folk time

Many of you know that my parents trekked all the way over to South America for a month in April, partly to see me and partly because they are travel-bug-bitten adventurers. I was thrilled to be able to show them around my town and school and around beautiful (although sadly at times rather rainy) Ecuador. I have really become quite fond of Ecuador and am so happy to have been able to share part of my experience of it with some people from home now.

I met my folks in Quito, where we spent a couple of days seeing the city, the centre of the world and the spectacular blue-green lake, Quilatoa, before heading to our jungle adventure (see the next blog for more on that one). After the jungle we came back down to Cuenca, which was on it´s best behaviour full of Easter parades and no rain for an entire week (which is like asking the wind not to blow in Cape Town in December). We spent the week hiking in Cajas, shopping around the markets and just enjoying the laid-back Cuencano atmosphere. We even bought Panama hats (which are actually made in Cuenca, not Panama) after a rather informative tour of their history and production. I got to sort all my stuff out in Cuenca and see friends again before saying a fond farewell and leaving via Cuenca´s most scary but most dramatic road to Guayaquil - from high and freezing mountain passes with sheer drops to the valley far below, to hot and humid banana plantations on the coast.

We flew to peru from there and headed toward the Inca capital, Cusco. It´s a really touristy town but is also full of interesting museums and fun places to hang out, and of course full of markets to get lost and spend all your soles in :) It´s also surrounded by many, many ruins, the most famous of course being Macchu Picchu, which was our last destination toghether. This too was really special to share with my parents. They both made it up the towering mountain behind the ruins, Waynu Picchu, which is a real uphill, breath-stealing, heart-pumping slog. It´s definitely worth it for the staggering view of the surrounding mountains and the ruins below. Sadly though, the view was non-existent as the morning fog had yet to clear. Still, full marks to them for making the effort! We spent the whole day on a tour, climbing, reading and just generally enjoying this awe-inspiring last city. It was a wonderful end to our time together. From there, my parents made their way to Buenos Aires for another week before returning home. And I headed south to Arequippa to meet my friend Bec and do some more hiking...