quito; ecuador

Fortunately I had found a couchsurfing host where I could stay in Quito. Big cities are always a little dangerous, especially if you arrive as a white girl with a big backpack and without knowing where to go.
My host, Chelo, and his family lived a little outside of Quito, so I had to get off the bus at some reference that he had given me earlier and change bus.
The second bus was a smaller bus, and took me through little villages around Quito and stopped literally everywhere.

I was a little unsure where I should get off the bus, but fortunately I found the "puente 8" and Chelo and his father picked me up there and took me to their house. It actually wasn't that far from where the bus stopped, but since it already had gotten dark and I was carrying all my stuff, I gladly accepted the pick-up service.
The whole family received me with open arms, and I immediately felt comfortable. They cared about me like they would have known me forever and were helpful with whatever I needed.
The day I got day there, I didn't do much, but Chelo  promised me to show me around Quito the next day.

We left in the morning and took a bus to one of the main stations, close to the historic city center. From there we walked all day long.
Chelo showed me around his dad's former neighborhood, took me to a park with a great view over Quito and from there we walked down to the small streets of the center. Chelo was like my personal tour guide - he told me about the buildings, the history and politics of Quito and Ecuador. My head was getting filled up with information, and I was happy to be with someone who knows his city. There wasn't a single moment where I felt lost or scared, and I started to get an overview over Quito's structure.
I especially remember the cathedral, that looks way older than it is and that is still not finished. I loved the statues of all kinds of animals that you can find all around the cathedral!
We passed the main square, where we found ourselves with lots of people (I think it was a Sunday) and stopped from time to time to watch someone dancing or look at some old black and white photographs that were exhibited on the street. We stayed quite a while watching a group dancing the traditional Bolivian dance "Tinku", and I found myself thinking about my time in Bolivia and was fascinated by the colorful costumes the dances were wearing.
After that we made our way up to the big virgin, a giant statue on a hill, watching all over Quito.
It was great, and I took a looot of pictures.
When we got back to the house it was like 6 or 7 pm and we had been walking all day long.
Chelo's family supplied us with food, and tired after the long day I feel into "my" bed.

The following day we had planned to go to the "middle of the world", a monument in the North of Quito, which supposedly marks the point 0'0'0 and where you can cross a yellow line which marks the equator. So you can cross from the northern to the southern hemisphere and vice versa.
The monument is the center of a whole complex of  museums, restaurants and souvenir shops. It's not the kind of thing I would usually do, but I had planned to make a little photo project for my dad's 50th birthday, that was coming up.
Chelo accompanied me, and helped me to take the pictures - we had to take them with his phone, since I was a typical me and forgot to charge my camera. We got there pretty early, and there were already a lot of people, mainly bigger travel groups or families.
We went to two of the museums as well, one about measuring instruments in the old days, and one photography exhibitions with pictures of the biggest mountains of the world. I loved the pictures, and it was even better see the places where I had been and lived in Peru.
Other than that we didn't spent too much time in the "middle of the world", but soon started our way back to Quito.
There I accompanied Chelo to some kind of office, where he had to pick up some documents. Close to the office we found a vegetarian restaurant, where we had a delicious and healthy lunch.
From there we walked through the business part of Quito, crossed a big park and finally landed in the touristic and nightlife part of the city.
We walked around a little bit, had a fruit juice, and then ended up in one of the bars drinking some beers. It was still afternoon, and I was surprised not to see as many tourists as I expected. It seemed more like an university student bar, since there were a lot of students drinking their after-classes-beer(s).
I actually liked the atmosphere of the bar and we sat outside under a roof watching the rain falling on the street.
Back at the house I checked the weather forecast, since I was still hoping to find a nice day to go to the Cotopaxi volcano. The way from Quito is longer than from Latacunga, but it's not impossible and transport in Ecuador is really cheap and easy to handle (you can hop on and off a long-distance (!) bus wherever you want and Ecuador isn't that big, so you can get anywhere in reasonable time).
The forecast showed good weather for the following day, so I packed some food and prepared my warm clothes. I went to bed early, since I had to get up early and get to the park entrance first.

Cotopaxi
I had to take two buses in the morning - when I was waiting for the first one, it was still dark outside.
Getting to the entrance of the national park was quite easy. I told the bus driver where I wanted to go, and he told me where I had to get off.
The more difficult thing was to find someone to take me to the actual volcano.
So I got off the bus on the side of the highway, which I also had to cross (my most favorite thing of all) and on the other side I found a little hut. There were some pick-up trucks standing around, but it was still early.
I knew I should find a driver and a group, so it would be a little cheaper. And I still wasn't at the actual park entrance building.
I waited there for a while, and neither the gray clouds over my head nor the cold wind disappeared.  I was already thinking about going back to Quito, when a car stopped that looked like a park ranger's car. The man were getting into the car, and were about to leave when I went up to them and asked if they knew what I should do. I just wasn't sure if this was the right place to wait.
They were nice and told me they could take me to the actual entrance building where it would be easier to find a group and a guide because all cars had to stop there.
I agreed and enjoyed my short, exclusive ride.
They left me in a parking lot, and I was getting more optimistic. It just had to be possible to find someone. The park rangers also called over a guide who was already there, but since I was alone, he wanted to charge me more. I decided to wait a little bit, and soon cars and people started arriving at the parking lot. I asked around and then found a group of girls sitting in a car and waiting for their guide, while he went to register the visitors. I found him and asked if I could join. He told me the price, and since it was what I had expected to pay, I agreed.
In the car I found out that all of the girls spoke German, and I was happy to have some company.
We drove up, through the clouds, to the last parking place. Almost the whole way we could see the perfectly-shaped, snow-covered peak of one of the most famous mountains of Ecuador.
When we got out of the car, a cold wind received us. We got all of our warm clothes out of the car, and started walking up to the shelter. The trail was a broad sand strip, leading upwards. I enjoyed the fresh, chilly air, but I also started to feel the, by now, familiar effects of the high altitude. On of the girls already wanted to go back to the car and wait for us there.
Soon we got up to the shelter, which was under construction. There another one of the girls stayed behind, while the guide, a Swiss girl, and I kept going. It wasn't far, and our goal was only to get to the beginning of the glacier.
In the end I was the only one who reached it. Even the guide stayed behind and waited for me close to the glacier.
I got there easily, to the border of the snow, to the end of the trail, to the place where one could only keep going overcoming their limits. It felt so good to be out there, and the only thing I wanted was to have my boyfriend with me and climb the Cotopaxi up to the top with him.
I was also thinking in my grandpa, who had actually been one of the main reasons I wanted to do this trip so badly. He died about 2 years ago, and when I was a kid, he always told me about the "volcanoes with the funny names", including the Popocatepetl, Iztaccihuatl and, for me, the Cotopaxi. I took a picture which I wanted to take to his grave back home.
But it wasn't possible, so I had to keep this thought in my mind and my dreams for the future and start walking back down. We 'collected' everybody that stayed behind and returned to the car.
We left the parking spot and started our way down, where we stopped at a lake and a camp site. We ate the lunch each of had brought with them, and then we already went back to where we started.
The driver dropped me off at the highway, and from there I took the two buses back to the house where I was staying.
I was tired and exhausted, but happy.

On the next day I enjoyed sleeping in and stayed "at home" all day. I did laundry (they even had a washing machine!!!), updated my blog a little bit (haha) and uploaded photos.
In the late afternoon I helped Chelo and his mom in their little paper store around the corner. I just love being in stores like that and my head is always spinning with ideas. I also wanted to thank them by helping out, since they let me stay and eat for free and even gave me the materials for my dad's birthday gift without accepting a cent.

The following day (I was starting to like Quito, I stayed there quite a while) I met up with another guy from CS, a friend of his and a Canadian girl at the cable car station of a mountain called Pichincha.
It's basically still in Quito, and the mountain is one of the many that surrounds the capital like a wall.
We took the cable car, and started a hike from the top station. We walked about 2 hours (I think) and made it to the summit of 4696 msnm. The weather was absolutely shitty, but the trail was great and super diversified. Initially we wanted to take an alternative route over the ridge, but because of the weather it was too dangerous.
Still, I liked it a lot, and it always feels so good to go outside and get your body moving, and return exhausted!
After a little break we took the cable car back down again and went to an Indian restaurant in La Mariscal to get lunch. I think it was the only time in my whole trip that I ate Indian food.
We talked for a while, and planned to meet again later for a birthday party/climbing party. Or something like that.
I spent the afternoon with Chelo and a friend of his, and then we met up again with the guys from the hike and drove to the climbing spot.
It had already gotten dark and it's quite a unique climbing spot - next to an old road, on the outside of a tunnel.
From there we had a great view over the lights of Quito, and it was the first time I did some night climbing. The routes were short and easy, but it was fun, and then we had some delicious birthday cake.
After that I went to get some beers with Chelo and his friend, but I was starting to get tired after this long day. At the end I fell asleep on the couch of some of his friends, and just waited to get back to my bed.

The time was passing by fast, and I was already staying in Quito for almost a week. Still, I couldn't get myself to leave, also because I needed a little break from changing place all the time.
So Friday I spent most of the time at the house, doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
In the early afternoon I talked to an acquaintance that I had met once in Antacocha on a climbing trip with my boyfriend. He told me he was going to the climbing gym, and since I didn't want to be that lazy and not leave the house all day I took the bus up to Quito.
I was only half-motivated and even though Chelo gave me clear instructions on which bus to take, I thought I knew it better and took another one. I thought it can't be that far away.
But when the bus came to it's final stop I realized that I actually was kind of far away from the gym, and my motivation sank further. When I started walking it started raining. I had already taken the decision of looking for the next bus stop and take the bus back home. The traffic was horrible, it was cold and rainy and I was already late.
At some point the rain turned into hail, and I think I've never seen it hailing like this in my life before. Within seconds the streets where covered in ice. Everything turned white, the pavements were like carpets of hailstones. I kept walking, in astonishment about the force of nature that could turn a mega city like Quito into a completely different world in just seconds.
I got completely wet, from head to toe, but I think it was the weather that woke me up and made me walk to the climbing gym, even though I had already canceled. 
I stayed there for a while, but more bouldering for myself than socializing with the guys that were there.
Waiting for the bus I had a nice chat with a women at the bus stop, and then I enjoyed the bus ride back (I actually got on the right bus this time).
Back to the house and I called it a day.

Family
On the following day there was to be a family reunion at the house of Chelo's grandmother. His family had been talking about it all week long and almost forced me to come with them.
We walked over to grandma's some time between morning and noon, I got to meet all aunts and uncles and cousins and nephews and nieces. They were already working on the grill, and everybody was messing around with some type of food. It didn't take long until everything was finished and I helped serving the plates. And as it has to be at family reunions all over the world, it was a LOT of food. Cooked bananas, different kinds of potatoes, salad, chicharron, sauces...unfortunately I don't remember what else.
But I do remember that it didn't seem that much on the plate, and I almost couldn't finish the meal. I still don't understand how those who ate meat could eat everything. It was incredible. 
Since we got there we were drinking beer and when it was time for the cake I already felt a little tipsy.
After cleaning up a little some uncle started to unload his sound system from the car. He had brought microphones, a guitar, and some big speakers.
He put it all up in the living room, and started to sing and play the guitar. From time to time someone joined him, and I felt like listening to all of the most famous latino songs in a row. Everybody was full and relaxed.
After a while he stopped singing and turned on the speakers. It seemed like full volume, and now we were listening to everything. From salsa to cumbia to disco to reaggaeton to some arab songs. The uncle was Colombian, and next to his sunny personality a great dancer. He motivated everybody and even dared to try teaching me some salsa. The family reunion turned more and more into a party as they got out the whiskey and he absolutely rocked it.
When the energy faded, we started eating again. Dinner was soup (I don't know what they do to their soups in South America, but they're always delicious) and the leftovers from lunch. We also cut a second cake, until nobody was able to move from their seat.
We kept talking for a while, and everybody seemed happy asking me questions about my country and my travels.
Then we finally went to sleep, since it had been a long day.

The day after the family reunion was to be my last day in Quito.
I stayed at the house, packing my stuff and organizing some other things. I also enjoyed being able to use a laptop and got into writing my blog again.
The day before I had already checked the bus schedule, and decided to take a night bus to the coast. Apparently there was only one bus company, with service to Bahia de Caraquez and I was had been sure that I would get a seat if I would arrive at the bus terminal three hours before the bus was leaving.
Just to be sure I called the company around noon. The lady on the phone told me that they had only five seats free and that I couldn't make a reservation. Now I was scared I wouldn't get a seat if I didn't leave the house right now and get to the terminal super early. 
It wasn't my plan of choice - I was sitting on the comfortable bed, writing, and then all of a sudden I had to finish packing rapidly and say goodbye. 
It was a sad goodbye, and I definitely hope I can visit the Herrera family again.
So I took off to the terminal and bought my ticket. There I found out that it wasn't true at all that there were only five seats left, but the whole bus was still empty. I was glad to get a ticket but now I also had to wait in the terminal all afternoon.
I changed place from time to time, read my book, chatted with the security guards and drank some hot chocolate.
Fortunately time passed by, and at 9 pm it finally got time to get on the bus.
Filled with excitement to wake up in an unknown place again, I finally fell asleep when we were driving out of Quito.

latacunga; ecuador

I got off the bus in Latacunga, but since there was no bus terminal I found myself on the biggest street passing to the city.
I didn't have a map neither much of an idea what Latacunga was like. To be honest I only went there because it was closest to the volcano Cotopaxi, which I wanted to visit.
When I arrived there was still light, but a little later it already started getting dark. I started askeing around for a hostel - the people were very friendly, but no one knew anything.
I felt lost and tired, and it was getting later and later. And I was hungry.
At some point I decided to cross the bridge to try my luck on the other side. I came out on a big plaza and was started to get hope again.
Then I found a cheap hostel, or rather a hotel, and I decided to stay. I left my stuff and payed the night, then I left to get something to eat, and when I left the builing I started feeling weird. The street was dark and it seemed to me that the strangest people were around here. I don't know if it was paranoia or reality, but I felt uncomfortable and kind of scared.
Around the corner I found another hotel, and as I found out that it only cost a tiny bit more and seemed a lot safer, I rushed back to the other place, got my stuff and changed room. Surprisingly I even got my money back.
After I settled in the other hotel I left again to get something to eat. I was starving.
I started walking around what seemed to be the city center, and my paranoia continued. It seemed like a really strange place to me - there were not many people around and the streets were dark. I hardly found any open restaurants. I didn't feel comfortable there, at night, all by myself.
Finally I found some street food. It was not what I was hoping, but I didn't care anymore.
I bought a filled potato, and then I returned to the big plaza. There I found a cheese empanada and something hot to drink.
I sat down on the little bench and started chatting with the woman selling. She was very nice and seemed like a mom, so I immediatly felt a little better. I stayed there a while, until she was about to leave her post, and then returned to the hotel to get some rest.

When I got up in the morning, the weather was foggy and rainy and cold.
I went to the market to get breakfast (the market was definitely the best thing about Latacunga, and the only thing I liked), but when I finished the weather still looked terrible.
Originally I wanted to go to the Cotopaxi volcano, but under those conditions my motivation to get up to 5000m was not very high.
I went to the bus terminal to see what other options there where.
By accident I came by a bus to a village called Zumbahua, the entering point to the Quilotoa loop, a crater lake.
The bus was about to leave, and I had to take a fast decision.
I ran back to the hotel, cleaned out my room and left my backpack at the reception. I wrote a fast message to my couchsurfing host-to-be that I would arrive earlier than planned, and then ran back to the bus terminal.
Of course the bus left late so I had PLENTY of time.
The ride was short, and the landscape - or what I was able to see through the fog - beautiful.
In the village I had to take a truck, which took me directly to the lake.
There was a lookout point where one could see the whole crater. There was a trail around it and one that lead down to the shore.
I didn't have time to go around it (it was a 5 hour hike), and the weather was still terrible. But I did go down to the shore where I ate a snack before going back up.
It was easy finding transport back to Zumbahua, and I ejoyed my time there, Most of all because it was market day, and there was a huge market with food, clothes and everything else.
I bought some food, a beautiful handmade headband and then sat down to eat.
The food was cheap and good, and I was happy that I had been able to see a more traditional part of Ecuador.

In the afternoon I took a bus back to Latacunga, got my stuff from the hotel and started my way to Quito.

baños; ecuador

When I arrived in Baños when it had already gotten dark. I got off the bus and started my search for a hostel, since I didn't manage to look for a place on couchsurfing.
I was a little afraid that it would be quite expensive, but found a pleasant surprise in the first place I asked. It wasn't expensive at all. The bigger problem was just, that it was full. As was the second and the third place. I kept walking around in the dark, little town. and it started raining. All the hostels I asked at where full, until I found one that offered me a private room but at a higher cost. 
I told them I would come back if I didn't find anything else, when they found a shared bedroom for me, at 8$, including breakfast.
When I got to the room I had it all for myself. I dropped my bags, grabbed my purse and left to find something to eat.
As usual in touristic places there was someone offering pizza (or something like that), but I had already seen the place I wanted to eat at on my way to the hostel.
It was a tiny local restaurant selling meat and 'tortilla de papa' and salad. Since I was still being a vegetarian, at least at far as possible, I ordered two plates with potates and salad and some kind of sauce.
In general the food in Ecuador isn't as good as in Peru, but during my time there I found my favourites. And tortilla de papa was definitely one of them, next to tortilla de maiz, grilled banana filled with cheese, and something that included green banana, fish and mayonese.
After that I returned to the hostel, trying to find out what I could do these days (there where A LOT of options). By that I had also gotten a roommate, a girl from Slovakia.
We stayed up a while, chatting on the balcony, and it felt great to be able to talk to a girl again. We got along really well, and so we decided to spend the following day together, walking up to the ' tree house'. 

La Casa del Arbol
The tree house is located on the border of a hill, and has a large swing above nothing.
The walk up took us quite a while, but Baños is located in a beautiful valley with green hills all around it, and the climate is great.
So we walked and talked, and studied the plants we found.
It was the first time I saw how a granadilla grows and we also passed by a mandarine tree (we got a little off trail and ended up in someone's garden).
The tree house was quite busy, since there was a whole bunch of people, including a lot of Ecuatorian tourists. We had to wait a while for the swing, but it was worth it.

It was a foggy day so I felt almost as if swinging into the clouds. For a moment I forgot about all the people waiting behind me and just enjoyed feeling the wind in my face.
But unfortanately there wasn't that much time for everybody, and soon I got off the swing again and let the others go.
After that we walked back down, and went to get some lunch on town. Zuzana was a little more 'tourist' than me in general, and I was in a part of my travels where I was also enjoying a little more of 'mainstream tourism', so we went to a little Mexican place and I had my favourite dish: cheese and bean nachos.
We walked around town for a little bit and Zusanna intoduced me to another one of Ecuador's delights, the chocobanana. It's nothing more than a simple frozen banana covered in chocolate, but it looked delicious. I didn't order one myself that day because I'd already had some ice cream, but I knew there was no way around it and saved it for the next day.
The town of Baños is quite small, but due to its many possibilities for adventure sports, waterfalls and hot springs, it's one of the most touristic destinations in Ecuador. It's quiet and its arcitecture had nothing particulary special, but it's a nice place to walk around. Around the corner of the main square we found some stores selling sweets. Guys were making them right there, and it looked like some physical exercise. We guessed it was something with a lot of sugar, and the guys working moved it until its color changed from brown to white. What exactly it was, and what the technique was all about, I have no idea.
In the afternoon we rested a while at the hostel, where we met our new roommate, a German guy.
Together we decided to go to the famous hot springs at night.
There are various hot springs in and around Baños, and we decided to go to the closest and maybe most common one's. 
When we got there, we found out that it was full of people, and eventhough there were more than one pool, it was hard to find a space. But dealing with the crowd of people and wearing the stupid-looking but required bath cap was definitely worth it. 
The pool was next to an illuminated waterfall and the water was that hot that I had to change to the ice cold pool every once in a while. I enjoyed it a lot, and felt fresh and relaxed when we returned to the hostel.
There I stayed up quite late because finally I had acess to a computer where I could talk to Rodrigo. 

The Waterfall Route
On the next day after the (delicious) breakfast at the hostel I went with the German guy and an Israeli, who also joined us in our room, to rent some bikes and explore the 'route of the waterfalls'.
In reality it's a mainly downhill road that leads through the valley, accompanied by a river and various waterfalls. At each one of the waterfalls there's some kind of zip line or cable car or something similar installed, and we also passed a lot of tourists in 'chivas', open, colorful buses, usally playing music.
We didn't join any of the activities offered, but we did go to the biggest waterfall of all, which was an about one-hour hike. The best part was a tunnel, that lead to a platform behind the waterfall. It took some time to get there, because there was a university field trip visiting the waterfall as well and so there were a lot of people. 
But that was already it, and we returned to our bikes to continue down the road.
The last stop was a waterfall with a natural pool underneath it, which was the reason why we took towels and bathing suits with us.
The trail down to the waterfall was surrounded by a beautiful garden, and the waterfall itself was also beautiful. 
We met a bunch of other people there, and went for a swim in the pool. 
After playing around in the water for a while it got time to go back to town. 
In the morning I was all motivated to bike back uphill and not to pay the truck, but by then I was fine with the easy option, and so all of us (we were about 11 people, all with bikes) got on a truck and had a fun ride back to town. It was incredible how the driver installed 11 bikes on his truck, but the bikes and we arrived unharmed in Baños.
Since we all got along well we decided to meet up again for dinner after returning the bikes to the different agencies.
We met at the lates hour at the market, and got the last plate of food before they closed the doors. 
After dinner we went to a bar and stayed there for a while, watching some hilarious wrestling.
Then we went to the hostel where the other guys where staying. There we talked, played pool (well, I just watched, since I'm a terrible player), and had some beers.
Most of them were Germans, and after a long time not talking German I enjoyed their company a lot.

The following day was already my last day in Baños, since I had decided to travel on to Latacunga and the hostel was beginning to charge double price because of some holiday.
I packed my stuff in the morning, and stayed a while in the hostel writing the blog. I also wanted to talk to Rodrigo again, but at some point the hostel turned off the computers and the internet because of some reparations they had to make.
A little pissed off I went for a walk to pass time, and in the end I liked it a lot. I went down to the river where I found a nice spot under the bridge, watched the people doing swing jump and read my book. I also discovered some climbing routes there.
After a while I went back to the hostel but obviously the light had not returned yet, and it was getting late for me to leave, since I didn't want to arrive in Latacunga at night.

So got my stuff and went to the bus terminal. The busride was short, as most busrides in Ecuador, but I still arrived in the last light.

riobamba, chimborazo; ecuador

Volcano Spotting
I left Cuenca early in the morning and got to Riobamba at about 11 am. I was thinking about looking for a place to stay and leave my stuff for a night, and go to the Chimboarzo vulcano from there. But after I had lunch and asked around at bus terminal about the buses, I found out one was leaving in 15 minutes. I decided quickly to take it and just take my backpack with and leave it at the refugee at the volcano.
The bus dropped me off in the middle of nowhere, and when I got off I realized it was freezing. I guess I was pretty high in altitude, and the weather was rather bad. It was foggy, windy and rainy.
I entered the park rangers house and asked a couple of questions before taking off for a walk. 

Unfortunately I didn´t get to see the whole mountain, but I was still very impressed by this huge volcano, Ecuador´s highest peak. The whole landscape seemed as if no life could exist there - cold, dry, the rocky ground spotted by little bushes. Surprisingly I saw some vikunias, and admired them for surviving there. At some moment, when the clouds opened a little I could see mountains over mountains behind me, and the first layer of snow on the Chimborazo in front of me. It was a deserted place, but at the same time I felt the incredibly strong energy of this place.

After a while I returned to the entrance and found out that I could keep going to Baños, my next stop, on the same day without having to spend a night in Riobamba.
But getting there was an adventure - first I waited almost an hour on the side of the road for the bus. Finally it came, full of people sitting until the steps of the entrance door, and soon it already dropped me off again. I felt even more in the middle of nowhere as I had at the volcano, and I had to get off at a crossing, with fog having closed up my sight to about 5 meters. I had no idea how I would be able to see the other bus coming or how it would see me, standing there on the side of the road. Luckily my connecting bus came right at the moment when I got off, and I could relax a little. Still I had one more change in front of me, but this one also went well.
I easily found a bus going to Baños, bought some cheese empanadas, and enjoyed the ride.

cuenca; ecuador

Cuenca
On the bus from Chiclayo I didn´t sleep much. We crossed the border at around 3 in the morning and I had to pay a fee for overstaying my visa in Peru.
When I arrived in Cuenca in the morning I felt tired and exhausted, and after living such a long time with someone so close it felt weird to be all by myself again.
Fortunately I had directions to a hostel, and I found it easily and liked the place. All the morning I spent there, relaxing and organizing my head. Then I left for the center of the city to find a chip for my phone and some information - I had come to Ecuador without any idea of anything.
The city of Cuenca is beautiful, with its narrow streets, churches, colonial houses and street art. It has a nice place to relax next to the river, and music in the streets. The only thing that really confused me was the change from soles to dollars, and everything was a lot more expensive than in Peru.
I visited the tourist information and they gave me a guide to Ecuador, and further information about Cuenca and its surroundings. But still, on the first day I didn´t do much but walk around and I went to bed early.

On the next day in the morning I went to the market to get breakfast. From there I went to one of the biggest museums there, the Pumapungo. The entrance was free and it had a good exhibition about culture and life in all Ecuador. I enjoyed it, and finished with a walk around the ruins and park outside before going back to my hostel. There I packed my stuff, because I had found someone to stay with, and then went down to the river to wait there. I still was very tired, and kinda passed out, head on my backpack, in the grass.
After waiting quite a long time, Jefftoo, my Haitian host came to pick me up and we went to his house. He made me feel like home, and the only thing I was missing was electricity and a working shower. But it was a place to stay.
Jefftoo and his friends went out that night, but I stayed home, not feeling very motivated and still being tired. 

The following day I left the house by myself, since my host was still sleeping. I found myself some breakfast and went to the internet to upload some pictures. I still felt lonely without my partner, so it was also important to me to talk to him for a little bit. After that I went up to the view point, wrote a little bit, and talked to my mom.
Walking down I stopped by a flea market and then made my way through the old town again. I also prepared myself a little for leaving to a national park the next day, and bought some food.
Back at the house I packed my backpack, went to the bus terminal to check the connections, and went to sleep early again, because I had a long day in front of me.

Parque Nacional de Cajas
Originally I had planned to take a bus to the terminal, because it was at the other end of the city. But since it was Sunday morning, I didn´t see any and so I walked all the way. When I got there the first bus had just left, and I had to wait an hour and a half for the next one. But I used the time to eat breakfast and charge my phone, so it was ok.
Time passed and more and more people came. When the bus came, it filled up fast, and a lot of people still got on on the road.
I got off the bus earlier than the others because I was planning to do a two-day-hike and so I had to start from another entrance. 
I walked to the park entrance, registered, and started walking. It felt good being out in the nature again and I was surprised to find myself in a completely different landscape than the mountains in Peru. 
The first part of the hike took me along a muddy forest trail, steep uphill. There I understood why the route had been marked as "difficult", but I loved the deep green of the forest.
After a while it started to clear up and I left the forest for a more open space. Here I was surrounded by mountains and had a great view. I lost the trail once, but it didn´t take me long to find it again, and after crossing a plain part high up on a hill, the trail took me downhill, to a lake. By then I was pretty sure I preferred going up, because the trail was steep and wet, and I almost fell a couple of times with my big backpack on my shoulders.
But as soon as I got to the lake, the trail got easier, and after a while I took a rest next to a river and ate something. The it got uphill again, rockier than before, and the landscape was spotted by waterfalls and little creeks.
The hike was exhausting, but I enjoyed it a lot, and when I got to the camping spot and a crossing I decided to keep going until it got dark and to take the longer route.
Again the trail got difficult, but I was advancing rapidly and soon I got to another two lakes. 
I followed the trail uphill and downhill, already watching out for a place to put the tent. But that turned out a little harder than expected, because there was hardly anything plain and almost everything was covered by some kind of stinging pasture or was muddy and wet.
When I finally found a place, night almost had fallen in, and I hurried to get everything settled. The place was comfortable and protected, and right next to the shore of the lake.
I ate, but when I wanted to turn on my flashlight to read the battery died. But since I was exhausted I didn´t really mind to sleep rightaway, and get up early in the morning to continue my hike.

When I woke up it was cold and raining. I packed my stuff rapidly and pretty much everything got wet within half an hour.
I countinued the trail, which had gotten muddier and sometimes was now hard to find. The marks that I used to find on the previous day every now and then had disappeared, and I wasn´t sure at all if I was going the right way. It was foggy and I couldn´t even see the mountain peeks to orientate myself.
After almost an hour of walking in the rain I got to a point where the trail didn´t seem to continue - the footprints just disappeared. I made the decision to go back and search for a trail mark, but even finding the way back was hard. I almost couldn´t find it, and the cold wind was piercing my face.
I went all the way back to my camping spot, but foound neither a mark nor another possible trail. It was there when I decided to go back to the crossing and take a shorter way out of the park - I really didn´t feel like searching for a trail in that weather and with a heavy backpack, and then walk another 6 hours.
I found the crossing easily, even though it turned out to be a different one. But it served for my purposes and I took the shortes route out of the park.

When I finally made it to the road I was soaked and freezing and glad to be back. But I was also angry at myself because I gave up and didn´t have the strength to keep going. It really bothered me and it was then when I knew that I couldn´t go back to Peru, even though at that moment I really wanted to. But I knew it wouldn´t make me happy and it would get even harder to leave. I also wanted to continue my travels and see some more of South America and I knew I would regret it if I didn´t take this chance of traveling.
At the road I met an English couple and together we found a car to take us back to Cuenca. There I went back to the house, took everything out of my backpack to dry, and washed myself in hot water.
Then I felt better.

Back in Cuenca
In the evening I packed my stuff and got everything ready to leave the next day in the morning. I was planning on going to Riobamba, and from there on I didn´t really have an idea what to do.

la selva peruana

After again spending a long time in Huaraz and its beautiful surroundings, it became time for me to leave. My visa was already overdue and I felt like it was time for me to continue my travels.
Before I left, my boyfriend decided to come with me to the Peruvian jungle. The last days in Huaraz we spent being sick with the flu, but then the day of leaving finally came.
Since we had to leave at 6 am, we decided to spend the night in Huaraz, and ended up going out and dragging ourselves to the bus station without a minute of sleep. On the way there, of course, the boys had to eat their "caldo de gallina", a heavy chicken soup that surely helps a lot with the hangover.
The bus left pretty much on time, but I spent the bus ride sleeping. Only once in a while I opened my eyes and saw the wide mountain ranges and rock walls passing by. With that first bus we crossed the Cordillera Blanca to the East, heading further inland.
After some hours we arrived in a little town called La Union, where we had to find further transport to the city of Huanuco. That transport turned out to be a simple car, where we had to stuff ourselves into the front seat. Still tired, it definitely wasn't the most comfortable ride, but the landscape was stunning. We followed a narrow and curvy mountain road, several times almost crashing into the cars that were coming from the other direction. The snow capped mountains of the Cordillera Blanca were now replaced by a valley surrounded by hills in all shades of yellowish. It was the strangest color, and it was an amazing ride.
After some hours we arrived in Huanuco, a fairly big city, where we first had to decide if we would spend the night there or change transport one more time. We ate lunch at the main square, resting in the grass with our backpacks. After eating we decided to keep on going to Tingo Maria where we would spend the night.
The bus ride was short, and the landscape started changing. In place of the dry and yellow mountains we could now see dense green forests, stretching over the hills.
And with arriving in Tingo Maria we had arrived in the high jungle.

Tingo Maria
Since Tingo Maria is a small town, it didn't take us long to find a place to stay, and after dropping our stuff in the room, we went to find something to eat. After that we immediately fall asleep after this long day.

On the next day we checked out early and went to find breakfast with all our stuff. We passed through the market, where we already found ourselves between "juanes" (banana leaves filled with rice), fish and fruits.
We bought bread and a fresh juice for breakfast, and then we went to find a bus to Pucallpa. But as we had to find out all the buses had already left, and didn't have schedules for later that day. The only other options were taking a bus overnight (which we didn't want because the road was known for its drug traffic and robberies) or go by car which was far more expensive. Only after we had already decided to stay another night in Tingo Maria and find us something to do during the day, we found a combi that was supposed to leave soon and that for a reasonable price.
Although I would have liked to stay in Tingo Maria a little longer (it seemed like a really nice and not too turistic place), we decided to take the combi.
We waited a while for the combi to fill up, and then we were already on our way.
Again the road was curvy, but this time we weren't driving along an edge of nothing, but rather were we surrounded by trees and trees and more trees. It started to rain, and sometimes we could see the fog rising over the deep forests. The first part of the journey we were still in the mountains, but after a while the landscape flattened and mountains became hills and hills became plains.

Pucallpa
Arriving in Pucallpa we got immediately surrounded by mototaxi drivers that wanted to take us somewhere. Situations like that are always stressing me out and in the end we agreed to one to take us to the center. Of course he didn't take us to the center, but to some hostel we he surely would have gotten commission if only we would have stayed there. But we went to find another place and soon we had success. For the better because walking through a loud and busy city like Pucallpa. with a heavy backpack and the sun burning down on our heads, is not something I would call "fun".
The room was clean and had a fan, and shortly after arriving we took off to the port.
Pucallpa surprised me in the way that it turned out to be a pretty big, modern and commercial city, with hectic streets dominated by the loud noise of the mototaxis.
Fortunately the streets along the river side were a little quieter, and so the heat wasn't that bad. It took us a while to find the right port, the one where the boats to Iquitos were leaving from. The company everybody told us about was called Henry, and its big cargo boats, painted in turquoise and orange, reminded me of a circus in some way.
When we entered the boat we had to find our way through the busy men loading huge sacks of onions and other things on the boat. I don't even wanna know how much one of them weight.
The smell of something weird was penetrating and the captain was exactly as you would imagine a captain in the Amazon. He told us that we had to board the boat until 6 pm that same day because it was leaving the following day at an unknown hour.
Since it was already 4 pm, we still hadn't eaten anything or bought food for the trip, we decided to take the next boat and find ourselves something to do in Pucallpa.
We stopped at a restaurant and had ceviche and an ice cold beer as a late lunch. Then we walked through the city, enjoying that the air was finally cooling off at least a little bit.
I spent a terrible night, because I got really sick in the evening and our room had a window to a loud street.

The next day in the morning I felt a little better, but as soon as we left the room and had gotten out into the heat, my stomach started hurting again and it cost me a lot to keep walking.
Again we went to the port to find out about the next boat. To our surprise (it shouldn't even have surprised me) the boat was still there, and the men loading it even busier. We were told that it would leave in the afternoon and that we could still board.
Which we did.
We went to the market to buy some fruits and water, packed our stuff, took the last shower for a while and went back to the port.
When we got there they even searched our bags and then let us go up to the part where the passengers were traveling. The first floor was already full - it was an incredible image. Hammock after hammock filled the space, things where stacked underneath and between them, everybody was talking or organizing something. Whole families had spread out their blankets on the floors and on the benches on the sides people were selling food.
Fortunately there was another floor and we went up there. Most of the space was loaded with matresses, but on the sides was still some space where we could put our hammock.
At that moment we were the only ones on that floor, but soon it filled up as well. Luckily not as bad as the one downstairs and since we had a spot on the "hallway" we always had some wind and no immediate neighbors next to us.
Soon after a Japanese girl joined us, accompanied by an Englishman. The two of them were a little confused at first, thinking that they had booked a private cabin. But those things didn't exist on our dear "Henry 10", so they put up their sleeping spots next to us in the hallway.
After we had settled down on the spot where we would spend the next 6 days, we watched the final loading of the boat and waited for its departure.

Rio Ucayali, Rio Amazonas
It´s difficult to describe the time on the boat - it all just became one, and I can´t divide it into single days anymore.
The boat was full of people, hammock next to hammock next to hammock - underneath blankets with whole families and their bags. Most of the people were locals.
Sometimes I felt like in a social experiment, testing with how much you can deal. The heat was incredible and the personal space limited.
The only relief was the wind, that, from time to time, stroke our faces.
The only diversion were the little villages where we stopped. In one of them we got off the boat to walk around a little bit, but usually just a lot of people selling fruits, drinks or shampoo came on the boat. Passengers got on or off the boat, cargo was being unloaded. Our neighours changed. The wind stopped.
And then we left again, following the wide river, surrounded by nothing but the dense trees of the Peruvian jungle.
We mostly ate fruits, and a little of the food of the boat. Usually the rice and the bread. We got up early in the morning, when everything started moving and the heat was still bearable. The afternoon was the worst. The the hour of the sunset the best. That was when it finally cooled down, and everything appeared in the magic orange light of the sinking sun.

6 days we lived in this ocean of faces, smells, sounds, bugs, heat, trees, sunsets and sunrises. Falling into the rythm of the boat. Time passing by.

And then, suddenly, we arrived.

Iquitos
We arrived in Iquitos in the afternoon, pretty much the worst hour. A mototaxi took us to the center, where we spent a lot of time finding a place to stay, being followed by one of those annoying taxi drives that want to take you somewhere.
After finally arriving at some hostel, we took a desperatley needed shower and left for the city. I felt as tired as after a really long busride.
Since we needed to eat we decided to go to the market of Belen, hoping to find something there.
The Belen market was as extreme as being on the boat. Two rows of stands, selling everything, in the middle of trash and big birds, waiting for their turn of food. Men drinking and playing cards. Children sleeping in hammocks over the table. And, still, the incredibly sticky heat.
After all those impressions and the offer of food we found, we decided to look for a restaurant. Soon we found a cevicheria with a late lunch menu. Salad, fish, rice and a cool drink was just what we needed!
Then we started our way back to the center - first through the chaotic comercial streets, and then along little plazas along the riverside. We stopped at a museum where they had an exhibition by female artists about traditional legends, and a foto spread about the explotation and trade of rubber.
We passed by the tourisitc restaurants, and the beautiful old houses of Iquitos.
At the end we stayed in a little park, where an open air stage was built up in the street and there was to be a concert. We ate some fries and drank a beer and waited for the concert to start, only being bothered by the mosquitoes.
Until then I was already surprised by Iquitos - I never really felt the urge to go there, and in reality we were just passing trough. But I actually really liked it. The open spaces, the old houses, the people, the market, the art. And what was more, I had a lot of respect for it. Just imagining that almost everything we found to see had to be brought by boat or plane made my head hurt.
When the concert started we found out that it was being organized by some university students who were quite active in politics. They acually tried to change something in the middle of all the corruption and explotation of natural ressources. And it was quite entertaining - we saw pretty much anything from hip hop over rock and electro to cumbia. I loved it, and even though we were tired we stayed until late at night and danced in the street.

On the next day we first went to the port where the boat to Yurimaguas was supposed to leave. It was easy to find but a long walk, all along one of the busiest roads.
And again, we landed in a completely different part of Iquitos.
We found the boat, and were being told that it would leave the next day. And also that it would cost a lot more that what we had expected. But it was the only way to get out of there, and so we didn´t have another choice.
The rest of the day we spent in Belen and the center. We went to the market again, this time to the part of the witches. The amount of strange plants, seeds and magic potions to cure whatever illness, acompined by a mix of smell,s was incredible. At one of the posts selling tabacco we stopped for a while, trying a cigarette with pure tabacco and chocolate. There we also bought some pure cacao.
From the market we went to the famous port of Belen, the poor and more indigenous part of Iquitos. It was very different from the center - dirty, smells of food on every corner, and drunk men sleeping on the street. But apperantely the activist art had even reached this part of the city, and we saw some graffities about nutrition and education. Again, Iquitos had surprised me.
We didn´t spent much time at the port, because it wasn´t the saftest part, and the heat had started to burn our faces. So we started our way back, passing food stands and the whole comercial part again. First we were trying to find something to eat, but then decided to go back to hostel first. At the end we found a little restaurant just on the corner of the hostel.
In the afternoon Rodrigo had to work, so I went to walk around a little by myself. I went to the handicrafts market, and one of the main plazas on the river side. Since it was Sunday it was full of people.There were games, music, and a lot of kids playing. I met a French-Argentinian couple, which had also been on the same boat as us. I talked with them for a while, and then went to the little park again where the concert had taken place, to write and read for a while.
Then I returned to the hostel and waited until Rodrigo had finished with his work. At night we went out together, this time to one of the residencial parts of Iquitos. There we found a Chifa restaurant, which was cheap and the plates huge.
Getting back, exhausted from the day and the heat, we just fell into our bed and passed out.
The next day in the morning we went to another market, to have breakfast and buy fruits for the journey. This market was way more organized than the market in Belen, but also more expensive. Still, I enjoyed walking around there and taking some pictures of the strange things like turtle shells.
After finishing we went to organize our stuff and passed by the artesania again.
And then it was already time to eat lunch and get going to the port.
When we got there we found ourselves being lucky because the price for the ticket had changed overnight. We got on the boat, which this time was a little smaller and seemed a lot more relaxed, and set up our spot again - we were gonna spend another couple of nights in the hammock.
This time we had a little more space, and I liked the boat. Also our spot was outside, so we would have more wind.
We waited and waited, and the boat started to fill up. But it didn´t leave. When night started to break in we were told that we would leave the next day. For whatever reason.
So we had to spend a whole day on the boat in the port. It was just waiting for departure. As before we passed time writing, reading or playing cards.
And then at around 6 pm, finally, we left the port of Iquitos for Yurimaguas.

Rio Marañón
This time the trip should only take about 3 days, and as I already said, the space we had was much more relaxed. We had a French couple as neighbours, but other than that most of the people were locals again. I enjoyed watching the people, seeing all different kinds of personalities. For example, close to us was also a group of 3 Peruvians going on vacation. They were from Iquitos and completely different from the people of the Andes. Much louder, obviously enjoying their vacation and playing cards with full commitment.
Again the days passed, and were diversed by eating, the little villages and playing cards with the French couple.
I got stung by a wasp, so for about 2 days my hand was double sized, but I guess that´s part of traveling the jungle. At least I didn´t get stung by some infected bug.

The last sunset was probably one of the most beautiful ones we had seen - we stopped at an idyllic village, with an open space in the middle and little wooden houses on the sides. And just right there, before the sunset, the boat got surrounded by dolphins. A lot of dolphins, and all of them really close. So for a while we just stood there and watched, feeling the air slowly getting cooler and watching the sun going down behing the river and the deep forest.

The journey went by quickly, and soon we already arrived in Yurimaguas.

Yurimaguas, Munichis

Yurimaguas is a small town where there´s neither much to see nor much to do. The most important part is probably the port, for its connection to Iquitos.

We arrived there with the plan of finding a quiet place to put up a tent. First we ate and then we started searching, which turned out to be more difficult than it should have been.

At the end we decided to go to the small village of Munichis and just camp on the beach next to the river. It was a nice spot, with some boats passing by, but still quiet. The people we met were nice and the village seemed safe. As if never anything would happen there.

Soon night fell in, and without the wind the heat kept being unberable. That made it a little hard to sleep, but in the end the tiredness won.

In the morning we got our stuff together and then went for a swim in the river. It was nice to cool down a little, before walking in the heat again. 

We found a nice lady in the village who was selling juanes, and she also agreed to make some eggs for us. It was probably the best breakfast we´ve had until then, and after it I felt like I had a lot more energy.

We took a mototaxi back to Yurimaguas, and in the middle of the way it started raining like hell. But so I got the chance to see the drivers protection - a thick blue plastic sheet, covering the whole front part of the moto, only leaving a small space to watch the road. That confirmed that for me a mototaxi is the scariest form of transportation. 

But we arrived undamaged and went straight to the bus terminal where the combis for Tarapoto were leaving. The combi soon left, and we traveled about two hours. It was raining but still the landscape was beautiful, and reminded me a lot of the part between Tingo Maria and Pucallpa. Green hills full of trees, spotted with waterfalls.

Tarapoto

Arriving in Tarapoto was relaxed. Just next to the bus stop we found a good and cheap restaurant and finding a hostel wasn´t too difficult as well. We stayed a little outside of the center, in a nice and quiet neighbourhood.

In the afternoon we walked to the center, trying to find out where to go and what to do.The center was loud and comercial, and I was glad we had found a quieter place. 

Again we were looking for a camping spot alongside a river or something, where we could spend a couple of days. The tourist information wasn´t really very helpful, and so, in the end, we decided to go to San Roque, a village close to Tarapoto, that Rodrigo already knew from a few years earlier. 

At the terminal we had to wait forever for the combi to leave, but since it was only a one hour trip we had plenty of time. When we left it felt good getting out of the city, and the road to little San Roque was beautiful as well.

San Roque de Cumbaza

We got to San Roque some time in the afternoon, and spent the rest of the day in a park next to the river. It was full of kids playing and San Roque seemed like the most peaceful place on earth. We found some fresh bread and had pasta and veggies for dinner. We put up the hammock and watched the kids play, until it got dark. The people left and we put up our tent. 

When we were just about to go to sleep we heard someone coming close, and then a voice asked to talk to us. I stayed in the tent while Rodrigo went to talk to the man, and I have to admit I was a little scared. But it turned out that it was just our neighbour, from the house across the soccer field, who invited us to stay there. We told him to stop by the next morning, and found peaceful sleep in this beautiful place.

In the morning we packed our stuff and brought it to Jorge´s house. We could leave it there for the day and so we went for a hike that was supposed to lead us to a waterfall.
The trail led us out of the village into the woods and up the hill. From there we followed the ridge, from where we had a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains. Then we were inside the jungle again, between trees and plants of all kinds, with only a little bit of light that broke through the thick cover of leaves.
The trail was clearly marked, but the first part was quite steep and uphill. We came to a crossing that was marked with arrows, and followed them downhil. There we already heard the waterfall, so we thought we should be close. 

But after a while the sound disappeared and it started to rain. Within 10 minutes we were soaked. 

We got out of the woods, into a clearing with banana trees. There we found refugee in some kind of a hut and thought of what to do. We´ve already walked more than 4 hours, and the walk wasn´t supposed to be that long. Also the sound of the waterfall had disappeared and we weren´t sure if we were still on the right trail, even though it had been clearly marked. 
We decided to walk a little more and, if nothing changes, return. When we got to that point it was already afternoon, and the both of us were tired. We didn´t bring a lot of food and water, and after a while Rodrigo´s blood sugar dropped and it cost him a lot to keep walking. I also started to get worried about the hour, because I really didn´t want to be in the jungle at night, when all the animals come out and there´s no light anymore. So I rushed and tried to keep Rodrigo going, also being concerned about his condition. What would I do if he broke down in the middle of the way? 
But at the end we go to the view point where we rested for a little bit. My body felt really tired as well and it was only will and fear that kept me going. But from the view  point it wasn´t far anymore, and as soon as we got to San Roque and ate and drank something we felt better. Rodrigo´s color returned to his face, and he seemed less exhausted than I was.
When we got back to the familiy´s house we told them about our little adventure. They gave us food and told us that we weren´t supposed to follow all the arrows becasue they mark a circuit back to San Roque. So we didn´t even have to walk back all the way, because apparently we had only been an hour away from the village!
But fortunately everything turned out fine, and the family was very nice. We put up our tent in their back yard and had breakfast with them the next morning - fried plantains, one of my favourites!
We packed our things and walked around a little, rested on the rivershore, and then went back to Tarapoto to catch a bus to the coast.

Chiclayo
We arrived in Chiclayo in the morning and first went to organize everything. I was gonna take a night bus to Cuenca, Ecuador, and Rodrigo was gonna visit a friend in Trujillo and go back to Huaraz from there.
After buying the tickets, we went to the beach and spent our last day together there, eating Ceviche.
And then it was time to say goodbye. Even though I´ve had a lot of goodbyes during my travels, that was definitely the hardest one...I just had to cross the border as fast as possible, otherwise I don´t think I would have made it.
But after such a long time in Huaraz, it also feels good to be moving again.