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Published: March 16th 2016
After nearly 3 months on the road in Peru, we were both looking forward to crossing the border into Ecuador. We played the 1997 iconic tune 'Ecuador' by Sash on You Tube and immediately felt euphoric about what lay ahead! Ironically, having researched a little bit more into where the video for 'Ecuador' was filmed it turns out it was produced in Lanzarote and Tenerife. What a let down!
Our time in Ecuador was limited by the fact that it took so long to obtain a Columbian and UK visa for my Iranian partner in Peru and so our cycle journey throughout this country was massively curtailed. We only managed a total of 289 KM, but I don't have any regrets whatsoever. At this stage of my journey, I've achieved what I set out to do and Ecuadorian roads are another matter!
Ecuadorian drivers are much more courteous than Peruvian drivers, the constant honking on the horns suddenly stopped and the conditions of the roads are far superior, however........Ecuadorian civil engineers never thought about the concept of switch back roads when they designed the nation's road network. Instead they built roads from the lowest elevation to the highest elevation
in a direct line, no matter how steep the gradient was and so with a fully laden touring bike this presented quite a challenge!
Our first stop was Cuenca, a beautiful, historic and colonial Spanish town in the south of the country. Having taken our bicycles on the bus from the Peruvian/Ecuadorian border, I was suddenly surprised to see houses with roofs on them, less rubbish strewn everywhere, more respectful drivers, toilets with toilet seats actually attached and generally a much more positive and upbeat population than we had experienced in Peru.
I felt relieved. After 3 months of enduring constant noise, whether on the street or in a hostel, it was so nice to be in a less hectic and more pleasant environment.
Cuenca is where the Panama Hat was invented and so we felt it was an absolute necessity to visit one of the few outlets where they still manufactured the hats nowadays. The hats ranged in price from $30 to $3000 dollars. The more expensive ones felt more comfortable on the head and so we spent the entire afternoon parading ourselves in front of the mirrors, pretending to be a member of the Sicilian
Mafia or a cricket commentator.
In the city square itself we enjoyed delicious ice creams, nearly on par with the Italian ice cream parlours in Germany and we marvelled at the rubbish bins which all had figures of Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck on top, encouraging the younger generation to throw their rubbish away more carefully instead of disgarding it just anywhere.
From Cuenca, we left early on our bikes to cycle to the city of Canar. As we cycled out of the city, I was amazed at how closely the countryside resembled that of a European country, with rolling hills and plenty of dairy cows. I felt like I was in Germany or Austria at times.
Soon however the gentle rolling hills became much steeper and having not climbed much on my bike for quite some time, I endured my fair share of muscle cramps nearing the city of Canar and had to resort to putting my bike on a bus for the last 10 km which I was positively disappointed with.
Unable to ride the next day we put our bikes back on the bus and continued further to Riobamba from where we then
continued on our bikes the following day. This ride towards Banos was a fabulous and challenging ride where we cycled along the foot of the Tunguruha volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
Escape route signs for an erupting volcano were evident everywhere, and we were reminded about the dangers of natural disasters as we cycled along volcanic ash strewn paths.
One of the great things, about cycling in the tropics is discovering and eating new fruits, which you don't often see in British supermarkets. Eating yellow dragonfruit or tomate de arbol (tree tomatoes) and enjoying numerous cheap Guayabena and papaya fruit shakes really is one of the pleasures of cycling in the tropics.
Arriving in the town of Banos, we enjoyed cycling to the Devil's cauldron waterfall, seeing an Emu at the bird park in Puyo, using the swing over the abyss at the casa de arbol (treehouse) and of course relaxing in one of the many thermal baths.
Our journey from Banos took us further north to Latacunga, from where we spent a day visiting the Quilotoa Volcanic Mountain crater as well as the 10 Km trek to Chugchilan, walking through
many indigenous villages along the way. At one point we walked down a steep trek where we came across a young girl and what we presumed were her two younger siblings coming up the trek from the opposite direction. The girl aged about 13 had a heavy and uncomfortable to wear bucket of beans on her back, yet she was walking up the mountain as if she was carrying nothing, whilst Noushin and I were struggling just to walk at the altitude.
We exchanged basic pleasantries and continued on our way. As we got further down on the path, the kids starting yelling at us in indistiguishable tones. We shouted back at them and suddenly realised that our voices were echoing in the valley and so we exchanged 20 minutes of yodelling and other noises as we kept ourselves and the young kids amused.
In February is Carnival season and we were fortunate enough to visit the city of Ambato, to witness the yearly international carnival event. Imagine 100's of Miss Universe Competitors passing by, as well as the most colourful of young artists performing incredible dance routines. The precession was spectacular and more amazingly it was absolutely
free. All the floats were covered in fruit, vegetables and dried biscuits and it was wonderful seeing so many young people of different nations performing such creative musical and dance routines.
The same afternoon, we were recommended to go and see a bull fight. Not something that I had ever really desired before, but I was intrigued. Enjoying a couple of beers outside the arena before the bull fight began, I was amazed to see the number of wealthy people attending the event. With the same dress sense as those attending the rugby at Twickenham back at home, enjoying their roast spit pork dishes and beers and wine, it clearly was a spectator sport for the more upperclass of Ecuadorians.
We entered the ring and stood for the national anthem. The matadors entered the ring in their historical, smart and stylish dress. On this occasion they had come all the way from Spain.
As the gate to the arena opened, the bull entered the ring at great speed, a wound already evident on its back and charged towards one of the matadors who quickly scurried away behind one of the protecting walls. From there, the bull was
beckoned to another assistant matador and so the show went on. At some stage, two horses clad in steel protection entered the ring with riders who attempted to place a spear into the side of the bull. At times, the bull got the better of them, ramming into the side of the well protected horses, however you do feel for the animals, who are simply providing entertainment for the 'hungry' crowd watching from above.
Once the bull had expended some of his energy, the main matador entered the arena and began his show of enticing the bull towards him, with the crowd shouting 'Ole, Ole' every time the bull charged the red sword draped cloth. The final episode was when the matador attempted to place a sword deeply into the bulls torso, thereby killing him in one swift manoeuvre. Unfortunately, if the matador missed the 'sweet spot' the show went on with the bull enduring further pain.
Those matadors who killed the bull in one manoeuvre were given a standing ovation at the end of the fight. Depending on how many times it took the matador to kill the bull outright, he was awarded an ear or the
Rubbing an egg over my body
This lady subsequently spat in my face to get rid of my bad energyballs of the bull as a trophy. He then strutted around the arena, whilst hundreds of members of the audience tossed their Panama hats and roses into the ring, as a show of respect and admiration. One of the matadors from Spain, kept flicking his head and hair backwards as if he had a nervous twitch, which was quite amusing.
I went to the bull fight knowing full well what I was letting myself in for. I have no regrets, but wouldn't do it again. The bull fight was very one sided in my opinion. The bull stood no chance whatsoever. It is a tradition that has existed for hundreds of years, similar to hunting in the UK and there will always be those who support the activity and those who are vehemently against it. In some places in Ecuador the outright killing of the bull has now been banned.
From Latacunga we headed further north to Quito where we stayed with a Casa de cyclista (a person who invites cycling tourists into his home). Here on the outskirts of the capital we met the wonderfully hospitable Santiago and his family who lived in an old historical spanish
built house in the suburb of Tumbaco.
Each day we hopped on the bus for a paltry 20 pence and made the 45 minute journey into the Capital city where on different occasions we visited the Basilica, the historical centre, the cable car and the Mitad del Mundo (centre of the earth on the equator). Apparently due to centrifugal forces a person weighs one kilogram less when standing on the equator.
One thing that struck quite an impression with me throughout our numerous bus journeys in Ecuador, were the number of people jumping on and off the buses, trying to sell anything from ice cream to health drinks and sweets. Often they would be on for a matter of minutes, handing out packets of chewing gum, sweets or biscuits to everybody, making a quick speech, trying to talk above the noise of all the remaining passengers and then swiftly collecting all the packets back in, minus any that had been bought, before jumping off and seeking the next approaching bus. It's really quite sad, seeing the effort people are having to go to, to earn a buck or two in Ecuador. The average wage of an Ecuadorean is
$350 per month, but with the US$ as its currency, the cost of living is certainly higher than that!
Our final journey in Ecuador was visiting the jungle deep in the Amazon in the Cuyabeno reserve. It was here that we encountered pink and grey river dolphins, parrots and macaws, Toucans, snakes, insects and unfortunately spiders including tarantulas and scorpion spiders. Our hut in the middle of the jungle was open to the elements and so it was only natural that spiders wandered into our abode. At 4 am in the morning, when answering a call of nature it can still be quite shocking seeing a hairy spider looking up at you from the back of the toilet!
The most awe inspiring and lasting memory however will remain the noise of the howler monkeys, usually first thing in the morning, with them sounding like an approaching storm. Our trip to the jungle included treks both during the day and at night as well as excursions in the rowing boat with our excellent guide, who reminded me of Mowgli from the Jungle Book, who kept making noises similar to those emanating from the jungle.
On one of the
treks, I was invited to suck a piece of wood. As I did so, I tasted something similar to lemon like in my mouth,which turned out to be hundreds of live ants. As well as spotting wild life, we were introduced to different natural medicines and tasted pieces of bark from different trees with varying tastes, such as garlic or the bitter taste you experience when chewing a parecetemol. The jungle trip was highly educational, informative and great fun and showed me that there are a lot of natural medicines still available.
With the jungle experience over, it was time to head to Columbia for the final stage of the trip. The journey continues......
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geregj
non-member comment
good
good post