Tom's Travels

To view full size photos and captions click here:
http://www.travellerspoint.com/photos/gallery/users/tommydavis/

Ecuadorians wrote the book on vending in buses. In fact, each time the bus stops at a traffic signal, a neatly organized group of vendors boards the bus and performs a ballet of sorts: sliding beside one another down the isle, yelling about their product about twice a second and in a monotone, yet piercing voice: ¨Helados, helados, helados¨ (ice cream cones), ¨papas, papitas, papas fritas¨ (chips or fries, sometimes with sausage or ketchup on top), ¨chiplets, chiplets¨ (fried banana chips.) A veritable arsenal of artery assaulting products sail one inch past your face before you know what hit you.

Other, more creative money making ventures include preaching (singing, rapping and beat-boxing works too) about Jesus and telling jokes as a prelude to offering your product. I was a bit out of it from Riobamba to Cuenca, but I am pretty sure one salesman told the following joke:

¨¿Qual es? ¿Qual es? ¿Qual es? ¿Qual es? ¿Cuando hay cabeza sin cerebro? ¡Se llama una mujer!¨

This translates as follows:

¨What do you call? What do you call? What do you call? What do you call? When there is a head without a brain? It´s called a woman!

Everyone on the bus was silent except for me of course, who was giggling away at the thought-provoking joke and Australian Johnny who had his sweatshirt over his face to hide his laughter. I don´t think anyone bought the cream wafers he was selling.

I guess the last time I checked in, I was doing the whole Quito thing. Since then I have worked my way around Quito and finally uprooted myself for the southbound journey:

There was Otavalo with my good friends Olof from Sweeden and Tim from Australia. We did some nice hiking, with and without rain, through dusty towns to waterfalls and lakes. Also, we managed to catch the local cock fight at, get this: the Otavalo Municipal Cock Fighting Ring. Cockfighting in Ecuador is sort of comparable to monster truck rallies in America: plenty of booze and rednecks.

The cloud forest town of Mindo was pretty relaxing except for the 15 km or so hike by myself. I know I was the first one on the path that morning because I caught many fresh spider webs strewn across the path. I realize now that my new hat is effective as a crumple zone for spider webs so my face does not take a direct hit. Also in Mindo I had the worst meal of all time: steamed rice, steamed potatoes, and steamed pig skin. Luckily I keep a bottle of habañero hot sauce in my pocket to make these kind of dishes palatable.

Maybe the most beautiful town I have ever seen, Baños was my base for a 60 km, mostly downhill bike ride past dark green semi-tropical Andean mountains and white-water rivers. After the rain came, the bus wouldn´t pick me up with my bike so I had to hitchhike with some guys back to Baños. I stopped trying to talk to them because the driver would turn 180 degrees to look at me and answer my questions. The crazy bastard almost made us fly off a few cliffs. Other than that, there were a couple of nice city and volcano view hikes and some local hot springs. My friends Johnny and Elina love recounting the story of the half-cooked fat American guy they met there who claimed (in a very fat American accent) that the pools ¨used to be five degrees hotter.¨

I am in Cuenca now, toward the south of Ecuador. I did a high altitude hike in Cajas National Park, got my hat reformed (no one told me they warp in the rain), and was shown by a guy in a wheel chair how to dance... no shit, I was that bad. I am determined to make it into Peru by tomorrow. Suddenly I am on a frantic sight-seeing run through Peru and Bolivia to meet Erin in Buenos Aires in mid-December. Until then, the adventures will be relentless and at high altitude.

Tom


Very multi-cultural in my Vietnamese purple poncho and Panama hat


A bunch of Ecuadorian rednecks comparing cocks


Weighing the cock


Two cocks going at it


In Otavalo with Olof and Tim in our liederhosen


Didn´t anyone tell these people that infants and rapids don´t mix?


Hola path called mystery


Back in the back of a pickup


Lake Cuicocha


Volleyball at the Mindo hotel


Eduardo making me breakfast


Supposedly, this bunny is only a pet and not food


Hiking in Mindo


Stairway to Cascada de la Reina


Man, was I excited to find this in the jungle


Dodgy looking ladder


A couple of bridges


If this guy lets go, he falls about 300 feet


This butterfly is the size of my hand


Church in Baños


Bridge in Baños


Night shot from the youth hostel


These pitch-black tunnels are especially scary on a bike


Half of Pailon del Diablo Falls


Some river near Puyo


Not quite finished building


Cuy cage


These kids offered to sell me a live cuy for $5 and a live sheep for $45


Anti-climactic view after a tough hike


Fancy resort above Baños


Cuys!


Puerco!


View from my reading spot at the youth hostel in Baños


The bathroom door is made for Ecuadorians, not me


Remember the story of the pigskin lunch...


Light sneaking into the doors of the New Cathedral in Cuenca


In Cuenca with Elina (Finland) and Johnny (Australia)


Riverside in Cuenca


Anyone who has traveled here knows how lucky I am to find such a machine


Inca ruins in Cuenca (I think)


Nice brick facade


Parque Nacional Cajas


Hiking with Elina and a coupe of French Canadian guys


Leave it to the French to smoke when it is hard to breath (about 14000 feet)


Stream in Cajas


Another view of Cajas


Soggy ground in Cajas


New Cathedral in Cuenca


Cuenca Town

To view full size photos and captions click here:
http://www.travellerspoint.com/photos/gallery/users/tommydavis/

Ecuador facts:

- Slightly smaller than Nevada
- Oil revenue represents 40% of export GDP
- Number one importer of American Sacagewea dollar coins (I am not making this up. In 2000, Ecuador adopted the US Dollar as their official currency and I now have three Sacageweas in my back pocket.)

So how is Ecuador? In short, kind of like Mexico, but with very bland food. I have to carry a bottle of the local hot sauce ¨Indio Bravo¨ just so I can stomach the food, which consists of rice, potatoes, chicken, and various other flavorless foods served without spice or condiments. Also on the menu is ¨cuy¨ which you and I know as guinea pig. I haven´t had this yet, but most certainly will in the next couple of months.

Having been in Quito for only a week, I have already learned a couple of valuable lessons. First off, hangovers and altitude sickness are a most painful combination. Trust me, if you plan on going over 4000 meters, do not drink a drop the night before or you will have an incurable headache later. One would think that traveling as long as I have, I would now be an astute and prepared traveler. Alas, I was caught without my standard pocket-full-of-toilet-paper in a public toilet that didn´t have a seat, let alone toilet paper. Let´s just say I will need a new travel book if I ever decide to go to French Guiana.

I have been in Quito for over a week now, which is fine except I havn´t really done much. A couple of notable side trips were up the teleférico with Joshua (Laura´s friend´s brother who lives in Quito who showed me around a bit) and to the equator at Midat del Mundo (see the photos for a better story.) Showing up in South America, I thought I would be able to settle in for a few weeks of Spanish classes, but I am too itchy to get out and hike the Andes to be spending my time reviewing ¨preterito indefinido¨. I guess since I have a workable Spanish base, the Spanish classes are more of a bonus than a necessity, and I cannot justify spending more time on them when there is so much out here to see and do. So it looks as if the next four months I will be flying by the seat of my pants as usual.

Tom

Urban scenery in Quito

Basilica del Voto Nacional

Sun trying to peek out behind the tower

Quito is huge

Can you believe they let me on top of the basilica?

Apartments in Downtown Quito

Am I at USD? (Quito Central Park)

Very old house in a Quito backyard

With Joshua at the top of the teleférico

This is what comes to mind when I think of South America

Grasses and mountains at 14000 feet

Mountain path near Quito

Finally, I am not sweaty after a short hike!

Someone with a sense of humor knows a bit of English

Straddling the Equator at Midat Del Mundo

Midat Del Mundo is most unspectacular

This renegade equator claims to be the real one.

Ever want to know how to shrink a head?

Wait, there´s more...