By Luke, on May 14, 2011, 3:02 am
I have just returned from the Galapagos islands after spending 7 days their and what a truly amazing 7 days they where. When we where planning our trip to south America the Galapagos islands where something that we gave alot of thought, the reason being that it costs the same for one week as a months travel and lets face it were all on a budget. Having now been to the Galapagos islands I am so glad we decided to do it.
We booked a 9 day tour with gap adventures, 3 days on a boat cruze and 3 on Isabella island. We thought having a little mix would enable us to really see what the golapagos was like. It was truly amazing, being surrounded by so much wildlife and being able to get so close, it’s a truly unique and magical place. As I am unable to upload Swimming with Sea Lions in the Galapagos
By Luke, on May 11, 2011, 6:45 am
We arrive in Cuenca early evening from Loja after a 6 hour bus ride. We headed straight for a hostel which we had picked out of the footprint. Casa Cauncana is situated in the centre of town it was a great location but a little noisy when the weekend came round. After having no luck finding a market we grabbed a bite at a local Mexican before heading to bed.
Walking around Cuenca, Ecuador
You can easily spend a day walking around the old colonial centre of Cuenca. The architecture has endless details which keep you engaged for hours. Thousands maybe even millions of small bricks with large almost marble like pillars around huge doorways make the cathedral one of the most breathtaking I have seen on my travels so far. Small squares with busy market stalls are dotted all over and their are at least two impressive markets Colonial Cuenca, Ecuador
By Luke, on May 9, 2011, 12:30 pm
I am whole hartedly loving Ecuador so far, so much so it is posing me some difficult questions. Sometime while we where in the Amazon we decided that we where going to extend our trip for a month, it could have easily been a few months but we love glastonbury music festival and have tickets so will now be heading back in mid June. The original idea was to use that month to travel north and do a loop of Columbia but now i am not sure for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, having spent a large amount of time in Iquitos volunteering we did not really get the opportunity to experience the jungle the way that we would have liked. I think we would both like to have have a jungle experience that is a little more raw than what we had in Iquitos. Also while in Iquitos Ecuador, Columbia, Ecuador, no wait…… Columbia
By Luke, on May 3, 2011, 6:45 pm
After a wild journey from Iquitos to Equador we arrived late in Vilcabumba, it was Easter Sunday and after a fun filled weekend the town was dead. We where shattered so just found a bed and slept. We had herd that their was a nice Eco lodge just out of town so the next morning after grabbing some breakfast we went it search of it.
Rumi Wilko is around 10 minute walk put of town and is clearly signposted. The owners have created a nature reserve on their land and have cabins along the river and shared rooms which where basic but adorable. Within the reserve their are a number of walks of up to two hours, we went out for a walk in the afternoon. Some of the paths where a little overgrown and their where a huge number of spiders which was kinda good to take some Vilcabamba, a magic place in Southern Equador.
By Luke, on May 2, 2011, 12:35 pm
After taking the boat to Iquitos from Yurimagus we caught the plain back and headed for Ecuador from Tarapoto, this journey took us 1.5 days but could easily take 2 and maybe 3 if their where problems with the roads.
Tarapoto to Jaen, Peru
We caught the bus direct with the Fernandez bus company, ask moto taxi to take you to Terminal Morales in Tarapoto. The bus passes through Pedro Ruiz, so if you wanted to get to Equador from Chachapoyas it would be no problem, moto taxi’s go from one block past the market in Chachapoyas to Pedro Ruiz. The bus from Tarapoto to Jaen took us 10 hours and cost 40 Soles.
Jaen to San Ignacio, Peru
Our bus arrived at 3 in the morning and we where able to stay at the bus depot until 5 when the town woke up. From terminal in Jaen we Peru to Ecuador, Boarder at La Balsa
|
|