Day 18 - Chimborazo to Cuenca
Yesterday we were hoping to see Cotopaxi; today it was Chimborazo, which was right opposite the hotel. Early on, we could see the mountains in the opposite direction from the hotel and the cloud was low, so we didn't hold out a great deal of hope, but after breakfast, a second day of fruit then bread and eggs cooked however you want, we went to the car park and the clouds had lifted, our luck was in again.
We drove a little way and took more pictures of Chimborazo, before taking a detour through the little town to get better views of Tungurahua and Altar.
Then it was on to Riobamba for a walk through the streets and morning tea and coffee. Like Peru, the shops have eclectic mixes of goods, Pete particularly liked the washing machines and motor bikes in the same shop!
Next stop was the tiny first church in Ecuador at Colta. Directly across the road, a woman was roasting Cuy (guinea pigs) over a barbecue, but she hid when she saw the camera.
Having missed out on the Devil Nose train (because it doesn't run on Mondays), Diego took us to see the station at Alausi, where the train goes from and where we had a bowl of soup and watched the locals in their colourful traditional dress.
Then it was up and down and up and down through spectacular scenery, under beautiful blue skies with bits of cloud. The visibility was magic; we could see for miles.
Eventually we reached the Inca ruins at Ingapirca. The ruins are small compared with Machu Picchu, but very important as this was an important Inca site, with stones as fine as those in Cusco; it was used as a lookout and for religious ceremonies. The Inca took the site from the Canari people and there is evidence of their occupation and the suicide of their priests when the Inca arrived.
Our route took us down towards Cuenca past amazing churches high on hills, until once again we arrived in the urban area and hit traffic. Our hotel is a another lovely colonial house and although our room is on the front and a bit noisy, we have 2 floors; our mezzanine has 2 more beds. We went out to dinner in the main square at Raymipampa, where Pete tried the local corn, fried pork and black sausage, and Glynis had spaghetti, which turned out to be rather Chinese in flavour, but was very nice with a glass of white wine.
We drove a little way and took more pictures of Chimborazo, before taking a detour through the little town to get better views of Tungurahua and Altar.
Then it was on to Riobamba for a walk through the streets and morning tea and coffee. Like Peru, the shops have eclectic mixes of goods, Pete particularly liked the washing machines and motor bikes in the same shop!
Next stop was the tiny first church in Ecuador at Colta. Directly across the road, a woman was roasting Cuy (guinea pigs) over a barbecue, but she hid when she saw the camera.
Having missed out on the Devil Nose train (because it doesn't run on Mondays), Diego took us to see the station at Alausi, where the train goes from and where we had a bowl of soup and watched the locals in their colourful traditional dress.
Then it was up and down and up and down through spectacular scenery, under beautiful blue skies with bits of cloud. The visibility was magic; we could see for miles.
Eventually we reached the Inca ruins at Ingapirca. The ruins are small compared with Machu Picchu, but very important as this was an important Inca site, with stones as fine as those in Cusco; it was used as a lookout and for religious ceremonies. The Inca took the site from the Canari people and there is evidence of their occupation and the suicide of their priests when the Inca arrived.
Our route took us down towards Cuenca past amazing churches high on hills, until once again we arrived in the urban area and hit traffic. Our hotel is a another lovely colonial house and although our room is on the front and a bit noisy, we have 2 floors; our mezzanine has 2 more beds. We went out to dinner in the main square at Raymipampa, where Pete tried the local corn, fried pork and black sausage, and Glynis had spaghetti, which turned out to be rather Chinese in flavour, but was very nice with a glass of white wine.
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