Riobamba - A Pointless Detour

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So after Quito this was our pointless detour to Riobamba. After Quito we hoped to spend a couple of days in a nice mountain town whilst we planned a bit and caught up on some internet stuff. Unfortunately this was where not having a guidebook was a bad idea. We took out our Ecuador map which we received when we crossed the border from Colombia and looked for somewhere between Quito and the coast where we could hang out. Riobamaba was marked on our map as a historic town so after a brief internet search we decided to head there from Quito.

There were lovely views of the snowy volcanoes on the bus ride and we got into Riobamba early afternoon. The bus station is on Epiclachima and Leon Borja. We had looked up a couple of places to stay online which seemed decent prices so headed into town. Unfortunately everywhere we asked was more expensive than our last room in Quito and looked worse and had no internet. We went back to the bus station as there were several places to stay there and we assumed they would be cheaper than in town. It turned out though that most weren't.

We evenutally found a place called Hotel Monterray which was on Rey Cacha and Epiclachima right opposite the bus station. It cost $8 a night for the two of us in a room with a share bathroom. Be warned though the room was really basic but was the cheapest place going. There is internet which works downstairs but the beds were super saggy. The bus station was about 2km out of the town.

Everywhere around town the food was really overpriced even at the comedors around the bus station. The one good thing about the town was the views from the park 21 de Abril. Walk down the main street from the terminal Leon Borja and turn up Miangel Angel Leon to the park. The park itself is rundown with graffiti but has nice views of the snowy volcanoes.

After one night in the expensive and not so historic town we decided to head to the beach in Canoa. We thought it would be quicker to head back up to Latacunga and across to Bahia de Caraquez. As a saving grace to the town opposite the bus station was a woman with a pig roast. We got some really nice pork and sides for $2.50 which we shared for breakfast.

At the bus station the conductor told us there were buses leaving for Bahia from Ambato so we hopped on a bus to Ambato terminal. This left at 8:50am and cost $1.25. We arrived at the terminal at 10:15am. The conductor proudly led us to the ticket office for buses to Bahia. Unfortunately for us the bus only left at 8pm at night or a bus to Manta at 7pm.

Instead we decided to get a bus to Latachamba and see if there were buses from there. We paid a 20 cents terminal tax to exit the terminal and waited at the bay saying Latachamba. The bus pulled up and left at 10:40am. It cost $1 and arrived at the terminal at 11:45am.

From Latachamba we just missed one bus going to Quevedo so waited at the platform for the next one. Half an hour later another arrived. However it turned out everyone else had tickets. The bus driver let us sit up front on his 'bed' so we had great views but not much safety as without a seatbelt and by sitting above the driver we would have been through the windscreen in a second.

We left Latchamba at 12:25pm and the bus to Quevedo cost $4. The road was pretty windy and once we reached the top of the mountain we had views of the path down completely covered in cloud. Quevedo town was massive and the bus station was far out of town. We arrived at the terminal at 4:40pm.

We decided to call it a night in Quevedo and stayed at Hostal D'Pauita opposite the bus station for $15 for a double room with bathroom and TV. There were two hotels opposite the bus station for the same price however this hotel said they had wifi. Turned out they didn't!

The next morning we went to the terminal and caught a bus to Canoa. Note the bus terminal doesn't have an ATM. The bus left at 10am, was with Flota Bolivar and cost $6 each. Plus points they gave us bag tags, had their own waiting room with free tea/coffee/water and carried our bags onto the bus. Also there were seatbelts on the bus. On the bad side the bus driver drove as if he were in a race. We have caught several buses around Asia/Central America and South America but he was the worst. Even the locals were clinging onto the seats in front to hold themselves steady. Added to that the conductor collected our tickets and then proceeded to throw them out of the front door. Also he went through the bus collecting rubbish and then threw all of that out of the door onto the side of the road!

We eventually arrived in Canoa at 2:25pm.

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