Create your Trip Journal [click here]After traveling 14 hours from Texas, we arrived in Quito to a friendly face, Javier, waiting for us. He was so nice and explained the first part of our trip while driving us to our hotel, Hotel Eugenia.
We awoke early to our guide Diego picking us up at our hotel to start a full day of biking. He was extremely friendly and made us feel right at home. We rode about 18 km into Nono where we stopped for a snack before continuing onward for another hour. We stopped for lunch at the Pescados Deportivos where we fished for trout that we had in addition to our lunch. After relaxing and chatting with the locals, we headed out for the last stretch of our bike ride. We ended in a small town about 6 miles from the Bellavista Cloud Forest. The sites of the hillsides and beautiful terrain were a great way to enjoy a day of bikeriding.
We awoke this morning to a great breakfast before heading off on a 3 hour hike through the cloudforest. We waded through streams, repelled a waterfall, and took in the beautiful scenery. We saw interesting metallic bleu beetles, lots of hummingbirds, gorgeous folliage, and the magnificent sounds of the native birds. Later that day we went horseback riding to explore more of the beautiful forest. Dinner was very cozy. We met the owner of the lodge, and enjoyed the company of the other guests.
On the Wednesday morning, Diego picked us up from the Cloud Forest and we headed out on a 2 hour drive to the Rio Toachi where we braved Class III and IV rapids. It was exhilarating. We learned how to manuever a raft and rescue procedures if needed. We stopped twice along the way...once to enjoy a waterfall and the other to jump off the hillside. About halfway through our rafting we stopped for a nutritious lunch and to relax and get to know our guide. It was quite nice having a member of the national rafting team as your guide.
Luis Miguel, our hiking guide picked us up at our hotel for the next 3 days of hiking. We drove a couple hours to the entrance to the Cayambe Coca Reserve and started our hike into the Oyacachi village. We passed many waterfalls and foliage while hiking for 3 hours into the village. Once there, our tents were set up and lunch was prepared by our chef, Patricio. After lunch we hiked to some old ruins and also saw how the Oyacachi people made their living...wooden handicarafts. After resting and eating dinner, we explored the small town before turning in for the night.
It was a cold night, but once we got moving that morning and after a hearty breakfast, we were ready to continue on our daily hike. We drove about an hour, a little further into the reserve, and continued our hike throught muddy trails in our trendy rubber boots. When we arrived at our campsite, it was an amazing site. There was no civilization around, and our campsite was on the edge of a lake. It was very serene. Throughout the day we hiked and took in the scenery. This night was a particularly cold one, but Patricio and Luis Miguel were prepared with hot water bottles for our feet.
We woke up that morning and started our 3 hour trek into Papallacta. It was here we could rest our tired muscles and enjoy a nice lodge and a wonderful massage. The lodge was extremely nice, with hot springs right outside our room. The service was excellent and much needed after "roughing it" for the last couple days.
We enjoyed the lodge and its offerings this morning before returning back to Quito. We had the entire afternoon to enjoy the city of Quito. We ate lunch and headed out on foot about 12 blocks to the Indian marketplace where we bought souveniers and got to experience the lifestyle of Quito. We felt completely safe and everyone was friendly.
We awoke really early this morning to start our trip back home to San Antonio, Texas. We really enjoyed the people we met and cherish the friendships we made.
