Quito and Jungle Adventure-light

After Silke had fully recovered and Maggi had received an XXL maintenance and care, we headed to Ecuador's capital, Quito. First of all, it should be noted that Quito is incredibly hilly. It's constantly uphill. As compensation, the city, or rather the military academy, offers an outstanding parking space. On Monday morning, we visited the changing of the guard in front of the presidential palace. Fascinating. First, a speaker mentioned all the glorious victories of this country, and each time the crowd cheered. Then the individual provinces were praised and, finally, the flag was hoisted. Throughout the whole procedure, the government officials stood on the balcony of the palace, looking at the people. For us, the whole thing felt a bit strange. After the changing of the guard, we visited more sights. In the cathedral, we discovered a mural that showed the Last Supper. But instead of wine and bread, there was a guinea pig feast (grilled guinea pig) in this depiction. Simply cool. Afterwards, we visited La Ronda, the oldest street in Ecuador.

After so much city, we relaxed in the thermal baths of Papallacte. After this relaxation interlude, we felt ready for the jungle. For cost and time reasons, we decided to go for a light version. Specifically, this meant we went to Mishualli. A small village on the Rio Negro. There we spent the night in an Amazon lodge. Our first impression of the jungle is that it is loud, or rather the insects that live in it. To our surprise, the high humidity was quite bearable in a hammock. Even at night, it cooled down enough for us to sleep well. The next day, a four-hour jungle hike was on the program. Nelly, a member of the Sinchi Warmi community, led us into the jungle. It was quite impressive, and surely we will need a few more days to process everything. In the jungle, Nelly showed us various medicinal plants, such as plant juices against snake venom or against mosquitoes. We tried the mosquito repellent right away, but unfortunately with moderate success - the mosquitoes still attacked us. The hike was quite sweaty, and after a short time, we completely lost our orientation. Nelly, on the other hand, marched undeterred through the green thicket. Afterwards, there was a boat tour on the Rio Negro. The breeze was simply fantastic. The tour also included a lunch. There was delicious fish wrapped in banana leaves with plantain, a rather dry affair, lentils, and rice. After this exhausting tour, the next item on the agenda was immediately on our schedule.

Our destination for the day was Banos, 200 kilometers away. Our guide promised us one of the most beautiful drives in Ecuador. And this time, we were not disappointed. There were several impressive waterfalls, a deep canyon, and dozens of tunnels from which water dripped from the ceilings. Travelers recommended a parking spot with a pretty steep driveway. And it was really steep, but thanks to the low gear, we made it. The place, or rather the restaurant/hotel, was awesome. The whole area was designed in the style of Gaudí or the Viennese Hundertwasser House. Simply fantastic. Our highlight, however, was the German-influenced breakfast. It included muesli, yogurt, whole grain bread, homemade jam, eggs, sausage, and real cheese. Oh, and let's not forget freshly squeezed orange juice. 😊 After this XXL breakfast, we were ready for a winding day trip.

Our destination was the border, 800 kilometers away. For that, we needed several days, and at some point, we couldn't see any more switchbacks. Sometimes really frustrating, 40 kilometers as the crow flies meant 200 kilometers of driving. But we made it. Shortly before the border, we started sweating. Our GPS showed us that we would pass three gas stations on the way to the border. Easy, we thought, we can relax and fill up cheaply. Well, the first two gas stations were ordinary houses selling fuel in plastic bottles. It didn't quite correspond to our idea of a inexpensive gas station. Our hope dwindled with the continuous deterioration of the road, and we seriously doubted that the third option was a real gas station. But we were lucky, out of nowhere, a real gas station appeared behind a curve, and that's where the fun began, we can tell you. Every car had a barrel or a canister in the trunk. Refueled and all relaxed again, we set out on our way to the border.