Cuenca y Loja

Cuenca, Ecuador

Apparently, splurging on Hawaiian pizza in Baños was a HUGE mistake. I arrived to the bus station in Cuenca at 5am, with the intention of spending only one night in Cuenca before moving on to Loja, and then across the border into Peru.  However, plans suddenly changed when I became incredibly ill with food poisoning from that over-priced, less-than-tasty pizza.  I spent almost 48 hours in my hostel, confined to my bedroom (and the bathroom), except for three trips to the lobby to buy water and extend my reservation.
At first, I was worried that I may have caught malaria from my trip to the jungle, or that I had contracted a stomach parasite, which is not uncommon down here.  Thankfully, I was able to get some good medicine from a pharmacist, but she warned me that if I wasn't better after 24 hours, I would have to see a doctor to get tested for specific parasites/diseases.  However, while talking to my friend Anne a week later, I found out that she too had been sick with the same symptoms on the exact same days that I was.  We ended up agreeing that it must have been the last meal we ate together before parting ways in Baños that made us both sick.  Anne seemed to have gotten the worst of it though, as she ended up spending half of her vacation in the Galopagas Islands in a hospital.

During the two days and two nights I spent in Cuenca, I was only actually able to spend one morning sightseeing before the illness crept in.  During that time, I visited each of the major churches and cathedrals, as well as the famous flower market and the Plaza Mayor.  Then, I followed the Lonely Planet Guide Book’s advice and took a stroll down Avenida 3 de Noviembre, which follows the Tomebamba river, dividing the historical city center from the new town. Between the beautiful Spanish colonial homes and buildings that line the avenue, you can still see remnants of the old city walls built by the Incas.

I paid a visit to the Pumapungo Museum and Archaeological Park, located just off of Avenida de 3 de Noviembre. The enormous site on which the museum is built was once the religious and administrative center for the second capital of the Tahuantinsuyo empire, called Tomebamba. The area was ruled by the indigenous Kañari people, followed by the Incas, and then the Spaniards during the Colonization era.  The museum is four strories tall, and had some pretty intriguing exhibits, particularly the one displaying the shrunken heads that the indigenous tribes of the area were known for creating and preserving after the sacrifice and decapitation of an enemy warrior.  (The traditional ritual of human sacrifice is now prohibited by Ecuadorian law; however, many indigenous groups continue the practice during specific ceremonies as a rite of passage for young males--only now they use guinnea pig, rather than human, heads.)

The archealogical park outside of the museum was enormous and took me over an hour to walk through, even at a quick pace.  It contained mazes of bushes and ruins, as well as a miniature zoo of animals native to southern Ecuador both currently and during the reign of the Incas.  Besides the same animals I saw in the Amazon and in Baños--monkeys, parrots, toucans, parakeets, cockatoos, hawks, and vultures--there were also several free-roaming llamas.  (Unfortunately, these pictures too were deleted before I could upload them.)

Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador and formally the Inca town of Tomebamba.  Ecuadorians and tourists alike often claim that Cuenca is the most attractive Ecuadorian city to visit.  Perhaps if I had had more time to explore it, and if Ecuador's version of Moctezuma's revenge hadn't gotten the best of me there, I may very well have agreed... 

Loja, Ecuador

Lying five hours south of Cuenca, Loja is the gateway to the southern Oriente and more importantly, the Peruvian border.  It is also where the anti-malaria drug Quinine was first exploited (here's your free random fact of the day).   Although the city does not hold a great deal of tourist appeal, it is a rather pleasant change from the larger cities which are more crowded and polluted.  The town is full of white colonial architecture and is surrounded by forests and mountains, with the entrance to the beautiful Podocarpus National Park only a few miles away. 

After being stuck inside a dark, gloomy room for so long in Cuenca, I decided to spend my one afternoon in Loja enjoying the great outdoors.  I met up with a Couch Surfing friend named Ramon (for those who are unfamiliar with the network, their website is http://www.couchsurfing.org/), who is a Loja native, and he took me to a really pretty park, where many locals were gathered to spend their Sunday afternoon leisurely playing a game of futbol (soccer), enjoying a family picnic, or horseback riding.   Ramon and his friends are all cyclists, so they suggested that we go mountain biking so that I could see more of the town and the nature that surrounded it.  At first I was a bit hesitant to take them up on their offer, since I was just getting over being sick, but as my friends and family well know, I am inherently incapable of turning down almost any opportunity for adventure, no matter how big or small. 

Ramon's friend owned a bike shop in the park, so I was able to rent a pretty nice bike from her for the whole day for only $4 (Yes, Ecuador's currency is now the U.S. Dollar).   Although it was quite scenic, our initial ride through the town was pretty scary, first, because we had to weave in and out of crazy traffic, in a country where very few laws actually seem to be applied to its people, and second, because we were chased by an angry farmer with a gun after inadvertantly cutting through his pasture, and had to quickly find our way off of his property, dodging cattle, puddles, cow pies, and barbied wires--all on a bicycle. 

Our climb up the mountain--and for that matter, the steep decent back down later that night--proved no less challenging.    The base of the mountain that we planned to ride up was located on a very heavily surveillanced military base, so we were stopped several times on our way before being granted permission to pass.  (Luckily, one of the Couch Surfers I was with had an uncle-in-law of high rank in the military.) 
It had just rained the night before, so we all got very wet riding through the creeks on our way up, and at several points the water and mud were so deep that we had to carry our bikes.  Amazingly, I managed to make it all the way up to the waterfall (our planned destination) without wiping out once, but I probably averaged at least one "close call" per minute. 

Arriving to the waterfall was my favorite part of our journey, not only because it meant a break from pedalling and a chance to cool off in the stream, but also because we were next to a gorgeous pasture, where we got to watch a mare with her newborn foul, who was just learning to walk.

In a (failed) attempt to make it back before dark, we rode down the mountain and back through the city in about 1/3 the time we took to ride up it.  The guys, both far more confident than I in their own abilities, sped way ahead of me down the steep, curvy road, swirving around sharp rocks and splashing through large puddles, while I lagged behind, expending every last bit of the little remaining energy I had just to maintain my death-grip on the handlebars and brakes.  I was covered in sweat and blisters and could barely walk by the time I made it back to my hostel that evening, but the many incredible views I had from the mountain and my numerous memorable near-death experiences were definitely worth all the pain.  Perhaps mountain biking was exactly what I needed to get over being sick and regain stamina for the rest of my journey to Hogar de Esperanza.  If nothing else, the exhaustion from our bike adventure certainly helped me survive the 9 hour bus ride across the Peruvian border and the subsequent 6 hour bus ride to Trujillo the following day. 

Baños, Ecuador

The third major stop on my journey was a small tourist town high in the Ecuadorian Andes, called Baños de Agua Santa, or "Baños" for short. This beautiful town is located three hours south of Quito, in the state of Tungurahua, and has an altitude of 1,826 meters. It's name literally means "Baths of Holy Water." Thanks to its location at the bottom of some active volcanoes, there are 60 "cascadas" (waterfalls) and several thermal springs in the area. In recent years, Baños has become a Mecca for adventure tourism in Ecuador, so there are countless tour operators offering a plethora of activities, such as hiking trips to the top of a volcano, mountain biking, white water rafting, ziplining, horseback riding, paragliding, repelling, ATV trips, and more.

Although my schedule only allowed for two days in Baños, I was able to squeeze a lot of sightseeing in during that time. The first thing I did after checking into my hostel on the afternoon of February 23rd was head to the Puente Antiguo de San Francisco to go "puenting," a.k.a.-bungee jumping (Sorry mom, it's true). Like sky diving, it was one of those things I had wanted to do for YEARS, but had never been presented with the opportunity at the right place and time. Sports like bungee jumping and paragliding generally cost far less to do in South America than they do in the U.S. ....So, I figured I might as well be resourceful and check it off my bucket list then, rather than wait, hence saving myself both time and money. I have a video clip of me doing the prep and the actual jump, but it will probably be a while before I figure out how to upload it on here. 

As I was exploring the city center later than afternoon, I ran into Terence, an Irish friend of mine who I'd met in the jungle a few days before. I guess Ecuador is smaller than it seems, because at different points later on in my trip I randomly came across three other people I'd met earlier, each in different cities.


That night, Terence and I met up to check out the thermal baths. The baños consisted of 5 or 6 different pools, each of different temperatures. They were all connected to pipes bringing hot water down from the volcano, but the amount of cold water added to each pool varied.

The coldest pool was almost unbearable, even for dipping our feet in for just one minute. The hottest one on the other hand, was a sweltering 120 degrees (a.k.a.- a full 16 degrees higher than the regulation for hot tubs in the States)!! Needless to say, we didn't last much longer in there than we had in the cold one, so we decided to go upstairs to the kids' pool, which was just right--not too hot, not too cold. Maybe Goldilocks wasn't so crazy after all...

I spent the next morning exploring the Zoológico de Baños and the Serpentario (Reptile Aquarium). Both sites were constructed on a mountain, and the architects did a rather impressive job of preserving the landscape by incorporating the different exhibits and animal habitats right into the side of the mountain. I have a few pictures of some of the animals I saw there, but unfortunately, I accidentally deleted 200 photos from my camera, starting half-way through my trip to Baños, and ending the day arrived to the albergue infantil (Hogar de Esperanza).

That afternoon, I joined a group from one of the tour agencies on a canyoning, or "barranquismo," trip. Canyoning is more or less like repelling, except that all of the action takes place in a river (or stream), and all of the 'mountains' you repel down are actually waterfalls. You wear a wetsuit, a helmet, a harness, and waterproof rock climbing shoes, and are generally accompanied by 1-2 experienced guides, who are responsible for belaying you as you repel down from the cliffs. Many people are unfamiliar with the sport, but I think it is starting to grow in popularity.  I have done it twice now (once in Ecuador, and another time a few years ago in the Asturias region of Spain) and I absolutely loved it both times! If you've never tried it, I would definitely recommend it if you get the opportunity--as long as you can swim and are not afraid of heights, of course.
On this canyoning trip, we repelled down 5 different waterfalls, ranging in height from 9-35 m. (roughly 29-149 ft.). The pictures I had from canyoning were probably my favorite pictures I took in all of Ecuador, which makes me even more upset with myself for deleting them. Although it's no substitute for the real ones, here is a picture I found on Google of some guy I don't know canyoning in the same place I went to in Baños.

For my last night in Baños I went out to dinner with my good friend Anne, the German girl who I first met in Quito, then traveled with to the jungle, then met up with again in Baños. We indulged ourselves with some Hawaiian pizza (a little taste of home) at a family-run Swiss restaurant, and were joined by two other backpackers from our hostel, a Spanish "madrileño" and a girl from Hong Kong. After dinner, Anne and I finally had to say goodbye and part ways, as I headed to the bus station for an overnight ride south to Cuenca, and she left eastbound to Guayaquil to catch a flight to the Galapagos Islands.

Four days in the Amazon

After two action-packed days in Quito, I felt like I'd pretty much seen all of the sites worth visiting in the capital, so my friend Anne and I booked a four day trip to the jungle in "el Oriente," a.k.a.-eastern Ecuador.  We left Thursday, Feb. 18th, and in order to get to our campsite in the jungle, we first had to take an 8 hour overnight bus from Quito to  the edge of the jungle, in a small town called Lago Agrio.  We then had to wait several more hours for our indigenous guides to meet us at a hotel there. After 3 more hours on a bus traveling primarily on gravel roads, plus a 4 hour canoe ride down the Cuyabeno River, we finally arrived to our home for the next few days.  I would have to say that the canoe ride, however uncomfortable it was, was still more enjoyable than our previous bus rides because of all the wildlife we saw.  On our way there, we saw a pink dolphin, some blue heron and a couple of hawks, and a group of over 100 spider monkeys swinging from branch to branch.

The "lodge" we stayed at was actually just the private property of an indigenous family.  As you can see, we slept on mattresses covered by mosquito nets (thank goodness), and had a restroom facility with semi-modern plumbing, but no lights.  The family we stayed with however, lived in the same clearing, but they all slept in hammocks instead of on mattresses, in their tiny houses without electricity, under roofs made of palm trees, and instead of using the guest bath house, they bathed in the river. 

The part of the jungle we stayed in was located in the Cuyabeno region of northeastern Ecuador, and is home to 5 different native indigenous groups.  Our guides were part of the "Siona" people, who have their own unique language and culture.  In 2005, the Siona had an estimated population of 250 people in Ecuador and 300 in Colombia.  Our guides explained to us that marriage and family practices among their people are very different than the norm in the rest of Ecuador and South America.  For example, it is not uncommon to get married and start having children at age 12 or 13, especially because most of the Siona people do not need to attend school.  In fact, their literacy rate is only around 12%.  Half of our guides were between 19 and 21 years old, and all of them looked and seemed much older than they actually are, and all had at least one child of their own. 

By the time we got to our campsite and unpacked it was already early evening and starting to get dark.  The only activity we had scheduled for our first night was a night hike after dinner.  However, it ended up raining really hard, (not too uncommon in the rain forest), so our hike got postponed.  We were so tired though, especially after having spent the last 20 hours on different modes of transportation, that we actually enjoyed the opportunity to catch up on sleep that night.

On our second day, we went on a 4 hour hike, or "caminata," through the jungle, fully equipped with ponchos, knee-high rubber boots, and of course plenty of sunscreen and bug spray.  Our guide, Hernan, was 63 years old, but was nonetheless incredibly strong, and handy with the machete.  He showed us a bunch of interesting plants, including palm trees whose leaves can be used to make roofs and backpacks, a plant that is used as a cold and fever remedy, a tree that can "walk," some anti-venom plants, a flower that the Siona women put in their tea to serve as a natural birth control, a giant 1,500 year-old tree, and a lemon plant whose stems contain edible red ants (which have a strong lemony flavor and are actually quite tasty)!   Hernan also showed us the coca plant, which is used for making coffee, "te de coca" (coca tea), which alleviates altitude sickness, and--when mixed with the right chemicals--cocaine.  He also mentioned that about 4 or 5 years ago, his people had problems with drug cartels from Colombia coming through the region because it's so rich in coca and is only about 40 km from the border.  Since then, the Ecuadorian government has greatly increased border control in the area, which has virtually fixed the problem, according to another guide, named Pedro. 

We also got to see a great deal of wildlife on our caminata , including some sapos (toads), monos aranas (spider monkeys), monos oradores (howler monkeys), and a couple other monkey breeds, countless bugs, some parrots and toucans, and even a wild boar! 

Due to so much rain the night before, many sections of our hiking path were covered with at least a foot of water.   Our guide had to bushwack several new paths and we all learned to rely on our balance and acrobatic skills (or in some people's cases, lack thereof) to cross over 10 creeks on logs, with only the occasional aid walking sticks when available. 

After a break for a home-cooked lunch, which consisted of soup for an appetizer and a main dish of chicken and rice (just like almost every other meal in Ecuador thus far), we set out in canoe with our guide Veronica and her 3 year-old daughter Susana to the village or "comunidad" of the Siona people.  There we were taught how to make "Pan de Yuca" from scratch.  Pan de yuca is a bread made out of a potato-like tuber called yuca, which is commonly eaten throughout Ecuador and Peru, particularly in the jungle regions.  First we had to walk through the jungle in order to find a yuca plant and dig up its roots.  Then, we had to peel the yuca and grate them by hand, which took six of us a good hour to do.  Then Veronica rolled the grounded-up yuca pulp into a large woven wicker contraption and squeezed all of the excess liquid out of the mixture, until all that was left was a dried, grainy substance.  Next, she and her sister Isabel started a fire (also by hand) so we could cook the bread.  It was nightfall before the pan de yuca was finally ready to eat, but it ended up tasting pretty good.  The only things that could have made it better would be a few less bugs and perhaps a bit of butter or jam.   All in all, the pan de yuca making process was very physically exhausting and took over 5 hours for us each to have just one piece of bread.  I don't know how the Siona women can bear to do this day in and day out without any help from the men, nor from modern technology.

After a late dinner of carne and more arroz (meat and rice), Pedro finally took us on our night hike.  We saw a lizard, a toad, and LOTS of tarantulas and other poisonous spiders and insects, many of which were as big as my head! 

Around 10:30 the next morning we set out in canoe to visit the "laguna" (lagoon) with Luis and Isabel as our guides.  At first sight, the laguna appeared to be nothing more than a very wide river.  As we continued into it though, it began to transform into an entirely distinct environment, much more still and quiet than the other areas of the rainforest we'd seen thus far.  I was quite surprised to learn that there was an entire forest of giant trees that survives naturally under water in the middle of the lagoon.  Treetops jutted out all over the water's surface, even a 1/2 mile out from the nearest shoreline, creating an eerie, surrealistic sea of trees.  

After our hour-long canoe ride to the lagoon, the first thing we did was go on another long, mostly uphill "caminata," during which we each lost about 5 lb. in sweat, due to the extreme heat and humidity, and probably got bitten by 50 mosquitos each. On the bright side, we got to see a great deal of monkeys and other wildlife, and Luis taught us how to weave a backpack out of palm tree leaves.  

We spent the rest of the day until well after dark hanging out around the lagoon.  We ate a picnic lunch (yet again, chicken and rice) in the canoe and went fishing for piranhas. Surprisingly, unlike my past fishing experiences, I actually caught one!!  We also got to swim in the lagoon, which was really fun, but at the same time a little unsettling. Besides myself, only two of the Chilean girls we were with were brave enough to get in the water.  The rest of our group members were afraid of anacondas, fish, or cayman (aka-small crocodiles) coming close to the boat. These fears were actually pretty legitimate though, because we did see a lot of cayman along the shores that afternoon.  Plus, one day earlier, a different group from our campsite had been approached by a giant anaconda while swimming in the lagoon.  Luckily though, their guide saw the snake coming and was able to get everyone back into the boat before any damage was done.   

I think my favorite part of the whole jungle experience were the two hours we spent watching the sun set over the lagoon.  We had plenty of time to kill because we had to wait until dark before we could go cayman watching.  Meanwhile, the view we enjoyed from our canoe was pretty incredible, so like any good tourist, I took advantage of the kodak moment.  Here's just a few of the MANY shots I took that evening, plus a photo of one of the cayman we saw on our way back (it's hard to see him since it's dark, so look for two tiny red eyes).