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September 18, 2005
The End of Ecuador
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Cathedral in Cuenca |
Our time in Ecuador couldn´t have ended more perfectly. Travel is just as much about the places you see as the people you meet. Sometimes things all come together and you find yourself in a beautiful setting with a great group of people. This was the case for our last stop in Ecuador, Vilcabamba.
We set off for Peru from Quito with the slight detours of Cuenca and Vilcabamba in mind. Our bus ride to Cuenca served as our first travel lesson in bus security. It went something like this... We´re sitting on the bus with our day packs on our laps. Sinead gets up to use the bathroom. A man standing beside our seat puts Sinead´s pack overhead giving some explanation that I couldn´t understand. I play the idiot and let him put the bag up. I look out the window, then to the back of the bus to see where Sinead is. I see some man near the back with Sinead´s pack in his hand rooting through it. I grab the pack and start to get angry when he gives me some excuse about thinking it was his bag. I look in the bag and notice the Minidisc player is gone. I give him a firm ¨Señor!¨ while trying to figure out how to accuse him of being a thief in Spanish. Magically he fishes the Minidisc player out of the overhead compartment. I was starting to think that I was wrong about thinking he was a thief...but I didn´t realize that Sinead was out of the bathroom and saw him pull the Minidisc player from under his coat and pretend to get it from the overhead compartment. He hurried off the bus as quickly as it happened, and we were denied the pleasure of knocking his hat off. Our lesson had been learned. Keep our bags in our laps, no matter how much someone trys to tell us otherwise.
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Our path along the ridge |
Arriving at our hotel in Cuenca, we were a little concerned about the dive that we had stumbled in to. Uncomfortable beds, noisy street, no toilet seats in the bathroom (still haven't gotten used to this), grungy shower...but for $9 a night, we weren't about to change. Surprisingly we had one of the best sleeps in a while and were full of energy, ready to explore the city. Cuenca seems to be what the old part of Quito is like on a much bigger scale. While old Quito is confined to a smaller space, the colonial architecture of Cuenca seems to be overflowing everywhere. We wandered the cobbled streets taking in the churches, museums, and a panama hat factory. A brief stop at the market was also made for me to pick up a pair of jeans, and for Sinead to pick up some sandals. I had underestimated how much I would be wearing my 1 pair of pants (everyday) and I was in need of a change. For $10 I felt like a new man, ready to take on the rest of the continent in style.
The town of Vilcabamba is set in a beautiful valley surrouded by hills. Our hostal was 2 km up a hill from town overlooking the valley. Complete with a swiming pool, a bar with a free pool table, a great restaurant, and the best scenery we have encountered, it was the perfect place to finish. It is the type of place that it is easy to stay "just one more day", which is what we did. Twice.
The first day we decided to be ambitious and undertook one of our best hikes yet. A one hour climb up a steep hill led up to the first cross overlooking the valley. From there it was another two hours along a steep and narrow ridge that dropped off drastically on both sides. In some places the path was no more than half a metre wide and nothing but loose rocks. As the wind whipped past us, we had to navigate our way along the path trying not to be too distracted by the gorgeous scenery around. One wrong step and it was bye-bye. Descending down from the ridge we were greeted by a large heard of cattle that refused to budge as we tip-toed around them. Our cries of "Cease cows, life is short!" were greeted with blank stares. They obviously aren't fans of good literature.
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The nightly settlers showdown |
The rest of the time was spent in the company of Alex & Gerry (Munich) and Paul (NY). Days of lounging around reading were only interupted by a quick dip in the pool or a delicious bite in the restaurant. In the evenings we were given the chance to practice our choice German phrases over rousing games of Siedler followed by marathon games of pool in the bar. All of course accompanied by Cairpriñas and beers.
By the time we reached Ecuador-Peru border it was dark, and we walked across the international bridge under a full moon. Border formalities were short and sweet and we were back on the bus bound for Piura, Peru. The moon was the only thing illuminating the landscape as the bus sped off from the border and although we were only a few kilometers from Ecuador, everything was starting to look different.
Posted by brett at September 18, 2005 03:21 PM