Packing for three months

     We have faced challenges during our adventures one of the most daunting is the packing and repacking of our gear. Packing to come hear was pretty easy but we had to pack for more climates than you might think at first glance. At the beach it was hot and we needed little but up in the mountains it is cold. Not only that we are going from hot to cold to hot and back one more time to cold. And a different kind of hot.

     After the beach we left two big bags at the hotel that we will fly out of full of beach gear and a few souvenirs that we did not want to lug all around Ecuador. That was pretty easy. Now that we are done with the Avenue of the Volcanoes we will go down to the Amazon. We will go one day to Quito and drop off bags full of heavier clothes and bulky stuff that we will not need in the jungle. 

Cotopaxi volcano 'zen park' and the Hacienda

     Today 2/22 we took a road trip to our next destination, part 3C. Our driver Oswaldo for the waterfall tour took us. We went around a couple of cities and had awesome helados de Salcedo, a special layered ice cream treat from the town of Salcedo. It is a wide layered popsicle with cream flavor around a bit of guanabana jam then mora, ron pasas, fruitilla, and taxo in stripes. The highways were nice and modern until we turned off for the last 20K to our hacienda. 20k on big gravel is a bit grueling but the place here is worth the ride. Hacienda Los Mortiños is a beautiful big house with attentive staff. All the guests for the weekend left and we are apparently the only people here so we got two rooms for the price of one. We are way up here, past 3600 meters, on the shoulder of Cotopaxi which tops out at 5900 meters. Upon our arrival, Cotopaxi peaked out of the clouds but then it turned to heavy rain then hail during during our first walk. The hacienda is alone in a rocky shrubby field with big hills and four mountains around. The haciendas up here are big old farm buildings from when the Spanish took over the farming and indebted the natives. A couple are still farms but most are now hotels.

     On 2/23 we woke up to a hearty breakfast then had a horse back tour of Parque Nacional Cotopaxi. I rode a horse once over 30 years ago. Steph rode some on her farm long ago. That is our level of experience. Our great baquero/cowboy Patricio rode the only skittish horse and led Lumia. The rest of us had a short lesson on stop, go, left, and right and we were off. My horse Castaña/Chestnut seemed content to follow the pack and would only hurry about every fourth time I urged him forward. Steph's horse was Moro, Cael's little horse was Petufo (Spanish for Smurf), and Lumia's was Dorado. Cael was a quick study and managed his morse well with some guidance from his Madre. 

     Up here we are in alpine meadow with flowers and shrubs but all the grass is pretty short as there are herds of wild horses and cows. Weather comes quickly with mostly clouds but Cotapaxi and its two lower neighbors Rumiñahui and Sinchalagua poked their heads out of the clouds a couple of times. It was pretty cold to start but got warm. The hacienda lunch was hearty. 

     We spent the afternoon hanging out at the hacienda blogging and journaling, doing homework, watching the weather go by, and playing games. The horseback ride was a frequent subject and Cael named our current location the Zen Park after playing that word in Quiddler. Lumia could not stop talking about the ride at bed time. I think we will need to do it again some time after my buttocks recover. 

     2/24 first thing this morning we woke up to a really clear day and got great pictures of Cotopaxi. Then the kids tried the climbing wall but the spots were made for adult hands and they did not get very high. I'll doctor the pics so they look like they are floating. Then we finally got the kids to hike. We hiked up the old lava flow into the national park by a little stream. There was the remains of a small pine forest but we had found out previously the the pine trees were imports from California and have been cut down so they don't contaminate the national park. We saw little water falls, wild flowers and cows. In the park we went up a hillock where all four mountains were out. We got a great Intrepid Explorers photo. The wild horses stared at us as we wandered around up and down hillocks over lava and pyroclastic flow. We got back for lunch and homework and family time. We have had very good meals here. Tomorrow we will go to Quito for one night then into the Amazon. I packed up my computer so you will have to wait four more days before photo updates. See you soon. 

Kids traveling

     It is not always easy to travel with kids. Our children are usually awesome. Some times however they argue, hit, scratch, throw a fit. They are just kids and we have taken them way outside of their comfort zone for a long time.

     However they will be forever marked by this trip we have undertaken. This is Cael's fourth trip outside of North America and he is very sure about the next two places he wants to go: Paris and Athens.

     Cael has mastered Spanish numbers which helps us pay a cabbie and he keeps us laughing. He also has good pronunciation. He has been very willing to try new things, especially odd fruit at the markets. He doesn't always like them but neither do I. He keeps me busy with talk about nerdy things like the Avengers or Lord of the Rings. We are currently discussing the Silmarilion. 

     Lumia is ever the friend maker. She has made friends now with two sets of little girls which has led us to making friends with two families. She also made friends with our neighbor back at the beach which helped facilitate our weekly neighborhood BBQs.

     We planned this as a family trip hoping that they would have a good time. It has been wonderful to spend this time as a family. We are still working up to long hikes.

Baños

     On 2/18 we took a regional bus from Ambato to Baños. It was a beautiful ride through the valleys around the local volcano. It was one dollar each. We hit our B&B and then walked up to town to find the Mercado. We shopped, headed home, had a small meal and hit the hay.
     On 2/19 we woke up at Casa Verde, a very nice Eco B&B in Baños. It overlooks the Rio Pastaza and is a little out of town. It is beautiful here. We got up and went for a hike up the side of a hill to see the closest water fall. As previously discussed traveling with children can be hard. Making them walk up hills can be hard. We made it up the road and then up the side of the hill to Cascadas de Chamana. We only did one water fall. Baños has 60-70 depending on who is counting and they are not really close to each other. We watched while a tour group of mostly Ecuadorians repelle down the falls and then we had lunch at a tiny place with a German host called Regine's Cafe Aleman. Good goulash.
     Bed and Breakfast living is very different then how we have been living. Sharing space and being quiet can be a challenge but meeting more people can be very fun. Casa Verde is run by a family of Aussies/Kiwis who put a great deal of thought into keeping green. Their son is working out well as a play mate for Cael and Lumia. They started out swinging crazily in the hammocks then Cael and the boy played a couple of games of chess.
     On 2/20 we went to one of the thermal bath sites as you should do in Baños since it is named for the baths. It is just up the road from our house and we were the only Gringoes. There are multiple pools not all of which are filled every day from hot to freezing. I prefered the warm to cold and we switched back and forth, and chatted with the Bañosians. We took a taxi way up the hill above Baños to a cafe for lunch and some spectacular views of the town. We thought about hiking down, but it seemed pretty step, so we just taxied back home and looked for another hike. That hike did not work so well partially because we did not have the directions with us so we missed the turn for the bridge across the river. By that time we realized we had missed our turn, our kids were already grumpy. And, now looking up at the hike from town we were previously looking down on during lunch, we decided that we had been too ambitious and simply finished our walk into town. We saw some crazy people jumping off the bridge for sport, got our laundry and later returned to downtown. We had a great meal at Casa Hood (do not confuse with Cafe Hood) where we met a nice family from Quito. Their girls and Lumia danced to the duo playing French accordion and ukulele. They are called Leleswing. If you want to look them up on Facebook, I posted a video to their page.

     Today (2/21) we did the required waterfall tour. Most of the waterfalls fall into the Rio Pastaza so we drove down river and stopped at three main waterfalls and other sites. First was a hydroelectric dam just down from Baños. Then we saw the first of a number of places where you can zip line across the valley. Maybe I should explain. The river gorge we are on is VERY deep. The cliff that Baños sits on is easily 100 meters and that is just the last drop. Then the hill and more cliffs soar up hundresds of meters eventually to the volcano which is 1000 meters higher than Baños. These are not little hills. 

     Next stop we saw the Bridal Veil falls. Lumia, Steph, our driver and John (the son of out B&B hosts and Lumia's boy friend) took a cable car across the gorge and back. Cael and I declined. They said it was awesome. Next we saw what people claim is the face of Jesus in the raw rocks looking over the gorge. You have to be a just the right angle and have just the right light. Lots of Ecuadorians were taking pictures and crossing themselves. Last and best was the Pailón del Diablo, Devil's Cauldron. It was on the close side of the gorge so we had to walk down a very steep path and a steeper suspension bridge to get a good view of the many leveled falls. We all got wet and it is quite awesome. My pictures do not even come close to showing you how cool it was. 

     Afterwards we had a mellow afternoon back at the B&B and the kids played with John. Cael is getting homesick and a bit weepy in the afternoon especially if he is hungry. If you are Cael's buddy, he could use a note or two of encouragement right now. We went out for American pub food and he had fish and chips so the rest of the evening was great. Tomorrow we head out to Hacienda Los Mortiños up on the side of an even bigger volcano Cotopaxi. There is no internet there so see you in four days. Love from the Intrepid Explorers. 

Rope is cheaper than fences

     We left Cuenca for Ambato on Domingo (2/15). The drive was beautiful. We went as high as 11,600 feet. We passed through wet mountains bathed by misty air from the coast, dry high sierra that looked like Winthrop, and then verdant farm land higher than 8000 feet. They farm on the steepest land - I'm not sure how they get up there. At first we could barely see the road in front of us from the clouds but then it cleared enough for us to see the surrounding hills but it never cleared enough to see the mountains of the volcanos. Stephanie noticed that all the cows were pinned with rope leads, not kept behind fences. Our driver said that rope is cheaper than fences.

     We arrived to our hotel in Ambato in time to see the parties in the streets after the Carnaval parade. We planned this so that we could be in Ambato for Monday night's Ronda Nocturnal, the Carnaval Night Parade. I'll get to that later. We had a fair night in our tiny room after the street revelers were run out by the police for drinking in the streets. Then a good breakfast and hit the town. (2/16) Ambato is working class and much newer then Cuenca. In fact it has been leveled by earthquakes within the last century so all of the buildings are relatively new concrete, not very attractive construction. The people were in party mode. The main square by the cathedral was full of Ecuadorians eating street food, listening to music, buying crafts and seeing flower exhibits. Ambato's Carnaval is themed as the Festival of fruit and flowers. Have any of you readers ever been to a Carnaval city? Flowers were everywhere from the cathedral altar, business windows, and the parade floats. 

     Oh the parade! It passed immediately in front of our hotel down a tight two lane street with every space of side walk taken up by Ambatoens of every age. The parade was floats made of fruits and flowers made with actual fruit and flowers and grains. Each had a Carnaval princess waving from the top. Then there were bands and dancers from all over the area and representatives from many other Latin countries - Mexico, Columbia, Brasil. Stephanie was grabbed to dance with first a Mexican dancer then to join a group of retired merenge dancers.  Our kids bought caroche, cans of spray foam which is used to spray people for fun all during Carnaval. They were both excited to use them because they had seen the locals spray each other both in Cuenca and Ambato.  But, when it came to the end of the parade, they were a little reluctant to spray others. When they got started it was hilarious. Go see our pictures of the parade and epic foam battle. 

     I should point out that our children are a constant source of interest from open stares to little ladies patting their heads to kids wanting pictures taken with them. 

     The next day (2/17) we were slow to get up after a late night at the parade. We headed to a little town (Quinsapincha) way up a steep hill to see their leather goods. I tried on a bunch of leather jackets but never found the right one. Steph got a nice backpack. On the way back to town we stopped at a big family park overlooking Ambato. For the way home, we waited for a bus. Ecudorians have little concept of waiting in a line. When the first bus got there everyone shoved past us and got on that bus filling it up. So we waited. Along came a taxi and I waved it down. Unfortunately a girl totally ran past me to jump in. So next bus I did the shoving and got the Scanlon/Hillmans damp seats for a hair raising switch back bus ride. And that's not by far the craziest road in Ecuador. We are skipping that ride.

     Today (2/18) we caught a bus to Baños. Baños is snug in a valley on the side of an active volcano. Yes that is right. Tungurahua is as big as any volcano you see in the Cascade mountains but here near the equator 8000 feet is a great place to put a town. It is hot, there are over 60 waterfalls, the gorge is beautiful and there are lots of sporting opportunities. Tomorrow we will hike. Tonight we enjoyed our bed and breakfast at Casa Verde. Their son is a seven year old Aussie crazy kid. Just what our kids needed especially Cael. We are off to bed to sleep with the sound of a river, peepers and maybe volcanic grumbling. Tomorrow? Adventure. Have any of you ever slept on the side of an active volcano?

Items I will not forget to travel with from now on

Can opener

Multi tool

Rope/string

Sewing kit

Padlock

WD40

Glasses fix kit

Superglue

Luggage strap

Lighter

Tiedowns

Bandana

Pepper spray

Probiotics 

Tummy temple tonic

Incan Ecaudor

     Once the Incan Empire stretched from Columbia to Argentina. It was as big as any European empire at the time. In Cuenca we have seen three different sites now with Incan ruins. Unfortunately the Empire of the Sun was destroyed by arrogant Europeans who brought smallpox and war.
    On 2/11 we saw a hint of the Incan Empire when we went to Todo Santos, a beautiful church/convent complex. The site has been the home of three religions/people: first a Cañari (indigenous people who lived in Ecuador before the Incans) religious site as old as 800 years; then an Incan religious site with two mummies that are currently being excavated which is around 500 years old; and then a chapel that was first built by the Spanish and was the first Catholic church in Cuenca in the 1550s. We were given a tour including the sites I just told you about plus the church, gardens and bakery. Six nuns still live at Todo Santos. We passed one as she was taking her figs up into the main building.

     We hit a couple of previously viewed artisan shops. I wanted to get some tin work. A little old guy cuts and beats tin into shapes from religious icons to mirror frames to Cuencan scenes. Stephanie wanted to get a special silver filagree necklace by Andrea Tello, a third generation Ecuadorian jeweler who has found international recognition. Purchases made.

     Then we went back to our favorite park - Parque de la Madre. The kids ran around and we met a family from Washington D.C., who work at the US embassy. This was a mellow day but still fun. 

     On 2/12 we journeyed to the Temple of the Sun. The Incan Empire stretched from Argentina to Columbia. The best preserved site in Ecuador is at Ingapirca. We were accompanied by our previous tour guide from way back in December when we got to Ecuador - Priscila. This time her partner and driver was her father-in-law Rolando. They are both proud Cuencans and Ecuadorians who love to show off their homeland. Rolando has been to Ingapirca 5 times. The drive took us up over 3500 meters and down just a little bit. Rolando took us on back roads allowing us to see farms, little towns and a Carnaval Parade. The paraders were decked out in native and Incan costumes and were making music and noise. They squirted us with shaving cream, laughed, gave us a shot of the local hooch and kept in their merry way. 

      Shortly after that we arrived at Ingapirca. I cannot fully describe how cool this site was and the pictures do not quite show you, but I will do my best. We had a tour guide with nothing but enthusiasm for the site and its history. He brought the place to life with his stories and information. 

     The Incans built Ingapirca to have control over the local Cañari people. There was some cooperation because the construction has obvious Cañari influences. The Cañai worshiped the moon and were matriarchal. The Incans worshiped the sun and were patriarchal. The archaeological site has two temples. The Cañari Temple to the Moon and the Incan Temple of the Sun. The sun temple had the prototypical Incan precisely cut and carefully placed rectangular stones that didn't require mortar. Different from all other Incan sites, here they used an oval for their religious building, likely due to Cañari influences. A small building was built on top of the oval structure to let in the rising sun in on one side and the setting sun in on the other. It faced directly east and west. At the equinox, the sun shone onto a golden statue set in the wall and at the solstices, the sun shone onto a niche with an altar.

     Across the complex, the Cañari temple dedicated to the moon stands - this one in a half moon shape. As more evidence of their moon worship, the Cañaris had a big (4 feet tall, three feet on the face) stone carved with 28 holes with slightly different angles. They were filled with water and used to observe the moon's reflection. One hole for each day of the lunar month. 28 times 13 months plus one day to worship the moon equals 365. Their entire agricultural calendar depended on the cycle of the moon, and still does. Seeds are planted on the fifth day after a new moon. 

    To the side of the site is a field of rectangular stones that people have been returning to the site from their farms and houses over the years. Maybe some day they will figure out where they go. 

      All of this site, with the two temples and well-organized outer buildings, is perched on the top of a hill near the top of a ridge looking out over a beautiful valley now dotted with little houses and farms. During our trip, one end of the valley was shrouded with clouds from the warmer wet air from the coast. Llamas walk around the site keeping the grass short. I can say no more about the place - it was an incredible experience. 

     On the way home our hosts took us to a pig place on the side of the road where the locals cook a whole pig out in the open. It was super yummy but not for the faint of heart. 

     2/13 our time in Cuenca is drawing near to an end. Today was mellow. We made the kids sleep in. We did homework and went to the park. We had an all-meat lunch at an Uraguayian place with Priscila and José Luis. Then we wandered into town and saw a couple of sites again. Word of advice for traveling with familie: kids do not get hanging out and people watching. We had a final Maracuya Mojito and headed home for dinner. Tomorrow we will pack, go into old town for a few more sites and get some rest for Sunday when we have a six-hour drive through the mountains. I must remember to see if we have enough Dramamine.