Life from Behind the Visor: Welcome to the Jungle!!

Dec 6

Roadside Refreshments

It would take us a couple of days to get there only because we travel slowly; from Salinas we made it to Riobamba. The route would take us up over the Andes and into the Amazon basin, or at least the start of it, and the bikes handle the elevation gain very well. The fuel injection adjusts automatically whereas a carb would need re-jetting.

We had been seeing little red bananas for the last few miles and decided we needed to try some. It was nice to stop and take a snack break. I tried to tell the vendor lady that we do not have red bananas in Canada but she did not understand what I was saying, I tried to play charades by pointing at the Canada flag sticker but she did not seem to know what that was either.

Thankfully a group of kids distracted us as they ran across the road and all piled into the back of a small cargo truck. Brenda and I were totally amazed at how many kids were getting into this truck, it would have made a good clown car at the rodeo because about 18 kids got into the back before the driver lugged his way up the hill.

The ride got very interesting once again as we topped out at 3886m above sea level and yes at that height we rode into the clouds once again. This time we did not get rained on but it was quite cold and the ride was very slow as visibility was almost nil in some spots. We just kept going up and up and up, it was a pitty that the clouds blocked the view but how often does one get to ride in the clouds. We also noticed that this was a busy trucking route and despite the low visibility most of the trucks do not turn their headlights on, poof, there is a truck. It was interesting to discover by sense of smell what they were hauling, as the trucks zipped by in the mist the aroma of produce would linger in the thick air. Oh, that one was hauling onions, that one cilantro, ewww pigs. We have learnt to take the good with the bad. We also were dodging pedestrians on the highway and they would sometimes we walking two abreast, well out into the driving lane. WTF people??

We finally started to drop down out of the clouds and to our surprise a lush green valley emerged in front of us. I thought for sure at 10,000ft that there would be only jagged rock and steep walled canyons, but here we found fields covered with potatoes, cabbage, cilantro, and onions, plus pasture lands for sheep and cattle. How on earth do they farm on these extreme inclines?

We soon found ourselves winding down and down and down until we found the city of Riobamba, the GPS was once again missing some info so we drove around in circles a bit, the city core was a nut house with rough cobble streets thrown in for good measure. I found a hotel by accident but upon entering the lobby I just turned and walked back out. It seemed very dirty. We dodged and weaved around a bit more until we found a “good enough” hotel in a decent location. By this time the temperature was back to sweltering hot so we were ready to just park the bikes, get out of our riding gear and do a little walking. We thought we would try something different for supper and actually found a Chinese restaurant, the only thing familiar and/or Chinese on the menu was Special Fried Rice and Chop Suey. It turned out to be lots of food and tasted good as well.

Leaving Riobamba was as interesting as driving into it due to the lack of mapping on the GPS. I had tagged the highway that we were trying to get to and we just headed in the general direction in hopes of seeing a sign or somehow connecting to the highway. The first attempt was almost right and we ended up on a highway about 3km from the one we needed to be on, at first this was no big deal, we would just follow this highway until there was a cross-road over to the other one. We rode out of the city and into the surrounding farmland, then there was finally a road in the direction we needed. It was definitely a secondary road which led to a small village, then out into the country again, all the while getting smaller and smaller. We were back on the GPS so I could tell that still we needed to be East of our current location in order to pick up the proper highway to Banos.

Do we circle back around or get creative across the fields?

Fields it is, and lucky for us there were some farmer paths around the perimeters that allowed us to navigate our way without feeling like trespassers. These little paths led us to a very small village of about ten houses and a small church, I am sure we made the headlines as we rode through on the gigantic, noisy, motorcycles shod in our weird clothes. Once through the village a better dirt road led us across country to the Banos highway, I knew the locals didn’t go all the way around with their donkeys and pack mules.

Now, we are on the correct road that should lead us to Banos, a nice little paved road that winds through the valley and up into the Andes, some elevation gain was happening but not much. We encountered what we thought was a bit of road construction but this soon turned into full on goat path.

The road must have been washed out in this couple mile section during the rainy season this year, no big deal we were back on basic pavement. We rounded he next corner and could see nothing but a huge dust storm moving up the valley, and the road all but disintegrated in front of us. I was thinking “Cool, off-roading while on the road” , Brenda was pretty quiet in the headset so I figured she was focused on the ruts and loose dirt that we were now surrounded by.

his was all well and good because after all this is what these bikes were made for and they handle it very well. The path continued to twist and turn through the steep walled valley and as if the dirt and dust storm were not enough mother nature decided we needed a bit of rain to spice things up. Lucky for us she only wanted to calm the dust, not water the garden or this nice dusty road would have turned into a real nightmare of mud. This went on for about a half hour then we were pleasantly surprised to see a big brand new highway up ahead, this dirt road must have been some alternate route that is not used anymore or so we thought. We later learned that the dirt road is the main route from Riobamba and the road had not been washed out in the rainy season, it has just never been built any better that it currently is.

The nice new highway made the last bit of distance very easy and we were soon looking around Banos for a place to stay. Once settled we were excited to take in the mineral hot springs that Banos is famous for. We walked up to the thermal baths and were shocked to see it was just like Radium Hot Springs, only much less attractive. It just didn’t look clean, the tile around the pools had yellowed from the minerals or something and the whole place just looked like a germ festival. We walked away and never went in, but we were pleasantly surprised to find a path down to the river and the water was cool and clean so we got to soak our toes and absorb some of the energy of the mountains.

Banos is set up much like Banff with lots of tourist attractions in a tight radius; mountain biking, rafting, zip lines, bungee, hiking, bird sanctuary, etc. So very much set up as a tourist destination without feeling like Disneyland. If you plan to visit the area allow at least a few days to take it all in.

"Cascada de Virgen" at the East end of town.

After a very noisy Saturday night, we found a nice little restaurant for breakfast and order what we thought would be eggs and toast. We got eggs and a plain cheese sandwich bun, but we also got a plate of rice with stewed meat and potatoes, and a glass of fruit juice. A very hearty breakfast for $2.50. This would carry us for most of the day for sure.

We were heading into the Amazon basin now, and the climate changed once again from dry cooler mountain air to hot sticky jungle. We expected this but it is still hard to prepare for it. We turned off the main route at Puerto Napo and made our way down the little road to Misahualli (Miz-why-ee). Our instructions were simple, one in the village just ask anyone “Where is chocolate tour?” Great, the first person I asked pointed across the bridge and left. This seemed wrong as Elizabeth said nothing about a bridge, but the locals should know.

After a quick trip across the bridge it was evident that there was nothing there so we went back into the village and decided that the Hostal should provide better direction, and they did. To make a long afternoon a short story we arrived in town at about noon, after eating lunch, touring the pier, seeing our first monkeys and waiting at the tour office, we got escorted via the new jungle road to the Ecuador Jungle Tour Lodge at about 3:30pm.

We were blown away by the amazing facility Elizabeth has built, she truly has vision and courage. Our room is fantastic with a beautiful view of the horizon over the Napo River and surrounding jungle. This will be our first night ever sleeping in the wild jungle, and as the sun sets and the light rain subsides the night music of the jungle starts with the murmur of the river in the background. We have the most amazing nights sleep in our comfy bed, protected from the critters of the night by the screen walls of our room and the bug net over our bed. Fresh, clean, oxygen rich Amazonian air, we sleep like the dead.