Into the Jungle .

So Ecuador is really not cutting it for me. Maybe after chasing the Dakar around Peru, everyday was a challenge and filled with the unexpected excitement and sometimes frustrations and lack of hydration.  Now in Ecuador it is all predictable and the scenery is not spectacular as the rest of South America. Dont get me wrong it has it's own beauty but just not dramatic as I  expected.
They even drive like norml , unlike Peru, so there isn't even excitement on the road, which is a relief after driving 2600 km in Peru with some insane, suicidal Peruvians. The problem is one starts to drive like them and without there experience we had some narrow misses, not really narrow but maybe a little close for comfort.

I decided to head to the jungle, hoping for something different but knowing full well what to expect. We went east of Tena about forty kilometers to Grand Selva Lodge which is $30 a night with breakfast, it did have a nice pool, but a Lodge it was not. We went to an animal rescue shelter which was interesting to see and the boat ride was fun there and back. The next day I foolishly did a four hour jungle walk in the rainforest, those being the buzz words that are overused by everyone here, but sure sounds exhilarating. I see more animals in my garden than I did in four hours in the jungle, of course the day before they saw snakes and all kinds of things,  seems like that happens every tour I take, I guess I am going to have to go a day earlier from now on.

Got back to the lodge and had some lunch and then relaxed around the pool for the afternoon. We skipped the nightwalk in the jungle, the excitement of seeing god knows what was just to much for me and I would not be able to sleep after another thrilling jaunt in the jungle.
The following day we decided to leave and head south to Alaus,  only to discover we had a slow puncture which I got fixed on the way down for $3 and the lady only took like fifteen minutes and we were on our way.

Quito heading south.

We decided to rent a car, so got a an upgrade from a Chevy Spark  to a Kia for 30 days. ( een duisend sewe honderd dollars)
Went to Cotopaxi but was clouded over and didn't quite know where to go so we left and drove to Quilotoa where there is a volcanic lake which you down upon. The road was neverending in the mountains and it was a beautiful tar road which was totally unexpected, in Peru it would be been gravel road. Got to the lake and found a room and the wind was howling and man it was cold. I ventured out to see the lake and it was quite impressive and was going to hike around the perimeter the following day. Had some horrible meal, not much to choose from in this tiny village, and then went to our freezing bedroom and luckily bumped into  Japanese lady that had two heaters in her room and kindly gave us one.
I abandoned my hike as the wind was howling and it was cold we decided to leave and head for Banõs.
On the way down the mountain the front left wheel started to make some real ugly sounds and after inspecting it I could see nothing obvious so we continued on. When I got to the next town I took the car back to Avis and switched it out and got an older car which after complaining they said they would get me the same car I had and deliver it to me in Banjos tomorrow.
So we continued on to Banõs to our lovely hotel which is only half built, like most of the buildings in South America. The owner was a real nice guy that had lived in San Francisco and was real helpful on what to see and do.
Banõs is a real tourist town as it is meant to be the adventure capital of Ecuador,  which is a joke. They have this gigantic swing on top of the mountain and some lame zip lines and all the backpackers flock here. There are a few waterfalls and the one I visited was unbelievable in more ways than one. The sheer volume of water in a tight chute cascading down a sheer rock wall about a hundred feet maybe, was quite something to see. We drove up the mountain to the swing to enjoy the view of the town below and the asphalt road is in perfect shape, which yet again I was just amazed how good the roads are.
The Avis guy brought the replacement car at 7 pm, and took the old car back to Ambioto.
The following morning I discovered that the navigator had forgotten my camera in the car and now we would have to drive back up to Ambioto to get my camera. While we were having so called breakfast, the driver appeared and had brought my camera back, what a relief !
We then left heading north east to the jungle.

Quito for four days.

Seems like breakfast is included wherever we stay but sometimes you are actually hungrier after you've had their breakfast.
Took a cab into the old town and wandered around aimlessly, as I did not know what to see or do in Quito,  sometimes the lack of planning bites you.
Then you figure it out the next day and realize you saw what you needed and I can't look at another Catholic Church unless I am personally escorted by the Pope himself. The Old Town is pretty neat and being a Sunday there were lots of locals out and about and was quite entertaining listening to the guitar players and the one old duck bugling in the square through a Kudu horn.

For some reason I just could not stay awake and would have forty winks every day,  so weird and would sleep through the night.
Dinners consist mainly of rice and some form of potatoes and either chicken or
 'steak' , which in most cases are maybe a quarter inch thick and cooked to a boot leather toughness and a little salad. Bananas are a common dish served and cooked in numerous ways and somewhat tasty, never knew you could do so much with a banana and at the market I got ten huge bananas for $1.
Charmain spent the following day in bed and I did research as to where to go next. Thought of going to the Galapagos but turned out to be so expensive for what you got I could not justify it so bagged that idea.Besides C would have been sea sick the entire time, that was the main reason why we didn't go, come to think of it. The last day we did the cable car and went to  a scenic spot above the city  and walked down the hill into Old Town for the final time. The place is fairly clean in general for a South American town, however there was a fair amount of dog kak you had to avoid walking on the stone roads and sidewalks.

Dakar done and dusted.

The Dakar finished here in Lima last night and I came back to get some sleep and with my guts still not right, had a terrible night's  sleep. Brandon returned the car and picked up Charmain at the airport and got a taxi back to the hotel where I was still sleeping.

We just walked around Miraflores as I was still chowdered, so just took it slow. On our return to the hotel we saw Andre eating at our hotel so we had a farewell with him again, they had just returned from delivering their transport truck to the harbour to board the ship with all the other Dakar vehicles.
On Saturday we decided to go to Colombia that night and Brandon was leaving for home in the early hours of Sunday morning. We went for a bike ride along the coast and found a track and had a quick bicycle race, and for the record, I won!

Brandon and I went for lunch with the Dutchman while C worked on booking our flights and decided to go to Ecuador instead. We had a quick curry dinner with Brandon and then bid him farewell and left for the airport where I saw my Dutcman buddies again.
Two hours later we were in Quito in a rather nice hotel, for me anyhow. I was back to my normal self and had a good sleep in a comfortable bed, but C was coming down with the flu.