Up, Up and More Up

Gradually we're learning more about the fiery devil above us. This morning we rented a Jeep to drive up the mountain to Los Ojos de Volcan -The Volcano's Eyes.

It's as though we're on another planet here. Even driving in this little car on a single lane road with switchbacks and two way traffic is an experience. I found myself hanging on tight -- as if I'd fall out and roll down the mountainside! All my old fears come back here -- heights, bridges, narrow roads with two way traffic. But most fears are stuff and nonsense -- as I've painfully discovered.

The Jeep had no doors. You enter through the window. Bob wanted this photo. He was actually driving.

The clouds rolled in as we arrived. This is the lower part of the volcano.

The owner of the refuge took this photo of the eruption two months ago. I asked him if he was afraid. "Not from big rocks," he said. "But the ash is a problem. I thought of Pompeii. It was the hot gases and   ash that killed everyone. Everyone thought that Vesuvius was a mountain until it erupted. So mountains can be deceptive apparently.

Cleaning up after an eruption.

The 1999 eruption.

The diagonal horizontal line of grey in the middle is lava. Banos has a posted evacuation plan for residents and tourists now. Sirens signal the evacuation. All buses line up on one of the town's main streets. I suppose people are always prepared. I would be for sure. The buses drive five kilometres out of town to safety.

Our Jeep.

Rogelio, the owner of the refuge found this Incan vessel in his garden the other day.

We met htis couple at the top. They are Swiss, he an urban planner, she a pediatrician. They saved and planned their five month trip to South America for a year, bought this Land Rover in Bogata, Columbia, drove here and here they are.

They are camping here overnight for a better view of the volcano in the morning.

Transporting a generator by horse back.

Hasta manana.

Tungurahua

I've mentioned volcanoes. But I've only just discovered that Ecuador has 26 volcanoes and that only a few are extinct. Behind the beautiful waterfall outside our bedroom window is the active volcano, Tingurahua. Geez.

It erupted in October, 1999 producing a major ashfall that sent more than 25,000 people temporarily packing. There was medium seismic activity until July and August 2006 when there was a violent eruption that caused a 10 kilometre high ash plume spreading ash over hundreds of kilometers. Lava flows killed more than five people and and destroyed a number of villages and roads.

Then there were more eruptions and evacuations in December 2010 and 2012 and July 2013. A student at our school in Cuenca said that the last time he was here, people were sweeping ash from the streets.





October, 1999





A deep gorge with lava walls.





Much of the Andes are volcanic.




In 2007, the government moved all of the inhabitants of a village in the path of potential lava flows to these new homes.




One of the many waterfalls. A lot of hydroelectric power comes from these falls.





Cable car.





Old looking cable car mechanism.





You would have reached this place by the footbridge on the left.





One of our tour bus members bungee jumping off a bridge.










Bob on a suspension bridge.





Elaborate stairways down.






The weather is unpredictable here now. If the sky is clear tomorrow, we're heading way up to catch a good view of the busy fiery fellow.

Location:Banos,Ecuador

Baths of Sacred Water

Our Riobamba taxi driver pulled into the bus terminal this morning well ahead of the apparent 10:00 a.m. departure to Banos. He said, "Jump out! That's your bus to Banos leaving now." So all of a sudden we were on our way into a new world.







The streets of Riobamba.




The functioning stove in the hotel dining room.




Our hotel bathroom in Riobamba looking straight out to the volcano.

Banos

The world around us now is transformed. There are no sirens. No 4:00 a.m. traffic. No bustle. No mayhem. Just the sound of falling water and roosters crowing punctuated by the odd dog barking. Christmas is a quiet season.




The hills around Banos.




Our bedroom is a miracle. This is the scene from the window and patio just outside the door. You can hear the water rushing down. It's breathtaking. I've always wanted a garden water feature. Imagine having one like this! Baños de Agua Santa, “Baths of Sacred Water" gets its name from the dozens of waterfalls, hot springs and rivers. Adrenaline seekers flock here for canyoning, rafting, climbing and mountain biking.






Late this afternoon, we hiked up a few hundred meters for a bird's eye view of the town.

I hope I can capture the feel of the place for you. We're close to the Amazon jungle and as soon as we arrived we ripped into town to one of the many eco adventure tour companies. We were excited. Exploring deep into the Amazon would become a reality. Well not so fast. The Eco Tour rep outlined the three night, four day trip for us.

"First you'll take a nine hour overnight bus ride to the starting point," he said. "What kind of bus?" I asked. "This is Ecuador," he said. I looked at Bob and we were both thinking the same thing. How would we ever survive the bus ride, let alone the jungle?

The tour operator continued. "Then you go by car to the canoe for a ride down a river to your campsite in time for dinner and a night walk in the jungle." I was starting to feel very old.

The four day adventure moved along like this with visits to native communities, all the while walking amidst snakes and lizards and other amazing creatures. "We supply the rubber boots," he said.

Bob and I walked out feeling deflated -- as if life had passed us by. "Honestly," I said to him, "I don't think I could have ever done this tour even in my 20s." So instead, we're going to hike up into the mountains, take a vehicle up to see the local active volcano, cycle down 20 kms. to the next town and visit the thermal hotsprings.
We can hire a guide to take us into the jungle -- but not deep into the jungle.

Off to bed. Buenos noches.

More Pics from Asia

It's been really weird being so out of touch with our family -- especially with Susan, Alan Max and Kai. We had planned to be in touch by BBM. But I lost my cell phone in the second week. As it turns out, Susan rarely had internet connection anyway. I can't imagine travelling 40 years ago when we relied on letters and post cards. I miss our easy communication!










Kai in Burma.























Field irrigation.

Hasta pronto.

Wandering Family

With Grapefruit Seed Extract, a Probiotic and 10 hours of sleep, I've recovered. But I'm staying away forever from steaming hot milk straight from a cow's udder.





This is the view to the volcanco, Chimborazo from our 8th floor hotel window. It has an elevation of 6,268 metres above sea level and is highest mountain in Ecuador and in the Andes north of Peru. Its last eruption was in 550 C.E.

Ten years ago we stayed at the base of Arenal, an active volcano in Costa Rica. We had a room with a king sized bed. At the end of the bed was a huge window looking out to the stones and smoke jetting out from the top. "Do you think we're safe here?" I remember asking Bob.

Bob wrote his fourth year engineering thesis on volcanos. He loves them. We climbed Vesuvius with the kids in the seventies and picked away at lava for souvenirs. Gads.

This morning Bob said, "There's an active volcano not too far from here." He was reading the guide book. "How do you get there," I asked?

"Well, you can't go there now. But there's an extinct eroded volcano with jagged icecapped peaks, hanging glaciers, rumbling and cracking, called "El Altar" that might be interesting. But it's a difficult climb to get there." "Let's pass for now," I said. Let's go to Banos instead. So tomorrow we're off again.

Susan in Thailand

A few weeks ago I sent Susan's photos from Burma. They travelled around Burma for a few weeks. We've been out of contact. Now they are on Koh Lanta, Krabi, Thailand. Soon they'll start their journey home to Nelson, B.C. by tuk-tuk, boat, bus, train and plane.

Max and Kai bat caving.












All hands on Kai.


Playing with locals.








Thai food.





See you in Banos. Be well.

Riobamba and the Quechua People

Riobamba is worlds apart from Cuenca. Tourists are as scare here as coffee (except Nestle's instant). Ecuadorans don't drink coffee as we know it and so if you are not in a tourist city, you won't find a barista or even a perculator.











The driver crossed himself before we headed out. Gawd, I thought, is the drive going to be that bad. We wound north up and down though the Sierran Andes from Cuenca midway in the mauve area of the map to Riobamba midway in the reddish area.

This is totally Quechua indigenous territory. In town after town people were dressed like those below. They walk on the roadsides sometimes with straw on their backs and don't seem to drive cars -- at least in this area.

I asked our driver if they live more or less well. "They live well," he said. "Families cultivate plots of land and the government compensates them for their harvest. Families live close together and help each other. They have small houses, enough food to eat and they don't have cell phones. I wish our native people lived happily like this I thought.









Mountainous slopes on either side of the highway.









The Quechuas of Ecuador speak Kichwa–Kichwas or Quichuas.









Last night I asked Bob how far it was to the border with Peru. "Why do you want to know?" he asked, with a look that said to me, 'Don't even think about going there.' Today the driver said, "It's four hours to the border from Cuenca but the border area is ugly and full of thugs." I thought of Tijuana, Mexico.









Indiginous home that has seen better days.








The folks in this truck are eating ice cream of all things. The Andes are very brown and dry now, unusual for this time of the year.



















This is a typiclal small town restaurant with little food we'd be comfortable eating. I ordered coffee with milk. The server brought hot milk with a jar of Nestles. "The milk is straight from the cow's udder," the driver said with a pleased look. I didn't feel pleased and don't feel well now. More later when I recover.