Our first stop in the Andes

The Domes of the Cathedral in Cuenca

The inevitable come down from the Galapagos Islands came shortly after we arrived into the port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second city.  Set on the River Guaya and surrounded by lush green paddy fields and sprawling barrios Guayaquil is the commercial heart of Ecuador but it lacks all the glamour of Quito – we were not planning on staying long!  The humidity was unbearable even at 4pm when we stepped out of the airport and after the inevitable argument with a taxi driver we spent the evening planning our next leg of the trip to Lima, some 1500km south.  My last trip in Ecuador had left me a little disparaging about the nation as a whole having spent most of my time being pulled off of buses and roughly searched, as well as nearly being flung off of mountains by the death defying (at least most of the time) bus drivers.  Taking a bus in South America is a little like catching a flight in Asia, there is always a little voice telling you this might not be the best idea but you try and limit the risk by at least getting on the mode of transport that looks least battered and has a sober driver.  A good way to judge the driver before getting on a bus in South America is to see how many religious symbols and images of Mary he has hanging from the windscreen – as a rule of thumb the fewer the better!  This rule was about to be put to the test as we headed to Guayaquil’s chaotic three story bus station to travel to the Andean city of Cuenca.

Unfortunately the best I could manage of the plains in the Andes

The worlds second highest and longest continual mountain range are formed along the length of the South American Plate and are dotted with active volcanoes from Venezuela all the way to Argentina, they are spectacular!  Having travelled down the narrow plains that lie between the pacific coast and the Andes we suddenly started to rise steeply as the landscape does a full 360ᵒ, quickly becoming covered in thick jungle and cloud forest as we seemed at times to be travelling vertically up the zigzagging mountain pass.  Thankfully the driver was relatively slow as the gradient was so steep the tired bus struggled to get to 30km/h! When we did get to a flat section however this safe speed changed as we needed to take a run up for the next climb but these sections were few and far between and we were able to enjoy the amazing views as we climbed to over 3000m.  We spent 30 minutes in the clouds, seeing no further than the cliff edge that seemed to offer a drop that disappeared into oblivion, we thankfully avoided finding out!  After the initial climb we broke through the clouds into the sweeping plains that run between the Andean peaks (they consistently reach well over 5000m!) into scenery that looks like a foot-pump has been taken to the Scottish Highlands where we found the city of Cuenca.

The birth place of the Panama Hat

Cuenca is a perfect example of a renaissance town in South America and although similar to Quito it is a lot quieter and less crowded although unfortunately for us very wet.  Its narrow cobbled streets and beautiful historic buildings are set inside four converging rivers that run down from the surrounding mountains.  We got utterly soaked looking around the town and with little time to explore the surrounding area it turned out to be a long journey for a short stop – half of our time was spent sheltering in a coffee shop on the central plaza and in a beautiful hacienda eating a traditional 3 course meal for $3.  The town is the birth place of the famous Panama Hat (we were surprised as well!) and the town is full of indigenous women dressed in their hat and shawl selling handicrafts and food. Our slightly dirty hostel was great fun though as after a fair bit of alcohol the intoxicated owner decided to cook a traditional Ecuadorian meal of coconut shrimps with balon de verde (balls of cheese and plantain).  This was completed with a dodgy plastic bottle full of a local moonshine (80% proof!) that is distilled from sugar cane and warmed through with cinnamon cloves and orange to make it a little more drinkable.  After a few glasses my Spanglish was in full flow as I discussed the finer points of Maradona’s Hand of God with an Argentinian, tactfully doing my bit for international relations over the Falkland Islands and generally confusing most people I encountered.  We were relieved to leave the following morning having escaped the bed bug infestation in the dorms and we set off for the Peruvian border, back down the mountains to the border town of Huaquillas to continue our journey south.