We flew back to Quito where the next day my cousin Sandra had to return back to Switzerland. She traveled with me for 6 weeks. For me it was a different experience traveling with someone, it was the most dense traveling block so far, we’ve seen many different places and covered a lot of ground.
We came to Quito several times and stayed in different hotels each time. Here I want to recommend Hotel Rick’s; I found it a very good deal.
For me it’s time to work a little bit again.

We had one more day in the Galapagos and we went to the high part of Santa Cruz Island to see the giant turtles in their natural environment. The day was very clouded and rainy at times so we took a taxi instead of the bikes as we originally planed to. On the way to a ranch we already saw many turtles sometimes in the same field as cows and encountered a huge one sitting right on the street. It didn’t think of moving off the road so the driver had to maneuver around it. On the ranch we got into rubber boots and went for a walk with a guide who told us a little about the turtles. After that we went to see a tunnel formed by lava and before heading back the “Gemelos”, two big almost circular depressions in the ground.

The last day we started late because there were some engine problems in the night while navigating to Floreana Island. First we visited the Post Office Bay. There you can find a barrel with postcards to people all over the world. You can leave your own card or take one that you will deliver in your country once you get back. This is a tradition that goes way back to the time when this bay was used by many ships before heading on to other places. The sailors then did the same thing and stayed in contact with the people back home this way.
Very close to that bay we visited a lagoon where we finally saw some Flamingos and a little further reached another amazing beach. We didn’t stay there long and headed back to the ship. We navigated to a small volcano close to the island where only the top crown showed out of the water, the devils Crown. It’s a fantastic place for snorkeling. The currents are pretty strong at times but they take you around the crown if you start in the right place. We saw some more White Tipped Reef Sharks, many fish including black star fish and some rays. Once you get to a certain point you cross into different water that is freezing cold. Then you can enter the crown where the water is very shallow. Inside there were a pair of sea lions which seemed very curious and came swimming very close. They came shooting at you and in the last moment they changed course. Seeing the male come so close was almost a little scary because it was so big. But for me, being so close to the sea lions was even more exiting then seeing the sharks.
We spent the rest of the day navigation back to Puerto Ayora.

Over night we navigated to Espanola Island, the boat was rocking heavily and although I didn’t feel sick I didn’t sleep well. The day was very clouded and rainy. Unfortunately just one day before the boat trip I got a cold and it was pretty tough to get into the cold water like this. Some people decided not to snorkel but I just had to do it and I was rewarded. In crystal clear and shallow water I spotted a big turtle and managed to glide over it for quite a while. It was very peaceful seeing the large turtle swim calmly over the white sandy ground. I was amazed by how fast this animal was swimming with seemingly now effort at all. Finally when I tried to get even closer it picked up in speed and there was no way for me anymore to fallow it. I continued out into deeper water and saw a large swarm of reef fish.
In the afternoon we had another landing in a different part of the island where we saw more sea lions, large groups of iguanas and finally the characteristic Blue Footed Boobies. These seem really strange looking birds when you see them first, but very beautiful. They have shiny blue feet, a strangely feathered head and funny looking eyes. We got to see one pair from very close up. We continued walking and spotted many young sea lions and more kinds of bird including a species of the albatross family which showed us their very funny mating dance. Last we reached a cliff with a blow hole. Water from the waves gets pressed into the rocks and spit out through a small hole with lots of pressure which then looks like a geyser or the fountain of a whale.

The next morning I had to find out that I am not really a boat person, because I felt very ill once I got up. I was fine as long as I was laying in my bed although the boat was rocking heavily, but as soon as I got to my feet, within minutes I had to throw up. Fortunately my cousin had some sea sickness pills with her and for the rest of the trip I took them and felt fine. This day we were supposed to visit Plaza Sur and Santa Fe. On our first landing we walked a short while on the island when someone in the group discovered a whale jumping in the distance. Suddenly everybody got very exited and we decided to alter the program and go wale watching. The crew took a long time until they finally came with their two small boats. We raced towards the open ocean where we last saw the whale. Coming out of the bay we had to slow down because of the bigger waves we encountered here. We drove about to the place where we had seen the whale from the land but they were gone. We headed out a little more and then saw it jump again, but it was already to far away and so we had to turn back. Although we never saw the wale from up close it was still exiting to see it jump out of the water like that.
Up next was another snorkeling, this time from the small boat. I was always wondering how I would react once I finally got to see a shark. Would I be afraid, even panic? I jumped into the cold water and shortly after I saw my first shark. It was a beautiful animal, a White Tipped Reef Shark. A little bit to my own surprise I stayed very calm, just as if seeing any other fish. Maybe it was because the shark didn’t even seem to notice me and went on its business. I was able to swim over it for a while in not to deep water and with good visibility. A little drifting down with the current some people of our group spotted some more sharks, relaxing in a cave with just their heads looking out. I also spotted some rays gliding over the sand and there were some sea lions playing in the water as well.
Late in the afternoon we had another landing on a beach full of sea lions. We walked between the animals that only seemed to be bothered if someone came too close. At the far end of the beach we discovered a hawk sitting on top of a tiny sea lion baby and ripping out parts of its flesh. There I realized that, although the animals are certainly used to humans being around, this really is wildlife that we see here. The bird didn’t even think of leaving its pray even when people got very close to it. We also saw some more iguanas enjoying the last beams of sunlight on their rocks.

We took the bus to the airport where we met our guide and some other people that booked the same tour. Reaching the small harbor, we were received by a group of sea lions that made themselves comfortable on the benches on the peer. We got on board, took our cabins and met some other people that were already on the ship for a few days. Once we got going it was already after midday. We navigated for a short while to Seymour where we had our first wet landing. Our guide walked with us the beautiful beach and showed us a lagoon where sometimes you can see flamingos, but today it was empty. Back on the beach we saw some pelicans, iguanas and crabs, but in general it was pretty deserted. We went snorkeling and at least I saw some fish but none of the bigger animals that the people selling the tour always talked about like sharks, turtles, rays, sea lions. If it wouldn’t have been for the beautiful beach, I would have been very disappointed of this day.

The next day started very annoying. It cost us almost half a day to get money. On Monday morning there are many people in the bank and you have to stand in line for a long time. They also want a copy of the passport so we had to walk back to the hotel to get that. Then I had to stand in line twice to finally get the money. It was very frustrating loosing half a day of the few that we had on the islands just to get money, a thing that would take 15 seconds on an ATM. In the afternoon we visited Las Grietas, a little lagoon about half an hours walk into the island. Coming back we stayed in a small beach and I did some more snorkeling with new equipment but still didn’t see anything that knocked me off of my feet. In the evening we got our stuff together since the next day we would start our boat adventure.

The first day we went to the Darwin Station in the morning. You can see giant turtles and land iguanas there, but I wasn’t very happy because I didn’t come to the Galapagos to see animals in captivity. So soon we went on. On our way back I tried to get money out of the machine in the only bank in town but it didn’t work, that could turn out to be a huge problem but hopefully I could get money on Monday from inside the bank. For now I wanted to see some animals and so we headed out to Tortuga Bay. Getting there I was disappointed in one way and surprised in another. My vision of the Galapagos was a few tiny volcanic islands with wildlife paradises wherever you go. We soon had to find out that this is not the case. Sure you will see animals in a way that is probably hard to match in other places but they are all concentrated in certain areas of the islands. Especially near inhabited places it’s hard to spot animals. But fortunately I got surprised with beautiful beaches and landscapes. I would never have expected to find such excellent beaches on volcanic islands, and the beach that we reached after about half an hour walking from Puerto Ayora was the best of all. I have never seen such powdery fine white sand, it was a dream walking there and looking at the waves break, seeing the sun bring out these beautiful colors in the water. The tourist information warned us about strong currents on that beach so we went on to Tortuga Bay, but there were quite a few surfers out there anyways. Surfing Galapagos, I would never have thought of that. Tortuga Bay has no waves and it is ideal for swimming and snorkeling. Unfortunately the snorkeling gear that I bought didn’t work well so I didn’t see much under water. We heard that there were sharks in that bay and one moment really close to the shore we saw rapid movements in the water but when we got closer to see, it was gone. Later a family discovered a water snake, the water was clear and we could watch the snake for quite a while searching the sand until finally it covered itself completely with sand. I never asked but since there were many local people on that beach, including children, I assume that the snake isn’t poisonous and the sharks don’t attack humans. We kind of realized that maybe we would need to take a tour by Yacht after all to see the things that we came for, so we looked around for more deals and fortunately we got lucky. We met someone that knew the owner of a sailing yacht and wee could book a 4 day trip last minute and without the commission the travel agencies usually charge.

We went to the airport in the morning and sat in a plane shortly after getting there. We found out that the flight was not direct and that we had to make a stopover in Guayaquil. Shortly after the takeoff we had a very nice view of the Cotopaxi from the air because the pilot flew a curve exactly between two volcanoes so that both sides had something to look at. We landed in Baltra a small neighbor of Santa Cruz Island. The airport shuttle took us down to the channel where we had to board a ferry. There we got a first impression of the beautiful colored and crystal clear water you can find in many spots on the islands. On the other side there was a public bus waiting that finally brought us to Puerto Ayora. The town is not very big, but we had to walk quite a bit to find a half way decent hotel that wasn’t too expensive. Then we got a little bit disappointed because we hoped to find cheaper boat trip deals here then in Quito, but they were still pretty expensive. We planed not to take a tour and go visit the 3 inhabited islands and take day tours from there.

The next day we headed back to Quito, but not the way we came. We took the route over Banos where we stopped for a couple of hours to eat lunch. Though deserted due to the recent outbreak of the volcano next to the town, it seemed like a nice little place and probably worth staying a day or two, but we needed to get back to Quito because we had plane tickets to the Galapagos. The day was not too clouded and so we were able to see some of the volcanoes on route from Banos to Quito.

We stayed one more day in Tena. We wanted to go visit a Zoo a little outside of Tena, but in the morning it was raining again and we stayed in Tena. Fortunately in the afternoon it stopped raining and went to visit the park “La Isla” in Tena itself. It is kind of a combination of botanical garden and a Zoo. Because there were not many people in the park one employee working there asked us if we would like to hold a boa. For me it was the first time I touched a snake and I was amazed by the strength this animal has. There were also some small monkeys climbing around in the trees and suddenly we had them on our heads and shoulders.

The third day was a little more quite. In the morning we got to see a young tarantula that was resting near the hammocks. We had sun the whole day. In the morning we went for a walk to a local village where we learned a little bit about the life and the problems in the jungle. We learned that you can have more then cats or dogs as pets, a small creature about as big as a cat suddenly dropped from the wall behind me and started sleeping on my shoulders. After lunch we went swimming in the river and our guide showed us how to pan for gold. He was actually able to extract some fine gold dust with every load he brought. In the evening we headed back to Tena.

The Shangrila Lodge is a very nice place to stay. It has an incredible view and the rooms had more luxury then I would have expected from a jungle lodge, including private bathrooms with hot water. After a good breakfast we headed out with our rubber boots. Fortunately the rain had stopped. Again our path through the jungle was a little stream. There were no big waterfalls this time but canyons and caves. The canyons were so narrow at times that you had to squeeze yourself through them. At one point in one of these canyons it seemed that there was no going further since the only way was straight up about 2 meters. Our guide obviously didn’t think it was a problem but I didn’t see how we could possible get up there. Our guide showed us a technique to climb straight up in the narrow canyon, pressing our back against one side of the canyon, our legs and hands to the other. I was surprised that I could go up like that, but even more that people much older and less adventurous were able to do so as well. Although you can still walk in primary rain forest, there are not many animals you see. Most of them have been hunted down and those remaining are very careful not to cross paths with humans. Still we got to see many insects, beautiful butterflies, many bats in the caves and some tracks of bigger animals living in the forest. We got back to the lodge in time for lunch. Finally the sun came out now and after some relaxing on the hammock deck of the lodge we climbed down the steep cliff to go tubing down the river. As the things we did before, it was just as much adventure as getting to know the rainforest. We not only went canyoning on our walks, now we also went river rafting in tubes. These two days have certainly been very exiting and nobody got bored. After returning from the tubing we had some more hammock time and soon after enjoying a nice sunset and a dinner we went to bed listening to the music our guides were playing at night.

The first day we started from Tena driving about half an hour into the jungle to a small Lodge. There we equipped ourselves with rubber boots and headed into primary rain forest. First thing, our guide painted our faces with a red paint obtained from a fruit. Everybody got nice indigenous symbols only me he painted as a clown. Only about half an hour into our walk it started raining. Usually this time around it doesn’t rain an entire day but it didn’t stop until late in the afternoon. At first it felt a little strange to walk in the rain without a raincoat and getting soaked completely, but then we got used to it. It wasn’t as warm as we expected it to be and even the guide said it was colder then usual and so at the end of a day in wet cloths it cot a little chilly. Our path through the rain forest was a little stream coming down from the hill. We walked in water all the time. Then we got to a waterfall. The guide asked us if we wanted to take a shower and because we already were wet we all agreed. After a little climbing we crossed the waterfall from one side to the other and back. Now everybody was completely soaked. We continued on upstream and soon reached the next waterfall. Here there was no way around and our guide climbed right up the waterfall to attach a rope. Then we went up one after another and again there was no way to stay dry. Shortly after there was the next waterfall and we climbed it the same way. A little more up the hill we reached a natural bathtub where we all took a bath with our rubber boots and all our cloth on. After some more walking in the stream and beautiful primary rain forest we got to the last waterfall. Here we took a little more time, standing under the waterfall and letting the water pound on our head. It was pretty strong but a really good feeling after all this walking and climbing. Then it was time to head back to the lodge. We ate a simple lunch and then had some free time. In the afternoon we had to get back into our wet cloth which was pretty uncomfortable but necessary since we wanted to keep at least one dry set of clothing. We went for a short walk around the lodge while the native guide explained to us the different kinds of medical uses each plant had. We ate dinner in the same Lodge but then went on to Shangrila, a large lodge in a spectacular setting, sitting on top of a cliff overlooking the rainforest and the foot of the Andes in the background. We got there at night and didn’t see any of it until the next morning.

In Tena we stayed in the Hostal Rio Tena right by the terminal. It is a nice place but you should try to get a room that is not facing the terminal. We started looking for tours right away and although there isn’t as much competition we finally went for Amarongachi. We booked a 3 day tour and although I found the tour a little expensive at first, now I am glad we did it anyways.

The bus ride from Quito to Tena is beautiful, along a typical Andes valley, crossing a mountain pass and then descending until you reach the Amazon region, passing many waterfalls.

In the morning we changed hotels because we didn’t like the one we had. Just checking in to our new room there was suddenly a very loud hissing sound coming from the stairway. When I went to check there was a cloud escaping from the ceiling and the cleaning lady was running down in panic screaming. I went back to the room to tell my cousin to get ready to leave because I thought it was gas escaping. I went to check again and saw another employee with a fire extinguisher pointing towards the leak. I went back to get my cousin and as we got down the stairs someone told us that it wasn’t gas, it was just vapor. So we put our bags back into the room and hoped the hotel would still be standing once we came back. Like in Guayaquil we used half a day to look for information about the Galapagos Islands and the other half to take a walk in the city. It was pretty clouded and so we couldn’t see any of the volcanoes that are supposed to be around the city. We went to visit the huge church that is sitting on a little hill above the center. It is really impressive from the outside as well as from the inside because of the many colored windows. You can also go to the top of the tower which was almost as frightening as climbing Waynapicchu because the stairs didn’t make the safest impression. In the evening we went to buy our tickets to the Galapagos Island. But first we planed to visit the jungle.

The next day we took a bus to Riobamba. Once there we didn’t find any information about visiting the national park there and since the air was still contaminated from the recent outbreak of the volcano near Banos, many people were wearing dust masks in the street, and we decided to continue on to Laso. There it was even worse. If you don’t want to climb the Cotopaxi then there is not much for you to do there. We just saw one hotel. We had a nice view of the volcano in the sunset and then stopped the next bus to Quito.

We stayed one day and used it to get some information about the Galapagos Islands. The tours they offered from here and Quito were very expensive so we decided we would just take a flight to the island and then see from there. The other half of the day we used to take a long walk in the very nice river promenade called Malecon. In one beautiful part of the park you can even see llguanas in the trees. You have many local and foreign trees and flowers in that park just like in a botanical garden. This park is not only worth an extensive walk during the day but also in the night. The buildings, trees and monuments are lit artistically and it is really calming to stroll along while watching the lights.

We got up early in the morning to catch a bus that would go directly to Guayaquil, but the bus never came and the office just didn’t open although it should have been open for a while. So we decided to go to the next town with a small bus. They let us off in front of a terminal where about an hour later we had a bus to Guayaquil in Ecuador. We arrived in Guayaquil in the late afternoon and I had a little culture shock coming from Peru. Everything went so orderly, no taxi drivers making problems by always wanting more money. He let us off in the Hotel Velez right in the center, very cheap and the rooms are all right.

Now we had enough of Peru and headed straight up towards Ecuador, 3 different busses in one day. Before leaving though, we stopped in Mancora to relax for a couple of days. It is a little town but well known as a holiday destination for the locals. Apart from some remote beaches in parks, I haven’t seen any dream beaches on this side of the Andes and neither is Mancora. It is ok for a couple of days to relax after so much time in the mountains but I wouldn’t make all the way from Lima just to see it. About half an hour walk from the town there is a pretty nice bay with a clean and wide beach and some palm trees around the houses.

We used the half day in Lima to get done some shopping for my cousin. The following day we took a bus to Huaraz, famous for its snowy mountain chain, the Cordillera Blanca. Because of time and weather we just stayed one day and visited the lake Chinancocha with its beautiful colored water. It reminded me of the lakes in Torres del Paine and other lakes I have seen in Patagonia, all with this deep characteristic color. The next day we left the valley through the canyon Pato. It’s all gravel road and a bit tiring, but certainly worth it, since the canyon is very steep and narrow at times, very impressive.

The next day we had to leave the hotel again about 5 o’clock in the morning to catch the train back to Ollantaytambo. From there a bus took us back to Cusco. We used the day to visit some Museums in Cusco and then boarded a bus in the late afternoon heading back to Lima in a 20 hour monster ride but with a far more comfortable bus then the last time.

There is a big hype about seeing the sunrise over Machu Picchu. Affected by that I convinced my cousin Sandra that we should walk up to Machu Picchu in time to see the sunrise. That meant getting up at 4 o’clock in the night and start hiking up the mountain at about 5 o’clock. We were told that you need about an hour to hike up there, but that morning when we ate breakfast someone told us that you need at leas two hours and that is not an easy path. If that was true then we were pretty late and since I knew that my cousin wasn’t too exited to hike up there anyway we decided to take the bus. As it turns out, you really need about 2 hours to get up to Machu Picchu by foot unless you are Superman. We got there well ahead of the sunrise but I was pretty disappointed since even though you can’t see the sun, it’s already very bright. So seeing the sun actually come up over Machu Picchu is nothing to die for in my opinion. Far more interesting I found it about an hour after that when the rocks throw nice shadows on the green grass. If you missed the sunrise because you didn’t get there in time; don’t worry about it, nothing missed.
But you certainly shouldn’t miss to visit Machu Picchu at all. It seems like out of this world. It wasn’t as much the ruins that fascinated me, which are certainly the best preserved from the Inca time, but the mere location where they built it, it is absolutely spectacular. It seems like in the middle of an arena, surrounded by a circular mountain chain that almost completely surrounds the center mountain with the city on top. I have never seen anything like it. But the best in my opinion was still to come.
After absorbing the spirit of Machu Picchu for a while from the agricultural steps they built and from within the city itself, we decided to hike up Waynapicchu which is a towering rock just to the side of the city. Standing on the foot of the mountain one would think you’d need climbing experience to get to the top since it seems to go up pretty much vertically. Standing there you wouldn’t imagine that there is actually a path up there. The way up is breathtaking and horrifying at the same time. There are almost no fences and most of the time you are just a step beside the abyss. Something like that would be completely unthinkable in other countries for security reasons. If you are afraid of heights then I recommend you don’t go up there. On the top there are waiting even more surprises. I was thinking: “The Incas must have been crazy in their minds” when I saw the ruins up there. It’s about an hour of walking stairs, going up almost vertically to get up there and the Incas couldn’t think of anything better to do then to construct their buildings up there. I can’t imagine how tough it must have been to bring all the building materials up there and build something almost into vertical rock. I was simply stunned and words or photos could never express what it feels like to stand up there and look at those ruins and the awesome view you have on the top of this mountain. It feels like standing on the tip of a needle where you’re about to fall into nothingness at any time.
Many people go up there and on the top an employee urges the people to take their photos and continue on down because there is very little space. So after a short break we headed downwards. There is circular path and you could take another route down from the peak but unfortunately we missed that and had to go down the same way we came up. Then almost reaching Machu Picchu again we went the opposite way to go visit another temple that you would get to if you took the other way down from the peak. It is interesting to note the change in the vegetation when coming down from the peak. Down here you have almost tropical forest. After that my cousin had enough walking for the day so she went back to the entrance to relax a bit. As for me, I wanted explore some more paths. First I went to the Incas bridge where again the Incas proofed that they weren’t afraid of heights and saw a challenge in building into vertical rock. Coming back from there I headed up another path leading to the end of the famous Inca Trail. I didn’t quite get to the sun gate because it was getting late and I didn’t have any more water with me. Still I got another good view of the city and then headed back for the entrance. It was about 4 o’ clock and I had been walking since about 7 o’clock in the morning, but I couldn’t help it, I just had to walk down the mountain back to the hotel; the way we originally wanted to hike up. My cousin went down with the bus and I got back to the hotel about an hour later. It’s pretty much all stairs but it’s nice to walk through the forest and then see the river with the big rocks, washed shiny by the wild water.

The next day we took the tour to the Sacred Valley. The first stop was Pisac and the ruins that are high above the village. Soon I was sorry that we took the tour. We just went to see one ruin, had almost no time to enjoy the nice view and neither to walk the trail that is even higher above the ruins in the cliffs. It would have been very cool to walk this trail. Of course when I came back to the bus, pretty much all the people were already waiting, ready to head to the next site. We ate lunch on the way to Ollantaytambo where we got in the late afternoon. There it was pretty much the same, you had some explanations of the tour guide and very little time to see the ruins or walk all the different paths. If you go visit the Sacred Valley then I recommend you plan at least 2 or 3 days to see al the ruins, don’t take a one day tour, it will feel like in a race. The tour then went on without us heading back to Cusco. We stayed in Ollantaytambo because the train from there is slightly cheaper then from Cusco. Still, visiting Machu Picchu is nothing for the poor. The train to Aguas Callientes still cost us about US$45 and the entrance is about another US$40. We had to wait for the train in Ollantaytambo till 8 o’clock. We wandered around in the small town for a while then went to eat dinner. The train took about 2 hours to get to Aguas Callientes where we were taken to our hotel that was included in the tour.

We arrived in Cusco in the evening just in time to eat something and compare some of the tours that you can take there. We decided to stay one day in Cusco to see the ruins close to the city and then take a tour of the Sacred Valley the next day and the highlight, Machu Picchu on the third day.
The next morning we started walking out of the city. I really didn’t have a map, just the street we needed to follow, so we only realized that there was a much shorter way when I asked someone. When we reached a church there was somebody selling horseback tours that covered pretty much all the ruins that we wanted to see this day. Since I didn’t know exactly how far these ruins were apart, we decided to go with the horses. For my cousin Sandra it was the first time on a horse, for me the second, it was a fun experience. We went to see 3 ruins by horse and the last two by foot but you really have the choice here. You can walk them all, take horses, bikes or tours in busses. I would certainly not recommend the latest since you can walk all of them within a day. For me the most impressive to see were the huge rocks that they used to build the walls. I heard one was supposed to weigh 120 tons, but I don’t know if it is true, but anyhow they are big. All the ruins are located on the road to Pisac. There is a tourist ticket that you can buy that will allow you to enter most of the ruins around Cusco and the Sacred Valley.