3/17/10
La Selva (Jungle)
Into the jungle we went with a guide and...tubes. ... What? Tubes? Yes! We tubed down the Napo River in the Amazon, just like we do in New Braunfels, TX. We also learned much about the various plants in the jungle. (Uploading pics upon our return to the US.)
3/14/10
Biking and Hiking in Baños
As many of you know, we love to bike and hike, and Baños was the perfect city to enjoy both of these passtimes.
We biked the ``Ruta de las Cascadas´´, which took us to several of the well-known waterfalls in the area.
Off the right side, we had a view of el Manto de la Novia waterfalls:
Then, we stopped for a ride on the tarabita (cable car):
View down the valley from the cable car:
Next stop: La cascada ``El Pailón del Diablo´´
Hiking down, there were several signs about taking care of nature:
(English: ``God loves you. Look for Him in nature.´´)
We loved the solitude of the trail!
Right before reaching the waterfall, the sign said the following:
(English: ``Are you prepared for a surprise?? God exists!!!´´)
Then, we heard the roar of the waterfall, and crossed the bridge to get a better look:
We then crawled up this passageway and up these stairs to reach the back of the waterfall.
It is difficult to capture the power of this waterfall with still pictures, so we took several videos, which we will have to upload another time.
Next up: LUNCH!
In Ecuador, you can typically find set lunches (almuerzos) for about $2. This day, we enjoyed a soup, followed by a full plate of rice, potatoes, meat, and salad. Topped off with a small glass of cola.
Energized, we rode to La Cascada del Machay:
You can swim up to the smaller of the two waterfalls, but we had not brought our bathing suits, and still needed to ride back to Baños. Mark decided to quitar sus zapatos and climb the rocks a bit.
On the way back, we caught a ride in one of the trucks meant for picking up cyclists on the route and shared the ride with about 10 other people. Crammed into the back of a truck with our bikes, we shared stories with about 10 folks from Norway, Germany, the US, Argentina, and Ecuador. It was one of our favorite memories.
About our HIKES...
We have completed several long hikes around Baños and one of our favorites was hiking to La Casa del Arbol (the ``treehouse´´ you see below),
which has an amazing view of Volcano Turaguahua.
Above is a picture of us with a muy amable family we met there. They ended up giving us a ride down from the mountain back to Baños since they were heading that way. We hit it off really well with all the members and plan to stay in touch.
Off the tree house is a long swing that swings out over the cliff. I would not recommend it if you are scared of heights. For those who want a great view and the feeling of flying, it is a definite must!
Another hike we enjoyed was to the mountain that faces the volcano. It is considered the ``Hike to the
Antennas.´´ Right before beginning the hike, we saw this huge gorge into which folks were zip-lining. If you look carefully in the picture, you can see a tiny person flying toward the rock. It was amazing, but we have plans to do it in Costa Rica, so we bypassed this opportunity.
After starting up the mountain, it started to rain, so we took a break here and enjoyed nutritious oreos:
Of course, all the rain was worth the view from the top!
We biked the ``Ruta de las Cascadas´´, which took us to several of the well-known waterfalls in the area.
Off the right side, we had a view of el Manto de la Novia waterfalls:
Then, we stopped for a ride on the tarabita (cable car):
View down the valley from the cable car:
Next stop: La cascada ``El Pailón del Diablo´´Hiking down, there were several signs about taking care of nature:
(English: ``God loves you. Look for Him in nature.´´)
We loved the solitude of the trail!
Right before reaching the waterfall, the sign said the following:(English: ``Are you prepared for a surprise?? God exists!!!´´)
Then, we heard the roar of the waterfall, and crossed the bridge to get a better look:
We then crawled up this passageway and up these stairs to reach the back of the waterfall.
It is difficult to capture the power of this waterfall with still pictures, so we took several videos, which we will have to upload another time.
Next up: LUNCH!In Ecuador, you can typically find set lunches (almuerzos) for about $2. This day, we enjoyed a soup, followed by a full plate of rice, potatoes, meat, and salad. Topped off with a small glass of cola.
Energized, we rode to La Cascada del Machay:
You can swim up to the smaller of the two waterfalls, but we had not brought our bathing suits, and still needed to ride back to Baños. Mark decided to quitar sus zapatos and climb the rocks a bit.
On the way back, we caught a ride in one of the trucks meant for picking up cyclists on the route and shared the ride with about 10 other people. Crammed into the back of a truck with our bikes, we shared stories with about 10 folks from Norway, Germany, the US, Argentina, and Ecuador. It was one of our favorite memories.
About our HIKES...
We have completed several long hikes around Baños and one of our favorites was hiking to La Casa del Arbol (the ``treehouse´´ you see below),
which has an amazing view of Volcano Turaguahua.
Above is a picture of us with a muy amable family we met there. They ended up giving us a ride down from the mountain back to Baños since they were heading that way. We hit it off really well with all the members and plan to stay in touch. Off the tree house is a long swing that swings out over the cliff. I would not recommend it if you are scared of heights. For those who want a great view and the feeling of flying, it is a definite must!
Another hike we enjoyed was to the mountain that faces the volcano. It is considered the ``Hike to the
Antennas.´´ Right before beginning the hike, we saw this huge gorge into which folks were zip-lining. If you look carefully in the picture, you can see a tiny person flying toward the rock. It was amazing, but we have plans to do it in Costa Rica, so we bypassed this opportunity.
After starting up the mountain, it started to rain, so we took a break here and enjoyed nutritious oreos:
Of course, all the rain was worth the view from the top!
A Difference Between Mark and Lindsay
I (Lindsay) am not going to generalize and say that this is an inherent difference between men and women, but I will say it is a difference between Mark and me.
Mark´s philosophy: When there is not an obvious way across a stream, build one!
Lindsay´s philosophy: When there is not an obvious way across a stream, search for one in another location.
I will admit...Mark´s philosophy can be more fun at times.
THE STORY
Several times, we have crossed this ``stream.´´ We have had several days of rain, though, and so the stream became more full and harder to cross. We crossed it one way to work on the WWOOF farm, and to visit the thermal baths, but when we returned to cross back to our hostal, there was no longer a clear walkway. I suggested that we look for another way up the stream, but Mark decided to create one. I realized I married an engineer, and a great one he is, because we made it across the Mark-made stone bridge with no problems.
Yeah...across!
Mark´s philosophy: When there is not an obvious way across a stream, build one!
Lindsay´s philosophy: When there is not an obvious way across a stream, search for one in another location.
I will admit...Mark´s philosophy can be more fun at times.
THE STORY
Several times, we have crossed this ``stream.´´ We have had several days of rain, though, and so the stream became more full and harder to cross. We crossed it one way to work on the WWOOF farm, and to visit the thermal baths, but when we returned to cross back to our hostal, there was no longer a clear walkway. I suggested that we look for another way up the stream, but Mark decided to create one. I realized I married an engineer, and a great one he is, because we made it across the Mark-made stone bridge with no problems.
Yeah...across!
3/13/10
Change of Schedule
We wanted to update our schedule for the year, in the event your path crosses ours or our path crosses yours.
We have learned that the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu have been closed by the Peruvian government, so we are no longer able to keep our reservations to visit. Of course, we are disappointed, but we will still be able to visit beautiful Cusco and participate in an alternative hike.
We have also learned that neither of us received positions on the fall 2010 voyage of Semester at Sea. This means that our fall travel is up in the air, but we are looking to travel to India and China for some time during the fall. Please email us if you will be in either location, so that we might meet up.
We have applied for the Spring 2011 voyage of Semester at Sea, which would extend our ``year´´ of travel. This means that we may travel until May 2011, or we may keep our end time frame of December 2010. We will post as soon as we have any additional information.
Tomorrow (Sunday), we head to El Oriente in Ecuador, then Peru on Thursday for one week, then to Costa Rica. Thus, we are not sure how much internet we will have from here on out, but we will respond to emails, and post on the blog as often as possible (with pictures!).
We have learned that the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu have been closed by the Peruvian government, so we are no longer able to keep our reservations to visit. Of course, we are disappointed, but we will still be able to visit beautiful Cusco and participate in an alternative hike.
We have also learned that neither of us received positions on the fall 2010 voyage of Semester at Sea. This means that our fall travel is up in the air, but we are looking to travel to India and China for some time during the fall. Please email us if you will be in either location, so that we might meet up.
We have applied for the Spring 2011 voyage of Semester at Sea, which would extend our ``year´´ of travel. This means that we may travel until May 2011, or we may keep our end time frame of December 2010. We will post as soon as we have any additional information.
Tomorrow (Sunday), we head to El Oriente in Ecuador, then Peru on Thursday for one week, then to Costa Rica. Thus, we are not sure how much internet we will have from here on out, but we will respond to emails, and post on the blog as often as possible (with pictures!).
3/10/10
Juntos
juntos = together
The answer(s) is (are): It´s great! And yes, we do need breaks here and there, but we have noticed it more when we are tired and hungry. Of course, that happens with just about anyone.
This past weekend, we actually rested (watched TV!) for three straight days! Lindsay was getting over being sick, and Mark was just getting a cold (resfriado). These three days in the midst of ``Go go go!´´ were a well-received gift.
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