On November 12, Roman and I went to the Ecuador versus Uruguay world cup qualifier futbol game at Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa in Quito. It was an awesome experience and we were blown away by the fact that people came from all over the world to see a game that was within walking distance from our apartment!
For our 4 day weekend in November, we traveled to El Refugio Cloud Forest Lodge in the Intag Cloud Forest in Northwest Ecuador. The cloud forests of Ecuador have some of the most biologically diverse species of plants and animals in the world.
The lodge itself was beautiful and the food was all grown on the property or locally sourced. A very kind local couple and their 2 children manage the property. We had some of the best meals there that we have had in Ecuador. The first day we walked the trails on the property, including a climb to the mirador with views of the Intag valley and Volcan Cotacachi as well as the Toabunchi River.
The next day we explored the Siempre Verde reserve, about a half-hour drive from the refugio. We hiked several trails that included both primary and secondary forest. We saw different types of flowers and birds on our hike.
The highlight of our trip was exploring the Intag Cloud Forest Reserve, a forty-minute walk from El Refugio. We hiked to a beautiful waterfall and, on a second hike in the late afternoon, we were able to see the elusive Andean cock-of-the-rock. Overall, it was a relaxing long weekend at one of the most beautiful, natural places in Ecuador.
At the beginning of October, we had a three-day weekend that I spent in Panama City visiting Emmy, a friend of ours from Crested Butte, Colorado who is also teaching abroad. We had a great time catching up and taking in all that Panama has to offer. We spent time at an all-inclusive resort on the beach, caught up with some other friends from CB, and visited the Panama Canal.
Thanks for an amazing weekend Emmy! I can’t wait to visit you again and bring Roman along.
For the last part of our road trip through Northern Peru this past summer, we drove from Huamachuco to Chachapoyas. On our way to Chachapoyas we stopped for two nights in Celendin. As with most of the stops on our trip, it was Celendin’s independence day!
After getting settled into our lodging, we took a walk through the town in search of the celebration which we were told included cock fights and bull fights. We never found the cock fighting ring but Roman did climb up a sketchy looking scaffolding to catch a glimpse of a bull fight. This “ring” was literally put up the day before with two-by-fours and nails and was packed to the gills with people.
The next day, we drove out of town and Roman found a pretty fishing spot while Lucy and I relaxed in the shade. We continued our journey north the following morning, stopping in the Leimebamba district to check out a museum with mummies!
El Museo de Leimebamba was a nondescript place that you wouldn’t know was there unless you were looking for it. The artifacts and mummies in the museum were from numerous tombs found in the mountain overlooking Lago del Los Condores. It was very interesting to see but, unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside the museum.
Our destination was Chachapoyas. This town was one of the highlights of our trip for several reasons. First, we stayed at a beautiful hotel in town that was the fanciest place we stayed while in Peru. The owners of the hotel were some of the nicest people we met in Peru and allowed Lucy to stay with us even though they had a “no dogs allowed” policy (once again, Lucy was an ambassador!).
We enjoyed hiking to the Gocta waterfall, once considered the third highest waterfall in the world. It is now regarded as being in fifteenth place due to its multiple drops. The next day we took a drive, culminating in a walk down a path to the Sarcofagos de Karajia. We weren’t expecting to end up there but, for me, it was one of the coolest places we visited on the trip.
After spending three wonderful days exploring the area, we headed for La Balsa to cross the border back into Ecuador and end our three week journey.
Ecuadorons 