Unbenanntes Dokument

The border crossing in Macara was fast and easy. The immigration and registration of our motorbike was done in 35 minutes. Ecuador is a small country in comparison to Peru and Bolivia, the driving distances from one place to another being very moderate. Driving along the E 35 towards Cuenca, we passed through wonderful lush green country side and mountainous landscape. The picturesque Sunday Indian market in Saraguro, where the local people dress all in black, women clad in lots of jewelry, is definitely worth a visit! Cuenca’s with its well preserved colonial buildings and Panama hat factory was a great place to spend a few days. Many of its old buildings have just been renovated lately. It was a pleasure to walk through the cobblestone streets, exploring the old town and seeing the many whitewashed buildings with their beautiful wooden doors and ironwork balconies. From Alausi we set out to ride the famous “Devil’s Nose Train”. Coming from Switzerland with its many mountain trains, the Devil’s ride was ok, but not as spectacular as we thought it would be. It was raining “cats and dogs” when we were staying in Banos. The only outdoor activity was a visit to the thermal springs with its 39 degree warm water.. lovely! Only a few cities have a setting to match that of Quito, the second highest capital in Latin America (2’850 m). It is situated at the foot of the volcano “Pichincha” (4’800m) and also has a charming colonial centre. After bringing our motorbike to be serviced at the BMW dealer in Quito, we organized a 10 days trip to the world-renowned Islands of Galapagos. The flight with TAME from Quito to Baltra and the transfer to the island of Santa Cruz, took all in all around 5 hours. From Puerto Ayora, the main town, we visited the Charles Darwin Research Station and the beautiful beaches at Tortuga Bay. Next day, a speedboat brought us to Isabela the largest island in the archipelago, formed by the extensive lava flows from its six volcanoes. We spent a couple of days in Puerto Villamil, an ideal place from where to hike to the volcanoes “Sierra Negra” and “Chico”. Seeing the giant tortoises in their natural habitat and swimming with the sea-lions and penguins in the clear waters of the island were unforgettable experiences. The last island we stayed on was San Cristobal, with its huge sea-lion colonies. Our evenings were spent at the beach watching them with their babies and defending their territories. We then flew back to Quito, where we enjoyed another few days of sophisticated tourist infrastructure. The Saturday market of Otavalo, the largest in Ecuador, with a dazzling array of locally made textiles and crafts was a must on our itinerary. Then we hiked to the Laguna Cuicocha, a crater lake with two islands and stunning views of the Cotacachi volcano. It was definitely worth the effort. By pure luck, we came across an indigenous festival at the shore of the lake on our way back. The ritual dances and the celebrations in honor of Mother Earth, were very spiritual and colourful. At the cemetery of Tulcan, the art of topiary is taken to beautiful extremes. Cypress bushes are trimmed into archways, huge figures and geometric shapes, something that we had never seen before.

Ecuador 20. May 2011 until 19. June 2011
The border crossing in Macara was fast and easy. The immigration and registration of our motorbike was done in 35 minutes. Ecuador is a small country in comparison to Peru and Bolivia, the driving distances from one place to another being very moderate. Driving along the E 35 towards Cuenca, we passed through wonderful lush green country side and mountainous landscape. The picturesque Sunday Indian market in Saraguro, where the local people dress all in black, women clad in lots of jewelry, is definitely worth a visit! Cuenca’s with its well preserved colonial buildings and Panama hat factory was a great place to spend a few days. Many of its old buildings have just been renovated lately. It was a pleasure to walk through the cobblestone streets, exploring the old town and seeing the many whitewashed buildings with their beautiful wooden doors and ironwork balconies. From Alausi we set out to ride the famous “Devil’s Nose Train”. Coming from Switzerland with its many mountain trains, the Devil’s ride was ok, but not as spectacular as we thought it would be. It was raining “cats and dogs” when we were staying in Banos. The only outdoor activity was a visit to the thermal springs with its 39 degree warm water.. lovely! Only a few cities have a setting to match that of Quito, the second highest capital in Latin America (2’850 m). It is situated at the foot of the volcano “Pichincha” (4’800m) and also has a charming colonial centre. After bringing our motorbike to be serviced at the BMW dealer in Quito, we organized a 10 days trip to the world-renowned Islands of Galapagos. The flight with TAME from Quito to Baltra and the transfer to the island of Santa Cruz, took all in all around 5 hours. From Puerto Ayora, the main town, we visited the Charles Darwin Research Station and the beautiful beaches at Tortuga Bay. Next day, a speedboat brought us to Isabela the largest island in the archipelago, formed by the extensive lava flows from its six volcanoes. We spent a couple of days in Puerto Villamil, an ideal place from where to hike to the volcanoes “Sierra Negra” and “Chico”. Seeing the giant tortoises in their natural habitat and swimming with the sea-lions and penguins in the clear waters of the island were unforgettable experiences. The last island we stayed on was San Cristobal, with its huge sea-lion colonies. Our evenings were spent at the beach watching them with their babies and defending their territories. We then flew back to Quito, where we enjoyed another few days of sophisticated tourist infrastructure. The Saturday market of Otavalo, the largest in Ecuador, with a dazzling array of locally made textiles and crafts was a must on our itinerary. Then we hiked to the Laguna Cuicocha, a crater lake with two islands and stunning views of the Cotacachi volcano. It was definitely worth the effort. By pure luck, we came across an indigenous festival at the shore of the lake on our way back. The ritual dances and the celebrations in honor of Mother Earth, were very spiritual and colourful. At the cemetery of Tulcan, the art of topiary is taken to beautiful extremes. Cypress bushes are trimmed into archways, huge figures and geometric shapes, something that we had never seen before.
Itinary Sullana, Loja, Saraguro, Cuenca, Alausi, Sibambe, Banos, Quito, Galapagos/Isla Baltra, Isla Santa Cruz, Isla San Cristobal, Quito, Otavalo, Laguna Cuicocha, Tulcan	Highlights Cuenca, Sibambe (Devil’s Nose Train), Banos, Quito, Galapagos, Otavalo, Laguna Cuicocha
Ecuador
Loja	Indigenous market Saraguro
Indigenous market Saraguro	Indigenous market Saraguro
Cathedral Cuenca	Market Cuenca
Market Cuenca	Panama hat factory
Panama hat factory	Landscape near Alausi
Riding the Devils Train	On the Devils Nose Train
On the way to Banos	Guinea pigs on the grill
Quito	Police in Quito
Quito	Handicapped at work
Galapagos National Park	Sea Iguanas Galapagos
Beach Galapagos	Pelican Galapagos
Iguanas crossing	Flamingo Galapagos
Galapagos tortoise	Swimming with the penguins
Blue footed bobby	Coloured Iguana
Coloured Iguana	Tired seal
Tired seal	Exercising seal
Galpagos beach	At the Ecuador
Market Otavalo	Market Otavalo
Market Otavalo	Laguna
Ritual dances in Cuicocha	Cuicocha
Cemetery Tulcan	Cypress bushes
Cypress bushes