Escalada La Roca

Los Olivos!

Who needs a belayer?

Nice view of town.

The hostel that I'm staying at rents climbing gear for fairly cheap. I absolutely had to take advantage of that. So yesterday I went out to Los Olivos and had my first experience climbing in South America! There were some people there, but they were part of guided tours so I ended up rope soloing, starting with a nice 5.8 and 5.9. Then a local kid named Williams showed up also looking to rope solo. We spent the rest of the day climbing together and it was really nice. Then we planned to boulder the next day. Last night in the hostel I met a couple from Boston! We hit it off and they decided to join us for bouldering. We had great weather and it was fun introducing them to outdoor bouldering. Tomorrow we'll head back to Los Olivos for another day on the rock.

Laguna 69

Day trip to Laguna 69. Unbelievable place. Y'all should go. Today I shall rent some gear and go climbing. If you don't see me ever again it's because I've moved to Huaraz.

Hello Huaraz. Mucho Gusto

The bus ride into the valley to Huaraz.

Yes, rivers and mountains!

Today I've reaffirmed my love for the mountains and my disregard for cities and coastlines. The temps and humidity are once again favorable and the bugs are nowhere to be found. I feel back at home and ready to tackle nature again! Tomorrow I shall do a trek to Laguna 69 and hopefully the day after I will be climbing on rocks again. It's been a month since I've climbed. Too long if you ask me. 

Piura, It's Been Real But I Gotta Go

Sitting at a rotary for 2 hours drinking beer. I decided to observe the cars and see what they had down here. This beast here is by far the most common and easily the sexiest: the Daewoo Tico.

I got up early and took a motorcycle cab to the bus station to see how and when I can get to Huaraz. Unfortunately they only had a 3 PM and a 10 PM service and it went to Chimbote. Given that the 3:00 service would put me in Chimbote at 1 AM, I vouched for the later one in hopes of getting there at 7 and grabbing a bus to Huaraz. So today went kinda like this: Eat breakfast then sit on a bench for a couple hours. Eat lunch then sit on a different bench for a couple of hours. Find some beer and sit on a 3rd bench for a couple hours. Dinner then bench. Snack then bench. 3 more hours and I'm out of this city! Don't get me wrong, I've talked to a few people and everyone is very nice. I've even found a couple of vegetarian restaurants which is a huge bonus in a country that loves nothing but meat and carbs. But I suppose there's a reason people refer to the "Gringo trail" and a reason why Piura isn't on that trail. I need stuff to do! Over and out.

Update: I was standing under an awning waiting out the rain and the owner of the vegetarian restaurant at which I ate dinner came over and asked me to sit inside and stay dry and use the wifi if I wanted. Incredibly nice man and I wish there were more people like him in this world. I also wish I spoke better spanish to actually be able to converse with him.

Hello Peru, We've Had A Rough Start, Haven't We?

From time to time, I'm reminded that I voluntarily quit a well-paying, cushy job for a life with reduced creature comforts. Sleeping overnight on a dirty bus station floor was one of those moments.

Exploring Piura, Peru and stumbled upon a presidential parade at 10 at night.

Thanks for the heads up Piura. It was rough shelling out $10 for this place. Definitely not in a touristy town tonight. 

I'm taking this as a sign that I should have stayed in Baños. Long story short, I had to take a later bus out of Baños to Guayaquil, thus missing the overnight bus to Peru, thus forcing me to stay in the terminal overnight and thus forcing me to spend the entire day on a bus. The entire night was spent being woken up every 20 minutes either by cleaning crews moving benches or security guards poking me awake for not sitting straight up in the seats. That, and 20 hours of buses has led me to Piura Peru. Probably my least favorite city thus far (the money exchange place and the cabbie definitely ripped me off big time), but it means I'm on my way to Huaraz which I'm very much excited for. I think border crossings just tend to have a little extra stress added to them. I'm just glad I didn't have anything stolen like I've heard a few times happening to people on trips like that. Time to enjoy sleeping in a bed again.

Well I Suppose I Should Get Going

My view of the Volcano during my hike up the mountain.

The famous treehouse and swings.

Weeeeeeeee

Illegal game of pool. Apparently they weren't supposed to be open on a Sunday night. The town is pretty much shut down on Sundays. 

Farewell Stray Dog Brew Pub. It's been real. It was fun helping tap new kegs today. Also, thanks for the incredible grilled cheese sandwich. 

Well I think I'll be heading out of Baños tomorrow (albeit very apprehensively). A town that I only expected to stay in for a couple days has sucked me into a week worth of adventures. As much as I'd like to stay, there's still plenty more of this continent that I'd like to explore. I hope to make it back here someday. Everyone I've met here, locals and travelers, has been an incredible treat. Everyone is so cheerful and helpful and friendly. I hope to see many of them again in the future. If you're reading this and would like to travel somewhere unique, definitely check out this place. Tomorrow I shall head somewhere else. Not sure where at this point. Possibly the beach or maybe a lake inside a crater. We shall see. A few more days in Ecuador before I head down to Peru.

Baños Del Aguas Santa, I May Never Leave

Baños is a real purdy town.

Found a brew pub that features craft beers from all over Ecuador. Baños just keeps getting better.

One of so many waterfalls on our bike ride to pailon del Diablo. 

A zip line went across and ended above the waterfall. Slightly regretful for passing that up.

Sebastian leading the way down the most beautiful bike path.

Cascada del Diablo!

Behind the waterfall. Real wet. Real powerful.

Crawling through a tunnel to get to another lookout. 

Ecuador, I have no words...

Okay one more picture of the falls.

Hot springs fed spa right in the middle of town underneath a waterfall. Very cheap and very therapeutic. At $3, it's a must do every day.

Marcelo, our hostel owner gave us a ride to a mirador with the most beautiful view of the Volcano. There's a family that has free swings and sells craft beers. Could this be paradise?

Sebastian has a sweet Polaroid camera and took this awesome photo of me as a gift. What a great souvenir. 

Swings are so great and Baños' swing game is on fire.

Swinging over the edge of the world. Credit: Sebastian

Great view of Baños at dusk as we hiked down from the swingsets.

Very unique trail that goes up the volcano. I've never seen such a tunnel-like trail before.

The tranquility of the forest is therapeutic. 

Nature is taking its land back.

The run down refuge on the side of the volcano.

Many people spoke of getting caught up in Baños and staying longer than originally planned. I guess it wasn't any different for me. This city has an overwhelming amount of things to do, almost entirely involving being outside. There are hikes, waterfalls, zip lines, cliffside swings, a volcano, hot springs and so much more. All of the above is why I haven't updated the blog since Quito and why I have so many photos I want to share with all of you. 

The bike ride to Pailon del Diablo was my absolute favorite but everything so far has blown me away. And there are so many great people here, locals and travelers. It's incredibly easy to meet new people and become instant friends, especially in the hot springs. Each day I've done different activities with different people. I also never even made it back to the hostal last night. Sebastian (one of my hostel roommates. He's from Colorado) and I went up to the swings during the day. We then hiked down to the hot springs. From there we met some friends at our favorite bar, the Stray Dog Brew Pub and then discovered we could get bottle service at a nearby club for $25. Before you know it, it was 5 in the morning and we all decided to head to the hot springs again since it was just opening up for the day. Then we had breakfast and I met up with some other friends to spend all day today hiking the volcano. Now I'm here reaching 40 hours without sleep. 

With that said, goodnight my friends. Tomorrow is another day in this great town.

Bienvenido, Quito

What's up Quito?

Quito has so many awesome parks. There's something for everyone here. Where's my skateboard when I need it? 

A brewery! Right next to the hostel! Finally some good beer! By far my favorite part of Quito.

This church had the most elaborate decor. 

The big ol' group of white tourists.

Took a bus from Otavalo to Quito. To save money and see the city better, I walked from the bus station to the area with all the hostels. 5 hours later I was tired and full of regret. Either way, I found an awesome hostel that has a ton of travelers staying there. Definitely the most Americans I've met in one place. Won't help my Spanish but it brings a level of comfort that I'm okay with. The absolute best part about this hostel is that it's next door to Bandido Brewery. Colombia and Ecuador have a complete and utter lack of good beer. Just a couple bad pilsners to choose from. Getting some tasty IPAs and stouts from Bandido completely rejuvenated me. 

I also joined a free 3 hour tour of the old town section of Quito. Lots of interesting history here. Overall though, I'm not very psyched on Quito and am ready to move on. Tomorrow I might head to Banos and explore some waterfalls, hot springs, and potentially go on a rock climbing trek up in the glaciers. Yeah, that sounds better.