Hosteria San Luis Ibarra

... the owner, to come let us in. We were the only reservation for that day, and he apparently didn't expect us so soon, so went across the square for lunch. Jaime, who speaks not one single word of English, was, as are so many Ecuadoreans, charming, and immediately invited me upstairs (no raised eyebrows, please!) to choose the room I wanted. Of course, we had to go up three flights of stairs before I was allowed to start the choosing process, so, thinking of our excess ...

We woke up in the small little hotel in the center of the town of San Gabriel in Carchil Province in Northern Ecuador. I think the elevation is somewhere around 10,000 feet, so its a bit chilly in the morning and with some light showers, we pulled out the rain gear and took a look at Sylvain's rear tire. the night before, we had found a nail stuck into it and, it being Sunday evening, couldnt ...

... I was ahead of him. When Ania and I boarded the bus, we took the seats indicated on the ticket. And sure enough, when we looked to our left, our collaborating “friends” were sitting right next to us (the man who told me to cut in line and the man whom I cut in front of). Ania and I looked at each other. Hmmm…Perhaps this was a trap? The bus lurched forward, and as each minute passed, my thoughts raced… “Why did they let me ...

... to the Queen Ann’s hostel. Just down the road from our hostel was a great little square but as we drove past it we saw the most disturbing thing. A policeman on motorcycle harassing two women by driving right at them and when they scattered he’d turn around and accelerate at them again. They were outraged and scared and it was totally bizarre, I was kind of thrown by that. By the time we were getting out of our cab they had ...

... it's polylepis trees which had paper like bark which sheded to stop other plants growing on it. Only 11kms of the once 67km polylepis forest is left. <br><br>The lodge is also only 15kms from the columbian border. I meet the dog I want, his name was Aaron and was a rot weiler. That night after dinner we went into the middle of the forest with these candle sticks and our guide ...

... and sliding forwards down a fifth cascade. A night at the thermal baths felt fantastic after so much adventure. Thanks Luke and Holly for pushing our limits! Next stop was Quito, Ecuador's capital, where we spent just one night after hearing too many stories of people getting robbed on their way to, from, and inside the city. We made the most of our one afternoon there ...

... only room that did not have to be rebuilt was the bar. It was here that we gathered each night to sip wine and listen to a local band (pan flutes and all) before dinner in one of the main buildings. While at dinner, someone would go to our room, start a fire in the wood stove, put chocolates on the pillows and a hot water bottle (wrapped in a towel) at the foot of the bed.....very civilized.

... it. He did a ****ing Pet** Pan acr*ss the sidewalk, b**ks flying ev**ywh**e. I th*ught "h*ly ****". Then the dude jumps *ut *f the car and ev**y*ne is laughing, he's p*inting and yelling at the dude *n the gr*und "I g*t y*u, y*u m*th********, I g*t y*u!". And the kid is m*aning, he's like "yeah, y*u g*t me, g**d *ne". Turns *ut it is a new trend h**e t* run *v** y*ur friends. But a d*g?.... S* Diana sh*ws up pr*nt* like planned Wednesday m*rning. S* we take a ...

... finding out we are Australians, tell us they are trying to move to our country and we stand on the footpath in the midst of this pretty, comfortable city and the man tells his wife that Australians aren`t scary like she thought, they are like us. I should probably have warned her that we are not the best representations of Australians...3 blondes...that`s not really even it but the people here talk to us and we can talk to them and there is some kind of two-way ...

... with Ecuador instantly. One of the first locals to greet us was an elderly man. His wife in tow, was somewhat nervous. He was interested in immigrating to Australia. He seemed somewhat depressed at the prospects for South America. He needed an escape. It was quite sad really. Seemingly a well educated man with a degree in Environmental science, he was looking for an out. Ecuador had failed to pay its due. His only prospects apparently were an organic farm ...