Boxing Day and I'm back on a bus again. What fun! Definitely not as long as the long haul up to Quito. It may be cheap at only a $1 an hour but you have to really get yourself prepared for it. You need to restrict fluids to avoid having to pee; warm clothes as its generally freezing; a decent book to try and distract you from the slash and burn movie they inevitably show on the TV on the bus - some friends even saw a film which included a scene of a couple having anal sex; the ability to be able to sleep whilst holding onto all of your possesions so that some scumbag doesn't go off with them; and lastly lots and lots of fortitude!

Had just one night in Quito which included a trip to my favourite cafe then yet another bus north to Otavalo. This town has the largest artisan market in Ecuador. It was fun to see but in reality there was just more of the same stuff you can see anywhere else just larger quantities of it. There is only so much shopping I can do so hiked up to see a waterfall just north of town - La Cascada de Peguche. Fairly modest but a pretty spot. Walked on over the the top of the waterfall through really remote villages to the much more tranquil Lago de San Pablo which was a geat hike.This was all good preparation for my next tramp around the rim of Laguna Cuicocho - Guinea Pig lake! It was fantastic.

Arrived in Ibarra which wasn't quite what I was expecting. I found a good place to stay but the hostal like the town was empty. It all felt like it had seen better days and the only places that seemed to be lively were the Karoke Bars. Given its lack of obvious thrills I headed up to Tulcan on the border with Colombia. Took me two attempts given I missed the bus. You have to wonder how this happened given I was in the bus station an hour before the bus left. Apparently it left early like every bus in Ecuador does, not! After a row with an old bag in the terminal she reluctantly issued me a ticket for the next bus. Like most border towns Tulcan wasn't a place you would want to linger in with the exception of the Cementario, I kid you not. The topiary was incredible. Cypresses have been snipped into more than a 100 different figures and patterns from Inca faces to Galapagos turtles and penguins. I have given up on the idea of a green burial when I eventually pop my clogs, Tulcan is definitely the place for me.

Given Ibarra's limitations - apart from a great coffee shop I found whose owners seemed equally disenchanted with the place - I went up to El Angel to see the El Paramo for New Year. It was truly breathtaking and not just because of the altitude of 4768m. It had these amazing furry leaved plants called Frailejones. Added to this a weird forest called Polylepis which had trees draped with mosses, orchids and bromeliads and I was in heaven. No better place to spend NY. Welcome 2009!