Cuenca to Vicabamba to Zaruma to Jambeli

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We left early in the morning for Vilcabamba, picked up our good friends David and Sumana and headed out for the Southern states of Ecuador. The drive is another spectacular route over a less than spectacular road. We snap some pics along the way. Our first stop is the town of Loja a cute town and the capital of the province. The people of Cuenca say that Loja is like Cuenca 20 years ago. The town does not have the same building regulations as Cuenca, so a lot of the colonial architecture is missing. It does have apparently, a good hair stylist since both Cristie and Sumana wanted to get their hair cut in the square. I opted to sleep in the Iron Pig, since the night before I must have eaten something not too agreeable with me, probably some of my own cooking. Dave roamed around the town and when the girls finished their coiffeurs, they had lunch. We got back on the road and immediately got lost in town and wasted a half hour until I finally broke down and hired a cab to lead us out. This is becoming an annoying necessity in many of the towns we pass through. Finally back on the road for the short trip to Vilcabamba. The road meanders along side of the river for several kilometers with some spectacular scenes of farm and village life. Arriving in Vilcabamba, we search out an Inn. My priorities are a bed and toilet. Of course it takes us a while to find a place the usual places are booked up or have live bands playing right next to the room. And from past experience the Ecuadorians like to party to the wee hours of the morning. We do find a cute looking place called Hostal Parisio. It may have been Paradise outside but inside it was Hell. I really didn’t care but the next day we moved to a new Hosteria called Ramses. Although it was still under construction it was very comfortable and the grounds were full of fruit trees and flowers. Price $15 per person. This was the first time we had stayed in the village, usually we stay at either Izhcayluma or Madre Tierra. We did eat at Madre Tierra and had some drinks at Izhcayluma. Madre Tierra is a fantastic hotel just outside of town with tropical plants and flowers everywhere, a great little pool which has candles floating on palm leaves at night. The table setting and food is some of the best in Ecuador. All produce is grown organically and blessed by a local shaman. Carol, the owner, sets out horchata, a drink made by the infusion of 20 herbs, plants, flowers, and various other weeds. It is delicious and refreshing. It is not at all like the Mexican version which is basically a cinnamon rice milk. The room choices at Madre Tierra are varied, from the tired back packer accommodation to luxurious rooms with private balconies. Prices are $12 to $30 per person which includes breakfast and dinner. Before dinner we went over to Izhcayluma for a drink. The hostel is set on the top of a hill with sweeping views of the Valley of Ancients and the sleepy little Vilcabamba village. For breakfast everyday we walked over to Jardin Escondido for their excellent Mexican food and cold beer. Another great thing about the village is that there are several places to get massages for $8 and hour, facials for $5, and pedicures for $3. Of course our little band of travelers had the places booked up for three days. If hiking and riding horses are your thing, there are numerous choices for you, if you just want to eat, drink, lay by the pool, and get pampered, Vilcabamba might also be the place for you.

The next leg of our adventure would be to return back to Loja, try to get through town without hiring a taxi, and head for the Cathedral at El Cisne. The Cathedral houses La Virgen del Cisne, an ornate statue of the Virgin Mary. Although the statue is small in size, the importance of her is felt all over central and southern Ecuador. Everywhere you go you see her image on cars, buildings, names of stores, and streets. When I bought the Pig it had three stickers of the Virgen attached to it. I don’t know if it helps but the Pig doesn’t have a dent in it, so I purchased one more sticker and promptly attached it to the rear window. I am sure that few gringos go out of their way to visit this little town up in the mountains but I thought it was an important thing to do. The Cathedral was enormous in comparison to the town. Kind of strange.

Next stop, the hillside mining town of Zaruma. Our maps shows a short cut of a significant distance so we take it. A 3 hour washboard road with awesome views awaited us. If you have the time and are willing to bump along, take the short cut, if not the long way around is a very good road and supposedly takes only 2 hours. The country side in Ecuador changes fast with extreme changes in elevation in very short distances. So many of the roads wind through out he mountains with precipitous drops and then plunge down to the valley and along the river until you begin your ascent of the next mountain. The entire time you are traveling through different micro climates with a complete change in plants and birds. There is an especially attractive altitude that promotes cloud forest and if you drive anywhere in the highlands you will pass through this level. The fern trees are enormous, waterfalls trickle or rush down the sides of the hills, and the roads are always in disrepair from the constant moisture in the air. We are glad to arrive in Zaruma, we search for some accommodations, and wind up at Hotel Roland, a little hotel perched on the edge of the cliff. Great views and a good place for a cool beverage. Zaruma is a gold mining town and we met some miners from Canada who were doing some drilling on some previously abandoned mines. The town has the steepest streets that I have ever driven on. I finally had to put the Iron Pig into granny gear. I thought I would only use that gear out in the wild somewhere, but no right here in downtown Zaruma we put it to the test and the Pig passed. There are mining museums and mines to explore but we opted to head out the next morning for the coast, about a three hour drive from 5000 ft down to sea level. The road is great and the drive is, again stunning. The road goes through a protected national preserve, which has the vegetation of a secondary jungle with deep ravines and rivers. As we get to lower levels the cattle change from strictly dairy cows of the highlands to the Brahma mixed beef cattle of the lowlands. A traffic jam of some type of livestock can await you at any turn in Ecuador and usually does.
Next on the itinerary is Machala, a port city and the banana capital of the world. Driving in from any side of Machala, the roads go through massive banana plantations and trucks loaded down with the fruit. The other major export from this port is shrimp. All along the coast there are shrimp farms and mangrove swamps. We grab a bite of lunch in the port of Bolivar, at Dave and Sumana’s favorite place, Waikiki. The ceviche was delicious and the Pilseners cold. Here we have to park the Pig for the boat ride to the island of Jambeli where we plan to stay for a few days. The ride is about 45 minutes across the bay and through the mangroves . We have some on board entertainment of a group of young Ecuadorians drinking Johnny Walker and involving us in their revelry. We saw them later in the day with the bottle almost empty, their revelry a little less involved, and their gait a little more crooked. Jambeli is a somewhat shabby little island lined with shabby places to stay and a shabby little malecon. But everything is located on the beach with little restaurants and bars to hang out in, watch the kids play, surf roll in and sunsets in the evening. Along the beach are piles of fruit and drink blender stands. Fresh juice for breakfast, pina coladas for lunch, and daiquiris for dinner. Whenever we go to the coast, I always have for breakfast a Bolon de Verde, translated Balls of Green. They are green bananas or plantains that are mashed up and mixed with either cheese or fried pork fat and grilled over an open fire. They taste somewhat like hash browns and are good with hot sauce or ketchup. (photo supplied) Our hotel was at the end of the malecon, very quiet, $8 a night, with very uncomfortable beds. Although it did have great Pacific views from the patios, from where we could watch the flight of the various sea birds and paraqueets. The hotel is called Arena Blanco, meaning white sand, and has several hammocks hanging around, perfect for lazy afternoons of reading or napping. Also, a kitchen for our use which is necessary because of our early morning addiction for coffee. Sumana and Cristie rescued a kitten from certain peril and kept it well fed with leftovers, tuna fish, and milk. Dave helped out when we left by giving our caretaker a few dollars to keep the kitten going until it could fend for itself. There is no lack of scrawny kittens and lean dogs running around the beach, I guess people must drop them off here regularly. Well, we decided to cut our stay a day short because the beds were so hard to sleep on and head back to the mainland. Back to the boat and back to the restaurant in Port Bolivar for some fried shrimp, ceviche, and sea bass with a seafood sauce filled with shrimp, mussels, clams, and squid.

Back on the road and next stop the Yungillia Valley, and a Hosteria owned by the architect of our condo. Hosteria de los Fichus is a product of a very imaginative owner, with huge metal bug sculptures, whimsical design, putt-putt course rambling around the property both inside and out of buildings. The site is on the top of a huge hill that offers spectacular views in all directions. The rooms are comfortable and the pool has a nice setting. The price was $30 per person which seemed a little steep and the dinner was roast pork or ribs which was good but not great. It is located only an hour and a half from Cuenca. The next morning we left for home. It is good to be home.

Norris and Cristie

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Photos

Beers somewhere in Vilcabamba
Noris, Sumana, David

Mandango
Spiritual Center of Vilcabamba

Parrot
Damn, I had the camera upside down

Happy Dave
Photographer or Subject?

Iron Pig
You expect me to drive through that? Yep!

Firewood
We'll be Cooking Tonight

Gate
Watch for the first few steps

Looking Back From Zaruma
We drove through that? Yep!

El Cisne
Large Cathedral Small Village

Comments

[jeremy davison]

Great Adventure!!
Hey Chef!, So good to hear from ya. Looked like a hell of a trip. I'm not too sure that I would have the stamina needed for such a trip. I, however, am a spoiled little bitch when it comes to that sort of stuff. I like comfortability very much. But it did look like it was all worth it. Just bought a new house out in henderson. Wife good. Baby good, even though she's usually an uncontrollable, unstopping nightmare of a child. We love her anyways. So take care. I enjoy your travel blogs, you write and set the scene very well. talk to ya soon, jeremy