Ecuador...por la mitad del mundo

Greetings from the middle of the world! We are now in Ecuador, but this is an update up to now:
From Armenia we headed south past the big city of Cali and made it to Popayan, a beautiful all-white colonial city in the hills. We headed to a hostel that was recommended to us and we decided to get a room there, seeing as how they had Wi-Fi, a kitchen, and a movie room with a bunch of DVDs – I think the kids watched about 4 movies in less than 24 hours! We found a parking lot to keep the westy safe at night, and then went out to wander about the city before buying some food in the supermarket and watching a football game at a bar (Defensor-Boca). The next day we woke up early and had some fruit and yogurt with granola for breakfast (the kids have discovered that their favorite fruit is called Pitahaya, a crocodile-skinned yellow fruit whose inside resembles something from Grandma and Grandpa’s pond during frog-breeding season!). We played for a little while with Ally, the dog in residence, and then decided to head toward the border with Ecuador to a town called Ipiales. Before reaching Pasto, the Andes began to appear in the distance, and before long we realized that we were not going to make it all the way there in one day. The drive was amazing, through canyons and up into the mountains, passing through tunnels and past waterfalls. Just before reaching Pasto, and just at the most treacherous point (involving nightfall and fog), a guy in a jeep who had passed us and waved earlier, flagged us down and offered us a place to spend the night. We spent a wonderful night and morning with Roberto at his Reserva Ecologia Morar, walking on the trails and checking out his two crystal clear streams and a nice little waterfall. He is an economist and his wife Maria is (almost to be retired) University Philosophy professor! They have been slowly buying up land there in order to allow it to return to its natural state after being used for logging and cattle farming for a long time. They have planted thousands of indigenous trees to combat the proliferation of introduced pine and eucalyptus. We got along really well, and we hope to see them in Uruguay some time soon - they even have a westy themselves that they bought for that very purpose! We got a bit of a late start, but made it to Ipiales in time to make a quick jaunt over to the Las Lajas sanctuary, an amazing gothic style cathedral built in the middle of this huge gorge - a stunning setting! It is amazing how much the culture changes as you get higher up into the Andes – not only the climate, but also the food and drink: they serve you warm beer and eat cuy asado – guinea pig roasted on a spit with their little teeth and feet sticking out! That night we slept in a cheap hotel in Ipiales but at least they had hot water (actually, the shower was either scalding hot or ice cold, take your pick). We got an early start the next day, and crossed the border quickly and with no trouble at all. The guy at the vehicle registration office recommended that we go to a Volcano crater lake called Cuicocha, a couple of hours south of the order between Ibarra and Otavalo, so that is where we headed. Unfortunately, shortly after we started to drive in Ecuador we hit a dog and killed him (our first road kill of the trip). We were all a bit upset, especially Mateo, who was feeling a bit sensitive and sick already, I think because of the altitude. The longer we drive in Ecuador we have come to realize, though, that neither pedestrians (canine or human) nor drivers in this country obey any kind of laws of the road – I swear that the leading cause of death here must be traffic accidents! The volcano crater lake was absolutely beautiful, and was actually fairly warm considering that the altitude is more than 3,000 metres above sea level, because the volcano is active and warms the water. We had a wonderful sleep in the westy beside the lake, and set out for Otavalo, a town close by that is well known for its indigenous handicrafts and clothing manufacturing. We had breakfast in the Plaza de Los Ponchos, and the kids (fittingly) got themselves a nice, wool poncho each to keep them warm in the mountains (it’s cold!). As you can tell from the photos, Mateo has exchanged his Colombian-poncho-hat look for a more Andean one upon crossing the border…at least for now. It did not take long to get from Otavalo to the “middle of the world” where they have a monument and sundial marking the exact place where the equator is. It seemed very accurate, as our GPS marked a latitude of “0” just as we stood on the line. They also gave us an explanation of interesting facts about the equator and mapping the stars, and we had a great time literally jumping from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere -- if only it were always so easy :) Overjoyed to be finally and officially in the south, we decided to head into Quito for the day, since we had heard that it has a nice old city. After driving around for a while in their horrendous traffic (no rules, I tell you!) and not finding a place to park, we decided to get ourselves out of there fast. Upon leaving the city, we noticed a black cloud of smog hanging over it – but then noticed an amazing snow-capped volcano in the distance (one of the highest in Ecuador, it is called Cotapaxi). The setting sun was shining right on it and it was truly awesome. We had received an email from Al saying that he had arrived in Banos that day, so we decided to break our own rule about not driving at night and push through until we got there at around 10 pm. After unsuccessfully looking for Al at his hostel, Plantas y Blanco (he was on the internet and then went to sleep in his room, and we had just missed him) we parked outside and went to sleep for the night. The next day we woke him up early and have been having a great time ever since. The people at the hostel have been kind enough to let us park out front and use the bathrooms and kitchen facilities, which are located on this amazing rooftop terrace with a 360 degree view of the city, which is surrounded by mountains, waterfalls and even a volcano (which erupted a few years ago, forcing the whole area to be evacuated). They also have these amazing and cheap breakfasts which we have been taking advantage of. This area is packed with thermal water baths, and we have been enjoying them immensely, especially since it has been a bit cold and rainy since we got here. In this area there are also amazing waterfalls, canyons, and we are only an hour away from the Amazon jungle. This place is also really interesting because it is where Andean culture meets Amazon culture, and there are plenty of both here. We have been spending our time going for walks, drinking freshly made juices in the market (my favourite is carrot and naranjilla – this fresh, green, tangy tasting cross between a tomato and an orange – delicious!), cooking on the rooftop patio, going for thermal baths at night under the stars, and getting caught up with Al. The other day we decided to head into the jungle a bit and follow the Pastaza River (which flows directly into the Amazon) down to Puyo which is the capital of the Pastaza province where there are seven distinct indigenous groups-- Shuar (yes, the ones with the shrunken heads!), Achuar, Kichwa, Waorani, Andoa, Shiwiar, and Zapara – who all more or less maintain their traditional ways in the jungle. There is a wonderful nature trail beside the Puyo River, and we spent a few hours enjoying the flora and fauna of the jungle (and the heat!). We even saw a whole flock of toucans flying across the river! Later on that same day we visited a really well-kept wildlife refuge called Yanacocha, where they had all kinds of animals from the area who had been rescued from an improper life of captivity and illegal trade. We even got to figure out who that mystery panther/otter animal was from the Arenal volcano in Costa Rica (see photo). In the evening, we discovered a – can you believe it? - Uruguayan parilla in the middle of Puyo, where we watched the match between Defensor and Boca and chatted with the owner, who himself happens to be a fairly well-known soccer player from Uruguay! Miguel Angel Russo and his Ecuadorian wife Monica even invited us to spend the night at their place. The next day we decided to visit another wildlife refuge, this time specializing in monkeys! I know, I know: how could we possibly do such a thing after the monkey episode in Minca? But I assure you that this was the most amazing experience of the entire trip so far! We spent hours and hours there, just hanging out with the monkeys, getting to know all their names and they were literally hanging off of us and playing with us and each other (and the poor dogs) the whole time! We also went on a jungle walk by the river, and a woman who works with the monkeys explained all about the plants and trees of the area. The owners of the rescue operation are a couple from Switzerland and they currently have 39 monkeys in their care (6 different types), all of them rescued from a life of captivity and illness. All of the monkeys that we hung out with were still fairly young, and the goal is to slowly rehabilitate them so that they can go out in small groups into the wild to live. It was hard to tear ourselves away from our monkey friends, Sandra, Muriel, Milton, Pancho, Lisa, and the rest (we haven’t laughed that hard in a long time – especially with Al’s buddy, good ol’ Milton the young wooly monkey) but we ended up driving back to Banos that evening, because our monkey business meant that we were completely filthy, after having them all over us (Gustavo got “lice” picked out of his beard and even got peed on at one point by a capuchin, I think it was Dario…) so we needed the hot water showers at the hostel. We made a nice dinner and drank some wine on the terrace, while we looked at the pictures of the monkeys and watched the videos. Ariel says that we wants to go back someday to volunteer there (they are always in need). Al is getting ready to head to Colombia tomorrow, and we will be once again heading south, this time to Peru.
Despues de despedirnos del Kike en Armenia (“el VW no es una marca, es una familia”), empezamos a manejar, pasando de largo la gran ciudad de Cali y llegando a Popayan en la tarde. Teniamos la tarjeta de un hostal que nos recomendaron en algun lugar y lo encontramos en el centro de la ciudad. Decidimos tomar un cuartito alli, ya que tenia Wi-Fi, cocina, y sobre todo una sala para mirar peliculas en DVD– creo que los nenes miraron por lo menos 4 peliculas durante el tiempo que estuvimos alli! De noche salimos a recorrer un poco, y a comprar comida en un supermercado llamado Éxito, parando para tomar algo en un bar donde estaban pasando el partido de futbol de Boca-Defensor. Despues de mirar una pelicula todos juntos, fuimos a dormir. Al otro dia desayunamos una fruta deliciosa que se llama pitajaya (Ariel y Mateo dicen que es la fruta mas deliciosa del mundo) en el hostal y arrancamos otra vez hacia el sur. La intencion fue llegar a la frontera con Ecuador, pero despues de un rato el camino a Pasto se puso culebrero….Los Andes empezaron a sentirse en serio, y pasamos por unos caniones impresionantes, con valles y rios y hasta tuneles en las rocas. Ya estaba oscuro (y frio) cuando estabamos llegando a Pasto. En un momento en una de las curvas, un hombre nos paso y nos saludo por la camioneta, algo que pasa bastante seguido asi que no lo pensamos dos veces, y no le dimos mucha importancia. Un rato despues, vimos que el mismo estaba esperandonos al lado de la carretera. Resulta que el tambien tenia una Westfalia, y entonces nos ofrecio si queriamos ir a su casa (tiene una reserva ecologica) a pasar la noche. Lo seguimos hasta alli y pasamos una linda noche, conociendo a Roberto y cocinando juntos en su cocina. Al otro dia nos invito a conocer los senderos de su lugar, llamada Reserva Ecologica Morar, que incluye dos quebradas de agua purisima y una cascada preciosa. El y su familia estan en proceso de construir una lindas cabanias , y tienen unas cabritas que a Mateo le gustaron mucho. Llevo 25 anios para que el bosque se regenerara, y plantaron muchos arboles nativos para combatir la invasion del pino y eucalipto. Tambien conocimos a su mujer, Maria, que es profesora de filosofia en la facultad. Son muy buena onda, y tambien tienen pensado un viaje por Latinoaermica (en su westy) – asi que algun dia los veremos en Punta del Diablo! No demoro mucho en llegar la cuidad de Ipiales en la frontera, y nos desviamos un poquito para visitar a el Santuario de Las Lajas, una catedral gigantesca y de estilo gotico construida sobre un canion – loquisimo. Otra cosa que notamos al empezar los Andes es que la gente se vestia (con los gorros Andinos) y comia diferente: comen un animalito llamado cuy, lo hacen asado (conejito de indias!) y enteritos a las brasas, con las patitas, dientes y todo! Esa noche dormimos en un hotelucho rarisimo, despues de comer en un lugar mas raro todavia, y nos levantamos temprano al otro dia para cruzar la frontera. Fue facilisimo cruzar, muy profesional de los dos lados (a parte de la altura – a Mateo le dolia la cabeza a casi 3000 metros) y no podiamos creer que estabamos en Ecuador! Despues de hablar con el hombre de la aduana, decidimos manejar por un par de horas hacia la laguna de Cuicocha, una laguna a la misma altura pero donde el agua esta tibia al estar en el crater de un volcan activo! En el camino, poco despues de cruzar la frontera, nos paso algo muy triste: un perrito blanco salto de atrás de un omnibus y abajo de la camioneta y cuando lo vimos ya era demasiado tarde – el pobre no tuvo ni tiempo para decir ni “guau”. Fue la primera vez que nos habia pasado, asi que fue bastante choqueante – sobre todo para Mateo (que ya estaba medio sensible). Hasta ahora las impresiones de Ecuador comparada con Colombia sobre todo – la comida esta baratisima, la gasolina esta a mitad de precio, los peajes (que nos comieron vivos en Colombia cada 60 km) tambien son baratisimos…y la gente no obedece ninguna regla de transito, no importa que sean conductores o peatones. No queremos ofender a nadie, pero no podemos creer que mal que manejan! Y ni los perros ni los personas miran para cruzar la calle, y cuando casi les pisan se empiezan a matar de risa. No se, son todos medios suicidas…Cuando llegamos a la laguna del volcan estaba lleno de gente – otra vez era un domingo – pero al ratito se fue todo el mundo y teniamos todo el lugar para nosotros. Al otro dia seguimos la Panamericana hasta Otavalo, un pueblo muy conocido por sus artesanias. Fuimos a la Plaza de los Ponchos donde los nenes consiguieron un lindo poncho cada uno (esta frio en las montanias!). siguiendo para la Panamaericana Sur, un poquito antes de llegar a Quito, por fin cruzamos la linea ecuatorial! La verdad es que estabamos bastante emocionados al ver que el GPS registro la latitud de 0 grado y que cambio de decir latitud Norte a latitud Sur! Alli habia un lugar con un reloj de sol y un pequenio parque educativo y nos hicieron una charla para explicar todo sobre la linea ecuatorial. Estuvo buenisimo! Ecuador es el unico lugar en la linea (ecuatorial) donde hay montanias para realmente ver el cielo e interpretar las estrellas. Emocionados por haber pasado finalmente para el hemisferio sur, seguimos camino. Despues de una entrada media rapida (y apurada) a Quito (que debe ser lindo si no estas manejando) seguimos para Banios, donde habiamos quedado en encontrarnos con Al , un lugar bastante turistico con aguas termales. Llegamos como a las 10 de la noche, y estacionamos bajo la lluvia bien en frente del hostal donde Al se estaba quedando. Al otros dia desayunamos juntos en el hostal, y pasamos unos dias muy lindos con el Albondiga, caminando, comiendo, cocinando en la terraza del hostal (que tiene una vista de 360 grados del pueblo entre las montanias), mirando la gente tirarse de los puentes en bungee y baniandonos casi todas las noches en las aguas termales! Llueve bastante, un poco todos los dias, pero igual es un lugar precioso. conocimos un lugar donde hacen tallado en tagua; una semilla bien dura de una palmera que crece aca y es llamada marfil vegetal, muy linda y sin tener que matar a nigun elefante! Tambien fuimos muchas veces al mercado a tomar jugos naturales y comprar frutas y verduras. Hace dos dias decidimos salir hacia la selva amazonica, a un lugar que se llama Puyo que es la capital del canton de Pastaza. Seguimos el Rio Pastaza (que desemboca en el Amazonas) por una hora y media, bajando y admirando el paisaje que cambio de montanias, cascadas y caniones a ser selva tropical y calorcito! En Puyo salimos a dar un recorrido por el rio, en unos senderos turisticos preciosos donde habia mucha gente baniandose en el rio Puyo. Es increible como en este lugar se juntan las culturas andinas con las amazonicas – en Banios se ven muchos indigenas con sus trajes andinos, pero en el canton de Pastaza hay siete diferentes nacionalidades indigenas, llamados Shuar (los que encogian las cabezas de los enemigos!), los Achuar, los Kichwa, los Waorani, los Andoa, los Shiwiar, y los Zapara, y la mayoria viven en la selva como lo han hecho por muchas generaciones. Despues de la caminata, fuimos a visitar a un refugio de animales silvestres muy linda; Anacocha, donde vimos muchos animales de la zona que fueron y son rescatados, mas que nada de gente que los compran para mascotas en el mercado negro. Hasta pudimos ver cual era el animal misterioso que se nos habia cruzado en el volcan Arenal, en Costa Rica! Alli se puede ver en la foto, es medio gato-comadreja (le dicen cabeza de mate). Lo mas gracioso fue que en Puyo, en el medio de la selva Amazonica, nos encontramos con una parillada uruguaya donde estaban pasando el partido Defensor – Boca, esta vez en Argentina. Nos quedamos alli charlando con el duenio, Miguel Angel Russo, que jugo por muchos anios para Peniarol, antes de venir a jugar a Ecuador. El y su esposa Monica, nos invitaron a dormir en su casa esa noche. – uruguayos, donde fueron a parar! Al otro dia despues de despedirnos de ellos, fuimos a visitar un centro de rescate de monos: fue una de las experiencias mas increibles que hemos tenido en el viaje! Desde el primer momento que llegamos alli, pasamos todo el tiempo rodeados (y abrazados) de monos! Los duenios de la “Fundacion Los Monos Selva y Vida”son suizos, y desde 2005 tienen este lugar de rescate con 39 monos de 6 clases, que son rescatados del mercado negro. Muchos llegan lastimados o enfermos, pero alli estan todos vacunados y sanos. La verdad es que fue fantastico! Nos quedamos horas con los monos, mirandolos jugar, mientras nos robaban las cosas de los bolsillos (hasta los lentes!) y despues salimos a recorrer la selva al lado de un rio cristalino y una mujer que trabaja alli nos explicaba todo sobre las plantas y arboles de la zona. Tambien rescatan otros animales como coaties y tortugas de tierra. Despues de haber pasado todo el dia con los monos subiendonos encima y “sacandonos piojos” (a Gustavo hasta le hicieron pichi!) y dandonos abrazos y besos de mono, terminamos fascinados, aunque un poco sucios, asi que decidimos volver para Banios donde aprovechamos el hostal con agua caliente! Otra vez cocinamos una rica cena en la terraza del hostal, y soniamos con los monos toda la noche y hasta los extraniamos! Ahora seguimos aqui en Banios, y Al se va maniana para Colombia y nosotros seguiremos como siempre, para el sur. Queremos llegar a Peru rapido, aunque antes nos toca un cambio de aceite y un chequeo de frenos.