Animals, Chocolate, and Blowguns!

Today we headed to Quito. Sad to leave the Amazon area but looking forward to being dry and having less bugs! We had a great breakfast and headed towards Quito. Our plan was to stop at the AmaZOOnico rescue center and check it out before heading to Quito.

We drove to a riverside town and hired Pedro to take us down the river to AmaZOOnico. He had a traditional flat bottom boat with an outboard. We had a great trip on the water and stopped first at an organic Chocolate (Cacao) farm. The proprietor showed us how they pick the fruit, ferment the beans, roast the beans, peel the beans BY HAND, and manually grind the roasted beans. We will never again question the price of a handmade artisanal bar of chocolate! He then took the cocoa that we ground, added water, lemon tea, honey and sugar, and made delicious chocolate; we all ate it on some bread. Absolutely delicious!

We then got back on the boat and headed to the rescue center. They take in animals that have been illegally trafficked, or removed from unhealthy situations. We saw parrots, spider monkeys, tapirs, turtles, and many other species. Unfortunately our guide had the personality of a loaf of bread! He is volunteering for a year from Spain and I'm guessing he regrets his plan!

After we left the refuge we got back on the boat and headed to where Pedro lives. He showed us his traditional hunting gear, a 3 meter long blow gun! Everyone got to try it. Abby, Peyton and Simo all hit the target on the first try, Chris took 2, and Eileen and I celebrated our tremendous distance capabilities rather than accuracy! Pedro then took us to a lagoon area nearby and baited a stick to attract caimans. Very creepy. We are in no hurry to explore unknown murky water on our own. Abby and Peyton fed the caiman and the rest of us watched.

Tapir

Rafting, Chocolate, and Bugs!

Today we headed out for a whitewater rafting adventure. We were really impressed with how thorough Diego was with his safety briefing. He even made us practice everything before we actually got in the water. We looked ridiculous but felt well prepared. We ended up rafting about 20 kilometers through mostly class II and class III rapids. It was a ton of fun and a minor miracle that we didn't lose anyone! We had a couple of stops that allowed for swimming, but those were not nearly as much fun as watching Diego deliberately flip Peyton out of the raft!

We stopped for lunch at the farm where Sophie lives. She is the cook and caretaker at Jungle Roots. The farm was fascinating. We tried several fruits we had never seen before, much less eaten. We learned about their cacao bean harvesting and they showed us how they strip palm leaves to make the threads they use in their jewelry making. We really enjoyed interacting with Sophie and her family.

After lunch we continued rafting down river for another hour. We finished in an area that allowed for some swimming just as it started to rain; very cool!

Back at our camp we dried off and had some of the fantastic coffee and a quick nap before our Jungle night hike. Diego's brother Daniel took us into the jungle for several hours. We saw really creepy bugs, spiders, tree frogs, phosphorescent mold, jungle mice, and crazy plants. Was a lot of fun but a bit unsettling! Eileen found a huge spider in her boot before we even started...hard to relax after that! Abby and Peyton may have future jobs in the wild, they were crazy good at spotting creepy crawly critters! We headed back to camp for another delicious meal made by Sophie.

When we were getting ready to go on our hike, Sophie headed into jungle with a machete; turns out she was sourcing part of dinner! she cut big leaves that were used to make pouches to smoke our dinner. She also cut some palm to chop up some hearts of palm and diced leaves to add to the chicken and cilantro. The smoked pouches along with the yucca soup and tomato salad were delicious! We played some cards, drank a little (?!) beer and hit the hay!

Tree Frog on our Night Jungle Hike

Cacao Tree

Dinner

Hello Jungle!

Today we left our lovely apartment in Riobamba and headed to the Amazon - with a car full of soaking wet clothes from yesterday. Based on the government restrictions we are allowed to drive today. Sadly we were unable to find an Easter Mass.  In Ecuador, Easter is "no big deal" or so we were told.  Semana Santa, the week leading up to Easter, is the biggest religious event of the year. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday are very important and celebrated accordingly. But Easter Day is...just another Sunday. Really strange.

We arrived in Tena by early afternoon. We had arranged in advance to have dinner at our lodging, and a planned night time jungle hike. Our hike got postponed so we settled in for a delicious dinner, some cerveza and jungle cocktails. Played cards and chatted with the owner. Diego has been working on his facility for 5 years. We chose Jungle Roots Glamping because we wanted a little bit of the jungle experience but in a sustainable tourism location. It was great. Everything has been repurposed from something else, and Diego employs local families in his endeavors. The Glamping was great. You haven't lived until you use a dry compost toilet with only 3 walls and a 50 mile view!

Sophie (caretaker and cook) made an incredible meal of fish, yucca, tomato and cucumber salad and a delicious soup served with...popcorn! Popcorn is a common accompaniment to soups here, it is sprinkled on top for extra flavor and texture. Sounds weird but it's delicious!

Abby and Peyton headed to their treehouse, Eileen and Simo, and Annie and Chris all retired to their respective "tents" complete with mosquito netting; great sleep had by all!

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A Giant Tree Swing, An Unbelievable Waterfall, and Soothing Thermal Baths

Due to the ongoing restrictions we were not permitted to drive today. So instead we hired Orlando to drive us to Baños for the day. He picked us up at 9:30 and off we went. The first order of business was to stop for coffee. Once that was done we headed for “Casa de Arbol,” in English, The Tree House. Simo expressed (repeatedly) displeasure that we were going 20 minutes out of the way for a stupid tree swing! Once we arrived and the boys found $2 beer they at least stopped complaining! Abby, Peyton, Eileen and Annie all gave the swing a try. It was very cool. The swing is situated so that it flies out over the drop off to the valley. Unfortunately it was cloudy so the pictures don't do it justice!

Next stop was el Paillon de Diablo; a huge waterfall. It was unbelievable! After a lengthy hike we suddenly arrived at the waterfall and we were blown away. Almost literally! We hiked right into the falls including navigating a very tight crevice in the rock that required being on hands and knees to get through; it was also unbelievable. Make sure you watch the videos!

By the time we left the falls we were absolutely drenched. Couldn't have been any wetter if we had gone swimming! So we wrapped up our day with a visit to the thermal baths that made Baños famous. There is a series of ever hotter mineral water baths that you soak in. Other than looking completely ridiculous in the mandatory caps and startling the locals with our Casper the Ghost tans, it was great fun. Orlando had a happy, wet and tired group for the ride back to Riobamba!

More to come

Best. Bike Ride. Ever! And the Highest Place on EARTH!

We got picked up this morning by Dimitri and Roberto. We wanted to get an early start to beat the holiday rush. They drove us to Mount Chimbarazo about an hour away. Of course we had to stop for coffee and snacks - Gas Station coffee is very good. The plan was to hike to the highest point allowed without a guide. (Not starting from bottom, as it's a 2 day summit.) That point is at 17000 feet! Well above the snow line and definitely into tough-breathing territory. Abby and Peyton stopped around 16000 feet and Annie stopped at 16500. Altitude sickness took its toll. Headaches, nausea, and trouble breathing. Eileen, Simo, and Chris went all the way to Condor Lake, 16732 feet! Any further requires a guide and ice climbing equipment. Everyone regrouped at the staging area and got on our bikes. 

The bikes were fantastic, high quality and well maintained.  Each were fit for a particular person.  After a few safety reminders we headed out. 40 kilometers later we finished an incredible ride. A little off road, some single track, some really rough dirt roads, and then nice pavement through at least 4 different climates/agricultural areas. Herds of vicuna, sheep, cows, indigenous Indians, incredible scenery; just an incredible ride. We ended in a little town where we had an entire restaurant reserved for us. 

It was Good Friday and they served us Fanesca - a real treat because we wanted to try it.

Here is a description of Fanesca:

Fanesca is a very traditional soup from Ecuador and is a special soup or stew because it is only prepared once a year during Easter and Lent. This special soup is made with bacalao or dry salted cod, a mix of fresh squash and hard squash, fava beans, chochos, corn, peas, porotos or fresh beans, rice, onions, garlic, cumin, achiote, peanuts, milk, cream and cheese.

Sounds completely disgusting, right?! It was absolutely delicious! Everyone enjoyed it. (They made it without peanuts so Peyton could enjoy it as well.)

After a day of hiking and biking the HIGHEST mountain in the world, we were beat and had pizza delivered for dinner. I know you're all thinking that Everest is the tallest mountain in the world and you've never even heard of Chimborazo...true except Chimborazo is the highest, not the tallest. Due to the Equatorial bulge, the peak of Chimborazo is actually the closest place on earth to outer space!

Our big thrill of the day came when Dimitri told us we “did better than he expected!” We actually covered the 40 kilometers in good time and got up to some pretty significant speed in parts. Awesome day!

Guayaquil to Riobamba - Lots of Iguanas, 2 Bribes, and 4 Evaded Roadblocks,

We stayed at the Grand Guayaquil Hotel downtown Guayaquil. Loved the hotel. We wanted something close to the cathedral and “Iguana Park.” The hotel is literally built around the back wall of the cathedral!

We started our first day in Equador with an awesome breakfast compliments of the hotel. Took the hotel shuttle back to the airport to collect out car. An awesome transport van - Diesel, Automatic.

Upon returning to the hotel, we attempted to visit the Cathedral. Our efforts were stymied by Holy Thursday Mass. As we peeked in we saw row after row of priests filling the church. Denied entry to the Cathedral we went across the street to Iguana Park. So named for the iguanas that live there...loose...everywhere! Fun to see!

We then set out to Riobamba. The government is trying to limit gatherings for Holy Week due to Covid. To aid in this they have restricted driving based on even and odd license plates. We had the wrong day for our plate and about 40 minutes into the drive we got pulled over. After a lengthy discussion (argument?!) it was evident what was happening. $100 “payment” requested and paid. Ridiculous.

We stopped for wonderful lunch and shortly after getting back on road we were stopped again. Equally lengthy conversation, same result, a payment was requested;$120! Not happening. We refused and were told they would confiscate the car and we could walk! After claiming to have only $40 in cash he pocketed it and let us go.

Look what quick learners we are!! From that point on, any town or city that we approached we were on the lookout for roadblocks. We are proud to report that we evaded the police 4 times. A couple of dirt roads, some “roads” not on any map, a crazy cow that jumped out of the bushes, and slowly weaving through herders and their sheep; success! After the stress of the day we had a great dinner complete with a huge margarita!

Funniest line of the trip so far is from Peyton while we were arguing with the cop, ”Want me to eat a peanut?” (For those that don't know, Peyton has a severe peanut allergy!)

Iguana Park - Guayaquil

Iguana Park

Iguana Park

Guayaquil Cathedral

Cabana Restaurant - On our way from Guayaquil to Riobamba