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Published: January 28th 2006
Me and Cotopaxi
Me standing in front of Cotopaxi during the trip up. MAN is it beautifulWow, what a... week? Haven't really been keeping track, but whatever it has been it has been great.
First of all, there are some pics online from my jungle trip. You can find them
here. If anyone can figure out how to get the pics off of there please let me know!
The first thing to report is a second (less dangerous) biking trip to Cotopaxi, the world's highest active valcano. After some amazing views of the glaciated valcano we finished our two hour drive at the Refugio (a shack marking the basecamp of all mountains down here) at an astonishing 4865 meters. Breathing at this altitude is not easy: it feels as though you are reaching for something you just can't grasp. After the usual pep talk and gearing up, our crew began the descent down the rough dirt road zigzagging down the side of the valcano. Honey (yes, that is her real name) and I led the pack on the downhill, stopping often to take in the view of the perfectly flat (because of the last eruption's lava flow), desolate, boulder ridden valley marking the bottom of the valcano. About an hour later we were riding (on
and off road) along the valley before pausing for a great lunch, before again biking along the valley to the exit of the park some four hours later. Horses, cows, rabbits, guinea pigs abound, it made for one incredible day.
From there I returned to Quito for a needed rest before my next adventure back to Cotopaxi for some much needed camping. Leaving on Wednesday morning with my friend Justin (a whales guy) we spent the first while putsing along looking for a bank that would be able to get Justin some money. Becoming impatient (I had waited all morning for him to get ready) I convinced him to try his luck in Machachi, the town near Cotopaxi National Park that we would be arriving at via bus. Big mistake... kind of. We ended up spending all day going from bank to bank looking for someone who could help us out. Apparently banks down here cannot a)exchange money (he had some pounds on him), b)access international banks or c)charge money on credit card... So, between us we had a scant $50 (with a taxi to the park costing $15 each way and entrance being $10 each) which, as it
View from hostel
One of the views from the hostel's awesome terrace (sadly not the best one) would turn out, be much more than we needed.
As we were wandering around, slightly distressed, a young latin guy sporting a nice cowboy hat approached us and, in smooth but somewhat shabby English, asked us whether he could help out. Explaining our situation, he offered to let us stay at his farm for the night free of charge. So, somewhat hesitantly but also keenly following the scent of adventure, we climbed into the back of his pig-feed loaded pickup and began our ascent towards his farm. The scenery was breathtaking as we slowly drove through tiny, gringo-less villages with children waving and women blushing (both of which I enjoyed a lot). It became clear that we were either going to be robbed or that we were going to get a fantastic sense of Ecuadorian life. Luckily we got the latter.
It turns out that Chile (his nickname: neither of us could pronounce his real name) made cheese and had quite the operation (by Ecuadorian standards). His house was a beatiful, aristocratic sort with a lovely porch and a fantastic view of a valley squished between two Andean peaks about 10 km from Cotopaxi. After showing us around,
View of newtown
View of Newtown (the newer part of Quito, not where I live or visit often) introducing us to some really cute, inquisitive kids, Justin and I left Chile to his work and wandered the local villages and soaked in the amazing views. Again I was struck by just how happy people were living in what Westerners (yes Daniel, I realize I am in the western hemisphere!) would consider inhabitable squaler. I feel as though at this point I have gone past just tasting the culture here and can now spit it back out (not in a rejecting way, of course). People seem very connected to their surroundings, almost as if they grew strait out of the ground they now farm. It is as if there are no masks, nothing seperating their minds from their world.
Getting back to Chile's house soon after sundown, we were immediately in awe while gazing at the sky. A combination of zero light pollution (90% of the houses in this area don't have electricity) and the altitude made the stars more abundant (UNBELIEVABLE) and bright. We must have sat staring at the sky for an hour... it was like nothing I could every imagine. Suddenly the Chile's maid came and guided us, in the pitch black, along a dirt
road (made more trecherous by the fact that we both had our eyes on the sky) to Chile's pig pen. Inside were some very friendly workers who explained to us the pig business (my spanish is coming along...). After Chile said his goodnights we returned to his house to for a late tuna/instant noodles dinner and some very cheap (try $1.20 for 15 oz) but decent rum. After dinner Chile went to do some work and Justin and I (at Justin's request) explained some things about existentialism, chaos, and physics while looking at the stars - there is no better setting!
We were woken up, crammed together in a tiny but comfy bed, by Chile two hours past the last departure time of any bus from this area towards the park (Chile promised to get us on that bus). As Justin put is "Ecuadorians just don't know the meaning of timing" - and he should know: he is living with his Ecuadorian girlfriend's family for a few months and is repeatedly amazed at how lax people are about timing. If someone says "I will come work on your garden tomorrow", he really means within the week. It is just
Music Night
The terrace on a wednesday night, featuring local music by awesome guys in ponchos. Good times... a totally different vibe here, especially outside the city...your heart beats a little slower and your mind wanders much more often. It's lovely. Anyway, Justin and I threw our packs on our backs and started the day's hike to the park, only to find a ride (via raised thumbs) about 2 km into the 10 km journey. Our driver was a local farmer who has never ventured outside Ecuador but is very worldly (knew Toronto, Ontario, and even a good amount of canadian history). Dropping us about 2 km from the park entrance (but now on a flat road) we trekked towards the park, meeting an Ecuadorian kid who really liked my new Panama hat (and laughed at our accents).
Once at the gate I got free entry with my stub from the bike trip and Justin, explainning to the old and friendly guard (who wore a cap with a pot leaf on it, although I don't think he knew what it was) our situation , got in free also. Walking about 2 kms (but who's counting in that scenery!) we arrived at the posh and expensive hostel inside the park. Surrounded by the perfectly flat valley filled with
On the way out of Quito
On the way out of Quito on the way to Cotopaxi for biking enormous rocks (tossed out by the last erruption in the 1870s) at the base of Cotopaxi, the hostel featured a bamboo/straw hut for cheaper accomidation and a very nice restaurant with luxury accomidation (catering primarily to tour groups). It was here that I met the first travellers that I really did not like. Let me explain.
Inside the restaurant we met a group of american tourists, average age maybe... forty, who were doing a luxury tour of local hikes (including the summit of Cotopaxi). Normally when meeting travellers the first thing you do is exchange "where are you from?"s, "how long are you here?"s and the like. But, with these people, it was obvious that they were trying to outdo eachother in the stereotypical, arrogant, rich American sort of way and that they loved the opportunity to explain their wealth to people they meet. Without knowing whether they have families, how long they were down here, or anything of that sort (hell, one even skipped his name!) we found out that many owned their own companies and some were lawyers or whatnot. None bothered to ask about me or my life... not that I would really have liked bothering
On the way out of Quito 2
On the way out of Quito on the way to Cotopaxi for biking to explain. But it wasn't finding out that the binoculars they were using "were the best money could buy" or that "the guides cost $200 a day, but who cares!?" that bothered me, it was one particular comment that many me cringe. Sitting at the dinner table, improperly using grammar to construct hallow but complex sentences (they really spent most of their time trying to outdo eachother, really pathetic actually), I overheard one ask the other "how are you enjoying the culture here?" to which the other replied "simple lives with simple pleasures" and smirked and sipped his expensive white wine in a crystal glass gripped around the body (which made me laugh out loud).
The comment bothered me in two ways, at least. The first was that I am entirely sure that the guy (who, Justin and I agreed, sounded exactly like Ernie from Sesame street) didn't know a single Ecuadorian person, nevermind a typical one. But what really struck me was that he surely didn't have "higher pleasures" (in the Hume-ian sense) all too often himself. He just had money. Money and a big ego feeding a fat mouth. As we were going to bed, he said
Me and Cotopaxi
Me standing in front of Cotopaxi during the trip up. MAN is it beautiful something like "enjoy sleeping in that tent" (in a very arrogant tone) to which I replied "at least this way I know I am in Ecuador". On the way to the tent we passed through a herd of Llamas. The next day one of the guys asked, from inside the restaurant, whether there were any Llamas in the park. My attitude towards them solidified.
Anyway, we ate breakfast and hiked around the park for the day, returning to Quito in time for the seven o'clock dinner and drinks. I am really loving living in the hostel. You meet fantastic people in fantastic mindsets and learn a whole bunch about, well, everything and everywhere. It is also great to find clean underwear and, out of shock and happiness, almost further dirty the three day old ones you have on. Simple pleasures for a simple life, I guess...
This week I am going to finish my spanish lessons (20 hours left) and just hang around Quito some more. It is turning out to be a fantastic city. Then, saturday, I am going to Riobamba and further southward on "the devil's nose" train, which is really a converted school bus with
Ready...
Us getting ready to bike down Cotopaxi seats on the roof, but it travels through what is said to be one of the most beautiful areas on earth. Overall though it is really hard to make firm plans. As I said to my mom this summer, in the Yukon, it's hard to put your foot down when you always have your feet up.
Ciao for now
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