The last bit of Ecuador

Tena is on the edge of the Amazon rainforest so we booked a two-day trip. Walked the first morning in welly boots to a small (very small!) indigenous community where we washed in the river and spent the night in a hut - really peaceful, no electricity. Our 6am bird watching trip was rained off - it was pouring so we lay in bed listening to the rain on the palm roof. Floated down the swollen river in a small canoe in still pouring rain - well, it's supposed to rain 250 days a year here, worse than Dartmoor! Cleared up late afternoon when we were back in Tena.

Spent the next day with the locals at river swimming pools and a sort of beach in glorious sunshine!

Now in Quito, where they closed the city centre on Sunday for  bikes only, ready to fly to Madrid on Monday night, home Wednesday.

Going down

Baños is halfway between the high mountains and the jungle, and quite touristy. It was in party mode when we arrived with processions, bands playing and lots of fireworks. We spent a day walking in the hills - four hours up, one and a half down. The thermal baths were very welcome. Then the waterfall route by bike, fortunately mostly downhill as legs were tired and getting to the waterfalls was very up and down.

 Further down to the jungle tomorrow.

Lake(s) and volcanoes

The 8-hour bus ride to Latacunga passed through a variety of mountain scenery, from green pastures to ice-capped volcanoes.

We caught the bus to the amazing crater lake of Quilatoa and stayed at 3800 metres - a wood-burner in the bedroom kept us warm. The next day was allegedly 11km mostly downhill to Chugchilan but it took us almost 6 hours  - we went an awful long way down before the last 2km up to our night's stay at 3200! The last picture shows what we came down, at times a near vertical scramble/slide with a landslip to negotiate.

Chris walked the next day but Judy didn't. Off to Baños tomorrow, heading slowly to the jungle.

Moving north in Ecuador

Vilcabamba was a relaxing stop, but a bit too full of retired ex-pat wannabe-hippy Americans for our liking. Not real Ecuador.

Another 5-hour minibus ride got us to our apartment in the historic centre of Cuenca which has some fine colonial buildings. With fine dining (twice) and a symphony orchestra (once) it all feels a bit civilized!

Have just satisfied Judy's need to go horse riding - not sure we can walk far tomorrow!

One day visiting local villages which were less interesting than expected. Last day walking in the Cajas national park - lovely but high - picnic at 3960m! J still having difficulty breathing at these altitudes!

Now heading a long way north and up into the high mountains and volcanoes.

Into Ecuador

After a disastrous start when our 'agent' failed to buy our tickets out of Chachapoyas, everything went fine. Three colectivo (minibus) rides totalling 7 hours got us to San Ignacio, about an hour south of the border, by mid-afternoon. We decided to stay as it was the last decent-sized town. Found a hotel, had a coffee and then had the best mixed grill in Peru!

Yesterday to the border where passport control was a shed either side. And miracle, a bus leaving half an hour later. The road was very steep, very windy and not paved so the first 50km was nearly 3 hours. It got a bit better at times, but still over 6 hours for 150km!

Now we're settled in our nice apartment overlooking the quiet small town of Vilcabamba for three nights.

Keulap

These three days were our very own Inka Trail, but to the Chachapoyan fortress of Kuelap. First night we were the only tourists in the village. Second day went well until the guide lost the trail and we had to fight our way down what seemed at times a sheer drop mountain side through thick undergrowth. After 6 hours walking a great lunch. Third day was up, up, up...J cheated and took the bus!

Kuelap, at 3000m, is totally different from Macchu Picchu, a different culture, pre Inka and just as amazing.  It's huge, mostly in ruin, but enough left for the imagination.

Northern Peru

We wanted to get to Chachapoyas but both our guide books said it was a 10-12 hour bus ride over dangerous mountain roads from the nearest big cities. So we took a gamble and booked a flight to the small town of Jaén, hoping to be able to town hop on local buses. But at the airport (more like a shed) we found a minibus going direct - hooray! Only 5 hours and through great scenery. Found a place to stay and celebrated with a delicious steak and chips.

We like it here, it's relaxed but quite lively, lovely people, stunning scenery  and it would be easy to spend a couple of weeks exploring the area. Anyway, we trekked to Gocta Falls today, at 771 metres it's one-of the highest in the world and pretty spectacular. A tough walk - took us 7 hours to do the 12 kms, there was so much up and down. We had done half as much again at over 3000 metres in Bolivia.

Off for a 3-day trek tomorrow, must be mad!

Lima

We arrived at our apartment and went shopping for essentials - a breakfast cereal that wasn't the puffed wheat that everyone seems to serve, and some beer, maybe even a bottle of wine - only to find that the government had banned the sale of alcohol for two days because of the elections! Couldn't even get a beer with a meal.

The next day Lima was effectively shut, (even the changing of the guard outside the president's palace didn't happen) shops, museums, churches, from 8am until 4pm for the voting. So we had a day of not very much, but walked around and admired the old buildings.  Then just after 4pm everyone hit the streets and the churches and the city came back to life, but because it was Sunday there weren't many restaurants open in the evening but the Chinese didn't let us down.

Today is Monday and a public holiday, two reasons why Lima is mostly shut again, but we have beer!

Tomorrow we're heading up (north) and up (back into the mountains). We have a plan but don't know if it'll work, nothing booked after the flight tomorrow.

Macchu Picchu pics

A few more.

Cusco and Macchu Picchu

A few hours north of Puno we left the dry altiplano and descended through valleys which were well irrigated so quite green  at the bottom. On arriving at Cusco our guest house, booked weeks ago, said they had no room and sent us elsewhere, not so good. But there's a good cake shop next door and cheap beer a minute away!

Our first day we walked up to the fortress of Sacsayhuaman (amazing) then caught a bus up to Tambomachay. We found a good track down the valley leading back to Cusco and on the way we passed more Inka ruins with no-one around. 

We had booked a two-day tour of the Sacred Valley and up to Macchu Picchu so visited Pisac, thought to be an agricultural development site with incredible terracing, and Ollataytambo, thought to be an astronomical site(more climbing up loads of steps), before catching the train to the town below Macchu Picchu, real touristville, where we spent the night.  Up to Macchu Picchu early this morning which is as incredible as in all the pictures, then back to Cusco in the evening. Will post some pics separately.

A free day in Cusco tomorrow then off to Lima which should be interesting as it's the elections this weekend! Didn't know that when we booked. Loads of political rallies with music, marches and lots of loud bangs!

More pics around Lake Titicaca

Here's a few more.

Forgot to mention the huge parade on Sunday morning.

Lake Titicaca

Arriving in Copacabana on the southern Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca was a bit like going to the seaside - sunshine, beach, boats and a good handful of tourists, but all at 3800 metres. We spent one day visiting the islands of the sun and moon, with a long time on the ferries and a few Inca remains, but the scenery was lovely.

The Saturday we stayed in town, visited a couple of small Inca sites then went to the cathedral where we arrived as a wedding was finishing, and also a bizarre ceremony of blessing cars - Bolivian road safety! Lunch was fish and chips Lake Titicaca style. Copacabana is as romantic as it sounds! And a great end to our stay in Bolivia

Then on to Puno, just across the border in Peru. Most tourists come here to visit the floating islands but we went to the ancient pre-Inka and Inka burial site of Sillustani where the burials were in towers.  Tomorrow an all-day bus ride to Cusco.

La Paz

It's cooler here and the air's thinner but then it's thickened by the pollution!  But we're walking around and visiting museums (most of which don't allow photos) in between cafés. The city is in a hollow about 400m deep and  there are houses up all the surrounding hills up onto the altoplano and there's a network of cable-cars linking the various areas. Today we went out of La Paz on a trip to Tiwanaku, a centre of pre-Inka civilization. Tomorrow we're heading north to Lake Titicaca and then into Peru.