Week 26: Baños, Guyaquil, Montanita, Puerto Lopez, Otavalo

Monday June 27
We woke up early but it was cloudy and rainy so we slept in for several hours. After a lazy morning we went to the store for sandwich supplies. After making hot sandwiches we set off on a hike through town. We saw the bridge and river flowing through the edge of town. Then we had a cup of coffee and hopped on a bus headed up the route of waterfalls. It was already getting late so we only went to one, named something with Diablo. After a bit of a hike we heard the waterfall. We only brought rain jackets but should have used ponchos. There were multiple viewing areas immediately adjacent to the waterfall and each was more wet than the last. It was exhilarating but soon we were soaked and freezing as it became dark. We warmed up by walking back and soon caught a bus back. Hot showers were in order and then we went to a fabulous Armenian steakhouse. We shared llama dumplings and lamb steaks. Everything was amazing and with heaping piles of veggies and potatoes. We ran, or rather waddled, back through the cold and rain. We were immediately fast asleep.

Tuesday

We again attempted to wake up early but the weather was very cloudy. We slept in a bit and then went to grocery store for breakfast supplies. After packing our bags we hopped on a bus to the famous casa de Arbol (treehouse) despite the clouds. Here you can “swing on the edge of the world”. On a clear day you have a great view of the volcano as you swing out toward it. Unfortunately it was cloudy and rainy, but we broke out our very rarely used rain ponchos and had a great time. After a couple hours we returned to the bus and picnicked on our ride back. We immediately picked up our backpacks and headed to the bus station to catch our seven hour plus bus ride to Guayaquil, the largest city and economic capital of Ecuador. Its located along a river that feeds into a bay in the Pacific Ocean. We enjoyed a beautiful but very windy ride and arrived by 10 PM or so.  We had hoped to continue on, but the last bus to Montanita had already left.  We reluctantly found a hotel room nearby and stayed there for the night.

Wednesday

We woke up in Guayaquil, and had a leisurely morning. We checked out and returned to the bus station.  After waiting half an hour we hopped on a bus to the regional bus station on the coast.  We arrived within a few hours and then quickly found another bus to Montanita.  After an hour or two of driving on the coastal highway, we arrived in Montanita and began walking to find a hostel.  A hostel owner offered us a large private room for $6 a person, and the room included a bathroom and ocean view window.  We headed to the beach and spent the afternoon lounging around.  As the sunset we headed to a bar and hookah lounge on the beach.  The food was expensive so we only watched the sunset and then decided it was time for dinner.  We walked to a few places that were either closed or expensive before finally finding a reasonable restaurant that was also one of the highest rated on trip advisor.  We walked around the streets for awhile and then returned to our room and hung out on our balcony until bed.

Thursday

We spent most of our time laying around on the beach after sleeping in.  We both read and I attempted to draw a picture of the beautiful view.  We bought some groceries and made our own breakfast.  That afternoon we went to a local travel agency and arranged a tour for the following day.  I can’t remember what we had for dinner, but in summary it was a nice relaxing day.

Friday

We woke up early, packed our bags, made a breakfast, and hopped on the bus sent by the tour company.  After a nice hour long trip we arrived in Puerto Lopez, a slightly larger town with a large boat dock.  We hopped on a small boat with 15 or 20 other tourists and three staff.  We set off for an island and on the way passed by many whales.  There was a group of five or ten humpback whales and watched them jump out of the water.  It was spectacular to watch.  After another thirty minutes at sea and we reached the island. It is named Plata Island and is known as the poor man’s Galapagos.  It was very dry and hot but is home to unique bird species.  We hiked for two hours and saw blue footed boobies and frigatebirds which have large red pouches for mating displays. There were thousands of birds on the island with no predators to reduce the population.  We returned to the boat, ate fruit and sandwiches for lunch, and then sailed to a nearby bay.  Here we snorkeled for an hour or so. It was not quite as impressive as some places I’ve been, but there were many large fish, as well as sea turtles and sting rays.  We returned to shore and saw more whales along the way.  We picked up our bags from the tour agency, ate some cheap dinner at a local restaurant, and then headed to the bus station. We hopped on the night bus back to Quito and we arrived by around five in the morning.

Saturday

From the Quito bus station we took a bus north for a few hours to Otavalo.  This town is famous for a market selling everything imaginable, but specializing in llama and alpaca fur clothing.  We walked around for awhile before finally finding a hotel room.  Then we headed to the market and shopped for awhile.  We had chinese food for lunch, shopped some more, got into a fight, and returned to the room.  After resolving our differences, we took a taxi over the next hill to a lake at the base of a volcano.  The volcano was cloud covered, but it was still a beautiful view.  We returned to the market, shopped a bit more, and then headed back to our room. We ate leftover chinese food and were sound asleep by 9 PM.

Sunday

The next day we hopped on a bus and headed north to the town of Ibarra, where we waited for another hour for a bus to Tulcan.  It was a beautiful ride with a variety of landscapes.  We arrived in Tulcan in the early afternoon and grabbed a taxi to the Colombian border.  From there we took another taxi to the bus station, where we took one more taxi to Las Lajas Sanctuary, a cathedral style church built in a remote ravine.  It was beautiful and great weather.  We walked around for awhile and then ate lunch.  We bought some cheap secondhand tickets to ride the cable cars across the ravine. We had to wait an hour to take the fifteen minute ride, but heard from new friends about a beautiful cemetery over the border in Tulcan.  We took an unoffical taxi directly there and walked around as the sun began to set. It was indeed beautiful with countless sculpted shrubs.  After leaving we went to the bus station and found a bus back to Quito.  It was a crowded and miserable four or five hour bus ride back to Quito, but we watched a good movie in the bus and were soon back at our favorite hostel in Quito, and instantly asleep.

It was an amazing and action packed week.  We loved Ecuador and the variety of mountains, beaches, lakes, and waterfalls.  We only had two weeks in the country and attempted to see alot.  It was a blast, and I hope to return to the pacific coast of Ecuador with a bit more time in the future.