Friday, December 31, 2004

HAWKEYE HAPPENINGS, December, 2004

HAWKEYE HAPPENINGS-December 31, 2004
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador

After returning from a 2-month trip to the states, John was busy working on boat projects so Linda, and Teri from the sailboat ISHI, decided to explore Ecuador south of Guayaquil. The ladies were determined to keep within a budget of $25 per day and were able to do so without difficulty. Travel was by bus, which is very inexpensive in Ecuador. Some of the highlights of their trip are as follows:
SALINAS, a small village at 11,600 feet: - The walking tour started off at the cheese co-op where many kinds of cheese were made from milk brought in by large milk cans on the backs of donkeys. A man from Switzerland visited this little village in the 70’s and felt he could help the people with Swiss techniques and machinery and did so. At the chocolate co-op, we sampled some of the white chocolate and macadamia nut candy being made there. The macadamia nuts are grown here in Ecuador, as are the cacao beans for the chocolate.
The next stop was the soccer ball factory. The “jefe” was a woman who owns this private company, which is not part of the co-op system. Here we saw a young woman winding and winding six cones of thread on to an inflated rubber ball. Many piles of colored hexagonal leather patches were on the other side of the room, a pot of glue was brewing over a fire, and some balls in iron forms were cooking in the oven. They were proud of the fact that all the makings for the balls come from Ecuador. We were shown a box of the finished product, soccer balls marked “made in Salinas”, which they hope make it to the next Olympics.
Next, we walked up the hill to the wool factory, stopping along the way to take pictures of a saddled llama parked out in front of someone’s home. We toured two big buildings full of interesting big whirling machinery, where they wash and spin tons of wool yarn from sheep and alpaca, dye and package it. Next door was the hongo co-op; here, they dry mushrooms picked from under the pine trees in the rainy season and package them for export.
RIOBAMBA: - Train-ride down the Devil’s Nose. First we had to check in our luggage and then find a spot on TOP of the train. Views were spectacular, through beautiful green country, past fields and forests, rivers and streams, and towns where the kids would chase after the train hoping for treats to be thrown down (our contribution was colored pens). We thought the train ride would be scary since the roof is somewhat rounded and the guard rail they have installed to accommodate people riding on top is only two bars, 10 inches high. By far the scariest part, though, is climbing up on to the roof by the narrow, overhanging rung ladder on the side of the train. The train ride is several hours long, following several switchbacks down to the bottom of the Devil’s Nose.
INGAPIRCA Ruins, 10,000 feet: - As we started to walk to the ruins Raphael, a handsome Ecuadorian man, approached us saying, in English, that he was our assigned guide. For an extra fee, he would walk with us about the ruins; but a talk on the mound was free. We opted for “free”. He talked with us for 1½ hour. He told us of the Cañari civilization of the early 1400’s (before the Incas), who started this city. They were a peaceful civilization, farmers and sun worshipers, having erected the sun temple still standing today. The Cañaris built the rounded base, of precise square stonework in greenish square foot blocks. The conquering Incas, who reigned for only 30 years before being replaced by the Spanish in the early 1500’s, rebuilt the top half of the temple.
The dress of the indigenous people that we see today (heavy colorful skirts of velvet with embroidery around the bottom, capes of wool and felt hats), which we think of as “Indian”, is really the dress adopted by the Indians from the Spanish. Each region has its unique pin or button for fastening the cape. We sidetracked Raphael at one point, asking him about the nice American style houses we could see scattered on the hills. We found out that many of these families find a way to send a son or a husband to the US to work and send back money. Many use “Coyotes”, often disreputable characters who promise to smuggle poor Latinos into the U.S. for a large fee. There is a large community of Ecuadorians for example in Queens, New York. Raphael had been in New York for five years, hence his good English. But he didn’t have to use a Coyote as comes from a wealthy family.
After hearing of the ancient civilizations, we also got a glimpse into the modern civilization of this land. Raphael told us he has a 21-day-old son, by the daughter of a servant of his family, 20 years his junior. He has moved out of the family house and set up a house for his new family. He has taken the baby to be seen by his mother and sister, and they approve because the baby has light skin, but he can’t show the baby to his father or he would be disinherited. Raphael informed us that he will never marry the girl; he is going to find his proper wife someday, but he will continue to support the girl and his baby. Some times, it is hard not to be critical of the different cultures of other countries…
PRINCIPAL, 10,500 feet: At the end of the road, at the top of the river valley, we arrived in the very small town of Principal. Guido, our guide, is a Quechua Indian. Spanish is not his native language, so we had a hard time understanding him (Quechua was the official language of the Inca Empire, which ruled much of the Andes region from the mid-1400s until the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in 1532. … From Encarta)
Continuing through the village, we saw some ladies making Panama hats (yes, Panama hats are made in Ecuador!). Not a lot of Tonka Toys around here – one kid was rolling a big hoop with a stick and several kids were running with plastic bags tied to cassette tape.
They had trouble gathering enough horses from around the village for our tour, and it turned out to be a bad idea. The horses were workhorses, not used to being ridden and they weren’t used to each other. Whenever they got to close together they started kicking, making for a wild ride. And the saddles were interesting, made of wood (actually not as uncomfortable as they looked), the stirrups of metal, hung on ropes, and the bridles were rope, with no bit in the mouth.
Linda’s steed was especially unruly, spooked and bucked several times at inopportune moments like on a narrow steep trail. At one point, Linda finally had to get off and walk. Susie and daughter Kate rode together on one horse and that was fine until the horse took off running across a meadow and the two of them slid off, fortunately onto soft turf. Kate, at 7, was a real trouper about getting right back on.
In spite of the rough ride, it was a great day of incredible views of mountains, valleys, rivers and vegetation. Guido was always stopping to point out some plant that was used for herbs, medicine or food; picking us wild strawberries and other fruits to eat and leaves to taste. Mid-day we came to Las Dos Encuentras, the merging of two rivers where we parked the horses and climbed to a meadow of grass and wildflowers overlooking the river valley. The view behind was of the top of a dormant volcano, one side of the top caved in. And just when you thought you were a million miles from civilization, you see a woman in a bright red skirt with a purple cape and felt hat leading a couple of cows across the next hill.
After hiking back to the horses, we continued over hill and dale, much of the time on a narrow, rocky, slippery, muddy and precipitous trail. The trail was so narrow at times that our feet were knocked out of the stirrups and sometimes, the trail was so deep you couldn’t see over the top. We were glad for the rubber boots we rented for 60 cents. Many times the horses slid and tripped on the wet rocks. This ancient trail was the path the Cañari people used before the Incas arrived. We each paid $8.50 for the horse, and $2.50 for the guides for the day. An unforgettable experience! (For the unabridged version, email Linda and she will send it to you.)

Upon returning to Bahia, John mentioned to Linda that Joe on MUSIC, a single-handed sailor, was leaving for the Galapagos Islands in a few days and what did she think about them crewing for Joe? SURE!! So, 3 days later on the 7 a.m. high tide, we were heading out from Bahia towards the Galapagos Islands, some 600 miles off shore. It was good sailing close to the rhumb line until mid afternoon when the wind piped up to 25 knots apparent with 5-6 foot seas making it a bit uncomfortable and hard to sleep that night. Watches were easy with 4 hrs on and 8 hrs off and there was plenty of entertainment by pilot whales swimming close to the boat. The water temperature dropped the further from shore we got as the Humboldt Current kicked in. This stream of cold water sweeps up the Chilean and Peruvian coasts from Antarctica and the night watches were much cooler as a result. Not at all tropical! MUSIC is a very comfortable Beneteau 40CC and sails pretty well.
Six days and one large Dorado (or Mahi-Mahi, a great eating fish) later, we arrived at Isla San Cristóbal, Galapagos. It was early morning and, after anchoring in Wreck Bay, we checked in with the Port Captain and our agent, who had our permit for visiting 5 islands ready. We spent a few days on Isla San Cristóbal visiting the Galapagos Tortoise reserve, a beach where we had our first sighting of Marine Iguanas, a visitors center explaining some of the history of the Galapagos and a ancient volcano crater that contains a lake which is the only fresh water in the Galapagos. There were lots of Sea Lions in the anchorage and on the beach. They don’t seem to mind people being within a few feet of them even if they have pups. The bulls are not as fond of people, however, and stay at a distance.
A bit of history now! The Galapagos were discovered accidentally in 1535, when the then Bishop of Panama, Tomás de Belanga drifted off course (over 500 miles!) After many decades as a haven for pirates, followed by whaling ships, the islands were claimed by Ecuador in 1832 and were made a national park in 1957, when the last of the penal colonies were closed.
We next sailed to Isla Santa Cruz, which is a day’s sail away. After checking in with the Port Captain, we were free to roam Puerto Ayora, a very crowded harbor where the tour boats pick up their people. This bustling town with its’ tourist shops wasn’t what we had in mind at all, but we wanted to visit the Darwin Center. This was indeed well worth the stay in that bay, which has no protection from the southerly swell. We were able to spot a few of the different kinds of Darwin finches and lots of Galapagos tortoises as well as Iguanas both land and marine. The tour of the lava tube, which has a diameter of about 50 feet, for about ½ mile was fascinating and we could only slightly fathom what it must have been like when lava actually flowed through it. Hiking many miles on the island, we saw wonderful white sand beaches where it is easy to spot the dark Marine Iguanas as compared to their normal habitat on the black lava rocks. A large lagoon was a popular place to snorkel or just wade. It is a popular hangout for a number of white tipped reef sharks.
The sail to Isla Isabela was a long day of about 70 miles. Just before entering the harbor, Puerto Villamil, we hooked a nice yellow-fin tuna, which fed us several meals. We can’t say enough about this most incredible place! The anchorage is beautiful, with few boats anchored in its’ very protected bay (it was the off season and we have been told that in high season, there may be as many as 50 boats anchored here-can’t imagine how they all fit in!). The sea and animal life was incredible. The blue-footed boobies were in profusion. Sea lions were unwelcome visitors on the boat (John got up one night when it started to rain to get his shoes and there was a sea lion asleep in the cockpit! We aren’t sure who was more surprised, the sea lion or John!). Penguins swam around the boat frequently and make a cry back and forth to each other. The penguins in the Galapagos are about 18 inches tall and it was a surprise to find them so close to the Equator! Their presence is the result of the Humboldt Current; at the time we were there, their feathers were molting (yes feathers, not fur). The iguanas were also shedding their leathery skins.

Several times we took an incredible hike around the black lava reef that protects the bay; it was like being on the moon! The lava is very rough, similar to the a’a lava found in Hawaii, but the Park Service has made a nice trail through the lava and this makes it easy. There are marine iguanas all over. In several areas it looked like the lava was moving, but it turned out to be a large group of iguanas! A little further down the trail is a fissure in the lava. It is open on two sides and within that fissure; there are usually about 15 white-tipped reef sharks. The trail is just feet above them and you can look down and observe them (There was a sign posted suggesting no swimming). Further on along the trail, was a sea lion pup and it looked like the babysitter was a marine iguana as they were resting close to each other. Don’t know where the pup’s mom was. In another cove, there was a sea lion colony with the “head honcho” protecting his harem. On one occasion, another bull tried to enter his cove and was very loudly and aggressively told to leave. Another time, Linda and Wynona, another cruiser lady, were snorkeling in the bay with a “teen aged” sea lion having a great time when the bull came over and rushed them. It is very hard to run in water with fins on! Poor Wynona almost had a heart attack as she was closest to the bull and couldn’t move fast enough. But, he backed off when he saw that they were trying to get out of his territory.

The blue-footed boobies are fun to watch. They collect in a great flock of about two hundred, and start circling. Through some signal we couldn’t detect, they will all dive into the water at the same time. They dive bomb, splash, pop-up and take off flying to start the process again. We assume they all got at least one fish on each dive, as they look well fed.

Another hike we took went through town and along the beach to a trail through the lava flow to a turtle hatchery. There were several different types of Galapagos Tortoise in pens where they were being fed something that looked like large leeks. They really seemed to like it and we spent quite a while looking at the different types. Two large males got into a little disagreement and one snapped at the other clamping down on the leathery skin of his leg. We also noticed at other Tortoise reserves that they hiss when you get to close to them and pull back into their shell. Some of these strange creatures live to be 170 years old, and weigh up to 600 pounds. The amazing thing is that there are any tortoises left on the islands after the depredations of pirates and whaling ships in previous centuries. Darwin reported that one ship left with 700 live tortoises in its hold (they live for a year without food – the tortoises, that is) and another ship captured 200 in one day! The efforts of the Darwin Center, and other tortoise reserves, to restore the tortoise population are commendable. We were told that the incubation temperature of the eggs determines the gender of the tortoise. Above 30 degrees centigrade, the hatchlings will be female, which greatly assists the re-population efforts.
One day we took a tour by truck, horseback and hiking up to a volcano. Along the way, we were able to feel the different climate changes and see the difference from the dry vegetation and cactus at sea level to the lush, green vegetation of the rain forest in the mountains. Walking on the volcano was very interesting and in some places quite difficult because of the loose lava. We saw “hot spots” where steam was vented and it felt like putting your hand in an oven. There were several lava tubes and even a lava fall (looked like a waterfall turned to stone). Our guide told us the red color was ancient lava flow and the black new lava. This volcano last erupted in 2001. There were sinkholes with lush green plants at the bottom. The lava left wonderful formations some looking like chocolate chips in chocolate syrup and others looked like pulled taffy. Depending on the minerals, the colors varied from yellow, orange, blue and green, to gray, maroon, and black. Our guide explained some of the different plants and birds. The vermillion flycatcher was a showstopper with his brilliant red body and black wings.
Another day we rented kayaks and paddled out past the reef with a guide. We were rewarded with a close up of 2 sea turtles mating (this takes about 3 hours!) and two marine iguanas squaring off, butting their heads together with their spines and cheeks flared to look bigger, clawing and hissing and trying to bite each other. Winner gets the females.
Our guide talked us into another trip that took about 1 hour by fast-running panga down the coast to some incredible lava formations. It was an “e” ticket ride through the surf to get to the protected waters where we saw numerous “bridges” which were originally lava tubes. We snorkeled this interesting place but after about 40 minutes were forced to get out as the water was quite cold. We saw turtles and lots of fish in this clear water but no sharks. This was surprising as that is where they usually hang out. After we ate our lunch, we walked out on a lava field and saw where we had come in through the surf. It was quite unnerving, as we knew we were going to have to go out through these breaking waves. Our driver started both 70 horsepower engines, had them going full bore and timed the waves perfectly. It was a wild ride back to the boat and we considered it another exceptional day in the Galapagos.
Our 30 days allotted at the islands came to a close all too quickly. Our last meal ashore was lobster soup, fresh guava juice, fried fish medallions, rice, a bean and potato salad and a peach half for dessert-all for $2.50 U.S.! During our last sunset at Isla Isabela, we were privileged to have a flock of 7 flamingos fly by the boat, circle and head back to their lagoon. They, like parrots and macaws, do a lot of “talking” when they fly. It was a memorable sight and a fitting farewell to the Galapagos.
We decided to sail with Joe to Panama, and then to fly back to Ecuador, for two reasons: 1. Joe would not have to sail the 900 miles alone and 2. We stood a better chance of getting another 90-day visa for Ecuador flying in from another country. Little did we realize what would happen! We sailed all day to Isla Baltra, where the main airport is located. This little island was home to the U.S. military back in 1942, after the Pearl Harbor attack, when an airstrip and base was set up to protect the Panama Canal. The base is now closed but the scars remain. This airport is where the bulk of the 90,000 (!)tourists fly in each year to visit the Galapagos.
After riding a bus from the main harbor of Puerto Seymour to the airport, we found that we could not check out of the country as we had planned. It seemed the officials at the airport did not have the correct stamp! (they are big on stamps in Latin America.) So, from the airport we took a truck-taxi, a water-taxi, and a regular taxi across the island of Santa Cruz, to Puerto Ayora, where the “correct” stamp for checking out of the country was affixed to our passports. Along the way, we were able to pick up more fresh fruits and vegetables and visit two enormous sinkholes. One was 900 meters diameter by 400 meters deep and the other was 1000 meter diameter and 200 feet deep with vertical walls-very impressive.
Anchor was raised at daybreak on Wednesday, Nov. 24 and we set sail for Panama. As the Galapagos archipelago faded behind us, we felt ambivalent about the problems and opportunities facing this unique part of the world. An intense struggle is being waged between the conflicting interests and demands of a variety of groups. Ranged against each other are the scientists and conservation people, who want the islands protected at all cost from the ravages of humans and non-endemic animals and plants, the burgeoning tourist industry, with its demands for “big-city” amenities amongst the pristine surroundings, the industrial fishing fleets from the mainland and Asia, with their insatiable greed for the rich sea-food that thrives around the islands, the local and foreign fishermen, who have not hesitated in using violent tactics to assert their “right” to ravage the local waters of sea-cucumbers (not for food, but for “aphrodisiacs” for the Chinese market) and sharks, (slaughtered so that Japanese diners may feast on shark-fin soup) and, finally, the ever-increasing number of “settlers” from the mainland, arriving to cash in on the lucrative tourist business. With the Ecuadorian economy in decline, the demand for more “clean” tourist dollars is almost irresistible and the pressure for more tourist-friendly development is likely to continue. Fortunately, many international conservation groups are providing funds and maintaining close watch on the islands, so there is hope for the future of these crown jewels. We consider ourselves most fortunate in seeing at least one island – Isabela – that remains relatively unspoilt. As a local guide put it, “we had to sacrifice one island (Santa Cruz) to save this one.”
As we sailed towards Panama in brisk trade winds, with 1.5 knots of current against us, we enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner of turkey spam, baked potatoes and broccoli with baked apples for dessert. It was the best the chef could do under the circumstances turkeys are around; however, they are alive and none of us were up to doing the nasty deed).
Our trip went well with the southeast trades even though we still had the adverse current slowing us down. As we worked our way north, however, we ran into a line of squalls, which marked a shift to stronger head-winds - and still that adverse current. With 25 to 30 knot head winds and rough, confused seas, we were within 30 miles of the Colombian coast, an area we wanted to avoid but were not able to head up any closer to the wind and Panama. During a pitch-black, squally night, with a torn jib and a malfunctioning autopilot, the spinnaker pole bracket broke and the mast-stored spinnaker pole started flailing around the foredeck. On top of all this, there were two blips on the radar ahead of us, keeping pace. One’s imagination tends to work overtime when in this kind of situation. Anyway, the winds abated, daylight came, and the 2 boats lying in wait turned out to be shrimpers. Just then, Linda spotted a float on the port side and then one on the starboard side-not good. Quickly the engine was put in neutral just in time as the long-line went under the winged keel of the Beneteau, past the folding prop and caught on the rudder, bringing us to an abrupt stop. Fortunately, Joe was able to hook the line, Linda ascertained it was only around the rudder and John got the knife to cut the line. Soon we were on our way again, slowly. With fuel running low, the wind gods finally smiled upon us, the wind and waves calmed somewhat, and we finally arrived at Espiritu Santo in the Pearl Islands after 10 1/2 days at sea. After two days rest, we headed into Panama City to complete the voyage.

After spending a week in Panama City visiting with friends, we said farewell to friend Joe and flew back to Ecuador where we were successful in getting another three-month visa. The Christmas Season in Bahia is busy and there is actually traffic on the streets. Some nights the music goes most of the night but we are enjoying this wonderful place and look forward to more exploration.
A sentence we read in a book and really like: “Doing nothing is really hard because you never know when you are done.” We hope the New Year affords you the opportunity to do this. John and Linda, HAWKEYE




















Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Touring Southern Ecuador on $25 a day

Southern Ecuador on $25 a day:

Sun 10-3-2004 Bahia to Guayaquil
Linda and Teri left Bahia at 7:15am on the Reina del Camino bus for Guayaquil ($7 each). After a 15-minute stop in Puertoviejo at 9:30 we arrived in Guayaquil about 12:30. Took a taxi for $3 to the Pacifica Hosteling on Escobedo and Luis Urdaneta, and got a spacious room for $7 per person, with private bath and shower with hot water. (The TV didn’t work though.) Pacifica Hosteling is on the edge of the downtown area, three blocks north of the department stores. We walked in the opposite direction though; four blocks to the artisan mercado where we found the prices to be high for that sort of stuff. You can always talk the vendors down in price but it was too early in our trip to be buying things. Had an almuerzo lunch across from the market. Went to the 1-2-3 dollar store and bought a box of 100 colored pens for $3 to have something to throw to the kids when we do our Great Train Ride. Crossed the street to the north end of the malecón, a very wide promenade that runs for blocks along the river. The show at the IMAX caught our eye so got tickets for $2 to see The Galapagos. IMAX is like being in a planetarium, the screen wrapping overhead and around. The Galapagos show was dramatic with views of the volcanic islands, the wildlife and a ride in a two-man submarine to scoop up deep sea creatures. After the show we strolled through the botanical gardens, then on down to the south end of the malecón where we did a tour of the “Orion”, a research ship of the Ecuadorian Navy, and found a Chinese sidewalk restaurant for dinner. We window shopped the stores in the underground shopping mall of the malecón and were doing fine until we found a bead shop. We each spent $5 on necklaces and beads and bought a $6 bottle of Amaretto. Not quite sure what Amaretto was doing in a bead store but it was made in Ecuador, with a cute label. Back up from the underground we had ice cream cones for dessert as we walked back to the other end of the malecón. Took a taxi for $1 from the malecón back to our hostel. So far so good – it was a $25 day for each, excluding the bottle of Amaretto which we will amortize over the total days of our trip. Oh, and excluding the bead shop purchase.
Pacific Hosteling on Escobedo between Luis Urdaneta and Junin
Artisan market on Montalvo and Moreno

Mon 10-4 Guayaquil to Guaranda to Salinas
Up at 6:30 and took a taxi to the bus terminal in Guayaquil, keeping an eye out for how to ride the city bus next time. Avoiding all the shouting bus ticket barkers inside the terminal, we found the Guaranda bus and caught the 8am bound for Babahoyo first. Babahoyo is at sea level, a watery town at the juncture of five rivers flowing down from the Andes. The riverbanks are lined with interesting bamboo houses on stilts, long gangplank sidewalks running every which way. Tried to take some pictures but the busses never slow down enough. After Bahahoyo soon we started climbing up into the Andes, arriving in Guaranda about 12:30. Panting from the altitude, we walked the mountainous town toward the bus stop to Salinas, stopping every few blocks to catch our breath and to ask directions. Found a place for an almuerzo lunch along the way then found the bus stop. Waiting there was a bus/truck ready for boarding. A bus like this I had never seen, church pew wooden benches mounted on a flat bed truck, with a roof overhead. We were ready for great views, as we knew we were climbing higher into the Andes, but just before we took off they rolled down plastic curtains from the roof, which we could barely see through. The rest of the passengers, all indigenous wearing their felt hats and all seeming to know each other, laughed at our disappointment. They explained that it would be a cold ride without the curtains. Linda and I were clearly a curiosity to everyone on the bus, but they were very nice and smiling, asking where we were from and how we liked their mountains.
Arriving in the town square of little Salinas we found a little tourist bureau where no one spoke any English, but they directed us UP the dirt road to the El Refugio Hotel. It was a quite a trudge, under a drizzly sky. But we found the cozy hotel, looking like a ski lodge with overstuffed chairs around a wooden fireplace in the lobby, a diningroom with big windows overlooking the green valley, and dorm rooms upstairs. The proprietress was a kindly Ecuadorian lady who ushered us up the wide wooden staircase to a dorm room with our choice of 6 beds, $5 per person, bathroom and shower down the hall. Since we were the only customers, we had the whole floor to ourselves. We could have had a lovely room downstairs, with private bath and garden for $9 per person (breakfast included) but we were bound and determined to do this trip at $25 a day. We each picked a bed under a window with a beautiful view overlooking the town, mountains looming behind, looking like a scene in the Alps. It was minus the snow, but it felt cold enough for snow. Went downstairs to the lobby where the Direct TV was on; but the real attraction was the fire in the fireplace. We both had headaches from the altitude and I had to miss dinner because I had a bad stomachache. We had come from sea level to 3550 meters (11,600 feet). Linda had to enjoy a good meal in the diningroom by herself ($2). We watched TV with the proprietress until 9 o’clock at night before retiring to our cold beds upstairs. But we managed to stay warm by sleeping under many heavy blankets that weighed a ton. In the night I awoke once to see a beautiful scene of the silver full moon rising up from behind the mountains and playing hide and seek with the clouds.
El Refugio Hotel, Salinas: www.salinerito.com email: turismo1@salinerito.com or isael_71@hotmail.com Telefax: (593) 03-2 390-022

Tue 10-5 Salinas to Guaranda to Riobamba via Volcan Chimborazo
Awoke at 6am to almost clear skies, thankfully with headaches and stomachache gone. We took pictures of the surrounding area from our dorm room windows, attracted by our view down onto to a hobbit house with a grass roof. After breakfast we went to the town square where they were setting up for market day and bought beautiful wool shawls for $2. At the tourist bureau we decided to take the $3.50, 2-hour factory tour with Lenin, the English-speaking Ecuadorian who runs the restaurant/Internet Café.
The walking tour started off with the cheese co-op where they made many kinds of cheese from milk we saw being brought in on the backs of donkeys. Their local springs supply mineral water for the brine to make the chess, a special mix from two different springs. We learned that a Swiss man visited this little town in the 70ies who felt at home and decided to bring Swiss techniques and machinery to the people here. Next we visited a Soya bean factory where kids were working to sort and package beans. One kid was stirring some brew of milk and Soya in a big pot. Ahhh, on to the chocolate co-op of good smells, where we sampled some white chocolate and macadamia nut candy. The macadamia nuts are grown here in Ecuador as well as the cacao beans for the chocolate. Then we walked across town (which consisted of just a few blocks) to the soccer factory. The jefe here was a woman who owned this one private company, not part of the co-op system. Here we saw a young woman winding and winding six cones of thread on to an inflated rubber ball, developing a right arm like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many colored piles of hexagon patches were on the other side of the room, a pot of glue was brewing, and some balls in iron forms were cooking in the overn. They were proud of the fact that all the makings for the balls come from Ecuador. They showed us a box of the finished product, soccer balls marked “make in Salinas”, which they hope make it to the next Olympics. Next we poked our heads into the sausage co-op, of not-so-good smells. A team of six men and women were stuffing some red concoction of meat (?) into endlessly long casings. In the outer room brewing over a flame was a large black cast iron pot of unidentifiable animal parts. Lenin picked out some pieces and offered them to us, but we declined, saying we were full from the candy. Next we walked up the hill to the wool factory, stopping along the way to take pictures of a saddled llama parked out in front of someone’s house. We toured two big buildings full of interesting big whirling machinery, where they wash and spin tons of wool yarn from sheep and alpaca, dye it and package it. Next door was the hongo co-op where they dry mushrooms picked from under the pine trees in the rainy season and package them for export to many clients around the world. Back toward the town square we stopped at a shop where ladies were learning to knit with the factory’s yarn. They come from the outlying villages, their husbands bringing livestock to the Tuesday mercado, they learning to knit the sweaters that are for sale in the shop. This little town is incredibly industrious; everyone gets into the act. Passing the school we saw some of the school kids in the field next-door learning how to till the soil. Back at the town square, the mercado was in full swing, colorful and busy. But we had a bus to catch so we only had time to stop at Lenin’s café and buy a package of Mate de Coca tea, reported to cure altitude headaches. Our headaches were still gone so we didn’t test the brew.
Got the 11:30 bus to Guaranda, a regular bus this time with windows to view the lush green countryside of vertical cultivated hillsides. Met another gringa on the bus, a young girl from Mountain View, CA. Brandy is teaching English in Salinas and asks for anyone coming to visit Salinas to bring her children’s books in English.
We arrived at the bus terminal in Guaranda at 12:55 and rushed right on to the 1:00 bus to Riobamba. This bus took us part way up the side of the volcano Chimborazo, with views of barren landscape and a herd of vicuña (resembling small camels). A man on the bus pointed out the top of the volcano but it was enveloped in white clouds.
Arrived in Riobamba at 3pm. We had lunch across from the bus terminal then walked many blocks to the hostel end of town. Found Tren Dorado Hostel, a block from the train station, with a room with private bath for $8 per person. Well, almost private bath; the shower had an open grate-covered window looking into a hallway. Walked up to the Cathedral Park for a great view of the city and the surrounding mountains, to a bakery to buy dinner snacks and tomorrow’s breakfast and to the train station to buy our tickets for tomorrow ($11). There was a line to buy the tickets, mostly young adults, European back packer types.
Lenin Vasconez, English speaking tourguide in Salinas: Fundacion_Salinas@hotmail.com or Lamingacupe@hotmail.com
Brandy Dettmer, gringa teacher in La Escuela de Salinas. Needs children’s books in English and “MadLibs”: Icetape@yahoo.com
Hotel Tren Dorado in Riobamba: Carabobo 22-35 y 10 de Agosto email: htrendorado@hotmail.com

Wed 10-6 The Great Train Ride Riobamba to Alausi to Ingapirca
We got up at 5:30, packed and got to the train station by 5:50. A guy was in the lobby of our hotel renting cushions for a dollar, which we grabbed, having heard you certainly need one. We stopped to buy bananas and yogurt from one of the stands in front of the station and found they were charging double the price. Better to have gone to a store yesterday.
At the train, first we had to check in our luggage, then find a spot on top of the train. Even though departure time was an hour away there was already a throng of people, four boxcars starting to fill up on top. We were told the rear of the train was best, away from the smoke from the engine, so we climbed up on the fourth car and found a single seat on the right side and a single seat on the left side, back to back. This worked out well because we could trade sides now and then, getting the best of both views. For the finale, the Devil’s Nose, the right side was best for the precipitous view. But long before the Nariz del Diablo part, the train ride was spectacular on both sides, through beautiful green country, past fields and forests, rivers and streams. And towns where the kids would chase after the train yelling for candy to be thrown down. Wonder what they thought of the colored pens we tossed instead. All along the path of the train people would stop and wave, ladies from their front porch, men in the fields, kids on their way to school. One group of farmers surprised us by throwing up stocks of broccoli from the field. Linda was able to catch one, stowing it away in her backpack. I had thought the train ride would be scary, the roof is somewhat rounded and the guard rail they have installed to accommodate people riding on top is only two bars, 10 inches high. But the train doesn’t go very fast and you soon become in tune with the motion and captivated by the scenery. The scariest part is climbing up on to the roof by the narrow rung ladder on the side of the train. It was a several hour ride to the town of Alausi where we disembarked for a bathroom brake, then piled back on for the ride into the canyon and down the Devil’s Nose. At the bottom they shuffled the cars around, then pulled us back up the Nose and back to the town of Alausi. We got to know our immediate train mates during the 6 hour ride, a group from Italy with an Ecuadorian tour guide, a group of four from Switzerland, a couple from Holland and two young missionaries from England.
After a long wait for our luggage to be uncovered behind all the giant European backpacks we walked a block to the bus station where we got the last two seats on the bus to Cuenca ($4). Our goal was Ingapirca, an hour short of Cuenca, but everyone kept telling us we couldn’t stay in Ingapirca; that the nearest town was Cañar. The Lonely Planet GuideBook said there was a hostel in Ingapirca so we decided to get there somehow. From the bus I saw the turnoff for Ingapirca go by and 15 minutes later we were dropped off in Cañar. Quickly looking Cañar up in the Lonny Planet it said there was a Hostal Ingapirca in Cañar so we started asking directions and were directed across town to another bus stop, which was the bus for Ingapirca. Thoroughly confused, we got on the bus and went back the way we came, to the town of El Tambo where the bus circled around town a couple of times before heading up the back hills to Ingapirca. When we pulled up into the town we spotted the one hostel that was listed in the Lonely Planet, a street away from the bus stop. So we made a beeline for it, our rule being to always find a room before the sun went down. In our haste we walked right past a newer hostel, not seeing it until the next morning.
So we were a captive audience at the Hostal Ingapirca, her only customers (probably for the year judging by the state of the place). The room at was expensive ($6) for what it was: small, an old place, not too clean, bathroom with a sink that half drained onto the floor, and not-so-hot water in the shower. The proprietress was not very friendly and wouldn’t take less for the neglected accommodations. The rooms were upstairs, over her house and restaurant and we could hear her yelling at her children at night. The dinner in the restaurant was OK but she charged us twice the price she original told us. We aren’t going to recommend this place to anyone. To top it off, when we got to Cuenca the next day I noticed my lipstick from my backpack and my baggie of hair clips were missing, probably pilfered out of the room by the children while we were touring the ruins. But at least nothing expensive was taken, and this was our only bad experience on the whole trip, not bad for an extemporaneous venture.

Thur 10-7 Ingapirca Ruins Cañar to Cuenca
Up at 7am. We had granola bars for breakfast and walked half a mile up a country road to the ruins (10,000 feet altitude). There was a $6 entry fee that included a museum with guided talk and another guide for the ruins. The museum was small but very nicely laid out with an interesting talk as far as we could tell, but it was in Spanish. As we started to walk to the ruins we were approached by a handsome Ecuadorian man in a safari hat who said in English he was our assigned guide. For an extra fee he would walk with us about the ruins but a talk on the mound was free. We opted for “free”. We certainly got our money’s worth; he must have talked with us for an hour and a half. He told us of the Cañari civilization of the early 1400’s (before the Incas), who started this city. They were a peaceful civilization, farmers and sun worshipers, having erected the sun temple still standing today. The rounded base, of precise square stone work in greenish square foot blocks, was built by the Cañaris. The top half of the temple, their way of measuring the solstice, was rebuilt by the conquering Incas. The Incas only reigned for 30 years, then disappeared here for unknown reasons. The Spanish came in the early 1500’s. The dress of the indigenous that we see today that we think of as “Indian” is really the dress adopted by the Indians from the Spanish, the heavy colorful skirts of velvet with embroidery around the bottom and the capes of wool. Each region has its unique pin or button for fastening the cape. We sidetracked Raphael at one point, asking him about the nice American style houses we could see scattered on the hills. In our part of the Ecuadorian countryside in the north you don’t see that. Well – we found out that many of these families find a way (using coyotes) to send a son or a husband to the US to work and send back money. There is a large community of Ecuadorians for example in Queens in New York. Raphael had been in New York for five years, hence his good English. But he didn’t have to use a Coyote; his family legally sent him, being of wealth. After hearing of the ancient civilizations of this land we also got a glimpse into the modern civilization of this land. Raphael told us he has a 21-day-old son, just born to him by the daughter of a servant of his family. She is actually the daughter of the nanny who raised him. So we thought they must have grown up together, but found out she is 20 years younger than Raphael. He has moved out of the family house and set up a house for his new family. He has taken the baby to be seen by his mother and sister and they approve because fortunately the baby has light skin, but he can’t show the baby to his father or he would be disinherited. Linda and I thought how romantic for the mother of the baby but Raphael informed us that he will never marry her, he is going to look for his proper wife someday, but he will continue to support the girl and his baby. This is the stuff of which movies are made.
Back on the subject of the ruins, Raphael explained the lay of the land: the short walls defining the palaces, the common housing, the store rooms for the harvest, the craft workshops, and the highest mound with the temple still standing tall. Lastly he pointed out the area we were standing on, the burial grounds for the sacrificed virgins (Linda and I both jumped) and then he had to get back to the museum having talked with us longer than he was supposed to. So we headed off to walk the ruins with a better appreciation of what we were looking at. Behind the ruins was a slope of smooth rocks Raphael had told us to be sure and climb. So we did and were rewarded with a perfect view overlooking a perfect valley behind. We lay on the smooth rocks and hung our heads over the cliff to take in the forested hills, grassy hills, green fields, a winding river and a waterfall.
Reluctant to pull ourselves away from this perfect spot, but we had other places to go, things to see, so we walked back to the hostel to retrieve our luggage. Caught the bus to Cañar where we grabbed a hamburger and a coke to consume on the bus to Cuenca. Arrived at the bus terminal in Cuenca about 2:30. This is the nicest of bus terminals we have found in Ecuador, with a visitor’s lounge where you can organize yourself and get a city map and good information from the girl at the counter. She helped us figure out which city bus to take downtown to find The Hostal Monasterio. This turned out to be an interesting place, hotel rooms spread throughout a 6-story office building. We chose a two-bed dorm room on the third floor with a half bath on the third floor, in-between a lawyer’s office and a language school. The hostel desk, TV lobby, showroom and lunchroom were on the 6th floor.
Across the street was an artisan’s market covering most of the block so there we went. Same stuff you see in all the artisan markets, but what caught our eye was the crocheting being done by many of the Indian ladies with interesting fuzzy yarn in rich colors. We got one of the ladies to show us her pattern for crocheting the scraf and she offered to sell us some of the yarn for $4 a skein (the finished scarves are $6), saying she couldn’t take less and the yarn could only be bought in Quito or Otovalo. So we bought a couple of skeins. There was still daylight left and we could see a yarn shop across the street so we decided to do some research. Turned out there was a shop in Cuenca that sold the yarn, but it took an hour of asking directions and walking several blocks to find it. There we bought some of the same yarn at $1.90 a skein, many colors to choose from. On the way back to the hostel we bought some crochet hooks and couldn’t pass up the panadería for dessert goodies for 60 cents. We found a trendy little café for merinda dinners of $1.50 with great soup. Back to our room on the now deserted office floor where we enjoyed our dessert and talked until midnight, planning the rest of our itinerary.
Good yarn shop: F&M Bazar on Calle Tarqui 7-56 entre P. Córdova y Sucre
Hostal Monasterio on Aguirre 7-24 across from mercado San Francisco

Fri 10-8 Cuenca
We were awakened at 5:30am by a profusion of church bells. Guess that is what you get when you stay in the downtown church district. Worked on crocheting scarves. Walked to a tienda, bought yogurt, bananas, cheese and raisins for $4 and went back to the lunchroom in the hostel for breakfast. Made a tour of the downtown, visiting some of the churches to see the elaborate stained glass windows, stopping at the flower mart to smell the roses, dropping in at the courthouse to photograph the architecture, perusing an art gallery and browsing some of the shops.
Found a tourist information center to ask about going to Principal, a small town 40 miles from Cuenca. Linda had picked up a flyer in Riobamba advertising the place. The tourist agent made a phone call and assured us the town existed but didn’t have any more information on it. Went back to the hostel to fix our lunch. Linda made us a salad from the broccoli she caught on the train, with raisins and yogurt. We shared the lunchroom with a Swiss couple and heard about their 6-month tour of the US. They bought a van and drove from coast to coast, staying at Wal-Marts. They really liked the US, said everyone was very friendly and the shopping was good at Wal-Mart. Then they traveled by bus through Mexico, Central America and here to Ecuador. In Ecuador she had her passport and credit cards stolen on the bus from Quito to Baños. Her backpack was on the floor between her feet and some kid or very thin person crawled under the seat to get at it.
After lunch we walked around the town some more, coming across a Che Guevara memorial concert on the steps of one of the churches. They were selling some nice drawings of Che. He is sure popular in this country; you see his picture in many places. Walked several blocks to the edge of downtown to find the hostel where Linda’s John stayed when he came to Cuenca with Joe. La Cafecita Hostel/Restaurant is near the river, so we wanted to check it out for a place to stay when we do the riverwalk and ruins. We liked the place, dorm rooms for $4 per person around an interior courtyard restaurant or rooms with private bathroom and shower along a garden out in back for $7 per person. There is music in the restaurant until 11:00 every night but after that the place is very quiet. It looked like a hangout for bohemian types so we put it on our list of likely places to stay in Cuenca. Back to our neck of the woods, in the heart of downtown, we went to Casa de la Mujer across from the Artisan market. It was almost 5:00 so many of the shops were closed but we looked at what was there, two stories of small shops built around an interior courtyard. Looks like this would be a great place to spend some time looking and shopping and having lunch. Oh well, another day.
For dinner we splurged and went to The Eucalyptus, a nice restaurant in the downtown area. We spent $10 (expensive for us), enjoyed the ambiance with a glass of wine and planned our route to Principal for tomorrow. Hey, we are still averaging $25 a day!
Casa de la Mujer: interesting place on General torres www.cartesanalcmujer.com

Sat 10-9 Cuenca to Principal
We fixed breakfast in the kitchen at our hostel – granola and yogurt. The kitchen/diningroom could sure use some help. With a good cleaning, some paint and a bit of imagination it could be a charming place with its glass ceiling and wrap around windows. It has a fabulous view across the many church tops and down on to the mercado across the street.
We packed our bags and caught the city bus at the corner, two blocks away. Twenty-five cents to the bus terminal beats a taxi and these buses seem fine safety-wise unlike the crowded buses in Quito. Caught the bus to Chordeleg ($!.50), a 25-mile ride east of Cuenca. Dropped off at the plaza in Chordeleg, we were offered a ride in a truck to Principal for $10. But we kept insisting there was a bus going there until someone finally pointed up the street. So we started walking and another bus came along and picked us up to drive us several blocks to drop us off where we told to wait on the corner. Sure enough, the bus to Principal showed up in a few minutes. The bus to Principal was 50 cents and a beautiful scenic ride, up into green countryside, a river winding below. At the end of the road, at the top of the river valley, we arrived in the very small town of Principal and were dropped off in front of Hostel Anabel. We were met by Nida and her little 7-year-old daughter who live in and run the hostel. Nida showed us upstairs where we had our pick of two dorm rooms; the one in front with four beds or the one in back with three sets of bunk beds. We chose the front room but were thwarted in our decision by the immediate arrival of 5 girls, and then a family of four. Poor Nida, no one had made a reservation, so she was confused about what to do with all of us. Turned out the 5 girls knew the family as they were all from the same Spanish language school in Cuenca. So we organized ourselves and Linda and I ended up in the bunkbed room with four of the girls and Dedra opted to stay with the family in the front room.
We left Nida making beds as we all walked across the street to the restaurant which was really just the diningroom of someone’s house. We took them by surprise too; so while waiting quite awhile for the meal to be prepared (they probably had to go in their garden to pick enough vegetables) we sat on the side porch and got to know each other. The family of four from the States was Susan, a teacher on sabbatical, Tim, a design drafter and 7-year-old Kate and 11-year old Tad. The girls, all 20-somethings, were Lilli a Chinese girl from Canada, Stephanie from Switzerland, Dedra from Denmark, Elizabeth from Michigan and Keara from Washington State, each very interesting and friendly. Our hour-long wait was well rewarded with a delicious homecooked meal of soup with popcorn, chicken, mashed potatoes and broccoli.
After lunch Guido and Juan, the local tour guides showed up to take us for a hike. First was a walk through the small village where we saw some colorful skirts hanging out on a line. We thought it was laundry but our guide said something about someone dying and these were the clothes put out for people to take. Guido is a Quechua Indian, Spanish not his native language, so we had a hard time understanding him. (Quechua was the official language of the Inca Empire, which ruled much of the Andes region from the mid-1400s until the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in 1532. Those who speak Quechua as their first language are called Quechua Indians by the dominant Spanish-speaking cultures, but most Quechua speakers, who live in numerous distinct cultural groups, prefer to identify themselves with their Inca heritage…… From Encarta)
Continuing through the village we saw some ladies making panama hats and tried on the almost finished products. Saw some kids playing in the street. Not a lot of Tonka Toys around here – one kid was rolling a big hoop with a stick (bringing to Linda’s mind a picture of her Grandfather as a child) and several kids were running with plastic bags tied to cassette tape. Out past the last house of the village was a trail leading uphill where we came across an abandoned adobe house – full of guinea pigs. I thought the guide was kidding but he went up and rattled the door causing the squeaks of a hundred trapped guinea pigs. Leaving that Stephen King like novel setting behind we continued up the trail to a view across the river of the El Chorro de Principal Waterfall. Next in order was a walk down a steep trail to the river, to cool our feet in the clear cold rushing water before rock climbing up the river to a different trail home. On the edge of town we stopped at a small house with a trout pond in front, a pile of puppies and chickens all mixed up on the front porch.
Back to our cozy dinigroom across the street for a dinner of cream of carrot soup, bananas and grapes and good tea. This time while waiting for dinner we drew pictures with Kate and Tad. Back to our dorm room where sat on our bunk beds and talked and passed around the bottle of Amaretto.
To get to Pricipal: Buses from Cuenca Bus Terminal to Chordeleg leave every ½ hour. Change buses in Chordeleg. Bus stop for Principal Bus is four blocks after Chordeleg’s Parque Central, on Av. Guayaquil. Buses Chordeleg – Principal every 40 minutes (6:30am to 6:30pm).
Only hostel in Principal is Hostel Anabel www.projectsforpeace.org/chordeleg email: guacamayas2@yahoo.com 07-229-0737 or 09-996-8297 or 07-229-0742

Sun 10-10 Principal
Up at 6:30 and we all went across the street to the house of delightful cuisine. Waiting for breakfast Linda and I taught everyone toe weaving. The lady of the house served us a thick veggie omelet and fresh tomato juice. Outside in the street were waiting the first of our horses for our group of six who wanted to ride for the day. Three of the girls elected to hike to the Tres Lagos and Tim and Tad opted to walk around the village on their own. We were supposed to have the horses at 8am but it was 9:30 before we mounted. They had trouble gathering enough horses from around the village and it turned out to be a bad idea. The horses were workhorses, not used to being ridden and they weren’t used to each other. Whenever they got too close together they started kicking, making for a wild ride. And the saddles were interesting, of wood (actually not as uncomfortable as they looked), the stirrups of metal, hung on ropes, and the bridles rope with no bit in the mouth so it was hard to make a point with the horse. One of the men delivering one of the horses saw how much trouble we were having and volunteered to come along as an extra guide, most of the time leading one of our horses.
Linda’s steed was especially unruly, spooked and bucked several times at inopportune moments like on a narrow steep trail. At one point Linda finally had to get off and walk, Guido leading her horse. Susie and daughter Kate rode together on one horse and that was fine until the horse took off running across a meadow and the two of them slid off, fortunately onto soft turf. Kate was a real trouper about getting right back on.
In spite of the rough ride, it was a great day of incredible views of mountains, valleys, rivers and vegetation. Guido was always stopping to point out some plant that was used for herbs, medicine or food; picking us wild strawberries and other fruits to eat and leaves to taste. Mid-day we came to Las Dos Encuentras, the merging of two rivers where we parked the horses and climbed to a meadow of grass and wildflowers overlooking the river valley. The view behind was of the top of a dormant volcano, one side of the top caved in. Here we had our lunch, supplied by our lady from across the street – fired chicken, a pancake thing of veggies, bananas and apples. It felt like we were on top of the world. And just when you thought you were a million miles from civilization, you see a woman in a bright red skirt with a purple cape and felt hat leading a couple of cows across the next hill.
Hiked back to the horses and we continued over hill and dale, much of the time on a narrow, rocky, slippery, muddy and precipitous trail, the trail so narrow at times that our feet were knocked out of the stirrups. Sometimes the trail was so deep you couldn’t see over the top. We were glad for the rubber boots we rented for 60 cents. Many times the horses slid and tripped on the wet rocks. Donkeys might have been better for this ancient trail, the path the Cañari people used before the Incas. We finally got back to the edge of the village at 3:30, coming down past the water gathering tank where they make electricity for the town and add chlorine to the water. We passed by orchards of fruit trees (peach and apple) in bloom and by gardens of oversized vegetables and beautiful flowers. We dismounted at the hostel where we were sure glad to be back on the ground with no serious injuries. The town was nice to accommodate our wish to go horseback riding but we wouldn’t recommend it again for a large group since there is a shortage in the town of good riding horses. In the beginning we weren’t sure how much this was going to cost but in the end we each paid $8.50 for the horse, and $2.50 for the guides. Both guides worked very hard, controlling the horses and hiking the whole way. The second guide had only been back to the Andes for five months from living in the States and he admitted he wasn’t fully acclimated to the altitude.
Lilly, Stephanie and the family left for Cuenca before the hiking girls returned and Linda and I had time to take showers. When Dedra, Elizabeth and Keara returned they were weary girls with sore muscles and blisters. Their trip to the lakes was very beautiful but turned out to be more of a mountain climb than a hike. After Linda and I helped the last three girls to hurry to catch the last bus out of town things seemed very quiet. We went to dinner across the street, broccoli soup and popcorn, baked apple, tangerine and tea, watching Jurrasic Park on the TV, in Spanish. We said goodbye to the lady as we thanked and complimented her for all the great meals.
This sure turned out to be a great place; the accommodations nice, clean and cheap ($6 per person per nite) in a quiet little town, the hikes beautiful, and the homecooked food fantastic (we were never charged more than $2 per meal).
Suzie’s email: barnessu@Access4Less.net
Keara’s email: Keamatt@msn.com

Mon 10-11 Pricipal to Chordeleg to Cuenca
Up at 7:30, packed leaving behind pens and candy for the daughter as we caught the 8:30 bus to Chordeleg. The ride out of the valley was beautiful, every turn a new view down into the river gorge. We passed small settlements of houses between the road and the dropoff to the valley floor, with women on the porches, always with their bundles of straw weaving Panama hats. We arrived in Chordeleg and decided to survey the town a bit. Found a panadería for a breakfast of yogurt and pan dulce, then walked the shops boardering the plaza. The first shop was a gold jewerly store where we met the very nice owner Carlos who explained that his town has a long history of jewelry craftsmen, especially in gold because of the gold found in these mountains. We didn’t get much further around the plaza before we ran into a free museum, small but interesting with photos and artifacts of the old crafts of the region. What first drew us in was a giant silver earring of intricate fillagree work hanging on a pedistal, the real antique earrings in a case in the museum along with other antique silver jewelry. In the museum we learned that there were ruins of a Cañari settlement, a mile from the plaza on the edge of town. So we went back to our friendly jeweler, left our bags in his store and headed up the street in search of Las Ruinas Llaber. Having to ask directions several times along the way we found the hill, up a narrow path between fields and gardens, passing a pig pen on stilts with three friendly pigs. One lady tending her field waved at us and wanted to know where we had come from. She proudly displayed her knowledge of English and of California. Most Ecuadorians know where Florida is, but not California.
We really enjoyed walking what was probably a Cañari trail from that ancient civilization of the 1300’s. It led us to the Ruinas LLaber which at first looked like just another hill, but then we recognized rock walls overgown with grass and wildflowers. Walking around on top of the hill, with a good view of the city of Chordeleg and of another town in the distance, we found mounds of smooth rocks, and some oblong holes lined with stones. Digging around in one of the holes we thought we found a treasure, some ancient cloth, but after pulling on it, it turned out to be a part of a skirt and part of a pair of trousers with a label, made in Indonesia – clearly not a Cañari artifact from the 1300’s. Linda recorded all this on video. Coming down from the hill and rounding to the other side we were just remarking on how interesting it was to be at an unprotected archeological site (how else would we be digging around in the ruins) when we saw a house at the base of the hill built on the foundation of some more ruins. I guess what was good enough for walls in the 1300’s is good enough to build a house on today.
We walked back to town for an almuerzo lunch, came across a yarn shop where we bought more yarn (we will be making scarfs forever), then went back to the jewerly store to say goodbye to Carlos and retrieve our luggage. At the bus stop we waited the longest time we have had to wait for a bus on this whole trip – 15 minutes. Back to Cuenca where we caught a city bus to the river. Walked a few extra blocks to the hostel since we took a wrong turn. But we eventurally found La Cafecita, the hostel we had “checked-out” a few days ago and opted for the $4 dorm room to stay within our budget. (Had to make up for all that yarn we bought.) We gave the restaurant a try but beers were $1.50 so we went for a walk instead. Found an Internet place on the corner and sent an email to the guys. Had dinner a block away from the hostel on Jaramillo Street at a Hari Krishna vegetarian Pizza parlor. Try and find one of those in your hometown. We had french fries, a small pizza and 2 teas for $3. Back to the room and to the showers. Good thing the restaurant was dark and noisy because to take a shower you had to wind your way through the tables of customers with your towel over your shoulder, carrying your little shower bag. The restaurant was full of student types, candles on the tables, an interesting collection of new age music playing. We liked the music, good thing since we could clearly hear it in our room until 11:00 at night.
Joyeria El Brillante in Chordeleg Carlos Lopez - specializes in gold jewelry. Carlos very friendly and speaks good English address: Juan Bautista Cobos y 24 de Mayo, corner of Parque Central
El Cafecito Hostal – Café www.cafecito.net Honorato Vazquez 7-36 y Luis Cordero email: cuenca@cafecito.net

Tue 10-12 Cuenca
Up at 7:30 and we walked to the tienda for yogurt. After breakfast in our room we ventured out about 8:45 and walked Av Fray Vicente Solano, a wide tree lines boulevard. After a couple of miles we came to the base of the steps leading up to Vista Turi – 450 of them. At the top was a plaza with a grand lookout over the city, a cafeteria and a tourista shop. Huffing and puffing we got there about the same time a bus arrived and wondered why we hadn’t taken the bus. But now that we were into walking we went back down the steps (in half the time) and walked back to Calle Larga, crossing over the picturesque Rio Tomebamba. Good thing Linda was wearing her new knee brace, which worked well. By this time we had worked up an appetite so stopped for a $1.25 almuerzo lunch. The usually good Ecuadorian soup was more like menudo so we didn’t eat much of that but the french fries and rice with tuna and vegetables plate was good. We had gotten to the small restaurant just in time. Just after we got our food the place filled with students and business people, the waiter running from table to table to get everyone served. We can see why they do this almuerzo lunch, no need for a menu and taking individual orders.
We escaped the noisy restaurant and walked a block to the Banco Central Archeological Museo. Here we spent 3 ½ hours touring the many rooms on the three floors of this beautiful museum. I think we were the only customers so we felt guilty asking for the senior discount, only paying $1.50 each to have the whole place to ourselves. The first floor was archeological artifacts and an art gallery of photos and paintings of the history of Ecuador. The second floor held a most interesting walk through all the different regions of Ecuador and the history of the culture of each; the northern coast with its black heritage, the dryer southern coast where the Incas reigned, the plains of the cowboys, the Andes with the Cañari and Inca civilizations and the Amazon region with the Indians of the jungle. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was the display and graphic explanation of shrunken heads. The third floor was a library and a large display of the coins of Ecuador that we quickly breezed through since we were museumed out. And outside, behind the museum were Inca ruins to walk around and a bird aviary containing many different kinds of parrots, some toucans and CariCaris.
We dragged ourselves back to the hotel but found a Colombian restaurant along the way that inspired us to have an early dinner. We had an arepa and papa rellena, coffee and tea for a total of $4.50. Arepas Mixto is a thick corn and egg tortilla topped with beans, chicken, beef, cheese and veggies. The Papa Rellena was a large baked potato skin filled with a hash of ground beef and potato, coated with a cheese crust. Have no idea how they made it but it was to die for.
Back to the hotel for showers and we checked out to leave in the morning. It had been a day of many miles and a bargain day at only $9.50 apiece.
Moliendo Café (Colombian food) on Honorato Vazquez 6-24 y Hno Miguel

Wed 10-13 Cuenca to Guayaquil via Cajas National Park
Up at 7am and had breakfast in our room. Packed and walked up the street to catch the city bus marked “Terminal” to the bus terminal. We got tickets on the Alianza bus line to Guayaquil via the Cajas National Park. This ticket was more expensive than the normal $1-a-mile long-distance bus rate, maybe because of the National Park. The bus was $8 and left at 9am. The ride was well worth it, of different scenery than we have seen in Ecuador. The Cajas is a high barren plane with many little silver lakes that have been formed by glaciers. At 11,000 feet the cloud covered views were mysterious and dramatic; of plunging dropoffs, rivers in gorges far below and waterfalls in the steep hillsides. All too soon we started coming down the mountains into the rain forest, the jungle and then into the flat lands of the plantations of banana, cacao, mango and papaya. We arrived in Guayaquil about 1pm at the bus terminal. Caught the city bus to within four blocks of Pacific Hosteling and walked the rest of the way. Got a room on the front side of the building this time, with a TV that worked (only in Spanish). Went for a walk toward the downtown and got some lunch at Bongo Burger on AV nueve de Octubre. We had hamburgers, french fries and a coke at this old-fashioned soda fountain type place. Talked to the owner who spoke English, California his favorite vacation spot, hence the California look to the restaurant. Walked to the Naval Museo but it was closed. Found the Bank of Pichincha and got more cash to spend at the 1-2-3 store. Went to the 1-2-3 store a few blocks from the hostel on Escobedo and came out in the dark. Walked back to the hostel, stopping to get some yogurt for tomorrow’s breakfast and ice-cream bars.
Bongo Burgers on Av nueve de Octubre and AV Chimborazo

Thur 10-14 Guayaquil
Slept in later than usual, until 7:30. After a yogurt breakfast in the room we walked to the Naval Museo across the street from the malecón. We were the only customers for this free museum of four rooms. Walked to the Catedral Metropolitana where Linda tried to find a home for her hiking shoes that don’t quite fit but couldn’t find anyone around that looked worthy. Went across the street to Parque Bolivar, a small park full of walks and benches, statues, green lawn and iguanas – tons of iguanas of all sizes wandering around but they didn’t need shoes. On the way to find a restaurant Linda spotted a little old lady on the sidewalk begging and gave her the shoes and got blessed. After a lunch of Chinese we walked through the “black market”, the rows and rows of little booths selling electronics, CDs and T-shirts and stuff. At the end we noticed two cops were quietly following us on motorbikes. We wondered why the vendors had quit hassling us. So we quickly left the “black market” and walked to the Crystal Palace at the end of the malecón. Interesting building but there were no exhibits happening. We wandered through the small group of artisan shops, then to the underground mall of the malecón. Stopped at a cofffee shop to revive Linda with a good cup of coffee. I asked for root beer but of course they didn’t have any. There is no root beer south of the US. So I told the proprietor he should be serving root beer floats and explained root beer and drew him pictures of a frosty mug. Watch, by next year he will be a millionaire with my idea. Across the walkway was a hairpiece shop so Linda went in and tried on a “fall” that was a perfect match for her hair, but it felt too heavy on her head. On the way out of the mall we passed the bead shop from our previous visit and we of course went in and came out with a few purchases. We found an Internet Café on Av. Nueve de Octubre and Moreno and sent an email to John saying we would finally return to Bahia tomorrow. We bet the guys are beginning to wonder. Walked back to the malecón to find a bus to Mall del Sol. A nice tall policeman told us to catch number 2. The passengers on the bus told us where to get off; turned out was in front of the airport. The mall was a couple blocks away and across a busy street so a policeman stopped the traffic for us to be able to cross safely. The movies weren’t starting for an hour and a half so we walked the mall, shopping at SuKasa for kitchen stuff. Linda bought a paella pan made in Spain for $20. Found a 99 cent store and bought snack food for the movie. We chose KFC in the food court and had Twisters waiting for showtime. The movie was “Raising Helen” with Kate Hudson and John Corbett, playing a subtle sexy minister. Good movie. A lady we met in line at the 99-cent store advised us to take a taxi back to the hotel instead of the bus so we did.

Fri 10-15 Guayaquil back to Bahia
Got up early, packed our suitcases but left them in the room and walked downtown. Came across a good restaurant for breakfast, “Tipo Don Rico’s” on Escobado and AV. Nueve de Octubre. Went to the Internet Café to let John know we would try and catch the 9:30 bus for Bahia. There was an email from John letting us know Sunday is voting day, making it a crowded weekend for traveling. So we hightailed it back to the room for our luggage and caught the city bus #111 on Solano, two blocks from the Hostel. Got to the bus terminal at 9:20 to find a long line at the Reina del Camino ticket window. After an hour we got two of the last 8 seats on the 11:30 bus to Bahia. Our next option would have been “the slow bus to China”, the bus that stops at every little town between Guayaquil and Bahia, our favorite being Jipijapa (pronounced ippi-appa). But we sped right though those towns on our direct bus, happy to endure the usual playing of the shoot-em-up movie on the TV. This time it was about a sharp shooter cowboy who was blind no-less, running around the wild west delivering a baby to some lady. We didn’t even need to hear the dialog to follow that movie – good thing since we were in the very back of the bus, a long way from the TV screen. Arrived in Bahia at 4:30 ish.
The guys retrieved us from the dinghy dock and later we all went out for a pizza dinner.

Wednesday, June 30, 2004

HAWKEYE HAPPENINGS, June, 2004

HAWKEYE HAPPENINGS, June 2004

BAHIA DE CARÁQUEZ, ECUADOR.

Latitude 00 degrees 36 min. South, Longitude 080 degrees 25 min. West.

On March 26, HAWKEYE checked out of Panama bound for Ecuador. The plan was to sail only about 40 miles to the Perlas Islands, clean the bottom of the boat and wait for a good weather window. Finally, on Sunday, April 4 at 10:40 a.m. we departed Isla Cana with another boat, ÖRNEN. By 1700 hrs (5 p.m.) HAWEKEYE was double reefed in 20 knots of wind doing 7 knots. The winds held and in fact increased with 4 to 6 foot sometimes breaking waves that made it uncomfortable for the next two days as we flew along well reefed. April 6 the wind died, and we had to motor for 1 hr which was needed anyway to charge the batteries. At 4 p.m. that same day we heard from our buddy boat, ÖRNEN that they were heading back to Panama due to problems with their rigging. It seems their shrouds suddenly went slack and one of the chain plates pulled out of the boat! They arrived safely a few days later with major repair work needed.

The rhumbline to Ecuador is approximately 223 degrees from the Perlas. There is a restricted island that belongs to Colombia, Isla Malpelo (bad hair?), which must be dodged on the way. HAWKEYE was 20 miles away from the island, and well to the northwest of it, when we heard on the radio: “Vessel 4 miles north of Isla Malpelo, this is a restricted area. Change course immediately!” We checked our charts and GPS to assure ourselves we were not the vessel they were trying to reach. The final transmission we heard was, “If you do not leave this restricted area, we will open fire!” The Colombians don’t mess around with people being where they aren’t supposed to be and we were glad they weren’t talking to us!

At 8 a.m. on April 9, we had no wind and John had calculated we had enough fuel to motor all the way to Bahia Caraquez if we had to. We decided to motor for a while hoping the wind would fill in. Suddenly, the engine stopped. John checked everything out and ended up changing the fuel filter that must have gotten clogged due to the rough seas from the previous days. Crisis over. Within a few hours, the wind came up and we sailed under spinnaker with only 86 miles to go. At 5 p.m. that evening, the wind died again and this time when we turned on the engine, there was a heavy vibration. John thought the cause might have been loose zinc on the prop shaft. The vibration got worse over the next hour and by that time, it was dark. We decided it was not good seamanship for John to go into the water in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night to check it out. The next day he did go in during calm seas and indeed the two zincs on the shaft had vibrated loose and the cone zinc on the propeller had disappeared. No wonder it was so noisy! HAWKEYE ghosted along under a few knots of wind and at 1 a.m. on April 10, we crossed the equator. John was asleep but Linda watched the GPS hit 00 deg. 00.000 min. This was our second time across the equator and so were already “shellbacks”. We had whipped up some margaritas earlier but thought it might be better to wait until we were safely anchored before partaking of alcoholic beverages. The anchorage in the “waiting room” at Bahia Caraquez was reached at 5 p.m. on April 10. Shortly after, we drank those margaritas and got a good night’s sleep before our pilot arrived the next morning (Easter Sunday) and brought us into Bahia. All in all, we had a great sail of 684 miles to Ecuador where we are now on a mooring enjoying life in Bahia.
Other boats were behind us and came in the next day. We checked in with the Port Captain and then a few days later, we took a 3 hr bus ride to Manta to check in with Immigration. The bus ride to Manta provided us with our first glimpse of the beautiful Ecuadorian scenery as we went along the bay, up into the mountains and down again into a valley to Manta.

The next several weeks were spent getting the boat back into shape after the crossing and finding our way around Bahia. We joined the Bahia Yacht Club so that we could swim in the pool and shower there rather than on the boat. Linda does not do much cooking in Bahia as almuerzo (lunch, which is really the main meal of the day) costs $1. Almuerzo consists of a good sized bowl of some kind of wonderful soup followed by a plate of rice, with fish, chicken, or beef, cucumbers and tomatoes, or plantain (like a banana but not as sweet) and a glass of some kind of fresh fruit juice. It is cheaper to eat ashore rather than buy the groceries and use the propane and water for dishes.

With some other cruisers, we went on an overnight trip up the coast about 15 miles to a surf resort area. It was a village of palapa restaurants and small hostels built from bamboo with palm frond roofs and mosquito netting over the beds. As we sat at tables on the sand and watched the sun set, we marveled at the beauty of Ecuador and her friendly people. The next day we walked the beach at low tide and discovered, among the shells, shards of pottery. Later, after visiting the museum in town, we realized these shards were from Pre-Colombian pottery washed down from the mountains during the heavy rains of the last El Niño, presumably from an ancient Inca village. At low tide, the pieces wash up on the beach. Friends have a home there and they have found intact pieces that should be in museums but there is no more room in the museums!

One morning we got a call on the radio that 3 dolphins were on the beach and would the cruisers want to come help the locals get the dolphins back into deeper water. Of course! We headed over to the beach and over the next hour or so, helped keep one dolphin soothed as he rested on the sand. It was necessary to keep the skin moist so we kept pouring buckets of water over him until he was taken in a boat out into deeper water and released. It was a wonderful and unforgettable experience for us to actually touch and be close to a bottle-nosed dolphin.

In May, we took a three-week trip inland with some other cruisers (7 of us in all). The first day was an 8-hour bus ride through spectacular country to the capital city of Quito and another 2 hours to Otavalo, famous for it’s Saturday market. There are 3 markets going on at the same time. One is for the locals where they buy and sell animals, another is for fruits and vegetables and the third is for handicrafts. The handicraft market was the most popular where great bargains could be had. Wool, leather, and woodcrafts abound to the point that all the goods overwhelmed us. Prices were inexpensive but the problem was this was the beginning (day 2) of a three-week trip. We could not even think of purchasing things as we would have to carry them all over Ecuador and we were at an elevation of 8000 feet and did a lot of puffing just walking around. After a few days of acclimation, we decided to take a hike to a waterfall. Actually, we took a taxi to the end of the road and then walked about a mile to get to the waterfall. From there, we decided to climb to the top of the waterfall and through some caves. Everything was just great and we were heading down the path when it started to rain, and rain, and rain. By the time we walked back to town (no taxis around) and to our hotel, we were all soaked to the skin, including our shoes. As we were all traveling light, it took a few days of wearing wet shoes for them to finally dry out.

A guide was hired to take us in a van to 3 villages in the mountains. We visited weavers who showed us the process from raw wool to the finished product. Another visit was to the hat makers where they finished off the felt hats much beloved by Ecuadorians (the glue they use in the felt is not waterproof so, when it rains, they wear plastic bags over their hats.) We were able to walk through the small mountain villages and visit people in their homes. There were lots of children and some of them start to work at an early age taking care of babies and, at the age of 12, one young man was already an accomplished weaver.

From Otavala, we bused further up into the mountains and then finally rode in the back of a pickup truck to a hostel on the edge of a cliff overlooking Lago Cuicocha, a lake in the cone of a volcano. We shared a lunch of the local delicacy, Cuy or “Guinea Pig” as we know it. Quite chewy and tough with head and legs included on the plate. Only the fur and insides were missing! Well, at least we tried it but hope the grandkids don’t find out.

After a day of acclimation, we decided to hike the rim of the volcano. At first it was pretty easy; but then we started climbing and then down and then up and down, etc, for 9 ½ miles of which approximately 4 miles was in a downpour. You got the picture, wet shoes, again. It was a beautiful hike with spectacular views and lots of different wild flowers. We got lost several times having to scramble down under trees and in weeds. The highest we got was 10,500 feet and we were exhausted but happy when we finally arrived to the hostel and cups of hot coffee. Next, the ride back down in the back of the pickup truck but this time they put a tarp over the top so we had some protection from the rain although it didn’t matter much as we were soaked anyway. We finally managed to get a hotel with hot water-well, not cold water. Anyway it took quite a while to finally warm up in the little town of Cotacochi.

The next day we bussed back to Quito where 2 of our guys were pick pocketed on the train. Lucky for them they had only a few $ taken as everyone was wearing money belts and very little cash in their pockets. Old town Quito was thoroughly explored over the next day and we were ready to head to the smaller town of Baños further south in Ecuador and another bus ride through beautiful country. We all brought books to read on the buses but didn’t even open them for fear of missing a beautiful waterfall, snow capped mountains, green jungles, orchids along side the road, boulders in the roads, washed out roads, etc., etc.

Baños was beautiful. Waterfalls abound. Some of us hiked up what seemed like a 1000 steps but was more like 500 to a trail overlooking the town. Great views at about 1500 feet above the valley where the river winds through the mountains with waterfalls making it ever expanding. There was pan flute music in the square and good inexpensive restaurants. We had nice rooms for $7 per person with a beautiful garden and room where we could meet for coffee or to play games or watch a video about Ecuador. We visited the local zoo and hot springs where we rested our abused bodies after so much hiking but not for long! The next adventure was mountain biking down a winding road along the river viewing waterfalls and dodging motorized traffic through a tunnel in the mountains. In the tunnel, Nancy from SEA TERN couldn’t see and stopped. Linda was behind her and ran into the wall of the tunnel while Joe from MUSIC, behind her, ran into a ditch. Amazingly no one got hurt and we made it out of the tunnel where the next part of the road went UNDER a waterfall. After we sent the bikes with Nancy and Herman on a truck back to Baños, John, Joe and Linda decided to take a hike to get closer to El Pailon de Diablo (The Devil’s Caldron) where there was a great waterfall and suspension bridge over the river. Naturally it was a down, up, down, up, down, up, kind of hike.

As we all had different agendas and interests, our group of 7 split up. Nancy and Herman went back to SEA TERN to get ready to leave her for their trip back to the states. Joe and John decided to go to Cuenca, a Spanish colonial town in the south of the country. John reported that the bus ride over the Andes was hair-raising. As they climbed to an altitude of 13,600 feet, the weather became foggy and rainy and the road deteriorated to a narrow two-lane dirt surface unencumbered by any shoulders or guardrails. This did not stop the driver from wheeling his big vehicle around the hairpin bends at reckless speeds, seemingly oblivious to oncoming traffic or the thousand-foot drop-offs at the side.

Cuenca boasts many beautiful old buildings but is also a large, modern city with noisy rush-hour traffic that detracted from the colonial ambiance. John had an interesting encounter in the square with an elderly “gay caballero” who, no doubt encouraged by John’s announcement that he would be visiting San Francisco this summer, abruptly lost interest when John assured him that he preferred women!

Linda went to the Amazon jungle with Matt and Judy of ELSEWHERE. The road followed the river where there were more waterfalls than could be count. From volcanos 8000 feet high straight down to the river in the valley the sight was awe-inspiring. We rode on buses through the farmland and rainforest and up and down mountains and across rivers. On the news there had been talk of lots of rain in this area with roads washed out, landslides, flooding, etc. It was true! At one point, the bridge was washed out and the bus went through the rushing water of the swollen river. Even though our luggage was wrapped in plastic, everything was all wet by the time we arrived at our hostel that night. The gravel road followed the oil pipeline out past the mountains and into the jungle. The few towns we went through existed because of the oil industry. There was a large box of baby chicks on top of the bus and a guy got on the bus with a machete and 2 live roosters. Passengers got on with propane tanks which were left near the door to roll around, gas cans, buckets of stuff, kids going to school, women and lots of babies (going to the doctors?) At one point there was a deadly Sake snake in the road. We saw lots or orchids growing in the wild and llamas wandering the hills. We arrived in the frontier town of Lago Agua at 7:30 p.m. after a long, but interesting, day.

The room Linda had in the hostel was with a shared bath that meant that she shared the bath and shower with all the men there for the oil company. Judy stood guard while Linda showered that evening. Matt and Judy were lucky enough to have a bath in their room but early in the morning someone knocked very loudly on their door and got them up with a start. (Wrong room!)

After breakfast we boarded another bus (we had already spend 14 hours on buses the day before) that took us to the river. From there, we went down river through the jungle in a long skinny sort of modified dugout canoe with a 40 hp motor on the back. (Matt, Judy, Linda, the guide, the boat driver, our small backpacks with everything we needed for 5 days (usually just Linda’s camera and some small things fit in this little day pack), and the food we would be eating those 5 days. The boat was about 35 feet long but only about 4 feet wide at the widest part. This is the only means of transportation in the Cuyabeno Reserve of the Amazonas Jungle of Ecuador. We were right on the equator and yet the temperature was quite comfortable.

The trip down the river took about 2 ½ hours and we arrived at the camp around 4:30 in the afternoon. Along the way, we saw Red Howler, Equatorian Saki and Monk Saki monkeys. We saw a sloth, ringed neck kingfisher, greater annie, green kingfisher, aniga (a prehistoric looking bird), tropical cormorant, a spectacled owl and once we got in the lagoon, the pink dolphins. The special palm tree, from which the nuts are picked, boiled and the juice reduced to make the poison for the darts of the blowguns was pointed out to us. We also learned what plant is used for the darts and guns, and the cotton like material used to hold the poison. In the area we visited, the blowguns are prohibited as well as the killing of monkeys.

Our compound was very rustic with 4 cabins for sleeping set in a clearing and a eating covered porch. The dormitory rooms had beds and a bathroom but no doors. It did have a roof but the walls only went up ½ way that left them open for any intruders of every kind. We were not pleased with this arrangement but what could we do? Sleeping under mosquito netting was mandatory. After checking one’s bed thoroughly and crawling in, one would carefully tuck the netting tightly under the mattress. No one was inclined to get up in the middle of the night to use the facilities as this would require finding your flashlight (no electricity), coming out from under the protective mosquito netting (dangerous), checking ones shoes for critters (essential) and progressing to the bathroom checking for critters along the way on the floor, hanging from the rafters, etc. The first day Linda made the mistake of drying her hands on her towel that was hanging up in the bathroom before shaking it out and got a nasty sting on the thumb that itched and swelled and after about 10 days a stinger came out and quit itching.

Our first full day in the jungle was spent paddling a dugout canoe large enough for 6 people. It is a very tipsy vessel but we managed to keep it upright and keep our cameras dry although the boat leaked and we had to bail frequently. We saw squirrel monkeys, blue butterflies, orchids, toucans, green and yellow Macaws. Our guide was constantly telling us things about jungle plants and animals. In the swamps, we fished for our dinner. With those big teeth, piranhas are a bit tricky to get off the hook. Our guide has a unique way of killing them. He bites them in the back of the head breaking their backbone. The piranha were good tasting but had some small bones. That evening, we looked over the railing of our eating porch and watched the caimans feed. Caimans are fresh water crocodiles and they have big teeth and their jaws snap shut around whatever they catch to eat. It was hard not to keep thinking of them and the piranha as we swam in the middle of the lagoon. We were told that the caimans and piranhas always stay near shore or in the swamps. One hoped they would never get lost and end up in the middle by accident while we were swimming. The pink dolphins were out there each afternoon but never let us get close to them.

One evening after dinner we did a night hike in the jungle behind our accommodations. It was very eerie to see eyes staring like hot coals. The standard jungle attire is knee high rubber boots and rain ponchos and we were glad to have both as we walked down the narrow path ducking branches and leaves. The first critter we saw was a scorpion of commendable size (about 6 inches). Next, we saw scorpion spiders of about the same size. There were many webs of the sociable spiders which reminded us of scenes from “Romancing the Stone” and a few other movies with huge thick spider webs-it isn’t just in the movies! Other spiders were the golden orb and wolf. We also saw a small night monkey or owl monkey. Touching of plants with the hands was a no-no as some plants have poisonous leaves… Those ponchos were kept tightly wrapped around our bodies with just the tip of the flashlight sticking out; that is, until the darn bulb burned out on Linda’s light. She couldn’t see much of where she was stepping and just stayed close to the person in front. Needless to say, she didn’t get much sleep that night as just a few yards away there were a lot of very large spiders.

Our guide told us much about plants and animals; there are lots of plants used in medicine such as the sap from the leche guayo tree that is used in producing Milk of Magnesia and the sap from another tree is the source of menthol. When burned, the menthol smell keeps mosquitoes away. From one leaf an orange dye is extracted and from another plant comes purple dye. The guide split a certain palm frond and showed us its’ sharp edge used to make the darts for the blow guns. One tree produced quinine, which is used for malaria as well as gin and tonic. A tea is made from the bark as an anti-malaria drug. Squashed fire ants are used for insecticide and a certain palm nut extract reportedly restores hair. There is a certain tree trunk that can be banged on like a drum and we were instructed to do so only if lost in the jungle. We “dined” on live ants and larvae that tasted like lemons-you have to chew fast or they bite your tongue!

During a motorboat ride, we came across an anaconda about 6 feet long. The closest Linda hopes to get to an anaconda, let me tell you. There was lots more monkey and bird viewing as well as plant information before we arrived at the village. We were asked to dig up some yucca, which was then pealed, grated, the juice wrung out and the final product fried into flat bread that was part of our lunch. In all, a very interesting experience. These villagers eat mostly yucca, corn and fish. The government forbids hunting monkeys any more, which used to be a part of their diet. On the 2-hour boat ride back to our camp, we stopped to look at some wasp nests. Our guide said to shout “march” all together. We did and the wasps started making a sound like an army marching. During a night boat ride, we saw a 6-foot Fer-de-Lance, which is one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. He was on the move on a tree branch and got irritated with our shining our lights on him and got into strike position. We decided to back off and look for other things and were not disappointed as soon a small rainbow boa was spotted and then a couple of caimans.

Matt, Judy and I were the only people from the US staying in the camp. We had a man from Japan, 2 women from Germany and 2 women from Norway. They mostly accommodated us and spoke English, which we were grateful for. By the time our five days were over, we had no dry clothes and were covered with bites from unknown critters but had a wonderful time and will always remember this unique part of the world. I feel very privileged to have visited some of the 603,000 hectares of primary rainforest left as a protected area in Ecuador. I never thought several years ago when we had an abalone feed to raise money for this special place that I would have the privilege to visit.

It was another 2 days of riding in boats and on buses, in one instance over the top of a waterfall as the road and bridge has washed out, before we were back to civilization in Quito and then another 8 hour bus ride to Bahia, John and HAWKEYE.

Things were jumping in our small town of Bahia. The cruisers were planning a surprise birthday party for our Colombian cruising friend, Maye. It started as a potluck for about 20 people and soon it was a pig roast with 50 people including locals. That afternoon, we had a boat parade and the guests of honor were Miss Jamaica and Miss Ethiopia. They, along with their entourage were taken out on cruiser’s boats for a spin around the bay (the single handed sailors knocked themselves out to get the girls on their boats). The surprise party was that evening and we all got to meet Miss Jamaica and Miss Ethiopia and share a good time with them-body guards included.

At the present time, we await the arrival of friends, Jane and Dwight for a ten-day visit. We hope to visit some of the islands off the coast of Ecuador for some snorkeling, hiking and exploring.

As you may have guessed, we love Ecuador and plan on leaving HAWKEYE here in this safe place when we travel back to the states from mid July to mid September. We plan to do more traveling in South America upon our return. John and Linda de HAWKEYE