Bellavista Cloud Forest Quito

... At 1am we called it a night and went back to the hotel –
thought the fights went on to well into the early hours.






In the morning we got up and had
breakfast in the hotel the usual Ecuadorian breakfast of scrambled
eggs and coffee...

We had decided the night before to go
and visit the lake Cuicocha. So a quick bus ride of 15 min's took
us to the nearest town. There we were approached quickly by a taxi
driver asking us in ...

... shops. Although was is really hard to find as with what we've experienced of central and South America are hardly any supermarkets (am missing Sainsbury's and Tesco's)! Last night we went out into the new town and met up with the Swedish couple that we did the nightmare boat trip with. There are loads of good, modern places to eat and the new ...

... Shoe shine boys on every corner
- Ladies in indigenous dress peddling wares
- Buses belching out foul black exhaust fumes every few metres (as if there wasn't little enough oxygen up here already - Suzie taking inhaler lots)
- No care for road rules at all (eg: running red lights, bus lanes free-for-all, even one-way streets mean little)
- Cheap food! Three course lunch with fresh juice for $1.50!
- Hot and sunny in the day, cold at ...

... was lucky enough to see a Tiger Snake Eel.

After lunch the boat navigated for about three hours to South Plaza, a beautiful island with distinct red vegetation. We walked along the trail behind a sea lion colony and saw several large males with their lumpy foreheads, vocalizing their territories. The trail led uphill to some cliffs where the bachelor sea lions that haven’t yet fought, or fought and lost a territory, hang out. It’s also home to Swallow-tailed Gulls ...

... tired after the 26 hours it took to get here that nothing would have kept me awake). Nothing much to report about our first day. We took our time getting ready and then after a quick jaunt in a cab to see a travel agent in the hope that they could help us book tickets for the famed La Nariz del Diablo (they couldnīt - tickets are only available through the Ecuadorian government, though this ...

... of bright blue, complete with blue sunhat (the kind kids have to wear on the school playground these days...) had the job of running up and down the street (about 3-4 blocks in total) everytime a car parked to take their money and issue a ticket. After I first saw it I noticed that many other streets in the centre of town were also operating a similar system...

My days at the moment are really all about going to school, and then wandering ...

Hi,

I am exhausted, went walking a lot today through Quito - mostly in the historic district which is absolutely amazing and a real surprise. We met some very friendly people here today and we think this place is paradise and perhaps the most liveable city on the planet.

The hills in the historic part of the city have really worked my healling leg and so I must go to bed. Please enjoy the pictures.

... t matter so much though as we were prett much wrecked from tiredness so we just tried to get some sleep. Iīm not so good at sleeping on planes though, and had rather cleverely neglected to bring a book with me. Additionally, the flight was made rather disconcerting by this rather hideous-faced troll woman across from us who insisted on breast-feeding her child viciously every 5 minutes when he evidently wasnīt ...

So today had to be the most interesting day of my life. Last night i met up with two girls at the airport who were going to a backpackers hostel. Since i did not have reservations for that night I stayed at the backpackers hostel. It was a nice hostel but the pillow was hard as rocks. I had another lousy night of sleep but got enough rest to finish out the day. I walked with my backpack for 3 hours, which took a toll on my muscles ...