Ecuador

The objective: get to Chachapoyas (Peru) as soon as possible.

The outcome:

Day 1
6:00-6:10 leave our lodging in pick-up taxi for Vilcabamba bus stop
6:10-6:15 wait for bus to arrive
6:15-11:45 in bus through incredible cloud forests and high cliffs to Zumba
11:45-14:30 wait for transport
14:30-16:20 transport on converted cattle truck to border at La Balsa
16:20-17:00 walk over bridge at border + formalities
17:00-19:00 squeeze into car 7 people plus luggage for trip to San Ignacio
19:00 check into cheap hotel for US$6 per room - wooden walls with holes...

Day 2
7:35-7:40 leave hotel in mototaxi (motorbike with 3 wheels and space for passengers) to collectivo (car or minibus that fills up with various people and leaves when it is full) terminal
7:40-8:15 wait for more passengers
8:15-10:15 travel to Jaen in minibus collectivo
10:15-10:45 wait for minibus to be fixed after overheating
10:45-11:45 continue to Jaen
11:45-11:50 mototaxi from one collectivo terminal to another
11:50-12:00 wait for car collectivo to fill up
12:00-13:00 travel to Bagua Grande in car collectivo
13:00-13:05 mototaxi from one collectivo terminal to another
13:05-13:10 wait for car collectivo to fill up
13:10-14:30 travel in collectivo to Pedro Ruiz and try to keep driver awake
14:30-15:15 drive around Pedro Ruiz in minibus collectivo looking for other passengers
15:15-17:00 travel to Chachapoyas on a most beautiful (but terrible) road
17:00 check into hotel next to Plaza

Observations:

when a guidebook states 'beautiful scenery', it actually means 'not a single straight stretch, just winding bends on washed out gravel roads in over-crowded transport going incredibly slowly due to the poor condition of the road and the huge differences in altitude every few kilometres'! It was arguably, however, the most beautiful and remote route we had travelled to date.

Our driver from the border smuggled in about 60liters of cheap fuel from Ecuador to sell in Peru - seemed like a separate tank which he emptied in his home town on the way to San Ignacio. Everything works like a well-oiled machine - while he is draining the tank, his kids dig out plastic containers from under the seats and from other secret compartments throughout the car!

We may also have smuggled a person in! This one guy was dropped of just before the police check point where everyone needs to register and rejoined us after the checkpoint!

We wish we could have stayed longer in Cuenca (with easy access to beautiful national parks), but we did not. We wanted to get to northern Peru and therefore travelled south across Ecuador to the village of Vilcabamba. This place, or more specifically, the valley is known as 'the valley of longevity' and it is not uncommon to see people older than 100 years still working in their fields. The secret - no stress, good food and lots of exercise. You should know that by now.

We stayed outside of the village at Cabanas Rio Yambala. We had a little cottage close to the river with a great view out of our hammock. The food was excellent and very reasonably priced. Johan did some bird spotting from his hammock and saw yellow birds, blue birds, orange birds, brown birds, black birds and a striped bird. He could not page through the bird guide in his hand because he had to sit dead still for maximum observation.

After a day of rest we hiked into the mountains to the owners' private reserve called Las Palmas. It was a long day. It took us more than 4 hours one way and 2.5 hours back to cover some 11kms and 800m in altitude. We crossed various rivers on makeshift tree bridges and did not see other people the whole day. Johan saw a big red bird which he thinks might have been a type of parrot. The forests swarm with all sorts of butterflies, especially see-through ones! Johan still had the energy to go waterfall hunting (which was successful!), but when he returned Janine was worried that he was near to a heart attack. But he survived.

Vilcabamba was a fantastic and peaceful place to rest before attempting the next part of our journey to northern Peru. We called this leg that followed our own 'amazing race'...

Unfortunately we succumbed to the temptation to do the very touristy thing to travel on the roof of a train down a mountain (called the devil's nose) with 100s of other tourists. Well we did not really know that there would be so many tourists and that it would be so unauthentic. But on the other hand the scenery was beautiful and we did cover some distance! So we went straight and then down and then up (7 hours in total)... and we caught a bus to Cuenca. And that is about it!

Culture shock: Ecuadorians always jump the queue, bumping you out of the way and are generally unfriendly; we realised that the reason the women walk slowly is that all of them wear high heels to add some height.

We left the cloud forest reserve in a pick-up with a driver whose son's name is also Johan! First a pick-up, then a bus to Quito's main bus terminal and another the afternoon to Banos. Well that was the plan, but our Banos-bound bus was impounded by the police for 8 days because it took an illegal route! We then shared a taxi with a local couple on their honeymoon. When we arrived in the beautiful mountainous area of Banos, we headed for a little home stay with a view of the volcano Tungurahua. As we stopped, the volcano made a huge rumbling sound and clouds of smoked billowed out of its mouth, a mere 5kms away! What a privilege! We later realised that this continues day and night in about 20 minute intervals since May of this year. The volcano has been quite active since 1999.

As we were only stopping over for 1 night, we quickly booked a short evening tour to a nearby viewpoint. The tour itself was somewhat of a disaster as a few crowded trucks went to the same place and people got drunk around a bonfire while the volcano rumbled happily in the background. Unfortunately it was mostly cloudy and views of the volcano were rare. BUT there were a few occasions where we could see the volcano spitting streaks of bright red lava amidst constant loud rumbling! It was fantastic!

As were were staying about 100m from the nearby hot springs, we decided to go for a dip. But this was not one of our highlights. This is best illustrated with a simple metaphor: surfers don't mind to pee in their own wetsuits, but it is somewhat different if someone else pees in yours. Get the picture (or should I rather say "smell"!)? We left in a hurry...

We also bumped into our friends who were with us on the Galapagos cruise by a total coincidence. Felt like a reunion. Today we travelled from Banos on the road next to the volcano Tungurahua to Riobamba to board the train for the ride down the "devil's nose" tomorrow. This road was closed numerous times in the past due to the volcanic activity and some sections still have piles of volcanic ash next to and on the road.

Sunday morning found us on the 9:30 bus to Nanegalitho. About 1.5 hours in typical Ecuadorian rally racing style brought us to a spot just other side the town. We still had a 12 km dirt road section to take us to our lodge but no transport. Johan and some local hailed down a milk truck, direction back to town to find a taxi, and disappeared. Janine was left on the side of the road with all our luggage and our 8kg of food. Half an hour later the same milk truck returned, having offered to take us the final distance just in time for the big match. We watched the first half of the football final in the workers' quarters of the lodge and proceeded to pack out on the top floor of a dome construction (the lodge) which has place for 3 people (actually 4). After we spread our stuff out it was quite apparent to anyone that that level was fully occupied.

The proceeding 3 days were wonderful rest days. There are many hikes you can do on your own. Armed with map, water, bug repellent (super NB) and Janine's amazing sandwiches we would traipse the forests in the mornings until the afternoon cool brought the clouds rolling up the valley all the way to our perch - hence the name 'cloud forests'. Simply spectacular to walk through and to watch from our top floor of the dome.

The lodge has a few hummingbird feeders which attract the most stunning variety of hummingbirds - one that Janine particularly loved had a bright lilac chest and its body was no bigger than a brazil nut! The forest jungle contained such a variety of plants and insects that Janine was constantly in her element. Even Johan was noticing many a remarkable detail every so often - like tiny orchids and shiny green beetles.

Everything about that time, even the talkative ride back with a taxi driver who's wife was due to give birth the following morning, was so enjoyable and we left renewed. Onward to Banos - but that is another story!

After the Galapagos we touched down in one of the more dangerous cities in South America - Quito. The city is beautifully perched between mountains and a deep valley. To be honest we really loved Quito and felt quite at home with all the burglar bars and security - almost like home! The locals warned us time and again that we should NOT walk around after dark, not even for 1 block, but rather take a taxi - we heeded their advice.

It was also in Quito where we found the first proper shopping mall in 4 months! It was great and we stocked up on great fruits and snacks and all the little luxuries that we missed. Public transport was cheap and efficient and we made thorough use of it. After finding our feet and regrouping post-Galapagos, we were off on a bus to the town of Otavalo, famous for its huge Saturday market where all the indigenous people came from their villages in the surrounding areas to trade their goods.

On Saturday morning we first visited the animal market. Soos hulle in Afrikaans sal sê "markdag is ook varkdag" - kyk maar na die foto's. Anything from pigs to llamas, day old chickens to sheep, etc. Then we went to the proper market where you could buy anything. Really. In the food department, there were cow jaws, whole fried pigs and little bags with small sea snail like snails (raw, complete with shell), with lettuce and a lemon slice. You can buy hats, pottery, clothes, 2nd hand junk and off course many tourist souvenirs.

We stayed in a great cheap little hotel called Hotel Riviera Sucre. Our bathroom opened out onto the river (where we suspected the toilet outflow was as well). There is however only a certain amount of time allocated for sane people in markets, so we returned late that Saturday morning to Quito by public bus.

We were told that we MUST go to the Galapagos, even if it means maxing out our credit cards. And so we did. And it was worth every cent we owe the bank!

We went on one of the cheapest cruising boats in the Galapagos for an 8 day cruise around some of the islands. Our guide, Alfonso, was a Level 3 guide, the highest level in the Galapagos - and he was excellent! Our group was great (a french family of 4, an Australian, a Norwegian, a Canadian and an American) crew was great, our cook was superb and we ended up having a wonderful 8 days.

We would typically sail the longer distances through the night to arrive at a visitor site in the morning. Days were usually divided into two parts - one visitor site in the morning and one after siesta in the afternoon. Hiking was usually followed by fantastic snorkeling and we ended up spending about 50% of our excursion times under water. Navigation time gave us opportunity to glimpse dolphins, manta rays doing pancake flips, turtles, sharks, sea lions and many opportunistic sea birds hovering inches above our boat hoping for food. The choppy times were not Janine's favourite times. She nearly overdosed on sea sick tablets so that Johan was worried that she would develop a dependency! Most hours were stationery, however, so we all were fine in the end.

Hiking excursions took us up close and personal to many land dwelling creatures - most of which one can only find on these islands. We saw many a colourful Sally Lightfoot crab, sea lions, marine iguanas and land iguanas, snakes, lizzards, tortoises and many birds. The birds included blue footed boobies, masked (or Nazca) boobies, albatrosses, frigate birds, red-billed tropic birds, pelicans, Galapagos hawks, flamingos and, of course, many a Darwin's finch. These animals can be approached at unbelievably close distances - even the snakes - often closer than a meter. While we are not allowed to touch any animals, but if a friendly group of young sea lions start playing fetch with a stick then all is still above board! The giant tortoises at the Darwin station were something exceptional! Watching the albatrosses mating dances and their moment of take off at the 'albatross airport' was really something too.

The underwater animals were just as unflinching at our presence and we had the incredible privilege to swim in crystal clear waters with huge turtles, sea lions, rays, sharks, penguins, star fish, eels and many stunning tropical fish. We had the most fun with the sea lions who would either roll up along side you to check you out or twist and turn around you in the water - very playful! Sea lion social structure consists of a harem of females nursing babies, older pups frolicking in the water along the beach, a single 'super macho' male in charge of the lot who patrols the waters from 06:00 to 18:00 every day protecting the roost, mating with the females and warding off other males. This very tiring job usually results in rapid loss of weight and eventual replacement by the next successful over-thrower. The grown males that don't make the cut yet are called 'losers' and hang around in the background looking for easy passage to the sea for fishing. These losers were no threat to us - we just had to watch our backs with the super macho!

The thing that made these creatures and this place so special is the unique interaction one is able to have with the animals, not to mention the strange and beautiful landscapes. Galapagos is one of those unique and bizarrely stunning treasures of the world.

We are pretty much at the equator. We started our Galapagos trip 3 days earlier than planned by heading to the island of Santa Cruz for a rest before our 8 day boat trip around the islands. It is remarkable to be here - all the strange creatures around the town that come right up close to you - iguanas, pelicans, bright colourful crabs and tiny cute little birds - and we haven't even begun our boat tour yet!

We were so pleasantly surprised by our stay here in the town of Puerto Ayora. We found good, cheap accommodation; coconut juice and a fantastic supermarket where we can even stock up on our ziploc bags! The water here is crystal clear - even in the harbour. While one half of the isalnd is quite tropical, the vegetation and the landscape around the town is so unique - black lava chunks make up the crust, covered by a striking and haggard mix of different cactus species dispersed between almost Savannah-like scrub.

Johan considered hiring a surf board until he realized it costs US$30 for the day. We headed to the beach called Turtle Bay this morning while Ecuador was playing against England and had a truly stunning site all to ourselves (and the surf was not good today so Johan was very chuffed with himself!). We got up close to marine iguanas (only to be found on these islands) which thrilled Janine. The rest of the time was spent lazing in a protected cove where tiny birds came hopping over us as we watched sting rays and giant turtles swimming and a pelican hunting overhead.

Culture Shock: We noticed many good condition white double-cab bakkies (pick up trucks) driving all over the town and thought it odd until we realized that these are the taxis in Puerto Ayora!

What a difference! The border on the Peruvian side is wild - full of stalls selling all the junk you can imagine. The moment you cross the border, everything is different (except for the sticky humid climate). Very few stalls line the roads, people seemed more serious and there is just less busyness.

We eventually found our way to downtown Quayaquil, the 2nd largest city in Ecuador. Our first impressions were that everyone seems very scaly - not the friendly people we met in the rest of South America. The official currency is the US dollar after many years of high inflation. This resulted in everything becoming more expensive - instead of 22000 sucres (say 83US cents) things were just rounded up to US$1. And in most hotels and restaurants one needs to add 22% (tax and service) - Johan hates the adding thing...

We also went to a small park in the city (a tiny version of the Company Gardens in Cape Town) where there were just green iguanas everywhere - Janine loved it!

We managed to buy our flight tickets to the Galapagos today and will fly out tomorrow morning. This is 3 days earlier than planned so we can enjoy some relaxing at the beach before we head of on an 8 day cruise around the islands.

Culture shock: The process of buying a miniDV cassette for the video camera: 1) a salesperson confirms that they have it in stock 2) another person asks me for my name and passport number which is typed into a computer and a printout is made 3) she accompanies me to the 2nd storey of the shop where I have to pay the money to a 3rd person 4) I then have to go down again, but this time to the store area where my receipt is typed into another computer and reprinted and signed by 2 people and then also myself 3) the 4th person goes and finds the cassette and checks it against the slip 4) another security check is done at the door - this is job creation in its purest form!