Hotel Amira In Salinas, Ecuador

... by the indigenous folks country wide and that buses wont run, so maybe better, although i was so, so tempted to stay in town for another night of this festival madness!<br>The festival is called Mama Negra. Not really sure what its all in order off, but its great fun, dancing, booze, men carrying huge cooked pigs on there backs, so many colourful costumes and everybody enjoying the whole thing! I also managed to get cleansed by these guys who wear costumes like ghosts, they rub you up and ...

... to be a bit later so dave took himself off to see the crater, I was determined to stay warm so didn't, and on the way back he stopped off at the local tienda and bought some coke for our half finished bottle of rum I'd carried from Banos, which we decided to drink before dinner. So, there we were sat around our flue, drinking rum and coke, all nice and clean, life felt warm and good again. <br><br>Manuel called us downstairs to sit with his family (the ...

... about what I say)!<br><br>4. Develop a natural defense from powerful UV rays, because in Ecuador, the sun is especially powerful <br><br>5. Fearlessness of germs, and extra resistance to even the most powerful of the flus (playing with kids all day, wiping their noses, and hugging/tickling them with mud and food-stained shirts)<br><br>6. Ability to decode Spanish spoken with different accents, including German, French, and Swiss-French, etc., after interacting with gringa ...

So I left with Kahyda (who was off to work) and Tutti (who was heading South towards Peru) and took a bus at the terminal for Riobamba. It took right around 6 hours (about 9.20am to 3.20pm) and cost $4.70. It was comfy enough, especially since it was pretty empty, and I had the two seats for myself the whole time. I was able to sleep a liiittle bit, which was kind of nice, but the views along the way, climbing into the green mountainside, was really beautiful, with a ...

... Carrell) refuge at 4800m, the imposing form of Chimborazo rose high into the sky. You could really sense a difference. It's not only that it's 400m higher than Cotopaxi, the entire mountain just seems so much bigger. It's absolutely massive. I immediately went for a nap while the others prepared lunch. When I woke, I could tell things were very much off as I had definite chills despite being warmly dressed. After another nap and then dinner we ...

... no swiss quality, but what can you expect for a fraction of the price, it was quite tasty).. We had only about an hour to wander around town which was really sad, cute little town. One thing that has caught me off guard about Ecuador is their sports. They love soccer, but can you guess what their second favorite sport is? It's played literally everywhere you go in this country ...

... our fish in, so maybe they got a free lunch. I learned later that many people fish with clothes lines. My conclusion, you need stout gear for ocean fishing, and pray that you only catch small fish! Pirates? Right after we lost the fish we were approached by three men in a 20 foot long ponge. There was growing tension between us as we watched them approach. We had only seen a few boats from afar during the last few days, and now this skiff was ...

... playing Santa or Papa Noel in one way or the other! :) My mother-in-law is hosting another children´s Christmas party today in another town! It´s so inspiring to know that there are holiday parties like this here for the children who don´t have a lot...'tis the season! Today we will be having Christmas dinner at midnight (the typical time for Christmas dinner in Ecuador) with Juan´s family and two Irishmen who are here travelling and don´t ...

Looking for a more remote Ecuadorian experience we headed southwest from Ambato through the mountains to visit Salinas. Salinas is home to about 1,000 people (I think this is a stretch), and various cooperatives producing cheese, chocolate, crafts and other textile products all at around 12,000 feet above sea level. There are reported hiking options, but we didn´t find them. Our trip to Salinas was half the fun. Boarding a bus in Ambato, we headed high ...

... I was hoping the dolphins would come up to us &amp; investigate, but they were too intereted in hunting fish. We climbed out &amp; i noticed more dolphins swimming close to the boat. I was just about to jump in, when we noticed these looked like our first group of sharks again...that kinda convinced me to stay put. We all agree they weren't dolphins, but as to what type they were, it depends who you ask. After flapping through ...