Sunday, Feb 26
Our over night bus ride was better than the first, although, it started out kind of interesting. A short time after we got on the bus, we were stopped by the Federalie. We all had to get off the bus and show our passports. Back on the bus. Probably less than 10 minutes later we stopped again. This time, immigration. Again, off the bus to show our passports and our bags were searched. Apparently this area is big for drug trafficing due to its location.
The rest of the bus ride was flawless. We arrived back in Quito around 5am and found our hostal. Apparently though, they didn't understand our early was 5am. He was expecting us at 7 or 8 so he had no room for us. For the next couple hours, we slept on a bench in the hostal.
He was kind enough to give us a couple pillows & blankets though. My favorite part... Using the bathroom that I guess you could say was by the front desk. It was literally a closest with a toilet and a sink. And a chicken in a bag. Yes, a live chicken (see photo). Ha! I love this place. Anything goes!
At this point we don't have a room and we haven't heard back from our travel agent as to where to meet our driver for our last day excursions, which is supposed to start at 8. So, the hostal held our bags for us and we walked the 2 blocks to the travel agent. Yep, you guessed it - they weren't open. Not until 10. Back to the hostal to have them call for us. Yep, you guessed it - she doesn't answer. Hmm. Now we wait until 10. So we grabbed breakfast at the Magic Bean and found another agent, Adrian about 10 after 10. By this time we are a bit frustrated as our last day is quickly fading and we are not getting anywhere. Adrian was able to contact our driver who was told to pick is up at 8 somewhere we were never told to be. This time it wasn't a language barrier as the agent who booked for us spoke perfectly good English. I could go on about that fiasco, but at this point the driver is on his way and we decide to make the best of it.
We finally jump in the truck around noon with Alex, our guide for the day. He was very nice. Connie picked his brain about the economy, drugs, cars, gas prices. Found out that Ecuador sells oil but doesn't produce gas but buys it from Columbia & Peru.
We heading toward Baeza to see if we could find White Water rafting. Connie heard it was one of the best places in Ecuador but the agency didn't book any of these trips so we figured we'd drive and find a place and go. Ok, so maybe not that easy. I guess a lot of places were closed due to all the rain they had just gotten.
We were a bit bummed thinking it wouldn't work out, but our guide Alex didn't give up on us. He knew someone, so we swung by his place... Casa de Rodrigo. He wasn't there. But he knew of another place in a neighboring town so we drove to El Chaco where we found Water Dog Sports. It was closed, but Alex still knocked on the door and that is when we met Eduardo. He hoped in the truck with us to go check the river. He said it was good, but we needed at least 4 to raft. Alex comes through again and decides to go with us which I thought was awesome especially since he has never been white water rafting before, its raining, and many places are closed due to the river levels being high. Edwardo then called on his brother, Gustavo to spot us in his kayak.
Next we know, we are all dolled up in our wet suits, life vests and helmets, threw the raft on top of a taxi truck and headed to the Quijos river. We hiked down some crazy path and dropped the raft in the river. Let me just say...Amazingly beautiful!! In the little calm spot we dropped in, we did some quick training and were on our way down the river! We did class 3 & 4 rapids. We didn't have enough people to attempt the 5s, but it was awesome! Intense at parts, but never felt like we were out of control. A couple times I thought Edwardo was nervous about us flipping, but he guided us well! What a great group to be with. Funny how things work out sometimes. Edwardo was an amazing guide and complimented everyone but especially Connie on her intenseness! Gus also took our camera and got some amazing shots. I'll post them soon. He even gave a couple little kayaking lessons after we were done rafting. These guys were great. Edwardo even gave us a little lesson on the area and where we were was partially a jungle reservation & partially in Park National Cayambe. Did I mention how beautiful it was?
Unfortunately, because we were so late starting, we couldn't do the full 5 hour run. We were out about 2 hours and went about 9k. For $30, it was still money well spent. And, after we were done, Edwardo admitted he was napping when Alex started knocking on the door. Too funny! We were glad he was napping and available!
Leaving there, we stopped back to Baeza for a quick bite to eat at a place Alex recommended. Food was great, huge portions and cheap. We bought dinner for Alex to say thanks for making the rafting happen. If we simply would have listened to the travel agent, we would have never had that amazing experience.
By now its about 6pm. Next stop - Papallacta to soak in the natual hot springs! I mean really... what better way to end a day white water rafting in the chilly river!? It took about an hour and a half to get there. Nothing it quick in those winding mountains!
Papallacta is at 3300 meters (10,800 feet) and at first it felt like a bad idea because it was chilly out! I may have even been seeing my own breath! And, again, we found ourselves without towels bit by now we were getting used to it. It was cold getting back into our suits, but that first step into the hot springs and all was forgotten.
It smelled awesome, like a spa. Being in the water made my skin feel so soft. There were different pools so we tried a few of them out. There was one they had a rock chair built in and we found that to be our favorite spot to sit and stare at the stars. It was a clear night and they were amazing. We talked a bit about our trip and sat in silence some just to soak it all in.
Again, it was unfortunate that our time here had to be limited. But, with a late start to the day and an early morning flight to catch, we decided we should head out after about 9 as we still had an hour drive back to our hostal. It was still worth our $7 for the hour and a half.
Back to the hostal, we found our room and it was very nice compared to the first place we stayed. We only had a few hours to enjoy it, or should I say sleep, before the alarm would go off to head to the airport.
Our over night bus ride was better than the first, although, it started out kind of interesting. A short time after we got on the bus, we were stopped by the Federalie. We all had to get off the bus and show our passports. Back on the bus. Probably less than 10 minutes later we stopped again. This time, immigration. Again, off the bus to show our passports and our bags were searched. Apparently this area is big for drug trafficing due to its location.
The rest of the bus ride was flawless. We arrived back in Quito around 5am and found our hostal. Apparently though, they didn't understand our early was 5am. He was expecting us at 7 or 8 so he had no room for us. For the next couple hours, we slept on a bench in the hostal.
He was kind enough to give us a couple pillows & blankets though. My favorite part... Using the bathroom that I guess you could say was by the front desk. It was literally a closest with a toilet and a sink. And a chicken in a bag. Yes, a live chicken (see photo). Ha! I love this place. Anything goes!
At this point we don't have a room and we haven't heard back from our travel agent as to where to meet our driver for our last day excursions, which is supposed to start at 8. So, the hostal held our bags for us and we walked the 2 blocks to the travel agent. Yep, you guessed it - they weren't open. Not until 10. Back to the hostal to have them call for us. Yep, you guessed it - she doesn't answer. Hmm. Now we wait until 10. So we grabbed breakfast at the Magic Bean and found another agent, Adrian about 10 after 10. By this time we are a bit frustrated as our last day is quickly fading and we are not getting anywhere. Adrian was able to contact our driver who was told to pick is up at 8 somewhere we were never told to be. This time it wasn't a language barrier as the agent who booked for us spoke perfectly good English. I could go on about that fiasco, but at this point the driver is on his way and we decide to make the best of it.
We finally jump in the truck around noon with Alex, our guide for the day. He was very nice. Connie picked his brain about the economy, drugs, cars, gas prices. Found out that Ecuador sells oil but doesn't produce gas but buys it from Columbia & Peru.
We heading toward Baeza to see if we could find White Water rafting. Connie heard it was one of the best places in Ecuador but the agency didn't book any of these trips so we figured we'd drive and find a place and go. Ok, so maybe not that easy. I guess a lot of places were closed due to all the rain they had just gotten.
We were a bit bummed thinking it wouldn't work out, but our guide Alex didn't give up on us. He knew someone, so we swung by his place... Casa de Rodrigo. He wasn't there. But he knew of another place in a neighboring town so we drove to El Chaco where we found Water Dog Sports. It was closed, but Alex still knocked on the door and that is when we met Eduardo. He hoped in the truck with us to go check the river. He said it was good, but we needed at least 4 to raft. Alex comes through again and decides to go with us which I thought was awesome especially since he has never been white water rafting before, its raining, and many places are closed due to the river levels being high. Edwardo then called on his brother, Gustavo to spot us in his kayak.
Next we know, we are all dolled up in our wet suits, life vests and helmets, threw the raft on top of a taxi truck and headed to the Quijos river. We hiked down some crazy path and dropped the raft in the river. Let me just say...Amazingly beautiful!! In the little calm spot we dropped in, we did some quick training and were on our way down the river! We did class 3 & 4 rapids. We didn't have enough people to attempt the 5s, but it was awesome! Intense at parts, but never felt like we were out of control. A couple times I thought Edwardo was nervous about us flipping, but he guided us well! What a great group to be with. Funny how things work out sometimes. Edwardo was an amazing guide and complimented everyone but especially Connie on her intenseness! Gus also took our camera and got some amazing shots. I'll post them soon. He even gave a couple little kayaking lessons after we were done rafting. These guys were great. Edwardo even gave us a little lesson on the area and where we were was partially a jungle reservation & partially in Park National Cayambe. Did I mention how beautiful it was?
Unfortunately, because we were so late starting, we couldn't do the full 5 hour run. We were out about 2 hours and went about 9k. For $30, it was still money well spent. And, after we were done, Edwardo admitted he was napping when Alex started knocking on the door. Too funny! We were glad he was napping and available!
Leaving there, we stopped back to Baeza for a quick bite to eat at a place Alex recommended. Food was great, huge portions and cheap. We bought dinner for Alex to say thanks for making the rafting happen. If we simply would have listened to the travel agent, we would have never had that amazing experience.
By now its about 6pm. Next stop - Papallacta to soak in the natual hot springs! I mean really... what better way to end a day white water rafting in the chilly river!? It took about an hour and a half to get there. Nothing it quick in those winding mountains!
Papallacta is at 3300 meters (10,800 feet) and at first it felt like a bad idea because it was chilly out! I may have even been seeing my own breath! And, again, we found ourselves without towels bit by now we were getting used to it. It was cold getting back into our suits, but that first step into the hot springs and all was forgotten.
It smelled awesome, like a spa. Being in the water made my skin feel so soft. There were different pools so we tried a few of them out. There was one they had a rock chair built in and we found that to be our favorite spot to sit and stare at the stars. It was a clear night and they were amazing. We talked a bit about our trip and sat in silence some just to soak it all in.
Again, it was unfortunate that our time here had to be limited. But, with a late start to the day and an early morning flight to catch, we decided we should head out after about 9 as we still had an hour drive back to our hostal. It was still worth our $7 for the hour and a half.
Back to the hostal, we found our room and it was very nice compared to the first place we stayed. We only had a few hours to enjoy it, or should I say sleep, before the alarm would go off to head to the airport.
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