Baños Ecuador

Church in Old Town Quito

Central Market

                    Today we walked around the Old Town, Quito, which was beautiful. We saw lots of churches, plazas, parks, museums and did lots of walking. We had lunch at the central market, which had lots of  food stands, it was very hard to choose what to eat, but I got fried tuna, with rice, ceviche, and salad all for $4!! Adrienne ordered two meals not realizing how much food it would be, all for $5, we were in heaven!

Adriennes $5 meal(s)

my $4 meal

          We then made our way back to La Mariscal, took a cab to the bus terminal and took a 3.5 hour bus ride to Baños. We walked around a bit, had dinner at this local spot where we got carne asada and carne apanada with large $2 beers.

            The next morning we booked a $5 waterfall tour for 3 hours and headed out on the bus and saw many beautiful waterfalls, we even drove under some of them. Our first stop was at a cable car, where we went across a huge canyon of water and over huge waterfalls to the other side, where we stopped for a second and it felt like we were on a  slingshot back to the other side. I was pretty scared, and my legs felt like jello when I got off.  I am trying to get over my fear of heights, Adrienne thought this was just hilarious how scared I was and holding onto the rails.    

           Next stop another beautiful waterfall and ziplining (canopy) spot called, Canopy Doble Rio Blanco. I figured lets get this over with, since Adrienne had gone ziplining before and I hadn't, I just wanted to do it. I was really nervous because it was very high, above a huge river with rapids, and rocks. We decided to go side by side and do the super man pose. They put up your legs and give you a push off. I started a bit before Adrienne, and I was soaring through the air, it felt like I was flying, I was loving it. When I got to the other side I looked back and saw that Adrienne was stopped and had gotten stuck in the middle of the zipline, I guess her guy didn't give her a big enough push. Immediately a rescue person ziplined out to her, and people on land pulled them both in. We both couldn't believe it had happened, but at least we could laugh about it once she was safe on the ground.

superman

Our zipline course (superman top right)

our cable car over the falls

scared on the cable car

       

$2.50 meal

After we got back from the tour, we had some local food at the Central Market for $2.50, then went about 35 minutes outside of the town to Casa de Arbol (the treehouse). It was beautiful, it was a wooden treehouse, on the edge of a cliff, with a huge tree swing, overlooking the countryside and the Tungurahoa volcano. It was a bit too cloudy to see the volcano, but it is an active volcano and we did hear it erupt twice, which was pretty awesome. After hanging out here a bit, we went on the swing, which was pretty scary for me as well, I didn't want to go very high or look down, unlike Adrienne who got a big push from a local man.

dont look down

ran into Juan at the treehouse

swing

treehouse

         This had been a day of adrenaline rushes and getting over my fear of heights, I “treated”, myself to some pizza cones and red wine!!!

adrienne flying high

tree house

Quito, Ecuador

overlooking quito

#1 at foosball

walking through Guapulo

            Wednesday afternoon we said goodbye to Colombia.  It had been an amazing 3 weeks, and we were sad to say goodbye, but we were flying to Ecuador that afternoon. 1 hour flight, to a 3 hour layover, to a 1 hour flight and we were in Quito. 

            We arrived at our hostel, in the area of La Mariscal in the “new city,” and were told it was, “ladies night at the bar, so ladies drink for free.” Instead of heading out to grab some dinner, we first  dropped our packs and grabbed some drinks and mingled at the hostel bar.  It was really fun because there was good music, a pool table, a foosball table, board games, fun people and free drinks!! We played a few games of pool with some fun Aussie's, then they challenged us to a game of foosball, Adrienne and I, against two of them.  After three intense rounds we had won the tie breaker, and of course had the DJ blast, “Empire State of Mind,” while we did an obnoxious victory dance, which they thought was hilarious.  Later, we went out for drinks in the awesome little area of La Mariscal, with many bars, restaurants, clubs, cafes, hookah bars and fast food restaurants. 

$1 Tacos

            Thursday I woke up early and ready to explore Quito.  Adrienne wasn't feeling well because of the elevation (Quito is 9,350 feet above sea level,) so I headed out on my own to take a look at this huge city.  I first went to the neighborhood of Guapulo.  It was a cute little town with lots of twists, turns, and hills (of course), cobblestone roads and beautiful lookout points (some gorgeous views of the Andes) and cute houses along the steep 30 minute walk up to the top of the town.  When I got to the top, a bit winded, I found an awesome Mexican taco stand and got delicious $1 chicken tacos. 

Teleferico

            I then headed to the teleferico, which is one of the largest in the world rising from 10,226 feet to 12,943 feet in about 10 minutes.  It was really really high, I was a bit nervous, but once I got to the top and got off to take in the cold air I was fine.  I walked around a bit, there was a park, and trails, but I didn't realize how much colder it would be up there, so I made a view rounds, then headed back down to the warmer temperatures. 

        
    On the way down in the teleferico, I started talking to this guy named Juan about how to get back to town, he said that he was going to La Mitad de Mundo ( the middle of the world), and that I should come.  I was planning to do this tomorrow, but I had heard that a taxi ride an hour out and back was about $40USD, so I figured if I went with him it would obviously be cheaper.  I told him I'd change my plans and go with him today.  The best part about Juan was that he spoke fluent Spanish, and he knew how to take public transportation to the middle of the world.  We easily hopped on the public bus, rode an hour out to the middle of the world for only 40 cents, compared to $40!!!  Big shout out to Juan, thank you!!

coin balance

Egg balance

           

Virgin of Quito

           When we got there we walked around the park a bit.  Took pics on the equator line at the earths midpoint, 0 degrees, 0 minutes, 0 seconds.  Did some of the fun tricks at the equator line, like balancing an egg on a nail, which is supposed to be easier at the equator (not so easy but I did it),  had some lunch and beers, then I headed back to check on Adrienne.  She was feeling a lot better when I got back, so we chilled out in the center plaza, drank some wine, had for the first time cone pizza which was delicious, it was regular pizza but the crust was cone shaped, it was amazing!

middle of the world

pizza cone

3 Weeks in Colombia Best of the Best

It's been an amazing 3 weeks in Colombia, it went by too fast! Here's a look back at my favorite pictures from each city. 

Cartagena

Santa Marta

Tayrona

Taganga

Medellin

Guatape

Bogota

Bogota, Chia

Cali

Salento

Valle de Cocora

Salento- Coffee Region

       

relaxing at our hostel hammocks

hostel morning view

trout and patacone

Don Elias coffee tour

Don Elias and grandson

center Salento

roasting the coffee beans

        Sunday morning we took a 4.5 hour bus ride to Armenia, then hopped on an hour shuttle to Salento, coffee region. We then took a “jeep”(public transportation) about 15 minutes up the countryside to our hostel, which was on a beautiful plantation, with great views of the countryside. We grabbed some dinner at the center of town we had trout (which this area is known for) and patacones with beef. We then walked back to our hostel and sat by the campfire with others from our hostel.

         

worker picking coffee beans

      We woke early Monday morning and were blown away by the view we had when we walked outside. The countryside was gorgeous and so peaceful. We walked about an hour to a coffee tour at Don Elias plantation, where they have over 8,000 coffee plants and all their coffee is organic. After about an hour tour we got to try the delicious coffee, and chat a bit with Don Elias himself, before walking the long, hilly way back. We were lucky enough to grab some of the hammocks right along the pasture, where we chilled out for a bit, napped and then had dinner.

                Tuesday we hopped in a jeep about 30 minutes away from Salento to Valle de Cocora. We did an exhausting 4 hour trek through the jungle, up massive hills, over streams, rocks, mud, and bridges. We walked to the top of this massive hill with a warning at the bottom saying, “Very Steep Take Your Time.” After 45 minutes of walking up this steep hill, we got to the top and it got cloudy and started raining so the view wasn't that good, but we were just happy to be at the top. As we continued walking, we got to see the quindío wax palm trees. They were pretty awesome and when we got down to the bottom of the large hill the scenery was beautiful. It felt like a different world, being around this stunning greenery and surrounded by the largest palms in the world.

our trek

wax palms

Valle de Cocora

                 When we got back to the center of town we grabbed some lunch, I got trucha con criolla sauce(trout with creole sauce), it was delicious.

trout

Cali (Salsa Capital of the World!!! )

Andres Carne de Res Chia

Andres Carne de Res

Thursday morning we woke up and did some more touring of Bogota.  We were really enjoying this city.  We waited out a thunderstorm, which apparently happens daily, but we lucked out the day before, then headed up in a cable car to see the beautiful city views.  Another great thing about this city that was not expected, is how much security there is.  Just about every street corner or block there is police officers with police dogs, and they are usually pretty helpful if you need help with directions as well.

arepa con todos

             

Later, we got ready and took the one hour drive out to Chia, to go to the restaurant/club Andres Carne de Res.  We heard many good things about this place so we were super excited.  People have said, “You haven't been to Bogota if you haven't been to Adnres Carne de Res.  When we got there we checked out the loaded 66 page menu.  We ordered drinks and empanada appetizers, which were probably the best I've had yet.  This place is known for steaks so we ordered steak as an entree, it was delicious!
After dinner, we hit the dance floor, and danced, chatted, and sang the night away.  This place had lived up to its reputation.  This was probably one of the best nights we've had yet, and we met some really cool people as well.

Friday morning we took an early 45 minute, easy flight to Cali, the Salsa Capital of the World!  We booked this flight here last minute, because we wanted to be in Cali for the weekend, so we'd be there on a Friday and Saturday night.   Back to high 90 degree temperatures, we walked around the city a bit, not too much to see.

 Iglesia de San Antonio 

Zaperoco

We went to the Iglesia de San Antonio (church of San Antonio), which had great views of the city.
Later that night, we met up with a local of Cali, a friend of Brianne's (my best friend from college) that she met last year on her trip to Peru.  He picked us up and drove us to Zaperoco, known as the best salsa spot in Cali, where all the locals go.  We were told, “if you only visit one salsa bar in Cali, make sure it's Zaperoco.”  Right away we loved this place, the music, the people, the energy, it was so much fun and quite the workout.

Coffee truck

Saturday we walked about an hour to Lomo de la Cruz, which is an artisanal  market, and ate a delicious arepa con todos (arepa with everything, beef, chicken, sauces, egg), sooooo good! At night we went to the popular salsa bar Tin Tin Deo with these guys that we met from London.  It was amazing, the locals were really really good here, best I´ve seen on this trip.  We liked dancing with them because they are very good at leading you through the song.  At the end of the night around 3am they had two professional dancers close out the night, it was so fun to watch.

London boys

Tin Tin Deo