(Lima, Peru, 15-17th of October 2017)
We took a flight to Lima where we took the airport bus to our hotel. Unfortunately our hotel was a bit off from the bus stop and we had to walk a couple of kilometers to get there The building was a really old but good looking building but when we got to our room it smelled of mould. We asked for another one – it also smelled but not as much as the first one and now we had a window we could open to get some fresh air.
We went on a arranged walking tour, as always. Lime did not turn out to be one of our favorite cities…
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But we got to try Pisco sour – a typical drink in Ecuador, which tasted rather good.
(Quito, Ecuador, 13-15th of October 2017)
Back in Quito again after our visit to Mindo we decided to stay in another area than we did the last time we were here. The Miraflores area is where most ”gringos” stay, with a lot of bars and restaurants and close to the Artisan market. The hostel we stayed at was really nicely decorated but the owner did not speak any English and they did not serve breakfast on Sundays, which we found out first after taking place in the restaurant asking for our, as we found out later, non existing breakfast… a spanish speaking man gave us some coffee and a piece of cake and some cheese as we were quite angry as our booking stipulated that breakfast should be served, however, what we was served was not tasty, neither enough to take our hunger away, it was probably what he found left in the fridge. As he did not understand us we could not really tell him how angry we were, but he probably got it anyway…so after this we ended up in a coffee shop serving us a decent breakfast.
(Mindo, Ecuador, 9 -13th of October 2017)
Mindo is a small village in the mountains were you can go hiking, zip-lining or just relaxing. We had booked a room in one of the more luxury hotels in the town, although not that expensive (or luxury..).
The hotel was really nice, totally built in wood, and we were met by the owner and manager, a happy German guy.
(Amazonas, Ecuador, 4-8th of October 2017)
After a last swim in the hot pool in Papallacta we packed our things and took a taxi down to the main road where the bus leaves for Lago Agrio, the meeting point for our Amazon tour.
The bus came within half an hour and six bumpy hours later, we arrived to Lago Agrio which turned out to be a really boring town if you are there as a tourist! The most funny thing we did was trying to find an ATM that worked with our cards (we found a lot of them but it was not til the 4th one we got any cash.) and then to have an Ecuadorian chinese meal, which we really enjoyed.
We met our bus driver at 9 am at a meeting point rather close to the hotel we stayed in. After picking up some more people and paying for the tour (3 nights and four days for 320 USD per person) we travelled a couple of hours on the bus before arriving to the river and our canoe.
(Papallacta, Ecuador, 3-4th of October 2017)
While in Quito we booked a four-day tour to the Amazon rainforest and as the bus trip to Lago Agrio, where the excursion starts, was quite long, we decided to divide it to two shorter trips, by staying one night in Papallacta on the way to Lago Agrio. Papallacta is a small group of houses two hours away from Quito, and it is known for it´s hot springs. We booked a room in a fancy hotel where you have free entrance to the hot springs and as a bonus get hot springs directly outside your bungalow. It was an amazing place!
(Quito, Equador, 30th of September to the 3rd of October 2017)
In Quito we booked a hostel in the old town. A lot of people book rooms in the Mariscal area in the new part of town but as we wanted to go on a walking tour including all the sights in the old town we decided to book a room there as well. Our hostel “Rosita” was a nice surprise. The owner and the staff are really nice and it is extremely clean but the place is decorated with dolls, signs and pictures on absolutely every spot both outside and inside the rooms.
(Bogota, Colombia, 27-30th of September 2017)
When we arrived at the airport in Bogota we were picked up by a pre booked taxi. Our hotel was situated in the Old Town and did not really look like a hotel, more like an ordinary house with a doorbell on the outside. On the inside on the other hand it was really beautiful and well refurbished. First we were shown to a room without a window but as we did not approve of that one we were moved to a really nice one.
(Salento, Colombia, 24-27th of September 2017)
From Medellin we decided to take a flight to Pereira airport and then to travel on to Salento in the middle of Colombia coffee district.
At the airport in Pereira the public transport system was a bit confusing and the tariff for taking a taxi all the way to Salento was kind of hilarious but we bumped in to a German couple and the were willing to share a taxi with us.
(Medellin, Colombia, 20-24th of September 2017)
Our first impression, when arriving in Medellin with a taxi from the airport, was not that positive. Our hotel was situated along a really busy road and we were a bit overwhelmed by the noise and the smell. When we arrived in our room we could still hear the cars pretty loud but decided to try to be positive, as we had booked the room for three nights because it had a really good rate on Booking.com. And somehow we got used to the noise, we even ended up booking an extra night at the end.
(Cartagena, Colombia,16-18th of September 2017)
We arrived in Cartagena after a 20 hour long trip from Sweden and got out off the taxi in a small street with houses painted in a lot of different colours. The hotel we had booked was nice and clean also if our room was a bit dark as it only had a window facing the interior of the hotel.
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