Here are a few snapshots that capture the day:
Thanks to good buds at C3 (Cuenca Climbing Center), a sunny and blue Sunday was spent climbing the cliffs of Paute, a small town about an hour outside of Cuenca. These guys go nearly every weekend, and if they're not climbing they're probably kayaking, hiking, or mountain biking. In short, the topography and weather of the area allows for outside ramblings year-round, and this is what I (and hell, we all) need more of.
Here are a few snapshots that capture the day:
3 Comments
Lynsey and I made it back to Cuenca from our whirlwind vacation just in time for the new year. As our bus descended from El Cajas and into the outskirts of the city both she and I shared the feeling that it was good to be home. Our trip took us to remote indigenous villages, coastal fishing towns, and everything in between, but maybe it took seeing all that to realize that Cuenca has a special combination of elements that make it very livable for us. The city has it's faults, undoubtedly, but for this moment we both agreed that there wasn't another place in Ecuador we'd rather call home.
This pretty much sums the coast up
Four buses got us from the mountain to the coast. The vibe couldn't have been more different from the intensity of Cotopaxi, but it was a welcome change. Much of our experience on the coast blended together as a mix of hammocks, sand, sun, and caipirinhas. I do, however, want to share the story of an unforgettable day in Muisne, a strange and remote island town where we had a ¨tour¨ we wouldn´t forget anytime soon. Before that, here are some photos from our first explorations of the northern coast at a quaint little ´eco-refuge´called Playa Escondita. “...just the bare bones of a name, all rock and ice and storm and abyss. It makes no attempt to sound human. It is atoms and stars. It has the nakedness of the world before the first man – or of the cindered planet after the last” ― Fosco Maraini, Secret Tibet We met our guide, Cristian, at about 10:30 am for a gear check at the hosterìa before heading to the mountain. Gulliver Expeditions, the guide service, promised to provide the technical and high-cold equipment, and we were responsible for the rest. As Cristian went through the checklist I quickly pulled them from my pack - layer after layer that would keep up warm above 15,000 feet. Cristian looked our personal gear over and commented, “You have good equipment,” to my immense pleasure and satisfaction. I stole a glance at Lynsey to say, “see, this is why we have all this stuff!” but she only gave a slight roll of the eyes at the positive gear reinforcement I'd just received from our guide. We packed up a beat-up Land Cruiser and headed for the park.
Happy new year friends, family, and web visitors! Two days ago Lynsey and I got home from a 20-day circuit around Ecuador, and there is much to share. We´ve decided to break the trip up into three parts: Volcanic mountain fun, the Cotopaxi experience, and our cruise down the coast. We hope everyone had a great holiday with friends and family, and know that you all were missed! We figured the next best thing to being with those closest to us would be to tour around and get to know our new country - so here are some things we discovered! The map below denotes the first two legs on the journey. It´s interactive so you can zoom, switch to Google Earth, etc. to get a better sense of the landscape. Enjoy! View Discovering Ecuador in a larger map |
Like + Share
Authors
Follow Us
Previous Posts
All
Archives
November 2014
Weather |