Puerto Lopez

After the Jungle we were off to the Coast to do some diving! The name of the Jungle trip we did was "Extreme Jungle" so with that in mind, after 3 days in the Jungle we emerged and got on an overnight bus to Guayaquil! We arrived in Guayaquil at 2am and then we weren't sure what to do but we realized there were buses departing so I walked down the terminal and talked to some Companies and purchased 2 tickets to Jipijapa for 3am! When I returned to tell my brother, he thought I was joking but it was that or waiting in the terminal until 6am for a bus to Puerto Lopez. We ended up being on the milk route to Jipijapa but we just settled in and slept and at 6:30am arrived in the beautiful city of Jipijapa. haha That city is far from beautiful . . . From Jipijapa we jumped on a bus and by 8am we were in Puerto Lopez. I wouldn't say there is a bus terminal in Puerto Lopez, they basically let us out at the corner with the market but you can walk from one end of town to the other in about 15 minutes so it's not a big deal! We checked into our hostel which was a cute little cabin and immediately fell asleep for the next 4 hours! The next day and a half we just checked out the city and hit the beach! Then Saturday we went diving. The best diving in Puerto Lopez is off Isla de la Plata which is about an hour by boat. The waves were a bit rough but I managed to not get sick and we dived in the protected part of the island so the water was like glass. We did 2 great dives and despite an unfortunate jellyfish incident we came out unscathed! The next morning we we were on a bus back to Guayaquil which as most of you know, is one of only 2 McDonald's in all of Ecuador!! I was as happy as a clam! After that, off to Cuenca for some Panama Hats!!

Jungle

What can I say, never a dull moment in Ecuador! My brother arrived and it was back to the races again!! Quito as usual is always great! The history, the buildings and drinking beer on the pedestrian only streets is just amazing!! Then off to Banos for some relaxation and then some de-relaxation. Let´s just say, the jungle and I have a mutual hate for each other. No, honestly it was great!! The first day we did white water rafting which was freaking awesome! I was a little hesitant after the last time we went but it was awesome! The only downside was there was only 4 of us in our raft so we had to paddle so hard to get threw some of the rapids. Hiking through the Amazon was great also, though again it was really tough. I´ve been through the rainforest in several parks here in Ecuador but the Amazon kicks your butt. At times my brother and I wanted to get some of the giant leaves and just slide down since it would be a straight drop down and pure mud! We hiked to this really cool waterfall though where we had to wade up a river in water that came up to our waists and then swim the rest of the way in! We also visited a refuge for monkey´s which as most of you know, monkey´s aren´t my favorite, but there was this one that went to sleep on my brother and when we had to leave and the guy kicked the monkey off, he kept yelling at the guy because he was so peacefully sleeping and didn´t want to be disturbed!! There were these other two smaller monkey´s also that kept jumping off my like a jungle gym, soooo cute! Loved them!! We made it out of the Jungle alive, jumped on an overnight bus to Guayaquil and 3 buses later we were in Puerto Lopez! Hitting the beach today and tomorrow we head to Isle de la Plata to Scuba Dive!

Goodbye - Vilcabamba - Zamora

So sadly one of my roommates from the US had to head back but that just meant there was another reason to have a party!! That's one thing I love about here, there's always a reason to have a party and dance! With my time here wrapping up my other friend from the US and myself wanted to checkout a few more places, some for the second time and another for the first time. The first place we headed was Vilcabamba which is an hour from Loja and is at an altitude of 1,500m (4,921 feet) so is a bit warmer then Loja. We had this amazing weekend planned out, we stayed in this hotel that had a full spa but unfortunately most things weren't running since it was Easter and the hotel had a pool but it was always in the shade so it was kind of too cold to swim. It worked out okay, we rested and slept which we needed, got massages and walked around the tiny city center. Only about 4,000 people live in Vilcabamba and most are foreigners but it's surrounded by mountains and the local people are known in the Country to have the longest lifespan due to the tranquility of where it's located. The weekend didn't end up being what we thought it would be but it was still very enjoyable! This past weekend we visited Zamora. Zamora has about 15,000 inhabitants and is at an altitude of 970m (3,182 feet) and has way more humidity then Loja. It's actually very tropical there and as a result has a lot of exotic birds and plants. It is 1-2 hours by bus and is a very curvy road. . . . on Saturday we traveled there and we thought it would be quiet but because there was a referendum going on, everyone had to return to their home cities to vote and so the bus was PACKED on the way there. We were sitting in the first two seats and there was a woman standing in front of us and her two children sitting at our feet. The isles were completely packed with people AND they just passed a law a month ago that says they can't have people standing on buses . . go figure! At one point I turned around and there was a man firmly holding his chicken. Had that thing gotten loose, it would have been pure caos!! Also, because of the winding roads and people stuffed everywhere, everyone was getting motion sick. There was a guy at the very front standing looking back and he would yell for a bag from the front and then quickly pass it back. I swear 10 minutes didn't go by without someone needing a bag. I on the other hand was fine! I wasn't feeling the great but we had fresh air and not too many people around us so we were okay. And in true Ecuadorian fashion, we stopped every 30 minutes in random places and dropped people off. When we finally arrived in Zamora, it was overcast and drizzling, much like it had been in Loja. We immediately got lunch and then set out to find an animal refuge that was suppose to be near the city center. After following a completely wrong map we found it and it was fantastic! It is really tiny since it's in the city center but it's called the Refugio Ecologico Tzanka and takes in animals that need caring for or in the case of these certain parrots they had, never learned to fly. They had all these different animals I've never heard of but the parrots were especially entertaining. They were extremely curious and came right up to the cage to greet us! The Refuge has another larger refuge outside of the city which we wanted to see but didn't have a chance. We were staying in cabinas outside of the city about 2.5km but on the road to the Podocarpus National Park which is why we were really there! When we arrived at the cabinas we were tired so we rested up and then did a short hike around where we were staying. The next day we got up and headed into Podocarpus to start hiking! Podocarpus is amazing! Because the altitude differs between 900m (2,953 feet) and 3600m (11,811 feet) it is said to have some of the greatest plant and animal diversity in the world. They estimate that 40% of its estimated 3000 plant species are nowhere else in the world and close to 600 bird species have been recorded. The park is named for the giant Podocarpus, Ecuador's only native conifer but sadly loggers have removed almost everyone of these trees from the park years ago. We followed some of the trails though and saw some gorgeous waterfalls! When we arrived we had the park virtually to ourselves which was such a gift! We stayed in the park almost the entire day and then headed back for a wonderful dinner at the cabinas. The next day it was raining so we got up and headed back to Loja! We loved Zamora though and would definitely recommend it for anyone who is even considering it!

Guayaquil - Riobamba - Guamote

Life moves so quickly it's hard to keep up with blogs . . . March was a crazy month with what ended up being a never ending bus ride to Guayaquil. The bus ride should take 8 hours, 9 max but after 11 hours we finally arrived! The ride is gorgeous but with what's a barely two laned highway, if there's construction you can be stopped for hours and what feels like years. . . Guayaquil is quite a bit hotter then it is in Loja since it's at sea level and you literally know the second you come around the mountain and drop since the heat and humidity just hits you! We traveled there for a wedding which turned out amazing. It was some friends of ours from Loja but the groom is from Guayaquil and it's cheaper to have a wedding there. The downfall . . . it's like 120 degrees and it was an outdoor wedding so no air conditioning!! Despite that, we pushed through and danced our butts off for about 5 hours! The next day my friend and I hitch hiked our way back to the terminal and grabbed a bus to Riobamba. Riobamba is about 5 hours from Guayaquil and is at an elevation of 2,750m (9,050 feet) so needless to say, it's quite a bit colder there. It's the 4th largest city in Ecuador with a little less then 200,000 people. We stayed with a family there who were amazing. So hospitable and within a few days we never wanted to leave. We were there to check out a city called Guamote. Guamote is about an hour from Riobamba and is even higher at an altitude of 3,050m (10,007 feet) which meant it was even colder!! One of the perks of living in SA I thought was to dodge the cold but I guess not. On clear days you can also see Chimborazo which is a snow capped volcano and from the center of the earth is the tallest mountain in the world. It is absolutely gorgeous but seeing snow all the time the time makes you feel even colder then it actually is. Guamote has a huge market every Thursday where you can buy everything from a new outfit to a goat to, you name it, they've got it. People travel from tiny little Pueblo's (towns) all around Guamote to visit and buy things and it is far from boring. One day we were walking through and my friend got hit by a sheep butting his head trying to make his way through the hoards of people and other animals. It is mostly indigenous people who live there and so you also have the opportunity to see some very different things . . . whether you like it or not!! I must admit, after living here and seeing everything I've seen, it takes a lot to gross me out now!! All in all we loved Guamote and it was an amazing trip!