Quito
Recovery from post Galapagos fatigue and depression, we ate food that was not made by the boats chef and took advantage of the excellent English book shop before we moved on to less literature bountiful pastures.
Mindo
Stunning cloud forest with over 400 different types of birds including 30 types of Hummingbird. We did not see them all but had a good go. Crazy riving tubing with neo out of the matrix, muchos Mariposas (butterflys) and an actual chocolate factory! This became our second home with it’s freshly roasted coffee, absurdly good chocolate, excellent chef and welcoming and loving staff. We liked it so much we ended up striking up a volunteer deal with Jose the owner in which we would return to teach English, help out with the factory and the tours and eat more chocolate.
Lazy days, eating very healthy, cheap and delicious food served by a man who clearly cares and knows more about food that he does about hospitality and people. This healthy diet was very necessary as the nights were filled with 2 dollar pints of mojito, fire shows and dancing on the beach.
We did manage to a day trip here for a spot of whale watching which was both horrible and wonderful. Hangovers were tainting the well being of the group along with the noise of the engine and the fumes from the motor. We searched for over an hour on some torrid seas. It was too much for some and amongst the engines roar there was the occasional human retch. The whales were astonishing and when you could block out the 15 other boats watching and focus on the sea mammals there were moments of brilliance. One would leap several feet out of the water and return with an almighty splash, the phrase 'vale la pena' (it was worth it) springs to mind.
The 'lunch' was pathetic and the place that they took us to snorkel had visibility so poor that it must be one of the worst spots in the world. I did not see one fish. The blue footed boobies were back as were the frigates and they were great reminders of the Galapagos days. It could not have been further removed form the eco tourism of the islands but once again the animals were the star.
Banos
We stayed at Casa Verde an eco dream with a fantastic breakfast (real cheese, avocado, home made bread, real butter and jams) run by a great family. Went on an epic bike ride to Puyo trough the cascadas (waterfalls), rented dune buggies that broke down often which result in a cool runnings style ending for Matt and Bex where they literally both had to push they buggy over the last 500m with a whole queue of traffic behind us!
This was the place where we would have to say goodbye to Matt and Becs and we truly went out in style. We sipped Argentinean Malbec in an outdoor spa with the full moon high in the sky and with stunning views of Banos. We were the only ones there and really felt like rock stars (I even had my sunglasses) living it up in Miami. We never wanted to say goodbye but if we had to part then this was the way to do it.
Cotopaxi
The Secret Garden Cotopaxi was the perfect place to relax, hoop, read and snuggle by the fire with the dogs.
I really do not like insects very much, so instead of going to the Galapagos I'll travel to Buenos Aires apartments in Argentina.
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