Following our visit to the Galápagos Islands we flew into Guayaquil. Although it's the largest and most populated city in Ecuador, Guayaquil certainly isn't the most interesting place to visit (a bit like Auckland in that way, except there's even less to do). The reason we chose to visit this place that most gringos skip is that we wanted to spend some time with Diana, a close college friend of Cindy's who is living in Guayaquil.
Diana's family took us in for a couple of nights and cooked us some fantastic food, including some deer raised on their farm. We also attended Diana's cousin's birthday party at a city centre penthouse. We made some time for sightseeing, visiting the zoo, wandering along the river-side boardwalk and climbing the 444 steps of Las Peñas to the highest vantage point in town.
From Guayaquil, we, Diana and a couple of her friends drove to la Ruta del Sol (which translates to the route of the sun). Our destination was Montañita, a surf town by day and party town by night that is increasingly attracting visitors from all over the world (as well as weekenders from Guayaquil). In the afternoon most of us had a go at surfing (with varying levels of failure) before heading out for what became a massive night. Our big group, including Diana and friends, her brother and her cousin, helped us fight off our tired eyes, and the clubs and cocktail stands lining every street meant that we were never short of a drink.
Diana's family took us in for a couple of nights and cooked us some fantastic food, including some deer raised on their farm. We also attended Diana's cousin's birthday party at a city centre penthouse. We made some time for sightseeing, visiting the zoo, wandering along the river-side boardwalk and climbing the 444 steps of Las Peñas to the highest vantage point in town.
From Guayaquil, we, Diana and a couple of her friends drove to la Ruta del Sol (which translates to the route of the sun). Our destination was Montañita, a surf town by day and party town by night that is increasingly attracting visitors from all over the world (as well as weekenders from Guayaquil). In the afternoon most of us had a go at surfing (with varying levels of failure) before heading out for what became a massive night. Our big group, including Diana and friends, her brother and her cousin, helped us fight off our tired eyes, and the clubs and cocktail stands lining every street meant that we were never short of a drink.
Younger versions of ourselves might have liked to have stayed in Montañita for a week, but the contemporary, hungover, versions were quite happy to leave the next day to Salinas, a larger coastal town two hours south. We arrived just as the world junior surfing championship was kicking off at a beach just out of town, and we really enjoyed taking in the atmosphere of the event (and cheering on a young kiwi to win his heat).
In Salinas we still hadn't decided where we wanted to go next. The destination we most liked the look of, Baños, had just made international headlines for sitting at the base of a volcano that had just started erupting. We weren't sure if this was a very good reason to go to Baños, or a very good reason to stay away. We decided on the former, and are glad that we did.
Our bus to Baños was, in true Ecuadorian style, a bus to a town 45 minutes away from Baños. We settled in for the first leg of the trip, a six hour winding drive through the Andes. As is the custom, locals would regularly hop on and off the bus to sell ice creams, lollies, chips and drinks, and we took advantage of the service whenever our stomachs felt up to it. The next leg was a bit more tricky. We were dropped off at a gas station and told that we need to flag down the next bus from the side of the road a few hundred meters away. A police officer told us it's illegal for buses to stop there but we had been in Ecuador long enough to know that didn't mean we were in the wrong place. Sure enough, a bus to Baños briefly pulled over in front of the policeman and we piled on to complete our trip.
Baños is known as the adventure capital of Ecuador, and while there we abseiled down five waterfalls (they call it canyoning) and rafted down the white water rapids of a nearby river. Perhaps the most adventurous experience was riding failing bikes around tight mountain roads shared with speeding drivers. Luckily the waterfalls along the way more than justified the dangerous ride.
In Salinas we still hadn't decided where we wanted to go next. The destination we most liked the look of, Baños, had just made international headlines for sitting at the base of a volcano that had just started erupting. We weren't sure if this was a very good reason to go to Baños, or a very good reason to stay away. We decided on the former, and are glad that we did.
Our bus to Baños was, in true Ecuadorian style, a bus to a town 45 minutes away from Baños. We settled in for the first leg of the trip, a six hour winding drive through the Andes. As is the custom, locals would regularly hop on and off the bus to sell ice creams, lollies, chips and drinks, and we took advantage of the service whenever our stomachs felt up to it. The next leg was a bit more tricky. We were dropped off at a gas station and told that we need to flag down the next bus from the side of the road a few hundred meters away. A police officer told us it's illegal for buses to stop there but we had been in Ecuador long enough to know that didn't mean we were in the wrong place. Sure enough, a bus to Baños briefly pulled over in front of the policeman and we piled on to complete our trip.
Baños is known as the adventure capital of Ecuador, and while there we abseiled down five waterfalls (they call it canyoning) and rafted down the white water rapids of a nearby river. Perhaps the most adventurous experience was riding failing bikes around tight mountain roads shared with speeding drivers. Luckily the waterfalls along the way more than justified the dangerous ride.
At night we enjoyed the thermal spas and some fantastic restaurants. The highlight of our Baños stay was the erupting volcano. During the day we saw massive clouds of ash, at night we saw lava erupt into the air and then flow down the hill, and we regularly heard in the background the sheer power of the exploding mountain.
Throughout our time in Baños we had been toying with the idea of visiting the famous Laguna de Quilotoa on our way back to Quito. Plenty of locals had told us it was too ambitious in the time we were allowing or that it was not necessarily worth it. In the end we gave it a shot, jumping off the bus to Quito half way through the journey and then negotiating with a taxi driver to take us on the 5 hour round trip up the hill for a very reasonable price. We're really glad that we decided to visit the crater, and that we walked the long decent down the lake in the middle. We're also glad that we paid to ride donkeys back up rather than undertake the exhausting hike (although Sam still feels bad for the poor donkey who got stuck with the 190 pound Aussie bloke instead of the 120 pound Latin American girl).
Throughout our time in Baños we had been toying with the idea of visiting the famous Laguna de Quilotoa on our way back to Quito. Plenty of locals had told us it was too ambitious in the time we were allowing or that it was not necessarily worth it. In the end we gave it a shot, jumping off the bus to Quito half way through the journey and then negotiating with a taxi driver to take us on the 5 hour round trip up the hill for a very reasonable price. We're really glad that we decided to visit the crater, and that we walked the long decent down the lake in the middle. We're also glad that we paid to ride donkeys back up rather than undertake the exhausting hike (although Sam still feels bad for the poor donkey who got stuck with the 190 pound Aussie bloke instead of the 120 pound Latin American girl).
