Cycling
One of my favourite things to do in Ecuador was hop on a bike and cycle for hours. Cycling was one of the best ways to explore the many beautiful and intriguing places and as you were that enthralled by the draw dropping scenery you never noticed that you were riding round for hours at a time whilst briefly stopping to capture the amazing views on camera and then excitedly jumping back on your bike to venture to the next spot!
The bike ride that I will never forget was a route that took you from the top of an active volcano all the way down to the bottom. It took most of the day but felt like it lasted only seconds due to the sheer beauty and aura of the desolate land that we were exploring. There were wild horses galloping around a landscape that could only be described as prehistoric and looked like no humans had ever stepped foot there. On the way down we rode through streams and valleys and encountered many wonderful species of strange and wonderful wild life I had never seen or heard of before. We even stumbled across the Ecuadorian football team training on the side of the volcano half way down for fitness at altitude. The whole experience was mind blowing and even fitness phobes wouldn’t have turned this amazing workout down!
Horse riding
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this at first as I had never rode a horse in my life and with all the restrictions in this country when u first take to the saddle, I thought my ride would be very controlled and held back. I couldn’t of been more wrong!
As I mounted a horse, scarily named Lightning, I was apprehensive yet excited to start my trek around a cloud forest deep in the heart of the Ecuadorian mountain range. Sure enough a trot turned into a canter which soon transformed into a gallop! Even though at times I was fearing for my life, I couldn’t help but enjoy the freedom and excitement the horse ride had to offer. I cant simply put into words how breath taking the cloud forest was and it defiantly lived up to its name as whilst we meandered our way through the trees on our horses, we were engulfed by bellows of cloud as we dipped into ravines. It felt like we were entering another world and the feeling was incredible! Our horses lead us through beautiful parts of the forest and it felt electrifying at the end of the trek when we galloped our way across a river. I felt like I was in a film. Something I will never forgot and it was a very active day.
Hiking
I don’t know where to start with this one as I had never hiked so much until I arrived in Ecuador. Each hike differentiated in so many ways even if it was the same route! The landscape and surroundings changed daily as did the views due to the diverse weather which transformed the skyline into different pieces of artwork each time. As I lived in the Andean mountain range, it was hard to turn a corner and not stop for a few seconds to take in the memorizing scenery, especially the higher up the mountain you got, the panoramic views were incomparable to any others I had ever experienced.
My favourite route was a 5 hour hike around the mouth of a dormant volcano that lay sleeping for thousands of years. Conveniently it neighboured the school where I taught so the children and I would regularly go exploring around the lake and in the secret caves that surrounded the land. On some of the colder days, the route would be thick with snow so we would put on our winter snow boots and go sledging down the many rolling hills and winding paths which the children loved immensely! It was a hike no one could ever get bored of and certainly a worth while workout.
During my time in Ecuador I lost well over a stone, toned up all my major muscle groups and massively increased my breathing capacity, I came back feeling like a new person but at no point do I remember exercising and working out … all I recall is going on adventures, exploring and creating memories that will last a lifetime!
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