Ecuador 2022: El Chimborazo

Ecuador 2022:

El Chimborazo

The highest we ever got during our Ecuador adventure was when we drove up to the base area of El Chimborazo, which is the highest volcano in the country. We were at nearly 16,000 feet, and I could definitely feel it! The landscape was sparse, and our little bus struggled as much as I did to find air, but it was an interesting stop. 

 

One of the few animals we saw up here were these things that were similar to an alpaca or llama, called a vicunas. They were everywhere. I tried to hug one, but they wouldn't let me get anywhere near them.

At the base area, there were a bunch of what the equivalent is in Ecuador to a Sherpa doing a handover of the mountain duties while we were there. They were very nice, and gave us a bunch of these weird, giant lima beans that are supposed to help with the effects of altitude. I almost tried one. 

 

On our way down and back to actual air, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch were they fed us....you guessed it....vicunas! 

Ecuador 2022: Banos

Ecuador 2022

Banos

Banos is the adventure sports capital of South America. We spent some time here trying to be as adventurous as we could. It's a neat place with lots of options for fun, and trying to kill yourself. I could spend a few posts on Banos, but I'm just going to throw some pictures on here with brief explanations as needed.

Banos is known as the gateway to the Amazon. This was a bucket list location for us and it didn't disappoint. We did a lot of interesting things, including heading out to a zip line center.

Branelle: always up for whatever, but kind of rethinking her life choices here.

We also tried something called 'canyoning', which is basically repelling down waterfalls. 

Some other random pictures from our time in Banos. It's a cool place and I highly recommend trekking out here if you make it to Ecuador.

They move you around the area in these "chivas"(?), which were just open party buses.

I was fascinated by this Nissan engine hooked up to a single rotor and brake which was used to operate a cable car that took us out over a ravine.

Some of our new friends that were part of our tour group. It was a good group of people, which quickly alleviated my fears of traveling with a tour .

They have these hot springs, which really weren't hot, nor particularly 'springy'. It was super sketch, which should have been evidenced by the changing rooms being like a prison camp.

I told her she was wasting her time - it doesn't work like that.