Woke to the alarm at 5.30am and finished packing our bags before having breakfast and checking out at 7am. We had booked our bus through VIP Travel Service and Elena had been very helpful and had arranged for us to be collected at the hostel at 7am to be taken to the bus station for a 7.30 departure.
Until 7.10am I wasn’t concerned as most things run on “Peru Time” but when no one had arrived by 7.15am I was starting to worry about making the bus. The man on the front desk tried to ring the agency but couldn’t get hold of anyone ( I was a bit surprised that Damian was getting worried about missing the bus. I felt like saying “Damian haven’t you learnt anything about patience since we have been travelling, I mean the bus would not leave with out us -Sarah) so I rang the bus company and gave them our names and was told they had no record of us on the bus (which was due to leave in about 2 minutes.) I told him we were on our way and we flagged down a taxi to take us to the bus office. There we showed the “receipt” the agency lady had given us and after a few hasty phone calls including to the bus which was currently heading out of town we jumped in another taxi for a mad dash to catch the bus.
Safely aboard we vowed to purchase bus tickets directly from the bus companies as we had been in the past because for the $10USD Elena had charged us for commission she seemed to have done absolutely nothing! And while missing the bus to Puno would not have been a total disaster, we would have been charged for a nights accommodation we booked in Puno and probably would have had to sleep on the streets in Cuzco as everywhere was booked out for New Years Eve.
VIP Travel Service has a nasty email coming their way tonight.

After the brief morning drama, the bus trip was very pleasant. Our first stop was in a small town at a rather tired looking church called the “Sistine Chapel of America” which had some pretty religious murals on the walls and roof and very impressive looking gold plated and solid silver altar.

Second stop was the ruins of an Inca City which was a trading post between Cuzco and southern cities in Bolivia and Argentina. The walls were built with stone and adobe so not much of the mud brick was remaining but the field of remains of the 120 food silos that were once there was impressive as was the central wall of a once massive 14 metre high temple.

Third stop was a lunch break at a restaurant where we had a delicious buffet lunch looking out at a grazing Llama and over the fields to snow capped mountains.

Fourth stop was at the highest point on the road to Puno at 4330 metres ASL. Very pretty mountain vista with a few stalls selling the usual trinkets and some children posing in costume with Llamas for money.

Fifth stop was in a small town to visit a museum with artifacts from some nearby ruins which would have been more interesting than the museum.

The last couple of hours were driving across the “Altiplano” which is a high altitude plane between a couple of the Andes ranges. No trees at all and lots of small communities of farmswith herds of Cows, Sheep, Llamas and Alpacas. High mountains in the distance, some with snow on top.

The last city we passed through before Puno was the city of Juliaca. I think it must have been our guide’s home town because he was raving about how wonderful the place was the whole time we drove through. He pointed out the “international airport” as we passed and mentioned it twice more. (Big deal, so it has twice daily, 1 hour flights to La Paz in Bolivia?) The town wasn’t too different from other towns we had been through. Dry and dusty looking with no parks or vegetation apparent. But the guide kept on. “We have the black market and the smuggling from Bolivia so the city is growing. Is more cheap than other places in Peru.” He also was quite proud of the 25000 taxi-chulos the city had which were bicycle tuk-tuks.

After Juliaca we got our first look at Lake Titacaca before arriving in Puno. From the bus station we took a taxi through town to the Hostel. It was a really nice room with private bathroom and the best shower since Ecuador. After we booked in we walked into the middle of town to get some dinner. Heaps of people around being NYE but very few tourists. We had a nice pizza for dinner in a restaurant with a fish tank with tiny turtles swimming around. Went back to our hotel room and had a few (or more!) drinks while watching cable TV and chatting with friends on Skype and listening to the fireworks being let off in the street below. Had a good chat with Jasper and Jeanie who were sweltering in 35 degree heat back in Sydney. Puno is at 3900 metres ASL so gets pretty cold at night!

Matchu Pitchu

Had a quick breakfast at the hostel before walking 20 minutes to the train station to catch the 6.50am train. We were on the cheapest “backpacker” class train but it was quite comfortable. Just like any train really. Even had a trolley pushed along the carriage to sell drinks and snacks. The more expensive trains just have gourmet meals served and tables with fancy lamps and butlers and stuff.
The train was a little late leaving the station ( but early for South American time -Sarah) and took a while to leave Cusco as it zig-zagged up the hillside through the suburbs. It was a very scenic trip to the town of Aguas Calientes (Spanish for “Hot Water“!) which is 20 minutes by bus from the ruins. Deep in a valley with massive cliffs above beside a fast flowing river. The Lonely Planet gives it a really bad rap describing it as “the ugliest, most overpriced small town in Peru” which I thought was a bit unfair. Sure it’s overpriced but so is Cuzco and the town was quite cute and the setting is spectacular. We were considering spending one night there to visit the ruins early in the morning and in hindsight I wish we had.
Off the train we were forced through a marketplace with every stall selling the same tacky souvenirs before getting on a small modern looking bus for the winding trip up the mountain. By the time we got to the entrance of Matchu Pitchu it was 12.10pm There were hoards of tired and dirty looking backpackers waiting for the bus back to town who would have just completed one of the several-day “Inca Trail” hikes ( and that’s why I am glad we didn’t go on a trek. The people waiting in line looked hideous and the sad thing is I knew that they would be getting the train back in the evening with us so they had to wait around all day -Sarah).
Inside we headed uphill to get a good view of the site. From pictures I had seen it looked like they keep the open grassed areas mowed but we quickly found out who was responsible for the short grass. Llamas! There were lots of them grazing on the terraces on the hill including some every cute babies ( So Tikal was run by spider monkeys, Tulum by Iguanas, Chichen Itza by “One Dallar!” Zombies and now Matchu Pitchu by Llamas ( well I think they were Llamas we don’t know the difference between Llamas and Alpacas) -Sarah).
We spent a couple of hours wandering down the hill admiring the ruins until we arrived at the “check-point” for the climb to the temple of the moon which is at the top of the mountain overlooking the site. I really wanted to go up but there was a 400 person a day limit on numbers and they only let people in at 10am and 11am. Another reason to have visited first thing in the morning.
Walking back to the entrance we took another bus back to the town and had a late lunch and then a hot drink overlooking the river before getting on the return train at 6pm.
An hour later we disembarked at Ollantaytambo and hopped in a taxi for the remaining distance to Cuzco. We could have taken a bus but after our long day we were pretty tired and even with the taxi fare we paid less than that train leg would have been..
Arriving back in Cuzco around 9pm we had dinner and went back to the hostel to pack our bags for tomorrow’s bus trip to Lake Titicaca.

Cuzco was the capital of the Inca empire which at its peak stretched from Columbia to Argentina. It is the oldest inhabited city in South America and is the ‘gateway’ to Matchu Pitchu which is the most visited tourist attraction in South America so needless to say it is full of tourists. And it seems the people on the streets who aren’t tourists are touts. I have never seen so many of them! The streets around the central square are full of people trying to get you to come into their restaurant, get “tourist information” from their tour agency or come and get a massage. And a few people trying to sell you drugs as well. And the prices are ridiculous compared to what we have been paying elsewhere in Peru and Ecuador ( for accommodation and food etc, not drugs. We never asked a price for offered drugs. -comment by Sarah) Food is expensive, accommodation is expensive and the tours and associated travel is just outrageous. The cheap train to Matchu Pitchu is $48USD one way for a 3 hour trip. (The most luxurious one is $500 USD!) Travelling the equivalent distance in Ecuador was around $4.50 USD. On top of that there is also a bus fare from the station to the ruins and entry fee as well. But you can hardly come all the way to Cuzco and not go and see them.
One thing that was cheap was massages. There was one street with about 6 massage places that were pretty aggressive seeking business. I had a very nice one hour massage for 15 Soles ($5AUD) which was very memorable due to the unusual relaxation music. None of the usual hippy dolphins singing and wind in the trees, this was pop hits of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s on Pan Pipe! The session started with Michael Jackson’s “Heal the World”, followed with The Scorpions(?) “Wind of Change”, Toto's "Africa" and various Beatles songs including the despised “Hey Jude” (I once spent a day at Dreamworld amusement park and they played “Hey Jude” all day on the PA system. Just “Hey Jude“, continuously, on repeat for 7 hours!)
Mat and Harriet are going to do one of the “Inca Trail” 4 day hikes which Sarah is not keen on doing so we are going to part ways after a few very enjoyable weeks travelling together. We will probably run into them again somewhere on the tourist trail.
We got super organised today and booked the train to Matchu Pitchu. It seemed very complicated to buy them and supposedly you need to book days in advance, so we went to the ticket office to find 200 people waiting to buy tickets. We took a number (#750, they were paging 550 at the time) and then walked into a room they had set up for people to buy tickets online and they would print them out. So it took us maybe 10 minutes to book and pay online and we were out of there! What’s with the poor suckers sitting in the waiting room for 2 hours?
The train trip is about 4 hours each way. There wasn’t a return to Cuzco available so we would return halfway to Ollantaytambo and catch a bus from there.
After the train tickets were sorted we stepped into a travel agency and booked a bus for the 31st to Puno on Lake Titicaca, 8 hours away. After the last bus trip we have splashed out on a tourist bus which has 5 stops at historical sights and lunch on the way. Should be a lot nicer than the last bus!

Christmas, Nazca Lines and a horrible bus trip.

Christmas Day in Lima was very nice and relaxing. We slept in for a while and then had a late lunch at the hostel with Mat and Harriet. Lev was staying at a different hostel but he came over after lunch and celebrated with us as well. We seemed to be the only ones staying there as we had the kitchen and common areas to ourselves so we took over the front courtyard and played music and cards and drank until past midnight when the guy on reception who was very grumpy switched off the inside lights. I think he wanted to go to sleep himself and was unhappy we were keeping him up.

The next morning we had a bit of difficulty getting up and packed by the 1pm check out time. Mat, Lev and I took a taxi to the bus terminal and got tickets to Nazca leaving that afternoon. Back at the hostel we collected our bags from the rooms and after lunch nearby took a taxi back to the bus station.
The Bus was scheduled to leave at 4pm and we were all loaded on and ready to go by about 4.30pm but just sat there for a while in the stifling heat until we had to get off to cool down. The temperature was in the mid 20s outside but on the bus it was 38! Some tinkering was done with the bus engine for a while and we finally departed at 5.30pm. The aircon was supposedly on but only managed to get the temperature down to 29 degrees.
The bus was a large double-decker and we had a great view out the front which was really nice while the sun went down as we drove along the pacific coast, later on in the night it wasn’t such a good thing as the driver made up the 1.5 hours he was late by overtaking every bus and truck we caught up with at great speed!
We arrived in Nazca around midnight and walked a few blocks to a cheap Hostel “Friend’s House”. After a quick walk to a corner store to get some water we easily fell asleep.

Woke up with the plan of trying to book a scenic flight over the ‘world famous’ mysterious Nazca lines and then try and get a bus to Cuzco. We had the idea that flights had to be booked a couple of days in advance but the reception at our hostel said he could ring a van to pick us up in 20 minutes and take us straight to the airport. $55USD each and we could go any time of the day.
With that planned we walked through town and found a bus company with seats available at 6pm to Cuzco. Bus trips had been getting more expensive the further south in Peru we got but these were 90 Nuevo Soles each! (about 45AUD) The trips were getting longer though. Lima to Nazca was 8 hours, this next leg would be 12. We booked the seats and headed back to the hostel and checked out and waited for the van to pick us up. While we waited we watched a documentary about the “pathway to the gods” Nazca lines.

They date from between 200 BC to 700 AD and went unnoticed by the modern world until the 1940s when people flying over saw them. A crazy German woman lived by herself in the desert for 60 years studying them and ’removing centuries of debris’ to reveal complex patterns and images. (Or maybe making some of them herself?) She was reviled as a crazy witch by the townsfolk at the time but is now revered as almost a Saint. (Well when they charge $55USD for a 30min flight, surely there is a patron saint of capitalism they can name her after.)

The trip to the airport was only a few minutes but then we had to wait for almost 2 hours to get a spot on a plane. They have 4 and 6 seater Cesnas and as we were a group of 5 we had to wait for one of the few 6 seaters.
Once we were on board the Pilot gave us a ’map’ of the flight route with the images marked which we would be seeing. We would fly past each one and he assured us we would see them from both side of the aircraft. Shortly after take-off we found out this meant a very sharp banking turn around each of the geoglyphs which quickly made those of us with weak stomachs queasy and at least one person on the plane needed to make use of the supplied barf bags (name withheld to protect the embarrassed.)
The flight was a lot of fun and the scenery incredible. Difficult to take photos through the glass as the plane was pretty bumpy as well but we took enough that we got a few good shots.
Back at the airport we had to wait again for the bus to take us back to town so in the end we spent over 3 hours at the airport to take the 30 minute flight!

Back in town we went and got some lunch, collected our bags at the hostel and arrived at the bus station at 5pm as we had been asked to in case the bus was early. (hah!)
We checked in our bags and were advised the bus would be arriving at 6.30 so headed over the road and had a drink at a restaurant.
Back at the bus station it wasn’t until 7.20pm that the bus finally arrived and then two minutes after leaving the station it pulled into a very unpleasant bus stop for a dinner break for the people who had been on since Lima! Half an hour later we pulled out once again only to stop another 100m up the road at the market where the driver touted for more passengers for another 20 minutes!! And then just after leaving town he stopped again for several minutes for no apparent reason!!!
After that I just stuck my head in a book and tried to not pay too much attention figuring we would get to Cuzco eventually. However at 3.30am when he stopped for an hour and a half and there was hammering going on at the rear of the bus I was a bit concerned whether we would make it there at all.
I woke up again at 5.30am and we were travelling through a very pretty ravine beside a river with massive snow-capped mountains above.
About 8.30am the bus broke down/stopped at a mechanic for another hour and a half while they tried to weld something to something else. After an hour they started the bus and drove two metres before the weld broke and they had to have another go. Half the passengers were on the road by this time trying to flag down taxis. We tried as well but it was still going to be 4-5 hours to Cuzco and they understandably weren’t keen to drive that far.
Finally the bus started again and creaked up the hill and over another enormous mountain range. The rest of the trip was no less horrible than previous but at least we didn’t break down again.
We eventually arrived in Cuzco at 2pm after almost 18 hours on the road with the only breaks being break-downs. No food breaks apart from the one 2 minutes after boarding. No toilet breaks. There was a toilet on the bus but it was so disgusting that I stopped drinking water after having to use it a second time. The light was broken so I took a torch and boy do I wish I hadn’t!
If anyone reading comes to Peru and considers using the Palamino Bus Company, I’d strongly suggest you reconsider.

Merry Christmas

We are staying in Lima for Christmas and Boxing day. Arrived yesterday morning after an 8 hour 'overnight' bus which left Trujillo at 10.30pm Very difficult to sleep on the bus and I probably only got an hours sleep during the trip.
Scenery was desert with the occasional settlement and irrigated farms.
Lima is nicer than we were expecting from prior comments. We are staying in Miraflores which is quite 'European', close to the coast and lots of restaurants and hotels.
We went for a walk today to the beach which is at the bottom of a cliffline running along the coast. Lots of parks along the top and Para-Gliders riding the thermals rising up the cliffs from the sea breeze.
Found a large shopping centre on the cliff which had a great view and very expensive shops! The rent must be a killer.
It's still Christmas Eve and the streets outside are very noisy with the amount of fireworks being set off.
Went out for dinner with Harriet and Mat to "Pizza Steet" which is a mall of just pizza shops. Only three were open but we still had a delicious pizza at one.
Spent some time today Skyping family and friends in Australia as being 14 hours ahead it was already Christmas Morning. It was great to talk with my family and see my new-born nephew Nate.
Midnight just arrived and the fireworks are going nuts outside! Merry Christmas everyone!

From Chiclayo we took a bus for another couple of hours south to the city of Trujillo then a taxi 20 minutes to the coastal beach town of Huanchaco where we stayed a couple of nights.
It's a small resort town popular with holidaying Peruvians and is famous for it's unusual fishing 'boats' which are reed rafts.
Had a relaxing couple of days doing not much. The town is surrounded by desert with high mountains in the distance.
Many restaurants around, most specialising in seafood. I had an unfortunate experience one morning ordering fried eggs for breakfast which turned out to be deep fried battered crab eggs. Ewww! Tasted as good as it sounds. (ie Disgusting!)
Actually Peruvian cuisine is turning out to be not good for the diet. Typical dish is fried chicken, Beef, or Fish with fried Potato Chips. Pretty much every dish comes with chips. The potato did originate in Peru so it's understandable they eat lots of them but I haven't seen any steamed or mashed. Always fried.
We did find a place that served the biggest burger's we have ever seen though! No chips on that.

Took a taxi from the hostel for a 20 minute trip to the town of Lambayeque to visit the "Museo Tumbas Reales De Sipan" which is a world class museum with displays from nearby ruins. Peru is one of the richest countries for archeological ruins of the Incas as well as many previous civilizations. Unfortunately the building and temples were constructed out of "Adobe", mud brick so they have not weathered time as well as stone buildings would have.
We weren't permitted to film in the museum but the displays of jewelery and art works found buried in the tombs were beautiful and very intricate. They also had a reconstruction of the tomb of the last ruler of Sipan which was a bit grim to see that the rulers were buiried along with several wives, the head of the military and a few Llamas for good measure!

http://www.tumbasreales.org/

Welcome baby Nate

Happy Birthday to my new nephew Nate. Congratulations Bradley and Christine and new big sister Aylee.

Had a bit of a sleep in before leaving the hostel at 10am to walk to the bus depot. The bus trip was uneventful with little scenery as we were travelling through desert. Arriving in Chiclayo we only had a short walk to a hostel which is pretty basic before going for a walk to get our bearings and some lunch. Found a tourist information place where we got some info about nearby ruins which predate the Inca empire which we will visit tomorrow.
The town is large and busy with shops in full Christmas mode. Apart from the taxi drivers who are quite aggressive and the beggars on the streets, the people are quite friendly with small children saying “hello, how are you” in English as we walk by.

On the road with no internet! Made it to Peru.

We finally made it to Peru after spending more time in Ecuador than planned. Spent a few days in Cuenca and a few more in Vilcabamba before an 8 hour bus trip yesterday.
Stayed the night in Piura and heading to the bus station again now. Should have some time to get the blog up to date in the next few days.

After a very early 5.30am departure from Vilcabamba we took a taxi 45 minutes back to Loja before taking an 8 hour bus trip to Piura in Peru. At the border we quickly went through customs on both sides as well as a brief visit with the Peruvian Police who also took our details.
We had rapidly descended the Andes from 2500m to 200m ASL and the difference in temperature was huge. When we stopped at a dusty border town for an hour at noon it was 38 degrees!
After a couple more hours driving through the desert in northern Peru we came to the town of Piura where we stayed the night. Not a lot to say about it but we found a nice bar next to the town square and had pizza for dinner near our hostel. Short 2.5 hour bus trip south tomorrow to Chiclayo.

14-16 December, Vilcabamba

The trip to Vilcabamba was pretty spectacular descending a steep mountain range. The town itself is quite small but we stayed at a resort a few kilometres up the hillside which had a fantastic view over the valley. It was a bit more expensive than our previous accomodation but had a swimming pool and bar/games room with pool table, table-tennis and darts set in a pretty bush setting.

Matt, Harriet and I went for a 10km hike on the “Mandango Loop” which followed the road part way into town before a steep climb to the top of the ridge and following it back to the resort. The path was only 60cm wide in some parts with steep cliffs on both sides as it followed the very top of the ridgeline. Great views and a fun walk.

We also borrowed some bicycles and rode into town to a book exchange only to find it closed! The taxis in town are all utes though so we were able to avoid the ride home back up the hill.

Outside our room we had a nice view over the valley and watched fire-flies flitting about in the evening as well as seeing some very large and colourful caterpillars eating frangipani leaves.

Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador and was a pleasant change from Quito. Felt quite safe walking around in the evenings and the people were friendly. Stayed a few days in a Hostel which overlooked the river. Watched the new Bond movie at the local cinema. Sarah bought a genuine “Panama” hat which should be correctly called a “Monticristo” hat.


Went to a local food festival which was in a primary school and the students were dressed in costume for Christmas and sang and danced. Played cards and drank beer in the hostel with Matt and Harriet and cooked in the kitchen. Nice and relaxing few days.

Wed 10th Riobamba to Cuenca
After leaving the hostel at 5.45am we walked the short distance to the train station to find a crowd of people waiting on the platform and no train. Lots of vendors selling bread rolls and coffee. We got a couple of coffees and bananas off a lady who couldn’t change a $10 note and we had to scrounge around for change. It’s getting annoying that even places that should have plenty of change make a big deal out of it when you can‘t give them the exact money. Like corner stores or bars. I bought two drinks for $5 and a busy bar couldn’t change a $20? But I digress..
The “trains” arrived which were two buses with train wheels and we got on board. The big deal about the “la Nariz del Diablo” trip is you can sit on the roof and get a great view, however, it’s really cold on the roof and sitting on metal bars for 5 hours didn’t appeal to us.
The journey ends at a town called Alausi, but the train goes through Alausi then descends the mountain on the “la Nariz del Diablo“ section, then returns to Alusi so we figured we would be able to switch before the return and get a roof seat then. Turned out to be a great plan as the seats we had in the bus were right up the front and very comfy with an uninterrupted view anyway.
Leaving Riobamba the train track was rather dilapidated. The train only runs three times a week for the tourists and hadn’t had much maintenance by the looks of it. It was quite a pleasant trip through rolling hills and farms alongside a river for part of it. Lots of dogs came to bark and run alongside the train and people working the fields and school children stopped to wave as we went by.
We stopped at a small town for a break and stretched our legs and bought some snacks of fried cheese and banana empanadas from a vendor. Most of the people on the roof stayed there as they were either frozen in place or didn’t want to lose their spot.
Approaching Alausi the valley deepened and it was an stunning view with steep cliffs and landslides across the other side.
Leaving Alausi, the train had a couple of steep turns down to the bottom of the valley before crossing a river and following the side of the valley for a few kilometres as the river got further below us. We stopped briefly to look at the rock formation the “Devil’s Nose” before the train reached the first of two ’switchbacks” to descend to the valley floor. Reversing down to the second switchback was slow going and we found out the large side mirror on the train had a purpose. (We had made fun of it when we first got on. Like what’s the point of a rear-view mirror on a train!?)
After a short break at the bottom of the valley we switched places with the people on the roof and headed back up the cliff. Just past the first switchback the train stopped and slowly reversed back to the flat area at the switch and stopped! We got worried when the driver then donned blue overalls and crawled under the train to fix something! The conductor walked up the track a little way to get a mobile phone signal and called for help and after a 40 minute wait in the hot sun the second train returned from Alausi to collect us.
The trip back was fun sitting on top of the train speeding along the edge of the sheer cliff.
In Alausi we were able to get a bus going to Cuenca which was a slow journey for a few hours through the mountains due to fog/cloud.




9 minute youtube clip of the train trip. (not mine)

Tues 9th
After a very pleasant and relaxing week in Banos we knew it was time to hit the road again before we got “stuck” there. The plan was to head south towards the Peru border and we had read about a train ride called "el nariz del diablo" (the nose of the devil) which was meant to be a spectacular 5 hour journey between nearby Riobamba and Alusi to the south. It left Riobamba at 7am so we needed to get there the night before so packed our bags and headed to the bus station with Matt and Harriet at 10am and caught a bus for a 2 hour trip to Riobamba.
The journey was uneventful but nice view of the mountains when the cloud cleared as we went up to around 3500m. No trees at that altitude but lots of grazing pasture and we saw some Llamas as well as lots of cows and some sheep.

Riobamba was quite a large city and we had a walk around. Not a lot to see really. Had dinner out at a 50’s style diner which served Mexican food and went to bed looking forward to getting up at 5.30am!

So we had read in the lonely planet about a bike ride from Baños to Puyo, about 60kms down hill along the valley next to the river. It sounded nice but I was concerned about how we would get back up to Baños. The book just stated that you catch a bus and they put the bikes up on the roof of the bus. It was not till we were 5kms on to the ride that Damo said “you don’t see any bikes on top of the buses do you“.
We thought we would give it a go so we went with some friends we met on Nemo 1, Matt and Harriet.
$5 for the day per bike and we were also given a dodgy photocopied map but we were not too concerned as there was only one real direction to go and that’s DOWN the steep hill. We were also given a small flimsy chain to lock our 4 bikes up and a puncture repair kit.

It was nice to be out of the town and away from people, just us on the road. The first scary thing that we encountered was a pitch black road tunnel, it was single lane and one way. Damo went first then me with Harriet and Matt behind. It was down hill so we were going fast and I could not see anything except the small amout of light at the end with a silhouette of Damo. Just as I was thinking to myself this is ok, haven’t hit any thing yet, not much further to go, I hear Harriet scream behind me “there’s a truck coming!” and sure thing we heard it but could not see any lights that it should have shone if they were on. Then I thought I should probably start peddling and at least I’m not the last person! We all make it. But felt a bit scared by the experience and stopped for a break once we were all safely out of the dark narrow tunnel.

We passed lots of water falls and stopped regularly to take pictures of the beautiful valley and cliffs over the river with no safety barriers. Then I saw an orange thing swinging across the valley and I realised that it was the one of the two cable cars. We decided to get the second one as it had a greater distance to cross and therefore would be more fun. So after secureing the bikes we headed of to the cable car. The one we got was green and had two long seats facing each other, but no cover to stop people jumpin off. So it was probably not the most secure of cable cars. Before we knew it we were off, going very fast and arrived at the other side. Matt commented that the he saw a look of mischief on the adolescent that controlled the ride. Coming back it was a bit slower and I think I got some good photos.

After a while we came to another village. One guy was saying something to us, possible about the water fall. ( Yes that’s right, after 100 hr of Spanish lessions you would think that I could follow a simple convastion but no I couldn’t ) so we walked off in the direction that he pointed. Two minutes later we came to a sign saying entry $1 and were greeted by a man who look normal. ( don’t judge a book by it's cover!) Damo described him as a typical westerner who had been living long term in Ecuador. He started off normal enough talking about the water fall and then about his gallery and his garden and then about the secret and the key to life and rambling about his inspirations for his spirituality. Anyway, I was happy to give him a dollar to stop him from talking but no that didn't stop him. Then he started talking about the other waterfalls in the area and Damo (he's a clever guy) made a run for it ( well not a run but just walked off ) so I just followed.

After leaving the crazy guy we walked through some pretty gardens and came to the gallery he had spoken of. It was a small hut with a number of large paintings inside which we all agreed were the product of a disturbed mind!

A bit further through the gardens we came to the top of El Pailón del Diablo (the Devil's Cauldron) which is one of the larger waterfalls on the route we were travelling. There was quite a lot of water in the river and a small waterfall descending into a short canyon before plunging over a larger drop. We were able to walk to a lookout at the top of the larger falls and it was an impressive sight 100m down into the valley although we couldn't see the actual waterfall. Returning to our bikes we continued along the road and got a great view of the waterfall from another vantage point.


After a few good downhill runs and some not so fun uphills we came to the town of Rio Negro (Black River) and stopped for lunch. We had been cycling for about 5 hours covering 30 km and needed a break. After lunch Sarah and I decided to catch a bus back to Baños. Matt and Harriet said they would keep going (They ended up only going another 5km before coming to a really steep hill.) so we waited in Rio Negro for a bus. After a half hour wait we were able to squeeze onto a packed bus with our bikes put underneath and headed back to Baños. Coming down the road we had only needed to go through the first scary dark tunnel as the rest were able to be bypassed on bicycle via dirt roads along the river. (Much safer and more scenic) Going back by vehicle though we went through several long tunnels and I was quite glad that we hadn't taken this route on the quad-buggie.

Quad-Buggies can't climb mountains!

Many places around town hire out Motorbikes, Bicycles and Quad Bikes and we decided to rent one to go for a drive. The Quad-buggies looked safest as they had seats and seatbelts and a roll cage. We hired one for a couple of hours for $20usd and headed off through town to go to a lookout high up on the ridge. Going through town was fun and we had a speedy downhill run for a couple of kilometres out of town to a junction when we started uphill.
The buggie was pretty slow going up the steep road but we made it to the lookout and had an awesome view over Baños and the surrounding valley. After a picnic lunch we went a little further up the hill and then did a u-turn to head back into town. The buggie had automatic gearing with just a forward and reverse lever and shortly after the turn it seemed to pop into neutral and we couldn’t get it back into forward gear! Luckily we had a several kilometre downhill roll back to the junction where a kind local rang the hire place and a guy came to meet us in his ute.

He seemed a bit angry that we had gone up the hill and said the buggies were only for the flat, something the person that hired it to us had neglected to mention when he was pointing out places we could go on a map!! He hooked the buggie to the back of the ute and we drove back into town stopping briefly at another broken down buggie on the way. Obviously something that happens regularly….. Back at the hire place we were worried they were going to try and charge us for a new gearbox but we got my passport (left as deposit) back without any fuss.

Left the hostel in Quito a little after 9am having overslept due to forgetting to change my mobile phone (using it as alarm clock) time forward after leaving the Galapagos.
We caught a taxi near the plaza and got a lift to the bus station in south Quito which wasn’t too far but as it was raining I didn’t feel like haggling over the $2.50 he charged us. The taxi drivers in Quito will rip you off blind if they can get away with it. It’s a gamble between agreeing on a price which is a bit higher than if they used the meter, or demanding they put the meter on and being driven the slowest possible route through congested side streets and bad traffic.
We were dropped off across the road from the bus depot and crossed under the road through a dark and scary pedestrian tunnel before entering the almost as dark and scary bus station. We found the ticket counters and the first one we tried had a luxury bus going to Baños but not leaving until 1pm. A few counters down we found another leaving in 20 minutes. Much more suited to our impulsive and unplanned travel needs! J
After being warned twice by the ticket seller and then again by the bus driver to be watch our backpack carefully, we took our seats on the “express” bus for the 3.5 hour trip.
Despite being “express” the bus stopped frequently and Quito being quite a sprawling city it took a while to get out of the ‘burbs. After an hour of travel I noticed a signpost saying “Quito 15kms”!
Heading south through the mountains I was hoping to have a good view of some volcanoes but there was too much cloud. They put on a rather violent movie called “The Condemned” which we thought was inappropriate for a bus with kids on it but it killed a couple of hours. We changed bus at Ambato and for the final hour of the journey we had a very scenic drive down a steep sided valley with a good view of the snow-capped Volcano Tungurahua (5016m) which stands over Baños .

From the bus station we walked through the town and found a hostel to stay at and then went for a walk to the baths. Baños is a small and tidy town nestled between a river and the Volcano’s foothills. There is a pretty waterfall and a couple of public baths fed by the thermal waters which give the town it’s name.