IV. SA Ecuador/W1, 6d: Vilcabamba-BañosE

Tu, 25.04. Chachapoyas-Border La Balsa-Vilcabamba
Tuesday was again another travel day - as there was still no possibility to visit and in general to travel along the coast north of Lima (Trujillo-Chiclayo-Piura-Tumbes) due to the national crisis and century inondations I spent the fifth and last week in Peru's Selva or Amazon Rainforest and then tried to cross the border to Ecuador at La Balsa via Chachapoyas-Bagua Grande-Jaén-San Ignacio. I started at 4am; like almost everywhere in northern Peru the colectivos have fix prices that cannot be haggled - I thus could not save some money here but on the other hand it is finally fair and everbody pays the same price. The route itself was very exhausting with rollercoaster rides along very bendy tiny roads, very interesting takeovers (you don't have to see something, blowing the horn is enough :O) and a lot of changings in the respective towns. The vehicles itself again didn't have seatbelts and partially damaged windscreens - but they work, it is about the way and the main thing is the end is to arrive - they constantly stop anyway to let people out or to squeeze even more in thanks to unfoldable seats :P As usual, it can take up to an h to fill them and finally hit the road and as usual I was the only foreigner amongst many locals which was especially striking during the many police controls (me being the only one with a passport). However, the landscape was really nice during the whole time, more Cierra = mountains and less Selva = rainforest including cows and sheep on the road as well as super nice people; it was really fun ;)
The last part in Peru from San Ignacio to La Balsa was in the absolute sun getting roasted in a car but along super nice scenery and through small cute villages where we saw a lot of nuts being dried in front of the houses. It was also here where you could see the heavy rainfalls of the last few weeks and days - there were stones, branches as well as whole rocks, trees and huge earth slides everywhere on the street; but we fortunately could make our way through. The border La Balsa is indeed only about some houses within really nice landscape, there was nobody in the office and I really had the feeling of being the only tourist and backpacker. I never had such a relaxed border crossing (there are only 20-30 people crossing every day), had a lot of fun with the officials, got some tips for Ecuador and the best: free WiFi :)
Talking about finances, I changed my last Soles into $12 and could manage 5w Peru and already 10w SA in total so well and even better below budget that I might be able to use the saved money for a trip to the super expensive Galapagos Islands - but let's wait and see :)
Btw, it is allowed to bring some small amounts of coca leaves for your own use to Ecuador. From La Balsa I continued with a so called Ranchera, a truck with up to 30 seats or rather wooden benches - 1,5h unsealed gravel road, the biggest holes and thus rollercoaster ride through nice scenery, sunset inclusive, up to the small town Zumba. There I waited until midnight to save on an accommodation and then took the bus to Vilcabamba where I arrived around 5:30am and was picked up by Natalia and Jarol.

Since 2000 Ecuador's local currency is the USD which makes travelling unfortunately more expensive. In general bus rides are rather cheap with $1-2 per hour but accommodation and food is more expensive and the current exchange rate EUR=USD. The sockets are American style so you have to use an adapter again. Oh and what is also good: there is 40m free WiFi on all public places :)))

We, 26.04. Vilcabamba/Malacatos
During my last hostel stay in Chachapoyas I met Joris who gave me a super recommendation and contact for an accommodation in the 6,000 habitants village Malacatos. The couple Natalia and Jarol make a hostel out of their parents' farm - most of it was still under construction and there was no WiFi yet but it was really nicely located near Cerro Minas and other mountains with view to Malacatos and just the perfect place to relax after such an exhausting journey: super personal and nice people, very quiet, nice view and nature, 5 dogs Maja, Negro, Sam, Negro and Nena as well as super delicious organic food (humitas for breakfast, yuca soup and tilapia fish with rice and picante as well as vegan, gluten, lactosis and sugar free carrot-orange bread for dinner, home made by their daughter).
I first had a shower and then a mega relaxing nap from 7-11am in my big room with wide bed and ensuite bathroom and finally also did some laundry in the afternoon - another luxury when travelling ;)
Malacatos is nicely surrounded by mountains, above all Cierro Minas; it is super hot and especially known for the cultivation of sweet lemon and lima which only grow here. Together with the son Jarol I went to the village passing sweetcorn and sugar cane fields and we visited Plaza de Armas with a nice church.
After that we took the 50ct bus to San Pedro where you can get a good view of Vilcabamba. Vilcabamba itself is very touristy and with the sentence 'El único lugar en el mundo dónde es posible dar más años a la vida y más vida a los años' (The only place in the world where it is possible to give life more years and the years more life) is very famous for a healthy, conscious life in clean, fresh nature with a warm climate - there are many people living more than 100y. There is also a Plaza de Armas with a nice church and good free WiFi ;) From there you also get a good view of Mondango Mountain, also known as Sleeping Inka which is said to protect the area against earthquakes and other natural disasters.
Typical dish here is btw also Cecina, dried meat.

Th, 27.04. Vilcabamba/Malacotos-Lojas-Cuenca
After relaxing pretty well at Santana Farm I had a delicious breakfast with home made vegan bread and then continued further on to the 265,000 habitants town of Lojas located at an altitude of 2,100m - only 30km away from Malacatos but 1h drive thanks to pretty bendy roads. Lojas is known as music and culture town, has a mild Andean climate and with 500y belongs to one of Ecuador's oldest cities. From there I headed further on to Cuenca, 120km=4h bus ride with Viajeros Internacional for $7.50 (unfortunately bus prices are fix here and cannot be haggled) along even more bendy roads and super green hills.

Cuenca is located at an altitude of 2,250m and is the 3rd biggest city in Ecuador, counting 277,000 habitants. The colonial city is in particular known for its many churches, art galleries and museums and it is often also named as Ecuador's most beautiful city. In my opinion this is also true: I am not a fan of big cities but I really liked Cuenca - super green with a lot of parks especially along the river, beautiful colonial style buildings, street artists and musicians everywhere, a dozen karaoke bars (karaoke seems to be quite popular in Ecuador), nice Plaza de Armas = Plaza Abdón Calderón with old and new church (Iglesia del Sagrario and Catedral de la Inmaculada) and in general it is very calm, I felt really safe there. However, it was pretty chilly in the mornings and evenings and also used to rain a bit.

Food is similar to Peru and Bolivia with many pollo fast food restaurants and picanterias. There are many Ecuadorian dishes such as Madura con queso (cooked banana with cheese), Salchipapa (French fries with sausages), Llapingacho (potatoe flan), Humitas/Bolones/Tamales de Verde, Locro (potatoe soup with cheese and avocado) and Encebollado (fish soup). However, Cuenca's most popular dish is Mote pillo/sucio, sweetcorn with egg - very delicious and I got a huge portion with chicken in a small restaurant for just $1; Ecuador can also be cheap ;)

Fr, 28.04. Cuenca: Cajas NP & Pumapunga
As I always need exercise and nature after long travel days and only short time in a city I went to Cajas NP - in my opinion the absolute must see in Cuenca.
Cajas is about 28.808 ha located at an altitude of 3,100 - 4,450m and only 1h drive (for just about $2) west of Cuenca in Ecuador's highlands. The landscape is unique, very hilly tundra style and there are 270 lakes and lagoons. The weather is thus pretty chilly and rainy. I did a 5h hike through beautiful scenery consisting of mountains, forests and lagoons. However, the signs were not that good so that I got lost quite often and had to climb over rocks and walk on really slippery paths - but it was pretty worth it with views you probably won't get on the tourist path ;)
Back in Cuenca I visited the Museo Pumapunga and Ciudad de Tumipampa, Cuenca's pre-Inkan culture. That was really interesting, there were a lot of ruins and stones - but especially nice views and a park with cool plants and a lot of birds; and all that for free :)
Around 11pm I then took the 7h night bus to Baños via Riobamba and Ambato, arriving around 6am in the morning.

Sa, 29.04. Baños
Baños or Baños de Agua Santa (Springs of the Sacred Water) has about 18,000 habitants located at an altitude of 1,820m on the food of volcano Tungurahua with 5,016m. It is Ecuador's adventure, adrenaline and party capital; you can do everything there from bungee via canopy, canyoning, ziplining up to quad and bike tours as well as trekking within super green scenery with a lot of waterfalls and hot springs and has many of the so popular karaoke bars. Landscape and touristy wise it reminded me a lot of Peru and Aguas Calientes - many backpackers/tourists, a dozen tour offices, massages etc.
At the bus terminal I met the Argentinian girl Sofie who already went to Baños and knew a camping accommodation for only $3; cero luxury, super dirty and only hardly understandable Argentinian but okay for just one night and Ecuador will still be expensive enough with the rainforest tour.
After lunch I then went with a so called Chiva - a really colourful truck equipped with disco lights and party music - along the Ruta de Cascadas (Waterfall Route) through pretty green scenery in Llanganates NP. We did not only get wet from the waterfalls, it was unfortunately also raining quite heavily. We first went to the dam Represa Agoyan, then through many tunnels to the waterfalls Agoyan, Esperanza and Culebrilla to Puerto del Viele and Rostro de Jesús. Inbetween we stopped at adrenaline places such as Canopy, Bola Extrema and Puenting. But the highlight was definitively Pailon del Diablo, a tremendous Waterfall with incredible water quantities where you also got really wet.
After that I went to the market to eat Baño's most typical dish Llapingacho: potatoe flan, sausage, egg sunny side up, avocado and salad - very tasty and finally a dish without rice :P
After that I visited Cascada de la Virgen, a super high waterfall at the other end of town, with the famous Baños Termales right next to it.

Su, 30.04. Baños
As the weather wasn't that great on Saturday (a lot of rain and super cloudy) I tried despite similar weather again to visit the best sight: Casa de Árbol - the tree house with the Giant Swing where you can get a view of the volcano on a sunny day. Unfortunately there was no view apart from clouds but it made a lot of fun and I love swings, it gives you one of these feelings reminding you of your childhood and being a kid again ;)
After that I went to Mirador de la Cruz and de Virgen, ate some good meat, sweetcorn and salad on the street as well as super delicious bread from my favourite Panaderia and then took the first 1h to Ambato and then 7h night bus to Lago Agrio, the starting point of my 4d/3n rainforest tour in the Amazon Rainforest in Cuyabeno.Read more