Settling into the mountain life

So I've been in the town of Baños for a week now and am loving it. Laid back, full of activities and people, it's been a good base for exploring central Ecuador and taking Spanish lessons. That's right,  after 3 months of speaking my travel Spanish, I've decided to hone my skills and figure out how to use grammar properly. Focusing on the past and future tenses, I've been taking 4 hours per day with a private teacher.

The days are spent out and about in the region. With a German friend, we biked the waterfall route along the river. A half day trip, you pass numerous huge waterfalls and often have the opportunity to zip line across the river, above the falls. At the end us the pailon de Diablo, a large waterfall you hike down to and then can hike under. In one section, you crawl through a tunnel just a few feet high to get to the next section. All this to get very wet and end at a rock wall where you can't go past.

Another day was rafting on the frothing river, super high from all the rain that has been occurring in South America. On the first rapid, our whole raft flipped. Guide, 3 girls and myself all into the water. Wasn't really our fault as we were going up a steep rapid behind a raft and they were stopped at the top. Simply, we ran into them and all flipped backwards down the rapid. Quite fun really and we were all back in the raft within a minute apart from Laura, who was picked up by another raft and had to dive into our raft.

And as with most places, I hiked to the highest point around. On some days the weather was rainy or cloudy, but on the hiking day, it was toasty and I got a proper sweat in, being rewarded with awesome views. Lots of green here in the mountains,as well as hot springs (hence the name of 'baths').  Nice to soak up some minerals after the days activities and brain power spent on Spanish.

Canyoning is amazing

Imagine hiking near a river, when the trail ends with cliffs and a waterfall. What if you decided to continue your journey and descend down the waterfall? 

Jugo de caña

Drinking fresh sugar cane juice here in Ecuador. Mighty tasty alone, the locals normally mix it with mandarin or pineapple. And the crazy people add tequilla to make a drink called sanguich. Either way you drink it, it's freshly pressed for your drinking pleasure

Hello sunshine!

Last country on this trip

I'm in Ecuador now, my last stop on this Epic South American journey. I've gone from the middle of Chile all the way up here, and worked it out so I have a few weeks to explore and get a taste of this small country on the equator. It is on the modern,  efficient and expensive side of the scale, not to the level of Chile,but it's a contrast from Bolivia and Peru. Similar vibes at the markets, but just more organized with laminated menus and higher prices. I love eating at the local markets, feeling like a local and getting to try unique foods, and drink fresh cheap juices.

I started in Cuenca, which is a city full of great architecture and history. This is a great place to meet other travelers as most people coming to or from Peru stop off here. Pretty much everyone at my hostel were fresh into country on their way north to Columbia. The gringo trail!

The walking tour was unique in that it wasn't very good and used private transportation. The van took us to a Panama hat factory,which had a museum and shop (always pushing products on these tours).  We did learn some cool things about the history of the hats and there was a live woman sitting in an exhibition, weaving a hat. Not really my style, but still some sweet hats.

The best part of Cuenca was the zoo. This was the most natural zoo I've been to, sitting on a large hill mountain outside the city. No paved path or normal cages, we had to hike through dirt trails, often full of mud from the train. The monkeys pretty much were just running wild with water being the main barrier from escape. There were bridges built out of wire for them to go to a large variety of habitats. The Andean bear had a large plot to himself. Amazon animals were all over. There were relatives of the tiger, pumas, condors and animals I hadn't seen before. My two Finnish friends and I were pretty much the only people there and it felt like a walk in the hills with animals all around us. Jungle tour!

Beach time

I've been in the north of Peru for a few days now, relaxing in the beach town of Mancora. My hostel is right on the beach, so I literally roll out of bed, get in the water, and then have breakfast. Just can't beat that. Or the fact that my hostel is made up of 4 cabanas,and that there is saltwater in the outdoor showers.

I've been surfing, hiking, doing yoga and reading the last few days as well as meeting some new friends. The surf was small and sadly this week in Peru's surf capital was lacking. Still good to get out in the water though. Yoga near the beach is always a pleasure, and the hot weather has already made me quite flexible. Feeling good!

This town is a sandals only kind of place. Warm, sweaty nights under a mosquito net don't exactly rest you up though. Still,  it's been a nice change from the cold weather in the Andes. No alpaca sweaters needed here. Just sunscreen.

Off to Lima

To save on time and hassle,  I decided to fly from Cusco to Lima.  For just a few dollars more, I was able to avoid a 22 hour bus, and fly there in 1 hour and 20 minutes. The budget backpacker in me was totally fine with this, as first off, I love to fly and be in airports, and secondly, after many long South American bus rides, I've grown tired of bus travel. Of course,  I still have several buses to take in the next few weeks to continue my journey north to Ecuador.

International airports are always fun. You get crazy looks when you ask if you should take off your shoes (got to keep them on).  Bringing a bottle of water through was no problem (in a land where you buy all water, I prefer to keep some for the journey).  And making peanut butterand jelly sandwiches on the airport floor just seems normal. I'd found a squeeze pack of both pb and jelly,  making for a light snack.

Cusco has been awesome. I got to know a lotof people here, and know my way around. I spent the rainy morning exploring free museums. The Museo de Cafe was awesome. Great to learn about the industry and history here in Peru, the 3rd largest producer of coffee after Brazil and Columbia. I've had many great cups here and the espresso at the museum was spot on. The chocolate museum was simular in pointing out that there are now more coffee and chocolate crops than coca plantations. Some great samples showed the different taste from chocolate in the high mountains, to the coast, to the jungle. Awesome stuff.

Here's a picture of me drinking a great cup of coffee. Lost a bit of weight along the 6 day hike through the Andes to Machu Pichu, but never fear, I am back to feasting like a king.

On top of Machu Pichu Mountain

On top of spending 11 hours exploring Machu Pichu, I decided to hike to the top of the highest mountain in the park. Machu Pichu Mountain is over 800m above the main part of the city below. It's a super steep climb, up small rock stairs built by the Incas. This hike literally takes your breath away, as it combines using a stairmaster for 1 hour and going up high altitudes. Starting at Machu Pichu, you end up at the same altitude of Cusco.

Epic views on the way up are rewarded with accomplishment on top, with full 360 views of the area. You can see Hidroelectric, where the buses to Cisco leave from, and is a 3 hour hike away, and you can see Aguas Calientes, a 2 hour hike away where I am spending the night.  Mountain views all around, covered in a rich jungle of trees. Sadly the view became clouded over soon after I arrived, so i snacked and met some other hikers in a white haze.

Guess where I was today

On the trail

Right now, I'm in the small town right outside of Machu Pichu, 4 days into the Salkantay Trail. It's a long trek, with hours of hiking each day, camping in tents along the way, and tonight for the first time, we will be in an actual bed in a hostel. And tomorrow is the big day, waking up early to go spend a full day amongst the ruins. Pretty damn excited for it.

Our group is made up of 8 people, all from the northern hemisphere. 3 Germans, 4 from the country Basque,and one sexy American. With knowing a bit of Spanish and German, it's been a great mix. No secrets from me! 

The first day was filled with an early start, a sweet hike along an ancient irrigation ditch to our campsite at the base of some epic snow covered mountains, with a lake to hike to. The alpine lake, a bright turquoise color, was up a steep trail, and well worth the tough 45 min climb. Surreal, tranquil and beautiful, it takes your breath away. And once I dove in, it literally took my breath away. You see the waterfalls above, pouring water from the glaciers right into the lake. Cold and amazing. Feeling alive.

Our guide, Juan, likes to joke a lot, and so we had baby condor legs (chicken) for dinner. We spent the first night camping at 3900 meters,so I had all my clothing on for dinner, and was glad I had rented a very warm sleeping bag. And the next day we got to hike to one of the highest places I have hiked. Second tape pass is at a altitude of over 4600 meters high. Always good to start the day off with a good incline, through streams and in the mist. Felt great up on top.

It was raining off and on for most of the day, so the cheap ponchos we had were in full use. After the pass, the next few hours were spent going down, with the rocky landscape going from rock to flat meadows and down to a jungle level. Much warmer and tropical, with lots of moss and trees, plus a huge river, with lots of waterfalls. Amazing.

Day three moved us along the way, through jungle and across many streams. Waterproof boots are amazing.  Great views and lunch at a coffee plantation made for a fun day. I had my best cup of coffee in South America and had some decent guacamole with lunch to keep the energy up. Later on, hot springs to sooth the body and have a sweet dark lager after. Bonfire at the campsite and some fun Peruvian games. The life is good!

Rafting outside of Cusco

So I'm in Peru now and have been in Cusco for the last few days. It's a great base to get to know the area,the country and get out exploring on many adventures. Of course there's Machu Pichu nearby but there also great hikes in other ruins nearby the city and some great fun adventure sports to take part in. Along with two Israeli friends, we had an awesome day out rafting and zip lining.

The river was super full and fast. So many crazy rapids, some of the biggest I've been on. Water was hitting us from all over. No one fell over, but we each were knocked into the raft at least once. Feel the power of the river!

We stopped and played some fun games along the river bank and my dead toe nail was ripped off. Don't have to worry about the nail any more. At least the foot was numb from the river. We named ourselves Team Alpha and had many a raucous cheer along the way. Great crew and lots of laughs, fun and adrenaline along the way.