This morning we had a nice sleep in till around 830 and a leisurely breakfast.  Today was a day to find our way around a bit.  So far Puerto Ayora reminds us a bit of Cairns.  Backpacker or Surfer town vibe.  At dinner last night we overheard a group comparing room rates.  They had all…

After a decent nights sleep at 11,300′ above sea level it was time to head downhill.  As I said yesterday landslides have close parts of the track we were to take.  So a nice comfortable <insert sarcasm here> 4 hour bus ride was the only way to continue.  We’ve learned that train travel is quite…

This morning was another early start, departure at 645.  But we were rewarded with some amazing views. The volcano above is the Chimborazo, the same one Balthazar mines his ice. The Black Monster is what the indigenous people called the steam train.  It could haul more than they could imagine and the steam and the…

Today we boarded another train and ventured up to the Andes.   We started at 9300 feet above sea level, went up and down a bit and ended up at 11,800. We can definitely feel it. We spent a lot time on the veranda of the caboose.  It was warm enough to be out there…

Today we moved to a train tour package with  Tren Cucero.  We got up early to take a tour bus to Otavalo.  That’s about 2 hours away.  First stop was Miriam Lago, no not Trump’s place but one of the larger lake towns.  It translates to Mirror Lake, and it was. There of course is…

Not to be confused with the Cloud City where Lando Calrissian is from… Quito is on the inland side of the Andes, or more correctly in a small valley at the top.  The valley is actually a volcanic fault line that split open long ago.  But just on the seaward side of the mountains is…

We had such an early start and given we had to park at the airport anyway, we decided to stay at the Pacfic Gateway Hotel right at the airport.  For anyone looking, the price is right if you’re going to park anyway.  Saved us a valuable hour in the early morning! 5am breakfast at the…