Equador and Beyond!

Hello again friends,

This time I am writing from a very different place in mood and spirit. We found that our time in Equador was one of blessing and refreshment. We had the privilege of some great adventures there!

In Banos we decided to rent mountain bikes and bike through the sub tropical jungle (it was generally downhill, heading into the rainforest and so to get back we were told to flag a bus or pickup truck). The ride was about thirty kilometers past many beautiful waterfalls. We got to a city called Rio Negro to see the most spectacular waterfall of the route... When we realized that it was about eight kilometers back (and uphill, past one tunnel, on the highway) in a village called Rio Verde! We were tired and a bit irritated at this point because it was our own negligence that caused us to miss the turn (and the rain was starting, boohoo). As suggested by our bike rental place, we flagged down a camionetta (pick up truck) and asked to hitch a ride. He said sure, but would not take us to Rio Verde... Only all the way back to Banos. We wanted to see the falls and so we declined his offer. This was also when we realized that when we paid for the bikes we were not given our change! This meant that we only had a few dollars on us, and we had to pay the ride back and the entrance to the park with the waterfalls. This didn't help the mood... We flagged down a few more trucks and busses, who all either declined to take us to Rio Verde or would only do it for a large fee. As one of the trucks who declined started to drive away a young local woman advocated for us and hassled the driver a bit. With a laugh and a smile he loaded our bikes into the truck and told us to hop in. When we asked how much it would cost his response was simply "no se" (which means "I don't know). This was a slight concern because we did not have much money on us at all! When we arrived in the town he helped unload our bikes and then announced with a smile that the ride was free! We were so grateful!

As we were leaving Banos another awesome thing happened... We were walking away from our hostel all loaded up with our bags when two friends who we had met in Buenos Aires were walking up the hill towards us! It was a bummer that we couldn't spend a few days together, but their hugs and our brief conversation were really wonderful.

After this we spent three days in Otavalo, in the North of Ecuador. Here we really loved the market, which was massive as promised! The whole town was a market, every street lined with booths and vendors. There was also an animal market on the Eastern edge of town. That was sure wild! There were chickens and guinea pigs and sheep (being carried on the backs of very small old women) and cows and pigs and ice-cream... All for sale in the same space. We had a hoot sitting and watching the deals go down. Amidst the animal sales there was also a man auctioning off plastic plates and crystal glasses and cheap china bowls... Anything goes!

The day after the market we hopped a local bus for twenty five cents and then got into the back of a pickup truck to get to a beautiful lake in the crater of a volcano. We spent the day hiking around the lake. It was incredible! A thunderstorm hit while we were walking (up on a ridge might I add)... And it was so scary! The lightning struck and the thunder roared right above and around us! We almost turned back when we crossed paths with a group of local men who told us to relax and just keep going... Which we did and which was totally worth it. When we are at a hostel with computers I may post some pictures to show you why!

After Otavalo we headed up to Popayan, Columbia, which is where we are now. We had to take a multitude of different buses and taxis to get here (as there were no international bus companies) and only had one glitch. We got on an "eight hour" bus from the border town to Popayan. We were supposed to arrive at ten in the evening but did not get here until five thirty the next morning! Our bus broke down at about ten (we were about an hour and a half behind schedule already) and they could not fix it. At first we were a little tense because our travel guidebook suggests that you do not travel this road at night as "guerillas have been known to attack even police guarded caravans"... Yikes. We were right by a military check point and not just in the middle of the jungle and this was mildly reassuring. While waiting we started talking to some young Colombian men on our bus (who were super goofy and were joking around and smacking each other with marshmallows and ended up being a BMX team) who really put us at ease. This part of the jungle had really cleaned up in the last few years since our book was published and there is not too much to worry about. We finally got out of there when a bus picked us up and drove us the last hour to Popayan. Exhausted, we checked in to our beautiful hostel and fell asleep. A really great thing that came out of this was that we did not have to pay for the night!

Popayan is a really modern feeling city, with women in highheels clicking around on the cobblestone and a lot of men in nice suits. The buildings are all whitewashed and beautiful. We spent yesterday exploring and today we are relaxing and reading and may explore some more. Tomorrow morning we will bus to Salento, which is in the coffee district. There we are staying in a hostel that is on a coffee plantation. Hopefully we will put in a few hours of work on the plantation and learn how to make coffee, from the plant to the cup!

It is pretty crazy as we have less than three weeks left in South America! On May fifth we will be leaving Columbia, Belize bound to see Nathan's brother Blaine and the rest of the family: Melissa, Kayla, Ava, and the baby on the way. We are so excited for this last bit of travel and will be ready for home when it comes.

Big love,
Chloe (and Nathan)