My Parent's Visit to Ecuador

From Ruco Pichincha

For my thirtieth birthday, Eve invited my parents to Ecuador for a whirlwind tour. As Mary, Eve and I had been expecting them for some time, we were able to organize a number of activities for their all-too-short stay.

SUNDAY

Mary and I went to the airport to meet my parents Sunday night. Their flight was delayed by forty minutes but, soon enough, they had landed and collected their bags. Together at long last, we took a taxi back to the casa, where Eve had prepared dinner for all. However, after their long flight, neither my mom nor dad were hungry, so we packed the food into the refrigerator before heading off to bed.

MONDAY

We had scheduled our van and driver to meet us in front of the casa at 7:00 am and so had to get up early. We met our driver, Xavier, and left for the north. The traffic in Quito was heavy, but after perhaps half an hour, we had made it into the country surrounding the capital.

Our first stop was the equator. Instead of visiting the Mitad del Mundo, we crossed near the town of Cayambe. Hopping out of the van, we took some pictures before continuing into town. In Cayambe, we stopped off at a biscocha (a semi-sweet biscuit renowned in Cayambe) bakery where we watched as a team of bakers prepare and bake biscocha in a wood-fired oven. We then treated ourselves to fresh-baked biscocha, fresh cheese and hot chocolate.

From Cayambe, we continued north to San Antonio de Ibarra, a village famous for its wood carving. In San Antonio, we found that the overwhelming majority of the carving was of religious iconography. Brightly painted statues of an agonizing Christ on the cross abounded. There were also smaller statues of animals, a particular hobo-like figure, musicians and nudes. Abstract art, in my opinion the most interesting, was also available, however in smaller numbers. There were also wooden boxes and utensils, but those I saw did not seem like they were of very high quality. All-in-all I was a little disappointed: I had been led to believe that the carving was artistic, whereas what I found was mostly mass-produced kitsch.

From San Antonio, we traveled back to Laguna Cuicocha, where we admired the lake under light rain for a few minutes before heading back to Cotacachi for lunch and leather. After a satisfying meal, our driver Xavier left us to have the brakes on his van, which had been giving him trouble all morning, looked at. The rest of us walked from shop to shop admiring the many goods on hand for sale. Unfortunately, as we had taken our lunch early, many of the shops were closed. Still, we were able to see quite a bit nonetheless and as the afternoon wore on, the shops, one by one, began to open their doors again. Ultimately, my dad purchased a sturdy belt and my mom a leather satchel.

From Cayambe we drove to Otavalo and the textile market. I will not attempt to list all that was purchased. Suffice it to say that both my parents, Eve and Mary enjoyed themselves thoroughly. My mom, however, found herself uncomfortable bargaining hard with the vendors, especially considering how much further a few dollars goes in Ecuador than in the United States. As such, she probably overpaid but without any real loss.

From Otavalo, we headed back to Quito, stopping off briefly so that Xavier could purchase roses, which are grown by the millions in the region, from a road-side vendor. Incidentally, flowers – especially roses – are a major export from Ecuador and the quality and beauty of what they produce cannot be overstated. Moreover, purchasing a dozen long-stem roses from a grower only costs $1.25, which is inexpensive even by Ecuadorian standards. (When we were back in the van, Xavier got a laugh when we told him that such fine roses in Alaska cost upwards of $3.00 each!) Finally back in Quito, Xavier dropped us at the casa where we said our good-byes – all in all a great way to spend my birthday.

TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY

Our original intention was to head south to Riobamba for the famous train ride over the Nariz del Diablo. However, we had learned from Xavier the night before that a landslide had closed the tracks from Riobamba to Alosi. We could still have taken the train from Alosi, but it was a six to seven hour bus ride from Quito and the train ride itself would have been quite short. Furthermore, the actual train was not running and so we would have been in buses converted to run on track. As such, we opted to go to the town of Baños instead.

We got up early again and went down to the Terminal Terrestre where we caught a bus to Ambato. In Ambato we hopped off the bus and, to our surprise, ran into Alex and Alex, the two Australians we had met in Quiltoa. We talked for a few moments before getting on another bus bound for Baños.

The ride down the valley out of the sierra and towards the jungle was quite scenic, despite overcast skies. In Baños, Mary got some money from an ATM before we continued to our hostel, recommended to us by Alex and Alex. From the roof-top terrace, we had gorgeous views of Baños and the surrounding hills. After getting settled, everyone, save Mary who was not feeling well, ate lunch at a restaurant before changing into our bathing suits and walking over to the baths, Baños namesake. The baths themselves were nice and soaking in a pool of hot water for more than an hour at the foot of the beautiful waterfall Manto de la Virgen (Virgin´s Veil) was truly wonderful. After the spas, Eve my mom and I went for a walk through town and over to the river, as my dad and Mary slept. Returning from our tour, we rounded up most everyone and drank a beer on the terrace before heading out for dinner at a French restaurant, were my mom and I split a delicious fondue bourguignonne. We also got a laugh out of another tourist who was wearing a table runner, obviously purchased from an indigenous market, as a shall. Finishing the meal, we returned to our hostel for bed.

The next day we decided to tour the many waterfalls found near Baños. The river that runs next to Baños is called the Pastaza and cuts a deep canyon into the valley floor. The many tributaries of the Pastaza flow down from the surrounding mountains that then cascade spectacularly over the canyon edge. After visiting some of the outlying villages, we caught a bus to the village of Río Verde (Green River). The río itself was indeed endowed with emerald green waters and the setting of the village in a deep, lush subtropical valley was breathtaking. My mom and Mary, feeling tired, decided to rest in the village, while my dad, Eve and I headed down the trail to see where the Río Verde tumbles into the Pastaza. After a short walk down into the canyon, we came to the Pailón del Diablo (Devil´s Cauldron), which to say the least, is well worth the $1.00 entry fee. After standing above the crushing thunder of water coming over the cliff edge, we began climbing down to the lower viewing platform. This would prove folly. Near the lowest platform (balcon 4), a huge blast of water from the falls washed over the three of us like a wave in the ocean. Instantly, we were soaked to the bone. Laughing from surprise, I quickly retreated to the safety of the upper platforms to take stock of my clothing and camera. Fortunately, my camera was safe inside my coat, but my jeans, like those of Eve and my dad, were a sopping wet mess. After admiring the falls for a few more minutes, we headed back up the trail to my mom and Mary.

Back in Río Verde, we got lunch and then walked out to the road to catch a bus back up towards Baños and our next stop, the Manto de la Novia (Bridalveil Falls). Unlike the Río Verde, which flows into the Pastaza from the north, the Chinchín flows into the Pastaza from the south, which meant crossing over the canyon in a cable car from the road to the village of Chinchín on the opposite side. The ride over the valley was exciting and the views of the falls were quite spectacular. Stopping in Chinchín for a few minutes to walk around, we admired the numerous wild orchids growing along the trail to the cliff edge. Returning back over the canyon was equally exciting with wonderful views in every direction.

Back in Baños, our pants dry once again, we picked up our bags from our hostel and then headed over to a café for hot chocolate, before walking over to the bus station to purchase our tickets back to Quito. At the bus station, Mary bought some sugar cane to chew while we waited for our bus to come. The ride back up the valley into the sierra afforded us with beautiful view of a snow-capped Tungurahua (5018m), the volcano hemming in Baños to the south. Unfortunately, at some point during the ride back to Quito, my dad, who had already misplaced his bathing suit at the baths, lost his jacket to thieves while he slept.

THURSDAY-FRIDAY

I woke up my dad and we walked up the street to the bridge over to the barrio of San Vincente, from where we had beautiful views of Cayambe, Antisana and Cotopaxi.

Back at the house, we showered and breakfasted. Mom and Dad decided to go with me up the Teleferico to go for a hike and take in the views of Quito. We took a taxi over to the bottom of the park, from where we caught a shuttle up to the base of the lift. After purchasing our tickets, we rode up the mountain. Unfortunately, the valley had filled with haze, obscuring our views of the surrounding volcanoes. Once we had arrived at the top of the lift, we began our walk. We strolled along slowly, enjoying the view of Quito and the many different wild flowers the line the trail. At the top of each hill, mom decided that she would like to hike to the next one, taking us a little higher and a little farther down the trail. Eventually, we had climbed well above 4000m and were quickly approaching 14,000 feet. Knowing that Eve and Mary had made us lunch, we decided eventually to turn around.

Back at the casa Mary and Eve had lunch prepared. After eating, mom and dad took a nap until late in the afternoon. At around 4:00, we took the bus down to the Mariscal. We walked to the old city, visiting the Basilica and the Plaza Grande before getting a drink and taking in the view of Quito by night from the roof-top restaurant Vista Hermosa. Afterwards, we walked over to Plaza San Francisco, admiring the cathedral. From there we stopped at a pharmacy to pick up some Amoxicilin for Mary, whose cough, caught in Quilotoa, had degenerated into pneumonia. From there we walked over to La Ronda, bought canalazo, a hot alcoholic drink and continued our stroll. At one point, we stopped off for corn tortillas of the Ecuadorian variety, and more canalazo. We eventually made our way to a small restaurant, where we ate dinner. After dinner, we squeezed everyone into a taxi. The traffic police were not happy with our driver for letting Eve ride on my lap, but they let us proceed and in short order we were back at the casa again, where we had a night cap of Quaker con augardiente.

Everyone was slow to get moving on Friday morning. After a late breakfast, we once again headed to the Mariscal. We went shopping at Tatoo (a climbing store) for Mary, buying leather conditioner for her boots, DWR spray for her jacket, and a pair of thick hiking socks to help overt the blisters that had been plaguing her on our outings. After leaving the store, we stopped off at Pichincha so that my parents could meet Franklin. After introductions had been made, we went for lunch at a small restaurant near the school. The food was a disappointment, but cheap. After lunch, we went over to Cotopaxi (another climbing store) and dad bought me a new pair of glacier glasses (Thanks, Dad!) and from there we caught the trolley-bus to the old city.

In the old city, we wanted to visit some churches and Mom and Mary wanted to purchase some yarn. In total, we visited Santa , the museum at San Francisco (the church was under renovation) and the Comapnia de Jesus, a Jesuit church. These were all fantastic, leaving everyone quite impressed. Afterwards, we found a yarn store and went looking for alpaca wool yarn. We found some advertised as !00% alpaca. This was strange as the word (acrilico) had been blackened out with a marker. I went to another yarn store nearby to investigate. Indeed, all “alpaca” yarn sold in Quito is between 80-90% acrylic. I returned to tell Mom. She was not surprised that his was the case and eventually purchased a number of different skeins. After purchasing the yarn, we went to a restaurant recommended by our guide book. This turned out to be a disappointment as well, unfortunately. I ordered llapingachos, which are cheese-filled potato pancakes. Normally, three come served with a fried egg and a slice of avocado. Not only was my egg missing, but I was only served one lousy llapingacho, not nearly enough to constitute a whole meal. Anyhow, following dinner, we returned home.

Back at the casa mom and dad prepared their bags. That morning, we had handed over to them a large number of items that we wanted returned to the United States, including nearly everything we had purchased at the indigenous markets in Otavalo and Saquisili. Everything ready, we waited until it was the hour to leave. Mary and I accompanied them to a taxi and given the fact that Mary was in tears and that there was not going to be enough room for everyone given the amount of luggage they had, we decided to say our good-byes there and then. Having negotiated a price with the driver, we kissed and hugged and thanked one another over again. As they drove off, I put my arm around Mary’s shoulders and walked with her back up to the casa.

It had been a wonderful trip and I was deeply thankful that they had come. Still, it did not seem long enough and Mary and I both hope that they will come to visit us again, hopefully in La Paz in the next few months.

Many of my photo albums were updated with photos of my parents. Of special interest are the new photos of our time in Baños. To see a slide show of pictures from Baños, go to my Picasa Web Album.