Vilcabamba is a small town in the south of Ecuador, where people go to relax! It is set in beautiful mountains and is so quite and peaceful. The valley is called the valley of longevity as apparently people there live longer than any other part of Ecuador, many claiming to live up to 100 years old and some even 120!
All the hostals offer massajes and lots of hiking andd horse riding tours.
We stayed at a really nice hostal out of town on one of the mountains at the side. It was run by Germans and was lots of people staying there who are travelling alone through south america, so in the evenings everyone was in the bar area together playing pool or table tennis or sitting in one of the many hammocks!
We went on a horseriding tour round the mountains and through the town and then had a relaxing massaje.
This week we took the children from the orphanage horse riding at the army barracks next door. The kids were aged 2 to 5 and to start off some were scared of the horses. Most of them went on with and adult which meant i got to go to :) by the end all the kids were really enjoying it and didnt want to leave, and hopefully they will get to sort something out with the barracks so they can get to go every week.
Monday, 25 January 2010
Rainforest 3
The next day had another long walk in the forest, then in the afternoon went to a visit an indiginous house, where 15 people sleep in one tiny room. htere was a grandma there who was 90 but didnt have one grey hair and was still having to sit on the floor! we tried making and tasted (a ready made version) the traditional drink of the area called chicha made from Yuka which is a bit like a parsnip or potato but not really! Anyway its distusting so i wouldnt recommend it!
The saturday we went in canoe down the river napo. We stopped at a place which shows the traditional traps used in the jungle, and then got to try using the giant dart things that are about 5 feet long with a dart in the end and you have to aim at a bullseye. After we all got back in the river and put on lifejackets and floated next to the canoe for ages.
Sunday left at 3 am for the disastrous bus journey again! Didnt get home until 4pm!
The saturday we went in canoe down the river napo. We stopped at a place which shows the traditional traps used in the jungle, and then got to try using the giant dart things that are about 5 feet long with a dart in the end and you have to aim at a bullseye. After we all got back in the river and put on lifejackets and floated next to the canoe for ages.
Sunday left at 3 am for the disastrous bus journey again! Didnt get home until 4pm!
Rainforest 2
After misahualli we went to the lodge, it was really in the forest and was so pretty, even got our own little cabin and were the only people there for one of the nights, another group was there for the other 2 nights. That afternoon we went for a walk with the guide where he explained all the uses for the plants, for medicine and other things. Made us all paranoid as there was a fly which he kept hitting away from his head as it lays eggs behind your ears or the back of your neck!
It was so hot a humid that after we went for a swim in a river close to the lodge.
That evening went for another walk this time to see insects, was quite scary as so dark and had to look out not to tread on snakes, and the insects we saw were really big and strange looking. You really feel like you are invading their home, they are everywhere and so noisy and even in the cabins couldnt escape them (there was a bat flying round ceiling)- luckily we had a mosquito net.
It was so hot a humid that after we went for a swim in a river close to the lodge.
That evening went for another walk this time to see insects, was quite scary as so dark and had to look out not to tread on snakes, and the insects we saw were really big and strange looking. You really feel like you are invading their home, they are everywhere and so noisy and even in the cabins couldnt escape them (there was a bat flying round ceiling)- luckily we had a mosquito net.
The Rainforest
After a horrible zillion hour bus jouney we arrived in Baños de Ambatto where we got a few hours sleep before having to do another horrible bus journey to Tena and then to the lodge where we were staying. Before going to the lodge we stopped at a village called Misahualli. Here there are tame monkeys which run around the plaza in the centre. There are about 15 to 20 tame monkeys who live in the village and are very michevious- you have to make sure your bag isnt open or they will steal things from you! Our guide gave us oranges and onions to give to them and the come up and take them from your hands. The oranges they smash on the floor until or with stones then eat them, and the onions they rub on their bodys as a natural insect repellent.
Saturday, 26 December 2009
Wednesday 23rd December
On the 23rd we had the schools Christmas party. All the kids were dressed up as nativity characters or in traditional Ecuadorian costume. Mary, Joseph, an angel and the three kings sat on the back of a decorated truck, and all the other kids and parents walked at its side as we drove round the streets near the school. After that we had a mass and then the children sang and did a traditional dance they had learn´t. Next some of the parents did a dance, something that would never happen in Engand! All the parents had bought along dishes of food so had a big buffet meal after.
Thursday, 24 December 2009
Thank you
A big thank you to my mum and dad, grandparents and Pat for their donations to the orfanage. Went out yesterday with one of the workers and bought lots of stuff which will be really useful, alot of which the nuns who run the place refuse to buy as not considered essential (including baby wipes), so alot of stuff was old or just using unhygenic methods. If anyone else wants donate it will be great, let me know!
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Galapagos Part 4
In the afternoon we went to the Charles Darwin reseach centre, where they have hundreds of baby tortoises looking after them before they are old enough when they release them back into the wild.
They also have Lonely George, who is the last of his species of tortoises as scientists took the last of the tortoises off his island but left him as he was too young. anyway now hes an old man and there is a $10000 reward if anyone can find him a partener who was maybe taken to a zoo in another country or something. He does have 2 girlfriends living with him and they are hoping he will breed with them as although not exactly the same they are the closests in genetics. Theres another tortoise called Diego as he was living in a zoo in San Diego, but when they started trying to repopulate his island and there were hardly any left, they found him and bought him back to help to the breeding program.
On Saturday caught a taxi-boat round the headland to another little beach which we had all to our selves!
In the afternoon we had our bay tour. We got on a boat with about 12 Americas and 2 guys from Puerto Rico. We went to a rocky islet where there were sea lions on the rocks, where we were given snorkles. Was so lovely could see really colourful fish, and a couple of times the sea lions swam right amoungst us and was in a foot of it. Its amazing how graceful they are underwater.
Then we went for a walk and could see a white fin shark in a pool of water. Then went for what the guide told the American was a "strenous hike" but i think thats just as they were a bit old, anyway we managed to do it in flip flops and really wasnt that long, and at the end was a lovely pool of water that you could swim in.
Sunday we went to a beach called the Galapatero on the other side of the island. There was a lake behind the beach which had a flamingo in. Lots of Pelicans kept diving into the sea around me to catch fish.
In the afternoon we went to the Charles Darwin reseach centre, where they have hundreds of baby tortoises looking after them before they are old enough when they release them back into the wild.
They also have Lonely George, who is the last of his species of tortoises as scientists took the last of the tortoises off his island but left him as he was too young. anyway now hes an old man and there is a $10000 reward if anyone can find him a partener who was maybe taken to a zoo in another country or something. He does have 2 girlfriends living with him and they are hoping he will breed with them as although not exactly the same they are the closests in genetics. Theres another tortoise called Diego as he was living in a zoo in San Diego, but when they started trying to repopulate his island and there were hardly any left, they found him and bought him back to help to the breeding program.
On Saturday caught a taxi-boat round the headland to another little beach which we had all to our selves!
In the afternoon we had our bay tour. We got on a boat with about 12 Americas and 2 guys from Puerto Rico. We went to a rocky islet where there were sea lions on the rocks, where we were given snorkles. Was so lovely could see really colourful fish, and a couple of times the sea lions swam right amoungst us and was in a foot of it. Its amazing how graceful they are underwater.
Then we went for a walk and could see a white fin shark in a pool of water. Then went for what the guide told the American was a "strenous hike" but i think thats just as they were a bit old, anyway we managed to do it in flip flops and really wasnt that long, and at the end was a lovely pool of water that you could swim in.
Sunday we went to a beach called the Galapatero on the other side of the island. There was a lake behind the beach which had a flamingo in. Lots of Pelicans kept diving into the sea around me to catch fish.
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