(EN) 2 - Peru, Lima-Arequipa

From Lima, we took a bus to Pisco, the town that suffered the most from the earthquake of August last year. We arrived in the evening and saw a dreadful town, devastated by the earthquake. Most of the hotels were down, houses had no more roof or no more upper floor, and half of the population was living in tents, under 35ºC. The roads were partly destroyed, so the taxi drivers kept on sliding from left to right to avoid de holes on the ground.

For the first time, we felt sad and useless. Our guide told us that all the towns along the coast of Peru up to Chile suffered from the earthquake, but Pisco was at the epicentre. Also, more than half of what foreign coutries sent to help the population never arrived...

Our goal was not to stay in Pisco but, from Pisco, take a boat and go and visit the Ballestas Islands, "the Galapagos of the poor" as they call it, a much cheaper option. So, the morning after our arrival, we went to "las Islas Ballestas" and saw pelicans, sea lions, penguins and birds of different kind such as seagulls, Northern gannets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Gannet) with red feet or blue feet. It was really fun and refreshing :)

In the afternoon, we left Pisco and the Ballestas Islands and headed to Huacachina, 2 hours South from Pisco (check the map), where you could find sand dunes and an oasis. We stayed there the whole afternoon, enjoying the dunes and the swimming pool below. There, we met a Swiss-Peruvian guy who's been living in Lima for years and advised us to go further south to a place called "Puerto Inka" that was supposed to be a little "jewel" of peace along the sea.

As it was a bit far, we stopped first at Nazca for a day just to check the Nazca lines you can only see from the sky. So we arrived on Thursday evening, the 14th, to a nice hostel owned by a Peruvian-Dutch couple. The weather was still very warm and made our night short and difficult.

On Friday morning, we went on a journey in search of those mysterious lines drawn on the floor, but too huge to see in their entirety from the ground: a 30 minutes journey on a 4-people plane where I got sick after 3 minutes... Unfortunately, I didn't see any of them, concentrating my attention on the horizon...

After this bad adventure (for me only of course... Stomach problems are my curse on this trip ;) ), we hung out in the city, saw some catacombs, then decided to leave Nazca to reach that peaceful place called "Puerto Inka".

It turned out it looked very much like a Club Med place where we got so bored we ended up playing any games they had in their storage room: dominoes, scrabble, table tennis and, last but not least, "baccalauréat" game (for those who know what it is).

We left after 2 days, bored to death and annoyed by such a waste of time and money.

On Sunday night, the 17th, we were finally gone, on the way to Arequipa, further South. The journey was great. I barely slept but as it was full moon, I could guess the amazing landscape, the ocean from one side, the broken mountain from the other side. We seemed to be driving on another planet :)

Unfortunately, some others didn't enjoy the trip that much and had difficulties digesting the last Pisco-sour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisco_sour) we had before leaving Puerto-Inka ;-) Alicia decided to quit this cocktail from now on...

Arequipa (2380m) is a lovely town and usually the first stop for any tourist who wants to go to Cuzco and Machu Picchu afterwards, much higher than Arequipa. This way, it prevents from suffering too much from the high altitude of Cuzco and M.P.

Unfortunately, it rained nearly all day (ah well! January to March is the rainy season after all). So, we didn't see much of Arequipa city.

The next day, Tuesday 19th, we went on a 2 days trek to the Colca Canyon. We didn't trek that much actually, but still the trìp was good.

The first day, we were mainly on the bus, stopped a few times at some market places, then tried the coca leaf to beat the effects of the high altitude (absolutely disgusting but it does work :) ), then drove up to 4900m high from where we had no view at all as the weather turned bad, dark sky, rain and wind.

In the evening, back at the hostel, some went to enjoy some hot springs while Alicia and myself fell asleep in our gloomy room (with no hot water and a high degree of humidity)... until dinner time hehe!

Then we went to a restaurant where probably no local people go, all made for tourists: music, typical dances. As far as I'm concerned, I enjoyed the food but didn't like the whole tourist attraction and swore never to return to such places... (arg, never say never).

The day after was much better. Weather was great, we walked up to the Colca Canyon and saw some condors. Good atmosphere in the group :D

We left in the evening when the weather started to change. Wednesday evening, 20th, back at Arequipa city, we packed our backpacks and took a night bus to Cuzco, all excited by the idea we would soon go to Machu Picchu :D

Links for any pics are the same:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittypic/sets/72157603940293627/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittypic/sets/72157603975531738/

http://picasaweb.google.es/cath.blanchard/Peru?authkey=RWs-FricL_s

(EN) Peru, here we come!

I've been pretty lazy in giving news lately, moving from one place to another every 2 or 3 days, enjoying a 35 degrees weather, the ocean, the mountains, the jungle etc.

So, here's our story in Peru. As we've been here for more than 3 weeks now, there's quite a lot to tell, so I'll probably write different messages to let you enjoy our adventures without having too much to read in a row ;)

We arrived in Peru on Tuesday the 5th, early morning. We took a night bus from Ecuador, passed the border at 3am, showed our passport, filled in forms, got attacked by lots of monster-like insects on the way (= my view of bugs bigger than the ones you find in Western Europe... ;) ), then got back into the bus and arrived at 6am in Peru: Piura town.

As Piura was not our final destination, we decided to quickly take another bus to flee that noisy town and have the opportunity to finish our night. So, we followed the west coast, Piura-Chiclayo-Trujillo-Huanchaco, 4 buses in total, but it was worth it. We stopped at Huanchaco, a small sea resort full of backpackers.

All the way down to Huanchaco, the scenery was the same (and will be like this all along the coast): desert, desert and desert again, long dusty roads, no villages for kilometers, a heat that would kill any inuits instantly ;)

So, Huanchaco was a relief, it smelt the ocean, smelt the real relaxing holidays everybody dreams of. We HAD to stay a few days there, there was no other option ;) and 1 day quickly turned into 3 days... 3 days of sunbathing, swimming in the Pacific Ocean, eating, reading, meeting plenty of foreigners and local people. Chilling out like this was great! :D

Then we left on a rainy Friday evening (I guess it was a sign it was time to go) and headed to Huaraz (3052m), a town in the "Cordillera Blanca" in the centre of the country. At the bus station, we were buying some food when a guy stole Alicia's small backpack in no time, leaving us speechless and pretty much desperate. After cancelling credit cards and traveller cheques and realizing how much she lost (all the valuables she brought with her), we caught our bus and tried our best to fall asleep. Obviously, we barely slept...

Finally in Huaraz, we went to the Police Station to get a statement, called the Belgium Embassy for a new passport, then spent the rest of the day trying to avoid the subject. The 2 following days, we went trekking in the "Cordillera Blanca" and saw lovely sceneries: blue lagunas, snowcapped mountains.

Ali and Cath got madly bitten by "leech-mosquitoes" (the kind of mosquitoe that doesn't want to let go and remains stuck on your legs if you don't pull it yourself, as you'd remove a leech with your fingers). Cath had a bad reaction on her foot and ankle, all swollen, and had to take some antibiotics to cure it.

Anyway, after 2 days of trek, we left cold Huaraz to noisy and contaminated Lima. Also, Lima being along the coast, it's at the same time roasting and humid... lovely.

In Lima (154m) on Tuesday the 12th, we sorted out all the admin stuff (embassy etc.), then went on a visit around town. We didn't feel unsafe until we asked policemen and security guards for directions... They all told us to be careful as in Lima they attacked and robbed tourists very quickly, and they advised us to use cabs as much as possible. And even some taxi drivers asked us to lock the doors... just in case. All very reassuring you might say...

So, we decided to hang out into the nearly only area where you might feel safer than in any other areas of Lima: Miraflores, south of the city. Very nice area, quite posh, shops selling products as expensive as in a European country...

So, we spent the afternoon and the evening in this "magic bubble", far from any signs of poverty, with cinemas, clothes shops, Starbucks. But the view was great as Miraflores is situated on top of a rock above the ocean, a little "Peruvian Monaco" so to speak ;)

We watched a movie then went back to our hostel to leave it the morning after, Wednesday 13th.

Here are 3 links to check some pics of Peru:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cath.blanchard/Peru?authkey=RWs-FricL_s
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittypic/sets/72157603940293627/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittypic/sets/72157603975531738/

As Cath and Alicia updated their pics storage much quicker than I wrote my blog, some pics does not correspond to any story I told you yet... ;) But you can still enjoy Arequipa, the Colca Canyon, Machu Picchu (some more pics will come later), the jungle, the Lake Titicaca.

I've also attached a map of Peru with our itinerary, up to Cusco. On my last message, I'll add a picture of the full itinerary.

Enjoy guys! and I can't wait to read your comments :)

(la version francaise est au stade de traduction, elle arrive bientot ;) )

(FR) Toujours en Equateur

Mon dernier message datait de dimanche 27 Jan. Depuis, pas mal de choses se sont passees.

Le lendemain, lundi, on s'est leve tot pour profiter des bains thermaux bouillants. Avec beaucoup de courage, on passait des bains bouillants aux bains glaces hehe! A force, on sentait plus rien, la couleur de la peau passant de rouge a bleu :-)

La-bas, on a rencontre quelques locaux. On leur a raconte nos aventures puis on a ecoute les leurs.
Apres une longue journee de glande, on s'est dit qu'il etait temps que ces vacances de "luxe" cessent et on est parti le soir meme pour une ville sans charme repondant au doux nom de Riobamba... Apres 10 magnifiques jours de cool auberges, p'tits dejs appetissants, bonne sante et des pays splendides, notre chance se faisait la malle: la pluie nous a accompagnees pendant notre 1.5 jour passe a Riobamba. Il n'y avait rien de beau a photographier. L'auberge de jeunesse etait un vrai cauchemar (a 3$ la nuit, on pouvait s'attendre au pire). Pour ceux qui ont vu Fight Club, cette auberge vous rappellera la maison pourrave dans laquelle Brad Pitt and Ed Norton se sont installes. La seule difference etait la presence d'une tele. Et d'ailleurs, on a regarde CSI Miami et CSI New-York toute la soiree et une bonne partie de l'apres-midi... car, pour ajouter a notre petite malchance, Cath et moi avons fait une etrange intoxication alimentaire avec turista et fievre. Enfoui dans notre sac de couchage, on a passe notre soiree a dormir ou regarder la TV par intermittence... et bien sur courir de temps en temps aux toilettes :-)

Alicia a eu le meme probleme quelques jours auparavant. Elle etait donc en forme ce jour-la. Tout ca c'est passe mardi 29, pour nous, un jour a se rappeler hehe!

Mercredi matin, on s'est leve a 5.30 du mat, un peu "grogui" par les medicaments, pour choper un vieux train pour Cuenca, toujours plus dans le sud: un trajet de 8h en pleine campagne et au milieu des montagnes.

Dans le train, l'ambiance etait au beau fixe. Un autochtone nous bercait au son de la flute de pan et les paysages montagneux etaient magnifiques. Puis le train a deraille. Alors tout le monde est sorti pour examiner les degats et voir comment les techniciens en herbe allaient resoudre le probleme. Mais visiblement, ca devait leur arriver souvent parce que 20 minutes plus tard nous etions repartis.

Apres une longue journee de voyage, on est enfin arrive a Cuenca ou on est reste 2.5 jours. Cuenca (2500m) est une tres belle ville, plus petite que Quito mais, pour ma part, plus chaleureuse et accueillante. On a decouvert la ville en bus touristique: centre historique, quartier moderne, eglises, universites, prisons, ruelles, places fleuries etc. Puis on a passe une journee avec une famille indigene qui nous a fait partager leur vie quotidienne, leur nourriture, leurs plantes medicinales, leur religion, leur relation avec la nature: comment capter l'energie de la terre etc.
Malheureusement, la seule chose qu'on a reussi a "capter" a ete un deuxieme coup de soleil. Alors, pour nous remettre de nos emotions, on a fini la journee dans un cafe a jouer a jenga :-) (pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas, c'est une tour faite de briques en bois, briques que l'on doit deplacer sans faire ecrouler la tour, tres drole et tres bruyant).

Le lendemain, on est parti pour Loja et Vilcabamba, pres de la frontiere peruvienne. Sur le chemin de la gare routiere, on s'est fait "attaquer" par des gosses a coup de bombes a eau ;-) hehe! Et oui, c'etait le debut du Carnaval. Et ils le fetent pendant 3 jours en se lancant les uns les autres des bombes a eau, des oeufs, de la farine, de la mousse et des colorants.

Apres 5h de bus, on est arrive a Loja, Cath et Alicia heureuses, moi malade une fois de plus. Mais medicaments et poulet-riz m'ont retablie... enfin, pour le temps du Carnaval.

Le lendemain, on est alors alle a Vilcabamba, a 1h de Loja, pour celebrer le Carnaval comme il se devait. On s'est rapidement retrouve trempe de la tete aux pieds et couvert de mousse rose et colorants orange ;-). C'etait vraiment genial. Les enfants comme les personnes agees s'en donnaient a coeur joie, et ce, jusqu'a tard dans la soiree.

Le lendemain, lundi 4, aura ete notre dernier jour en Equateur, dernier jour passe a se remettre de la veille et a gouter a un des plats preferes des Equatoriens : le cochon d'inde. Les filles ont trouve ca ok, moi j'ai mange du poulet... ;)

J'ai ajoute une carte du Perou dans le message en version anglaise pour que vous puissiez visualiser notre trajet.
De plus, vous pouvez "admirer" nos photos en cliquant sur les 3 liens suivants.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittypic/sets/72157603831524833/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittypic/sets/72157603866346418/
http://picasaweb.google.com/cath.blanchard/Ecuador?authkey=Dv-RE3_hM20

Merci pour tous vos commentaires :)) Continuez comme ca.
Et l'histoire du Perou arrive tres bientot ;)

(EN) Still in Ecuador

Last time I talked to you was on Sat. 26th. A few things happened since then.

As planned, in Baños, we went to discover some waterfalls on Sunday. It wasn't exceptional until we had a bath in one of them ;) very refreshing!!. Alicia didnt really feel like jumping into the water, but Cath and myself got into it quickly and enjoyed ourselves a lot :)

The day after, Monday, we got up early and went to a spa place and jumped into the boiling water coming from the volcanoe, then the freezing water of the swimming pools. God! we couldn't feel our body anymore, changing colour from red to blue.
We met plenty of local people over there and told them our story then listened to theirs. Most of them were elderly people.

After chilling out for the rest of the day, we decided it was time to put an end to these easy holidays. So, we left Baños on Monday evening and headed south to Riobamba... a pretty ugly town as we discovered it when arriving under the rain. Well, to be honest, sun or rain wouldn't have changed a thing. And after 10 days of luck with nice hostels, great breakfasts, no food poisoning, lovely landscapes and great weather, things started to change.
Rain followed us during the 1.5 day spent in Riobamba. Absolutely nothing pretty to take pictures of. The hostel was a nightmare (for 3$ the night, we couldn't expect much really). For those who saw Fight Club, that hostel would have definitely reminded you of that "lovely house" where Brad Pitt and Ed Norton moved in. The only difference was that we had a TV. Thank God! We watched CSI and the Simpsons all the evening and most of the afternoon... as, last but not least, Cath and myself got food poisoning :-( Turista + fever. Stuck in our sleeping bags, we could only sleep or watch TV... and rush to the toilets from time to time...
Alicia went through this a few days ago but was now all fine and tried the boost the troop ;) This was on Tuesday 29th. A time and place to remember hehe! ;-)

Wednesday morning, we got up at 5.30am, a bit stoned by the medicines, rushed to the train station to catch a 8h train that would take us to Cuenca, south of Ecuador: an old train full of backpackers that goes very slowly to let us enjoy the view... but derail from time to time. We passed through mountains, was amazing, the mood on the train was really great... then the train derailled. So, everyone got out and checked how the crew would fix this. As they're used to this, in 20 minutes, it was all repaired and we finished our journey in the same good mood, while a local guy played typical music to entertain us.

After a long day, we finally arrived at Cuenca where we spent 2.5 days, enjoying good weather and the start of the Carnival, a great entertainment for all.

Cuenca (2500m) is a really lovely town, smaller than Quito but, for me, more pleasant.
We discovered the town on a touristic bus, passing through old town, new town, churches, universities, prisons, flowery squares, narrow streets etc. for 1h40.
We spent the day after with an Indigenous family, learning about its community, its way of life, its food and medicinal plants, its religion and way of keeping the energy of the earth to live longer... It was very interesting and we enjoyed it a lot, tasting their food, listening to their music and trying the catch the energy of mother nature around us. Unfortunately, the only thing we managed to catch was a second sun-burn that left us all red... To recover from this, we finished the day in a café playing jenga :))

We planned on leaving the day after to Loja and Vilcabamba, close to the boundary with Peru. We left with our heavy backpack on our back and got "attacked" by kids throwing water to people passing by... hehe! This is how they celebrate Carnival in South America: for 3 days, they spray people with pink mousse, throw water, eggs, flour and colouring substances...

After 5h bus, we arrived at Loja, both Cath and Alicia happy, myself sick again, more than likely by drinking bad water... But medicine, chicken and rice helped me get rid of this annoyance. So, the 3 of us managed to enjoy Carnival properly :) We went to Vilcabamba to get a better "view" of the celebrations and got quickly soaked and covered with mousse and colouring substances ;) was amazing, kids and old people were all enjoying themselves!! An evening to remember :) This was yesterday Sunday 3rd.

Today, Monday 4th, we'll head to Peru, taking an 8h night bus. So, tonight will be our last night in Ecuador, after 2.5 weeks of visits.

I added a map of Ecuador, spotting the places we visited.

Also, here are 3 other links with new pics:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittypic/sets/72157603831524833/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittypic/sets/72157603866346418/

http://picasaweb.google.com/cath.blanchard/Ecuador?authkey=Dv-RE3_hM20

(here, you'll find some pics are the same, but Cath updated the link and added some more pics)

Thanks for your comments by the way, its nice to have feedback from you guys :)

(FR) Equateur, premier pays

Enfin je vous donne des nouvelles de nos aventures en Amérique du Sud, après 10 jours passés en Equateur :-)

Alors, qu'est-ce qui s'est passé depuis qu'on a quitté l'Europe en ce jeudi 17 janvier? On est donc parti de Paris Charles-de-Gaulle pour Quito, 6 vols au total. Premier vol Paris-Milan, puis Milan-Caracas (11h), Caracas-Bogota, Bogota-Quito, Quito-Bogota, re-Bogota-Quito le lendemain (vendredi). Oui, en fait, on n'a pas pu atterrir à Quito le jeudi soir parce qu'il y avait trop de brouillard sur la piste, chose qui arrive très souvent vu que Quito est situé entre des montagnes. Alors, on a rebroussé chemin, direction Bogota, on a dormi là-bas puis on a pris un autre vol le lendemain matin pour arriver dans un Quito chaud et ensoleillé :-)

Quito (2800m) est une ville assez charmante, quand on sait où se balader et quel quartier éviter hehe! Ah ben c'est comme toute capitale, il faut juste avoir un minimum de sens commun et éviter certains quartiers le soir tard...

L'Auberge où on est resté 3 jours était vraiment bien, très agréable, accueillante: Hostel Huauki, mi-équatorien, mi-japonais, où ils servaient des petits déjeuners et diners soit équatoriens, soit japonais, selon nos envies. On a vraiment adoré, on se sentait comme chez soi.

C'est marrant, les équatoriens sont calmes et prennent les choses comme elles viennent. Ils marchent lentement, prennent leur temps, sourient etc. Alors, on a décidé de faire la même chose, de faire couleur locale et se prendre les choses comme elles viennent. Mais c'est pas toujours évident, surtout pour moi avec mon habituelle mauvaise humeur ;-)

Bref. Qu'est-ce qu'on a fait à Quito? on a visité le centre historique, on a pris un téléphérique pour admirer la ville vue du haut, entourée de montagnes. On est aussi allé a la "Mitad del Mundo" comme ils l'appellent, là où passe la ligne de l'Equateur. En fait, il y a 2 lignes, la fausse et la vraie. Oui, parce qu'en fait, au départ, ils avaient situé la ligne imaginaire à un certain endroit du pays. Et pour célébrer l´évènement, ils ont créé une ville spécialement pour touristes, avec des magasins, de la musique traditionnelle "en-veux-tu-en-voila", des danses "typiques" etc. Bref, tout pour accueillir le touriste heureux de mettre un pied de chaque coté de la ligne.
Puis un jour, grâce au GPS, ils se sont rendus compte que la ligne de l'Equateur était en fait 200m plus bas... Bien sûr, il était hors de question de détruire cette "magnifique" ville créée de toute pièce. Alors, ils ont ajouté un musée 200m plus bas, où l'on peut apprendre les différences entre les 2 hémisphères ainsi que la vie d'un des peuples indigènes (rien à voir avec la ligne Equateur mais très interessant tout de même). On a d'ailleurs appris la technique de réduction de tête ainsi que leur plat favori: le cochon d'inde au barbecue (de quoi en devenir végétarien ;-) ). L'expérience était donc intéressante et c'est ce jour qu'on a chopé notre premier coup de soleil hehe ;-)

Après 3 jours a Quito, on est descendu vers Latacunga (2800m), une petite ville d'où l'on est parti faire du trekking pendant 3 jours. C'était épuisant mais génial. Les 2 tours de trekking s'appellent: Quilotoa (nom d'un volcan étaint dont le sommet s'est transformé en lagune) et Cotopaxi (nom d'un autre volcan éteint dont le sommet, à 5800m, est toujours enneigé).

Le Quilotoa tour s'est fait en 2 jours: balade en forêt, en suivant une rivière, puis en montagne. On a passé la nuit dans une vieille auberge typique avec dîner traditionnel et couvertures en poils de llamas sur les lits.

Le Cotopaxi tour s'est fait en une journée. On est allé en jeep jusqu'à 4000m, puis on est monté à pied jusqu'à un refuge à 4810m où on a senti pour la première fois certains effets de l'altitude: vertiges et maux de tête. Des 4810m, on a pu voir le sommet de la montagne enneigé. Magnifique!

Pendant ces 3 jours, on a eu la chance de rencontrer et parler avec des locaux et surtout avec la population indigène qui nous dévisageait autant que nous les dévisagions ;-)

Après ces 3 jours de trekking, on s'est dirigé vers Baños, une ville thermale a l'est du pays, située au bas d'un volcan. Il est toujours en éruption mais visiblement pas dangereux vu que la ville est située du coté où la lave ne tombe pas. Mais, à certains endroits de la ville, on peut voir s'échapper la fumée noire du volcan.
On est arrivé vendredi 25/01, exactement une semaine après notre arrivée en Equateur. Samedi, on a trainé en centre ville, fait du shopping etc. Dimanche (aujourd'hui), on est allé faire un tour des différentes cascades autour de la ville et on s'y est même baigné. Très rafraichissant ;-)
Demain est notre dernier jour ici. On a l'intention de se lever tôt pour aller profiter des bains thermaux avant la foule. Puis on partira vers le sud du pays, dans une ville appelée Riobamba, d'où part un petit train de montagne.

Jusque-la, on a eu de très belles journées chaudes et ensoleillées, et des nuits un peu fraîches et venteuses. Mais on attend avec impatience de se retrouver sur la côte péruvienne pour profiter quelques jours de l'océan pacifique et des grosses chaleurs... pour bronzer un peu plus!!! :-)

En attendant, vous pouvez regarder les photos de Quito, Latacunga et Baños en clickant sur les 2 liens suivants:
http://picasaweb.google.com/cath.blanchard/Ecuador?authkey=Dv-RE3_hM20

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittypic/sets/72157603791823117/

Oh! et vous pouvez ajouter des commentaires si ça vous chante.

(EN) Ecuador, first country

I’m finally going to give you some news about our adventures in South America, after a week spent in Ecuador.

So, what happened since we left Europe on that Thursday 17th of Jan? Well, yes, we flew over to South America, 6 flights in total, a bit long but we arrived safely in Quito. First flight was Paris-Milan on Thursday morning, then Milan-Caracas (11h), Caracas-Bogota, Bogota-Quito, Quito-Bogota, Bogota-Quito again on Friday morning ;-) What happened is that, Quito being situated between a range of mountains, there's fog quite often during the night. We couldn't land in Quito on Thursday night. So, we flew back to Bogota, spent the night there, then flew again to a sunny Quito the morning after :-)

Quito (2800m) is a nice place, when you know where to go and where NOT to go hehe! Ah well, it's just like any capitals, you just have to be careful in some areas, at night etc.
The hostel we stayed in for 3 days was lovely, an Ecuadorian/Japanese place where they serve you ecuadorian or japanese food for breakfast and dinner. We loved it, people were very welcoming and peaceful, we felt at home.
That's funny, here, Ecuadorians seem to take things as they go, walking slowly, taking their time, smiling. So, we decided to do the same and try our best to take things as they go, not always easy, especially for me with my short temper ;-)

Anyway. So, what did we do in Quito? we visited the "old town", went on a cable-car to view the city from above, surrounded by mountains, then went to the "Mitad del Mundo" as they call it, where the equator line is. Actually, there're 2 lines, the fake one and the real one. Yes, first they thought the line was at a certain place in the country, so they created a fake town with shops, music, dances, events etc. to welcome all tourists happy to put one foot on each side of the line.
Then one day, thanks to the GPS, they realized the line was actually 200m further down... Obviously, they couldn't destroy that ugly fake town, so they left it but created a small museum 200m down where you can learn all the differences between northern and southern hemisphere, as well as the life of one of the Indigenous peoples, not related to the equator line but we learnt interesting things such as the technic to reduce heads and one of their favorite meal: the guinea pig on bbq (from that moment on, I decided to become vegetarian for good ;-) ). Anyway, it was all very interesting... and that's where we caught our first sun-burn ;-)

After 3 days in Quito, we went south to Latacunga (2800m), a small town from where we went trekking for 3 days. It was tiring but rewarding. The 2 trekking tours we did are called: Quilotoa (name of a sleeping volcanoe whose top has become a laguna) and Cotopaxi (name of another sleeping volcanoe whose snowcapped peak rises at 5800m).

We did the Quilotoa tour in 2 days, walking through forests, rivers and mountains. We slept over at an old-fashioned wooden-made hostel where they serve you traditional food and gives you blanklets made of lamas' hairs.

The Cotopaxi tour took us 1 day. We drove in jeep up to 4000m high. Then we climbed up to 4810m to a refuge where we felt for the first time some of the effects of the high altitude: vertigo and headache. From there, we managed to see the snowcapped peak of the Cotopaxi. Splendid! :-)During those 3 days, we had the opportunity to speak with local people and above all with Indigenous peoples who were staring at us the same way we were staring at them hehe! ;-)

After 3 days trekking, we went east to Baños, a spa town situated at the bottom of a volcanoe. It's still in eruption but is not too dangerous as the town is on one side of the volcanoe, while the lava only falls on the other side. However, from a certain point of the town, you can see the dark smoke escaping from the top.
We arrived on Friday 25th, just a week after our arrival in Ecuador. Today, Sat 26th, we spent our time discovering the town, walking slowly ;-) and shopping. Tomorrow, the plan is to go on a tour and discover the different waterfalls around town.

So far, days have been great, sunny and warm from 10am to 5pm, chilly and a bit windy during the night (Irish people would still find the nights warm hehe ;-) )

You can find pics of Quito, Latacunga and Baños by clicking on the 2 below links:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittypic/sets/72157603791823117/

http://picasaweb.google.com/cath.blanchard/Ecuador?authkey=Dv-RE3_hM20

Enjoy!

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