šŖšØ Papallacta, Ecuador - 04.15.2023
Hereās a zillion billion pics of round 1 in Ecuador. I decided to rent a car hereā¦ thereās too many places to be and it can be a production finding transportation. The dudes at the car rental place upgraded me to a small SUV since Iād be driving in the mountainsā¦ they were super friendly and seemed quite proud of their country.
The drive was easy and incident free into Quitoā¦ reallyā¦ itās been some of the easiest driving in any country or place Iāve been. Example, I refused to drive in Limaā¦ I considered myself lucky to have escaped the traffic with my life and also without the need of years of trauma therapy following my experience there. You apparently donāt tip drivers in Peruā¦ but after my driver got me to the airport without crashing into a living being, or bus, or into the sea (all close calls), I gave him $10Sol in hopes the color would return to my face after the ride via good karma.
Anywho, I made it to the ultra hip La Floresta barrio of Quito. Swimming with creative energy, good snack places and cool people. Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar for their official currency. Itās crazy to meā¦ Iāve been navigating different cutie colorful currencies of 4 different countriesā¦ and nowā¦ ā4 dollars!ā I had a hamburger and a kombucha at a hipster restaurantā¦ $20 bucks. I now call La Floresta ālil California.ā I enjoyed all moments but Iāve been anxious to escape the city so I would leave the next day for Papallacta.
I drove an hour and half into the hills to Papallacta Hot Springs resort. I had booked 2 nights there while I was recovering in Bolivia. The cost seemed excessive but I wanted some place special to land when I got hereā¦ rather than the āshow up and figure shit out as I go,ā which is often the norm for me. The resort is just surrealā¦ in the cloud forest mountainsā¦ lush with tropical flowersā¦ next to a National Park. My cabin was not a cabin but a posh room with exclusive pools to soak. Total VIP treatment. I thought āI could get used to thisā¦ā but to validate my particular station in lifeā¦ I kept holding the door for the staff, tried to bus my own dishes, and pour my own coffeeā¦ I donāt think they could figure out what I was about. I told them āIām just a regular dudeā¦ā only smiles in return.
Dreamy placeā¦ thereās a lovey trail up the Papallacta river on site to hike and I walked that at dusk. Only myself, birds, mountain cows and lots of rabbits.
The Cayambe-Coca National Park entrance is a 20 minute drive so I headed there the next day. You check in with the park ranger before you hike and she was a no nonsense type of gal. Name! Number! License! āYouāre from the United Statesā¦hmmmm!!!ā š¤Ø The nice thing about a no non-sense personā¦ they talk it straightā¦ and I could comprehend her Spanish. I would ask her questions and then understand her responses. āĀæEstamosā¦ estamosā¦?ā as I scoured the map.
āEstamos aquĆ!ā She pointed.
āĀæCuanto tiempo dura por aquĆ?ā as i pointed to a place with lakes.
ā3 horasā¦ solo caminoā she said with great seriousness.
āNecesito un plan. Entoncesā¦ necesito snacks!ā I always need snacks and Iāll let everyone knowā¦ siempre!
She tried to sell me a hat and glovesā¦ because I am a soft American who would probably get cold, and lost, and die from frog bites and she would have to retrieve my pale body. I could get no smiles out of that oneā¦ but I still like like her. āŗļø
I continued on with my hike without a hat and gloves. It sprinkled on and off but it was just all kinds of cool. Waterfalls, singing birds and mountain lakes. Cloud forests covered in clouds. Andā¦ not one frog bite! Wowww! I came across no other people. And I am doing what I came here to doā¦ and heart smiles happen.
I was hiking in an area that had a boat load of bear crossing signs. Thereās a population of Andean bears in Ecuadorā¦ and if I donāt see one before I leave I will be petitioning the Ecuadorian government for a permanent visa so I can stay until I do. šš»
I fumble much with the Spanish language but Iāve been in Latin America for a month and half, quickly approaching 2 months and the language is in the brain. Soā¦ the other day in some correspondence, I translated my Spanish to English using Google translator, and then ācopy and pastedā my English into a messageā¦ I was like āwhat the hell am I doing?!? Iāve been here too longā¦ā andā¦ so you knowā¦ I speak the very good English āŗļø
Soā¦ this was the last night in the cloud forests, in a lovely mountain cabin with a beautiful view. Sheep, cows, chickens, roaming packs of dogs and super nice country people. The internet guy showed up to fix the WiFiā¦ and asked me if it was too cold (cuz Iām a soft American) āvivo en el Norteā¦ hace frio siempreā ummmm yeahā¦ it doesnāt snow hereā¦ this is light jacket temps. Visit the Colorado mountains when itās -15Ā°F and ask me that question again. Anybloop, as I waited for the WiFi guy to do his thingā¦ I thought āshit is the same everywhere you go in the world.ā How many times have we all waited for the cable or internet guy? š
And now I can post my picsā¦ cuz we all love the internet guyā¦ eventually. š
