Banos

So we arrived in Banos not really knowing what to expect.  We knew it would be carnival, but we didn't know how it would be celebrated, or if it was even big here.  Turns out we picked a great spot; as this was a major destination for all party goers, and the streets were packed.  The hotels were too unfortunately, as we eneded up staying in a locals house the first night until we were finally able to make reservations in a hotel for the next.

A little taste of what it was like to walk around on the streets.  People are constantly shooting you with aresol cans loaded with some type of soapy foam... Was pretty messy, and made for an interesting long weekend.

We definitley took part in the festivities, but I seemed to have little choice.  No idea why, but I couldn't go anywhere without getting blasted ~ I seemed to be a favorite target of the little kids.  This is one of the better (more successful) assults I received from a team of 6-8 minature people.  They realy like going for the face apparently... can you tell?

Jillene just brought it on herself...

A chaotic streets that you didn't dare walk down unless you wanted to get blasted with foam, bombed by water balloons, or in a few instances egged!

End of the first day, thought we would document it.  We were going to head indoors, shower, and hide!

A welcom respite from the crazy town and it's never ending supply of foam, and water ballons.  We decided to go for a hike in the hills/mountains that surrounded Banos.  Lots of great hikes to do around here, so you're never without something to do!

We hiked to this 'waterfall'.  And although I wouldn't really call it a waterfall, and it was still pretty cool to see because of the canyon it came out of.  Maybe if the water level was higher...

Our next excursion was on bikes leaving the town of Banos.  It's 'mostly downhill' as the town is situated 'not quite at the base of a big volcanoe'.  One the road leaving town, there seems to be a never ending supply of waterfalls, and thus we began our 'waterfall tour'

Our wheels...

A cable car that apparently they were testing out on a dog? :)

He seemed to enjoy it atleast...

 

Double waterfall...

Smalll waterfall...

Far waterfall...

Whoops, flat tire... need to repair.  Luckily enough we were sent out with a tool kit, including a new tube, and a bike pump that didn't work!

Yup, more waterfalls!

Time to take a bath...

Thats enough waterfalls!  For now...  more to come.  Was a great way to spend a day.  But after 4 days in Banos it was tme to do some rafting/kayaking.  Unfortunately we don't have any pictures (for obvious reasons), but the following week was spent on or near the rives in Tena and El Chaco.  We've got some pictures from El Chaco that I'll try and get up on here...

Quilatoa Loop

First stop Chugchilan, which is on the Quilatoa loop... A very pretty loop of a road that goes through villages in hills.  From here there are a number of hikes you can do, and it's a great introduction to the high altitude.  Chugchilan is at 3200m, and all the hikes from there just go up!

Above is Cotopaxi which we spotted on the way to Latacunga (needed to route through here to get to Chugchilan).  A snow covered Volcanoe, just outside and Quito.  Base camp for the climb up Cotopaxi is around 4500m I believe ~ on our 'to do list'.

One of the coolest places we've stayed on this trip.  Our room in Chugchilan, had it's own and loft with hammocks and additional furniture.  More room than we needed.  But the coolest is in the picture below.  As it get pretty cold here at night due to the high elevation.  Nothing like hanging out in your room with your own fireplace/wood stove to keep you warm!

First hike, and it was a doozy... nothing like a 30km (9hr) hike down from 3000m to 2500m, then up to 4100m, and then back down to where you started again.  Our legs were feeling it at the end of the day, and were our lungs during as we acclimitized.  But we were sure rewarded with some great views.

Taking a bit of a break after nearly falling over from the altitude... It was a great hike, but I was sucking wind big time!

A few of the views that rewarded our efforts!

Lots of sheep farming happening here...

The destination of our first grueling hike... Quilatoa crater lake.

Not sure if this picture does this section of the hike any justice (above and below)... but there was actually a path down this steep cliff, and we needed to make our way down.  Was certainly some of the most interesting hiking we've done in a while!

Now this was interesting... we did the hike with another couple from Salt Lake; and at the end of the day we ran into a little dude whom had been apparently drinking all day!  He decided to befriend us, and started to follow us.  Unfortunately he lost his ability to walk near to the 'middle of nowhere'!  We didn't have the heart to leave the guy whom was passing out in the middle of the path.  Right before the freezing cold night sets in where no one could find him, so we ended up helping him back to civilization where people knew him a would give him the care he needed.  This picture was taken in one of his 'better' moments!  Dragging a drunk up the mountain isn't high on my list of priorities though at the end of a long day when you're dog tired...

Further punishment... some local young girls the same night came and put on a dance recital for us.  And of course, aftter, actually wanted to dance with us!  All we wanted to do was sit/lie down, but it was cute none the less.  I excused myself quickly using the excuse that I wanted to take a few pictures!  :)

More hiking... with addtional rewarding views...

You know you're high when you feel like you're looking down on the clouds!  We enjoyed our time exploring the Quilatoa Loop, but it was time to warm up.  Next stop; Carnival in Banos!

Quito

And finally we're here!  Our final destination for this trip ~ the country we were looking forward to the most if you will... We arrived in Quito and from the moment we got off the plane we had nothing but good vibes here.  Friendly and well organized customs to receive us (not something you usually find), a super friendly cab driver that didn't try and rip us off, a great hotel, and a road infrastructure in a clean city friendly city that surpassed all our expectations.

We spent our first afternoon getting lost in Mariscal (area where we stayed), and the next day we were off to the Old town to take in all the old churches, government buildings, and general lay of the land.  If there was one city we would compare Quito to, would be Kathmandu (as it is built in the hills/mountains), at a super high 3000m, and has steep narrow streets throughout the city, but just in better condition...

The start of the walkign tour we took ourself on after our 1st night in Quito.  This is an amazing Basillica that we ruturn to later in the day... but first we're trying to make it to the changing of the guards.

In Central Plaza in Quito... the changing of  the guards.  They do this every Monday, and the President of Ecuador is on the top balcony for it every week!

 

La Virgen, and  land mark overlooking the city in Quito...

Apparentlyl this is the oldest street in Quito...

A couple pictures (above & below) just demonstrating the lay of the land.  It's a cool city...

Heading back to the basillica, we found out you can climp up to the top and get a great view of the city.  They didn't close off any part as you climbed up, and it was amazing how high you could actually get, regardless to how safe it was to climb up there!  A few never racking climbs up ladders we were rewarded with below views!

Quito is a great city, and we eventually managed to meet up with a buddy of mine whom lives down here ~ once he got back into town.  We'll be back and forth out of Quito as we tour around, with his government provided digs offering us a great place to clean up each time we return.  Doesn't get much better...