight!
Accomodation: Hostel Naylamp – 15 soles/nt for dorm; right on the beach, has wifi, hot water, all the regular necessities, a nice courtyard with hammocks. Breakfast not included, but has a decent cafe that is open all day. I’d say it’s probably the best deal you’ll find in town.

View from my hostel
The other night I grabbed a night bus up to Huaraz. Arriving at 6:30 in the morning, I was quick to call my hostel, Caroline Lodging, to have someone pick me up and show me to my room! I spent the majority of the day sleeping. Rising from sea level to the high-altitude town of Huaraz overnight, plus not sleeping that great on the bus anyways, took its toll on me. It was the first time I could actually feel the altitude (I even woke up on the bus at one point realizing it was harder to breathe).
After a day of mostly sleeping (walking around and exploring town didn’t take too long), I was ready to get out and see the Huascarán National Park and Cordillera Blanca mountains. So I decided on a daytrip to the famous Laguna 69. Being a daytrip, I didn’t expect it to be too difficult. I was in for a bit of a surprise!

Trekking to Laguna 69
Our day began at about 6:30 when we loaded into the van for a three hour drive to the park and the start of our trek to the lagoon. Almost as soon as we started walking (on the first part, which is “flat”) I could already feel the straining in my calves. It wasn’t at all what I’d call steep, but it was a consistent slight incline that at first I could really feel. Eventually that was fine, but there wasn’t really much of a trail per se, and we were just a group of us from the hostel without any guide, just a map the hostel had given us. We had a few moments of confusion about which way to go, and there were a couple times we had to cross a river or two and had to scout out a good place to cross.
After crossing the river we left the grassy and forested valley area (full of cows!) and traipsed across some rocky terrain to what was the second part of the trek. At the briefing the night before we hadn’t really been told much about the second part, so I just assumed it would be easy, as the third part was described as the steep switchback part. Well, the second part wasn’t easy! In fact, it was steep and switchbacked in itself! And long!

More views while trekking
We had been told that we would eventually reach a small lake and that would be the halfway point of the trek and the beginning of the third and final part. Huffing and puffing up the second part (like I said, I was really feeling the altitude at this point — and feeling a bit lightheaded and having extra trouble breathing from my cold as well!), I kept anxiously anticipating this lake.
Finally I reached the lake (I was at the head of the group, except for a crazy Frenchman who had missed the crossing at the river, taken the wrong way, and yet still somehow passed me on the second part and jaunted off ahead) and sat for maybe five minutes to catch my breath and relax.
Then I was off again, ready for the final part. First you are in a big grassy area, and unfortunately here I got a bit lost as I couldn’t find where the trail up the mountain started. So I waited a bit and eventually the Swiss guy and Swedish couple from my group caught up and found the path (I had dropped my map somewhere, why I couldn’t find it). Soon I was ahead again, but I was really really feeling this trek! It seemed like an incredibly difficult one!
We had been told that the trek would take about 3 1/2 hours, and that the fastest time someone’s done was two hours and 15 minutes. So I was thinking maybe I would be able to do it in three hours since I am fast. But after two hours of walking I was starting to feel exhausted. Another hour of this? Steep uphill with switchbacks…it seemed endless. Then I saw the crazy French guy ahead of me, standing on a rock. I went up and asked him if he had already been to the lake and he said yes, it took him only one hour and 40-some minutes! I told him he was crazy, then he told me it was only another 50 meters up and then a short flat walk to the lagoon.

The new waterfall crashing forth!
This is why I call him my beacon of hope! Haha. So after that I felt totally rejuvenated and rocked up the last bit of uphill, finding myself soon at the most incredible sight! Laguna 69 (no idea why that’s the name) is absolutely gorgeous. The water is the most unbelievable blue color. This is pure water straight from the glacier above! And there are waterfalls all around, with impressive snow-covered mountains on all sides.
Soon the Swiss and the Swedish arrived as well, along with the Frenchman again, and we all took our requisite pictures and sat gazing in awe at the sight before us. Then I heard this loud noise that sounded like thunder. My first thought was, “Great, a storm is coming.” But then I looked up and saw a gigantic rush of water burst forth at the top of the mountain. I had literally just witnessed the birth of a waterfall from a glacier! It was seriously one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen! Before I knew it a full-fledged waterfall existed where none had just moments before. As the Swedish girl said, “Global warming in action.” Yikes!

Los Rapidos - The fast walkers! Me, the Swiss guy, the crazy Frenchman, and the Swedes.
Because we had done the trek so fast, we were able to relax for over an hour at the lagoon (which is at 4,800m by the way, or 15,700ft). The weather was beautiful, sunny and warm. We each found a rock to lay and just rest and admire our surroundings. Eventually five of the other six in the group made it (one older woman gave up halfway and turned back). We were told it often rained in the afternoons so the Frenchie, Swiss, a Spanish girl, and I all then started back the same way we’d came.
The walk back flew by compared to coming up! Of course going so much downhill is still a bit of a challenge and hard on your knees, but we chatted and concentrated on the walk ahead of us and it went by quickly. The hardest part was finding our way back once we had to cross the river. We couldn’t find where we’d originally crossed, so we had to find a somewhat doable replacement crossing and then kind of bushwhack our way through some prickly trees until we eventually reached the “path.”
The hardest part, in fact, was the very last maybe three minutes or so that we had to climb up big stone steps to get to the road! Since the Frenchman and I reached the end first, we go to watch everyone’s unhappy faces as they did that last aching climb! Haha. Then our bus, who was supposed to be waiting for us the whole time, wasn’t there and we had to wait for him to come back. (He told us we should be back by 3:30 at the latest, and then he didn’t even arrive until after then, once everyone was back!) But lucky for him, it hadn’t started raining or else we would have been much more upset about it.
Overall it was a really great day! I was a bit sick on the loooong (bumpy!) drive back to Huaraz. All I’d had was crackers and a small bag of yucca chips, and I was starting to get a migraine (probably from the quick and extreme changes in altitude, complemented by the lack of substantial food). I thought I was going to throw up or pass out before we got back to the hostel, but luckily we arrived in time and I nearly ran into town (a feat in itself, as here our hostel is at the bottom of a huge bank of stairs that are killer and leave you breathless even in normal circumstances!) and got a gigantic plate of a delicious burger and fries for only 7 soles at a place called La Brasa Roja, which had been recommended to me by a couple girls the night before.
In the end, I think I’m ready to take a break from trekking for a while and head to the beach! Tonight I will catch a bus to Trujillo/Huanchaco and visit the Chan Chan ruins, then Friday night I will catch a bus to Mancora. There I will bunk up in my fave hostel chain, Loki, meet up with a couple friends, and spend a few wonderful days relaxing on the beach before heading into Ecuador. Already I feel my trip is almost winding down — it’s been almost two months now (in 3 days!) and just over five weeks left. Unbelievable!
Accomodation: Caroline Lodging – 13 soles!/nt in dorm – Really great place to stay, for such a good price! And they will pick you up and drop you off at the bus station. Decent place to meet people, help arrange treks and daytrips, good breakfast (bread and jam plus a “surprise” — pancakes, cake, etc — addition every morning). Decent rooms and bathrooms. Only downside: pay internet, no wifi.
Really since Cusco I’ve been pretty lazy about the whole tourist thing. I mean, who says you have to always do everything you’re “supposed” to do? That’s the beauty of solo travel! So here in Lima I’ve basically stayed only in Miraflores. And why not? It is a really beautiful area, and it keeps me liking Lima despite all the bad things people say about it.
Miraflores, for one, does live it to it’s name. I mean I am always walking around thinking, “Mira! Flores!” (“Look! Flowers!”) and it’s spring so the flowers are blooming and gorgeous. And everywhere you go there are parks, parks, and more parks. It’s wonderful. At first I was a bit disappointed that they’d taken this beautiful coastal cliff and slapped a mall down on it. Then I walked a bit further along the coast and realized there are little parks everywhere along the coastline.

Parque del Amor
The other day I just spent hours park-hopping along the coast. There’s el Parque del Amor, which is basically a mini Parc Guell, with benches decorated with broken ceramic, etc. And a giant somewhat promiscuous lovers statue in the middle of the park. And also a ton of Peruvians making out.
Then there’s a park around a lighthouse, a small park with just a bunch of benches, one with weird sculptures, and on and on. Eventually I walked my way out to a huge park that was filled with just locals. It had tons of places to sit and watch the ocean and a big playground for kids. I sat there for a long time, just thinking.

The coast in Lima
It was then that the thought actually struck me that, whoa, I was here in this place soooo far from home, all on my own. And I had been for almost two months. It was really weird to think about it, because it just didn’t feel like a big deal. I guess partly because though I may wander around in the day by myself, every evening I’m always meeting new people and I never feel alone. And I have (knock on wood) yet to face any really huge difficulties with traveling on my own. Hopefully it stays that way!
Anyways, I did celebrate Halloween here in Lima. It was pretty fun, though nothing overly special. We eventually went to a party at another hostel where at least almost everyone was dressed up, and I ran into a couple Irish guys that I had known in Cusco.
Also, I suppose due in part to my laziness and occasional tendency to indulge myself because I’m alone, I have been embracing the obsession Lima seems to have with fast food. I can now expertly tell you that though they have every fast food chain here that we have in America (except apparently Wendy’s and Taco Bell), the food is NOT the same. For one, Burger King, KFC, and McDonald’s all have the same generic french fries. Very sad for me who loves Burger King fries and KFC wedges. Pizza Hut breadsticks and pizza just taste like butter, and their dipping sauce is this weird unappealing pink sauce. Also Pizza Hut here has invented the absolutely weirdest fast food thing ever. I wanted the cheapest thing they had, which was called a “Pizza Roll.” It turned out to be pizza bread with two hot dogs, cheese, and mustard baked inside it. So gross!
But despite all that, Lima isn’t a bad place to hang out for a few days. Especially now that the spring has come, it’s warm and beautiful out. Though I have had problems with allergies — not sure if it’s because it’s spring or because the city is a bit smoggy. But so many people skip out on Lima, and I think they should reconsider. Miraflores is beautiful and the coast is a really nice place to go. Plus there’s surfing and tons of paragliding if you’re looking for something a bit more adventurous!


































































