Out of the Oriente, July 30 - August 3

San Juan Bosco-El Pangui-Gualaquiza-Yantzaza-Zamora-Loja

A centipede washed out by the rain

It rains every night here in Ecuador´s oriente. On July 29, camped at a tiny police station at the edge of an equally tiny town, we were sitting in the tent talking when we heard a low thundering sound. The area around us was still dry for the moment, but the sound grew into a roar as the rain reached us, falling in sheets all around. It was so loud we could no longer talk, so we let it lull us to sleep.


The next morning we set our sights on Gualaquiza, a large town not too far but on the other side of some pretty big hills. We tackled the ascents slowly and steadily, and around mid-morning the rain began again. Our experience here in the Oriente, the part of Ecuador east of the Andes, had been that the rain comes and goes all day but never for longer than about twenty minutes. So, expecting it to stop, we didn't put on our rain gear, but unfortunately it didn't stop. For over an hour it poured, and we happily found that we enjoyed the long ascents because our movement kept us warm. Finally, reaching the top much sooner than we otherwise would have, we zipped our rain layers over our sodden clothes and descended down to sunny, low-lying Gualaquiza to get some hot chocolate.

About a month ago, we were adopted for a night by a nice guy, Mario, near Ibarra in northern Ecuador, and when I mentioned to him in an email that we would be passing through Gualaquiza, he told me that his brother-in-law lives there and would be happy to take us in for the night. We met Leandro at the centro, where he drove us out of town to his father-in-law's place. Rafael, the father-in-law, runs a hotel/retreat center with private cabins for guests to stay in, all landscaped with fragrant flowers and set among lush forest. He told us to make ourselves at home in one of the cabins, a big step up from our tent! (In case you're lost, we were at the cabins of the father-in-law of the brother-in-law of the guy we met a month ago outside a supermarket. Okay.) We immediately took out all of our things and spread them everywhere; the past few days and nights of continuing humidity were beginning to take their toll.

Our house for the night

Our restful night transitioned easily into a delicious breakfast and more conversation with Rafael and Leandro, and then we hit the road again. The road from there to Zamora, about 70 miles away, was apparently flat. We knew better - there's no flat in Ecuador - but there weren't any mountain passes, that much we knew. Between the good road and our desire to move south, we busted out the 70+ miles without too much trouble, arrived late in the day, and camped, urban style, at the municipal government building in Zamora. Of special note was dinner: ramen noodles, red beans, pink beans (whatever those are...), chia seeds, onion, red pepper, tomato, olive oil, and oregano/black pepper/garlic seasoning, all eaten with tortilla chips. Chocolate and peanut butter for dessert. Mmm!

The next day found us at Parque Nacional Podocarpus, a stone's throw from Zamora but in the middle of dense primary forest. It feels like wilderness; you would never believe there´s a city nearby.

Waterfall along the scenic road to Podocarpus

We arrived in late morning, stashed our bikes in the woods, and went for a walk down to the river. Only a few bird species were out and about, but we were able to find the one-of-a-kind amazonian umbrellabird! It's all black, like a large crow, with an impressive crest that looks like an umbrella.

Umbrellabird habitat

On our way back to town, we stopped at an eco-lodge and asked if we could camp there, and the friendly owners said yes! Little did we know, Copalinga Lodge is a private reserve widely known as a bird and wildlife hotspot. Their feeders (bananas and sugar water) attract all kinds of incredible bird species from brightly colored tanagers to funny, chicken-like chachalacas and tiny, brilliant hummingbirds. Tam and I sat watching the show all afternoon, content with our decision to spend the day there and thankful to the friendly owners of the lodge for having us! If you are into birds at all and are in the area, check out Copalinga! It is a natural paradise.

Green Honeycreeper

Violet-fronted Brilliant

The upside of camping in a bird reserve is that you can wake up, walk out your front door (or crawl out the vestibule, in our case), and find yourself surrounded by birds! No transportation necessary. Before beginning our big climb up to Loja, we were able to spot a few new species and have a nice chat with some birders from Texas.

Golden-eared Tanager

There´s something meditative about a big climb. No need to shift gears or worry about route choice. Just get the legs pumping and go up and up, feeling the temperature change slowly, watching the clouds get closer and the rivers and valleys fall away, breathing deeply and rhythmically, setting into a constant cadence. After a few hours, however, we were excited to reach the fog of the paramo and see Loja far below in the next valley. All in all, according to cycleroute.org, over 35 miles we ascended 9,958 feet and descended another 6,233. Quite the climbing day!

Arriving in Loja, we found a cheap hotel where two other travelers, Julia and Hannes, were staying. Having cycled from Alaska as well, they have had similar unique experiences to ours, and we stayed up late with them sharing stories and eating, of course.

Hannes and Julia, fellow cycle tourists from Germany

We´re spending August 3 in Loja and will be heading south from here, Peru in a few days!


Area notes: The road to Podocarpus is about 6 km, a smooth and scenic dirt road. Entry to the park is free, like all Ecuadorean National Parks. The road terminates in a trail - there´s nowhere else to go - and a 30 minute hike brings you to the visitor´s center, a map, and some other hiking trails.

The bomberos in Zamora share a building with the municipal government, so they don´t have space to host cyclists. We did stay at the building, however, just under the watch of the general security guard. Because the space is shared by so many different organizations, no one seemed to care about our being there. If you want to do the same, save time and simply ask the security guard at the front rather than heading upstairs to find the bomberos.

Zamora to Loja: Big climb, no shoulder, not too much traffic. There are streams everywhere for water.

In Loja we stayed at the Hotel Londres at Sucre 07-51. For $6 per person, it provided a bed, Wi-Fi, and a central location from where we could run our many errands. Bicimania, also in Loja at the corner of Colon and Emiliano Ortega, is a well-stocked shop with helpful service.

Mudslides and More, July 25-29

Riobamba-Lagunas de Atillo-Macas-Sucúa-Logroño-San Juan Bosco

From Tam´s journal:

July 25th
We plan on leaving today, but when we wake up it's already 9 am, and then breakfast goes until 11. We decide that it can't hurt to spend one more day with these wonderful people.  It's a true rest day: we stay in, share photos and stories, and write postcards.  Most importantly we enjoy wonderful meals with our host family!

July 26th
It's a slow morning, with breakfast, goodbyes and photos.  Who wouldn't be reluctant to leave such a homey place? I feel like just in the last two days we've become part of the family. Borja, Nathalie, Luci, and Pubi, we can't thank you enough! And of course saludos to Mati!
Immediately out of town our road has a large shoulder and I barely notice the traffic.  As we climb away from the city the shoulder diminishes in size, but it doesn't matter because the traffic is so minimal. A number of road cyclists pass us on the climb, and we're happy to see others out riding. Riobamba fades away below, and we look back to see it nestled in the valley. Adios!
Our road begins to follow a large gushing river up into the mountains. Unfortunately, instead of gradual river grade, we have a series of steep ups and downs, climbing up to small rural towns, then descending down to the river.  Most people we see are friendly and wave.

The river we followed for a while up out of Riobamba

Along the road are frequent signs explaining why we need to protect the environment, bumps to slow down cars, and crosswalks.  It seems ridiculously overdeveloped considering how few cars there are and the extremely rural population, many of whom probably can't read well and have no problems crossing the road wherever they want.
The weirdest thing we see all day? A giant roast pig hanging outside of a small store. Gross.
It has been a long day of climbing, and we're tired, but we push on, determined to reach Sangay National Park. I'm glad we do.  Just at the park entrance are the famous lagunas that we've been told about.  In the setting sun there's a rainbow, and the mountains around the reflective lake clear a bit to reaveal a dusting of snow on their peaks.  Across from us a huge waterfall thunders into the lake. Everything is spectacularly serene.

Lagunas de Atillo, Sangay National Park

July 27th
It rains all night and continues in the morning, which does nothing to increase our motivation to get going. At 9:30 we finally hit the road--still raining. Some ups and downs bring us past more mountain lakes, but unfortunately we can't see much because of the clouds.  Then we begin to descend in earnest. Almost immediately the vegetation becomes thicker and more lush.  Waterfalls, big and small are everywhere. Some are so huge that they would be the main attraction somewhere else, but here no one cares; they are nothing out of the ordinary. I feel like I'm biking through a flood.  The rain, the waterfalls, the rivers. Water everywhere!
The road is paved the whole way, but we encounter a land or mudslide every few minutes. Some are just rocks in the road, others are huge piles of dirt, trees and rocks, still others are full out rivers flowing across the road.  (Luckily these rivers are never more than a couple inches deep.) In some places I can see why there has been a mudslide, as the bank is already far too steep and muddy.  In other places it looks as if a small river has flooded and washed all the material from its banks out into the road. And in some places gentle banks covered in green vegetation have simply caved in, given way. Why? I think everything is just too wet.

Avoiding a mudslide

We get to watch one mudslide in action. We pass through a pile of thick mud on the road, and then turn back to the sound of the hillside puking. That's what it sounded like. Gurgles and sloshes send down a big mass of brown mud, which proceeds to slowly ooze out into the growing mass on the road.
A few other interesting things we encounter on the way down.
1) An earthworm that we thought was a snake because it was so big! Probably 3 feet in length! (Danny moved him off the road to safety, don't worry.)

It dwarfed my one liter water bottle

2) A tunnel that's almost a kilometer long! Thankfully it is well lit and a nice break from the rain... although it's raining in some places inside the tunnel as well.
3)Lots of birds! We hear them singing everywhere, but as you can imagine, under the conditions it's hard to get a good look at them.

Late afternoon, the rain finally stops and we can take off all our layers. A bit more biking, and we're happy to find ourselves in the large town of Macas.  The firefighters all seem to be in a bad mood but let us camp inside at their station. Awesome! We hang up things to dry and go out to do some shopping. Im feeling excited.  Today was unlike anything we've biked yet on this trip.  We're in the Amazon rainforest!

July 28th
It starts raining overnight and we discover that the roof is leaking right over where we are sleepíng.  Time to relocate! Luckily there is plenty of space in the room we´re camped out in. The upper floor of the fire station has clearly not been well designed. Besides the ceiling leak, there is a fume hood but no stove, toilets and electric hand dryers but no sinks, and a urinal on the wall that isn´t actually hooked up to any pipes.
At 4 am, we hear what sound like gunshots.  Oh wait, it's only the nearby church shooting off fireworks and broadcasting mass. I will never understand the way religion works here. We put in our earplugs.

In the morning we're on our way on a well paved road. At first we are traveling flat to downhill, and just cruising! It has been so long since we've been on a fast road like this!
Slowly, things get more hilly.  Every time we cross a river (frequently), we descend steeply down to it, then climb steeply back up.
We pass a lot of small towns and houses, and I'm surprised by the fact that the majority of houses are really nice. We see smooth walls, colorful paint, multiple floors, covered balconies and huge flower gardens. I imagine that some of this is simply a result of wood being so readily available here. Despite the development, we enjoy quite a lot of jungle as well.  As soon as you look out past the houses, there is layer upon layer of dense forest. Even the farmland is barely recognizable because everything looks overgrown. It must be quite the struggle to try and clear a plot of land here.
In the afternoon, the sun comes out and dries off our stuff a bit. Its heat and warmth are welcomed until we start to sweat. It's humid here!
Our road brings us down to a great confluence of rivers. Below us we can see them mixing, the murky brown of one swirling with the almost black brown of the other.

Chocolate and peanut butter, mmmm

We can see that we've left the drainage of one and are about to climb up into the drainage of the other. After some very steep, slow climbing, we stop at a farm house and ask to camp under a small shed area.  The lady is very friendly and tells us about how they ranch cattle, then leaves us to set up our stuff.  We're really just excited to have a roof to put our tent under, since it seems to rain every night.

As we're eating dinner, something strange happens: we see another cyclist ride by in the other direction. Since we haven't seen another cyclist since northern Colombia, and we're both pretty tired, we simply sit and watch, a bit dumbstruck, as she rides by.  Once she's past and going down the hill, we start kicking ourselves for not running out and saying hi.  I wonder where she was going?

July 29th
We sleep well and head out early in the morning.  A bit of misty rain and clouds is keeping things cool.  Our road is absurdly hilly.  I feel like we're climbing more here in the Amazon than we were in the mountains! Today there are less towns and more dense forest.  We pass more waterfalls, rivers, landslides, and beautiful flowers. Still haven´t identified the new birds we saw... but there´ll definitely be some new ones for our list!

Jungle riding

Fresh bread with creamy avocado and cheese for lunch, then up and over some more mountains and into the town of San Juan Bosco for the night. We're in early, which means we have time for shopping and blog updating!

So, I was expecting to find lots of fresh fruit here in the rainforest, but the little stores we pass only sell candies and bags of chips. Maybe it's not the right season, or maybe this is a symptom of too much globalization. We also listened to Katy Perry blaring from a gas station today.  Where are we again?

The rainforest!

Route Notes:

- Riobamba to Macas: There are a few unpaved options after the main road out of Riobamba, but we stayed with the pavement all the way. Not too much space, but not too much traffic either. It also helped that we left the city on a Sunday. We weren´t sure if the road would be open because of recent landslides and continued rain, but the twitter page of the Ministerio de Transportes y Obras Publicas (MTOP) indicated the road was cleared a day before. It was open, though still full of landslides, and well-paved all the way to Macas.
- Macas to San Juan Bosco: Paved and quiet with plenty of small towns and houses along the way and rivers everywhere for water. Really nice bomberos in Limon Indanza, about halfway between Macas and Gualaquiza -- we didn´t stay there, but one of them saw us eating lunch and offered to let us stay at the station that night -- and police/bomberos in San Juan Bosco.