A little here, a little there ...

From Vilcabamba we headed back north again, thinking we would overnight in Loja because we wanted to eat at a restaurant recommended: Mama Lola's. Then we decided to give the hostel another chance, you know, the one that wouldn't answer the door even though we had a reservation! So off we went: Yikes, the place looked empty and again no one answered the rings over a period of 1/2 hour. Another lady came and wanted in as well. Finally she called the owner who came over. He explained, "we are not open on weekends": have you ever heard of a hotel not opening on the weekend, and especially right across the street from the hospital?. But hey, that gave us a chance to see more of the unknown. So, onward we went...

Over the mountains, and down into the valleys, and then back up again we went, this time to a place called Zamora: the starting point for Amazonia and visiting the jungle. This small but bustling town, nestled in a beautifully lush valley along a river,  is known for being the jump-off point but also for the humongous (they claim, the biggest in the world) clock. It is found on the side of the mountain as one enters the city/town and it is impressive. Each arm is 15 meters long (48.75 feet long). Wandering the town, we found a perfect viewing point, one that would give us a photo without all the electrical/phone wires crisscrossing the photo: up on the roof of a hotel. The concierge very kindly allowed us "momentary" access to take a photo and left the desk to follow us up for security. This is an example of the many random acts of kindness that we have encountered so far. The people are so very awesome and friendly, although a little shy.

We stayed in a "all, not so inclusive" local resort outside of town. It was definitely a place for rest & relaxation but without a/c and was it ever hot. The front-desk lady very kindly found me a fan which I sat/slept under. During the day Danny took off into town and ended up riding a chiva into the mountains to smaller communities which is a wonderful way to see the non-tourist lifestyle. Unfortunately the new owner of his camera forgot to give him his disc so that we could have the photos of this journey. In the morning we were wakened to the sound of cows...cows????? Yup this is the only hotel/hostal/resort that we have ever stayed in where we shared the property with a herd of cows. LOL 

Heat took us out of here for new horizons earlier than expected. It is such a beautiful place but without a/c spending time here becomes intolerable. No jungle exploration for her although there were some great tours offered, one even that visited the archeological sites with petroglyphs from ancient (?) groups. Our plan was for a slow meandering north until we arrive in Quito at the end of our trip...