Peru: From Cusco to Abra Malaga, Santa Maria, Huancacalle, Vilcabamba, Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo, and back to Cusco

Peru: From Cusco to Abra Malaga, Santa Maria, Huancacalle, Vilcabamba, Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo, and back to Cusco (From 18.09.07 to 26.09.07).

That was good, that was actually very good. We had a lovely time during our last trip. We got excellent advice from a good friend that we made in the Llanganuco lodge to go to Huancacalle, and not to do the trek from Santa Maria to Machu Picchu (which other local guides agreed was not that interesting). We did a circle from Cusco to Abra Malaga, Santa Maria, Huancacalle, Vilcabamba, Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo, and back to Cusco.

We hired bicycles at Cusco from the agency http://www.adventureteamperu.com/ . On Wednesday 18.09.07 we took a five hour bus ride to Abra Malaga. After arriving we went on a five hour! bike ride. The road was very rough and honestly I would not recommend it to any one. We started the ride at around 01.50 pm instead of 1pm because the bus had a flat tyre that had to be replaced during the trip, so was around 1 hour late. So the last 20 minutes of the ride were in complete darkness. The road goes through a valley and often u can see the river that runs through the valley. The part that was interesting was watching the locals burn the hills to create more agricultural land.

We got to Santa Maria in one piece, and stayed there for the night. As Santa Maria is at low altitude, there are LOTS of mosquitoes, and during the bicycle ride and the night I got something like six BITES on one finger on my left hand. The problem with the mosquitoes there is that they are extremely advanced: very light, small and black in colour. Facts that made them impossible to trace, only after the bite. In the next few days my two fingers of my left hand started to expand dramatically, up to a point that the swelling was pushing my fingers nerve, which made them feel numb. It took me some more days to recover and to get my senses in my fingers back to normal.

In the morning we took a taxi to Huancacalle. And here it was all waiting for us. In a valley surrounded by green mountains a small town sits next to a river, with nice inhabitants and very fresh air. The guest house called Sixpac Manco is run by a nice elderly couple, one of whom shares part of history. The owner Binjamin Cobar was the local guide for two expeditions that came to the area in search of the last & lost city of the Incas, which was eventually ¨found¨ by American Gene Savoy (led by Binjamin): a place called Espiritu Pampa.

In the area of Huancacalle we went on a few day trips. First we visited the ruins that are nearby called Nuestapata and Vitcos. Apparently the first set of ruins was the escaping point for the Inca Manco. The walk was easy and in a loop shape and normally takes about two hours altogether (it took us five because we really took our time).

The next day we did the start of the trail to Chorequeo. We walked for about 3 hours on the trail, which was along a river through an open green valley.
On the following day, which was Shabbat and Yom Kippur I decided to fast and continue business as usual. That was the wrong decision. We were supposed to walk to the next town called Vilcabamba, which was supposed to take an hour and a half to two hours. We finished it after more then five hours. The walk was moderate and was through a valley going uphill along a river. Unfortunately we started our walk very late, around one pm, with the assumption that it would take us four hours to return. But obviously we had the wrong approach. We got to the village after five and were welcomed by the local mission that is run by a team from Italy. After having a small chat with Carlos who came from Italy for two years as a volunteer, we headed back to Huancacalle. I decided to break my fast with a proper meal in Huancacalle. At this point I was starving. When we started walking back the sun had set and the road did not look attractive at all. After five minutes we decided to return to Vilcabamba and try our luck for accommodation in the mission. We were very welcomed to stay and it was a very pleasant experience. Apparently the Father arrived in the town about 15 years ago and saw the level of poverty in the town which was caused by the death of the local cattle, and decided to come and help the community.

Once every two weeks the kids have a special treat, meat for diner, every other day they get vegetarian food. Of course, the day we arrived they were having meat! As I keep kosher I could not break my fast with non kosher food. So we cooked our own pasta with tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and onion. It was the best meal that I ever had after Yom Kipur.

The next day, Sunday morning, we walked back to Huancacalle enjoying the beautiful scenery and the lovely adventure that we had just had. We left Huancacalle on Monday morning to go to Aguas Calientes through Santa Maria and Hydro Electrico. At Hydro Electrico we had to take the train because it is not possible to reach Machu Picchu with any other form of transport. The train ride was quite funny. For some unclear reason the train was being driven in a very bizarre way. It drove forward for a few minutes and then stopped, drove back a few hundred metres and then continued forward again, and so on every ten minutes. A ride that could have taken ten minutes took about an hour and half! On our way back from Aguas Calientes to Ollantayambo I noticed that the train was doing the same thing. But it did not actually go backwards, rather parked on a side track for few minutes until the train travelling in the other direction had passed. So it became obvious that the reason for the long train ride (apart from the fact that it was the worst train that I have ever been in mechanically) is that there is only one train track for the trains travelling in both directions.

We arrived to Aguas Calientes on the 24.09.07 in the afternoon and found a very nice room in the hotel Suma Wasi ($25 US a night). The next morning, we took the private bus up to Machu Picchu. Luckily when we arrived the site was not full and was pretty impresive. During the lunch break it started raining and then even more tourists left the site. So when we came back from our luch break it was even emptier.

The whole experince in Machu Picchu was pretty funny. Because we had lost our trust in local guides, after a few bad experinces that we had (A true dialoge with our guide in Pisac ruins near Cusco: 'What was this room for?' The guide: 'This was... for storage...' and strangely enough from there on every room was for some reason for storage) we decided not to hire a guide. But to wait for our luck by waiting for a good guide accompanying what looks like a high end tour group. And our luck came when we noticed this kind of group approaching with a very knowledgble guide. We got all the info we needed and the tour was fantastic (at last!). Unfortunately we kind of stuck out as we tacked onto the group as we were the only people under 65. Im sure the guide noticed we were there as freeriders despite our efforts to blend in, as the next day we bumped into him at another set of ruins a few hours a way, and he smiled and said hello to us!

On the 25.09, in the morning we took the train from Aguas Calientes to arrive in Ollantayambo. The ride was through rainforests and with friendly staff that did a modelling show of local clothes to the passengers during the ride, complete with catwalk music as they strutted the aisles. On arriving in Ollantayambo we went to the ruins that are above the town. This time their wasn't any high end tour group so after a walk through the site we decided to try our luck again and hire a local guide. He was a local guy from Ollantayambo who was studying Tourism to become a guide. He was pretty good and we got a lot of info from him. In the afternoon we took a taxi from Ollantayambo to Cusco and we were very happy to go back to a familiar place on the eve of Sukot.

Peru: Lima, Huaraz and Cusco

PERU: LIMA, HUARAZ & CUSCO

LIMA: THE AIRPORT, YOUTH HOSTEL & CITY TOUR

We arrived in Lima straight from the jungle. The international airport in Lima is very chaotic. We had been warned about this before, but it was just ridiculous. First u need 2 stand in a very long queue to pass imigration. I have been in long queues before (India, Thailand) but this one was the longest ever, something like 400-500 people making a snake line through the whole hall. Then when we managed to get through immigration, we found our carousel. We saw that the whole terminal was full with people waiting 4 their luggage. After waiting for our luggage for 15 minutes, suddenly the number of our flight disapeared from the screen over the carousel, the carousel stopped and no bags were coming out. When trying to find out where our bags were, we were referred from one counter to another. On the way between counters we saw the bags lying peacefully next to one of the carousels. When we asked our driver what is the reason for the mess. He said that all the international flights arrive at night...? To me it seemed like all of them arrived at the same hour too.
In Lima we stayed in a bizarre youth hostel Albergue International (recomended by Lonely Planet). For some reason every time the receptionist saw us s/he said: 'Can you pay now?' I would often say 'NO' and they would reply: 'You have to pay now!'
Also in Lima we went on a city tour with a company called www.limavision.com/citytour.html. The tour was well organised but the guide did not know anything more then the basic facts. When we tried asking her more detailed questions she was not able to respond. Most of the tour was: 'This is the American embassy... This is the main square... This is peak hour, there is a lot of traffic...'

HUARAZ

From Lima we took an 8 hours bus ride up north to Huaraz with a company called www.cruzdelsur.com.pe/. Excellent service and great views along the way. We actually played Bingo on the bus. I missed one number in winning a free bus ride!
Unfotunatly Leah got sick while we were in Huaraz. So we didn't do much. Except for a three hour walk in the villages nearby, including the main village, Marian. Altough the walk was relatively short it was extremly impresive. The people in the vilages were so nice, I was just amazed. Happy to talk, smiling, and generous.

LLANGANUCO LODGE

We continued further north to http://www.llanganucolodge.com/ some two and half hours from Huaraz. I must say that staying in this lodge was one of the best experiences so far in my trip. The owner Charlie Good came to Peru following his brother (the owner of The Way Inn Lodge) from England to open an adventure lodge (Charlie had to become a member of the local comunity, a process that took him about two years. While building the lodge he slept alone in a tent for four months on the mountain). The place has been running from April 2007 and it offers amazing services and beautiful scenery. It is located right next to the magnificent Cordillera Blanca National park, underneath a snowy mountain region, very close to a beautiful lake and several waterfalls. On top of that, Charlie has managed to hire an excellent Australian chef called Brett who makes excellent pumpkin soup. I think what made this place special for me was the feeling that I got personal care and I had great conversations with the people who were staying in the lodge and running it.
Leah was still recovering when we were in Charlie's place (referred to by the locals as Casa de Carlito). So we took it really easy. And we mainly did some day walks around the lodge, just wondering about, and it was wonderful.
In the last day we have managed to do the Lake 69 trek that is in the Cordillera Blanca National park. This trek was just unbelivable. We walked for about six hours along waterfalls, creeks surounded by a beautiful mountain region topped with glaciers and snow. At the end of the trek we reached the lake. The glacier above the lake was melting into it while it was reflecting light blue colours.
I was very sad to leave Charlie's place. I really felt connected to Charlie and to the lodge. I hope that I will have the chance to visit the place again.
From Charlie’s place we drove stright to the airport (next to Huaraz) to catch a flight back to Lima. We stayed another three days in Lima, while Leah was having tests to find out exactly what she was suffering from. We left Lima on the 7.9.07 on a flight to Cusco with an airline called http://aerocondor.com.pe/. I was less suprised this time when I saw how the airport was operating. It seems like all the internal flights were departing, more or less, at the same time. Again very strange. I could not understand who is the genuis that decided on this system, but it was obviusly, Not Working! We left the airport an hour and a half later then we were scheduled to depart.

CUSCO

In Cusco we are staying in a very nice hotel called http://wiracocha.hotelescusco.com/. Our main activities so far have been taking the city tour... and eating. The food here is really nice. There are two restaurents that we specially like. The first www.mundohemp.com/. They offer a variety of food made in combination with Hemp. And the second is Indian restaurent called www.maikhana.net/, which offers excellent Indian dishes with a rich texture and flavour.

Jungle Trip Pictures (Cuyabeno reserve)

Jungle Trip Pictures (Cuyabeno reserve)

THE JUNGLE TRIP (Cuyabeno reserve)

The Jungle Trip 10.8.07-14.8.07

After our bad experience with Rainbow Expeditions we decided this time to play it safe and to go with an agency that everyone said is excellent and with whom we ourselves had a good experience. So we chose to go with http://www.rainforestur.com.ec/ for a five day trip (which is actually more like 3, because u spend one day arriving and one day leaving). We paid $200US each and we had a very good experience.

DAY ONE: Arriving

We left Quito with a flight to Lago Agria at 6.30 in the morning with what looked like a very new upper class airline company called http://www.vipec.com/(booked for us by http://www.rainforestur.com.ec/) . Before departing we were provided with a small breakfast (for the half hour flight), the terminal (located in the next to international terminal) is very new and all the staff behave very professionally. On the way from the terminal we saw this beautiful white jet waiting for us. The gap between the seats was so wide that u feel like u r in your own living room. During the first ten minutes we had amazing views of Ecuador. It was a fun experience.
We arrived at 7am. The tour was supposed to depart at 10.00 so we checked into a hotel and slept for two hours. At ten we went to the meeting point, surprise …surprise there was no one there. Apparently the next flight from Quito was delayed and the rest of the group, a local family from Quito, only landed at 12.30 pm. So that meant we would only reach our canoe ride (hopefully) by 04.00pm (we had another 3 hour ride on a minibus to get to the river). Eventually we got to the bridge (the canoe departure point) at around 3.30 pm after leaving the airport at 01.30 pm.
After we had lunch and by the time a canoe became available for us it was already 04.30 pm. I have never been in the jungle (well that wasn't a wild one, it was more a national reserve where, for now, the inhabitants were safe from the oil companies that were sucking the rest of the area dry for its oil) and not on a motorised canoe either. So the all experience was very very new for me. And what do u get when everything is new? some curiosity mixed with a lot of fear.
We got, what I thought, were the best seats (right at the front of the boat), though as the time past I understood that I was wrong. Because of the shape of the boat the part in front of us was going upwards and was blocking our front view. As we went further into the jungle, the sun came down and the density of the trees increased. The kids that were driving the boat were busy talking and often we found ourselves about to crash into the shore or into a tree. When it was fully dark what was an ¨almost crash¨ became more and more clearly mini accidents. The local guide Aurora that escorted us to her daughter´s guest house kept on shouting that the drivers are drunk and kept (luckily) directing the boat away from the shore.
I think what was most scary on this ride was the fact that the last part was in the dark. So on top of the usual stress now you can´t really see what you´re facing. Now and then we found ourselves crossing tree logs that were lying on the surface of the river. So you get this kind of surprise jump with the canoe where the canoe almost turns over and your heart falls to your undies. The ride took about four hours, instead of three, and the last hour everyone pulled their torches out trying to help the driver not to flip the canoe. Every light that we saw on the way on the shore, we hoped was our guest house. When arriving Leah and I where a bit traumatised, but we made it, we got to the jungle!

DAY TWO: a Short walk, Fishing and a Long Canoe ride

We started our day with a short walk around our lodge. Right after we started a heavy rain escorted us all the way. Aurora (the local guide) was leading, while cutting every little leaf with her machete, and Lenin (hired by the agency) was following with us.
Most of the rest of the day we spent on the canoe waiting for things to happen, and I´m sorry to say that they didn't. The dolphins, monkeys, snakes, crocodiles and all the rest were not at home. Maybe they went on a holiday or maybe they could not be bothered waiting for us with the noise that the canoe was producing from its engine.
The highlight of the day was fishing. While on the canoe we tried our luck in catching piranhas. I held my fishing rode for two seconds and suddenly I feel this strong weight pulling me down. I pulled the stick out quickly and this relatively big fish was on it… shit (in the picture above Lenin holding my fish). That's a great success for someone who went fishing only once in his life (at the age of 12) and didn't catch anything after being cooked the whole day in the sun. So as I pulled the poor fellow into the boat, he managed to get out off the hook and to fall into the canoe, which had water in the bottom. I tried few times to catch him but unfortunately he managed to escape under the seats. At one point he was in my hands, and I was throwing him back to the water, but he was so oily that he managed to escape into the canoe again. I asked our guide, Lenin, to catch and throw him back to the river. I already started feeling bad that I pulled the fish out and I wanted to make sure that he will return home safely. At the same time Lenin was showing everyone the different piranhas that others had caught, and Aurora and her grandson were catching small fishes for the rest of the group´s bait. Because of the atmosphere in the boat around the fishing I repeated my request few times to Lenin. When he finished demonstrating the piranhas he came to our seats and with a stick narrowed my fish´s area. This eventually made him move to the open where he got caught by Lenin.

The Jungle Rules
In the jungle the rules are different. This I learned very quickly. You get only what you need not what you want. Lenin caught my fish and straight away put it … where? in the water? I wish! In Aurora´s hands to kill and make more bait. I saw this and asked him to ask Aurora to put it back to the water cause I don't want to kill any animal that I don't need to (already enough animals are being killed to provide my meals). After two or three times of Lenin asking her and she ignoring him, Aurora finally replied that this is her territory, her water and her fish. And basically because she has what we call ¨native´s rights¨ she feels she can do what ever she wants. I can totally understand this idea but I think that to some extent I have the right over that fish, because I caught it. But leaving that alone, i can´t really understand why while we were walking peacefully in the forest she had to cut every thing that grew an inch from the ground? Maybe she was just a bit bored.
With the jungle rules, during meals I found it very hard to get bread for my soup. We were served some pieces of bread at breakfast and apparently all the bread was gone by the evening although there wasn't any meal served during the day. I thought that the hosts didn't think we needed to have bread with the soup, so we didn't get any. But it could be that I am wrong.

DAY THREE: a Forest Walk, Yucan Bread and Looking for Crocodiles ('again…!' ' Who said that?' )

The first thing that I noticed when I woke up was my back. It was so painful, I have never experienced such a sharp pain. I had no idea what it was from. I haven't had back pain for ages; especially after practising Pilates, it's all gone. But now in the jungle it came back in a very painful way. So I was thinking, what did I do that might have caused this pain? And after concentrating really hard, the obvious conclusion came: THE CANOE. Sitting on a canoe for a whole day with short distance between seats, low benches and back support at a very funny angle is the right recipe for back pain. And the cure came only after I remembered what has helped me in the last few years – Pilates, yes ! how good is it when u have a physical problem and u can solve it yourself ?

Except the pain in the back on the third day, we went on a three hour walk in the forest, which was pretty nice. In the afternoon we went to Aurora's house and watched her cook a local bread called Yucan. The bread was made in a traditional fashion and we helped pulling the Yucan route from the ground. On the way back from Aurora's place we stopped for half an hour for Luis (Aurora's son in law) to make a phone call from his mobile. That was a unique experience. In the area that we were there is one specific point where locals found out that you can make phone calls. I guess while looking for reception they climbed up a few trees and found this one. But now they have upgraded to a small tower next to the tree that u can phone from. After that for some reason that I can't really understand we were again looking for crocodiles. I think Lenin has a small obsession with them. Because the day before while on the way back to the lodge we were looking for the same guys. And I mean it's not that u can really see them. You are actually looking for red eyes in the dark. If u saw that it meant that u saw a small crocodile.

DAY FOUR: Canoe Ride, Soccer with Locals and the Tarantula

The best day. Our group on this day was much smaller, because some of the members had to finish the day before. So we were only 4 instead of 9 which was a big difference. We didn't need to use the canoe with an engigne, and had a lovely sunny day and time to explore whatever we asked for. We started the day by a three hour canoe ride along the river, looking for birds, monkies and all their friends. And for some reason they all decided to expose themselves. As well as all the animals that we saw it was a great ride because we had to paddle ourselves in a small canoe where every movement counts. So we all had to be sync'ed with our movements to prevent flipping and to do some exercise at the same time. After lunch we went to visit the local school that is surrounded by local houses. Some local boys saw us and asked the guide if we want to play soccer with them, and we did. Because I was wearing rubber boots it was extremely hard, but it was a lot of fun. What was more amazing was the fact that the kids kept laughing throughout the whole game. Never mind losing or winning their were happy to make jokes about us or themselves, it was unbelievable. This phenomenon I have noticed with Aurora as well, when she was with her family most of time you would hear her laughing.
At night time we went for a walk, just Leah and I, with Lenin. The other couple was too tired. I must say doing a walk at night time in a forest full with different animals where most of them are not specially friendly is not my favourite thing but it was still very interesting. We managed to see mainly different kind of insects and one Tarantula. And when Lenin noticed that we were excited about the spider he said that he wiil show us another one when we get to our lodge. And yes he did. It was the biggest spider that I ever saw in my life. Waiting very calmly under a hole in a trunk right next to the toilet!!! I was very happy that we were leaving the next day otherwise it would have been very difficult to know that our friends are everywhere and we can't really see them unless we look very carefully.

DAY FIVE

Going back ¨home¨ to civilisation was a great relief. Although I felt like life in the jungle is very attractive. Living with nature seems to me the best way of living. A place where u are actually part of your surroundings and the surroundings are part of u, where respecting the environment is a way a living. U don't just recycle but u are part of the soil and the trees and the water. U influence it and it0 influences u.

Chugchilan Ecuador: Laguna Quilatoa & the Cloud Forest

COTOPAXI


From Banos we continued to the cityLatacunga where we went on a guided trip to Cotopaxi with a company called Tovar. We made it to the top! Well almost… we barely managed to finish our day trip to see baby Cotopaxi and other views. The weather was definitely against us. Up to a point that I could not breathe because the wind was so strong. And the fact that the summit was playing hide and seek the all way behind the clouds did not make it easier. But I'm happy we went because it was a good preparation for Chuchilan´s altitude.

CHUCHILAN
Upon arrival to Quilatoa we hired a guide to take us on a walk to Chuchilan. The walk was very nice specially at the start when we walked along the Quilatoa lake. The walk gos along the half of the lake and then decends into a valley and then climbs up to Chuchilan. The guide that we hired, the owner of a restaurant in Quilatoa, was very patient through the all walk and we paid him 20 dollars. Later we found out that if we had hired a guide from Chuchilan it would have cost $10. the difference in prices is because ours charged us for his trip back to Quilatoa.




IN Chuchilan we decided to go to a Hostal called Mama Hilda: http://www.hostalmamahilda.org/index.htm for some reason I felt bad about this place. Maybe because http://www.lonelyplanet.com/recommendations were starting to be more and more unreliable or just because when we booked the women on the other line was quite surprised that we were calling to book and then when we called to change our booking she didn't have any booking in our name…what a great start. So we got there after a five hour walk from Quilatoa and surprisingly again they did not have our booking, they had to call their office in Quito to get it. So yes we had a room (but not for long). The receptionist-owner showed us our room and we asked whether it is possible to have one with a view. To look for one she walked with us while knocking on different random doors to see if they are occupied or not. After finishing out little tour of the lodge we said we need five minutes to think if we want the original room or not. While discussing the different options we see the same women showing the original room to some one else. We approached her and said we want the room. Her reply was ¨Sorry… sorry…¨ but it was a very annoying sound because she kept on dragging out each word for a few seconds until u feel like your ears are dropping off. She said something like it wasn't her fault, another lady showed them the room and she did not know but it was booked... Anyway she was willing to give us another room with a hot shower. It was a room for four people but she said we could have it as a private room. Leah asked her for her GUARANTEE that no one else would be put into the room with us, and she promised not to. We had a quick look and this time we said YES! straight away. After I had a very cold shower where I felt like someone is pissing on me cold pee, afterwards I wore all my clothes and went into bed to try and recover my body's temperature. But guess what happened after 10 minutes? We hear heavy knocks on the door. And I was like ´what´s that´? Leah went and opened and it was our good friend the receptionist saying her annoying sorry´s again and repeating the same song again: the room is booked !!! and sorry...sorry ... so we have to leave to a next by hostel and tomorrow we will have our room back.

AS WE say in Hebrew what ¨A Chutspa¨ this women has - I just could not believe it. The next day we moved to a much nicer, prettier place called http://www.blacksheepinn.com/ . The owners Andy and Michelle arrived to Chuchilan about 15 years ago, fell for the place and decided to move from the US to build an ecological lodge. The place is very expensive, 25 dollars per person for a dorm bed but it provides excellent service (on a trust basis) and great vegetarian food. It has a spa, internet access, great cookies and its main feature is toilets with big windows overlooking the valley. After their arrival the whole of Chuchilan started to get involved in tourism (previously there had been none).




FOR ME the whole experience was still a bit hard. Although I had good experiences sleeping in India in dormitories, at this one people had to wake in the middle of the night because the public buses were leaving at that time and while packing their stuff and leaving they would often make unavoidable noise. The worst was with this European couple who left at four am while talking to each other like it was mid day. The other thing that was hard for me was the toilet, although I loved the idea of toilets with a view (and in one of them there is even a book about the history of toilets) the whole ecological business was a bit difficult. The toilets were what u call dry ones so u do ur thing into a toilet that u cant see what's happening in it and then u throw all kind of bits of leaves and other staff when u finish.





THE OTHER walk that we did in Chuchilan is called the Cloud Forest walk. In the hostel they have this amazing service where they ask everyone during dinner what are the activities they want to do the next day, and then organise what u need for the next day. That allows you to join a group and overall pay less. Our Cloud forest walk was organised like that and we asked for a truck to take us to the forest and a guide. Lets say it was a very nice experience. It wasn't the best walk that I ever did and the guide (16 years old) knew some stuff about the different plants and it was well organised but that's it.




BUT I THINK the best thing that happen to us there was the people. So many nice people were staying there which made the dinners, that are served to all the guests together, a great experience. When checking out there were two things I did not quite understand. First the hostel gives discounts to students with international student cards so when we checked out we asked for a discount but I didn't have my actual student card with me as I had left it in Latacunga with most of our luggage. The owner said that they have to see the card and they can't give a discount. I thought it is very weird that a place that is run on the idea of trust does not trust its customers. The other thing was that after paying we have discovered that we were not credited with our initial deposit of $20US. We got the money back, but to our surprise another couple that left with us said that they had the same problem with a bigger amount 150US that they gave as a deposit and was not included in the final bill (more info and pics about the Quilota loop u can find at http://www.pbase.com/nikonesque/quilotoa_loop, pictures of the Quilota lake at http://www.ecuador-images.net/lake.quilotoa.htm ).

THE PICTURES: first line Laguna Quilatoa, the walk from Quilatoa to Chuchilan. Second line The blacksheepinn and a flower in the cloud forest.

Banos Ecuador Travel Guide by Eran Sofer

After spending two weeks in Banos I think I am able to recommend some activities to do and places to see. Here is a short list that I think will be helpful to the newcomer.

Accommodation
In the town we stayed in a place called Plantas Y Blanco. The owner of the hostel Carlos is a reflection of the staff and the excellent service that u will b able to find there. In addition to clean rooms, hot showers, quick laundry service and free internet access, u can get a great breakfast on a terrace that has views of the whole town and is located only 7 minutes walk from the hot springs.
As a compensation for not being able to fit Tahiti into out trip because of flight companies regulations, we went to a spa resort called http://www.lunaruntun.com/ for four days. There we had amazing views of Banos and the whole valley from above while sitting in hot mineral baths.

Food
Café Hood - excellent food, you have to try the Arabic lamb, Leah says it was amazing. I loved the Plato Hindu.
Casa Hood - very nice atmosphere, excellent apple pie and a lot of oil in the rest.

Rafting – that is one of the highlights of my trip so far. We had an excellent experience with www.rainforestur.com.ec, the guide Tito was very professional and was able to lead the raft like a king. Everything was organised smoothly including an excellent lunch.

Cycling – we hired bicycles for a day for 5 dollars. We had a great day trip along the route from Banos to Puyo. The ride starts at Banos along the main road and then splits off to a small side road along water falls inside a valley with some very nice views (one warning to travellers there is one tunnel that u need to go through in one part of the route which is shared with general traffic, unfortunately this tunnel is not lit up, so it is recommended to bring a torch with u). At one point u can go on a cable car that crosses the valley. The actual experience is pretty scary and very pretty. The car is an open basket which is run by engine at one end. Before departing u can actually see the open engine in front of u while the static driver is manuvering the basket from one side to another! We finished our trip at a place called Rio Verde. We had a small walk down hill where we have found unbelievable scenery. A big waterfall drops some 30 meters between two green foresty hills, on both sides of the hill next to the waterfall are two restaurants. On arrival we did not know a thing about any of them, but the first one tried to charge us for looking at the water fall. Which sounded really stupid, because we could see that if we continue to walk for another 20 meters we would have an excellent view from the bridge. So we did that and from there we saw the other restaurant that had an amazing setting. Offering great food, wonderful waterfall view and the best part it is owned by an Israeli family! It is called El Otro Lado (The Other Side). Currently the family is not there, but they bought the land from a local about 12 years ago and they lived there for 8 years and now they are living in Israel. Except the restaurant they offer accommodation in the same area (For more info on the bicycle route look in http://www.thebestofecuador.com/smiguel.htm and http://www.vivatravelguides.com/south-america/ecuador/andean-highlands/central-highlands/banos/around-banos-rio-verde/ )

Jungle trip
We had a very bad experience with an agency called Rainbow in Banos. This agency is recommended by http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ because the owner, a native guy called Shakay, is suppose to take u to his tribe´s reserve close to Macas while giving half of the money u pay for the trip to the community, and u have a good chance to live with them and get to know their culture better.
Unfortunately we were very disappointed with Rainbow, Shakay and http://www.lonelyplanet.com/´s guidance. We agreed on a trip for 4 days trip with an English speaking guide and among other things a taxi from Banos to Puyo at 1am. The taxi was never booked by Shakay because ¨the costs were too high¨. Shakay claimed that the ride would cost $50 us (later we checked the price with different taxi drivers and they all said its only $25 US). So instead of a taxi we had to wait in the freezing cold for a public bus. After waiting for one and half hours we said to Shakay that if the bus does not arrive in half an hour we are going back to our Hostal. At three Shakay disappeared to avoid the dead line and left us by ourselves with the entire luggage. After another 15 minutes the bus arrived and Shakay came back to load the luggage. On arrival to Puyo, after an hour and half on the bus, we were told by Shakay that the English speaking guide´s wife was bitten by a snake and could not come. Instead there was another guide that speaks only Spanish. Then and there we felt we could not trust him any more. The story with the taxi, the disappearance while waiting for the bus and the snake story were a bit too much. We demanded to return to Bnaos and a full refund. We did return but getting back the money was a very long experience which took us five days. We had help from www.rainforestur.com.ec , the owner Santiago gave us excellent advice and Carlos from Plantas Y Blanco went with us to launch a complain in the Tourist Police (which is an amazing thing that they have in all Ecuador, if u have any problem with any tourist agency the tourist police are the people to talk with).

Banos; Spanish, Garlic, Fortune tellers and Hot springs

We have been in Banos for more then a week now. Actually last night (24.07) we celebrated our one week anniversary in Banos, as u do when u r travelling. I had a few thoughts that I wanted to share with u while trying to reflect as hard as I could. But I´ve got only a few left as happens when trying hard (forcing) something, it usually wont work. I always use the soap metaphor to describe this situation: while holding a wet soap in u´r hand, if u try to hold it tight the soap will slip, but if u just let it rest on it, it will not move anywhere. I believe it´s the same for most things in life; if you try to meditate to relax very hard, it will never work, probably the opposite, u will feel more frustrated. U can try it with any experience that u have in life (warning: not for kids under the age of 3).

So yes I had a few thoughts and experiences that I wanted to share with you. One of them is that you can´t reflect when u want to. The others were about our activities and the book that I¨m currently reading.

We went twice since being here to the hot springs that were very crowded. My usual drill was to switch from very hot to very cold water, which was a lot of fun. But I think that gave me a small cold which I have managed to cure with the help of the owner of the restaurant called ¨La Bella Italia¨. As soon as we sat down in the restaurant, she felt that I have a cold and offered to prepare me a tea with ginger and garlic. Very soon after drinking it I felt much better (I went there another three times only for the tea).

On Saturday (21.07) we did a five hour trek around Banos. The trek was pretty hard because the way up was very steep but we managed to break it really well in a beautiful resort that was on our way. In their restaurant they served a really nice chocolate crepe that we could not resist. Hopefully in the near future we will go there for a relaxation day.

On Monday (23.07) we hired a quad for four hours. The experience was not as good as I expected. After riding for a few minutes on the asphalt I felt like it´s not the experience that I was looking for. The main mistake that we made was to hire one quad for both of us. That made manoeuvring the quad very hard, especially moving the wheel. Riding on the asphalt felt like you are riding on a blender. Leah with great instincts managed to get us off the main road onto a beautiful dirt road that led us to a valley with stunning views and excellent look outs.

On the morning of the same day we started learning Spanish in a school called Banos Spanish Centre. I have a private teacher called Rina and the cost for one hour is $5 which I think is a good deal. The first thing that came into my mind while studying was ¨why?¨ or ¨porque?¨ Why am I doing this to myself? The first thing I do after studying intensively for the last 2.5 years, which included one year of English study, on my holiday is to go and learn a new language. I guess the explanation for that is that in this stage of my trip I am learning. I am having the experience in the way that is most familiar to me. Looking at other travellers I can´t see many that sit all day and read books and study Spanish. Most of them are in the deep jungle chasing anacondas and other crazy things. I guess my time to do those activities will come.

Talking about books I have to tell u about the book that I´m reading now. It´s called “A fortune teller told me” and it was written by Tiziano Terzani. The author was told by a fortune teller that he would die during 1993 if he flew on a plane. He decided not to fly and describes his travels around the world as a journalist for one year overland and sea. While travelling he meets the local fortune teller of every place he visits and asks them to read his fortune.

So far, from this book I´ve got two main messages. First, never go to a fortune teller. Second, eat a lot of garlic. According to Terzani in many cases that the fortune tellers were wrong, their advice was devastating to the recipient, causing them a lot of grief, and personal damage. I personally believe that going to a fortune teller is a mistake. While knowing the future (if it´s true) you miss the point of living. Life is all about the present. If you live according to the fortune teller´s advice you are constantly chasing your tail. I think that the challenges that come in life ARE life. And about the garlic, as my dad says, eat a lot of garlic and you will prosper. This is the same idea all the fortune tellers told Terzani. So because my dad is smart and his advice correlates with the fortune tellers´, I will try and eat as much garlic as I can.