Crossing the border from Ecuador into Peru

Hello Everyone, We made it safely and soundly into Peru. As you know we were leaving from Lojo Ecuador by bus to Piura Peru. We took the 11:00 p.m. bus and slept a good part of trip. At 4:oo a.m. we were awoken to file off the bus and wait in line for the immigration process. After we were stamped out of Ecuador we walked a 100 yds to the Peru side and got our stamps for entry. What's been amazing is that there are no fees associated with leaving or entering Colombia, Ecuador and now Peru. I bet our Houston amigos wish this was true for Mexico. Anyway, we made it to Piura around 7:00 a.m. We were pretty sure before hand that we wanted to move on further south, but upon arrival into town, "pretty sure" got upgraded real fast to "oh hell ya". This town was horrible and very dirty with litter everywhere & poverty quite apparent with all the shanty towns in the area. But before we move forward, it's time to hit the ATM machine to get the Peru currency which is called Soles. The exchange rate is 2.905 to our $1.oo. So, almost 3 to 1. While I stay with the luggage Bob hits the street to find the nearest one. Bob was keeping an eye out for an ATM as we were getting close to the bus station. I always worry when Bob takes off; just human nature. But no reason to worry, my hero returns within 15 mins or so from the ATM he had spotted with Soles in his pocket. Now what we are learning is that the bus system here in Peru kind of sucks. There's not a main bus terminal with several companies to chose from to make our decision process for our next leg of travel easy. Here each bus company has there own small terminal and the one we just got off of didn't go to Chiclayo. Fortunately Bob pays attention. While also looking for the ATM he eye-balled a few companies that make runs to Chiclayo that ended up being just 5 blocks away. We hopped into a taxi to the next terminal & find out we have approximately 10 mins or so to grab a bite. Bob goes off & comes back with a 34 cent sandwich (more like a bun with very little chicken) from a street vendor to keep the stomach growls to a minimum. So I walk the whole 15 feet to the vendor & opt for the pork sandwich. To my surprise, the sandwich had basically nothing on it, so I show the lady & she has basically no response, she only wants to know what I want instead. So I opted for the pollo. & no Mom, we didn't get sick. The buses here offer VIP seating and economical seating. VIP seats are oversize chairs which recline all the way back and are actually called "camas" which means "beds". They also provide meals and beverages on board. Since we arrived too late to purchase VIP we settled for the economical seating. We were only traveling a few hours. Our seats were on the 2nd level and upfront. We had a huge window to look out. Not sure that's always a good thing. Watching someone else drive is never easy, especially in these crazy countries down south. But we made it safely. We didn't have reservations made for our hotel but Bob had an a few in mind. We went to his first choice and wha-la...they have availability. We settled in and headed out to explore a bit. This is the 4th largest city in Peru but really doesn't have a lot to offer as for as tourism. We walked all thru the downtown area, experienced the Mercado Modelo which offers everything from electronics to clothing (similar to a huge flea market) and we took a "collectivo" to a small fishing village called Pimental which was about 20 mins away. The water wasn't very nice but had a large beach area. Like I mentioned before, Peruvians don't know the concept of a trash can. The beaches and streets were trashed. This place really has potential with the boardwalk already built and tons of restaurant & bars and beautiful condos. It's ashame it was so dirty. If the water & sand could be prettier, that would help also, but I guess Mother Nature thinks otherwise. Tonight we are back on the bus and making our way to a city called Huacachina. We purchased our tickets in advance and splurged the extra bucks traveling VIP. We have a long journey and I know the "cama" seating that reclines back 160 degrees will be put to good use. The first leg of our trip is 12 hours to Lima and than we hope to quickly change buses to continue traveling to Huacachina, which is 3 more hours from Lima. From here on out our travels will be fast and furious making our way to Machu Picchu. Since we're so far away from Machu Picchu we'll be breaking up our trip and staying at the following cities. (Huacachina, Nazca, Arequipe, Cuzco, Agua Calientes and then Machu Picchu.) We'll be spending a night and full day at each place on the above itinerary and I'm not sure we'll be in touch from this point till we settle down in Argentina. If it's possible we'll post a short blog and pictures. Each city has something for us to see and do and we're looking forward to the experience. Huacachina is built around an oasis in the middle of nothing but sand dunes. We'll be doing some dune buggy tours and sandboarding. Sandboarding if very similar to snowboarding, but on sand, not snow. HA HA Nazca is also a desert town. This town seems to basically exist so that tourist can fly over & view the "Nazca Lines", geoglyphs (lines in the desert; the most famous being a monkey) created by the Nazca culture between 200 BC & and 700 AD. Should be an awesome adventure. Arequipe is a colonial town. From the pictures it looks beautiful. Most of the buildings are constructed out of volcano stone. Cuzco...well I'm hoping to do well in the highest altitude I've ever been in. 12,000 ft above sea level. But, I did find some drugs to help w/the altitude adjustment. I'm very excited about that. Cuzco is suppose to be an amazing city with tons of sites and things to do. Agua Calientes - just a stop over really. From this city we plan to catch a bus and head straight into Machu Picchu before the train of tourist arrives. So, you see we'll be squeezing in a much as possible over the next few days and seeing some really cool things. After this trip we will be flying to Buenos Aires, Argentina, renting an apartment and chilling out for 2 months solid. We'll be in touch with lots of photos as soon as possible. Till then...Much love, Bonnie & Bob

Vilcabamba Ecuador

Hey...Hey...Hey... How is everyone doing? I guess it's been awhile since I've been out here making any new posts to the blog. One reason for my absence is that I got that altitude sickness again in Cuenca and had zero energy. The other reason; internet just isn't that reliable in some places. We are now in Vilcabamba. (that's a mouth full; took me a couple of times to spell it correctly, too) We've been here 3 full days now and it is amazing. I will blog about Cuenca on the next post. This city is worth writing about too. I just fell behind in my blogging. Sorry. From Cuenca we took a 4 1/2 hour bus ride south to a city called Loja. We were originally going to spend the evening here and head into Peru the next day but once again our plans changed. We had heard about Vilcabamba and thought it would be worth a visit. So, we boarded another bus out of Loja and Vilcabamba is only another 1 1/2 hrs south. Vilcabamba (I really like this word; can you tell?) claims to have residents over 120 years old. There's definitely a mystical and powerful feel here. The town is very slowed paced, relaxing and has some breathtaking views. There are tons of marked trails for hikes taking anywhere from 3 up to 8 hours to hike. Some trails lead to amazing waterfalls, other trails are for the more adventurous with steep climbs. Which trail did we take? None of them! We chose the spa route. Yes, even Bob had a few hours of pampering. I was so exhausted from Cuenca and the higher altitude, I need some down time to regroup. Bob spent a lot of time researching other destinations and the route to Machu Picchu/Peru. Which is another reason to kick back and relax. We'll be moving into some of the highest elevation of our journey. Woohoo! We stayed at this wonderful Hosteria & Spa called Izhcayluma. Pronounced eesh-ka-lú-ma, it's Quechua and means "Two Hills". The panoramic views are something to see and we spent a lot of time just staring abroad. Here's the website www.izhcayluma.com Their grounds are something to see. Hostels in Mexico, Central and now South America are nothing like back in the states. For us; it has been a fantastic experience. All the people we meet in the hostels are traveling the same routes we are. Some fellow travelers have come from the direction in which we are headed and they are more than happy to provide us with some fantastic insights, which we take to heart.

Here are some views from the restaurant area. We spend a lot of time hanging out here since WIFI is offered in this area. It's truly colorful as we watch the sun move across the mountain tops.

A little hard to tell from our picture, but the little town of Vilcambamba just downhill from our hosteria.

Now we weren't totally lazy; we did walk

into town to check out some sites.

The walk down was 35 mins. (easy)

For a small town they had a nice Town Square. Restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops and internet cafes outlined the square. The park area was well maintained with a water feature in the middle.

OK, you know the saying "pictures just don't do it justice" Well, not the case here. This church looks beautiful here but it really wasn't.

Looks nice, doesn't it? It's really not that bad; just needs some work.

Here are some street views.

Really is a cute town.

Mountains surround the town.

Here's the police station.

Not much going on here.

Something to say for that.

A river runs thru the town as well.

Some days you will find a few locals washing their clothes.

We saw this cute donkey walking around town on his own.

This place does have tons of donkeys and horses.

In the mornings we were normally woken up by the Hee-Haw of a donkey. Annoyed Bob a little.

Brought a smile to my face. I'd rather hear that than a car alarm or someone honking.

The Man hard at work researching.

While all I do is socialize online. How does he put up with me?

Like I said, we did take in a few spa treatments.

This hosteria had a very cool setup. We were impressed.

Here I had the full body, facial and Reiki treatment Bob had the back massage, facial and Reiki as well.

What the hell is Reiki? We had no idea what we signed up for.

Reiki is a Japanese Technique for relaxation and healing.

It has something to do with "life force energy". Deep, huh?

If yours is low; more than likely to get sick and feel stress. When it is high; mood is happy and feeling very healthy.

Sound hoke?

Nah, man! I truly felt a huge difference. Like I said,

when I arrived I was down and out. I booked this treatment

the day after we arrived. I had so much energy and felt fantastic

afterwards. I was amazed.

Now Bob's experience. In his words, "it was OK". UGH! What's wrong with this boy? This was his first facial and didn't understand what the big deal is. He thought the Reiki was a crock and didn't feel any benefit from it. This was our masseuse. She was tiny but had some powerful hands.

But if by chance my masseuse, Ann Marie is reading this....

You truly are the ONE and ONLY. No one will ever come close to your healing hands.

Now this is the youngest bartender we've ever had.

She's 13 and from Alabama. Her family moved here 4 months ago and is in the process of building.

She apparently has been a great help to restaurants in the kitchen and did a good job behind the bar.

She's in the process of making me a Cuba Libra Nothing difficult but still needs to have the right balance.

I told her I would hire her if she wanted to move to the islands. You should have seen her eyes light up. She hopes to have her own business one day.

That concludes our travels in Vilcabamba. We're glad we ventured in this direction. We met some really nice folks and enjoyed the atmosphere here. Tonight we do plan to depart. We plan to leave the grounds around 8:30 p.m. and head back to Loja. There we'll board a bus to Peru. We'll have an 8 hour bus ride to a city called Piura. There we will change buses and head into Chiclayo. Should be a 3 hour bus ride from Piura. I am looking forward to the buses in Peru. We are told they are fantastic. You think flying first class is nice. We're told the bus is even more so. Stay tuned. We'll soon post our opinion on that topic. We're still a long way from Machu Picchu. But look forward to our ventures in Peru. We're going to miss this big guy too.

He belongs to the Hosteria.

Awesome dog!

We hope you enjoyed! Have a wonderful day.

Hugs to all - B&B

Manta-Manabi Ecuador

Hola! How is everyone? Bob & I are doing fantastic. Tomorrow, we'll be concluding our week-long stay in Manta-Manabi, which is a Port-Coastal town. The weather has been perfect here. Low 80's during the days with a pleasant breeze with the evenings turning a little cooler toward the low 70's. We were really bummed that there were no golf courses around. Manta didn't have a whole to offer as far as things to do but we didn't mind. It was nice to hang by the pool and read. Or stroll the beach and watch the kite surfers. As in all our ventures we learn something new all the time. Guess my parents wasted their money sending me to college. I'm learning and retaining a lot more than I ever did back then. BUT, then I wouldn't have met Bob. (AWE!!! ) The main economic activity is tuna fishing and canning. (Exporting to US and Europe). The chemical industry (cleaning products to oils and margarine) helps provide a stable economy here as well and they don't rely on tourism to make a living.

The seaport here is the largest in this country and

continuing to expand in hopes to become one of the

largest in South America.

Our hotel is on the beach and we spent many hours

watching the birds dive for their food, whales splashing around

and dolphins cruising the shoreline.

They have several large beaches and a Malecon that we

walked and enjoyed some good seafood meals.

Vendors also line the beach selling souvenirs,

natural juices, and ceviches.

The Malecon wasn't one of our favorites but

it did have tons of restaurants. What I don't

understand is that every single one serves

the exact same prepared items as the others. Why?

There are so many ways to prepare seafood.

We've seen that thru out our travels in other countries as well.

Where we come from; its all about diversity.

You would think someone, just one, would have a marketing brainstorm

to sell souvenirs other than the exact same things the other

10 or more booths in the same small area are selling.

Simple minds, I'm guessing.

The beaches are pretty much empty on the weekdays. We didn't do too much in this city which is fine by us. We slept in, played a lot of cards and games, went the casino a couple of times (our luck hasn't changed) and took in a movie. We did meet a few expats (Ex-patriots of US) and several other Americans looking for that retirement haven. Many read the International Living magazine and the editors list Ecuador as on of the top destinations for Americans to retire based on the cost of living, infrastructure, weather and safety. So far, we would give our vote to Mazatlan Mexico as the top choice. Half the year the daily highs get a little warmer than what some retirees look for but otherwise its pretty awesome. I can already hear some replies...why aren't we retiring there? We still have our hearts set in Honduras and the "island" lifestyle. Remote, no cars, beautiful calm waters and low population. Anyway, back to our travels here. We did take a bus to a small city called Montecristi. This city didn't offer beaches. The main attraction to this city is shopping. This is the town square. Very well kept and clean. How many of you think Panama Hats originated in Panama? I admit... I did. I learned that this in fact is not true. Bob claims he already knew that. The fact is Ecuador is the original manufacture of Panama hats. Here in Montecristi is where it all began. Our President, Teddy Roosevelt was the man who set the trend back in 1906. The reason Panama seems to be credited with the origination is that Ecuadorians sent all their shipments to Panama for deliveries to the rest of the world and soon Panama became the synonymous with the hats. There are 3 main types of Panama Hats. There's the Optimo which can be seen in the movie Casablanca worn by Sydney Greenstreet. There's the Fedora which Hannibal Lector wore and than the Monte Carlo, which was worn by Clark Gable in the movie Monte Carlo. Just like everything else price varies by the quality. We were able to find them in the $10 price range all the way up $200 They are all hand woven out of Toquilla leaves. The more weaves per square inch the higher the quality.

You can roll them for easy storage and travel.

And they don't lose their shape.

Which one do you like best?

We had a blast trying all kinds.

Bob was looking for an "island" style.

Girls definitely had a much broader selection of styles and colors.

A good look for him, don't you think?

He didn't think so.

Is it possible that I could be a Southern Belle Girl?

Not!

Bob sporting the Pimp Daddy look.

I have to say clothes shopping with Bob really wears me out and not in a good way.

The man can look at one item for 30 mins or more and still be indecisive.

Or if it's something he really likes and the price is a few dollars more than he

wants to spend; he'll walk away. O' Good God!

Fortunately we only spent one day shopping.

Tomorrow we're busing it back to Guayaquil and hopping another bus to Cuenca.

Cuenca is an inland colonial city and with some altitude. I'll be ready to pop some pills this

time if I start having issues with the altitude.

We're told lots of Americans live in Cuenca. Maybe we can find a sports bar

and watch some football. Of course it's been all about soccer so far. And tennis. Go figure.

We hope all is going well for you guys.

We will be in touch soon.

Much love,

Bonnie & Bob

On the move again

Hello! Sounds like a lot of you really enjoyed the Galapagos post. That's awesome! We enjoyed reading all the feedback. Thank you! As we mentioned we've been in Guayaquil for the past week. Guayaquil is a large port city. There's water everywhere with lots of channels but its a nasty brown. Very similar to the color of our wonderful Galveston Bay, but probably a bit worse. The great thing right now is that we're staying in a nice hotel (thanks to our timeshare) that's located across the street from the mall, the cinema and next door to the casino. Our sleeping pattern this week is much different from when we were on the cruise. Instead of a 6:30 wake up call, we sleep in till about 10 & than slowly move around till noon, hey that's when the food court at the mall starts serving grub. We usually crash around 1 a.m. That's what happens when staying next to a casino. Unfortunately, we've been donators this go around. Not a lot but definitely donators. I really shouldn't say "we".... since I'm the one that sat down at the table a few nights w/ Bob observing (& advising of course). Bob hates to lose money and gets frustrated with the way people play. They do play very differently here. Differently & very poorly. I don't think the folks that I played with ever read a book on Blackjack strategies. I get upset too but I'm not playing with big bucks so, I'm able to enjoy it more than Bob. We went to the movies (yes, in english) to see Pelham 123, visted a few sites around town and pretty much just relaxed this week. Today we're moving north of Guayaquil to a beach town called Manti. We've been told that its a great town with beautiful beach and clear blue water. Our bus ride will only be 3 hours so we plan to leave around 1:30 p.m. We'll have internet and be able to keep in touch with everyone. My Dad wanted to know if the Galapagos was all about the wildlife and lava islands. "We're there any towns with people, restaurants, and shops?" I guess we didn't touch on that much in our blog. After our cruise, we stayed 4 more days in the Galapagos, mainly so Bob could get in some dives from the island of Santa Cruz. We spent one xtra night on San Cristobal, where our cruise ended, since the boats to Santa Cruz only left in the a.m. We caught the 2 hour ferry the next morning, grab a pizza at 9 a.m. (Bob thinks I'm crazy) & than walked around for bout 20 mins checking out hotels till we found one that met our needs. The island isn't that big but it does have the largest population in the Galapagos. Santa Cruz was a great island. It had some nice restaurants, galleries, beaches and tons of souvenier shops.

A view from the ferry as we approached the dock.

This island was very artsy. There were tons of galleries filled with art work or jewelry.

The structures were really nice.

This is a hotel.

Most of the hotels were small and had tons of character.

In the middle of town was the this little fish market. Boats would come by early in the morning

with the fish and lobster caught.

Table full of Lobster. They were so nice looking. If only I had a kitchen to cook in.

I do miss cooking. Haven't cooked a single meal in 3 months.

Pelicans hung around in hopes to get some scraps.

Even the sea lions were begging. Check this out. This sea lion was up on her hind flippers and smelling all the fish being filleted.

One afternoon we ventured to a beach called Tortuga Bay. To get back to this beach we had nice 45 minute walk. The first beach we passed was a "surfing" beach. Although this was not surfing season; the waves were strong as well as the currents. So, they advised us to continue walking to the more calm beach.

Snorkeling was pretty much non-existant off this beach but we did see some small White Tip Sharks swimming in the shallow waters. They were babies and we're told they are harmless. I have a toe ring which can be shiny and reflective in the water so I was a little concerned that a fish or shark may find it appealing, so I did my best to keep my feet out of the water while floating on my back.

The area is famous for some great dive sites.

The water was very cold so he was covered head to toe in a wetsuit.

Cap, gloves, foot booties and a thick wetsuit.

He swam with Hammerhead

& White Tipped Reef Sharks

Saw tons of fish

This is a Scorpion fish. I think it's pretty cool looking.

Also was able to get close to a Manta Ray

Sometimes I wish I dove but then again I see some amazing things when snorkeling. Maybe I'll consider getting certified when we move to the island of Guanaja. Diving is huge on Guanaja and the reef system there is part of the 2nd largest in the world, the same reef system that Cancun, Cozumel & Belize enjoy. 1st of course is Australia.

That concludes our wonderful time spent in the Galapagos and my best effort to catch you up on our current whereabouts. We're looking forward to our time in Manti and we'll let you know how it is.

Take care and lots of love,

Bonnie & Bob