On the ecuator

It actually hadn't really even occurred to me that I might be able to visit the ecuator while in Ecuador. It was my grandfather who mentioned it and I agreed that yes, this sounded like an excellent idea.

It was a bit of an adventure getting there, I had to take two public buses and had no idea where I was going. The ecuator monument is known as Mitad del Mundo or "Middle of the World" so it was kind of funny to constantly be asking people: "can you tell me how to get to the Middle of the World please?" But I did get there and when I did I felt kind of giddy about it. I didn't really know what to do with myself so I took a bunch of photos.

This last one is kind of hilarious because I made at least 8 attempts to get the photo in focus and with the whole E showing (I eventually gave up), only to discover upon walking around the monument that "E" stood for "East" and not "Ecuator." Silly me.

Warning: flower photos

After Vilcabamba I headed to Cuenca, which is the third largest city in Ecuador and famous for its beautiful colonial architecture. It was also packed to the gills with bakeries and ice cream shops. I can't believe there aren't more obese people here! They eat so much ice cream! And not just ice cream, they get it with whipped cream and toppings and the whole bit. Intense. But delicious...

In Cuenca I pretty much just wandered around. I went to see the University of Cuenca's prize-winning orchid collection, including some new breeds that they had created in the lab. Creepy. Then I hesitatingly went to the Panama Hat museum (I was killing time okay?) and ended up having a lovely old time and walking out of there with my very own Panama hat. So now I can be a Colombian druglord for Halloween! Cool!

I was snapping photos like a maniac at the Orquideario, so for those of you who love close-up photos of exotic flowers, enjoy! Notice the third flower, which is called Monkey Face. It actually looks like a monkey's face! Nature is CRAZY!

Ecuador!

I'm now in Ecuador and happy to be here. I came by road about a week ago and the mountains here are lush and green compared to the ones I saw in Peru. On the trip over I saw rainbows and huge trees covered in smooth green bark. I have three weeks left and am looking forward to the remaining adventures here: jungle, beach, volcanoes, and Galapagos Islands.

I started out in the very relaxing and tranquil little town of Vilcabamba, apparently the new home of several retired American couples. I took a couple of nature walks, one in a private reserve and another over someone's private property (oops!) in order to see a waterfall. It was pretty.

The last three photos are from the Podocarpus National Park, where I felt compelled to visit the cloud forest. I mean, how cool does "cloud forest" sound? As promised, there were clouds, and the forest was mucky and muddy in a lovely kind of way. It reminded me of BC a bit, except there was a lot more bamboo and less conifers. And luckily for me, no bugs!

Lakes, the prettiest lakes ever

On my last day in the Huaraz region, I went on one more day hike to a high-altitude lake. I was relieved to discover that the trail was much easier than the last one, and that I was able to get to the lake with a bit of energy to spare. It probably helped that I had actually had a real breakfast this time, and had also brought enough water with me. What a concept!

Not too much to say about this trip, I just wanted to post some photos. On the road up to the trail we passed the two lakes known as Llanganuco, and they were the most beautiful lakes I've ever seen. The sun was out and they shone turquoise. The object of the hike, Lake 69 (I don't know the origin of the name) was also stunning, with enormous glaciers hanging above. I could actually hear one of the glaciers cracking at one point. That was cool and a little scary.

More pics of Hatun Machay

I need to show more photos of this place because it was so magical. While walking through the rock forest I alternated between feeling like I was in the Wizard of Oz and feeling like I was on Mars.



This part reminded me of Planet Krypton, I'm not sure if I've really captured it:



And this one is just pretty:



And here's another one of me!

Rock-climbing!

While in Huaraz I did the unthinkable: I signed up for a three-day outdoor rock-climbing course. This is the kind of thing that terrifies me because of my not-so-stellar relationships with all sports, but I wasn't sure how else I was going to escape the three-day national strike that was set to paralyze the country and prevent me from doing anything interesting.

I ended up having a great time, mostly because of where the course took place - at a rock forest called Hatun Machay up in the mountains, with accommodation being a cozy lodge that reminded me of camp. In spite of the fact that there was no electricity or showers, or communications of any kind, I really loved being away from the city. Could this be the beginnning of a new, camping Annika? We shall see...

In the climbing I surprised myself, in that I actually made it to the top of some very high and scary rocks. On my second day it actually started snowing while I was climbing, and I was suddenly participating in an extreme sport. Pretty cool. Here are some pics:

Lake Churup

I am now in Huaraz, the tourist capital of all things outdoorsy and hard core. Kind of an odd place for me to be since I am neither outdoorsy nor hard core, but I have to say that being here has been one of my favourite parts of my trip so far. On my second day here, I set off on a day trip to a high-altitude lake, Lake Churup.

Even though it was only a day trip, it was still pretty intense for me. I did five hours of straight climbing, up to an altitude of almost 4500 metres. Around hour 3 I really started feeling the altitude, and had to stop and rest every 30 seconds. I was a bit nervous about my ability to make it to the lake, still two hours away, and then climb down again. But I kept going, and was encouraged by the fact that other hikers were moving as slowly as I was. At hour 4 I stopped feeling as much pain in my muscles, which was nice. Numbness! And finally, right before getting to the lake I had to climb this enormous wall:



But it was worth it. The lake was perfectly calm and the surroundings were spectacular. Here are some pics: