Quito
10/27/2001
After the plane landed safely in Quito, the passengers applaud -
something I haven't seen in a long time. Later I understood way. The
airport is right within the north of the city and planes fly
dangerously low over the buildings before reaching the airport. I
have never been to any other place where you can see planes flying so
low over the city, which has the nice side-effect that they can be
seen easily from the streets.
I already met other backpackers in the plane, so we take a taxi
together to a hostel in the north part of Quito, which is the new,
more developed part, as opposed to the old part with many colonial
buildings. The hostel is the part called "Gringolandia" jokingly by
the people of Quito, since here are many tourists, hostels,
restaurants, etc.
Funny enough, the taxi driver neither knows our hostel nor the street
it is in. I end up finding our location by using a map in my travel
guide, and guiding the taxi driver to our target, giving him
instructions ("next left... two more streets ;)")
10/28/2001
My hostel turns out to be "dangerous", since it is a party place, and
I'm ready to spend a lot of money in the bars and restaurants of
Gringolandia. The hostel ("Centro Del Mundo") is actually quite
uncomfortable, with 4/5 bed rooms, and the beds make so much sound
that the whole room wakes up when somebody just turns around at
night. However, it has a nice public area where all the travellers
meet and I had the chance to meet dozens of people and hear even more
crazy stories of people who travelled for 5 years cross the world,
carpenters who built houses in Venezuala, others who were teaching
English in Quito, etc etc. And incredible source of information, and
I could make a good picture for my further travel plans.
I the evening, I meet a girl from Quito that I met 5 years ago in
Clemson - I got in touch with her again, told her I would come to
Quito, so we enjoyed a great time of exchanging old Clemson stories.
10/29/2001
I walk around a little in Quito's old town, which offers some very
nice churces and buildings from the colonial time. At the South side,
you have a nice view at the vulcano and mountains that sourround
Quito.
For lunch, I enjoy a classic "almuerzo" (lunch), which contains a
soup and a main dish, which is normally rice and some meat, and costs
only $1.
10/30/2001
Time to visit a special geographic site where Ecuador got its name
from - yes, the ecuator! Right there is a pretty touristic spot, a
line on the ground which indicates latitude 0. However, the
calculations were a little off originally, and the line is not
accurately at latitude 0. Inside the building is a museum that shows
all the different groups living in Ecuador, however, the illustration
is only in Spanish...
Nearby is a impressive view down to a valley that is actually the
crater of a vulcano that has been inactive for a long time.
10/31/2001
I want to improve my Spanish a little more and check out some of the
many Spanish schools of Quito. Lessons are more expensive then the
ones in Guatemala, it choose the school Cotopaxi, which charges $3.75
per hour when you take at least 30 hours. I'm planning to take 8
days, 4 hours each. The class is pretty good and I learn a lot of
things. As the activity (every Wednesday), my teacher and I go to the
local Indian crafts market. I actually like that market better than
the ones in Guatemala, there is more choice. Of course I start
buying, and become proud owner of a cheap nice bagpack and some
coasters.
Returning to the hostel I just meet some people on the way out, going
for dinner, so I join them. Suprisingly, everybody speaks Spanish
(normally all the people in the hostel speak English), and I find out
it's because of a Italian couple and a guy from Ecuador, who don't
speak English.
This is the Halloween night, which is heavily celebrated here in
Quito as well. This night turns out to be interesting, I should not
return before 2 o'clock to the hostel, but I would not have entered
any bar this night!
It turns out that it is more a stop-and-go tonight. We walk one
block, stop for 10 minutes to discuss where we want to eat, walk
another block where we meet somebody, stop again for 10 minutes to
talk to them etc etc. The only place where we stop tonight is an
Indian restaurant where we grab some dinner. We walk to the Casa de
la Cultura, but the party there is already over. It turns out that
the Ecudorian guy actually knows to do the "dance of the fire", which
means he has a long stick with torches at each end. The torches get
lighted, and he moves the stick around like a Kung Fu figher, which
looks very spectacular at night. We stop at a traffic light for a
long time, the guy performs his "dance of the fire", and to the
amusement of everybody, the Italian guy starts to collect money from
all the cars that wait at the traffic light...
11/1/2001
Just a quiet day with my Spanish class and a relaxing evening as far
as I remember ;)
11/2/2001
I spend the morning with finding a hospital for my Hepatitis A/B
vaccination booster... I'm not very lucky since today is the day of
the death in Ecuador, hence it is a holiday and many places are
closed. At least I learn that vaccination is "vacun" in Spanish.
Also, it is the first time I use Quito's trolley, which is actually a
bus with electric connections and not a train like for example in
Munich. The trolley bus is easy to use and covers a good bit of the
city, since Quito is stretched along the north-south axis and two
trolleys go from north to south, one in the east and one in the west.
In the evening, there is one of the classic Coke & Rum parties in my
hostel (15 liters Coke & Rum for free!), so I get quickly drunk and
tired this evening and fall into my bed pretty early.
11/3/2001
I join a couple of people from the hostel to go to Papallacta, which
is a place that offers hot springs to its visitors. The bus drive is
a good 2.5 hours, but it ends in a nice mountain area. We enter the
baths - it contains a couple of pools of different temperatures.
However, it's pretty cold outside and most pools are too hot inside,
so the only choice is a constant change of location...
11/4/2001
It's a pretty day (Quito has almost all year spring-like climate, the
city is located at 2850m), and I choose to go to the Indian market
and buy some more stuff. Close is a park along which painters exhibit
their masterpieces. As I like paintings a lot, I enjoy the selection
of modern over religious to cheesy paintings. Almost like an open-air
museum. The park itself is very lifely, people playing volleybay, a
very friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
One the way back to the hostel I meet a girl again that I got to know
in San Christobal, Mexico... Yes the world is small!
11/5/2001
Little adventure, and a lot of organizational stuff today...
First, after checking out a couple of places, I finally find a clinic
that is specialized in immunization, and I get my Hepatitis A&B
boosters for $28.
Also, this Wednesday will be a historic soccer game - The
qualification game Ecuador - Uruguay. If Ecuador wins or plays even,
it will be qualified for the worldcup, for the first time! My hope in
getting a ticket goes down when I see the huge line in front of the
stadium, hundreds of people looking for a ticket. Actually it is not
even visible where the line starts and where it ends. Since I have to
go to my Spanish class soon, my choice is to give up (today...)
I decide to move out of the hostel and live with a family for my last
week in Quito. After my Spanish class, Kutty, the mother of the
family picks me up from the school and I take my luggage to the house
of the family. It turns out to be an apartment very close to my
school, and it is pretty nice. Finally a nice big room with a nice
bed for myself, and a nice powerful hot shower... I pay $13 per day
to live with the family, including three meals.
11/6/2001
The family here is different than the one in Guatemala - young
parents, two kids, and a maid. The father Adrian has started his own
company in the clothing business. Understanding them is still
difficult, even with my improved Spanish. Especially Maria-Jose, the
three year old girl, is heard to understand. Her sister is just 3
months old, and doesn't speak very much :)
In the evening, after my Spanish class, I join a cooking class,
organized by my school. It is actually the wive of the director of
the language school that shows some other students and me how to
make "fritadas", a hearty meal of pork chops, potatos, rice, bananas,
salad. Recipe (actually just the list of ingredience) as follows:
- 3 kilos de carne de chancho
- 5 libras de papas
- 10 platanos de maduras
- 1 poraon de mote
- 1/2 kilo de cebolla colorada
- 1/2 kilo de tomate
- 1 ramita de cilantro
- 2 limones
- 2 cdtas de aceite
- sal
- ajos
- cebolla blanca
- 2 tomates de arbol
- 2 ajies
Ok, I already see everyone running to the kitchen... Come on, Art,
piece of a cake!
Ecuador to the World Cup 2002!
11/7/2001
Today is the day, the historic day in Ecuador. People don't work
today, and everybody is just talking about one thing - soccer. Today
is the qualification game for the 2002 world cup, and Ecuador has to
play Uruguay. The phrase of the day is 'si se puede!', which means
about 'yes - they can do it!'
Of course I don't have a ticket as frequent reader of my travel
reports already know, but this morning, Kutty tells me that her
husband found some tickets for $25 on the blackmarket in the streets.
Hence, without hesitation, we'll leave together to meet him and also
find a ticket for me. More than easy, I buy a ticket for $15, which
is the original price! Falsified or not, 1 hour later, I sit together
with Kutty and Adrian in the stadium, together with 45000 crazy fans!
We already went to the stadium at 1pm, even with the game starting at
4pm. A good decision - The stadium is already overfull, and we find
some seats on the stairs. Everywhere is yellow, and I fit in nicely,
since I just bought a shirt of the Ecuadorian team. It's a long
waiting time, but the fans warm themselves up with singing, and
enough beer and food is available as well. Security is high, and a
hundred policemen surround the soccer field.
Finally - start off the game! The people are excited, the la ola runs
through the stadium. You can hear 'si se puede!' and songs
like 'vamos ecuatorianos, esta tarde, debemos a ganar' (let's go
Equatorians, it's late, we have to win). Planes of the Equatorian air
force fly over the stadium, leaving stripes of the national colors of
Equador: yellow, blue, and red. The game is promising, Equador pushes
a lot and has 95% of the game. However, shortly before the end of the
first half, the frustrating 1:0 of Uruguay, a penalty shot. Shocking
for the 45000 in the stadium.
But the fans keep pushing their team, and Ecuador keeps trying to
make a goal. Finally, 20 minutes before the end of the game, the 1:1!
Everybody is off their seats, cheering loud. Ecuador holds the result
until the end of the game, securing their first participation at the
world cup.
Later, many people meet in the streets, I join the party in Avenida
Amazonas. People party, dance (of course Salsa...) and drink.
Unfortunately, there are some fights as well, and cars that try to
get through the crowd get pushed by the people without mercy. Well
doesn't change that I was witness of an awesome day of Ecuadorian
(soccer) history!
11/8/2001
Nothing much today, my Spanish class and some Internet-ting.
11/9/2001
I'm planning to take the scenic train from Quito to Riobamba tomorrow
morning. However, as I arrive at the ticket office, I got told that
the train does not run anymore... Hence I buy a bus ticket to
Riobamba instead. A ticket that should cause some trouble later...
Nothing much more today than my Spanish class.
11/10/2001
My last two hours of Spanish! It's nice, my head is full of too much
Spanish grammer, and I need some time to sort it all out. Today is
the worldcup qualification game Germany - Ukraine, but I don't find a
place to watch it, so I have to read the final score of 1:1 in the
internet. The second game next Wednesday will decide whether Germany
will embarrass itself and not qualify for the world cup.
This evening I'm invited to the place of my Ecuadorian friend I knew
from Clemson. She and her husband have a little party with Cheese
Fondue and some of their friends. I manage to reach the place by
taxi, and enjoy a great view over Quito at night from their
apartment. The evening is very nice, and the Fondue great, and I
drink to much of a drink... how was it called again... well whatever,
you light it up, then put your hand on the glass, which gets sucked
in, then you take the fumes in your hands, drink up, and smell the
fumes from your hand.
11/11/2001
I manage to pack all my stuff, say goodbye to the family and reach
the bus terminal in time. Here is were the trouble starts - the date
(which I didn't pay much attention to) is wrong - it is the date when
I bought the bus ticket and not today! The stubborn bus driver is
happy to make get some money from a Gringo and does not let me in the
bus. Instead he tells me I have to buy a new ticket. A discussion
starts that ends nowhere, and I do what I should have done much
earlier - get the police. The policeman is very helpful, ready to
stop the bus and let me in, but I have talked to long to the
busdriver, and the bus is gone. Even worse, since it is Sunday, there
is noone in the bus office anymore, and I have the choice to wait 4
hours to claim my money back from the missed bus. The ticket is only
$3, so I decide I can't help it and take the next bus from a
different company.
Some of you might say $3 is not worth the trouble, but it is more a
principal question - just that you are a somewhat rich traveller in a
poor country does not give the right for people to treat you wrong or
unfair. Also, one must consider that a typical lunch in Quito is $1-
$2, and you can stay in a hotel for $3, which puts the $3 in good
perspective.
Whatever, I'm off to Riobamba, where I want to take a spectacular
train ride, trough the so-called 'Devils Nose'...
Riobamba and the Devils Nose
11/12/2001
The bus ride was pretty much without problems, and a local bus
brought me into the center of Riobamba, where I found a cheap hotel.
The hotel is a big house with a huge wooden staircase, pretty cool.
My room is only $2, pretty big, but also in the state of
decomposition.
From Riobamba leaves the spectacular and touristic train that goes
along the mountains, down to a place called Alausi. Unfortunately,
the train does not go on Monday and Tuesday, so I have to wait two
days until Wednesday. There is a little hill in town, and from the
viewing platform I have a nice view over Riobamba, and I also see
Ecuadors highest peak in the clouds - the Chimborazo, at 6310m. So my
plan is to go there tomorrow (there are tours just to the base camp
at 5000m). However, I did not manage to organize enough people for a
cheap tour, so I have to waste another day in town!
11/13/2001
So I use the time for some internetting. I also manage to lock my key
inside my room, well they have spare keys, don't they? As I ask the
receptionist, I just get an empty look and a shaking of his head - no
spare keys! Also, the guy does not seem to make any attempt to help
me in any way and resolve the problem. After I push him a little, he
walks up to the door with a long metal stick and tries to break it
open! I'm just watching him, unsure what to do, the guy from the
hotel breaking the door of one of the hotel rooms. He is getting the
door open a little gap, and I remember that I left the key on a chair
close to the door. So I interrupt him before he totally destroys the
door, and manage to pull the chair closer to the door, with the
stick. I'm able to put my hand through the gap of the door, and yes,
the key is sitting on it!
At 6pm, I head off to buy the tickets for the train ride. They are
extremely expensive ($15!), but well, as I arrive at the train
station I can well see that this is a tourist thing - hundreds
of 'Gringos' waiting in line to get their train tickets!
11/14/2001
The train leaves early, so I leave my hotel at around 6:30am. Right
at the door I meet Johan from Holland, who should become my travel
partner for some time. We walk together for the train station, and
here is the train, almost ready to leave, and the roof of one car is
filled with tourists. Oh yes, I forgot to say, the people ride on the
top of the train! We climb on top of the roof and find an
empty 'seat'. The people sit along the roof, perpendicular to the
trains's driving direction, pretty cramped together. Ambitious sales
people run arround, selling coffee, food, and seat cushions.
Finally, 8am, the train starts moving! I can't help having a
strong 'Disney Land' experience, as the train moves slowely out of
the city. One might wonder what the local people actually think of a
bunch of crazy tourist sitting on the roof of a train, all excited!
In fact, most of the people have a very sceptical look on their face,
or just don't care at all. However, most of the kids wave excitedly
towards the train, as it makes it way through suburbs of Riobamba. I
enjoy the view of the landscape as we are leaving the city. Also, it
is interesting to see the suburbs of the Riobamba, something you
don't get usually to see. People are working on the fields, also a
lot of poor houses become visible.
After the initial excitement, I also become aware that I have to
spend more than 6 hours on the uncomfortable roof! So I start a long
and interesting conversation with Johan, who is sitting next to me.
As a matter of fact, Johan started an internet site in Holland that
provides dating service. So we share thoughts about running a
company, marketing, and the internet, as the train makes its way
through the mountains of Ecuador, giving some great views.
A funny side note is about Johan's travel guide. First, I might need
to explain that there are a couple of travel guides out there that
are specifically written for backpackers. They list all the cheap
hotels, restaurants etc..., and focus on the 'off the beaten track',
i.e., the special, non-touristic, natural places in a country. One of
the most popular guides is the Lonely Planet series, and while
backpacking you will meet tons of people carrying this guide around.
This has the side effect that once the Lonely Planet mentions
some 'secret non-touristic spot', lots of people go there, and after
5 years there place can change significantly, becoming very touristic
and spoiled. So Johan and I talk about it, and Johan tells me one
just needs to throw away the Lonely Planet book and explore stuff on
your own. Right in this moment he realizes that he actually forgot
his book in his hotel room! I guess his unconscious mind was nicely
supporting him in his idea to explore stuff on his own ;)
Finally we arrive in Alausi. Actually, the train was just a normal
passenger train with the purpose to connect the big cities of
Ecuador, Guayaquil and Quito. Now it is mainly the tourist
attraction, due to the a part of the trip, called the "devils nose".
The devils nose, an almost perpendicular wall of rock, presented the
biggest challenge while building the railway. A zig-zag was carved
out of the rock, which allows the train, by advancing and backing up,
to make the height difference of 3000m. Hence, the railway was
called "the most difficult railway of the world" when it was built,
a "masterpiece of railway engineering".
So the train leaves Alausi for the devils nose. This part gives the
train ride a good thrill factor - we are sitting on the roof, the
train rattling slowly along its way on its narrow path, and below it
goes down for hundreds of meters to the valley. One should not think
what would happen in case of derailment... The crazy sales people are
still on top of the train, and while they are selling their stuff,
they need to take the hands of the tourists to ensure a half-way safe
stand.
The view is awesome, big walls of mountain just facing us on the
other side. At the end of the trip, the train performs a complicated
turn-around, and back it goes to Alausi. All in all, a very tourist
trip, but a really great experience.
From Alausi, we take the bus right away to Cuenca, where we arrive in
the evening.
Cuenca
11/15/2001
Sometimes you go to a place and you like everything right from the
beginning. That is what happened to me in Cuenca - A pretty city with
many nice colonial buildings, good cheap restaurants and hotels, and
friendly people. Johan and I do some walking through the city and
take some time to relax.
11/16/2001
The day starts with some organizational stuff. Johan finds a new
travel guide since he lost his. I finally had to ship a couple of
things that I bought in the markets, it just became to much to carry.
International mail is very expensive in Ecuador - I pay $30 to ship a
package of 2kg, with contents worth $15!
At this point, I also need to decide how to go on - my initial plan
was to go all the way to Brazil, which seems a big project - the
distances are huge. The alternative to go North to Colombia seems
interesting, but the Guerilla situation there makes travelling pretty
unsafe.
Finally I postpone the decision and go a bit further south - Johan
wants to do a horseback riding tour in Vilcabamba, so I decide to
join him, get out of civilization for a couple of days and make up my
mind.
Vilcabamba
11/17/2001
The bus ride from Cuenca to Loja and finally to Vilcabamba goes
without problems. In Vilcabamba, people are said to become the oldest
in the whole country, more than 100 years old. Don't know if this is
still true today, however, the place is extremely relaxing, a small
town surrounded by beautiful green mountains. We stay at the
cabanas 'Rio Yambala', which is even further out of town. An American
guy got stuck here while travelling some 20 years ago, and finally
bought a part of the country, called 'Las Palmas Reserve' and built
some nice cabanas right in the middle of the nature. Right away,
Johan and I arrange for the three-days horse riding tour, starting
the next morning.
11/18/2001
In the morning we hear the good news that two people are joining us
on the tour, and it gets cheaper for everybody. The two are a
German/Peruian couple which signed up for the tour late.
Ok, it's time to leave now, which means I have to ride a horse! Well,
no, I don't really have any horse riding experience, so it gets
pretty interesting, especially as my horse, 'Speedy', decides to do
some wild turns, which our guide, Gricerio, stops right away. He is
an experienced guide, did the tours for years, and is very helpful to
show the horses who is the boss.
The path goes up steep right away. The horses, not warmed up yet, are
struggeling on the uneven terrain. For some reason I'm leading the
group, and Speedy decides that it rather likes to eat some grass
instead of climbing up the mountain. First lession for me - show the
horse who is the boss! However, I don't enjoy very much hitting and
kicking the horse to make faster progress. After some time it goes
better, and I get used to my horse.
The path goes mainly up, sometimes down, and along steep mountain
walls. My trust in my horse rises, and the trip becomes pretty
enjoyable. There are some clouds hanging in the mountains, but the
view is great nonwhatsoever. We cross a couple of rivers and one time
we need to get off the horses and walk, since the path is too steep,
slippery, and dangerous. Finally, after three hours, we reach the
refugee, which does not have electricity, but hot water. We are
totally on our own here, a place to relax and enjoy the nature.
Gricerio makes some lunch, and after that we do a short hike to two
waterfalls. The waterfalls are nice, and we are able to see some
colorful birds as well. After dinner, I spent some time learning a
card game from our guide and playing a little.
Stepping outside, the night is totally dark, as fog is creeping up
the mountain. So we go to bed early, sleeping well for a long hike
tomorrow!
11/19/2001
The hike today goes from 2400m, where the refugee is, to a lake at
3400m. It goes steep uphill, through some morning fog. The trail
sometimes runs on top of the hills, sometimes through deep rain
forest. After four hard hours we arrive at the lake and eat some
lunch. The way back is pretty tough too, so everybody is pretty happy
to arrive the refugee in the late afternoon.
11/20/2001
The first part of the day is fun - we do a short hike to a part of
the forest, where they installed zip-lines and suspension bridges.
From a little hill, there goes the zip line down to one of the high
trees. One is connected via a little wheel to the rope, and down to
goes! It is important to stop the ride with your feet when arriving
at the tree. From there, it goes along three suspension bridges about
10m above the ground. One time we have to climb down a tree to get to
the next bridge. Secured to two ropes, there is no danger of falling
at all, but better don't have fear of heights! We do the thing two
times, then return to the refugee for lunch.
After lunch, our guide first has to find all the horses that are
running free in the meadows close to the refugee. When we leave, it
starts raining a little, but stops soon. The way back is much more
fun than the way to the refugee was the first day. First, it rather
goes down than up, which is easier on the horses, and I never have to
push my horse today. Also, I start to have the feeling of being "one"
with the horse, like in a good team.
Today is a pretty day with few clouds, so I try to get my camera out
to take a wonderful shot of the mountains in the distance, above the
valley. The "try to get the camera out" turns into a major search of
my backpack, but I still cannot find it... After stopping shortly, I
get this "oh shit" feeling, realizing, that my camera is gone,
somewhere on the trail. We are already too far down on our path,
there is no chance in going back today.
Back at the cabanas in the valley, I think about what could
happened... The last time I saw the camera was up in the refugee.
1. The camera dropped out of my backpack when we left and I got my
jacket out of my backpack
2. It dropped out when it stopped raining, about 1 hour on our way,
and I put my jacket back in
3. It dropped somewhere else on the way, since my backpack was not
fully closed.
Considering the small chance in finding it, my tight schedule, and
the starting rain (the camera is not much protected against rain, and
lying somewhere on the ground), I almost think of letting it go, but
then decide that I have to give it a try and return the next day.
11/21/2001
Johann is leaving today, on his way to Guayaquil, where he will fly
to the Galapagos islands, the lucky man. I actually wanted to leave
as well, but today I have to go on the "rescue mission" of my camera.
It is just me and my guide who is leaving today, back the same path
we returned yesterday. The wheather is very bad today, and it is
raining almost the whole way, at least not very strongly.
We reach the point where I first noticed the absence of my camera. We
ride a little further and then decide to go on by feet, since it is a
dangerous path for the horses, it became very slippery due to the
rain. So we walk, continuously staring at the ground, looking for the
little black cover of the camera. We reach the point where I put back
my jacket in the backpack yesterday, the first likely spot where the
camera could be, but we cannot find anything, so we keep walking.
Finally, we have to go back all the way to the refugee. Seconds
before I can spot it, Gricerio, the guide points to a spot on the
ground in front of the refugee, here it was! Lying on the ground, was
my camera. I pick it up, it is a little wet, but only on the outside,
so the mission was successful, although we had to go a long way!
The search continues, but this time for matches in the refugee, since
Gricerio want to make some tea before our way back. Again, he is
successful, and after a good cup of tea, we make our way back in the
rain. It actually a lot of fun riding now (besides the rain), since
we are only two and can go much faster. Gricerio makes our two horses
gallopp many times, so we race of the mountain edges, and the way
back is pretty quick.
We arrive back at 1:45, and later in the evening, I catch a ride back
to Vilcabamba, where I take a bus to Loja. From the Loja bus
terminal, a long distance bus leaves at 9:30 - leaving Ecuador and
taking me to a new country, to Peru.
On to Peru...