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Greetings from Mancora, Peru, where we are currently on day 5 of chilling out on the beach. Over the last few days Kate and I have discussed how best to write about Ecuador. To be honest, even writing something as irrelevant as a travel blog I feel a bit conflicted. On the one hand we did enjoy our week there and i do want to be positive about it. On the other hand we came from Colombia where we never felt anything other than completely safe and this was not the case in Ecuador, particularly Quito. I think the best thing to do is to just describe our time and hope not to put people off what is actually a nice country with problems that could so easily be fixed.
We crossed the border on Wednesday 2nd November at Ipailes which went much better than either of us expected. Infact the only disappointment was the rather dull passport stamp on entering Ecuador!! We crossed the border with two Australians we met on the bus and so with a strength in numbers mentality we headed to the Tulcan bus terminal just inside Ecuador. At $4.5 for a five hour journey we were happy to have reached another cheap country! While the bus ride was a pain as we had travelled a lot that day, we did get our first glimpse of the Ecuadorian landscape. Given that all you cross is a man made border, I just expected the same as Colombia but the views were awesome with mountain ranges and our first glimpse of a snow covered mountain peak. As well as this, in Ecuador you often feel like you're in a cloud, and the reason for this is that you are!! The combination of being at altitude and among the Ecuadorian Andes gives some great low-lying clod picturesque scenery and it was a good way to start our second country. We got a taxi to 'The Secret Garden' hostel which seemed nice and went up to have a beer on the terrace which has cracking views of Quito at night. On the terrace we ran into Antonio who we did the Pablo Escoban Tour with in Medellin, and he told us of the problems a large percentage of the guests had had. Two girls had their bags stolen out of their hands, a guy was mugged in the 'Old Town', and one particularly unlucky chap was attacked in a a cab at knifepoint, pepersprayed, robbed and left at the side of the road semi-naked….NOT COOL!! To add to this he'd heard horror stories from other hostels and what was most shocking was that many attacks were happening in plain sight in the middle of the day! In light of this new information we agreed with Mick and Laura (the Aussies) to stick together the following day. We went to bed that night and thought, 'what the hell are we doing here?!'
Thursday came and the four of us went out on a guided walking tour of Quito. We took in the Plaza Grande, the Cathedral, Palacio Arzobul and the Presidential Palce. This tour took place in the middle of the day but our guide warned us to be highly vigilant and keep cameras hidden away. Kate asked Conswaila (our guide) if muggings were mainly aimed at Gringos or locals also. She said that the attacks were fairly indiscriminate but foreigners are often targeted because of our supposed wealth. To be so on guard in the middle of the day just left rather a bad taste and we agreed to leave Quito the following day. We had a Chinese in the afternoon and beers in the hostel that evening with Mick and Laura who were excellent company. It was such a disappointment because the parts of Quito that we saw were beautiful. The 'Old Town' had great buildings and looked to have nice restaurants and would have been a great place to explore. I could, as Kate will testify, rant on about this for ages but the thing that sticks out most for me is the importance of law and order and police on the streets. Colombia seems to have realised that people want to feel safe and Ecuador (or at least Quito) is getting left behind!
The following day we headed 2.5 hours south to Cotopaxi, home of the highest active volcano in the World. Given the secluded nature of our accommodation we had truly left crime and troubles behind! The Secret Garden Cotopaxi was set in the middle of nowhere and had great views of the snow capped volcano (see pictures). We pushed the boat out and got a 'Cabaña', which had a wood-fire and the best views of the landscape. We booked to go to the refuge on the volcano the following day and went for a walk to some local waterfalls that afternoon. It was here that the altitude hit us (the hostel is at 3,800m) and breath was hard to come by. We had a lovely evening meal of chicken curry, played with the dogs and then took an early night to be ready for tmrws adventure.
Unfortunately I didn't get much sleep as I felt pretty ill so Kate did the Volcano on her own. Despite being seriously out of breath she said it was awesome and she made it to the refuge (4,810m) and had some hot chocolate with the French Canadian she was with…WELL DONE KATE!!! On her return to the ranch we relaxed in the Jacuzzi, read a bit, then ate and drank. I chatted with an American about the economy and Kate played with the dogs.
The following day we travelled from Cotopaxi to Baños via Machachi and Ambato. It was the first time we'd travelled quite rough but we managed to flag down our buses from the side of the road and Kate outdid herself with her Spanish! We arrived in Baños still a bit worried after the tales of Quito and Cotopaxi (I forgot to say, the day before we arrived in Cotopaxi there were 11 guests. Of those 11 guests, 9 had been mugged7 assaulted in Quito…ridiculous!!) but we needn't have been. Baños is a very small town made up of market stalls, restaurants and communal squares. It's a lovely place to wander and is surrounded on all sides by green mountains. On one side is a pretty cool waterfall which adds to the feeling of being in a great place. Our hostel was ok (Platos y Blancha) and we ate at a nice place called Café Hood. Again I had a steak and it was delicious. However, such is the standard of steak in this continent that café Hood doesn't make the podium…at present it's a Colombian clean sweep!! We had a good few beers and an early night. The night was interrupted constantly by a guy throwing up over a neighboring balcony. This went on ALL NIGHT!! Kate was not happy!!
Monday was spent sorting out banking, researching buses and Kate wrote the blog for the end of Colombia. The rest of the day was spent exploring the city and having many a beer and a good few Mojitos!!
Given Tuesday was travel day the previous evenings frivolities were probably a bad idea but we set off to Guayaquil and made it successfully. The city itself is nice and they've invested heavily in the Malecon 2000 (the waterfront) and the result is very impressive. We decided to book a hotel for a bit of luxury but it turned out to be the worst place we've stayed. Hostels over here are fantastic and very well priced, in comparison the hotels are awful! That night, given the shody state of our digs we decided we wanted out of Ecuador. We got the 7:20am bus to Mancora, and despite only having been here for five days, we're much happier here!
Anyway, that's that. Like I said, I feel a bit frustrated about Ecuador and couldn't recommend the place. It seems the only reason to come here is to go to the Galapagos Islands and that costs $1,000 for a week. I hope this hasn't been too negative as we did enjoy everything but Quito, but the enjoyment of Ecuador to that of Colombia is incomparable!
Hope everyone is well back home and enjoying the blog (sorry this one's been so long!). I think it's probably a bit vain but we both like to hear comments from you all so feel free to comment.
All is well here and we're very much enjoying Peru. Kate's back next time, I'm off for a beer in the sun!!
Joe and Kate.
PS. Sorry but the photos are out of order and we don't know how to fix it.
- comments
Alison Hi both of you! Sounds like you're having an amazing time! I'm keeping up with your blog it's brilliant! Love the tales from afar! Keep us updated! Where next? X
Helen Clark Hi Joe & Katie, glad you came through Ecuador unscathed - not everyone sounds so lucky. Love the Llamas! Keep blogging - we really look forward to it. Everything fine at home.Love Mum & Dad xx
Daniela Wow! Sounds like Ecuador was rather scary! Glad you are both safe and sound. The pictures look awesome! Have just read this blog with nanny Berto, and Laura as she is having Sunday lunch with us. Much love to you both, Mum xxx
Sheila Peters Hi Joe and Katie what a surprise - I've reached the 21st century with my very own computer. alison is showing me Facebook. How great to read all about your travels - have a wonderful time and look forward to reading more soon. XX
Bren No need to apologise for the length of the blog Joe, the longer the better!! All sounds really great and the photos are brill - especially LOVING the Hamish jumper :) Stay safe xxx
McGav Cracking blog Joe, never apologise for it being too long, the quality of your prose keeps me hooked right to the last word! Ecuador sounds like a pretty scary place, but I suppose it's good that you're away from the safe well trodden tourist paths and are experiencing something a bit more edgy and 'real'? Though you probably wouldn't want to be there for too long... Anyway, keep living the dream and don't shy away from length (...ahem...), I love the details! McGav x x x