Ecuador 

First a word of explanation. It may well be that we do not do these countries the credit they deserve, as we have pretty much rushed through.  There are reasons for this. The first is that we are getting anxious about our deadlines and with such distances yet to be covered we are really unsure how much time we will need.

Ecuadorian rain

However in addition to these it turns out that from the moment we entered Ecuador almost until we arrived in Cartagena it has hardly stopped raining.

More rain, also Ecuadorian

I went down with a really unpleasant bout of flu and Ping has followed a week later with her own version of same, so it has been really  inevitable that we have had few opportunities for taking time in the touristic stuff. This may sound like excuses but it has been a difficult couple of weeks. Having said all this I will attempt to keep your interest with an account of our continued journey.

Ecuador

Welcome to Ecuador

We arrived in Ecuador in mid afternoon, the customs and immigration was pretty easy. The immigration was really busy and the queue had to be managed by security people. Not a good start you may think. However the security man came up to me, he said, ’How old are you?’ in Spanish. I told him and we were immediately ushered right up to the front of the queue. I did my best to look decrepit. It was insulting and convenient at the same time. We were quickly processed and on our way down to the customs office further down the road, we were given the all important Temporary Import Permit for the van. 

Sugar cane to chew and Coconut to drink

Friendly cow visits the van

Off we set, staying overnight on the forecourt of a petrol station which was noisy but ok. The next day we continued to Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second city and major port. 

We wanted to explore the possibility of shipping the van from there but in the end the shipping agent we were speaking to dried up and we decided to move on to Colombia.  While in this city we discovered a couple of interesting things, one is that fuel is unbelievably cheap, about 20 US cents a litre and the other is that absolutely everything else is unbelievably expensive.

Street art

Interestingly the currency is the US dollar. We stayed in the car park of a hotel which was opposite a modern shopping mall. 

residing in the hotel car park in  Guayaquil city

We had to go there and decided to have lunch. There is  a kind of food court with fast food places, all bright lights around the area. I read somewhere that one of the indicators of the cost of living in a country is the price of a Big Mac. And here it was about 6 quid!!! We did not stay long. 

Traffic jam on the way to Quito caused by a lorry load of bananas shed on the road 2 kms away

There really was not much to keep us. We took a couple of days to drive to Quito the capital, Quito.  

The offending bananas

As soon as the traffic stopped people appeared selling snacks
 and drinks

On arrival in Quito, we had to get our batteries checked (usual story, is it the battery or alternator. We went to a auto electrical shop where in spite of my limited Spanish, I managed to convey the problems. We were treated very well, in the end the auto electrician discovered that there was a loose connection to the alternator, hence it wasn't charging even though we had been driving 100s of kilometres! We were glad that they did not try to sell us a new battery - the whole episode cost us US$10, not bad as it took over an hour. 
Then we were off to have the brakes adjusted, following the recommendations of the I-overlander app. We arrived at this place which turned out to be a store that sells expensive wheels for very posh cars! However, they were really helpful, and spent a great afternoon with such nice people where they adjusted our brakes, clean our locks and some little jobs that in their eyes needed doing. They best thing was they spoke English!

Racing drivers  run this place ,Old and young

The whole team

Then we had to go and find somewhere to stay in the city, and the only place we could find was in the car park of a posh sport and leisure place, part of it belongs to the Military and the other part appeared to be a public sports ground. It had a lovely café and restaurant that sold very expensive coffee. There was little in the way of facilities and we had to pay the rate for 24 hour parking which was $8 a day. 

It was here that we met an interesting couple, Ernesto and Taisa. She is American from Washington State, but Ernesto is from Venezuela. We soon learned that they had interrupted their overland journey to visit his family in Venezuela, a visit that was really difficult. The country is in a shocking state and corruption and violence abounds. He found his family having to live in such difficult circumstances. What was really hard for him was having to leave them, being unable to help much. In the brief time that we met them we felt an enormous surge of emotion and empathy. What a dreadful position to find oneself in. What it also did  was to some degree, make real something dreadful that we read about in the news. but is really shocking. Our thoughts continue to be with them, for whatever that is worth.

The amazing stone carvings on an ancient Quito church

In Quito we arranged to take a walking tour and really remarkably it stopped raining for the duration. It was a very interesting tour and made more so by the passion which the guide showed for the development of the state in which he lives. He showed us the sights and the market. He told us a lot of interesting stuff about Quito truly being the centre of the earth. 

This used to be the residence of the Bishop of Quito now houses trendy shops

So here goes, Quito lies directly on the equator, hence the name of the country. However in ancient times The Inca s and others held great store by astronomy and accurate measurement of the earth. 

Ooh look It's raining!

And they knew that Quito which is up a mountain is in fact on the highest point on the equator so it is taken that it really is the middle of the middle. This has had terrific spiritual importance over the millennia. Interestingly, it means that Quito has the most predictable weather. Being on the equator means that it will be sunny all the time except when it is raining. Being up a mountain it means that it is also quite cool and so nearly every day is like a spring day but also most days it will rain as they are up in the clouds.

Which leads on to what we learn about the economy of the Ecuador Its most important export is offshore oil, but close behind this is really surprising. 

Serious rose growing happens here

Their second most important export is roses. There is a massive rose growing operation all over this part of Ecuador. Even more surprising is their most important customer by far is the Netherlands! How about that?

More roses

Our guide went on to explain that fruit growing and agriculture has been at the centre of life in this country and that it has over the centuries also been responsible for domesticating from wild, a number of everyday crops. 

Ecuador also exports a lot of bananas.
Banana plantation......still raining

GM corn

Bananas, avocados, potatoes, and corn among many others. It is really amazing to think that if it is true, that the those golden swaying fields of corn all over the United States originates from the ingenuity of an Ecuadorian farmer in ancient times. 

Music in the market

The lovely fruit lady

Our tour took us through the city market where we allowed by a long suffering stall holder to sample some of the incredible array of exotic fruits that grow here. She was a really nice lady and she did sell a bit of fruit to our tour members. I just hope it was worth it. All this and then a Mariachi band turned up and wandered through the market. 

After this we walked through the town and outside the Presidential Palace.             We were told about how the country once elected a president who pretty much single handed managed to invest the contents of the country,s bank accounts  in his own offshore and foreign caches. Overnight it brought ruin to pretty much all of the middle class and as the country descended into a popular attempt to take over the Palace and presumably, lynch the president he was rescued by a military helicopter from the roof of the palace and taken first to the United states and from there disappeared into obscurity. The country was left in financial ruins for a number of years as its country's currency descended into worthlessness.

In the lecture hall at the Ministry of finance

We were taken up the steps into a lecture hall in the Ministry of Finance where he explained a bit about how the US Dollar became adopted. It seems that although undoubtedly This move arrested the decline of the currency. This too was the result of people in power doing a deal with the devil. It may surprise you, dear reader, as it did me that the US Federal Reserve is actually a commercial company, and not a government body as you might expect. 



So, this was not an act of altruism by the US Government it was actually a deal negotiated by the rich and powerful to save their own bacon.

cakes!

An angel oversees the city of Quito

This guy is the real Macoy he is on a mission to get his suitcase mended
No other explanation for his presence in Quito

 What followed then was our guides own explanation of how the nation of Ecuador has developed since then. The electorate stung by being had over in such grand style has managed to seize and keep control of the electoral process. So that what has come about is a truly egalitarian state with an economy which now goes from strength to strength. And now provides free, good quality, health, welfare and education to all. In addition to this. The government provides  electricity telephone and internet to the whole population free of charge. If you don’t find that remarkable, then how about this there is free entry into the country anyone can migrate there and everyone no matter if they are a tourist passing through or a new migrant, enjoys the same rights and responsibilities.
 It really is an extraordinary country.

Beautiful barber shop

I should say that I have simply reported here what I have been told. I am sure there may be other views to consider but it is still food for thought.

Art

After our tour we went off on a tour of the site of the ‘True equator and of course the centre of the earth.

the old centre of  The Earth

The new one

      

As with so many things, I prefer the old one.

Actually it was bit of a disappointment. It seems that using the ancient measurement a huge edifice was built to celebrate the spot and it is set in a nice park.  However then with modern methods it is discovered that the spot really is about 150 yards down the road. Instead of acknowledging the fact and then leaving well alone, someone set up a sort of scruffy centre of the world experience. It is ok but, also a rather tacky. The real shame of it is that it has effectively set up in competition to the rather grand monument down the road. 
The next day I was starting to feel distinctly rough and we had to move on. A fairly short days drive took us to a camp within striking distance of the border with Colombia.

Mosquito at Summer winds camp  (Actual size!)

The camp where we stayed with the intention of resting up was an odd place. Run by a very friendly German and his family it seems very popular with overland travellers. 

The location is beautiful and the mosquitoes are out of control.

The ,Mutant mosquito fly rises once more

On closer examination though we see that half of the people camping there have for one reason or another been there for some time, and they are mostly German. Then you realise that at a certain time in the evening they all troop onto a balcony and have dinner and drinks together. It is then that I started to have a distinct sense that they were an exclusive club of which we were not members. Inevitably we got into conversation with the remaining few who are not part of this group and you start to learn that they don’t like it much either.

Then I started to notice that certain people would walk past and deliver instructions, nothing significant, but ‘please don’t feed bones to the dog’,and ‘make sure you turn the tap off properly’.These remarks coming from another camper seemed to me to be a bloody cheek. ‘Leave the owner to run the camp!’ and mind your own business!

Idyllic , but about to rain

Its ok, I am calm now. We really did not like this idyllic place very much. Something that sent Ping into a low grade frenzy was that one of the family bakes bread every day and you can order a loaf. It should be said that it was very good bread, especially as nice bread has been hard to find in South America but 3 quid for a small loaf is a bit much. She wasn’t happy about that.

Leaving Ecuador

Now feeling pretty lousy we decided we should really continue on our way and set off for the Colombian border the next day.

Peru:part 2

The pleasant alpine village scene

Having left Cusco we drove over some pretty heavy duty mountains. This time however they were green and pleasant to look over.   

Alpine village duck pond

In fact a couple of villages  we passed through, we saw a village scene that we could almost recognise from Europe, cows grazing in nice green pasture and sheep being herded down the main street past the pond with ducks on. On the flat tops of the mountains was grassland similar to that which you might see in the Alps.

Still at the top of the world

The road was difficult though as this is the only link between the cities of Cusco and Nascar. Tight winding roads and more sheer drops  only a few places to pass the slow moving trucks. Some times the overtakes were breath taking as we lumbered past at crawl speeds but still needing to complete the overtake before anything comes the other way. 

Meeting at the top of the world

On the way into Nazcar we bumped into a couple of bikers Jonathan and Cynthia from Mexico, these have to be the most unlikely Mexican names ever! and while we were chatting Juan Pablo, another biker from Colombia turned up and we had a very enjoyable chat before moving on.   

When we eventually cruised into Nazcar the land abruptly turned to beige arid desert.

The city itself seemed unremarkable as we struggled with dense unforgiving smoky traffic.

We overnighted in a petrol station where we again were treated to a bit of Peruvian niceness. Yes it was no trouble staying the night but we would have to pay to use the shower.no problem and the shower was good but as it turned out I would be crawling under the van for a time sorting out a minor repair. So I needed another one after that. As we went to leave we went to pay for the shower and the guy just said ‘nah that’s ok’

We have come across this kind of thing so many times, small gestures that you would rarely see in England.

‘Can I use your toilet pleeeze!’. ‘Nah it's staff only! Who's next’?

So suitably clean we went off to visit the Nazcar lines .

Nazcar Lines   

  

The Nazcar lines are an ever so ancient monument. 

At least a squillion years old, they are markings on the floor of the desert that have remained over hundreds probably thousands of years. 

     

                                                                                     

No one is really sure of their meaning they show drawings of creatures as well as some geometric marks that I presume are some kind of extra terrestrial landing strip. 

Are these messages to visitors? or were they made by visitors? who knows

These pictures are so vast they can only really be seen from the air. You can go by plane but it is expensive  and there are serious health warnings over the safety of the aircraft. 
So we wouldn’t be doing that on both grounds.

The viewing tower definitely better than nothing

The local authority has erected a viewing tower and we had a look from there. Evidently not as good. There were books on sale but very expensive and their purchase was not authorised. 

There are loads of pics online if you want to take a look. The Lines are right next to the PanAmerican Highway which we had just joined. So after this visit we set off once more.

The Pan American Highway is a really pleasant change it is a fast long distance often two lanes road with a good surface. So we were able to drive faster and more comfortably through the desert. We are now on our way to Lima the capital city of Peru. 

The Pan Americana bisects the Lines. Vandalism or necessity?

There are long stretches with 50 shades of 'beige' and then because rivers run through it from the mountains, suddenly you find the landscape is beautiful green with agriculture going on, most particularly, wine is grown here on an industrial scale.  I have never thought of Peruvian wine but they do seem to produce a lot here.

Selling fine wines to truck drivers

The vineyards are large and have a very industrial  appearance. Maybe a wine connoisseur will say different, 
I just tell you what I see.

The price of cheap chicken

The other product is not so pleasant. We started to notice long single storey buildings that were often 50 metres long. They really look like vast low marquees. There are a lot of them It took us a while to work out what they are. They are battery chicken farms clusters of these building some as far as the eye can see. 

I guess they are out in the desert as there plenty of space to expand  and no one will complain of the smell which is really awful and goes on for miles and miles!

Vast Chicken farms

 I have been told that at its peak Peru slaughters 4 million chicken in a day.

As we went on just following and luxuriating on the Pan Americana, letting the desert pass us by.  Then we passed through a cutting in the rock for about half a kilometre and then quite suddenly the scene changed.

The beautiful Pacific coast

A wide expanse of beautiful desert on one side, a modern highway running parallel and the Pacific ocean crashing over rocks. It was like we had just landed on another planet.

The modern Pan Americana It was a relief from some tough driving

The road then became 3 lanes each way divided road. Wow!

Along this road are many  resort towns with surfing and lovely wide sandy beaches and all that sort of thing, they are not specially attractive  but they are important business.

Surfs up,   Taxi !

As we moved further along we passed through the region that was particularly badly hit in the recent floods there is a lot of damage to be seen.

Dramatic flood damage The original road surface is no 5' up all the business,s around were washed away

What is really remarkable is how quickly much of this has been made to function again. Most notable is the big bridges that have been replaced in such a short time. 
But the huge piles of rubbish that adorn every town where it has just been bulldozed out of town, this will take a long time to clear. All this does not make mention of the lives that have been ruined or even lost.

This should have been the harvest but this is spoiled sugar cane. So many lorries like this

This was the time of year for the sugar cane harvest which is such an important crop  but as we saw load after load just dumped into trucks to my untutored eye it looks spoiled there are massive fires where the crops are being burnt. Large areas of towns where there were clearly a lot of buildings, but all gone.

As we continued the size and frequency of the chicken farms grew sometimes as far as the eye can see.

On down the highway we see hundreds of ‘Nodding donkey’ oil pumps a much more prosperous sign.

'Nodding Donkey' pump
The Peruvian oil industry is big around here

As we move towards Lima  the capital city the traffic intensifies  and the mad driving becomes more concentrated. 

People will carry absolutely anything on a tuk tuk. And they in turn keep everything moving.

Lima

Lima Traffic

Posing for a picture as we drove past dancers
as they prepared for a show

We arrived in Lima on a Sunday and the traffic was still awful especially after a very full day driving. The place that we were going to stay is located in a very pleasant suburb. When we got there they told us that they did not have space for our van, they only have a small space and there were already three other overlanders tucked in there. They gave us directions to another hostel but it turned out that they did not accommodate overlanders we could have a parking space but for £30 a night for a room. They suggested that we go and camp in the street by a park. They told us that it would be perfectly ok as it was regularly patrolled by security people.








We found the place it was a fairly busy street but it seemed ok and the park looked really interesting but it was getting dark. We had a visit from the security man who wanted to know what we were  planing but he seemed happy enough for us to be there.

The view from the van in the morning. Thousands of years of ancient culture

In the morning we looked out of the van to find that we had our very own ancient ruin right outside. It turned out that This was large temple from an ancient civilisation that predated the Incas by a couple of millenea. We could have a guided tour for £3 and this was such an interesting morning.

So much geometric  and beautiful ancient building

 The place is, like Machu Pichu, geometric in layout and was a kind of small town for Priests and astronomers. It was an engineering marvel In that it was built entirely of unfired mud bricks of a particular size and shape they used an unusual bond to lay the bricks the result of which is that it has withstood earthquakes over thousands of years and even one fairly recently which was 7.8 and much of the surrounding area was damaged or destroyed, but not this which remained undamaged. So that covers why it was so interesting, but it is also incredibly  beautiful.

Rooftop to rooftop. The span of thousands of years of culture

It seems that it had remained neglected for many years nestled in the heart of this massive city but had relatively recently begun restoration. We were so lucky to happen across it.

Preparing lunch , Ancient Lima style.

After our tour we returned to the hostel that we had been turned away from as we had arranged to take the place of someone who was leaving. It turned out to be such a nice place.  We were able to take a walking tour of the city which was very interesting but quite complicated.

The whole city is vast the population is about 10 million which is about a third of the population of Peru. Some 50 km long  it sprawls away into the desert.

Platform for those express buses

Those buses

To take our tour we had to travel into the centre  which is about 15 km into town.

Lima has an interesting transport system. Fast buses operate on specific main routes but they work a bit like a railway. You get on and off at platforms  and the buses run along special lanes at the side of the main roads. Because there are no obstructions  they run at breakneck speeds. 

Ping will hate this , someone only
Gave her a seat as she is senior!

Always packed solid with passengers they hurtle down these lanes and then brake violently at the platform stops. Passengers then have to force their way off the bus. I  believe that what they should do is when they are breaking at the platforms they should open the front doors so that as they come to a halt passenger should stand ready and as the bus stops they will be forced forward  and ejected out of the front of the bus. |it would save a lot of time and fuss, thereby pretty much perfecting this rapid transit system. Simple. 

The magnificent Central square Lima

We had the walking tour which took us into several beautiful historic churches. As well as the wonderful main square, which has a lovely fountain that once dispensed an alcoholic drink called Pisco, now it only squirts water.

Wonderful military display it was really fun

Photobomb!!!!

We were treated to the changing of the guard at the presidential palace. A more modest affair than in London but it was pretty good and we could get up close and see everything. The music was great and the drill was a real spectacle. 

The main river that allows Lima to live and thrive

We learnt that Lima is built in a desert and that it depends on its main river for water.  The river runs the length of the city.

 A young cop just helping out here, So nice!

We went to a cultural centre and museum which is open to all and is in what was once the very elegant railway station. 

The old railway station now a literary centre

Our chums vans,  a 1997 Peugeot and modern Mercedes complete
with film editing facilities and dogs

Back at our lodgings , The Hitch hikers Hostel we  got to know our fellow travellers a little. Patrick who was travelling with two of the best trained dogs I have come across. He runs a film production company in America. He is able to do this kind of travelling by editing films via the internet. In his big Mercedes Unimog truck he has his editing suite as well as living accommodation.

Erika and Andreas

Singing with Christina

While in town we happened to meet two people Burkhard and christine that we had met before. They were treating themselves to a nice hotel with a proper shower but they were ready to get back to their van. We were able to get them to come into the same place as us. As space was vacated we were joined by a Swiss couple Erika and  Andreas…… who were travelling in a lovely old, early 1970s Peugeot van. 

Also there was Marcel who had become stuck because of problems with his South African passport. He was an interesting and helpful guy, very experienced and with a wide range of skills having been the driver? and guide with professional overland tour companies like Dragoman and Encounter Overland. Marcel has written a book about some of his experiences in Africa. His book is available online  you can contact him marcellc67@gmail.com

We had a very pleasant social scene for two or three days  most enjoyable.

We did have to move on and we had to drive more than 2 hours across town to join the Pan Americana once more. The drive across town was pretty traumatic. 

Leaving Lima

We continued along the Pacific coast for a couple of days until we arrived at the border with Equador.