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.
A few weeks ago, Carlos and Sarah visited us and spent time exploring Ecuador. Carlos arrived a few days before Sarah and hit the ground running. Roman and Carlos first traveled to Cotopaxi National Park where they enjoyed the beautiful views of the volcano and did some horseback riding. On Friday, they rode the teleferico in Quito and hiked to the top of the Pichincha volcano (over 15,000 feet) with Lucy.
After Sarah arrived, we all traveled to Otavalo for a night and went to the textile market. When we returned to Quito on Monday evening, we got to see a soccer match between rival teams Barcelona (Guayaquil) and Deportivo Quito at the stadium right by our apartment.
After a day spent touring around Old Town, Roman, Sarah, and Carlos headed off to Mindo for a few nights. They saw a lot of interesting bird species, went zip-lining through the rainforest canopy, and hiked to a few waterfalls. The trip went by so fast and we miss them already! There are so many more things that we saw and did while they were here but I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.
Last weekend, Roman, Lucy, and I traveled to the town of Baños at the base of the Tungurahua volcano (on the way into town, we actually saw some smoke rising from the active volcano). The full name of Baños is Baños de Agua Santa (Baths of Holy Water) and is named after the hot springs located around the town. We stayed at the Posada del Arte hostel which is right next to the La Cascada de la Virgen (waterfall).
On Saturday, we didn’t let the rainy weather stop us from hiking around Casa del Arbol and then finding a place down by the river for Roman to fish. We got to try cuy for the first, and probably last, time. It was a little different than what we expected!
On Sunday, we explored the area of Pondoa, a tiny village on the dirt road to the refuge of the Tungurahua volcano. We can’t wait to go back to Baños when my knee is healthy enough to do some real hiking and biking. We would love to climb to the refuge of the volcano.
I know that I have posted about Parque Metropolitano before; however, since surgery on my knee in December, I have come to appreciate our proximity to the park for walks with Lucy. Roman dropped us off at the park entrance this morning and I was able to walk with Lucy for 2 hours or so. The park is absolutely beautiful with its eucalyptus trees and unexpected large sculptures around every turn. Lucy and I even came across a bunch of llamas at the entrance to the park today (At first, Lucy was not happy about them being there).
While Roman spent the afternoon playing paintball with some friends, Lucy and I enjoyed the fruit trees in our backyard and I hobbled over to “Spa de Uñas” to get my first pedicure. I should have gone sooner–it only cost $8 and the people there were super friendly and kind. I got to practice my Spanish–it is getting better now that Roman and I have been taking bi-weekly lessons. Since we haven’t posted yet this year, happy new year to all our friends and family near and far!
Last weekend we drove to Tena with our friends Nick and Vanessa and Vanessa’s visiting cousin, Tom. Tena’s on the other side of the mountainous and volcanic terrain that Quito is part of (about a 4 hour drive away) and has been the traditional jumping off point for trips into the Amazon. Though Mindo was our introduction to the jungle, Tena is the kind of jungle you read about; big insects, large leaved plants, and lots of rain. We were lucky to discover that Tena was celebrating its founding that weekend. The two day festival had live music, tons of people, and lots of food vendors.
We stayed in the Pakay eco-lodge. The cost of our stay at the Pakay included a fantastic breakfast of fruit, bread, spreads, and pancakes or eggs. A great way to start the day.
Our first day, we went rafting down the Hollin and Jongachi Rivers. River People, the guide company we used, pioneered the routes down the local rivers and did a great job of balancing safety and adventure. After a 45 minute hike down to the put in, we were off. The water was an amazing temperature, and a far cry from the snow fed rivers in Colorado, as the rivers here are primarily fed by rain water. Conditions were favorable even though the rainforest was in the middle of its dry season since it had been raining hard for a few days.
The trip took most of the day. That evening we went out in Tena, taking in the festival and even finding a cocktail bar opened by an expat. It was a nice respite from our two choices of drinks we’re generally exposed to here; Pilsener and Club brand beer.
On our way out of town back to Quito on Sunday we stopped at “Monkey Island”, a lodge property that accepted day guests to explore the grounds where a large group of monkeys resided. It was amazing to see monkeys for the first time, though when the forest randomly moved and rustled around you it was a bit unsettling. One monkey in particular put a bit of a show on for us. We all sensed she was having a bit of fun and liked the attention. Another neat discovery were countless leaf cutter ants. They eat mold that grows on leaves they bring under ground into their nests. Amazing. We’ll definitely go back to the area.
This gallery contains 16 photos.
Roman, Lucy, and I returned from our beach vacation on Monday and I got up on Tuesday morning to leave for a 4 day camping trip around the Cotopaxi volcano with the 7th grade class. It was quite an adventure … Continue reading
This last weekend Betsy had a long weekend from school for Cuenca Day (that town’s independence day from the Spaniards) so she, Lucy, and myself loaded into our recently new vehicle and drove 325 kilometers to the small fishing town of Tonchigue on the west coast of Ecuador. We’re still figuring out the best way to get out of Quito on a Friday afternoon. It feels like hand to hand combat.
The drive to Tonchigue was similar to other driving experiences we found in Ecuador. Once past Mindo it was more of the same; a twisting road that climbs and descends, people passing on double yellow, and brush and bamboo that creep and lean over the road. I like to think I pass with caution. Towards the middle of the drive we turned onto an honest to goodness two lane road (each way) with a speed limit of 100kph. Based on the radar displays along the way I can tell you that our vehicle is somewhere between 6-8 kph faster than the speedometer. It’s good to know our ride can roll at a descent rate. We finally rendezvoused with our group at the beach house and finally felt like weekend set in.
Where we were was on a stretch of beach north of the pueblita of Tonchigue and south of the nearly-as-small pueblita of Same (pronounced Sah-may). The beach consisted of swaths of sand and patches of crushed sea shells and rounded pebbles. Though there wasn’t any surf to speak of, the water was warm and it ran up onto the beach nicely. As a bonus, our condo was located adjacent to a cemetery (think above ground Louisiana-style tombs) and as luck would have it, Sunday was Dia de los Difuntos (all souls day), commonly knows as Dia de los muertos (day of the dead). It was actually pretty neat to see families making the pilgrimage to the cemetery to clean the area around their family member’s tomb, place flowers, and celebrate all day. We saw a few hammered guys wobbling away after “paying their respects”. It’s as good of an excuse as any.
This was Lucy’s first time back to the beach since Betsy and I took her to California on our honeymoon. She was only about 2 1/2 months old then. It only took two or three waves crashing onto the beach for her to get the hang of things. She played fetch with two other dogs on our trip until she was wiped out.
One of the neatest things I saw on the trip was the Sunday we were there. Some kids who were part of the families at the cemetery were fascinated with Lucy as Betsy threw the Frisbee for her. Remember that Lucy is somewhat of an anomaly in Ecuador. Not a lot of people have dogs as pets and when they do they’re usually pretty small. People are absolutely terrified of Lucy when they see her coming, often crossing the street to avoid her. Anyway, the kids gathered around Betsy and it got to the point where they all took turns throwing the Frisbee. Betsy got a kick out of connecting with the kids a bit.
It was a very nice weekend. After some drinks, dinners, sun, and relaxation we rolled back to Quito.
This post is two weeks over due. However, we got a new vehicle! It’s a 1995 Toyota Land Cruiser FZJ 73. It’s built partially on the FJ 40 chassis, has Toyota’s 1-FZ-F engine, and built in the FJ 70 series style. What that means is it’s off road capable, has a more powerful carbureted engine than previous models, and has a little more space than many other two doors in the country. We think it’s going to be a great vehicle for us because it is durable and has enough space for all three of us and all of our stuff.
Our first weekend of owning it we drove it to Papallacta, a small, rural town a few hours east of Quito up in the mountains just north of Cotopaxi Volcano. Once there, Betsy, Lucy and myself took a nice hike in the rain along a creek. The hike went through a small organic farm and we saw our first Avocado Trees; lots of them. There are a ton of outdoor opportunities near Papallacta and we can’t wait to get back. It was liberating getting out of the city and this trip will be one of many.
A week ago, Betsy had her first long weekend from school so we took the opportunity to travel outside of Quito for the first time. Our destination was a town called Mindo. It’s about a two hour drive west from Quito over an interesting two lane mountain road. Our rented Chevy Spark let us feel every bump and groove of the road. We needed all of its 51 horsepower to just keep up with other drivers, let a lone try to pass on blind double yellow curves like many other drivers seemed to enjoy.
Comparing Mindo to Crested Butte is a bit of a stretch, however, both towns did come up in the same conversation. Mindo is a small, quiet town with dirt and cobble roads centered around outdoor activities including hiking, bird watching, zip lining, and river activities.
Our first day we hiked to Nambillo Falls. After a thirty minute hike, we were surprised to find that the area around the falls included an observation platform, some man made pools fed by side streams, a concrete slide built into the contours of the hillside, and a pavilion where residents of the property were grilling out and selling food and beers. This was the first time Lucy got in some real water and she loved it. She also provided quite a show for the 15-20 locals who were there on their own weekend excursion playing in the water and chasing sticks (video). I gave the slide a go too (video) but am still waiting to find this warm river water my kayaking friends keep telling me about.
On our second day we went zip lining and were relieved that it was a double cable system for added safety. I wasn’t sure what to expect for $14. There were thirteen segments to the whole tour. Great fun. On the way back to town we stopped by a butterfly research pavilion. They had butterflies in various stages of maturity and the highlight was being able to feed them with ripe banana as they sat right on your finger. One of the most impressive things we learned was how the cocoons mimic their surroundings. For example, butterflies that live close to water have shiny cocoons to mimic water dropping off of plants (photos of gold pods). Amazing.
After a lunch back in town we went for a hike with some of Betsy’s coworkers that happened to be staying in Mindo. This by far was the thickest jungle scene we encountered. Steep hills, thick foliage, vines, ferns, and a ton of humidity. To start the hike we had to cross the Mindo River in a pulley and rope “cable car” that held two people (and a dog). Lucy hated every second of it but it was surprisingly safe and efficient.
We had such a great time in Mindo and are excited to return. The next time we go we will have our own vehicle to explore even more as we are close to pulling the trigger on one. But that is another post.
Ecuadorons 