Oil and Water

Ecuador is a petro economy with around 50% of GDP coming from oil. And the government has a policy if keeping consumer gas prices low, around $1.03 a gallon. 

Since Ecuador lacks a lot of developed world infrastructure, most people drink bottled water. We've taken to buying it in six liter jugs like this one, which cost $1.40, or about $0.88 a gallon. 

With all of our car and taxi travel over the course of our 2 1/2 months here, I wonder if we'll spend more on gas or water?

Biking the Andes

Speeding down a sandy and impossibly steep mountain road, I’m still a bit faint from our earlier climb up to 5000m.  The lunar landscape is populated only by lichen and the occasional vicuña that I can’t appreciate because I’m too focused on not injuring myself – a fall here would be bad news.  My fingers are sore from constantly pumping the brakes but I need to keep slowing myself down – both to keep track of Oscar, who is somewhere behind me just out of sight, and because I can’t feel my hands in the damp cold.  The constant thumpthumpthumpthump of the road vibrations are rattling my body, and make it difficult for me to keep my hands on the brakes.  It’s very cold.  How could this get worse?  I round a steep switchback somewhere around 4500m and ride right into a cloud – I can’t see a thing.

We just finished a fantastic four day mountain biking trip that took us from the freezing heights of two of Ecuador’s highest volcanoes, past volcanic craters, through indigenous villages, and down into the semi-tropics on the border of the Oriente.

We weren’t actually biking for four days, just riding the downhills – we had a van, piloted by our friendly and experienced driver/guide, Alberto, and a great dog, Champy.  The tour agency we used, the Biking Dutchman, came highly recommended by an expat family we met in Cuenca.

On the first day, we left Quito early for the two hour drive to Cotopaxi, perhaps the most famous of Ecuador’s volcanoes due to its perfect conical form.  Yo and I had been here on our visit 18 years ago and we were struck by the contrast.  What was then a turnoff in the narrow, rutted, Panamerican Highway now had an entrance, visitors’ center and roads similar to what you might find in any smaller US National Park. 

We drove to a flat area of paramo, or high Andean grassland, just below the base of the cone for a brief warm-up on our bikes, where even very slight uphill stretches left us gasping due to the altitude.  From there, we drove straight up to the highest parking area, mounted up, and rode straight down the gravelly steep road.  Even though I bike a lot at home, I found it very challenging and difficult to control my speed in the turns.  I wondered, not for the last time, exactly what I had signed us up for.  But we always had the truck right behind us, with the option to get in and ride for a stretch, which Yo and Ruby took advantage of on some of the steeper parts.  After the initial steep descent, we all descended down the paved road to the park entrance.

Getting started

Cotopaxi

Wild horses

At the uppermost parking lot on Cotopaxi

View from Cotopaxi

R speeding down the mountain

And more downhill

Our first day ended with another couple of hours in the car as we drove to Quilotoa, an indigenous village high up in the clouds, situated on the rim of a volcano’s crater lake.  We walked up to the crater rim to check it out, but the area was so thickly covered in clouds, that we could barely see down to the lake.  The Hostal Alpaka Quilotoa was exactly what I imagined an Andean bunkhouse to be.  The owner, Patrona, an indigena matriarch wearing the traditional fedora, and her family, presided over the comfortable but plain lodge, which featured a blazing wood stove and hearty mountain fare.  Dinner was chicken/quinoa/potato soup, lamb (or goat?) stew with more potatoes, rice, plantains and vegetables.  We shared the communal table with travellers from big mountain countries – Argentina, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and France, as well as Ecuador.  Dinner was followed by cards (we’re playing a lot of Hearts here, building up to teaching the kids Bridge) and some more time by the fire, with the entire lodge asleep by 9:30.

The next day, we awoke early and after a big breakfast, walked partially around the crater lake to one of the peaks on the edge.  The weather had changed completely overnight and we had a great sunny view down into the crater.  From our vantage point, we could look across the crater to the tallest peak (a sizable mountain in its own right), down to impossibly blue water.  Nothing lives in the mineral-rich water.  Tourists can rent kayaks and swim if they can stand the cold.  I’m sorry we didn’t have more time there – it would have been nice to spend a day hiking around the rim and then down to the lake, a full day trek.  Many of the fellow travellers we met were on a 5 day walk from village to village, which would be wonderful to do on a return trip to Quilotoa. 

lunch on the road

Village scene

Our lodge in Quilotoa

Interior

Exterior

The crater lake through the clouds

And in the clear, the following morning

Snow-capped Ilinizas in the distance beyond the crater rim

By 10 am, we were back on our bikes for a 15 km ride down a quiet paved road to the small Quichua town of Zumbahua.  We rode alongside a formidable gorge through beautiful, farmed countryside filled, incongruously, with cactus.  It was a great ride for the kids, especially Ruby, who wasn’t a fan of the rough dirt roads.

We stopped long enough in Zumbahua to load up the bikes and watch Champy dominate the local stray dogs.  Zumbahua hosts a huge weekly indigenous market, which unfortunately, we missed by a day.  The Quichua men dress “normally,” but the Quichua women, remarkably, wear felt “pork pie” hats, white blouses and woolen ponchos, dark colored knee-length wool skirts, either white knee socks or black lace pantyhouse, and black leather pumps with heels.  It’s a unique Austrian/Andean fashion sensibility. 

Oscar stopping to let traffic pass

Studly British bikers riding from Alaska to Cape Horn - 3 1/2 years on the road!

Next, we drove up for an hour or so to a remote ridge, had a fantastic lunch, then got back on bikes for an amazing descent through high grazing land, followed by hilly farmland whose small plot divisions looked like someone had spread a green patchwork quilt over the mountains.  

Lunch spot

Patchwork mountainsides

We then ended the day with a drive around and partially up Chimborazo, Ecuador’s highest peak.  Our hostal was set in a lonely stretch of paramo across from an old train station.  Chimborazo was right there, but the clouds didn’t allow us to see much.  The kids spent the last hour or so before dinner playing with Champy and the local dogs, and trying to touch the llamas, who seemed a bit stand-offish.  Another hearty, communal mountain dinner and some chess games with O&R, and we again went to bed early.  I had some trouble sleeping, which we had been told to expect due to the altitude.

The following morning, we awoke to cloudless, super-HD views of Chimborazo, so vivid it almost seemed like a set.  

 View of Chimborazo from our hostal in the morning

After breakfast, we drove over an hour to the Chimborazo park, then up a steep winding road to the parking lot at 4800m.  As we ascended, the ground cover went from grass, to cactus, then little grass, to lichen, to nothing at all.  From the parking lot, we walked up a bit, then Oscar and I continued to the level of the highest mountaineering shelter – 5000m (about 16,500 ft.).  For us sea-level natives, it was very hard walking, and we were impressed by locals who booked by us, as well as by the half dozen or so climbers who passed us, coming down from their all-night ascent to the summit.

O&I with the Whymper Refuge in the background.  Above 5000m!

 By this time, we were very cold, and finally got on bikes for our first downhill of the day.  The ride was cold, bumpy and steep, but a lot of fun, and as close to extreme sports as I care to get.  When we entered the cloud, Yo and Ruby got on in the van, but O and I were too far ahead, so we just kept forging on, sometimes no visibility at all.  We made it all the way down to the parking lot at the park entrance without even realizing it due to the zero visibility.  But once we figured out where we were, we were more than happy to wait for Alberto and the van.

Descending Chimborazo

After another drive and a lunch during which Alberto introduced O&R to peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches, we had a beautiful and not-too-steep descent down a paved road through a narrow green, river valley, that reminded me at first of Switzerland, and later, California, as the temperature rose and the farms changed from cows to fruit orchards (pears and tomate de arbol).  We rode almost all the way to Ambato, the largest city in the central part of the Sierra, then back in the van for the two hour drive down even more to sub-tropical Baños.

Descending toward Ambato

Arriving in Baños felt like coming back to civilization after a few days in the high mountains.  Famed for its natural hot springs, Baños is very much a tourist town, filled with pizza places, ice cream, backpackers and wifi.  Our accommodation was at a more conventional small tourist hotel.  For dinner, we had Pad Thai at a place run by some guy from the Bay Area.

Our final day, we got a much later start, more than welcome after the past three days.  We rode straight out of the hotel, down the “Avenue of the Orchids”, the road to Puyo and the Oriente.  It was an easy ride, down a spectacular river valley, with walls rising up thousands of feet on either side, and descending way down below us to a raging river.  Because it was Sunday, and because this is a major road, there was a lot more traffic than we had seen before, so in that sense, the riding was less comfortable.  The highlight of the day was our final destination, El Pailón del Diablo (The Devil’s Cauldron), a huge waterfall that tumbles into a never-ending, swirling pit before entering the river.  It was worth the half-hour hike to get down to the base, and then up to the cave that puts you literally behind the waterfall as it spews from the mountain.  After lunch at the restaurant by the waterfall, we drove back to Baños, said our farewells to Alberto and Champy, and settled in for some much needed rest.

Cable car across the Pastaza River.  No way!

A rest stop on the Avenue of the Orchids

Aberto, Champy, R&O at the end of the trip

The four-day trip was a true highlight of our time in Ecuador, and I’m looking forward to more family biking trips.  I’m particularly proud of Ruby for holding up on those steep mountain roads!

Hotel rooms

I realize that one potential pitfall to blogging is that we paint too rosy a picture of traveling.  Yes, we've been accused of engaging in real estate porn.  To set the record straight, here are some pictures of our recent accommodations.  

High in the Andes, steps from Quillotoa Crater, we stayed in a tiny Quichua community.  The hostal featured (delicious) communal meals, wood burning stoves, a toilet smell, and this bedspread, which Ruby and I found to be the perfect blend of ugly chic.

The next night we stayed at the foot of Chimborazo, at 6,310 meters, once thought to be the highest mountain in the world.  We slept at another Quichua-run hostal with a fireplace on the first floor but no heat in the bedrooms upstairs.  Bathrooms were communal and downstairs too. Oscar felt right at home, relaxing in bed after a hard day's bike ride.

There was a pleasant sitting area outside our rooms.  The air was smoky from the fire below.

And the setting was spectacular -- just sky, paramo, llamas, dogs, and kids.

Here's Ruby before breakfast on the day we rode down Chimborazo.

We have found our niche in hotels that are a notch above backpacker hostels, but far below first world luxury standards.  Simple hostals with a good vibe work for us too.  In Quito, we spent a pleasant two days at a Swiss hostal filled with young backpackers and older European couples traveling independently.  It was cramped but very mellow and friendly.  We have not run across many Americans in such places.  Maybe most of them are on tours and/or at nicer hotels?  So far, we've met mostly Argentinian, Italian, German, Dutch, Swiss, French, and, of course, Ecuadorian tourists.  English is the common language, except when it comes to the Italians and French, who speak better Spanish than English.  Naturally, we practice our Spanish with the South Americans too.

Now that we're in Baños for a week of downtime, we took the time to scout out hotels all over town.  We ended up at the Hotel Monte Selva, a sprawling spa complex with a great view of the town.  It's not fancy, but it's great to have space to spread out, a view, and the pools and spa.  

I do have a pet peeve about lighting.  All Ecuadorian hotels in our price range use depressing overhead florescent lights.  I suppose they're better for the environment than incandescent bulbs.  But, I'd really love to find a place with warm, ambient lighting.

Our room at the Hotel Monte Selva is utilitarian but has a gorgeous view.  One downside is that we have no wifi in our rooms.  That is perhaps the biggest hardship for the kids.

Baños is a resort town set below Tungurahua, an active volcano that last erupted in 2006.  We can see it smoking and sometimes lava flows can be seen at night.

I'm not a fan of our bathroom, but maybe I'm just getting too picky.  It is relatively spacious and odor-free.  

In conclusion, we are not just staying in idyllic places full of hammocks!  I'll try to keep it honest as we continue on our journey.  

Animal life in the Oriente

The best thing about the jungle was that we got to see lots of amazing animals.  Our guides Jose and Javier were great at spotting them and explaining their behavior and habitat to us.

Ruby disguised as a parrot

Yo and Ruby with the PZs in our canoe

Probably everyone's favorite was the monkeys.  On our first full day, we saw squirrel monkeys, who follow the larger capuchin monkeys through the branches.  There were probably hundreds of monkeys in the trees next to us.  (Be sure to check out Ruby's blog post and video of monkeys!).  That morning we also saw a small night monkey in its tree, about to go to sleep after a busy night of foraging.  From the observation tower in the canopy, we saw a family of red howler monkeys resting in a tree top.  They stayed there the entire three hours we were up there.

red howler monkeys photographed through the scope

Oscar and Ruby high in a Kapok tree

Oscar checking out his three toed sloth -- be sure to read his blog post!

My next favorite animal was the hoatzin, or stinky turkey.  They were quite common where we were, and apparently black water tributaries are their main habitat.  Hoatzin are so strange, scientists don't quite know how to classify them.  They have a digestive system like a cow, and they emit a foul odor from their stomach gases when distressed.  Baby hoatzin have claws on their wings that allows them to crawl out of the water for safety.  I never got tired of seeing the stinky turkeys near the Napo Wildlife Center.

Stinky turkey

We also saw a plethora of birds -- different types of herons, kingfishers, hawks, scarlet macaws, parrots, a king vulture, and many smaller birds that I can't name.  The oropendula birds were also very common and fascinating to me.  They build large nests that hang from tree branches, and their song sounds like drops of water.  We saw this small screech owl, as intent on watching us as we were on watching it.

screech owl

I found it really interesting to learn about the relationship between animal species and between animals and plants.  The jungle is full of symbiotic relationship, parasitic relationships, and mutualism.  

Oscar already blogged about sloths and the sloth moth.  Leaf cutter ants have symbiotic relationship with a boa.  The ants could be seen everywhere carrying pieces of leaves in a row -- one type of ant carries the leaves, another tiny ant rides on the leaf to clean it, and yet another type of ant eats the leaves underground and poops.  The ant poop grows a fungus, which the ants eat for nutrition.  Back to the boa, the leaf cutter ants create a warm environment where the boa likes to lay its eggs.  The boa's presence protects the ants from predators.  Isn't it amazing how specialized this all is?

Silver winged trumpeters, a bird that we heard but didn't see, picks up a certain millipede that emits an ammonia-type smell when stressed.  The ammonia substance is used by the bird to keep its feathers free of parasites.

We saw white bark cecropias trees too, which stand out because they have no vines or flowers growing on them.  This is because a certain kind of ant eats the vegetation growing on the tree, thus protecting the tree.  In exchange, the ants live inside the tree, and these trees are mostly hollow because they're filled with these ants.  

The trees and plants are also incredibly varied.  Strangler fig trees don't grow from the ground.  Instead, they start as a seed dropped from above by a bird onto another tree.  The strangler fig grows roots down to the ground, eventually strangling and killing the host tree.  Some trees have trunks covered with flowers to attract pollinators.

These flowers attract pollinators

Other tree trunks are covered with sharp spikes to protect the fruit growing above.  

The indigenous people have specialized uses for many of plants.  Walking palms, socratea, literally have individual roots that allow the tree to move in search of light.  The roots are covered with spikes and make perfect graters.

Walking palm tree

We smelled a garlic plant that is used as a natural antibiotic.  It's traditional to bathe babies in garlic water too.  Plants provide pigment for every color of the rainbow.  A certain tree with beautiful red flowers has bark that can be cooked and used as a natural contraceptive.

Ruby with achiote dye

Jose getting painted by Ruby

Did you know that termites provide natural insect repellant?  Ruby was brave enough to stick her hand on a termite hive.  Once her hand was covered, she shook off the termites, which emitted a turpentine-type substance when stressed.  That substance truly kept mosquitos away!  I prefer that to deet but lack Ruby's courage.

Brave Ruby covered in termites -- it tickled!

Finally, the highlight of our jungle stay was our two night walks.  Darkness falls very quickly in the Amazon, and the sounds of the jungle change drastically too.  Our ears alone told us that insects were taking over as the birds went to sleep.  We saw spiders that build a joint web -- imagine a web filled with 100 spiders all working together.  We saw cockroaches, cicadas, praying mantises, and many other insects.  

These snails are mating -- jungle love!

And boy did we see ants.  I hadn't thought of this before visiting the jungle, but probably the biggest danger if I had to spend the night in the jungle would be ants.  There are bullet ants whose bite hurts so much it feels like you've been shot with a bullet.  (Our guide Jose said he was once bitten by a bullet ant, and a native guide lessened the pain by placing two sticks behind his ears).  The largest ant in the world lives in the Amazon -- it's almost two inches long and lives a solitary life.  One was patrolling the large Kapok tree where the observation tower is built.  I also brushed one off Oscar's shoulder during our second night walk -- luckily he didn't get bitten! 

I spotted two vine snakes -- one per night walk.  The first one was crossing a fern above my head.  The second was hanging out on tree branch just above eye level.  Jose picked up both snakes and let us check each other out.

Ruby and her new snake friend

Towards the end of our walk, a large frog the size of a small kitten placidly blocked our path.  It was clearly pregnant.  Our guide told us that this species of frog skips the tadpole phase.  The frog will give birth to hundreds of tiny, fully-formed frogs.  What a sight that would be!

The view of the lake from our cabin

Yo and Oscar happy to be heading out for a night walk

Oscar, Jose (in Gunks T-shirt!), and Ruby saying goodbye in Coca

Thank you again to Jose, Javier, and the rest of the staff at the Napo Wildlife Center.  Come visit us in NYC, where the wildlife is less exotic, but where you have friends!