Ecuador, ultima etapa en America del Sur...

Buenas dias!

We are presently in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. Tomorrow we will say goodbye to South America and fly to Central America, in Nicaragua. Ecuador was the last country visited in this (3 months & 3 weeks) trip on the continent. Coming from Peru, we crossed by bus the south of the country, which is basically a big field of bananas, and reached Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city. We took immediately another bus to go to the pacific coast and to visit the great Machalilla national park, staying in the nearby village of Puerto Lopez for 5 days. Then we went to Quito, where we enjoyed spending time in the old town, and also couchsurfed last weekend in the suburb city of Tumbago. In Ecuador, people are very friendly, even if once again (it's such a shame!) they don't really care about the planet... Let's discover together this small country...

PUERTO LOPEZ

Puerto Lopez is one of the dirtiest town I've ever seen (the people just throw everything in the streets...), but paradoxically it's situated close to the paradisiac Machalilla national park and its pristine beaches, just 10 kilometers away. It's incredible (and shocking) to observe the difference, and also the indifference of the ecuadorian about their own environment. They  simply don't mind walking in dirty streets, and even litter at the local beach. Ugly...

We were lucky to find a good room in the family guesthouse of Dannita, a nice and considerate woman, who was with her husband very kind to us. The guesthouse was located in the non-touristic part of the city, but close to the center though. And cheaper of course! The only interests of being in Puerto Lopez were to watch the pelicans playing with the waves, or trying to steal fresh fishes when the fishermen were coming back from the ocean... And also, as I said above, its proximity to the Machalilla national park.





EL PARQUE NACIONAL MACHALILLA

So you understood that I was disappointed by the disturbing town of Puerto Lopez. Fortunately the beauty and the wildlife of the Machalilla national park was purely contrasting with this big disappointment. I booked a tour (no other choice) to go to the "Isla de la Plata", 40km from the coast, and the daydream started... On the way, we stopped for one good reason: we saw a 15 meters whale not only surfacing, but jumping almost completely out of the water!!! I was not quickly enough to take a pic, but that was awesome!!! Actually the male was not swimming alone, but with a female.  According to our guide, his weigh was about 40 tons! We followed them during half an hour, gazing at one of the most exciting wildlife show of the planet. The boats were respecting a sufficient safety distance, to avoid perturbing their love dance. Indeed, the "ballenas jorobadas" come each year from Antartica to mate in the pacific ocean warm waters. I had already the chance to watch whales in Quebec a few years ago (Tadoussac bay), but this time we were closer and the weather was better. I was so happy... my only regret was that I wasn't allowed to go and dive with the whales... but the day surprises were only beginning...




After one hour and a half of crossing, we landed on the island and hiked almost 3 hours to observe the abundant and amazing wildlife. We first met some blue-feet birds ("piqueros de patas azules") and watched them nesting, taking care of their babies or dancing to seduce each other. They were so cute when dancing, moving their blue feet and their wings in a ancestral secret rythm, while whistling and screaming in some strange ways.




The Silver island, which was by the past a pirate haven, is kwown as the little Galapagos. As going a few days in the Galapagos costs about 1000 euros, and a daytour in the Silver island only 32$, the choice was easy to make... We continued our expedition on the island and met plenty of red-throated frigates ("fregatas rojas"), flying above our heads or just chilling in the trees. We also watched the males blowing their red throat to impress the females: it seems that every species have its own habits...




Near of some beautiful cliffs, we then met the white cousins of the blue-feet birds, who were also nesting and feeding their babies. They were fearless about human beings walking around, but of course we tried to be as quiet as possible. It was great to have the opportunity of observing their social behaviours in this peaceful but windy island, without having the feeling of disturbing them in any way.





From the cliffs, we started to retrace our steps, using some steep stairs to come back to the boat . The vegetation on the island (dry forest) only consists of trees (some of them aromatic) and bushes. The island turns green only 3 months per year, from january to march. After a light lunch of fresh fruits, we went by boat to a little creek where we snorkeled 45 minutes in a ocean of tropical colourful fishes! It was even not necessary to have a waterproof camera, you could take a pic of them from the boat! Once again amazing!



After all those interesting discoveries (and some well-deserved tuna sandwiches), we started the road back to the mainland, but only 15 minutes later, suddenly, the captain screamed happily and took the opposite direction. We were wondering if he was allright or turning insane, but we quickly understood the reason of his strange behaviour. In a few seconds, the boat was completely surrounded by hundreds of dolphins!!! During 20 minutes, they carried on swimmimg, playing, jumping around us... Unbelievable!!! Magic moments...



To enter the Machalilla national park, you have to pay a 20$ entrance fee, valid for 5 days, and not only for the Silver island. So the next day I went hiking on the mainland to discover its unspoiled beaches. I hiked for 4 hours through the dry forest and the sandy beaches, and met only 4 other people! I went swimming naked several times, walked barefoot to the tops of some hills to get nice points of view, and enjoyed lying on the sand thinking how lucky I am...






The third day, I took a cheap local taxi to go to the village of "El Pital", starting point of a nature hike in the tropical humid forest of "El Bola de Oro", also located in the Machalilla national park. The vegetation was G-R-E-E-N all around,  the forest full of birds and colourful lizzards, and I heard some howler monkeys screaming even if I didn't see them. I tried not to get lost, and that wasn't easy cause the trail was poorly marked. Fortunately a local guy riding a horse helped me to find my way back...







QUITO

We left Puerto Lopez, and after a 12 hours journey by bus, we reached at night Quito, the ecuadorian capital. Thanks to some helpful policemen, we found certainly the cheapest and best located hotel of the city (Residencia Sucre, 5$ per night for a double room). In the heart of the old town, it was an excellent base to explore Quito with a nice view on the San Francisco square. See below!





We stayed 2 days in Quito, and this time, we didn't feel breathless as we usually do in big cities. At an altitude of 2850m, surrounded by green hills, with colonial buildings, streets going up and down, nice churches and lovely squares, we even enjoyed being there. I visited the "Basilica del Voto Nacional" and literally climbed to the top of the 78 meters high clock towers, using steep stairs and crazy ladders, to get a deadly (scary!) view over the town. I sat down half an hour staring at the city, feeling like the hunchback of Notre-Dame, and discovered that the gargoyles were actually statues of birds I 've seen a few days before on the Silver island...







Yes, It was definitely nice to stroll around the streets of Quito. The main square, the cultural center with its impressive library (and cheap internet access), the bakeries, the people, the good weather too were the ingredients of 2 pleasant days. And the city was clean, surely due to a good urban waste management, but also to the good habits of the "quiteños" - people living in Quito...





I found out that a guided visit of the presidential palace was for free, so I took advantage of it of course! During 40 minutes, I discovered the "Palacio del Gobierno" main rooms, including the dining hall, the meeting room where the president took the important decisions for the country with his ministers, and the yellow room with the portrait gallery of the ecuadorian presidents. The lustres were from France and the chairs from Spain. Funny detail: at the beginning of the visit, a photograph take a picture of you in the patio, and you receive it at the end of the visit as a souvenir...








The last morning before leaving, we visited with Vladi the interesting "Monasterio de Santa Catalina", full of religious and gore paintings depicting the struggle beetween good and evil. The 20 nuns living in the monastery have only half an hour per day after lunch to talk to each other... They spend their time equally beetween work, prayers and sleep, and make all kind of natural products (cream, medicines, soap...). In Quito you'll find a lot of churches and monasteries, they are almost everywhere in the old town...



To end our trip in south America, we were hosted for the weekend by Margarita in the suburb city of Tumbaco. We went together to the cinema, shared every lunch and dinner, and met all her family on sunday to celebrate the birthday of her son Alejandro. Margarita was a great host, so friendly and thoughtfull, and Alejandro a clever young man very mature for his age. We felt at home for 3 nights in her lovely house with the huge garden, the 2 dogs and the cat! Thank you so much Margarita! You're what couchsurfing is all about...




We didn´t stay a long time in Ecuador, but I loved this small country, despite of this extremely bad habit of littering everywhere... The Machalilla national park is truly a gem for lovers of wildlife and nature, and the city of Quito a cultural and historical experience not to be missed. Moreover, with its friendly people, Ecuador desserves your visit (and also mine once again to discover the highlands, the Cotopaxi volcano and the Amazon basin...). But after 110 days (and something like 15000km!)  in South America, it's time for us to fly to new adventures in Central America... We just heard about the "coup d'état" in Honduras, but don't worry, for now we are flying to the neighbour country of Nicaragua, and we will avoid Honduras if it seems to be too dangerous... Un abrazo! Hasta Luego!



IN FRENCH FOR THEO

Salut Théo! On est en Equateur, mais on part demain pour le Nicaragua, un pays en Amérique Centrale. Sur la carte ci-dessus, tu peux voir tout le trajet parcouru en Amérique du Sud: 15000km en 110jours! Pas mal, hein? L'Equateur, on y a seulement passé 10 jours, et j'ai surtout aimé la côte pacifique et le parc national Machalilla:  j'ai vu des baleines, des dauphins, des oiseaux avec des pattes bleues ou d'énormes gorges rouge vif... Délire! En plus, des forêts humides et des belles plages pour se baigner... Cool, non? J'ai aussi visité Quito, la Capitale et rencontré plein de gens sympa ici. Mais les gens en Equateur ont un gros défaut (comme en Bolivie ou au Pérou, même pire!): ils jettent leurs papiers, bouteilles de coca et plein d'autres trucs - voire carrément leurs poubelles - dans les rues des villes et dans la nature. Ils sont fous! J'espére que toi tu ne jettes des choses qu´à la poubelle... C'est important de préserver notre belle planète. Pendant le tour du monde, j'ai la chance de visiter beaucoup d'endroits magnifiques, mais je me demande s'ils seront toujours aussi beaux si je reviens dans quelques années... A la vitesse où les hommes polluent j'en doute malheureusement... Alors je compte sur toi pour dire à tes copains ce qu'il faut faire et ne pas faire, OK? Bonnes vacances d'été mon p'tit filleul adoré! Bisous!