We left behind the beautiful sunsets in Guatape and made our way down to Salento, in Colombia's coffee region.
Our first mission was to uncover the giant wax palm trees in the
Valle de Cocora. After hiking through long, muddy valleys, crossing numerous rickety bridges in the jungle, and ascending the hills into the clouds we finally reached our destination - with a mystical view of the impossibly tall palm trees.
We did a little souvenier shopping and a lot of eating tasty, authentic Israeli meals made by our nice, new friend Omri. From Salento we spent three days making our way down to the Ecuador border (Colombia is BIG), passing briefly through Popayan and Pasto along the way. The winding, mountainous drive was beautiful and the border was a breeze.
Our first stop in Ecuador was in the tiny town of Otavalo where there is a large textile market. A sweet Ecuadorian woman 'suckered' us into buying far too much Alpaca gear with her limited English phrases such as "look at it" and "check it out", followed by "special price for Canada"... woops! We humoured her by trying on ridiculous Alpaca sweaters and bargaining for items we didn't really even want :) (no, Jody did not buy this sweater!)
Our next stop was the capital city, Quito. We stayed at two different hostels in the "old town", both with great rooftop views of the city landmarks, by day and night:
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| El Panecillo hill |
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| The Basilica of the National Vow |
We rode the
TeleferiQo cablecar to one of the highest points in Quito (a volcano) which supposedly has a fabulous view over the city... when there is not a thick cloud cover. Unfortunately we didn't see much of anything, but the ride itself was pretty cool!
We took a day trip to
Cotopaxi Volcano, which involved a hike to the basecamp followed by another short ascent to reach the glacier at 5,100 meters above sea level. The air was thin and cold but it was an incredible experience to be standing on a glacier on one of the highest active volcanoes in the world - one that is apparently 30 years overdue to errupt!
We then rode mountain bikes 10km downhill to a lake at the base of the volcano - well actually, I gave up about half way down after my hands went numb from the cold rain & from clutching the crappy brakes nonstop... but Jody enjoyed it!
After Quito we moved on to a town called Banos (named after the thermal baths surrounding the area), where we are currently taking Spanish lessons and relaxing for a few days while enjoying the pretty view from our room.
After a two-day, unexplained bout of the hives (from the alpaca wool?) and a night with a bad elevation headache, I'm back to full health - although I'm not sure you can call my latest obsession with Oreos & ice cream 'healthy'... thank you mom, for my inherited sweet tooth! :)
Our first mission was to uncover the giant wax palm trees in the Valle de Cocora. After hiking through long, muddy valleys, crossing numerous rickety bridges in the jungle, and ascending the hills into the clouds we finally reached our destination - with a mystical view of the impossibly tall palm trees. 
We did a little souvenier shopping and a lot of eating tasty, authentic Israeli meals made by our nice, new friend Omri. From Salento we spent three days making our way down to the Ecuador border (Colombia is BIG), passing briefly through Popayan and Pasto along the way. The winding, mountainous drive was beautiful and the border was a breeze. 
Our first stop in Ecuador was in the tiny town of Otavalo where there is a large textile market. A sweet Ecuadorian woman 'suckered' us into buying far too much Alpaca gear with her limited English phrases such as "look at it" and "check it out", followed by "special price for Canada"... woops! We humoured her by trying on ridiculous Alpaca sweaters and bargaining for items we didn't really even want :) (no, Jody did not buy this sweater!)
Our next stop was the capital city, Quito. We stayed at two different hostels in the "old town", both with great rooftop views of the city landmarks, by day and night:
We took a day trip to Cotopaxi Volcano, which involved a hike to the basecamp followed by another short ascent to reach the glacier at 5,100 meters above sea level. The air was thin and cold but it was an incredible experience to be standing on a glacier on one of the highest active volcanoes in the world - one that is apparently 30 years overdue to errupt!
We then rode mountain bikes 10km downhill to a lake at the base of the volcano - well actually, I gave up about half way down after my hands went numb from the cold rain & from clutching the crappy brakes nonstop... but Jody enjoyed it!
After Quito we moved on to a town called Banos (named after the thermal baths surrounding the area), where we are currently taking Spanish lessons and relaxing for a few days while enjoying the pretty view from our room.
After a two-day, unexplained bout of the hives (from the alpaca wool?) and a night with a bad elevation headache, I'm back to full health - although I'm not sure you can call my latest obsession with Oreos & ice cream 'healthy'... thank you mom, for my inherited sweet tooth! :)
Is that all you inherited from me? Your sweet tooth? I thought it was your beauty and your brain! xoxo mama
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