Salento and Santa Rosa del Cabales

300 km east of Bogota is the coffee triangle, a mountainous zone full of jungle and coffee plantations. Less than a decade ago the Farcs were ruling this area, but it is now completely safe and well worth the trip!
We had a hike in the Cocora valley near Salento, it is a beautiful place full of palm trees surrounded by fog.
The coffee plantations can also be visited, they show the whole process from the tree to the cup!
2 hours north of Salento is Santa Rosa de Cabales and its hot springs, people come from all over the world to see this relaxing place.

A hummingbird drinking water with sugar. They are extremely fast and hard to take in picture.

The Cocora Valley is full of palm trees up to 60 meters high.

Salento has beautifully decorated houses.

The coffee plantations are all over the place.

They only plant Arabica coffee and harvest by hand twice a year.

Loaded dishes are common in Colombia, here is a trout with rice and fried banana.

The terms of Santa Rosa are famous for the waterfall and the 37 degrees Celsius swimming pools.

Bogota

The last country of our Latin American trip is Colombia, we stayed a couple of days in Bogota which is not as warm as we expected as it is located at an altitude of 2600 meters. The Colombian people have this reputation to make you feel welcome, we can confirm that as they were always happy to help us.

The plaza de armas with the parliament.

The colorful houses of the historical center.

The streets of Bogota is full of life, this guy was quite happy dancing salsa.

Lima

We made a quick detour to Lima and were quite impressed by the city! With big avenues, modern quarters such as Miraflores, Barranco or San Isidro, Lima is growing up fast. The old city center is also completely restored with beautiful colonial buildings and archaeological sites.

The Cholas with their traditional costume performing a dance on the Plaza de Armas.

The house of the archbishop of Lima next to the Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas.

The famous Ceviche, raw fish and sea food cured in lemon with corn and sweet potatoes, yummy!

Huaca Pucllana is a precolombian pyramid recently discovered in the center of Lima.

The "caldo" a fish soup comes served with roasted corn and various Peruvian sauces.

Barranco is an old quarter with many mansions renovated with a lot of style.

Lima is located in front of the Pacific ocean, with beaches and a nice skyline.

The Parque de las Aguas is a colorful place with fountains and a show of water and music at night.

Ecuadorian food

After a month in Ecuador, we thought a post about the local food was worth it, here are some of the nicest dishes we tried:

The langostine from Galapagos is quite big and inexpensive. They prepare it with a delicious garlic sauce.

Pili found a big bean, with sweet cotton like seeds. The Guava is a tropical fruit common in Galapagos.

Rice was in all the menus and a common side dish, the birds were not afraid to ask for their part.

In Quito, we tried the ceviche of black shells with Guatita (pork`s intestines), quite interesting!

A typical desert is figs with fresh cheese.

Otavalo

Two hours north of Quito is the little town of Otavalo. The city is located at the junction of valleys where live indigenous people. On Saturdays they gather in Otavalo to sell theirs products, from alpaca wool, to wood sculptures and local foods!

Selling hats in Otavalo.

Pili bargaining hard for the delicious mangoes and papayas.

Quito

Quito, the Ecuadorian capital is located at 2800 meters above sea level and is surrounded with 5000 meter high mountains. It has a very well preserved historical center with many churches form the Spanish era.

Ecuadorian people are very religious, the churches were full!

The old city is very clean and well preserved, everything is made to make the tourist feel welcomed.

Hills are all over the city with colorful houses.
 

A telepheric goes up to 4100 meters above Quito, there we could hike to 4500, but the altitude can make you really sick!

Galapagos - Isabela Island

The last island we visited was Isabela, a much younger island than the two others, given its western location. The island still has active volcanoes and fewer land animals given the little vegetation. As on the other islands we went snorkeling and could see sleeping sharks in caves, as well as huge lobsters and manta rays. Other commons animals are octopuses and sea horses.

The caldera (crater) of the volcano Sierra Negra is the second largest in the world with a 10 km circumference.  

The volcanic landscape is desertic. 

Isabela is the only island with flamingos.

The breeding center of the island has hundreds of turtles, they need to stay 8 years in captivity before to be released in the wild.

As everywhere in Galapagos the iguanas are kings and spends the days taking the sun on the beaches.

We went snorkeling in lava tunnels, here is Pili with a Blue footed Booby saying hi!

Galapagos - San Cristobal Island

A 2 hour ride on a speed boat brings you to the San Cristobal Island. Much more quiet than Santa Cruz and with abundant marine life!

The blue footed booby is endemic from Galapagos.

The seagull from Galapagos is nicer than the one we are used to!

The sea lions are very friendly and liked to play with us in the water.

Kicker rock is the place to dive in San Cristobal. We were lucky enough to see hammerhead sharks, manta rays and sea turtles.

Galapagos - Santa Cruz Island

We jumped from the cold Patagonia to the warm and humid Galapagos. We started with Santa Cruz Island, the entry door of the archipelago. We could see many land turtles and iguanas, they are used to humans and didn't care much about our presence!

As expected turtles are slow animals, they hide in their shells expiring loudly when we get too close.

Iguanas stick together to keep warmth and spit salt through their nostrils before to go back to the ocean.

These animals are quite slow on earth but are great swimmers.