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Come
travel with me to hear the magic sounds of Ecuador! - 31/07/04
Whatever happened to DJ Sash? Encore un fois?
So I left you in Quito. After seeing Nubia onto her bus I made
my way across Quito to the New Town, site of a giant backpacker
ghetto, every building being a hostal, restaurant, travel agent
or souvenir shop. This would be nice if you were returning
from the jungle or other suitably "rough" expedition
but for my it was quite irritating and quite expensive.
Indeed I almost starved until I found the cluster of food stalls
in Parque Ejido, between New and Old town. Quito is a pleasant
enough city, the Old Town being very colonial and the area
between the two holding a strange mixture of parks, cobbled
streets and busy roads. A personal highlight for me was
the Plaza de la Republica de India with its Indian flag and
statue of Mahatma Ghandi, very odd but pleased me immensely.
Also whilst I was in Quito was Ecuadors first Socialist fair - a
gathering of communists from neighbouring countries listening to
protest singers and chanting "Cuba Si, Yankees No". I
spent most of the afternoon there and was even interviewed for
TV, though I donīt think I made the final cut, thank God!
North of Quito is Otavalo, site of the famous Saturday market.
I spent a couple of hours there, for those of you who have been
to Chichicastanango in Guatemala it is very similar, those that
haven't - its a big market full of brightly coloured indigenous
clothing, tacky t-shirts and artesanias, but best of all, lots
of cheap food stalls! On the way back I visited the Mitad del
Mundo (Equator) though I had to pay $1.50 to get in. Why
should I have to pay to stand on the Equator? Anyway it wasn't
the real Equator as they messed up by 200 yards. I visited
the real thing, paid another $2, proven by watching water drain
out of a sink with no spiral. Just a yard either side creates a
spiral, either clockwise or counter-clockwise depending on the
hemisphere. Simple but very impressive. Why didn't they think of
that at the first place?
Otavalo market stall
Planning to leave Quito and
head for the Central highlands I called up Nubia, the Colombian
girl from the bus to Quito, as we had arranged to meet in Quito.
However, she was stuck in Guayquil so I changed my plans and
took a nightbus to Guayquil, where I spent the next three
nights. Guayquil is Ecuadors biggest city and its
commercial hub and as a result is much more expensive and
doesn't really have much in the way of tourist attractions or
cultural highlights, except the exceptionally clean (and
exceptionally tackily titled) Malecon 2000, which is almost as
bad, but not quite, as the riverfront complex in Barcelona. We
did climb the 444 steps to the lighthouse though which was fun.
I left Guayquil in a mixture of emotions; sad to be leaving and
parting from Nubia, still questioning my decision to miss out on
other places in Ecuador (bit late for that, but its my Virgo
anal trait shining through) and feeling that another country has
passed me by without me fully exploring it. I headed for Cuenca
in the southern highlands. The journey was amazing, crossing the
high passes and looking down at the blanket of clouds. Cuenca is
another colonial town, beautiful but I am slightly jaded of
Spanish architecture, though the setting is hard to beat,
surrounded by Andean peaks. Not finding much to do in Cuenca I
came today to Loja, another journey across the Andes but this
one marred by driving rain and high winds. Many of the
"roads" had been decimated by mudslides forcing the
bus to crawl around them, precariously close to the edge, even
the other passengers held on tight so it wasn't just my nervous
passenger routine! Loja is an interesting town, full of tacky
murals and modern churches and a "town bridge" that
looks remarkably Swiss in design. However it is cold and dreary
here and reminiscent of an Octobers day in England. It has
been constantly raining, and not exciting monsoonal rain, rather
that fine rain that soaks you through, I have been expecting
hoardes of pink dinner ladies to order everybody inside (c/o
Peter Kay).
Flower market, Cueca
Lamentations? Yes, more regrets. Should I have gone to
Guayquil? There is a famous quote (but I am not sure who it is
to be attributed to) - "I would rather regret something I
did than something I didn't do". What did I miss out on by
doing so? I had planned to visit the Quilatoa crater lake and
the hot springs at Baņos. Well, Huxley reckons Lake
Atitlan in Guatemala is the most beautiful in the world, and who
am I to argue with one of Britains greatest ever writers
(certainly Top 5!) so maybe I don't mind missing Quilatoa, and I
am sure I will get many more chances at hot springs. The other
place I missed was Volcan Cotapaxi, but I probably wouldn't have
gone there anyway ($10 to climb a volcano, no thank you!).
No, the main regret is underestimating South America so greatly,
the list of places I have missed already is longer than those I
have visited. Things are about to change however, due to
bus schedules and to booking my Inca Trail in advance I have
longer than I planned in Peru. So I confidently predict
that I will be thoroughly satisfied with my forthcoming tours of
Peru, Bolivia and Chile. Actually I am not excited at all about
trekking to Macchu Picchu in two weeks time. I have heard
many people (mostly rich "designer backpackers")
talking about finding solitude on the trek. With 500
people embarking for Macchu Picchu everyday I think you have
about as much chance of finding solitude as you have of finding
Glenn Miller, and look how long people have been searching for
him! No, I would rather be trekking to Ciudad Perdida in
Colombia, six days in a small, elite group on a recon mission.
You may ask, if that is so, why donīt you return.
Firstly, my curiosity (that which drives me everywhere) is
leading me onwards in the hope of greater things.
Secondly, stupidly I have already put down a non-refundable
deposit of $100 to trek Macchu Picchu in order to escape
availability problems in the high season, and whilst I am not
that excited (yet), $100 is $100. This is the main reason
for my rapid progress so far, and I have to say I don't like
being tied to specific date on little bit! Thirdly (and this is
for those who work/have worked in Fares or Air Product) -
*** All travel must be in a continuous global direction to/from
point of turnaround***
*** Backtracking not permitted***
On my last trip I was trying to follow Carlos Castenadas path
which resulted in my becoming more aloof in an attempt to create
an air of mystrey (what a load of bollocks that turned out to
be!). This trip I seem to be subconciously following a
Buckowski path of 'l'assez faire', or just 'let it be'. A
wise friend(and probably the biggest single influence on my
life, both personally and professionally) once told me
"Whichever route you take, let it be your own".
Well thats what I am doing here, even if it is not always to my
complete satisfaction. The only problem is, if I ever do become
a writer, no one will want to publish my South American memoirs!
Actually I feel like Paul Theroux in his "Old Patagonian
Express" where he travelled from Boston to Patagonia, just
to come back and didn't really stop to see anything on the way.
As is Theroux's style he was thoroughly miserable throughout so
at least I am having a good time!
I will finish this rather morose mail with some lyrics from olīblue
eyes himself:-
"Regrets, I've had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.
I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way."
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