Day 8 in Ecuador

Monday dawned early, long before my 7 a.m. alarm. Showered in the strangest shower stall I’ve ever been in – the water is delivered from so high up that by the time it reaches you it’s cooled considerably, and the opposite side of the stall from the shower head is split in half with a deep recess on one half, and the other half very close to the front wall of the shower…odd! But the warm water felt great! One appreciates the little things here that we take so for granted at home.

Walked all the way to the Mariscal area which is the hub of activity in New Town. The Quito map I had was less than clear, and the hefty load of diesel belching from all the busses going by almost turned me around to simply purchase a flight to Galapagos on my own through the internet and deal with lining up the boats over there. But I persisted.

After meandering around the Plaza Fuch area (don’t get excited, it’s not pronounced that way), and visiting 3 tourist agencies, I happened upon one that was perfect. The young woman spoke excellent English and she was a whiz on the computer. She had it nailed and she didn’t take any time about it. She found me the perfect Galapagos tour which will depart on Thursday on a Luxury Yacht and I’ll return to Quito on Sunday afternoon. I’ll visit 4 islands and see lots of wildlife and get to snorkel, kayak, hike and who knows what else! I placed a deposit as I didn’t have the full amount with me and told her I’d return in the afternoon.

Walked all the way back (it’s about 1.5 miles one way from Hostel to Travel Agency) and had to lie down for a moment – that much walking in this much warmth at this altitude - 9,500'…whew! It’s a sunny day today – first one I’ve had since being here, so it’s definitely warmer than the rest of the week – 28 Celsius.
A bit later in the afternoon I walked again all the way to the Tierra de Fuego Travel Agency (they’ve got 5 beautiful glass awards on their back shelf) and Lorena, my agent, was gone to lunch. So I went with the flow and wandered down the main boulevard and found a shop that made quite divine pastries and had one, and while I was in mid-bite my new Oregon friends, Laurel and Doug, walked up! What a shock to see them! It was great, considering we had just said good-bye yesterday morning at Hosteria Izhcayluma in Vilcabamba! And out of the entire city of Quito, which is 1.5 million strong, we happened to bump into each other at the same pastry store! Unbelievable.

They had just arrived to Quito on a flight, and they each took ice cream bars while I finished my pastry and we sat around and chatted awhile at the little outdoor table along the street in front of the sweet shop. Then a guitar player came up and even though Laurel told him no, he started to play and sing, so we stood up and walked away, and he followed and she told him in a big way “NO!” again and he walked away as we ducked into an beautiful shop filled with very expensive keepsakes, all made in Ecuador. After looking around a few minutes, we said our good-byes (til summer when I hope to visit them in Oregon) and I headed back to the travel agency.

My ticket to the Galapagos was all wrapped up and I was walking away when suddenly I realized I had forgotten to ask my agent, Lorena, about Mindo-Nambillo Protected Forest, an incredible botanical reserve that isn’t far away. I turned around and walked back into her office, and she said she’d try to get a tour together for Wednesday for that, but if not, I can always take to bus there and back (though it sounds a little sketchy). She asked me if I wanted to go to Papallacta Lake District and Hot Springs tomorrow, as they have a tour going for the day, but I have planned to visit my friend Johnny Douglass’s friend on the outskirts of Quito who has a sustainable farm with solar and more.

Walked all the way back to the Hostel again (2nd time today, and realized I must’ve walked 6 miles total). Passed a shop with a large poster showing every place where one could lose fat through the treatment they were offering. There are certainly enough people that could lose weight in this city. Looked similar to lipisuction only no invasion. Looked kinda like a scam, actually.

By this time it was about 5 p.m. and I was getting hungry. On my return walk I bought 4 nectarines from two female fruit vendors in traditional native attire. I’ll wash them very well before consuming. Later I passed a Chinese restaurant, and ordered a shrimp (camerones) and vegetable dish, thinking that’s all it was. But underneath the surface of veggies and shrimp was a large mound of noodles, so it wasn’t quite what I thought I was getting, but still quite good compared to what I’m seeing of most other available foods here in Ecuador’s cities. They eat TONS of sweets of every kind, artificial and natural, bur mostly artificial. And many of them are grossly overweight.

Later that evening I suddenly got a call from the great niece of the farmer I was supposed to meet tomorrow. Basically, they have Market Day tomorrow (like our Farmer's Markets) and my visit doesn’t work well for them, so I thanked them very much anyway and said I’d tried to arrange to meet them in the Fall, if I return then.

After that call I dug out Lorena’s card and luckily it had her cell phone number on it, because by now it was 8:30 p.m. Called her and she put me on the books for the tour tomorrow to Papallacta. Wow! What luck! I’ll be picked up in the morning at 8:45 to rendezvous with the tour bus, and we’ll be back in the afternoon tomorrow around 2 p.m. This is supposed to be an incredible National Park at high elevation that has natural hot springs warmed by hot magma below the nearby active volcano. The flora and fauna should be quite different up there, and we will have a Nature Guide to explain it all to us on the tour.

Packed up for the little excursion tomorrow and am ready for that next, new adventure!

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Day 7 in Ecuador

Sunday – Travels from Vilcabamba to Quito

I woke before the alarm, laid in bed and tried to determine if I was going to miss this place. I started to believe I would. Didn’t even shower (had enough showers yesterday to last a week!), just grabbed my bags and headed to the reception/restaurant area where I finished up Friday’s blog, had breakfast with a number of well-wishing friends, called the taxi and was delivered to the Vilcabamba bus station.

I was 30 minutes early for my bus, so I started exploring and discovered that the Sunday market was under way on the other side of the bus station! It was like a normal Farmer’s Market in the states, and I enjoyed walking around. All of a sudden behind me someone was saying “I knew if I waited a little longer you’d show up!” It was Daya! What a wonderful surprise. We started gabbing and then a friend of hers walked by and she introduced me to her – Kim Evans. Kim and I started talking and Daya said good-bye, she had to go, and Kim and I kept on babbling and I quickly learned that she is one of the Citizen Journalists for Mike Adams! Small world even here in Vilcabamba! So she started telling me how she got into it, etc. – most interesting and gives me renewed confidence that it just might be possible to earn a living at writing. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme, of course, but then I never was about getting rich.

Finally I was worried I’d miss the bus, so said my good-byes and scurried around the bus terminal – my bus was in dock and the young bus assistant put my luggage in the hold. Pretty soon we all boarded and I luckily grabbed a window seat. The ride was beautiful and seemed to go by pretty fast. It was lovely seeing the incredible green valleys again on the way to Loja.

At the Loja terminal, there was a full hour before my next bus to Cuenca, so I wandered the shops inside the terminal and bought a couple apples and some Queso (cheese), pronounced ”kay-so”. Everything else in the shops looks like junk food.

Went out to where the busses dock and sat in a seat alongside the building with hoards of other folks waiting for their busses. Giant mesh bags of tubers, onions, and other vegetables, and immense bags of rice, were the luggage of some of the travelers. There were at least 5 different bus companies using this Terminal, if not more. It was very busy, and amazing to see how they all orchestrated their maneuverings so as not to hit each other as they pulled in and out of the rather small Terminal. It was like watching ballet, almost. Or Cirque de Soleil. It’s a dance. When I used to do archaeology I was mesmerized many times watching 3 or 4 gargantuan backhoes working side by side excavating a singular trench, and thinking they were all in such coordination and “knowing’ of exactly where each other was at each precise moment – it was like ballet, or living art. The Loja Bus Terminal reminded me of that.

Finally the bus to Cuenca arrived and the very handsome young bus assistant (reminded me of Matt Damon) put my luggage in the hold. I was one of the first to board, so I had my pick of seats, and as I wandered down the aisle I spied a window seat that looked just perfect for me. I plopped down, stowed my heavy carry-on under the seat in front, and watched the other passengers board. It was then that I noticed they were checking seat numbers against their ticket, and I suddenly realized I hadn’t looked at my ticket for a seat number – I’d just sat down in what looked like the best seat in the bus for me. I quickly grabbed out my ticket and checked the seat number – it was 19. Then I stood up and looked to see what number was listed on the luggage stow above me. This is where it gets weird….I was sitting in seat number 19!!! How bizarre! But how perfect! Once again, one of the strange little wonderments that seem to happen when you travel sometimes.

The trip to Cuenca was supposed to be 4.5 hours – and I fell asleep pretty soon after we started. The countryside is beautiful but after awhile you just have to nap. Somewhere in the first hour of the trip I was awoken by the most noxious chemical smell…I looked to the rear of the bus and it appeared that a mom with a baby may have had a diaper, or sans diaper, accident, and the bus attendant was back there helping her. I think the smell was a disinfectant, which these Latin American countries seem to use liberally and with no concern. I was almost unable to breathe, and I had not been able to slide my window open when I’d tried earlier, so I put a napkin close over my nose and held it there with both hands, feeling like I wasn’t getting enough air, but unable to breathe any other way than through the napkin. Within about 10 minutes of the problem, the young “Matt Damon” saw my problem and quickly opened my window for me – what a relief!! Of course I gave him a hearty “Muchas Gracious” (Many Thanks, or Thank you Very Much). I kept my nose out the window and breathed deep breaths of fresh air, trying to clean out my system. Meanwhile, there were other babies and all the rest of the full busload of folks who were all breathing it and behaving as though nothing had happened! I was the only gringo, so I guess that makes the difference – they’re used to these smells, and I am not.

The ride was long, but the country was appealing. Lush and green, major valleys and major mountains everywhere. Sprawled landscape of farms and towns – big sky country. Just stupendous to look at. We finally arrived at Cuenca, and I caught a quick taxi to the airport which was very close by, and amazingly it was only 4 p.m. at the airport! The bus had managed to make up the half hour it lost at a construction area just outside of Loja! I knew they were driving like idiots, but I hadn’t known they’d be able to make up that much time.

The airport was at sleep – no one but a couple of information folks were there. They told me that everything wakes back up at 5 p.m., but that there was a food court upstairs. I went upstairs, and they also had free wi-fi (I’m really liking these free wi-fi airports), so I had a ensalada pollo (chicken salad) and caught up my Saturday log. When I finally went downstairs again, the place was packed!!!

What a transformation! People everywhere! Got my ticket and went through security (you don’t have to take your shoes off, unpack your computer, or even take your coat off down here!), and then into the waiting area where I met a wonderful family from Connecticut. They had done the Galapagos already and gave me lots of great leads for my trip there. Finally we all boarded the Tame flight, which ended up departing 30 minutes late. The pilots deftly avoided a lightning storm somewhere to the west (I saw several large sky light-ups out my window) and we landed in Quito at 8 p.m.

As soon as I exited the terminal a man came rushing up to me and asked if I needed a taxi. I said yes and asked if he knew the Chicago Hostel. He said yes and loaded my stuff into his cab quicker than you could say lightning! The police were standing near his car and not too happy he was parked there, and then I noticed he didn’t have a meter, nor a taxi sign on the roof, and his car was black, not yellow like the other taxis, and I started wondering if I had made a big boo-boo. We had already settled on the price of $7.00 for the trip before I entered the taxi, and now I wondered if he really knew where Chicago Hostel was. I gave him the address, and then he said it’s a long way, it would be $10.00. I was very firm in my response that he had agreed to $7.00, so he acquiesced and still remained friendly – what a relief. We exchanged a little info and it turns out he’s from Columbia! There seem to be a lot of people working in Ecuador from Columbia. He finally found the Hostel, though it was a little different way than I was used to going, which caused me a little concern at first, but he seemed sure he knew where he was going once he saw the address, so I calmed myself and did not panic. Once there, I tipped him a dollar so he didn’t feel like he’d lost too much, and the Chicago Hostel let me in. Yippee! I finally made it! It was so great to finally plop my bags down and relax in my room!

What a long day of travel! But it was good, and now I just finished a cervesa and am going to bed! Tomorrow I hope to book passage to the Galapagos! It will be fantastic to be where Darwin and the Beagle were…I’ve been hearing incredible stories of people swimming with the sea lions and turtles and everything else on these tours…can’t wait to snorkel amongst the wild sea animals.

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Day 6 in Ecuador

Saturday in Vilcabamba!

Woke up quite sore, and sloooooowly showered and shampooed and dressed. Meandered slowly down to the restaurant and met Alex, the waiter, for breakfast. Breakfast is included in each night’s stay, but what they offer is quite limited for my diet. Great quantities of bread, butter and jam, fresh-made juice (which is excellent), crepes (very large and nothing in them but the wheat), fresh fruit chopped in a large bowl that you can serve into smaller bowls and sprinkle with something that resembles granola, a liquidy white substance that I think is supoosed to be yoghurt, and eggs any style. Day after day it can be very boring, so most mornings I just have a banana from my bunch that I bought in town and keep in my room. Then later, on most days, I’ve ended up in town anyway and find something more interesting to eat. There a quite a good number of great little restaurants around, especially for this small of a town.

After breakfast I had my massage – it was pretty good and I enjoyed it ($18.00 for 75 minutes). The massage therapist slicked me up with almond oil, even my entire head of hair, so afterward I had to go shower and shampoo AGAIN to get all the oil out.

A little later I went back to the Spa again for another facial. I was hoping for the same woman I had last time, but instead I got the same one I had for the morning massage. The facial left a lot to be desired this time – it was nothing at all like the first one. It turns out the first woman is the mother to the second younger woman I had, so I imagine mom may have taught daughter how to do the facial, and daughter fudges a lot cuz she may not have gone to school for it. They do have, apparently, excellent schools and high standards for massage and facials and body-work here in Ecuador.

Had a little lunch, and caught a taxi to meet with Mike Adams (aka The Health Ranger). His website is http://www.naturalnews.com and he has a daily newsletter on all sorts of health issues that is free. The taxi driver didn’t quite know where his house was, but at least he got me into the gated community. From there we had to ask somebody who was sweeping leaves on the side of the road, but eventually I got there, 15 minutes late into our scheduled 30 minute meeting.

As I approached the house, Mike’s wife Seth came out and introduced herself to me, and then Mike came out. It was pretty interesting meeting them, especially him, after reading so many of his articles and watching his YouTube video. We ended up visiting for over an hour, and they walked me all over their property and showed me all the wonderful plants and trees and bamboo forest they’re growing. They also showed me how a hillside that had eroded in a heavy rain had been stabilized with a bamboo maitrix overlaying the soil. We discussed a number of topics related to health, and finally they called me a cab and I waved good-bye and started walking the road back to the gate. The taxi got through the gate and to me before I could get to the gate, which was good cuz my legs were feeling really weary.

Back at Hosteria Izhcayluma I went down to visit Alex’s pad, and saw the wonderful silver jewelry he makes. He had a gorgeous shell that he hadn’t done anything with yet, so I asked him to make me a necklace with it. Back up to the Hosteria, I caught up on Friday’s log over a couple of king size Pilseners, then dinner followed, and another cervesa, and saying good-byes to many new friends, and exchanging email addresses, and I was finally off to my little luxury cabin. I packed my suitcase and was all ready for an early morning departure.

Vilcabamba has been quite an experience, and I really like the area. Who knows, maybe I’ll return one day. But for the moment, I’m preparing to make the 6- legged transit change trip to Quito – taxi to Vilcabamba, bus to Loja, bus to Cuenca, taxi to airport, jet to Quito, and taxi to Hostel. I’m tired before I begin, just thinking about it!

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Day 5 in Ecuador

Friday in Vilcabamba !

Last night I barely got any sleep – maybe three hours. Was mourning the loss of Brandon – my beloved dog of just over 11 years – it’s been 8 months to the day since he passed.

But, made myself get up and prepared for the big horse ride today. The caballero (cowboy) came in his cowboy hat and picked me up with a taxi at 9 a.m. and took me to their tour office downtown. He and his younger brother are in this business together now for just one year. They have 18 horses, and just yesterday they took out 9 people! But today it’s just me alone. They had me put on tall rubber boots and gave me a leather cowboy hat, and we were off. Walked a couple blocks to where the horses were hitched, mounted up, and away we rode.

The horse I rode was a beautiful black boy. And the saddle I sat in sucked. The stirrups were turned inward so the legs, at least the right leg, was forced into a very awkward and somewhat painful position. And it was unable to be hitched up any higher so I couldn't really put any weight in the stirrups unless I stood up in them. But it couldn’t be fixed so I just lived with it.

We trotted (ugh!- very painful in this saddle) and cantered (much better) until we crossed our horses through the same river near the tilted bridge I wrote of earlier, cantered up the hillside and then trotted along the same road I had walked just two days ago up the valley. By this time my butt was already sore and we had only just begun. Finally we arrived at the Podocarpus National Park sign and crossed the rushing rocky river to get to the slippery clay trail on the other side, where we started going up, up, up.

These little horses are nothing short of amazing. Very sure-footed and strong, and simply beautiful souls. Most of the horses here receive pretty good care and are in good condition. These were no exception. And they have endurance beyond belief! The saddle and blankets and myself on top must have totaled in at least 250 pounds, and they carried it all up the extraordinarily steep and slippery clay and loose rock trail. And they just kept puffing and going!

The trail is so well worn that in places it has been eroded into a narrow canyon with high walls of clay and rock conglomerate on the sides, with trees growing on top of that. The trail is also pitched with occasional steep steps the horses had to leap up, and leap down on the way back. Mind you, I was hanging on ALL the time! To the horn on the way up, and the back of the saddle on the way down…Aieeee!

The vistas from the ridge were immense. Giant valleys on each side, with rock-laden rivers way below, and across the valley you could see the many smaller canyons filled with lush trees growing in their water rich soils. And, believe it or not, there is a white-leafed tree here that reminds me distinctly of the white spiritual tree in “Avatar.”

About halfway up the trail we dismounted so I could take pictures. I had wondered from the way my horse walked whether he was in pain or not, so I checked out his saddle rigging and noticed he had a large swelling and rubbed-red-raw area where the cinch was cutting in under his leg. Showed my caballero guide and he set the cinch further back. We mounted up again and continued on.

After riding 3 hours we arrived at a flat grassy area where we dismounted and my guide left the horses to graze, untied, while we went on an hour hike in the Podocarpus National Park. I became a bit alarmed as the “trail” (read "machete-hacked thread-the-needle through the trees monkey path") we descended went almost straight down, and I asked the guide whether we were going to come back up this way. He indicated I shouldn’t worry, as we were coming back up another way. Still, there was so much direct descent, I knew wherever we came back up would be a haul. Finally we reached a level area and, after bush-whacking our way up a gushing creek (thank goodness for the high rubber boots) we came to a clearing and... Whoa! There was a stunning tall waterfall splashing before us! And the white spiritual tree from Pandora in "Avatar"! Wow!

I thought this was where we were going to have lunch, but NO-ooo! Wearily following my guide again, we scaled dark damp dirt embankments higher and higher through the jungle, sometimes with no more than a pre-arranged rope to pull ourselves up with, or a twig or vine that was barely still attached to the soil, until we arrived again at another creek, and then WOW! A very tall waterfall, even grander than the first, was cascading over the cliff high above and crashing into the pool before us! Stunning!

THIS was where we finally had lunch: bread, guacamole, and tuna out of the can. He offered me “orange juice” which, when I learned upon reading the label was an offshoot of Coca-Cola and had more artificial ingredients than real, so I drank only from my water bottle.

It was a peaceful 20 minutes in repose next to the loud splashings and mist of the waterfall, then we were off climbing like Ninja’s up precipices I didn’t think I could muster anymore! I couldn’t help thinking that I hadn’t signed a Waiver before going on this ordeal, and that if anything happened to me out here in the bush how the hell would they ever get me back to medical help. Then I started wondering if Ecuador has laws that protect its tourists from poorly designed and dangerous tours. I doubt it. Your life is in your hands, and in Destiny’s. Finally we got to the top of a ridge and I saw a sign that said it was the border of the Podocarpus National Park. I believe the waterfalls may have been in the park, but most of our trip was actually at the outside edge of the park. Horses are not allowed in the park.

Saw amazing plants and flowers along the steep trail back to the horses, took pictures of many, and gladly accepted the offered hand for help over the hard parts of the trail from my sweet 23 year old guide.

It was wonderful to see the horses again, but then we had to go DOWNHILL on them. I think I prayed almost the entire way for sure-footing and taking it easy – I think I was in communion with my horse just like they were in Avatar. Each rock in the path I saw and said in my mind “avoid that one”, and each slippery clay steep descent I kept saying “easy now, sure-footing, easy now, sure-footing.” I tried not to imagine him slipping and breaking a leg…he was only 7 years old. It would have been an easy trail to have had an accident on, especially on descent, but fortunately, as with most things here in Ecuador, it all went fine, and we crossed the gushing rocky river again and then up to the road, another river crossing, and finally back to the hitching post, and then walked (if you could call it walking – more like staggering and limping combined) back to their office to retrieve my hiking shoes and pay them for getting me back in one piece and still salvageable.

This is where I started talking to the older brother about at least carrying a First Aid Kit on these tours. And having people sign a Waiver. He seemed to think I might be onto something and seemed to appreciate my concern. I also told him he needed to ditch that rotten saddle. If felt as though somebody had taken a baseball bat and whacked the inside of my thighs repeatedly. There was a large metal round hook underneath a thin piece of leather on each side of the saddle where the thighs rest, and the leather covering simply didn't proctect against the constant pressing of the thighs. I don't think he even heard my comments on the saddle. And when I got home and looked in the mirror, I had two rubbed-to-flesh-red raw welts on my bum. Bummer takes on a new meaning…

Caught a quick cab to Hosteria Izhcayluma and changed clothes and dashed back downtown where I had dinner of curried potatoes and vegetables at the vegan restaurant (very yummy and different) on the Town Square, and then meandered over to another place and had the most delicious lemon pie. Went to meet my connection at the appropriate rendevous location for attending the movie, and she wasn’t there. I saw three people walking in the distance away from the rendevous point, and figured I must have just missed her by two minutes. I was disappointed as I had very much wanted to meet the group of people she had told me about, and now I didn’t even know where the event was happening.

Walked backed to the vegan café and saw Martha, of all people, who I had just met the day before, so she called Dennis (the orchid grower) on her cell phone to make sure he was coming to the movie, and lo and behold, all things worked out. I suddenly found a whole group of people who were going to the movie, I learned where it was actually happening and how to get there, and went with this new group in the back of a taxi pick-up, laughing like crazy and all taking pictures of each other. You had to be there, I think. It doesn’t translate as fun as it was. Just one of those wild, serendipitous moments where something that looked like it wasn’t going to work out, works out tenfold better.

The house was gorgeous, the views were glorious, the people were genuinely lovely, and they even had fresh-made popcorn! The whole place had the feeling of being in Santa Barbara hills before it got so dense with homes. Stunning place in every way! And lovely people who had moved to this area from everywhere else.

The choices of movies were “The Blind Side” and “As Good As It Gets”, both of which I’d seen before, so when I was told quietly that there was a small group meeting in another room going to discuss 2012, I decided to join them. We slipped away from the group who were busily watching “The Blind Side”, and sat in a circle and introduced ourselves. There were only 4 of us, but the stories we shared with each other were interesting and informational.

Just before the movie ended, we 4 slipped back in with the movie-watchers so as not to disturb them, and when it was over a whole bunch of us caught a taxi back to town. While driving through town one of the restaurant staff I have become friends with hailed us as we went by, and we had the taxi stop to pick him up. He rode back up with us to the Hosteria.

A small group of us visited in the Hosteria Izcayluma restaurant area (it was closed) and wrapped up the incredible evening with a cervesa! Nothing like a good cold Pilsner after a long crazy day on a lovely warm quiet evening! Now if only my bum would stop hurting from that danged saddle!

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Day 4 in Ecuador

Thursday in Vilcabamba!

Slept like a rock last night. It’s so peaceful and quiet – not a noise, except occasionally a donkey braying in the distance. But for the most part, the best sleep I’ve had in ages. The bed is excellent, my sleep number 90 or whatever – nice and firm with just a hint of cush. The single comforter (no sheet) is exactly the right covering for these mild nights. Talk about sleeping in a bliss cloud in Heaven…that’s what it feels like.

Got up and got going on my incredible hike today – the Mandango Trail. Walked down to where it starts, but got a false lead at the beginning, so lost about 15 minutes. This trail is rated one dot from the most difficult, and there’s five dots in total, and it’s supposed to take approximately 4 hours. I asked before leaving the Hosteria Izhcayluma whether the 4 hour designation is normally true or is it over-estimated for the slow pokes. He said it can be done in 2.5 to 3 hours if you’re really moving along. So I figured maybe I’d do it in 3 hours.

Once I got started on the right trail, it was climb climb climb through much greenery, with gorgeous butterflies dancing in the air in front of me. Almost stepped on a walking stick, but managed to avoid him at the last nano-second. He should’ve been in a bush, not on the trail. Climbing higher I passed a dead cow…actually, I should say the remains of a cow. I smelled it just a few feet before seeing it, and there was nothing left except skeleton and some cartilage and the hide and hooves. Nature was recycling it quite well.

Climbing uphill further (stopping occasionally to allow my heartbeat to relax) I crashed right through a very strong web of a very large spider. It scared me – it ran to the side and I saw it’s size and had a sudden surge of surprise and fear. Fortunately it appeared as afraid of me as I was of it, so I carried on and passed two large snails mating…or maybe they were just communicating, or kissing…I’m not sure. But their soft parts were all over each other. I need to learn from a snail expert what this closeness was all about.

The views kept getting more and more stupendous - wide expansive green valleys bordered by verdant mountain ridges.

Finally arrived at the First Cross – what a climb to get there! Ate the bread and cheese I brought, and drank almost all the water I had, which wasn’t much, cuz I had felt badly for the two little pigs I’d met on my wrong turn on the beginning, and had given them some water from my stainless steal water bottle. They were on the dirt roadside on a 5' tether to a cut-in-half large tire that was empty of water, and they looked thirsty to me.

Arriving at the view from the First Cross is nothing short of stupendous. If you hang glided you’d give your eye teeth to launch from there. The entire southern part of Ecuador is spread out around you, all the valleys, all the peaks, all green, with little villages below. Stunning, exhilarating, and thin on oxygen.

Carried on up to the Second Cross, which is even higher than the first. Getting there was a little more precarious than to the First Cross, as I had to scale a mostly clay and rock wall in one place (free-climbing) for about 20 feet, and the footing around the base of this higher peak was truly precarious with almost no surface to find footing on.

Just before the top of the Second Cross I realized I had lost my hostel room key – total bummer! It had been in my shirt pocket and I had tied the shirt around my waist. I retraced my steps about 50 feet back down the trail and found it, thank goodness, right where I had freaked out at the second gigantic spider that had caught me off guard with it’s trail crossing web.

Finally, up at the Second Cross, I re-read the directions about this Mandango Trail, and it said that if you found the trail difficult to this point, you should not continue but turn around and go back out the way you came in.

I thought it had been a bit of a scramble at times, but nothing I couldn’t handle, so I carried on. But Whoa! A little further along the narrow ridgecrest came an eye-popping place where side to side there was no more than 2 feet, with total sheer drop-offs to each side, and an angle of decline to get down this part of the ridge trail that was at LEAST 45 degrees. I stopped and thought about this before attempting it…this was a mental challenge, this descent.

Finally, I decided I really had no choice. It would have been a long retracement of the trail to go back the way I came. So I sat down on my butt and very gingerly and gently eased my way down the 20 feet or so of this trial-by-fire bit of trail. The drop-off on either side was hundreds of feet with nothing but grass to hold onto, and the rock and clay conglomerate that I was climbing down was dry and crumbly, and could easily have stress fractures in it that I couldn’t see.

I tried not to think about it and just stayed easy and gentle and didn’t look down at anything other than the narrow steep clay and rock comglomerate in front of me. Obviously, I made it, or you wouldn’t be reading this now. But when I finally arrived at the wider part of the ridge trail and looked back at whence I’d come, see picture above on right, I praised God and gave many thanks to the Universe for traversing it safely.

The now-a-little-wider ridge trail seemed to continue forever, with stunning vistas on each side. Then I came upon the cows blocking the trail…talking gently to them and letting them know I needed to pass them, not herd them, they finally moved aside and I carried on. They were very large, had enormous horns, and looked wild - like they owned the mountains, and no doubt they do. Cow trails criss-cross everywhere across every mountain in Ecuador I've seen.

The trail kept achieving new heights, and I took pictures from each of them. Finally, I arrived where the trail headed down, and here it got a little questionable. Like, the trail disappeared. I read and re-read the directions to no avail. I surveyed the various seeable trails from every noll and tried to figure out my exact location and destination. I even traced and retraced my steps many times to keep trying to find and continue on the trail…very poorly marked and largely grown over (plants grow fast down here). But eventually, through lots more cow encounters and false leads, I finally made it to the bottom, with legs that felt like dead pegs. Basically, the descent is through a canyon along the creek, so I would've made it one way or another just by following the water, but being on the trail is truly a whole lot easier than bush-whacking it without a machete.

Fortunately, just as I closed the last cow gate behind me at the end of the canyon trail next to the road, an empty taxi went by and responded to my hailing him down. He rode me up to Hosteria Izcayluma, where I drank great quantities of water, took a well-deserved shower, and had a delicious lunch of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese in balsamic vinegar.

After checking internet I walked into town to shake down the tightness in my legs, and was able to purchase my return flight to Quito, but from Loja to Quito it was totally full for a Sunday departure, so I am now having another adventure…a bus from Vilcabamba to Loja, and then a bus from Loja to Cuenca, in order to catch a flight from Cuenca to Quito. This should be quite exciting because anytime one tries to make a series of connections in Eucador in order to keep a fixed departure time from a distant place, all HELL can go wrong. Anyway, that’s three days in the future, so I won’t worry about it right now.

Met up with Emma, a wonderful young woman who is from Canada, via Norway, who is in film industry, and makes coconut oil lotions for face an body. She and I explored more of downtown Vilcabamba and then caught a taxi back to Hosteria Izhcayluma together – she’s staying here also.

Tomorrow I ride a horse all day up to the National Park, then hike an hour in the Park, then ride back down and try to arrive back in time to rendezvous with the ex-pat folks hosting the movie night at their place. I expect to barely be able to walk by the end of tomorrow. Stretcher, anyone?

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Day 3 in Ecuador

Wednesday in Vilcabamba! What a day!

Woke up to cloudy skies but the weather is delightfully warm. Last night the cacophony of noises finally subsided and I got some excellent sleep – what an incredible bed! Took a great shower - the shower stall is sided in stone wall - beautiful! And there was nice hot water that didn’t disappear after a few minutes! Divine!

Walked down to the Spa and had a superb facial that must have lasted a full hour even though it was advertised as 45 minutes. Totally professional and almost Asian in character with the sensitivity of music, lighting, touch and incredible ingredients that were on my face. During the treatment there were a total of 7 towels on my face – 6 hot and the final one cold. I think she cleansed my face twice, restored it a couple times, and left something literally silky on at the end. What an amazing treatment. And only $12.00. All organic and natural…incredible!

Caught a taxi downtown and tried to call the travel agency that I’m hoping can take me early next week on a Galapagos Tour. They didn’t answer and I finally learned that from 12 to 3 p.m. businesses everywhere close.

I decided to take a couple hour hike in a Nature Reserve called Rumi Wilco EcoLodge and Nature Reserve. It’s just a 10 minute walk from the bitsy town of Vilcabamba, so it was an easy adventure. As I followed the dirt road which became a dirt path down along the river, a guy with a big machete and a woman with a machete and 3 little dogs were ahead of me. The man walked slower and slower and even though I dallied and took my time, I couldn’t help catching up to him. He was eyeing me sideways a couple times and said something indiscernible in Spanish. And here I was wearing my purse slung across my chest, and camera hanging around my neck! Sheesh! I immediately imagined how I’d de-groin him with my knee, remove his machete with a sharp left arm move, and jab my right elbow into his esophagus… somehow we all ended up on the cement bridge together, with the woman with the machete in front of me, and he with the machete behind me.

Now, to explain the cement bridge. The Nature Reserve describes the bridge that crosses the river over to the Reserve as “Tilted but OK.” You will appreciate the word “tilted” by the picture to the left. At one time the river flooded and took the bridge off it’s shoreside braces and crashed it further downstream at a 45 degree tilt. The Vilcabamban’s have “fixed” it in their creative style, and now there is a new piece of arching concrete that allows you to cross to the beginning of the bridge, and on the other side it landed on the shore, so they just left it there. They have strung bamboo poles on the leading edge of the bridge across the span, so you have something to hang onto as you cross with gravity urging you into the river. Quite exciting, especially with machete bearing non-English speaking natives in front and behind you !

Now in fairness, I should let you know that I was never truly afraid. Had I been, I would have extricated myself from this scenario before it got to this point. But I sensed that it looked more dire than it was, and that proved true. I did allow the man who was behind me to go ahead, so ultimately I tailed them across the bridge, and the woman almost lost her beautiful little black dog into the drink, but rescued him by the scruff while he clung for dear life with his front paw toenails scratched into the concrete bridge. All ended up well and we parted ways on the other side of the river and I went on to hike the trails (actually much more treacherous) in the Nature Reserve.

I could go into great lengths about the six inch wide "trails" that descended into oblivion down a sheer slope on one side and straight up on the other side, and the rain ravaged steep canyon that led from the ridge to the riverside with trail completely washed away and vertical slope of mud and gravel at an angle of at least 75 degrees at times…but you really had to be there. Incredible orchids along the way – I guess Ecuador is known for its orchids. Amazing birds everywhere. And the trees – definitely from Pandora! They even have gigantic thorns on the barks of the trees to protect themselves – cool!

When I got back to Vilcabamba, I met a woman named Daya who told me there are about 300 ex-pats who live here. She invited me to join a group that would be gathering for a movie at one of their houses this Friday night. So I’ve accepted. I'm looking forward to meeting these folks and learning more about why they moved here.

I had just finished my unsatisfactory phone call to the Galapagos travel agency when I bumped into Dennis again (the orchid grower I met yesterday) in town by the plaza that was so ravaged by shaving cream and screaming people and flying water and flour. It’s all cleaned up today and business is back to usual. Dennis had me come with him to a place just a quarter mile outside of town where he was meeting some friends for a sauna. While they sauna’d, I explored the area, then met back up with them. We took a taxi waaaaay out another valley, waved good-bye to the taxi-man, and walked another half mile to a little home Dennis is having re-done. It was beautiful – the greenery up there and the views – a whole different perspective on the Vilcabamba Valley. Lots of food growing up there and lots of folks giving Ecuador a try and living off the land.

We had a long walk back into town - stunningingly green valley views all the way, and I grabbed a taxi back at the Hosteria Izycayluma again. Dinner with my Oregon friends while gazing down upon the Vilcabamba valley was delicious. Afterward, I organized my Saturday massage and Sunday facial. Ahhhh, Life.

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Day 2 in Ecuador

Hello again from tropical Ecuador…the adventure continues.

My first night in Quito was at the Chicago Hostel which I recommend wholeheartedly if you’re ever down this way. It’s about half-way between New Town and Old Town, so pretty quick to get to either, and in a nice quiet area not far from a beautiful park.

I was rummy with fatigue, but couldn’t let the day go to waste, so visited with some Danes, Swedes, Brits and later some Canadians – it’s a world wide group of travelers down here. Then I wrote you all the first installment from the rooftop terrace of the Hostel – incredible views from there – and watched a BatMan movie that was playing in the common room with the fellow who picked me up at the airport and the two Brits. Later we caught the bus ($.25) for a ride into New Town where we had the most delicious steak I may have ever eaten at an Argentinian Steak House. Returned to the hostel and finally crashed.

5:30 a.m. my alarm went off and I was still not used to the new time zone. I had lost many hours of sleep in the flights, but managed to get myself up. My previously arranged taxi arrived at 6 a.m. on the button! The owner of Chicago Hostel had told me I had to be at the airport for my flight to Loja a full two hours before its departure. My taxi got me there lickety-split - the roads were free and clear at that hour of the morning - and we arrived at the airport at 6:30 a.m. When I attempted to check in, I learned that the ticket counter wouldn't be checking in my flight for another hour!

So, now with an hour to burn, I wondered around the airport and learned they are building a brand new airport that should open this year (2010). It is being built by three companies – Canadian, Brazilian and one from Houston. Amazing! It will be larger than their current airport, and more out-of-town.

Then I began to watch the folks preparing to take the morning flight to the Galapagos, and even met some of them and learned some info about tours over there, etc. What’s terrific is to see so many families taking their kids to the Galapagos. One group who had organized their own trip had two couples with kids, 5 kids, and one older couple, so they had 3 generations in one family going together. How wonderful! There were many sets of couples who were in their 60’s and 70’s or so, which was also impressive.

Finally it was time to get my ticket – no problemo – and I proceded through security into the waiting area. And, delightedly, there was free wi-fi again! So I checked email and answered a bunch, and then boarded my Tame flight to Loja which had a total of maybe 15 passengers on a plane that could have held over 100 people. It was a quick 50 minute flight above the clouds which seem to blanket most of Ecuador right now, and we were served fresh-tasting orange juice that didn’t taste artificial in the least! It tasted almost fresh-squeezed! I was impressed.

Upon departure at the Loja airport I was met for the second time ever in my life by a person holding a sign with my name on it. My driver and I made a speedy get-away from the crowds and terminal – how delightful. And then the gorgeous 2 hour ride all the way to Vilcabamba through the most verdant, abundant plant-filled wide expansive valleys, stunning ridge lines, steep dropping canyons – awesome. Once again I was reminded of Pandora in the movie Avatar. We passed small towns and crossed rivers, and finally arrived at Vilcabamba. It is a small town, very pleasant looking with a town square surrounded by businesses, restaurants and trees. My driver drove on another 3 kilometers to my destination. Pulling into the driveway of my hosteria was gorgeous - flowering plants and trees and artistically arranged landscape was in every direction. These folks have created an oasis!

The Hosteria Izhcayluma is enchanting. It has individual cabins, or dorms, or shared rooms, a pool and jacuzzi, a Spa, a restaurant, bar, movie room and pool table. I was terrifically glad I booked my private cabin over a month ago! This is Carnival week, and though the holiday is finished tonight it gets pretty crazy in the small towns. The big thrill is throwing buckets of water on people – they just can’t get enough of it. Another thrill is foaming people with big cans of pressurized foam – I don’t know what kind it is, but looks somewhat like shaving cream. Anyway, the town is inundated with people, though they’re mostly leaving now to go back home to their cities. There is a real scarcity of rooms to be had in small towns at the last minute during this national holiday.

I had lunch at the little restaurant at the Hosteria. It’s open air, and has a couple of beautiful hosteria-owned dogs that meander through, looking for pets and maybe a hand-out. The squack of parrots in nearby trees frame the spectacular views of the valley from the lunch table. The place is stunning!

After lunch, I took the taxi ($1.00) into town, and spent 2 hours exploring the Town Square area and its shops and restaurants. I did get hit on the backside once with water, as there were hundreds of kids gathered around a town square (park) that were engaged in water and foam fights, but for the most part I avoided the dangers. Took some pictures and learned about horseback rides into the National Park, then caught the taxi back to the Hosteria for dinner.

During dinner of chicken in red wine sauce, rice, braised potatoes and salad ($5.25) with a HUGE Pilsner beer ($1.25) I ended up meeting more people – a couple from Oregon and then a woman from Germany and another from Canada – and learned alot of travel info from them. Great folks traveling! It's been awhile since I'd traveled like this, and I’d forgotten how fun it is to meet other globe-trotters.

At 9 p.m. the kitchen cooks and waiters erupted in water fights and hysterical laughter and screaming and tearing through the restaurant in chases after each other so I called it a night. If employees had behaved like that in the U.S. they would have been instantly fired, but here it’s different - and it's the end of Carnival. Before retiring I borrowed a plug adaptor to recharge my laptop battery - I had forgotten to bring one, and they’re essential for these countries. My laptop plug requires the ground prong, and of course none of the outlets in my cabin have the third hole. But fortunately my neighbors (new friends from Canada) had one they loaned me for the night.

I hope I’ll be able to sleep. There are the strangest noises going on outside on my deck somewhere…it sounds like some kind of animal is chewing on the deck! And some of the cries and calls and other noises I’m hearing I’ve never heard before – a little unnerving, as there is nothing but a glass wall between me and the deck. I’ve locked the glass door and before that I went out once to investigate, but saw nothing. Meanwhile, the outsides of the glass are covered in very large moths trying to get in because my bed lamp is on…Hmmm. If you don’t hear from me again it’s because whatever is eating the deck somehow got in and found me tastier !! More news tomorrow, hopefully!

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