Travel, Photography, Life.
Ecuador
I spent a long time there.
Goodbye Southern Hemisphere
Nov 15th
October 30-November 1, 2007
Days 704-706
Shortly after I left Quito, I crossed the equator for the last time on my trip. The vast majority of my trip so far had been spent in the southern hemisphere, but it was time to move on to the north on my continual trip home. I’m really going to miss seeing the toilets flush clockwise.
I ended up in Otavalo, a small city in the far north of Ecuador. Otavalo is famous for its market, but I didn’t see what all the hype was about. People were selling their fruits, vegetables, meat, and household goods in the streets, but it wasn’t very different from the dozens of other markets I’ve seen in South America. Supposedly the best market day is Saturday, but still, Otavalo’s market was less than a tenth the size of the one in El Alto, Bolivia on a weekday. There were some outdoors activities to do in the area, but the constant rain turned me off from it all. With rainy season almost in full swing, it was definitely time to go to Colombia.
Charlatans of the Equator
Nov 1st
October 29, 2007
Day 703
At least a dozen times in my travels in South America, the topic of the Mitad del Mundo (“The Center of the Earth,” as the equator near Quito is known) has come up with other travelers. Inevitably, the person tells me how great it was that they got to see firsthand that water drains from a sink in the opposite direction depending on which hemisphere you’re in. I’ve always told them how ridiculous that was, that moving a little north or south of the equator couldn’t possibly affect the flow of water, but they’ve always contended that they had “seen it with their own eyes.” Well today, I finally got to see the equator with my own eyes, and I took an Israeli girl named Niva along as a witness.
When we reached the Mitad del Mundo, we walked past a virtual city of souvenir shops and restaurants until we reached a long line in the ground, an announcement that we had reached the equator, and a large monument commemorating our arrival. We escaped the sun and made a beeline for the large concrete sculpture.
Surprisingly, inside the monument was a museum full of relics from the multitude of cultures that still exist in Ecuador. From the Africans who were originally brought here as slaves, to the colorful but conservative mountain cultures, to the sultry cultures of the Amazon basin, Ecuador was very proud of its diverse heritage. There was also a section talking about how the French were sent here hundreds of years ago in an attempt to find the exact line of the equator. I guess that’s why the monument was really built.
We didn’t see any crazy people frantically flushing toilets around the equator line, but then we discovered that the entire city was built in the wrong spot. According to what the signs said, a few years back, GPS confirmed that the actual equator was in fact 240 meters north of line that the Ecuadorians had spent so much effort to build. And sure enough, when we walked away from the official-looking complex, we found the Inti-Ñan Solar Museum, where all of the quackery would commence.
We were given a guide named Andres to show us around the museum. At first he showed us a replica of a tomb where the indigenous people would bury a woman alive after her husband died, a solar clock that seemed to be pretty accurate, and a house that was supposedly original from an indigenous family over 100 years ago. Everything seemed legitimate so far.
Next Andres led us to the actual line where he had set up a globe to demonstrate that the Earth rotates counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the south. The real fun began when he pulled the plug from a pan of water that was straddling the equator, and the water went straight down without spinning. Next, he moved the pan two meters to the south, refilled it, and pulled the plug again to reveal that the water drained in a clockwise manner. Finally, he moved the pan two meters north of the equator, filled it again, and pulled out the plug again, and suddenly the water drained counter-clockwise. I had almost gotten into physical fights with people who saw this demonstration and claimed that it was real, and now even I had seen it with my own eyes.
The thing is, the demonstration looked realistic except the fact that Andres filled the pan from the side to get the water moving in the appropriate direction. This probably had 1,000,000 times more influence on the water than the Coriolis effect, which he claimed was responsible for the water’s direction. The water draining without moving when the pan was on the equator could be explained by the fact that it had been sitting for several minutes, which was long enough to stop the flow of the water sufficiently, especially given the fact that the pan’s plug was very large.
Niva was quick to point out to Andres that it was crazy to assume that moving the pan a little to the north or south would suddenly affect the flow of the water. Andres simply said, “This is a demonstration, not an experiment.” I guess that was his way of admitting that he was the one who created the effect without ruining the day of any other tourists who might have been listening.
The final demonstrations were even more ridiculous. We were shown that while it wasn’t easy, it was definitely possible to balance an egg on the equator. I almost pointed out that you can balance an egg anywhere on the planet, but I got a certificate for my accomplishment, so I shut up. We were also shown that we weigh less (maybe by one gram) on the equator since we’re further from the center of the Earth, and Andres even showed this by performing a few more demonstrations of our relative weakness while standing on the line compared with right next to it. There’s no way we only felt weaker because Andres was applying more force to our hands, either. The charlatan show may have been entertaining, but the problem was that it made me skeptical of everything else I saw that day, too.
At the end of our museum visit, Andres showed us some cool stuff like how to make a shrunken head, how to shoot a dart through a blowgun, and how the local people did their weaving. I even got a Mitad del Mundo stamp in my passport. So the visit ended on a high note, even though I wasn’t sure if I had even seen the real equator at all.
I’m really surprised that so many seemingly reasonable people I met on my trip fell for the water spinning trick given that it was fairly obvious what was really happening. I guess the best explanation is that people want to believe in unusual stuff, not the boring stuff that happens to be true. So the lesson of the day is that water in any form smaller than a hurricane (and that includes your toilet) doesn’t spin in opposite directions when draining depending on which hemisphere you’re in. But at least we still have Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
The photo album for this entry is here.
Soccer Without Defense
Nov 1st
October 28, 2007
Day 702
I hadn’t been to a soccer game for a long time, so today I went with some people from my hostel to see the game that South America loves. The scene outside the stadium was chaotic as usual, and none of us could even figure out so much as which team’s tickets were for sale in which line, if you even could call the cluster of people pushing and shoving a line. We eventually got tickets from a lady I presumed was a scalper, although so many other people were buying tickets from her, she might as well have been an official salesperson. Later, we figured out that we had bought tickets for Liga, which was by far the most popular of the two teams, and we were allowed into the stadium only after walking halfway around it.
We ended up sitting right in front of a guy who had brought his drum to the game, but it was bound to be loud and crazy no matter where we sat. A couple near us seemed really into Liga as they not only wore the team’s hats and shirts, but also had a radio and announced the play-by-play to us as interesting things happened. The only problem with the commentary was that they never found the need to say anything until the guy with the drum started banging away.
The sun was fierce, which was to be expected being at both high altitude and on the equator, but everyone got mad when I pulled out my umbrella to create some shade. Something about poking their eyes out. Luckily I still had my secret weapon of a bucketful of sunscreen that I put on before we left. Everyone else got sunburned.
Overall, the game was interesting because it was full of aggressive offensive moves. I think Liga should have scored about ten goals, but we only ended up winning 3-1. Our most expensive player was a guy from Argentina who got fat and sucky as soon as we signed him, and nobody in the crowd was afraid to share their opinion of the guy. We learned a lot of new words in Spanish that normally wouldn’t be used around children, but the game still wasn’t nearly as rowdy as the ones I had seen in Buenos Aires. This despite the fact that people handed out free razors to everyone entering the stadium, even the little kids who were walking in front of us. The best thing about going to a game in South America is that you can buy all the food and drinks you want with little or no markup over what you’d pay in a supermarket.
The photo album for this entry is here.
My Shoes Aren’t Welcome Here
Nov 1st
October 27, 2007
Day 701
I took a walk today for about forty-five minutes uphill to the edge of town where the Teleferico line began. The gigantic ski lift-like contraption took people over 1500 meters above the city to a hill over 4000 high to what was supposed to be a great viewpoint of the city. The main problem was that it was slightly cloudy, so I couldn’t see very far, but the Teleferico also went so high that the people below didn’t even look like ants anymore. They looked more like molecules. I think Quito wanted to copy Rio de Janeiro when they built the lift, but they overdid it a little bit.
Tonight I met up with Leigh again and we went to an 80′s dance club. Leigh walked past the bouncer, but when he saw me, he looked me up and down and said, “Hey man, you can’t come in here dressed like that. I mean, just look at your shoes.” My shoes? Yes, they were black hiking boots, but I had just polished them by hand before going out for the night. I looked around at the other patrons, and they all were wearing jeans and t-shirts, but had nice shoes. I could have walked into there completely naked but worn a pair of wingtips and gotten in no problem. My shoes weren’t welcome in the club, so we went back to the hostel disappointed and played some cards with the other backpacker trash who were equally unenthusiastic about going out in Quito.
The photo album for this entry is here
The Milkman Cometh
Nov 1st
October 26, 2007
Day 700
Leigh had high ambitions for the day and took the bus back to Quito at 4:00 AM or something ridiculous like that. I didn’t want to leave so early, so I opted to sleep in and grab the next transport out of town. The only stipulation was that the only way I’d be able to leave before nightfall would be to take the milk truck. I jumped in the back of the large pickup truck with about twenty of my best friends and a guy clinging to a huge barrel of milk. The road wasn’t very smooth, so everyone held onto everyone else for support as we went around the sharp bends. Every few minutes, we’d stop at someone’s house and they’d either buy a bit of milk from the guy with the barrel, or sell whatever milk they had to him. By the time we got to the next town, the jug was almost completely full and was presumably ready to be sold to a large company.
I had to wait a few hours in the scorching midday equatorial sun, but eventually I was able to get a bus all the way back to Quito. The Quilatoa area was beautiful with mountains, pine forests, and little villages dotting the landscape all the way. On the way back to Quito, I even got a nice look at Cotopaxi (5897 meters), the world’s highest volcano and the place where some claim is furthest from the center of the Earth (most say its Chimborazo, which at 6310 meters is higher, but further from the equator than Cotopaxi). It was a good experience getting away from the city, even though it was only for a few days.
Abandoned By My Best Friend
Nov 1st
October 25, 2007
Day 699
To start out the day, Leigh and I took another look at Laguna Quilatoa, then started walking on the path around the edge of the top of the crater. Right away, we saw a stray dog we had seen last night. One of her eyes was blue, the other brown, she had thin, dry fir, and there was almost no meat on her bones. Leigh though she was cute, and I kind of conceded by saying that she was so ugly she was cute.
When we got one-third of the way around the lagoon, we left it and headed north toward Chugchilan. We attempted to send the dog home, but she just started rubbing herself all over us. The dog continued following us, taking breaks whenever we did. When we stopped for lunch, we gave her some animal crackers as a reward for her loyalty.
I had grand visions for the ugly-but-cute dog. She was going to fend off the big nasty attack dogs for us and end up curling up in a ball in front of the fireplace for the night. But as soon as we arrived in Chugchilan after walking all day, she left us. Leigh and I walked around town later, and we spotted her taking food from a tourist in front of an expensive hotel. That dog was my best friend for the majority of the day, but then she abandoned me for someone with better quality food. What a disloyal bitch!
A Massive Crater
Nov 1st
October 24, 2007
Day 698
I took a bus this morning to Latacunga, about two hours south of Quito. The Lonely Planet says it looks “pretty damn cool,” but I didn’t see what the fuss was about. I met up with Leigh, the Kiwi who had come directly from Tena, to travel around the Quilatoa Loop for the next few days.
We took another bus to Quilatoa, a little village about 4000 meters above sea level. The area must cater to tourists because right away a lady offered us accommodation at her house for the night. We chatted with the family about their Quichua culture for awhile, but the daily rain had finally abated, so we decided to take a walk around the area.
Next to the town was the Quilatoa Lagoon, a beautiful sight from above, although it was too cloudy to see Cotopaxi (the world’s highest volcano) and the other mountains in the background. We walked down the path to the lagoon 400 meters below for a closer look. On the way up we met a local who told us about ten times that the area was safe. Usually that’s the case in a town of fifty, but I guess he was just concerned about preserving the tourism industry here because it’s the main way the Quilatoans make money.
Later at night we learned how to count to ten in Quichua, although I forgot most of the numbers right away. Quichua has as much in common with Spanish as English does with Chinese, so it’s impressive that everyone here can speak both languages fluently.
It got freezing cold rather quickly after sunset, but there were wood stoves at the house to keep us warm. We needed help from one of the teenage daughters to get the fire going in our room because nothing burns well at this altitude, not even cigarette lighters. It wasn’t because I suck at lighting fires, I swear.
The photo album for this entry is here.
Return to the Mountains
Nov 1st
October 22-23, 2007
Days 696-697
My brief sojourn back into the jungle ended abruptly with a bus ride to Quito, the second highest capital city in the world after La Paz. Making the trip from the jungle to the mountains was like going to a different country as the Spanish language was the only thing the two places had in common.
I was in Quito for a few hours last year to buy my plane ticket to Iquitos, but I never to check out the city properly. This time around, I did some walking through the Old City which had lots of big churches, museums, and colonial architecture. Unfortunately, I got sick of doing that stuff a long time ago, so I mainly just prepared to go to the Quilatoa Loop, a popular mountain trek/drive a few hours to the south.
Memories of the Jungle
Nov 1st
October 18-21, 2007
Days 692-695
My next Ecuadorian stop was a small jungle city called Tena. Walking around Tena brought back lots of memories as it had been nine months since I had been properly in the jungle. The area was hot and humid, the whole region was the greenest of greens, people relaxed in hammocks everywhere, and fresh Amazonian fruits and piranha were for sale at the market. The only bad memory that returned was the daily downpour. They don’t call it the rain forest for nothing.
One of the area attractions that I checked out was called the Jumandi Caves. As soon as I got there I realized that I was completely unprepared when the guy who was assigned as my guide asked if I brought my swimsuit and sandals. No on both accounts. I figured it was just a cave to walk through so I only wore regular clothes and my hiking boots. There were some extra rubber boots laying around, but they were too small for me, so I resolved to go barefoot. At least I brought my waterproof bag for my camera.
When I was told I would need a guide for the caves, I thought the owner just wanted my money. But when I saw that there was no lighting and a fast river to walk through in the cave, I realized that it practically would have been impossible without a guide. At one point, the river was so deep I couldn’t stand, and it was rushing rapidly enough to sweep me away. The only thing that saved me was a rope that spanned the river for me to hang onto while swimming across. It still wasn’t easy to do in the complete darkness, and I was surprised they would let just anyone enter the place.
Once we got across the river, we entered an area with a slippery muddy floor and lots of natural formations. Besides the usual stalactites and stalagmites, there was the cauliflower structure, the “Penis of Jumandi,” and an area where the local women came to make beauty masks out of the mud. It was all interesting, but I was more focused on not destroying my camera or accidentally falling into a whirlpool or sinkhole. To add to the dangers, on the way out there was a large centipede and lots of ants walking around my bare feet. In the end no harm was done, but I probably should have researched the caves more before making the trip there.
While walking around Tena, I found a foot bridge that crossed onto an island set up like a zoo. An ostrich and a few monkeys were running free, but the rest of the animals were in cages that seemed way too small. I said hi to a spider monkey, but it grabbed hold of me when I got too close and wouldn’t let go. I think it just wanted a little affection because it had to spend all of its time in a tiny cage with nothing to do. When I tried to leave, it screamed at me until finally I yanked hard enough to get away. The island was supposed to be a beautiful botanical garden and zoo, but it just served to make me sad.
One day I got together with two Kiwi girls from my hostel named Angela and Leigh for a trip to a nearby town called Misahuali. When we got off the bus, we saw that there were monkeys running freely in the plaza. The local people fed them, but they mainly just stole their food from unsuspecting restaurant patrons. The devious thieves were very fast and most people just laughed when they saw someone else lose his lunch. We also walked around a lot of paths including a very slippery uphill one that ended up at a waterfall (of course). I think I’ve seen just about every waterfall in South America, other than the highest one of them all. That adventure is still to come.
The photo album for this entry is here.
Steamy Hot Springs and a Long Bike Ride
Nov 1st
October 16-17, 2007
Days 690-691
I simply couldn’t skip visiting some of the numerous hot springs in a town called Baños. The best ones were located right under the waterfall at the edge of town. The area was split into boiling, warm, and freezing pools of water coming directly from the earth. There were a fair amount of people joining me in the pools, but there was still enough room to run frantically from one to the next in order to shock my muscles into spasms. A great experience.
The other major attraction of the area was the 60 KM road from Baños to Puyo. I would have my chance to see it from a bus window later, but just for fun I rented a bike for the day to explore the area a little slower and get some exercise.
Along the way, there were waterfalls every few minutes on the other side of the canyon near the main road. I guess that’s why they called it La Ruta de las Cascadas (The Route of the Waterfalls). The road went straight through a set of several tunnels that had been dynamited through the mountain. There were no lights in them, and the first tunnel was pretty scary riding through a pitch black zone. Fortunately, the rest of the tunnels had longer routes around them in the open air of the day. The other attraction along the way was called uenteing (bridging), which was kind of like bungee jumping that involved more swinging than falling. It looked only mildly entertaining so I gave it a miss.
The natural surroundings of the bike ride were outstanding. In fact, it was probably my second favorite bike ride in South America after the “World’s Most Dangerous Road,” but maybe that’s just because every other time I’ve rented a bike, something has gone terribly wrong. When I got to Puyo, I expected to see lots of other tourists on bikes finishing their rides, but there was nothing of the sort, not even a welcoming reception for my accomplishment. I threw my bike on a bus and headed straight back to Baños in an anticlimactic finish to the day.