One Year of Americanism: D226 – D237: Last twelve days in South Ecuador

Once back on the mainland Ecuador (D226) I travelled from Guayaquil to Cuenca crossing the Andes and admiring the valleys filled with clouds. My vision of heaven is similar to what I had seen that evening. By the time I reached Cuenca it was quite late. At the first hostel they were booked out so I went across the road and the owners looked worried for me being alone on the street after dark so they gave me a room and slept like log.

Cuenca is considered the pretty colonial city of Ecuador for its plazas and a huge amount of churches. On my first day (D227) here I wandered around its street. What I liked about this city that it had a relaxed atmosphere, kind inhabitants and everything was easily accessible. I finished my day going to the cinema to watch the cartoon Hotel Transylvania 3D in Spanish. What a treat!!

My D228 was a Sunday and I decided to visit three small villages one and a half hour away from Cuenca. First I jumped on the bus to Sigsig, the farthest village famous for its panama hats. The workshop was a bit out of the village and a not very helpful local woman greeted me upon my arrival. I could check out the factory where no pictures were allowed to be taken then followed to the souvenir shop which had many items made of straw like bags, hats, small boxes and other tiny souvenirs.

From here I continued my journey to the next village, Chordoleg. This touristy village is known for its silversmiths. This means that every second house is a jewellery shop or silversmiths atelier.

After 30 minutes I was done with it and dragged myself on the bus to Gualaceo. When I got off I could only see a busy and noisy small town with a big market in the main plaza. Every Sunday locals from the neighbouring villages come here to stock up on fruits, veggies, pulses and any other items they might need.

The plan for the next day (D229) was to visit Ingapirca, the most important Canari and Inca archaeological site in Ecuador. I have to add that it was not as impressive as Macchu Picchu. First was inhabited by Canari (indigenous group) and later invaded by the Incas. The style of the constructions is a mixture of both cultures. The Incas worshipped the Sun representing the male whereas the moon the female was worshipped by the Canaris. The site in the middle and on a hill has an Incan temple of the Sun and just below the temple there is a well-defined half - moon (Canari) shape created using the grass (lawn) and on the edge of this half-moon stones are placed representing the rays of the sun (Inca).

One of the most interesting parts of this tour for me was the Canari Moon Calendar. It is a huge stone with 28 carved holes in it representing the movement of the Moon.

After the tour I walked around with the cool Nina (the first Slovenian I have ever met) to see the face of the Inca. This is a natural formation in a cliff that looks like a male profile.

Once back in Cuenca we had a girls night out having dinner and enjoying a few yummy Mojito.

The following day (D230) my head was not in its best form but I have seen worst. I had a proper and delicious lunch in Moliendo Café, a Colombian restaurant. I love everything related to Colombia!! In the afternoon I had a walk around checking out the Panama Hat Museum. This part of Ecuador is famous for its Panama hat makers. There is confusion around the origin of the Panama hat due to its name, many would think that it is from Panama. I initially believed that these kinds of hats were made by Mayans as I was told in Merida, Mexico. Since then I have learned that they are made in Ecuador and cost much less than in Mexico where I was screwed over. But you live to learn until you die. Next I walked to an artisanal complex filled with local artist workshops and stopped at Cafe Austria to satisfy my sweet cravings.

In the morning of D231 I decided that it was about time for me to continue my journey to Saraguro. On the way the bus broke down and we were left with no choice just to find our own transportation in the middle of nowhere. Luckily I joined forces with an American couple and a young German family with a year old boy. As the young mother was determined to get on the road as quickly as possible, she found a private car to drive us to our final destination of the day.

Saraguro is a small mountain village which is inhabited by community centred and friendly indigenous group that long time ago relocated here from Lake Titicaca, Peru. Most of the female and male still wear traditional clothes. What I found interesting is that the guys are wearing black three quarter trousers with their beautiful black long hair held in a ponytail.

Even though I really enjoy the beauty of the Andean villages but I have started to get fed up being cold all the time. So the following day (D232) I decided to move to the jungle town of Zamora. Thanks to its location between the Andes and Amazonas, its climate is pleasant not too warm and not too cold. This was exactly what I needed in that moment.

After my arrival, I settled in the room with a nice view at Hotel Gimyfa. Later on it was enjoyable to wander around the streets, admire its creative main plaza peaceful and walk along the banks of Rio Zamora while the numerous birds were chirping happily in the background.

Next morning (D233) I set out to do some hiking in the verdant lowlands of Parque Nacional Podocarpus just outside Zamora.

After being dropped by a taxi driver and getting advice from one of the park rangers regarding the trails, I descended to the Cascada La Poderosa.

From here I continued the steep trail up to the Mirador or lookout. During the 40 minutes snail speed walk I was left breathless many times but when I reached the top the view of Zamora in the valley surrounded by hills covered with lush tropical vegetation was just beautiful. There was something about this place that convinced me to stay for an hour and enjoy the tranquillity, calmness and quietness. But this left me with a lot of mosquito bites though J.

After the descent I checked out the orchid garden, walked around another trail which meant to have a lot of birds and then descended to Rio Bombuscaro to take some pictures and soak my legs in the cold water.

Here there were a lot of butterflies of different colours flying around. One of them even stood on the head of my left foot while I was trying to get my sock off and had not moved even after I took it off.

On my way out of the park I took the 100m trail down to the Cascada Chismosa, another small waterfall. Then I continued towards the main road to meet up with Angel, the taxi driver at 4. Time flew and by the time I realized it was 4:05 and no sign of Angel.

So I started walking towards Zamora with the hope that he might show up. In a way I was glad (and surprisingly not angry) as this 5km walk passed along the Rio Bombuscaro and had pretty view of the valley.

The following day (D234) I took the bus from Zamora to Vilcabamba via Loja. This lively village is inhabited by a few expats and is located on the main road close enough to the La Balsa Ecuadorian – Peruvian border crossing.