Ecuador Archives - Grace on Pace

Andean High

Andean Itinerary

World Wonder, Beaches, Salsa, Hot Springs, and Zona Cafetera

Three Weeks (January 23rd – February 8th, 2009)

We began our Andean Itinerary with an international flight to Lima and then an immediate domestic flight to Cusco early the next morning. From the airport, we headed straight to the train station bound for Ollantaytambo. In the morning, we made our way to mystical Machu Picchu for the day before returning to Cusco for the evening. An overnight bus through the Andes landed us in Lima and the Miraflores district for nightfall. In the afternoon, we boarded another overnight bus north to the small fishing town of Mancora for white sand and great surf.

: Yoga

: Hot Springs (Aguas Calientes)

: Plaza de Armas of Cusco

: Miraflores Beach

: Machu Picchu

: Machu Picchu

: Plaza de Armas of Cusco

: Ollantaytambo Guinea Pigs

: Pinkuylluna

: Peruvian Llama

: Huayna Picchu

: Pizza

: PeruRail

: Church of la Virgen Milagrosa

: Moto Rental Mancora

: Ceviche

: Mancora Beach

: Machu Picchu

Our next leg took us to Ecuador and the colonial Cuenca for some fabulous food and people watching in the flower filled town square. We then had a quick stopover to soothe our aching bones in the hot springs of Baños, before we made our way to historic Quito.

: San Francisco Church Cuenca – Ecuador

: Santo Domingo Church – Cuenca, Ecuador

: Llama – Baños, Ecuador

: Church of the Virgin of the Holy Water – Baños, Ecuador

: Basilica of the National Vow – Quito, Ecuador

: Church and Convent of St. Francis – Quito, Ecuador

: La Mitad del Mundo

: Cuenca, Ecuador

: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception – Cuenca, Ecuador

: Moto Rental – Baños, Ecuador

: Thermal Baths – Baños, Ecuador

: Basilica of the National Vow – Quito, Ecuador

A third overnight bus brought us to Colombia to Cali for salsa lessons before finishing Andean itinerary in Bogotá, taking in the old historic center and lively nightlife.