Banos, Ecuador

 

Upon leaving Quito and heading south we stayed overnight for two days a town called Banos. Lot of outdoor adventure activities were available, but I wasn’t felling well so I didn’t partake in any. Instead, I hang-out in my room writing and walked around town a bit. There as an amazing church in town, the hotel gardens outside my window were nicely landscaped. Ecuador, in generally, has very lush, mountainous landscapes.

 

In contrast, to my prior “Ultimate Asia” Overland trip in 2005 where the highlights were mostly archeological and historical sites, this trip seems to be centered on adventure and outdoor activities (trekking, camping, mountain biking, wildlife spotting, etc.), except of course for some of the archeological sites in Peru associated with the Inca.

 

First Group Photo - The Equator, Ecuador

 

I'm really not a people person. I believe we are all born into this world alone and we will die alone and other people have been put on earth to annoy us in between. Even with this said, however, somehow I keep signing up for these group holidays with strangers. When will I learn?

Rafting - San Domingo, Ecuador

Rafting trip on Toachi & Blanco rivers (class III - III+) was a lot of fun, but I running out of computer battery. I'll write more later. Then again I'll be leaving for the Galapagos Islands for a week tomorrow. I'm not sure if there is internet access on the boat/island. If not, I'll post more when I get back. Having a great time!

Volcan Pichincha - Quito, Ecuador

 

This morning, I rode the Teleferico (sky tram) to the top of Cruz Loma (4100m).

 

This picture is of the City of Quito from Cruz Loma (4100m).

 

From the top of Cruz Loma (4100m), I hiked another two and half hours to the top of Volcan Pichincha (4700m).

From the Top of Mt. Pichincha - Quito, Ecuador

 

While I successfully made it to the peak of Mt. Pichincha (pictured above) in two and a half hours no problem. I’m guessing, however, I might have went up a little too fast. I should have paced myself better, since I wasn’t acclimated to the altitude nor the heat, and I’m guessing I didn’t drink enough water during the assent, either. When I got back to my hotel, I started to get the chills and the dehydration set in. I drank two litres of water and a litre of beer to redehydrate, and crawled under the covers for two hours with the shakes. After that I was fine. The next day I went whitewater rafting.

Quito, Ecuador

I’ve successfully arrived in Quito yesterday. The weather last night was a little cooler than I expected, but today it warmed up considerable. Today, I spent the day taking it easy, waking around the city, visited a boring museum, practiced some Spanish (I downloaded a couple of lesson to my iPod), and read a few chapters in the Galapagos Islands book.

Tomorrow should be similar, sightseeing, wondering, reading and listening to Spanish lessons. I scheduled a whitewater rafting trip for Saturday, which is a GO provided they find one more participant. They need a minimum of four; currently there are only four of us.

On Monday the boat trip around the Galapagos Islands begins. It will be for eight days, including underwater six dives. I tried to schedule more, but because of time limits I couldn’t. Most of the time, we’ll be sailing between the islands, hiking on them and visiting research stations.

I met the group leader for my South American Explorer trip on my flight over yesterday. That trips starts on Nov 8 in Quito. The group leader said the truck is at capacity, meaning there are 21 participants (strangers) and all the participants (strangers) will be on the truck for the entire duration of the trip. That is from Quito on Nov. 8th to Rio de Janeiro on Feb. 1st. Three months with the same strangers, after which I sure will not be strangers.

Time to go find some food and a bottle for later, while watching Spanish language TV in my hotel room!!

All Set

Having finished putting a vacation hold on my gym membership and netflix accounts, downgrading internet service, washing clothes, packing, changing phone voicemail message, unplugging miscellaneous appliances, locking the windows, turning off the refrigerator and hotwater heater, setting the thermostat to 50 degree, confirming my flight, I'm ready! All I have to do is call a cab and lock the door behind me. Sometime this evening I'll be in Quito, Ecuador.

The hardest part yesterday was sorting out my electricity, minimizing cords and finding the correct adaptors. With a laptop, iPod, SLR still camera, video camera, and iPod speakers in tow, I think I've done that. While energy is always available, typically there aren't many outlets in the hotel rooms. Optimizing outlet usage is essential, especially when sharing with two and sometime three people and their power needs.

Last night I also downloaded some Spanish language lessons to my iPod to listen during the flight. However, I'm sure I'll just watch movies.

When I arrive in Quito, other than a whitewater rafting trip on Saturday, my schedule is basically free until Monday when I board the "yacht" on sail around the Galapagos.