The Route of the Andes

8 bus rides, 1 train ride and 1 flight comprised our travels down the Andes from North to South and back again...this small country, the size of Nevada, has endlessly changing beauty...every bus, train, plane window held a different yet equally amazing view...Ecuador is truly a country to spend a lifetime in...here are the places we experienced:

Banos: an outdoor adventure capital, a small mountain town that sits in the shadow of Tungurahua, an active, smoldering volcano, which last erupted only a year ago (for the full story ask Susan Wood)...a route of waterfalls, hot springs and fresh taffy are some of the attractions that make this place famous...

Riobamba: a normal enough city that has become a major stop for tourists because it is the starting point of a famous 6 o'clock AM train ride through the mountains, including a crazy trip down a section called "El Nariz del Diablo" (the devil's nose)...it used to be more fun because they let people sit on top of the train, but last year a tourist fell off and lost his head, sooooo...they put a stop to that....but it was still a fun BUMPY ride through some gorgeous scenery

Cuenca: a beautiful old colonial city with cobble stones streets, cool architecture and, get this, a CLEAN river running through it....oh yeah and it's the origin of the "Panama Hat".




Vilcabamba: Valley of Eternal Youth...myth has it, that the water holds special powers to keep you going up to 130 years...because of that, retired foreigners have flocked in and set up a peaceful, simple town...it is known for it's tranquility, great hiking and cheap massages

16 hours in a bus or 70 minutes on a plane...that was our choice.....there was a great sunset from the plane window...the Andes look a lot different when you are above them...as we flew over the middle of the country, we were blessed with a view of Chimborazo, the highest peak in the western hemisphere...






We have seen the light!!! The sky opened before our eyes and we saw where we are headed next...we have decided to leave South America on our original plane ticket, which was a surprise to us...we will be heading to New Hampshire for the holiday months and will continue seeking out our next adventure...what can we say, we love you guys to much to stay away...

Annivesary in the Cloud Forest

A cloud forest is basically a sub-tropical forest where the clouds drop down into the trees and create an enchanted forest feeling...we had heard of a little town called Mindo that is built in the middle of a beautiful cloud forest area...it is surrounded by small mountains covered in thick vegetation and has several rivers, each with its own series of waterfalls, flowing through it...Mindo is known for its beauty and peaceful vibe...we thought those would be nice for our anniversary weekend.

We found a cool sounding eco-lodge in the guide book and blindly made reservations...the price told us that it was on the higher end of things, but you never really know down here...we read about private riverside cabins and candle light dinners and that was good enough...as it turns out, it was more than we ever could have imagined...

To get to the property we drove 20 minutes down a dirt road, then crossed the River Mindo in a hand operated "tarabita" (there are no bridges, which means no automobiles on the property).
We stayed in a huge river-side cabin...we think they hooked us up because we told them it was anniversary. It was luxury done in the most simplistic way...such creative uses of wood and stone...it had 25 foot ceilings with sky-lights in the thatched roof, a bath tub laid in stones with huge double windows that opened onto the lush forest...no electricity, only candles and oil lamps...we were speechless.


From the cabin we headed down wooded paths and crossed bamboo bridges to the "main house", which once again was an unexpected jewel...a gigantic, open-air bamboo structure, with oversized furniture, hammocks, creative fire places, huge wooden tables used for communal candlelight dinners...the main house bordered an extensive organic garden that supplied the kitchen with 3-course, gourmet, vegetarian meals...

El Monte consists of over 100 acres of cloud forest...there are trails deep into the thick forest where you can find exotic birds, plants and insects...you can also hike to several beautiful waterfalls, one of which you have to cross a huge river basin (152m high) in a metal basket hooked to steel cables...

The weekend trip was the perfect mixture of adventure, peace and romance...we brought our wedding vows with us, the ones that Paul has had since the wedding last year, and we reminded ourselves of the promises and commitments we made....oh yeah, and we managed to find some mud and rubber boots to celebrate the occasion!!

Tomorrow we take off on a two week trip down the Andes to southern Ecuador...if you want to follow on a map, here are our stops: Banos, Riobamba, Cuenca, Vilcabamba and Loja.

We love you and miss you....know that you are in our thoughts and prayers...Elena y Mateo