Hotel Oro del Mar I Salinas

... two days! What the hell??? Is this turning into some sort of nature loving trekkers holiday or something!<br>I had lunch near the lake and then managed to get a ride in the tray of a ute to one of the towns further around the loop. There were three germans in the ute going to the same place, so i went to the hostel they were staying at. Pretty sweet deal as the price included breakfast and dinner and I had a room that was more like a hotel! <br>After dinner we found out that the town had ...

... would have made.<br><br>We knew from looking at Google Maps and another blog (link below) that there was yet another 300 metre cliimb, before we dropped a further 300 metres to Zumbuhua. I had started to lose the will to live. not only had we been climbing virtually all day, but we hadn't come across a single place to buy anything, coffee, drinks, food AND we still had a long way to go. Then along comes Manuel and his truck. He has a muy bonita casa ...

... up going through a little valley with a small river running through it, the river absolutely reeked and was a strange grey colour, and yet all around it was incredibly verdant with lots of people growing food.<br><br>I also saw several local women spinning wool, either as they walked along, or, as they sat at the bus stop. They carried the raw wool on a stick in their left hand, the wool was covered with what looked like a brightly coloured sock ...

... especially on the steep slopes. The houses themselves, small wooden structures, were built partially into hillsides or into the ground to offer protection from the elements. Cows, llamas and sheep were also tended to. It was a little difficult for us to breathe, so we took it easy as we explored the sparse lanscape. Although we enjoyed a great view of the glacier-capped peak of Volcan Chimborazo on our way in via bus, clouds covered it for the rest of the day.

So yeah, I got up nice and early at 6am, and walked right away over to the train station (about 10 blocks away) for the train that was to leave at 6.30am. It was almost full already by the time I got there (around 6.15am) so if you want a particular seat (the right side is the way to go), get there by 6am. Anywho... the train ride... it was alright. There *were* some nice ...

I have to admit it. I had a bit of summit fever. Chimborazo was the only mountain left for us to climb and it was the one I had come down here for. Unlike Cotopaxi, Chimborazo is generally reserved for those with alpine experience. It is a big mountain and can be a very tough climb, even though it is not that difficult technically. While Cotopaxi sees favourable conditions and weather 80% of the time, on Chimborazo you can flip a coin to see what ...

... I felt perfectly comfortable in shorts, tee shirt, and inflatable harness with tether. We were sailing quietly along on a beam reach. I had seen Orion above us at 7:30 pm, but at 3 am Orion was falling quickly over the western horizon. In front of me and low to the South is Crux, the Southern Cross. A beacon to sailors all the way back to Greek times when it could be seen as far North as the Mediterranean Sea. Behind me the Big Dipper pouring ...

... in Montañita for some more drinks and took a walk on the beautiful beach. We then visited the Santuario de Olon, just north of Montañita, which was amazing and miraculous! This is the site of a church that is literally at the edge of a big cliff. I have always wanted to visit this site! Our friend decided to continue a little bit more north to the small town of La Entrada, which is ...

Not at all like what we had expected when we had been told by several people how deserted it would be. Salinas had just been made a state in its own right and therefore seperate from Ecuadoren government rule - hence the reason why a large amount of Ecuadorians are now boycotting it. (We didn´t think it was particularly quiet, who knows how busy it would have been normally!?!) We were met from the bus by Luis (a local tour guide), who recomended a ...

i arived in the coastal town of salinas afte a 3 hou bus ride, it was nice to take a bus in the day as i could see some of the scenery of ecuador... thepoblem with travelling on busses in S.america is that people can get off pretty much where they want.. so that leaves u wondering whee is the actual place u want to go.. normally i just stay on untill the bus stops, and that works... luckily oi got off right next to the beach, right whee i ...