The day started off well enough. Sunshine, sitting on the stairs by the river waiting for our friends (who are always on Ecuadorian time... add 30mins) to pick us up for a day of climbing. Sitting in the back of Dan Durans pickup up the bumpy roads to our final destination was a little hard on Vikki´s sore tailbone, but fun nonetheless.
Arriving at the crag we donned our gear and repelled down to a small ledge where there are about 10 sport routes. After Vikki and I tried our hand at a slabby (and a little wet) 12a it started to rain... and not just a little spitting, but really really raining... and then hail. When the lighting started, and it was real close, we decided it would be a good idea to get the heck out of there. Exposed on a ledge covered in metal gear+lightning=bad!
By this time we were all soaked to the bone. Four of us repelled down, having to leave all our gear and our rope hanging on the ledge, while Bagre and Dan climbed back up the rope to get the truck.
Luckily a friend from town came to pick us up so we wouldn't have to sit in the truck bed in the pouring rain.
After our little adventure, we decided it was time for some chilling, and made our way to the small beach town of Montanita. (after going back to get our gear of course)
We have found paradise. Unfortunately its low season, so there is no sun, but the surfing is awesome, and the streets are nice and quiet.
Happy Birthday to Vikki!!! 19!!! woot woot.
Im going to get her drunk off 3$ box wine!!!
Hope everyone is doing well!!!
Love
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Cuenca Photos
Friday, October 19, 2007
Photos
For some reason this site does not like to upload photos, so here are some links to photos on an upload friendly site.
Hatun Mache
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15922&l=316d8&id=510641175
and Cusco, Lima
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15920&l=8aabd&id=510641175
¨
Vikki and I are in Cuenca Ecuador, doing lots of climbing in the many amazing surrounding areas. This place is a climbers dream! Awesome limestone routes at all grades, bouldering, trekking not to far away, hot springs, good nightlife, and cheep food and accommodation. Not to mention the amazing people that live here.
The climbers that we met at the Youth World Cup have been so good to us! Always taking us climbing, and showing us the cool places to hang out around town.
Cuenca comes highly recommended!!
Hatun Mache
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15922&l=316d8&id=510641175
and Cusco, Lima
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15920&l=8aabd&id=510641175
¨
Vikki and I are in Cuenca Ecuador, doing lots of climbing in the many amazing surrounding areas. This place is a climbers dream! Awesome limestone routes at all grades, bouldering, trekking not to far away, hot springs, good nightlife, and cheep food and accommodation. Not to mention the amazing people that live here.
The climbers that we met at the Youth World Cup have been so good to us! Always taking us climbing, and showing us the cool places to hang out around town.
Cuenca comes highly recommended!!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Back in Ecuador
Hola!
Stace and I are back in Ecuador now, and are having a blast. After about 30 hours of travelling on buses and stopovers we eventually made it to the little town of Vilcabamba in southern Ecuador. We took a taxi to Hosteria Izcayluma, a beautiful paradise hidden in the hills outside of Vilcabamba. Exhausted from our travelling, we rolled into hammocks hanging in the common area and slept for the better part of the day. The German owner then showed us to our dormitory room, leading us down a cobblestone path lined with beautiful plants and flowers of all different shapes, colours and sizes. The dorms were clean and comfortable with 2 levels and a massive stone bathroom. Hammocks lined the deck outside the rooms. It was just complete paradise! We spent 3 nights here, stuffing ourselves with the restaurant´s wonderful food and relaxing in the chilled out atmosphere. They had a pool and a massive chessboard (We had fun playing with that). I was perfectly content to sit in a hammock for hours and read my book.
It was AWESOME!
Stace and I are back in Ecuador now, and are having a blast. After about 30 hours of travelling on buses and stopovers we eventually made it to the little town of Vilcabamba in southern Ecuador. We took a taxi to Hosteria Izcayluma, a beautiful paradise hidden in the hills outside of Vilcabamba. Exhausted from our travelling, we rolled into hammocks hanging in the common area and slept for the better part of the day. The German owner then showed us to our dormitory room, leading us down a cobblestone path lined with beautiful plants and flowers of all different shapes, colours and sizes. The dorms were clean and comfortable with 2 levels and a massive stone bathroom. Hammocks lined the deck outside the rooms. It was just complete paradise! We spent 3 nights here, stuffing ourselves with the restaurant´s wonderful food and relaxing in the chilled out atmosphere. They had a pool and a massive chessboard (We had fun playing with that). I was perfectly content to sit in a hammock for hours and read my book.
It was AWESOME!Here is Stacey kicking my royal bum at chess...
One thing I really wanted to do was go horseback riding and I conned Stacey into coming with me. It was a drizzly day, so we opted for the half day tour instead of the full day. Our guide picked us up a the hostel and lead us into town where we were equiped with rubber boots and cowboy hats and shown our horses. In no time we viewing the world from a different height, and on our way. Now it´s been a good 5 or 6 years since I´ve ridden a horse and I was just getting my bearings when they started trotting...bouncy bouncy. Stacey rides past me on her horse "Vikki, what do I do??" Pretty funny. Once we got outside of town and into the country side, the path narrowed and we slowed down, enjoying the views and calmness of the area. Our guide took us to a beautiful secluded waterfall and gave us fresh fruit from an orange tree, which we gobbled down before heading back. Once we entered the town again, the horses took off, eager to be home. This would have been fine if I didn´t have to badly go to the bathroom. Not a good combination when you´re bouncing up and down in a saddle. All in all it was a great experience (I´m not sure Stacey would agree with me), and we both had extremely sore bottoms the next day.
Doesn`t she look like a pro??
After Vilcabamba, we took a six hour bus up to the beautiful city of Cuenca. After staying one night in a fairly unsettling hostel, where the rooms were tucked in between doctors offices (Weird!) we moved to a cute little hostel by the river. It´s a beautiful area, and you can see families washing their clothes in the river and letting them dry on the grassy banks. Today we took a fairly long bus ride to the Inca ruins called Ingapirca. Not as brilliant as Machupicchu, but they were still incredible!
Ok, I have more to say but the computer cafe is closing.
Hopefully soon we will meet up with our climbing friends and do some climbing in the surrounding mountains.
I miss you all and hope you´re smilin and enjoying life!
Much Love,
Vikki
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Hatun Mache
After finally getting to the right bus station, and 8 hours of bad bus sleeping we arrived in Huaraz to hoards of eager taxi drivers awaiting us tired gringas. We hopped into a taxi that agreed to take us to the hostel of our choice, only to conveniently remember, once we arrived, that it is no longer a hostel. He would of course take us to another... for double the price. We were tired... so whatever, lets go.
Finally arriving at a hostel, and ensuring the taxi driver that we did not want to go trekking, or buy a climbing trip from him we slumped into our cozy beds and slept away the morning.
Huaraz is a cute little town nestled in the mountains with endless trekking, climbing and biking adventures all around. After a little searching we found a company with transportation to Hatun Mache, a new climbing area about two hours away. (It ended up being a bit more than that since every 20 min we had to stop and throw water on the overheating engine).
After one day at Hatun Mache we knew we had to return to stay in the newly opened refuge for at least a few days. There is so much rock out there, it would take a few lifetimes to explore it all. As of right now there are about 70 routes bolted, and a few cleaned boulders... but there is the potential for hundreds and hundreds of routes and boulders. The only catch is that the rock is a little sharp... and it is at 4200m.
Back in Huaraz we wandered the markets picking out food for our 4 day stay at Hatun Mache. Trying not to be distracted by all the 30cent earrings, we ended up with pasta for every night, and avocado sandwiches for lunch. Much to our good luck, a group of girls were taking a walking tour our first day out, which included pachamanka (which, from what i understand, means earth pot).
This lovely meal is prepared by digging a hole in the ground and building a fire on which to heat rocks. The meat of a freshly slain lamb is lain atop the rocks, along with sweet potatoes. More hot rocks are added on top, which are covered in a tarp, and then buried. The fire is extinguished by a lack of oxygen, but the heat from the rocks is trapped by the earth, and is left for a few hours. If you ever get a chance to try this... do it! It is amazing.
We did lots of easy climbing, and drank copious amounts of tea at our small mountain getaway. We also had the chance to practise a little Spanish (which we are still hopeless at) because Oscar and Tito, the two guys that live in the refuge, don't speak a word of English.
We are back in Huaraz now... once again waiting for a bus. Tonight we are traveling to Trujillo where we will find another bus to a town two hours north, where we will catch another bus to Piura. After a night in Piura we will catch another bus (doesn't this sound fun???) to cross the boarder into Ecuador. From here its only one more bus to Vilcabomba, which is known for its people who live to be over 100 years old. Here we plan to recover from our bus journey by relaxing in a cute little hostel, hiking and horseback riding. After that is north to Cuenca to meet up with friends from the competition and do some more climbing!!
Alright, only 4 more hours to wait for our bus!!!
Hope everyone is doing well!!
Our interview is up in the new gripped e-mag... check it out at http://www.gripped.com/grippedemag/landing.html
much love, stace
Finally arriving at a hostel, and ensuring the taxi driver that we did not want to go trekking, or buy a climbing trip from him we slumped into our cozy beds and slept away the morning.
Huaraz is a cute little town nestled in the mountains with endless trekking, climbing and biking adventures all around. After a little searching we found a company with transportation to Hatun Mache, a new climbing area about two hours away. (It ended up being a bit more than that since every 20 min we had to stop and throw water on the overheating engine).
After one day at Hatun Mache we knew we had to return to stay in the newly opened refuge for at least a few days. There is so much rock out there, it would take a few lifetimes to explore it all. As of right now there are about 70 routes bolted, and a few cleaned boulders... but there is the potential for hundreds and hundreds of routes and boulders. The only catch is that the rock is a little sharp... and it is at 4200m.
Back in Huaraz we wandered the markets picking out food for our 4 day stay at Hatun Mache. Trying not to be distracted by all the 30cent earrings, we ended up with pasta for every night, and avocado sandwiches for lunch. Much to our good luck, a group of girls were taking a walking tour our first day out, which included pachamanka (which, from what i understand, means earth pot).
This lovely meal is prepared by digging a hole in the ground and building a fire on which to heat rocks. The meat of a freshly slain lamb is lain atop the rocks, along with sweet potatoes. More hot rocks are added on top, which are covered in a tarp, and then buried. The fire is extinguished by a lack of oxygen, but the heat from the rocks is trapped by the earth, and is left for a few hours. If you ever get a chance to try this... do it! It is amazing.
We did lots of easy climbing, and drank copious amounts of tea at our small mountain getaway. We also had the chance to practise a little Spanish (which we are still hopeless at) because Oscar and Tito, the two guys that live in the refuge, don't speak a word of English.
We are back in Huaraz now... once again waiting for a bus. Tonight we are traveling to Trujillo where we will find another bus to a town two hours north, where we will catch another bus to Piura. After a night in Piura we will catch another bus (doesn't this sound fun???) to cross the boarder into Ecuador. From here its only one more bus to Vilcabomba, which is known for its people who live to be over 100 years old. Here we plan to recover from our bus journey by relaxing in a cute little hostel, hiking and horseback riding. After that is north to Cuenca to meet up with friends from the competition and do some more climbing!!
Alright, only 4 more hours to wait for our bus!!!
Hope everyone is doing well!!
Our interview is up in the new gripped e-mag... check it out at http://www.gripped.com/grippedemag/landing.html
much love, stace
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