We were feeling a little deflated after failing to climb Chimborazo, it felt like one big waste of time and money because of the bad weather. But in was the bad rainy weather in the adventure town of Banos that made it all the more fun! We arrived in Banos around 10 am having left Chimborazo early so had the whole day to play. First we found a hostel with parking and a laundry service then took a luxurious hot shower after four days without one. The hostel was called Llanovientos and the owner was fantastic full of recommendations that he drew all over the map he'd just given us. First we set out to the Piscinas de Santa Clara hot pools for a nice soak while it rained around us. They have many pools ranging in temperature but the water is brown due to the large number of minerals, also to use the pools everyone must wear a covered bathing cap or in our case a 25 cent plastic shower cap. Everyone looked pretty ridiculous and we still can't figure out why we had to wear them, possibly to keep hair out of the pool..? 

That afternoon we took a drive down the La Ruta de las Cascadas (valley of the waterfalls). To get there we had to drive through a small flash flood which was spilling over the road. It was also filling people's homes with silty mud and splattered all over the relatively clean Dodge, darn it. Next we drove past an almost overflowing hydroelectric dam that was dumping huge amounts of water on one side while the other was almost bursting and sadly had a large pile of floating rubbish building up. Every waterfall we saw was pumping and every river brown, flooded and wild making for quite the sights. We made use of all this extra water at one point to wash the Dodge and got quite wet ourselves. By far the most spectacular thing we saw was the Pailón del Diablo. We didn't realise what our hostel owner had meant when he said not to go today but we soon understood when we arrived at the falls after the 15 minute walk downhill. The falls were absolutely raging as millions more litres than normal ploughed over the edge sending up huge waves of wash and making the viewing steps a very wet and potentially dangerous place. We pretended like the camera was waterproof and took a short video enjoy the power of the water but getting totally drenched in the wash. One crack in the cliff face even let you crawl right up to the side of the mammoth waterfall close enough to let you reach out and touch it.

After the Pailón del Diablo we headed back to the hostel for yet another shower and changed into the last of our clean dry clothes which for Will left only his ski pants! We then went for a walk in search of some dinner and agreed on a chicken place. The ones where you can get half a chicken, soup, fries and a salad for around $7nz. It was a tasty enough meal but soon after we spotted a Donna kebab shop the first we had seen in South America but we could only walk by with our stomachs already full. 

The next morning we again drove through the La Ruta de las Cascadas as its also the road north out of town. The river levels had dropped almost back to normal but we still couldn't resist the chance to ride in a small cable car across the gorge over two waterfalls. Especially now that we were dry and warm enough to do so. We paid our 3 soles and climbed aboard. The trip was over pretty quickly though as once we reached the other side the driver flew us back again at break neck speed. We then continued to our next stop Tena where we planed to do some rafting.

In Tena we found a cheap hostel then visited the two most recommended rafting operators River People and Rios Eucador. As it turned out 48 people had been rafting that day but there was no one booked for the following day so we couldn't go as they needed a minimum of three people to do the class 4+ trip we were keen on. We hunted around town for more rafting partners but didn't find any so decided to stay another day and hope more tourists arrived. 

The next morning we bummed around on the Internet before returning to the rafting companies but they still had no new bookings. So we went back to stalking any person that looked like they might want to go rafting. It was easy to pic the tourists from the locals and we soon found Bart and Kelly from Belgium who agreed to come and raft the Jondachi and Hollin rivers with us. The next morning we got up early and squeezed into the backseat of a yellow taxi ute which had the raft and two kayaks on the back as well as our three guides for the day. It was a 40 minute drive to the river valley then a 20 minute muddy walk to the river. We carried only our paddles and life jackets while small locals, mainly women carried our deflated raft, cooler box of lunch, and the two kayaks down to the river like they were toys. We then went through a very comprehensive safety talk and did some practice paddling. It was quite interesting listening to the guide give instructions and the Belgium's listening to them as English was not either of their first languages.

In between rain showers we paddled our way down the shallow rocky river which our guide expertly navigated us through even when the route was tight and complicated. A one stage we got out for a swim and were able to float down two separate rapids. After a delicious lunch of wraps, chocolate cake, fresh pineapple and lemonade our river joined another and the rapids became bigger and more exciting. Though nothing felt too scary and we all managed to stay in the boat. Except for Bart who while hilariously ridding like a cowboy at the front of the boat (under the guides instruction) was bounced out at the top of a medium sized rapid. No problem though our guide had the rope bag out in seconds, within the minute Bart was back on board. We were all amazed at how fast the guide had reacted but then learnt that he was the captain of the Ecuadorian rafting team. All in all the day was fantastic the guide and two safety kayakers were fun but experienced even taking photos and gopro video for us we couldn't have asked for a better rafting trip. Will even wanted to try another river the next day but we needed to keep moving.

That evening we meet up with Bart and Kelly for dinner and a few beers. One thing lead to another and we were soon at a cocktail bar drinking cocktails and tequila shots. It was a fun night though the red jelly I had before dinner followed by the green avocado chicken salad combined with the blue lagoon cocktail made me a little queasy in the morning. We then packed up the car and rearranged it to fit Bart and Kelly for the drive to Quito.  

We went in a few circles before finding the right road out of town then ran out gas AGAIN! I'm sure we had more in the tank but apparently not. So we gassed up from the roof tanks on the side of the road to the smiling nervous looks of the Belgians who probably didn't want to hear anymore about all the break downs we have had. They came with us after being robbed on a night bus to Tena but probably didn't realise that coming with us wasn't so simple either. On the way to Quito we stopped at the highly recommended Termas de Papallacta. Fist we had lunch nearby at a over priced eatery, Will had trout and ate the salad while I had chicken. The next day Will discovered the chicken without the salad may have been a better choice (more on this soon). The pools were welcomely hot in the cold high altitude weather and we alternated between the hot pools and freezing plunge pools before continuing on to Quito. In Quito our time with the Belgians was over as we dropped them off on the side of the road in heavy traffic. We said goodbye quickly both knowing we were unlikely to ever see each other again.

In Quito we were staying with fellow overlanders seventeenbysix from the UK who had been stuck in Ecuador for eleven weeks and counting with transmission problems on their 1992 VW van. Without ever having met us they offered to take us in for a few nights at their rented apartment in old town. We arrived later than expected but that was ok because dinner was soon ready. Dinner was a magnificent OVEN baked lasagne which we both had two giant slices of. The next day Will woke up feeling crap so stayed in bed all day which is what you get for eating trout and salad from a road side cafe I guess, though usually we are ok. We're absolutely sure it wasn't Paula and Jeremy's wonderful cooking! They even cooked me eggs for breakfast and I then spent the day blogging and doing washing.

That afternoon Will was feeling a little better so we drove to the Casa del Hombre art gallery. The modern architectural gallery was very different to other galleries we had seen that usually featured tiresome religious paintings. This gallery was dedicated to the famous abstract works of Guayasamin who paintings related to the struggle and suffering of the poor. That evening Paula again cooked us a wonderful dinner of chicken pasta.

The next day Paula and Jeremy were away early to sort out their visa extension after out staying their first ones, instead they got robbed on the bus but nabbed the woman before she got away! After the morning at the police station they finally made it out to immigration. Meanwhile we followed the lonely planets recommended walk through old town and saw many others with guide books doing the same. After stopping to climb La Basilica clock tower we then caught the packed bus back to the Dodge and took a trip to the supermarket as we were on dinner. We were so unused to using an oven that dinner took hours to cook and was finally ready around 9pm lucky we had brought yuca chips to munch on during the wait.

In the morning we eventually left the apartment with plans to casually drive on over to Colombia. Once again we said good bye to new friends we may never see again though we defiantly plan to keep in touch and swap advice. That's the problem with traveling though you meet so many fantastic people who are willing to help you out or do something together only to never see them again. You are instant friends united by travel yet soon enough strangers again. The experience is always a pleasure but I can't imagine keeping it up for years on end explaining your situation over and over.

I guess we are both missing home a bit lately our family and friends, the food, the safe driving, the cleanliness but mostly the ease of New Zealand's way of life. Here the rules can be ridiculous and while the people are usually trying to be helpful they often don't quite get it and end up making things more difficult. 

We plan to enjoy Colombia but we are ready for Central America and maybe a bit of a change. 

Rochelle & Will

It was 5pm by the time we arrived at the Chimborazo national park having stopped in Guaranda for some supplies. We intended to spend a precious three days acclimatising on and around the mountain before making a summit attempt. But by the time we arrived at the park it had closed for the night so instead we found a hidden road side camp and parked up at 4200m with the foreboding 6268m Volcan Chimborazo behind us. After a bit of a sleep-in the next morning we returned to the park entrance, it took a lot of explaining to get past the strict rangers who kept insisting that we needed a guide despite only wanting to go up for acclimatisation purposes. Finally they let us through and we drove up the heavily corrugated road to the Carrel refugio. There were plenty of locals and a few tourists playing in the blanket of fresh snow but many were under dressed for the freezing wind and passing clouds. First we established that we could stay at the Carrel refugio for one night free of charge before making our way slowly up the 40 minute track to the 5000m Whymper refugio. We 'chilled' out there for a while talking to a few tour guides and the friendly hut warden. Here one lightly built bike tour guide asked if we were looking for a mountain guide. We said yes and after a bit of discussion realised he was one and was offering us his services. Glad we wouldn't have to drive the 40km to Riobamaba to find a guide we quickly agreed and came up with a plan to meet back at the refugio in two days time for a summit attempt that night.

Once back at the Carrel refugio we ordered a hot chocolate and a block of chocolate then claimed a bunk bed on which we sat and watched a movie. By evening it became clear that we would be the only ones staying that night so we offered to cook the refugio warden dinner which was simple spaghetti bolognese prepared by Will. We then huddled around the open fire eating dinner and chatting as best we could in Spanish. Our sleep that night was uncomfortable and noisy due to the cold drafty building and the powerful winds that blew relentlessly throughout the early hours. With mild headaches the next morning we decided to drive to some nearby thermal pools recommended by one of the guides we had met the day before. Later we learnt that the guide had actually never been to the pools and he might not have recommended them if he had. The car park and area surrounding the pools was muddy and the small pools were cram packed with locals on this rainy sunday morning. I contemplated not going in but Will started getting changed and once we walked our white shivering bodies over to the water there was no going back. After getting in I found it was best to not look into the water at the various things floating in it. The shock continued when some topless local ladies hoped in right beside us. Pretty soon we decided it was time to go so we showered off the extra pubic hairs in the ice cold water and got dressed as fast as we could without getting covered in too much mud. Afterwards we both looked at each other in disbelief that we had just swam in that "pool"….

We then decided to spend the night back at our previous road side camp where we could watch all the movies we liked without the watchful eye of the refugio warden. Over night the wind howled and shook the truck. By morning the low clouds were totally obscuring the volcano and light snow was falling. It wasn't looking very promising for our summit attempt that night. After brekie inside the car we drove back to the park entrance and asked about the weather and how we might contact our guide. Typically they couldn't help us whatsoever so we decided to drive the 40km to Riobamba and see what we could find out. On the way we spotted a mountain lodge that called itself the 'Chimborazo base camp' and jugging by its construction it wasn't locally owned so we drove in. Upon steping inside out of the poring rain we found a very interestingly decorated lodge with bright pastel pink and purple walls covered in animal skins, guns, horns and climbing photos. The two local workers there couldn't help us either but called their boss who spoke perfect english, we asked her about the weather and she said she would know more in three hours once her husband returned from a rekkie mission part way up Cimborazo. We then went to another lodge in search of our guide but the girl there said she thought he was up the mountain. Unsure what to do as the weather wasn't getting any better we drove back to the park entrance where Will had a hell of a time trying to get them to let us back up again because we didn't have a guide. We explained that we were meeting our guide up there but he replied that our guide Jose wasn't a mountain guide. Eventually another ranger corrected him and embarrassed he let us head up.

Up at the lodge our guide was nowhere in sight so we mucked around talking to some americans while it snowed around us. Another guide then informed us that Jose would be coming as agreed at 2pm. So we decided to get packing and at least try to summit. When Jose arrived we made our way slowly up to the Whymper refugio. At 4:30pm we cooked a dinner of vegetables and pasta and headed to bed at 6:30 despite wanting to stay up and talk to all of the new arrivals; only one of which was also hopping to summit that night. In our sleeping bags it was cold and drafty and despite the clearing clouds the wind blew to dangerous gale force levels. At 10pm we woke up to check the weather, it was clearish but blowing so hard I was almost getting knocked over by each gust. We agreed with the guide to check again in an hour before calling the climb off. So we went back to bed and after another windy hour passed we didn't even bother getting out of bed we knew already by the groaning of the roof that we wouldn't be attempting to summit that night. 

We both had disturbed cold nights sleep and by 6:30am we were up and ready to leave for a warmer climate. Downstairs we discovered the door had blown open during the night and there was snow inside making it very slippery and explaining our cold sleep. We trudged back down to the car and cleared off the snow which was the most exciting part of the summit attempt; snow at the equator! Then we drove to Riobamba to drop off the guide who still asked for a full payment even though all he had done was sleep. We had cooked dinner and given him a ride but he had no compassion. Finally we drove out of Riobamba more than ready for some hot weather with endless blue skies and ocean swimming. No more mountains for a while we agreed.

Rochelle & Will

It was time to leave Peru and head for Ecuador, but rather than cross out west to the larger border crossing's we left Chachapoyas and drove due north through Jaen and then San Ignacio, finally making it to the border at about 5pm. Exiting Peru was straight forward but entering Ecuador took a while as the customs officer had trouble with the whole Kiwis who own a Chilean vehicle thing. After that it was a matter of getting the paper work sorted. However the officers lack of internet meant this took some time. It was starting to get dark so we asked if we could camp on the near by field and the officer agreed. We expected to get the paper work in the morning but at 10pm the officer rapped on the window and handed over the documents for Will to sign in his jocks.

The following morning in the rain with our entry paper work done we started out on the six hour drive to Vilcabamba. The road had turned into a mud pit and the increasingly loud sound we had coming from what we thought was the front wheel made us cautious of using four wheel drive for fear of causing irreparable damage. So we slid our way through one of the worst roads yet worrying each time we pulled over for a large truck that we might not make it out of the thick mud, but thankfully we did! Unfortunately we can't tell you much about the town of Vilcabamba because we didn't leave the amazing German owned backpacker resort that we stayed in called Izhcayluma. Though horse riding, trekking and massages seemed to be popular. It was $4us each to sleep in the car and the tasty meals at the restaurant overlooking the city were about $5us. We lounged by the pool and caught up on some blogging over our two days there it was bliss even though the sun never really came out to play. On our final night we noticed a band setting up in the bar so went to check it out. As it happened it was it was one of the german owners birthdays so they had organised a band and free wine and beer for everyone at the bar all night long. We thought our stay couldn't get much better when they started serving free hot soup and bread for everyone at the bar as well! We called it a night at 12am but the party continued long into the we hours and when we woke up at 7am the birthday boy was just creeping off to bed.

Before driving to Cuenca that day we needed to get fuel so we stopped at a local station just out of Vilcabamba. After fuelling up Will went to start the car and nothing happened…. The started motor we had had repaired in Santa Cruz, Bolivia had failed once again. The attendant gave us a please don't become my problem look as we started whacking the starter motor with a broom handle. However this didn't work and we deduced that we needed a more metallic whack so Will leaned right into the engine with his adjustable spanner while I turned the key and finally the starter engaged and the engine cranked over. What a relief! 

It was a full days driving to Cuenca and we stopped only briefly in Loja for lunch immediately regretting turing off the engine. Luckily though it coughed into life on the first attempt and once again we were on the road. In Cuenca we struggled to find cheap accommodation with parking in the city, as many places were full. Just as we were about to pay up for the more expensive hotel Italia we found a budget place on the opposite corner that was adequate with parking for $20us and the shower was hot. After checking in we left the hotel on foot to explore the city and found a $5 double decker bus tour. Despite the impending dark clouds and our lack of warm clothing we climbed aboard and really enjoyed the two hour tour. Seeing all the buildings from the top floor of the bus enabled us to appreciate the old Spanish archetecture without the clutter of the modern street signage and bustle of people in the way. By the time the tour was over it was dark and time for dinner so we found a little restaurant and had huge cream sundays for dessert.

With no time to linger the next morning we left for the Ingapirca ruins not far away. We arrived at 9:30am and after paying the $6us entrance fee we where amazed to discover that this included an english speaking guide. Our guide was very good and explained each part of the small ruins over about 40 minutes. Afterward she told us about the walk you could do to see the Incan baths, the Inca profile and more. It looked like a great little walk right past local houses but we decided just to look at the baths which themselves weren't overly impressive but the view was and you could also see the Inca profile from atop the rock.

That afternoon the plan was to drive to the largest city in Ecuador, Guyayquli. We hoped to get our suspected stuffed CV joint replaced and possibly a new starter motor even though the old one seemed to be holding up and starting as needed. Due to road works the 170km drive to Guayaquil as usual took longer than we imagined and we couldn't find our hostel as google was out by one road. Eventually though we found it so left the Dodge running but took the beeper with us thinking we could come back to unlock it and move it into their parking. But we were wrong the car had locked its self and the beeper would NOT unlock it. Feeling like idiots with our super loud Dodge running right outside the hostel on a narrow street we were wondering what to do when the hostel owner leaned over the balcony and discovered our problem. He found us some wire and after a few misfires we got the dam door open and drove into their parking preying that it would start in the morning and not cause us any more embarrassment. That evening we chose to forget our problems and walked to a near by mall for a fast food dinner followed by a block of chocolate in the hammock beside the pool, healthy ay!

The following morning we asked the owner if he could recommend a good mechanic, a few minutes later he announced that a car mechanic was on the way to the hostel to look at our problem. It wasn't quite what we had asked for but the mechanic seemed to know his stuff so we followed him to his very clean work shop. Will and the mechanic then took the Dodge for a drive to help diagnose the problem. Back at the workshop with the Dodge jacked up he quickly discovered that it was the front drive shaft and not the CV joint after all and began taking it out. Once out and in bits the problem became obvious. Firstly the internal ball joint was completely broken and secondly, two of the 16 cross bearings on the universal joints were totaly worn out. Our mechanic made a few phone calls to try and find us a new one but soon announced that there wasn't a new Dodge Durango front drive shaft in the whole of Ecuador. We had gotten our hopes up after seeing a few of the same Durango's driving around Guayaquil but it wasn't to be. At least we could still keep moving north it would just mean that we would only have two wheel drive. While at the mechanics we also brought a new starter motor, not wanting to run the risk of being stuck with our automatic Dodge in the middle of nowhere unable to start it. Before the mechanic installed it though we took the muddy dodge to the car wash where at least 20kg of sticky mud was water blasted off and the front of the car was vacuumed for the first ever time since we had brought it. Before that we had only the means to brush it out.

We spent another night at the hostel and then walked around the city a bit enjoying the views from the river frontage. Before long we hit the road again towards Volcan Chimborazo for some acclimatisation and a summit attempt. 

Rochelle & Will