Andean Transportation
I have yet to wait any significant period of time for a bus in this country. In most cases, less than five minutes. This is a good thing when you´re standing by the side of the road with a giant pink bag you plan to fill with souvenirs. It´s a bit conspicuous, but then every bus driver who passed knew I was headed to the market in Otovalo. A combination of taxis and buses works well in Quito and the trolley system is excellent.
But when it was time for the very long haul (potentially 9 hours) from Baños to Cuenca, my travel companion and I decided to hire a car to take us partway, and then catch a bus in the big city on Panamerican Highway. The proprietor of our hotel suggested this. “You can take the old road to Riobamba,” she said. “You´ll get there faster and you won´t have to backtrack.”
There´s a reason they call it the old road. And I wasn´t sure at first that it really would be faster. The problem is, in 1999, Tungurahua threw a bit of a fit and spewed lava all around. The road was completely blocked for three years. Fast forward, if you can call it that, and here´s what it looks like today in sections near Baños, complete with tractors and moving equipment about, some of it actually doing work.
Some of the bridges appear to be a couple of planks across deep gullies of lava and mud flow. Actually, I think it was called the old road before the eruption, but there are still little villages and homes that clearly rely on this road. When we asked the driver how these people got around for three years he replied, “by horse.” Why didn´t I think of that?
I did get a glimpse of the source of all these problems on my way out of town. With all the cloud cover, I wasn´t convinced Tungurahua really existed when I was in Baños. But perhaps it wanted to taunt me for leaving it behind by showing off on a glorious morning.
Not only did we get a glimpse of the volcano, around the other side was the stunning sight of Ecuador´s highest peak, Volcan Chimborazo, which is 20,710 feet (6,310 meters) high. This is what I imagined the Andes would look like.
But most mountains are not covered with snow and there is a lot of farming in the Andes, albeit lower down. Although it takes a long time to get places in the mountains, the scenery is spectacular. Most of the time I was on a bus though, and could not get photos. But thanks to the private transport to Riobamba, and again on a day trip from Cuenca, I managed to snap a few photos that are not at all close to how beautiful it really is.
It was hard to get this photo, as the indigenous people who live in a traditional manner don´t really appreciate everyone taking photos of them. But look closely and you´ll see men tilling the soil with an oxen-drawn plow.
Many houses are still made in the traditional manner, but there are plenty of lovely modern homes too. In fact, I noticed many new, modern homes and a number of others under construction as we got within an hour or two of the big city. I asked the driver about this and he said, those are the homes of people who immigrated to the U.S. or other places.
This really isn´t a good photo, but may be the only one I´ll get of how one actually cooks an entire pig here in Ecuador - with blow torch. Why didn´t I think of that either?
Next stop, the colonial city of Cuenca and the Inca ruins at Ingapirca