Across Ecuador
We got the first glimpse of the spectacular countryside from the 8 hr bus ride from Bahia to Quito, also the first cool weather we had in a long, long while. The beautiful colonial city, the old town's narrow streets are full of restored churches, monasteries, plazas, also car exhaust fumes, yelling street vendors, streets full of people. It was fun to be in a city for a while, but Andes countryside was our favorite. And what a countryside that is, full of gently rolling hills in contrast to high volcanoes (mostly its' peaks hidden in clouds, although we did manage to see some snow), rivers, waterfalls. We were amazed, how the agriculture is carried out high on the mountains, amazed how farmers can work on such steep hills, where we got out of breath just hiking up for some spectacular view. We enjoyed steaming thermal baths in Banos, saw many, many waterfalls, and on the day we were leaving, Volcano Tungurahua surprised everybody with a first serious eruption since 1999, and when we arrived to Guaranda, over 100 km away, the whole town was covered in volcanic ashes, all face masks sold out, although at the end we managed to buy some. Air traffic was stopped from Guayaguil for several days and we just hope there won't be any repeated eruption and the wind won't carry ashes in the same direction, as that is the airport we'll be flying from to visit back home. I'll be leaving in few days, while I have to admit I am quite jealous of J-P's plan to go back to a beautiful Cuenca – the colonial jewel of the south (with international restaurants, art galleries, cool cafes and bars) - to take 2 or 3 weeks of Spanish course. We spent there several days, enjoyed some good food, and everywhere we went in Ecuador we really took advantage of almuerzos, which means lunch, where you receive big plate of soup, main dish, could be any meat or fish, or in case of Cuenca also vegetarian dish, juice and often a desert, all this for under $2!! We visited many colorful markets, where the prices are cheap and one can get any local craft, but we were disappointed in the materials they use for textile, mostly synthetics rather than natural fabric. But we weren't disappointed in the countryside and when we'll be back from Canada, we intent to explore this diversified country some more, before our visa here will expire.
We got the first glimpse of the spectacular countryside from the 8 hr bus ride from Bahia to Quito, also the first cool weather we had in a long, long while. The beautiful colonial city, the old town's narrow streets are full of restored churches, monasteries, plazas, also car exhaust fumes, yelling street vendors, streets full of people. It was fun to be in a city for a while, but Andes countryside was our favorite. And what a countryside that is, full of gently rolling hills in contrast to high volcanoes (mostly its' peaks hidden in clouds, although we did manage to see some snow), rivers, waterfalls. We were amazed, how the agriculture is carried out high on the mountains, amazed how farmers can work on such steep hills, where we got out of breath just hiking up for some spectacular view. We enjoyed steaming thermal baths in Banos, saw many, many waterfalls, and on the day we were leaving, Volcano Tungurahua surprised everybody with a first serious eruption since 1999, and when we arrived to Guaranda, over 100 km away, the whole town was covered in volcanic ashes, all face masks sold out, although at the end we managed to buy some. Air traffic was stopped from Guayaguil for several days and we just hope there won't be any repeated eruption and the wind won't carry ashes in the same direction, as that is the airport we'll be flying from to visit back home. I'll be leaving in few days, while I have to admit I am quite jealous of J-P's plan to go back to a beautiful Cuenca – the colonial jewel of the south (with international restaurants, art galleries, cool cafes and bars) - to take 2 or 3 weeks of Spanish course. We spent there several days, enjoyed some good food, and everywhere we went in Ecuador we really took advantage of almuerzos, which means lunch, where you receive big plate of soup, main dish, could be any meat or fish, or in case of Cuenca also vegetarian dish, juice and often a desert, all this for under $2!! We visited many colorful markets, where the prices are cheap and one can get any local craft, but we were disappointed in the materials they use for textile, mostly synthetics rather than natural fabric. But we weren't disappointed in the countryside and when we'll be back from Canada, we intent to explore this diversified country some more, before our visa here will expire.
