Mainland Ecuador we found ourselves in the excellent hands of Ecole Travel, the company engaged by Bunniks, Australia to take us
around. We found a detailed programme waiting for us at our hotel - Hampton
Inn, as well as packets of Ecuadorian biscuits, key rings and maps! Just a
block away from the hotel, a small camera shop run by someone who could
speak English and had a lucky Australian coin in his pocket.... George bought a small Samsung digital camera and was ready to go.
Jaero (a freelance guide who conducts private tours for 8 different
travel companies) introduced himself next morning as our guide and driver of
his comfortable Chev Rodeo. We were headed for Cuenca (the 3rd
largest town in Ecuador) with a road trip of at least 4 hours. On route we spotted
large flocks of black headed vultures scavenging on litter lying beside the
road. The land was flat and swampy; the drains (full of hyacinth) contained
jacanas, egrets and herons. Definitely good agricultural land as there were many small roadside fruit stalls; and
fields containing bananas, sugar cane, rice, palm oil trees and cacao bushes.
Jaero pointed out the tall teka trees grown for timber, a hard fire resistant
wood used for the construction of boats.
With diesel selling for $1 a
gallon (i.e. approx. 30c per litre!) we found it interesting to learn fuel was
cheap due to oil from the Amazon being processed by refineries on the coast. We
also noticed each pump at a fuel station was manned by a separate attendant. The
speed limit is set at 90 kph and if you’re caught travelling 15 km over the speed
limit there is a fine of $100 and 3 days jail! Drink driving, depends on the
percentage of alcohol found in one’s blood and jail sentences of up to a year
are imposed. Ahead lay the West Andes, partly
shrouded in mist, and as we climbed to an altitude of 4 150m Jaero told us the
cure for altitude sickness was to eat chocolate. It was good news indeed.
Occasionally we’d stop to examine the produce for sale at a fruit stall (large wava pods containing black seeds
surrounded by white pith), to have a good look at cacao bushes or the paper
trees (quinua) that grow in the
highlands, and upon passing through the moors of the Cajas National Park learnt
that, due to the numerous glacial lakes (tarns) in the area it had been set
aside as a water resource to supply the city of Cuenca. Entry into the national park is free but
there are still control points to check cars that have been in the area longer
than 25 minutes, to see if the occupants had been hunting!
On reaching Cuenca our first stop
was at a viewpoint (A Turi) that
overlooked the city before we were dropped off at our hotel, the Santa Lucia, a
boutique hotel with a glorious old world charm about it. On arrival we were
given a purple coloured welcome drink (yuguana).
Situated a block away from city square we enjoyed a wander watching people
having photographs taken with big St Bernard dogs; people selling espumillas (meringue that looked like
ice cream) and took a city tour. Perched on the open top of the bus we had to take
care not to have our heads taken off by incredibly low overhead power lines. We
found ourselves back at A Turi viewpoint and enjoyed a complimentary glass of canelazo
(or hot cinnamon).
Cuenca (from A Turi
viewpoint)
Jaero recommended a nearby
restaurant, the Raymipampa for our
dinner. There, we were invited to join a lonely, ever so talkative Canadian
truck driver, to join him at his table after overhearing us speak English to
the waiter. He proceeded to bore us to death about everything from his state of
health, to his dental problems, the works of Ernest Hemmingway, cars and
aeroplanes … eventually, on the pretext of having to Skype our daughter, we
escaped and fled back to our hotel!
Santa Lucia hotel
On leaving Cuenca next morning,
Jaero’s felt we HAD to see the Panama hat factory. There we discovered the art
of making the Ecuadorian hat and discovered how this icon of theirs had its
origins confused when hats were sent to workers building the Panama Canal.
President Teddy Roosevelt was presented with a hat when he visited the Panama
Canal and further confused its history when he called it his Panama hat… These hats are hand woven
from the leaves of a plant similar to palms (toquilla), carefully pressed and bleached, some taking as long as 6
months to complete. What an eye opening visit it was – such magnificent hats to
be seen in the showroom too.
Hat making is a family legacy,
passed from one generation to another, a popular tradition and very much part
of their everyday lives. From the shoots of the palms tender leaves sprout.
These are cooked and air dried out of the sun’s rays, until they curl up and
form thin, blond cylindrical fibres. After the weaving of a hat is complete it
is washed, bleached and dried in the sun, and then reshaped or pressed. The hat
weavers carry out the first stage of these activities at home or the rural
areas, then deliver the hats to Cuenca to await bleaching and reshaping. The
finer the materials used, the more hats cost. They are never worn in the
rain.
George lined up with the photographs of rich and famous wearing their 'Panama' Hats to have his photo inserted in the remaining empty frame!
We left Cuenca, driving upon the
Pan-American high-way (a 6 lane highway, still under re-construction in some
places, running from Canada to
Argentina), and were soon in the Central Andes (in the district of Canar,
altitude 3 200m asl) and heading for Ingapirca, the largest site of Inca ruins
in Ecuador. It was a nice surprise to be given half price entry fee for being over
65 years – not many countries offer that to international visitors! We found
ourselves speeding up our visit as black clouds threated rain and little more
than half way we had to make a dash for the eaves of nearby house for cover,
completely soaked, shivering with cold as the rain poured down. Fortunately the
tiny café Jaero’s had earmarked for our
lunch was not too far off and, after changing into dry shirts, a bowl of “hen
soup” and hot Ecuadorian chocolate went down extremely well. A tremendous clap
of thunder was loud enough to set off the alarm in Jaero’s car!
Although we knew a little about
the Inca people we did not have a time frame in our minds thus over the coming
weeks we were amazed at how similar the ruins were to those of Romans and Greek
– even Zimbabwe Ruins… Ingapirca dates
back to 1450 and the ruins, with their aqueducts, ceremonial baths, carefully
chiselled stones and prominent Temple of the Sun, were an interesting place.
Jaero explained that, as believers in the afterlife, the elite were buried
together with all their wives and servants to look after them – the latter all
buried alive! He showed us huts the Canari people used to live in and where their
guinea-pigs (kept for food) warned the occupants of “good or bad energy”
visitors coming to their door. The cuy-cuy-cuy
squeal sound, accounting for the name guinea pigs are given - “cuy”.
Following the rain at Ingapirca,
came thick mist. For the next two hours
we drove without seeing anything except the occasional glimpse of mountains on
a very steep and winding road. At one point Jaero pointed out a rough bull ring
and explained it was used to gauge the temperaments of wild bulls before some
would be sent off to fight in the main urban centres. Ecuador bulls are not killed – only “played”
with!
We spent
the night in Guamote, a picturesque and intriguing village in the heart of the
Andes. Inti Sisa hotel (sisa meaning
sunflower), managed by a young Belgian couple, gave us a very warm welcome and happily
allowed us to dry our wet clothes in front of the fire. Despite the chilled mountain air we took a brisk walk down through
the mountain side village admiring narrow cobbled streets; the colourful
clothes of the indigenous people - typical of their particular region and not
worn for any tourist reason. Mention must be made of the large number of dogs
trotting around too.
Tuesday, 11th
November, saw us up at 6.00 ready to head back the way we had come (50kms) to
Alausi. This time, without as much mist hanging around we saw a bit more of the
countryside, a multi-coloured quilt of fields and pastures stretching across
every valley and up every hillside. What little natural vegetation remained was
confined to the odd gully. Each farmer allowed to cultivate one hectare of land
providing it is not above 4000m. There were no sign of contours or terraces;
instead plenty of introduced pines and eucalyptus to prevent erosion. All
livestock appeared to be tethered to prevent them wandering too far.
The train ride we took from
Alausi to what is known as the Devil’s Nose was an incredible experience not
only because of the precipitous slopes involved but also the fact it had been
built by hand with great loss of life, particularly among the 4 200 Jamaicans,
Puerto Ricans and convicts engaged to build it using hand tools and explosives.
The major challenge of the route selected along the Chanchan River was dealing
with the steep slope of the Devil’s Nose, a mountain known to the local people
as Condor Pununa nest of the condors).
The engineers responsible for
building the railway opted for the use of “switchbacks” to traverse the slopes
involved, this requiring a number of bifurcations to be built by blasting away
the walls of rock on the Devil’s Nose to allow the train to “zig zag” its way
down hill (or uphill). At each bifurcation a switchman would jump from the
train to raise the lever that changes the track, the train would then reverse
along the narrow cornice provided until changing tracks again at the next
switchback, and so on. According to the men that worked on the railway, the
Devil’s Nose was damned by Satan, thereby accounting for the heavy loss of
life, and needless to say all the condors left because of the trains and all
the blasting. On reaching the tiny station of Sibambe on the floor of the
Chanchan valley for morning tea the indigenous people gave us a warm welcome
and a display of traditional dancing .A horseman demonstrated his riding skills
and photos could be taken with a pair of lamas for a small fee.
It was at Alausi, standing below
an enormous mosaic statue of St Peter, that we saw our first hummingbird (a Hillstar
hummingbird) feeding in flight on flowers and moving, as they do, from one to
the other at incredible speed. We
returned to Guamote for lunch at Inti Sisa before heading north towards
Riobamba in the province of Chimborazo where the “Lord of the Mountains”, Volcan
Chimborazo rising to a height of 6 310m asl, presides. Predictably, it was
covered in clouds but we were able to see some glaciers below the icecap. Volcan Chimborazo is regarded as the
closest point on Earth to the Sun due to its position on the equator!
Typical Ecuadorian
landscape
Ahead lay the moors of Urbina and
as we entered the province of Cotopaxi it began to rain. At Latacungu we climbed back into the West
Andes and made our way to a guest farm, Hacienda
Posada del Tigua, for the night. The access road little more than a muddy
track and at the entrance we were delighted to find a pen containing a number
of cows, lamas, alpacas, sheep and donkeys. The owner, Margarita (very recently
widowed) and her son Pablo, showed us to our room. A bus load of French hikers
had taken up the rest of the accommodation available…leaving us feeling very
sorry for Jaero as he was without a bed and had to return to the misty narrow roads to find accommodation in a village about 20 kms on. We went to explore the farm but the cold, wet weather soon
had us scurrying back inside. The French hikers were huddled round the fire and we took refuge under the blankets in bed it was that cold! Shortly before dinner we were called to join the merry French bunch and Margarite's son welcomed us all with a toast of the warming national
Ecuadorian drink before a tasty three course meal, typical of the area was served up.
Jaero re-joined us for an early breakfast,
knowing at this time of year mornings are generally free of rain and we
were best to set off as soon as possible if we had any hope of seeing Cotopaxi National Park. Sure enough, with
patches of blue sky overhead, as we crested the mountain range above Latacungu
we were treated to the most magnificent view of three volcanoes, partly
obscured by cloud, glistening in the morning sun. The snow-capped peaks of
Volcan Illinizas; Cotopaxi itself (the 5th highest volcano in
Ecuador rising to a height of 5 897m asl) and below it, the black jagged peak
of Volcan Morurco.
We were ecstatic, stopping to
photograph the scene around every corner, but by the time we reached the
Cotopaxi NP, the clouds had moved in and all we could see was thick cloud and mist. We stopped
at the visitors centre to examine a number of murals, models and diagrams about
the park (established in 1975) and the string of volcanoes. Although Cotopaxi
had last erupted in 1887; because of the large number of people living nearby
it is still regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the region. George
was surprised to find the foot-slopes covered in pine plantations; that feral
horses and cattle roam around freely in the park and that the snow line (ice
cap) is now 1 000m higher than it used to be. Avalanches occasionally form due
to melting snow.
Dodging the occasional mountain
biker delighting in the downhill run of Cotapaxi, Jaero kindly drove us on a
very pot-holed, corrugated road up into the mist belt until we reached the height
of 4 500m. A total absence of vegetation on the mountain and with a strong
likelihood of altitude sickness, we were advised to take it easy.
Before leaving the park we
stopped to see Lake Limpiopungo (means clean water), caught sight of some
Andean lapwings (plovers) and caratara (a
type of vulture?) soaring overhead and just as we left the clouds briefly
parted, giving us one last look at what is a really glorious mountain. We
gained the impression that the national park must operate on a very small
budget as the facilities, roads and camping grounds are all very mediocre and
sparse. In any other country of the world, given a volcano like Cotopaxi on its
doorstep, the situation would be very different indeed. Cotopaxi’s real
potential as a tourist attraction is far from being fully realised.
By now we were nearing Quito
(popn. 1.6million) the capital of Ecuador. Derived from the words “qui” meaning centre; and “to” meaning earth and the name Quito means just that … Centre of the Earth. On route we passed through Machachi City,
Jaero’s home town (well known for horses and the Chagra (cowboys) as well as a mineral
spring and the bottled water, Guitig) before dropping down into the valley with
Quito sprawled across it. After settling into our hotel, the Reina Isabel, we wandered through the busy
streets towards a park, window shopping. Next day, Jaero proudly took us for a
full tour of the old city.
This included a visit to the Basilica del Voto Nacional (built over
the period 1885 – 1980), a walk through
Old Town, the Plaza Grande
(the great square with its monument to liberty and heroes that achieved the
country’s independence), the Carondelet Palace or offices of the President
(where we watched the changing of the guards), the Jesuit Convent, and the Church of Compania (or Monastery of San
Francisco) where every square inch of the interior was covered in 23 carat gold
leaf and engravings great religious significance. The monastery had taken 160
years to build (1605 – 1765), a huge barrel vault adorned with figures in gold
leaf; beautifully carved confession boxes; a spiral staircase leading up to an
enormous pipe organ; a tower (the tallest in the city) which had twice been
destroyed by earthquakes (in 1859 and 1868) and after another in 1987. Restoration
work took 20 years! The two huge canvases depicting Hell and the Last Judgment
were almost enough to put George off the idea of visiting Satan one day! The
whole place certainly being a very impressive one. Outside, on the huge cobbled plaza, were
hundreds of pigeons flying back and forth in a grey cloud formation; settling
for food until they were spooked again… While waiting for Jaero to fetch his
car, we finally worked out the incessant whistling we could hear… No George! Not
starlings … It was traffic police at each intersection and it was to become a
very annoying and incessant sound – even with traffic lights, to keep vehicles
moving.
El Panecillo, atop a hill overlooking the city, is a 30m high
statue (made from 7000 pieces of aluminium and weighing 124 tons) of Lady
Maria, the guardian of the city. Beyond
lay Pinchincha, the volcano that
overlooks Quito, completely dominating the landscape. In our free time and on Jaero
advice, we went to see the cultural museum (its focus being the archaeology and
metal working skills of the “first people”). En route to and from our hotel we
fell prey to one of the local markets – stuffed full of colourful garments, fabrics and souvenirs,
stopped for the tastiest hot chocolate ever and chose to have dinner at a Mexican
restaurant with this character prancing around outside with his bugle trying to lure folk in- we gladly obliged and had an excellent meal. .
The day had arrived when we looked
forward to reaching the Equator Line at latitude 00⁰00⁰00⁰, otherwise known as
the Middle of the World. On behalf of
Pieter and Ruth Smith we were determined to ascertain, once and for all, just
how strong the Coriolis force is - (centrifugal forces caused by spinning of
the earth) and whether it is strong enough to cause water to swirl clockwise or
anti-clockwise, depending on which side of the hemisphere, one stands in. As we
drove towards the equator it became very apparent that the countryside was a
lot drier and the hillsides scarred by erosion. The snow-capped peak of Volcan
Cayambe providing views to admire.
At the Museo Intinan –its manifesto is “bridging of the cultures” we were
put into a small group with a local guide who first described the lifestyles of
the Ecuadorian Indians – George intrigued to hear men had their penises
strapped upwards by a cord around their waist and that clay pots were used for
burials; another style of hat came into focus for this region - we watched a
man making one from sheep wool, stiffened with corn flour. The heavy weight of these hats allows their use
as a weapon by throwing them at someone. And they ensure good posture as the
wearer needs to stand upright when wearing one! And then the equator line… where
our guide explained the workings of various sundials surrounding us before using
a few leaves to indicate which way water swirls when drained from a tub. A
perfect demonstration of the Coriolis
force in action as we watched the swirl of water change direction from one
side of the equator to the other within the space of a few metres. Further, he
invited us to try walking along the equator with our eyes shut and arms
outstretched – impossible. While balancing an egg on the head of a nail was
possible on the Equator line…
Not far from Museo Intinan the
very imposing Union of South American Nations
(UNASUR) building was under
construction - the equivalent of the European Union.
Leaving the Equator line we moved
from the West Andes back into the central Andes traveling a road through the
steepest terrain imaginable as it twisted and turned as it steadily dropped
down into the valley of the Guallabamba River. The countryside covered in
“carrot trees” (a type of Acacia)
with lichens and bromeliads growing on them. Bromeliads also formed a
conspicuous component of the ground cover, even growing on the face of steep
cuttings. White roofed greenhouses covering large tracts of land in different
direction were for roses – 400 varieties of roses grown in the area, it was no
wonder one could buy a bunch of 24 for only $5! This is one of Ecuador’s major
export and their roses sent to Russia and the Netherlands in the main.
We were gradually nearing Otavalo
but finding we had a bit of time on our hands Jaero took us to the edge of Lago
San Pablo in order to view Volcan Imbabua on the opposite side (its peak rising
to 4 800 m asl); then on to Cotacachi City to see the leather work being made there
(the manufacture of jackets, boots, saddlery and anything leather). The streets
lined with leather shops – not for us, we bought guinea pig purses for the
younger grandkids in the little market square where Jaero was waiting for us with
the picnic lunch that had held up our start that morning. Tuna and Olive
sandwiches on tasty brown bread was simply delicious that George found it hard
to believe he was devouring olives! Glad we didn’t forgo the wait on the street
corner for its safe delivery!
Not far off lay Peguche where at Casa El Gran Condor we watched womenfolk
weaving, spinning wool and saw how cochineal bugs (feeding on cacti) are
squashed to form the red dye used to stain the wool. At the home of Nanda
Manachi and his musical family – proud makers of Andean musical instruments; we
watched him making, and playing a flute made from reeds before his sons joined
him for a concert. Later, departing the town Jaero pointed out the number of
people working as Yachacs
(witchdoctors or shaman) to help people rid themselves of “bad energy”. Like
the Ngangas of Zimbabwe, Yachacs are regarded as wise men with skills developed
over generations in respect of medicinal plants, healing techniques and the
energy properties of one’s body. Apparently they regard nature as a “spiritual
energy system” and they occupy a special place in Ecuadorian society. Their
main task is to heal, relieve and search for energetic balance between
individuals and nature. We subsequently learnt black guinea pigs are very
much in demand by Yachacs, as upon dissection, they reveal what is wrong with a
patient.
No one could have been more
surprised than ourselves when we finally reached Hacienda Pinsaqui, our
lodgings for the night. This huge, sprawling 300 year old historic home, once a
factory with 1000 people working there and now a ‘hostel’ with 32 rooms had been
in the family for 7 generations. Our bedroom had two bathrooms and a fireplace.
At 7.00 the sound of bombas (drums) and pingullos
(flutes) wafted through to our room and we were promptly drawn to following the
cheerful sound arising from a large hall across the way. There we found 30
other guests seated listening to the music- delightedly we joined the throng and
very soon waiters were serving us all delicious hot pastries and hot ‘welcome’
drink on the house as the five piece Ecuadorian band played. The owner of the
Hacienda welcomed us with a short history of his property before mentioning
dinner would be served in the dining room further away. All very elegant and
cultured as was the meal. The chill got to us walking back to our room thus it
was all the more comforting to find a delicious chocolate on our pillow, the
fire blazing and hot water bottles in our bed… we were living far above our normal standard!
Our bedroom the blue
door to the left and the lounge and breakfast room spread away further left.
Otavalo (means “ poncho spread
out” for everyone to share) was yet another highlight of our journey through
Ecuador. The day began very early at the animal market – Against a backdrop of Volcan
Cotacachi the incredible sight, sounds and smells to behold were not for the
squeamish. Among numerous cattle and squealing pigs, taking care not to
stand on any excrement, we did our best to blend in with the locals. Breakfast
was being served in a row of tented eating places working flat out - the aroma of
cooked pigs (el hornado), vats of
boiling cow intestines and stomachs (cascarita)
and empanada pastries bubbling away
in oil, hung heavy in the air. Side stepping pigs of every colour; looking
sympathetically at boxes containing rabbits and sacks carting guinea pigs, as
well as puppies and kittens; cages of quails; and chickens bound up together.
George was particularly taken aback at the aggression shown by the roosters
used for cock fighting. Jaero explaining the origins of indigenous people
present by their different types of clothes.
From the animal market we moved
on to the Plaza de Poncho, considered
to be the largest market of its kind in Latin America, open every day of the
week. Being a Saturday it was even busier than usual as non-stall owners were
also present selling their wares. Finding it all rather overwhelming given the
amazing array of goods available, we wandered around for an hour or so before
buying gifts for the family. It was here that we spotted very hairy overhead
electricity lines! They turned out to be tiny bromeliads (also known as “air
plants”) growing thickly along the power lines.
Later that afternoon we entered
the district of Pichincha on the way to our next destination El Quinche and passed
a procession of people on foot. A pilgrimage in progress (with police escort) making
their way to the Church of the Virgin de el Quinche, a highly significant Catholic
sanctuary. Jaero took us into the church where a service was in progress and we
watched the priest flinging holy water over hordes of people flapping photos of
the Saint and any other religious ……. even the festival programme around the alter and down the aisles. Jaero lit some candles and paid his respects
to the Virgin for good reason as she is the patron saint of the drivers in
Ecuador. Outside, crowds thronged the cathedral square and side-streets waiting
for the entertainment scheduled throughout the weekend. National dancers of all ages included
cowboys (chagra) dressed in samaro (pants
like “chaps” made of animal skins) and girls in a wonderful array of ornate
costumes waited some given moment to begin different routines. The tiny toddlers stealing our hearts… It was
a lively afternoon but very hot to be standing around.
Time marched on and we turned
towards the East Andes along a highway (undergoing construction) and terminating
in the Amazon basin. On entering the Cayambe-Coca National Park the sight of
natural vegetation instead of the endless mosaic of farmland, made for a
welcome change.
There were paper trees, tall
bromeliads (achupalla) among the
moorlands, and a grass called zig-zag
the stems of which are used for making kites. We stopped to photograph the
Papallacta Lagoon, a popular trout fishing spot, which lies on the floor of an
ancient crater belonging to Volcan Chacana, its
slopes now heavily forested. Not long thereafter we reached the hot springs of
Papallacta (Termas de Papallacta). We really could not have asked for a nicer place
in which to conclude our trip around Ecuador! Our room with a heated floor was
only “a hop and a skip” away from a series of tiled hot pools each steaming
away in the cold air. After a major re-pack of our gear we had a nice long soak
and feeling completely relaxed, took a walk around the rest of the resort
during the course of which we spotted another hummingbird (possibly a sapphire
wing?) darting around. The altitude - 3 250m – so we warily took it easy.
16 November, our last day in
Ecuador, surrounded by mist and slipping back to our room whenever we felt
inclined we spent a lovely, lazy morning enjoying the thermal pools at
Papallacta, in spite of light rain falling. Too wet for taking any trails up the mountain
we ended up browsing around the National Park Information centre close to
Jaero’s pick up time and came across mention of animals like spectacled bears,
mountain tapirs, torrent ducks and marsupial frogs in the area. Also discovered
there were no more than 100 condors left in the country. We felt quite ‘down’ to be leaving this
beautiful place and we’d so loved
Ecuador thanks to Jaero but the time had come to bid farewell to the man
who’d driven from Quito to collect and deliver us to the airport outside Quito,
two hours away, for our flight to Lima, capital of Peru.
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