 That's all three angles covered then.17-Jul-2009 18:42, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 8.0, 28.0mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 400 |
After the Devil’s Nose disappointment, we were keen to make sure we visited at least one of the something specials in Ecuador; the Incan ruins at Ingapirca are the largest in the country and definitely something they’re proud of. It was only a small stop on the way to Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador and possibly our last stay before heading south to Peru. Neither went to plan, but both had their moments…
 Frustatingly I was on the wrong side of the bus to catch one of the most amazing views I’ve seen; mountains emerging from a sea of cloud with a pink sunset in the background.
Frustatingly I was on the wrong side of the bus to catch one of the most amazing views I've seen; mountains emerging from a sea of cloud with a pink sunset in the background.17-Jul-2009 00:17, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 5.0, 28.0mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 400 |
We took the bus from Baños to Riobamba ($2), a quick sidetrack to the train office to 100% confirm the train wasn’t running the next day (it wasn’t), and then a bus to Cañar ($5). All buses in Ecuador seem to follow the magic rule of $1 = 1hr of travelling time. Cañar is a small town you can ask to be dropped off at on the bus to Cuenca, and one we chose due to the apparently well signposted 4hr hike from Ingapirca to Cañar. Unfortunately it’s only signposted from Ingapirca it seems and no local is clear on where it starts when heading in the opposite direction.
 This the church overlooking the square in El Tambo, much prettier than where we stayed in Cañar!
This the church overlooking the square in El Tambo, much prettier than where we stayed in Cañar!17-Jul-2009 16:06, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 11.0, 28.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 400 |
We arrived in Cuenca at night with no accommodation suggestions either in person or by trusty guidebook and quickly dived into a cafe for chicken burger and chips and some hostel directions on the side. We then ended up at Hostel Ingapirca, appropriate name but terrible hostel, if you have the choice stay elsewhere. $6 pp, shared grim bathroom with no working light, creaking floorboards everywhere and curtains that don’t shut. Avoid! We popped out for a quick beer to chill out, and managed to be the only people in a relatively ok bar that played the greatest film love tunes all night. In Spanish. Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi and all your other favourites. The owner, obviously bored, kept coming over and attempting conversation generally opening with “I love this music”, which was fine and friendly but when the stilted conversation stopped he didn’t pick up on the socially acceptable exit and hovered in silence…
 Another view, with a rushing Ecuadorian native running out of shot to give scale.
Another view, with a rushing Ecuadorian native running out of shot to give scale.17-Jul-2009 17:00, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 6.3, 105.0mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 400 |
The next day in absence of an obvious trail we took the bus to Ingapirca to check out the ruins; we passed through El Tambo and reflected on what a better place it looked to stay if we had to choose between Cañar and El Tambo again! We paid the $6 entry each and Lynette had great fun attempting to translate the Spanish guide leaflet we had with us, I lamented the cement that seemed to be thrown liberally over the place which was a great shame but I guess made the ruins last longer. The Incas famously did not use cement in their building, preferring to perfectly chisel the large stone bricks until no fixing element was required which made the walls geometrically stunning and very strong. The centre piece of the ruins, the Sun Temple, was an excellent example of this and thankfully in much better and more interesting condition than the rest of the site.
 Allegedly a natural formation, although wethinks the eroded protusions to our left could be ugly brothers.
Allegedly a natural formation, although wethinks the eroded protusions to our left could be ugly brothers.17-Jul-2009 18:39, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 9.0, 28.0mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 400 |
We then took a thirty minute walk around the rear of the ruins, where you get to see some large rocks that were apparently a bath, a throne, and one with a circle that represents the sun. The most remarkable was Cara del Inca, or Face of the Incas, a naturally occurring formation on a cliff face where a large stone face can clearly be seen. Lynette maintains that it isn’t naturally occurring as it looks as though there are two more eroded faces on the same section of rock; unfortunately we couldn’t find any learned archaeologists around to correct them…
 Oh I meant Cuenca. There are none in Cañar.  ) This is the monumentous Cathedral overlooing the main plaza.
Oh I meant Cuenca. There are none in Cañar. |
At lunchtime we headed back, rather than hike we decided we’d accrue some more time and get the bus straight to Cuenca; also we couldn’t face staying in Hostel Ingapirca another night! We arrived in Cuenca while it was still light, and checked out the reasonably priced hostels in the area with our mental checklist. Luck was running low; everywhere was full, expensive, or simple not there and we were about to collapse with exhaustion. On a whim, we tried one of the dodgy doors that always looks like a last resort to see what we would find. Thankfully, just what we wanted! Traveller’s of the World hostel (Calle Larga 5-79 y Hermano Miguel, 072 829 125, esperanzab65@gmail.com) is run by Esperanza and Wilson, a lovely friendly couple who always make you smile. The rooms were relatively quiet, absolutely huge, came with a pretty good kitchen, had wireless internet and two balconies to look over the opposite sides of the city. Plus it was only $6 pp per night! The location was great, and even better it had a great value Mexican next door. Restaurant, not person. Another great shop is just round the corner, possible the best book store in Ecuador, Carolina Bookstore (Hermano Miguel 4-46 y Calle Larga, 097794057), should you need it.
 Overlooking Cuenca from the crest of the hill.
Overlooking Cuenca from the crest of the hill.20-Jul-2009 23:12, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 9.0, 28.0mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 400 |
The next few days were a bit of a blur, which thankfully makes this blog post a little shorter… the first night we randomly met a great Kiwi couple, Dave and Emma, who we then got very merry with until the early hours and the next day managed to achieve the sum total of finding a supermarket. However it did sell Brie, Bacon and French baguettes, which we were both exceptionally excited about have got slightly bored of the ubiquitous and tasteless Mozzarella-like cheese and also sorely missed a good English fry-up. Later that second day, we thought we’d chance our luck with a second helping at the excellent Mexican restaurant, only for me to completely confuse the owner when asking for it to be “a bit spicier this time” and ended up with a burrito that was cold in the middle. Oblivious to the danger, I ploughed on through the half cooked meal anyway and the next day was completely out of action with a dodgy belly. There you go, two and a half days in one paragraph; hope that doesn’t keep happening for the rest of the journey! 
 The outside of the main museum, which is sponsored by money, like many in South America.
The outside of the main museum, which is sponsored by money, like many in South America.20-Jul-2009 22:17, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 7.1, 28.0mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 400 |
Our first full day in Cuenca we decided to have a bit of a wander and investigation into visiting the Galapagos Islands; something we hadn’t planned on initially but now we were here we thought; why not? Well, on the basis that you can’t book a short notice flight anymore very easily as they get block booked by the tours, and that the only two airlines allowed to fly there have the crappest websites known to man (TAME’s online reservation system has been broken for days, and Aerogal just gives you a completely wrong error message when checking out flights), and that once you start totting up all the costs it’ll be around $1k extra budget each, we disappointedly realised that’s why not. An excellent website though if you’re thinking about planning your own trip is here. Still, something to save for an anniversary! We also wandered around the odd church or two, and went to the Bank Museum with some awesome shrunken heads (but couldn’t take photos), although in general Cuenca itself took much less time than expected to wander around.
 We skipped the chocolate pizza and went straight for the good stuff.
We skipped the chocolate pizza and went straight for the good stuff.21-Jul-2009 17:54, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 4.0, 28.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 400 |
Probably one of our most favourite experiences in Cuenca (as in, the one you’d like to repeat over and over) was a visit to Cacao y Canela Café Bar, where virtually everything they sell for you to eat and drink has some connection to chocolate – and it’s quite an extensive menu including Pizza and Pasta! We opted for a Mocachino, Chocolate milkshake and exceptionally spongey chocolate cake. Yes, quite staid when considering the options available but they were damn good and we were two very happy bunnies…
 The End of Ecuador; and the Beginning of Peru!
The End of Ecuador; and the Beginning of Peru!22-Jul-2009 18:20, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 10.0, 28.0mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 400 |
All in all, it is possible that Cuenca sounds like a bit of a disappointment seeing as we were there for about four days and achieved so little, but it was actually quite good slowing down for a few days (although without the gut wrenching pain would have been preferable) and not having to run around all over the place. Anyway, the upshot is that we’ve gained ourselves a few days by leaving out Galapagos and have cracked on to Peru. After around twenty hours of buses we made it deep into the north, thankfully with yet another happily uneventful border crossing and are rapidly approaching Chiclayo. New country, new places to visit, new people to meet, bring on Peru!
On the way from Baños to Cañar, the views from the bus were astounding.17-Jul-2009 00:04, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 6.3, 28.0mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 400 |
Frustatingly I was on the wrong side of the bus to catch one of the most amazing views I've seen; mountains emerging from a sea of cloud with a pink sunset in the background.17-Jul-2009 00:17, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 5.0, 28.0mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 400 |
This the church overlooking the square in El Tambo, much prettier than where we stayed in Cañar!17-Jul-2009 16:06, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 11.0, 28.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 400 |
Not sure what was going on, no roses but definitely a ring.17-Jul-2009 16:11, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 8.0, 50.0mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 400 |
On entry into Ingapirca village, this proud Inca warrior looks after his parrot.17-Jul-2009 16:44, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 9.0, 48.0mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 400 |
Ingapirca ruins, the largest in Ecuador.17-Jul-2009 16:55, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 7.1, 65.0mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 400 |
Some Llamas, not sure how big they are relative to the other Llamas in Ecuador.17-Jul-2009 16:56, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 7.1, 105.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 400 |
Some things; Lynette could tell you more, she painstakingly translated the leaflet from Spanish to Spanglish.17-Jul-2009 16:59, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 9.0, 35.0mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 400 |
Another view, with a rushing Ecuadorian native running out of shot to give scale.17-Jul-2009 17:00, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 6.3, 105.0mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 400 |
Apparently a recreation of an Incan house. I don't buy it having seen other examples with less good plaster work.17-Jul-2009 17:06, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 7.1, 55.0mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 400 |
Some plonker in front of the camera, looking slightly French.17-Jul-2009 17:15, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 8.0, 28.0mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 400 |
A very small, but long Incan aqueduct.17-Jul-2009 17:25, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 10.0, 28.0mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 400 |
No idea what this was. A particularly bad design for a boat perhaps.17-Jul-2009 17:26, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 8.0, 28.0mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 400 |
We think these are rescued rocks ready for building; they all have a hole in them for some reason.17-Jul-2009 17:30, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 10.0, 28.0mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 400 |
Lynette smiling over the resurrected ruins of Ingapirca.17-Jul-2009 17:32, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 10.0, 28.0mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 400 |
Me being quietly smug having just discussed the trapezoidal nature of Incan doorways.17-Jul-2009 17:33, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 8.0, 28.0mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 400 |
Lynette taking a rest while quietly admiring the snig fitting brick work that the Incans are famous for.17-Jul-2009 17:37, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 8.0, 28.0mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 400 |
At the top of the Sol Temple, the most fascinating part of the Ingapirca ruins.17-Jul-2009 17:39, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 9.0, 28.0mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 400 |
![[Facebook]](http://mace.me.uk/mrandmrs/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[MySpace]](http://mace.me.uk/mrandmrs/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/myspace.png)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://mace.me.uk/mrandmrs/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/stumbleupon.png)
![[Email]](http://mace.me.uk/mrandmrs/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
Recent Comments