"Don't Trust Pirates"

Growing up in a suberb where your neighbors always stayed the same, your parents were heavily involved with your school and you only really had an alarm system for decoration. Trusting people was easy... in Thornhill. Our family knew everyone on our street and the next few over. It was friendly, safe and well, Jewish. All those bad guys- robbers, terrorists, kidnappers- didnt exist in Thornhill. That was just in the movies. I also thought (perhaps due to my specific geographical upbringing) that Jews made up 99.9% of the worlds population. Luckily I've made choices in my life that have allowed me to travel to different parts of the world, explore and embrace other religions and cultures i've only studied or read about in books. I then came to the conclusion that
A. travelling is amazing and B. there are a lot less Jews in the world than I thought.

I really didnt know much about South America before deciding to travel here (nor did I have any idea how delicious cerviche was) but the one thing I heard repeated over and over again was that unfortunately it isn't very safe. Adam and I have taken all necessary precautions (ie: pad locking our bags, only carrying small amounts of money on us at one time, etc). We were even warned by locals to only take "safe taxis" marked with a number plate on the front, back and side. If they are not "safe taxis" then as our Peruvian hostel owner put it, "They are pirates!".

Cerviche- mixed raw fish with lemon, herbs, salad, plantine chips and corn on the side

Well our last few days in Ecuador were amazing! We decided to go on a trek through another rainforest on horses and end at a small hidden waterfall. We arrived at the entrance of the park and met a short, stumpy Ecuadorian man with a big smile and an even bigger machete! He mumbled some Spanish to Adam and then handed us over two horses. Adam confirmed that he would be our tour guide for the next 4 hours and our 2 new furry friends would lead the way. I suppose, in retrospect, there was no good reason not to trust our machete holding tour guide. He seemed nice enough! Adam rode a beautiful, large brown and white horse who enjoyed eating leaves and shitting a lot. My horse was a bit smaller, a bit lazier and a beautiful dark shade of black. Her name was... Negrita. Direct translation = Cute little black girl. Made me laugh (and cringe) a little.

We rode for about an hour and a half until we got so deep into the forest we needed to tie the horses to a tree and keep trekking by foot. Suddenly our tour guide (let's call him Juan) revealed his very sharp machete to us, turned towards a tree and in one chop, sliced off 2 rather large bamboo branches that were to act as our walking sticks for the remainder of the hike. As we climbed higher and higher we could hear the calming stream of a waterfall and finally when we arrived to the top, sweaty and out of breath, we were presented with a beautiful small pool of ice water overlooking the whole rainforest! It was stunning. The only other sounds surrounding us (other than Juan sharpening his machete) were monkeys jumping from tree to tree just above our heads. Luckily Negrita and her friend were waiting patiently for our return (not like they could actually go anywhere) and we made it back safe and sound and with all our limbs in place!

The following day we made our way over to Puerto Lopez- a small port town in order to take a boat over to Isla du la Plata or better known as the "Poor man Galapagos Island". The boat ride was horrifically nauseating but worth it just to see 2 massive humpback whales that compared to our boat, made it seem like a toy! The whales were incredible and once on the island we got to see turtles, exotic birds and even went snorkelling with nemo.

Chillin with some Blue Footed Boobies

After the excursion we arrived back to our "Eco-friendly" hostel owned by hippies, which consisted of a small cabana on the beach, an abundance of hammocks and a "Magic labyrinth". The Labyrinth was something the hostel owner created himself 10 years ago and promised that if you believe in it, whatever you wished for inside will come true. A little over the top but it seemed to suit the overall vibe of the place which also included a "trust bar". All we needed to do was help ourselves to beers or any other cold beverages stocked in the fridge, write down what you consumed and pay on departure. It was a nice touch. Adam and I managed to get pretty wasted 2 nights in a row... for free :) ....jokes.

Inside our eco-friendly hostel AKA the hippie commune

Two buses and 12 hours later we arrived to our second destination- Peru. Our first stop was another small beach town called Mancora. We stayed in a nice resort type hostel with a large pool and just across from the beach. The town itself was a bit dodgy and just 2 hours into our stay we had already heard numerous stories of tourists getting robbed at night. It wasn't exactly the best first impression of Peru but we definitely weren't going to let that ruin our experience in this amazing country! We ate, drank, swam and did mostly everything without leaving the boundaries of the secured hostel. On our last night we decided to eat out at a BBQ seafood place which was a bit over our budget ($15 for the two of us haha). We were served by our friendly waiter, Ruben who was outgoing, Peruvian, seemed quite genuine and spoke English better than any other locals we had met thus far. Unfortunately we saw Ruben again later that night standing outside a bar asking Adam and I for money. Our friendly waiter Ruben had a cocaine problem.  This didn't really help change our impression of "One of Perus nicest beaches"- The Lonely Planet 2014. Lies.

Three days was more than enough time in Mancora but since Adam and I missed the first bus out we stayed an extra night on a different beach about 20 mins away called Punta Sal. This beach was like a hidden gem! We were the ONLY westerners staying at this guest house and which as a matter of fact wasn't even listed in the Lonely Planet. The beach was big, clean, quiet and beautiful but unfortunately the sound of blasting spanish pop music all night was replaced by the sound of a crying baby next door. Guess you can't win them all! Our bus to Lima didn't leave until 6pm the next day and a guy we met in Mancora invited us to spend the day at his all inclusive resort, around the corner from our guest house! It was a perfect send off- we even took advantage of his hot shower (which was a real treat for us)! Thanks, Michael (If you're reading this).

Punta Sal, resort in Peru

Fortunately Adam and I have been quite lucky so far and managed to meet some great people which has added to the enjoyment of our trip. We've also managed to stay clear of all the negative South American stereotypes and have even been able to avoid "pirates". Long may that continue! But with halloween just around the corner we're expecting to run into one or two! Don't worry, they will not be trusted.

Write more soon!

Signing off,

Gillian and Adam xx

Treading on Hot Water

Funny how fast we get used to our modern day life. We have "things" that have become "necessities" and "necessities" that have become expected. For example- upon arriving at our first "luxurious" hotel in Ecuador we were greeted by a very friendly Ecuadorian man named Ivan who could actually speak English (Ive quickly come to realise this is an extremely rare occurace). We followed him up to our bungalow suite situated on top of a hill presenting a beautiful view of the beach  and town of Montanita. Ivan began describing the rooms amenities and explained how lucky we were since the room we had booked was "one of the best suites". He then went on to clarify, "it even comes with hot water"!

My initial North American mindset was a bit horrified, thinking "well obviously it does how else would we be able to shower???" Until it hit me that we werent in North America anymore. Not even close. Yes I do realise ive lived in Asia for 2 years and had to use a squatter toilet as my one and only source of bathroom facilities in South Korea but its been 3 years since my typical lifestyle and sociability have become challenged like that. How quickly we can adapt back to what were used too! My expectations of this trip suddenly dropped. Not necessarily in a bad way but in a way that would help me better appreciate this beautiful continent and all it has to offer... even if that doesnt include hot water.

So after this minor revelation i can honestly say the room was very nice! The suite is decorated from bamboo, we have a king size bed, a balcony, a tv and a fridge. We also get served a hot breakfast on our private balcony each morning which is a great start to the day! Okay now a review from my North American mindset to the modern Westerner: Standard size room, cute balcony with hammock and view, big, hard bed, can't throw toilet paper in toilet, low pressure shower.
Either way our first accommodation was great and we need to remember to take it all in since its probably... Definitely going downhill from here!

View  from our balcony in Montanita, Ecuador

So the other day we decided to go ziplineing through a small jungle/rainforest about 20minute drive from where we were staying. We bargained with a taxi to drive us for $4 and arrived at the bottom of a mountain greeted by our small, Spanish tour guide. I've mentioned this earlier but I need to stress that pretty much NO ONE speaks English here so thank god for Adam! We climbed up to the first hut where we got suited up with a harness and had a breathtaking view of the mountains (or what might be the death of us... We weren't quite sure at this point). As we were getting ready to take off and the guide was explaining the dos and don'ts (in Spanish) I looked around and began to realise that Adam and I are literally the only people on this "tour". Now if we were somewhere at home, a private ziplineing tour for $10 a head in a rainforest seems pretty idyllic! But here, in Ecuador where our tour guide was friends with our dodgy cab driver - all alone on top of a mountain putting our lives in this strange, Spanish speaking mans hands made me just a little nervous.

Too late. As I'm considering how painful the drop might be, Adams just taken off and his screams are fading away. Now I'm being told to stand somewhere (or I assume that the mans finger pointed to a spot on the ground only means "stand here"). Anyways, I'm here to write about it so I survived... Adam on the other hand... Jokes!



It was a great experience but no I wouldn't do it again. For some silly reason (maybe due to high adrenaline rush) we thought it would be a good idea to walk back to our hotel. What was a 20min drive would probably be just over an hour walk and we had nothing to rush back for so why not?! The route to the mountain was quite simple - down a long dirt road, turn left when you see pigs in a barn and then straight up the main road. Easy peasy! The unpaved dirt road seemed straight forward and relaxing at first, until... No joke... A real live wild BULL walked into the middle of the road making eye contact with the only other two live mammals in its site... US! We stopped in our tracks and looked down at the gravel dirt road. Neither of us had ever been confronted by a wild bull before but thought surely it must be the same or if not similar caution guide as when confronted by a bear. Stay still. Get low. No eye contact.

Okay so now we've been standing in the same spot - about 10 meters opposite this wild bull, both of us waiting for the other to make a final decision. Adam (being the bravest of the two in this relationship- it's fine I have other good qualities) said he'd walk on the side closest to the pointy horned animal and slowly pass on its left, looking down, no hard feelings, everyone's a winner. The bull seemed to get distracted by some swaying leaves on a tree and so what could have turned into a pretty frightening scenario was just a peacefull pass-er-by. Phew! Walking by the bull, holding my breath, all I kept repeating over and over again in my head was, "I promise ill never take hot water for granted again"!

All for now. Next blog from Peru!

Signing off,

Gillian & Adam xx