Mexico - Cancun

Today was another lazy day spent wandering around Cancun and then lazing by the pool. It was nice to relax and enjoy some heat before heading to the snow of Colorado for Christmas.

Tonight we also met our new group of 15 who we will join and travel through Belize and Guatemala with. In this group we have 3 from South Africa, 1 from NZ, 2 from Scotland, 1 from Wales, and the rest are from Oz. Seemingly another great group all around our age which should make the final week of hard core travel fun!

Mexico - Cancun

After a fabulous sleep in our kingsize bed we rose and went out to discover a little of what Cancun has to offer. We wandered down the main avenue and found ourselves at a rather large shopping complex and well, we went shopping :-). Although, thankfully we had left most of the money and the credit card at the hotel so we couldn’t spend much in the fantastic variety of clothes shops.

Exhausted we headed back to the hotel keen for a swim and lazy afternoon by the pool but as the weather cooled down a little we found ourselves watching movies instead. Then, for dinner we ventured out to La Parilla, a Mexican restaurant that was recommended to us by the hotel staff. Unfortunately it was a little too touristic but we enjoyed some traditional Mexican fare and the Mariachi.

Ecuador - Quito

This morning we wandered around a little more of Quito that we hadn’t really explored yet, enjoyed a nice coffee, and did a little shopping. We then made our way to the airport for our flight to Cancun, Mexico.

Ecuador - Cotopaxi

We departed Banos this morning to the low pitched grumbles of Tungurahua and a lot of ash still in the air. A short way along the road out of Banos we stopped for one last look at the volcano and what do you know, she erupted again!! Because it was daylight we could not see the glow of the lava but the smoke and ash plumes were going very high into the air. It was very cool to see in daylight as well!

Our route back to Quito took us along the Pan American highway which is known in these parts as “The Avenue of Volcanoes” as it is lined on either side by the East and West Andes which consists of many volcanoes, quite a number of which are still active, but not erupting at this moment. We got to see remnants of partly buried towns and villages which in the past have been devastated by these volcanoes and also saw where some of the roads used to be, approximately 10m below the current road. 

On our way back we passed through Atambo and Latacunga, capitals of their respective provinces, and we stopped at Yambo Lake and Cotopaxi National Park. Cotopaxi National Park is named after Cotopaxi Volcano whose crater sits at 5897m, is no longer active, and is the main attraction. We viewed the museum and then drove up to the parking area for base camp at 4500m. We were planning on walking up to base camp and then on to the snow line but the parking area was already in the snow, the track had been snowed over, and the visibility was terrible so we decided to abort that idea. We returned down to 3800m to Lake Limpiopungo for lunch.

After lunch we made our way to Quito where we said our goodbyes to our driver, George, and tour guide, Alexandro, and then enjoyed our last group dinner.

Ecuador - Banos

Firstly this morning we and two other couples from our group rented some Dune Buggies to cruise the surrounding area of Banos. We travelled out of town and along some small country roads, it was quite a fun morning until everyone else’s buggies started to break.... thankfully nothing too serious so we all returned safely. After lunch we enjoyed a massage and did some shopping. 

We then joined up with the rest of our group and drove up to a lookout called ‘The Tree House’ from where we could get a great view of Tungurahua Volcano which is the active volcano that overlooks Banos.  At the lookout there is a station which is manned by Carlos, a volunteer who monitors the activity of the volcano and has done for the last 10 years. The Tree House is actually a small carved out area in the trunk of a large tree on top of the mountain that acts as a shelter for Carlos when the volcano erupts. All day the volcano had been grumbling and there was a fair amount of ash in the air but this was nothing compared with what we were about to witness on top of the mountain just 2.5km from the crater of the volcano. Carlos gave us a little talk about the volcano, its previous eruptions, and the complex system of monitoring its activity, as well the towns evacuation plans and then we went outside to watch this magnificent mountain as her rumbles were becoming more frequent. With our eyes fixed, the thundering noises became louder and then she erupted. The bright red hot molten lava came exploding out of the top and through some of the smaller cracks in the side of the volcano. It was brief but absolutely awesome, yet another amazing experience for this year... and Jack got his birthday wish!

Ecuador - Banos

We departed the jungle this morning and drove towards Banos. On the way we stopped at Rio Verde to view the magnificent Pailon Di Diablo (“Pot of the Devil”) waterfall. It was spectacular! After viewing it fromt he suspension bridge we climbed up the side of the mountain to view it from a different vantage point and then crawled in under some rocks, along the path, to stand behind it. This was fantastic, if not a little wet :-). The sheer volume of water passing over the rocks was amazing and the noise was deafening. 

After lunch we had a short, fast, and slightly scary ride in a cable car across a gorge just outside Banos. The cable car was not quite what we imagine when we hear cable car... but it took us across the gorge to see another waterfall, Manto de Lanovia, and brought us back in one piece, so I guess it can’t have been too bad can it?!

Ecuador - Amazon Jungle

Following breakfast this morning we went for a 2 hour walk through the Jungle to the rescue centre. Although we didn’t see any exciting wildlife, the walk was interesting, we were also very glad we all had Wellington Boots on as the mud in some places was a little deep. 

The rescue centre, however, had lots of interesting wildlife including Toucans, Green and Blue Headed Parrots, Capybara, Ocelots, Spider Monkeys, White Capuchins, Caymans, Turtles, and some others. 

To return to our lodge we rode tubes down the river which was refreshing and relaxing, if not a little slow. 

After lunch we went across the river to a local village where we visited a lady in her home and watched a demonstration on how to make Chicha (a Latin American beer type drink) from Cassava. We were also taught how to shoot an arrow through a traditional blow gun but all failed to hit the target :-). Next we went across the Napo River to Napo where we watched a demonstration on the local ceramic art which is made form the very fine clay of the river bed.