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Published: March 25th 2008
Quito, being somewhere relatively near the middle of the country, serves as a good "base point" between trips. I just bused back from Cuenca and tonight will head out to the Amazon. It's been mostly a blast so far...
I actually left Cuenca on Monday late morning. The road from Cuenca to Quito is about 442 kilometers (275 miles) is isn't a terribly long distance but about a 10-12 hour bus ride. As you know, I flew down but decided I would try the bus back. However, I split the trip into two days. I took one bus to Riobamba, a city of some size around the halfway point (distance-wise anyway). That was a 6 hour trip and I didn't like it much at all. I left around 1PM as that about when I got to the bus station (which, by the way, is pretty nice in Cuenca). The bus headed out and made stops at seemingly every possible town along the way. There was one interesting stop from a personal standpoint, however. We made a stop in a small town called Cañar. This is special because it is the hometown of at least a few of my co-workers back at Mac Shack. Unfortunately, I didn't get a great picture but will have something to send to Mac Shack to show Luz, Maria, and Alfredo.
The first bus ride was generally uneventful, but long and uncomfortable. The person in front of me had his seat down, every seat was filled and the aisle was chock full of people, I had some of my bags between my legs, and the bus went painfully slow when it was driving. Now, this is understandable given the driving conditions but still unpleasant. The road/highway is in the mountains so lots of slow climbing and going back down the mountains, plus switchbacks. Furthermore, there were times in the mountains where the "road" was a muddy dirt road (lots of rain in the region) and at times went down to one lane for both directions. There were no curbs but were ditches that, if the driver wasn't paying attention, would at the very least send the bus into serious repairs, if not wreck it altogether. Of course, it was either in the ditch or just off the side of the cliff. With rain, there was the additional concern of if the bus would get stuck with all of us on board (again, about 40 seats all full plus at times 20 or so more people standing in the aisle). Perhaps the only comforting thing is cars were coming from the other direction at times, seeming to imply that you could get through on the road.
There is actually a bathroom on the bus, but again with all the people in the aisle, there was no realistic way of getting to it. Fortunately, I planned ahead and did what I could to "empty myself out" ahead of time and intentionally drank/ate as little as possible during the ride so there wasn't an issue needing to use the bathroom. However, being honest my rear got sore from sitting all that time and there really wasn't an option to stand with my having a window seat. About the best I could do is prop myself up on a armrest and reposition myself.
After six hours or so, we finally rode into Riobamba (or at least the outskirts where apparently you get dropped off at night). It was night time, of course, and that didn't help me a whole lot. Some guy walked up and said something in Spanish, though eventually said "taxi?" and I said yes. I knew the hotel I was planning on going to, but didn't have a reservation. I simply hoped there would be room and if not, there would be choices nearby. Anyway, we walked to his car which looked just like a regular car versus a taxi. I got in and his wife (I'm guessing anyway) seemed pleasant enough. However, I went on a leap of faith that the car that I doubt was a "legal" taxi was actually going to take me to the hotel. However, they asked where to go and after they didn't recognize the name of the hotel, I showed my tour pamphlet of the place with the address. At first, we drove through seemingly nothing but soon enough came upon Riobamba. I went inside and not only was there room, I think I was the lone guest in the hotel...Todd, my old GM at Holiday Inn, you would be disappointed with the M04 for that day...total revenue for the hotel was $12.00 - and I was fed breakfast the next morning out of it. The room was basic and pretty shopworn, but had television plus phone. The room was clean and bed mostly comfortable.
Today I was going to try to get a car to drive me to Quito but had no luck as they were already booked. That said, I headed back to the bus to prepare for another long journey. However, this bus was better as it never filled up so I had my own seat the whole time but the road between Riobamba and Quito was much less mountains and fully paved the whole time. That said, the journey of about the same distance was only about 3-4 hours. Altogether, much more tolerable. There was the normal vendors getting on board on most stops to sell food and beverage, plus newspapers and CD's. Also, there was a sales pitch on what seemed to be some health-food mix you could buy. I ultimately did buy a bottle of water as bottled water that is sealed seems pretty safe.
So, I'm back in Quito at the overpriced gringo restaurant in La Mariscal. The food is good and I get free wi-fi, hence I put up with the prices. However, I should go get some money and pay the travel agency so I can be ready for my next journey to the Amazon tonight. It appears the time in the jungle will hit the mid to upper 90's, if not break the 100 mark. You may not hear from me for a few days as I have no idea about internet service. However, I expect I'll have good stories upon my return to Quito for a few days, before heading to Guatemala for a hotel conference.
Hasta luego, mi amigos...
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Steve
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Great Stories
Hey Gary, I enjoy the pictures and the stories! Have fun in the Amazon! Take Care, ~Steve