We set off on 17th January for a visit to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands with Voyages Jules Verne. We arrived at Quito airport after the five hour flight from Miami at 10pm approx, there is a time shift of five hours. However, the baggage for our party of 28 had not been loaded on the plane at Miami so we transferred to the Marriott Hotel in Quito, went to our rooms and went to bed. The local Ecuadorian tour courier, Henry, arranged to collect our missing cases when they arrived on the next flight three hours later. We had patchy sleep in our rather plush hotel room, the hotel is possibly the best in the city.
Sunday 18th January - Quito
We were up about 5am local time so we walked around the hotel, shops, art exhibition, gardens and swimming pool. There was a buffet style breakfast where we tried lots of the different fruits, hot dishes, yoghurts etc.
At 10am we set off on a tour of the old city which is traffic free on Sundays, on the way having a look at the sculptures on the front of the Parliament building . The Quito area at about 2700 metres is hilly, being set between two arms of the high Andes so streets lead upwards and downwards. Independance Plaza has the Presidential Palace where we were able to go into the entrance for a look, the cathedral and the archbishop's palace which is now a row of shops.
On Sundays in January a procession of the Three Kings and various other people passes round the old town so we heard the bands and had glimpses of the parade. Lots of people around as it is the day for the locals to go and enjoy the fun. We then went into the Museum Antiguo Cuartel de la Real Audencia, once a Jesuit house and later a barracks. Now a place of quiet courtyards and greenery with a sight of the dome of La Compania de Jesus dating from 1605 where we went next. The gold and green dome has been rebuilt after earthquake damage but the interior is a mass of gold leaf on the carved wooden walls, ceilings and altars. It was finished in 1775 and has various Inca symbols in the decoration as the labour was mainly Indian. At present restoration is taking place after fire damage a few years ago.
Then on to the Plaza San Francisco, the oldest open area of cobblestones rising up to the Monastery of San Francisco on which building was started in 1534, although earthquakes have caused rebuilding over the years. The church was full of people attending Sunday Mass but we had a brief look inside and then had a coffee nearby watching the crowds in the warm sunshine. We walked back to rejoin the coach through the streets of old houses, some in Spanish style and some in French owing to the influence of the French scientists who came to study the position of the Equator during the 18th century.
We were driven up to El Panecillo with the statue of La Virgen de Quito, a modern aluminium structure and enjoyed the good views over the old and new areas of the city. Back to the hotel and a rest before finding La Ronda restaurant for the evening meal. We had a good meal with live music and folk dancing at La Ronda to end the day. We enjoyed potato and avocado soup with sprinkled cheese, sea bass and a sweet to follow.
Monday 19th January - Quito to the Northern Highlands
We were up early for the coach to the northern highlands and the Otavalo area, where we were to spend the night at Hacienda Cusin. Our first visit was to La Mitad del Mundo, the middle of the world. This is the equator line some 22km north of Quito and where the Frenchman Charles-Marie Le Condamine made the measurements which established it in 1736.
At 1500 metres the site is in a low area between the mountains and there is a complex of museum, planetarium, shops, cafes, plus the avenue of statues of the French scientists who worked there, leading to the stone monument up which ones goes by lift to view the arid countryside around. When going down by a staircase one passes through an interesting exhibition of the various ethnic groups who make up the population of Ecuador. We stood on the painted line dividing the northern hemisphere from the southern for photographs then had fresh orange juice at the cafe after looking at the few humming birds in the trees.
Then on to Calderon and to a shop selling the local craft of 'massapan', bread-dough models. Here we watched a woman kneading the coloured dough and making some simple pieces; the shop was full of the brightly coloured items and we bought some small ones.
A two hours drive along the Pan American Highway took us to Peguche where we stopped for lunch with a local family. The countryside was varied, through rocky volcanic mountains, often arid but later with more fertile stretches as we reached the Otavalo area at 2500 metres. It lies near the two volcanoes of Imbabura and Cotopachi called 'Papa' and 'Mama' by the Indians. We entered a typical large family house, more a series of covered areas, where we sat down to a lunch of potato soup, roast chicken with vegetables, plus guinea pig for those who dared to try it (we did) and a sweet served by the six children of varying ages, all dressed in the local costume. Then we were entertained to music and dancing; the girls performed some graceful dances with the men in some very energetic items in head-dresses and furry breeches, waving flags etc.
Afterwards, we walked along the road to another house where we were shown the various musical instruments, the making of the Andean pipes, followed by music and song from the family. Next on to St Antonio de Ibarra which is known for its woodcarvings, every other shop in the street sells them, so we bought one for ourselves. Mostly of religious or natural objects such as leaves and flowers but we liked the Indian figure.
Then, finally, on to the Hacienda Cusin for the night, an old finca now made into a pleasant hotel. Our room was in what was probably part of the farm buildings, perhaps a stable, two small rooms with an overhead section and bathroom. It felt rather chilly but on returning from dinner we found that a log fire had been lit which gave a pleasant warmth. The main building had a small bar, large lounge area and a dining room, adjoining buildings had more apartments and a library, the gardens were extensive with more small guest cabins among the trees and flowers. As it became dark quite soon we had only had a short look around and saved a better one for the following morning.
Tuesday 20th January - The Northern Highlands to Quito
Not a good night but we were up early to leave on the return journey to Quito. First stop was up to the caldera of Culcocha at 12000ft. A large crater lake but even at the wide rim it felt warm, the path upwards passing among many different flowers and bushes. The visitor centre was not open so we went down to Cotacachi, a town full of shops selling leather goods of all descriptions; a lovely saddle priced at about £200 took our eye.
We returned to Peguche to visit the weaving shop of Jose Cotacachi where we say him weaving a tapestry on a conventional loom. There were various wallhangings and garments on display, one being an Escher birds in flight, and we bought several items.
Then on to Lake San Pablo where we enjoyed a good lunch in a lakeside restaurant looking over the water and towards Volcan Imbabura, the sunlight bringing out the slopes and channels on the mountain sides. We returned to the centre of Otavalo and had time to look around the large textile market full of tapestries, blankets, clothing and so on before starting the two hour return journey to Quito.
We were tired at the end of the day and did not bother to have dinner that evening. However we did have to sort out the luggage and take what we needed for the next stage of our trip to the Galapagos.
Thursday 29th January - Quito to Casa del Suizo, Amazonia
We were up early to leave at 7am for the coach journey to Amazonia - the Napo river and Casa del Suizo in the region of Ecuador called El Oriente. The road took us eastwards from Quito down to the valley of Cayambe, then upwards to cross the Eastern Cordillera to Papallacta.
The road was built to serve the industry when oil was discovered in the Amazon basin and a pipeline was constructed to take it to the Pacific coast. It is now being upgraded as in some parts it is narrow and rough, being subject to landslides. On the western side it goes through various climatic zones and there is much agriculture to be seen. The steep sides are not terraced as in Peru and many of the fields must be difficult to work.
The day was mostly sunny and quite clear; we got out at the top of the pass at 13400ft to take photos. but as the wind was so cold up there we did not linger. Some of the land here is dedicated as an Ecological Park. Down through rather lovely mountain scenery we went past Papallacta where there are some thermal springs and spa complex. On to Baeza and a stop at a cafe for a snack and short walk around it was decided to book lunch for the return journey.
Baeza is an old missionary and trading post first founded in 1548 by the Spanish and also the junction for the road going north to Lago Agrio and south to Tena, the capital of the province of Napo. Again passing through types of cloud and rain forest with views of snow capped Volcan Antisana we could see the oil pipeline alongside the road and also the water pipe which supplies Quito from the lake near Baeza with a glimpse of the San Rafael falls at one place.
Now the temperature and humidity were apparent as we went through the small community of Archidona to Tena and onwards through Misahualli to the river bank and the final stage by dugout canoe to Casa del Suizo at Ahueno, yet another mission village.
After finding our cabins and a late lunch we crossed the river for a short walk to see the jungle vegetation and a family hut. Discovering that drinking water was not provided we bought bottles at a shop just outside the hotel. After a drink, a pisco sour, and dinner we went to bed in our cabin overlooking the river. It wasn't that easy to sleep because of the heat and humidity.
Friday 30th January - Casa del Suizo, Amazonia
We were up again early to sunshine and a visit to a section of ten year old jungle, wearing wellington boots which we had collected the previous afternoon. We walked up water courses on rough stones and rocks, and could hear various birds although in the dense undergrowth they could not be seen.
Various types of trees and bushes and their uses were explained by the Indian guide with translation by Henry. We did see a few flowers, some butterflies and also a small frog. On the way back some of the party went on balsa rafts instead of canoes which meant changing into shorts etc. from the long trousers which we had been wearing but we went by canoe.
Our lunch was taken at the Casa and then we were taken down river to the other end of the village to walk back. The first visit was to a typical family house where the mother showed us how the local drink of chicha is made from manioc. The fresh juice is given to small children for energy and used by hunters when away from home but after a week it ferments and has alcoholic effects. A dish of fresh juice was passed around the group.
Next we were given a demonstration of the blowpipe with the usual visitor participation. The next visit was to a ceramic workshop where a young woman showed us how she pressed out small bowls and cups and decorated them. There were various articles for sale there. Back at the Casa we had a rest, bought some items in the souvenir shop and then after a drink and dinner we retired to bed. Again a rather warm night but it was better in the early hours.
Saturday 31st January - Casa del Suizo, Amazonia
Up early again as today we had an all day excursion to go to the Amazoonica Reserve. We went in the canoes to a cultivated island and then across the river to the reserve landing stage. We had to go up several steps and were interested to meet a woolly monkey which insisted on sitting on Rick's shoulders and examining him, his hat and jacket.
We went up to the reception hut for a short talk by the guide who was a young Swiss girl and just about to return home after working at the reserve for several weeks. Then we were taken around to see the various encloures which contained other monkeys, toucans, parrots and macaws, anaconda, ocelot and coupabarra. All the animals have been brought in because of injury or sickness and the policy of the reserve is to return them to the wild when possible.
Back to the canoes where the monkey decided it liked my stick on the steps and a short way up the river where we had a packed lunch on a sandy beach. From here it was possible to float down the river on large rubber tubes and a number of the group decided to do this; bathing costumes were needed of course.
The rest of us managed to get into one canoe and started downstream to where the river was more shallow. Here we had to get out on to a sandbank expecting to see the canoes very soon as they took a diversion to reach deeper water. The depth of the water was not as high as needed because the rainy season was late in coming. After standing or sitting there for probably half an hour, two walked back round the corner to see the canoe still in the same place so they asked the two boatmen to come for us, the problem being that we did not have our guide to translate. They soon appeared and we got back in to go on further to meet the main stream and back to the Casa. Here the river current was quite strong and we had to go against it. The canoe drew alongside another moored up for fishing and fuel was transferred to our engine, probably the forced delay earlier was because we did not have enough to get back to Ahuano and the two boatmen were waiting for the other ones to arrive. Anyway we saw the catfish which the fishermen had caught and reached the landing bank without more delay.
This landing bank was in process of being built and getting in and out of the canoes was tricky stepping on loose rocks and sand! We arrived about 3pm and sat on our balcony, walked round the Casa complex and after dinner went to bed.
Sunday 1st February - Casa del Suizo, Amazonia to Quito
An early start yet again as today we had to return to Quito, the same way as we had come. The trip upriver in canoes was not without excitement for us as there were sixteen of us in the one boat with much of the luggage. At one bend in the river the water was rather shallow and we made three attempts to get over the rocks against the strong current. We wondered if we would have to get out and push.
The road journey was quite interesting as at one point it was narrow and the highway construction crew were widening it. This work consisted of a bulldozer up on the hillside pushing the sandy earth and rocks down on to the road beneath where it was loaded on to a lorry and then tipped out further down into the valley. The problem being that the road was blocked and they did not want to stop work. After some time and a little co-operation frpm the workmen the coach driver tried to go past the blockage but slipped on the muddy surface into the side - of course most of us passengers were out in the road discussing how to do things! After some scraping of the road surface a rough piece of hawser was tied on to the underside of the coach and on to the bucket of the grab, an attempt was made to pull the vehicle and after about a foot the tow rope snapped. (The first rope produced had been a nylon one) The hawser was tied into a messy knot and fortunately it held long enough to pull the coach up on to the road and over the slippery part.
Back on board and then on to Baeza and lunch of grilled trout and banana with a chocolate sauce. There were good views of Volcan Antisana and around the high mountains as the sun was bright. We reached Hotel Marriott for the last time and sorted out the luggage hoping that we were not over the limit of 20kg per person. Most of us went to La Ronda again for the evening meal where, being a Sunday, there was live Andean music and dancing, which was very like that which we had seen in Peguche. And the holiday was at an end...
