Finally made it to bungalow ….

So first Friday night off work in Quito and decided to make it to Bungalow after hearing about everyone else’s top nights there, it didn’t let down.  First we organised ‘Burns night’ after trying and failing to find haggis in Quito, the lovely Jo offered to make a veggie one guessing she did not fancy stuffing a cows stomach or whatever haggis is. We lit the fire, poured the whisky and googled bag pipe music to throw each other around and call it Scottish dancing ( the Americans had no idea and thought we knew what we were doing).

So feeling a little tipsy and ready to throw some moves we head over to Bungalow to find a huge queue, not sure how but we walk to the front and get right in…. so after hearing about these amazing nights in Bungalow I am kind of expecting Gatecrasher or Cream instead I find the Malt shovel, feet sticking to the floor and the rest! However, top night had by all

So as the lights come up at god knows what time we still want to party, best drunken idea ever ….. take the party back to the office so then I can crash there ready to start work in a couple of hours time. I know I am a legend!

Waking up on Saturday morning in the office was a little confusing but think it’s the happiest I have ever woke up with a hangover! Just have to clean up the rum, tequila and wine bottles then open the doors, Diego is the first to come in and he takes one look at me and offers coffee. At this point I think I better finger brush my hair, teeth and slap some water on my face.

I feel this is going to be a routine weekend event in Quito.                  

The 9-5 in Quito

So life in Quito is going well, I am getting to know the city and even working out the buses. The best bit is they don’t lie to you like in Lima, because the buses are privately owned they just want you to get on and pay. So after asking ‘ do you go to Salamanca?’ and getting the confident answer of ‘ Si, Claro’ ie- whatever just get on! Then again asking ‘ Do you really go to Salamanca?’ Some at this point just say no I lied but you can go to San Jaun on this bus…… Er no I still want to go to Salamanca.

Anyway back to Quito, so life in the hostel is great. The work is fun and meeting new people is always a bonus, although there are a lot of Americans and I am finding myself saying things like Super, Sooooo Cute and other equally annoying things. Here are some pics and a link to the web page.

http://www.communityhostel.com/

Updating and Writing for the South American Explorers is super cool ( see what I mean!) no it is very interesting. Again its great to hear everyone’s story as they come through Quito, only problem is everyone is English speaking so I am not practising any Spanish apart for on the buses…. Someone once told me if I want a laugh I have to ask an American what nationality they are, the answers always go something like this-  14% Irish, 33% Italian, 21% Colombian, 32% Lithuanian, 18% English, now I am not being ignorant to the history of America but the totals are always over 100%! Try it next time you meet an American.   

http://www.saexplorers.org/

      

Cheeky Weekend in Banos

I did mange to behave a little better than last time….. no pole dancing!

So with 2 days off work Crystal and I headed to Terminal Quitumbe and living properly on the edge try to work out the local buses instead of taking a taxi. We only stood at the wrong stop for 20 mins before someone told us where we should be, not bad going and only looked like stupid gringas for a short period.

Once on the bus to Banos I finally get to see the beautiful landscape outside Quito ( if you remember last time I was heading into hangover day 2 and slept the whole way), this road passes Cotopaxi Volcano which dominates the view for miles yet again another awesome sight which really brings your travelling imagination to life.

Once in Banos the first person I bump into is the superstar Luis who works with me in Quito, he is at the ready to find Crystal a hostel and then onto Beers and Mexican food in his friends new restaurant.

Next day Crystal and I head out on our $5 rental bikes…. Yes we were cheap and decided to get $5 not the $10 bikes and did are bums feel it by the end! We then took to the descending road heading towards Puyo which has waterfall after waterfall for 60km. Here are some of the photos to show you just how breathtaking this route is.  

         

Eating Cuy AKA Guinea pig

When I first came to South America two years ago Andy and I tried Cuy AKA Guinea Pig in Arequipa, we did hold a slight bit of guilt when picturing our previous childhood pets. However, this passed and we ordered one of our fluffy little friends cooked over a wood fire with rice and potato’s ( as every dish in Peru seems to come with both carbs). I have to say I quite liked it and as with anything unusual it tasted of chicken, in Africa I also ate crocodile and you guessed it- Chicken! Not sure it will be something I will be ordering again as I found I was still hungry, I remember Mr fluffy ( think he was pet number 2 after I managed not to kill the goldfish) having much more meat on him…. Not that I ate him!  

 

Quito

After my smug journey to the beach Ellie had her sweet revenge on the way back to Quito, the bus was freezing! So cold there was no way of falling asleep and I could feel my mood darkening we will say…..

So there was Ellie fast asleep in her big hooded top, all I could do was stare at her and refrain from poking things up her nose! As I looked around at all the other self-satisfied passengers that seem to know more than me with their coats/hats/ gloves and even sleeping bags, I felt hatred for the rest of the world. However, we made it to Quito at 6am and things started to get better. We went straight to the hostel where I will be working for the next couple of months, Luis was up and waiting for us like the superstar he is! After a couple of hour’s sleep I started my first shift and loved it, there are some great staff members here and wicked guests. We fitted straight in and started to smile again.

Quito seems to be a bit rougher around the edges than Lima but I can see me really enjoying my last couple of months here, so far I have only been around the old town, which is beautiful. Life seems to be at a much slower pace and the people so far have been very friendly.

I am finally starting to look forward to what life is going to bring me.

Surfing in the Montanita

Back to my new years resolutions and I am proud to say number two is underway, I have started Surfing lessons! To top it off I rock at surfing so my instructor tells me, although he did also ask me if I thought he was cute so not sure if he was just trying to chat me up or if it was true feedback. I am sticking to the latter ….. I stood up for 10 seconds….. 10 seconds!!!!

However, I would like to say I looked like a surfing beauty sadly this was not the case. My bikini did not leave much modesty and after being wiped out I lost my hair clip and came up looking like cousin it from the Adams Family with a boob hanging out. I was also knackered and covered in bruises by the end of the two hour lesion but wow I loved it. So much fun, shame Quito is so far from the coast as I am sure I would have had Ripcurl knocking at the door with a bit more time.

             

Here is the wonderful Ellie to show me how its done, thanks chica x

Isla de la plata AKA treasure Island

We left Quito on Thursday night by overnight bus which I thought was fine and had a good sleep on but woke up to find an angry Ellie staring at me in the morning, demanding to know how I could have slept through the crazy driving and look so happy about it. Think it’s her turn to be grumpy so I just give my apologies and hope for a smooth final trip to the hotel in Puerto Lopez.

We get checked in early and book ourselves onto a day trip to Isla de la plata, with having 2 hours free before the boat trip I head to bed for a couple more zzz, this apparently amazes Ellie.

On the way to our boat we see all the local fishermen bringing that nights catch home, wonderful to watch the beach come to life. Once on the boat we met a great group of people but one Swedish girl I knew straight away I am going to dislike. I was right by the end of the day I hated her and so did everyone else on the boat with her long blonde perfect hair being flicked everywhere and her self-importance presence around the boat with poses straight out of zoolander. All I wanted to do was push her off the back of the boat, but I couldn’t move due to my attractive life vest being too big and having to desperately suck on a mint to stop myself vomiting.

Anyway we finally get to treasure Island where Sir Francis Drake apparently buried his Silver treasure chest (still unfound), also can anyone tell me why Francis Drake is a Sir? From the stories I hear he was a proper crook!

The Island is also known as the poor mans Galapagos so I asked the guide what the difference is between them, his brilliant answer was $1,000. Lol. We did see the Blue Footed Boobie, Turtles and lots of fish when snorkelling.    

Been to the middle of the world and back.

Today was a fresh start in Quito with all moody hangover’s gone. So we made a friend at breakfast who wanted to see the Otavalo Market and La mitad del mundo (middle of the world) as we did also. So I asked the pleasant watchie man (as the Peruvians call them, to us Security guy) how is the best route to see both in one day? Its great when the best advice you can get in a hostel is from the watchie man not from the 3 (we know the wifi doesn’t work) chicos! As with anything to take buses will take a lot of time and effort but he knows a taxi that will make a good price for us. A phone call later ‘Kleber’ the taxi driver turns up and is true to his word makes us a good price, seems even more impressed when I tell him his name sounds like clever in English which means he is intelligent.I am impressed with Kleber’s driving during the 2 hr drive to Oltavalo no shaky moments and would even say it was a pleasant journey. When we arrive he takes us to Lago san Pablo just outside Oltavalo.

Then we head up to Laguna Cuicocha which is a beautiful blue Crater lake at 3060m, there are two islands that are old Volcanic cones that sit in the middle it has been said the Inca’s used them as prisons. There were very few people there so was nice to sit and take in the tranquil environment, before heading into the largest crafts market in Ecuador.

Otavalo Market’s main day is on a Saturday but runs everyday just smaller, although you wouldn’t guess, as it’s still a fair size. It was interesting to see the many different colours and Ecuadorian crafts, it was surprising to see how different the market was to Peru’s Indian markets. 

  

Then on to the middle of the world, where someone once told me you couldn’t walk in a straight line along the equator. So I looked like a right tool wandering along the yellow line like a policeman had pulled me over for being drunk. I could easily put one foot straight in front of the other, this could have been a different story yesterday though!

I looked in the direction of the northeast and blew you guy a big kiss. X

Then back to Quito for sunset.               

Banos broke me!

Ok at the ripe old age of 31 I thought all day hangovers were a thing of the past, but not after a night out in Banos but wow worth it! So after returning from the Jungle we were cold, wet and tired to find only cold water in the showers and the biggest street party outside our hostel, so no chance of getting a nice cozy early night in bed. So why not join them?So we head to ‘The Good Bar’ to find the smallest bar in the world but great Moijito’s, I remember saying look at the pole in the middle of the dance floor some tit will be on that later…. Yep you guessed it! So there I was thinking I was something out of Flash dance getting twisted upside down by Angel the local English teacher/town mover. 

Yesterday was all about soup, flat coke and big sunglasses. However, we were meant to be moving onto Quito but not a hope in hell of getting us on an Ecuadorian bus for 4hrs. So today we have arrived in Quito but the people don’t seem to be as helpful here. First time I notice this was in the hostel-

Me-do you have wi-fi?

Chicos- yes

Me- do you have the password for it?

About 10 seconds of awkward silence as the 3 of them just stare at me

Chico- 1869478367

Me- thanks…..

I get back to my room to find the wi-fi will not connect to my phone so I tried my laptop and same thing. So back to reception.

Me- The wi-fi is not working.

Chico- we know its broken.

I don’t even have the will power to speak……..so just walk away!

Next time I found another helpful Quito guy was at lunch-

Me- What is chaulafan?

Waiter- chaulafan

Me- yes but what is it?

Waiter- a mixture of meat

Me- In a sauce/ rice/potato’s, any more clues?

Waiter- meat with rice.

Me- sure I will have it.

Turns out to be special fried rice by the way. Also all these conversations where in Spanish so was not a language problem. Now I have told Ellie I am not talking to anyone else till we leave……. Think due to my moodiness the hangover has entered day 2.       

       

In the Jungle the mighty Jungle

Yesterday was an early start to head into the Jungle, wish someone had told the guide though as he was still on South American time! So after waiting around and continually calling him we finally set off an hour later. The views heading in were amazing along the Banos to Puyo road waterfall after waterfall cascading into the Jungle valley. We were also lucky that our tour group was only two argentine guys and us so we had a big comfy 4x4 to enjoy the landscape.

First stop was an animal reserve that rescues Jungle animals that have been sold or taken to be sold on the black market. They keep them till they are well enough to be re release back into the wild, it sounds lovely doesn’t it…. Conditions were pretty bad but guess it’s better than where they were before.

Second stop was to visit an indigenous tribe of which I seen four people and one had Adidas trainers on. We were giving a special drink that is used in ceremonies, as I was taking a mouth full of the white warm murky liquid he decides to tell us at that point how it is made. The tribe hold it in their mouths for a couple of minutes before spiting it back into the bowl and leaving it for a couple of weeks to forment. Or to give to passing Gringos for a laugh I feel!

After this we headed up to a breathtaking viewpoint over the Jungle and listened to the new noises, it’s at times like this you realise how big the world is and how many things are still to be explored. Saying that we then hiked for an hour to the Vida waterfall, this large powerful waterfall is found in the middle of the Jungle securely hidden. The refreshing clear water felt amazing after our hot day exploring, then the havens opened and we fully understood why this is the rain forest.

On the way back the guide thought we might be peckish so found a termite’s nest and preceded to eat them, he said they were full of vitamins and that was a good enough selling point for me. However, cant say they tasted of much but the ant eggs he gave us next had a surprisingly lemon tang!