Ecuador

Well here we are in Latacunga in the heart of the Andes. We readied the boat in Bahia del Caraques on the coast arranging for someone to check it every week and the bottom will be cleaned every six weeks and we will travel for three months through Ecuador and Peru.
Our first stop was Quito, the capital of Ecuador. We had a comfortable bus for the 8 hour bus trip for $8 each!!! Going from Sea level through the coastal crops of bananas and rice to the highlands.
Quito has a beautiful “Old Town” which has been well preserved. We did one day touring the obligatory churches—one of which has seven tons of gold giulding the ceiling, walls and artifacts—somehow the Catholic church lost the point somewhere!!! Also visited the presidential palace and other significant builldings.
The whole atmosphere is very clean calm and pleasant—a huge change from Guatemala City and San Salvador which were both chaotic and feel unsafe. Mind you we got scammed when an organised group of well dressed middle aged business men (they appear to be that anyway), squirted mayonaise over the back of our pants and backpacks. They tell you that it is there, then produce wads of kleenex which they use to help clean you off. When you take off you daypack to check it they create great confusion and before you know it the backpack has disappeared. They then have one of the group yell and start running after a would be robber and while you are distracted the pack has gone in another direction. All in all it was a frustrationg experience—especially as it was Ken´s pack and he prides himself on being aware of the bad guys!!! Luckily we are wary enough travellers that we had nothing of great value in the pack but did have light jackets and Ken´s favorite Tilley hat.—Oh well lesson learned—we have since discovered that it is a favorite South American scam.
We went to a great museum which traced the history of settlement of Ecuador—first people had come down the coast of North America after crossing the ice bridge and settled in the East first and then the west. One thing that we were unaware of was that the Incas were only in the area for 100 years whereas the Mayans further north were there for up to 800 or 900 years. Despite this they ruled over the largest area that any of the other ethnic groups did. As the memories of being invaded by the Incas was still fresh in the local´s minds when the Spanish arrived they were able to settle and rule easily. I found the displays during the era when the Spanish were the strongest to be oppressive. All art was dark heavy and very Catholic. There was no celebration of any other of the wonders of this country.
New Town in Quito was very western and you could have been in Toronto. The market was fun and we bargained hard to replace my jacket—I had a fleece and got an Ecuadorian one for $12.
We took the gondola up which goes to 12,000 feet—Quito is at 9,600 feet. We wanted to climb Pichichinta, a volcano of 13,000 feet. The day turned out to be cold and windy with no visibility so we gave up about 1/3 of the way up.
All in all we loved Quito—food is cheap—we went to breakfast and they asked if we wanted the complete breakfast, as it was $1 70 we said yes. We got a kind of grilled cheese sandwhich, rice and chicken, scrambled eggs, juice and coffee!!! Now we say only eggs, bread, juice and coffee and that is about $1 20.
Our hotel in Quito for $20 was an old gracious hotel with bathroom TV etc.
After 4 or 5 days in Quito we headed on the bus to Lacutunga in the Andes
(actually Quito is too). A 2 hour bus ride for $1 50 got us to a small city where we were able to leave our big packs in an hotel while we went trekking into the small villages. We were going to do the Quilitoa loop. The Lonely Planet describes it as a trip which is mind altering!! They say you can only do it in the dry season—now—but we have found it is all year round for anyone who is thinking of an adventure.
Caught a bus through beautiful mountains which rise from deep gullies, every square foot is farmed on impossible slopes. There are small grass huts where family´s live and shelter form the weather. Because of the height it can be cold (not cold enough for snow) and the ridges can be very windy.
We arrived at Quilitoa at noon, it is on the rim of a volcanic lake and a small settlement has sprung up there to house the trekking tourists. We found a local “Indigenes” hostel. We were given a bed in a large room with 8 other beds which we shared with a couple form the States. Despite the wood buring stove we were very cold and used many of the heavy Andean wool blankets. We trekked down into the volcano to the lake and were persuaded to ride a mule bareback back up. That was an experience trying to hold on with your legs as he went back and forwards to go up the extremely steep volcanic walls!!!
The next day we set off with the American couple to hike the 5 hours to Cuchilan. This involved a walk around the crator rim for an hour and then a steep climb straight down the outside to a valley below. It had a lot of ash on the path which made it slippery. We were adopted by a tiny local woman (they are about 4 feet tall and amazingly strong and tough-she is in the pics) she proceeded to tell us when we were going off the track. It appeared she was going home after being in hospital with an infection of her leg and was walking at least 3 hours home-- we were not sure if she had had to walk the previous 4 hours from the hospital or if she was able to get a bus. She was also carrying a load on her back. The people made us feel very wimpy as we panted up the steep terrain. After having dropped hundreds of feet into the valley we then had to climb hundreds of feet up to the village. We had started the day freezing—looking like abominable snowmen with all our layers and had been stripping off all day as the valleys are warm.
We arrived at Chuchilan where two seperate hostels have been set up by local villagers. These are wonderfully luxurious. We had a little cabin with bathroom—very woodsy and attractive. Meals were incluced and it was $10 per person per day. We stayed the next day and did another 5 hour hike up to a cheese factory where we were able to buy wonderful Emmenthal cheese. A Swiss cheesemaker had taught them how to make it and age it. A treat as the local cheese is bland and rubbery and we have missed good cheese. We also walked into the cloud forest which was surreal. There are a lot of orchids growing there but they flower in Dec and Jan.
The following day we set off with a Scottish girl who was staying there to another village of Isinlivi. We had been given directions which were to drop down into a valley and then work your way around a mountain till somehow you would spot the town and could get to it in 4 hours. Well it was not that easy and 6 hours later we arrived after having dropped into the valley and needed to climb the next mountain to get our bearings. There are hundreds of trails as the locals walk everywhere and the trail may lead to their house or field or another village. You meet people all the time who point you in the right direction but it is not neccesarily the right way from where we started. The weather was gorgeous though and the scenery was magnificent so we did enjoy it.
After a night in the hostel there—run by a Dutch girl five of us got up at 6am to be driven in a jeep to Saxsili market. This is the largest Indideous market in South America so we really wanted to go.
The road was very rough over mountain ranges for 2 hours. As we approached the top of one hill the sun was coming up our driver was blinded and drove to the edge of a precipice where he stopped—2 wheels on the road and 2 over the edge of a huge drop!!!
We all got out immediately to assess the damage. It was freezing and it was obvious we were not driving back on the road easily. He called on his cellphone—even here they have them—and we awaited help. Thirty minutes later a truck arrived and they attached a wire rope. After much discussion and us watching nervously as our young driver had to steer from within our jeep they managed to get it back on the road. We were a fairly subdued bunch for a while!!!
We arrived at the market an hour later going straight to the animal market. There you can buy llamas, sheep, goats or pigs and was a riot of noise and colour. The Indigenes come for miles and bargain hard. They then walk their purchases home unles they were lucky enough to have a vehicle. We also went to a couple of the other markets—there are 8 seperate ones. Bought gorgeous finely woven ponchos.
We then caught the bus back to Latacunga where we had pizza and discussed our “near death experience”. The others were leaving for other destinations but Ken and I decided to have a day of rest before our next adventures.
So far it has been amazing and I feel that this trekking trip will be a highlight of our journey.
This entry is longer than I had intended but travelling in this manner is so intense and so much happens.
We continue our journey tomorrow south and I will update when I can. I am going to try and download photos now but if there are none it is because I am still the computer illiterate on public computers.
We do enjoy hearing from you either on blog comments or emails so keep in touch.
Love to all
Wendy and Ken