Quito – revisited

March 8

Last night, we took advantage of the evening to walk through a bit of Old Town by the hostel. We passed the basilica and located the Museum of Contemporary Art. I am not the biggest contemporary art fan, but there was a big exhibit of an Ecuadorian artist that we both really liked.

This morning we left for Plaza Grande and joined the 10 AM Mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral. It was a beautiful morning and we sat in the main square for a few minutes before being asked to leave because of a women’s march that was headed to the square. (Some of the marchers’ signs we would see throughout the day showed some pretty shocking/terrible statistics of violence toward women in Ecuador).

We went down the street to the Museo de Ciudad. It was a great museum, showing the history of Quito from 10,000 BC to the present. The museum itself is in a former hospital and sits along La Ronda.

We made our last visit to the Central Market. We finally had llapingachos, and purchased mangos and chiramoya. I had been wanting to try this snack/dish made with mote, toasted corn, and chocho (lupini beans) topped with onion and spices that people took to go. Although we were full we got one to try and I am really glad we did – better late than never.

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With much of the afternoon remaining, we set out for La Floresta to visit the Pacari store and cafe. They have fancy chocolate and coffee drinks, as well as vegan ice cream. So we tried passionfruit-chocolate swirl.

We took our final visit to the rooftop of the nearby hostel with the panoramic views of the city and then went to our hostel for a good night of sleep.

We made the most of our last day in Quito. We went to Old Town in the morning, Claire got a haircut and found some espadrilles. We checked out of the hostel but left our bags until night, as our flight left around midnight.

Our plan was to go the Guayasamin Museum. Guayasamin ranks among the most well-known Ecuadorian artists. In his later years, he built a beautiful home overlooking Quito and made it a museum of all of the art he had collected, as well as some of his own pieces so that they would remain in Ecuador. He then began filling an enormous building that he built with incredibly large original works of art. It is called La Capilla de Hombre (Chapel of Mankind) and is filled with art despite the artist passing before he finished.

It was a long walk to the museum. On the way, we came across the artisanal market, which had over two hundred booths with of souvenir-type products. It was interesting to see. We were continuing through Mariscal when I saw a boy with an ice cream cone. A second later, I looked up and saw a soft serve ice cream stand on the sidewalk. They had passionfruit ice cream cones for fifty cents – so I had to have one.

Once at the museum, we received a tour and spent time in La Capilla de Hombre. Guayasamin has a very unique style and his works are influenced by many of the dark conflicts he witnessed an experienced in his life including World War II and armed conflicts in South America.

After the museum, we ate our mangos and rehydrated, and then began the long trek back to the hostel. We walked the streets of Mariscal (and I purposely returned down Avenue de Amazones so I could get another passionfruit ice cream) and ended up at a small restaurant that we had seen when our trip began.

It was past dark, but our flight was so late that we went back to the Grand Plaza one final time. We returned to San Blas Plaza, got fresh clothes, repacked our bags, and waited for our taxi to the airport. We spent the thirty-five minute drive looking out on the lights of Quito sprawling in all directions around the mountain peaks.

Mindo

March 5

Mindo is another adventure destination in Ecuador. It is located in a cloud forest, is (almost) always raining, and offers hikes, rafting, zip-lining, and is one the premiere bird-watching destinations in the world.

For our first day in Mindo I was feeling weak, so only managed to get out of bed for short walks. The town has a small but quaint square, with restaurants and cafes and tour guide outfits.

On the second day, I feeling hopeful that we would go on one of the big hikes outside of town. But my energy did not last. Fortunately, there is a small private farm and nature preserve called Hacienda San Vicente whose entrance is by the main square and is a favored destination to see wildlife. We left midday, and so missed the early morning rainless hours and ended up getting soaked. I had high expectations of seeing a kinkajou or “honey bear” and hundreds of beautiful birds and butterflies. In the end we heard a few birds and saw one yellow bird as well as a handful of butterflies. But it was a wonderful hike and exciting to be swallowed up by the rainforest so close to town.

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In the evening we stopped at a cafe to try one of the hot chocolates made with Ecuadorian chocolate, and then went to a Venezuelan arepa restaurant that we had been anticipating for weeks. The food was simple but really good, and, sadly, after the past few days that I had had, I settled for one arepa.

We had one last morning in Mindo but did not have time for a big adventure. We rested, ate pineapple for breakfast from the rooftop kitchen, and got our tickets for the bus to Quito. I was glad to the bus ride was shorter and I did not feel ill on the trip! We arrived at Ofelia Terminal, the northern terminal, and then took a city bus back to the center of town for our final 48 hours in Ecuador.

Hesburgh Hospital

March 3

We woke up early for our last big travel day. We were heading to Santo Domingo by bus, a trip which ended up taking ten hours. The trip started out well, but I became ill halfway through and went straight to bed upon arrival (spoiled plantain chips I think).

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The reason that we made a stop in Santo Domingo, was to see Hesburgh Hospital, the second hospital opened by Andean Health and Development (AHD). AHD was founded by Dr. David Gaus, a Notre Dame graduate who has spent his career improving primary care in rural Ecuador by establishing self-sustaining healthcare centers. We had met Dr. Gaus at Notre Dame once before, through my friend Jack and his family, who have done much to support AHD. This time, Jack put us in contact, and Dr. Gaus generously agreed to give us a tour of the hospital.

The morning after we traveled to Santo Domingo, we had a light breakfast at a bakery and then took a taxi to the hospital. We had a fantastic time seeing the grounds and unit of the hospital, and sharing our thoughts and questions on how to improve health care delivery in places that need it. Dr. Gaus’ feedback was incredibly valuable and it was a privilege to get to see the product of his efforts and how thoughtfully the hospital was designed to partner with the community and fill the gaps that AHD found needed to be (or at least can be better) filled. The building is built off of a former school, and specific architecture and layout decisions were made in order to make visitors feel welcome and increase the trust of the patient in the healthcare system.

It was such an incredible morning that I forgot to take photos of anything except for one of the beautiful murals.

To support or learn more about AHD, follow the link here: https://www.andeanhealth.org/

After saying goodbye to Dr. Gaus, we went back to town for our bags and got a bus to Mindo. AHD’s first hospital was built in Pedro Vicente Maldonado, and we saw it as the bus went through the little town.

Despite a great day, I was still ill, so went to bed after we got to Mindo while Claire walked around the town square.

Ayampe

March 1

We enjoyed our last two days on the coast exploring the beaches and small pockets of buildings around Ayampe. We made our way to the beach in the morning, a walk with a shortcut that required that we wade through a small river. After getting some sun, we shared a much-anticipated lunch of fish and rice at a popular restaurant called Los Corales. A few hours later, we stopped at a small building along the main road that is famous for corviche, fried balls of plantain filled with shrimp or fish. Neither of us were hungry, but I wanted to try the dish and did not know if I would come across it again. The shrimp corviche that I ordered ended up being very rich, and was so big that the majority of the plantain was a soft paste, rather than crispy as I had envisioned.

We returned to our hostel for the evening, which was set back into the jungle along the river past banana groves. This setting provided a bit of breeze on occasion, which was welcome as we cooked in the open-air kitchen.

We tried to get as much beach time as possible during our last day in Ayampe. We watched the surfers for awhile and then set out on a long walk toward the next town to the north. The beach was covered with driftwood and beautiful stones, in shades of green, oranges, grays, and whites.

We returned to Los Corales for lunch, for another great grilled fish lunch, this time served with lentil soup and a passionfruit juice. After eating, we went to one of the two stores in the area and figured out directions for our next stop.

We returned to the beach for sunset before sharing pizza at an Italian restaurant (one of few, if not the only, international cuisine meals of the trip).

Machalilla National Park + Isla de la Plata

February 28 + 29

It rained most of the previous evening and all night. Our plan was to go to Machalilla National Park, which was about a 30 minute drive north, just past a main port town, Puerto Lopez.

It was overcast when we walked to the main road and got the first of two taxis to the Park. The Park is home to Los Frailes, which is a beach that some say is the most beautiful in Ecuador. One can take the road straight to the beach, or hike a trail through the forest and past the other beaches in the park. We chose to hike, and set out for Playa Prieta. The trail was muddy but the rain stayed away. Next we went to Playa Tortuga. This was my favorite beach and not just because it is name for turtles. Unfortunately, it is not safe for swimming so we continued on to a lookout over the ocean and then descended to Los Frailes.

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Los Frailes was a spectacular beach and offered safe swimming in the cove. We swam a lot and ate mango in the sand. The overcast day was probably for the best as it protected us from being exposed to the sun all day.

We took a bus and then a tuk tuk to get into town in Puerto Lopez. We got groceries and stopped at some of the tour agencies to secure a tour to Isla de la Plata.

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Isla de la Plata is an island that sits a 45 minute boat ride from Puerto Lopez. It offers the chance to see blue-footed boobies, frigate birds, sea turtles, and other species that are the seen at the Galapagos Islands. We had decided before our trip that we would probably not prioritize a trip to the Galapagos over seeing more locations on mainland Ecuador, so this was a perfect way to have a day on a boat and see some of the wildlife that is exclusive to Ecuador.

For better or worse, it was an incredibly cloudy day. We could see nothing from the boat except for the occasional silhouette of the coast, and views from the island were restricted. However, we were again protected from the equatorial sun.

When we first approached Isla de la Plata, one of the guides threw watermelon rinds to the sea turtles that live in the cove. We disembarked and got instruction about the conservation efforts on the island. For the tour, we would have the choice of one of two hikes. We took the one that looped around the more elevated portion of the island.

It did not take long for us to see our first blue-footed booby. It was an adolescent, which meant it did not have the bright blue foot that comes as the birds age. We saw a number of adolescents on our hike, but no adults. There was also a baby booby. We continued on and could look out over a large stretch of the island where there were hundreds of frigate birds.

After the hike it began to rain heavily. This was fine, because we ate lunch on the boat and then had the opportunity to snorkel. Visibility would have been helped if there had been sunlight, but there were many fish and some corals to appreciate.

We returned to Puerto Lopez, thanked the crew and got some groceries before returning to Ayampe for the night. We fell asleep to the sound of heavy rain for the third straight night.

Olon

February 26

We spent our first night on Ecuador’s coast in Olon, a town that was four blocks by four blocks of paved road. We stayed one block from the beach and went there right away.

We got cleaned up for dinner as the sun was setting, and then headed out to walk around and find dinner. We walked around a lot and checked every dining option at least twice (my fault) before selecting a nice eatery that had a few sets of plastic tables and chairs along the street. We shared an order of grilled fish, beans, rice, potatoes, and vegetables. It was perfect.

In the morning, we went to the main road to get some fruit, and then went to beach. We swam and walked south toward the cliffs that separate Olon from neighboring Montanita, but turned back so we could pack and check out of our lodging and ask them to hold our bags until later in the afternoon.

We spent a few more hours at the beach and then went to one of the beachfront shacks serving food. After talking about what we were going to order, I looked up and saw a familiar face staring a me – the young couple with whom we shared dinner after our first day on the Quilotoa Loop were finishing their meal. It was quite the serendipitous encounter, as they had previously spent a month working at a surf school and were the ones who had recommended that we go to Olon in the first place. It was great to catch up and learn about their plan to continue down to Peru for more surfing.

We grabbed our bags, bought more produce, and Claire got a fresh juice. We got a bus north to Ayampe, where we would be based for the rest of our time on the coast.

Cuenca II

February 25

The city remained quiet on the last day of Carnival. We could not even find an open panaderia for bread in the morning. We went south of the river for the first time, and walked a long thoroughfare that featured statues of many famous Cuencans (almost all men, I think almost all of Spanish-descent). We looped west past the University of Cuenca and ended up by Mercado 10, which was also closed.

We went further west to Plaza San Sebastian to see the church and Cuenca’s Museum of Modern Art. The art was sparse and installations peculiar. Following a light lunch we went to the Museo del Sombrero de Paja Toquilla (one of the Panama Hat museums in town). There were some displays on the process of making this famous Cuencan export, but it was mostly a store with some equipment where men were actually making some of the hats.

We woke up early Wednesday morning to go to Ash Wednesday Mass at the New Cathedral.

After Mass, we grabbed our bags, walked to the bus terminal, and hopped on the first bus that we could get to Guayaquil, Ecuador’s most populous city. The bus terminal in Guayaquil was a massive three story building with a supermarket and shops inside. Our timing was nearly perfect, however, and, having arrived just before 1 PM, we scurried up three flights of stairs and got a ticket for the 1 o’clock bus to the coast.

Cajas National Park

February 24

We woke and packed for a day trip to Cajas National Park. We passed Mercado 8 and the Artisanal Market on the way to the bus terminal where we took the 10 AM bus to the national park. Cajas offers a number of one and two day hikes, so we selected our route and registered with the park rangers.

The landscapes in Cajas are otherworldly. It was a misty day and a light rain began when we reached the trailhead. We set out across Andean meadows, crossing streams and passing lakes on the way to a step ascent of a local peak. When we were not surrounded by the clouds, we could occasionally see the park center and the road that passed through the mountains. We passed a trio from France, but saw no one else on the trail (including llamas which live in the park).

The main challenge of the day was the weather. The initial light rain turned into heavy rain and multiple instances of hail. The descent was as steep as the ascent and became a particular challenge with the wet ground and our chilled hands. I took a graceless, single-somersault tumble at one point but Claire and I were fortunate not to have any other significant encounters with gravity.

At the close of the hike we had slick rain jackets and wet pants. There was a bus that would take us back to town. We put on our warm layers and, once a bit more dry and warm, ate all of the snacks that we had on our persons.

In the evening, we celebrated our adventure at a small but popular Venezuelan restaurant.

Cuenca I

February 22

Cuenca is another historical city that has earned UNESCO World Heritage status, having been an indigenous settlement that became a major center of Spanish rule in the country. We took a direct bus from Banos that ended up taking over eight hours. We arrived excited to explore Cuenca, and stayed for a number of days in order to avoid the Carnival holiday crowds on the coast. Our plan worked almost too well – there were barely any restaurants or stores open during out visit.

From the bus terminal, we went to our first hostel (let me know if you want to know where NOT to stay in Cuenca) to put down our bags. After spending most of the day sitting, we enjoyed stretching out legs by way of an evening walk. We went down to the Tombebama River, which bisects the very center of the city, before locating a restaurant the had the best hummus I have had. After dinner, we went to the main square, Plaza Abdon Calderon, and saw the Old Cathedral, New Cathedral, the flower market, El Carmen de la Asuncion, and San Francisco Church (all four churches can be seen standing in one place).

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We spent Sunday morning taking a new route to Plaza Abdon Calderon and attend Mass at the New Cathedral. It was a beautiful day, and seeing the flower market and domes of the Cathedral in the daylight felt like a new experience altogether. We headed West to locate the main city market, Mercado 10. We bought strawberries and peaches and sat in the main square taking in the sights.

We walked back and forth across town to see if any shops were open, but ended up back at Mercado 10 for lunch and to get produce for dinner. I tried encebollado, which is a fish stew and one of the national dishes. Claire wanted a vegetarian plate so got cold pasta). We got bags of tomatoes, onions, and avocados, as well as limes and mangoes, for cooking dinners.

Homebound with our groceries, we passed the Remigio Cresto Toral museum, which was the beautiful, restored circa-1910 home of the Ecuadorian writer and government official.

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We went to the Pumapungo museum across from our hostel for the remainder of the afternoon. The museum grounds house Incan ruins and features exhibits that document the different ethnic groups in Ecuador. It is also known for having “one of the world’s best” collections of shrunkens heads. The practice was apparently common in the jungles east of the city until the 1950’s.

After another full day, we ended up making a mad dash to change hostels. It normally would not have been an issue but the particular hostel closes promptly at 9 PM without exception (which is uncommon) and we left the first hostel at 8:52 without time to contact them ahead of time. Fortunately, it was not far, we found a taxi, and made it in time.

Banos de Agua Santa

February 19

After finishing the Quilotoa Loop, we took a set of three buses to Banos. We had not expected to make it to Banos on the same day that we finished our trek, so we walked around with our friends from the Loop, looking for a place in which to stay for the night.

Banos, though small, is a well-known stop for backpackers and tourists. Nestled in a valley along a highway that heads East toward the Amazon, Banos offers a host of activities: white-water rafting, canyoning, zip-lining, rock climbing, paragliding, mountain biking, hiking, thermal baths. This made it fairly easy to find a hostel as there are many.

Upon waking, we were met with our first rain of the trip. We took a walk with a friend, and located a different hostel – one with a kitchen – to spend the remainder of our time in Banos. We went to the market, walked to a viewing point of Tungarahua (the local active volcano – it was covered in clouds), saw the thermal baths in town, and went to the base of a small waterfall that can be seen throughout Banos.

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With daylight remaining, we decided to go to the thermal baths at El Solado, a few minutes out of town. I am not much of a hot tub person, but it was a fun to move from the hot pools to the cold pools and back again.

With our second day in Banos, we chose to hike to Casa del Arbol, which is a famous tree house built by a man who keeps watch over the active volcano, and built a swing for his grandchildren to play on when they visited. Now it is a park where tourists can come sit on the swing and see the volcano. We left after breakfast and hiked into the clouds for about two hours. The cloud coverage remained heavy and we again did not get to see the volcano, but we enjoyed beautiful views over Banos and enjoyed sitting up in the mountains where we snacked on lime flavored plantain chips and avocado. After returning to town, we used the afternoon to rest and take another stroll through town.

With our last full day in Banos, we wanted to see Pailon del Diablo, a magnificent waterfall located 20 kilometers East. We decided to rent bicycles to make the trip rather than busing. The journey there is not too difficult, mostly downhill, and offers a number of additional waterfalls – the challenge is that the route is on a main road and requires constant awareness of buses and trucks rumbling down the road.

El Manto de la Novia is one of the more splendid falls along the route. We were able to descend into the valley, cross a river on a bridge, and enter a park to view the waterfall close up.

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After a few more kilometers of pedaling, we reached the park for Pailon de Diablo. It was one of the most incredible sights of our tour of Ecuador. There were walkways built out from the cliff wall and tunnels hewn from the rock that ended immediately behind the waterfall for those who were accepting of the fact that they would be completely drenched.

Back in Banos, we happened upon a Carnival celebration on one of the main roads. As we turned the corner to go to the supermarket for groceries, we witnesses another procession. This one was for a funeral, and dozens of people were following a group of men carrying a casket in the street. It was somber, and a powerful contrast to the Carnival performances taking place on the other side of the block.