Lima and Arequipa, Peru

Peruvian Literature House, Lima

In the late evening of October 12^th 2013, we arrived to Lima, a city with a population of 12 million, lots of traffic and pollution. Our hostel, Open Guest House, arranged a taxi to pick us up which is definitely a good idea for late arrivals in this metropolis. Lima is not the safest city in South America, so caution is required. Our hostel was in the Miraflores district which is one of the safest and more developed zones. The hostel was average. There are many bars and restaurants in this area, which is great if night life is your priority. 

Central Lima

The next morning visits included some Inca ruins, markets and the beach front. The weather was cloudy but we were told that it never rains in Lima. A fascinating attraction in Lima is the Magic Water circuit in the Parque de la Reserva. It is a spectacle of 13 interactive fountains that offer entertaining shows of water, music, light and laser effects. It has been named as the “world’s largest fountain complex in a public park” by Guinness Book of Word Records. 

Volcanoes around Arequipa

It was a pleasure to take a VIP night bus to Arequipa after a day in this busy and polluted city. Bus is a great option to travel in South America, especially in Peru. We travelled with a company called Cruz del Sur and had an excellent service. Comfortable, reclinable seats and tablets to watch movies were part of the luxury treatment. They also served free meals and drinks. It was just like a business class flight. The journey to Arequipa took 16 hours. It is definitely worth paying some extra money to travel with a reputable company.

San Camilo Market

Rocio from Marlon’s House greeted us at the terminal. She was a great host and it was a perfect place to stay in this beautiful town. After a cup of coca tea on the roof terrace with a view of the Misti Volcano, and a good chat with Rocio about things to do in Arequipa, we were ready to discover another fabulous city. Surrounded by three impressive volcanoes, El Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu, the second biggest city of Peru has a unique baroque and mestizo architecture. In 2000, the central core of this historical city made it to Unesco World Heritage listing. Most important tourist attractions are La Basilica of Arequipa, La Plaza de Armas (the main square), the San Camilo Market and the Convent of Santa Catalina.

On our first night, we caught up with Marian whom we met at the Zoorefugio Tarqui. After a delicious and cheap dinner, we enjoyed our well deserved pisco sours, which is a traditional Peruvian cocktail made with local brandy, pisco, egg white and lemon juice. After a couple of rounds, we said goodbye to Marian who was catching a bus towards Cuzco the next day. It was wonderful to see her after a month and we were sure that our paths would cross again somewhere in South America.

The following day, we joined a free walking tour, which was a good way to find out more about the history and architecture of this striking town. During the tour, we met another traveller from Portugal, who told us about his ayahuasca experience in the Amazon jungle which got me slightly interested.

Colourful streets of Santa Catalina

On our last day in Arequipa, we visited the incredible Convent of Santa Catalina. The 16^th century convent remained a mysterious world until it opened up its doors to public in 1972. Today, it is the most visited tourist attraction from the Spaniard era. It is like a small city with amazing colours, simple but beautiful architecture and years of history. Each street is painted with a different vibrant colour. There are still some nuns living there and we got a good understanding of their simple lives. You can easily spend a couple of hours in this magical environment.

After 3 wonderful days in this intriguing city, it was time to discover the Colca Canyon.     

Convent of Santa Catalina

Quito and Cotopaxi, Ecuador

La Compania Church

Upon settling in our lovely home-stay with Olga and Marcello in Quito, it was time to master Spanish. I started intensive classes at the Christobal Colon Spanish School with Maria Gusta, aka Magus. She was an excellent teacher with full of joy and helped me a lot with my Spanish by making me talk 4 hours every day. Thank you Magus, you were amazing!

Paul and I with our wonderful teachers 

Private tutoring was a very efficient way of learning due to full attention I got from Magus who corrected my mistakes immediately. In addition, I ended up talking a lot more than I would in a class environment.  Private lessons are definitely affordable in Ecuador and the prices range between $6 - $10 per hour. If you decide to attend this school, getting a membership with the South AmericanExplorers Club can be a great idea. With this membership you get a $1 off for each hour of your Spanish class. It really paid off  for me as I attended 3 weeks of intensive classes. There are also additional discounts in tour and accommodation bookings mostly in Ecuador and Peru. We saved quite a lot of money thanks to South American Explorers Club.

Historical streets of Quito

Our days in Quito were well spent. While I was attending classes until 1pm, Alex was discovering the city and visiting some impressive museums and churches. We also made new friends at our home-stay, Paul and Alex, who were also students at the Christobal Colon. In the afternoon, we visited some churches, historical buildings, Mariscal area and Plaza Foch. Basilica del Voto National and Cathedral of Quito are very impressive buildings in the heart of the city. I also spent a lot of time doing homework and practising Spanish with locals.

Cathedral of Quito

Ecuadorians are one of the friendliest nations in South America. We met many beautiful people during our time. One of them was Jorge-Luis, who approached us in one of the main squares asking for donation to help poor children. We started to chat about our trip around the world, and he told us about his adventures in Europe. After an hour we became really good friends and caught up a couple of more times later on. I was also happy to meet up with an old friend, Katrin from Germany, who happened to be on a business trip in Quito at the time. We certainly live in a small world.    

Colourful Otavalo Markets

The weekends were excursion times. Our first trip was to Otavalo which is an indigenous town in the Imbabura Province of Ecuador. Buses depart from Quito’s main terminal and charge $2 for the 2 hour ride. Otavalo is famous for its colourful markets that features some of the finest woven products in the region such as alpaca blankets, scarves, wall hangings, paintings and jewellery. We bought alpaca beanies and gloves as a preparation for our coming excursions to volcanoes and crater lakes in Ecuador and Peru. The Otavalo Market is open every day, however Saturday is the best day to visit when it is the biggest.   

Our next excursion was to the Cotopaxi National Park. At 7am, our tour bus departed towards the second highest mountain of Ecuador. It is also the world’s third highest active volcano with a height of 5,897 metres. After a short stop, we arrived at the spectacular national park. Our lovely group had people from Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil. My Spanish classes were already paying off as I was able to communicate with them!

Alex at Cotopaxi

The bus dropped us off at 4,600 metres and we had to climb the rest till 5,000 metres where we reached snow and ice. It was quite a challenge due to high altitude. Our bodies don't really adjust quickly having less oxygen. It took us around 2 hours to climb 400 metres. We kept walking on a slow but steady speed. According to locals, chewing coca leaves helps with altitude sickness which we tried. We reached the snowy areas at 5,000 metres and were very happy with our efforts. It was an extraordinary landscape of red soil and ice which felt like another planet. Please follow the link for more information on Cotopaxi.

The walk down from the volcano was much easier. When we reached our bus, there was an option to bike down to a nearby lake. It was a rough downhill ride with incredibly scenery. We left the national park at 3pm and had lunch in a local restaurant on our way back to the capital. We were absolutely exhausted when we got back to Quito at 7pm. What an excursion!

Our next trip took us to “La Mitad del Mundo Ciudad” or the middle of the Earth. It is a small village which is Ecuador’s biggest claim of fame. It is close to Quito and can be reached by local buses. There are two different sites to visit. The first one is a little town where Charles-Marie de la Condamine made his measurements in 1736 showing that it was the equatorial line. There was some interesting information about this historical expedition to find the equatorial line. We were also lucky to watch some traditional indigenous dance shows.

Alex in the middle of the world

A couple of metres away from this little village, we visited the Intinan Solar Museum which claims to be located on the actual equatorial line calculated by GPS. It was a great museum where we got to participate in unique experiments such as turning of water in different hemispheres. If you are lucky, you can manage to balance an egg on a nail and receive a certificate. Both places were fun but I enjoyed the Intinan Solar Museum more because we did a lot of hands on experiments.

Indigenous family

Our last excursion was to the magnificent Quilotoa. Our bus departed around 7am. We had a mixed group from Sweden, England, Switzerland and of course our dear friend Paul from Australia. Our guide, Andres, was very knowledgeable about indigenous cultures of Ecuador and South America. On the way, we visited a native family living in a small hut in the mountains without electricity. This was a family of 5 and their income was through farming of quinoa. They were living in very harsh conditions, especially due to cold weather. They were happy to receive additional income from tour groups.

Incredible Quilotoa

We arrived at Quilotoa around 11am. It is a breathtaking crater lake in the Ecuadorian Andes with spectacular and extraordinary colours. While we were walking down to the lake , the colours kept changing with the sunlight. We rented some kayaks and went around the lake for a while. After a relaxing break, we started a massive hike back to the top. Alex and some others on the tour took mules to go back up. Paul and I decided to walk. Wow, what a torture. I took us about an hour to reach the top. Most of the group on mules were waiting for us when we arrived at the restaurant. It was challenging but I am glad to have done it.

After 40 amazing days in this beautiful country, it was time to leave. On the way to the airport, we felt sad and melancholic as we felt at home during our stay and made amazing connections with these serene people. Ecuador offers remarkable natural wonders, volcanoes, mountains, waterfalls, hot springs and most importantly welcoming and warm hearted people of the Andes Mountains.  Thank you Ecuador for being such a great host!   

       

The Animal Refuge, Zoorefugio

On our way to Tarqui, Alex and I had one of our biggest arguments and I was about to walk away, when she said she had lost hope in our relationship. When emotions are high like this, it is very difficult to reach a resolution, or even think clearly. It was wise decision for us to take time off and reflect back before jumping to a conclusion. 

The volunteer work at the Zoorefugio Tarqui gave us the opportunity to reassess our relationship and how we feel towards each other. We were also kept busy with hard work from early morning till late afternoon. We met other volunteers, Thomas, Marian Shelo and Thresa, who helped us to reduce the tension in our relationship. And of course, those beautiful animals with their unconditional love helped us to shift our focus from ongoing problems to compassion and love. This incredible week at this refuge centre was perfect for us to heal our wounds and re-evaluate our relationship.           

Marian feeding tapirs

Zoorefugio Tarqui is a centre that engages in animal welfare and environmental education. Most animals were brought in by the Ministry of Environment for rehabilitation after being rescued from animal traffickers. 

The work at the centre was hard. Days started by preparing meals for animals, cleaning cages and feeding some amazing creatures. There were a wide variety of animals such as monkeys, tapirs, jaguars, pumas, parrots, cuchuchos, turtles and wild pigs. After the feed, we helped to clean the grounds. While we were there, the owners were building a bigger cage for pumas. So, we helped in the construction by mixing cement and carrying sand. It was tough work and we were exhausted at the end of the day.

Amazing puma

The owner of the Zoorefugio wasn’t the nicest person but he provided us with opportunities to grow by setting healthy boundaries in terms of how much work we can do as paying volunteers. However, it was an invaluable experience to be with these incredible animals and meeting great people, especially other volunteers. My favourite animals were pumas, monkeys and jaguars.

One week at the centre had an amazing impact on us and on our relationship. I definitely felt a positive shift and was convinced that we could work out those relationship issues no matter how difficult they were.

Before departing to the capital, Quito, I wanted to try the shamanic medicinal brew called Ayahuasca. Amazonian shamans have been using this sacred wine as a window into the soul for centuries. An interesting article published by Kira Salak of National Geographic provides valuable insights about this Amazonian tradition. 

As stated in the earlier posts, one of my main reasons in this journey was to find out my purpose in life and I was willing to try this shamanic brew to get some insights. We found a local shaman through one of the workers at the zoo. After a strict diet (no sugar, salt, red meat and spices) and fasting for a day, another volunteer and I arrived at the shaman’s house in the evening. We drank the bitter brew half an hour later and started to wait for the effects. I didn’t feel much apart from an upset stomach. 2 hours later, the shaman offered me a second cup which I accepted. Soon after I started purging, which is a common side effect of Ayahuasca. We spent the rest of the night at the shaman’s house. The next day, I felt much lighter. My stomach problems were reduced. However, I had no visions or insights about my purpose, which was disappointing. I will elaborate more about my shamanic experiences in the episodes of Peru.

Our family at the refuge

In the afternoon, we said goodbye to our human and animal friends and made our way towards the capital. The main purpose of our visit to Quito was to learn Spanish. Alex lived in Spain for 2 years and she is fluent in Spanish but I needed more lessons to be able to communicate effectively. One of the volunteers at the zoo, Marian, recommended a good school in Quito, Christobal Colon. We also booked a home stay through them. When we arrived late afternoon, our host Olga welcomed us with open arms. She is a wonderful lady who became our Ecuadorian mother. She and her husband Marcelo have a big apartment in the middle of Quito where they rent rooms, mostly to students. You can contact her at +593 999 811 379 if you would like to experience this wonderful Ecuadorian hospitality.   

Our Ecuadorian mother, Olga

Magnificient Ecuador, Cuenca & Banos

We left Cuba on the 2^nd of September 2013, and flew to Guayaquil with a stopover in Bogota. Upon arrival, we took an overnight bus to Cuenca which according to our research was a good place to learn Spanish. The closer we got to our destination, the colder it became. We, of course, thought that Ecuador would be a warm country because of its location, but we were absolutely wrong. Due to high altitude some towns along the Andes Mountains can be bitterly cold. 

We arrived in Cuenca around 4am in the morning and were welcomed with temperatures of 4 or 5 degrees Celsius. Both of us felt very disappointed coming from the sunny and warm Caribbean.

Cuenca is a quiet and peaceful town with impressive architectures. We saw many cafes and bakeries full of retired people. In fact, it was voted as "the perfect place to retire" by many magazines. BBC even called it “paradise for immigrant pensioners” in one of its articles. In fact, many older North Americans are migrating to Ecuador mainly due to financial reasons. Ecuador was amongst the cheapest countries we visited in South America. Now you know where to retire.

One of the best things in Cuenca was the markets where we tried some interesting local dishes. These markets are perfect for cheap authentic lunches, fresh fruits and vegetables.  

2 nights in Cuenca were definitely enough. Although it is a beautiful and peaceful town, it was just too cold and quiet for us.

Baños in the Andes Mountains

Our next stop was Baños de Agua Santa. It is a small city in the Andean highlands of central Ecuador. It is situated under the active Tungurahua Volcano and is blessed with steaming thermal baths and magnificent waterfalls. We checked into the Hostal Princesa Maria which was recommended by a fellow traveller. The hostel was very close to one of the local markets where we obtained fresh produce for healthy meals. It was a perfect place to relax and meet other adventurers. During our first day, we met a lovely couple from the Netherlands, Lisette and Marcel who were on their honeymoon. 

Baños is famous with its’ outdoor activities, such as mountain biking and hiking. We rented some bicycles together with Marcel and Lisette and had a great excursion in La Ruta de las Cascadas, which is a 17 km ride with a dozen of waterfalls along the way. The most impressive one was the Pailon del Diablo, which means “Caldron of the Devil”. 

Caldron of the Devil

Riding along the tranquil Andes Mountains was an amazing adventure. Some other activities in the Baños valley are zip lining, cable car, bungee jumping and rafting. 

The virgin nature of these mountains was absolutely breath taking and energizing. We did many uplifting hikes around this peaceful town. After 4 days of fun and shared friendship, Marcel and Lisette continued their journey towards the Galapagos Island. The sad thing about travelling is to say goodbye to the wonderful people you meet along the way. However, it is a perfect reminder of the constant change in life.   

In Baños, I signed up for a week intensive Spanish classes including a home stay. Ecuador is one of the cheapest countries to learn Spanish. The cost was $6 or $7 per hour for a private tutor. In addition, Ecuadorians speak slowly and articulate well which makes it easier for beginners. Home stay was also a perfect opportunity to practice what I have learned at school. For a week, we stayed with Adrianne, Carlos and their two children. It was a lovely experience and I was able to improve my broken Spanish.

Our host family

Another attraction in Baños is the thermal baths. There are 2 main baths in town and both get very busy with locals visiting from surrounding villages. It is a good idea to go there straight after the cleaning process as the water gets dirty quickly with many people. The water temperature is around 35 degrees Celsius and it is easy to spend a couple of hours in these outdoor pools.

10 days passed quickly in this little Andean paradise, and soon we were on the bus to our next adventure: volunteering in an animal refuge in Tarqui, located in a tiny village close to Puyo, a small town next to the Amazon Jungle. We decided to help out in Zoorefugio Tarqui to get an understanding of working with animals. It was actually Alex’s dream for a long time.