Carbonated Tree Trunks
Hi there,
Spent a couple of days in Cuenca, watching the Corpus Christi celebrations. The Festival is huge! There’re big bamboo structures with fireworks tied on to them that go off randomly into the crowd. The only time you know when one has been set alight is when the crowd scream and surge backwards. After that danger, there’re people dancing around holding big papier-mache costumes, again with fireworks spitting out in all directions. That’s when I got hit, I think by a vaca loco (mad cow). I have a hole in my thermal top and a burn mark on my trousers. Luckily it didn’t burn my skin.
After the fun, I decided to leave the city and go south to the little village of Vilcabamba where I stayed at a really nice hostel, which had a Jacuzzi, sauna and swimming pool. I met Virginia from France, Yves from Belgium and Heikle from the Netherlands. In every town in Ecuador there seems to be a viewpoint. We walked up to the one in Vilcabamba. There was a view.
Yves and Virginia were volunteering at the hostel, doing publicity as the owner was having it extended. I think I could be pictured on the new fliers - Woohoo!! At the weekend Yves and I went camping to the Petrified Forest. Funnily, we didn’t realise how long it would take to get there or how small the park was. It took 6 hours by bus to the town of Almore and another half hour to Puyanga and then a walk to the Ranger Hut. We got to the Ranger Hut as it was closing, and enquired about camping. The girl said that the only camping was behind the Ranger Hut (which was a horrible piece of land) and that technically there was no camping in the forest. Yves spoke fluent Spanish and managed to convince the girl that we were very responsible and, playing on the fact that I was a Park Ranger back in England, ha ha, we got to camp further into the forest.
We pitched the tent on hard ground near the river, but thanks to my therm-a-rest it was a comfy night and I was well impressed. In the morning we walked around the forest looking at the carbonated tree trunks which were very interesting, but we had exhausted the possibilities of the park soon after and that was after we’d taken detours out of it. We were back at the tent by 3pm and decided to catch the bus back. The bus left at 11pm from Almore so we walked back to the road where we could take a taxi into the town. We cooked our tea on the trangi in the town square with about 20 locals watching the strange Gringos. Yves and I boarded the bus and promptly passed out. The journey that took 6 hours during the day took 4 hours at night (racer bus driver) and we got to the town of Loja at 3am when we were expecting to arrive at 5am.
I’m now very tired and still haven’t managed to get out of Ecuador. Maybe next week! I need to be around this weekend for the Sun God Party at the Inca ruins of Incapirca. Wonder if they have fireworks.
Take care of yourselves.
Hugs, Jen xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
