Last Daze in Ecuador... It´s Been a Different Ride
Trip Start
Nov 05, 2007
1
9
19
Trip End
Jan 11, 2008
Oyacachi, Ecuador
Sunday, November 25, 2007
The political situation may destroy the country but the innocence of the country folk will remain. Life in Quito rivals any of our fastpaced north American cities... in many ways the amenities are greater. In the countryside, however, there is a hard working lifestyle in a setting that is truly spectacular. Volcanoes and glaciers define the horizon while cultivated fields are worked by a people with faces that tell of their difficult existance. Lineups at the Spanish Consolate (day after day) accentuate the desire of the people to find an easier way of life. I think that, wherever these people end up, they will always refer to themselves as Ecuadorian. They are a fiercly proud people with an equally proud history... if only their crooked politicians would live up to their promises.
What is a democracy anyway if those elected perpetuate crimes against the people? From (dreaded) Coilumbians mining their gold to incompetant government businesmen running enterprises in to the ground, I donīt see a way for the people to get out from under. Corruption and greed make small men feel important I guess. We met legitimate businesmen both local and foreigners, who have all but given up. They have great ideas that would benefit the people but who knows if they will ever be implemented.
That being said I must describe our last daze in Ecuador.
Saturday is the big market day in Otovallo. The Otaavallo people are great craftsmen and marketers. This was our destination for the last day. Our flight was to leave Saturday night.
Though the market was our focus an we did enjoy it (as well as the few souvenirs we bought... yes, Colleen, I got you one) the real highlight for the day was a side trip to Oyacachi.
Hereīs the story of our day....
Listening to more 'Jim' stories ... like the atoll (burial mound) right in the middle of a business district that just must be full of treasure waiting to be discovered.... or the story of Frank, his crazy genius friend with 100 dz bottles of beer and a mess of nasty or sick dogs that rule his roost..... we drove to the country and headed up to hills. Here we hear about the Inc roads running along the top of nearby hills. Rolling hills with palm trees and huge yucca then up to rich farm land. We drive hrough a small village which seemed empty of towspeople. Up the hill we found most of them hacking away at the sides of the road. Men, women & children working to widen the road. Colourfully dressed in box hats and bright shawls they happily smiled, waved and asked for cola as Jimīs truck struggled over the lumpy piles of rich earth. The cobblestone highway we followed is similar to the kind the Inca fashioned years ago. Along the highway the car climbs another mountain to over 14,000 feet and an entirely different ecosystem. Bunch grass, orchids and scrub define the area we drove through before entering yet another ecosystem. Here it was dark and misty. Heavy lichen hangs from the trees and fence posts. The ruins of an Inca town are right beside the road near the town of Oyacachi. Overgrown with parasite plants and mosses the ruins sit peacefully in this unearthly quiet. The area was occupied durint the Inca reign as a waystop for travelling goods. With the hotsprings nearby it was probably a popular stopover for sure!!
Back on the road the next stop was Otovallo for market day. Again colourful villagers greeted us selling their beautiful crafts.
Tired from our long day we had a last visit with Jim and Adam before setting off to the airport.
There we discovered that the 9:45 flight to Santiago was cancelled till the next day at 2PM. We pled our case and found ourselves on the 8:30 to Lima with a connection to Santiago, Then had to scramble to get on the early flight to Easter Island as they had cancelled both our flight there and our return flight. Not sure how that all happened but we got it sorted out. At times our commute felt like an episode of the Amazing Race.
We arrived in Rapa Nui jetlagged & exhausted for our next adventure
