Month: May 2021

This is the second time I have been to this National Park. It is only around 1 hour from where I am living. Beautiful area over 4000m (12,000 ft) in elevation.

Daniela is guiding a mountain trip next weekend at over 5000m so she wanted to head somewhere high in elevation. I am always game for a road trip so off we went.

On the way I pointed out a road heading up the side of a mountain that I had noticed a few days earlier on a bike ride so we turned off to check it out. We end up in a village named “El Tablon de Pifo”. A small neighborhood with a few hundred people. We passed a car that had taken a wrong turn down a driveway that people were digging out trying to get it unstuck. Suave Monjita was able to pull it out easily and as thanks we were invited in for tea and breakfast. Turned out to be a family restaurant. Nice place, I would like to return for supper one night. The road turned out to be a dead end so we turned around and headed to the park.

As we pulled into the park the road to the right headed to the park entrance and the road to the left we had no idea. We went left. The road turned back down the mountain and we ended up back on the highway by a small village we had passed earlier. On the way we passed what Daniela thought at first was a bull ring but turned out to be some kind of religious temple. It was very well kept and I am not sure what it is for.

Then we headed into the park we drove up to the top parked and went on a short hike. I want to get a camping permit and spend some time fishing some of the many lakes. It would be a little chilly because of the elevation but I have a good sleeping bag. I did slip in a muddy part of the trail and Daniela being so caring said to look sad for the picture. It was a great day exploring but our hike was pretty short and it should have been longer. I really enjoyed the day.

Yesterday we took a little road trip to a village named Nono. Originally it was just supposed to be a stop on the way to a town where Daniela’s professor had open a musuem from archeological digs in the area. Unfortunately we did not make it that far so that will be a trip for later on.

We were planning on taking the bike but that changed when Elena wanted to go. Her doctor said no to the bike since she is still recovering from covid. That worked out fine since it really started to rain pretty good on the way home.

Nono was a cute little village in it’s own valley. The have some bike trails I would like to try that go to some smaller villages in the hills. It reminded me of visiting small towns centered on tourism in the USA like Coloma or Sutter Creek.

Elena and Daniela love to take pictures and be in pictures so they had fun with all the old architecture. Actually most all Ecuadorians love to take pictures and record videos with their phones. I think that is probably the case in most of the world. After a while I started to take pictures of them taking pictures.

On the way home we stopped at a restaurant own by a friend of Elena’s. It is in what is referred to as the “middle of the world” Mitad del Mundo that is close to the equator. Very nice place with a hotel, pool and spa.

Very nice nice day.

If everything goes right I pick up my new (to me) motorcycle next week. It’s a 2002 Honda Africa Twin. A very capable adventure machine with 36,000 miles on it. My plan is to remove the sidecar from the Yamaha (sell the Yamaha to pay for the twin) and install it on this to make an expedition machine. I’m very excited about the possibilities. This bike will have enough power to add a bike rack, winch, gas cans, camping gear, etc….

I love the Yamaha but it can’t go everywhere I want plus it’s way to pretty. I just enjoy riding not polishing.

The twin should be a go anywhere machine when I am done. Watch out South America if/when this covid thing slows down.

Continuing with the second half of our road trip.

So after being chicken and turning back on the 4×4 road we headed towards Otovalo. Daniela said our choices were Lagunas Monjanda which we had been to or a new place to us called Cubilche. I voted for the new place. A dirt road destination not to far from the town.

Cubilche is a group of small lakes on top of the surrounding mountains. It reminded me of some of the high alpine lakes above Markleeville CA. One of my favorite areas in California. Can easily spend week fishing for golden trout and doing some local hiking there. Just breath takingly beautiful and one of my favorite spots in the world.

Back to Cubilche. The hike was short, only 3km and it should have taken a little more than an hour. Took me 2 hours. I’m not sure of the starting elevation but the summit was 3840m (12,596 ft). The trail was all up hill. The others didn’t even slow down but it was a good work out for me. We arrived at the first lake just a the sun was going down.

Had some light rain overnight, nothing too hard. In the morning I got up early and hiked to the ridge to watch the sunrise. When the others got up they went for a short hike then we headed down the hill. Of course I was trailing behind everyone on the way down. It did make me feel good to see some of the locals I passed that were heading up doing a little huffing and puffing of their own. Nice trip but again a little quick. I would have liked to camp another night. Guess who was the dummy that forgot the camp stove in the car. A first for me on a overnight hike was that we carried full cans of beer back down!

Thanks again to Daniela for finding interesting and beautiful places off the beaten path to check. I’m also thankful to her and her friends for putting up with my lack of the Espanola language and putting up with me in general. I have been picking it up slowly but not very well. Makes me feel like a shunsho. I have been very lucky having so many wonderful people around me!

You all go out have a wonderful day now. God bless.

Last weekend we did a little road trip in Suave Monjita. It was the first weekend in a month that travel was permitted because of covid. I was a little stir crazy. The group included Daniela, Karlita, Andres, Bernardo, Jefferson and myself.

Our first stop was Parque Arqueologico Cochasqui. The park is the most important complex of pre-Columbian and pre-Inca Empire ruins in northern Ecuador. They are about 30 kilometers northeast of Quito at an elevation of 3040 meters (9970ft).

The park covers 84 hectares (210 acres). It consists of 15 pyramids and 21 burial mounds. The pyramids are made of soft volcanic rock and would not have survived except that they became covered in grass. They were constructed by the Cari or/and Caranqui people between 950AD and 1530 AD.

One pyramid that was uncovered included solar and lunar calenders. They think that 3000 people lived there at one time. Nothing is really known about the people and their culture.

It was very interesting and reminded me of the mounds I have seen in the mid-west. Monks mound outside of Saint Louis seemed very similar and nothing is known of those people either.

When we left we headed to Lagunas Monjanda which we had been to before but not from this direction. It was 17 kilometers of dirt road in 4 wheel drive. We made it around half way when I chickened out. I did not feel like getting stuck in the mud without a shovel or winch. When it dries out a little I want to return to complete the drive to the lake.

Papallacta is a small town a little over an hour from here known for it’s many hot springs. To get there you take a road that eventually ends up in the Amazon. The road passes through some small villages and ascends to over 4000m (13,123 ft.) then down into town at 3250m (10,662 ft). Interesting fact is that the town is supplied with hot water from the volcano.

It was Rodrigo’s birthday and Rosario invited Luchi, Alfonso, Daniela, Elena and I. Unfortunately the doctor said Elena should stay home since she is still recovering from Covid. (and doing very well)

If was a wonderful spa with multiple pools kept at 36c (around 97 Degrees) with one small pool with cold river water. We spent 5 hours or so soaking it all up hopping from pool to pool before heading back. The cost was 9 bucks (half price if over 65) and you can spend from 6am until 10:30pm if you wish.

When we stopped at a reservoir on the way home I gave the four each a two dollar bill for their birthdays. They are rare in Ecuador.

It was a wonderful day and even though it was overcast and misting we all managed to get a sun burn. Gringo got it the worst.

Daniela invited me on a couple bike rides last week. One to Cumbaya to the towns reservoir. The other around Conocoto in which we visited Armenia Park. a city park that she had never been to. The park reminded me of California in some ways. Lots of pine trees with their roots exposed. They are not native to the country. There were quite a few people on the trails. I will stop there again to do some more exploring when I am in the neighborhood.

I gave Luchi a ride home in the sidecar the other night. She was at Rosario’s store and needed to get home before the 8pm curfew. She was a little hesitant but it was cheaper than a cab. I think this is our last week of curfew.

David took Borigar to work and gave him a good clipping. That dog loves the mud!

I bought a used suit jacket and tie for the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride on May 23rd. It is a charity ride for men’s health that takes place around the world. Just checked and because of covid in Quito this year it is a solo event instead of a group ride. That sucks but I will ride somewhere.

The family continues working on the hotel/restaurant addition. Hopefully it will open soon.

Best news is that Elena is getting much healthier and back to her happy self!!!! She enjoyed mother’s day. Daniela gave her a bottle of Ecuadorian wine that I would like to try.

Have a wonderful day!

Most of the Chawarmishsky we harvest gets drunk each day especially if super sweet. There are some days that a little is left over. We have been saving it and letting it ferment. The natural has quite a bite. Rosario mentioned that sugar should be added to take a little bite away. Daniela added white sugar and brown sugar to a third each of the batch. I am looking forward to see how it tastes in a couple of weeks. There were days where we harvested over 3 liters a day but it is down about two liters a day now. We have been doing this now for 5 weeks and I don’t think we have much longer left before the plant is played out.

The plastic bottles have taken new shapes because of the pressure. When you open them to release the gas you have to be careful or they kind of explode.

It was a great day. Next time I would like to roam around a little more. There is a waterfall near by that I want to check out. Icing on the cake was hardly anyone else around. Because of that it felt like it was off the beaten path even while being so close to the city. I loved that aspect! The hawk is a Gavilan and the white tail is a Caracara Curiquingue.

Thanks Daniela and Mateo for taking me along!

A Gavilan hawk decided to check us out. Daniela’s snow woman looked more like a snow woman zombie.