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Published: September 21st 2008
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Ladies and Gentlemen...
Hope you have a cup of tea at the ready for the next episode of "HRH in South America". Some accompanying pictures and editorial will be appearing in "Hello" soon.
Montañita or not..
Rocked up in Montañita 7.30 on a Friday night after a 12 hour, x 4 bus trip from Baños. Within 10 minutes I'd seen 2 of my friends and dumped my stuff in an overpriced hostel and hit the town! Or actually little village full of bars and shops catering to the gringo taste for board shorts, veggie food and cold beer. Personally I thought it was all a bit fake and commercial and full of wannabes (obviously exceptions there Rebecca chick!) and a drain on financial resources. Decided about 7am that it was time to leave. Had a nice sleep first, locking another girl out of the dorm! Headed out to a place called Kamala in Mangaralta, 1k down the beach but a million miles from the noisy reggaeton fuelled montañita. Lovely clean empty beach here and fun people to hang out with, I impressed everyone with my world championship table tennis playing abilities...or not as the case maybe.
Puerto Lopez...swimming
with stingrays.
This little fishing village is a couple of hours further north. The Sol Inn was great hostal and the village had a nice laid back vibe but as it was a working bay, the beach was unfortunately littered with many a dead sea creature and one dead dog....mmm nice.
Had a fun boat trip snorkelling in the bay and saw a stingray and lots of stripy fish and saw a puffa fish all blown up too.
Canoa
Well this is more like it, nice village, not 'too' touristy, plenty of room on the beach and great cocktails! Surf's up here which makes for some fun wave dodging and marvelling at the wave masters. Stayed in a fab little bamboo teepee hut for $4 a night, I was also reading Selkirk’s Island (the real story of Robinson Crusoe) and could just imagine being shipwrecked as the waves roared and the mosquitoes squealed through the night. Had a to do a double take here as saw a real Gateshead stylee chav here, complete with checked cap perched high on the forehead and sports clothing, the young Ecuadorian must have stumbled across chavscum.com on t'internet and thought it was a
fashion site!
Well tan's topped up now, time to make a move...
A brief stopover..
It's a long way from the coast, got to Quevedo at 5.30 pm and had to stay the night in this ugly and uninspiring place. Just my luck that there's a huge rainstorm that sounds like an army marching outside my window as it hit the corrugated plastic..especially as I'm getting up at 5am!!
Not all bad though as caught an episode of 'LOST' on the cable TV! (where they are trapped in the pit and get to meet the other survivors and the stash of food is handed out).
Laguna Quilotoa
It was still dark as I left Quevedo (probably the best way to see it) and the bus started snaking up through the lush green mountains. I am told this is a spectacular journey...shame it was foggy all morning. As we climbed in altitude the tropical forest was left behind and the brown paramo appeared. The original trees here have all been felled and instead planted with Scots pine (or bamboo or Eucalyptus depending on the climate) as fast growing, money making trees.
This area is mainly populated with Indian people
in their lovely colourful outfits. Here the people look a lot poorer than in the tourist-rich north of Otavalo. The dress is more practical, a trilby hat, gold beads, many shawls (some luminous wool), woollen or velvet knee length skirts and long woolly socks with loafer shoes, sometimes with baby bundled up and tied across their backs. I was shocked to see the Chav culture had reached this far flung place as several Indian ladies were sporting Burberry scarves (you would have been proud Laura P!). I doubt that anyone knew the significance.
Had the best potato cakes, with tomato and red onion for brekkie on the bus, only 25 cents and probably very tasty for being fried in pig fat but hey ho.
Stopped in Zumbahua and took a camioneta to the Laguna (off limits before). It's set deep in an extinct volcano crater and the most amazing emerald green in colour. It's off limits for swimming because of its toxicity. It’s bloody freezing up here and b. it's full of toxic volcano substances. Had a cup of tea at the cafe and caused great amusement when I found out that I'd spooned salt in my tea instead of
sugar!
Contemplated staying up here but it was too cold and miserable so opted to get back on the bus for Latacunga.
NB. Bus Food
Hit and miss..the potato patties are definitely the best food I've had on a bus. Choice ranges from packaged biscuits and chocolates (plus handmade crisps, popcorn, bags of beans, bags of juice, bottles of pop) dished out by your average hawker to fresh roadside food, usually distributed by small children with large trays. Such as cheesy maize biscuits (rank, it went out the window), ginger maize biscuits (impossible to eat without a cup of coffee), fried mystery meat, cheesy bread rings, cheesy bread cakes, salchipapas (dodgy sausage with chips) and empanadas (made here from squashed platano instead of pastry). Or you can stick to pre bought supermarket food...
NB.2
Bus etiquette
Easy to find your bus, men will be shouting out the name of the destinations at the bus station.
No need to buy a ticket first, just jump on and bus boy will collect your money later (except for posh long distance buses where you negotiate the price at the sales counter 10 mins before it leaves)
Everyone wants to sit near the front, go to the back if you don't want to share your seat
As the bus fills up, you might have to share. Move your rucksack away from the spare seat as women are passing, you don’t want a macho seat-hogging man. Sharing with men means being squashed in the corner as they put their hands behind their head and stick their legs out to the side.
If you are a local, don't move over to let the other person have the aisle seat, simply move your legs to the side and expect the other person to squeeze past.
If you are an old local man, hockle and spit out of the window
If you are the bus driver, take as long as you want for lunch at the roadside cafe, then jump up and rev your engines whilst everyone else is still eating.
You can almost guarantee that the person in front will put their seat right back, thus invading your gringo long leg room and personal space
Latacunga, a blast from the past..
Yes, a short stop over was needed, sick of cramped buses and Ritz biscuits! Funny that I've ended up in the same room, at the same hotel, eating the same dish at the same restaurant at the same table and typing this at the same internet cafe! I guess it's nice to return to the familiar now and again (which is the same reason why the golden gates are so alluring in foreign climes!). Though had to complain when the cleaning girl tried to charge me $10 for the room when I paid 7 before...I'm a valued customer don't you know??
Riobamba
Nothing really to shout about here, it's just an everyday city but pretty safe and friendly but I've bagged a great hotel (thanks for the tip Helen). I am here for the famous Devils Nose train ride, where the train climbs an almost vertical rock face on a zig-zagging track. The novelty now is to sit on the roof and take in the views! Only tomorrow, they haven't got the old steam train but a bus on wheels..nevermind. Perhaps this is better. I met a girl who said the journey took them 12 hours (instead of the usual 5) because the train de-railed 3 times!
So, I'll let you know whether I managed ride a locomotive James Bond style in my next instalment...onwards to Cuenca, Loja and Peru!
Choo, choo! xxx
Hope they're all ready for my Ivor the Engine impressions!
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