Archive for the Ecuador Category

Hidden Gems of South America

Sometimes travel is all about expectations. If you go somewhere because travel websites or guidebooks talked it up and you’re expecting amazement, beware – it may not be all you’ve built it up to be!

Here are some places that for us were just the opposite – we stumbled on them because we happened to be nearby or someone mentioned them to us in passing. You probably wouldn’t fly all the way from North America or Europe to visit some of these spots, but if you’re in the area they’re worth a detour!

Salinas, Ecuador

If you Google Salinas, Ecuador, you’ll get images of a seaside resort city billed as the “ultimate retirement destination.” I’m sure it’s nice there, but that’s not the place that I’m talking about. Search instead for “Salinas de Bolivar” or “Salinas de Guaranda” and you’ll find a tiny hamlet nestled in the highlands of Central Ecuador.

Many of the locals here work in cooperatives making cheese, chocolate, and salami. There are no campgrounds in town, so we camped in the parking lot of the cheese factory, and the next morning saw the farmers from the surrounding countryside delivering milk jugs strapped to donkeys and llamas. The factory offered a variety of yummy European-style cheeses. Some have even dubbed this town “The Cheese Capitol of Ecuador“.

Morning milk delivery

Morning milk delivery

Chocolate is also made in Salinas, and we stocked up on several bars of dark chocolate for about half the normal price.

Instead of going back the way we came, we continued on the dirt road as it climbed higher into the Andes, eventually crossing Highway 491 to enter Chimborazo National Park. This was a pretty drive, even though it was an overcast day. On a clear day the views of the volcano would be spectacular.

Villa de Leyva, Colombia

Located a few hours from Bogota, Villa de Leyva is a popular weekend destination for people from that city. With a sunny, cool high altitude climate and lots of nearby attractions including hiking in a nearby national park, mountain biking the back roads of the valley, and several cultural and paleontology attractions, Villa de Leyva is a great place to unwind for a day or a month.

Villa de Leyva is set in a rural valley, surrounded by mountains with great hiking as well as cultural attractions.

Villa de Leyva is set in a rural valley, surrounded by mountains with great hiking as well as cultural attractions.

The Salt Cathedral — Zipaquirá, Colombia

This mine has been actively exploited since pre-Columbian times, and is still in production today using modern automated techniques to extract salt from the underground rock structure. In colonial times the work was done using traditional methods, and miners began carving altars and crosses out of the rock to help increase their likelihood of surviving this dangerous occupation.

Over time these carvings became more and more elaborate, and eventually evolved into the tourist attraction that it is today. The underground setting is spectacular, and the lighting makes the whole thing a stunning underground tour.

The cross in the background is 170 feet high.

The cross in the background is 170 feet high.

Colonia, Uruguay

Just across the river from Buenos Aires, Uruguay is like a diamond in the rough. High fuel prices and an apparent relative lack of corruption mean the highway quality is consistently top-notch.

The town of Colonia is a great place to visit for a day or two. A well-preserved walled city in the center features shady, cobbled streets, waterfront restaurants and lots of museums. It’s the kind of place that invites an afternoon of strolling the streets taking in the sights and wondering at the inexplicable derelict cars from the fifties and sixties that dot the roadways.

The streets of Colonia feature sidewalk restaurants, shade trees, and classic cars

The streets of Colonia feature sidewalk restaurants, shade trees, and classic cars

Urubici, Brazil

We spent a few rainy days here, and enjoyed ourselves none the less. Located in the highlands, this region is one of the few parts of Brazil that receives snow in winter, and people visit here just to have a one-in-a-lifetime chance of seeing the white stuff, even if it is just an inch or two of heavy wet snow.

Even if folks from the US, Canada, and Europe might scoff at the snow, Urubici is still worth visiting for its great hiking in beautiful scenery.

This overlook is near the highest point in Brazil. It was foggy and overcast, but beautiful nonetheless.

This overlook is near the highest point in Brazil. It was foggy and overcast, but beautiful nonetheless.

San Martin de Los Andes, Argentina

This was one of those places that just felt like home to us. Located in the mountains of Central Patagonia along the Argentina’s famous Ruta 40, San Martin, according to locals, is what Bariloche was 30 years ago.

With a ski area nearby, hiking trails, and judging by the number of bikes for sale, lots of mountain biking, San Martin would be on our short list of places to visit again.

With mountain biking and skiing, San Martin felt just like home.

With mountain biking and skiing, San Martin felt just like home.

The Carretera Austral, Chile

Stretching 770 miles through rural Patagonia, this mostly unpaved route passes through some of the most picturesque scenery found anywhere. The area is remote and very sparsely populated with farmers and ranchers who must be largely self-sufficient due to the long travel times in the area. There are fantastic camping opportunities everywhere, and numerous hikes access alpine lakes and glaciers.

The area is also known for as a world-class fly fishing destination, and an handful of high-end lodges cater to foreigners on fishing holidays.

If you go, budget at least 10 days to explore this amazing region!

Between the rough roads and the nonstop photo opportunities, progress was slow, but it gave us time to enjoy the amazing scenery.

Between the rough roads and the nonstop photo opportunities, progress was slow, but it gave us time to enjoy the amazing scenery.

Trinidade Beach, Brazil

We originally planned this as a one or two night stopover, but between the beautiful beach and enjoying time with our friends from Adventure Trio, it quickly stretched into four days.

We believe that this section of Brazil’s coastline is littered with many more beautiful beaches, but we couldn’t pull ourselves away from this one to find out for sure.

One afternoon we walked to a restaurant and enjoyed a 3 hour meal with our toes in the sand.

One afternoon we walked to a restaurant and enjoyed a 3 hour meal with our toes in the sand.

Casa Nacional de la Moneda — Potosí, Bolivia

Potosí has been a silver mining town for hundreds of years, and it’s said that enough silver was pulled out of the mountain there to build a silver bridge all the way to Spain. Coins minted at the Potosí mint found their way to all corners of the globe.

Today co-op miners still risk their lives to pull out enough ore to support their families, but the mine’s heyday is long past. One of the best museums that we visited in South America pays tribute to that heritage. Located in the building that formerly housed the mint, the giant mule-driven silver pressing machines can still be seen. An excellent guided tour explained the regions history in detail.

This museum makes a trip to the otherwise somewhat bleak town of Potosi worthwhile.

This complex wooden gearing is a mule-driven press dating back 250 years. It's still in the same location as when it was constructed.

This complex wooden gearing is a mule-driven press dating back 250 years. It’s still in the same location as when it was constructed.

Parque Cretácico (Dinosaur Park) — Sucre, Bolivia

Sucre, just a few hours from Potosi, is a much nicer place to spend time. It’s the constitutional capital of Bolivia (La Paz is home to most government administrative functions) and is the source of most of the political activism in the country. With a sunny climate and markets featuring a variety of fresh foods, Sucre is a good place to relax for a few days.

Dinosaur footprints were discovered during excavation at a local cement factory just outside the city, and a museum was built to showcase this amazing find. The story goes that roughly 70 million years ago, a flat muddy plain was traversed by all types of dinosaurs, including the gigantic brontosaurus. As layers of mud covered previous tracks, new tracks were laid over the old ones. Eventually geological forces folded this plain, and today visitors can stand at the bottom of a 300 foot high vertical wall and visualize dinosaurs walking across the ancient mud flat.

This is the rock face where the footprints are. Imagine this as a mud plain 70 million years ago with dinosaurs walking across it. Then through geological movements it was crushed into a V shape. There's no telling how far down it goes, and the other half exists somewhere nearby.

This is the rock face where the footprints are. Imagine this as a mud plain 70 million years ago with dinosaurs walking across it. Then through geological movements it was crushed into a V shape. There’s no telling how far down it goes, and the other half exists somewhere nearby.

The Best of South America

This post was prompted by someone filling out the contact form on our website. It always makes us feel good when we hear that other people find our travels interesting, especially those planning their own trips!

So without further ado, these are some of the highlights of our travels in South America

Galapagos Islands

Wildlife so thick they have to stack it.

Wildlife so thick they have to stack it.

P1140325

Investigating whale bones

Yes, it was a lot of money (about three months worth of our normal budget) but it was so cool. I’ve never been anywhere before that you had to be careful where you walk because you might accidentally step on the wildlife. From arid moonscapes of hardened lava covering entire islands to lush, cloud covered volcanic peaks, the archipelago is justifiably famous.

We lived aboard a smaller tour boat with about 10 other guests for a week. It was great to relax and not have to worry about shopping and cooking for a little while, and the tours on the islands were varied and educational.

Quinn enjoyed a week out of the van, and the other guests on the trip were very friendly and welcoming toward him. It’s definitely a part of the trip we’ll always remember fondly!

Traveling with Friends

Time with friends and family is precious

Time with friends and family is precious

Long term travel can be lonely at times, even for a family. We treasured the times we were able to spend time with new friends, meet up with old friends, and especially when our families made the extra effort to join us for a part of our journey.

Patagonia

We weren't the only ones enjoying the views.

We weren’t the only ones enjoying the views.

Being from Colorado, we love the outdoors. We’re most at home in the mountains, hiking, biking, or just soaking the alpine sun and fresh air. You’d think that when the time comes to take a vacation, we’d want to do something we can’t do at home – go to the beach or experience city life. On the contrary, some of our most enjoyable vacations have been when we travel somewhere to be in the mountains.

It’s no surprise, then, that we loved Patagonia. With another beautiful lakeside camping spot around every turn and small mountain villages that made us want to rent a house and move in, Central Patagonia reminded us of home. And perhaps that’s what we needed after two years away.

Peninsula Valdez, Argentina

Another sunset from our campsite.

Another sunset from our campsite.

One of the best things about overlanding is the ability to camp in remote places – you never have to get back to your hotel at the end of the day because your hotel is with you all the time. And some of the best places are wild camps. Just find a level spot on the beach and call it home for the night. Or for the week.

Peninsula Valdez is one of our favorite such spots. Somewhat remote and desolate, its numerous sheltered bays serve as home to mother whales and the calves while the babies are taught how to be whales. We spent four fantastic days camping on a beach on the peninsula. We played in the rocks, went for walks on the beach, and yes, watched the whales.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

With the cold air and the white salt, you'd be forgiven for mistaking it for an actic landscape.

With the cold air and the white salt, you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for an arctic landscape.

“Like nowhere else on Earth.” That’s the official tagline for a destination I’ve heard advertised on TV. But that’s exactly what comes to mind when you experience the world’s largest salt flat. Let your 7 year old drive? Sure. Leave your car in gear and jump out to walk alongside it? No problem. Get a 4 ton van up to 85mph? Yep – It’s the smoothest, flattest surfaced we’d driven on in months.

When the sun begins to dip below the horizon, the cold bites at your nose, and all you can see for miles is salt plus the occasional hill rising from the plain the scene looks like nothing so much as a frozen lake with islands in it. Bundle up in your down and walk out onto the salt to marvel at the bright red sunset, then retreat into to your cozy sleeping bag. It’s a harsh, yet spectacular environment.

Rio de Janero, Brazil

The view from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain makes it obvious why Rio is considered one of the world's most beautiful cities.

The view from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain makes it obvious why Rio is considered one of the world’s most beautiful cities.

Set on Brazil’s coastline and justifiably famous for it’s amazing beaches and backed by thousand foot jungle-clad cliffs, Rio is stunning. Views abound from the many lookouts including the famous Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugarloaf Mountain. On the subway it’s common to see people clad in business attire alongside beach-bound surfers. Topped off by a wide variety of international food and yet maintaining it’s laid-back atmosphere, Rio should be on every traveler’s hit list.

Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina

This is a small fraction of the falls.

This is a small fraction of the falls.

Off the beaten path it is certainly not, but there’s a reason why Iguazu is considered one of South America’s biggest tourist attractions. It’s not one single waterfall, it’s thousands of them covering a huge area. We spent two days there – one on the Argentina side and one on the Brazil side. Sure it was crowded and touristy, but we’re very happy to have seen this natural wonder for ourselves.

Cheap Wine

Aging at Domaine Bousquet

Aging at Domaine Bousquet

Last but certainly not least is the abundance of cheap wine in Chile and Argentina. Sold in the grocery stores everywhere, we quickly got used to a new price scale. Everyday bottle of good, drinkable wine? Less than $5. Want to splurge on a nice bottle of reserve malbec? $7-8. We visited the Domaine Bousquet vineyard outside of Mendoza and bought their grand reserve for about $10 per bottle after the case discount. We looked it up online while we were there, and a those bottles go for $24 in the States. I was at a liquor store this afternoon and bought an Argentinean bottle on sale for $12 that I paid $3.50 for there. Sigh.  Enjoy it while you are there!

Jen and I discussed this post for awhile over dinner this evening and we agree that “best of” memories are very dependent on the situation. A ho-hum place can yield a great experience just by meeting a bunch of really cool people and having a good time together. A place that gets five stars on trip advisor might be the worst experience of the trip if you happen to get ripped off there.

We also, of course, came up with some great experiences that I missed here, including some specific museums and other places we visited. Stay tuned – that will be the subject of an upcoming post!

A big thank you to all of our readers, and especially to Diana who is planning her own trip and was the inspiration for this post! If you have a topic you’d like to see covered here, please let us know in the comments.

 

Hoola-hooping in Cuenca and those crazy Peruvian roads

The first part of this video was at a performance art session that we stumbled across in Cuenca. Next are some photos from roads in Southern Ecuador and Northern Peru. The last bit depicts the 2-day, 10-hour single-lane marathon between Chachapoyas and Celendín, Peru.

Travels in Southern Ecuador with Friends

After returning to Cuenca we met up with our friends Melanie and Justin (FB page: “Lost in the Americas”) where we shared an apartment with them for a week. We’re both headed to Peru so we have decided to travel together for awhile. We tend to have a lot of fun and laughs together, and we’re looking forward to spending time with them.

The superbowl party at our house in Cuenca. (Clockwise from center left: Melanie & Justin,

The superbowl party at our house in Cuenca. (Clockwise from center left: Melanie & Justin, “Gringo Rick” & Leticia, and Jeff “Travels with Barley” & Cassandra). Wings, chips and guac, and chili. What’s not to love?

We found a really cool outdoor acrobatics demo going on in Cuenca one day. Quinn got to try the hoola hoop (video coming soon).

We found a really cool outdoor acrobatics demo going on in Cuenca one day. Quinn got to try the hoola hoop (video coming soon).

OMG you just snapped your hip out of its socket! That is so funny!

OMG you just snapped your hip out of its socket! That is so funny!

P1170009

The view from our campsite on the way from Cuenca to Loja

The view from our campsite on the way from Cuenca to Loja

We went to an Argentinean restaurant in Loja for lunch as a preview for the never ending meat fest that country is rumored to be.

We went to an Argentinean restaurant in Loja for lunch as a preview for the never ending meat fest that country is rumored to be.

We arrived in Vilcabamba the next day where we are staying in a wonderful German-run hostel just outside of town.

We arrived in Vilcabamba the next day where we are staying in a wonderful German-run hostel just outside of town.

Free yoga classes and a pool make it a great spot to relax. Our visa expiration date is creeping up on us...

Free yoga classes and a pool make it a great spot to relax. Our visa expiration date is creeping up on us…

A hike out of town for some great views of the surrounding countryside.

A hike out of town for some great views of the surrounding countryside.

Monkeys, Vicuñas and Snow-covered Volcanoes

We spent another four days near Baños, staying with Sue and Marc at their campground about 20 minutes down the valley from town. Their place, Pequeña Paraiso, is set in a cloud forest with lots of birds. Marc is, among other things, an amateur videographer and has made some amazing videos, including ones of the active volcano above town and of the local wildlife.

It rained quite a bit while we were there, but we still made the most of our time by visiting a few of the many tourist attractions in the area.

We did a day trip to Puyo (in the jungle) by bus where we visited a monkey reserve and learned a little about medicinal plants

We did a day trip to Puyo (in the jungle) by bus where we visited a monkey reserve and learned a little about medicinal plants

Cool looking caterpillar

Cool looking caterpillar

We hiked to another waterfall near the campground.

We hiked to another waterfall near the campground.

P1160885

After saying goodbye to Sue and Mark we drove back to Baños to visit Casa de Arbol where we did some swinging. After lunch we drove up the valley opposite the volcano to a campsite where we hoped to have a good view of the volcano.

Above town at Casa de Arbol there's a giant swing where you swing over a cliff. Imagine this picture with blue skies and a volcano in the background.

Above town at Casa de Arbol there’s a giant swing where you swing over a cliff. Imagine this picture with blue skies and a volcano in the background.

Tungurahua volcano with Baños below.

Tungurahua volcano with Baños below.

Great campsite!

Great campsite!

Tungurahua has been active since 1999 and erupts every couple of years. The town of Baños is festooned with evacuation route signs.

Tungurahua has been active since 1999 and erupts every couple of years. The town of Baños is festooned with evacuation route signs.

On the way back to Cuenca we drove through Chimborazo National park one more time hoping to get a glimpse of the volcano that was shrouded in mist on our last trip through. We weren't disappointed!

On the way back to Cuenca we drove through Chimborazo National park one more time hoping to get a glimpse of the volcano that was shrouded in mist on our last trip through. We weren’t disappointed!

Here is a view of the Chimborazo Summit.  Interesting fact:  this summit is actually further from the center of the earth than the top of Everest due to the equatorial bulge of the Earth!

Here is a view of the Chimborazo Summit. Interesting fact: this summit is actually further from the center of the earth than the top of Everest due to the equatorial bulge of the Earth!

We saw more vicuñas in the park too.

We saw more vicuñas in the park too.

That night we found a great bushcamp in a pine forest with no one around. We built a fire and roasted marshmallows for the first time in months!

That night we found a great bushcamp in a pine forest with no one around. We built a fire and roasted marshmallows for the first time in months!