Goodbye Ecuador - Santa Marianita and Cuenca

After the hustle and bustle of Quito we headed to the coast to hang with a friend who was volunteering at a hostel on the beach for a few days. The beach, Santa Marianita, isn't a popular backpacker beach. It's actually a pretty weird place, as was the hostel we stayed at. The main reasons people go there are 1) they are really into wind surfing or 2) they are a retiree from North America. 

There was a set of about 8 "restaurants" along the beach that all look the same and serve the same food. Someone started one and then a few other people thought it was a good idea so they did the exact same thing. Then one in particular became popular with the Gringos and the others were losing out on business. To solve this problem the government declared that each restaurant can only be open 3 days a week to spread the funds around. This is some of the weirdness of Santa Marianita. That and all the retired North Americans hanging around who can't speak Spanish and have a distrust of Ecuadorians. 

The beach was good for chilling though and the waves were strong. There's a lot of development going on so look out for it as an up and coming holiday destination. 

Beach Sunset

The Hostel

After the beach we headed to Cuenca which had been highly recommended. It's another pretty colonial town with museums and churches galore.

The Main Square

Some interesting Graffiti 

We went to one of the weirdest museums I've ever been to - Prohibido Museo de Arte Extremo. It was an old house full of paintings of naked fairies and skeleton sculptures. I think some interesting parties go on there. 

We had a spa day - 2 for 1 Mondays. First time in a steam box - felt a little claustrophobic. 

From Cuenca we got a night bus into Peru (which involved a surprisingly easy border crossing at 2 in the morning). From there it was one day bus and one night bus until we arrived at our first Peruvian destination at 5am. 

Quito, Ecuador's Capital

We ended up spending a decent amount of time in Quito either side of the Amazon. It was a strange city, nestled in a valley in the Andes about 2820 m above sea level but there was lots to do. This was also our first taste of altitude sickness - Alex was really feeling it, he had to fight to stay awake in the super market. 

Quito has one of the coolest parks I've seen; it had a weird abandoned play area, complete with graffiti-ed plane, fun statues, little moat with paddle boats, botanical garden, heaps of different sports fields and a BMX track. 

Walking around the historical center also reveals many treasures.

This is a popular food chain.....

Typical Street in Old Town

This is apparently the site of one of the great Incan Ruler's Palace (because they moved up from Peru into Ecuador and killed a bunch of people)

In the historical center of Quito the Basilica dominates all other churches. It's worth the entrance fee to get up into the towers for great views of Quito.

Stained Glass inside the Basilica

View of Quito from the Towers

Armadillos on the side of the church

These were the "stairs" that you had to climb to get up to one of the other towers. People were climbing up them with a baby in one arm! I was scared going up and down them while still able to use all my limbs. 

The view from the other tower. When you go up those towers you can get right in behind the clocks to see how they work. They were the wrong time on all sides.

Obviously if you're in Ecuador you can't miss Mitad del Mundo (The middle of the world). It's a pretty easy day trip from Quito once you figure out the buses. There are two equators in Ecuador: There's Ciudad Mitad del Mundo (The Middle of the World City) - the famous landmark that sits on the equator as calculated by the French in 1736. At the monument there is a plaque that says the equator is actually about 5 km wide and during the solstice or equinox the equator is actually pretty much on the yellow line based on GPS. And then there's the actual equator that has been calculated by GPS to be about 240 m north of the yellow line. There's a museum here that tries to prove they are the real equator with a few since experiments (which we were pretty sure were bogus, I think you can balance an egg on a nail anywhere).

The Famous Yellow Line

Dancers at Ciudad Mitad del Mundo. There were also llamas for good measure. 

Our first taste of shrunken heads at the equator. Apparently the human head is a young boy's who died before his time and his dad wanted a keep sake to remember him by. It's illegal for tribes in the amazon to continue this practice on human heads so they use animals now so they don't lose the skills. 

The Real Equator

I think the other must do in Quito is a trip up the teleferiqo, a cable car that takes you up the Andes to 4100 m in altitude. From here you can hike further up Pichincha Volcano. Everyone really plays this "walk" down, but I am here to tell you that it is no walk in the park, it's a kind of intense hike. Firstly, you're at 4100 m so altitude is a factor - it's hard work walking around the car park. Then once you get closer to the peak you realise it's got a pit of snow on it and you're only in shorts and thermals. The closer the the peak you get the more the weather changes, it's starts to hail and another hiker tells you you've got another hour and a half to go. About maybe an hour from the top we decide to head back, we're not prepared for this. As we do head back the hail gets worse (it actually kind of hurts) and a big thunder storm comes rolling in, it's about the closest to lightning we've been. We turn and see a few hikers running down from the peak. We made it back to Quito safe and sound but with blood pumping.

The start of the hike when it was all grassy fields and sun

The peak before the storm

It was more ice than snow. But now we can cross having a snow/ice fight on top of a volcano off our bucket list

Hail!

For comparison, check out the difference in the peak, now it's covered in hail and snow.

The Ecuadorian Amazon - Cuyabeno

After a shorter than expected night bus that left us in Lago Agro (home town of Soccer Star Antonio Valencia) at 4 in the morning (not advised) we were put on a bus to Cuyabeno, an area of the Amazon in the north of Ecuador. It took a two hour motor canoe ride to make it to our lodge. Half the time it was bucketing down rain and we had to share 1 poncho between two. Welcome to the Amazon!

Apparently it's the rainy season right now, this meant it rained 4 out of 5 days and when it rains in the Amazon it really rains. Usually there is a garden in the middle of all the huts in the lodge but it was totally flooded when we were there. This means that you get things like electric eels and caiman swimming around your hut.

Our room was nicer than expected but we were ready to get out of there by the end. After hanging all our wet clothes that never really dried all around it the place takes on a bit of a weird smell.

Activities of the Amazon

Most of our time was spent on the motor canoe cruising around the rivers trying to spot some animals. Occasionally we ventured onto land. 

We went on a leisurely walk through the forest which involved a lagoon crossing where the water level was generally just above the top of your wellies. This involved a lot of screaming, slipping and cursing. 

A night walk to find insects involved an unexpected equator crossing. I've lost count of the amount of times we've crossed the equator line since being in Ecuador.

We visited our guides local village to learn how to make yuca bread, from the ground to your stomach. Yuca is the root of a plant that is similar to potato, a bit more stringy, and is everywhere through Latin America.

Recipe for Yuca Bread

• Using a machete (because you're in Latin America) chop the branches of the yuca plant off.
• Get a strong man or two to pull the roots of the plant out of the ground.
• Peel, still using the machete, and wash the yuca.
• Finely grate the yuca. Traditionally you would use a spiky tree but if one is not available a grater will make a fine replacement.
• Using a large woven mat squeeze all the liquid out of the yuca. This liquid can be saved to later make a sauce.
• Sift the now dry yuca. 
• Place a cup of the yuca in a pre-heated pan. No oil required. 
• Continue to flip the yuca until slightly brown on both sides. 
• Remove from pan, add toppings, enjoy. 

Note: the more you eat the dryer your mouth becomes. 

Yuca fresh from the ground

Grating was a team effort

Draining the Yuca

The final product - Yuca Bread, Capsicum, Tomato Sauce and Tuna

After the yuca bread feast a game of soccer with the local kids kicked off.

We were supposed to meet a shaman but we were told he'd "Gone fishing" and wouldn't be back until 9pm. The replacement activity was a 30 minute walk to a 200 yr old tree.

On the walk we got to try fresh cocoa. If you cut one of these cocoa pods open there's white flesh and cocoa beans (used to make chocolate). We didn't try the beans but the white flesh around them was sour but quite nice.

Finally, a trip to the Amazon wouldn't be complete without a sunset swim.  

Animals of the Amazon

While the animal spotting was good, we've been spoiled by Costa Rica. We saw 5 out of the 10 types of monkeys that were knocking around and ticked the big two animals I wanted to see off the list: an anaconda and pink river dolphins. We have no photos of the pink river dolphins, they were too quick, but we got to watch a pod of them make their way up the river, one of the highlights. 

Squirrel Monkey - still my favourite

I forget their real name but the locals call them Stinky Turkeys. The locals don't eat them because their meat smells so bad. They were the most common animal throughout the Amazon. 

A little mouse in a tree

Baby Anaconda - 1m long

A nest of freshly hatched birds that we nearly ran over while trying to get a better look. Oops :/

One of the many birds around

Woolie Monkey. We got to watch a huge family swinging through the trees above us. 

Tamarin Moneky

The Amazon was an awesome adventure but after 5 days of wearing stinking clothes and being wet and cold we were quite happy to return to our comfy hostel in Quito with the best beds and hot hot showers.