Thursday Thoughts – The Importance of Festivities

26 januari, 201726 januari, 2017 / Leya / 5 kommentarer

Travelling means learning new things every day. I guess that is one of the best parts of life – learning new things. In this 2 million people capital, Quito, Ecuador, I enjoyed every second. Almost 3000 metres up in the Andes – you had to take it a bit easy the first day.

Do you, for instance, know which mountain is the world´s highest? I learned from the Ecuadorian businessman sitting next to me in the plane between Guayaquil and Baltra, that it is…..Chimborazo, a big volcano in Ecuador. It is higher than Mount Everest – if you count from the middle of our planet Earth.

Colourful Old Town Quito, together with Krakow, Poland, 1978 became the first UNESCO World Heritage sites. And they keep it colourful, clean and tidy.

There were grand festivities this week – December 6 was celebrated everywhere. So, what did they celebrate? Their freedom? No, they celebrated the Spaniards conquering them in the 16th century…I asked them how this could be something to celebrate – and they all answered that they had put all this behind them – this day was just a good day for festivities and having fun. That sounded just great to me!

Ecuador Ama la Vida

Music and Dancing in the street

Miss Quito and Gentleman

Lovely festive ladies

These musicians were absolutely professional – we did not leave even if we had finished our meal…

Beautiful city and beautiful people – and wonderful food! We enjoyed Quito despite some rain. Old and young, everybody in a good mood.

A young man came up to me with a rose. You know, the thing they do everywhere down in Europe, expecting you to give some money…This young guy was in a group of students, and he was the only one to have a single rose in his hand. I shook my head and told him I had no money, but his eyes were shining when he smiled, saying that he did not want any money…just to give me the rose.

Cee’s B&W Photo Challenge: Construction

26 januari, 20171 februari, 2017 / Leya / 4 kommentarer

Moroccan construction often looks like this. Is it a start or are we waiting for a finish?

For more of construcktion – click here.

CFFC: Dark and Light

3 januari, 201710 januari, 2017 / Leya / 32 kommentarer

Dark and Light for Cee’s challenge – much of that in the rainforest, but also the reflections on the poles every lodge was sitting upon. Here some bats resting after their night adventures.

Thursday Thoughts – To Paradise and Back Again

29 december, 201629 december, 2016 / Leya / 16 kommentarer

So, I have been to Paradise – and back again. From Sweden to Amsterdam and then to Quito. After a couple of interesting days in beautiful world heritage, Quito Old Town, we flew down to the Amazon basin, Coca.

From Coca 1 1/2hour by motorized canoe on the Napo River …

Then 30 minutes hiking on jungle boardwalk before the last bit in a paddle canoe.

There was a slight drizzle, but we saw an abundance of flowers and birds already on this short way before reaching the lodge.

At Sacha Lodge we were welcomed by our hosts. The Lodge had rooms for 65 guests, but at the moment we were only 13-14. Lots of space and attention from our excellent guides.

Our own lodge was incredibly fresh and simple, just as in my dreams – but even better!

Spacey and open – in fact no walls on one side, so both shower and bedroom were open to the jungle. The only thing to separate us from the real world was a net, with all the sounds of the rainforest and its inhabitants just two steps away…I tell you, I have never slept better in my entire life. Birds, insects and howler monkeys feasting!

I remember staying in a clay and straw hut in the Nepalese jungle of Chitwan, in 1986, with giant spiders covering the ceiling and lizards and rats owning the mud floor. I did not sleep anything at all…even if I was young and brave.

A short canoe ride on the little lake Pilchicocha – Stinky Turkey, the most typical of the Amazon birds

Getting dark…but oh, the sounds of thousands and the beauty of the water

Back at the lodge for some food

We saw flycatchers and kingfishers among other birds, and in the waters below our breakfast house dwells….a cajman called Lucy!

Tarantula – less adorable

On the night walk we met many animals…many crawlers (millipeeds too), possums and some spiders of gigantic size. One of the The tarantulas was a pink toed giant sitting high up under the roof of the butterfly house. We also saw a wolf spider about the same size…Crickets, grasshoppers and the world’s biggest ant – a bullet ant – who has got the worst bite in the world with terrible pain for 24 hours. ”Watch out where you put your hands” was the advice. They might walk on the same rails or twigs you happen to use…

My favourite was the charming tree frog of course…!

This was our first day at Sacha Lodge – and I just Loved every minute of it. For the next day we were promised parrots, weavers, a women’s collective, curare, arrows and local cooking, canoe through narrow rainforest waterways and maybe…anaconda.

Good night to our extremely initiated and knowledgeable guides, Pablo and Luis.