TRAVELS THROUGH ECUADOR

It has only been 10 days since we began our trip yet it seems a lot longer than that (and that's not because of the backlog of laundry!). We have seen and done so much already and met so many interesting people.

We left Quito after a few days exploring the city and adjusting to the altitude to head northwards to the IBARRA area renowned for its craft markets and indigenous people who live there. We stayed at a charming 300 year old Hacienda and spent days relaxing, horse back riding, and perusing the colourful markets with stalls groaning with local handicrafts and woven textiles.

We then returned to Quito for one night before commencing our journey on the "Chiva Express" (www.chivaexpress.com) , a colourfully painted tram like vehicle which runs on the disused rail lines southward towards Cuenca through the "Avenue of Volcanoes". You can travel inside the Chiva Express but the best views are from the roof where you can sit and watch the scenery and Ecuadorian village life pass by! The HIGHLIGHT of the journey is the scaling of the "Devil's Nose", a sheer cliff scaled but rail thought an amazing feat of railway engineering. The trains descends and ascends the rock face by advancing and backing up in a zig zag fashion. Very scary when you are riding on the roof!

The Chiva Express terminated at the village of Alausi and we continued towards Cuenca, stopping briefly at Ingapirca, the most important Inca ruin in Ecuador. It was the second most important Inca city after Cusco in Peru. It is interesting to note similarities to Wroxeter such as the main road running through it. The Inca Trail joined it to the rest of the Inca empire just as Watling street joined the towns like Wroxeter and the Roman empire to Rome. The city layout is also similar.

We finally arrived at Cuenca, the cultural capital of Ecuador and enjoyed a 2 night stay in a beautiful and elegant historic colonial hotel complete with a typical inner courtyard. We went on a city tour the highlight of which was a visit to a panama hat factory. The "Panama Hat" is a bit of a misnomer as it was originally made in Cuenca and exported to the builders constructing the Panama Canal, hence the name. Fun was had by all trying them on and who knows a Panama Hat may be making it's way to you!

We departed Cuenca and began our decent to the coastal port town of Guayaquil to catch or flight to the Galapagos Islands. The 5 hour drive on a "Holeway" rather than highway was arduous for someone who doesn't get on well with winding roads! The trip was made interesting by the changing scenery, glacial lakes and valleys, wild llamas and the occasional rock slide and dead horse on the road.
I have beentrying in vain to post more photos without much sucess. I am try another method of posting so keep blogging in and I promise more photos shortly!

Let's see what the Galapagos holds in store for us!