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It is 8.45pm, I have lit the wood burner and a candle and am laying in bed, writing by the light of the same into my journal.
Sitting at 3200 meters above sea level I am at the Black Sheep Inn *www.blacksheepinn.com* just outside the village of Chugchilan, population 100 people and a more rural place in Ecuador you cannot find.I arrived here from Quito yesterday afternoon, after a spectacular and gruelling local bus ride from Latacunga, a couple of hours outside of Quito.
The bus from Latacunga to here was one hell of a ride with the old bus stopping frequently to pick up people or drop them off in the middle of nowhere. The road is in the Andes and for the last three hours is entirely dirt and sand. It winds ever higher up the sides of mountains, with precipices plunging on either side. Very spectacular, but ya just cant help thinking about the age of this bus, the hours the driver works and those precipice sides!
Being in the Andes and being a dirt road, we stopped often to work around the latest landslide, sometimes being cleared by hand, one stone or one shovel at a time. But we got there in the end! I arrived, it was wet and cold as this is rainy season and I am in the Andes, although not far from the Equator. Blacksheepinn is a true Eco lodge and is run by an American couple who have pioneered Andean Permaculture, making this place self sustaining and 100% recycling of all wastes.
Its worth checking out their web site and I would recommend a stay to anyone coming this way...but it is hard work getting there! On my 1st day I hired a horse and local guide ($10.00 all up) and went out for a half day of riding. We went up, up and up to circa 4000 meters and then dropped down on the other side to the Cloud Forest that grows here. This is a gnarled and ancient forest, dripping in lichen, water and mosses. It smells of earth and is threaded by mist and cloud. And on this day, heavy rain, so I got pretty wet, as did the horse.
The cloud and rain set in as we rode up the mountain and stayed in place until we came back down again. Out of the cloud gaps the vistas across the valleys in this place were fantastic and the whole experience was made more enjoyable by the fact I had a very responsive horse that I could easily take from a trot to a comfortable canter. There is no galloping here, with muddy roads and steep terrain, but we were able to make short work of a long distance all the same.
I got back to the BS Inn mid afternoon and warmed myself in front of a fire with coffee and fresh Banana cake, and wyled away the balance of the day losing several games of chess to a Canadian guest who was staying here also.The BSI is located in an incredible trekking area.
The next day I jumped onto back of a 4WD and we headed up to the crater of Quilotoa. Quilotoa has a crater lake at 4200 meters and is reputedly one of the most beautiful in Ecuador.
The ride up was another adventure in itself of course, as the road got progressively worse and in parts seemed to become impassable. I stood alone in the back of the pick up hanging on for grim life. I think we could introduce 4WD Surfing as a new sport out of this. As this was the most precarious road I have ever been on....and I have been on a lot of such roads. Even a 4WD coming down the hill was defeated and had to turn back due to the condition of this road.
We passed several tiny communities on the way up and 90 minutes later we eventually arrived at the Quilotoa crater rim and village that sits at 3800 meters. The two others who rode inside the cabin of the pick up decided that rather than facing the road back down they would join me and my guide for a 5 hour trek around the rim and down the side of the volcano.
The walk back down was FAB!
Around the rim we had good views into the crater and the lake, which was emerald green but soon disappeared on us as we got higher and the clouds obscured all views. Turning away from the crater, about a third of the way around, we made our way down a slope of the volcano towards Chugchilan village. The beginning of the trail was made hard work as we climbed to 4200 meters and at this level, you fight for breath with every few steps, until you get used to it.
We had been warned that the track down was precarious with washouts etc and so expected a few challenges along the way. It was a good trek though, with just a few tricky bits where the path had disappeared under land slides and we had to edge our way for a 100 feet or so around the edge of a ravine. but that is all what makes it interesting, or at least memorable! Ho hey, 6 hours later we were back at Black Sheep Inn and I was losing at chess once again!
My time at the Black Sheep Inn was up and it was time for me to head back to Quito. Not wanting to spend the whole day on buses and wanting a little more adventure while in this beautiful place, I decided to walk from the Inn to a town about an hours drive away called Sigchos, high above the ravine. From Sigchos I could get the bus to Latacunga, another 2 or 3 hours away and then on to Quito.
Leaving the Black Sheep Inn I took a long and winding trail to the bottom of the valley to a wee village accessible on foot or donkey only, called Itualo. Itualo is very small, with a small church, perhaps 15 to 20 very very basic houses and two large crosses. It is snuggled into the bottom of this valley surrounded by its crops, the sides of the deep valley and the river, the large crosses and breathtaking views.
It was pretty clear from a local woman I spoke with that Gringos do not make a habit of passing through here. But reassured I was heading the right way I moved on following the valley and river to my next landmark a suspension bridge across the river. It was not on my path, I was supposed to pass the end of it only...oh but how could I resist, after all it was there! The bridge was simple and long (photo in album) and I guess is used locally. Fortunately I soon discovered the lure easy enough to resist and I turned back when approx one/third of the way across the bridge realised that the wires I could hold onto ceased and so there was nothing to hold, the bridge was swinging and twisting like a snake in strike, and to top things off one of the wooden boards I just stepped on snapped in two as it was rotten. All of a sudden the river looked bigger, faster, angrier and colder than ever, while my bags and gear suddenly felt heavier and more encumbering than ever. I turned back and scurried along my correct trail, my detour curiosity now deeply satisfied!
Back on track I needed to push myself hard as the bus left Sigchos at 2.30pm and the walk was described to me as being 5 to 6 hours duration...and that assumes no detours! I had left Black Sheep Inn at 9.30, so I ran and walked along the parts I could. Even in the valley bottom I was still at altitude, so it was hard work. I had to climb back up the sides of the valley to get around slips or swamps and other obstacles and I sweated like a b******, even though it was cold. I finally climbed out of the valley and followed the road into Sigchos, getting there in plenty of time for my bus.
Absolutely knackered and sore, with a dog bite I picked up on the way - thank goodness I took the shots for rabies (I was pretty content with the scenery, the challenge of the trek in the time I had and that I made it in time for the local bus. Less satisfying was the said dog bite, which while only minor had me a little concerned...however I have not started to foam at the mouth...well, no more than usual anyway.
The few days in this area brought me some insights to the lives of local people. This area is about rural as you can get in Andean Ecuador and it is not that easy to get to. The people are poor by our standards, yet retain a strong sense of dignity, hard work ethic and desire to progress. The women literally do work in the fields all day long, wearing bolar or other types of felt hats, swathed in skirts and woollen ponchos, with babies strapped to their backs as they toil. Schooling is gratis for all, however with costs of pens, pencils, uniform and paper and books most families send their children to school on a rotation basis, so what should take a year of schooling to learn may take two or more years to complete. Many never get to school at all, or only receive the most basic skills of reading and writing.
The kids here are as tough as nails by western standards. It is not unusual to see a child of perhaps 7 or 8 years old looking after younger siblings, or to see a child who may only be four or five years old walking high into the Andes to get home on precarious paths that in the US or UK you would be accused of negligence or endangering your child. Again, it is nothing to see a four year old chopping fire wood for the household, with a machete that has a blade as long as the child is high (that said, the folk are all short here!).
Then there is the story of Edwin, which I will share in a separate blog, perhaps when I get back to the UK. It is a funny story, but also a real life one that invites us to make a difference in this place.
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