A Great Colonial Town and a National Park...

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Today I write from the lobby area of the hostal I am staying in Cuenca, Ecuador. I have been here two nights and it is now well into the third day I’ve been here. This has given me time to “acclimate” myself to the new place I’m visiting and be able to write with an open and positive frame of mind.

I decided to fly to Cuenca. Ecuador actually has two “in-country” airlines. There is TAME, which I believe is the “national” airline - though I don’t know if it’s government run or privately run. There is also AeroGal Airlines, which flies to various cities in Ecuador and Colombia, but got its start as the airline that got you to the Galapagos Islands (which everyone says I need to see, but is prohibitively expensive for this trip). I ended up buying a ticket from TAME, which was relatively simple to do. There was an office near my hostal in Quito, so I walked to the office and used enough Spanish to purchase my ticket. I bought a one-way ticket as I was uncertain if I would fly or bus back, and unlike U.S. airlines there is little price difference between two one-way tickets and one round trip ticket, so I felt I could decide later. It was a tough decision as I really shouldn’t spend the money more than I need to, but the question is this: is my time (it’s approximately a 10 hour bus ride) worth the extra $50 each way to fly? On the way down, I obviously decided the money was less important than my time, not to mention had an interesting conversation in the cab on the way to the airport. When I was leaving for the airport I actually went to my original hostal I stayed at, Hostal Huauki, as Oscar has been very helpful. Anyway, there happened to be another gentleman going to the airport about the same time so we decided to split the cab and therefore only ended up paying $2 each. It was a fine conversation and this gentleman was from Madrid, so he primarily spoke Spanish. However, he was able to speak English so for the parts I couldn’t speak in Spanish he helped. Now, there was lots of general and not very exciting conversation, but the one part that I later thought might catch attention is when I was trying to say “it is hot” (referring in the cab as it was warm in the cab from sitting in traffic). So I said in Spanish, “Es caliente”. I later started to worry if I actually said “it is hot” or “you are hot”! Now, I’m told I actually did say “it is hot” but this guy did later tell me that I had beautiful eyes...hmmm, it was likely nothing but I really need to keep practicing my Spanish.

Anyway, I have a relatively loose schedule...I have to head back to Quito on the 25th, but don’t have to be there until later in the day. That is only because I’ll be taking an overnight bus to the Amazon for a few days to check out life in the jungle as part of the bigger picture. I can say it would be a really long day to leave on the 25th and take a 10 hour bus ride to Quito, followed by another 6 hour ride from Quito to the Amazon. I also do need to keep in mind I may have little choice but fly to the coast of Ecuador as there has been some flooding, so perhaps it makes sense to tough it out on a bus and save money for a flight to Manta on the coast. I guess we’ll see...

Anyway, I flew down to Cuenca, arriving about 7PM. TAME runs a pretty nice operation: a relatively cheap flight (for Americans anyway, about $65 one way for the 45 minute flight), was relatively clean and efficient, and not only did we get a beverage we also got a pastry during this little flight. I was thinking that perhaps American airlines (not the company specifically but most airlines that operate in the United States) should take a cue.

One interesting thing I had was after winding my way through Quito airport finding where I needed to go in Spanish and receiving my boarding pass with baggage claim tag stuck to it, I arrived in Cuenca and promptly left my pass on the plane. I remembered this a ways after we went down the stairs from the plane. As an aside, it was interesting walking down a flight of stairs somewhat like the president instead of coming off a walkway in Cuenca. Anyway, I know that I have never had to show my claim tag to anyone at an airport despite being giving a tag so I hoped I would be okay. Alas, I was not...here was one of a few airports that actually checked bags...great... It ended up not being too bad as I remembered I had my malaria medicine in the bag so I showed the attendant my name on my passport and on the bottle of medicine and he was fine with that proof it was my bag. So off I went to get a cab to the hostal. It was a little bit of an adventure as it was dark and the driver didn’t know where I wanted to go at first, but we eventually communicated and I made it to the hostal. I got some dinner and pretty settled in for the night.

The next day, and first full day in the town, was “acclimation day”. I mostly walked the town getting a feel for the town. Ultimately, I may not need as much acclimation as I get a better feel for Latin America, but used it fully in this case. I ended up doing a lot of picture taking on this day of the main historic area of the town - the part most likely to be of interest to the tourist. It is a great mid-sized town with great architecture and street life. I find it is really great to see streets that are “human-sized”, meaning you can walk them and actually take something in as opposed to seemingly never ending streets of “big-box” stores and shopping malls. It is also a treat to actually see people walking the streets as opposed to the feel or need you have to drive everywhere and people have that much less interaction with each other. Even being a smaller town, there seems to be a fair amount of life in the town.

As like most Latin American cities, there is the main square. In this case, there is the statue of (I believe) General Calderon. I also know enough Ecuadorian history to at least tell you there was an important battle on the 24th of May involving the man. Hence, you see him in this park. One thing this ultimately confirms for me is that you’ll see a lot of similar names to streets in towns throughout the country. If it’s not the same name of important people, it will be dates used as names of streets for important events in history. This, of course, really isn’t so different than back in the states (except I don’t think we tend to use dates as street names as commonly) and I imagine it’s for a very similar reason as back home: a very practical way to teach history and likely help inculcate a sense of patriotism. I know one thing used back in Northeast Minneapolis are the U.S. Presidents names in order they served. I’m told that was because Northeast was commonly where Polish people migrated when coming to the United States and it was a practical way to help them learn their Presidents to obtain their citizenship. I’m sure there is a similar story in Ecuador.

So, after a day of walking and observing things such as the clearly local market (Mercado 10 de agosto - Market 10th of August using the date again just like in Quito and I’m sure elsewhere) where all sorts of freshly butchered meat was literally hanging around among other foods, I wound down the day at the Wunderbar Cafe. From all the advertising I’ve seen, it appears to be much more a tourist or gringo geared restaurant/bar. They were advertising live “blues and rock” music so I decided I had little to lose by trying it out. It was fine and while I saw very few gringos in the place (there were a couple of kids who couldn’t have been older than 16 as gringos in the place but they soon left), it did appear it was geared either to tourists, gringos, and more affluent locals. However, it also wasn’t pretentious and you could feel comfortable with just a casual shirt and jeans or a little more dressed up. I ended up having a few beers, a not terribly impressive spaghetti dinner (yes, I did fall back to familiar food...however, there were few options available), listened to a little live music including “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” in English. It was good enough for the night. I didn’t stay terribly late, however, as I knew my event for the next day...the day trip hiking in Cajas National Park starting at 8AM...
I decided to fork over the cash for a day hike tour of Cajas National Park outside of Cuenca. The cost really wasn’t so bad at a total of $47 for the day, including the somewhat pricey $10 park entrance fee (gringo pricing...if you’re a local it’s more like $1). Juan Carlos of the tour company picked me up a little after 8AM and we moved on to pick up the other family that was going on the tour this day. We made a few quick food stops along the way and then headed on the approximate 45 journey to the park. It was a pleasant drive and Juan told us things in both Spanish and English (English was for my benefit, the other family all spoke Spanish). He mentioned items such as the rivers we were crossing and how they benefited the city of Cuenca. Soon enough, though, we were traveling out of the city with the somewhat obvious changes to the terrain. Not only were there the obvious ones such as more green and less buildings, but again you could see the quality of the buildings seeming to go downward as it seemed there was less wealth as we went outside of the city. However, looking beyond the buildings we saw the mountains fast approaching, reaching literally to the clouds in the sky. Eventually, we came to the “ranger station” and Juan informed us we would need to register inside, plus pay the entrance fee. Juan mentioned we would need our passport number. I really need to memorize this number and usually I am pretty good at numbers, but haven’t quite gotten around to it yet. Keep in mind you will be asked for the number often while traveling as it is the most common ID for everyone to refer to when checking you into hotels/hostals, and any other need for an ID. Anyway, I tried to remember the number and told myself I’d make it up if need be, but ultimately there was no need. The park official never actually asked for it. He actually almost seemed to forget to collect my $10 but being the honest guy I am, handed it to him. We were then off to a “mini-hike” which went to one of nearly the highest points in the park. On this mountain top we would actually only climb about 200 feet up but would be at a height of 4300 meters (which, for Americans, is a little over 14,000 feet. According to Wikipedia, Mt. McKinley in Alaska is about 20,000 feet). The hike as far as pure distance isn’t all that much, but like at the Teleferiqo in Quito, that little distance up in the thin air was plenty to have me quickly taking deep breathes for enough air. However, we all made it to the top and spent about 15-20 minutes there observing the spectacular views, even in the cloudy day. Juan told us about three lakes in view plus mentioned how our eyes can play tricks on us; the closest lake would be about a 1 1/2 hour walk to get to it but the next lake that didn’t look all that much further would be about 5 hours. He also talked about the trout that were now in the lake. They weren’t original to the area, but stocked. However, being good predators they soon ate all the indigenous fish in the lakes. Juan also warned about the cold at the spot. It was cold without question and told me about the heavier coat he was wearing. That said, on the hill I found it tolerable...guess I can’t deny there’s still some of that Minnesotan in me. It was probably around 30F, though with a wind. Finally, from this vantage point I was able to look down and see the tour bus of other gringos that were down on the road, though not nearly as adventurous as to climb to this peak. Admittedly, the group appeared to average about 50-55 years of age, hence why they may not have been as adventurous.

Soon enough it was time to head back down and on to the main hike into the park. Our driver (not Juan) took us to another spot and dropped us off, to meet us on the other end of our hike. Juan, the other family, and me headed off the road and to the wilderness. Soon, it was quiet other than the occasional wind (which wasn’t as bad in the more valley areas) and once in a while a car passing on that road which was getting further and further away. Juan led the trail and often pointed out various plants and flowers, talking about the qualities of each. Some were used as medicines, some by the animals, and some of the flowers had qualities such as closing up on themselves when touched as a defense mechanism. That mechanism was more for when it rained so the flower wasn’t drenched and drown, but it works by touching it too. Juan pointed out flowers indigenous to the country or Andes Mountains, and provided a fair amount of information. We hiked and hiked, taking in the scenery and some exercise. It was also pretty wet ground and before too long my white tennis shoes were no longer white (and never will be again...I think I’ve come to conclude there are some of my clothes that will never see the United States again, at least for the final trip home) Mud was abounding in many places and again soon the white shoes were a little more black. There were also some slips and slides and my pants also were soon getting muddy. However, I wasn’t expecting to come out of this hike all clean and pristine so I didn’t bring light colored pants. Here’s a tip if you go to Cajas on this hike...leave the new white pants at home! However, it was all well worth it to see the sites I saw and know I was mighty high up in the sky. It was great to also see a tree whose name I presently forget but is only found in the Andes, such as in Ecuador. The most interesting part about it is its bark, which resembles paper. You can flake it away many, many times and even almost see through it. It is from multiple layers of this paper-like bark it forms a protection from the elements.

From this point, it’s a little hard to believe the Pacific Coast is only about 50 kilometers away (though down 3500-4000 meters). Ecuador is really an amazing country that I will see more of pretty soon, to go from ocean coast to mountains to jungle forest all within a distance of about the size of Colorado. After approximately 2-3 hours of hiking, looking at everything there was to see we started heading back to our car. I was tired and ready to sit, not to mention eat. We finally made it to the car and off we went to lunch at a restaurant just outside of the park. Our entire table ended up ordering the “trucha frita”, fried trout and it was a great meal. Interesting parts of this are the trout are raised naturally right there in the restaurant commons and you could see your trout swimming around before you eat it. In fact, you could pick one out like a lobster if you wished. Perhaps the only unexpected thing for me is the trout is apparently sliced open to clean its innards but otherwise just thrown on the pan and cooked. The full trout, sans innards, is what comes out to you. Cut off the head and tail and dig in! The trout pulled apart nicely and was a great meal, though I had to actually not order any beverage. The meal is included in your tour price so I didn’t think to bring much cash, but the drink wasn’t included. That was okay, however, as there was enough moisture for a great meal.

Soon lunch was completed and we headed to the van, to return to Cuenca. It was again about 45 minutes back into the city and soon enough I was being dropped back at my hostal - tired and muddy but happy I decided to take the tour. From that point, it was wash off the shoes (which are still wet at night but better than absolutely covered with mud) and keep a fairly quiet night. Soon it will be bedtime, in anticipation of another tour tomorrow, to visit the villages of Gualaceo and Chordeleg, both traditional towns and see much of the traditional craft-making in the towns.

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Photos

Calle Simon Bolivar
Here is a very typical street scene looking down Simon Bolivar in Cuenca. I really like the more narrow street as it's much more "approachable", plus you can visit many stores

El Nuevo Catedral
Here is what is probably Cuenca's architectural glory, right on the main square. It's a mammoth cathedral encompassing basically the entire square block. This is actually the back side of the cathedral, but you can see the domes better.

Front of the Cathedral
Notice the size of the Cathedral as compared to cars and people. It's an impressive work...I was later told by a local that originally there were supposed to be spires going a whole lot higher and would have made the tallest cathedral in South America. Unfortunately, the French architect that designed it didn't factor in the weight of those spires and would have started cracking the whole thing. Oh, well...it is still a massive structure.

Inside the Catedral
I was able to get into the Cathedral and took a picture. It seemed almost a little out of place to be "tourist picture taking" inside, but I'm glad I got this picture. My camera did a great job on this picture as it didn't really seem this bright in the Cathedral. Also notice the statue of Juan Pablo II (John Paul II)

From 4300 meters high
Here is a vantage point at nearly the highest point in the park.

Here's the tree...
that has the paper bark. As I think about the name I know part of the name of the tree has the Spanish version of "paper" in it but will have to research further to find the full name.

In the paper forest...
We hiked to one area of the "paper bark" trees to get a sense of what it was like. Juan compared it to something out of "Harry Potter" or some fairy tale...I couldn't argue...

Lake scene in Cajas
I thought this was a great picture, towards the end of the hike. I hope it gives a sense of the serenity and beauty of the park, even on a cloudy day.

Here's some proof I was there...
Here was about midpoint in the hike and a great viewpoint, or "mirador" for a picture.

They were white...
Yes, it is a muddy hike. I actually had already washed off my shoes before thinking about this picture.