Bahia de Carriquez
Nick, Graeme and I arrived in Bahia de Carriquez, Ecuador, after a 6 day sail from Panama. We shot one Mahimahi under a log on the way. The wind was right on the nose and we motor sailed for 1/2 of the way to make a better heading. Raquel landed in Lima on the 30th of November and then she bussed 36 hours (and walked about ten km humping her pack past road blocks of burning tires) to meet us in Quito. We eventually met, feeling worn out; I was sick from something I ate and Raq was understandably exhausted from her epic treck north. We nestled into the hotel and caught up whilst the boys went out for Chinese. Quito looks drab and crowded as you descend into it from the surrounding Andean hills, but like so many cities, when it keeps you it imparts a likable sense of history and character. Grandiose gothic churches, century old squares livened by the shouts of youths playing soccer and the aged Ecuadorians sedately shuffling about in traditional clothing bearing smiles. The four of us happened to be there on the night of the annual carnival where tens of floats, bands and dancing devils make a colorful precession down a main street passed the pressing crowds and fireworks.
Whooohoooo, craft markets!!
Otavalo
The bus system is so easy and the coaches mostly comfortable. We got to Otavalo on Friday to be up early for market day. I wanted to get up at half passed four to watch the locals set up – WHAT IS SO HILAREOUS ABOUT THAT? At 4.45am we were all woken up anyway by the clanking and clatter of stalls being erected in the street below our hostel window; every narrow street and square in the town was filled with stalls by 8.00 am. There is an animal market on the outskirts of Otavalo and we walked there in the crisp morning air. Big black pigs and nervous cattle dragged their owners through the paved streets towards the market which was just a couple of small muddy paddocks crowded with all sorts of reluctant beasts; pigs, sheep, goats, cattle and horses. Local people, wearing ponchos, hats and wellington boots milled around making deals. Sometimes the animals lost control which added to the entertainment. Back at the craft market the rainbow colours of weaving, woolens, paintings, beads and instruments made my pocket smoke and Raquel and I spend nearly 5 hours disrupting the neatly folded piles. Eventually Nick and Graeme put a stop to it and we had to catch a hasty bus to Banos.
Alpacas in the foreground of Chimborroza - Ecuador's highest peak at 20,700 feet (6,310 m
Banos is a fabulous town, we hired bikes for $4 a day and rode 40 km down a huge Andean valley past waterfalls. We stopped to take a $1 cable car high over the brown rapids to a spectacular waterfall and walked over a rickety footbridge back. Our ride ended where the valley opened out between Andean hills and a vast valley floor of braided streams and low lush green bush stretched into the misty distance. It really looked like how I imagined the headwaters of the Amazon would. We saw a bull fight that evening and the following day Mag, Nick and I discovered the hot baths and spent a morning plunging into chilly pools followed by steaming hot ones. The brief moments of relaxation were well deserved as we had also hiked 4 hours up to watch the active volcano, Tungurahua, sending tones of ash and smoke high above the cloud tops.
Still on the tourist trail we headed to Riobamba and rode on top of the infamous train to Alausi and down the Devils Nose. Scads of other tourists made the competition for a good position on the roof tough. The bun fight was well worth it - the landscape changes before you as the train clatters through farmland, valleys and along teetering cliff sides. The devils nose was so steep that it felt as though the train was flying past the mountain. We returned to Alausi, there having to face up to saying goodbye to Graeme, our #1 shipmate for the last three months. He caught various things to Argentina and then onto New Zealand. Nick, Mag and I doubled back to Pina Colada via Guyaquil to recoup for our next overland trip to Peru.
