The third
stop in our two week itinerary was the city of Ibarra. Travelling from Otavalo
to Ibarra took less than 45 minutes and again we took a taxi $16, we were
getting very spoiled.
http://www.ecostravel.com/ecuador/ciudades-destinos/ibarra.php
Since we had a map on how to get to our next
place to stay, Hosteria Cananvalle, we had no problem finding this jewel.
http://hosteria-cananvalle.com/?lang=en
This
Hosteria was located just outside of Ibarra, which is the capital of the
province we were in.
The grounds
and buildings were beautiful and peaceful- we had opted for this location
rather than staying in the noisy city. Remember this whole trip was to get away
from the people and noise of Carnaval.
The entrance
to Hosteria Cananvalle
Our cute
room
Our view out
our door
Since this
place was also a working farm, there were hundreds of avocado trees.
And lots of
other fruits including pomegranates
And
watermelons
And some
cute horses and llamas
As well as
corn fields, coffee trees (they roasted their own coffee- delicious!) and some
sugar cane.
Our wonderful
hosts, Doreen and her husband Carlos
We had asked
Doreen to reserve tickets for us for the next day on the tourist train that went
from Ibarra to the other Salinas ( there are two other towns called Salinas beside
the one we lived in). Carlos drove us to the train station the next morning. The
tickets for this ride- 2 hours to Salinas, a couple of hours in that town, and
then 2 hours back to Ibarra- were $20/person but only $10 for me as I was
Tercera Edad (over 65 years old).
http://www.trenecuador.com/index.php/rutas-del-tren/tren-de-la-libertad
The very
modern inside of the station
Because we
were going the day after Carnaval, only the little one car train was required.
Our only travelling companions on this trip were an older indigenous couple
from Otavalo.
Leaving
downtown Ibarra
For our 2
hour ride we passed through some of the most scenic countryside I had ever
seen. From farm land to rugged hill sides, through tunnels and over bridges
spanning canyons, we saw it all- truly beautiful.
We finally
arrived at our destination, Salinas. This town is populated by the descendants
of African slaves brought over to work the sugar cane fields back in the 1700’s.
We were greeted
by a dance put on by the local women.
After a
short time to explore alone and check out the local stores, our guide led us
through town and explained some of the local sights, wall murals and their
history at the local museum.
Now for my
comments on Salinas. This is a very poor town! The only pretty thing there was
the inside of the church. A few tiendas ( small stores), one restaurant where
we had lunch, and that was it. I loved the train ride but could easily have skipped
the town of Salinas. So much more could be done there to make it a better
tourist experience. The local population is very poor but very friendly like
all of Ecuador.
After a
great breakfast (included) at our hosteria, we decided to explore the city of
Ibarra the next day. A taxi took us into town- a very short ride $3- and
dropped us off at the main church square.
A lovely
park and church
We wondered
around until we found another square with some craft stalls and a couple of restaurants.
Of course it was that cerveza time yet again.
The lovely
women that I bought a pretty blouse from for my great grand baby
We wondered
around the streets for several hours taking many pictures. The city was very
clean- no garbage on the streets and few stray dogs- the two things I hate most
about Ecuadorian towns. And of course, the local people were very friendly. We also
saw very few gringos- another plus- LOL
Ibarra is
also very famous for its ice cream- tastes much like Italian gelato.
That evening
we had a wonderful dinner at our hotel. Their restaurant also serves lunch and
dinner for their guests.
On our last
day, we spent some time exploring the farm and hiking to the river at the
bottom of the canyon beside the hosteria. Will I ever learn that what goes down
must come back up?
The path was
very narrow and steep at one side but with the farm dog accompanying us, we
managed to get to the bottom.
And back up
Later that
afternoon we took another taxi back to the Quito airport ($60 for the almost 3
hour trip) in order to meet our plane ride back home to Salinas. Did we have a
great two weeks? Definitely! We explored some awesome places, stayed at truly
memorable hotels and met many interesting fellow travelers plus all our amazing
hosts! But it was nice to get back to our home and sleep back in our own bed.
