The Yachana Lodge and the NY Times

Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times was in Ecuador and visited Yachana Lodge.  His 2008 visit resulted in the following segments.  This first link is for a YouTube video where Juan exhibts his prowess with a blowgun (Juan was our guide.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-cU490W9PE

These next two links are articles written by Kristof (the first has 12 photos that can be observed.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/opinion/27kristof.html?scp=3&sq=Yachana%20Foundation&st=cse

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/opinion/01kristof.html?scp=1&sq=Yachana%20Foundation&st=cse

 

Trip to Yachana Lodge

The trip to Yachana Lodge did not start very well.  Our flight to Quito from Cuenca was late by over an hour, we missed our reserved cab, we hailed another taxi driver who started a row with another driver over some perceived infraction, and then the drive to the hotel took a long time, even though we were hanging on as the driver tore through the streets at full speed, honking at other cars all the while.  All things considered, we lost some of our expected time for touring, but we did make it to the hotel.

Once we were at the hotel, however, things perked up.  The hotel -- The Hotel El Relicario del Carmen -- is a sanctuary even though it's only a block from the busy center of the historic district.  The building itself was built in 1705 but has recently been beautifully renovated and was very comfortable and unique.  The place is highly recommended.

Since Randall had not been in Quito before, we went to the nearby Independence Square – Randall visited  La Compañia (The Chuch of the Jesuits) that has the very ornate laminated gold surfaces,  Plaza de la San Francisco (building started in 1540), and Iglesia del  Sagrario (Church of the Sacrarium) located on one side of Independence square and the church with the squeaky floors.  After finishing with the churches, we took a taxi to the Artisan’s Market on Jorge Washington Street, did some walking in the Mariscal district and looked at some other Artisan shops.  We finished the evening at the English Pub on Reina Victoria which happens to be owned by the Yachana Foundation (the foundation had purchased space for offices and the pub came with the building) and the founder Douglas McMeekin was in Quito and he visited with us.

The next morning we were at the VIP airport, and we waited with the oil workers for the plane to Coca (one and a half hours late).  After a 30 minute flight, we changed altitude from 9200 feet in Quito to 800 feet in Coca.  Subsequently, we received the description of Coca as being “a town of hotels and bars” as it is the entry point for oil workers into the interior.  Our guide from Yachana was there to greet us, and we embarked on the Evinrude-powered canoe for our ride upriver on the Rio Napo.  The ride was a bit over three hours and was enchanting. 

San Francisco Plaza and the Church (building of the church started in 1540)

Randall tries to convince his father to buy a hat at the Quito Market.

All on board the canoe  for the Yachana Lodge.

A view of the Rio Napo as we head upriver.

Enjoying the ride.

Typical view of the landscape.

The locals are busy.

Canoe waiting for its owners.

One of two ferries to cart oil vehicles across the river.  The river floods majorly twice a year and bridges would be a huge investment.

A second ferry carting a pickup across the river.

A canoe with some of the local produce.

We made it to the lodge, and we enjoyed the view of the Rio Napo.

Yachana Reserve: A Glimpse of Primary Jungle

 We (Julie, Harold and Randall) went to Yachana Lodge, located on the Napo River which flows into the Amazon. The lodge was reached by flying to Quito, taking a small plane to Coca and then boarding a motorized canoe which took us upriver for three hours to the lodge. Many pictures were taken on this adventure, but we thought the video clips (about one minute each) would give a feel for the jungle environment and our very impressive guide, Juan.

We stopped because of the view and to listen to the birds.  However, we were viewing a secondary growth forest as we prepared to enter the Yachana Reserve (old forest).

 

Juan had not been on this trail for over a month, and the trail was overgrown.

Juan's machete had become dull and needed sharpening, and Juan had what he needed:  a stone, water and the skill.

Cajas: Some Fauna and Flora

The altitude in the range of over 13,500 feet is a limiting factor in the distribution of animals and plants in the Cajas National Park, with the entrance located 18 miles west of Cuenca.  The thin air, resulting in little filtering of the rays of the sun, and the cool temperatures make  for a unique environment.  Below see pics of llamas, alpacas and some wild horses.  Also below, see pics of plants, noting that they do not have big leaves and are coated with a waxy type substance, and the flowers are very small.

"La llama se llama." - a Spanish phrase using homonyms - "It's called a llama."

Alpacas

Picture of a communal Alpaca dung pile - a unique aspect of Alpacas.

There are two feral horses in this picture!

A Hike in the Andes

The three of us (Julie, Randall and Harold) headed out to Cajas National Park Tuesday morning and had a great time. Our major endeavor was a hike around Lake Toreadora followed by a trip up to the continental divide at Tres Cruces.  This area is in the range of 13,500 feet with the Tres Cruces listed as 13,670 feet.  The air was crisp, clear and thin - the views were spectacular.  We spent five hours on this trip with the entrance to the park less than twenty miles away from Cuenca.  However the climb into the mountains is over a mile higher than Cuenca.

The hike was not an easy hike and on a rainy day would be much more difficult. We were surprised at the amount of water that was flowing in small streams and that the earth was very spongy.  Since we were circling the lake there were many opportunities for pictures with the lake as a background.

Tres Cruces (Three Crosses): In Colonial times people who would be passing by these graves  would say a prayer and place a rock to seek more comfort on their own journey. Today there is a nice road over the continental divide.

Inca “trails” in Ecuador

The “Inca Trail” was a vast network of roads that united the Incan empire.  It consisted of two primary arteries.  One was the mountain route, and the other was the coastal route with many branches from each.   If one started in Quito, Ecuador and traveled south on the mountain route, one could travel all the way to modern day Santiago, Chile. This trail is known as the Great Inca Road, or Main Andean Road. If one would leave Quito and head south, the first major stop would be Ingapirca and then Cuenca (Tomebamba), and that is where we are!  See map below taken from Wikipedia – the green road is the “Great Inca Road” and the dark blue road is the “coastal road”.

Ingapirca today is primarily an Incan temple to the sun and a Cañar temple to the Moon.  The Cañari people were the indigenous people who lived in the area and were conquered by the Incan people after a conflict of several decades.  Then the two groups lived side by side for about 50 to 70 years (and then the Spanish came!). The temples contained the priests, support people, soldiers and others, but the temple has a distinctive Cañari section (temple of the moon) and a distinctive Incan section (temple of the sun).  See pics.  An interesting note about the two cultures:  the Incan culture was a male-dominated culture with their religion focused on the male (Sun, son of the Sun which is the Inca or ruler, father, grandfather), while the Cañari culture was a more female-dominated culture, with the religion having more focus on women (moon, mother, grandmother).

The Cuenca area is the birthplace of one of the last Inca commanders --  Tupac Yupanqui, and because of the importance of birthplaces (as well as a host of other reasons), he built the city “Tomebamba” and the ruins of the administrative/religious buildings of Tomebamba are known as Pumapongo (the door of the puma) in downtown Cuenca. The city of Tomebamba was a rival to the main Incan capital in Cuzco, Peru.  However, when the Spanish arrived, the city was in ruins due to the previous civil war between the Incan brothers/rulers.  See pics of Pumaponga in previous blog posted January 22 (Museums in Cuenca.)

View of Andes Mountains surrounding Ingapirca.

Llama and Randall by tree with hallucinogenic leaves in front of Temple to the Moon.

Temple of the sun (Incan)

The elevated plaza has an elliptical shape - some say to match the orbit of the earth around the sun.

The stone workmanship on the Sun Temple (Incan) is impressive.

The Incan stones are pillowed (the surfaces protrude out from the edges).

The home of the Inca (the leader or Son of the Sun).

View of the Temple of the Moon from the Temple of the Sun.

Julie and Harold on the Inca Trail going past the Temples.

Cuenca and some geography

The above picture of a tile setting in a sidewalk in front of an artisan store in Cuenca prompts this blog posting.

The display shows the altitude as 2540 meters (8333 feet) at latitude of 2° 54’ 03” (south of the equator by 200.2 miles) and longitude of 79° 00’ 28” West.

It may be surprising that Miami, Florida is farther west than Cuenca.  Miami is at longitude 80° 13′ 27″ West.

The four rivers that flow easterly through Cuenca have their water empty into the Amazon basin.  This is also somewhat surprising since Cuenca is so close to the Pacific Ocean. However, a short drive (30 km or 18 miles) to the west of Cuenca into the higher Andes Mountains brings one to the Parque Nacional Cajas (Cajas National Park). Within this park is the continental divide.   The highest point in the park is the 4,450 meter (14,600 feet) high Cerro Arquitectos (Architect's Hill).

Julie and I have traveled the road in a commercial van that was taking us from Guayaquil to Cuenca.  The trip was fascinating.  The road crosses the continental divide at the pass "Tres Cruces" (which is at an altitude of 4,167 meters or 13,670 feet).  Good pictures were difficult to take when one is in the clouds and the van is moving, but see pics below.

"Feria Libre" and other open-air markets in Cuenca

Open air markets (mercados) abound in Ecuador. They are spread throughout the city of Cuenca, and each has a name relating to some famous event in Cuenca and/or Ecuadorean history. The most common Cuenca outdoor markets are

• Mercado 27 de Febrero (independence day of Quito)
• Mercado 12 de Abril (foundation date of Cuenca)
• Mercado 10 de Agosto (independence day of Ecuador from Spain)
• Mercado 9 de Octobre (independence day of Guayaquil)
• Mercado 3 de Noviembre (independence date of Cuenca -- we pass by/through this one if we walk to the main square in Cuenca)

[On a side note, several of these dates are also the names of main streets in Cuenca, and other Ecuadorean cities.]

But the king (or would that be “queen”) of all the open-air markets is the “Feria Libre,” which happily is only a few blocks from our apartment. “Feria Libre” literally means “Free Fair” because the stalls used to be free (not anymore, though, apparently, but the name remains).
 
All of these markets are great places to buy fresh fruits and veggies (with proper cleaning of course, to rid them of the parasites that are prevalent in the fruits/veggies in this area), as well as meats, fish, cooked food and various other home and clothing supplies. They are also great places to view the various clothing and hats of the indigenous people (and the mestizos) from this area. 
 

Be looking for a later blog on the indigenous people and their dress, but for now, go with us on a journey through the “Feria Libre” in Cuenca.