Monthly Archives: August 2018

Kuelap, the Most Important Ruins You’ve Maybe Never Heard of…..

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August 12, 2018 – August 15, 2018

The Chachapoyas (Cloud People) began building the fortified city of Kuelap in the 6th century AD, 600 to 900 years before Machu Picchu.  The walls surround an area of 584 metres by 110 metres, and reach heights of up to 20 metres.  Inside are the ruins of circular homesteads and temples.  The setting for this is the top of a remote mountain, 3,100 metres above sea level (about 700 metres higher than Machu Picchu), in northern Peru, providing incredible views of the surrounding valleys.  So why have you maybe never heard of Kuelap?  Well, until recently it was very difficult to get to, but a recent investment in a cable car has opened up the site, which some claim to be as important as the more famous Machu Picchu.

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Gold, a Lake, Some Hummingbirds and a Very Tall Waterfall

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August 9, 2018 – August 12, 2018

We drove south along the sandy desert of the northern Peru coast.  It was desolate, dreary and depressing.  The small towns we drove through were littered with garbage, as was the countryside.  We saw people hanging their wet laundry outside of their adobe brick homes, just meters from the highway, and wondered how it could ever be clean when it was dry, because of all the dust in the air.

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Chimborazo, Leather and Banos.

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July 27, 2018 – July 30, 2018

We decided to head back inland.  Surprisingly, given that we were at sea level and not very far from the equator, it was cool in Puerto Lopez (the cold humboldt current from the south moderates the coastal temperature), and we were anxious to get back to the mountains.  We headed towards MtChimborazo.

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In Search of Whales and Boobies

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July 25, 2018 – July 27, 2018

We had decided in Quito, after much discussion, that we would not make the side trip out to the Galapagos Islands.  Friends we had met on the road had offered to watch Piper for us if we went, but we decided that if we did go we wanted to do it on a 7 or 8 day cruise, plus maybe spend some time on one of the islands, and that it could quickly become a 10 or 12 day trip.  That’s a long time to leave Piper, and we would have to find a place to stash the truck.  In addition, the trip would easily cost or $8,000 Canadian dollars, and when Derek calculated how many kilometres we could drive for that much money (a lot!), we decided that the Galapagos would have to wait.

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A German Brewery and a Swiss Garden

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July 23, 2018 – July 25, 2018

We knew we wouldn’t make it all the way to Puerto Lopez after leaving Laguna Quilotoa, but we headed west to see how far we could get before dark. We drove downhill almost all the way, through winding, mountain highway, rainforest on either side and views for miles.  We started high above the clouds, drove through a layer of cloudy mist to great views under overcast skies, then through one more layer of cloud as we neared the coast.

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Quilotoa Loop

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July 21, 2018 – July 23, 2018

The Quilotoa Loop is a 3 or 4 day backpack that you can do, partly on trails, partly on roads, that takes you through small indigenous towns and stunning mountain scenery.  Backpackers generally do the loop staying at hostels found all along the way.  We decided that instead of stashing the truck somewhere, renting gear, and trying to find places that would accept us with the dog, that we would drive the loop with our truck and camper.

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Cotopaxi

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July 19, 2018 – July 21, 2018

Leaving Mindo we took a slightly longer route to avoid driving through Quito again.  We were not sure what we would be getting into, as we were going to be off main highways. As it turned out, the roads were paved, nice and wide and had a decent shoulder. This made for an easy, enjoyable driving day.  On average, the main roads in Ecuador have probably been the best we have experienced in all of Latin America.

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Mindo

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July 17, 2018 – July 19, 2018

Mindo is 2.5 hours from Quito but a world away in terms of the environment.  In 268 kilometres of winding road we dropped about 1,500 metres in elevation.  Gone were the volcano peaks and bare mountains, replaced by lush tropical forest and gorges.  Gone were the high rises, traffic and urban dwellers, replaced by palms trees, people on horseback and children playing in the stream while their mothers hand washed clothes and lay them on the rocks to dry.

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