Balanced

Quilotoa Lake, Ecuador. April 2010.

The End of Ecuador

In coming to Ecuador, we had a pretty specific idea of what we wanted to do and how long we would spend there. That was a first for us. Usually we have only a vague idea and plans eventually change regardless. Amazingly, we also stuck to our initial schedule. Two weeks, only the mountains, Quito to Vilcabamba.

First, Where We Did Not Go:

• The beach. The surfing is supposed to be great, but we have seen plenty of great beaches but not enough mountains.
• The jungle. We have been bitten by enough jungle mosquitoes to last a lifetime.
• Mindo, a cloudforest near Quito. We just spent a week in Colombia's cloudforests, which were free and empty of travelers.
• Mito del Mundo (Middle of the World) - A giant tourist trap that is full of science experiments that prove you are on the equator. That sounds cool, except that the structure is not on the equator (as proven by more advanced GPS measurements) AND the science experiments are fake (they are more magic than science). 
• Otovalo and around - Renown for the local handcrafts, we skipped these towns because we never buy anything, a lot of the items are actually mass manufactured, and, according to a well traveled-friend, the markets in Guatemala are better. 
• Galapagos Islands - More important than the exhorbidant costs of a trip to the islands, Ecaudor has poorly managed development so much so that the area is considered an endangered habitat. From what I gather, the tourism industry is generally doing a decent job in respecting the environment. The rampant growth of buildings and infrastructure and pollution is due to the uninhibited migration of Ecuadorians looking for jobs on the island. The government has done little to nothing to protect the nature that makes the Galapagos such a unique biosphere, and therefore, such a world renown eco-tourism attraction.

Soooo, where did we go? South along the Andes via Quito, Iliniza Norte, Machachi, Cotopaxi area, Baños, Quilotoa, Cuenca and Vilcabamba. I expected the Andes in Ecuador to be bigger and more wild, but they were mostly rolling green hills and completely farmed. There is virtually no wilderness camping to be done in the entire country. Quilatoa was easily the highlight of our trip, due to the unspoiled culture, magnificent hike, friendly locals and lack of tourist infrastructure.

The volcanoes certainly stand out as most are above 5000 meters and glaciated. Some are easy walk-ups while others are very technically demanding. We hoped to climb Cotopaxi (5897 meters / 19347 feet), which is a lot higher than either of have ever been, as well as slightly more technical than anything we climbed before. Alas, it was not to happen as a crucial snow bridge had collapsed, rendering the largest crevasse impassable. Luckily we discovered this issue two days before we were to climb . . . as opposed to acquantances who found out the hard way - during their climb.

Honestly, I am glad I saw Ecuador but I do not have any desire to return. The food was typically horrible, with the exception of a few vegetarian restaurants which were cheap and healthy but not amazing. We had the worst run of hostels yet, even though we sometimes paid more, only to get shafted on something. The bus drivers were the least helpful. The police are corrupt. The tourist district in Quito is the most dangerous place in the city. Usually the touristy areas are safer as cities strive to protect the tourism industry.

Of course, most of the pictures are of the wonderful things that we saw. Thank you Becca B. for the great ideas on where to go, whose itinerary we followed almost exactly. Thank you Rich Meyer, for assisting us with our climbing efforts, such as good beta, guide recommendation, and acclimitization plan.


Iliniza Norte, at 5100+ meters, is the high point in our relationship. It also was more than breathtaking, a little scary at times, and we were the only people in the entire park.


Cotopaxi at sunrise, as seen from our tent. Beautiful views, worst hostel experience ever.


Lake Quilatoa at sunset.


In our hike around Lake Quilatoa, we passed only one other pair of hikers.


A great hike with good views above Baños on a rare day of few clouds.


Ecuador's national dish: guinea pig. Does this make you want to be vegetarian?



The view from our hostel in Cuenca. This is a scenic, tranquil college town with an absurd number of historic churches. It also has (at least) two excellent vegetarian restaurants.


The best hiking in Ecuador: Vilcabamba. Advertised as the Valley of Eternal Youth, we couldn't tell if it lived up to it's slogan, but it certainly was pretty and had lots of good food. While the area wasn't wilderness as it was all used for grazing animals, the land was still less altered than in any other mountainous area in Ecuador. You can see the tiny town of Vilcabamba to the right of the central peak.

Oh Ecuador

Ecuador is leading the slow race when it comes to internet access: slow down- and up-load speeds, spotty connections, frequent downtime, and the fewest wifi spots. We have gone to hostels specifically because they have wifi, only to find that the workers don't know their own passwords, haven't a clue as to what to do if the connection is lost, and don't seem to care if the wifi goes down. They don't offer an apology, let alone a discount, even though backpackers like us choose their hostel because it has wifi. So goes the modern backpacker.

I can't post many pictures because I have not been able to upload them to Picasa yet. It may be another week before that happens. So far, we have been to Quito, Machachi/Papaguyo to hike Iliniza Norte, Cotopaxi area, Quilatoa, Banos,  and Cuenca. We are in Vilcabamba now and will soon make a run for the border. We hope to be in Huaraz, Peru by the first of May.

We have also been surprised at the uniformity of the Andes in Ecuador. Besides a few awe-inspiring volcanoes, the terrain here is rugged hills, very green and almost completely farmed. We have traveled far and wide along this mountain range, and we have yet to come across a hillside that is not cultivated. Even the national parks have evidence of cattle grazing. The hills/mountains have looked the same for the last two weeks of traveling. I thought there would be more variance, and I thought that I would be able to find more wilderness. Wrong on both counts.

During our exciting hike around Lake Quilotoa.

Enjoying the fresh mountain air near Cotopaxi. 

Macro

If our travel photos look great, it's mostly because the places we are visiting are magnificent, not because of the person holding the camera.

However, I have had some help and inspiration from my friends, Todd and Dan. Throughout my years in the backcountry, they has given honest critique of my photos. Most recently, Todd has pushed me to take more macro photographs. These are essentially close-ups of objects smaller than my pinky fingernail.

With Kristin's patience, I went a little crazy on our last hike and took many macro shots. I got up close and personal with the tiniest living things, crawling on my hands and knees to discover the little brilliances of the paramo terrain. I think a few of them came out well enough to share with you all. Enjoy.

Quito - Day 2

In less than an hour from leaving our hostel, Kristin and I stood at 4100 meters. Granted, Quito sits at 2850 meters and we took a gondola the rest of the way ($8.50 rt). Still, this was pretty cool. Even cooler was that we got to hike another 3 hours (2 up, 1 down) to the peak of Rucu Pichincha at 4680 meters. It was partly cloudy for most the hike, until we got near the peak, where is was a complete white-out. We enjoyed peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches (this one´s for you Matt B!), nutella, and wholegrain cookies. This was easily the best day-hike we´ve done from a big city. in Latin America.

The terrain is páramo, which is a like a high-altitude tropical sponge. The harsh conditions - rain, clouds, high winds - prohibit trees from growing. But if you look closely the earth is covered with magnificent tiny plants and grasses. The soil is saturated with water and filters the water, slowing it´s descent into the valleys below. This process helps regulate water flow to the Amazon, ensuring water even during a drought. This ecosystem exists only in on small area of Guatemala and Costa Rica, plus portions from Venezuela through northern Peru. 

The tallest plants we found were less than two feet high.

Beautiful flowers, the size of a peanut M&M, peppered the ground.

The trail splits at the base of the rocky peak. The direct routes goes straight up the ridge and hits class 5 territory (an experienced climber died there a few years ago), while the standard route winds to the right around the backside.We chose the more scenic trail.

We took the easier way, but still got off trail and found ourselves scrambling up a wall that eventually stopped us. Luckily, a passing hiker alerted us to the actual trail.

The summit. Grand views, huh? It was still well worth it.

Enjoying the descent.

A view of the city.

On the gondola ride down. They don´t call it a CrackBerry for nothing.

Quito - Day 1

Quito is a city that evokes love or hate in most travelers. Many friends warned me that I wouldn't like it here, while a few others said it was one of their favorite cities in South America. So far I have enjoyed many of the continent's biggest cities, much to my surprise, but we've always stayed with a friend. In Quito, we are staying in a hostel in a quiet neighborhood near the New Town. And while I can't say that I'm in love with the city, we have  had two days of the best urban adventures yet. Tune into the next blog for our second day.

Our First Day - The Old City (Ciudad Viejo)
I have lost track of how many "old towns" and colonial cities that we have visited. Each city has a historic district and that is usually the only area worth visiting. Quito's historic center is quite large, on hilly terrain, and easily navigated with the many tall church towers. It's also horribly clogged with traffic, which makes walking tours less appealing.

There are three places that are the most memorable:

Basilica del Voto Nacional
This gothic monstrosity sits atop of a hill overlooking the old town. The three soaring towers elicit awe from all points in Quito. We each paid $2 to climb the two front bell towers, above and across the church roof, and into the rear tower. This was by far and away my most exhilarating church experience ever.


Too big to fit into my camera lens, even from a block away.


View of the inside of the church . . .


. . . and on the ceiling above it, which we walked along the apex on wooden planks


The scary climb up. I don't think this church has insurance or a risk analyst.

Govindas
A six-table vegetarian restaurant that has no sign over the front door and no menus. You sit down and are quickly served a set meal of soup, brown rice, beans, fake meat, fresh juice and dessert. This set us back $1.60 each. The soup was delicious, though we weren't sure what veggies where in it. The main meal was fairly standard. The dessert was fig served in honey. It was delish.

Adding popcorn to my soup. I've never heard of this before, but it's such an easy, cheap and fast way to add flavor and texture, instead of unhealthy crutons.

La Compania de Jesus
A very odd church, not just for the 7 tons of gold that was used to gild the walls, but also because of the graphic "art" adorning said walls. The entry was $1, which in unusual in that most churches don't charge and if they do, then we don't go.


Creepy


Creepier


Creepiest


And Gold EVERYWHERE