+++ final days in Ecuador +++

Three days ago I reached Vilcabamba – a cute little town in the south of Ecuador surrounded by impressing mountain tops. I decided to stay a little bit outside of the village in the Hostal Izhcayluma. It’s run by Germans and is just perfect to relax and hang around for a few days and just enjoy the nice views. Originally I had planned to stay only two nights but due to some stomach problems I decided to chill one more day before I take on the next challenging stages towards Peru. The previous days leading from Chimborazo to here where quite hard as well, so maybe my body was just asking for one more day to recover.

The next weeks will be even more demanding I expect. I’ve decided to stick to the Andes in Peru as well and not to take the fast way via the Panamericana along the coast line. Given my time constraints and the aim not to take buses or hitchhikes in between doesn’t make it any easier. But as I’ve written in an earlier post I quite like those challenges and I’m still positive that I can make it.

The next stops on my journey are now Chachapoyas and Cajamarca.

Textile market in Alausi

the famous train station in Alausi – Riding this train is one of the tourist highlights, but not for me

statue of San Pedro in Alausi

the Inca ruins of Ingapirca

El Cara del Inca (face of the Inca) at Ingapirca

The Inca trail at Ingapirca

Chicha is a local drink of fermented corn – pretty sweet with a little alcohol

in Cuenca I needed to stop at this German bakery. The best pastries I had on my whole trip so far

the dirt road leading south from Cuenca was carved into this beautiful colored rock

a more detailed view

wild camping on a grassy open field with perfect views to all sides

Empanadas for 2nd breakfast

it’s always nice to have conversations with the locals. Sometimes I only wished my Spanish was better

It’s raining a lot, but luckily it’s mostly only spray and not for long and you get to see amazing rainbows every once in a while

I asked for a place to camp in Ona and was invited to a birthday barbecue party

birthday barbecue party in Ona

Getting wet became normal on my last days in Ecuador

After I had a really bad experience with a thai massage in San Francisco I was a bit skeptical but I felt great after the full body massage I took in Vilcabamba

plaza in Vilcabamba