Ecuador Day 4 - Cuicocha Hike

I found Freddy on trip advisor and had been communicating with him for a few months.  We wanted someone reliable to handle our longer ground transportation legs while on the mainland.  We had a diversion planned over the next couple of days to go North for a nice looking hike, then check out the town of Otavalo with their famous market.

Freddy was fantastic.

He arrived on time as promised, and I was immediately at ease with him... friendly, very good (and at times, very funny) English skills, safe (slower as he spoke, lol) and super experienced.  We were expecting a driver, we ended up getting a lovable tour guide that was super flexible, always listed to our feedback and really just took care of us.

As we eventually got out of Quito (he was astonished at the lack of traffic, even though today was one of the many independence days celebrated by Ecuador (today was the independence of Guayaquil)).  In later days, we later found out what the meant by the traffic getting in and out of Quito.

Freddy started with the geographic layout of Ecuador (volcanos!) - naming all the big ones (and of course... they had the "tallest" mountain in the world)....

Chimborazo is still the highest mountain on Earth, at least when measured from the Earth's centre rather than sea level. Since our planet is a squashed sphere not a round one, and peaks close to the Equator get an extra few kilometres, Ecuador's tallest peak emerges supreme, the point on Earth closest to outer space.

Then of course, there's the tallest mountain in the world according to yet a different interpretation...

Though Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth at 29,032 feet above sea level, Maunakea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii actually holds the title of tallest mountain on Earth at 33,500 feet. More than half (19,698 feet) of Maunakea lies underwater, while 13,802 feet is above sea level.

Anything for a superlative... anyway... It's EVEREST!

The history Freddy and spoke about was really interesting, especially as I could now link it with what I learned about Peru.  Our Colombia visit soon will complete that picture nicely!

Interestingly, Freddy talked about the racial history of his country this way... he pointed to different parts of his body "nose, ears, eyes, no hair on arms... that's indigenous... the hair that grows on my face... that's Spanish!".  He said 70% or so of the country was this so called "mixed" race.

Beth napped while we continued the drive North.  At about 10:30, we stopped and loaded up on some food before we started winding our way up into the foothills of the volcano we'd be hiking around.  By 11, we'd registered and entered the park area for Lak Cuicocha.

Cuicocha (Kichwa: Kuykucha, "lake of guinea pigs" or Kuychikucha, "rainbow lake")[1] is a 3 km (2 mi) wide caldera and crater lake at the foot of Cotacachi Volcano in the Cordillera Occidental of the Ecuadorian Andes.

We didn't realize Freddy would be joining us, but it was awesome that he did.  We spent the next 3 and a half hours climbing and descending on the 13km loop around the caldera, admiring the lake and trying to go slow and steady uphill so our breathing wouldn't get out of control.  Like the Inca trail, Freddy reported that our moving time of just over three hours was quite quick, though it didn't seem to bad to me.

We say many Venezuelans on the road today... a continuation of the refugee problems they've been having for years, which is just now starting to affect the USA.  Venezuelans are everywhere here -  mostly trying to make money selling things on the street (ice cream was a popular choice, oddly), but Freddy explained the metrics... in Venezuela, they make $20/month - here they could make up to $5/day, so relatively, it was great.   However, not all refugees were trying to make do by working, and sadly there are quite a few beggars and quite a bit of mostly petty crime - sadly this is what we saw the beginnings of in Peru in 2019. 

On the hike, I started to think... what made most South and Central American countries progress so much more slowly in many ways compared with North America?   We were "discovered" at the same time.  Was it the Spanish/Portuguese influence vs the French/English?  Was it the fact that South America was filled with people and riches that were to be exploited so much more than the relative sparsity and (perceived) lack of wealth in the North American indigenous people?  Was it simply "corruption" and if so, why did that take hold?  Style of government? Culture?  It's kind of maddening when you start thinking about it....   One more thought... they sure seemed happy here.... maybe... more happy than us.  Hmmm.....

We were zoning out by the time we got to our little hotel in Otavalo... We could have used a good hot tub.  What a day.  Otavalo seemed like a bustling little city when we had arrived, but by dinner, not much was open.  We found a little local pizzeria with reasonably sized (ie like a local Ecuadorian woman!) $3 delicious pizzas.  

Ecuador Day 3 - Exploring Quito

We woke up pretty refreshed and grabbed breakfast - hotels in Ecuador typically include a breakfast chock full of fresh fruit and the usual fare.  It was Sunday, and we had walking on our mind (and I had baños logistics planning for Beth - always top of mind for my tiny bladder syndrome travel partner).  I had created a route on Strava that we could follow as a baseline, knowing the deviations would be the norm!  Strava (my cycling tracking app) has proved to be a great tool for city walk planning as it has a heat map (ie an overlay map that shows the most frequented streets and routes where people have walked, rode etc).  

Within 10 minutes of leaving the hotel, we started to see tons of people moving by bike.  We had discovered (you know, kind of like how the Spaniards discovered South America), Ciclopaseo.  Started n 2003 as a one off or infrequent celebration of moving in the city by bike, it was now every Sunday - a route 30km long right through the city is closed to traffic from 8am to 2pm for cyclists and pedestrians.  Rather than the citizenry whining about reduced roads and more traffic (ahem... bike lane debaters), the city has embraced it (similar programs run in Rio and Bogota) - thousands of people were whizzing by us as we made our way through the nearby El Ejido Park, one of the MANY huge parks in Quito that were so well designed to be parks of the people.  By that I mean, instead of the "open green space" approach, the parks (like the designs of the central squares in most cities we've been to in admittedly our limited exploration South America) were designed to have people interact and occupy instead of admire:  prefab stalls for vendors, park exercise equipment, lots of sitting areas - this one even had 2 small glassed in libraries.

Some fun facts on Quito (officially San Francisco de Quito)... 2.8 million people (though it sprawls out from there for sure) and an elevation of 2,850 meters (the "*" highest capital of the world because La Paz at 3,640 is a split government seat/official capital with Sucre in Bolivia... sigh... anything to get a superlative in the world of travel!).  The old city was one of the first UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites due to it's well preserved condition.  The city is so long (over 70km) that the southern and northern part of the city actually have different designated climates!

Basilica del Voto Nacional kind of dominates the view if you're anywhere near central Quito, and although it's not a very old, historical building, it's pretty impressive.   The basilica too about 100 years to complete (finished in 1988) and luckily for us modern day travellers, it was built with "access" in mind.  If you wanted a better view, you could buy a ticket to climb the 6 or so storey "narrow-but-not-so-narrow-that-claustrophobes-freak-out" winding staircase to the mid tower section (they even thought to put a gift shop up there...lol).

The really cool views, though, were from the last climb up to the single tower that faces the two clock towers.  Some people in my group didn't dare the climb (I don't blame her, it was a little sketch, as they say).  I was joined at the top by a teenager from Virginia that was there with her Ecuadorian Uncle and I asked her if she thought they'd let the general public ascend and descend a ladder/stair like that by themselves in North America and she said "no chance!"....  I was picturing safety reps, top and bottom, harnesses, training, waivers, safety glass, helmets, airbags, cushiony pillows....ah we suck sometimes....  

The view of the city looking south from the top of the tower was spectacular!  And.... I survived.... the teen actually slipped down and broke her ankle.

Not.

Coffee and baños in the cute square at the base of the basilica and we were off to the old city.

As we explored, I recalled that Uncle Brian had mentioned something about the dogs in Ecuador when we was there years ago... check!  There are dogs everywhere.  None of them were a problem - mostly they seemed nocturnal, just striving for some shut eye in the big city.

We meandered - Sunday proved to be amazing for people watching - our favourite travelling pastime.  The Central Square was full of life - kids playing, vendors, small groups meeting, moms comparing notes... very few tick tockers, which was nice :-).  There was some kind of security virtually everywhere - local, regional, national police officers in pairs and small groups, and even some military.  Not in an ominous way, they were just... present.  A lot of the more traditionally dressed people, mostly women, were well under 5 feet tall.  Beth was feeling very confident.

As the morning stretched on and we ticked off more coffee and more baños, the area started coming alive with musicians playing.  One trio we stopped and watched led to a cute old man engaging Beth is some dancing, to which she hilariously bowed at the end like she was back in Japan

We found a small alley for a lunch spot on a second floor balcony (finally, empanadas!) and then it was off to more exploring.  Noise attracted us to a hip hop / break dancing group... it's always so interesting how a foreign culture is imported then merged with local culture to make their own brand and garner their own audience... very cool.

Made our way to central market but it was underwhelming... more like a smelly food court with very few vendors

We continued to people watch - the streets were a visual smorgasbord of people, street scenes and architecture... the legs were good but the visual stimulation was a lot!

Beth was losing steam so we caught an Uber (ridiculously cheap in Ecuador by the way.... $2usd for about a 25 minute ride) instead of continuing on foot - the altitude I'm sure was contributing to the lethargy, though we didn't feel as tired as when we'd first arrived in Arequipa with the kids in 2019. 

The Uber dropped us at the bottom of the Tenifirico - a gondola that takes you up into the foothills of Ruca Pinchacha volcano... a trip that goes from 3120 meters to just under 4000 meters of elevation.   It's the 2nd highest gondola in the entire American continent... another hilarious superlative.  

On the way up, we spoke with a guy that was with his parents and wife/girlfriend.  Halfway up he got the nerve to ask us where we were from in thickly accented English (dude... don't be shy - you should here our Spanish!).  He was really nice (later inviting us to his house for dinner!) - an "IT Security tech who would love to work in Canada... but it's so hard to do it".  A story that I'm sure plays out everywhere.  The sad thing is, I'm sure we could use him!  He finished the conversation with "English is the key!" - another hard reality.  That always makes us feel awkward, as the superior/blessed/fortunate travellers from the "1st world".  Sigh.  

We had a nice coffee and snack while chilling out on a couch facing the Quito valley below.  The temperature was amazing... shorts and a t-shirt for me, parkas for some of the locals... lol. 

We took the lift down (about a 30 minutes wait - Sunday!) and Ubered back for some quiet time before dinner.  We ate at a place in the old town that was suggested by one of Beth's colleagues for the view of the city called Vista Hermosa.  The food was ok, but we weren't that hungry so didn't go for any of the bigger mains (I later spotted the steak and baked potato which looked fantastic) but the view from upstairs was pretty cool.   What a great first, fun filled active day in Ecuador.  Quito:  impressed!!!

Ecuador Day 2 - Chill and transfer

Early morning in Miami is certainly a different vibe than Ocean Drive by night.  We were up early and seated at a little place on Espanola way that we'd spotted yesterday for breakfast.

Heading down to Ocean Drive, it was nice and quiet, though the paths and closed lanes on Ocean Drive were full of exercisers - getting their morning sweat in while it wasn't too hot.  We went to the Art Deco Welcome Center, a quasi South Beach Museum and we learned of the importance that the growth of radio broadcasting had led to the growth of South Beach.  This was followed by the whole area acting as a training and staging area for soldiers heading to World War II.  The community really took off after the war to what it is today.  They really have done a great job preserving the look of the original architecture.

By late morning, the temperatures soared and the patches of shadows started to disappear, so we spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon chilling by the pool.  They had great food!

Or late afternoon AA flight, part f the Lindblad/Nat Geo package (remember... FREE!) was on time.  We were starting to get really excited to explore Ecuador.   I found a decent Cubano (actually, who am I to judge...) in the sprawling, modern Miami Airport.  Yum.

We arrived in Quito, the capital, at 10:30 and sped through a very efficient customs process.  We have managed to squeeze everything in our carry on luggage, as we have 8 short flights on this trip, which makes things pretty quick and easy getting in and out of airports.  

We hopped in an Uber for the 40 minute drive to the hotel (which was less that $20... we're not in North America any more!).  I was immediately struck by the infrastructure and size of everything.  I was expecting it to be more like Lima - sprawling and feeling a little like a work in progress.  Everywhere we could see were modern highways, buildings and infrastructure... at least where we were driving.  

Although we couldn't see too much of the surroundings, you could see the shadow of mountains nearby as we dropped into the valley that Quito is built in.

The downtown core was very quiet.  We arrived and checked into the Ikala Quito Hotel and were quickly asleep.  New country!!

Ecuador Day 1 - First... South Beach

Our next adventure was going to be Morocco for the longest time, but then about a year ago we got together with Alex and Kim and revisited our "priority" list together... an adhoc, definitely not documented list of places that we wanted to visit sooner than later... these can include "wildlife potentially affected by climate change in the future", "expensive places to visit while we are still working", "overall bucket-list trips", and lo and behold, the Galapagos got bumped forward.  No sooner were we group conference calling with a very helpful sales rep for Lindblad Expeditions (the defacto National Geographic adventure travel company) then we had placed a deposit for the trip.

Fast forward almost 12 months to the day, and Beth and I were on the first leg there - to Miami.  Lindblad basically includes a return flight from Miami to Guayaquil or Quito, Ecuador (it's free....FREE!), and we were not interested in complex, potentially moving/cancelling/delaying flights, so we choose to do a flight at a time and take in some different places on the way.

We had a day and a night in Miami on the way there and on the way back, so we chose two different areas since it was our first time there.

South Beach was up first.  Oddly, when we left Toronto we were in the middle of a heat wave... almost 30 degrees, but that still didn't prepare us for the blast of heat and humidity we got coming out of the airport.  A French woman we later ran into said that when she had first arrived and opened the door to the outside of the airport, she thought she was standing under a hot fan (like an inverse AC unit) that was blasting just outside the door, but when she moved she realized it was just the weather.  WOW.

We opted for a cool little boutique hotel called Esme Miami Beach, and it turned out to be the best thing we did there.  The funky little hotel, located right beside Espanola Way (a small pedestrian boulevard with cute little restaurants lined up and down).   Its roof top patio and pool proved to be an occasional Oasis from the heat and cheese of South Beach.

Despite the heat, we set out on a walk - of course we did.  12km up and down the  excellent beach boardwalk, trying to stay in the shadows and avoiding the occasional drunken argument.  It was a tale of two cities for sure - one small city was the thriving beach hotels with music pumping and the outside beach-side pool areas half filled with customers.  The other, larger city was one of dereliction, boarded up hotels, empty hotels or under construction hotels.  And the occasional open hole in the ground of a former condo or hotel that may or may not have sunken into the ground.

Known for its art deco architecture, South Beach didn't disappoint on that front.  The almost indefinable, but know-it-when-you-see-it style is so cool.

Other than the architecture, nice looking beach and amazing walk, there was a sad side to South Beach.  It was pretty obvious that the place and the people had seen better days.  There were many homeless people, frying in the sun.  Half of the shops along Collins seemed to be dead or dying... including countless surf / swimwear / tourist kitsch shops.  Other people wandering around the area, and this was just mid-day, did not seem to be doing too well.  Then there were many women that may have been trying to mimic some kind of required "look" with injectables in three notable spots of the body.... fascinating people watching... but also a bit sad.

We had lunch at a Mexican place on Espanola way, followed by chilling by the pool and a nap - the great recharge we both sorely needed had begun.

Beth had made dinner reservations at the nearby Drexel, which was great.  Surprisingly, it was filled with locals until it got later and larger limos started dropping off the night crew...  

We walked down to Ocean drive to people watch some of the night life.  It was fascinating, followed by, kind of gross, followed by fascinating.  Observing from a distance was close enough for us, but again, we were kind of left with a feeling of sadness.  Cool architecture but in general, I just don't get the appeal.