Ecuador

Sunday 13th November 2016  – The San Antonio area of Cali has been a real oasis – there are great little bakeries and cafes to have breakfast at, charming little restaurants do menu del dia at lunchtime and in the evening options are limitless. Each place has its own unique character and artistic expression feels as important as commercial gain. By contrast, that evening we browsed some market stalls each one a virtual carbon copy of the next, filled with the same souvenir tat.

Monday 14th November 2016 – Another day enjoying good food. Went for a meal at our favourite restaurant that evening but it was closed.

Tuesday 15th November 2016 – From Cali we took a bus to Ipiales – a long journey with beautiful mountain scenery. We stayed at Hotel Metropole, near the bus station. Luckily their little restaurant was still open so we didn’t have to go out looking for food.

Wednesday 16th November 2016 – We wanted to get to Quito today but first we paid a visit to Sanctuario las Lajas (Sanctuary of the Rocks). It turned out to be one of the most unique and memorable places we had visited on our travels. The church, located in the mountains about 5km from Ipiales rises from the side of a gorge in a symbiosis of man made architecture and natural rock. What makes it special though is the hundreds of stone plaques (Lajas) that adorn the gorge walls, thanking the Virgin Mary for miracles performed. The border crossing into Ecuador was (thankfully) uneventful and before long we were on a minibus which took us through the mountains and arrived in Quito late in the evening.