A Walk Through the Countryside
22 September 2005 (Thursday) – Otavalo to Quito, Ecuador
I wanted to do something more today besides the market. The owner of my hostel suggested Lago Cuicocha, but it seemed I had to pay for a rather expensive taxi ride to get there and back. The other sight nearby was Lago de San Pablo. This, she said, it was possible for me to walk around by myself.
While the guidebook had many red warnings about past incidents of armed robberies and advised that it was best to travel with a group, etc… the owner said she had heard of nothing lately. OK, I would go by myself. I was alone, and sometimes, it was possible to hook up with another tourist to go somewhere together, but so far, everyone in this hostel was travelling with their special partner and no one paid me any attention, so I was so so so alone. (sob…)
I took the local bus to the town of San Pablo. It is right at the east end of the lake. I headed back west towards Otavalo, walking along the old road running through the north of the lake (used before the Pan American Highway which was built along the south of the lake) and soon, could see the lake from a distance. At the next tiny village, Aragua, I found a lane that led right to the lake. Well, the lake was just a normal lake, with many Otavaleños doing their laundry along the river leading to it. Apparently, Lago de San Pablo is stated as the largest lake in Ecuador or something.
There is also a waterfall somewhere near Peguche which is just further along the same road. Now that I had glimpsed the lake, I decided to just try for the waterfall as well. With no map, just vague descriptions, I hope I do not get lost.
Along the way, to be honest, I was a little nervous at first, as oftentimes, the locals were staring at me really hard and many vehicles which passed by gave me little beeps on their horns. I always wondered what that was for.
When guys said ‘hola’ to me friendily and cheekily, I could not decide if they were just being friendly or they were… well… trying for something. OK, I should not flatter myself but once, I heard a guy say, “¿Quieres acompañarme a mi casa?” (Do you want to accompany me to my house?) Er… no, gracias.
But later, I relaxed a little bit more and started to enjoy the country-side, the little houses and farms along the road, the cows, pigs, dogs and even a dead mouse… and of course, the misty view of Volcano Imbabura nearby. So far, the days in Otavalo had been somewhat hazy. It certainly could not be pollution, could it? Here, we were in the countryside! I am wondering now if the ‘haze’ was just plain clouds. That means, we were always enshrouded in the clouds?
Anyway, there were also many lovely smells to enjoy. Eucalyptus trees!! They were found along the sides of the mountains and at one point, right by the old road. Wow, lovely lovely smell! Some guys were burning some sort of leaves or wood as well that gave off a great aroma.
After about 2 hours, the old road turned off left but a stony path continued straight on. I followed the stony path and soon, I could hear the sounds of waterfall down in the forest to my left. But I was on the stony path, with seeming no way to get down to the forest, unless I slide down the steep cliff. Err… there was no more houses here, no one around at all for me to ask. I stood there for a long while before a car came by and I flagged it down to ask for directions. Hee… The very handsome Otavaleño guy told me there was a tiny path into the woods further down the stony path. OK, gracias, handsome.
About half an hour later, I was walking in the woods and came upon an ancient Otavaleño lady with a sickle in her hand. I think she was looking for herbs in the forest and she even stopped to pluck a berry off to eat. How interesting for me.
And there, finally, the waterfall… Yes, I have reached this other destination by myself. Hurray! Job well-done. Well, the lake and the waterfall were really nothing to write home about. But I was just proud of myself to have made this little achievement. I was too lazy after that, and when I reached the main road again, I took the bus back to Otavalo.
I grabbed my bags and headed to the bus terminal. Here in Ecuador, I realised, bus-travelling was a little different from the other countries I had been. I guess, since Ecuador is rather small, there are buses going somewhere everytime. There are no set schedule and no need to buy tickets in advance. You just arrive at the bus terminal and listen to the shouts of the destinations and hop on the bus and wait. The destinations have to be shouted out constantly by some guys because many people are probably illiterate and could not read the signs on the buses.
I reached Quito by evening and once settled in a hostel, I called Ismael, a guy I contacted through Hospitality Club. At first, I told him I would arrive in Quito on 24 September, in two days’ time. He had said he was not able to offer me accommodation that day, but perhaps, on Sunday. Well, last night, I changed my mind and decided to come to Quito today.
Anyway, he sounded really nice on the phone, and offered to pick me up at a cafe nearby so that we could do something together later. He came with his family as they had to go pick up his mother from work and then, drop them off at the house before we could go to a cafe later.
As he drove around, he explained that he actually lives very far from the centre, through a series of mountainous roads. There are no buses here and one can only come by taxis which would be expensive. I took note of the way to get to his house. Yeah, it would be difficult to get to. I appreciate his offer, but I was better off staying in a hostel in the centre.
Ismael is a doctor and he works 24 hours one day and has 3 days free. He would be working this Saturday, so perhaps, we could still do something tomorrow or Sunday or whatever. It would be great. His friend Jose Antonio later joined us at the cafe and we had a really great time chatting. And gosh, I found I could understand 100%, every single word, spoken by both Ismael and Jose Antonio. The Quito accent was just fantastically clear to me.
Ismael was really really really really enthusiastic about explaining Quito and Ecuador to me. He must have explained to me 100 times that Quito looks like a sausage, the mountain Pichincha is to the west, and the airport is to the north. Hahahaa… He was also very keen to show Quito to me, despite the fog and the darkness.
I was given a quick tour around the centre, even up to El Panecillo, a dome-shaped hill near the Old Colonial City. He got lost, trying to find the path up to Panecillo, because he was not familiar with the Old Colonial City. He found the path going DOWN from Panecillo though and so he reversed his car (so that we were facing the right direction) and drove his car backwards UP that road. What a stunt!
Well, because of the fog, it was difficult to see but wow, there were twinkling lights down south where the poor live, and up north. Quite a nice view, except that it was freezing cold now, so back to the car. Once again, I was very glad to have contacted a local living in the city, as it always made the place come more alive for me.
Tags: 07) Crossing Ecuador Line, Otavalo, Quito
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