Earth, Wind and Fire!

 Our first day in Bogota started with a money hunt for Colombian Peso.  The hotel had marked three ATMs on our map, but two were behind barriers for a concert in the Plaza and the third didn't like our cards (either that or the pension is running out!).  We returned to the hotel who changed a small amount to get us out of trouble but later that day we found cambio who would change anything!  Talking of money we visited the Museo del Oro or Gold Museum.  The highlight was a vault with a dazzling display of 8,000 piecs of pre-Colombian gold objects.  It shone like fire!

Today's trip was on the Turisten, an all day excursion on a STEAM train from Bogota to Zipaquira.  We left at 8.30am with a resident band and all sorts of local delicacies on sale.  The train is the only steam train now running in Columbia and it is only allowed out on high days and holidays which is not surprising as all traffic is brought to a halt as it slowly puffs along with its steam billowing in the wind.

The train was surprisingly very full of mainly Columbian families all intent on a good Sunday outing despite the dreadful weather.  There were also, as expected, a number of train geeks! As all the announcements were in Spanish, a very kind lady sat behind us offered to translate anything important.

Our outing took us to Zipaquira home to the salt cathedral in a working salt mine in the bowels of the earth.  The cathedral was opened in December 1995 by the Colombian President as a replacement for one that had fallen into disrepair.  

Spot which one is the dummy!

We returned to Bogota at 5.30pm after a splendid day out and then only had to dodge the down and outs as we walked back to our hotel!

You all think it's glamorous . . .

 . . . .  but here is the reality!

We arrived in Bogota, via Quito, 30 minutes late at 6pm but it might as well have been midnight as the heavens had opened and it was pitch black.  We rescued our sodden bags from the carousel and cleared immigration to be met be Fabio our rep.  He provided HJ with a broken brolly and we squelched down the road to await our limo (i.e. car).  This duly arrived with steamed up windows and what we think was his girlfriend driving.  Fabio was more of the skippy school of driving rather than L Hamilton and for the next hour we hopped along roadworks and deep puddles until he declared we had arrived at the historic centre.  Mercifully the rains had stopped and we took our sodden selves and bags to reception.  Fabio bade a fond farewell and left us in the hands of the receptionist who got us to our room (number 13)!  We discovered that their restaurant was not open in the evening but their Gourmet Express would be open for the next 20 minutes and would provide wine and sandwiches.  We managed to secure two glassses of vino blanco but the sandwiches on display looked well past their sell by.  So plan B swung into action.  A packet of pringles and the duty free gin with sprite in our room is our evening meal.  At least the wi-fi is good and HJ will be losing even more weight!  Tommorrow is another day!

PS: we didn't want to venture out in th dark and and neither would you if you'd read about what our FootPrint guide says about safety and Bogota (remember Bobby Moore and the gold bracelet!).

The devil wears panama

Transfer days are usually bad as they involve hours hanging around airports.  However, in Ecuador the transfers have all been by road as the country is so small.  Yesterday our transfer from Riobamba to Cuenca involved a trip on the Nariz del Diablo or Devil's Nose Train.  We nearly didn't make it as a cycling race was taking place on the road to the station and all traffic was halted for 45 minutes as it passed us by.  Juan Carlos had to drive like Lewis Hamilton to get us there on time.  The train journey is a circular route to and from Alausi down a 800m descent using a series of tight switchbacks carved out of the mountainside.  This section has recently been restored at a cost of $5m, and was re-opened in 2009. Needless to say the views were spectuacular and the journey back served another purpose in transportng a JCB.  The rest of the journey was by road through mountains and thick, low cloud.

Today we explored Cuenca which is famous for making panama hats (the name comes from the workers building the Panama Canal wearing these very distinguishable hats).  As you will see from the phtographs we tried them on but decided they were not for us!

Not sure it suits my ears!

Could I wear this to work?

Time to quit Quito!

We thought our time in the Ecuadorian city might have been too long but the 5 nights have flowed at a good pace.  HJ has achieved her personal best of not only managing the 4 steep floors non stop, but she could even get the key into the door and open it befor subsiding.  Anyway yesterday was time to move on and our pick up was at 7.00am.  We placed bets on who and what car we would get and were both wrong when Rodrigo arrived in his own 4WD.  He gave us a full run down of our five or so hours to Riobamba, taking in the sites as well as breakfast and lunch.

The Avenue of the Volcanoes

We were again lucky with the weather as it was very bright and clear and we could see the volcano range dominated by Mt Cotopaxia in the distance as we came up out of the valley that Quito sits in.

We continued on the PanAmerican Highway that runs virtually uninterrupted from Canada to the bottom of Chile until we hit our first official stop.  This was breakfast at the home of the Lassa family, a Colonial Hacienda, now a 40  bedroomed hotel based in the remains of what had been a very large estate.  The table was laid out for the three of us and we enjoyed a regal meal whilst Rodrigo continued to provide an excellent insight in to where we were and other more cultural and personal views.  After a tour of house and grounds we moved on.

After breakfast at Hacienda Cienega

We travelled through a number of small towns, all set out in the Spanish style of a central plaza and church with administrative buildings on the flanks.  On passing one grand church high on a hill HJ asked about it, for once Rod was stumbling.  Er, er, it´s where the Ecuadorian football coach comes from he managed, and he´s not been too good lately.  The name was later remembered as we arrived at our next stop in the town of  Pujili and this being Sunday, it was their market day.  We hopped out and left Rod in charge of the car and bags and HJ snapped away at the bustling scenes of locals getting their weekly shop having queued for ages at the town banks to withdraw their government grants - this looked familiar to RM from his days on a DSS counter in London. 

The market at Pujili

Time then to travel the remaining 2 hours to a stop just outside Riobamba for lunch and then to our hacienda hotel. Here the bathroom is bigger than our bedroom and bathroom in Quito.  The only bottle of Agua Tonica had long gone flat and they only had two airline size bottles of SB.  At least the wine was chilled and Pisco Sours replaced the G&Ts.  Early to bed amidst the din of a rowdy crowd in the games room.  HJ commented to reception about the noise, hoping to prompt some action.  Yes they said and they are the owners!  As the only guests here we thought it was time to retire.

PS from HJ - RM  nearly had palpitations when Rodrigo told us at lunch time that under a recently passed law, drinking on Sundays in banned.  Apparently so many people were arriving at work on Monday with hangovers, that they abolished drinking.  However, the good news is that if you have lunch between 1pm and 3pm, you are allowed to drink with it!

On Mother's Day . . . .

. . . Peter did not forget his mum!

Toeing the line!

Yesterday we visited Ciudad Mitad del Mundo also known as Middle of the world city as it straddles the line that divides the earth's northern and southern hemispheres.  In the building shown, there was an excellent ethnographic museum which described really well all the indigenous groups of Ecuador in terms of their dress, tribal customs,k language and religous beliefs. 

We spent the afternoon in the City Museum, a former hospital which has been converted into a very good exhibition hall.  RM also had another shearing for the cut price of 2 US dollars (their currency).

Today HJ was keen to visit the Weekly Saturday market at Otavalo, 90 km from Quito as it is said to be one of the very best in South America. Following our less than favourable experience in the Cloud Forest, we decided not to spend $122 per person on a private tour.  Instead we took a taxi to the bus terminal for $8, spent $2 each on the 2 hour bus ride, $9 for lunch and then the same fares back.  Excellent value and no one told HJ that she sounded like a German!  The market was smaller than anticipated and surprisingly very quite, but at least it made browsing easy.  Again, we were very lucky with the weather which remained sunny despite massive thunderstorms last night.  The local ladies were all decked out in their best clothes with elaborately embroidered white blouses, black skirts and strings of golden beads around their neck, often topped off with seemed liked  folded piece of material on their head.

RM thought this headdress might go with his new suit!

  

Why is it called the Cloud Forest?

The honest answer is we still don't know!  We'd read lots of good things about it and so decided to hire a personal guide and driver for the two hour trip to Mindo.  We'd been told that the birds were at their best beween 6am and 10am.  When we were picked up at 4am we found that the driver had decided to bring his small son along.  Said son was sat in the front of the 4WD which meant that HJ, RM and the guide, Diana, were cramped up in the back!  We protested and son was dropped off at home: we think he should have been at school anyway!  After a slightly frosty journey, we arrived at Mindo just before 6am to find that the breakfast that should have been available wasn't.  Diana spent the next 30 minutes trying to find a place in the darkness that would open to provde us with coffee and tostada. During this time it became apparent that no itinerary had been set and we were continuously been asked about what we wanted to do next.  We eventually arranged to be driven up the mountain to see the birds and find the promised cable car.  Unfortunately neiether appeared and our reward was a 60 minute hike down a steep and muddy track and back up again. When we asked about what type of birds we could possibly see, she said she would be able to tell us when she saw their colours. She also said that HJ spoke English like a German!  We then walked down the mountain with the promise of birds, but only caught a glimpse of one which was pointed out by twitchers walking up the mountain!  Refreshed by a rather good fruit smoothie, we then visited a butterfly farm where we managed to see masses of the owl butterfly when we had spent 30 minutes trying to see one in the Peruvian Rain Forest!  We also visited a place with orchids and hummingbirds.  Our trip was concluded with an excellent lunch where RM had baked trout and HJ talapia fish.  We arrived back in Quito around 2.30pm poorer, full but still none the wiser about the Cloud Forest.