Chavin de Huantar Ruins near Huaraz 11/08/2011
Chavin/Huaraz, Peru The day after our Lake 69 hike was Ryan’s birthday, Nov. 6th. Unfortunately, we didn’t have anything planned and Ryan woke up feeling sick with a cold. He insisted he just wanted to walk around town (Huaraz) and have an easy day. Totally by coincidence when we got back from our morning walkabout we found a very familiar backpack, pants, shoes and books slung all over our dorm room. Riley and his friend had checked into our room while we were out. We had left Riley a week ago in Iquitos and didn’t expect to meet back up with him, but here was his stuff for sure! A little while later it was confirmed when Riley and his friend walked through the door. Hence, Ryan’s birthday turned around. The boys collaborated, bought booze and planned a night of drinking and celebrating. Monday morning Riley and his friend left for the 4-day trek called Santa Cruz Loop. This is one of the popular treks tourist, mountaineers, etc. come to Huaraz for. Ryan woke up way later now definitely feeling cold symptoms; so Monday was a dud for us. I took care of sickly Ryan and read my book Pillars of the Earth while he slept his cold off. Not that Ryan being sick was good, but we had planned to go to Chavin de Huantar Ruins and found out that they are actually closed on Mondays. So we waited till the next day and Ryan was feeling much better with more energy. Chavin de Huantar is roughly a 3-hour bus ride from Huaraz on the Chavin Express and 12 soles/person. We showed up just as the bus was pulling away and jumped on oblivious that we had just joined a Lima High School, school field trip. It worked out for the better though since we got a free tour guide on the way to Chavin. He explained, in Spanish so we got most the gist, about the Spanish conquistadors who discovered, conquered, and moved Huaraz form the old town (20 minutes south) to the new town where it is today. He talked about the importance of the Cordillera Blanca (White Mountain Range) of Peru, numerous lakes speckled throughout the mountains and hills, the ancient fabricated irrigation systems stemming form the natural rivers and the animals in the area such as llama, alpaca, and sheep. The Peruvian Campesinos depend on all these elements for survival even to this day. On the way to Chavin we stopped for a photo-op break at Lake Querococha. The high-schoolers not being from around here went crazy over this little boy holding his baby lamb for photos and 1 sole a picture. He was so cute and must have made bank with all their clicking. Back on the bus and an hour and half later we were probably 20 minutes from Chavin, winding down the mountain at a fast decent when our bus got a flat tire. Luckily we were on a wider part of the two lane road and it was an easy fix. Ryan and I were starving by the time we got to Chavin so we decided to go straight for lunch instead of the ruins like the school group. It would have been nice to tag along on their tour some more but our stomachs wouldn’t have it. After lunch, full bellies satisfied, we hiked to the top of the hill of Chavin to the Chavin de Huantar Ruins. Only 10 soles to get in but there are no English-speaking guides. We would have liked to hire a tour guide because it makes ruins and such more interesting with a go-along-story but we know we wouldn’t understand historical, ruin-based Spanish all that well for it to be worth it for us. We walked around the ruins anyway making up our own deductions with the help of a few English-Spanish signs. Still it was pretty impressive knowing and seeing the massive stones quarried, carried and carved to assemble the complex underground tunnels and above ground temples. ![]() the drive to Chavin It started to rain again around 3 pm and luckily we were able to catch the same bus back to Huaraz with the Lima High School group. Unfortunately, we didn’t go to the Chavin de Huantar museum, with the majority of the Chavin artifacts which we had heard is very good, for fear of being stuck in rainy Chavin without a ride back to Huaraz 3 hours away. Chavin de Huantar is spectacular but so is the drive there and back. ~Debbrial Rodgers~ What's the difference between a llama and a alapaca? ...the llama has fur mainly on it's back and the alpaca has fur all the way up its neck Add Comment Lake 69 A Heavenly Sight 11/05/2011
Huaraz, Peru ![]() Lake 69 Looking down at this view just barely catching my breath from the last peak of a 3 hour hike I say to Ryan, ¨And to think this breathtaking sight is here everyday just existing in all its wonder¨. Then I continue to think in my mind, ¨While people everywhere are busy working day in and day out, never taking a break to come visit places like this that have been created as pure beauties, streaming happiness and peace into those who make the time and effort to experience them¨. When we woke up this morning we had an idea what we were getting ourselves into but not completely. We were told by some friends previously we should definitely do the one day hike to Lake 69 near Huaraz. So when we arrived yesterday we started inquiring about the prospects of doing the hike ourselves without a tour guide. We were told by our hostel owner and confirmed by other guests that the trail to Lake 69 is clearly marked and the hike is doable on your own without guidance. It´s the unreliable, time consuming transportation there and back that makes paying for a tour worthwhile. After contemplating back and forth, since we now consider ourselves experienced travelers whom can maneuver well on Latin public transportation, we decided to play it smart and pay for the tour. We also know from experience with ¨rainy seasons¨ that around 2-3 pm the clouds roll in, the winds pick up and it can start dumping rain within minutes no matter how sunny and clear it is in the morning. We definitely didn´t want to be suck up in the freezing cold raining mountains waiting for a bus to come by after a 5 hour hike. ![]() the drive from Huaraz to Yungay Anyways, we got up and loaded into the tour van around 6.45 am this morning. Like usual I was bright eyed and bushy tailed trying to refrain myself from talking Ryan´s eye off first thing in the morning while our guide and 3 other French travelers were silent most of the ride. It was an hour on the paved road when we turned off into the town of Yungay. Here the tour guide, also the owner our hostel Caroline Lodge, stopped to buy fresh bread and eggs for breakfast. I jumped out and bought two delicious gooey Dulce de Leche filled croissants with powdered sugar on top to hold Ryan and I over until we stopped for breakfast. Another hour climbing the mountains bouncing up and down in our seats caused by the bad shocks on the van and the bumpy dirt road. We watched the traditionally dressed families harvest their crops, herd cows or sheep down the road and wash their clothes in the running river as we drove through the small communities. Just before the entrance to the Huascarán National Park we stopped at a restaurant/house for breakfast - egg sandwiches, bread and butter and mate de coca (coca leaves) tea. Drinking coca tea and chewing on coca leaves is an old remedy for preventing altitude sickness. ![]() Huascarán National Park In Huascarán National Park we stopped at Lago Chinancocha to take pictures. Our guide explained that ¨Chinan¨means ¨mother¨ in the Quechua language and ¨Cocha¨means ¨lake or lagoon¨. Above Chinancocha is Wawacocha - Baby Lake then beyond that is Oroncocha - Father Lake. We arrived at Chinancocha the same time as a group of Peruvian friends who were curious about us and wanted to take pictures with us. Everyone´s cameras were being passed to the photographer and 20 + shutter snaps later we piled back into our van continuing the mountain climb to Cebollapampa, 3900 meters (12,600 feet). From here the hike began. ![]() a red quenua tree Its starts off easing down a small cliff, over a wooden bridge and into a picturesque grass field. This first sight standing in the grass valley with the steady flowing stream winding though and snow capped mountains in the background is the first of many astonishing sights on this hike. The guide exchanged greetings and small talk with the park ranger then we were off walking along the stream up the gentle grass flied incline passing tons of wildflowers, woolly cows and their calves and red quenua trees whose bark is a flaky red orange tone that easily peels off. The first 45 minutes of the hike continues like this and while it isn´t a hard hike yet Ryan and I are loosing our breath, well mostly me. Having only arrived yesterday we weren´t acclimated to the high elevation yet. The grass valley narrows into a the canyon and the path becomes more and more rocky with alpine shrubs. We crossed over the stream and this is were the real climbing started. Hiking up toward a waterfall straight ahead 100 feet we had to stop to catch our breaths again. From this point we turned around and could see the magnificent icy waterfall dropping from 250 feet above our heads. Our guide told us this is the start of the switchbacks. I counted 6 in total. Number 5 being the longest stretching across the entire mountain and 6 being the steepest. From below you can see the trail flattens out at the top of the 6th switchback, so I thought all I have to do is get to the top and that´s Lake 69. As I teetered to the top I was sadly disappointed to see a small mossy green colored lake. That´s Lake 69?!! I just hiked all that for this!! Ryan and one of the French guys assured me this wasn´t Lake 69 and the hike wasn´t over yet. This is the Small Lake 69. Oh yeah, our tour guide told us about this one. The trail continues around the lake, up and over a small hill then down into a stunning, jaw-dropping valley. As I stood atop looking down I thought to myself, ¨This is the Valley of the Horses¨for those of you who have read Jean M. Auel´s series Clan of the Cave Bear you understand. We crossed a mossy slightly swampy meadow only to start another switchback climb 100% harder than the last. It took us 2 hours to hike form the first grass valley (the start of the hike) to the Valley of the Horses, although it was really filled with grazing cows. It took us another 50 minutes to climb the last rocky mountain peak. By this time my leg muscles were killing me from lack of oxygen more than my shortness of breath. I took baby steps, one foot in front of the other as Ryan patiently walked behind encouraging me every 10 minutes or so saying mind over matter. Final over the last peak I felt blinded by the glistening snowy mountains above Lake 69 and awed by its turquoise and electric blue water. It was so much colder as we climbed down to the banks of the lake forcing us to quickly bundle up. It was about 2.00 pm by this time and after the intense hike Ryan and I were famished. We packed bread rolls, cheese and hard boiled eggs for lunch. As we relaxed and ate we admired another waterfall plummeting into the crystal clear turquoise lake disturbing this otherwise silent scenery. We hung out at Lake 69 for about 45 minutes taking pictures and enjoying the view. Our guide advised us to head back down by 3 pm based on the look of the sky and swiftly moving clouds because the rain would start a few hours later. He was right! It was an easier hike downhill, of course, but still took 2 hours an hour less than going up. About 20 minutes to the van, still parked at the start of the hike, it started drizzling and as soon as we got to the van it down poured. Great timing. Tired, exhausted and a feeling of accomplishment. Even though this was only a one day hike it was a difficult one starting at 3900 meters and hiking to 4600 meters in only 3 hours. And as I said before well, well worth it for the breathtaking sight of Lake 69. --Debbrial Rodgers-- Iquitos to Huanchaco, Peru _Iquitos, in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, is the largest city accessible only by boat in the world. It´s hot and humid and a lively metropolitan with its own character, but unexpectedly dirtier than I imagined having just come from the unsoiled jungle. While surrounded by pristine jungles and dramatic rivers many of the streets in Iquitos are lined with trash in the gutters and worse off throughout the market. _Most tourist come to Iquitos for adventurous jungle tours into the Amazon hoping to sight exotic wildlife or canoe trips on the various rivers, the most famous being the Amazon River, or visits to an indigenous village to mingle and observed how these Peruvians have lived for hundreds of years. Another more recent draw to Iquitos is to participate in ayahuasca ceremonies. Ayahuasca, named by the Quechua Indians meaning ´vine of the soul´, is a mixture of jungle vines and planets, prepared and boiled into liquid form then drunken. It is considered a powerful hallucinogenic and should only be taken with and prepared by a knowledgeable shaman. The shamans and people within this circle take ayahuasca and the ceremonies very seriously therefore for tourist only looking for a good time it can be expensive or a bit difficult, though by no means impossible, finding someone in the know¨willing to bring you into one of these spiritual/ healing ceremonies. Having already spent 8 days in the Amazon from Cocá to Iquitos, rowing and floating down river and having spent a night with a Quechua family Ryan and I weren´t interested in taking any of the jungle tours. Nor were we interested in taking part in an ayahuasca ceremony after having talked to some travelers in Iquitos about it. At this point and time it seemed a bit over the top, too spiritual and too ceremonial for us. Instead we checked out the Iquitos market (there is a small shaman herbal/healing section in the Iquitos market), walked around the city mostly near Plaza de Armas and bought a new digital camera to replace our stolen one in Ecuador. After all that we decided we weren´t really drawn to Iquitos (nor had we given it much of a chance) like some travelers are, whom stay for weeks at a time and/or even add to the growing expat community here. Originally we had planned to take another 5 day lancha from Iquitos to Yurimaguas, back on land in Peru, but having had enough of living with cows, pigs, chickens, and river water rice soup we altered our plans and bought one-way hour and half airline tickets flying to Lima. If you find yourself in our same situation or already know you are going to fly to and from Iquitos its better to buy your airplane tickets at an airline office in Peru, you´ll save about $100. We checked it out. If you buy online outside Peru or even if you are in Peru but buy through the English or any other language not in Peruvian Spanish, you will be charged a foreigner price. To avoid this it’s easiest just to go to the airline office in Peru and buy tickets there. We bought tickets in the afternoon for the next morning arriving in Lima around noon. When we had originally planned to take the second 5 day lancha it was because we wanted to head straight across the Andes to the northern Peruvian coast to Huanchaco, a small surfer beach town outside Trujillo. Unfortunately, all 3 airline companies in Iquitos (LAN, Star Peru, and Peruvian Airlines) all told us they didn´t offer flights in that direction regardless of there being 4 airports on the northern coast. So after landing in Lima we hailed a taxi and went directly to the bus station for a night bus to Trujillo, 9 hours of basically back tracking. _Another shocker!! Huanchacho, Northern Peru and Lima for that, look nothing like we expected. As we flew over Lima we gazed down to what looks like, and I can only describe as for what I´ve seen in movies, as a little Afganistan. Mud, brick houses, dirt road, sand barely a shrub to break up the mountainous dusty rock riddled terrain. At closer look we half way confirmed our first impression. A majority of the houses are made of either red brick, concrete bricks with barely one or two walls covered with plaster or in the outskirts and poorer neighborhoods the houses are constructed of dried mud, peddles and grass like a crud Adobe home. Most the roofs are congregated tin, Terra-cotta tiles or concrete flat slabs. On the other hand there are planted palm trees, durable bushes and small patches of super green grass and plenty of varieties of cactus. _We arrived in Huanchacho early, early Saturday morning. Exhausted from not getting much sleep on the bus we slept in the rest of the morning. Feeling rested we surveyed the town looking for more of a backpacker hostel with a kitchen to cook in ourselves. We found a few but out of our budget knowing we were going to stay at least a week. Most the hostels have their own restaurants so living on an eat-at-home budget is far and few between here. However, we did find a nice hospedaje a little past the center of town one street back from the main boulevard on Aveinda R. Palma and Barrenchea called Casa de Resposo. This three-story extended house has private rooms (10 soles per person) and a small studio for rent, a full size kitchen for 1sole per day per person, a small central patio, laundry for 2 soles per use, and free computer plus internet. The beds are comfortable and the rooms and bathrooms are clean. Feeling comfortable we settled in and paid for a week up front. ![]() Huanchaco from the church on the hill _During low season, which it is now, Huanchaco is a quiet beach town on the weekdays but livens up at night and on the weekends when Peruvian locals come to chill out at the beach. Huanchacho is also infamous for some of the longest left hand waves in the world. A big swell came in on Monday after we arrived. It should have been heaven for Ryan but truthfully the water is so cold and there weren´t a lot of surfers in the water making it kinda dangerous to surf these massive waves alone. He went out anyways twice on Monday and Tuesday. He came back on Tuesday morning boasting to me, ¨Wow; I just caught the longest wave of my life. It had to have been around 60 seconds; from the start of town, past the pier and died out in front of the house.¨ But as the swell died out on Wednesday Ryan was reluctant to rent a wetsuit for the last few days so we went to Chiclayo on Wednesday instead. _A 6 hour round trip bus ride just to see the Mercado de los Brujos (Witch Market). The Witch Market is lays within the Mercado Modelo in Chiclayo though there is only a small section dedicated to the brujos in this expansive market. It is about 5 rows squared but the stalls are packed with a diversity of shaman fresh and dried herbs, including San Pedro cactus (the other popular hallucinogenic in Peru), replicas of Moche, Sícan, and Chimú indigenous artifacts and carved healing stones. Walking around imagining what all these eccentricities are used for I again wish I knew Spanish more fluently and could have asked the vendors and shamans the real purpose or powers of these fascinating items. We did sit with one vendor who explained an application of the Lanzón stone, the most important statue of the central idol of the ancient Chavín culture of the central highlands of Peru. He said ancient and current Peruvians believe if you have bad energy within yourself or around you, you take the Lanzón stone and rub it over your face: forehead, temples, cheekbones, under your eyes, etc…. and the power of the Lanzón stone will release the bad energy from you leaving you cleansed with positive energy. I´m not sure if I believe this whole gimmick but it’s a good sales pitch anyways. We didn´t buy one. Again weary and unsure of it all we skipped the opportunity to indulge in the mystical shaman world. Thursday night, hours before we were about to leave Huanchaco for Huaraz located in Cordillera Blanca (White Mountains) in Central Peru, Ryan and I ran into Richard a friend from Iquitos. He came to Trujillo/Huanchaco for a shaman convention that had been taking place for the past 4 days. Tonight was the final closing ceremony. He said it was wildly interesting and he had met plenty of shamans and made friends. He also said only 2% of the attendees were tourist or travelers mostly because 1. The convention was not advertised publicly 2. The cost for tourist was $100 for 2 days and $150 for 4 days 3. It was exclusive almost by invite only. Richard invited us to the closing ceremony but unfortunately we had already bought our bus tickets and had to leave soon. Instead in the mean time we helped and watched how to prepare San Pedro from cactus to liquid form, getting it ready for them to drink and trip out later. A majority of the shamans and healing rituals are practiced in Northern Peru though not exclusively. As far as we know (but don’t take our word for it) taking Ayahuasca and San Pedro are legal in Peru. These natural hallucinogenics are part of the traditional Peruvian mystical, spiritual, and medical culture along with the idolized shaman ceremonies. --Debbrial Rodgers-- Pantoja to Iquitos, Peru _I was already awake at 3:30am when the alarm went off. I didn’t sleep munch in the elevated Cuyabeno ranger ¨station¨ hut. I had slung my hammock on the edge of the walless house for the night. I was trying to distract the mosquito away from where Debb was sleeping in the center. It was hard to sleep the night before because of the hype and excitement of our trip today down the river. Plus there was at least 2 night flying terodactiles in the hut and some big ass animals crashing through the jungle just beyond the clearing the hut sat on. Regardless I jumped up, took down my hammock, grabbed my flashlight and headed down to the river. I knew I was going to have to bail the water out of our new 40 foot canoe waiting at the waters edge. As I watched the sun came up over the opposite shore of the Rio Napo I slowly bailed the ankle deep water out of the back of the canoe. As I finished up Debb and Riley came down with our gear and began to load up. Before we said our goodbyes and many thanks to Manuel and his friends, we threw our hammocks over our jungle vine canopy frames and checked over everything one last time. We snapped a few more photos and per our friend Christian’s request, exchanged emails and set a date to notify someone if we didn’t turn up in Perú. _We paddled out into the current and headed toward Peruvian customs in Pantoja. We must have been a sight to Manuel and his friends. We completed at least 3 masterful circles while trying to navigate the river fork just before we were out of Manuels' sight. Riley, Debb and I soon got the hang of the canoe and 45 minutes later, and one more circle, made it to the military check point. The MP looked over our passports with a smirk, glanced at our rig and granted us passage with a wave. It was only 10 more minutes to Pantoja for breakfast and stamps at immigration. Riley and I found the office by asking around while Debb made breakfast at the boat. After we ate and waves of good luck from the Pantoja locals on shore we began paddling for Angotero, Perú. Over the next 3-4 hours we paddled only stopping a few times to bail water and take pictures. We talked about how weird it was that there wasn’t a single boat passing us in the same direction. We were after all the slowest craft on the river.All the time zig zagging across the river, trying to stay within the current to make better time. The only problem with that is that there are many obstacles to dodge. One of which was a massive tree sticking out of the water that almost racked all three of our shade canopies off the canoe as we brushed past. Around noon, in our 6th hour of continuous paddling, we found a place to stop for lunch. There was a cleared strip of shoreline in front of a group of cow farmers relaxing in the shade. They all got to their feet at the sight of three gringos pulling up to their beach. Riley and I headed over to the group to ask if we could stop for lunch and to check our progress. The group was with little words but did inform us that we still had15 hours to go before we arrived in Angotero, where our cargo/passenger boat was waiting. Over lunch we discussed our options…… We had only one: keep paddling and if we had to through the night to catch our launch that leaves at 8am the next morning. _Somewhere around the 8th hour we were crusing in one of the haster currents of the day. Riley was taking pictures up front of a huge tree trunk sticking out of the water off to our left. I thought he was paddling and headed to the right. When the current pulled us into the tree and broadsided us to soon to correct and slip past. We hit hard right in the middle where all our gear was. Debb screaming and my heart stuck in my throat. I threw my wieght into the tree, leaning half way out of the canoe to keep from tipping. Thankful to say we didn’t tip and nobody was hurt. Accept for our canoe. The 2 ½ year old dug out canoe was now taking on water bad enough to have to bail every few minutes. I placed the canoe in the middle of the river and called for a break and damage assessment. Debb found large crackes along the sides just under the water line. I followed behind her with a spoon and the broken handle of my paddle. I was tapping pieces of my life vest into the leaks with the spoon. It worked really well and we could all relax since the water had stopped pouring into the canoe. While we rested and let the canoe drift an old pot belly Amazonian paddled out to us. His canoe was soo small that from far away he looked like he was sitting on the water. As he pulled up he asked what the hell we were doing, if we were all right and needed help. We made small talk as we floated down the river together. We explained that we were just patching holes but were too embarrassed to say why. We asked how much longer to Angotero where the ¨launcha¨ waited for us. He said 15 more hours and this alarmed all of us since we had been paddling for 4 hours since we last heard that story.He did tell us that there was a large town about an hjour more down river. We parted ways and Riley, Debb and I decided we needed to stop there and figure things out. Thirty minutes later we were flagged down by some guys sitting on shore by their motored canoes. Fighting the current to dock on shore before passing was hard and we didn’t quite make it, but they motored down the river and met up with us. They were excited to meet us and thanked us for visiting them this far out in the jungle. We shared our story and stressed our issue of catching tomorrows´ cargo boat in Angotero. We offered them cash and the canoe if they would use one of their motored canoes to get us down river to meet the lancha. This got us an invite to their house to discuss our offer. Riley stayed with the canoe this time while Debb and I hiked 10 minutes into the jungle with whom we hopped to be our savior. Something I have learned about talking with locals in search of answers to the where abouts of food, markets, official buildings or hostels is you don’t just walk up say hi and ask your question. Small talk and sometimes a timley joke gets you more respect and better results. This was definitely one of those times. But giving the stressful situation and burning daylight I forgot my manners. Once we had made it to the house, or elevated platform with a roof and no walls, everyone there wanted to hear about us and they wanted to share about times they spent with tourists over the years. They offered us their customary lightly firmented, mashed yucca drink. Which I later learned was rude to refuse, which we had done sadly. Feeling that this was all leading nowhere and unable to get any of the men to commit to any deal I excused us and headed back to the canoe where Riley was waiting. We found Riley talking to another Amazonian when we walked up. He said the guy would take us for the canoe and the gas it would take to get there and himself back. DEAL!!!! This agrement warranted Riley with an invite to his jungle hut for a bowl of the yucca drink and more small talk while Debb and I moved the canoe up stream. Twenty minutes later Riley returned with our new captian and tools to outfit our canoe with one of their Pika Pika motors. Pika Pika motors are small lawn mower engines with a weed wacker like shaft and a small prop on the end. ![]() Peruvian Amazon family _While we worked on the canoe men, women and children gathered to watch and admire us. The women were infatuated with Riley and my blue eyes and curly hair. The men were trying to give away the teenage girls to Riley and telling Riley that one of the older women in the village wanted him badly. She showed up a little later while the town comedian was singing us a song with his air guitar. While Riley passes around his jug of Tang he sang about the three of us, our new captain and how he was the best on the river. He teased Riley about his love affairs in the village and so on. When Riley wasn’t looking the older lady ran off with his jug of Tang in hopes of luring him back to her jungle hut of love. Around sunset we took of again with our new captain, who turned out to be the old man Debb and I met back at our first jungle hut meeting. We didn’t get far and stopped just as darkness fell. There was a massive storm down river lighting up the sky with violent streaks of lightning. Our Qeuchua captain brought us to his brother´s house for the night where we ate rice for dinner and quickly went to sleep. Before I fell asleep our now drunk captain informed me that the radio had advertised the launcha leaving at noon tomorrow instead of 8am. Exhausted and hoping he was right I fell asleep on the floor under Debbs hammock. ![]() taking it all in _ I wanted to be off down the river at sunrise again so I got up at 3:30 to bail out our canoe and load up before our captain woke up. Debb, Riley and the Amazonian captain came down just before first light and we were off. It was an absolutely beautiful 5 hour ride to Angotero. We all relaxed and were blown away by the colors of the rising sun and horizontal tubes of clouds left by last night´s storm. After we arrived and loaded our stuff from the canoe to the waiting launcha I set off into town to find gas with the old man. Debb and Riley set up hammocks and ran to the store for snacks and water. I walked around for hours with the old captain looking for gas. Barrel after empty barrel I began to get worried that there wasn’t any gas to get the old man home. We ended up finding 2 of the 5 gallons I promised and had to run because the boat was leaving soon. I left him enough money for the next 3 gallons, asked if he would be alright on his own. He said, ¨Of course¨ and I said my many thanks and wished him well and ran back to the boat in the rain. For the next two days our boat stopped constantly picking up plantain, pigs, chickens, lumber, sugar cane, gas barrels and an child's swing set. Along with passengers and their goods of salted meats, animal pelts, parrots, turtles, monkeys and bags of rotting animals to sell in Iquitos. We stopped in Santa Clotilda-on the third day for a few hours. The three of us ran off the boat, happy for a break, in search of better food. Up until this point we had only had one decent meal a day. For breakfast and dinner we ate what I can only describe as soup that would have been served in a concentration camp. Breakfast was a very weak rice water soup with 2 pieces of bread and dinner we had a chicken base with a few noodles and boiled green plantain. Debb bought some salted mystery meat with tiny hooves and a few cans of tuna to brighten up the rice soup. Back on the river, we repeated the same ritual at every stop. Everyone on the boat would climb out of their hammocks and head out onto the decks. We would all stand around and watch more plantain and animals being loaded onto the main deck. At each stop the entire village would stand on the river banks and stare at us and talk amongst themselves until we left. At one point Riley made an inventory of what we had on the 4th morning on the river: 18 cows 2 monkeys 1 baby parrot 48 passengers 32 pigs 3 turtles 1 broken swing set 50 cases of empty beer bottles 100+ chickens 20 pig pelts 2000+ bunches of bananas and plantain 16 gas barrels 1 leopard pelt 18 wooden post 30ft+ 4 bags of rotten mystery meat _Later that morning Riley got off in Masan to save time. In Masan you can cut across the peninsula in an hour and catch another boat to Iquitos that only takes another 45 minutes. Where the launcha takes 14 hours from Masan to Iquitos. Debb and I stayed aboard since we paid to get to Iquitos already and were not in a hurry or all that miserable. That changed a little for Debb after 90% of the other passengers got off with their goods leaving in the settling dust, a floor full of maggots and odd smelling puddles. I came in finding Debb frantically sweeping maggots out the door and down drain holes. She exclaims her disgust for about five minutes. Asking me, how can people live with maggots. I start laughing and can´t stop even when she tells me that there is nothing funny about this. That’s when I told her I knew about the maggots 2 days before and pointed out that she too was living with them. She called me names for not telling her and made me explain myself for not telling her. It was for her own good, there were too many people and rotting things to have done anything about it until they left. She would have been miserable knowing about them and unable to clean them up. We ended the day with an amazing sunset as we made the turn off the Napo River and onto the massive Amazon River for the last leg to Iquitos. Complete with one more sighting of the famous pink river dolphins. After dark the wind picked up ad I could smell the rain coming. I began to drop and tie down the canvas flaps over the windows. The locals were all staring at me with curious eyes while I finished and began to move my bags to the center of the boat away from the windows. Just as I moved the last pack to the center the rain came in heavy sheets with no warning. I jumped in my hammock and watched with a smirk as everyone else scrambled to move their stuff away from the incoming rain and growing puddles on the floor. It turned out to be a hell of a storm and at one point in the night the boat had to stop because the rain. We woke in the morning top our launch rocking in the wakes of hundreds of boats moving around the shores of Iquitos. An hour later we found a gap to squeeze our loaded boat into shore in-front of a hoard of buyers and transports. Debb and I squeezed through the crowd of men bargaining for prices and women selling ice cream to the shore and up the hill to the three wheeled motor taxi. We both almost wiped out twice in the foot of mud and garbage before we made it to the top. With one more look ad a photo of out ride to Iquitos, we hopped in our cab and headed into Iquitos. --Ryan Rodgers-- Manuel's Place at the Ecaudor-Peru Border 10/21/2011
Cocá to Nuevo Rocafuerte, Ecuador ![]() Down by the boat docks _Crossing the border from Ecuador to Peru by boat isn´t the easiest way to go. There isn´t much reliable or accurate information outlining how, where, and when to do this trip. While the Lonely Planet gives a brief overview of what to expect most of their costs and times are out dated regardless of printing new editions. The further down the river you travel their information and the locals for that become inconsistent. One person tells you a boat arrival or departure day and time and the next person will tell you something completely different. You feel like you should continue asking around hoping just maybe to get the same matching answers but it´s hard to come by. One thing to be sure about is try to avoid asking leading questions such as: ¨The boat is arriving on Monday, yes?¨because from our experience the people just don´t listen that well down here. They´ll simply just agree with you, ¨Sí, Sí, Sí (Yes, Yes, Yes)¨. So instead it´s better to ask questions that need a definite answer like, ¨When is the boat arriving?¨. ![]() Boat docks are below this plaza The Lonely Planet has fairly good information regarding Cocá and the passenger boat the Nuevo Rocafuerte (the border town for Ecuador) being that it is the jumping off point for this trip. We stayed at Hotel Oasis which during low season (September to November) was $9 per person for a private room with A/C and a TV. But the more attractive aspect of this hotel is its location right on the river, Rio Napo, and almost adjacent to the boat docks. We went over to the boat docks and started searching for the Coop de Transporte Fluviales Orellana office to buy tickets for the Thursday passenger boat to Nuevo Rocafuerte. However, there was no building or sing in sight so we started asking around. It ended up that we were directed across the plaza to a group of middle-aged ladies sitting next to a block wall chatting and laughing. As we approached bewildered we saw one of the ladies holding a clipboard with ticket stubs. She was very cheerful and helpful. We bought two tickets for $15 each then asked her about the schedule for the boat. While the Lonely Planet has this information mostly correct here is a little extra and more updated schedule: Cocá to Nuevo Rocafuerte Nuevo Rocafuerte to Cocá Sunday 7:30 AM Sunday 5:00 AM Tuesday 7:30 AM Tuesday 5:00 AM Thursday 7:30 AM Thursday 5:00 AM Friday 7:30 AM Friday 5:00 AM There are two boats that alternate making it so one boat goes up river and one boat goes down river the dame days. The boat ride is about 10 hours with a lunch break which is an extra cost of $2.50. Another note, when we loaded the boat they charged us an extra $5 for Ryan´s surfboard bag. They said it was a cargo transport fee. We were skeptical since it was a large boat not lacking in extra space and they were transporting bulk packages of soda, rice, and other items. Is this just a charge the ¨gringo¨ more scheme? No, actually we did see them charging other Ecuadorian passengers for their extra cargo as well. So keep this in mind. They should not charge you for your backpacks but if you have a lot of extra baggage there may be extra fees. _On the boat we met Riley, an Australian, and Christian from Germany. We also met Manuel and his family: wife, two sons, and new baby. Manuel and his family live in Nuevo Rocafuerte but Manuel also lives at the edge of Cuyabeno Nature Reserve (basically on the Ecuadorian and Peruvian border) for months at a time for work. He is more or less a forest ranger, though this title isn´t exactly the correct translation. Over the course of the 10 hour boat ride Manuel talked to Ryan, myself, Riley and Christain about Nuevo Rocafuerte, Pantoja (the border town on the Peru side), boat transport from Rocafuerte to Pantoja, his work as a forest ranger, pink river dolphins, piranhas, and life on the Rio Napo in general. He invited all four of us to stay at the ranger station house in the forest and to see the dolphins and maybe piranhas. He also said he would transport us in his canoe to Pantoja for $50 (an hour and half ride) and help us find a cargo boat (lancha) form Pantoja to Iquitos, Peru. We agreed it was a good plan. ![]() Manuel's canoe _Since we arrived in Rocafuerte in the evening as the sun was setting we stayed the night. There are three hotels in Rocafuerte running about $5 per person a night. Curious about the canoe trip from Rocafuerte to Pantoja for $50 from Manuel, since the Lonely Planet says it should cost $40, we decided to ask around town some more. Surprisingly we quickly found out we were getting a good deal because other people were charging $70-80. A bit of inflation since Lonely Planet was actually here I guess. Luckily both Christian and Riley wanted to go to Manuel´s place too thus we spilt the $50 for the canoe ride four ways. Riley, Ryan and I were continuing on to Peru while Christian was only going to the border and back to Cocá and southern Ecuador. We left the next morning, Friday, after stamping out of Ecuador at immigration in Rocafuerte. Day 2 of our journey crossing the border from Ecuador to Peru by boat in the Amazon. Like Manuel promised the canoe ride from Rocafuerte to the ranger station house was just about an hour and half. After a relaxed lunch of rice, plantain and fried fish Riley, Ryan and I were anxious to go to Pantoja and start looking for a lancha (cargo/ passenger boat) to Iquitos. We had heard from mixed information that a lancha might be arriving on Saturday, the next day, or maybe Monday or maybe the following Thursday or maybe never. We wanted to go to the source and find out. ![]() Ryan happy to be in the Amazon Unfortunately, the people in Pantoja didn´t have much of a better idea about when the lancha was going to arrive in Pantoja either. They gave us basically the same schedule. We did get one continuous answer that a lancha was arriving in Angotero on Saturday and leaving Sunday morning. The problem….Angotero is 3 hours away by speed boat and $150 per person or you can hire any guy sitting around with nothing to do to take you in their ¨grande¨ private canoe, a two day trip and a crazy price of $400-$600 dollars. No way!! Just because we are 11 hours away, stuck in the middle of the jungle with not a lot of options doesn’t mean we would pay that kind of money. We are backpackers. Neither Riley nor us had that kinda of money especially in the jungle with no ATMs nor would we ever think of spending that much. We had heard we could also hick-hike down the river but it´s not likely that we would succeed looking like gringos and not being fluent Spanish speakers. Depressed and disappointed we left Pantoja back to Manuel´s place confused on what to do. We could wait around in Pantoja hoping the lancha would arrive soon (one guy said we could hand our hammocks in his house for $1 per night) but we would be wasting time and money sitting around and not being 100% positive the lancha would even arrive. OR Ryan and I were simultaneously thinking in our own minds, on our return canoe ride, we could buy a canoe and get ourselves to Angotero by Sunday morning. When we got back to the ranger station house I asked Ryan, ¨What do you think about buying a canoe?¨. He responded, ¨I was thinking the same thing and wondering if you and Riley would be down for it¨. We passed the idea by Riley who agree, then Manuel. Manuel´s friend, who was also present, had an old canoe that was docked on shore which he said he would sell to us for $50 and would include a paddle and 3 life vests. There was no motor so we would have to row and it leaked so we would have to bail water. ¨We´ll take it!!¨ ![]() Chicken its what´s for dinner Manuel estimated Angotero was 12 hours away rowing constantly and we would need to leave at sunrise the next day to make it before sunset. We all spend the rest of the afternoon and evening cleaning the dirt and leaves out of the canoe, patching up the cracks and holes as best as possible, fabricating canopy covers for shade with jungle vines and our hammocks and Manuel quickly hacked out two more paddles from thick plywood for us. Exhausted we sat down to a fresh chicken dinner. Ryan had bought a live chicken in Pantoja for $8 while we were investigating lancha and Manuel´s friends killed it, plucked it, and cooked it up. Later we jumped into our mosquito net covered hammocks for a restless night of sleep due to excitement for what was to come on our journey rowing down the Rio Napo the next day. --Debbrial Rodgers-- Buying Malaria Pills in Ecuador 10/19/2011
Teña, EcuadorBefore we left Teña Wednesday morning (after having just had out first real hitch hiking experience sitting in the back of a pick up truck form the bus stop near Amazoonico into town) we rushed to buy snacks, water and malaria pills for the border crossing, Amazon jungle, river boat trip. Since we first departed two years ago our malaria pills have expired. Hoping we could buy more pills closer to the Amazon we started asking around and doing research on different types of malaria pills and remedies. Our friend Pablo in Curía told us about ¨malaria bark¨, a natural remedy which the Ecuadorian and Peruvian indigenous tribes use as an anti-malaria prevention. The ¨malaria bark¨ is technically known as Cinchona bark, Quinine bark or Quina. They chew on the bark extracting a variety of alkaloids, including the anti-malarial compound quinine which many malaria pills are made from today. The only problem with Pablo telling us about the ¨malaria bark¨ is one finding the tree in the first place and then knowing how much to chew on. If you are going to try this option I recommend finding an indigenous tribe whom actually use this technique and you trust they know what they are doing. The three most common malaria pills are Mefloquine (Lariam), Atovaquone / Proguanil (Malarone) or Doxycycline. I´m not going to go into how much and when to take each ask your doctor or do more research online. Since we are planning to start trying to have a baby soon I also wanted to find out which malaria pills are safe for pre-conception or pregnant women. I found that two of the three most popular malaria pills are not recommend Malarone and Doxycycline. Two malaria pills that are approved for pregnant women are Mefloquine (Lariam) and Chlorquine / Paludrine (Avloclor). We ended up buying the latter Chlorquine, 45 pills for $2.20 in Teña, Ecuador at Cruz Azul Pharmacy. This is a chain pharmacy all round Ecuador so I suppose you could buy them in any major city. Teña, Ecuador![]() i love the monkey stuffing its face with a banana We made it! We arrived in Teña at 2 am Friday morning after a 9 hour bus to bus ride from Babahoyo. Unfortunately, because of the robbery we had to skip Guaranda and Salinas de Guaranda since we had planned to meet Erin in Teña on Thursday night. Erin has been working/volunteering at AmaZoonico, an animal rescue center which is an hour by bus and 20 minutes in a canoe from Teña, for the past 6 weeks since we last left her. After a couple house of sleep Erin showed us around Teña so we could stock up on bug repellent and mentol chino (a menthol vaseline like Tiger Balm which relieves the itch of mosquito bites). She said, ¨Of course there are mosquitoes in the jungle but the sand flees are what´s even worse.¨ Friday night we went with Erin and the other volunteers to their favorite cocktail place. After a while I got tried and went back to the hostel, but Ryan, Erin and the others all went to a discoteca (nightclub). Apparently, I was told the next day, Ryan was quite the dancer. Saturday morning we had to wake up at 4 am to catch the first bus back to AmaZoonico because work starts at 7 am. The animals can´t wait to get fed just because everyone was hung over, expect for me. ![]() Gummy boots part of the work uniform One of the main responsibilities in AmaZoonico is to feed the animals. This happens twice a day and it´s a process. First all the volunteers cut up the food: bananas, platanos, papaya, yucca, corn, guayaba, sugar cane, oats, etc. and put it in the appropriate bucket. The feeding is divided into 3 ¨tours¨. The ¨front tour¨ consist of the toucans, kinkajou, baby turtles, and peccary pigs. The ¨monkey tour¨ which obviously include monkeys (squirrel monkeys, wooly monkeys, spider monkeys, capuchin monkeys) along with macaws and parrots, capybaras and caiman. The third is the ¨grand tour¨. This consists of more peccary pigs, more macaws and parrots, more kinkajous, jaguarondi, more turtles and the ocelots, my favorite. Feedings take about an hour to hour and half. Usually after the feedings the volunteers have various tasks such as repairing and extra cleaning of the animal enclosures, carrying rocks or digging holes for grounds maintenance and giving tours to tourist groups. The good thing about having international volunteers is the tours can be conducted in several languages. When we were at AmaZoonico they did Spanish, English, French and German tours. The first day, Saturday, besides both of us helping with the feedings, Ryan did the dirty work of repairing and cleaning the kinkajou enclosure while I lucked out and helped Erin and her friends cook dinner. They were having an international week for dinner in which volunteers from the same country cooked their traditional food. Erin from New Zealand, Emily from England and Sara from Canada were the ¨Common Wealth¨ team. I helped them put on High Tea for dinner: scones, mini sandwiches with homemade bread, and bread pudding. Sunday is disinfectant day so every thing gets clean, clean, clean; the volunteer houses, the kitchens, the animal fruit and veggie bodega, buckets, counters, floors, everything!! Ryan and I helped clean the bodega and one the kitchens. Monday is delivery day along with Thursday. AmaZoonico buys all their fruit and veggies from neighboring jungle locals, a way to give back to the community. All the fruits and veggies is transported by canoes and dumped on the shore at the base of AmaZoonico. The volunteers then have to carry branches of bananas/platanos and potato sacks of papaya, yucca, avocado, etc., etc. up the 180 stairs and 100 yards down further more to the bodega. Again Ryan and I helped out but lucked out because the load wasn´t that big this Monday. Later in the day I helped dig holes and carry rocks while Ryan cleaned, organized and hung bananas. For only being drop in volunteers/visitors we were told several time that we are hard workers and it was appreciated since working was not required of us. Today Erin and her friends / our new friends Emily, Sami, Teresa and Sara all had the day off. We got to sleep in, casually have breakfast then went to a near by town later on. Most all transportation in the jungle, on the river is by motorized ¨taxi¨ canoes. We flagged down a passing ¨taxi¨ to take us across the river about 100 yards to an island. Leading the way Erin scurried us quickly through the semi-dense jungle to the other side of the island to make sure we caught the next canoe. There is no official schedule for the ¨taxi¨ canoe pick ups but they do tend to be at certain riverbanks at nearly the same time everyday. If you miss a canoe it may be another hour before one passes by again. We got back from our short day trip just before dinner then joined Erin, Emily, Sami, Teresa and Sara for their ¨wine night¨ tonight. We all chatted for hours and said our goodbyes since Ryan and I are leaving early tomorrow morning for Coca, the start of our journey crossing the border from Ecuador to Peru by boats on the Rio Napo and into the depths of the Amazon. ~~Debbrial Rodgers~~ Bus Theft in Ecuador...we´ve been robbed!!! 10/13/2011
Babahoyo, EcuadorI never believed we were impervious to the demise of the “Riff Raff” down here, south of our home borders. Coming so close to the end of our great adventure I was beginning to think we were going to make it relatively unscaved. Relative, because of a few bothersome borders and a handful of bribes paid to cops back when we had the van. I had heard that bus theft was a problem before making it to South America and knew not to store valuables in overheads compartments or fall asleep without your backpack in your lap. But true to our method of keeping our bags close to our feet and sometimes clipped to our shoes, didn’t seem to cut it on this bus trip. It may have been an over lapse from our quiet month in Curia, having our guard’s down or always having had our “feet up” that the destruction of the final months of our trip were threatened. After our lazy day in Guayaquil we headed toward Salinas, in the hills of Central Ecuador, to sample some chocolate, cheese and sausage we had read about. In the second hour of our four hour trip to Salinas, is when Debb had ask me for the camera. Feet kicked up over Debb’s lap and deep into my novel about Che Guevara, I was reluctant to move from my comfy position. Good thing I did cause that’s when I found my bag not in its usual spot. In a panic I thought I left it on the curb during our hasty bus transfer. Then I quickly realized that wasn’t possible because I had been reading my book that came from my bag. With a fast look for guilty eyes among the other passengers and finding none I began to search under the seats of the rows behind me. As my panic grew with each passing row it finally climaxed behind the row of an old lady who looked as scared as I was panicked. By now everyone is savvy to what has happened and some of the other passengers around begin to help piece together what happened to my laptop, camera, passport and sunglasses. At which point “grandma” tells me that she saw the whole thing!!!! She tells me that it was the three “Vendedores” – the guys who jump on the bus and sell food and drinks as the bus passes through town. “SAW THE WHOLE THING!!!!!”, I yelled at her in Spanish “And you don’t say anything? You just sit there like you are watching a movie on TV.” I don’t know where that came from and if she is reading this I am sorry. LOL Our bus just happened to pull into a stop for more passengers in Babahoyo and we jumped off to flag a cop down. Lucky for us the thieves had jumped off the bus about 15 minutes earlier in Jujan. With some help from a few passengers a half ass description was put together. With that and a pieced together of everyone’s recollection of the events I did my best on getting Babahoyo’s finest on the case. OF COURSE, we waited around for the Policia pick up truck for 20 minutes and in that time I am pretty sure I had seen them drive by us twice. Waiting is something I have become used to doing down here and have oddly enough come to terms with it and kinda enjoy it. Today was not one of those days; instead I walked a fine line of losing control. You would think once we were picked up that we would head out to Jujan where our suspects we reported getting on and off the bus. NO NO NO!!!! They dragged us down to the office to make a report instead. At which point, after explaining where I believed I was robbed, the lady behind the desk asks me “So what side of the bridge did these guys get off the bus?” The fuck if I know!!!! Do I look like I am from around here and know what bridge you are talking about? This is when the precinct battle begins. “It started in Jujan so it’s Jujan’s case.” “Yeah, but the guy got off in Babahoyo and he probably lives here. So it is our case.” Mean while I am screaming in my head. “Look guys! We wouldn’t have to make a report if we just went back and got the guy. I am sure the town isn’t that big. And as dumb as I believe the guy is, he has more than likely bragged to someone about it. What do you say we go out there and ask around?” After a few phone calls and some mumbled words amongst themselves they decided to rush Debb and I out to Jujan. After a quick switch to a Jujan police pick up I found myself in a small substation crammed with about 20 guys. I scan the room only seeing 20 older men, scared and all “appearing” innocent. Surely the guy is not going to hang around the streets after the score he had just made on all my stuff. But the Policia ask me anyways. “So these are all the Vendedores in the area. Which ones did it?” That’s when I realize I never saw them. I never looked up from my book to inspect every person or creature getting on or off the bus, like I ALWAYS do. Everyone starts yelling and things become chaotic. I am having a hard time thinking if I can add to the description given by the other passengers. I ask for what was written down from the police and almost laughed out loud. The passengers described the guys as “Three Vendedores…. One selling water and soda, one selling chips and another selling bread and cookies. Frustrated, I begin to laugh because in a room of 20 guys, at least 3 to 4 of them each are selling the same goods. I share a few details from the shadows of my memory. All I can remember is his ass covered in light blue jeans in my face and 2 different colored home made chips set on his hip blocking my view of everything. From the back one guy steps forward and states that he knows the group and where they like to work and hang out. Back in the truck again with our new info and more help. Through Jujan, where angry wives ask what their husbands in back of the truck have gotten into. Mean while stopping to ask others on the street for sightings of the trio. We are directed again farther down toward their favorite bar. A strange place I felt fitting for thieves. Smelling like a pig farm with plump pantless women stepping out of doors to check us out. Second strike, they had been there but were seen headed into Babahoyo. 45 more minutes of what felt like chasing a ghost and all of us were done with the running around. Leaving us at the door of our hotel with a phone number and a promise they will look for the thieves in the morning, we check in and headed up to our room. Slumped down on the bed together, it was silent for the first time since 9 in the morning. With little to say as the feelings of being violated crept in as the shock wore off. I laid back and Debb headed for the window and pulled back the curtains. Watching Debb staring down at the bus stop across the street, with a death stare toward all the Vendedores jumping on an off the buses hoping our man would turn up before dark. I fell asleep. I slept like a rock, surprisingly, and opened my eyes finding Debb still staring down at the street. She reminded me that it wasn’t all just a bad dream. Like always, Debb and I are thinking about the same ideas in our heads. This mornings idea was to go back out to Jujan and get our stuff back myself. I was delaying by rolling the idea around my head trying to figure the best way to approach this. Really I was more worried what I would do to the guy when I found him with our stuff. Debb starts off with hints and jokes about finding our stuff in Jujan with no help from the police. This leads to her yelling at me for what I know I should be doing anyways, “Get off your ass and use your nija skills and get my computer back!!!!” Not ever thinking I had nija skills before, now I grab some cash, a book about surfing in Central America and my empty backpack. Give Debb a kiss and tell her I am going to be a while and to lock the door behind me. I found the bus to Jujan and 30 minutes later and a bit nervous I jump off at the edge of town. A couple hundred yards from the police station I stand on the side of the road and just watch a for a few minutes and wonder how dumb I must be. I thought, “Fuck it. It’s worth a try and nobody will be expecting me”. So I headed to the police station to check in on this mornings search. My buddies in Blue were more then surprised to see me. I could tell they had done nothing about the morning search by their answers and lack of eye contact. I told ‘em thanks anyways and that I was going to have a look around myself. I think they wanted to laugh at me but saw the look in my eyes and awkwardly nodded a slight approval. I wasn’t asking so much as I was warning them, and walking out I think they got that as well. I headed into town and found the perfect spot to sit and watch. A bench back off the road against a wall out of the sun. With a large speed bump in the road in front of me I had more time to look into cars, and people would only notice me long after I had been watching them. I pulled out my book and looking over the top began to conspire stories and sizing up everyone that passed. EVERYONE!!!! 30 minutes later a couple of old guys wandered out from the alley to my left and filled the bench that I was sitting on. They were kind of blowing my cover with their teasing kids and cat calling. Oh well, it’s not like I could pull out my silenced pistol and shot ‘em like James Bond. Plus they were pretty funny and soon struck conversation with me. El Viejo, “the old man”, next to me broke the ice with, “You’re the gringo who was robbed on the bus the other day, Right?” “Yep and I am here to get my stuff back, mainly my passport.” Another Viejo wandered over and the three of them started swapping stories about the times they had been robbed. Soon they forgot I was there and left me to focus on my man hunt. Over the next hour there were a few guys that stood out and one I even followed for about 5 minutes. I had only been back on the bench for a few minutes when I couldn’t take my eyes off this short stocky guy in his mid 30’s wearing a black t-shirt. Till now I don’t know what it was about this guy. I don’t even think he was on the bus, but this was “the guy”. Hairs standing on the back of my neck, I shoved my book in my empty backpack and jogged across the street behind a passing semi-truck. I quickly closed the distance between us while he was looking down at his feet. I stop in his path and wait for the last few feet to close in before he runs into me. As he looks up I tell him flat out “Hi there! I believe you have my stuff and I want them back.” Appearing shocked and then panicked struck, his eyes dart around for an escape. I step forward real close and tell him I will give him 20 bucks for whatever he has. He begins to back peddle and pull a black bag in close to his body. That is when I realize Shit the little fucker has my passport on him!!! A thought flashed through my mind about taking him down and saving the 20 bucks. But he counter offered $40 and although I had it I told him to wait here and I would bring him $60. Agreed, I turned and headed for the police station. I was hoping they could grab him and put the “squeeze” on him for my computer and camera. I flew through the door at the police station, once again, catching all three of the Policia off guard. They must have been tired from the “morning search” for the thieves. Because after telling who and where to find “the guy”, they all had to pull their feet off the small desk, strap on their gun belts and collectively search for the car keys. They pushed me out the door and I headed for the truck. Only to be told to stay put and wait here. Wait…..again……. 20 minutes later they brought “the guy” back sniffling and red faced. That’s when I see my blue box that carries my emergency cards, passport and yellow fever stamp, in the hands of one of the officers. Now every hair on my body is erect at this point and all I want to know is if my passport is there. We all go into the station and they take “the guy”, crying into the back room. I go through my box and find it all there! Meanwhile I can hear them slapping the Bandito around and repeatedly ask him where the electronics are. Cutting the story short I rode in the back seat next to the crying Bandito to the office where I had started the report in Babahoya. Much more waiting and them still hanging onto my passport was giving me an anxiety attack. They then tell me that I can’t have my passport back until tomorrow after all the paperwork is done. In short they loose my passport, by 11am and have to track it down in one of their 4 office buildings spread from one end of town to the other. Once it was found the guy behind the desk tells me that I can’t have it for 2 more days because they need it for evidence. The thought crossed my mind again…..just take him out real fast and run. Instead I threatened a call to the US Embassy and things turned around. I signed a form, which they questioned my signature because I signed so quickly, and handed over my passport. I was out the door before that paper pusher could look up and feed me some other line of bullshit. 30 minutes later, bear hugging my backpack on the bus. We left Babahoya with one finger out the window waving good bye FOREVER! ~~Ryan Rodgers~~ An hour out of Babahoya into the Andes to Guaranda and Salinas. The hectic, horrible few days at least ended with an amazing view as the bus climbed through the first cloud shelf and emerged displaying a white ocean of clouds softly flowing upon the mountian rid What to do and see in Guayaquil? 10/10/2011
Guayaquil, EcuadorBuses from Olón, the next town south from Curía before Montañita, leave daily to Guayaquil the second largest city in Ecuador. It’s a 3-3 ½ hour ride and the frequent departure times are painted on the wall at the Olón bus station. We took the 9.45 am bus planning to arrive around 1 pm. We had heard from several people around town that there isn’t much to do in Guayaquil besides walk along the new Malecón 2000 (promenade), visit a few parks such as Parque del Centenario and Parque Bolívar, and hike to the lighthouse on the hilltop of Cerro Santa Ana. Confirming this rumor in our Lonely Planet we figured an afternoon and one night in Guayaquil would be enough. More like a stop over before going back northeast into the Andes the next day. The bus terminal in Guayaquil is large, organized and modern operating both regional buses and the local city buses. Inside the terminal there are rows of ticket booths for the regional buses organized by region and color coordinated matching the exterior color of the ticket booths to large wall directories. We bought our tickets for the next morning to Guaranda before catching a city bus downtown about 7 km away. We stayed at Hotel Sander, a block away from Parque del Centenario, $14 for a room with air conditioning. A decent hotel and a good price. We walked to Parque Bolívar stopping for freshly carved turkey sandwiches for lunch on the way (a common meal in Guayaquil). Parque Bolívar though small is a unique site and worth visiting to see the massive free wandering iguanas that rule this square block. The iguanas roam from the small pond to soft green grass mounds to climbing in the trees and walking the paths right under your feet. There was one tree that had so many iguanas it was like they were the leaves of the tree, 30-40 at least. After this we walked down to the Malecón 2000 and were thoroughly impressed. This re-development city project has just the right balance of new age modern construction and architecture along with footpaths and ponds in tropical gardens. We walked up and down the promenade pass the Yatch Club and commercial center which had a McDonalds and the scent of French fires in the air. Pass the reminiscent of a three day open-air art competition where the contestants were gathering listening to the final results. Casually strolling along we admired the families, kissing couples, small children playing in the playground and at the end of the Malecón we hiked up Cerro Santa Ana and Las Peñas hillside neighborhood stairs. Las Peñas is a super cute reconstructed, colorfully painted and cobblestone alleyways neighborhood. The stairs leading through it are all number from the bottom to the top, 444 in total. From the lighthouse at the top it’s a great view of Guayaquil, Rio Guayas and the hundreds of spotted islands out toward the ocean. We took lots of pictures of the iguanas in Parque Bolívar, along the Malecón 2000, of Las Peñas and the lighthouse from afar and the 444 numbered stairs. But unfortunately we were robbed on the bus from Guayaquil to Guaranda and our camera was one of the things we lost. Ryan will explain the whole story in the next blog. Here are a few pictures Idownloaded from the internet of Guayaquil. ~~Debbrial Rodgers~~ More New Friends Living the Dream 10/07/2011
Curía (Montañita), Ecuador ![]() its beautiful when there is sunshine in Curía At the end of our second week living in Curía Ryan and I were going for a walk on the beach with Allie running and playing right alongside us. Not far from our house we met another couple just starting a run on the beach with their dogs. Robbie approached us, introduced himself and Holly, his girlfriend, and their two dogs Yaden and Bella. They told us they are from Los Angeles, California and had just moved to Ecuador two days ago. They had been to Montañita several times in the past, loved it and decided to move here. They said they are renting a house in Curía just 200 yards away from ours; we should all hangout. We told them quickly about our adventures of traveling through Central and South America for the last two years and we are also renting a house in Curia; we would love to hang out with them. So now we have more new friends and our small town Curía isn’t as quiet anymore. We hit it off with Robbie and Holly right away and enjoy hanging out with them. We had a BBQ a few days after we met them which we invite them to along with Mike and Linda our next door neighbors. During dinner Robbie further explained their plan is to immediately invest in land in this area and buy a house. Then in the next so odd years they are going to parcel off most of the land and build their dream house. What a great plan!! This is exactly what Ryan and I have thought about doing in places like Nicaragua or Panama; until we decided we want to buy a sailboat and sail around the world instead or first. There are still so many beautiful, undeveloped and inexpensive areas in Central and South America where it is still possible to obtain the “American dream”. It’s just now the “America” has changed. ![]() Holly, Robbie, Ryan and Debb Ryan and Robbie have gone surfing together (Holly and I go along sometimes), we’ve gone to Montañita for dinner and drinks, met a lot of their local expat friends, watched Sunday American Football and went horseback riding on their new property. It’s such as small world. We are thousands of miles away from home, in Ecuador, in a still basically off-the-grid remote beach area, in a small town/village and we meet another couple, our age, from almost our home town and I found out we are also friends with the same people. It’s been great living the slow pace life in Curía with a hint of partying in Montañita and making new friends. But we are coming up on the end of our one month which means we are back on the road. We are heading back into the chilly, highlands of Ecuador, across the Andes Mountains and down into the mighty Amazon. ~~Debbrial Rodgers~~ | Our Latest Blogs
Our Motto:
Communication is key. Without it we will get nowhere, understand less, and never grow together. -Debbrial Rodgers CategoriesAll ArchivesNovember 2011 MoreTravel Blogs&Sites
The Globetrotting Texan GQ Trippin Tourists Guild Travel Specs Two Go Round The World Tourist Destinations Spanish Online Resources Spanish in New York The Best Travel Destinations |




























































































































