Río Pita

As Eve has been busy lately with her Masters Program, Mary and I have been on our own.

So last Tuesday, we decided to take a hike to the Río Pita, a highly recommended hike in our guide book. We left the house at around 10:00, taking a bus to Avenida 12 de Octrobre where, so the guide said, we could catch a bus to the pueblo of Selva Alegre (lit. "Happy Jungle"). We waited around for twenty minutes and no bus. We asked and were told we had to walk down the street a distance, as the bus did not come to that part of 12. After perhaps 45 minutes, we finally found the bus we needed and took it to the village, another 45 minutes away. In the village, at the final stop, we were supposed to be able to hire a 4x4 to take us to the trailhead. However, in the village square, despite what were had read, there were no camionetas waiting. After asking around and criss-crossing the village for an hour, we finally flagged down a regular taxi, hoping the driver would be able to tell us something. This is when the real adventure began.

First the taxi driver was confused, seeming not to know anything about the Río Pita. He phoned a friend for directions. We hopped in the cab and he drove us to a street ten minutes away, asking then which building we wanted. I explained again, and in a little more detail, that we wanted to go hiking in the country, along the river, through the forest and up to the waterfalls. He then smiled, took us back to Selva Alegre and again began asking for directions. We drove around for about an hour before finally finding the right road. This despite the directions in the guide, which made access seem straight-forward. Mary and I were relieved as the trip, again according to the guide, was only supposed to take twenty minutes. Finally after an hour over rough cobblestone in the forest, we made our way to the trailhead, a bridge over the Río Pita. By then it was getting too late to go hiking, and we were not sure how we would get back. Also, the taxi driver wanted $70 for the day, and we only had $30 between the two of us. (Again, the guide said it would cost $12 each way.) We told the taxista that we could only pay him $30 and that it would be better to head back to the village. We drove back, getting stuck momentarily as a heard of cows blocked the road. Though clearly disappointed, the taxista never got angry and continued to point things out to us the entire drive back to the village. In Selva Alegre again, three hours after we had first stepped into the taxi, we said our apologies to our driver before getting on a bus back to Quito and home.

All in all, a $30 failure as far as hiking was concerned. I also did not take a single photo. We may return to Selva Alegre in the future though, as the were spit-roasted cuyes (guinea pigs) and higo con queso (fig with cheese), both of which are traditional Ecadorian foods difficult to find in Quito. It is also the jumping off point for other hikes in and near Cotapaxi National Park, an area of Ecuador we have yet to explore.