Ecuador – Wonders of Traveling

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Short visit to Cuenca

Cuenca is the capital of the Azuay Province, about 400 km away from the Peruvian border. We stayed here for 4 days, before leaving for Peru. The first 2 days we wandered the streets of this Spanish colonial city. Cuenca is known as the most European city of Ecuador, because of its beautiful Spanish architecture. We mainly walked around the city centre where we got to admire some of these beautiful buildings such as the churches.

Cuenca The area around the river is also very nice, here you can find lots of restaurants and bars. Because we were both sick, we really didn’t see that much in Cuenca, except for the bathroom in our hostel… So unfortunately, we can’t give that many tips about Cuenca.

A visit to Cajas National Park

On our third day in Cuenca we decided to go to Cajas National Park, about 45 min away. We had heard that this National Park resembles the Scottish Highlands a bit, so we wanted to go there for a hike. Like quite a lot of things in Ecuador, it’s not that easy to figure out where to go or how to get anything sorted, such as bus tickets. After doing some googling we figured out we had to go to the Terminal Terrestre, to take a bus in the direction of Guayaquil.

Luckily, we immediately spotted the bus that went to Guayaquil and made a stop in Cajas NP. After asking for info, we were told we had to buy our tickets on the bus. As we, and about 10 other European tourists, boarded the bus and sat down, we realised that all the Ecuadorians had tickets and we didn’t… Every time someone new boarded the bus, us Europeans had to move towards the back of the bus and try to claim any seats that were still available.

After a while, all the seats started to fill up. Every 5 minutes the Europeans had to move again, until, at some point they were all standing in the middle of the bus (somehow, we were lucky and got 2 seats all the way in the back which no one claimed). Clearly, the bus was sold out and there was no more room for them. They were asked to leave and try again on the next bus… Since we got the last 2 seats without buying a ticket before boarding, we got lucky and were on our way to Cajas NP. The ride took about 45 minutes and we paid for our ticket on the bus (2 dollars per person).

Ecuador or Scotland?

After arriving at the NP, we were asked to register in the tourist information centre. The entrance to the park is free. However, you won’t find that much info about the hikes here. There were no maps available. We basically had to take a picture of the map inside the visitor’s centre and use that as reference.

We wanted to hike route 2, which started somewhere on the main road we had taken with the bus. However, there were no signs or arrows pointing anywhere… We walked for about 10-15 min without spotting the start of the trail, while it was foggy and it started to rain, so we decided to go for route 1 instead. This meant we had to walk back to the visitor’s centre.

Unlike route 2, route 1 is actually indicated quite well. We hiked for about 4 hours around lakes and lagoons (there are about 270 lakes in this NP!), and got to see some beautiful nature and landscapes. It really did feel a bit like hiking in the Scottish Highlands, especially because of the fog and rain!

At around 3 PM we decided to leave the NP and go back to Cuenca. We gathered at the bus stop in front of the entrance, together with about 30 other tourists. I had no idea how we were ever going to get on this bus… The bus was coming back from Guayaquil and was already full of locals. Somehow I managed to get one of the only available seats left, while everyone else had to stand up… It was like taking a bus in Malta in August!

Next destination: Peru!

By the last day in Cuenca, Simen was seriously ill and what made matters worse was that we had 2 long bus rides coming up. The first bus took us from Cuenca to Piura in Peru, which took 11 hours on a very uncomfortable bus… After the 1st bus we had to wait for 7 hours in Piura for our bus to Lima. The Cruz del Sur terminal in Piura was extremely small, which meant it was quite a long wait… Luckily Peru was playing the Netherlands and we got to watch it with lots of very enthusiastic and excited Peruvians.

The second bus, from Piura to Lima, took 17 hours! Luckily, this bus was a lot more spacious and we each got 2 seats. By the time we arrived in Lima, we had both managed to sleep quite a bit and were ready to explore this new country!

]]> https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/09/13/cuenca-cajas-national-park/feed/ 1 Baños https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/09/04/banos/ https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/09/04/banos/#comments Tue, 04 Sep 2018 17:42:13 +0000 http://www.wondersoftraveling.com/?p=1483 Last week we travelled to Baños, where we stayed for 4 days. Unfortunately, I got sick on day 3 which meant we didn’t get to do all the activities we wanted. Baños is a very nice backpacker’s town which has tons of cool things to offer. We were both really happy to be in a city again, after our 5 day stay in Cotopaxi and Quilotoa.

Ruta de las Cascadas

One of the highlights of Baños is the “ruta de las cascadas” (waterfall route). Baños is surrounded by lots of impressive waterfalls, which you can visit by bus, taxi or bike. We opted for mountain bikes, which we rented for 10 dollars each for a whole day (we rented our bikes at Geo Tours). Geo Tours gave us a map and a couple of directions and we were on our way. The route is about 18 km long and takes you past 6 waterfalls and tons of adventurous activities such as ziplining, climbing Tibetan bridges and taking small cable cars from one side of the valley to the other. We decided to take one of those cable cars for 2 dollars each. It took us over one of the waterfalls, which was really cool to see!

Baños

Most of the route is downhill, which makes it a very pleasant bike ride. The views on the way are really spectacular! We stopped several times to check out the ziplining, but Simen thought they weren’t adventurous enough so he didn’t try it out.

Baños

Pailon del Diablo

We continued our bike ride until we reached the most famous and most popular waterfall: the pailon del Diablo. There are 2 entrances to this waterfall in Rio Verde, one before and one after crossing the bridge. We started with the entrance which is located after the bridge. We walked for about 25 minutes until we arrived at the ticket booth (2 dollars entrance) and we hiked the steps up to the impressive waterfall. The closer we got to the waterfall, the more it felt like we were taking a shower. Now I understood why street vendors were selling poncho’s at the entrance…

The waterfall is very big and extremely impressive! There’s a possibility to walk over to the other side of the waterfall, but you need to crawl through a small, cave-like, passway. It was pretty clear that Simen was way too tall for this passway, so we decided to hike back up and go to the other entrance. This meant we had to pay another 2 dollars entrance fee, but it was definitely worth it. It was really cool to see the waterfall from above (if you go to the other side, you see it from below).

After seeing the Pailon del Diablo from both sides, we decided it was time to go back to Baños. We didn’t feel like biking all the way back, so we took one of the trucks who wait in Rio Verde to pick up bikers. For only 2 dollars per person we got a ride back! It wasn’t the most comfortable ride though… We were 10 people crammed in a small truck, sitting on small wooden benches which moved every time the truck took a turn. Also, every time the driver would brake, it sounded like several cats were being strangled… I was happy to arrive safe and sound in Baños!

Casa del Arbol

On Thursday I already felt a bit under the weather, but I still wanted to visit the Casa del arbol. This is a small tree house with 2 swings attached to it. You basically swing over the edge of the mountain! We took the bus from the corner of Calle Pastaza and Vicente Rocafuerte for only 1 dollar. About 45 minutes later we arrived at the Casa del Arbol. You have to walk up the hill for about 5-10 minutes until you reach the ticket booth (1 dollar). On the way you’ll see more swings, but you have to follow the signs to get to the actual Casa del Arbol.

We queued for about 10 minutes until it was our turn. I was a bit nervous about swinging over the edge of the mountain, especially because the guy who pushes everyone makes sure you make a couple of spins as well! Once I sat down I realised there was nothing to be afraid of! There’s an extra belt attached to the swing to keep you safe. It was a very nice experience which I would recommend to anyone. Plus the whole trip only cost us 3 dollars each, so it won’t set you back much!

Swinging at the end of the world #casadelarbol #banos #ecuador #notallwhowanderarelost #exploretheworld #travelgirl #travelblogger #wanderlusting #travellove #travelislife

A post shared by Jolene Follens (@wondersoftraveling) on Aug 30, 2018 at 7:10pm PDT

Banos

On the way back to the bus, we spotted another swing which went upside down. Of course, Simen was super excited and immediately jumped on (3 dollars). He didn’t realise the swing went upside down almost constantly and all the spectators were very much entertained by his “Jesus Christs!” and “For fuck’s sakes”.

Banos

Bedrest in Baños

The rest of our stay in Baños I spent inside the hotel room… Simen luckily didn’t feel bad so he went rafting with Geo Tours. It was the first time ever he went rafting and he really enjoyed it! After Baños we travelled to Cuenca where we will be staying until we leave for Peru tomorrow night.

Hasta luego!

]]> https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/09/04/banos/feed/ 3 Cotopaxi National park and Quilotoa https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/30/cotopaxi-national-park-and-quilotoa/ https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/30/cotopaxi-national-park-and-quilotoa/#comments Thu, 30 Aug 2018 03:21:01 +0000 http://www.wondersoftraveling.com/?p=1462 After 4 days in Quito, we decided it was time to go to Cotopaxi National Park. We got picked up by the Wanderbus at 6 AM to travel towards Cotopaxi. About 2.5 hours after we left, we finally arrived at the national park.

We were unfortunately very unlucky with the weather, because it was extremely foggy and impossible to see anything. We basically should’ve been able to see Cotopaxi Volcano from the moment we entered the park, but we couldn’t see any further than 2 metres in front of us. The bus drove us to Laguna de Limpiopungo where we went on a 1 hour hike together with our guide and fellow travellers.

The minute we stepped off the bus we were almost blown away by the fierce wind. Luckily, we had brought our hats, gloves and thermal underwear, which Simen decided to put on in front of everyone else (while it was about 5 degrees outside!). The hike around the lake was quite nice, and sometimes we got to see a glimpse of the majestic Cotopaxi Volcano. It was also a nice opportunity to get to get to know the people in our group. After the short hike, the bus dropped us off at our hotel (Hotel Rondador, we’d definitely recommend it!).

Hike to Cotopaxi refuge

Hotel Rondador was very nice and super cosy. It was a bit cold inside, but they provided us with a small heater which heated up the room in no time. The next day we decided to hike to the refuge, or Cotopaxi base camp at 4800 metres. Because you can’t enter the park without a guide, we organised a guided trek to the refuge for 30 dollars per person. Simen was a bit worried about altitude sickness, because he had been struggling in Quito. Since the refuge is located 2000 metres higher than Quito, he decided to take his precautions.

Cotopaxi

However, it wasn’t Simen who suffered from the altitude, but me. We drove with a jeep to about 4400 metres altitude, from where we’d start the 1 hour trek to the refuge. Once we stepped out of the car, we once again were almost blown away by the wind. It was actually quite uncomfortable to walk, and the wind made it really hard to breathe. But we were here now, and we had paid for it, so we decided to go through with the hike.

The easiest trail to the refuge is the zig-zag trail. A lot of people opt to go for the trail that goes straight to the refuge, but this is extremely steep and makes the hike at this altitude even harder. It took us about 55 minutes to reach the refuge, and I have to admit, I was very happy to finally arrive. Inside I had to sit down for a bit because I felt dizzy and lightheaded. The guide wanted to take us even higher, to 5000 metres, but because I wasn’t feeling well, we decided to hike back down. Once I was at a lower altitude, I immediately started feeling better again, luckily!

Hike to Quilotoa Lake

On Friday we got picked up by the Wanderbus. Much to our surprise we were the only two people on the bus! We basically got our own private guide and bus, which was really cool. The first stop on the way to Quilotoa was a small town called Pujili. Here we visited the local market and tasted lots of interesting things such as cow’s intestines and weird fruits. Later that day we also tried guinea pig for the first time, which we both didn’t like that much… It was extremely chewy and we wouldn’t order it again. Also, our guide told us it’s an Ecuadorian delicacy and it costs about 20 dollars! Definitely not worth it…

After that final stop, we drove straight to Quilotoa. Here the guide suggested to walk down to the water (about 400 metres dislevel, 40 min down and about 1-1.5 hours up). Quilotoa used to be a volcano which exploded and then filled with water. When you get down to the water, you can still smell the sulphur. The hike itself wasn’t very comfortable, the trail is very slippery and we both weren’t wearing the right shoes.

The surroundings, however, were very nice. The lake and the surrounding hills are very impressive! The hike back up was even harder, lot’s of people had to take breaks to catch their breath. The trail is relentless and extremely steep. We both were very happy to be back at the starting point! It was time for the guide to leave for Banos, so we said our goodbyes after she brought us to our hostel.

“Cosy and warm” hostel in Quilotoa

Speaking of which, the hostel was the worst one of the trip so far. I had found the hostel on Booking for 40 dollars per night, which is actually very expensive for Ecuadorian standards. Because we couldn’t find many other hostels in Quilotoa, we decided to go for this one. Boy, did we regret that… The minute we stepped inside, we realised the hostel wasn’t heated in any way. The owner of the hostel showed us our room, and our hearts dropped. There were cracks in the window… There was no toilet seat, no shower curtain and it was quite dirty. Did we really pay 40 dollars per night for this?

We decided to make the best of it and closed the curtains and stacked our packing cubes in front of them to make sure the wind wouldn’t blow inside. The curtain however, moved constantly, so we knew it was going to get very cold at night. We put on our hats, gloves, thermal underwear and got under the 4 blankets. We both realised this was unacceptable, and asked if they had any kind of heater. Of course they didn’t have one… Simen didn’t want to sleep in this room, so he complained and we got a new room. This one didn’t have a window at all, but at least this meant there wasn’t going to be a draft inside… However, it was still very cold inside. It was about 6 degrees and we slept with our thermal underwear, hat, gloves and warm socks on.

And it managed to get even worse…

Both breakfast and dinner were included in the price, which, we thought, would make up for the horrible room. Once again we were wrong. Breakfast was basically old and dry bread with scrambled eggs and dinner was soup and rice with extremely dry chicken (every single day). You get the picture, we weren’t happy at all with our hostel…

What made matters even worse was that there seemed to be no warm water either! The owner of the hostel told us she just had to switch on the warm water for us to enjoy a warm shower and to heat up a bit. “Warm water” basically meant: not even lukewarm water which lasted for only 2 minutes. Honestly, we wouldn’t recommend anyone to go to Hostal Conejito in Quilotoa! We were freezing for 3 days and couldn’t even take a shower to warm up…

Hike around Quilotoa lake

The main reason for going to Quilotoa was to hike around the lake (which takes in between 4-5 hours). On Sunday we decided to go for it. It was, once again, very windy, so we made sure we left well prepared. The start of the hike was very nice. You’re basically constantly walking on the crest of the mountains surrounding the lake, which gives you amazing views. On the way we met an American woman called Jolene (never happened to me before!) who lived in Oslo for 20 years! What are the odds?
DSCN3059
About halfway through the hike, Simen started to feel unwell… Every time we had to climb, he felt nauseous, dizzy and could barely move. He had a serious case of altitude sickness. Every 5 minutes we had to sit down and rest, to make sure he was okay to continue walking. The only cure for altitude disease is going to a lower altitude, but unfortunately, we had to hike to the highest point before we could do that. At some point it looked like he was going to faint… I really started to worry I’d have to call an ambulance or a helicopter to come and pick us up.

Through a lot of willpower, lots of breaks and pep talks we managed to finish the hike in 5 hours. The minute we were walking on flat surface, Simen felt a lot better. We have a 5 day hike coming up in Peru (to Machu Picchu), so we have to make sure we’re very well prepared for that. We’ve already decided we’re going to go to Cusco several days in advance so we both have enough time to acclimatize and get used to the altitude.

Next stop: Banos

After 3 days in Quilotoa, and that dreadful, dreadful hostal, we were both very happy to get on the Wanderbus to Banos. We’re going to stay here for the next 4 days. Banos is known as adventure paradise, because it’s the ideal spot to go rafting, ziplining, canyoning, etc.

I will keep you posted about our adventures in Banos!

]]> https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/30/cotopaxi-national-park-and-quilotoa/feed/ 4 First days in Ecuador: Quito https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/26/first-days-in-ecuador-quito/ https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/26/first-days-in-ecuador-quito/#comments Sat, 25 Aug 2018 23:21:55 +0000 http://www.wondersoftraveling.com/?p=1442 On 17th of August we left warm and tropical Cuba behind to make our way to cold and mountainous Ecuador. The capital city, Quito, is located at 2800 metres altitude, which meant we went from 35+ degrees to about 20 in only 1 day.

Mercado Artesanal

We both weren’t prepared for these colder temperatures, so we decided to visit the “mercado artesanal”, to buy some warmer clothes. The Mercado Artesanal is located in the Mariscal neighbourhood (also known as “Gringoland”, because most tourists decide to stay here). It consists of hundreds of stalls where you can buy typical Ecuadorian products, such as clothes made out of alpaca or llama wool. You can find anything, from sweaters and trousers to warm scarfs, gloves and hats. We clearly weren’t in the Caribbean anymore…

Simen bought an extremely warm llama sweater, since we’ll be doing quite some hikes at high altitude. The vendors reminded me a bit of the ones in Mexico, however they were nowhere near as aggressive. You still can’t walk around in peace and quiet, but at least they don’t physically pull you into their stalls!

teleferiqo Quito

TelefériQo

On our second day in Quito we decided to take the TelefériQo. This is a cable car that brings you to 4000 metre altitude. We took the TelefériQo on a Sunday, which in hindsight was a bit of a mistake. Apparently, almost all of Quito decides to take the cable car up on a Sunday… We spent about 30 minutes queuing just to get tickets (8.5 dollars per person, round trip), and had to wait another hour just to get in one of the gondolas!

teleferiqo Quito

Luckily the ride up only took about 20 minutes. Once we were up we got to see the beautiful surroundings of Quito. We were a bit unlucky with the weather since we couldn’t spot any of the volcanoes around Quito, but the view was still amazing. At the top station you can find a couple of eateries, a chapel, lots of amazing viewpoints and also, a couple of swings!

It was pretty cool to swing at an altitude of 4000 meters, with such beautiful views. We also had our picture taken with a couple of very docile and domesticated llama’s. To me, the 90 minute wait was really worth it!

teleferiqo Quito

Historical Centre

After the TelefériQo experience, we took an Uber to the city centre (around 2 dollars). Quito’s historical centre is a World Heritage Site, and offers quite a lot of beautiful Colonial buildings and churches. We visited a couple of Quito’s nice plazas such as Plaza Grande, Plaza San Francisco, Plaza Domingo, etc. But because of the warnings we had read online (that Quito is a very unsafe city), we didn’t dare to wander off too far. That’s also the reason why we took quite a lot of Uber’s and Cabify’s (Ecuador’s own Uber). This, however, didn’t really give us the best view of the city. We love to just stroll around and soak up the atmosphere, but we couldn’t really do that in Quito. Maybe we were a bit too cautious and suspicious, but if you do some googling, you’ll see that a lot of bloggers describe Quito as very unsafe.

Quito - Plaza San Francisco Quito

Panecillo

Panecillo is a 200 metre high volcanic rock which towers over Quito’s historical centre. On top of the rock there’s a statue of Mary overlooking Quito. We took an Uber up (4 dollars, but only because the driver didn’t know how to get there…). From here you get a nice view over most of Quito and the TelefériQo. You can walk around and see Quito from basically all sides. Plus, here you also get to see the Cotopaxi vulcano (if the weather is nice)!

Panecillo Quito

Mitad del Mundo

On our last day in Quito we went to the Mitad del Mundo, or “the Middle of the World”. Since we both had never crossed the Equator, we thought it would be cool to go to the most visited attraction in Ecuador. Mitad del Mundo is like a small town with different kinds of museums, restaurants and eateries. Here you can also try to balance an egg on top of a nail, which is theoretically possible because gravity is supposedly different at the equator (or so they say).

Mitad del Mundo

Fun fact: Mitad del Mundo is actually not the exact middle of the earth! This was based on calculations before the invention of GPS, afterwards they realised the middle of the world was actually about 200 metres away…

After 4 days in Quito we were both ready to leave the capital city behind. We decided to travel with Wanderbus Ecuador instead of with normal public transport. We chose the Colibri Pass which takes us from Quito to Cuenca, with stops in Cotopaxi, Quilotoa, Banos on the way. Wanderbus specifically caters for tourists because they stop at all the major tourist attractions and the guides are bilingual Spanish/English!

In our next blog I will write more about our stay in Cotopaxi and Quilotoa. Stay tuned!

]]> https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/26/first-days-in-ecuador-quito/feed/ 3 Wonders of Traveling is going on a trip around the world! https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/04/12/wonders-of-traveling-rtw-trip/ https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/04/12/wonders-of-traveling-rtw-trip/#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2018 06:00:36 +0000 http://www.wondersoftraveling.com/?p=955 After months of keeping it a secret, I can finally announce that I will be leaving soon to go on a trip around the world! Together with my boyfriend Simen I’m going to leave Malta in July to go traveling for a year. Curious about the countries we will be visiting during our RTW trip? Then definitely continue reading because I will tell you all about our plans.

Traveling the world has always been a dream of mine. I figured now was the best time to do it, before I officially settle down somewhere. I spent the last 3 years saving up for this once in a lifetime trip, and I’m so excited that in only 3 months I will finally be able to make my dream come true. It took me a little while to get Simen on board, but ever since he said yes, we’ve both been super excited and are really looking forward to July 12th.

Our travel style

Since Simen had only about half the amount of time to save up for this trip (compared to me), we decided to backpack. Our aim is not to sleep in fancy hotels. We’re going to try to not spend too much money, which means we might be spending some nights in hostels or even tents. We’ve also opted to go to cheaper countries because of this reason. However, we are going to go to some more expensive countries as well (they were high up my list), which is why we might have to resort to camping. I personally love sleeping in a tent, but Simen isn’t such a big fan, so we’ll see how this is going to go!

RTW trip

From Central America

The first stop of our RTW trip will be Mexico. For a long time, Mexico wasn’t even on our list. We were thinking more about Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. However, after hearing a lot of people talk about how beautiful Mexico was, we started considering adding it to our trip. After doing some more research and looking at pictures on Instagram and Pinterest, we were both completely convinced. Now it’s even the country Simen is looking forward to the most!

After Mexico, we will be heading to Cuba! To be honest, going to Cuba hadn’t been on my list for a very long time. However, it would be cool to see the country as it is today, before it starts changing. I feel like we will be traveling back in time when visiting Cuba, and I’m now super excited about exploring this beautiful and mysterious country.

RTW trip

To South America

I have been dreaming of going to South America for years, so after Cuba we will be flying to Ecuador. Here we’re planning on going to Banos, Vilcabamba, Cotopaxi, Cajas National Park, and many other highlights. After Ecuador, we will be traveling down towards Peru, of course to see Machu Picchu. However, there are so many more things I’m looking forward to in Peru: Nazca Lines, Colca Canyon, Lake Titicaca, Cordillera Blanca, etc. We will be crossing the border with Bolivia and stay here to check out La Paz, Salar de Uyuni, Potosi, and tons of other highlights. After Bolivia we will go to Argentina and Chile (Patagonia!), including Easter Island.

RTW trip

Next stop: Oceania

After 6 months in South America we will be flying to New Zealand. Here, my parents will join us for a little bit. Our initial plans were to only stay in NZ for 3 weeks, but we quickly adapted those plans. We will most likely get a working holiday visa so we can stay in NZ a bit longer without breaking the bank too much. This is also the reason why we won’t make a stop in Australia. If we do NZ and Australia, this will cost us too much money (and to be honest, I’m too scared of the huge spiders they have down there!).

RTW trip

Last stop: South East Asia

The last continent we want to explore on our RTW trip is South East Asia. After NZ we will be flying to Indonesia (Bali), where we will be staying for about 2 weeks. Here we will also meet up with Simen’s family who will be celebrating Easter with us. After Bali we will make our way to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. We might visit some more countries (I’m also very curious about Myanmar), but that will depend on time and money. The aim is to fly back to Europe some time June/July 2019.

Preparations for our RTW trip

Since we’re only 3 months away from our departure date, this means the preparations are in full swing. We’ve booked our first 4 flights, scheduled appointments to get all the necessary vaccinations, ordered new bank cards, etc. There is still a lot that needs to be organized, but I feel like we’re right on schedule. If you’re curious about the practicalities of going on a RTW trip, make sure to check this site regularly because I will share all those things with you!

If you have any tips for traveling as a couple or RTW traveling, please feel free to leave a comment below. Also, if you have already been to one of the countries we’re going to and have recommendations I would love to hear them, so please don’t be shy!

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