On Sundays the historic center of Quito, Ecuador is busy and festive as street vendors and music are everywhere. We came across this “Banda de Policia” playing a concert on the street corner entertaining the locals. A couple of blocks later was this street performer as a golden statue. Quito is a long narrow city nestled high in a valley in the Andes and is the highest capital city in the world at 9,050 feet. 

Banos, Ecuador is the place where travelers and Ecuadorians alike go to play. It is known for its mineral hot springs warmed by volcanic activity. The hottest pool is 134 degrees and was too hot for us. The cold plunge pool came straight from the waterfall and was too cold for us but there were several very comfortable pools. Because of the altitude I managed to get a sunburn in only two hours.

A Chiva Bus tour of the valley took us along the river to many thundering waterfalls. Can you see the face of Christ in this rock formation? Banos is also know for “adrenalina” sports activities like mountain biking, caving, waterfall repelling and zip lining. The river is surrounded by steep canyon walls making it a perfect place for a zip line adventure. When it was our turn at the zip line, the tour guide asked who wanted to do it. Everyone just hung back not wanting to commit. I really wanted to try it (and Michael was encouraging me) so I volunteered! Once I committed others in the group did also. We found it a little disconcerting that our zip line coach was still in his school uniform. As I was pushing off I was scared but once I was out there it was great fun.

Heading south we spent a few days in Cuenca. It is a beautiful city with four rivers running through it and many grand churches. Cuenca is known as the “Red City” because a majority of its buildings are built of red brick and red roof tiles. One of our favorite things was the main city market. It was bustling with shoppers buying clothing, fresh fruits and vegetables and meals. One day we ate a great breakfast and lunch there. Our breakfast of eggs, bread and coffee was a total of $4. For lunch we had pork from this giant pig.

In Ecuador we traveled through the Andes that were lush green with awe inspiring peaks and valleys. The valleys and mountain sides were covered with orderly farms. As we left the Andes into Peru it was a rude awakening as northern Peru is dry, dusty and covered with litter. It was a startling contrast.

Peru – Desert in the north