11/11/12 - Never forgetting Remembrance Day xxx

It was another scenic journey - I don't think I'd ever get bored of the gorgeous views here. We passed through a small town called Saraguro where it was market day so it was really busy. I saw one woman with a live chicken, she pulled it out of a bag and showed it to 3 or 4 women standing around. It made me laugh, I can imagine her telling her friends of her bargain and it made me think of how I show off my bargains when I have something new from Primark!!

In Loja we got a taxi to a hotel and snapped up a fairly dog-eared room for $12 a night, the room wasn't quite ready yet so we wandered off in search of lunch. There was a big meat and vegetable market on in the centre but as it was Sunday there was little else open - it's so weird how whole towns and cities shut down on Sundays. We ended up at a rotisserie chicken place with soup, chicken, chips and a drink for under $10 each - perfect!

After lunch we mooched around a little before returning to the room, now ready for us, where we did some budgeting and future travel planning for a few hours. For tea we went to a local pizza place and the pizza was delicious! I am looking forward to our trip to Vilcabamba tomorrow.

12/11/12 - Vilcabamba

I was feeling much better after a good night's sleep so we got up and headed for the bus via the laundry, which annoyingly was shut (we'll have to come back later!). We got on the local bus to the bus station, where after asking at the information desk, we easily found the bus to Vilcabamba.

It took about an hour to get there through the lovely scenery - a lot of people rave about the beauty of this journey but it was no more beautiful than the journeys we had been on in the rest of Ecuador. Once off the bus we walked down to the mall square where we had a drink and some breakfast before setting off on a walk to the leaning bridge. We bumped into 2 girls who had been staying in our hostel in Quito, and as always it was nice to see a friendly face. We enjoyed our walk over the bridge, taking in the river Riochamba and surrounding countryside.

We had a mooch around the tiny pretty town, enjoying sitting in the square watching the local school children before getting a quick lunch. Another little look around led us back to the main road where we jumped on a passing bus back to Loja. Although Vilcabamba was pretty it didn't charm me. There was something missing or maybe due to the growing number of expat community it just didn't feel like Ecuador. It sounds silly but I didn't like the arrogant bunch of expats sat drinking beer at the café at 11am, nor did I like feeling like the locals resented us. I wasn't sure about the placed but definitely wouldn't rave about the place like most travellers do.

After a little nap on the bus, we got the busy local bus back to the main area in Loja. Picking up the laundry we again tried the laundrette and were pleased it was open this time. Walking back towards the hostel we decided to get a drink and ice-cream instead. We had a nice long chat before coming back to the hostel and taking a nice hot shower each - bliss!

After a bit of travel research we went out for dinner, collecting our laundry as we did - $3 for a wash done in 3 hours - bargain! We enjoyed dinner at a Uruguay grill before returning to the room in hope of another good night's sleep.

13/11/12

Another good night's sleep was had by us both so we woke up happy and quickly went out in search of breakfast. We picked something up at the supermarket and sat in the Parque Central while we ate. As we sat taking the square in we were approached by a business man who borrowed our pen, and a little later an elderly man who saw were looking at our map, so showed us one he had explaining the old town of Loja. So sweet and it was so lovely to interact with the locals like this.

We marvelled at the big cathedral and the stalls outside selling candles, rosary beads and more. It feels very religious to me here - more so than anywhere else we've been. Maybe it's due to all the churches and cathedrals and the no nonsense approach to worshipping. It's just part of everyday like for the people of Ecuador.

After taking a few pictures at the Parque we moved on to the big central market. Here we saw meat, flowers, vegetables, clothes and shoes - a proper local market - sadly no tourist tat for me!! We also walked past a stall selling all kinds of corn - corn is a huge thing here and they can cook it in so many ways!

We wandered over to Iglesia De Santo Domingo set in another plaza, another beautiful church shadowed by yet another across the road. I love how accessible the churches are here, they are almost always open to worship, its shame they are not more like this at home. In the Plaza De Independencia we saw the beautiful fountain, huge clock tower and another church, it was such a lovely area. Walking up to the Virgen De Loja statue we passed many school children, some bravely shouting hello at us. The statue itself was rather underwhelming but the views of Loja were worth the walk up the hill there is just something so nice about being on top of a hill and looking down on the world below.

In need of a wee and a sit down we headed for an ice-cream shop. Neil had a coffee and slice of cake (like a grown up) and I had a fizzy pop and ice-cream (like a child!) yum! After this we carried on our walking tour taking in the Puerta de la Citadel and the Plaza de Simon Bolivar before walking around in circles looking for contact lens solution! We finally got some at a pharmacy along with some (rather strong) paracetamol to replenish our supplies before going to an internet café to check our e-mails.

Back at the room we showered and packed before going out for a delicious pizza tea. We are now tucked up in the room ready for our 5.30am wake up to make our way to Peru! I have loved the beautiful countryside, laid back culture and friendly nature of Ecuador, and although I am very excited about going to Peru, I will miss Ecuador a lot and would urge anyone to visit!

14/11/12 - Bus via Piura

The alarm went off at 5.30am and we were amazed to see 3 out of 4 bathrooms in use! What on earth is everyone doing up!?? I didn't even know that many rooms were occupied! We left the hostel by 6am, feeling awful for waking the owner up to let us out, but we were pleased to easily get a taxi to the bus terminal. It was only a short wait before we went through to the bus bay, loaded our bags and got on the bus.

It was a hot, tiring, but beautiful journey as the bus winded its way through the Ecuadorian hills to the border town of Macara. We'd been travelling for over 5 hours so were pleased to be able to stretch our legs. Neil got some cobs and I picked up a popcorn ball and an ice lolly to cool me down. Back on the bus we drove a short while before getting to the border where we were stamped out of Ecuador, and after walking across a bridge, we were stamped into Peru - as easy as that!

Back on the bus and driving again, there was an immediate change in scenery. It was much less hilly and reminded me in parts of Cambodia and in other parts, like some places in Africa. We got to the dusty (very India like) town of Piura at 4pm - we were hot, sweaty and tired but decided to get some cash and try and get a night bus to Lima. We had met a girl from Holland who had the same idea as us so we ventured out together. It was very bizarre and I felt like I was back in India. It was very hot, dirty, noisy, traffic was manic and there were loads of tuk-tuks about - not how I imagined Peru. After we got some cash we got a bus ticket leaving 30 minutes later so after buying a few more supplies (including world famous Inca Cola!) we boarded the bus. Boarding was like boarding a plane and it was an amazing bus with TVs, reclining chairs and loads of leg room. It was so comfortable so after watching a film, eating the in-drive meal and listening to a bit of music I fell fast asleep!

15/12/12

I had a surprisingly good night sleep, only waking a few times to turn over, and woke up to see more desert-like scenes pass me by. We were served a drink and small breakfast on the bus as we drove along the stunning costal road. Rather like Namibia we had sand dunes on one side and the ocean on another - the Pacific Ocean to be precise which I had never seen before. As we drew nearer to Lima the sea views were replaced with something far sadder. Rubbish piled high and slum type houses were now in view. The roads became much more congested as we got nearer to one of Lima's bus stations. We were about to get off the bus when a friendly local man told us that the bus terminal would be closer for us, so we reclined back in our seats as we slowly crawled through Lima.

Missing everyone lots and lots! xxx