Travel Time
We're perhaps at our happiest when we're traveling (second only to being with our families). Last month we finally left the country again, headed for our first trip south of the equator -- Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. We were gone 11 days in all -- and in that short time I think we still tallied 6 planes, 5 bus trips, 2 ferry rides, 3 bumpy speed boat escapades, 1 private jeep ride, a horseback ride, and countless taxis. We didn't drive once, but boy did we move!
Ecuador proved to be an adventurous, diverse, and welcoming country. Our first stop was the capitol. We were lucky to stay with friendshere --Quito -- and I can't BEGIN to do their apartment justice. Let me just say that this 3-story townhouse is rented for one-third the cost of our tiny LA apartment -- and it offers a ridiculous 180 degree view of the entire city and the spectacular Andes mountains! Needless to say we loved this city... the markets, the taxi rides, the lodging, and the company were perfecto!
We then traveled by bus out of Quito and up into the Andes. Once you've escaped Quito and its outskirts, you see mostly mountain towns centered around weekly, sometimes daily, mercados. All the nearby indigenous people in the mountains load their haul here to sell. In Latacunga, a town about 2 hours south of Quito -- we wandered a sizable produce and animal market and took in the sites.
From there we headed through the more of the Andes, passing a section of the Inca Trail and various volcanoes. Thus began the Quilatola Loop, a circle that traverses through a few Andean villages and many, many, indigenous farms. Nestor, our personal tour guide, stopped the truck over 10 times, insisting "photos! photos!" He, and we, found that every turn handed us another breathtaking view.
Our destination -- we needed to sleep, yes? -- was the Black Sheep Inn, a eco-lodge that has put this loop on the map, essentially. Only pictures can explain this place. Many photos can be found at R's website: thisisrichard.com
We used the BSI as a jumping off point for the town of Chugchilan and Laguna Quilatola, a volcanic crater lake that you can hike down into. One day we wandered the streets of Chugchilan, shopping in the women's knitting co-op and watching the locals play volleyball in the church square. The following day we rode in the back of a truck for 2 hours to the Laguna, where we hiked down and -- in true American fashion -- found we were too tired to hike back up. So we took horses. HA!
Being high in the Andes was the highlight of the trip for me. What better way to experience a landscape than on back of a rickety 4 by 4, driven by a crazy local driver who takes turns like Dale Earnhart -- despite the precipice on his left. The wind ripped at our jackets and hats and hair, and our butts were beyond bruised, but to wave at the kids on the roadside as you go! So awesome.
We were sad to leave BSI, I think. We headed into Quito again by bus, spent one night with our friends, and headed out once more -- the Galapagos calling our names. A short flight put us down in Baltra, the island just north of Santa Cruz. One bus, one ferry, and another bus ride later took is to Puerto Ayora -- the only place, really, to stay when you're cutting back costs and not taking a cruise ship around the islands. We ran into a few snafus in Puerto Ayora -- canceled boat trips, a leaking bathroom, bed bugs, pounding morning rain, weird tour guides -- wow, maybe more than a few. In the end, though, the beaches we walked on, the animals we stood next to, the waters we swam in, and the travelers and locals we met were once-in-a-life-time.
To Richard, Michael, and Rebecca: what an inspiring, phenomenal trip!! I love you, and what fabulous memories we made. Ready to head out again? Where to?
Ecuador proved to be an adventurous, diverse, and welcoming country. Our first stop was the capitol. We were lucky to stay with friendshere --Quito -- and I can't BEGIN to do their apartment justice. Let me just say that this 3-story townhouse is rented for one-third the cost of our tiny LA apartment -- and it offers a ridiculous 180 degree view of the entire city and the spectacular Andes mountains! Needless to say we loved this city... the markets, the taxi rides, the lodging, and the company were perfecto!
We then traveled by bus out of Quito and up into the Andes. Once you've escaped Quito and its outskirts, you see mostly mountain towns centered around weekly, sometimes daily, mercados. All the nearby indigenous people in the mountains load their haul here to sell. In Latacunga, a town about 2 hours south of Quito -- we wandered a sizable produce and animal market and took in the sites.
From there we headed through the more of the Andes, passing a section of the Inca Trail and various volcanoes. Thus began the Quilatola Loop, a circle that traverses through a few Andean villages and many, many, indigenous farms. Nestor, our personal tour guide, stopped the truck over 10 times, insisting "photos! photos!" He, and we, found that every turn handed us another breathtaking view.
Our destination -- we needed to sleep, yes? -- was the Black Sheep Inn, a eco-lodge that has put this loop on the map, essentially. Only pictures can explain this place. Many photos can be found at R's website: thisisrichard.com
We used the BSI as a jumping off point for the town of Chugchilan and Laguna Quilatola, a volcanic crater lake that you can hike down into. One day we wandered the streets of Chugchilan, shopping in the women's knitting co-op and watching the locals play volleyball in the church square. The following day we rode in the back of a truck for 2 hours to the Laguna, where we hiked down and -- in true American fashion -- found we were too tired to hike back up. So we took horses. HA!
Being high in the Andes was the highlight of the trip for me. What better way to experience a landscape than on back of a rickety 4 by 4, driven by a crazy local driver who takes turns like Dale Earnhart -- despite the precipice on his left. The wind ripped at our jackets and hats and hair, and our butts were beyond bruised, but to wave at the kids on the roadside as you go! So awesome.
We were sad to leave BSI, I think. We headed into Quito again by bus, spent one night with our friends, and headed out once more -- the Galapagos calling our names. A short flight put us down in Baltra, the island just north of Santa Cruz. One bus, one ferry, and another bus ride later took is to Puerto Ayora -- the only place, really, to stay when you're cutting back costs and not taking a cruise ship around the islands. We ran into a few snafus in Puerto Ayora -- canceled boat trips, a leaking bathroom, bed bugs, pounding morning rain, weird tour guides -- wow, maybe more than a few. In the end, though, the beaches we walked on, the animals we stood next to, the waters we swam in, and the travelers and locals we met were once-in-a-life-time.
To Richard, Michael, and Rebecca: what an inspiring, phenomenal trip!! I love you, and what fabulous memories we made. Ready to head out again? Where to?
posted by Chelsee at
8:48 PM
0 Comments
