Exotic Ecuador
When we arrived at the border entry for Ecuador we joined a large group of Venezuelans. Most had fled Venezuela to find jobs and a way to feed their families outside of Venezuela. We have been encountering small migrating bands of Venezuelans throughout Colombia walking along the highways and selling small items to those passing by. The majority are single young men or young men with their wife and children in tow. It is sad to think that the country of Venezuela has lost (at least temporarily) such a large part of their next generation.
Our first stop was a small town named Tulcan that is famous for its topiary art. The number and diversity of the designs carved and lovingly created out of 100+ year old cedar trees was absolutely jaw dropping!
From there we pushed on until we reached the Equatorial Line. That imaginary line that rings the planet at the middle, halfway between the North and South poles. We were rather excited since it was the first time in our lives we had crossed into the Southern Hemisphere! Equator or not, it was rather cool out due to the altitude.
From here we continued on to the town of Machachi, near to Quito, to attend the biggest Andean cowboy festival in Ecuador. The parade was spectacular! We have never seen so many horses in our lives – at least 1,000 just in the parade. The traditional dances and friendly spectators made the experience unforgettable. You can even see one of the traditional Ecuadorian meals in the photos (guinea pig on a stick). After the parade there was an event at the local bullring that consisted of releasing a bull into the ring and anybody who was crazy enough was welcome to jump down there and face it. Some people received more than they bargained for – like a trip to the hospital.
The next section of our journey took us to a beautiful area known as the Quilotoa Loop. We spent several days enjoy the beauty of the scenery and visiting a gorgeous lake inside a volcano crater. We were also fortunate enough to meet a famous local artist and spend some time with him and his family. This artist invented a style of painting fifty years ago that now employs more than seventy local people! It was a real honor to meet him and hear his story (it was also cool because we had read about him in our guidebook). The pictures do much better justice to this region than any more word I could conjure.
On our way out of the Quilotoa Loop we stopped at the town of Sigchos which boasts one of the largest market days in the region. We saw everything from furniture, food, animals (to raise or to eat), cell phone chargers, and tires recycled into plant pots. Our senses were overwhelmed as we meandered among the hundreds of vendors hawking their wares!
Our next stay was in the town of Banos de Agua Santa (Baths of Holy Water). The hot springs were gloriously scalding at 110 degrees! Fortunately, they had ice cold pools for plunging into for frequent cool downs. We also rented bicycles here to visit seven different waterfalls. They came in all shapes and sizes, but were all beautiful. The biggest of the bunch was ‘The Devil’s Cauldron’ where stairs had been carved into the cliff face so you could climb behind the waterfall on your hands and knees and get totally soaked in the process! It was a blast!
From there we traveled to Ingapirca, a very small town located near the sight of pre-hispanic and pre-Inca ruins. The archaeological site was even more picturesque with all the llama wandering among the ruins (they get in free of charge).
Our last major stop in Ecuador was Banos, just outside of the city of Cuenca. We had an amazing AirBnB family that hosted us in their beautiful home that they had built themselves! We took multiple excursions to nearby Cuenca to visit the churches, museums, and plazas.
Our route from Banos to the border of Peru was an exciting one. It was full of dirt roads, landslides (fortunately always enough room for a motorcycle to pass), and a dusty border town at the end. We were exhausted when arrived in La Balza, but happy! Next stop – Peru!
Chris & Sharon
