By David Leija BearI’m about 99% sure that whoever uttered the phrase, ‘it’s about the journey, not the destination.’ probably thought of it while wandering around the glorious streets of Ecuador for a bit. From the moment I saw the sign, ‘Bienvenidos al Ecuador’ (welcome to Ecuador) until right now as I’m writing this riding through the Andes mountains in Southern Ecuador, this country has been nothing but amazing and full of awe-inspiring moments where we just had to pull over to take it all in. In Colombia they had told us how great the roads were, how cheap the gas was and how generally safe it was in Ecuador; they had even advised us to pick up hitchhikers when we saw them. As we were crossing the border, we knew they were right. Everything was so nice and it really did feel extra safe. Since our closest connections were in the capital city of Quito and it was only five hours from the border, we were talking about just driving straight there that night. Little did we know… Were it not for a couple of friends that we made on the road that told us that there is way too much to see before even getting to the capital, we would have missed the sheer beauty that the northern portion of the country holds. The magic really begins before you even get to Ecuador. As soon as we got to the southern Colombian city of Pasto we started really feeling the Andean/Ecuadorian vibe –so chill- so earthy. Pasto serves as the preamble to Colombia’s Andean neighbor and really prepares you for the culture shock that is Ecuador in every sense of the word –the climate changes, the gastronomy, music, fashion -everything. We arrived at the Colombia-Ecuador border as the sun was going down. Borders always give me a bad vibe as they represent a much bigger picture than just crossing from one country to another; I just don’t like them. I do have to say, that border crossings in South America have been much smoother than the border that I’m used to. This border in particular had me walking outside, filming the whole process with my phone out in the open and even making friends on the way. It was the smoothest process we’ve encountered yet –even with my fresh-washed and now illegible passport (don’t trip, I got a new one in Bogotá and if you followed me on Instagram you would know ;)). I walked out of there being friends with the border agent. Literally –we have each other’s contact info. Reading the text message that told us not to skip Northern Ecuador was music to my ears… or I guess, tacos to my eyes. We were dead tired that day and I was definitely not feeling the five-hour drive we had left. Now, contrary to popular belief, Ecuador is actually pretty cold –especially in the North. That first night we stayed in the border town of Tulcan and slept that good Chicago winter sleep like when it’s cold outside and you get home, wrap yourself in a blanket, hug the hell out of a pillow and sleep like no other –the type of sleep I missed. I think that a lot of times people take the cold for granted back up North pero el frio también tiene lo suyo –the cold has its good side too. We woke up in the van that morning excited for the adventure that lay ahead. Most of the time we’re not sure what we’re doing the next day but that morning we didn’t know where we were going after breakfast, where we were sleeping that night or who we would meet that day. I live for days like that. As I sipped on my aight cup of coffee I remember feeling like I was in anywhere USA; you could not differentiate that diner from a denny’s –that is until the food came out. Pure Ecuadorian delight. We left the diner and headed for an ecological park that was unlike any other I’d ever seen. Our new friend that awaited us in Quito had highly recommended it. The park was called ‘El Angel’. It was a rough road to get there but once we arrived it was a dream; we loved it. You read books about ‘finding yourself in the deserts of Africa’ but nah, you didn’t need to go all the way out there. This park had a fog-filled lagoon, and this type of plant unique to that landscape; it was kind of a mix between a cactus, and a sunflower all bundled up in winter clothes. We were already about 3,000 meters above sea level and there was still a hefty climb left to the mirador so that we could get a good view of it all. The air was so thin up there, I lost my breath right away –I love walking and climbing but I’ve never felt so weak in my life. I guess now I know how my cousin feels on the daily (lol). There was definitely something special about the place… something ominous. Pictures will never do justice to the feeling of being there. We continued on our way, passing through the small Afro-Ecuadorian town of Mascarilla known for the national soccer stars that come out of there. A little bit after passing through there we made it to Ibarra, “the white city”. I really couldn’t believe how beautiful the city was. There was this huge volcano covered by clouds that could be seen from just about anywhere it seemed like. As we were driving through the traffic hour, there was a pick-up truck in front of us with locals in the back. It was three kids and two adults. They were all smiles and laughs the whole half hour that they were in front of us. They’d splash each other every once in a while as well as passing cars. At one point, they turned to us and wet us. I didn’t think much of it. Then we passed under a bridge and there were kids on top wetting the passing cars; they got us too. I figured they were just messing around. Then finally we passed a block where kids were just wetting all of the cars with a hose. I barely escaped with my life as I tried dodging the water, dramatic as can be, as if it were a life or death situation. It happened so fast. That would have been such a goofy way to go out… I closed the window and avoided being sprayed. Shortly after we saw people with paint splashed on them and wet. It took us a bit but we realized that there was a party going on in the city. We got to a huge park where everyone was just wetting each other and spraying each other with foam and slapping paint on each other. I had to pull over and check it out. As I pulled out my phone to record a bit, this lady came up to me and slapped me in the face with black paint yelling, ‘so that you’ll look pretty for the camera’. It was such a great time. No one was safe! There were no holds barred on the spraying. We walked around and hung with the locals until the sun went down. Ibarra felt so safe, we parked right there in front of the park and kicked it for the night.
The next day we cruised for a bit until we found a breakfast spot. We’re always hunting for deals and we found this warm, friendly place that had the best hot sauce South of Mexico so far that is just packed with flavor. This ‘ají sauce’ is common-place at Ecuadorian restaurants but this one in particular was just bursting with flavor. I ate some mashed plantains covered in white crumbled cheese and eggs. Kind of like their version of chilaquiles. It didn’t sound like much at first but it packed a punch… delicious. After conversing with the friendly couple that owned it, they gave us all types of advice and even a few maps to check out. We hit the road with both our bellies and our minds content. The next stop was Otavalo –one of my favorite cities so far. It is an indigenous town where everyone was proudly Kichwa. The men all had long-black pony tails and the women rocked these fedora-like hats which were to me, the pinnacle of swag. You might have seen them around as they are known world-wide for their commerce amongst other things. Or maybe you’ve caught the lyrical master EmCees, Los Nin, who juggle between Kichwa and Spanish in their rhymes, on one of their international tours. Google them. Do it. We hung out for a while in Plaza de Ponchos while we got some work done and feasted on some encebollada or onion soup. You need to try this, even if you don’t like onion. It is just too delicious to pass up. Otavalo was really a place that I just wanted to stay, explore and talk to people but the road called and we had to keep going. On the way out we stopped by La Cascada de Peguche which was a big beautiful waterfall on the way out of the city. No hiking necessary, as it was one of the easiest waterfalls I’ve ever accessed -a must when cruising through this country. After this introspect-inducing stop we drove non-stop to Quito so that we could hang with our hosts for a bit, the French-Ecuadorian couple, Remy and Gaby that I’ll introduce in part two of this segment. This was just an introduction to the beauty that is Ecuador –and to think that we almost skipped this altogether… To be continued. |
DavidMuchacho simpatico EdgarEdgar is Christian. He loves soccer, traveling, and meeting new people. Archives
July 2016
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