Parasites?

Been sick for over a week... If it was something I ate, I think it should've past, since it hasn't... Time to get rid of those parasites!!

Hope this'll work!

Coffee Zone: Salento - Manizales

Salento is very touristy, please be aware. The main road is covered with souvenir boutiques and restaurants.

The main plaza is simple.

Around it, it has a church no one cares about, a police station, a grocery store, a bakery, and a few bars.

I arrived on the Sunday afternoon and there were little stations set up around the park selling the town's main dish: trout!! 

The plaza and main were filled with couples and families. It was really nice.

The next morning, the town was like a ghost town. 

It was then that I found out about "Rincon de Lucy". It basically this tiny restaurant (only has 2 doors!) 

that serves up a delicious deal for 6000$COP. (3.20$CAN)

And it really makes me wonder because there's nothing special about it. In comparison to the place on my street...

The guy has a sign with a photo of himself, he has a loud speaker that blasts music all day long, he has flags, he has tons of space, he's nicely painted... But people just don't go... I didn't see a single soul sit in the restaurant during my stay.

The big highlights of Salento is the coffee (which I wasn't able to abuse because of my stomach acidity!) and visiting Colombia's famous (pride and joy) wax Palm trees.

These trees are special because you can only find them in that region. They almost got extinct, because people were using them for wax and their leaves for palm sunday? 

They're native to that Andean region! They grow for like 200 years and are 60-70m tall. They're also situated in a cloud forest. 

I genuinely wish I had a guide, some proper hiking boots, a solid water supply and time to do that hike... 

Cocora Valley is gorgeous!

Or it made me wish I had guts to get on a horse, because you can do it all on horse back. As I sat in the jeep to go back into town, to eat at Lucy's' again before taking the bus to Pereira, I saw a family get on horse back and I'm sure they were going to have a blast! 

(In the truck, in the way in, I was with 7 other tourists from Spain, and couldn't believe how oblivious these peeps were. Decked out in the nicest clothes, despite the fact that it had rained for the past 24 hours and the didn't realize it was going to be insanely muddy.... And completely oblivious of the wax palm trees... Don't people research where they are growing??)

In Pereira I connected to Manizales.

A lot of backpackers I spoke to, had no idea of what city I was talking about... Then I got here and can't understand how, considering it's HUGE! 500,000 people.

I took the cable car up to town: 1500$COP.

This city doesn't have an information desk, so no maps. :( 

It's also not such a pretty looking place...

Cali - The City of Salsa!!

Although it was quite an ugly city, I enjoyed my three day stay in Cali. Cali is hot and humid.

The city is known for being the capital of salsa dancing. At the hostel I was staying at, there was three people taking private classes. They weren't particularly expensive, I just don't have much time left... :( 

There are dancing studios all over the city. When you go out and see people dancing, you know it's pretty serious!

I checked out their famous church, which was small and closed. Behind it, is the famous monument of the guy who built the city.

In the evenings, the guy at the hostel would teach us some basic steps (I am still struggling with the first!) and then he brings us out.

The first typical place is TinTin Den. Here there are locals and gringos.

Then they go "north", to Menga district. 

There is a lot of people, and they all dance.

On the Sunday, from Cali I took the Expreso Palmira bus to Armenia and at the far end of the bus terminal, I got on a small bus to Salento. It was 3800$COP. 

Crossing into Colombia

It took me a while to cross, it always does. Another border I'd have to face alone. Boarders itself are not scary... It's trusting that the cab driver at either end will actually drive you to where you want to go, that's the actual concern.

So I got up early and took the bus to the border. It did indeed take 5 hours to get there. To my luck, there was some Argentinian guys in the bus and I tagged along with them.

Border crossing at Tulcan was smooth and we took a cab to Ipiales, where I stayed for the night at the second nastiest place I've ever stayed at.

The next morning I took a "collectivo" to see the church (Las Lajas), which was impressive, but under construction. 

I went back up the nasty hill and got into a collectivo just in time to catch the 7 hour bus to Popayan that left at 9am.

I arrived in Popayan late and because it was a holiday it was dead. My hostel was quiet and in the room there was a funky old man smell... Perhaps because the two other travelers were men and about 700years old! 

I got some food at the bakery and went to bed.

The next morning I woke up early to check out the town and it's famous humiliating bridge. It took me about 30minutes to do so. The bridge's construction is nice... But it's not well taken care of, it has a lot of graffiti, so I was quite disappointed when I got there... I didn't bother taking a picture.

I decided to leave Popayan and go to 

San Agustin... and for the first time in a while I wasn't lied to! 

Bus company "Sotracanca" not only brought me to San Agustin, which everyone swears there's no direct bus.. but they also brought me straight to my hostel! The trip was 4 hours, on Colombia's classical winding roads, except this one wasn't paved for most of it. The gravol I took didn't help, I still felt naeseated for the entire trip!

Colombia's landscape is impressive. The mountains are beautiful, but also filled with coffee plantations that supply the world. 

Colombia has been great so far! There hasn't been a moment where I felt unsafe. In comparison to Ecuador, Colombia has been a breeze... Especially in bus stations. The don't throw themselves at you as soon as you exit the taxi... The yell politely from their cubicle! :)

San Agustin makes me want to stay a few days, but I really need to get going. Next stop is Colombia's salsa capital: Cali! 

Yeah baby! I decided to stay there till I can salsa! Ok, maybe about 4 days... It'll be the weekend, what a coincidence! I swear! 

Big, sketchy and close to the middle of the earth!!

Quito is huge. 

Starting from the bottom:

You have the bus station that caters to the south. 

North of that you have the "old/historic town", which has a market, historical buildings, the churches and presidential building.

North of that you have "Mariscal/new town", where the main plaza is not a plaza, but the corners of Foch and Reina something-something. This place is cluttered with clubs, bars, restaurants, and cafés.

Wayyy north of this is the bus terminal that's caters to the north of the country.

I don't know how to explain it. It's not the layout of the city. People aren't walking around suspiciously... But the place just feels really, really sketchy. 

Ecuadorians like sugar. 

Their drink is "canelazo". It's hot, with sugar cane liquor, citric fruit juice and cinnamon... It's pretty strong!

At the market, there's classical blackberry juice with coconut juice. Incredibly delicious, wow!

Ecuador is the biggest grower of roses. They can be bought just about anywhere!

The also grow ALOT of chocolate because they have the climate, but it gets sold and processed elsewhere, so they don't get any fame from that.

Ecuador has two middles of the earth. One is clearly identified, it has a gigantic statue. 

To get there take the blue line bus to Ofelia 0,25$, then the "Mitad del Mundo" line 0,20$, and you can spot it out of your left window.

Inside I ran into Google maps, for the second time in my life and took a selfie with them.

To go to the REAL middle of the earth, we had to get out and turn left and left... 

That middle is the REAL middle (measured by GPS) and it has a guided tour that's loads of fun because they do experiments such as balancing an egg,

walking a straight line,

 the sink funnels...

 It was awesome. The guides were very informative. 

I only wish they had a decent cafe or restaurant at the site.

Ecuador is also full of "independent" traveling salesmen that come into buses. Mostly selling miracle drugs.

Baños

Despite it's name being "bathrooms", it was by far my favorite Ecuadorian town. It sits in the middle of mountains. The town is small, but it's still the type that if you turn on one wrong street, you no longer know where you are. 

It's charming and clean. 

It lives off of tourism. It has all the classic touristy shops, a small market and a street with bars on it.

It's also known for it's candy. You'll see guys in shops warming/pulling this sap.

From here I went paragliding. It was cheap and I've always wanted to do it. The day we went it was quite windy, so yeah, I was freaked out!

The South of Ecuador

I got into Ecuador and received a safety guide. You can tell Ecuador is ready for tourism! 

They give out phenomenal brochures with clear and concise information. 

For the first 24 hours in this country and on the south side where I am, I am completely amazed at how clean it is. Seriously. For a "3rd world country", it blew my mind. You don't see garbage in the ditches, or piles near shanty homes. Buses are old, but not dirty. No one sticks gum to windows or seats. No one throws garbage out the window.

Highways are green and beautiful!! It's tropical...

It's really a lovely place! 

I found it quite interesting how they use the 'US dollar', bills they use normally yet for coins it's like a mix of cultures...

Waking up in Loja wasn't the worse thing that could've happened. It's a small little town full of shops. I had breakfast in a small cafe infront of the plaza. I went around and got deodorant, baby wipes, socks and a new shirt. 

Then tried to get a 3$ haircut, what a disaster, this woman had no idea!! Hahaha!

Went back to the hotel, took another shower, packed and got a cab to the bus station.

Got a bus to Vilcabamba ($1.30) and an hour later... I'm in a hostel in the mountains.

Today I had my first neck, back and arms massage. It was phenomenal. $12. 

I only wish the lady weren't breathing like the guy from Star Wars, that would've helped me relax...

Wish I could be staying here longer than 2 days, that's for sure! The sun is strong and the pool is nice.

People living here past the age of 100, is a myth, as many have confessed to have lied about their age... But there sure is a lot of old people here!!!