Tag Archives: hiking

The Intag Cloud Forest

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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.

 

 

Road Trip Peru Part 5 – Huamachuco to Chachapoyas

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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.

 

 

 

La Visita de Nuestros Amigos, Carlos and Sarah

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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.

Baños

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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.

Parque Metropolitano

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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!

New Ride

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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.

Mindo

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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.

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