Did you know that Loja has a CASTLE?! (Loja Ecuador Pucará)
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- čas přidán 31. 08. 2022
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It was a cloudy morning when we woke up, but after enjoying some delicious Loja coffee, we ventured out for a morning walk.
The day before, we stumbled upon Parque Pucará not too far from our AirBnB in El Centro. It looked like a cool park so we wanted to go back and film some clips for our Loja Pros & Cons video.
We were having so much fun that we decided to record an entire video. And we're glad we did because we found something totally unexpected!
In case you missed our other videos from Loja Ecuador:
THIS CITY IS NOT WHAT WE EXPECTED! • THIS CITY IS *BETTER* ...
IS THIS CITY RIGHT FOR YOU? (Loja Ecuador Pros & Cons Video) • ECUADOR'S *NEXT* EXPAT...
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that was my "hood while there, Pucará is a gem of a park, gets you in shape with all those stairs and steep trails, Teléferico was a big surprise for me as well! Fantastic views. It was a failed tourist cable car project, the towers for the cars are strewn down the hill from there. LOL! you took one of the many circuitous routes away from the castle that lead to who knows where!
I laughed a lot when JP says to Amilia "I´m pretty sure this is the right trail" but don´t go in until Amelia confirms it. Then he does. Nice video you two. Have a nice day
SO NICE to see so many "urban" parks and hiking trails ! We live in Central Florida, and all the urban areas are "car dependent" - with little opportunity for outdoor exercise. KEEP ON HIKING !
Not humid and hot in Ecuador 👌
I love your videos. I'm from Guayaquil leaving in USA for to long and planing on retiring back to Ecuador. Thanks to you guys now I changed the place I want to go is LOJA! Didn't know was so pretty. Thanks againg. 💕
Love when you guys drop these gems!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
💕 Look at the beautiful sky ...
Can't believe you had the park all to yourselves ! 😏
What a hike!! Beautiful views!! The sendero has no signs, and no directions, I would have been nervous. I am glad you keep discovering and enjoying Ecuador.
Wow! What amazing views! I love when you guys go outside and show the beauty of living in Ecuador.
Oh wow - just imagine to be able to restore this old castle into a place live-ableoutvthere in this beautiful wilderness 😊
Thanks so much for sharing more from beautiful Loja 😊😊
That would be cool! Glad you enjoyed it!
You probably had breakfast and went to sleep after that hike dead to the world thank you it was an awesome video love you guys
Some of my best adventures have been while I was lost and finding something interesting that I would not have know about otherwise.
Getting lost can be a lot of fun!
11:04 there are pinos 🌲 y agaves 🌵 en un mismo lugar, es un sitio muy exótico!! ☺️
So glad you are enjoying Loja. I knew you would! Thanks for taking us on another adventure...
We really enjoyed our time there!
Discovering a beautiful country throughout your eyes. Thank you guys.
I’m going to say this with all the love, I saw a few videos of you guys from a few years ago compared to the ones of today you both look super skinny, amazing!
Beautiful scenery, I love to hike there.
We really enjoyed that hike!
I just love you guys so much. Thank you for sharing so much of your life with us. Thanks. I hope you have another great day in paradise!!!
LOVE this! And since we'll be staying at the same AirBnB when we go to Loja in October, I've put it on the list for our daily walk. And Amelia, I'm with you - I wouldn't have reclined on that contraption either!
Great! Hope you have as much fun as we did!
That castle was an amazing find! Great hike you guys (JP got a bit hangry, lol), the view from the castle was just amazing.
Loja seems like an amazing town AND province. I can’t wait to get there someday.
We really enjoyed our time there!
What a beautiful view and hikes, thank you for sharing❤
JP and Amelia I love the way you interact. You really seem to enjoy your experience
Wow, you always manage to find beautiful little corners of my Ecuador. One day ....
That was a beautiful little corner! 😊🇪🇨
I love the views (besides that closed castle) at the top which made that uphill hike definitely worthwhile!
Totally agree!
Excellent video my friends Thanks 😊
Another fantastic video. I felt as I if I just completed my workout. Thanks for the sights and sounds.
You both are very tuned to allow each other to speak! You allow one another to express yourselves👍😄
That's an inversion table .Good for relaxing your spine!
Just a couple of friendly corrections: ‘sendero’ means ‘path’ in South American Spanish and ‘polvo’ means ‘dust’ (from dirt usually). A native Lojano said to me once: “hay una maquina en Loja que hace polvo...” meaning: “there is a machine in Loja that makes dust..” meant to be a complaint about the dusty condition created by the roads in the town. Did you pick up on any uniquely Lojano words while you were there? I found that there were many that I heard no where else in the country.
'polvo' means cocaine
@@isaacmora6725 😂😂😂😂
@@isaacmora6725 One of many slang terms for cocaine (powder) I am sure…
😂 I'm Ecuadorian but "POLVO" to normal ecuadorian people means "FLOUR"
to Drug addicts people means "COCAINE"
Thanks. The building is a modern castle ^^
Love you guys. Sendero means path or trail
Magnificent ! ! ! Park and views.
9:30, 9:50 very evil place... (all seeing eye...)
12:05 I'll bet you that there are some secret hidden tunnels.
as always +1
I lived there, (5 min from the park) and yeah there is a hidden tunnel underneath, although it's been closed, as children we use to play 'chiken' I spend my entire childhood there, only now I realize how awesome it was. The castle was supposed to be a ferry (teleferico) but it never was completed, there are more trails, longer walks. There is also the Podocarpus National Park an hour away, ever more beautiful and there you can see what the Real forest of Loja is supposed to be, because is a national park it is untouched. Ecuador is filled with many many many hidden gems, even with a life time you would be able to see them all, and if you know Spanish ask the older people about the legends (leyendas y fábulas), about the Giants, the gnomes, the hidden treasures left by the aboriginal people, then you'll begin to comprehend the people, our people, my people.
I enjoyed this. Thank you
This is AMAZING!!!!
My kind of weather , clear skies, cooler weather but still beautiful. Catch your breath and enjoy the beauty. Loving it .
Great video!!!
Very awesome effort. A long form video, inclusive and "out of breath" but it works for me! I appreciate all the exertions. Lots of places to languish and make up stories.
🙌🙌🙌 amazing
The first one is an inversion board. My mother uses one regularly!
I run out of breath just watching this darn relaxing video!
Love these guys, They really enjoy our country.
such a beautiful area you took us though. I guess it pays to take the less traveled trail thank you it was a wonderful video
Glad you enjoyed it!
The video equipment you are using is excellent !
Ah, that view was certainly worth the effort of climbing! Thanks for sharing your adventure.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Seeing the pine trees was really cool.
Hola JP and Amelia....I liked this video so much, never suspected you 'll find a castle up there. You guys are in great shape thanks to those steep "senderos" which by the way mean "trails" or narrow paths.
Your Spanish vocabulary keeps growing, keep it up!
Fun! Hike ❤️❤️
Great video. My husband and I hope to meet you both when we make it to Ecuador.
Uhm, “polvo” is coloquial for humpin’ 🤣🤣🤣. Cool video guys.
🥳
I called those birds Popo birds when I was there between 2011-2015…Due to their call. We are leaving for Ecuador in 11 days! Hola!
Congrats! 🥳
Wow are good you climbing and walking trails hehe at the height you notice they have good lungs, they are healthy hehe
The guitar lights up at night. The trees have overgrown so now they obscure the view of the city. I believe the goals was to be a dinner up there.
Que interesante!
Actually that thing that you thought was for incline sit-ups is for hanging upside down by your ankles. Is supposed to be great for your spine. I truly miss Loja!!!
Great adventure, aloha !!!!!!!!! When are you going back to the coast ?
Try Catamayo next- right down the road from Loja. Wonderful, warm climate. Try the Rosal del Sol hotel.
Hi guys! I want to meet you, I like your videos!!! ✌️😁👏👏👏🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
It’s quite unfortunate the story behind that abandoned castle. It was supposed to become the “teleférico”/tramway. The person who built it was the former city mayor, whose surname is Castillo, which translates to Castle, so you can probably tell how big his ego is, provided that he was the very same guy who build the city gate (Puerta de la ciudad) in the shape of….you guessed it….a castle 😂 unfortunately the tramway project was eventually scrapped because of lack of money and poor planning. It’s a gorgeous place with a nice view. It needs better ways to access it, though.
Wow! Thanks so much for sharing this with us, we would have never guessed that this is the story behind this Castle or should I say Castillo? 😆
Wow! You r still in Loja, do you like it better than Cuenca? That trail looks interesting..with hiking boots, LOL!…currently in Quito..no rain, hot by day very chilly by night. Thanks for the great video. ❤️
We really liked Loja, but we still prefer Cuenca. We recorded this over a month ago.
Loja is a little under 200k population, right? My current city of residence is a little over 80k in a county with about 225k. Loja just might be perfect 🤔
Sendero actually translates as a pathway. So you could translate it as well as a trail.
The terrorists in Peru, were called Sendero Luminoso. Which translates as, lighted pathway!
1:13 ouch!
I'm pretty sure that the 1st piece of equipment can be used for reverse pike up, but the primary purpose is for inversion - using gravity to stretch out the spine.
Thanks!
Fun Fact:
I almost died last year from applying Eucalyptus oil to my gums. I used a small amount as an analgesic (pain reliever). It's well-known that only 3.5 mL (less than one teaspoon) of Eucalyptus oil can be fatal. However, there were no warning label on the NOW Foods bottle. The symptoms include: a sensation of imminent death, blindness, and non-stop vomit for 2-4 hours.
Been following ya for awhile, i just got back to nyc from ecuador was there almost 2 months, in loja there is a cemetery called cemetery of giants, and if you believe in the bible it can be related to the giants that once was on earth in genesis 6, literally a cemetery with graves that are like 12 ft in length, but yea loja was very interesting.
Que chevere 👍
I want to live where that is the view from my bedroom window. In Ecuador,Where might that be .
I am tired watching you guys. 😲 Great video! Have you guys ever visited the Bishops Castle west of Pueblo, CO? We love that place - built by one guy over many years.
Never been there.
hi guys,im from loja and let me tell you, you both were lucky no one robbed you in the castle on the top of the park, there have been several cases where criminals hide in the bushes waiting for people to stab or steal their belongins, and that abandoned castle is more of a crack house, nowadays, that is why no body goes there anymore, some time ago there used to be a guard up there but he stayed in the house locked up, and if you needed help, he would just tell you, i dont have a gun so you are all by yourself
We saw several people jogging that trail and a young couple walking on it. Seemed safe to us, but it was early in the morning. We often hear stories about these types of incidents, but never from the actual victim. It’s always someone who “heard” about it.
Thank you for your content my wife and I are looking forward to spending 3 months in Ecuador January February March of 2023 and we're looking for volunteer work to maybe serve the greater good something to do with the environment or community outreach if y'all have any suggestions I'd appreciate it thanks again.👍🏽😀
Interesting. I found a blog explaining the "castle" was the top end of a teleferico that is no longer in service.
That would make sense, but we didn't see any remnants of a cable car. 🤷♂️
lol you took a wrong turn at Alberquerque!
Haha!
Sendero means "path" e.g. Sendero Luminoso, Shining Path
SuperMaxi is never boring for Carole!
Hi Amelia & JP, I enjoy watching your videos now and then, eventhough I have no inclination to move to Central or South America.
You two seem like a great pair and couple. Do you ever get in spats, or is the illusion of ultimate compatibility actually real?
We get irritated with each other once in awhile, but we’ve never had a fight. We both had unhealthy relationships before and did a lot of work on learning how to communicate and express our emotions before we met each other. That has made a huge difference. And when I almost died from the neck injury, that changed our perspective on what’s really important in life. Every day is a gift and realizing that makes us happy to be alive. 😊
How would you compare the beauty of Ecuadorian trails to hiking in Colorado?
That trail reminded us a lot of Colorado, but most of the hikes in EC are jungle trails so they're not really comparable. They aren't as long either.
I grew up in Loja and never been up there....THANK YOU....by the way.."Me gusta el polvo" means😆 I like cocaine in Loja slang lol
Do you use google maps when you hike or is the internet available?
Sometimes, and yes we have better coverage in EC than we had in Texas on our recent visit.
I was starting to worry if you guys were going to make it back. My wife and I are very cautious about getting lost on certain trails so unless they are marked well we don't wonder to far. I have one story My wife was not with me but I came close to a 300 lb bear on a trail that was only 2 miles away from a metro area in Florida. This trail not known for bears, anyway I went one way it went another. I haven't been back there since. Any dangerous animals where you are?
Wow! I bet that was scary! There are pumas and bears, but not many and they hide from us scary humans.
@@AmeliaAndJP Yea it was for a brief few seconds, it took off when it saw me. It was about 30 yards away when we saw each other I think I might have passed out if it was right in front of me. I kind of chuckle about it now but then no. I had a mile to go to get back to the truck. Anyway be safe. Luv the videos.
There have been other videos about the Loja area having lots of wild dogs that live in the woods and on hiking areas.
Hi Amelia and JP I m currently looking for a flight out of Guayaquil or Quito to Huston around early October what airline do you use and what is reasenable price for the fight...?
We have an article about that here: liveabroadnow.com/traveling-to-ecuador-from-the-united-states/
Thank you for the info ☺️
Sendero, means Path…
We keep hearing never to hike alone for safety but you guys seldom encounter anyone. Whose advice should we follow?
There is a lot of fear mongering for clicks, I guess. We typically hike in low-crime areas. There was a security guard at the park and several maintenance workers. We have never felt unsafe hiking in EC, but we also don't go to the parks at night or in dangerous parts of town.
hello people
Ari sent me
Alice and the Rabbit down the rabbit hole!
allowed to bicycle the trails?
Some of them.
that exercise machines made for elders ( tercera edad) 😎. thats why are for simple easy motion
My speed is like JP, the play ground.....
first
second :)
Third!
Thought the local fuzz was about to bust you for…..?!
The house alarm? We never get used to that!
Where do you live now very confused.!!!!!
“Polvo” = sex 😂😂
How is your Spanish going?
Es funcional pero no fluido. Trabajamos demasiado en inglés.
@@AmeliaAndJP lo estás escribiendo muy bien. Felicidades!!!!
Polvo is powder....its whsy you tell your drug guy...
The Castle may be due to the fact that the Spaniards fought battles against the rebellious mestizos and the Indians.
It’s not that old. Maybe 50 years 🤷♂️
'Polvo' is cocaine
Thanks for sharing that. I thought that might be its meaning.
Yes, it has two meanings...... Sex or cocaine xD and of course "dust".
Amelia Jp you smell ciprés not Eucaliptus es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus