Blenheim WCE Ecuador Blog

Woah the last post was a long time ago!!

In the end we couldn’t do the day trip to the Inca Ruins because there was a protest or demonstration in Canar, a region the bus would have to drive through. In fact, we saw it on the news on tv, just didnt understand the Spanish, DOH!

Instead we took a hour or so bus ride to a big shopping mall outside Cuenca. A bit run of the mill boring i know, but better than mooching about round Cuenca some more! Some of us bought official Ecuador shirts, some of us bought cds $15 compared to £15 pounds!

Ruby bought a pair of Converse (shoes for the older readers). I think they were purple lol.

We did spend some time checking out Cuenca and some of us visited the Inca museum and ruins there, others watched people washing clothes at the river and most of us visited a reptile and fish place at different times. When the alligator snapped it made the boys who where there, including me jump out of our skins!

By the end of our stay in Cuenca, we’d checked out most of the restaurants!
Finally we took a coach to Macas (very near the jungle). That was a gruelling 8 horas (horns), with only a twenty minute break in between, and you have to ask to open the Banos (toilet).

We stayed in Macas that eveining, at a nice hotel, except for turning the water off at 10pm. In the morning our guides briefed us on the Jungle trek, and then we set off, brandishing wellies we had been loaned (pick and mix sizes!).

Jungle phase was excellent save for having to carry out big packs. Luckily for us, we left our daysacks at the hotel in Macas which saved some strain. We took a bus into the jungle, and then hiked to our campsite.

The hike was a couple of horns through fairly neat cut paths; the jungle was not too dense, although the path was very muddy and squelchy in places! We were glad for our wellies as someplaces you could go in halfway up your calf. Most of the way there were half rotten wodden planks and beams to step on though which was handy. Of course being a rainforest, it rained at 1120am, just as we were hiking along. We all got drenched. The guides had set up a neat camp site for us although they had to clear a bit of harsh grass to site some more tents on! The meals they fed us were very nutritious and filling although some of our members didn’t particularly like the staple foods, they had no choice but to put up and eat up.

While we were eating it started tipping it down, and the guides had to dig trenches round our tents. A stream of water flowed accross the groundsheet in ours for a while! All our stuff got muddy as wed carelessly left it about! OOPs!

We went on a couple of hikes into the jungle and a night hike to see some of the wildlife. Several insects and cockroaches were spotted, but even in small groups i think we probably scared the bigger animals off, although the noise was amazing. One ?monkey? even sounded like a elastic band guitar lol.

We went by coach onto several other spots where we camped and explored the jungle. The guides showed us many useful and medicinal plants including one that could be used as a knife!

On the last two days there, we stayed in two Cabanas which was cool. We played football against our guides (the men at least), including the leader, and beat them 8-5 i think! Woo!

On the Sunday, groups went out canoeing which was awesome I went in the morn, and it was soo cool just chilling on the river, checking out the fauna and stuff!

In the evening we had a giant party and did our dance thingy mygig (if you know what i’m talking about, you’ll know we embarrassed ourselves though it was all fun). We had some firewater stuff and fruit wine which was cool. A few of us got a bit tipsy.

I think we left in the afternoon, i was feeling ill that day…

We did a short hike and a bus picked us up and took us back to the hotel. After staying a night, we took another 11hr coach back to Cuenca (not fun, many of us including me had diohrea ) and stayed there a night, though this time the boys had a nice hostel booked (better than the girls :p). Two of our party stayed there as they were too ill to travel. They met us earlier today, having travelled west after us.

At the moment were in Montanita, in a small touristy surfing part of town, and will be shipping out later today to Puerto Lopez to do our whale watching on what will be our last official day, i think we fly out on Friday (don’t quote me on that, i aint checked the itenerary!).

Hopefully the bookings are sorted (it was my job!), and we’ll have a great time and see some whales.

All of us have had a fantasticall time sofar and are looking foward to getting back home to catch up!

We started the Inca Trek from a primary school.

Kellie’s menagerie

Teamwork	Ed putting up our tent

We spent a day hiking, and got to our campsite about 3-4pm, then spent an hour doing lazing about and eating lunch. Obviously the mules had beat us there with our bags.

Eventually we pitched our tents and got on with some work (digging the loo). As the sun set about 6pm it got very cold. We had pasta and Mc Dougles for tea. Some of us went on a walk up the cliff of the valley to explore a cave. In the end the cave was tiny, but there was a cool hay hut which we checked out, and there were some high rocks to pose for photos on!

Guys in the hay house…

(Click on pictures to open album)

We went to bed about 7pm! Nothing much else to do you see.
We were woken up in the morning by Chris who was leader that morning shortly before 630am and it was freezing. Porridge for breakfast, and my tent were the slowest at getting moving packed up ready for the days trek.

Finally we moved off (9am!) and spent half the day trekking before stopping about 12pm for a break. Unfortunately it turned out to be a very long break because one of our members had the symptoms of altitude sickness. After much debate, the plug was pulled since we needed to get down to ensure their wellbeing.

Going back to Alusi

Alex & Charles break it down in Alusi

So we went back to Alusi, and stayed there a night, our ill teamate was given some Oxygen and declared fine.
Next day we took a 4hour coach journey to Cuenca, where we are staying for a few days. Cuenca is the third biggest city in Ecuador i think, and the home of guinea pig food and panama hats. I was impressed at the bus station in Cuenca by a clean toilet with soap and towel for only 10c !

We then accidentally ended up at the wrong hostel (two with identical names, one a Hotel, the other a Hostel), then traipsed over to the right one (its a lot cheaper) only to find out that its a bit minging (slang for nasty) and i don’t think anyone wants to use the showers.

Meanwhile the girls have a much nicer establishment round the block! Oh well. Its a bed and its com& even if we do need our sleeping bags! LOL

Tomorrow we plan to take a day trip to the inca ruins anyway. so we havent lost out on anything but the camping and cold mornings with rubbish food (our tent hadn’t bought enuf anyway doh!)

After that we have a long about 8-11hr bus ride to Maccas to start our Jungle phase which is the second to last bit!

How time flies!

Gonna be fun!
Adios Amigos!

Might be a while b4 i get to write again..