After a action filled three weeks in Peru we decided we needed to slow down. So we headed to the laid back beach town, Mancora, in the north of Peru. Here we relaxed for four days enjoying the sunshine, the surf and the wild life.
From here we decided to check out Ecuador. The major draw card here is the Galapogas Islands, unfortunately we decided that our budget couldn't cope with this - giving us a good excuse to return to South America in the future.
We started off in the city of Cuenca where we learned about the tribal tradition of shrinking heads. This is where you chop off your enemy's head, take the skull out and shrink the skin by boiling it in a secret concoction. The head, now the size of a fist, could now be used as a nice ornament for the end of your spear. Luckily, this is illegal to do on humans now. However, the tribes still continue the tradition on poor unsuspecting sloths.
We also visited the capital of Ecuador, Quito. The name means 'close to the middle of the world' in a indigenous language so we took the opportunity to visit the equator so we could stand in both hemispheres at once. There was a bit of a museum here that had some experiments that we could try.
Experiment to show us no whirlpool in sink hole on equator
We were very negative about Quito on our arrival as we had two attempted pick pocketings on us in the buses on the way there. However, it was hard not to be impressed by the beautiful views and nice architecture in this town including a very grand cathedral. We also met many lovely locals to make up for the pick pockets.
The Cathedral in Quito
James climbing to the top of the cathedral
Quito
