2001 tagged posts

In America, Ecuador 2001 On  23/05/2001  No comments

I woke up early to go the famous train tour to the Devil’s Nose. The train leaves Riobamba at 7am. The tourists arrive a lot earlier to get a good place, the majority go on the roof of the cars to enjoy the landscape. It was cold and a bit rainy.

As soon as it leaves Riobamba we can see the countryside of Ecuador. Mountains squared by the plantations. Farmers working. Some people stay sitting by the railroad to see the train passing by (it works 3 times a week). Kids wave to the tourists. It must be funny for them to see a train crowded with tourists on the roof.

The train stops all the time to local people get in and off with their loads. The last stop before the Devil’s Nose is Alausi, a small town in the mountains. There some more tourists squeeze themselves to get to the roof with their photo and video cameras. The train continuous to the valley.

The way is interesting...

In America, Ecuador 2001 On  22/05/2001  No comments

By noon I left Baños (1800m) to Riobamba(2800m). At 2 o’clock I got in town and arranged a tour to see the volcano Chimborazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador. They say it is the furthest point from the center of the Earth. This time there was a Dutch couple, a guide, a driver and me. My expectations were very low since the day was cloudy and I had stayed a week in Baños trying to see the top of Tungurahua, what I couldn’t because of the clouds.

As we begin to go up, the sky seamed to clear. We started to see a little of the mountain, sudently it was there, the white top of Chimborazo. It was beautiful, as if we had gone higher than the clouds, as if we were looking from the top. The happiness was general, the Dutch couple was also frustrated for not being able to see the Tungurahua. On the way to the refuge we saw some llamas and vicuñas.

At 4:30 we got to the refuge (4800m) and started the walk to the second reguge (5000m)...

In America, Ecuador 2001 On  21/05/2001  One comment

Baños, a small town south of Quito, attracted me as I got off the bus and could see the mountains surrounded it. With a population of less than 20.000 inhabitants, the city is located in the botton of the Tungurahua volcano. It is active and has probabilities of erupting any time. In 1999 the city was evacuated for being considered dangerous. As the volcano didn’t erupted, the inhabitants came back even though the it is still active. The population complain that their things were stolen when they were away. They even distrust the police that made them leave.

In the weekends the city is croweded with people from the nearby villages. They all come to the mess, to here the band play in the square or to eat marmalades. It gave me the feeling of traveling back in time...

In America, Ecuador 2001, Hiking/Trekking On  18/05/2001  One comment

We (an Australian couple, an English girl, a guide and I) left Baños early to spend a few days in indigenous huts in the jungle. The trip to Puyo was great. We rode on the roof of the bus van, it was the best place to see the scenery. We passed through some beautiful waterfalls. Before going to the camp site we stopped in a place called Reserva Fátima, a natural reserve for animal and environment. The infrastructure was really simple, it looked like a house with a patio full of animals. They take care of turtles, alligators and snails. There are also parrots, macaws and monkeys that the police apprehends and brings there for rehabilitation to the environment.

In the afternoon we got to our campsite to leave our stuff and left for a 4 hours walk in the jungle. We stopped to see some medicine plants. As it was rain season, we walked (with rubber boots) the whole time on the mud. The end of our trail there was a waterfall where we took a shower...

In America, Ecuador 2001 On  15/05/2001  No comments

Today I passed the day in the museums. As it was an ugly cloudy day, in the morning I visited the museum Antiguo Cuartel of la Real Audiencia in the center of the city. The building was restored and has a great collection of sacred art. University students guide the visit showing the different faces of the museum. The majority of the pictures did not have author, according to the guide it is because they were done by mestizos and indians, and these did not have the right to sign their paintings.

On the afternoon I visited the Casa de la Cultura, a complex with diverse exhibition halls, museum and cinema. The Museo Nacional has an excellent display of art from pre-Columbian period to nowadays. Here it impressed me their organization to the pre-Columbian art area. This art is displayed in dark rooms, black walls, shown inside of illuminated windows. It is all catalogued by tribe and time. Together, there are maps of the Ecuador showing the region where the tribe inhabited...

In America, Ecuador 2001 On  12/05/2001  No comments

Again, I went to see the open market in Otavalo. From there I decided to visit the Cuicocha lake. I caught a bus up to a small town called Cotacachi; from there I got a taxi to Cuicocha. The name of the lake is due to the fact that in the region there is a lot of “cui”. Cui means guinea pig and cocha, lake in Quechua. At an altitude of 3070 meters and a depth of 180m, the lake was formed in the crater of a volcanic eruption. It stored water in its interior and has an island in the middle.

I did a boat tour to go around the island. It didn’t take long but it was worthwhile to see the wall of the volcano from inside. I could see water bubbles from gases that come up from the depths. The color of the water, sometimes dark blue, other dark green, makes the landscape to be a good excuse do go all the way there. It gives a great peaceful feeling.

In America, Adventure, Cycling tour, Ecuador 2001, Diving & Snorkeling On  11/05/2001  No comments

A week in Santa Cruz Island was enough to everybody knows me there. Beyond the fact that Puerto Ayora city is so small, there was also not many tourists around, it was low season and the airport was closed. The island has good attraction; one that I liked was bird watching sitting by the dock, especially watching pelicans and herons feeding themselves. Another activity was to see the enormous turtles in Charles Darwin Station.

The Tortuga Bay, about 3 km walking distance from the city center, is one of the most beautiful places in the region. It is a white sand beach, waves in the sea and some natural pools. I also rented a bike to visit the countryside of the island, to see small towns like Bela Vista.

I was there because i wanted to go diving. I stayed inland and got a boat every day to the dive site. As there was not so many tourists on the island,  there was not many options of diving tours. I end up doing 6 great dives. The first two dives were in a place called Gordon Rocks...

In + More..., Karla and animals On  11/05/2001  No comments

200 years old turtle – Galapagos, Ecuador 2001.

In America, Ecuador 2001 On  03/05/2001  One comment

In America, Ecuador 2001 On  01/05/2001  No comments

I woke up early to see the May Day parade. The city had stopped, there was not even buses circulating. I caught a taxi to the old town to wait for the parade. Arriving there I realized that there was police all over the place. All the streets that led to the Plaza Grande (where the Government building is) were closed with barricades of policemen. They did not allow anyone to pass through. It could feel a certain tension in the air.

I went to the parade street. It was very organized. It looked like that all the crowds were there represented: farmers, students, laborers, children, indigenous… It was like a carnival, it passed by groups with flags, uniforms, bands, costumes… The public was squeezed on the sidewalks attending the manifestants to pass. It seemed a party day, everybody was outside. There were ice-cream, sodas, food and flag sellers…

The parade ends up in the Plaza San Domingo, three blocks away of Plaza Grande...