Freezing blog

My adventures in Ecuador are over. I won't be making any more posts in this blog.

La Ruta Austral Templada (The Temperate Southern Route)

From what I've seen, the majority of tourists who fly into Ecuador start their Ecuadorian adventure in Quito, and then they work their way south along the Andes, exposing themselves to cold temperatures every night. My first adventure in Ecuador was like that, but in time I learned of more temperate and less hectic destinations. Ecuador already has a "Ruta del Sol", which is cloudy during the second half of the year along the coast, so I had to come up with another name for my recommended route.

I call it "La Ruta Austral Templada", or The Temperate Southern Route. This route takes one through temperate cities of the provinces of Loja, El Oro, and Zamora-Chichipe. It gives you the chance to see some of Amazonia, the Andes (wet and dry), and the Coast. Expect to pay no more than $25 per day per person for bus transportation, lodging, and food.

While the high Andes are too cold for me at night, and the coast is too cloudy for me, La Ruta Austral Templada was sunny enough for me (with only occasional rain), and it was moderately cold but bearable at night. I've travelled this route during the second-halves of years. Perhaps this route does not experience good weather during the first half of the year.

Remember to bring a knife and spoon to eat fruits from the market everyday.

Here is the route explained:

The cities (and their provinces) of overnight lodging on the route are the following: Vilcabamba, Loja; Zumba, Zamora-Chinchipe; Balsas, El Oro; Catacocha, Loja; Alamor, Loja; and Zaruma, El Oro.

All hostales mentioned below have hot water and TV unless otherwise mentioned.

Laundry service is available in Vilcabamba, Balsas, Catamayo (at Gran Hotel Marcjohn's or maybe at a dry cleaner, should you stay there for the airport), Zaruma, and Loja city.

Let me recommend the following for someone starting their journey from the Catamayo airport (often referred to as the ¨Loja¨ airport):

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Make a reservation for Vilcabamba; at times, all the rooms are booked full. I recommend Jardín Escondido for lodging in Vilcabamba, although it does not come with TV.

From the Catamayo airport, travel to Loja city and then to Vilcabamba. (Catamayo flunked as a place to stay because of biting insects.) Spend at least 3 nights in Vilcabamba. Things to do: hike Cerro Mandango, go horseback riding. Places to visit from there: Loja city (at least two days worth of sites).

Travel to Zumba. This is a long 5-hour bus trip, which can be 6+ hours when the road is being worked on (very common). Women should think about how they will urinate (consider bringing toilet paper and a zip-lock bag for waste, and maybe a urination funnel or skirt for the roadside, if the bus's toilet is not usable). Spend at least 2 nights in Zumba. Things to do: wade in the Río Simanche, and sit in the cold but strong-currented river in La Balsa. I recommend the Residencial Chinchipe for lodging (has electric showers).

Return to Vilcabamba. Spend night there. Get laundry washed.

Travel to Loja city and then to Catacocha, Loja. Spend 1 night in Catacocha. I recommend a room with a balcony at Ejecutivo Hotel, within sight and walking distance of the Loja Internacional bus office. Vegetarians may find vegetarian menestra plates with salad from an outdoor vendor at night.

Continue on to Alamor. Spend at least 2 nights in Alamor. From Alamor, take day trips to Pindal (mosquitos at night), Zapotillo, and Bosque Petrificado de Puyango.

Return to Catacocha for 1 night.

From Catacocha, go to Velacruz, and there wait to catch a bus to Balsas.

Spend 1 to 2 nights in Balsas. Get laundry washed. Visit Marcabelí's swimming hole or the coast (travel to Saracay and then change buses in La Avanzada to visit Huaquillas or Machala). For lodging, I recommend Hostería Casa Grande (phone 07-2-517-410) for $16 per night including delicious breakfast + additional $2 round-trip taxi fare. The hostal Express only has cold water at $6/night. I got locked in and locked out of (very scary!) the Hostal Gran Arly in Balsas, although it does have rooms with hot water for a low price.

With luggage, travel to Saracay, and change buses to go to Zaruma directly on TAC, or travel to Zaruma directly or indirectly on Piñas Interprovincial. Spend a few days in Zaruma. From Zaruma, you can take day trips to Moromoro, Huertas, Jambelí (Mosquitoes!!!), Sabadel, Salatí, Cerro Azul, and Machala. A lavandería for ropa exists in Zaruma, near the Piñas Interprovincial bus station.
http://cerrodeoro.galeon.com/cerrodeoro_eng.html

The city of Piñas did not make the list as a place to stay because of water outages during some months of the year, when water is only available during certain hours of the day (not hygienic when you cannot wash your hands after using a toilet).

For people using the Guayaquil airport, The Ruta Austral Templada can be reached after an overnight stay in Machala. I used to say bad things about Machala, but now I don't think it's such an ugly or depressing place....Plus, you only need to stay there one night at a time.

Left Ecuador; crossed into USA at Otay Mesa.

I decided to spend my last night in Ecuador in Machala after all. Machala was not as ugly as I had remembered it. In some ways it looked nice, and the pedestrian lights were working (in contrast to Loja city). I took a bus to Pasaje, and then from Pasaje I took a short bus trip to El Guabo. The clouds parted to allow sun through. El Guabo seemed pretty nice. This is a photo from El Guabo.

The following day I caught a bus with CIFA bus company to Guayaquil. At the Guayaquil bus terminal, the cab drivers wanted to charge $3 for a ride to the airport, which is within walking distance. I got the price down to $1.50.

At the Guayaquil airport, a restaurant was charging $8 for a continental breakfast, more than 4 times the normal price!

I flew from Guayaquil to Lima and was fed a sandwich on the plane. Prices were ridiculously high at Lima's airport too, and all food prices were quoted in dollars. A 500-600 mL bottle of water cost US $2.50. A similarly sized orange juice cost $3.50.

The flight from Lima to Mexico City was miserable. The seats on AeroMexico were cramped. We were awoken around 2:10 a.m. to be served breakfast (at least it was delicious). On the flight from Mexico City to Tijuana, we were only served one small strawberry breakfast bar each.

Upon landing in Tijuana, I decided to call my parents. However, when turning on my phone, it only lit up for a few seconds; it did not turn on. So it was useless. The battery was dead.

"Meterse en la cola" (taking cuts in line) is a big nuisance in Latin America, and it was a big problem in Tijuana's airport where we stand in line to get our bags x-rayed. When an airport worker didn't allow one man to cut in line, the man made a big loud fuss talking back, commenting on how so many other people were taking cuts.

I had to wait for about 45 minutes to cross at Otay Mesa. I must have gotten into line around 11:40 a.m. There were a few narrow places that were hard to navigate with my luggage, like the turnstile door. When I finally crossed to the USA, I looked for my parents, but no one was to be seen. I was then told by a police officer that loitering was prohibited, so I had to keep walking. No public telephones were available. I walked towards some nearby shops, and amazingly, about two blocks away, my dad saw me.

I had flown into Tijuana instead of LAX to save $100. However, I do not recommend it.

In Balsas

I am happy to say that Balsas now has a lavandería for ropa (on the road that exits to Machala, for 80 cents per kilogramo) and more than one Internet cafe.

August 10

The weather in Loja city has been miserable. I can´t wait to leave.

Back in Loja

I am back in Loja city. Guess how the weather is?...yep, cloudy and dark.

This morning I had the pleasure of waking up to the sound of the Sunday market in the streets of Catacocha (shown in photo).


I´ll head to Balsas on Tuesday, and later in the week I´ll make it to Guayaquil.

Worked out in Pindal (got lucky!)

I didn´t have to sleep in Pindal after all. A sympathetic man in Pindal felt sorry for me being in my situation without a bus to take me back to Alamor, so he and his friend dropped me off in Pindal at the exit to Alamor. Then the nice man spoke to a yellow taxi cab driver and negotiated for me to return to Alamor for $1 (bus fare), since the taxi driver had to return to his home in Alamor anyways.

My feet were really stinking when I got to my hotel. Alamor was cold as I waited for my dinner (a vegetarian continental breakfast) to be prepared after 9 p.m.

Alamor was sunny and beautiful today; it was hard to leave. Now I am back in Catacocha. Businesses are shuttered up already this afternoon, as today is Saturday. There is a technology institute or something here with fast Internet for only 50 cents per hour. Notice the ¨@¨ sign for Internet in the photos.