Operation Ecuador

Ahhh, OK, so i'm in Ecuador. Well technically by the time this blog goes up I'll have been in Ecuador for a little over 2 weeks, but that doesn't matter. While quite a bit has happened since arriving here, there isn't anything that has desperately compelled me to jump on the blog and get it across the world. Having said that though there is some developments to my trip that have taken a turn for the better.

When we (Kevin, Richard, Yolanda and I) arrived in Quito (the capital of Ecuador and the second highest capital city in altitude at 2,800m) we were all feeling a little worse for wear after the epic journey down from Cali (particularly Rich and I who may or may not have over indulged during our last night in Columbia). Best idea was to get a good nights sleep and feel fresh and ready to explore the next day. However if you've been following my activities over the last couple of months you will have already known that this is the exact opposite of what really went down. The excitement of entering a new country/city, with the different smells/tastes/sights/sounds and all round feel engrosses the senses and demands that you indulge in whatever and whichever activities will help stimulate them. This usually involves something along the lines of; rounding up as many people as you can from inside the hostel, consuming a bottle of rum, hitting the town, demanding Irish tunes at the so called 'Irish' pub, downing shots, reliving the fusball tournament days, making outrageous bets (will explain in the following paragraph), stealing a sombrero from behind the bar, unknowingly super disco dancing at a suspected Ecuadorian gay bar for 2 hours with all the gang, hitting up at least 5 bars/clubs along the journey, crushing an all night burger place and then arriving back to the dorm in the early hours and trying not to wake up the whole hostel. Somehow the more quiet you try to be the funnier it is; and you end up in laughter fits that go against the very aim you were originally trying to achieve.

That was pretty much the first couple of nights in Quito in a nutshell, but what about these bets you ask? Well not quite as outrageous as originally stated, but funny all the same. One of the nights out Rich and I, in a drunken state, shook hands for our plan to make the following day perfect. This involved the following; first priority was to find a sweet Ecuadorian style hat, second was to get a proper barber razor shave and lastly (unknown to both why) was to get a pedicure. After finally arising in the morning we shaped together a crew to hit the pavement and go explore the old town of Quito, secretly trying to full fill our obligatory conditions.

Quito, a massive capital split roughly between a distinguished Old Town and New Town, would undoubtedly have to be one of the most interesting, beautiful and architecturally delightful cities i have explored to date; with particular reference to the Old Town. We spent most of the day just wandering around the narrow streets that are rich with old colonial style designs. Every now and then we stumbled upon the random plaza that contained grand buildings, churches and monuments/statues honouring various national liberators or heroes. We hit up a few of the traditional sites and got some really good views of the city. While on the way to one of our destinations we just so happened to come across a hat store full of more hats than we could ever imagine; it was like we hit the hat heaven. After much deliberation over size, colour and price Rich and I finally came across our perfect hats, and then preceded to spend the next few hours complimenting each other on how awesome we looked. 

Kevin unfortunately did not get in on the hat deal, but i suspect it was because deep down he didn't want to get his heart broken when he couldn't find one that fit. The fact is, Kevin is a giant, and the miniature culture that makes up most of Latin America just doesn't fit him. Many times Kevin has been discriminated on because of his size along this trip; buses are too short for him so he has to crouch over when standing, local 'extra large' clothing fits him like Spandex, standard meals only just scape the surface and kids indiscreetly stand really close to him to gain some perspective of just how tall he is (quite possibly allowing their friends to take pictures to prove their encounter with this gentle giant). Miss ya buddy!

So part one of the deal down! As a group we continued to explore the old parts of the city. We checked out the grand San Francisco church, the large angel statue that sits on top of a massive hill/small mountain overlooking the city and then just so happened to come across a barber that looked perfect for part two of the plan. One by one Rich and I braved the barber chair and proceeded to get one of the freshest shaves we've ever had in our lives. Man this guy almost took the first couple of layers of skin off my face, but he left me feeling like a new born baby. Conveniently we both decided to leave our pathetic moustaches to add value to our slowly developing gypsy look.

Looking like pykies in our hats, dodgy looking moes, singlets and jeans we decided it was only natural that we hit the town to show off our new look. Feeling like Brad Pitt from Snatch, minus the good looks, we once again returned to our favourite Irish bar 'Finn McCool's'. Another messy night and another couple of funny stories.

The next day was not so good. No, it had nothing to do with the lack of sleep, excessive partying and eating rubbish food....it was at this point that Kevin and I bid each other farewell. Quite like our goodbye i will keep this section short and to the point to avoid any unwanted or forcibly oppressed feeling of great sorrow. We hugged it out, shook hands like men and then i watched as Kevin walked away and out of my life. OK all jokes aside. I know you'll be reading this champ so it was an absolute pleasure travelling with you mate, and i have no doubt I'll bump into along life's journey in the future. Life is not a path, but a combination of.....(i can never remember the quote).

For the first time in a while I was on my own. Well I mean technically, unless you have the personality of a wooden clothes peg, you are never really on your own while travelling. So it was time to find that next person to hang with. It just so has it that we'd also befriended a Scottish guy on his own in our first few days of arriving in Quito. He was still in Quito when the others left so we hung out a bit more. Having no plans, except desperately wanting to book myself into some Spanish classes, i was willing to go with the flow. The next morning Stuart (his actual name was Paul but i thought Stu suited him better) decided he was heading off to a cool little adventure town called Baños that was a couple of hours south of Quito. I'd heard nothing but good thing about this place, and not really wanting to learn Spanish in the ever tempting capital, i decided to join him on the journey.

And what a journey it was. We boarded the bus to Baños in what we thought was going to be a nice relaxing 3 hour journey. Having travelled from the top of Columbia down, where the shortest bus trip was 10 hours, this trip was going to be a piece of cake. However unknown to us was the fact that the indigenous culture of Ecuador was right in the middle of massive nation-wide protests against the governments proposed water reforms. They believed that these new reforms would eventually lead to the privatization of the water company, and therefore leave them a little up shit creek. With the indigenous culture making up around 50% of Ecuador's population it is only natural that this was going to cause a real shit storm for everyone. What they had done on this particular journey, and as we found out a few other protests over the course of the week, was set up big road blocks along the major highway routes to really disrupt and hinder all forms of motorway use. At the time, however, we didn't realise until our bus rounded a corner and hit a massive line of buses, trucks and cars banked up for miles. We didn't know how long this was going to take and over the next couple of hours we watched as people, fed up with waiting, decided to walk across the roadblock. As our patience ran thin we also decided that this was the next best idea. We grabbed our gear and started to walk up to the beginning of the protest. Someone had told us there were buses on the over side, so this was our goal.

Upon approaching the roadblock we started to get an idea of what we were facing. There were huge rocks places all over the roads to block traffic, burning tires and planks of wood, indigenous people lining the road with big sticks and (although thankfully not experiencing it first hand) people throwing rocks at you. We crossed the angry looking mob with our heads down, following closely behind the locals, and eventually broke through into the centre. Now all we had to do was pass the other roadblock at the end and we were homeward bound. As we neared the next section things started to feel a little lees safe and a little more sketchy. We saw ambulances rushing past, as well as more police and army. Feeling like we should turn around it was like perfect timing when our bus suddenly appeared after breaking through the last barrier. We flagged it down and boarded it again to the applause of most of the people on the bus who quite possibly feared for our lives when we first departed. The bus was determined to go on, but when it saw the tear gas being fired, it wisely took an alternative route. A route that took hours and our 'short 3 hour trip' ended up 8 hours later with us grabbing a quick bite to eat, checking into our hostel and then exploring the nightlife for a few sneaky stubbies.

Conveniently we were in Baños for the weekend so we thoroughly enjoyed our time here. However, we also got some wicked activities done during the days. For one, Stu and I hired go-kart type buggies and took them for a trashing round the town tracks. Highlight was finding a dirt/gravel track and ripping the absolute guts out of them for 15mins. It was throttle down, no breaks and drift king style for 15mins straight! Another good outdoor activity we completed, with another buddy Caroline who arrived from Quito, was hiring push bikes and riding the famous 68km from Baños to Puyo along the waterfall route. Before you are amazed in my athletic abilities i must state that the reason this is famous is because the road has quite a bit of downhill, with some seriously fast and long stretches, most of the way. Along the way you are privileged to an amass of the most picturesque and unbelievable cluster of waterfalls that you'd ever find so close together. I mean don't get me wrong, it wasn't by any way an impossible ride, but it was by no means easy. A lot of people we met didn't finish it, or even get half way, so we were feeling quite proud with our completion. To get back we hitched a ride with a local family, threw the bikes in the back of the tray (that now failed to close), jumped in the back with the bikes and then pretty much prayed for the next hour and a half, as we slid around in the back, that this guy wouldn't crash while overtaking buses around blind corners on a one lane road in the pitch black while raining. Mission complete!

So to one of the main reasons i ventured into Ecuador so quickly from Colombia; to learn Spanish. I'd done my research and visited the school i thought sounded the best in Baños. After a brief meeting with the man in charge, Marcos, i signed up to start the following Monday. I was booked in to do classes Mon-Fri, 2pm-5pm, for the next 3 weeks. It was time to go back to school and get the mind working again. Monday came around and i started classes. So far they have been going extremely well. It is such a relief to finally unscramble the masses of Spanish i have attained since travelling, and put it into some grammatical structure that makes sense. I am now starting to feel, after only a bit over a week, confident to have basic conversations with people discussing a variety of topics. I have more than i can comprehend still to learn, but the basic grammatical structures have really allowed me to advance quite quickly given i already knew some basics.

I am now trying to get back into a little bit of a routine to best help my studying and new frame of mind. It is also nice to have a bit of down time and give myself a break from all the late nights, excessive partying, lack of sleep and all round poor lifestyle that has made up the majority of my travels so far. I had a few crazy nights in my first week of study because a bunch of people i knew came to Baños for a couple of days (this also included a guy Kevin and I had recruited for the Lost and Found all that time ago in the Panama times and i hadn't seen since). We had a few wild nights out, but i managed to maintain my studies. The first weekend after my classes i also decided to change my scenery and head back to Quito for the weekend to visit some friends that were working in one of the hostels in the Old Town. Funnily enough one of these people just happened to be an old friend from back in Melbourne. Maddy (who i hadn't seen in at least 3 to 4 years) just happened to be travelling around the world with her fiance James so it was quite a funny experience to meet up with them in Ecuador of all places after all this time. That Saturday Maddy and I (along with some guy i can't remember) headed to the Otavala Market, famous for it's collection of indigenous artwork, clothing and handcrafts. It was a really good day out and it gave Maddy and I a good time to catch up on the 2 hour bus ride there. To tell you the truth it was quite a surreal feeling chatting to Maddy because it is the first person since leaving Chris 3 months ago that I've been able to chat to that knows the things, people, events and so forth that I'm talking about from back home. Particularly because Maddy and I primarily hung out in those golden years of 16-20 it was very funny to not only talk to someone from back home, but to also reminisce about the old days.

Perhaps it was thinking about things i hadn't thought about it a while, or perhaps it was the bottle of run i crushed that night with some people while playing cards, but the next couple of days have been quite nostalgic for me. Every now and then along this trip i get the odd nostalgic moment where i think about home for a while and wish (for one day at most) that i could just pop home and say g'day to everyone before heading back again, but that usually passes quite quickly when new adventures arise. However the last couple of days have been funny days. I'm not homesick, just thinking a lot about things from back home. Starting Monday this week i have been on a very good routine. I get up early, get some exercise either hiking or running, come back and have a healthy lunch, do my homework, head to class and then come back and either read or write until getting an early nights sleep. I've bucked the backpackers routine during the weekdays and it is quite refreshing to have a bit of downtime and time to myself, however it also gives me a lot of thinking time that allows me to contemplate things i haven't thought about in a while. Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way over analyzing myself or trip, but it is nice to get a bit of stability every couple of months just to reflect, revitalize and regroup before doing it all again. This is the calm before my storm. When the storm breaks again, there will be destruction!

Inner Thoughts of Travel, Surfing Bogota, Cosmetic Cali and Crossing Over the Equator in Ecuador

OK so I'm trying to get this update up and running before it gets too hard to control. Once you get sidetracked it can be very hard to keep pumping them out, and you begin to lose interest in describing the smaller more intricate details.

Since leaving for this trip i have had many varied conversations with people regarding the usefulness and worth of accumulating masses of pictures or keeping detailed travel logs/blogs. While most people, on the whole, seem to think that documenting and recording your travels in an essential element to travel, others sometimes think that the whole process may in fact be taking away your own personal interpretation or memories of how events took place, how places really were and smaller details of all the people you met.

I think this arises an interesting debate, and one that Kevin and myself have had numerous conversations about when talking about the deeper aspects of travel and life. I tend to agree towards the former view, that these various forms of documentation are a necessity for travel. But i also believe that is is true within reason, and that you should have a purpose when doing such. For me taking a picture isn't just about ticking a destination off my list or playing the 'picture game' trying to accumulate as many photos as possible. For me taking pictures gives me the opportunity to share my travels with those around me and those back home. They provide me with invaluable memories of my times away and allow me to look back in happiness about the good times that I've had along this epic journey. Pictures help unlock the tangled brain, but by no way influence the memories that lie in there.

As for my blog, this provides me with another completely necessary and valuable travel resource. Just like the pictures my blog helps to share my experiences with others. Perhaps it helps to inspire them to do the same and get out and see the world, or maybe it just helps people dream. Whatever the purpose is for others, for me it also helps me to reflect and look back on my times and process the many things that run through your head at warp speed while travelling. My blog gives me the down time to just bash it out for a couple of hours every now and then and then look back on the scramble that has exploded from my brain (often requiring a quick once over to eliminate rubbish ramblings). Many people ask why i keep a blog, this is why. Anyway with all this being said i shall get onto a quick recap of my last week in Colombia, couchsurfing in Bogota, spending a weekend in Cali and then getting down to Ecuador.

So we arrived in Bogota and went to our hosts house that was not too far out of the main city centre. At that point, after another long and painstaking bus journey, we were quite tired and didn't do too much that night but chatted with our extremely hospitable host Maria. We got a great night sleep (so good to be away from noisy dorms for a couple of nights) and woke up feeling ready to take on a new city. Quite like most times when entering a new city the best way to explore it is by putting on your best walking shoes and just hitting the pavement (or dirt track depending on where you are). These fancy tours and city excursions are often so unnecessary. You can find the true inner functionings of a city from just randomly cruising. We had been given a few spots to check out from Maria and we started our journey. For the first half of the day we simply admired the people and city view of Colombia's capital. People watching becomes such an exciting experience when travelling from place to place, and you really get to see the differences in cultures and regions.

For the second half of the day, unfortunately, we didn't get to see much because of the torrential rain that smashed down. Instead we ran, rain soaked, to the nearest internet cafe and did some general global communications work (Facebook, Skype and reading news from back home). After that we arranged to meet Maria, once she finished up at university, for a drink. We then moved onto another place to meet up with her friend and then headed back to her place. It was at this point that Kevin and I decided to repay the favour of Maria's hospitality by offering to cook for the girls. Having just discovered a new homemade recipe i was pretty confident in winning these girls over with my cooking skills. Needless to say it was a bit of a disaster, but Maria assured me it was delicious (such a good liar). Basically the ingredients include a whole bunch of random veggies fried in a pan and then mixed in with pasta that has cream cheese and milk mixed in. Where did i go wrong?

The next day Kevin and I did much of the same exploring and met up with Maria at lunch time. She showed us the really cool old area of Bogota called Canadleria and we spent a few hours exploring there. We also went up to the Monserrate church that sits overlooking the massive city of Bogota. To get up there we caught a cable car up the mountain and then spent some time exploring the beautiful views. Fortunately we were blessed with a perfect day to admire the city from such great heights.

After that we met back up with Maria for a quick drink and said our goodbyes before heading to the bus station for an overnight bus to hit up a town south of Bogota called Cali. Much of the same goes on here. Overnight bus for 12 hours, constantly worried about being robbed, well known movies in Spanish and guessing what they're saying and then feeling buggered once arriving at our next location.

In Cali we were feeling a bit worse for wear after a very quick trip down south so we really didn't get up to much. We explored a bit, which mostly involved going to the Chipichapi mall that is famous for being a hot spot for women indulging in the inner aspects of Cosmetic surgery...yes that's right big boobies. In actual fact we didn't get much done in Cali except have some very necessary down time before heading on our next leg down to Ecuador. Only exciting thing was our last night where i reunited with someone I'd met a week before in Medellin (Richard the Welshmen) and we had an unbelievably crazy night out. Partied it up in Colombia with style. Colombia was a whirlwind, but it was great fun. The next night Kevin and I, plus Richard who joined us, and Yolanda who decided to cruise along as well hit up the bus station to get on down to Ecuador.

The leg from Cali to Qutio (capital of Ecuador) is renowned to be one of the sketchier parts of Colombia so we were advised to travel with caution (like we hadn't been already). We booked in with a well known bus company (Expreso Bolivariano 36,000 pesos special price) and that took us express straight to the border town of Ipiales before we jumped in a taxi to the border, got our stamps, walked across, got in another taxi to the next town and then boarded a bus in Tulcan for $4 to Quito. Took roughly 5 hours and then we were back in the city and into a new country, new experience and new tale that shall be told all in good time.

Come on Colombia!

I've arrived safely in Colombia and have been on the go since the time the tiny little propeller plane touched down on the desolate stretch of land that is Cartagena's airport to now. Before boarding in Panama City we realised that we weren't exactly about to board a Boeing 747 for our small journey, but an old propeller plane was a bit of a surprise. The fact that they were winding up elastic bands before we boarded was never a good sign, but regardless we made it across to South America without any problems. In fact the plane ride was relatively smooth and had me thinking that modern advancements to aviation technology have really been quite unnecessary.

So touching down in Cartagena at midnight wasn't anything to write home about. The four of us jumped in an overpriced taxi (no real option at that late at night, and they certainly know it when extorting you) and headed to a place that was in our guide book. Upon checking in we probably realised pretty quickly that it wasn't the best place, but at this time at night, we really didn't have much choice. Instead me embraced the first time in our new country and went exploring before a restless night in our little hot box.

The next morning we checked out and headed into the old town ( the real attraction of Cartagena). Upon navigating the streets with a clueless taxi driver we arrived to what we thought was our destination, but with no idea where to stay. We met an extremely friendly guy on the street who introduced himself as Super Mario and he assured as that he could get us whatever we wanted, and i didn't doubt him for a second. But he did prove to be helpful when he pointed us in the direction of a cheap hostel and nice place to eat. Accommodation and food, check. Whore house and cocaine, no thanks mate...well...maybe later.

With the 4 of us checked in and settled in our new location we decided to go exploring and walk around town. A little history lesson on the beautiful and romantic city which is Cartagena. At the time of the “Spanish exploring” of South America (a.k.a rob and steal the traditional cultures of all their precious resources) the city of Cartagena proved to be a vital storage point of all the treasures for the Spanish. The most accessible sea port established in South America, it was used by the Spanish as the final point before the treasures made their way across the Atlantic and into the Spanish empire. Therefore it was a crucial point of protection for the Spanish, and also a primary target for pirates if they were looking for a quick fix. Because of this the old city has erected a big stone fortress type wall that spans across the sea front and protects the inner city from potential sea attacks and pirates. There is a massive stone fort that still stands in very good shape in the middle of the old town and then you can explore the old cobbled streets, plazas and shops that are guarded behind the fortress wall. It really is a site to see. Definitely makes you feel like you've skipped back in time.

For the next couple of days we ventured into the streets and got lost in the twisting and turning alleys that make up this old town. At nights we would find hidden plazas and watch on as the people went about their business. People playing music, old men playing chess, kids running amok, local venders serving up street meat, everybody enjoying a refreshing ale and old round good times. With all the exploring done we decided it was time to move onto our next area. John and Rachael at this stage had other plans so we said our goodbyes and parted ways. Sad times, but a common part of travelling so you get used to saying unemotional goodbyes. There's always the possibility of meeting them again in the future.

The next part of our trip was part organised and part desire to get off the beaten track. We'd read about this little place down south of Cartagena called Mompos (sometimes spelt Mompox) that is a little colonial town trapped in time. Like Cartagena, Mompos was also a very important town to Colombia a couple of hundred years ago because of its geographical positioning along an important river. Back in the day it was a proud modern city of Colombia, but after a sudden shift in trade routes, Mompos was left off the grid and suddenly frozen in time. Because of this there are many beautiful houses that look like they haven't changed a spec of paint in 200 years. It has a really cool feel to it and it was nice to get off the usual travel route. When we first arrived (massive adventure involving a 4 hour dodgy bus, crammed taxi and shipping ferry) we checked into this awesome hostel. For the cheap price and good location it was probably one of the nicest places we have stayed in to date, unfortunately it was completely empty. Not one single guest, and then upon walking around the city we soon realised that we were the only travellers in the whole town. This provided the citizens of Mompos with great amusement as Kevin (6 foot 5) and myself (still towering over the short South Americans) cruised around the town like giants.

Over the next couple of days we went about our usual business of exploring the back streets and unusual spots of our new town. Mompos was really quiet but it was a nice change. Nothing extremely important to report on Mompos, but well worth a visit to check out some different aspects of traditional Colombian life. When we left Mompos after a couple of days we decided our next stop was going to be the city of Medellin, home to the infamous former drug lord Pablo Escobar who at the time of his peak was worth 20 billion dollars and pretty much controlled Colombia's cocaine trade.

The journey down to Medellin was another mission in itself. Took us 6 hours to get to the next town (rickety taxi and then temporarily broken down speedboat in the middle of a river) of Magangue and then we got an overnight bus for the next 12 hours. Although Colombia has greatly improved its safety over the last couple of years, it is still by far a place to trek with caution. Guerrilla activity is still common (with various guerrilla groups still opposing the current regime), but less frequent along the bus routes so it wasn't too bad travelling at night. Every now and then in our travels we still come across the odd story about people being robbed by gun point at fake police check points along the highways. With this in mind we approached the bus with caution, but decided to run the gauntlet. Our security wasn't exactly enhanced by the fact that a man came on board at some random stage and started video taping everyone before dashing off in an unmarked taxi, but we've been assured since that this is purely a security practice. Either way i spent the next couple of hours running over strategies of how to evade the robbers and conceal my important stuff if the situation occurred.

Thankfully we arrived in Medellin safely, but after 18 hours of travel we were pretty stuffed. We got off at the North Station and decided to catch the metro at 5am into the area of our accommodation. The hostel that we were staying at (called Casa Kiwi and you guessed it, owned by a Kiwi) was right in the middle of the Zona Rosa (a very well known destination for people looking for some crazy nightlife). We checked in and tried to rest up a little after our long journey, but when arriving in a new town all you want to do is get out amongst it. Logically i should have rested up, but instead i got on the sherbets and before i knew it i was chugging rum and having one of the bigger nights of my trip so far. The Zona Rosa consists of half a dozen streets that are just packed wall to wall with pubs, bars and restaurants all ready to accommodate travellers and locals for guaranteed good times. And good times we had. The next morning was spent shaking out the cobwebs before deciding some fresh air would be the best idea. Kevin and I boarded a metro to the city centre and walked around the main centre checking out some of the sights. It was also at this stage that i had a moment of madness and decided upon a $4 haircut from an old Spanish lady.

With my Spanish still improving i was somewhat able to convey that just a short cut is all that would be required today, however i think she missed the point. Instead i went to the trusty haircut book and found the most normal looking haircut and picked it out. She simply nodded, put the book away, and then preceded to give me the same haircut she would no matter which person you picked in the book. I kind of knew it wasn't going to go down fantastically when she started cutting my hair without even brushing the wild tangles that had began to develop over the many months. In the end i was left looking like a pre-pubecent Latino boy on his first date, but i managed to mess it up and now it looks relatively normal.

That night, Saturday, was once again spent enjoying the festivities of the area, and then the next day was spent checking out a few of the local sights again. We checked out the Botanical Garden and then the university area before heading home for a bit of a quiet one. Well a quiet one in terms of not going out to a bar, but i still managed to tuck a few beers into bed before i got myself there. For the next couple of days we just enjoyed the area and took it easy before making our next move on a bus to the capital Bogota. In Bogota, before arriving, we had arranged to CouchSurf at a girls house for a coupe of nights. For those that aren't sure of what CouchSurfing is than you really should look it up. It would be to difficult to describe how much of an unbelievable travelling resource it is to you within a few sentences so i recommend you look into it. Anyway, basically we found a persons house to stay at for a few nights for free and we arrived that night to begin our next leg of the trip.

At this stage I'm getting a bit back dated so I'll leave it here for now. In the next instalment (hope you guys are actually reading this) you'll hear about our short time in Bogota, our trip down to Cali and then our adventure down into Ecuador.