chillin at the magic roundabout


Destinations > South America > Ecuador > Baeza > Travel Blog: Well the idea is to hit e ... > chillin at the magic roundabout



Send a message
Subscribe to this Travel Blog Get email updates
Unsubscribe Unsubscribe
Print Entire Travel Blog Print travel blog
Bookmark this page Bookmark
Aimlesswanderer's TravelStream™

Create a FREE Travel Blog - Join TravelPod!


Aimlesswanderer's travel blogs:

About This Travel Blog
Entries (25)
Guestbook (0)
 



Well the idea is to hit ecuador, peru, and bolivia, with no real itinerary planned, and see what happens...

Table of contents

35 votes rate it
Visitors: 5128 - 1 this month

hola from ecuador - Previous Entry
rally buses - Next Entry

chillin at the magic roundabout

,
Flag of Ecuador
Monday, Apr 26, 2004

Entry 2 of 25 | show all | print this entry
View all photos & videos  View as slideshow


deciding it would be nice to not only see how the locals lived, i figured it was only right to see how they died...so off me and my argentinian friend were to the local cemetary and its church...after agreeing that walking around inside the church while a funeral is going on is not socially acceptable, we vacated and proceeded to the cemetary...here, they dont just dig a hole in the ground and shove you in...if you have the money, you basically move into an apartment complex for dead people...many floors of row upon row of body compartments...it was like a miniature city of apartments...i found out that if your family doesnt keep up with the "rent" for more than one year, they will promptly take apart your room, and dispose of you elsewhere...not that you would really notice i guess...

next we took a taxi to the top of the hill, where the virgin mary angel over looks quito(apparently here, she has wings--in revelations i believe, there is a passage explaining it)...

digression----i feel a whole entry could be set aside to describe drivers and traffic in this pollution filled city, but let me just say, that there really is no point to having lights or signs, as people just kinda do whatever they want...i believe it would be best described as semi-cautious merging....

anyways, back at the monument on the hill, which is apparently the 3rd most visited statue in the world after the broad in NY, and the angel in brazil...after being hassled into paying a 1 dollar entry fee before even getting there by a lady in no more than a borrowed "tourist police" shirt, we paid the real entry fee to climb to the top for a view of the city...nice view, but kind of anti-climatic, so we returned to the hostel via the taxi, which now after a few "repairs" was running on a back tire with a few missing lug nuts...i think having all 4 lugnuts on your wheel is only a manufacturers recommendation, but not entirely necessary for safe operating on bumpy, hill streets at high speeds...

well, after a week in the city and a sore throat and lungs due to pollution, it is time to get the hell out to the fresh air of rural ecuador...but first i just need to go to the bank that is on the street where the demonstration is taking place...not sure what is really being protested, but the riot police were out in full force, and all the store fronts had been closed with metal pull down doors...this made it nearly impossible to find the bank machine, until a machine gun carrying officer, noticed the clueless gringo, and proceeded to pull up the metal door to reveal an atm...ah gracias....

ready to depart the city, me and my amiga jump on the bus to the terminal...after getting off and realizing we are at the wrong bus stop, we get back on another bus again to finally arrive at the proper one...good thing fares are cheap, as nothing sucks like paying twice for one trip...finally on the bus and its nonstop 80's music all the way to baeza...they sure do love their 80's tunes here...being that the winding mountain side roads are far from in perfect condition, we spent three hours stopped on the side of the road waiting for the bridge to be repaired...this did give us time to practice our spanish with other passengers...i actually ended up having a good conversation (in my bastardized spanish) with a girl from tena...

apparently it is uncommon here for a guy to be traveling with a girl that you are not involved with, so some of the people on the bus were quite surprised to know my travel partner an i were not a couple...the girl i was chattin with gave me her phone number for when i would eventually get to her town, and the bus drivers assistant, in his only english spoken thus far says to the bus driver " he's good"...

another digression--there exists an entire commercial sector here, known as bus vendors...whether on urban buses or cross country, young kids to grown adults jump on and off the bus at will, trying to sell anything from fruit and veggies to the silliest stuffed toys, watches, or books...if u stop somewhere, just open your window and you will have all sorts of consumer options from the vendors outside yelling out their prices and products...

eventually getting to our desination in the dark, we get dropped off on the side of the road, and ascended what seemed to be about a million steps up into the cloud forest, where a half nutz bloke from england has built a wonderful hostel complex...complete with a couple dogs and about 20 cats, and these are only the ones that are left after many had been poisoned by locals...it was nice to have pets for a few days...the guy who runs the place, ali, is one of the most hospitable hosts i have ever encountered, and before you know it, i am half pissed, and so overfull from the huge plate full of supper that i may not hafta eat for a week...

as his land is vast, and he owns a few waterfalls as well, i decide to go an adventure hike and see what i can see...it is quite interesting to be wandering around the forest when you dont know where you are...after chilling by the waterfalls and getting to a top clearing, checking out the view, it is time to descend the now very greasy (due to the rain) path down...i start to slip, and instinctively grab on to the nearest tree, which is nicely covered in thorns...all the forest is calm, except for the sounds of a few birds and insects, as well as a silly gringo screaming like a wee girl...in a day or two i would spend a few hours removing only 6 of about 12 thorns in my hand....not fun...but a good lesson...

after another night in the diesel fumed cabana (the wood is soaked in diesel to ward off termites) and being woken up by the neighbors cows which are mooing as if they are being tortured, i spent an afternoon down by the river (also known as a bug/fly hiway) chasing butterflies with my camera, and just coming to terms with the fact that this is ecuador i am in...a surreal moment....

time to move on to the next village, and meet up with my amiga i met on the bus from tena...

and this concludes this chapter of the gospel according to stuart...


Latest Comments (0)

be the first to post a comment

If you like this entry, search for other entries by aimlesswanderer, from Ecuador or try a new search.
hola from ecuador
Go to top of page
rally buses

 
Table of Contents
1 - 20 | 21 - 25
Previous | frozen sacrifice and a music festivalshow all entries

1.hola from ecuador - Quito, Ecuador Apr 17, 2004 ( This entry has 7 photos 7 )
2.chillin at the magic roundabout - Baeza, Ecuador Apr 26, 2004 ( This entry has 5 photos 5 )
3.rally buses - Tena, Ecuador Apr 29, 2004 ( This entry has 15 photos 15 )
4.jungle adventures not to be tried at home - Somewhere near santa ana, Ecuador May 06, 2004
5.banos to puyo and beyond into the mighty jungle - Somewhere near santa ana, Ecuador May 06, 2004 ( This entry has 16 photos 16 )
6.end of the jungle, back to civilization - Currently in guayaquil, Ecuador May 12, 2004
7.GALAPAGOS-reckless scuba stylies - Angelique-a boat, Ecuador May 24, 2004
8.Galapagos--swimming with the seals, and others - ANGELIQUE, Ecuador May 25, 2004
9.back to the mainland - Montanita , cuenca, vilcabamba, Ecuador May 27, 2004
10.some updates of missed stories - Various, Ecuador Jun 08, 2004
11.a short stint thru peru - Cusco, Peru Jun 19, 2004
12.getting scammed in cusco - Cusco, Peru Jun 19, 2004
13.machu pichu - Aguas calientes, Peru Jun 19, 2004
14.i love barry manilow and the death road - Copacabana, Bolivia Jun 26, 2004
15.back into the jungle..sort of... - Rurrenabaque, Bolivia Jul 07, 2004
16.in over my head again...surprise surprise!!! - La paz, Bolivia Jul 08, 2004
17.cold ass salt flats - Near uyuni, Bolivia Jul 15, 2004
18.be thankful you are not a miner in bolivia - Potosi, Bolivia Jul 18, 2004
19.time for a shopping spree - Sucre, Bolivia Jul 19, 2004
20.getting stoned...literally!!! - Illave, Bolivia Aug 24, 2004

Previous | frozen sacrifice and a music festivalshow all entries
1 - 20 | 21 - 25

Back to Entry - Back to Home






Explore Baeza, Ecuador
Hotels in Ecuador
Hilton Quito
Hilton Colon Guayaquil
Swissel Quito
Jw Marriott Quito
Hotel Oro Verde Guayaquil
Hotel Quito - Compass Hotels
Grand Hotel Mercure Alameda Quito
Radisson Quito
Grand Guayaquil
Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel Manta
Travel Blogs
Bears, bats, barking dogs and Mingas by cathandnick
Time for some work by kyliestravels
Chillin at the magic roundabout by aimlesswanderer
Misahualli to Quito by joannelindars
Bazea by classvdj
Forum Discussions

none yet

Photos and Videos
22a. Cath gets left behind again river rock erosion
volcano 23. Church on Christmas Eve
19a. One for Neil 37a. Fun at the farm

 

 
Baeza Travel Blogs (5)
Ecuador Travel Blogs (1,200)
Baeza Forum Discussions (5,000)
Ecuador Forum Discussions (5,000)
Baeza Photos and Videos (89)
Ecuador Photos (5,000)

 



Africa | Asia | Australasia | Europe | Middle East | North America | South America | Central America | Caribbean
Home | Toolbar | Store | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | About | FAQ | Jobs | Contact Us
Copyright © 1997 - 2009 TravelPod.com, a proud founder of travel blogs on the web. All Rights Reserved.