I visited Baños when I was in Ecuador ~13 years ago and it was quite a sleepy little place where the main attraction was the Pailon del Diablo waterfall. Whoa – culture shock when I stepped off the bus this time! It has grown enormously and every shop is offering either food (of course), adventure […]
More Canyoning – Baños, Ecuador Read More »
After hiking the Ecuadorian Inca Trail, I got the guides to drop me off in Alausí on the way back to Riobamba so I could take the most famous train in Ecuador – La Nariz del Diablo or “Devil’s Nose”. When they were constructing the railway from Quito (capital city) to Guayaquil (most important city)
The Devil’s Nose Train Read More »
I wanted to get some hiking in while I was in Ecuador and my first idea was to hike El Altar to see the 5 lagoons. However, one of the biggest problems with travelling alone is that most excursions only happen with a minimum of 2 (or 4) people, and unfortunately, I couldn’t find
Hiking the Ecuadorian Inca Trail Read More »
One of the things I had been ummming and ahhhing about doing since arriving in Quito was going up the teleférico and climbing Volcán Pichincha. What finally decided me was a) signing up to do the 3-day Ecuadorian Inca Trail hike (I figured some hiking preparation wouldn’t hurt) and b) an invitation from Charlotte. So off we headed
Quito’s Teleférico and Volcán Pichincha Read More »
I’ve stayed in quite a few hostels this trip as they are usually cheap and are great places to meet people. That being said, I’ve only written one blog post about my hostel experiences – expounding the virtues of the Casa Verde in Santa Ana, El Salvador – one of the best hostels in Latin America. Here
Community Hostel – Quito Read More »
One of my favourite memories from when I visited Quito 13 years ago was clambering all over the Basílica del Voto Nacional. So much so that I decided to do it again this trip. In particular, I loved the scant regard to the OH&S laws that shut down most kinds of fun in Australia and other
Basílica del Voto Nacional – Quito Read More »
After hiking the waterfalls in the morning, Jenny, Maic, Thalles and I then doubled up and went canyoning in the afternoon. We decided to do the canyoning trip that included 3 waterfalls, rather than the one that just included a single, larger waterfall. My thinking was that the first decent would get us
Canyoning / Waterfall Rappelling – Mindo Read More »
Mindo is a small chilled-out town in the middle of a high-biodiversity cloud forest about an hour and a half north-west of Quito. There are lots of things to do there, but because I was feeling like some down-time, I only managed to do two things in 3 days. I could easily have stayed a few more!
Santuario de Cascadas – Mindo Read More »
Another great idea from Ecuador — easy to understand Nutrition Labels! These are labels for Coke Zero and Ecuadorian Chocolate.
Great ideas – Ecuador – Nutrition Labels Read More »
Another of the awesome initiatives in Quito is the Ciclopaseo. Basically, the city shuts down 30km of one of its main North-South arteries (Avenida Amazonas) to traffic each Sunday between 8am and 2pm (Quito is a long, narrow city oriented North-South), to encourage everyone to get out on their bikes. And its incredible how many people take advantage
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