Avenue of the Volcanoes

February 24th

     I won’t even begin to estimate the number of people who have travelled the road between Quito and Cuenca over the last few hundred years, let alone the last thirty or forty or so, as tourism has expanded, and this route has become one of the classic journeys to accomplish.  It was interesting to read through some of the online discussions about the trip – do it at night – take the plane to avoid the bus.  For some, the journey is an endurance test, or something to be avoided so that the destination can be reached with the minimum of inconvenience.  I fall into the group who believe that the value of the destination is greatly augmented by the experience of getting there. Besides, we are not talking about being crammed into the back of a pick-up truck with selection of livestock for company. The buses are not uncomfortable, and at the going rate of about $1.00 per hour of travel, certainly good value for the likes of us.

Seen in Machachi - Why not?

     A driver from the Papagayo Inn brought us to the town of Machachi, just a couple of miles away, thankfully via a working cash machine, as we had used up all our available cash to pay for the accommodation (the credit card machine wasn’t going to start working until after 10:00 a.m.). As is often the case here in Ecuador, a bus was just about to leave, so we clambered aboard, found some seats near the back, and settled in for the first leg of the journey to Riobamba, about three hours south. The first half hour or so provided me the opportunity to practice Spanish with a traveler I sat next to– it does seem to be improving.

     The road south from Quito to Riobamba runs between two ‘spines’ of the Andes in this pat of the country for about 125 miles.  As has been true for most of our trip so far, clouds covered the higher peaks of what has been dubbed the Avenue of the Volcanoes.  Eight of Ecuador’s top ten highest peaks can sometimes be seen on this route.  Cotopaxi, the World’s highest active volcano eluded us completely, though we hope to return later in the year when it may be clear.  For all that the clouds hid much from or view, they lent a more mythical atmosphere to the journey. 

     The area each side of the road is substantially populated with farms of maize and potatoes, occasional great greenhouses for flower production, and numerous small towns or villages. These places are typified by unfinished structures, laundry flying like prayer flags, and the ever-present graffiti of both substantial artistic ability and the less creative slogan writing. 

Limited view of Chimborazo

The closest we came to seeing the peak of Chimborazo on this trip

   The approach to Riobamba, a much larger town, is dominated by the great hulk of Chimborazo, the highest peak in Ecuador. The peak of this mountain is actually the furthest land point from the center of the earth due to the bulging of the plant around the equator. We could only see tantalizing glimpses of the lower glacial slopes beneath the clouds, as if to say, “come back another time.”

    Riobamba for us was a whirlwind of moving from one bus to another, with just enough time to get tickets and a quick bathroom stop.  The town is the jump off point for a classic five hour rail journey up the mountains on the Nariz del Diablo train.  Not for us this time, but check out the link to see the local area.

     Despite the fact that we had traveled about half the map distance to Cuenca, it turned out that we had another five and a half hours to go.  The reason became apparent quickly as the bus entered a constant switchback journey climbing up and down great valleys. For a long while, much of this was invisible due to heavy cloud, with visibility down to 100 yards or so.  Shadows of great trees peered at us through the mist, with occasional glimpses of deep, twisted valleys opening up.  Fortunately, our return journey provided more open views of this incredible countryside.  The bus would stop every 10 minutes or so to pick up and drop off more local travelers, and we could see the barely credible farm land, in some cases clinging to the sides of mountains, seemingly ready to deliver their crops as a dump truck might deliver its load.

   About an hour before Cuenca, the bus climbed above the clouds to a very high pass, about 11,500 feet up. The vistas that opened up were truly rewarding.  The evening light added an ethereal quality, at least to our eyes, accustomed as they are to the forests of New England. The disappointment of the views finally giving way to the outskirts of Cuenca was overshadowed by the prospect of being able to actually move again after so many hours on the road.  

   The twilight hours allowed us our first glimpses of the old city of Cuenca as a local taxi took us to our hostel.  After such exposure to the grandeurs of this part of the World, it was something of a shock to discover that our hostel bedrooms had no windows, and the water was decidedly temporary.  Too weary to worry much about it at this point, we simply moved to a nicer hotel around the corner the next morning.