One challenge at a time

Day 28... The universe has a way of leading you to the place you are supposed to be at the very moment you are supposed to be there.... This morning I was thwarted once again as my guide contacted me to say that more protests were planned for today and he even if we got out of the city, we may not be able to get back... which would be a problem.  My flight seemed to still be going ahead and I decided to fall back on Plan C. There were once again no taxis but Plan C was within walking distance. I headed out of the hotel and took a slightly longer way round to avoid the centre, where all the trouble had been yesterday. I passed some broken glass and some general damage but nothing significant. As I walked, I contemplated how my big plans had been reduced to ashes as sure as if Cotopaxi had erupted. Civil unrest hadn't really been on my radar of things that could really trouble me. As I walked, I went through a poorer section of an already poor city, workers heading out, buses n...

I thought I would write some thoughts down this morning as I wait to be picked up for my journey to Cotopaxi. I am being picked up at 11am, I woke up at 6am... this means I have had a lot of hours to kill... and a lot of time to think, both about the upcoming challenge that I am about to face and my time in Ecuador in general. Lets face it... It didn't go to plan! But out of the ashes rose a different journey. One that challenged me in different ways and opened my eyes to this country. I spent last night trying to prepare by reading some blogs about others attempts to climb Cotopaxi... I wish I hadn't. Apart from leaving me a little scared about the prospect of avalanches, it made me realise the scale of this volcano... the scale of the challenge. Sometimes it is better not to know and just face things as they come. ....... I received a message from Fernando Iza, my guide, asking me to be ready earlier as he was worried about the driver getting to me because of protests...

I had read that when you are in Quito, one of the must do things is take a ride on the TelefériQo .. the cable car that rises up above the city into the mountains beyond. With Cotopaxi looming .. I needed to have some further acclimatisation and I had read about a hike up to another volcano, Rucu Pichincha, which stood around 15800ft. Whilst the summit would be fantastic, there were several notes of caution in my head... as follows... 1. My shoes were not adequate for a technical hike... for Cotopaxi I would be borrowing boots and crampons. The trekking shoes I am wearing are generally fine but I don't fully trust their grip, especially when on slippery rock. 2. I am solo, although I have the kit to ensure I don't get lost and stay warm and dry, and I have the SOS button on SPOT, being solo means more caution is required. 3. and finally... I mustn't exhaust myself today when the next 2 days are gonna hurt. Having prepared by reading up about this hike, I knew that...

Remember the fall I had on the slippery planks??? Well I awoke on Day 24 in Coca in a nice hotel with a huuuugggeee lump surrounded by a dark purple bruise! And boy did it hurt. Today I had to get back to Quito and my extravagances over the last few days coupled with my desire to see public transport up close, meant I was going to take the bus back to Quito. If you read the government travel advice on Ecuador, there are many warnings about the bus system... don't go on overnight buses, don't go on ones that pick up passengers on route, keep your bags close to you, watch out for armed robbery etc etc I was on travelling in the day, but only because I wanted to see the scenery as I missed it in the way out because I was travelling at night. From my experiences of that journey, the greatest hazard would be the state of the roads and the driving, not armed robbery! In fact ... this could well be the most dangerous stretch of the whole adventure. I got a taxi to the bus s...

Breathe every Breath... good advice from a good friend... and that was what I intended to do today... my last day in the jungle. I intended to savour the fresh air, the smell of the trees, the life around me... I woke early... the plan being to eat breakfast and then to our final lagoon in our concerted search for an anaconda. Before my fried eggs and bowl of fruit was placed in front of me, Franklin came up to me holding a tub... he opened the lid, to reveal some very large queen ants, with wings. Given the fact that they were in a food tub, I figured it was no accident that they were being paraded at breakfast time... worse... they were alive. I shuddered. Franklin explained that they were a delicacy... and I hoped that I wouldn't have to swallow one out of politeness to the hosts ... I think that would have been a challenge too far!! Fortunately the lid went back on and I was handed my bowl of fruit and my fried eggs as normal. Phew. After breakfast, whilst the boys were pa...

You may remember that at the end of day 21 I was knackered and had collapsed into bed. I was out like a light. Just after midnight I awoke with a start... drips of water were, not quite cascading, but certainly falling with regularity, through the roof, and the mosquito net, and onto my head! Outside a full blown thunderstorm was in swing, thunder, lightening and torrential rain... I'm not talking southeast England rain, or even Scottish rain, I'm talking full on tropical downpour.  Hmmm that will make today's trip interesting.... I settled back down and managed to find a spot that the water drops weren't reaching and went back to sleep. 0500 and once again I jerked awake... not sure why but I got myself organised, visited the bathroom suite, and then made my way to breakfast. I had remembered my first aid kit and I asked if the family wanted me to treat their little boys burn. Maria brought him out with the other 2 boys looking on. The blister was still intact, bu...

I was up early with all my stuff packed, ready to re-immerse myself in the jungle. I stood outside waiting for my guide to appear. Finally a youngish chap appeared asking if I was Lydia, Yup I said and shook his hand... Franklin he said... Yup I said. What's your name... Franklin he said..... errr no... What is your name?? Given I was doing this in Spanish I assume I had just cocked it up.... My name is Franklin he said! Well... Franklin meet Franklin... After a bit of a chuckle over that one, we headed over to Amazon travel to pick up our boots... (required for wading through some parts of the Amazon)... and then headed once again to the harbour. This time we headed over to a different section, where the private boats were moored. Here we met Miguel, who was our camp cook and boat pilot... then we hopped in the motor boat which was loaded up with stuff, Franklin and Miguel hauled a kayak onto the front of the boat and away we went. The river was calm and perhaps due to the...

I had to get up very early in order to catch the boat back to ‘civilization’. Breakfast at 0500... boat at 0530!! It did mean that I got to see the dawn rising again and marvel at the colours... That was about the only benefit. I thanked the staff that cooked all the meals and left them a tip and contrary to the English person in me, gave a tip to Fernando for his efforts in finding the elusive animals of the jungle. And then into the waiting boat for the 4 hour trip back to Coca. The trip back seemed much quicker than on the way out and it was with a little surprise that I realised we were already back at the port of Coca.  I was greeted with noise from the docks and people waiting to board boats, traffic beeping their horns.... a far cry from the peace I had left behind.   I had formulated a plan on the way back... I still had three days before I needed to be back in Quito...  perhaps I could organise another trip. I had been very lucky in how many animals I ha...