Quito

The first night I stayed at Centro del Mundo hostel for $5 (dorm). It's kinda a dump and doesn't even have wifi so the next morning I moved next door to Casa Basik for $6. It's much nicer and has wifi. I had a king size bed in the dorm room that also had a bathroom inside with a hot shower and it turned out that no one else came into the dorm so I had the room to myself. They also did my laundry in 8hrs for $0.80/kilo. 

I went to the equator park "Mitidad del Mundo" north of the city and it was kinda a cluster to get there. It was Saturday and election day and there seemed to be lots of traffic. To vet there first you have to take the metrobus line to the end at Ophelia Terminal ($0.25) then transfer to a "mitidad del mundo" bus for $0.15 which drops you at the gate to the monument which is free to enter. The trip there took 2hours. To get back you do the same in reverse. Then we took the metrobus all the way into the old town and walked around. Its a really cool city surrounded by mountains and it has a really big old town with lots of old buildings from the Spanish. Quito is really easy to get around with three set bus lines that have stations like a subway. Some areas can be dangerous though and the 2 Swiss guys on my amazon trip got robbed at 3pm walking up to the big angel statue on the hill. Taking taxis at night are a must. 

Leaving Quito I bought a ticket for the 430am Panamericana bus, because they have a station in the Mariscol a couple blocks from my hostel, to the border town of Tulcan (5hrs, $5) the bus didn't leave until 6am though! There were 3 other gringos on my bus also going to Colombia so in Tulcan we split a taxi from the terminal to the boarder for $1 each. After getting your exit stamp from Ecuador you walk across a short bridge into Colombia. 

Amazon Tour

I was hopig to book a jungle trip from Tena but the town was dead so I decided to call places. I tracked down the numbers to some operators who own lodges in Cuyabeno reserve and booked a 4 night trip with Samona Lodge for $230. All the trips leave from Lago Agrio which is a major pain to get to. From Tena I caught a Quito bound bus and took it to Baeza ($3, 2.5hrs). A little outside Baeza I got off at an intersection where I was told there would be a bus coming through bound for Lago Agrio (4hrs, $5). 45min later the bus showed up. The ride from Baeza to Lago is extremely rough and the road is very windy and the drivers are maniacs. Take Dramamine. In Lago the bus dropped us off at some random spot outside of town and I caught a taxi in for $1.50. Stayed at Casa Blanca where they have clean single rooms with direcTV and private bathroom for $8. I got sick in Lago from something I ate and couldn't leave the next morning. Had to rebook my trip since Samona didn't have another one going for a few days. I called around and Rainforestur set me up with a trip for $40/day. Rainforestur is just an agent and I got booked at Guacamayo Lodge which is run by Ara Expeditions (araexpeditions.com) 

The trip: they picked me up at my hotel at 9am and there was some confusion because the lodge normally charges $50/day and they also could only take me for 3 days and the girl didn't speak English. I was a little hesitant to go since I had no idea what I was getting into but went with it. From Lago it's about a 2hr drive to a bridge where you get into a long boat down the river for another couple hours to the Lodge. 

It was just me and two 30 year old Swiss guys at the lodge which was great because our guide would do whatever we wanted. The first afternoon we saw pink river dolphins on our way to go piranha fishing and everyone caught one and I caught two which was great because it is the wet season and apparently difficult to catch piranhas because there is so much water and food around. But we found a good spot. After fishing we went on a 3hr night hike through the jungle. It was pretty intense with some stream crossings and wading through waste deep water in the dark looking for anacondas. Didn't see any anacondas but we saw tons of insects and our guide knew everything. Took the boat back to the lodge and had dinner which was fish, rice and lentils. 

The lodge is classically built with wood and grass roofs. They have a couple solar panels so you can charge electronics but other than that its candle light. They have rooms with 2 beds, bug nets and private bathroom. The shower is just river water. The lodge is right on the river and they were almost done with a 3 story bird watching tower. Its right next to Samona Lodge but i never heard them, It's a really cool spot. 

The second day after breakfast we went out at 9am on a canoe excursion paddling. Once again, because we asked for adventure, it was pretty intense. We were paddling through flooded jungle through narrow channels hacking through brush with a machete until one of the Swiss guys dropped the machete in the water and it sank. We had lunch out in the jungle and saw some really fresh Tapir tracks. A tapir is a kind of small jungle cow, yes, jungle cow. After lunch we paddled back to the main river and met the motorized long boat and went to the village to meet the shaman. The village has some modernish style wood building on stilts. There was a 1yr old monkey living there named Nacho who was fun to play with. The villagers ate his mother a while ago and then adopted the baby. Unfortunately the shaman had malaria symptoms so we couldn't meet him, I guess he's like 100 yes old. On the way back from the village we saw a big anaconda which was sweet. It was in a bush just above the water and was about 2-3 meters long. We also saw more pink river dolphins. 

The third day we went out at 6am for bird watching and saw some cool birds including toucans and parrots and eagles among others. At 10am we took the boat back to civilization. 

The Swiss guys flew back to Quito for abbot $70. I took the bus for $8. I almost got screwed though because almost all the buses were full. It was a Friday and election weekend so I think that's why. Luckily one of the companies had a secret unscheduled bus at Quito using a bus from the "Petrolera" company. The bus was a heap but it had new seats and showed movies. They played a Jason Stathom marathon showing Transporter 1,2, and 3, the Italian job, another movie I hadn't seen with Wesley Snipes in it, ands Crank, all in Spanish of course. The ride took 8hrs and I got into Quito around 11pm. The bus entered Quito from the north and so It drove by the Mariscol Sucre area where I was going to stay so I jumped out and caught a taxi to my hostel which saves me about an hour had I gone all the way to the terminal. 

Getting into Ecuador

My nightbus from Peru dropped me of in Guyachile at 430am. I decided to take a bus to the town of Banos. The bus was $7 (7hours) and left at 6 am but that bus got in an accident or something so I had to take a different company. It was the same price but I had to change buses in the town of Riobamba. The drive has spectacular scenery. I got out in Banos and walked around for 20min and it was really dusty and windy and I didn’t like the feel of it so I decided to power on to the town of Tena (frequent buses, $4, 4hours). On the bus I met two Scottish girls who told me that the volcano in town was erupted and that it was dust that I was seeing, it was ash! Was pretty happy I got out of there. In Tena I walked about a km from the bus station to a hostel called Brisa del Rio which is just across the street from the river and near the foot bridge. I was $8 for a private room with fan and shared bathroom and they had wifi. Nobody spoke english but they were helpful.

Mancora

I flew into Tumbes and it is a pretty dangerous place according to most reports. My original plan was to try to get straight on a bus up to Ecuador but I was exhausted from my flights (I had been awake since 5am and got less than 4hrs sleep) and the thought of an 8 hr bumpy bus ride was not appealing. I met 3 Australian guys in the airport who were going to the beach town of Mancora so I decided to tag along and we split a cab there (s/32 each, 2hours). They were staying at the Loki hostel so I did the same (6 bed dorm s/28 with bathroom inside, breakfast, wifi) The hostel is right on the beach and is like a resort with a big swimming pool and 2 bars. It definitely has a spring break feel to it. The hostel was packed but the rest of the town felt pretty dead. There is also a Point Hostel in town but I guess it is far out of town and people get robbed walking there at night. Right in front of the Loki is a restaurant on the beach that serves mountains of excellent civiche for s/15. Leaving Mancora I took the CIFA international bus to Guyachil for s/60. It was a nice semi-cama (seats recline more than your average bus) bus and it left at 9pm and we arrived in Guyachil, Ecuador at 4:30am. The bus stops at both boarder points for you.

Inca Jungle Trek

I signed up for a 4day 3night “Inca Jungle Trek” and paid $160 which included everything, even the Machu Picchu entrance (s/126) and the train back to Cusco ($32usd). The operator was Conde Travel and they do other trips as well and a well regarded. They quoted me $180 but I bought it through an agent who gave me a great deal. I forget the name of the agent but its on the same street as the Conde office, just closer to the main plaza. The tour starts with pick up in Cusco and then you drive through the sacred valley of the Incas and over a pass that is at 4200meters. Just after the pass you get out and get on your mountain bike and ride down the other side of the pass with spectacular scenery. After the ride you check into a hotel in the town of Santa Maria with shared rooms and relaxed until dinner.

The second day is hiking on the Inca trail. It isn’t the “classic” inca trail that requires a permit but its all the same and was really cool with amazing scenery and some stops at locals houses.
After lunch our guide, Amoroso, asked if we wanted to have an adventure and we did so we blazed the trail through an area that was destroyed by landslides and floods a year ago. It was great. None of the girls liked it cause it was a little dangerous (maybe more than a little) but I had a great time, crossing rivers, landslides, and hacking our way through with machetes.

It couldn’t have been better. It took longer than expected though and the last 45min were in the dark which actually was dangerous because the path was treacherous and only half of us had headlamps. After arriving in the town of Santa Theresa we checked into our hotel (shared rooms again but I lucked out and got a single) and showered (ice cold showers) and had dinner. Then everyone went to the bar in town and partied the night away.

The next day was just an easy walk along a river on a dirt road and train tracks up to Aguas Calientes at the base of Machu Picchu. We checked into our hotel and had time to wonder around town or go to the hot spring pools. The people who went to the hot springs said they were kinda gross and dirty.

The next morning we left the hotel at 4am to get to the base of the access path by 4:30. The gate is suppose to open at 5am but they opened it early. Then it is a grueling 30min steep hike up to the main entrance which opens at 6am. The rush was so that we could get tickets to climb Whinna Picchu mountain and they only give them to the first 400 people in line. Amoroso gave us a tour of Machu Picchu for about 2 hours and then we were on our own. We were all in the “second group” to climb the mountain which meant our access opened at 10. Climbing the mountain is also an extremely steep climb but it only takes about 25min and offers spectacular views.

After climbing that a dutch guy and I decided to go to the Inca Bridge and the Sun Gate. Both definitely worth doing. If I went back I’d climb Machu Picchu mountain which doesn’t have an entry requirement and might have just as good views as Whinna Picchu. After you’re done exploring Machu Picchu you’re on your own, go back to Aguas Calientes and wait for the train which is at 645pm. The train is very nice and they offer a beverage service. You can also bring beers on board.
Overall Conde Travel worked out great and the tour was a great way to do Machu Picchu. A lot of the hostels in Cusco book through them and we had a great group. Definitely recommend.

Leaving Cusco I was dreading the 24hour bus ride to Lima so I looked at flights and found one to Lima for $82usd (1hr) and another from Lima to Tumbes for $86usd (1.5hrs) on Peruvian Airlines. Definitely worth it because the bus to Lima is about $50us and then the bus from Lima to Tumbes is another 20hrs and $50us. My flight out of Cusco got cancelled, however, but after some haggling with the airline, they were able to get me on the next flight out so I would still make my connection to Tumbes.

Cusco

I stayed at The Point Hostel for s/20 per night in a 12 person dorm. The hostel is nice with free internet (wifi and 3 computers). The dorm was big, they had hot showers and they were always cleaning the place. The Point is a chain in Peru and there are a couple other chain “party” hostels like the Irish Rover and the Loki. The Rover is near the point and both have great locations. The Loki is a tough walk up a hill from the center. The Loki has the biggest party vibe of them and the Point is the cheapest. I’d either stay at the Point again or at the Irish Rover. Taxis anywhere in Cusco are generally s/5. There are tons or backpackers in town and a lot of people stay there to study spanish. Its a really nice town and has a lot to do around it. There is also a really big backpacker party scene which surprised me.