R + D | South America

After Galápagos, we took a looong overnight bus ride east from Quito to the jungle town of Coca. Good thing we were sleeping most of the way, because the few times our eyes were open we noticed how scary the bus ride was. We were basically careening through the Andes on tiny, curvy roads that sometimes went over tiny, rickety bridges over deep canyons. In the middle of the night. In the clouds. And in the rain.

We waited in Coca for a few hours before meeting our guide from the jungle lodge we were going to. Those few hours were long enough. Coca is basically a town that sprung up in response to the oil boom. Petroleros (oil workers) from all over Ecuador come through Coca on their way to their jungle outposts, where foreign oil companies are drilling the hell out of the Amazon.

We had a 3-hour motorized canoe ride to our jungle lodge in the pouring rain. Every minute was worth it. The lodge was fantastic. It is an entirely community-run lodge that was set up to provide an alternate source of employment for the Sani people to the oil industry. The weather was hooooooot and steeeeeamy, rather uncomfortable actually. To avoid the heat, we started at 6am for a few hours of hiking in the jungle, and went out again at 5pm (still scorching hot one hour before sunset!). Even in the heat we had to wear long pants, rubber boots, long sleeves, sunscreen, and insect repellent.

Despite all the discomfort, the experience was incredible! Instead of stepping over animals who decided that the middle of the path was the best place to call home (as in the Galápagos), the jungle hikes were more about trying to spot incredibly camouflaged animals through binoculars. Needless to say our wildlife pictures from Galápagos are a little more exciting. We saw crazy insects (giant millipedes, leaf-cutter ants, huge grasshoppers that looked like leaves), colourful fungi, amazing trees and plants, various different types of monkeys, 13% of all bird species on earth (really), black caimans (related to the alligator), frogs, 2-foot long worms, you name it. The biodiversity is staggering, especially compared to the Galápagos where on some islands there is only one kind of plant or a handful of bird species.

The food at the lodge was also amazing (obviously this is Danielle writing… happy tummy = happy traveler). A definite highlight was a traditional dish called maito, which is fish cooked in a kind of palm leaf — the cook went into the jungle with his machete to cut the leaves himself — and served with yucca, plantains, aji (spicy sauce…yummm), and a tomato-onion sauce. The best meal I´ve had in Ecuador so far.

Onward. After the jungle, we went to Baños, famous for its volcanoes and thermal baths. We had thoroughly relaxing few days there, soaking in the baths, going on hikes, and just enjoying the scenery. Volcano-watching is also a favourite tourist pastime, but the volcano was inactive while we were there. A few days later, however, we learned that it spewed ash and smoke 5 km into the air and covered Riobamba (a town 4 hours away) with 4 cm of ash.

From Baños, we took another hair-raising bus ride to a quiet colonial town called Guaranda. The scenery was outstanding. In the Andes and all. We took a day trip to a small town called Salinas, where we visited co-op factories where they produce wool, soccer balls (with fake logos on them, of course), chocolate, ceramics, cheese, herbal teas, and salami. It was fascinating. Pictures on Flickr.

After that, we took a crazy train ride from Riobamba towards the south, on a portion of track called El Nariz del Diablo ( the Devil´s nose). Basically a zig-zag switchback track that descends a steep mountain side. The train is only for tourists, but it was amazing nevertheless.

We are now in Cuenca, Ecuador´s 3rd largest city. It´s an old colonial city (founded in the 1500s atop ruins of an Incan city) surrounded by hills, full of culture, well-dressed Ecuadorians and fancy cars. Tomorrow off to relax in a small town called Vilcabamba, then off to Peru!

Before I go, would just like to make a few general points about Ecuador…

1. It is never too early to start playing latin techno music on the bus, say… at 6am.
2. Aforementioned music is never loud enough. 
3. This country is full of volcanoes! Many of them active. Who knew? 
4. The bus is never going fast enough around a hairpin turn with a 2000m drop.
5. Within one day of traveling, you can get to the coast, or jungle, or 5000m in the Andes.
6. To make the @ sign on a Spanish keyboard, you have to press Alt + 64. Weird.

We´ll write more from Peru. ¡Hasta luego!